#malcolm reed focused

[wrinkleintime]

enterprise text posts: featuring trip (and friends) in Situations

[shifting---patterns]

How Post-Punk Influenced Nowadays Fashion

It's been a long time since Malcolm McLaren opened his boutique "Sex" in the 1970s, and Vivienne Westwood equipped the Sex Pistols with their iconic outfits and sent them out onto King's Road. The approach back then was: "Being anti at all costs, against the establishment." Eventually, it turned into "Do It Yourself." It was fashionable because it tried not to be fashionable.

A few years later, members of Joy Division met at a Sex Pistols show in 1976 and started as a punk band. However, it soon evolved into something entirely different. When you listen to old Joy Division songs like "Warsaw" you can clearly hear the punk rock influences, but the band quickly started to deviate from the common motifs of the genre.

The music slowed down. The noisy guitar sound of punk was subdued to appear more intriguing, and Ian Curtis's existentialist lyrics, influenced by authors like Fyodor Dostoevsky, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Franz Kafka, focused not on chaos, rebellion, and hedonism but reflected his fears, physical sufferings, and the absurdity in the face of the zeitgeist and social influences of the 1970s and 1980s, marked by changes and political uncertainty, forced Joy Division to experiment.

They created not only something musically unique but also something aesthetic. For example, with their monochromatic designs on their album covers for "Unknown Pleasures," which is probably the third best-selling T-shirt in fast fashion stores, alongside Nirvana and the Ramones T-shirts. Joy Division ended in 1980 after Ian Curtis hung himself in his kitchen. They not only helped shape the sub-genre "Post-Punk" but were also the unofficial soundtrack of existentialism. The soundtrack that made Joy Division's music feel so genuine. Because it was genuine.

Of course, in the 1960s, there were artists who processed existential themes in their lyrics. A good example would be Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground, who, heavily influenced by literature, dealt with many serious topics in his lyrics. However, it wasn't just their music; it was also their appearance that defined Joy Division. On stage, in promo pictures, and in interviews.

Ill-fitting shirts from army surplus stores, old man's pants, a few pair of derbies, big raincoats. Everything that was atypical for the punk movement, and many other artists, including The Cure, The Smiths, Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Alien Sex Friend or Sisters Of Mercy, went in the same direction: Through a dark, introspective, sometimes minimalist, but avant-garde aesthetic, they set themselves apart from punk and society, and looking at bands from the Post-Punk Revival from the 2000s like Interpol, Iceage, Molchat Doma, Boy Harsher, or Cold Cave, it quickly becomes apparent that this aesthetic has proven itself for almost 50 years.

This trend was, of course, not only an inspiration for musicians but also for artists, fashion designers, architects, and many more.

One designer that immediately comes to mind is Antwerp-Six member Ann Demeulemeester from Belgium, whose influences clearly evoke artists like Siouxsie Sioux or Patti Smith but also the playful goth look of the 1980s era by Rei Kawakubo (Comme Des Garcons) or Japan's goth father himself: Yohji Yamamoto.

Her story begins in Antwerp, where she initially studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and quickly got to know the other Antwerp-Six members. She and the Antwerp Six presented their collections at Fashion Week and quickly became highly esteemed designers, now considered among the greatest designers of all time. Many of Ann's collections featured songs by Patti Smith, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, or The Velvet Underground.

This alone shows the influence of Post-Punk on Ann Demeulemeester's designs. Her asymmetrical cuts and draperies, her monochromatic, Kawakubo and Yamamoto-inspired, mainly black designs were groundbreaking, bringing avant-garde ideas in a consumable form to the people.

Another noteworthy designer from Antwerp is Raf Simons and his collections. Raf Simons grew up in the 1980s and was deeply rooted in the punk and goth subculture, whose influence can be traced in many of his collections or directly referenced by Raf himself. Notable are his A/W96 collection, which includes all-black looks with jet-black dyed hair and long black overcoats, his A/W99 collection with direct Joy Division references, black cloaks, and Gothic looks on the runway.

Raf's most famous collection A/W02-03 Riot Riot Riot! A coveted collection featuring cutoff and distressed hoodies, repurposed military garments, and loaded with punk references through patches. Among them, a bomber jacket with a patch depicting the self-harming Richey James Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers.

Obviously, his A/W03-04 Closer collection with a direct collaboration with Peter Saville, the graphic designer of Factory Records, featuring iconic graphics from Joy Division, New Order, and more.

These two examples of designers actively influenced by this culture are just a fraction. These designers were punks or goths themselves. People influenced by the postmodern identity of the time and post-Soviet tradition. Post-Punk fashion embodies the music of the time it emerged and aligns with deeper considerations. So, it didn't take long for the entire fashion world to embrace this style, partly because "Gothic" and "Punk" became more mainstream, and partly because its aesthetic components were easy to design due to their often penetrating monochromatic minimalism.

Not only goths or avant-garde designers like Ann Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela or Rick Owens, deeply connected to the style and subculture of that time, but also luxury designers like Prada, Balenciaga or Bottega Veneta are incorporating it.

The look is romantic, dark, longing for death, partly edgy, partly overloaded. All aspects that exude a constant attraction from the clothing, as people are often drawn to "the other," sometimes even "the forbidden." The look can also be easily detached from the actual Post-Punk/Goth culture - something postmodernity excels at. The style of the Gothic culture can be perfectly broken down into its individual parts and used as a kind of aesthetic sandbox. Here a thick heavy chain, there's a choker, here big long earrings, add a pair of black high combat boots, a slim-fitted mesh shirt, and preferably paint the nails, and you're done. All things that houses like Prada, Marni, Bottega Veneta, for example, have done right.

What we see today in the Post-Punk-influenced style and what we interpret as avant-garde should actually be considered a modern tradition. Post-Punk fashion embodies the music and the spirit of the time it emerged and aligns with deeper existential discourses. The design language and atmosphere of that time are now used by traditional fashion houses to incorporate young designers into their ranks and increase their relevance, merely fulfilling their quota to be considered part of the traditional fashion pipeline of LV, Dior, Gucci, and Balenciaga. The avant-garde cannot be seen as so established. The rapid growth these companies have undergone to make billions and the inheritance method of finding a designer to take over the house are enough to profile themselves as industry magnates.

In a world where fashion constantly reinvents itself, the enduring legacy of post-punk culture persists as a modern tradition. From the raw, rebellious sounds of bands like Joy Division to the avant-garde designs of Ann Demeulemeester and Raf Simons, the essence of post-punk continues to captivate hearts and minds. As luxury fashion houses seamlessly incorporate this style, it's vital to recognize the roots and the countercultural spirit that birthed it.

The romantic, dark allure, the edgy overtones – they all beckon, inviting us to explore "the other," even the forbidden. Yet, amidst the mainstream adoption, a call echoes for authenticity. True avant-gardists, whether musicians or designers, carve their paths, declaring, "This is our thing." The new avant-garde emerges not just from runways but from the pulsating hearts of those deeply rooted in their subcultures.

In a world dominated by industry magnates, the journey of post-punk fashion from the underground to luxury houses is a testament to its enduring power. As we witness the evolution, let us celebrate the genuine, the authentic, and the countercultural voices shaping the new avant-garde.

So, whether draped in asymmetrical cuts or sporting a rebellious attitude, the message is clear: The post-punk spirit lives on, and the next wave of avant-garde creators is ready to make their mark, confidently declaring, "This is our thing."

Davis Jahn

[deadheaddaisy]

It became time to create a timeline for several of my works that it turned out weren't exactly stand-alone, especially since some of them now align with works in the universe created by @more-better-words. All works are rated G or T except where noted, and pretty much all are focused on Hoshi and Malcolm at this point.

______________________________________________________________

Little moments

Timing: begins in 2151 at the launch of Enterprise and continues up to and including Terra Prime in January 2155 (TATV is a poorly-constructed holographic historical fantasy / someone's sick fever-dream and didn't occur in this world). 

Series info: Bits and pieces in the slow burn, pre-relationship Hoshi & Malcolm phase, showcasing how these two became close friends and trusted colleagues. Some of the pieces might be moved around to fit the timeline as I deem necessary, and depending on which element I decide to write at which time in the series.

Holding on (by the skin of my teeth) - 2151

Learning The Ropes - 2151

Ramble On (But Tell No Tales) - 2151

On the edge of dreaming - 2151

Going Under - 2152

Dynamite Comes In Small Packages - 2153

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Somewhere I Belong

Timing: Aligns with more-better-words' From the Ground Up (February-November 2155) and What We Build Here (December 2155-July 2156)

Series info: How Hoshi and Malcolm finally moved beyond friendship into something more. The series is fluid in terms of what is written and published when. See above for timeline shenanigans as it suits me.

Place Your Bets coda - 2155 (in progress)

Outrun - 2156

Words That Fall From Your Lips - 2156

Close Enough - 2156

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My gift to myself based on the above series, as drawn by the wonderful @heart-sprout:

Leaning In

Timing: Aligns with More-Better-Words' Chosen - March 2166 and onward

Series info: Post-Romulan War

Better With You (And The Angels Sing coda) - March 2166

A trick or treat short written for me by more-better-words and including Malcolm Reed - 2166

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Outtakes and Side-Quests

Fics that align with the timeline above but are in an Explicit series of their own, to be on the safe side:

It's Oh So Quiet - 2155 (E)

Calling the shots - 2155 (E)

Outrun - Outtake - 2156 (E)

Mutually Beneficial - 2156 (E)

The Princess and the Warlord - 2156 (E) (Not written by me but a gift related to Outrun - Outtake and meant to follow Mutually Beneficial)

Can't Get Enough (Of You) - 2166 (E)

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Then some of my other, more stand-alone fics:

Nothing To Fear (in progress)

A Hint of Salt, A Taste of Sweet 

Bedtime Stories

Three For One And Room For None

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Lock & Load

Standalone smut series.

Revisiting Risa (E)

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AU/canon-divergent fics that don't align to any standard timeline:

Better the devil you know (in progress)

Winter Heat (standalone - for now)

Money or Nothing (E) (current version complete, sequel underway)

[multiverserift]

Why do so many people not like Star Trek Enterprise?

Different reasons.

The theme song broke the rules Star Trek traditionally had big orchestral arrangements as intro songs. Enterprise tried something different. The song “Where my heart will take me” is a pop rock song with actual lyrics. It also sounds like country music, which many fans associated with a rather conservative mindset. Many fans criticised the song for being campy, right wing, not Star Trek. I personally like the song, but I'm not from the US. They ruined it with a horribly worse version from season 3 on, though.

Enterprise right-wing mindset 9/11 happened two weeks before the first episode of the show aired. Especially Enterprise's 3rd season gets a lot of criticism for being too right-wing, it's basically an allegory for 9/11. This assessment seems a bit unfair. in contrast to the real US, the Enterprise crew went out of their way to clear the air and explain a misunderstanding. Not let their emotions and rage control their actions. In that regard, it's very Star Trek.

Character development The show focuses on Archer, Trip, P’Pol. Phlox and Malcolm Reed get their (fewer) moments too. But Hoshi Sato and Travis Mayweather are totally abandoned by the writers. And those two are the black man and the asian woman. Malcolm’s actor wanted to play the character gay, which was shut down by Rick Berman. So what we get from ENT (Enterprise) ist straight white characters, others get left behind. The Original Series (TOS) did the same thing. The show focusses on Kirk, Spock, McCoy. But time moved on since then. We had DS9, with a great diverse cast, a black, widowed father as the captain. Voyager with Janeway and a (sadly, fake) native American XO. After this, ENT felt out of date. The focus on the core characters gets also critiziced on Discovery.

Sexism Also out of date and forced felt the blatant “sex sells” attitude. Decon gel. Hoshi falling out of an air shaft, losing her shirt so she has to cover her breasts. Shower scenes. Star Trek in the past liked to code their sex stuff into alien metaphors. ENT was more like “look, sexy straight white people in the nude!” No nuance. Gets critiziced a lot up to this date.

Simply bad episodes Star Trek always had episodes that are really bad, since TOS. Spock's Brain is a good example for that. But ENT did worse: They even copied previous episodes. In season 1, we have an episode where a man fills his home with fake hologram people, for his daughter. Ironically the man is played by Rene Auberjonois, who played Odo in the Deep Space 9 (DS9) episode where a man fills his home with fake hologram people. Phlox in season 3 has to stay awake while the whole crew sleeps. For weeks. He starts hallucinating. In a precious Voyager episode, Seven of Nine had to stay awake while the whole crew sleeps. For weeks. She starts hallucinating. Even in the (liked and well received by many) season 3, there are episodes that are just bad, like Extinction. And they are so bad that you can't even watch them and have fun, like DS9’s Move Along Home. And the there are episodes where the solution of the ethical dilemma just feels off and un-Star Trek-y. Cogenitor. Dear Doctor. Yeah, some episodes of ENT simply suck. More than usual.

Akiraprise The NX-01, the titular ship of Enterprise, is just an upside down version of the Akira class from the TNG (The Next Generation) era. Felt like copy-paste. People were upset.

Enterprise is still good Finally, I want to tell you that , besides the bad stuff, I like ENT. I love the design of the NX-01. They had to ruin it with the refit, though. Although this doesn't happen in the show. Just in extended canon. There are great characters here, great stories, great retro design. The interior design, the retro bridge, the retro warp core were actually of the most expensive assets created at the time. For all of TV. So I recommend to watch Enterprise. It's mostly nice. It has Shran. The final episode never happened.

[warpfive]

SAVING THEIR LIFE (AND GETTING HURT)

protecting the enterprise crew, and getting injured in the process

CW: gn!reader, small depictions of violence and injuries

CREW: jonathan archer, t'pol, trip tucker, malcolm reed, hoshi sato, travis mayweather

JONATHAN - it’s difficult for jon not to immediately get angry when you take a phaser hit for him. he’s had some trouble separating his feelings from his work - you only make things much more complicated and jon has to tell himself that if any other member of the crew did that, he’d just just as pissed. but he knows that’s not completely true, and it shows in the way his hands shake as he scolds you while t’pol comms for the shuttlepod. jon takes his responsibility as captain very seriously, so coupled with the fact that it’s somebody he deeply cares for (loves?), it muddies the waters and that only frustrates him more. later on, once phlox has stabilized your wound and orders you on a few days of bedrest, jon makes damn well sure you follow it, short of posting guards outside your quarters. he doesn’t go quite so far, but he visits you late in the night. scolds you again for getting hurt to protect him, makes you promise not to do it again, tells you how he doesn’t want to lose such a good officer and friend and�� he doesn’t go much further. he doesn’t have to. when you tell him you don't regret it, and would so it again to save his life, jon wants to argue back. instead, he takes your hand and promises himself it would never come to that.

T'POL - vulcans are naturally stronger and more resilient than humans - it’s a fact often forgotten, t’pol’s noticed. especially in the chaos and confusion of a cave-in, where all the members of the away team are running away and simultaneously trying to help their colleagues out. t’pol was in charge of the away mission - it was her responsibility to assure her team’s survival. that’s all she was focused on, and not the rock moments away from falling and crushing her into a thick green soup. to give you some credit, you were fast and focused. t’pol barely registered what had happened - only that she felt your arms around her, a shove, and shortly after, your cry in pain that elicited something close to fear in her chest. phlox told her that the rock had broken your leg, and that you were lucky the break wasn’t another couple inches higher, or you would’ve been a real trouble. t’pol takes easily to scolding you, calling you reckless, making sure you knew how much she disapproved of your decision to save her. and yeah, you were in and out of sleep from pain medication. still, you found her hand and squeezed it and told her to court martial you, because you’d do it again in a heartbeat. though, you noticed in the next couple weeks that t’pol has been bringing you tea and finishing your work for you - she’s not completely as vulcan as she hopes.

TRIP - it’s all his fault, of course. if trip had been more careful, more astute; if he had somehow known this would lead to that and that would cause his console to blow, he could’ve prevented the whole thing. he was just too damn focused on the problem with the engine. with the ship shaking and the captain yelling over the comm, it was difficult to focus on anything else until he heard your name and felt you push him. trip wasn’t a small guy - in the moment, he was shocked you managed to push him over. but the shock fell away to panic once he figured out what just happened. the air was smoking, someone called out your name (maybe it was him), and he saw the angry red marks over your face and neck. phlox insists the burns aren’t all that bad, but trip doesn’t really believe him. if they weren’t so bad, then why did the sight of them turn his stomach so much? he tries to keep a good attitude, but part of him was so angry that you got hurt. not angry at you, of course. trip could never truly be angry with you. he was mad at himself, and after forcing a smile and turning away, the tight grit of his jaw was somehow worse than any burns he might’ve gotten in your place.

MALCOLM - he knows, logically, that he taught you hand-to-hand combat for this exact scenario. malcolm wanted, above all else, for you to be able to protect yourself if he wasn’t able to do it personally. yet, none of that made malcolm feel even a little better when he crouched beside you, a hand ghosting over the side of your face that was quickly swelling and bleeding. yeah, you smirked up at him. asked him if he was okay, and if he saw that move you pulled to disarm the man who’d pointed a weapon at him. malcolm insisted this was no time for jokes, and he said it in a rather harsh tone. of course, he was mainly frustrated at himself. if he’d disabled the attacking aliens quicker, you wouldn’t have had to intervene. and he says as much while pulling you up to your feet. you don’t seem upset - of course you weren’t, malcolm thought. you were still trying to ask if he was alright and malcolm had to eventually assure you he was, but he was also more worried about you. though, it wasn’t until you cupped his cheek and told him you were fine did he really believe you. still, in the days to follow, he couldn’t look at your black eye or hear your pained grunts without feeling guilty.

HOSHI - she didn’t even see the man coming. that was a flaw when she got so utterly sucked into her task - nothing else even existed. not even a large man with an energy weapon aimed right for her head and would have fired if you hadn’t intervened. the fight was long and brutal - hoshi heard the chaos of it from behind, but her focus needed to be on the task at hand. too much was riding on its success. it wasn’t until much later, when the crew was safe and the enterprise at warp, did hoshi come by sick bay. and of course, your spirits were high - talk of good teamwork and making you proud hit hoshi’s ears, but she just couldn’t match your energy. not when you were this battered and bruised from defending her. yeah, you talk of duty, saying that it was your job to make sure hoshi did her job. she didn’t feel much better, so you went a step further - telling hoshi that you loved her, and even without their duties to the ship, you would’ve defended her anyway. that did elicit a little smile, but when hoshi tried to give you a kiss, you were still a little too battered. you both compromised by holding hands until phlox had to run some more scans.

TRAVIS - when he came to, travis didn’t expect to be laying on a soft bed of grass, and not the hard metal floor of the shuttlepod. the sun shined right in his eyes, and when he squints against it, the motion pulls on a nasty lump on his brow - right, the one that knocked him out. and it takes only a few seconds of consciousness to sit straight up and search for you in a panic. the mental image he had of you being sucked out into space during the crash landing was thankfully laid to rest when he found you leaned up against a tree, looking more worse for wear than travis would have liked. when you saw him awake, you didn’t move to greet him. in fact, it seemed like just sitting there was causing you a lot of pain, despite working diligently to get the homing device back online. it wasn’t until travis stumbled his way over did he discover you’d broken your leg and probably a few ribs - a small price to pay, you told him, for successfully landing the shuttle (though, successful was a gracious word to use.) logically, he knew you were right. yet, it doesn’t make travis feel any better knowing he’d been in charge of getting the two of you to the surface, and you’d broken a leg when he failed to do so. he apologizes, you don’t understand what for. it just made him feel a little better.

[dominickeating-source]

What Satellite Issue 228 (2005)

BOLDLY GONE 

Star Trek: Enterprise is nearly over. Elise Harris talked to actors Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer about the end of an era.

After only four series Star Trek: Enterprise, the fifth of the Star Trek franchise series, is over. To slightly misquote the theme song, it hasn't been a long time getting from there to here. The last episode of all is controversial. There is a major character death and, metaphorically speaking, some appearances from the ghosts of Enterprise crews past (or yet to come). It may not be what you want to see. 

Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed) and Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker) think there was a lot of unexplored potential in the show. Dominic particularly feels there was more to see with his character. "I never got a love interest. I got a couple of fling-ets, that were treated as a joke - and I wouldn't have minded - but Trip Tucker got all the top tottie." 

Connor focuses more on the stories themselves. "I think there was an opportunity to see what they could have done with the introduction of these alien species. They always glossed over the first contact - we never investigated the first contact, which I thought we could have had a lot of mileage with." 

The much-derided theme tune and rather tight all-in-one uniforms were not a problem for either, though. Connor agrees the outfits were "like gas station jumpsuits" but feels they fitted the tone of the show, especially the dark sets. Dominic says: "The idea was it was a sort of retro feel and the whole bridge and the ship itself was Das Boot-ish, that sort of thing. I didn't mind the costumes. Though Monday morning was always a bit tricky because they'd wash them over the weekend." 

He says he really quite liked the theme and the sentiment behind it. "I loved the endeavour and the images that went with the credits, 'It's been a long time getting from here to there...this time I'm going to make it.' Alot of stalwart fans didn't want to hear the captain whimpering about that, though." 

Connor thinks the fans would have preferred a heraldic theme more in keeping with the other shows in the franchise. "Yeah," adds Dominic, "the Third Reich march. We will conquer the space." Altogether, 98 episodes of Star Trek:Enterprise were made - every other Star Trek series but the original made 100. Connor says that is enough to syndicate the series on US TV. "Ultimately, that was what they were looking for. There was no point to go five years - if you were going to go five years you were going to go seven. There's nothing for them - they were going to get their package." 

Dominic says: "I'm disappointed. I would have done three more series probably - I would certainly have done two. We signed for seven, so we're three short of what we signed for. I loved going to work, to be honest, I really did. Lovely camaraderie and great crew and just regular employment with a nice cheque at the end of every 10 days. Can't beat it with a short stick." 

He also feels the show was just beginning to find itself. "The other series that came before really found their stride round about where we found our stride and I think season one and season two are pretty good too - at least 75 per cent of it is." Dominic credits new executive producer Manny Coto with this turnaround. "He was very hungry and ambitious and talented. He was a huge Star Trek fan from his youth and knew all the lore of Star Trek; he righted some wrongs. They'd taken some liberties in the first two seasons with some of our time lines, which certainly ticked of some of the hard-core Trek fans. He tipped some of those around and made it look as though they were intentional. It was clever stuff, man." 

There are no immediate plans (if any) for an Enterprise film, but both actors think it's only a matter of time before there's another Star Trek project in the planning stages. Dominic says: "There is talk about a Star Fleet Academy movie, but I think they got burnt badly on Nemesis, all things considered." 

Connor says he is overwhelmed at how the media is reacting to the show's demise. He says: "They're treating it as though the franchise is over. My instincts don't tell me that. I think they're going to put it to rest for a while." 

Dominic adds: "It's the end of an era for the franchise, that's for sure. It's the end of producer Rick Berman's stint. Then another man will put his paw print on another version four years from now. Try his luck - "Starfleet Academy 90210 In Space" - something like that." 

Source: www.dominickeating.com

[silverity]

Why do you call yourself a "marxist feminist?" your analysis is closer to mainstream reactionary narratives and radical feminism in general - why the obfuscation and lies?

i became a communist, specifically a marxist leninist, at about 15. i educated myself on Marx, Lenin, Engels, Mao, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, Castro, Che Guevara, Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara, Kim Il Sung — id say most of the fundamentals necessary to developing a communist understanding.

from my own Black upbringing i already knew Malcolm X, but i read further about the civil rights movement's Black leaders and revolutionaries, such as the Black Panther Party, Black Liberation Army, Fred Hampton, Huey P Newton, Kwame Ture, George Jackson. read Black scholars like James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, bell hooks, Du Bois, Fanon. also read Parenti, Said and Freire. i made sure as a Black woman to learn from Black women and marxist women, so i both read about and read the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Claudia Jones, Assata Shakur, Kathleen Cleaver, Nawal El Saadawi and Angela Davis.

so i was a marxist leninist in marxist circles for a very long time, and for all that time i was very pro-trans. now, there's been a rising tide of misogyny in the mainstream for the last couple of years, and i noticed men of all races in marxist circles were either failing to address it or addressed it only with reactionary, backwards analyses. many started voicing outright misogyny themselves under the guise of criticizing "bourgeois white women". it seemed they'd only read the works of marxist men and hadn't paid any attention to the women as i had. even other marxist leninist women, though their analysis was solid, were not focusing on women's issues directly. there's this tendency among marxists to treat feminism as some inborn component of marxism though they're not doing any direct study nor work on it at all. they think a class revolution will resolve everything when that's not entirely true. we will have to restructure society around gender/sex, race and many other inequalities, not just class.

so i turned to feminism. i went back to the aforementioned marxist women, who cover topics such as anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism, prison abolition, Black nationalism and so on, but for the first time focused exclusively on the situation of women. this time i read marxist women for their marxist feminism, incorporating also Evelyn Reed, Silvia Federici, Ellen Willis, Clara Zetkin, Sharon Smith. as you may have noticed from the name, marxist feminism is sourced from feminism (yes, radical feminism) as much as it is marxism. many of these marxist feminist women drew from radical feminist women, both to further their own marxfem theory as well as to contrast it.

& i wanted to read what they were referencing for myself, so i began to read radfem works for the first time. i was surprised that what marxists had always dismissed as "white bourgeois feminism" was actually incredibly intersectional and insightful. and that even the white radical feminist authors were accounting for race and class, with many directly interrogating marxist theory and building upon Engels' analysis in Origin of the Family. i now firmly believe that to wholly understand the oppression of women you must understand our position under the intersection of both capitalism and patriarchy.

so!!!! i arrived at marxist feminism but with heavy influences of radical feminism. i would say my politics are a combination of the two (which some would call socialist feminism) but i prefer to keep the marxfem label owing to my marxist leninist origins (socialist is too broad a term), and also because my approach is still generally that of a more marxist leninist structural analysis, first and foremost [edit: this was true but i now prefer socfem]. where marxist feminism provides a materialist, anti-capitalist analysis of the exploitation of women, radical feminism scrutinises the interpersonal relations between the sexes under patriarchy and its gender hierarchy. radical feminism also covers a lot more ground pertaining to women: women's history, feminist anthropology, women in media, science, psychology & so on. im particularly interested in radfem deconstructions of Judeo-Christian theology as of late.

thus it was with this new radical feminist understanding of women's oppression, and the analysis of other radfems of the trans rights movement, that i realised The Terfs Were Right All Along: gender identity ideology is regression masquerading as progression and will never liberate women from our degraded position so long as the female body continues to be exploited and abused. our oppression under both capitalism and patriarchy is the oppression, exploitation, and regulation of our female biology. after all, it's only women who are able to produce workers for the capitalists and the state, and children for the men and the society. this is the origin of women's oppression that began thousands of years ago. the oppression of women today is the systemic exploitation of the human female.

i went back and recalibrated my marxism as well and in doing so realised dialectical materialism doesn't lend itself to gender identity theory whatsoever (something a lot of other marxists have realised too). a liberation movement has to address the situation of women, it has to address our material reality. it cannot work off of idealism. i find mao really great on dialectical materialism, so let's look at his writings. according to Mao, "Idealism considers spirit (consciousness, concepts, the subject) as the source of all that exists on earth, and matter (nature and society, the object) as secondary and subordinate" whereas "Materialism recognizes the independent existence of matter as detached from spirit and considers spirit as secondary and subordinate.... [Idealists] cannot point out the materialist truth according to which consciousness is limited by matter, but believe that only consciousness is active, whereas matter is only an inert composite entity."

marxism is alternately termed "scientific socialism" for a reason. we are not idealists like the utopian socialists. we do not deal in idealism, we analyse reality through the scientific method of dialectical materialism. as Mao writes "Materialist dialectics is the only scientific epistemology, and it is also the only scientific logic. Materialist dialectics studies the origin and development of our knowledge of the outside world. It studies the transition from not knowing to knowing and from incomplete knowledge to more complete knowledge; it studies how the laws of the development of nature and society are daily reflected more profoundly and more extensively in the mind of humanity."

to "[belong] to the materialist camp" in Mao's words, we must "[recognize] the independent existence of the material world, separate from human consciousness — the fact that it existed before the appearance of humanity, and continues to exist since the appearance of humanity, independently and outside of human consciousness. To recognize this point is a fundamental premise of all scientific research.... what we call consciousness is nothing else but a form of the movement of matter, a particular characteristic of the material brain of humanity; it is that particular characteristic of the material brain which causes the material processes outside consciousness to be reflected in consciousness."

in essence, the internal is a product of the external. not the reverse. this does not support the supremacy of "gender identity" over sex, nor does it support the extreme position assumed by some in the trans movement, of the subjectivity or non-existence of sex altogether. we have to transform society in order to transform ourselves, which in this context would mean the abolition of gender throughout the whole of society— not the promotion of individualist self-identification with ascientific microlabels. gender identities do not liberate anyone from the confines of gender—they further lock you in, making you an ardent defender of the tool of your own repression. evidently, supporting gender identity ideology would not only be the betrayal of the proletarian woman and the fight for her liberation, and the liberation of everyone repressed by this system, it would be the betrayal and the distortion of marxism itself. a vulgar materialism.

if you want a more thorough breakdown of my ascent to terfdom or anything more about marxism leninism that'll probably have to be another post. let me know! i'll leave you with this from Mao on dialectical materialism: "The world is nothing else but the material world in a process of unlimited development.... If the proletariat and all revolutionaries take up this consistently scientific arm, they will then be able to understand this world, and transform the world."

[trip-tuckers-hyperspanner]

The Time Archer Got Suspicious - 1

5 Times T'Pol Kept a Secret and 1 Time She Didn't

Archer stood by on the bridge and watched his tactical officer, his science officer, and his linguistics officer stare at each other and attempt to make some silent conversation. He had his suspicions about Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato, but that was because every time they disappeared down a corridor together, they were loud and giggled a lot. They could have just been friends, but if the rumors on a ship this small were true, there was no way it stopped at that. T’Pol, on the other hand, had no conceivable reason to be involved in the mischief between them.

Malcolm raised his eyebrows in response to something Hoshi had mouthed. He made some sign language which she nodded along to. T’Pol looked back and forth between them before quietly muttering something in Vulcan as if it were to herself rather than for Hoshi. 

But Jon knew better. He had been captaining these kids for eons, now, and he knew each one’s body language a little too well. Malcolm was usually a stick in the mud; T’Pol usually kept her eyes on a screen; Hoshi would be in la-la land when she had a spare moment. The three of them talking like that? It had to mean something. There was no way it didn’t. He couldn’t get after them, anyway, since they all had about twenty more minutes before their off-hours. He just leaned against the rafters and watched the odd sight. 

Hoshi laughed out loud. “T’Pol!” she scolded with a hiss. Jon was surprised he even heard it. He lifted himself off the rafter and moved in closer to hear the rest of the conversation. Hoshi continued: “What if Trip heard you say that?”

“He knows perfectly well what I think on the subject,” the Vulcan replied. She peered behind her and saw Archer before going back to Hoshi. “Pecan pie is not a delicacy I wish to consume. I see no point in nutritionless food at all. The captain, the commander, and I have had this conversation numerous times before.”

Hoshi beamed when she saw Archer. “Hi, Captain,” she greeted. “I’ve turned in my report already, so all that’s left is to stay alert for emergencies.”

“I figured,” he said, smiling a little. “What are you guys talking about, exactly?”

“What kind of cake we’d have at our weddings,” Sato responded. “T’Pol doesn’t like the idea of cake.”

“Vulcans have cake at weddings?” Archer asked. 

“We do not. Hoshi was simply informing me about your matrimonial customs,” T’Pol explained. She was hyper-focused on her console again. “Commander Tucker and Hoshi happen to agree on the same type of cake for their wedding days.”

“Oh? What kind?”

“Strawberry,” Reed mused from the other side of the bridge. Archer turned his head. “It’ll be interesting to taste, but I suppose I can’t exactly complain. It won’t be my decision.”

Hoshi rolled her eyes and chuckled. “You’ve never had it? In your thirty-five years of life, you’ve never once had strawberry cake? How have both Trip and I had it but you haven’t?” 

“I just haven’t; it’s not exactly easy to convince your English family that anything that isn’t boiled and salted is good.” He laughed, shaking his head. “What do you think, Captain? Have you ever had it?”

“I’d have to agree with T’Pol on this one,” he said, “I’m not much of a cake person. What’s all this talk about weddings, anyway? Is there one I should worry about in the lower ranks?”

“There are no weddings among the crewmen that I recall,” T’Pol said, finishing her tapping. She looked up and turned to Archer. “Everything is in order; we should have a smooth voyage until the morning.”

“That’s great. Thanks.” He chewed his cheek. “Wait, how do you know what kind of cake Trip wants for his wedding day? Who’d he tell? When did Trip start planning for his wedding?” He knew the guy for eleven years already — there was no way he was the type of man to be invested in his dream wedding without being serious with someone. The only time he had even mentioned thinking about weddings was at someone’s wedding. 

T’Pol was fast with an answer: “For a human male, he is quite the romantic. Currently, weddings are on his mind. He’s spoken about them often enough.”

Archer smirked. “Do you think he’s met a girl?”

“I wouldn’t put it quite like that,” Reed said, sticking his tongue out as he worked at his own console. “More like he’s got a big, fat crush on someone he already knew before all this wedding talk.”

“Well, I knew that,” Jon said, batting the words away. Malcolm was always a tease. “On a ship this small? Everyone’s met each other already. Who do you think it is? My money is on Lieutenant Briggs.”

“Gossiping about Commander Tucker’s love life while he is not present to deliver the facts is not wise,” T’Pol reminded the captain gently. Sometimes Jon forgot the two of them were friends, now; they always fought around him but never stopped talking off-duty. “As you said, the ship is quite small. Rumors tend to inflate faster than average.”

“So you don’t think he likes Lieutenant Briggs?” Archer asked, chuckling. “Everyone’s seen him flirt with her.”

“I simply do not see the likelihood of a relationship between Commander Tucker and the lieutenant occurring,” she stated, clasping her hands behind her. Hoshi and Malcolm looked ready to howl with laughter.

Jon wished he knew why. 

“You’re awfully defensive. Okay, so it’s not Briggs,” Archer hummed. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Does the girl not like him back or what?”

“She cares for him quite deeply. I believe they are well-suited, Captain. I simply do not think it would be fair to Commander Tucker to judge his romantic life without him present.” 

“Don’t worry, Sub-Commander,” Hoshi chirped. “I think he’s in good hands.” She turned in her chair, and then added in a rush, “Whoever she is. Since I don’t know, of course.”

The captain lifted an eyebrow. “Right.” He turned back to T’Pol. “How would your wedding go? I’ve never been to a Vulcan ceremony.”

T’Pol looked around the bridge. Everyone but the helmsman (Crewman Quincy) had gone to bed, and he usually kept to himself. Satisfied, she said, “I intend on having a human wedding when the time comes. My mate will ultimately be human and it is only fitting I honor his traditions.”

“Your mate will be human?” he repeated, a little surprised. “I didn’t expect that from you. I thought Vulcans were betrothed at an early age.”

“We are, but I found a more logical lifepath. Do not feel bad you didn’t see my choice coming — neither did Commander Tucker.”

The lift to the bridge opened as soon as she said it. Speak of the devil! It was Trip. “Sorry I’m late with my report, Captain, I got caught up dealing with an ensign about what not to stick into the polarity amplifiers. I think there were some tears afterwards but in my defense, it would have been pretty bad if I didn’t —” 

Trip stopped when he noticed Malcolm, T’Pol, Archer, and Hoshi staring at him. 

“What? Is there something on my uniform?”

“These guys were just telling me about how you’re planning your wedding,” Archer teased. “With the strawberry cake.”

Trip immediately looked at T’Pol. He seemed confused. He pointed at her, then Captain Archer, and then Hoshi. Malcolm got a dirty stare. “Who outed me about the strawberry cake?”

“I did,” T’Pol said. “The captain inquired about our culinary preferences.”

“Okay.” Tucker sighed, then seemingly softened. “I s’pose I should expect that more often, right?”

“T’Pol doesn’t even think your wedding planning is that weird,” Archer continued. “Who’s the bride?” Trip could be secretive, sure, but he wouldn’t hide this information for long. If there was someone he wanted to settle down with, everyone would know eventually. He knew his buddy couldn’t resist showing off his girl.

“Who is she? Oh, she’s someone special,” he smirked. “And it’s just daydreamin’, so cool your jets. When I’m ready to get married, you’ll know; don’t worry.”

“You aren’t even going to ask who Hoshi’s groom is?” asked Reed with a short giggle. He stood up from his console and moved over to the group. He folded his arms and looked pretty smug. “What about the poor bloke who’ll be forced to suffer through her strawberry cake?”

Jon looked between Trip and Hoshi. Both were talking about weddings… both acting funny… both being secretive about it all. And Malcolm and T’Pol were involved in it! He had a mind to ask if the girl Trip was interested in was —!

He stopped. “T’Pol, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?”

She gave a low nod and followed him into his ready room. “Of course, Captain.” 

“What’s goin’ on?” Trip asked, frowning.

“Just a second, Trip,” Archer said, walking into his ready room with T’Pol on his tail. When the door was closed and they were far enough inside the walls, he turned to his first officer and set his hands on his hips. He stared her down.

“Is something wrong, Captain?” she asked. She kept her eyes on him steadily. 

“You’re the only logical one, comparatively, so just answer me this: are Hoshi and Trip involved?” he asked. “I don’t care if they are; they don’t work directly with each other often. I just don’t want any secrets when it comes down to a life or death situation.”

T’Pol tilted her head. “Captain, Ensign Sato and Commander Tucker are not involved with each other. The Commander’s fiancée is someone entirely different.”

Archer’s jaw dropped. “Fiancée?” he asked, completely shocked. “He is getting married?”

“Indeed. He has only been betrothed for a short while — four weeks. There hasn’t been an appropriate time to say anything.”

“How come he’s told you but not me?” 

Jon felt pretty deflated. It was like one of his best friends had just forsaken him. How could he do that? Whatever happened to their friendship? Did he ruin it?

“I was there when his betrothed asked him to marry her,” she replied gently. “I advised him to wait until you’re less busy; you were one of the first people he wanted to tell.”

“And he didn’t tell me because I’m the captain,” he surmised. He felt anger building up. “He didn’t want to get in trouble.”

“On the contrary: you’re a busy man, Captain. Your plate is quite full already, and waiting would only serve you well. If you’re offended, do not be angry at Trip — I was the one who told him not to say anything.” T’Pol used Trip. She was defending him. She really must have been behind this!

Archer relaxed immediately, starting to pace his ready room. “You’re covering for him? So he probably really wanted to say something.” 

“He did. He was fretful for several days.” She unclasped her hands. “Ensign Sato and Lieutenant Reed are certain to become engaged, but I’m not certain whether or not their betrothal will be sooner or later. They have not been hiding their relationship, so I feel comfortable informing you.”

Archer whipped around. “Malcolm?” he asked, voice high. “She’s seeing Malcolm?”

“If you believe they are unfit, I assure you, they are quite a good match.”

“Then who’s Trip’s fiancée?”

“That is not my place to say. All I can tell you is that she is not under his direct command.”

“But you two are so close!” he protested, now smiling. “You guys do everything together. There’s no way you don’t know, not to mention you just said you were there when she popped the question.” He had to laugh. He had always imagined Trip being the one to ask! It was kind of nice to hear it was the other way around.

“If you are worried I may take your place as ‘best man,’ you are quite incorrect.” She almost seemed amused. “I was informed you are the only person who takes that role.”

“But he’ll tell me? Soon?”

“As soon as he is ready, I believe.”

Archer smirked. “Then I approve. It’s not orthodox, but I approve.”

[spacestation-l7]

“Star Trek: Earth Spacedock”: A Parody Anthology

I’m currently working on a comic for my college class and I’ve never posted my Star Trek OCs here so I thought it’s time to post my Earth Spacedock crew! Here’s the cover and first page! :)

The characters on the cover are (left to right):

James Mackenzie Reed (36/M), The Armoury Officer and Chief Security Officer. Direct descendant of legendary Armoury Officer Malcolm Reed, hot-headed and cynical but a loyal soldier with a strict moral code and an affinity for weapons

Achara Paithoon (37/F), Operations Manager and Second Officer. Hailing from an island in Thailand, inexperienced in command and has mad anxiety but is cunning and resourceful enough to make it as an Head of Ops

T’Oriell Oliver Calcraft (36/M), Chief Medical Officer. The caitian raised in the bush of Australia, naive and a “larrikin” but also one of the most competent doctor in this side of the quadrant with a heart of gold

Orion Finch (35/NB), Chief Science Officer. Spacedock’s exobiology and cybernetics prodigy, has trouble focusing and keeping tracks on things but they’re still one of the most intelligent crewmember

[planet-hannah]

Escape from mundane and averageness

Punk Rock and it’s origin story

Punk Rock was and is a response to the establishment. Punk rock affected music, fashion, and self-expression. Being offensive was the punk rockers main objective. This subculture was born in the U.K. Soon, people saw a rise in the U.S. Shocking the system and culture with makeup, clothing, beliefs, and music. Punk Rock was anti-Summer of Love. The psychedelic side of the 70s did not present well to these kids who were handed a chaotic world.

Britain was not in a good place at the start of Punk Rock. The fact that it was a scary, unsafe place fueled the subculture's inspiration. Social unrest because of strikes. Strikes affected everything such as garbage being left on the streets—inflation but also high unemployment. Overall living in Britain was gloomy, scary, and not harmonious. There were also power outs which would last for days. The youth was fed up and wanted to express that. 3-day workdays during a time like this were very hard to live with. Your boss didn't have enough to pay you so hours are cut and it's already a recession, I would freak out too.

Punk began on Kings Road around shops like “Sex”. Kings Road is where the Punk kids would congregate. This reminds me of fashion kids today who flock to Washington Square Park in search of the next micro trend. “It brought all these kids from all over the place– mainly the suburbs.”, Jordon Arena: Punk& the Pistols’(1995)

Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren opened Seditionaries Shops. McLaren launched the music side of punk: “Sex Pistols” and Westwood focused on “Sex”. The Sex Pistols would wear clothing from the boutique. The boutique sold leather and rubber fetish goods. The Buzzcocks, Siouxsie, the Banshees, and the Sex Pistols were at the forefront of showcasing Punk Rock music and fashion. Their fans would try to emulate them with the band's emulating trends from the street and other inspirations.

Punk in New York was established by bands like Lou Reed, the Ramones, Suicide, and the New York Dolls. Rock and Roll was being oversaturated and these artists wanted to redefine the scene. “They’d go to the thrift shops, where you could find vintage clothes”. Paul Zone. The DIY aspect was also in New York City. The Ramones created a uniform by shredding Levi's and wearing leather jackets. They didn't have money so the holes in their clothing were from wear and tear. At the time it was shameful to walk around with holes in your clothing but the Ramones didn’t care. Their attitude helped shape the subculture.

Malcolm McLaren managed the New York Dolls. He went back to the shop “Sex” and collaborated with his partner Vivienne Westwood to create a look for the Band the Sex Pistols. He put a British spin on the look and used the band to promote it.

“Part of it is to be threatening to look; part of it is to be confrontational”, Siouxsie Sioux in Arena: Punk& the Pistols (1995) To dress Punk meant you had to listen to punk rock. Many different aspects went into achieving the look. First is the DIY aspect. Anything could be made or redone with a pair of scissors. Distressing t-shirts, jeans, and jackets but basically anything is the first step. Almost personalizing your outfit with stenciled-on words or safety pins can add to the look. Studs, chains, and other metal hardware add to the punk rock look. The Punk could dress androgynous or gender-specific but some would argue that “shocking” is the key to the style. Tights that are ripped or fishnet are acceptable. Tartan and other plaids were used in different ways. Punk’s silhouette got narrower and sexier. Sex is a huge topic during the Punk Rock era because it was taboo. Taboo topics were not off limits during this era as you can clearly see through Vivienne Westwood’s seemingly Sex shop.

Make-up was exaggerated and bold. Bold eyeliner that was drawn over your whole eye and dark lines on your face was a must. Geometric shapes drawn on with eyeliner and then filled with eyeshadow were also very popular. Lips were like vampires' lips to accentuate the face. Dark reds and sometimes black were popular colors to use.

Body Piercings were commonly done on the earlobes. Studs and safety pins were pierced through the eyebrows, cheeks, noses, and lips. This was quite shocking at the time. Body piercings were intended to offend the masses. Men also participated in piercing their bodies. Punk was and remains unisex.

Bondage in the early punk movement inspired black leather, studs, chains, and rubber that you saw throughout the era. Vivienne Westwood’s shop “Sex” was the spot to get inspired and see the beginning of it. Straight Jackets were also huge during the beginning. It played fun at the public perceptions of Punks.

Hair was also a big tell-tell to see if you were a true punk rocker. The most famous hair look is Punk Spikes. These are still worn today. The Punk would take a gel or PVA glue and slick their hair into spikes or a mohawk. Mohawk is a Mohican Indian reference that the kids gained inspiration from also. They would also dye their hair unconventional colors like blue, or red with food coloring. Some would dye it black or bleach blonde but the girls seemed to have boy cuts to fit into the androgynous style. Kids would also shave the sides of their heads to have a colorful mohawk. Hair played into this style a lot. Identity was something to be played with while being a Punk.

“Subversion lies in unpopular ideas” ‘Arena: Punk& the Pistols’(1995) Vivienne Westwood is a visionary. She was the first to do many things that were frowned upon and criticized mercilessly. She is the mother of Punk Rock. Her work influenced fashion for the better. At the beginning of her career, she helped integrate Punk Rock fashion into the mainstream and popularized it. Her way of distressing shirts and adding studs caught on with the kids and gave them somewhere to shop and draw inspiration from.

Vivienne Westwood had a muse named Jordon during the punk rock era. Jordon had an androgynous look that was popular during the late 70s and throughout the 80s. She traveled each day an hour from the city to hang out and be seen. I have a friend who does this but she’s an influencer which Jordon was technically speaking in modern terms. The girls wanted to look like her and Vivienne Westwood wanted to see her clothes and style. “In the end, it has an effect because it was original.” ‘Arena: Punk& the Pistols’(1995) Vivienne Westwood turned her store into Seditionaries. Then into her own brand. She continues to use aspects of Punk rock in her collections because she has to show appreciation for her past and beginning. Also when you think punk rock in terms of fashion you think of Vivienne Westwood.

Punk Rock ended and a new subculture developed from that one. The romanticism that Vivienne Westwood helps emulate with her pirate-themed wear and makeup. The subculture was not big enough to overtake disco in the U.S. and the U.K. was no longer going through social unrest. The energy was moved to the next thing.

Brands continue to use aspects of Punk Rock in their collections such as Alexander McQueen, R13, Doc Martens, and Underground. Alexander McQueen SS98 to the present day has been incorporating punk rock fashion in his shows. The brand continues to use aspects like studs in its clothing and accessories. In their Pre SS21 collection Creative Director Sarah Burton uses a 1950s style pin heel and puts silver spiked studs on the toe. The shoe is made “modern” with the studs while still having that vintage aspect.

Works citied

https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/1662

https://www.theglassmagazine.com/alexander-mcqueen-presents-the-punk-pumps/#:~:text=FROM%20the%20SS98%20collection%20to,to%20keep%20the%20spirit%20alive

https://pitchfork.com/features/from-our-partners/9943-rip-it-to-shreds-a-history-of-punk-and-style/

https://fashion-era.com/1970s/punk-fashion-history/

https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/a-brief-history-of-punk-fashion-79145

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vivienne-Westwood

https://www.90sfashion.com/punk-clothing-brands/

[stargazer-sims]

This is going to be a list...

Oscar and Robin from @rebouks - Okay, so I love all the characters from this story, if I'm being honest. They're entirely real and believable, and it's easy to become immersed in the world of the story because of the personalities in it. I love Oscar because he's not perfect but because he really tries, and I love the relationship between him and Robin.

Logan (and Emily the chicken) from @cawthorntales - I really liked the concept of this story. I like Logan as a character because he could still find love (and some sort of redemption) despite being turned evil and despite the influence of Emily.

Jonah, Cecil, Eli, Jolene, Ethan, Jayden & Evan from @dandylion240 - Again, I love ALL the characters from these stories. I could've just listed everybody. Jolene is my current favourite because of how she's growing as a character. For me, she started out as one of those "characters we love to hate" but is now showing her depth and three-dimensionality through her self-discovery and growth. I also love Cecil for being the voice of reason (and I mean... I also have a soft spot for the blind characters, always). I like Eli because he seems to be a genuinely good person, and for how loyal/faithful he is. Yeah... just go read the story. You'll see what I mean.

Grant from @holocene-sims - Yet another person who has multiple characters I love. I picked Grant because he's the protagonist, but every character in this story is absolutely fantastic. Grant is such a well-developed character and absolutely relatable as a human being. His development and personal growth, and his very real struggles make me care about him and cheer him on from the sidelines. Anyone who can create a character who gets me so invested wins at writing, in my opinion. Go read this story. It's 100% worth it.

Layla & Malcolm (and Byron) from @changingplumbob - This is such a cute story with the right amount of drama thrown in. I like Mal because of how faithful he is to Layla and how focused he is on making a life for himself and his little family, despite the machinations and schemes of his parents. I like Layla because her struggles are real and believable. I also love Reece and Samir (different story, same author). They are a lot of fun! Go check it out.

John from @enniewritesathing - I love Brian too, but John is my particular favourite here because of the interesting relationship between him and the werewolf. I love the depth and complexity of this character, and the creative presentation. This is another story everyone should definitely check out.

Reed and Hex from @justkeeponsimming - I've been following this story for ages, and I've loved all the characters, honestly, but Reed was the one who really captured my attention. Now I'm following the adventures of Hex, and she is so complicated. I don't want to give away spoilers for this absolute romp of a story, but I'm really enjoying watching Hex evolve (and try to juggle her double life). Yet another story recommendation from me.

There are LOADS of other characters that I love! I could be here all day if I were to list them all, but here are a few more:

Edith & Min-Joon from @rebelangelsims

everyone from @enkisstories (just go look at it)

everyone from @nitrozem (also just go look at it)

Shawn & Hallie from @lindyloosims

Also check out @lynzishell @honeyjars-sims @deardiaryts4 @shmoodlet @weirdosalike

@sirianasims @citylighten @hannahssimblr for more amazing OCs and stories.

📩 Simblr question of the day: Who are some of your favourite sims/OCs from other creators?

answer in whatever way is most comfortable for you and feel free to share this SQOTD around, make sure to use the hashtag SQOTD and tag me in separate posts ~ 💛

This question was contributed by an anon ~ Thank you for submitting multiple questions ~ (this is question 10 of 12 from this specific anon)

[deadheaddaisy]

Dealer's choice!

Cute/funny - "Do you know that your eyes actually have three different colours?" "You're very close."

Sweet/romantic - because physical touch is the other's love language and they deserve all the love

Go as the muse moves you! 🥰

Since you answered my ask so swiftly, and I managed to get this one out in an hour - a possible record for me! - here goes!

Hoshi leaned back and avoided the foot that was heading for her face, missing it by millimetres. “Too slow,” she teased, whirling in a standing cartwheel to swing her own foot at Malcolm as they let the capoeira direct their limbs in a freestyle series of kicks and punches. 

“I wouldn’t like to make contact with your face anyway,” was his rejoinder, “bare-foot or not. It’d hurt, and we don’t want that.”

“Yep, and smelly feet aren’t my thing,” she riposted, a sly smile on her face as she turned and jumped, kicking out from a standing position.

“Smelly feet?” Malcolm stopped for a moment, outraged - long enough for her to hook a foot around his ankle and pull, sending him tumbling to the mat. 

Even as he went down, she was moving, pushing her shoulder against his leg, bringing it up while she threw her weight laterally across his torso and lifted, pinning his shoulders in a cradle move. Although he tried to kick out, she managed to hold him down for three seconds before releasing him, turning swiftly to lay her entire body the length of his and grab his wrists, pinning them beside his head. 

“Got you down fair and square that time!” she panted, her grin of victory blazing bright. 

Malcolm grinned back up at her. “Square, yes. Fair?” he winked, managing to raise a sceptical eyebrow at the same time. 

“Hey, not my fault if you were distracted by me insulting your feet!”

He laughed. “I’m not sure another opponent would take you seriously if you said their feet smelled,” he teased, content to let her pin him for the moment. 

Laughing in return, she lowered her head and bumped his nose with hers. “I’ll be sneakier against other opponents,” she chuckled. “Besides, I haven’t gone up against anyone else I want to get down to the mat and hold there.”

“Is that so, Ensign Sato?”

“It is indeed, Lieutenant Reed. And as I recall, you promised to let me kick your - ‘arse’, was it? - at least once a session. So I’m taking advantage of that.” Hoshi winked, satisfaction in her gaze. 

He smiled and tugged gently at his wrists, with no real intention of getting free. It was fun when Hoshi insisted on pinning him so she could feel in control despite his superior strength. He’d never let anyone else use this hold on him.

Then she focused on his eyes, leaning over his and moving her legs to straddle him so she could get closer. “Did you know,” she said conversationally, staring at his irises from millimetres away, “that your eyes actually have three colours? A greenish-grey, some pale gold, and a little amber around the pupil. Oh, and a tiny speck of - hmm, maybe blue? - in your left eye.” 

Malcolm chuckled. “I did know,” he told her. “But you have to be very close to see it. Otherwise they just look grey. Or sometimes green, depending on the light.”

“Well then,” she smirked, “It’ll be our little secret. Unless Phlox gets up close and personal with your eyes, I guess.” Her eyes twinkled at him, and suddenly he twisted his wrists out of her grasp, surged upward and rolled so she was the one pinned. 

“Hmm, let’s see,” he murmured, straddling her and getting up close to her eyes in turn. “Shades of brown, ranging from dark chocolate to black coffee and a bit of amber. Nice.” He booped her nose gently with his own. “Also some shades of irritation, I see,” he teased. “Can’t help it if I want to be on top, Ensign. It’s a command imperative.”

“God, stop it, you’re so full of nonsense!” she exclaimed, trying to buck him off, but failing. Trying to look annoyed, she started giggling as he booped her nose again, then released her and rolled off, jumping to his feet and holding out a hand to help her up. 

“Let’s take this nonsense back to my quarters, then, shall we? I think the time is ripe for some massages and extra cuddles, minx.”

Taking his hand, she jumped to her feet in turn, and bumped his hip with hers. “You’ve got it, hero. Let’s go.”

[warpfive]

can I request malcolm reed with a medical officer S/O? ☄️

malcolm reed x doctor!reader

CW: gn!reader

malcolm doesn’t like going to sick bay. it’s nothing against you or phlox - their resident denobulan is strange but friendly and you…well, you’re you. malcolm would be hard-pressed to find an excuse not to see you if it weren’t for your occupation. he just doesn’t being poked and prodded and examined unless his life depends on it - and even then, he wants it to be over quickly.

in the beginning, malcolm had this fantasy that because he was dating you, he’d be somehow exempt from showing up for regular crew physicals. or at the very least, maybe he can get his physical from you…in private…in his quarters…

that’s not how it goes. malcolm is ordered into sickbay and you welcome him with a soft smile but direct him on the bed. he tries to give you a look, hoping you could maybe let him off the hook with a quick physical just so he could say he technically did it. but the only favor malcolm is given is a sweet laugh, and brush of his hand, and a scanner in his face.

before, in a crunch, malcolm would be able to work through an injury. if he focuses hard enough, he can usually ignore the pain until his work is done. that doesn’t really happen when he starts dating you. unless sick bay is swamped, you always seem to find malcolm right when he gets a scrape, or in the most serious instance, when he banged his head and was seeing double. (he didn’t seem too upset that there were two of you.)

on the other end of the spectrum, when malcolm gets sick, he only wants you to take care of him. again, nothing against phlox, but he prefers the way you press your cool hand against his burning forehead to phlox’s pet leech. he becomes a big baby when he’s sick, and while he puts up a front for the crew, he absolutely falls into bed and wants you to nurse him.

when he’s in a teasing mood, expect him to call you “doctor” in a flirty tone. of course, this is malcolm, so you really have to know him and get him to pick up on his flirting. he would teasingly call you “doctor” in front of other people and they would simply assume he was calling you by your title - but no, you picked up on the special way he says the syllables. 

but when you two are alone, malcolm is absolutely embarrassing. calling you things like “doctor delightful” and insists he needs a full body check-up. you tell him to talk to phlox about it and he argues that it needs to be done as soon as possible. besides, he trusts you more than most people - though, once you tell him he really should go to sick bay for this problem or that, he quickly changes the subject. 

malcolm is a great listener, so there’s been many occasions where he ends up sitting and listening as you ramble on about some problem you’re having in sick bay. he doesn’t really understand the medical talk (he was never very good at biology) but he does try his best to help. though, more often than not, malcolm helps you by just letting you ramble.

you’re a doctor. you’re not supposed to be biased for or against any one of your patients. so when the enterprise is attacked/disabled/etc and a lot of the crew start flooding in, malcolm is the one who sets you straight and reminds you that you can’t just treat him first and ignore those who need it most. he’s very good at being objective, though knowing you want to help him first will always affirm that you love him.

[papercranesong]

Shuttlepod One

You had me at ‘hello’:

Malcolm had me at “I’ve got a copy of Ulysses here.” Love that he brought a book with him. Love that he brought this book with him. Love that he reads James Joyce. He is such a romantic soul - romantic in the chivalrous sense of the word, with noble deeds and high ideals of honour, heroics and loyalty.

🖖

Trip says that Malcolm has “a real good memory”. Malcolm does seem to be able to recall a lot of random facts and figures. Stuff Malcolm knows in this episode:

- Enterprise’s lifeboats only go three hundred kph.

- The portable distress beacon has a range of ten million kilometers, maybe twenty.

- Storage bin 3 contains valve sealant

Then he starts drinking and forgets things like weapons / sensor ranges and has to rely on Trip for the answers.

🖖

When they pick out their meals, Malcolm reels off some options and Trip asks for meatloaf. Then later Trip says “And you came close to criticising my choice of cuisine.” Love how Trip already knew Malcolm well enough to tell that Malcolm didn’t approve of meatloaf. All Malcolm really did to show his disapprobation was to hesitate.

🖖

Malcolm goes for the sea bass, which proves that the so-called best mate in Silent Enemy didn’t know Malcolm very well either, with his “I think he hates fish” comment to Hoshi.

🖖

When Malcolm says something is lovely, he means the opposite. e.g. in Singularity Hoshi asks him how his oden was, and he says “it was lovely”, even though he hasn’t touched it, and then confesses it was a bit salty.

In this episode Trip asks him how the sea bass is, and Malcolm says “it’s lovely”, in the tone of “we’re eating rations out of a packet that took one second to heat up, how do you think it tastes?” and Trip just sort of shakes his head at him. (Later on we get a glimpse of the leftovers and see that Malcolm just ate the green beans and didn’t touch the fish)

I think everyone on Enterprise would be better off if they had this handy guide to what British people say versus what they mean:

Also got another one to add - “a bit” means a LOT. As in, “completely and totally off the scale.”

🖖

Conversations alluded to that I wish we could have seen:

- “Captain Archer claims you told him you weren't even aware that I was serving on Enterprise.”

When did Archer talk to Malcolm about this - maybe on his birthday? Wonder what Malcolm’s reaction was - and to finding out Hoshi had contacted half his family tree to find out about his favourite food.

- Also the scene where Travis plays a trick on Hoshi by getting her to try and make contact with some jelly in sickbay, but that’s a different episode.

🖖

Sounds like Malcolm does have a tight-knit family, even if he never got close to them. He talks about writing to his Auntie Sherry, unkindly dubbed “a spinster aunt” by Hoshi, which conjures up images of an elderly lady - so that’s nice that Malcolm wrote her some letters. He’s a good lad.

🖖

Why were his parents in Malaysia? Whhhhhhyyyyyy?

🖖

Fill in the blanks before Trip interrupts:

“I would hate to go to my death thinking that either of you felt I was trying to avoid - “

Avoid what?? Trip, why did you have to interrupt that letter? Why couldn’t you have interrupted the slightly moronic letters to Deborah or Caitlin?

🖖

Malcolm says they only have 9 days of air left and that it would be a waste to use them up sleeping - is he really not planning to sleep for 9 days?

🖖

Think Malcolm should have just typed his letters instead of recording them out loud. #everybody wins

🖖

I love Trip, but when he gets mad and shouty, he gets this real mean look on his face (like in the expanse episode when they’re talking about a memorial for Lizzie) and Malcolm goes quiet and shuts down both times. Wonder if that’s how Malcolm coped when his dad shouted at him.

🖖

Love how Malcolm’s dream version of Archer has Archer totally invading his personal space, practically kneeling on him, leaning towards him, patting his shoulder.

🖖

“I never much cared for the name Malcolm.”

Hmm what name would Malcolm have rather been called instead? I could see him as a ‘Luke’.

🖖

Would love to think that T’Pol mentioned in real-life that Mol-kom was the Vulcan word for serenity, and Malcolm stored that info away in his subconscious.

🖖

DK has a slightly retroclined upper right lateral incisor, and I have big respect for him that he never tried to go all Hollywood and change it. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations should apply to teeth too.

🖖

Malcolm and T’Pol are kindred spirits

Both say they aren’t hungry when they are upset / facing imminent death (T’Pol declines food in Shadows of P’Jem). I guess some people eat more when they’re stressed (Archer and Trip?) and some people don’t eat at all (Malcolm and T’Pol).

🖖

Malcolm tears up in front of Trip, and later he does the same with Archer at the end in sickbay, and in the sphere episode with Hayes, and again with Archer in the brig episode. Love how he isn’t ashamed to cry in front of other men. Trip also isn’t afraid to cry.

🖖

When Malcolm is tipsy he hugs Trip. Which maybe shows that he is naturally tactile underneath it all?

🖖

Love how Malcolm’s go-to idea is always to fire weapons.

🖖

Wow, Malcolm bets optimistically - that they have more than 12 hours of air left. Maybe Trip’s treacly optimism is rubbing off on him.

🖖

Slightly unnerving that Malcolm is sitting with his phase pistol to hand, even though there is no reason for him to have it. Is it like his comfort blanket or something?

🖖

“I've invested far too much time trying to figure you out, Mister Tucker.” What does’ Malcolm trying to figure Trip out’ actually look like?

In The Episode That Shall Not Be Named, he tells Riker - “He was anything but tactful. What his countrymen might refer to as a hick. For the life of me, I couldn't understand what Captain Archer saw in him...I used to think that first impressions meant something. I guess it's not always true. To be honest, I didn't think he was going to last a month, old friend of the Captain's or not.”

Wonder at what point those first impressions started to change.

🖖

Funny how the end scene is playing out like his dream sequence - Dream!Phlox / Archer says they’ll tell him in the morning what happened, T’Pol bids him a simple goodnight like he asked Dream!T’Pol to do, and he asks Dream!T’Pol / Tucker if he can call them by their first names / nicknames.

What does this mean? That increasing intimacy to T’Pol is unattainable, but an increasing friendship and closeness with Trip is possible?

Love this episode. One of my favourites.

[deadheaddaisy]

fic author interview

Tagged by @more-better-words 'cos she knows I like to talk about myself! 😁 Thanks, friend! 💜

Tagging @papercranesong @talshiargirlfriend @anretc @curator-on-ao3 @iamstartraveller776 @mirabilefuturum and anybody else who’d like to play.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

13! My favourite number.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

57,529

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Seems to be my more action-oriented ones:

Dynamite Comes In Small Packages Outrun Going Under Nothing To Fear 

And then my first smut fic: Calling The Shots

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely. If someone was kind enough to leave me a comment, I want to acknowledge that. It often ends up in a conversation. And I always like seeing what really stood out to the reader, and sometimes give my motivation behind said scene.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

My tags include #No beta angst goes here to die or simply #Angst goes here to die - which I think says it all.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Most of my fics end up with them falling asleep together, feeling safe. I can’t choose between any of those. 

If you want one that *isn’t* focused on falling asleep, I guess I’d go with Dynamite Comes In Small Packages, which for once isn't ship-based.

7. Do you write crossovers?

I have a couple in WIPs, but nothing I’ve published. 

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not at this point. Maybe because my ship is fairly small in the fandom.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh hell yeah. My second-ever published fic is full-on smut. I like to describe it as “happy fun sexytimes” - mainly because I like having my characters actually like each other and enjoying themselves. It’s pretty vanilla, even the d/s and roleplay. Some might consider that boring, but that’s okay, it doesn’t have to appeal to everyone.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I’m aware, but with the AI scrapers everywhere, who really knows?

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, not to my knowledge. Small ship, probably not that interesting to most.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yep, and still busy with it. Maybe one day we’ll publish.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Malcolm Reed/Hoshi Sato from Star Trek: Enterprise. Told you I write a small ship. 

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I plan on finishing all my WIPs, it’s just a matter of actually sitting down and working on them instead of getting distracted by ooh, shiny new fic idea!

15. What are your writing strengths?

Action, I think? Maybe action and everyday activity. And I don’t think my dialogue is too bad, at least not for my main characters, or at least I hope not. I think I’m also pretty good at making sure my entire fic is as polished as possible before it goes live, so maybe nit-picking, too.  

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I tend to write a lot of exposition, which I always worry is too much. I’m also incapable of writing very short stories (or sentences) - too much to describe, be it action, feelings, activities, context. Only my very first fic came in at under 1,000 words.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If it’s a language I know - like Afrikaans - then sure, I’ll do it, assuming it fits the narrative. One of the best Malcolm-Hoshi fics I ever read has a section where Malcolm and one of the antagonists insult each other in South African vernacular and it was <chef’s kiss> in every way. 

I’ve never had cause to use another language and would be very wary of using a language I don’t know at all; I’d need some serious assistance from a native speaker for that. As for made-up languages, I see no issue, especially if there’s a glossary or the meaning is revealed by one of the characters within the story.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Robotech, into which I Mary Sue-ed myself (it was the early 80s, I was 12, so sue me). I wrote that in longhand cursive and that fic book has been lost to history, sadly for me. 

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Probably Stargate Atlantis (Weir/Sheppard), the Arrowverse (Oliver/Felicity), or SPN (Dean/Jo).

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I can never choose just one of anything, so I’m going to go with Going Under and Outrun because I’m an action junkie and I also felt I was able to write their interactions as pretty believable for the characters. 

fic author interview

Yoinked this from @ladytharen because it looked like fun. Hope that's not presumptuous of me. <.<

Tagging @deadheaddaisy, @phoenixflames12, @butcharondir, and anybody else who'd like to play.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

60! That's a nice round number.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Currently 593,580 - though in fairness, nearly a third of that is a single fic.

It was a different time back when I wrote that.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The four fics of my Built to Last series (though not in order, lol)

What We Build Here

For the Duration

From the Ground Up

The Place We Call Home

And rounding out the top 5, a Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency fic!

Lay Down the Beat 

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely! And because I have very little self-control, I will often do so within minutes of receiving them! 😅

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm. I don't really do angst - I mean, I'll write stories where angst happens, but that's rarely the point of the story. If the plot demands a dash of angst, then, much like a chocolate recipe that needs some salt, it will get its angst. But I don't really set out to write A Series of Sad Events in Which the Characters Are Sad; that's just not my style or my taste.

So I can't really say that ANY of my stories have an angsty ending. Oh well.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

With the above in mind, happy endings are basically a guarantee, at least up to a point. 😆 I let my darlings be happy, I let them get married and have things work out, because it's fiction, dammit, and I can.

That being said, probably the happiest of all would be just about any of my Trip/T'Pol fic, because I let them get married and have kids and successful careers and be surrounded by friends and family who love and support them because SCREW YOU CANON.

7. Do you write crossovers?

No, I don't think my brain's wired for that. I just...can't seem to.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Never on AO3 (okay, I once got snippily told I'd mistagged something, but that wasn't hate). I have gotten hate here on Tumblr, though never anything specific, just general "u suck" which...whatever.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

For a long time, I did not.

That answer has since changed.

As for what kind...the sweetest, fluffiest, most loving, happy, vanilla, tooth rotting smut ever.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, and I seriously doubt I ever would. I'm rather niche.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, niche. Haven't yet, doubt I will.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Years ago, I worked on an AU fic project with a friend that was very cool and a lot of fun. None of it ever got published, though.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Which ever one I'm writing right now. 😁

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I wouldn't mind finishing my Shadowrun: Dragonfall fic The Haven. Maybe some day.

15. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, baby! I can have two characters sit and talk to each other FOREVER.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action and physical description. Even when I can clearly see a room where action is occurring in my mind, I have real trouble describing it on the page.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I used to not have any, then I started making up words and phrases in my own version of Andorian for my Trek fic.

And I still don't really have many thoughts, because I'm sure I'm doing it wrong.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Hmmmm. Pretty sure there's some BtVS fic of mine still existent on LiveJournal. 😅

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I'd love to write Discworld (I adore Carrot/Angua), but Discworld is already so perfect. It would have to be an absolute gem of an idea.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Whichever one I just finished. 😄

[prismatica-the-strange]

Kissing you out of excitement when you help him figure something out (Daniel)

Oml this happens all the time!

18+ only! Minors do not Interact!!!

Warnings: None! Just a cute little fluff!

You were with SG-1 on an off world mission to a no longer inhabited planet.

Daniel insisted you help him in the temple, trying to translate the writing on the walls. You had assisted him in similar translation jobs. Since you were always together, you picked up quite a bit about language.

He was rambling on about how that word could mean this, and this one that, when you pointed out a part of the scripture he wasn't focusing on that didn't make sense.

He went quiet as he looked it over and then his eyes went wide.

"You! I- Ah!" He grabbed your shoulders and dipped you into a kiss. "You're a genius!"

When he went to let you go you grab him by the jacket and pull him back in, surprising him.

Taglist: @mysg1spacemonkey @sgcprometheus @i-am-morrigans-apprentice @malcolm-reeds-pineapple @witching-things @reeseykins @abnormalvampire64 @girl-obsessed-with-things

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