#the blacklist: season seven

[startreklasirena]

I know the last gif is from season 2. As I said, this whole endeavour isn't an exact science 😅

This gifset is absolutely stunning and showcases the Motley Crew in all of their glory, so in my opinion, it upholds the spirit of Star Trek: La Sirena. It's not OP's fault we only got a Saffi kiss in season 2 ;)

(But this is definitely a case of "let me know if you don't think this counts as LAS". Like I said: I'#'m not the high priestess of the fandom tag, so things are open to discussion and interpretation 🖖)

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

[the-greatest-magic-of-all]

I know it's been months since you posted about it but. I want to hear about the Bad Moms.

No worries! I'm always happy to chat, no matter the time! This one's gonna be a long one though, so strap in!

First things first, all of the Bad Moms are at least 15th-level adventurers, if not higher. All of them, excluding Sklonda, have canonically either adventured or did something like it. And Sklonda is high-level because she's just that badass.

In order of first appearance, we'll start off with the imposing Hallariel Seacaster, who, side note, I truly believe is almost seven feet tall. Just a tower of a bored housewife who used to be the best swordswoman in Spyre (Think Morticia Addams but slightly less goth). This leads me to believe that she'd be a straight Fighter (all of the Seacasters are) with the Samurai subclass. A heavy hitter who just won't drop yet still smoothly transitions into being an elegant courtier when need be. Oh, and I'd love for them to bring back the sober trigger mechanic from Unsleeping City S2 for her! It'd also be a treat to watch her deal with other Elves who make pointed backhanded comments about her finally settling down with another Elf and how it's good to see that she's done playing house with that human husband and half-human son of hers.

Next up is Wilma Thistlespring! My most precious Artificer Bard! With the subclasses Battle Smith and College of Creation, respectively. Battle Smith because in "Family in Flames", while Digby had a Tesla-coil laser canon (a hallmark of an Artilerist), Wilma had a fleet of spinning gyros instead. It'd probably take a little reflavouring but I think she could have her Steel Defender be this swarm of bird-like constructs that fuck a bitch up. And for the College of Creation part, I mean... It's the Bard subclass all about having a Song in your heart and that Song being one of the most ancient and powerful magic of all. If that's not Wilma Thistlespring to a T then I don't know what is. Also, btw, I'd love for her to be played by Elaine Lee because, if I remember correctly, Brennan took inspiration for the Thistlesprings from his parents!

Next is Mom of the Year, Sklonda Gukgak, who is obviously a straight-up Inquisitive Rogue, just like her son! This one is one of the more obvious picks for her and one of the only ones really. None of the other Rogue subclasses fit quite right while still making sense for her character. Like, maaaybe she could be a Mastermind Rogue, but I think it's a stretch. And it's the only subclass that she could conceivably get to a high enough level without her being a straight-up adventurer. I honestly think it'd be so funny to watch her get pulled into an adventure. Because I think she's a lot like Carameldina and Steel in the way of absolutely hating that they live in a DnD world, but instead of being utterly baffled by why her son is acting like an adventurer, she knows. She knows she lives in a world where adventures happen and the Call to Adventurer is a real phenomenon that wraps people up with Quest Fever. She's been trying to keep Riz from it ever since Pok died. So getting to watch her finally get the Call herself would be fantastic.

Sandra Lynn Faeth, the messiest bench ever, is next up and she's pretty straightforward, just like Sklonda. She's a Beast Master Ranger and that's all she wrote! Obviously, most of the fun of watching Sandra Lynn take center stage would be in witnessing her past come back to haunt her and seeing how she deals with it. The most glaring plot hook for a Bad Moms season (as long as they don't do it in Junior Year) would be her serving justice to the older adventurer creep who got her blacklisted from adventuring! I want her to kick ass, take names, and call Jawbone whenever she wants to make out with someone because she's still too anxious to do it impromptu even though they've talked about it!

Second to last, we've got Cathilda Ceili!!! Fight me if you think she doesn't count as a Bad Mom!!! She does!! She and Roz are picking up the slack that fucking Arianwen and Donna are dropping, okay? Okay. Now, while her being a Swashbuckler Rogue is a given. What else was she going to be? I'm also kinda leaning towards her multiclassing into Banneret Fighter, is that crazy? It's just that it feels that she'd also have some support mechanics in her roster (like Rallying Cry) and having Action Surge and Second Wind could tie why her work ethic is so tireless. Plus, as a Fighter, she'd fit in with the rest of the Seacasters! Listen, i want to see Cathilda let loose for once. And I feel like the other Bad Moms could get her there.

Finally! Roslyn "Roz" Fukumoto! She's such a wild card because we literally know nothing about her, but I think it'd be fun to include her in a Bad Moms season. Getting to know another Aguefort Alumni like Sandra Lynn and learning about what life is like outside of Elmville in another small town in Solace. I don't know if there'd be any tension between her and Wilma, (mostly because Wilma's such a sweetie) but getting to see their dynamic would be a treat. Now, for what class she could be. Another spellcaster would round out the party nicely, leaning more toward like a Warlock or even a half-caster, like a Paladin. But if she'd had to be a martial, a Fantasy High hasn't had a Monk PC yet and they are always a joy to watch.

Whew! That's about it for the Bad Moms class wise. It's such a pipe dream but it'd be such a joy to watch a group of older women play DnD as this badass team of Moms. I hope this satisfies your curiosity, @deconstructthesoup!!

[sorinethemastermind]

HEADS UP

I will be talking in depth about Season Seven when it drops, as well as posting teaser images and analyzing / theorizing about any info they give us. If you want to go in blind, I'll be marking everything with #s7 spoilers so feel free to blacklist that tag to avoid them o7

[londonspirit]

Spoiler policy

OKAY!!! Shit's about to get REAL, people!!!

Just a reminder: all posts will be tagged!

OFMD S2 tags will be as followed:

our flag means death season 2,

ofmd s2,

ofmd s2 spoilers,

spoiler,

our flag means death,

ofmd

Blacklist, mute, unfollow, do whatever is needed to keep yourself spoilerfree if you need to!!!

I will be posting things (I might not necessarily READ them then as I haven't really decided how much I want/need to know beforehand), so please adjust your blogging experience accordingly!!!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

SEVEN more days ... and yet I am soo not ready!!!

P.S. You might wanna utilize the X-Kit's option to HIDE the tags on blocked/muted posts as I tend to scream in the tags!!! (I'll try NOT to but if you wanna be on the safe SAFE side, USE IT!!)

[mediumtires]

It's two days into the summer break and I'm already going through vroom vroom withdrawals, so I re-read Seven Years then decided to nitpick season 5 of DTS. Seven Years is so stuck in my head (especially with last weekend's ass grab) that I started to wonder how Christian and Toto's relationship would affect DTS. Would there be a full episode about their relationship? Would they be more included in each other's episodes? Would Netflix try to get footage of the two acting like a couple? The only guarantee is that Tumblr would be analysis every interaction between the two because we already do that.

Also, I use Microsoft Edge over google so I thought you might find this funny.

The first thing they list is that he is a racing driver, not a successful team principal, a racing driver. :p

ohhh this is such an interesting take!

personally i didn’t make dts a thing in seven years because i just didn’t want to deal with the mess of it. it adds a whole other layer of emotional clusterfucks of being exposed to the wider public (outside of the f1 bubble even), even more cameras following them around the paddock, mic-ed up 24/7. there is a snippet i started writing after the whole “change your fucking car” business that i couldn’t even finish because the whole thing was so messy and i could not come up with a proper way to solve this because i was so embarrassed for them lmao.

but let’s walk for a second. let’s say their involuntary outing happens and dts are around for it all, i do think netflix would be a perfect vessel to promote lgbtq+ visibility and rights in motorsports and both pr teams would jump at the chance. obviously an outing like this is a huge fuck up marketing wise, nothing was planned, no one was prepared for it so they’d need to act quick and with netflix around, they’d have the perfect opportunity to angle the narrative any way they want. plus for netflix it would obviously mean Millions. everyone and their mother would watch the new season.

not sure they’d have a full episode. don’t think christian or toto would agree to this during some of the worst moments of their lives lol and in seven years i tried my best to not glorify or romanticise a shitty situation like being outed by someone else against your will. but i do think they’d both still want to be on dts, they enjoy the spotlight and the attention too much. in my mind they’d both show up to their netflix interviews smirking, a little ala “look at you and your lil cameras, i had a secret you couldn’t even imagine being true, you only know the things i choose to tell you, i’m in charge here”. to me that’s kind of a power move. i also think certain questions would simply be blacklisted so all we’d get would be ambiguous layered eye-twinkling comments about the rival team principal while touching their wedding rings. “oh toto slammed that desk *eye roll* yeah he’s so emotional *smirk*” or “christian has a big mouth, don’t believe everything he says, i don’t” or “singapore last year? yeah i think…. i think we won. did we? can’t remember, i was a little busy” but they don’t ever talk about singapore directly.

post outing i don’t think we’d get much husband material on dts. i tried very hard to write them as being private about their relationship and i still think that rings true, even post outing. there were instances where i thought it’d be significant and meaningful to them as a couple to show their support for each other a little more publicly (or maybe just a little less secretively) but those moments were about them more so than an act for the public or the cameras. in my mind they wouldn’t walk hand in hand through the paddock just because they can, not mid season on a thursday morning anyway. they’re professionals and they’re at work. but it’s a different thing when a netflix camera zooms in on them through a window and they’re having a quiet lunch tucked away in some corner of rb hospitality, or a brush of hands or a discreet smile when they pass each other somewhere and a camera is around to pick up on it.

so that’s my take! the most interesting angle to me though is how the public perception suddenly changes from seeing them as individuals to seeing them as a unit. it rewires your brain from “oh these two are fun, they hate each other” to “oh these two….. don’t hate each other. in actuality they…. they seem to love each other enough to be…. husbands. huh”

[thelaughtercafe]

Fandom List!

IF SPOILERS ARE ALLOWED THERE WILL BE AN ASTERISK TO SIGNIFY I'M COMPLETELY FINISHED WITH THE WORK! PLEASE DON'T REQUEST WITH SPOILERS OTHERWISE! 

Asterisks* next to anime mean I'm completed with the anime not manga so please no manga spoilers! Thank you once again! 

Characters are fine but if I don't know someone I won't include them!

Italics mean I’m on the cusp of hyperfixating and bold means I currently am. Please request for these fandoms as I’m more likely to get them out faster!

Please remember the 5 character limit for headcanons, 3 for scenarios(any mix of fandoms is fine!) and I hope you enjoy your stay! 

Anime

Assassination Classroom* 

Haikyuu!!

Fruits Basket*

Brothers Conflict*

Dance With Devils*

Diabolik Lovers*

Angel Beats*

Claanad/Claanad: After Story*

Ouran Highschool Host Club*

My Hero Academia*

Death Note*

The Promised Neverland

Tales of the Abyss*

Avatar the Last Airbender*

Sword Art Online

Fairy Tail

Danganronpa 3: Despair Arc

Danganronpa 3: Future Arc

Danganronpa 3: Hope Arc

Danganronpa 2.5: OVA

Naruto 

Uta no Prince Sama!

Noragami*

Bungou Stray Dogs (Caught up to end of Season 4, including Dead Apple)

Death Parade

Durarara!!!*

Fullmetal Alchemist*

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood*

Angels of Death*

Ghost Hunt*

The Devil is a Part-timer!*

K!

Mekakucity Actors*

Maid Sama!

Seven Deadly Sins*

Violet Evergarden*

Soul Eater*

Yuri!! On Ice*

Akame Ga Kill!

Black Butler

The Dragon Prince (Up to end of season 3 so no spoilers past that please!)

Ninjago: Masters of Spinjutsu

Miraculous Ladybug*

Banana Fish

Horimiya*

Toradora*

Cardfight Vanguard Overdress!!*

Cardfight Vanguard Divinez*

My Happy Marriage(Up to episode 8)

Spy x Family (Up to end of Season 1)

Legend of Vox Machina (Finished season 1 and know the characters, just no plot past that please!)

Video Games

Final Fantasy 3

Final Fantasy 4*

Final Fantasy 5

Final Fantasy 7/Remake*/Dirge of Cerberus*/Crisis Core*

Final Fantasy 8

Final Fantasy 10*

Final Fantasy 12*

Final Fantasy 13*

Final Fantasy 14*(Caught up to the end of Endwalker, but not post patches yet)

Final Fantasy 15*

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates*

Final Fantasy: Type 0*

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition*

Xenoblade Chronicles 2*

Xenoblade Chronicles 3*

The World Ends With You*

Neo: The World Ends With You*

Kingdom Hearts*

Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories*

Kingdom Hearts 2*

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep*

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance*

Kingdom Hearts 3*

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days*

Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded*

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory*

Undertale*

Deltarune*

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc*

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair*

Danganronpa v3*

Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls*

Tales of the Abyss*

Tales of Vesperia

Suikoden*

Suikoden: Tierkreis

Persona 5 Royal*

Dragon Quest 11 S*

Mr. Love: Queen's Choice

Obey Me!

Collar x Malice ( Finished Mineo and Takeru's routes so no spoilers for the others but please feel free to request any character!)

Genshin Impact

Honkai Star Rail*

Ikemen: Sengoku

Ikemen: Vampire

Ikemen: Revolution

Ikemen: Villians

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Birthright

Fire Emblem: Conquest

Fire Emblem: Revelation

Resident Evil*/Remake*

Resident Evil 2*/Remake*

Resident Evil 3*/Remake*

Resident Evil 7*

Resident Evil 8*

Baldur's Gate 3

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Stardew Valley (I'm on Year 1 Summer, but can already tell Sebastian and Sam have my whole heart so they're the only two I'm able to write for atm, will update as I finish more)

TV Shows

Blacklist

Criminal Minds

Lucifer 

The Vampire Diaries

Teen Wolf*

Sherlock

Supernatural

Good Omens

The Walking Dead

The Umbrella Academy*

Asian Shows

Sweet Home(currently up to Season 2 episode 2)

Bride of Habaek(currently up to episode 7)

My Holo Love*

Boys Over Flowers*

Cheese in the Trap*

Murphy's Law of Love*

Squid Game*(I'll be picky with these requests probably since it's been a while <3)

Movies

Rise of the Guardians*

Heathers*

Scream*

Scream 2*

Scream 3*

Scream 4*

Hush*

The Little Prince*

Meet Joe Black*

The Princess Bride*

A Little Princess*

Annie*

Rent*

Phantom of the Opera*

Les Miserables*

The Breakfast Club*

Fame

The Santa Clause*

The Santa Clause 2*

The Santa Clause 3*

Spirited Away*

Howl’s Moving Castle*

Princess Mononoke

Ponyo

Iron Man*

Iron Man 2*

Captain America: The Winter Soldier*

Avengers*

Avengers: Infinity War*

Avengers: Endgame*

Spiderman: Homecoming*

Spiderman: Far From Home*

Musicals

Heathers: The Musical*

Epic: The Musical*

Not sure where to put this one so it gets its own category!

Tabletop

Critical Role (Up to Campaign 1, episode 40 atm)

Baldur's Gate 3 Oneshot*

[laresearchette]

Friday, January 26, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: MASTERS OF THE AIR (Apple TV+) SAGO MINI FRIENDS (Apple TV+) 13 HOURS: THE SECRET OF BENGHAZI (Paramount +) THE LEBANESE BURGER MOVIE (Paramount +) HIGHTOWN (Starz Canada) 10:00pm

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA THE DAIGLE EXPATS THRILLER THE UNDERDOGGS YOU HURT MY FEELINGS

CBC GEM GHOSTING WITH LUKE HUTCHIE AND MATTHEW FINLAN

CRAVE TV 299 QUEEN STREET WEST ALI CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT THE CONJURING EASY A THE OTHER HALF PEPPA PIG: FESTIVAL OF FUN THE STAR TRANSAMERICA TRANSPLANT (Season 4) WATER

NETFLIX CANADA BADLAND HUNTERS THE BLACKLIST (Season 10) LOVE IS BLIND: SWEDEN SIT DOWN WITH STAND UP UDOM TAEPHANICH

PWHL HOCKEY (TSN/TSN5) 7:00pm: New York vs. Toronto

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 7:00pm: Panthers vs. Penguins (SN) 10:00pm: Blues vs. Kraken

DOPPELGÄNGERS: FACE TO FACE (documentary) 7:00pm: People meet their lookalikes and find out the resemblance is more than skin deep.

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN4) 7:00pm: Mavericks vs. Hawks (SN1) 7:30pm: Clippers vs. Raptors (SN Now) 8:00pm: Thunder vs. Pelicans

A.RTIFICIAL I.MMORTALITY (Crave 2) 7:40pm: Exploring the latest thinking and technological advancements in AI.

MARKETPLACE (CBC) 8:00pm: Putting electric vehicles to the test; Charlsie Agro hits the road to explore issues with range, charging infrastructure and reveals the challenges with repairs.

MILLION DOLLAR ISLAND (Discovery Canada) 8:00pm: Only 79 players remain, but that will soon change as two camps are put in a head-to-head arena battle; at the end of the epic war, the entire losing camp will be eliminated.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF JERSEY (Slice) 8:00pm: Tessa and Sascha renew their wedding vows; upset about not being invited, Kate and Margaret hold their own version, with Kate Taylor playing Tessa.

BOLLYWED (documentary) 8:00pm: Kuki and Sarab lay down an ultimatum with the second location; the kids think outside the box.

GARAGE SALE MYSTERY: THE MASK MURDER (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm: When Jennifer buys a storage locker at auction, she discovers a dead body inside -- along with a mask matching the deceased woman.

ABOUT THAT (CBC) 8:30pm

THE FIFTH ESTATE (CBC) 9:00pm: Search for the Smugglers: In 2022, smugglers left the Patel family to cross the Canada/U.S. border on foot during a snowstorm, an ordeal they would not survive; the pursuit of the men who Indian police allege planned the crossing leads to a surprising location.

PARADISE HIGHWAY (Crave) 9:00pm: To save the life of her brother, truck driver Sally reluctantly agrees to smuggle illicit cargo -- a girl named Leila. As Sally and Leila begin a danger-fraught journey across state lines, a dogged FBI operative sets out on their trail to save them.

THE SUMMIT AUSTRALIA (Discovery Canada) 9:30pm: The group falls a day behind; the remaining ten members have seven days to get to the summit with $785,000 left in the prize money on their backs.

NLL LACROSSE (TSN3) 10:00pm: Mammoth vs. Warriors

LITTLE BIRD (CTV) 10:00pm: Esther finds members of her family who help her put together the pieces of the past; Esther returns home to Montreal to confront Golda, her adoptive mother, about the revelations she's uncovered that shine a new light on their life.

[georgiapeach30513]

-At some point during or after Season 3, Adam Bourke the director & screenwriter of Dawn of The Seven sent Minka Kelly (the actress who played Dove in DC's Titans) His dick which ended up with him getting blacklisted in Hollywood. Now he is at Godolkin cuz he lost his former job//

okay I just got in from outside and I’m scrolling through. Is this some kind of joke I don’t get because this is just a plot line straight from The Boys (Amazon tv show)

I honestly have no idea, and didn’t feel the need to google it either.

[radiantlyrey]

in re: Doctor Who Season 1/Series 14

As y'all probably know, the new season of Doctor Who is premiering in about three hours (12AM GMT). Since I have kind of become a Doctor Who blog again (sorry for those of y'all who followed me for something else), here is my tagging policy for new episodes of Doctor Who!!

These are the tags I will be using on posts about the new episodes:

doctor who

dw spoilers

series 14

[episode title]

[character names, e.g., ruby sunday, fifteenth doctor]

In addition! I will use the "dw spoilers" tag for seven days following the premiere, in all episode-related posts that I reblog, queue, or make myself. After those seven days are up, I will no longer use the "dw spoilers" tag, BUT I will continue to use the "[episode title]" and "series 14" tags, so if it's going to be a while before you are able to watch the episodes, blacklist those tags!!

So if you want to avoid seeing Doctor Who spoilers from me, blacklist the above tags!!!

in re: "series 14", an aside - Dear RTD/BBC Studios/Disney: you will pry my tagging conventions from my cold dead hands. it's only Season 1 to you.

[ashlyansh05]

LITERACY JOURNALISM

Blacklist International

This group was formed wayback 2019. Blacklist International is a Southeast Asian esports organization under Tier One Entertainment. They manage competitive esports divisions in PUBG, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Garena Free Fire, Call of Duty: Mobile , and collaboration between Rivalry in Dota 2 and G2 Esports in League of Legends: Wild Rift. its members are Edward Dapadap, Renejay Barcase, Danerie James Del Rosario, Jonmar Villaluna, Lee Howard Gonzales, Kenneth Carl Tadeo and Jon Redick Bordeos.

This group is fighting abroad. in their game that is used is the now popular game that young people enjoy is mobile legend. They won the first seven-game-grand finals in the MPL PH against Smart Omega, 4-3. Following their win, they were crowned as the MPL PH Season 7 Champions. Edward is hailed as the Season MVP.

Not only did they fight in other countries, but they also streamed live on their respective social media, especially on Facebook Live. By playing they get some money from it.

[sideboot]

So I'm not caught up, I stopped toward the beginning of episode seven but only blacklisted after episode eight. I wasn't having fun and I had enough fic concepts and homework to fill my days elsewhere. I will probably watch the back half of season 3 all together once its all out instead of sitting on tenderhooks week to week.

That said, my charge, should you chose to accept it, is to come to my inbox and give me a spoiler free summary of how emotionally you as a fan and how the fandom are doing.

[polarnacht1]

@myulalie tagged me for the Getting To Know You: Ask Game, thank you!

Three ships: Alec Lightwood/Jace Wayland, Alex Rider/Yassen Gregorovich, Jace Wayland/Magnus Bane

First ship: Probably Han/Leia, but the first ship that made me participate in fandom in anyway was Jalec

Last Song: Wish you were here by Pink Floyd

Last Movie: Red White and Royal Blue - and god do I NOT get the hype over that movie. The book was okayish, the movie was simply boring and didn't manage to flash out the characters at all (plus the lack of chemistry between the two mains didn't help at all). Another movie that is better watched via gifs

Currently Reading: The White Road from the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. It's not as good as the first books, but still a nice read. And I started No Ashes in the Fire by Darnell L. Moore - just started, so nothing to say yet.

Currently Watching: a lot actually. The second season of The Bear (it's good), second season of the Americans (ok, I liked the first season way more), seven season of Working Moms (it's fun) and the last season of Blacklist (finally the last, it was a chore to watch the last couple 😂)

Last Thing I Wrote: Infinity, my latest Jalec which sadly flops equally hard 😂

everyone who wants to answer, please go ahead!

Getting to know you: ask game!

Thank you @mugsdontlie for the tag!

Three ships: Chishiya/Arisu from Alice in Borderland because I've written it a lot,Naruto/Sasuke cuz I have eyes, and Adora/Catra for the lap scene.

First ship: Falkner/Morty, from pokemon heartgold. Legendary bird guy and bird guy!

Last Song: Make Up Your Mind by Florance and the Machine.

Last Movie: UHHHHHHH I forget the name but I think it had a scary nun? Or maybe it was the shark movie with the vortex? Idk it was campy and horror.

Currently Reading: Rereading a lot of Naruto these days for fic. Slowly working my way through "How to stand up to a Dictator" by Maria Ressa. Also want yo read "Gideon the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir.

Currently Watching: Nothing really, assorted Naruto scenes sometimes to try and remember how characters fight maybe? I've been told I should watch live action One Piece but haven't gotten around to it. I watch scary story vids all the time on youtube if that counts.

Last thing I wrote: Last edited Loyalty's Price; Interlude, last scene was Kabuto and Anko talking and last chapter was ch3.

Currently writing: Editing a scene of Loyalty's Price; Interlude rn. It has Kabuto investigating the Uchiha massacre so going slow. Needs to be done right.

Tagging @aceon-ice @gloivy @vitaminpops if any of you wanna do it. Hopefully haven't accidentally tagged someone who's done the ask already! Again 😅.

[courtjestersanonymous]

my best friend just gets me

[doggytail-duck]

I haven‘t watched this show for seven years only to watch them pull something like this

[georgiapeach30513]

Is this true?

-At some point during or after Season 3, Adam Bourke the director & screenwriter of Dawn of The Seven sent Minka Kelly (the actress who played Dove in DC's Titans) His dick which ended up with him getting blacklisted in Hollywood. Now he is at Godolkin cuz he lost his former job

I don’t know. I’d google it 🤷🏻‍♀️

[procrastinatorproject]

On the Changing Nature of the Borg

I was thinking about Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard yesterday, and I was once again struck by one of the things that disappointed me about the show: The complete retcon they gave the nature of the Borg.

I'm far from the first person to make this observation, and when I complained to friends about it last night, I was a little worried I might be doing the S2 writers a disservice. Maybe I was misremembering the details from the show and putting too much of my own interpretation on top of it. Or I might have latched on to somebody else's criticism and not checked to see if it was supported by the text.

But then I rewatched episode 2x09, "Hide and Seek" today, expecting to have to look very closely for the details that support my reading - only to find that I didn't over-interpret some throwaway line, this is a key piece of dialogue.

So, here it is: my thoughts and feelings about what happened to the Borg in season 2!

Spoilers for season 2 of Star Trek: Picard ahead, obviously. Also quite a bit of saltiness. (I have tagged this post accordingly, so please take this as your sign to blacklist that tag and/or stop reading if you're not in the mood for saltiness ;) )

Let us begin with a quick walk through the history of the Borg. [Edit: That was a lie, I am incapable of "quick." Prepare yourself for a verbose trek through the history of the Borg.]

In TNG, they were introduced as practically a force of nature. They didn't hold grudges, they weren't ambitious or greedy or megalomaniacal. They didn't spread across the Galaxy because they wanted to be conquerors or rulers. They simply spread. Like a virus, or an invasive plant.

They added new technologies and biology into their collective to improve themselves and their chances of survival. Assimilation was akin to evolution for them. (I know this is not how biological evolution works. I'm using it as shorthand. )

These Borg didn't care that people might not want to be assimilated because for one, their objections would be overwritten once they were Borg, and for another, they had no chance of escaping their fate, anyway.

This first, original form of the Borg, in my opinion, was the most truly alien they have ever been.

This characterization started to collapse a bit once First Contact decided to introduce the Borg Queen as a weird psycho-sexual horror component, making the Borg less of a force of nature and more of a nominally collective hive-mind that operated like a person would.

Voyager definitely added to this interpretation of the Borg, making them more beholden to the moods and wishes of the Queen. They were no longer simply a dispassionate alien organism, moving through the galaxy in a quest for self-improvement because that was their nature. Instead, their characterization became more human, pursuing specific goals, strategies and motivations.

On some level, I completely understand this choice. Making your main series villain a force of nature rather than a character with personal motivation is difficult to pull off, especially when that isn't the main story you're trying to tell. But it did end up taking the Borg one step farther away from their original alien-ness.

One thing Voyager added to the mythos, though, that I find deeply fascinating is that instead of having the Borg Queen lust for power and control, or having her act out of fear and self-preservation, they instead focused on the concept of Perfection. In "The Omega Directive", Seven of Nine explains that to the Borg, the pursuit of Perfection is almost spiritual.

According to this interpretation, the Borg don't simply search out and assimilate new species because of an "evolutionary" drive for self-improvement. Instead, they are on a quest to reach a state of absolute perfection. They add new technologies and biological diversity in the hopes of coming closer to this goal and one day finding this most ideal state of existence.

These Borg don't care about your objections to assimilation, because they are convinced that their vision of perfection is universal. Every species must obviously strive for perfection and they can offer that, so why would you ever want to resist? They have no concept of the fact that others might not define perfection in the way they do, might not strive for it at all, or that "perfection" at the cost of giving up all individuality and sovereignty might not be an acceptable trade-off for people.

(And no, Voyager is not internally consistent about this. Barely any long-running tv show is entirely internally consistent. But the point still stands.)

On some level, this drive also brings the Borg closer to humanity: less dispassionate virus and more colonizers who come to extract value from “lesser cultures” and impose a more enlightened way of life on them because They Know What's Best. Still, I think the relentless, uncompromizing pursuit of a nigh-spiritual ideal of Perfection and utter disinterest in personhood and self-determination of other people make the Borg into a formidable and, at the end of the day, alien villain.

Which brings us to season 2 of Star Trek: Picard.

The thing that rubbed me the wrong way about the way the Borg were characterized here is summed up in an exchange between Jurati and the Borg Queen:

Jurati: "Millions of species, planets, and still you always needed more." Borg Queen: "Perfection takes time, dear." Jurati: "This was never about perfection or evolution or any of that bullshit. It was never enough, because you're just like me. Lonely."

And that's it. In all of five sentences, we have retconned the entire history, motivation and fundamental nature of one of the main alien species of the Trek universe.

Everything we have been told about the Borg, everything they have said about their reasons and their character, none of it was true. They have been lying to all of us and to themselves this entire time. They aren't a force of nature or a people/collective organism in pursuit of a higher ideal. Instead, it was all a single woman's misguided quest to not feel alone anymore.

Now, I understand that for some people, this revelation adds a new layer of complexity to a villain that had grown somewhat stale. And I have seen others argue that they like the idea that the Borg collective is actually all about connection. If that's you, I'm not saying you're wrong or trying to ruin your enjoyment of these characters.

But personally, I find this development rather disappointing. This plot twist retroactively changes not only the philosophy, psychology, and raison d'être of a fascinating alien culture but also the narrative significance of the Borg in the Trek cosmos.

Before, they were in conflict with the Federation because they refused (or were unable) to look outwards and see that there was more than one "correct" mode of existence, and that the life of people different than them had worth. Now, the conflict arises because they refuse to look inward and acknowledge that what they are really looking for cannot be achieved through conquest.

Where before they assimilated civilizations in a quest for utmost perfection no matter the cost, now they are assimilating masses of people in the hopes of creating a chorus that will drown out the loneliness.

Don't get me wrong, that sort of twist can make for an intriguing villain arc, but firstly, it needs to be executed with a lot more care than season 2 made room for, and secondly, it works a lot better for individuals or groups of individuals than for a species that is ostensibly a telepathic hive-mind.

(Seriously, the in-universe implications -- for the Prime-timeline Borg, the Federation, the xBs -- are staggering and are glossed over completely on the show. Then again, this is the same season that doesn't bother to show (or tell) whether Agnes Jurati chooses to remain with the Borg Queen out of a genuine desire to create a new collective or as a desperate bargain to save her friends. You know. The culminating moment of her character arc in season 2. But that is another rant.)

At the end of the day, I don't feel like this newly-revealed secret motivation adds a fresh layer of complexity to a well-known villain. Instead, I think it takes away many of the aspects that made the Borg intriguing, both narratively and as an alien species, and turns them into something much more human and, frankly, much more banal.