#top ten 2023

[legendaryvermin]

top 10 video games:

not strictly new. but the stuff I enjoyed most this year.

1. Sea of Stars - JRPG by the folks who made the Messenger. perfect economy of storytelling, good combat that takes notes from Paper Mario and Chrono Trigger

2. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - Tag and Grind that could teach Sonic a thing or two. amazing game, finished it twice!

3. Chants of Senaar - Puzzle game about language. You learn and translate 5 languages while climbing a tower. super satisfying to have breakthroughs in understanding.

4. Ninja 5-0 - Lost GBA gem. This game kicks outrageous amounts of ass, and has a cool grappling hook. what more could you ask for?

5. Skies of Arcadia - Steal this mana system. also, what a delightful romp, very Dragon Quest.

6. Jedi Survivor - This game learned so much from its predecessor! it switched from a Soulsborne lens to a more Metroidvania one and I think it really paid off.

7. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon - Friendly enough to be familiar to people who haven't followed the series, adversarial enough to get you to try new bullshit. also, spoilers, but one of the bosses is a Roomba.

8. Tears of the Kingdom - It's Banjo Ka-Zelda: Nuts and Bolts, and that's a good thing. in any other year this might be number 1.

9. Ghost of Tsushima - A wonderful set of gorgeously told short stories let down by a trope-laden and western-gazey central story that seems to fundamentally misunderstand samurai in Japanese history.

10. Baldur's Gate 3 - I reserve the right to use this again next year because I'm literally still in the underdark. it's this low because it's still D&D, for good and for ill.

[oliveoomph]

2023 Tumblr Top 10

1. 2.193 notes - Nov 12 2023

2. 1.074 notes - Sep 6 2023

3. 854 notes - May 10 2023

4. 773 notes - Oct 3 2023

5. 695 notes - Jun 9 2023

6. 680 notes - Aug 24 2023

7. 673 notes - Jul 9 2023

8. 663 notes - May 30 2023

9. 635 notes - Jan 8 2023

10. 577 notes - Jul 3 2023

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[visually-corrupted]

2023 Tumblr Top 10

1. 5.577 notes - Aug 2 2023

[lovethenature95]

2. 5.089 notes - Jul 28 2023

Rachel Cook [badboi]

3. 2.216 notes - May 17 2023

4. 1.654 notes - Jul 16 2023

5. 1.299 notes - Jul 9 2023

6. 1.225 notes - May 22 2023

7. 1.158 notes - Aug 3 2023

8. 840 notes - May 18 2023

9. 667 notes - May 11 2023

10. 607 notes - Aug 14 2023

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[doorplays]

My Top Ten Games That I Played in 2023

Hello! 2023 has come and gone. I’ve played a decent amount of games across the year. Now that it’s 2024, I want to look back at the games I played and how they affected me. A retrospective! Now that some time has passed between my playing of a game and now, how has that time aged my opinion? I want to know! And I have decided to do it in the form of a top ten list!

This top ten list is NOT the best games released in the year 2023, but rather, the games that I’ve enjoyed the most when I played them during the year of 2023. Most of these games were released during earlier years. What matters more to me really is discovering how these games have left their mark on me.

So thus! Let’s find out!

10: The Forgotten City (2021)

Read my review here!

I liked its premise. The many shall suffer for the sins of the one. You explore this forgotten city, find out more about its inhabitants, and discover that you’ll have to crack open mysteries upon mysteries. There’s a fair amount of philosophical discussion here, and the characters are well-written. My main qualm about the game back then was its horror elements, as I was and still am averse to jump scares. Surprisingly though, I realized while writing this review that I completely forgot about that aspect of the game! Funny, that. This is considering the fact that I had to get a friend to go on voice chat with me so that I have company playing this game…

While I liked the game, I found it difficult to remember specifics about it other than the feeling of philosophy and mystery. So I guess those were my lasting impressions of this game specifically!

9: PRODUCER 2021 (2022)

Read my review here!

The gameplay of this game is some standard Visual Novel stuff, but what left an impression on me is its commentary on the artistic process. It is a rather cynical game with a lot to say. I related at points even if I don’t really consider myself an artist. I like its discussions about compost, of all things. What I liked most about this game, I think, was its soundtrack. A lot of bops! The soundtrack is the one that left the most lasting impression on me, though it’s somewhat easy to do that with soundtracks as I can just save them on my Spotify playlists if they’re on there. A nice two hours of gaming, in my opinion!

8: Mask of the Rose (2023)

Read my review here!

It is rare that I get ensnared by romance stories. I backed this game on Kickstarter cos I am fond of Failbetter’s games. I played it because I enjoy their stories. I didn’t expect to fall in love with so many characters! Rachel, with her sense of self and her writing. Archie, with his good nature. Harjit, with his watchful eyes. Griz, with her determination. There are just so many people to romance and know more of.

I still think of Rachel from time to time. She’s hot and is a person who knows what she wants. I like that sense of certitude in a person.

It’s nice as well to revisit the Fallen London universe. A relatively modern world with an eldritch vibe… it feels unique to me even years later. Re-experiencing it with a dating sim is not how I expected to do it but it is nonetheless very welcome.

7: Forklift Load (2020)

Read my review here!

Do NOT play this game on mouse and keyboard. Play this with controller!!!

This game really made me feel like I am an utter newbie forced to pilot a forklift. It is a zany concept, but I actually had fun with it. It feels somewhat like a puzzle game, trying to figure out how to go from point A to point B while lifting whatever with your forklift.

What I didn’t expect was for the story to be as cerebral as it was. It goes into some philosophical stuff, and the vibes of the game was unexpectedly calming, even if the gameplay itself was frustrating. I… am uncomfortable with regards to this game’s ending, but overall this game was an interesting experience. The concept was fun enough, and seeing it applied in practice was fun enough for me.

6: Betrayal at Club Low (2022)

Read my review here!

This was SUCH a fun game. The bombastic music, the fun visuals, the wacky humor, it combines into a world that’s fun to explore. And the gameplay is very fun! Rolling the dice against various challenges makes for interesting decision making, as you also have to manipulate your own stats to stack the odds in your favor. And the pizza dice are a fun mechanic, while also being a funny concept in and of itself. This is just a very creative game from top to bottom, and it makes me wanna experience more games from the dev in the same vein. It just feels so nonstandard yet so fun, which is why it left such an impression on me.

5: Elsinore (2019)

Read my review here!

Turning Hamlet into a timeloop game was a very inspired choice in my opinion. And it works! Though I guess it worked more for me because this is my first time actually experiencing Hamlet. I enjoyed the characters, their stories, the varied endings, and the unique take on the age-old story.

This game added a lot of stories that didn’t exist in the original, and I think I appreciated that decision a lot. It’s like updating a story for modern audiences. Though I’d argue that this is a wildly different story once you play enough of it. Nonetheless, when I think Hamlet, I will think of this game, and that is pretty much as lasting of an impression as you can get.

4: Hypnospace Outlaw (2019)

Read my review here!

The 1990’s were 30 years ago!!! I still can’t believe it! And yet here I am, feeling nostalgic for the computer era of the late 90’s. The forums, the pop-ups, the wacky wallpapers, the music. This is such a good game with well-crafted vibes.

And the story!! It feels so real. I think nowadays we rarely think about the simple fact that there is an actual person behind an online persona, but this game can make you confront that reality really well. It’s nice seeing the little quirks people have with designing their own sites, making their own posts, and dealing with their version of the internet. It makes the story hit harder. I’ll think of this game fondly as the perfect time capsule of the past and as a reminder that even the little things matter.

3: The Case of the Golden Idol (2022)

Read my review here!

I’ve been looking for a game that scratched the same itch as Return of the Obra Dinn (2018) and this game fit the bill perfectly. I really enjoyed the way I had to discover all the evidence, and then having to piece them together to find out what actually happened. And the fact that solving the mystery was ALSO the way the story was told was something I enjoyed a lot. Storytelling AND gameplay neatly folded in together! I’m sure the formula could be improved upon further, but I’m very much excited for more games like this from the devs. I still have a couple of DLC’s from this game to play too!

2: IMMORTALITY (2022)

Read my review here!

This is such a gripping game. I played this with a bunch of other friends, and watching the movies, experiencing the twists and turns… The simple act of making us interface with the game via the match cut mechanic gives the game a certain mystery, as clicking objects to do the match cut with lead you to random clips. Simple gameplay, but leads to a great experience.

The story is very thrilling, and piecing it together was very fun. It’s like a puzzle game where you have to find each puzzle piece, only that you didn’t know what the overall puzzle picture was and discovering each puzzle piece led you to an existential crisis.

This game made me think about the creative process more deeply than the other games I mentioned here. It made me think of the ways each of us want to leave a mark on this world, to live beyond our own mortality. It made me think of the costs of such ways… This game will be on my mind for a while.

1: Chicory: A Colorful Tale (2021)

Read my review here!

When I started writing for this game in this article, I just… stopped. Not because I have nothing to say, but because I feel like the effect of this game on me feels… bigger than I thought. This is a game about art, about the artistic process, and also about… depression, burnout, and trauma. I did not expect that getting into the game the first time, but it was good timing for me in a way, as I was dealing with these things in varying measure. It was a therapeutic experience, playing this coloring book of the game while dealing with these topics.

What’s more, it was actually nice getting to color stuff and draw stuff with my brush! Just coloring the various areas in was soothing. And in game, there are actual art classes where you are shown various artpieces that you have to recreate. I enjoyed making my own spin of some art shown in the classes.

Playing this game was an unexpectedly deep experience for me. I feel like it helped me with my own journey to getting better. I initially chalked this up as my #2 game of 2023, but I had to make it my #1 after I realized how big of a mark it left on me. I am glad I played this game.

FINAL THOUGHTS

One thing I noticed with my games last year is a fair amount of them are detective games. I love mysteries, and would love this genre to be explored further like in Return of the Obra Dinn and The Case of the Golden Idol. Another thing I noticed is that a surprising amount of games involve the artistic process. I like seeing games as art, and would love to see this space explored further. All in all, I love a lot of the games that I managed to play last year, and am excited for what this year holds for me! Thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to read my little review blog :)

[pixelcurious]

2023 Tumblr Top 10

1. 223 notes - Jul 17 2023

146 notes - May 28 2023

96 notes - Mar 16 2023

33 notes - Mar 21 2023

18 notes - Feb 2 2023

16 notes - Nov 9 2023

I've been reading Bookshops and Bonedust (prequel to Legends and Lattes, very enjoyable btw!) Anyway I couldn't sleep the other...

10 notes - Dec 13 2023

8 notes - Oct 13 2023

5 notes - May 20 2023

5 notes - Apr 23 2023

Trying to fall asleep and out of the blue my partner's going Ow! Ow! Me: What happened? Them: Got a cramp, trying to get all...

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Love that fully half of my Top Ten are under 20 notes. Successfully avoiding Tumblr fame once again in 2023

[knifeslidez]

decided to redraw this :3

[lightbulb-warning]

cringetober day 15: song lyrics

[momolady]

2023 Year End Stats

Not to be stereotypical or anything, but for me at least, 2023 was an odd year. I bled for 6 months straight, dealt with the worst pain I still can't comprehend, had a hysterectomy, moved in with my partner, got some cats, dealt with a lot of stress, watched the world burn. Yeah, it's been pretty good to outweigh the bad.

But anyways! I've done the math and put together a list of my stories that performed the best this year. At least in terms of notes anyways. I'm also going to share my stories that didn't perform as well and hope they get the love they deserve.

Anyways, let's get on with the count down. Forty total stories have published on Tumblr this year. Sixty-six were published on Patreon. Top monsters were orcs (7), Vampire (3), Fae, Minotaur, Romm Monster, Lich (all 2).

Top Ten Stories:

10. Kahann the Naga

This one would probably be in my top ten favorites to write of the year. This dark, twisted romance between a lonely, isolated girl shipwrecked on an island with the dangerous and sexy Kahann struck the dark romance itch I've been wanting to scratch.

9. Keir the Orc

Comfy farm romance that features annoyances to lvoers. What else could you want? Orcs are always fun to write, I feel I could do it with my eyes closed, but thankfully I don't wanna do that.

8. Atharo the Lich

The pink lich, this one had imagery in it I couldn't get out of my head. the visions of this pink lich still huant me and I wish I could conjur such sstrong imagery still.

7. Asier the Drider

A simple premise we cann understand. Getting packages and ordering online is probably yhe msot fun we can have without leaving our homes. But what if your neighbor was annoyed by this? And what if that neighbor was a drider?

6. Auberon the Room Monster

The enchanted library. i think I've written more about the romance and mystery of bookstores an libraries more than anything. But this story was special, with lots of worldbuilding wrapped like a blanket around these characters. The room this monster stays in is the library, and who doesn't wanna spend time with that guy?

5. Marek the Vampire

This murky, dark, and swampy tale is one of those that stays with me. The idea of a different sort of vampire, one in the bogs and wetlands of a strange peninsula that gets flooded every year haunts me. The image of him is one of my absolute favorite creations and I hope I get to visit this peninsula village again.

4. Placide the Paralangua

This story marks the beginning and growth of my Charcourt universe. Liek Hearthway Hollow it's a town filled to the brim with straneg creatures, only it's the Paralangua, alligator type monsters who throw a festival every year to celebrate their history and the continued growth of Charcourt. Is it a cult? Maybe. There's a new five part tale of this area up on Patreon now.

3. Ben the Werewolf

Enmies to lovers, I think most people get on board with this trope. This tale of Hearthway Hollow delves into the relationship between two high school enemies who reconnect after years and manage to put aside their competitivness to find one another. The lead in thisstory is also Rowan's little sister.

2. Leraye the Demon

Demons are always fun. My demon characters have ways of weaving themselves in and out of the world we know, sometimes as proper members of society, often not. Leraye is one of those that visits our world as a full time member, seeing out the comforts of a Chinese bakery whose owners are a family with ties into the reality he avoids.

Florenz the Vampire Bat

This would for sure also be on my favorites of the year. This dark story wove together elements of fantasy, horror, and romance that I love to death. The lead is sophisticated and dashing, the lead is adventurous and excitable. The chemistry between the leads while writing this tale was so good.

The Ten Least Appreciated Stories

10. Juniper the Tiefling

I am deeply disappointed this didn't do as well as I expected. This story was based on characters me and my bff made for a one shot DND session. So this story was more personal to me than others. but more than that, I feel it had some of my best banter!

9. Rocco the Guard

Another personal tale based on ideas me and my friend came up with during a visit where we watched the Owl House together. I also greatly enjoyed the leading lady who was smart, spunky, and chaotic in the absolute best ways.

8. Ozzie the Werewolf & Tryfon the Naiad

It has a trans lead, it has polyamory, it was set in hearthway Hollow! I thought this story was serving up gold on a platter. But maybe people weren't in the mood for gold. The comedy in this is top notch, at least I thought.

7. Laertes the Fae

Another story where the dialogue I feel sparkles and pops with every interaction the characters had. This did only recently come out, so maybe it'll grow after this.

6. Ransom the Shapeshifter

Another personal story based around lore me and my bff created for our Stardew Valley characters. It also featured a nonbinary lead and monster, I thought people would be excited for this. I loved playing with the avant-garde sci-fi aspect and being a little weird. But maybe that's why people didn't like it too much lol

5. The Leshy

Another story that would be in my top ten for my personal favorites to write. I loved the complexity of the leading lady and crafting her has made her a personal favorite. The characters and world of this story will be one that stays with my thoughts as I think about the cozy, dark streets anfdthe moss covered steps of the buildings.

4. Jaqueline the Dullahan

This story has it all! Chocolate, Halloween, a sexy dullahan chef, and it's a lesbian romance. Maybe I don't have enough wlw readers but this story came from a ko-fi prompt I wrot and just grew into a full fledged story. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this story and how it felt like a cozy fireplace with hot cocoa.

3. Beast the Symbiote

Beast is a character I have been wanting to get out into the world for years. She's such a complex villain character, and who doesn't love that. I feel like she is one of my coolest characters. Lucky Devil was also a character I had been dying to get out, she's been in my head since I watched Magi Madoka and she took form slowly over the years. She is in part based on me, and I want to do more with this lovely couple.

2. Fia the Selkie

I'm starting to see a pattern here. Male reader stories aren't ya'lls cup of tea? Too bad, I have some amazing male readers and commissioners I adore working for. Fia was this comforting warm blanket of a story. A struggling musician and the lovely Selkie he's come to be with. I really love this story, please check it out if you want some comfort.

1.Ria the Orc: an AU

I'm actually a wee bit pissed about this one. Another male reader, and Ria is a character I've come to absolutely love. This was written for a commissioner I've come to consider a friend, and writing for him has become an amazing experience. Ria and her beau have also become such real, loving characters in my head. This was an AU of the modern monsters Ria where she is in Obresh and participates in the Reaping. Who doesn't love Reaping stories? C'mon folks, give these ten stories the love they deserve!

Thank you all for an amazing year! Next year I will hopefully publish and you're going to see bigger and grander things from me, I owe that to all of you. Keep a look out for my Ozren novel hitting the shelf soon. Thank you so much and I hope I continue to write stories you love.

[secondhello]

My dear sweet silly rabbit beautiful doppio

[yrsonpurpose]

LANDO NORRIS Post Qualifying // Spanish GP 2023

[worflesbian]

Klingons & Racialisation - the Long Post

This post is an overview of the racial coding of the Klingons from their first appearance to the present day, illustrated by quotes from Trek writers, actors and crew members taken from the Memory Alpha article Depicting Klingons, with my own interjected summaries and explanations. It is by no means comprehensive (I likely missed some stuff), and does not offer critical analysis of the quotes provided, but nonetheless is intended to demonstrate irreproachably the open fact that Klingons have always been intentionally written and designed as non-white -- something that fandom consistently fails to take into account when perpetuating racist stereotypes and reiterating racist canon content. I recommend reading the whole article for a more in-depth understanding of the subject, as well as seeking out the existing writing of fans of colour. This post is primarily for reference purposes so I've tried to limit my own analysis and opinions, but I do post those in my Klingon tag as well as more general headcanons and worldbuilding and I'm happy to answer any (good faith) questions this post may raise.

As always, if I have overstepped in any way as a white fan in making this post, I am grateful to be informed and will make any required changes.

Content warning for outdated and offensive language under the cut.

The Original Series

"There is some suggestion that the Klingons represent a Cold Warrior's view of China in the 1960s – swarthy, brutally repressive." (Star Trek Magazine issue 153, p. 66) "And I think he was basing a lot of it on the kind of attitude of the Japanese in World War II...." ("Errand of Mercy" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray) The script of "Errand of Mercy" introduces the Klingon look by saying, "We see the Klingons are Orientals," "Spray my hair black, give me a kind of swamp creature green olivey mud reptilian make-up, and we'll borrow some stuff from Fu Manchu, and put a long moustache and eyebrows on me." ("The Sword of Colicos", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Official Poster Magazine, No. 8) "I think the makeup was called 'Mexican #1 or #2.' That was the name of the original makeup foundation – they actually had kind of racist names at the time, like 'Negro #1' and 'Mexican #2' – which was the basis for the original Star Trek makeups." (Star Trek Magazine issue 172, p. 59) "In the original series, all they wore was a dark face and their black hair," Michael Westmore observed. ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) The Klingons' appearance changed within the original Star Trek series; although dark makeup and heavy eyebrows were the norm, the Klingons of "The Trouble with Tribbles" were much lighter-skinned and more Human-like in appearance.... He noticed that they are not only less like Mongol warriors by having less of a swarthy appearance but also by being slightly not as fierce... ("The Trouble with Tribbles" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) "...they were meant to represent the Communist foes of the United States specifically during the Vietnam War, which was being controversially fought at that time. (Star Trek: The Original Series 365, p. 222) "...let us never set up a situation whereby those adversaries of ours [Klingons] give any indication of ever being anything but highly aggressive and self-seeking opponents." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three)

Here it is explicitly stated that the Klingons were based on various Asian cultures, with the USSR also being mentioned heavily in the article. This influence and the use of "yellowface" is covered more comprehensively in this youtube video Klingons & The History Of Racial Coding. However, the video has some notable gaps which I hope to cover in this post.

Post-TOS (movies)

The Star Trek III portrayal of Klingons took inspiration from Japanese history. "Harve [Bennett] had the notion that the Klingons were like Samurai warriors," explained linguist Marc Okrand. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, p. 27) Robert Fletcher agreed with Bennett, later saying of the Klingons, "I always liked to think of them as authoritarian, almost feudal, like Japan had been." (The Making of the Trek Films, UK 3rd ed., p. 52) Regarding the make-up, Michael Westmore observed, "Until now, Klingons were brown. Some had a bony ridge running down the middle of their foreheads, long black wigs and facial hair." (Star Trek: The Next Generation Makeup FX Journal, p. 28) "I thought it was an ideal way for us to have our closure too, because the Klingons for us have always been the Communist Block, the Evil Empire. It just made sense to do that story." (The Making of the Trek Films, UK 3rd ed., p. 100) "Gene was really bothered by the Klingons in VI [....] [They] were, in his words, 'too civilized, too decent, too much of the good guys in the story.' [....] [The Klingon detente] was not the way Gene would have handled it. He would have reversed it, he would have had the Klingons being the ones who couldn't handle the peace, with the Federation saying, 'Come on, let's try and work this out.'" (Star Trek Movie Memories, hardback ed., p. 289) "The story never explored the Klingon culture the way I'd hoped it would [....] I was hoping for greater insight into the Klingons." (I Am Spock) Nimoy hoped, in specific, that the movie would provide some important insight into why the Klingons had "always been so angry, such nasty, vicious murderers." Nimoy wanted the insightful knowledge to be an intellectually transformational force, changing the thinking of Kirk and the audience. (Star Trek Movie Memories, hardback ed., pp. 287-288) In an interview in the DS9 Season 7 DVD, Robert O'Reilly observed that a long-running joke among actors who have played Klingons is that they do not want to appear in the Star Trek films as, he believes, the only purpose of a Klingon in one of the films was to be killed off.

Although these last three quotes may not seem relevant, I believe they highlight an important facet of the racialisation of the Klingons. It reads as though Gene Roddenberry was against depicting the Klingons in a more sympathetic light than the Federation, and considering that the Klingons are intended to be non-white, refusing to give depth or motive to their anger in favour of keeping them "nasty, vicious murderers" comes across as fairly racist, especially when these kind of reductive and harmful stereotypes could've been challenged as Nimoy suggests. The treatment of Klingons as disposable villains is also concerning in this context.

The Next Generation

African-American actors were often cast as Klingons in TNG and subsequent Star Trek productions. This practice wasn't racially motivated but was instead carried out because it lessened makeup time, as the performers already had a brown complexion without having to have their skin painted that color. (Stardate Revisited: The Origin of Star Trek: TNG, Part 2: Launch, TNG Season 1 Blu-ray) Tony Todd, who portrayed the recurring Klingon character Kurn, stated, "I don't look at the Klingons necessarily as African-Americans, but it's about tapping into something–they're certainly an alienated people, so maybe that's why African-American actors can identify with those characters. But that doesn't mean it's exclusive to them." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 116, p. 54) Michael Westmore actually changed the Klingon facial design in numerous ways, though. He stated, "I added a Shakespearean style of facial hair and a forehead bone structure based on dinosaur vertebrae and I was able to modify motion picture Klingons for television." (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p. 59) In "A Matter Of Honor", the Klingons were intended to be used to shed some light on a common social problem prevalent at the time of the episode's making. This was, namely, what it was like to be the only person of either white or black skin coloration while surrounded by people of the other color. The Klingons were selected to illustrate this theme as a spin on the usual arrangement of a predominantly Human crew serving aboard the Enterprise-D alongside Worf. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 176) Two historical societies, the Samurai and Vikings, served as other inspirations, Moore perceiving about Klingon culture, "There was the calm, elegant reserve associated with the Samurai but there was the 'party-down' like the Vikings." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, p. 58) "I stopped thinking of the Klingons as the Cold War adversary," he explained. "I didn't think it fit [....] The place where the Russians were when I was doing the Klingon shows just wasn't as relevant any more." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 19, pp. 64-65) "The Klingons are not evil, tyrannical pirates bent only on pillage and plunder. They have a strict, almost unyielding code of ethics and honor and take their responsibilities as rulers seriously." Following a description of the Klingon homeworld, the memo continued by saying, "Klingon society could most closely be compared to that of Sparta or feudal Japan." ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) Having recently seen the film Malcolm X, he imagined the Klingons in the "Birthright" duology as metaphors for black people. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 274; Star Trek: Communicator issue 105, p. 16) "There's a certain way you have to carry yourself. You have to really be able to project the violence and the anger [....] All you have to do is think of the Spartans. They say, 'They'd rather have you come home dead on your shield than come home a coward.' [18]

This is where I feel the video essay previously mentioned falls short -- in the next gen era, Klingons are now explicitly black-coded. While some Asian cultural influences are still cited, they learn more towards the historical and are intermixed with other historical European influences (Spartans, Vikings, Shakespeare) rather than being fueled by contemporary prejudices towards the political enemies of the US as they were in the TOS era.

Deep Space Nine

Fields also generally based the Klingon group on American Western prototypes from the film The Magnificent Seven or, to a lesser extent, Japanese prototypes from The Magnificent Seven's movie source material, Seven Samurai. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (pp. 131-132)) "So, the hair [...] was permed. So, it had more of a curl instead of the straight type look, and by perming it, they were able to kind of give them larger, bigger hair, so it was more like a mane." ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) "I don't know how you could equate Klingons with what's going on in the world today," he admitted. "I think the intention was to make them like samurai. That hairdo they gave them is very much a samurai hairdo. A lot of the fight sequences, the moves with the bat'telh, are very much taken out of the Asian martial arts [....] It's very romantic you know, these three old guys, the Klingon over-the-hill gang." (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15, pp. 17-18) "It was different for them to get into this makeup, because [...] [the makeup was more elaborate and] the beards were bigger, and they were greyer, and they had curls to them, and the moustaches, they had the Fu Manchu look to them. So, they weren't used to sitting that long to be a Klingon." ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) For recreating some old-style Klingons in "Trials and Tribble-ations", the Klingon-playing actors had to be made up with the same swarthy, shiny brown makeup as used in the original series. (The Magic of Tribbles: The Making of Trials and Tribble-ations) ...he had them unite in song, thinking this was "just the kind of thing that Klingons do" because they are, in his opinion, similar to Vikings. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 449)) "I always saw the Klingons as a combination of Japanese Samurai who haven't had their morning coffee (or tea!) and African Zulu warriors." [25]

In DS9 the only inspirations cited seem to be historical, once again leaning towards feudal Japan and the Vikings. Interestingly although the Klingons here are predominantly dark-skinned, I don't think that J.G. Hertzler, who is white, had his skin significantly darkened to play Martok (at least, not compared to the obvious brown makeup worn by other white actors playing Klingons). Having a white actor play a Klingon without dark makeup could've set a precedent decreasing the use of such practices later on, but no one seems to have picked up on it.

Enterprise

The Klingons of ENT: "Sleeping Dogs" were based on the crew of the Russian submarine Kursk. "For me," said Dekker, "the point was to acknowledge the Klingons as 'people' – to find them in a clear position of distress [....] The idea to 'humanize' their plight was mine, and it wasn't anything I thought about as far as canon. It just seemed right." (Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection, issue 41, pp. 10-12) In the final draft script of "Affliction", the altered Klingons were initially referred to as "fierce-looking aliens" and were further described thus; "The aliens have a swarthy complexion, and dark facial hair... they could easily be mistaken for Humans. We'll eventually learn these are Klinqons... but their cranial ridges have disappeared."

At this point in time it seems the Klingons had essentially done a 180 from one-dimensional villains to sympathetic fan favourites, while still retaining the skin-darkening aspect of their makeup and "barbaric" characterisation. Although this is not mentioned in the article's section on the Abrams films, the images provided do demonstrate a level of skin darkening for the Klingons' brief appearance in Into Darkness.

The final section of the article is incomplete, meaning I don't have a lot of information for Discovery's redesign of the Klingons. The sources I can find cite ancient civilisations such as the Byzantines as well as Islamic architecture as inspiration for the set design, with a baroque influence on the costumes. I have heard rumours that the crew of Discovery have cited North African cultures as their inspiration for the Klingons but I can't currently find a source for this. Despite the lack of direct quotes, it's visibly clear that the Klingon makeup is still darkening the skin of white actors, although this time also to non-human blue and purple colours, as well as altering certain features in a racialised way. To elaborate: Mary Chieffo, who plays L'Rell on Discovery, is white and has a very thin nose and small lips, but in costume these are broadened in a way that seems imitative of African ethnic features.

As of the making of this post (early August 2023) I haven't seen any of Strange New Worlds, but from some cursory research its latest episode (Subspace Rhapsody) seems to have put a white actor (Bruce Horak) in brown makeup to play a Klingon. I am deeply disappointed that on a television set in 2023 people can still be darkening an actors skin like this without questioning the racial implications of what they're doing.

Thank you for reading to the end of this post. Please feel free to link to it if you found it useful enough to cite in another context. I would like to reiterate that I am white and while this is an issue I care deeply about it is not one I have an emic understanding of, and if anything I've said here is inappropriate I would be very grateful to be made aware.

[raceweek]

sometimes things happen to alex and im like um??? and then i give it a second and im like actually that checks that’s definitely a thing that just happens to alex. like he’s not even directly involved in this and yet. alexexistingcore

[mistressemmedi]

I never said anything bad about the Vegas GP ever

[lanthart]

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