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hiccupmistress · 1 year

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Beware MAJOR spoilers for season 3 of Star Trek: Picard

Something about my Star Trek fandom that I’ve talked about elsewhere but only ever really hinted at on Tumblr is how and when I first got into Star Trek. Strictly speaking, my first encounter with the franchise was when I would have been about 11 or 12, I think. A TV channel was showing a one-per-week marathon of all the Star Trek movies (Nemesis was out by this point, but 2009 was still a ways off). I was too young to really appreciate it at the time, I guess; I have small memories of seeing bits of Search For Spock, Voyage Home, First Contact and Nemesis during that TV marathon, and I liked it, but I didn’t get that into it at the time. I saw the 2009 movie when it came out, but as someone with only a little bit of Star Trek experience, I simply enjoyed it as a summer blockbuster and moved on with my life.

But then around 2011, a friend on Steam messaged me asking if I liked Star Trek - apparently some online game had just gone free-to-play, and the friend wondered if I was interested in trying it out. Since I had a passing familiarity with the movies and remembered enjoying them as a kid, I figured why not and then my whole life changed forever.

Star Trek Online was (and still is) full of so many pieces of lore and information and references to past shows that it utterly piqued my interest and prompted me to start watching all the shows.

As a result of STO being my main introduction to Star Trek though, be it in its original 'Odyssey Class' configuration or its (non-canon) 'Yorktown-Type' refit configuration, the Enterprise-F is "my" Enterprise, in much the same way as those who grew up watching the early movies call the Constitution-Refit “their” enterprise, or those who grew up watching TNG call the Galaxy Class "their" Enterprise and so on. That was the big hero-flagship when I was getting into Star Trek for the first time. There was a point (like a decade ago) in the game where you could go see the Enterprise any time you wanted by looking out the window in the ship requisitions room on Spacedock. I remember standing there and being in awe of it as it loomed over the requisitions room.

I am THRILLED that Star Trek Picard made the ‘Oddy’ canon. Yes, it was disappointing that "my" Enterprise was sidelined after about 30 seconds on screen; we'd known for some time that the Enterprise-F was to be slated for "early decommission" in Picard season 3, and I'd gotten used to that fact, but I wasn't ready to see an Enterprise-G quite so soon. I actually briefly went through the stages of grief over it, not going to lie, but I've made peace with it now.

I look forward to seeing what adventures Captain Seven and First Officer Raffi have on the Enterprise-G (Star Trek: Legacy?), and I'm hoping that at some point, we might get a show, or at least flashbacks, set on or around the Enterprise-F during its prime (maybe Prodigy, since its about the right point in the timeline, as per Terry Matalas and Dave Blass’ lore about when the canon version of the ‘F’ launched).

As much as I would have liked to see more of it in those episodes, the Odyssey Class Enterprise-F, "my" Enterprise, will forever be part of Star Trek canon now and I am so grateful!

#startrek #startrekpicard #star trek #star trek picard #startrekonline #star trek online #sto #uss enterprise #trekkie origin story #the enterprise has a canonically bi captain and thats cool #also im glad raffi is back in starfleet #michelle hurd looks crazy good in a starfleet uniform

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sanctus-ingenium · 3 months

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Ooo!! What's the dragonriders of pern???

NOT to contest the claim of trekkies everywhere, but Anne McCaffrey of Dragonriders Of Pern fame invented sex pollen and omegaverse in the 60s. Whether or not this is a good thing is up for interpretation

Dragonriders of Pern is a series of sci-fi novels that started in the 60s about human settlers on the planet of Pern who live in a pre-industrial era. Every few hundred years, their planet comes under fire from Thread, an invasive rainfall shed by a nearby dwarf planet that destroys all organic matter it touches. To fight Thread, humans have genetically engineered dragons which breathe fire to burn the Thread before it harms anyone. The series starts during an unusually long lull between Threadfalls, and in the centuries people have neglected their dragon riders and dragons to the point where when Thread does inevitably fall again, they are completely unequipped to fight it. Nearly all common dragon riding genre tropes originate from Pern!! Anne McCaffrey was the blueprint. I adore this series, but my favourite part is how as the series go on, the characters slowly uncover the truth that they are aliens in this world, dig up ancient technology, learn to use it, and progress as a society. The genre shift from fantasy to sci-fi is one of my favourite things to experience and, as the reader, slowly realising the forgotten truths that the characters themselves are unaware of is great. In this regard, a big inspiration for my Siren setting.

The series contains scenes of sexual assault and a weird adult/minor love story so I can't in good conscience recommend it without pointing this out. It should be considered a product of its time and approached with a critical lens. It was also one of the first books I ever read with normalised gay side characters and gay sex (not any of the main characters) so that was cool. For anyone wondering my fave is obviously F'nor.

#also irish travellers as actual characters.. somewhat stereotypical but they're among the first dragon riders #ive never read another fantasy or sci-fi book that explicitly includes travellers

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facts-i-just-made-up · 1 year

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Star Wars "Prop" found after 46 Years

You may remember the "Krayt Dragon" seen in the original Star Wars film when C3P0 and R2D2 arrive on the planet Tatooine:

The scene, filmed in 1976, reportedly involved actor Anthony Daniels in costume as C3P0, and a large prop skeleton made of foam. The fake skeleton was left in the desert after filming. But last year, an odd fact came to light: The scene listed in Lucasfilm's records was NOT the one seen in the final film.

According to Lucas sibling and then-assistant-director Billy Bob Lucas Jr., the prop shipped to Tunisia for filming and later rediscovered by famed film archaeologist D.W. Reynolds in the 1990s was deemed "too small" to be compelling, and filming was delayed. Indeed, records newly unloaded at Disney's "Michael Eisner Memorial Cinematic Preservation Site" (a small incinerator in their basement) list the actual filming location as 20 miles south of where the original shoot was to have been filmed.

A small group of traveling Star Wars fans known as "Trekkies" headed to the site shortly after and found what they believed to be the actual remains of the Krayt Dragon prop that was used for the final film:

The story took a strange turn however when they dug up the prop and noticed that the vertebrae were not made of foam:

Indeed, the entire 50ft long skeleton was not a prop, but the image seen in the original movie was, in fact, a genuine colossal skeleton. Lucasfilm prop master Roger Pagan was asked for comment and took a break from filming on "Battlefield Earth 2: The AfterMathematics" to answer. According to Pagan, "Yeah the prop was too small so we headed into the desert where some locals said there was already a big skeleton. We found it, figured it was a whale, shot the scene and headed out."

Analysis however found that the vertebra was not from a whale, but rather a reptile. Nor was it a fossil, but seems to have only died in the late 1800s, suggesting that indeed, a species of undiscovered 50ft reptiles is currently dwelling in the Tunisian desert.

Asked for comment, George Lucas himself explained, "That's nothing, that trash compactor creature was just caught from an LA sewer and we set it free there when we were done filming. Ever feel something weird on your butt on the toilet? That's our Dylan."

#star wars #krayt dragon #george lucas #film history #unreality

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celestialvoyeur · 4 months

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So, this time last year I was thinking about what I wanted to change in 2023.

The one thing I settled on was that I wanted to read more. I’ve always enjoyed reading but have had less time in recent years to do so, and even when I regained a bit more time to myself I was out of the habit of reaching for a book.

So I started off the year mostly listening to audio books when driving or doing things around the house and it rekindled my love of stories. I then started on e-books and would find myself reaching for my kindle or iPad during down time rather than turning on the TV.

In July I followed a random link on social media and suddenly I found myself on AO3 for the first time. I don’t even remember how it came about but suddenly I was reading my very first fan fic (‘The Promised Land’ by @gunstreet ) and learning that there was something called ‘slash fiction’ and a Star Trek sub-fandom based around the ‘Spirk’ relationship.

I’ve been a life long Trekkie, but discovering Spirk and fan fiction was like a missing piece clicking into place. Suddenly I was absolutely devouring stories, delighting in a whole new realm of Star Trek content.

Well…it changed EVERYTHING!

I did a massive TOS rewatch and for the first time ever I really, thoroughly enjoyed it, because it finally made SENSE when viewed through the lens of Spirk. I was raised in the era of TNG so I’ve never been massively fussed on TOS before. Now though I absolutely adore our boys and got so much more out of the episodes.

From there I kept exploring AO3 and finally found my way on to Tumblr and discovered this amazing community of likeminded individuals. Everyone has been so welcoming, supportive and kind, it’s been really lovely to start getting to know some of you.

As we close out 2023, the final count is as follows. I’ve read 65 novels, 88 novellas and 139 short stories. (28 of the novels were audio or e-books and everything else has been fan fiction I’ve read since July)

So I met my original goal of reading more, but as a wonderful bonus I found a new passion, a new community, discovered new talents (I’ve been loving creating my art) and have made some new friends.

Thank you so much to all of you for being part of this journey. Whether you’ve been liking and reblogging, commenting or chatting with me in DMs, I really appreciate you.

And a special thanks to all the lovely writers and artists creating ever more Spirk fan fics and art for me to enjoy.

Sending you all massive hugs and very best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2024. Xx

#long post #grateful #i love reading #New Year #star trek #spirk #spock #james t kirk #k/s #kirk/spock #k/s fanfic #fan fiction #fanfic #fan fic rec

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spirkme915 · 10 months

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I made the decision to be extra-judicious on deciding what constituted a spoiler for the new season of Strange New Worlds and I'm sticking with that.

But I have thoughts and I’ve spent way too much time thinking about them for a season and a half and I can’t hold them in anymore. So here you go.

Definite spoilers for episode 5 and everything before it under the cut. TL;DR at the very bottom of this way too long post.

Episode 5 was an absolute banger of an episode in terms of Hollywood entertainment value. But, and this is a big BUT, what the actual hell are the writers doing?

The Christine/Spock/T’Pring love triangle is tarnishing the gift that was given to Trek fans when Strange New Worlds was announced and it's becoming way too obvious not to comment on.

It’s maddening that they’ve decided to take a thirty second scene of a one-sided crush from the original series (Chapel confessing her love for Spock in The Naked Time) and turned it into a two-sided love affair that's part of a love triangle. It is, quite literally, derailing what is otherwise an incredible show.

I hear you asking… Seriously? Aren’t you being extreme? How could a consensual affair do that? Or.... You're a Spirk blog. Aren't you biased? Oh boy, I wish it were that simple. This is coming from a literal lifelong Trek fan who had Trouble with Tribbles memorized before I had an inkling what romance even was, and who - fortunately - was taught by my Trekkie father what made good writing.

The love triangle is not good Trek or good writing.

For reasons that likely have to do with Spock being arguably the most well known character in Star Trek canon (pop culture wise), the writers have chosen to focus on him. And what kind of storyline can they give us since Spock goes through a massive, decades long character arc in the original series and movies? (Spoiler alert, I answer that at the end and it's not a love triangle.)

For reasons that likely have to do with Peck’s appearance and natural charisma, they’ve decided to give Spock love interests - not just one but two.

Let’s ignore that Spock doesn’t show interest in either Christine or T’Pring in the original series. Really, that’s the least of the problems and easily explained away.

Where the problems arise are two fold - Spock’s emotional journey and the minimization of two strong female characters to love interests.

Spock’s emotional journey - As great as parts of this episode were (looking at you, Amanda), what it achieved was Spock coming to terms with his human side in a way that the Spock we know from the original series hasn’t accepted. It takes original series Spock until The Motion Picture (perhaps not until after The Voyage Home), to be comfortable in being both human and Vulcan. So the ground Spock gained in this episode? Strange New Worlds, if it continues as part of the prime timeline, can only result in character regression for Spock. As a fan of Spock in all iterations, that regression will be a heartbreaking and horrible way to end a hopeful show.

Christine and T’Pring as love interests - Dear god, can these women exist without being defined by a man please? It’s 2023. This shouldn’t be something female characters have to ask for. Sure, there was more about Christine in this episode, but her arc still revolved around Spock. And not only that, but we got the Korby name drop in this episode (her future fiancé). I'd love to think that this isn't headed in a direction where Christine will hook up with Spock then he’ll pull away and she jumps ship to Korby only to be defined again by a man. But for fuck's sake, this last season and a half hasn't given me much hope. Jess Bush is amazing as Christine. Is it too much to let Christine be her own woman? And T’Pring? I adore T'Pring way more in Strange New Worlds than I expected to. So, please, help a Vulcan woman out. T’Pring is already relegated to nothing in the narrative after Amok Time. If there’s going to be an insistence on bringing her into the story can she please not be defined by Spock then Stonn? I'm BEGGING the Strange New Worlds writers - let these characters and actors shine as fully realized women.

But the larger problem is that this single decision for a love triangle has not only fated these three characters to regression and minimization - IT'S DIMMING THE POSSIBILITIES FOR EVERYONE.

When Strange New Worlds was announced, there were so many possibilities. A whole new part of canon to be explored and expanded. NEW CHARACTERS, NEW PLACES, NEW MORAL QUANDARIES, NEW EXPLORATIONS.

But we only get 10 episodes a season, right? Not the 26ish we got with the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. (Discovery, I'm looking at you and weeping too.)

So, why are the writers insisting on episodes focusing on an unnecessary love triangle when they could be doing this:

Uhura - Hello? SHE'S RIGHT THERE AND CELIA IS INCREDIBLE. The original series is notorious for brushing Uhura under the rug and other people can speak way more intelligently on Uhura meta than I can. But, I mean, she didn't even have a canon first name until 2009. So. Yeah. Good news, Strange New Worlds can change all of that. Build her history, show us her successes, her fears, her failings, glimpses into her past. Give her a chance to have a dalliance with the "alien of the week." Uhura is a beloved character for so so so many wonderful reasons. Give us the stories about her that deepen that love.

Erica - Oh, Erica. My beloved Erica. Paramount PR keeps saying that last week's episode was "Erica's Big Moment" and if it truly was her biggest moment of the season, then I weep for her and Melissa Navia. All we learned in that episode was that she's Erica Ortegas and she flies the ship (and, well, that Navia has a depth in her they haven't let her show with Erica so far). Erica does pilot and flies really goddamn well, but we already knew that. What about her time in the Klingon War? What about her family? Her friends off the ship? What was it that either made her determined to become the best pilot or that happened in her past that inspired her to become that pilot? How does she feel about being on the Enterprise? How does she feel about soup or carpet or art? There's nothing, literally NOTHING, in future canon about her and right now her Memory Alpha entries for her life before Strange New Worlds is seven sentences. SEVEN SENTENCES. All of this for a fan favorite character. *sigh*

Sam - The potential for this character is limitless and all we've really gotten is him touching something he shouldn't have, being xenophobic to Spock, and that he doesn't pick up his dirty dishes. Seriously? We know more about Jim Kirk in Strange New Worlds and he's not even on the Enterprise or in the same timeline! When we rewatch Operation Annihilate, give us a reason to mourn with Jim. Make that episode a billion times worse because Sam is a character that we know and care about outside of being Jim's brother.

Pike - Okay, so admittedly, Pike is probably the most fleshed out character besides Spock in canon and they're not shying away from the future he knows is coming. That's been handled really well. And they've also done a great job of showing how much Pike cares. But, what makes Pike one of the "great captains" and how has his past turned him into who he is today (the canon pieces with his father have so much possibility) and what is he doing behind the scenes to fight for his crew and his ship? I feel like we got more of the "great captain" in Discovery than we've gotten in Strange New Worlds. And, dear god again with the "romance," can his love interest get a canon first name please? Hard to buy he loves her when he calls her Captain Batel even in his personal log.

Una - She was pretty much a canonical blank slate going into Strange New Worlds and they've done some incredible episodes with her, but I'd love to see her actually be the XO? Making that a question because she absolutely is, but we have yet to really see that in practice. The relationship between Pike and Una deserves so so much more screen time. Let them be captain and first officer. Explore Pike mentoring her, and give way more of her mentoring crew. Let her be more than Illyrian. What are the unique challenges she faces as the highest ranked woman and non-Human on the ship? Is she a fighter or a negotiator or some secret third thing? Does she have an intricate knowledge of some space anomaly or ship function that no one else on board does? What are her future goals and plans? I'm rambling now, but the point is that she's a character who disappears from canon after Strange New Worlds and she's the goddamn FIRST OFFICER OF THE ENTERPRISE. Let her be that until she isn't anymore.

La’An and M'Benga - Honestly, I'm not going to put much here for La'An because out of all the "new" characters in Strange New Worlds, La'An has been fleshed out the most. And, out of all the "barely exists in canon" characters, M'Benga is the same. But I'm listing them because they make my point. La'An and M'Benga are good examples of what happens when the writers focus on characters who either don't exist in canon or barely exist there. We know pieces of their backstory and their motivations. We know what keeps them up at night. Both actors have given performances that tie the audience to their characters emotionally. And yet, there's seasons worth of more material for both of them.

So. To come back to my original point - why are the writers focusing on a love triangle that tramples on canon and minimizes female characters when they are wealthy af with primo characters?

I mean, there are so many other ways they could have gone with Christine (making her bisexuality more than a one-off line, having her struggle with what happened on the Farragut, exploring her role during the Klingon War, family, friends, facing moral quandaries in her research...), and Spock (his relationship with Sarek, Vulcan rituals and practices we've never seen ((double parentheses here to emphasize that to us, as viewers, Vulcan *is* a strange new world and there's still a hell of a lot of Vulcan stuff that's veiled in mystery)), and MICHAEL ((remember Michael, his sister, who got a one line mention in the first episode then nothing?? Yeah, that Michael)), Spock's grief over losing Hemmer and Michael so closely together, etc...). Poor T'Pring is pretty much relegated to love interest and plot device at this point unfortunately. Instead of the love triangle route, they could've cut the sex scenes and made her a cool, calculating advisor to Spock and the Angel/Sybok plotline could've still happened. But alas, was not meant to be.

I've written a lot of words and taken up way too much of my day with this, but I seriously couldn't hold it in any longer. Look, I love Strange New Worlds, but I also seriously grieve for the show that it could've been and I seriously hope it will become that show in future seasons.

Strange New Worlds is gorgeous, the sets and special effects are A+, the actors are all pretty too and know how to command a scene. There's a lot to work with. But let's not forget that the original series was put together with styrofoam, glitter, and a prayer and it birthed this 60 year franchise. What kept people coming back to Trek were the relationships and a found family working together to explore, not a forced love triangle.

TL;DR

The insistence on the Christine/Spock/T'Pring love triangle is dooming all of their characters to massive character regression and minimization *and* cheating us out of learning about and loving the characters who are practically unknown in canon.

#star trek #strange new worlds #snw spoilers #strange new worlds spoilers #star trek meta #strange new worlds meta #this is about as contentious as i'll get on this blog #because it's supposed to be a happy place for me #but damn #i couldn't NOT say something #it's driving me bananas #adding tags because i have more thoughts #this isn't even getting into that the writers fundamentally DON'T KNOW who spock is #like they really really don't #and vulcan emotions are more powerful than human's but he couldn't control the human emotions?#i don't get it #but they don't either so #adding one more #the bacon was a big wtf moment too #spock is a vegetarian because of respect for life not biology #but again #fundamentally misunderstanding spock seems to be the flavor of the day #fuck #adding more tags #how did i forget to mention that we’re wasting episodes on an unnecessary love triangle that’s DOOMED FROM THE START ON ALL SIDES #so it’s extra extra unnecessary #i just #i’m so tired #this episode was just BAD all around

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landwriter · 1 year

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Do you think Hob would read Douglas Adams? Oh god what if he didn’t like scifi I’d cry

I feel like if Hob was into reading that kind of Literature, he might not be so flabbergasted when he learns about Dream and the endless, he might be like “oh like in stories but real!”

gdjdjagsjdkagag dream being thrown for a loop when hob says “Oh! Gijinka. Got it.”

Wait, no, what - I'm obsessed with Science Fiction Nerd Hob Gadling??? Have we talked about this yet? As a fandom?

I love a Hob Gadling that adores speculative and science fiction. Hob Gadling going to like, Trekkie conventions in the seventies and eighties. Hob Gadling buying zines and writing his own dreams for the future.

Hob Gadling not just having read Douglas Adams, but having heard Hitchhiker's Guide in its original form as a BBC radio comedy in 1978 and having to pull over because he was laughing too hard to drive.

I totally see him as being minimally flabbergasted because he doesn't strike me as a very flabbergastable sort, and if he ever was, he got it mostly out of his system by the 17th century. I feel like he's probably spent a fair amount of time speculating on who his stranger might be, and I think one of my favourite headcanons is that he, for at least a century, had completely convinced himself that Dream was a vampire. Next to all the sixties and seventies scifi is just like, six shelves of vampire novels. Vampire horror. Vampire romances. Vampire mysteries. Vampire erotica.

#asks #hob meta #the sandman #hob gadling #dream of the endless

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traegorn · 2 years

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Look, I don't know if this is a hot take or not, but I'm of the firm opinion that if you plan on watching both TNG and DS9 that you don't watch one then the other -- instead watching them in order as they aired.

Like, the way they fell on the timeline.

There are a couple of reasons for this. The least important one is that it makes sure the minor crossovers line up. This is just a minor thing, but it helps to know who the hell Bashir is when he shows up on TNG.

The other reasons are far more important. First off, it means you're alternating episodes during the early seasons of DS9. DS9 was still finding its footing early on, while TNG was a well oiled machine telling some of their best stories. It gets you through any of the weaker episodes by knowing you might watch a great episode after.

But also... it preserves the experience Trekkers and Trekkies had in the 1990s. Like we were getting two Star Trek episodes a week. Even today, when we literally have five fucking Star Trek shows on TV it's not the same. Picard, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks and Prodigy are all set at different time periods (although Lower Decks and Prodigy are weirdly just a couple years apart). These are shows that will reference each others canon, but never have a major cast member walk on from one show onto the other in the same timeline as their original show.

I love the hell out of all the new Trek, but it isn't the same.

Like, when we watched DS9 and TNG together there was this idea that these were happening at the same time. They aired the same week, the events from one could influence the other... Like even if it rarely happened it really felt like they could. Worf literally joins the crew after TNG's run ends.

And when you just watch all of TNG and then watch all of DS9 separately... you lose that and I personally think it's a very important part of the experience.

So, y'know, something to think about.

(I love VOY but it can be watched on its own, just because the Delta quadrant setting meant it was never affected by DS9 when the two ran concurrently beyond the first VOY episode. Also, if you want an airing list, for 1990s Trek, this list from a long time ago is the easiest to read I've found.)

#Star Trek #TNG #st tng #ds9 #st ds9 #Deep Space Nine #The Next Generation #star trek the next generation #star trek deep space nine #deep space 9

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patrickerville · 8 months

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Not sure if you're still answering asks about s11, but I just finished the series and it is such a beautiful work of art thats going to stay with me for a long time, thank you. I wanted to ask, im a big trekkie and I adored the little references. Near the end of episode 4 Kirsten is watching an episode from the original series that i recognized immediately and it blew my mind a bit at how deeply the episodes felt connected. Not just the audio clip played that references a synthetic flu or a similar troop of traveling Shakespeare performers, but the idea of this young person that is desperately trying to free her father from the burden of his past by any means necessary. What was the thought process behind referencing star trek and that episode specifically? I loved it so much

We had the good fortune to be making the show for Paramount, and therefore we always had access to those rights, so I knew while writing that a few references were probably going to come in handy.

Initially, when we worked in the Episode 6 script, there was a storyline about Kidsten’s time alone, in the year between separating from Jeevan and finding the the troupe. In that storyline, I had Young Kirsten doing a “Captain’s log” type thing in her head, but counting time in terms of the number of days it had been since the flu.

Because of that, I thought it would be good to see Kirsten watching Star Trek SOMEWHERE before that moment. We had already shot 107 and there weren’t a ton of opportunities there, so one reason we got the tv operational in 109 is so we could glimpse Kirsten watching an episode of Trek at the cabin. The moment turned out to be in the days she was alone, and ultimately grafted into the end of 104.

Once I knew she’d be watching Trek while waiting for Jeevan to come back, just before running outside and finding only the book, it came down to picking the specific episode. And that part was easy, given all the themes happening in the show.

Then, as these things happen, some money choices forced us to drop the entire 106 “Young Kirsten Alone” story. I had come to understand (by then) that we’d be okay without this stuff— for some reason in S11, just seeing the end moment (Kirsten walking off alone) and the beginning moment (The Conductor finding Kirsten) was usually enough to imply the lacuna… in this case, the horrifying story of Kirsten’s feral years.

But shooting 105 and 108 had helped me see that people could make the story leap me on their own if they saw the Point of Origin (the airport) and the Endpoint (the Y20 airport).

I maintain, despite the loss of the cool 106 young Kirsten story, that it really helps ground the graphic novel as a legitimate Sci-fi story when you know Kirsten also liked Trek. I’m personally a huge trek fan, and its “optimistic future” felt very much like the spirit of the show.

The only vestige you see of Kirsten’s internal “Captain’s log” is in 102, when she tells The Conductor that Dr. Eleven can’t feel time, and refers to Frank as her brother. This is the end of a mad conflation, in Kirsten’s head, of the graphic novel and her experiences in the wild.

The real loss of that story, I think, was that it served to show that Kirsten basically WAS a member of The Undersea before Tyler had created the cult— she, like all those kids she meets in 106, was living in a space where she couldn’t distinguish between reality and story, and also believed that all adults were deceitful and insane— all were Lonegans.

I think one thing Adult Kirsten is dealing with in the show, which is only in the subtext, is that she’s grown up now and she’s an adult… and she doesn’t trust adults. I think it would have helped Tyler’s story and helped us to understand why Kirsten related to Tyler to see that whole thing play out, but 🤷‍♂️. Sometimes you can’t shoot everything.

Long answer! Hope that helps.

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iamstartraveller776 · 1 year

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Tag Game - Fandom Edition

I was tagged by @myfavouritelunatic ! Thank you!

Your Name: Randi

Your First Fandom: Star Trek (everything), but Star Trek: Enterprise was when I went from being casually in fandom to obsessive.

Your Current Fandom: I'm mildly active in the MCU (Lokane), OUAT (Captain Swan) and SAB (Darklina) fandoms. But I'm absolutely fully immersed in The Rings of Power (Haladriel/Saurondriel) fandom. I'm absolutely feral for the content and the community.

How did you first get into fandom?: I was a trekkie all by my lonesome my whole life, and in the early 00's I regularly scrolled through startrek.com for my fix. I happened to log into the site during a live Q&A with Scott Bakula (Captain Jonathon Archer of ENT). After he logged out of the chat, other fans mentioned trekbbs.com, and that turned out to be the main fandom space. About a year later, I discovered shipping, and that's when it really took over my life!

How long have you been engaging in fandom spaces?: Roughly 20 years, off and on.

How often do you read fanfic?: More than I read original fiction, lol. I go through phases where I read a lot, then I don't read very much. When I'm actively writing I read less.

Top three characters from your current fandom?: Halbrand (Sauron), Galadriel, and both Arondir and Bronwyn (because I'm not separating those two).

Have you ever written a fic for a fandom and if so, shout it out!: I have written over 100 stories for fandoms. That is literally the main way I interact with the community! A notable from each fandom:

Star Trek (all): A New Perspective

Star Trek: Enterprise: Through the Dark Mirror (series)

Labyrinth: The Princess and the King

MCU: Touch

OUAT (Outlaw Queen): Common Sorrow

OUAT (Captain Swan): Next to You

SAB: Involuntary (not my favorite per se, but my most popular)

TROP: Trapped (mentioned because I'm planning to expand it!)

Have you ever drawn fan art for a fandom?: I've dabbled, but I'm not super great and I haven't done much in recent years. I lost some digital artwork in a hard drive crash along as some fanfic. (Not gonna lie; I'm actually hankering to make some art for TROP.)

Share a personal headcanon that you feel strongly about: It's from the SAB fandom: Baghra is the real villain of the entire series.

You’re trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them?: All of the Halbrand/Galadriel scenes. For real. It's highly addictive, and I want to be your dealer.

And finally, what does fandom mean to you?: Community surrounding the love of creation. I love that by virtue of copyright laws, these spaces cannot be monetized. We are free to make things just for the fun of it and support one another.

Tagging: @pursuitseternal, @somebirdortheother, @coraleethroughthelookingglass, @vesperass-anuna, @jomiddlemarch, @rosalysaoirse, @ancientflight, @kmomof4, @helenvader, @youwearfinethingswellwriter, @rebelrebelwrites, @demonscantgothere, @jhalya, and anyone else who wants to play!

#tag games #about me

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apolesen · 2 years

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I tend to think of DS9 as fairly recent (likely because, if you compare it to TOS, it is recent), but sometimes I get reminded that the audience it was originally written for had a different set of outlooks. When we discuss that, we tend to focus on issues of social justice, but it’s not just that.

My parents grew up during the Cold War, with the Soviet Union on the other side of the Baltic Sea. As the country was neutral, Soviet was not quite as closed off as to people from countries allied with the US. That, of course, meant that not only was the humanity of regular Soviet citizens more obvious, but the sense of everyday brutality was more well-known. (I promise this is relevant.)

While my parents been Trekkies since the 90s, they didn’t watch DS9, so I showed it to them a few years ago. I was excited to show them Destiny, because it’s a great episode, and I love Cardassians, and there are some great twists in the story.

When Dejar, the stony-faced undercover Obsidian Order operative, turns up at Quark’s, my parents both sat up straight and shouted: ‘Politruk!’ My reaction was ‘what? What’s that?’ ‘She’s a politruk - a political commissar, like the ones the Soviet Union would send with delegations to keep and eye on them - she’s there to make sure they don’t step out of line!’ I was flabbergasted. I definitely got a weird vibe off Dejar when I first watched the episode, but I didn’t figure out she was Obsidian Order before it was revealed towards the end. But my parents knew exactly what she was and why she was there.

For some reason, that moment really stuck with me. There are things in DS9 that may be obvious to people who grew up during the Cold War, which to me, who only caught the last few months of it, doesn’t register.

#add to this that i am a history nerd and think of myself as knowing a lot about the soviet union #but there was something about the energy of that moment when rejar turns up that my parents recognised #star trek #ds9

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star-trek-pop-quiz · 4 months

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Star Trek POP-QUIZ #15

( 13 / 01 / 2024 )

Question 1. Which actor was personally asked by Martin Luther King ( a self-proclaimed Trekkie ) to stay on Star Trek? a. Nichelle Nichols. b. Walter Koenig c.Michael Dorn. d. Whoopi Goldberg.

Bonus Question: What is their character, series and rank in Star Trek?

Question 2. TRUE OR FALSE The first African-American woman ( Dr Mae Jemison ) to travel into space appeared on Star Trek.

Bonus Question: If so, in which series did she appear?

Question 3. In the Star Trek episode "Far Beyond the Stars" we follow Avery Brooks ( Benjamin Sisko's actor ) playing a sci-fi writer in the 1950s. What was the name of Benjamin Sisko's "alter-ego"? a. Benji Nichols b. Benny Russell c. Ben Nova d. None of the above, his name was still Benjamin Sisko.

Question 4. What does Uhura's first name mean? a. Freedom b. Star c. Revolution d. Universe

Bonus Question: What is Uhura's first name? Spelling Counts!

Question 5. Fill-in Question! Excluding voice-acting, which actor has appeared in the most Star Trek episodes/movies?

Score: __/ 5 + 3 bonus ( Answers under cut )

Question 1. a. Nichelle Nichols.

+ Nichelle Nichols appears in The Original Star Trek Series, as Lieutenant Commander Nyota Uhura, the Communications Officer. For Additional Information, consider searching up the interview: https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942461/Star-Treks-Uhura-Reflects-On-MLK-Encounter

Question 2. TRUE

+ She appears on The Next Generation, S6 - E24 ( "Second Chances" ).

Question 3. b. Benny Russel.

Question 4. b. Star.

+ Nyota is her given name. It means star in the African languages Swahili and Lingala.

Question 5. According to most sources, Michael Dorn ( who plays Worf in TNG, DS9, PIC and several Star Trek movies ).

On the 15th of January, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy is honored through Martin Luther King day. ✊🏿

Consider reading up on current issues, reading the stories of many black individuals ( including the ones listed here: casting stories, their history, how has Nichelle Nichols influenced black women and actors, etc. ), and helping where you can.

#nichelle nichols #whoopi goldberg #michael dorn #avery brooks #star trek #star trek trivia #pop quiz #pop quizzes #star trek tos #star trek tngs #star trek ds9 #MLK jr #mlk day #black lives matter

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edapparently · 4 months

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Much Less Fan Art (New Years Resolution)

Preparing myself for potentially losing the already tiny following I have on YT because I'm going to stop making Doctor Who/Star Trek fan art full time and that's basically all people know/care about me for

Cause as nice as it's been knowing at least some people have seen the work that I've shared. I can't keep making something that ultimately isn't even mine forever just because it gets any views

2024 is a new year. And this time it's my story I'll be telling

And that's not to say I'm not a Trekkie or a Whovian anymore. I'll never stop loving the shows lmao

But as far as my renders are concerned. It's 90% original concepts from here on out

#3d artist

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starberry-cupcake · 1 year

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The thing that gets me about My Immortal (the fic) is that it's so pristine in how the chronotope operates in it that, whether or not it was a troll fic, there was an incredibly deep knowledge of the time and culture it spawned from in order to make it so impressively referential.

Troll fics that are meant to ridicule don't tend to be as impressively and swiftly tied to the perspective they're referencing, because the idea of being "better than" always ends up breaking the illusion of belonging to what they're making fun of.

For example, the most famous self-insert troll fic of all time has to be A Trekkie's Tale, because people have come to use the term "Mary Sue" outside of the fanfiction world, even unknowing of the fact that that's where it originated from.

But A Trekkie's Tale uses the clear perspective of the fandom side that was doing the ridiculing (in terms of those days, we could say Trekkers) to tell the story as if it was from the perspective of the side being ridiculed (Trekkies). Basically, it's the narrative of the Trekkie fantasy told through condescending Trekker perspective, if you will.

Of course, there wasn't in it an intent of making it pass for anything other than a satire and intending to make fun of a portion of the fanbase that the author and some of the fanzines didn't align with. But, because of that, it says more about the fandom division at the time and what kind of content each side was willing to entertain, more than it does tell us about the Trekkie mindset it was trying to ridicule.

My Immortal, to anyone who was remotely involved in an alternative/emo/goth/etc. online community (especially those that also had some sort of media tie-in, like books, anime, etc.) in 2006-2009, is like Remy's ratatouille.

Even if you didn't listen to the same bands, didn't write in the same way, didn't want to dress in the same fashion Ebony was sporting and even if you made fun of the fic at the time; if you were there, the sense of late 2000s nostalgia it sets in motion is so strong, it's impressive.

This is so intense that the fandom the fic was set in is so unimportant to its context development that you could swap it with anything else and the online culture it spawned from would be just as clearly visible and the fic would still hold the same power. It could have been Twilight just as easily (especially pre-movies Twilight fandom), and for what we know of Tara, she was into Twilight as well, which checks out with the entire persona her and Raven were embodying.

This is common ground for any self-insert fanfic that is inherently created from a place of wish fulfillment because, in them, the only elements relevant to storytelling that are picked from canon are the ones that serve the purpose of the author's ideal representation. But, with My Immortal, there wasn't just a personal representation of wish fulfillment but a synchronic approach (in linguistic terms) to collective late 2000s online alter culture.

The grammar and vernacular of early My Immortal chapters is incredibly reminiscent to Quizilla at that time, to a point of fluency that is too uncanny to be forced and, if it was, it'd be an incredibly impressive feat. The detailed description of outfits, which are narratively uncomfortable, make for a time capsule of fashion idealism, not necessarily realistic but composed of idealized elements, which in tow bring up references not of actual things but of a collective mindset of the intersection between self-made counter-culture ideal and marketable accessibility to mainstream stores.

I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before but, the more time passes and the more obscure references like "detailed Quizilla results with emo pics or anime illustrations" become to the general public, the more I can recognize the knowledge of a time and a space that My Immortal was holding and how deep it had to be in order to represent it in a way in which the line between troll and intentional, especially when paired up with its sister fic I'm Not Okay, becomes incredibly blurry.

This is also why anyone who was anywhere near this type of culture online can tell when someone who claims to have been the author is lying. The level of involvement that permeates the entire thing can't be faked, whether it was troll-made or not, and you can tell when someone was not in it. You can tell, in other words, when Miss Tara Gilesbie would have called them out for being part of the fkng prepz.

#luly rambles #my immortal #I guess literary theory #long post #fanfiction

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demented-tours · 1 year

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8 Shows to Know Me Better By...

@threezoz tagged me in this one... I am to list 8 TV shows that help explain me. And I have to agree... cramming oneself into 8 is hard!

But here we go..

Once you understand that my first deep seated, soul crushing, emotionally overwrought childhood crush was on a million-year-old, genderless robot from outer space who came to earth and took the form of a transfer truck to fight the good fight alongside mankind against the evil, wicked Decepticons - AND who lost his life and was revived and yet STILL found a way to love people and find the best in them, even when horribly misunderstood and maligned....

You kind of know everything there is to know about me, really.

I loved - and still love - Optimus Prime. He'll always be my one. I still have Transformers music from the movie/series in my music files. I have an Autobots keychain to this day. When the movies came out, I didn't CARE if they were good or bad. Optimus Prime's original voice actor was reprising the role and I was THERE FOR IT, HONEY. I cried. Yep. When I heard that transformer noise and heard Optimus again?

Tears of pure joy.

Keeping with the cartoon theme... Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts and I had QUITE the fling. The love of anime started strong, though when I was watching this at the ass-crack of dawn on weekdays before school, I had no idea "anime" was even a thing. I just loved the art and the whole ritual of everything. This was the anime that started it all for me.

I'm a Trekkie, when it comes to preference for space opera, and THIS series was my absolute favorite. My dad and I watched this one religiously, and I've rewatched it more recently. The combination of sci-fi and prophetic fantasy still does it for me. And I will always love G'kar and Lennier. And even Londo, particularly his extremely reluctant friendship with G'kar, eventually. My love for the enemies-to-lovers trope started with the enemies-to-allies in this series.

And now for something completely different...

So my parents made the perhaps none-too-wise decision to give 11 year old me a TV in my bedroom with cable access to the "premium" stations. Including Showtime. And HBO. Etc. I got QUITE the education.

And so began my love for erotica. And we started with Mr. Duchovny and the show Red Shoe Diaries. Later in life, in high school, when I was running with a bunch of boys, I got MASSIVE street cred for identifying Duchovny in X-Files as the "guy who did that porn show on Showtime." And then even LATER in life, when I befriended a certain gay porn star, I got to tell him that his blog (back when we had blogs - remember that?) "Big Shoe Diaries" was a clever play on one of my favorite old TV shows.

All in all, this one came in handy! Emphasis on the "came."

This one is nice and obscure. So back in the day, MTV was actually a TV station AND it played videos, but at night, it aired some truly cutting edge content for the time. One of those shows was "Oddities." I never really could tell what the hell the show WAS, or even if it was, really, a show. They showed clips. Cartoons. But not like cartoons I'd ever seen.

One of those was "The Maxx" and if you've not seen that amazing story about the purple superhero with a memory problem living in a box in an alleyway obsessed with Julie the social worker... then get yea to YouTube RIGHT THE FUCK NOW. One of the best shows I've ever fucking seen, hands down.

Bonus content: At Halloween, they aired contest animations in the horror genre on Oddities. And I will never... ever... forget two of them. One was claymation, and it was about a little boy who didn't want to go to his room at night to sleep. There was a scary thing outside his window. Spoilers: it exist, it takes his eyes, and then it goes for his mother. In the same show there was one about a love story between two winged gargoyles. One of the most moving things I've ever seen. I've never been able to successfully hunt down either of those animations, but they live rent-free in my head.

In addition to Showtime, I also had HBO, and when the opening credits for Sex and the City started up at around 10 PM, I perked up. I don't remember what season was playing at the time, but I remember teenage me LOVING the SHIT out of these women, living the dream life in NYC. This was small-town me's dream: write for a living in NYC in a rent controlled apartment? Brunch with the best friends? Hunt for love in a sea of bad choices?

YES. PLEASE.

I've actually seen every episode of this show at LEAST three times. It hasn't aged well, admittedly, but it was one of those right place and right time sorts of things for me.

So I didn't really watch TV at all (didn't own one) from age, oh 18 - 22 or so? And I can't QUITE remember when I first saw this one. I think it was when I was living in California.

But whenever it happened, I fell so hard so fast, it was dizzying. I loved ALL these characters, but especially precious Emmett. And yes, yes, even Brian. God help me.

And if you've not seen the show, and you decide you want to, I must warn you: make sure you have season 2 ready to go immediately upon watching the finale of season 1. I don't think I've ever been that upset and overwrought.

Queer content became a staple for me with this one. I sought it out. I craved it. And then I started to write it. Didn't even really understand fully WHY, when I started watching this, but, hey... We all learn somehow, yes?

Okay, for our 8th choice here, it appears as though I'm skipping a shitload of years, but hear me out.

When I was a kid and was figuring out the Internet back in the days of dial up, the very first time I searched for images (I don't even remember what I searched for or why), I came across a picture of a mirror. With odd eyes in it. Lots of fog. A hand reaching out. And the words, "Sandman" in the bottom corner.

I had no idea what I was looking at, but I loved it so much that it haunted me.

And so began my undying love for all things Neil Gaiman, but PARTICULARLY Sandman. I was a childhood cult follower of a classic I didn't even know about. This was the start of my love for graphic novels, for comics, for the kind of sweeping storytelling that only the combo of visuals and words can make.

I own all the books. I follow Mr. Gaiman everywhere to this day. And when they finally - FINALLY - decided to come out with this series on Netflix? Yeah. More tears. Again, sometimes it doesn't matter if the rendition is good or bad (I happen to think it was damned good) - it's getting to see old friends in a new way that makes all the difference.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The L Word - Sometimes you learn exactly how queer you are when you fall in love with bad girls like Shane.

The Haunting of Hill House - One of the best executed horror series that I've ever seen. Hands down. My love for horror was completely fulfilled, as was my love for tragedy, amazing storytelling, symbolism, and jump scares.

Justified - Timothy Olyphant walking around being Southern, pissed off, and shooting people is my spirit animal. I love EVERYTHING about this show. Hell, for this one? I even wrote fanfiction.

Naruto - Yeah, I suppose I should mention this one? Seeing as how I've written probably close to a million words of fanfiction using those characters. But truth be told, I've only barely seen into the Shippuden arc. LMAO. And I STILL hold that the fucking show should have been called "Kakashi" - and it would have been a helluva lot more interesting.

Lisey's Story - Stephen King has influenced so much of my life that he needs to be on this list somehow, and THIS one of his is one of my absolute favorites. The TV show was true to the book - which makes sense, since Stephen was involved first hand. Boo'ya Moon. Booya boon.

Whew! That was fun! Thanks, Zoz.

I tag @afhenley, @fluister, @tadoritsukuhibi and @northofthemountains - if you feel so inclined!

#tv shows #babylon 5 #transformers #sailor moon #anime #naruto #stephen king #sandman #QaF #L word #SatC

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aen-lliash · 1 year

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I feel like I'm ready to talk at greater length about my experiences with STO and how I've reached this point of burnout/alienation with it after all these years.

The biggest reason? It's not the same game I became obsessed with in 2014. That's actually normal and to be expected of most MMOs and people (you should check out this video about the phenomenon!), but let me explain what that means for me here. Quick disclaimer, you are allowed to disagree with me on this -- I'm discussing my subjective point of view, not any objective fact.

Putting this under a readmore because it's long - please click "keep reading" below :)

What captured my heart was STO's storytelling and how it was formatted to be super duper friendly to making OCs. I could make an OC that got inserted into the STO (and overall Trek) universe with pretty minimal effort on my part! It had enough callbacks to canon to be satisfying to me as a Trekkie, but it also had enough new stuff that it was exciting and fresh. My first two years in college were spent imagining up my OC's takes on different mission arcs more often than uh.. college. Long-time friends and followers will recall my obsession with the Dyson Sphere and the Iconian War.

But that's when things started to change, right after the Iconian War. The war itself felt like the great culmination of all the past mission arcs, like we built up to the conflict and it exploded into this terrible intergalactic event. Since then, no new missions have felt the same to me.

STO seemed to evolve further into a super segmented Star Trek theme park after that. We already had Voyager Land (the Delta Quadrant) before the war, and it played a relatively satisfying role in the war; however, it became especially clear with the Gamma Quadrant arc that we were getting a new expansion into Deep Space 9 Land after the short burst of original stuff like the Lukari and the Tzenkethi (I know that the Tzenkethi existed in canon before, but STO took them and ran with them).

It has become increasingly clear in recent years that the priority has shifted towards incorporating as many cameos as possible to run the stories, not the other way around. I LOVE Tilly and Mary Wiseman, don't get me wrong, but the way they finagled a way to get Tilly to still be alive in the STO era (having her literal fascist Mirror Universe counterpart travel into the future) felt ingenuine as hell to me. The way I see it, it's less about the story and more about capitalizing on the #SillyForTilly craze to draw new players in. Same goes for all the other canon characters, but Tilly's has felt the most egregious to me personally.

Yes, it IS cool as hell that STO has these actors willing to come in to record cameo voiceovers. It IS cool as hell that we recently got to fight alongside both Tilly and Janeway at the SAME TIME! But it's important to remember that they're not "our" Tilly and Janeway; they're their Mirror counterparts, and one of them is only there as a result of temporal shenanigans. Temporal shenanigans totally happen in canon Trek and are part of the charm, but in the case of STO, they feel excessive to me.

The way I see it, STO is putting the cameos themselves over the characters over the stories. The cameos drive engagement, which drives the ruthless monetization that has also been strangling the life out of the game. It's Star Ship Online and hey omg look over there it's Tilly and Janeway and Wesley omg wow look aaaaaaaah!!!!1!!! I understand that capitalism is gonna capitalism, the game will do what it feels it must do to survive, but it has lost all charm to me.

I came for the sense that I was being included in the universe (via my OCs, because let's face it, OCs are always self-inserts to varying degrees), now I feel like I'm watching an extremely, painfully slow interactive new Trek series that also feels like an advertisement for merch targeted at a super specific audience.

When it comes to the screenshot thing I got myself so entrenched in... I felt like I was an unpaid advertiser for the "new" game, especially when it came to lockbox and promo box ships that people will spend hundreds of dollars to obtain. 99% of the time my art of those ships came from the tribble test server or sniping screenshots of somebody else's ship, all because of the pressure to continually Create Content™. I felt emboldened to continue Creating Content™ when it became "ship art" and not just "rurinn's silly little pictures," and that's when I became Known On The Internet -- a goal of mine for a long time that turned out to be more thorns than rose petals.

We also have to acknowledge the behavior of the community at large when it comes to that monetization and how creators such as myself get caught in the crossfire. The hate I got over this recreation of a cutscene from A Measure of Morality -- not-so-subtly advertising a 300 USD ship bundle -- was unbelievable, and it still wasn't nearly as bad as the utterly soulless behavior that my partner faces to this day for his videos.

I could go on. For days, probably. Subjects such as the extreme monetization + the rampant unmoderated hate in chat that seeps into the adjacent social media communities come to mind. I felt like my soul had been siphoned away for a time because of it all -- the pain of outgrowing something I loved dearly, watching it change into something unrecognizable, and being berated and harassed by other players and community members drowning in their own toxicity and hate.

I am grateful for STO. I met so many friends because of it. It helped me through some unimaginably difficult times in my life. I met my partner through it and even collaborated with him to create some stunning art. I have been hurting over this for a long time, but I think I'm finally at a stage where I can accept what happened, move on, and heal.

#oh long-form blogging how i missed you #'long form blogging' actually just rambling with vague coherence #if this is a stark contrast from your experience with sto then i'm so happy for you #this is your captain probably yelling

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