#It made me the Trekkie I am today

[mamawasatesttube]

So, I'm not a writer, but I am very curious 👀 What do you look for in a fic that features Kon? 👀 What kind of things do you want Kon to do, or experience? 👀 What characteristics of Kon do you absolutely wanna see? 👀 What characteristics of Kon you didn't like but want to see adressed in a fic? 👀 When you're writing, what are three major things about Kon that you MUST INCLUDE NO MATTER WHAT? 👀👀👀 Sorry about the many questions!!!!!

OHHHH this is such a good question okay okay okay. let's see.

what do i look for? primarily, kon having an actual character voice. that's the lowest bar to clear (and yet already takes out... a good chunk of the fics ive seen in the kon character tag 😭😭). he needs to be silly, geeky, deeply kind, earnest, etc. not every fic featuring him will necessarily get into the way he's also existentially lonely and has a Lot of sadness and self-esteem issues (esp after rex leech's roller coaster incident. this has been on my mind today. ough. his self-image never recovered after that one!) but by GOD does he have his issues, so if its a fic going into emotions i want it to do right by his. will def admit thats smth im incredibly picky about.

as for stuff i want him doing? honestly i am here for so much!! i want soft simple character studies. i want action showcasing how fucking powerful ttk can be, especially with a dose of creativity to its use. i want wacky yj space adventures. i want good good whump and hurt/comfort. i want him getting swept off his feet. you could sell me on almost any plot if it's well-written.

re: characteristics... i don't really split them up quite like that, i think! he's a well-rounded character, and that includes both strengths and flaws. ideally, a good fic will include both of these and represent them fairly (like, he's not perfect by any means, and he can do stupid things and struggle with personal issues, but on the other hand very few things tick me off more than portrayals where he's just completely incompetent and dumb as a rock, lmao).

BUT REGARDING MY OWN WRITING. ohhohoohoohooho three things i ALWAYS have to include? a) geek-ass loser (affectionate). i think it is SO endearing and also very humanizing as a quality that he's a trekkie/wendy fan/star wars nerd/etc. b) mixed-race metaphors. they may not be overt depending on the piece but the "child of two worlds that doesn't quite fit into either" thing is Deeply intentional. and c) HES A JUGGERNAUT!!!! i firmly believe adult fully realized kon (a kryptonian, with full kryptonian powers, WITH TTK) is a force of fucking nature. i like this so much and i specifically also always like it when he is at any given moment about 0.4 seconds from freaking the fuck out about how it's Too much strength.

to me, kon is a character made of some very delicious contradictions. he's so painfully human and yet grapples hard with his own personhood and humanity. he's a kryptonian and an alien but he's a child of earth. he's terrified of his own power. he wants nothing more than to protect everyone he loves (and everyone he doesn't love, too). he's always ready to crack a joke or make a silly reference, but he is deeply sad and spent so much of his early life suicidal. he contains multitudes. (and this isn't even getting into my hcs on his gender/sexuality crisis! ksjdhf)

i feel like a gripe i often find myself having when looking for kon fics is that he often gets slotted into the role of "emotional support boyfriend with no personality or role of his own" though, which i guess is why "does he have a distinct character voice?" is my first litmus test for whether i'd want to keep reading or not.

a good kon fic will embrace all his contradictions, i think. (a good fic for any character, really, should show them as well-rounded and three-dimensional.) and i for one love his Problems and Issues, bc man, it's a very fun space to play in! <3

#thank you this was fun to answer!! ive been ruminating on it for a good chunk of the day tbh! #kon #rimi talks #answers #thefantasmarex

[aniketsanimationblog]

Current Animation Fandom: An Angry and Massive Rant!!

Hey, it's me, Aniket!! I am so Sad and Angry and Mad about the last weekend, after the news broke out that Star Trek: Prodigy is Cancelled at Paramount+, and Removing the series on there, and S1 Arc II not returning to premiere on Nickelodeon US!! It was a Heart-wrenching News for all the trekkies and animation fan like me!! Then after that, Petitions are made, DVDs and Blu-rays were sold out, Toy sales were up, despite Yesterday, Paramount+ removed the Series, on the eve of Showtime Merger in US!! But Today, it's also sad day for me, Again!! Because, Today, Paramount Plus removed my Favourite Nick Jr show, which was the best after Oswald ended, Peter Rabbit, among other Nickelodeon shows and Movies!!

The thing is, now, Nickelodeon don't want us to enjoy the shows that we love!! All they care about is those shows which are successfully Cash-grabbing from the esteemed target demographic audience from age 2-11!! Gone are those days, when people watched and adored Avatar: The Last Airbender!! And Today, I'm Massively Ranting those Corporative Studios like Nickelodeon and most importantly, Current Generation Animation Fans, who are responsible for all these debacles!!

In my 23 Years of Human Life, I have never Encountered a Humiliation from Current-Gen Animation Fandom and those big big Corporative Animation Companies, until the cancellation of Star Trek Prodigy broke out!! And I will tell you, they aren't the Same Animation Fans I know for 23 years or so!! They care about those shows, which are Popular, despite of those shows gone in decline and downfall for last 2 or 3 seasons, not those Gems like Star Trek: Prodigy and all!! And those shows are Cash Cows, back then at first 2 or 3 Seasons, they were good!! But some Money-Greedy Showrunners messed around the lore of their respective series and manipulated the Animation Fandom that this is canon, this is actual canon!! Then the Fans of the shows, blindly believing them, while some of them were frustrated, ended up leaving the fandom of the show he/she/they loved once upon a time!! I'll take Two Shows as Factual Examples!! And Believe me, these fandom of those shows are toxic and they do not care about other shows!! Troll me hard if you want, criticise me if you want, but all of them are Facts, you cannot change that!!

Starting with Very Juvenile one, i.e. TV-Y rated Show, preschoolers show!! You've guessed what I'm talking about!! PAW Patrol!!

This Nick Jr. Show, has now being immensely popular for the toy sales and everything!! It was good for first 2 or 3 seasons, until Spin Master screwed up the series lore for more toys sales and merchandising!! It's going on for 10 years dated back in 2013!! They even produced a theatrical Movie in 2021, namely, PAW Patrol: The Movie, which was decent good, imo. And they even gonna release a sequel of the movie coming in this Fall!! But the condition of the fandom of this very series is not good at all currently!! These are from an Honest PAW Patrol fan's thread tweets in support of this argument!!

Now, you realised!! Those Fans are Toxic!! And Do I have to remind you about the unnecessary romantic shippings of this series, for example of Chase x Skye etc?? Do I have to??

And that too from a Preschool series, which has a massive fanbase, all over the world!!

And because of PAW Patrol, no other preschoolers series have a chance to get a Spotlight!! Even, Bluey have got comparatively slightly lower fanbase than PAW Patrol fanbase!! Is it just unfair or not?? And because of PAW Patrol, other Nick Jr shows aren't doing well in Viewership, despite of being Good!! They are just booted to lesser known Nick Jr. Channel or just ended the run, that's it!! (And Rubble & Crew, the spinoff of PAW Patrol, isn't my cup of tea, honestly)

And for the Second Instance, while I have to say this, but if I say that show's name, everyone will charge upon me and rip me into pieces!! I know, but who cares!! That is Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir!!

And I know, as you reach it there, you're now just ripping me in pieces! But lemme explain!!

This French Animated Series was good for 2 seasons!! It had the same Potential as I had with Star Trek: Prodigy!! But, the Showrunners, Especially that Egoistic Thomas Astruc (I have dare to say him that, because he blocked me on Twitter more than a year ago) destroyed this series for nothing!! He doesn't know what he's doing!! He's leading to destroy the lore, he wants nothing but your money through Merch sales, just like PAW Patrol is doing!!

And the fandom of this series is as toxic as hell!! They are blindly following this series, despite not knowing what's going wrong with the series!! Because of them and Thomas Astruc, just like PAW Patrol, other shows, in TV-Y7 rated Shows, especially, can't get any chance to shine!! If you observe the data of Nielsen Ratings for US television, Miraculous Ladybug and PAW Patrol were among those shows to have much bigger audience!! But not other shows, especially once dominating SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon!! Speaking of Nickelodeon, I wanna state that Miraculous Ladybug is not a Disney Channel Show, it's a Nickelodeon Show, just sub-licensed to Disney Channel in order to save SpongeBob, because Nickelodeon US and TFOU by TF1 in France (the original broadcaster of Miraculous Ladybug) is having a Tie-up!! It was first aired on Nickelodeon in US!!

Now, for the sake of Animation Gods, is it right for you to compare some egoistic creator, who blocks everyone on Twitter more than the CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk, as "Bigger than Walt Disney" by making a Worldwide Phenomenon?? Because I think it's not right!! Because Miraculous just wasted the potential!! And don't talk me about the Shipping, which is the driving force for this series!! All of the shippings are wasted potential!! And the Story goes on and on for 5+ seasons, there is no resolution, and Thomas Astruc is thinking for going up to 12 seasons!! Why not go for 100 seasons, 50 TV Specials and 10 Movies and beyond, and still have no resolution, huh?? What's the problem?? Just realise, These Fandom aren't letting any other show than Miraculous and PAW Patrol to get the spotlight!!

Miraculous Ladybug and PAW Patrol are now being the reason why I hate this Current Animation Fandom!! This is not the Animation Fandom, I know for 23 years and this is not the Animation media I know for 23 years!! You cannot ignore other shows just to focus on One or Two Popular Animated shows!!

Imagine, being a Tom & Jerry Fan focusing on Tom & Jerry only but not equally treating other cartoons such as Mickey Mouse or Looney Tunes or Animaniacs!! It also applies for vice-versa!!

You know, This Current Animation Fandom don't have any sense, what is a Good Show and what is not!! They only follow the Popular ones whether being good or bad!! They should learn the "Rights and Equality" to Animated Series and Movies, whether they like it or not!!

That's why Velma, being a worst show from Scooby-Doo franchise, renewed and set to premiere for Season 2, but not Star Trek: Prodigy or other gem series!! Same goes for Miraculous Ladybug and PAW Patrol and SpongeBob SquarePants to some extent!! They don't give other shows any bare chance to flourish!!

I don't know, but Star Trek: Prodigy hasn't been canceled by Tax Write-off mainly, tax write-off is part of the reason!! The main reason is that current Animation Fandom's Negligence and irresponsibility to save other series!! And then they will be glad and celebrate themselves, because they have done this horrendous work to cancel other series, which were gems, and call it as their "Major Victory"!!??

This is the same method why, The Owl House got canned by Disney!!

In my opinion, I think the only thing to resolve all this blasphemy, is to STOP supporting animation until things get any better!! This is the only thing I can see to Save Animation as an Artistic Media!! Because Animation is indeed an Artistic Media, not a Financial Media!!

As of now, I'm renouncing as an Animation Fan, until things get better, for a while!!

Because, Animation Industry now have set a rule, that if any series is not getting any appreciation or attention from Animation Audience, not getting into the level of Miraculous Ladybug, PAW Patrol, SpongeBob, The Loud House or Teen Titans Go!, That series will get automatically canned, no matter what!! This is not the Animation Industry/Fandom we want!!

Two months ago, The Owl House got canned, now Star Trek: Prodigy won't be returning for S2 and canned at this moment, this Friday, Bubble Guppies ending it's 12 years long run!! And if we can't take any action right now, your favourite show will be next!!

Be Warned, Be Respective, and Be Responsible!!

2023 is NOT the Best Year for Animated Kids TV Series!! It's Worst!!

I'm Out of here!!

Sorry, for the long Post!! But I want to get it off of my chest!!

Thank you for reading this far!!

#star trek prodigy #star trek #animation #nickelodeon #animation fandom #animation fans #television #animated kids show #miraculous ladybug #paw patrol #the owl house #spongebob #animation is for everyone #you can't replace arts with finance when it comes to animation #velma #rant #animation is not for kids only #disney channel #cartoon network #be responsible #for now I'm done with this animation injustice #peter rabbit tv series #paramount plus

[queenofzan]

anyway here are my fallout opinions, abridged:

fallout 1 excellent. v good. disappointed they copped out and made it “easier” by getting rid of the timer. absolutely not a game i could play today but had i access to it when it was released i would have...probably not gotten very far unless i watched someone else play it first. i was even worst at video games as a child. WHATEVER GOOD GAME GOOD WORLDBUILDING FUN

fallout 2 very good. again sad to see so much stuff cut or dummied out and it being more linear in some ways BUT extremely fun to see the classic sci-fi villains “people who had privilege before The Event” show up and be assholes, and also explicitly believe they are the Real United States (and not like. everyone they left to die and fend for themselves in the former united states). UNFORTUNATELY fallout 2 started leaning more into some racist bullshit that enabled later very racist bullshit. like i see where they were coming from in fallout 2 but. they did it badly and enabled future Worse Shit. president robot was not as fun as the master

fallout 3 was a slog tbh. not opposed to the change in format and gameplay style but the writing was SO BAD. i don’t want to be the protagonist’s son and follow around the guy actually doing shit! i also don’t want a FALLOUT GAME to railroad me into siding with anyone but gosh you sure can’t do shit to the brotherhood of steel in this game bc you have to have them for the endgame. lazy. did have some very good classic fallouty quest lines. also a huge fan of introducing in-game radio, i’ve been a sucker for that since watching danny play gta

fallout new vegas is the love of my life, the light of my soul. has some problems but the political situation and developing worldbuilding is delightful. i love the fact that there is no clear “good” choice, there are legit real and thoughtful and narratively consistent downsides to everyone you could side with. the choices that are best for your character are not necessarily what is best for the people around them, and they feel real enough that it really can make you feel guilty about letting down the ones and zeroes. caesar’s legion is one of the most interesting fictional representations of both the strengths and weaknesses of absolute rulers

fallout 4 is definitely better than fallout 3. i am still yelling about these basic-ass failures of science fiction premise awareness and genre conventions but it’s not nearly as bad as the literally bad writing of fallout 3. it also is trying to have more nuanced factions with competing needs again. not doing it as well or as tightly as new vegas or like. fallout 1, but it has some truly kickass companions and the fundamental hopefulness about humanity that the trekkie in me loves

“ani i thought you said these were your abridged opinions” i’m a wordy bitch and this IS the short version

[incarnateirony]

Fun fact!

experimentural — Today at 2:03 AM it's not about mark responding never was he never was gonna I don't even mind the suspend, because the wincel that runs shatner's account just fucked them even forwarded this shit right into kripke and CW's mentions that is the endgoal I let them spiral themselves. and you'll notice less and less and less trekkies came in once they read that tweet and saw the silence so yeah it was never about mark responding it was that he never would.

like. ohno. i lost a twitter account shame etc etc. Shatner... lost a fuckton of fans and potential jobs today. And yeah, I know he did. Past the mindless trekkies, a bunch were in my inbox asking for clarity and horrified, and this intern started that AND they hung out Mark to dry. Not to mention cementing those fans that what I said about them trying to nuke my account was true. So I mean. Great work. Excellent.

Also funny the obsession with "blackmail." I made a blackmail *joke*, legally this isn't blackmail. I'm not asking for money or shit. You can't... ban someone for ... Not Blackmail. Sorry! Now, it DID show the Mark P B GoN effect 100% true, because LOOK how fast he fuckin yeeted. And then I point back to those busy DMs of mine until it blew.

So. You know. Thanks, incel? like. hope that was worth it to you. Doubt it was to Mark or Shatner, or Mark would have answered and Shatner wouldn't have blocked and they wouldn't have both logged off. Come on sweetie. Was your goal to blacklist them? good job i guess

Seriously all this asshat did was verify Shatner and his DO in fact hate stalk my blog like I said, and that Mark P DOES fucking disappear like he teleported if I show up, clear my throat behind my new icon like I said, and mention something specific.

Look at Mark P yeet. He was retweeting and replying and he got smug and he engaged and then he fucked all the way off the internet.

So uh. Thanks for the verification guys.

What a titanically stupid fail. In trying to disprove me you proved... everything I said. Yes, you hate stalk my blog. Yes, Mark P does disappear once I clarify my current account branding and remind him of an event. Are there any other theories you would like to test, friend?

[purlturtle]

2 for TNG

2. What I like most and least about it:

I hope you're ready for a small essay, because this is absolutely THE show that shaped me. I'll put it under a readmore so that it doesn't clutter up your dash:

I grew up with it; this was the first show I have seen every single episode of, the first show I remember making sure I didn't miss an episode of (this was back when it was broadcast on TV - German dub, no less!). So it was an absolute mainstay for the time that it ran, and also I was young enough that I don't remember how much, for example, the Locutus cliffhanger upset me. I don't even remember if I had to wait a whole summer to find out what happened next.

I love the family vibes - the fact that here is this big group of people who are jammed into this tin can together and have to somehow figure out how to get along. They don't all like each other and they have very different personalities, and watching how they make that work, how they *cherish that as a strength*, made a big impression on me - just as much as how they interacted with the alien of the week and the antagonist of the week. It was always about finding common ground, about realizing there are commonalities that drive us not matter how different we seem. That, too, has shaped me in a major way. Honestly, if you want to understand me, this is the show you wanna watch (just as Discworld is the book series you wanna read).

I also had a major crush on Deanna Troi (although it took me a while to realize that that was what it was)! I wanted to be her AND be with her; I related so much to how much she felt everything, because oh my god, do I do too. And she was never criticized for it! Never called a wimp, never told to pull herself together. Her crewmates valued it as a talent, and it sometimes saved the day! Including in the actual pilot!! Little me who always felt things way too much was very reassured. Also, either in an episode or in a novel, she tells her worrying mother "I'll never be lonely; I'll always have myself" - and that stayed with me. It made me befriend myself, be my own supporter and advocate. Definitely played a major part in how much I like myself to this day, and how easy it is for me to be by myself. Also also, since I wanted to do her job, I looked into psychology as a field of study and eventually ended up studying social work - and that was one of the best decisions of my life. Hence why I say that TNG gave me my job (usually followed by "and VOY gave me my wife", but that is a story for another day - this is already half an essay!)

Do I dislike anything about it?

Sure. There are episodes that are ABYSMAL, and later on I learned that the situation behind the scenes, for example for Denise Crosby and Gates McFadden, was awful. There are episodes that tried very hard to do the right thing, and yet fell short of their mark. The *relentless* heteronormativity is sometimes hard to bear, and you can only say "product of its time" so often. But overall, this show has a big, big part of my heart, and I will always love it. I love that the cast became such good friends. I love that its message reached me so thoroughly. I honestly would not be the person that I am today, in very many ways, had I never encountered it.

(I'll add that all of this happened very much in a vacuum for me. I never connected to other fans; fandom culture such as existed in the US back then and is even more ubiquitous now was nowhere near as big in Germany, and didn't reach me at all. I didn't have a friend group to squee with, or people who would introduce me to fan fic, or any other form of contact to other fans. I didn't know what shipping was, or the importance of Spirk. I never went to a convention until 2012. So all of these experiences are very "Star Trek and me", and not "Trekkies and me", if that makes sense.)

#ask meme #ask me about TNG and get a novel in reply 😅

[ishalltakeyourknees]

Ok so let me preface this with the fact that I am both a Sanders Sides fan and a trekkie. Now I was watching TNG today, and my boy Data came onscreen, and I thought of the Q&A where Logan said that given the choice between Data and Spock, he’d choose Data, because while Spock is half human, Data is an android and doesnt have any human emotions. While logically this makes sense, Data feels like a much more emotional being than Spock. While this might be because Vulcans supress their emotions, I was thinking, if Data doesnt have emotions at all, shouldnt I empathize and relate more to Spock, because however deep down, he has feeling and even shows them, however rarely? But Data somehow comes across more emotional than spock. I mean, he writes poetry, he fucking loves his cat, and he helps his friends and gives them advice in times of need. I didnt see how i could relate more to Data than to Spock, but i really relate to Data. 

But I think, and I could be wrong, that it’s because Data desperately wants to be human. he looks like a human, he has human friends, and he was presumably made by a human, but he cannot feel real emotion. And he desperately wants to. He tries so hard, guys. But Spock want to be Vulcan. He presses his feelings down, and tends to embrace his Vulcan side over his human one. And i relate to Data, because there are times when there are “human experiences” that i desperately want to relate to, but can’t for some reason.

#sanders sides #star trek #star trek tos #star trek tng #spock #data

[ignisgalaxia]

So one of my university classes is for a scholarship I received and it’s about leadership. Our latest assignment was to do a profile and presentation on somebody who we believe is a leader. Naturally, I chose Janeway.

Well I presented today. I think I did alright (I was trying very hard not to ramble because I tend to do that when I talk about something I’m passionate about), but the kicker is that one of the professors wanted to talk to me after class about it.

Surprise! Turns out he’s also a Trekkie! We ended up geeking out for a few minutes about new trek. He said he was super excited for season 3 of Picard and how he loved Discovery (even though we both agreed it was a bit of a mess and unnecessarily dark). I had to leave but he promised we would talk about it more in the future.

I don’t really have anyone in person to talk about my trek obsession with except my parents, and even then they’re not nearly as attached as I am. So it felt really good to be able to talk with someone new about it, especially new trek since there’s been a lot of mixed reactions to it. It’s particularly difficult for me since I’m much younger than a lot of trekkies. And while my professor is a middle-aged father, the fact that we connected over Star Trek (and agreed it was better than Star Wars ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) shows just how impactful it is.

Needless to say, I made a new friend today.

#my posts #personal #star trek #trekkies

[divorcedifferentlypa]

Orientation Day

Today was an “orientation” day for my son’s transition to a four-year university. Basically, it was a very general “Welcome!” and “Hello!” to new students and those transferring (like my son) to the school. I don’t remember what it was specifically called, but “orientation day” is the best phrase. My partner and I could tell that our son initially seemed very overwhelmed by it. For the first part of the day, he got very quiet, and I could tell he was questioning himself and all the amazing things he’s accomplished in his life to this point. He’s had a bit of a journey in his life, and I was so proud to be a part of his day today.

As we wound our way through line after line (to get into another line), the look on his face said it all. This is unlike anything he’s ever experienced before. Yes, we’ve driven through the campus numerous times, and he’s gotten the basic lay of the land. But today, it was real for him: this is no longer a distant thought about eventually transferring. He was committed, knew he was accepted as a student, and knew he was going there. He’s scheduled his classes, and we’ve put down a deposit. Today was a very intense day for him.

While waiting for our coffee and doughnuts, I heard him say something almost offhandedly. He sounded a bit distant and dreamy and a bit dejected. Looking around at all the other families, he mumbled to himself, “I think I should have done this four years ago.” Then, without skipping a beat, my husband casually ruminated out loud, “Well, I don’t know. What do you think, Mama?” As he said this, he flashed a quick glance at me. It was one of those slight, swift glances the two of us share when we “talk” to each other without actually saying a word. I knew that was my cue. I’ve written before that my partner and I split the lead on certain things. This is one of my many areas of expertise.

I told him something like I’m going to tell you now.

You are in a strange new place. Life is going on around you, and sometimes there’s a never-ending line of people and meetings and strange new experiences you’ve never encountered before. It’s intimidating. It’s terrifying. It’s extremely disorienting and overwhelming in a way that may never have seemed possible. But you know what? You are exactly where you need to be, and despite how you may feel, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve caught myself thinking, “I could have done this” or “I should have done that.” Why? You’ve done the best you could with what you knew at the time. That’s a good thing. There’s no shame in that. You know what you know now, and that’s what counts. What matters is what you do with what you know today.

In comparison with others, my son has always started out “behind” or labeled as “failed.” But my husband and I have always asked each other: “Behind who?”, “Failed what?” He’s always been right where he needs to be – for himself – to achieve what is best for him at any given moment. In the end, it’s always worked out. With time and (healthy) support, his engines have always revved up when he’s ready. He’s “engaged warp speed” (as my Trekkie spouse says) to bridge chasms, surging through any darkness or doubt: all when the time and place were right for him. This is not pollyannish by any means. I’m not saying there haven’t been many “dark nights of the soul” for us. There certainly have been times – days, months, even years – when we’ve had profound, doubtful misgivings about the outcomes (but that is where faith and hope come into play). But yes, I have to assert that, in the end, things have always worked out for the best for him as long as he made an effort.

Yet remember what I just said: “time and healthy support.” You and your ex deserve to be heard. You both deserve to be supported. You both deserve that moment when “warp speed” is suddenly and unexpectedly engaged by some seemingly unknown reason, force, or power.

I am a part of that process for you both.

MY ROLE AS A MEDIATOR

I don’t “fix” things or people. I’m a part of a larger manifestation in your life that helps you both to achieve what is best for both of you should you so choose. Even though a relationship may be over, you and your ex were brought together to provide the opportunity to heal each other: That’s why you were attracted to each other in the first place. I know this sounds odd, but it’s true. As a mediator, I am a catalyst to assist you in making sense of your current situation and how you can move forward towards all, which can be the best of what might be. The point is to do this in a non-confrontational and alleviating, mitigating way. This is my expertise.

I’m not a therapist. It’s not my job or purpose to perform such a role. However, I can be an integral part of your larger, healthy support system. I’ve spent my entire 36-plus-year career learning and developing the methodologies and processes of mediating divorce for both for the benefit of all. I’ve seen things that work and many things which don’t. I would challenge you to engage me to assist you with all the techniques I’ve learned over the course of decades for the benefit of you, your children, and even your ex.

Blog is originally published at: https://divorcedonedifferentlypa.com/orientation-day/

It is republished with the permission from the author.

#role as mediator #mediator #mediating divorce #divorce attorney #amicable divorce

[thecaptainoutoftime]

Captain’s Log, Stardate 9529.1. This is the final cruise of the Starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun, and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man… where no *one* has gone before.

Happy 30th Anniversary to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

December 6th 1991-December 6th 2021

#This was my first Star Trek #It made me the Trekkie I am today #Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country #Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country #Star Trek #James T. Kirk #Spock #Leonard McCoy #Montgomery Scott #Hikaru Sulu #Pavel Chekov #Nyota Uhura #William Shatner #Leonard Nimoy #DeForest Kelley #James Doohan #Walter Koenig #Nichelle Nichols #George Takei

[protectspock]

Holy shit... this 1978 trekkie essay about the bullshit of no women captains in Starfleet is legendary

[Full essay here]

Someone must explain to me why there are no women of command in the ST universe [...] I was under the impression that Star Trek types considered themselves enlightened to a degree. [...] The strong women on the series were either bitches, Romulans, Klingons, or other peoples' wives. In 1967, I can understand that. In 1977, I cannot.

There must be people in the world — poor insecure, insignificant types — who actually believe, or see fit to pretend to believe, that women are unfit by nature for command. These individuals — what can I say?-— are misguided. [...] Women of command exist today in the system. If today, why not tomorrow. I am horrified to realize that from my position, the social structure of the Federation represents a regression. We have outdistanced the predictions made on the status of women in the series. But I don't see fan writers keeping up. [...]

Were I to write Mary Sue, a time shifted story, I suspect that "my" first action would be to defect to the Romulans. They treat their women better....

#DEFECT TO THE ROMULANS #heeeeeell yeah #So glad I wasn't a trekkie in the 70s lol #I would NOT have been able to cope with Women Can't Be Captain being an actual canon fact #*SCREAM* #txt #vintage #tos

[captainbeverlycrusher]

An Open Letter to the Star Trek Community

To the Star Trek Community,

I write this from a place of deep respect, gratitude and compassion, and with hope that what I have to say will be received in good faith and be heard.

I am an immigrant woman of colour who found Star Trek at a time when I was at my lowest and stuck in what seemed like perpetual darkness, and it was this wonderful franchise and its powerful message which uplifted me and brought me back into the light so that today I can truly say that I am at my strongest. As such, Star Trek’s positive influence in my life has been no small thing. Star Trek has taught me to be the captain of my life, to reach for the stars, to stand up for what is right no matter the cost, and, above all, to be brave and bold.

And so, in the spirit of boldly going, I humbly call on ALL white members of the Star Trek Community — creators, platform curators, prominent fans and figures, including and especially Star Trek cast members, past and present — who believe in the underlying mission and vision of Star Trek to formally denounce all forms of racism and bigotry and those who uphold such abhorrent beliefs; I call on you to condemn the actions of those who have harmed Black and Indigenous people, and all People of Colour (BIPOC); and I call on you to strive to do more and do better for the sake of BIPOC in both the Star Trek community and in your own lives who have been subjected to racism. Finally, I encourage you to urge your supporters in this community to do the same, particularly those who are now finally waking up to the injustices perpetrated against BIPOC.

I am, of course, aware that the official Star Trek entity released a statement in this vein recently. I know many of you have expressed one way or another your support for the Black Lives Matter movement. I see you. It’s a good start. But it is not enough. I need each of you who hold so much influence within this community to do this, to say once and for all that you will not condone racism and anti-Blackness from your supporters, fans and followers any longer. It is important for this to happen.

I know you support the vision of the great Gene Roddenberry and the powerful philosophy of Star Trek and what it stands for. I know you believe in these words as much as I do:

“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms.”

But many white supporters within the Trek community truly do not share these sentiments, and they have proven this time and again, especially as they have belittled and driven fans of colour like me away instead of putting the mission of Star Trek into practice and welcoming us with open arms. Both on-and-offline, there are those who have insulted and degraded BIPOC involved in the Trek community— and not just fans but creatives, actors, and notable figures of colour alike. We have been treated as inferior and dismissed.

I have seen and witnessed it with my own eyes. I have endured this myself and I cannot explain to you how hurtful it has been for many of us. I am a fan who has experienced so much harm from many white people I have come across in Trek spaces, at conventions and events, even among those I had considered friends, and for it to come from within a franchise that promotes love, hope and acceptance, it has been devastating. What I once looked to as a safe haven no longer is.

I can only speak for myself and from my own experiences. And based on my experience, my call to action here is completely necessary. Because something I never say aloud, something I constantly have to process and reprocess in therapy is that 6 years ago when I was 24, the night before I first met my Trek heroes, I cried bitter tears because I felt that they would not accept me because I wasn’t white, that I was unlovable by even the most amazing people because I was not white like them. 24 years old. A grown adult. And I felt that way. So many white Trek supporters contributed to making me feel that way every time they overtly and subtly implied that their whiteness made them superior. I have remained silent about this and numerous other incidents for many years, but living in silence has only served to intensify the painful experiences I’ve had, and so I share this to stress the urgency with which this community-wide issue needs to be addressed. We cannot allow damage like this to continue towards BIPOC in this community.

Racism destroys the soul. Racism is why I hurt myself for so long and why so many white supporters have harmed fans of colour like me, despite their claims that they believe in all that Star Trek stands for. Racism hurts us all. This is just a small part of my story. Imagine how many more there are like it or even worse. As white people, you will never experience racism and you may not see the abominable treatment BIPOC in the Trek community encounter, but it is happening.

With the Black Lives Matter protests gaining momentum worldwide, it couldn’t be more clear that now is not the time to find the middle ground on issues like this, because there is none when it comes to racism. Either you are against it or not. And I promise you, the Trek community does not need the support of people who go out of their way to justify any and all racist acts, because as we can clearly see, even the smallest racial microaggressions and biases can ultimately lead to murder. The desire to keep the peace in the fandom and franchise is not more important than Black lives. Especially because the truth is, as far as I have observed, there has never been actual peace.

We are presently witnessing a global reckoning in which many are finally starting to acknowledge the existing ways racism and white supremacy are upheld. As a community that claims to value all beings and embrace all differences, it only makes sense for Star Trek and all its community members to lead the way to a better future in the entertainment and creative industries and beyond, and to start doing so by looking within ourselves and our own backyard. We MUST clean up this community so that all People of Colour can truly feel safe and welcomed and be embraced and celebrated in every Trek space.

As I issue my call to action, I urge you to consider doing the following:

First, in particular for prominent white cast and creatives, please let the Trek community know where you stand. If you have not already done so, please let people know that you will not tolerate any further bigotry and racist behaviour from anyone. Please let your Black fans and all fans of colour know that you are with us. And please don’t mince words.

Amplify the voices of BIPOC within this community. So many of us are constantly silenced and drowned out and it is time for us to be heard. Our presence only enhances the Trek community. Uplift and embrace us. We matter.

If you manage any online Trek-related spaces and platforms, it is your responsibility to moderate and remove speech that is racist against BIPOC. It is imperative for you to enforce stricter commenting policies and do all that you can to protect BIPOC from further harm. And for those participating in these spaces, it is equally your duty to call out and report any such speech you encounter.

Educate your fellow white Trekkies who don’t yet understand why this is important. BIPOC have expended a lot of labor attempting to do so already but we have been dismissed, ignored, and cast aside. The onus is now on you to ease us of this burden and do the work given your positions of influence.

Hold yourselves and other white people in your Trek networks accountable to BIPOC community members. Make this part of your norm so that it becomes second nature to you, especially so these issues don’t ever fade into the background as they have often done in the past. This is an opportunity to improve and get it right.

Continue supporting the Black Lives Matter movement even after it stops trending. Visit https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ to find helpful resources, make donations, sign petitions, and to get more involved in this work beyond the Trek community. This work is ongoing. It is lifelong.

Committing to doing every one of these would be small yet meaningful steps in the ongoing struggle for racial justice and it would make a significant difference. So with great respect and love, I implore you to use your power and privilege to do this for BIPOC, for yourselves, for all of us.

Stand up with and speak up for all BIPOC fans, friends and colleagues, far and wide. Be loud about it.

Be as loud and unrelenting as LeVar Burton. He has always been at the helm of this struggle, has always been upfront about it, and I love and admire him for it. Follow his lead.

Naturally, fear courses through me as I write all this, but I think of Gates McFadden, a great hero of mine, who once rocked the boat and spoke up against the sexism and racism she witnessed while working on TNG and was actually fired for it. If she can do that, then I think I can do this regardless of the risk. Because I know what I’m asking for and ultimately fighting for is right. Because what we can no longer deny is that lives are at stake. Black lives. And they matter.

Now it is up to you to do your part. Boldly go, in hope and with love.

And may you Live Long and Prosper.

— Originally published on Women at Warp

#Star Trek #Star Trek TNG #If you’re a genuine and committed trek fan you will not ignore this post #hi #yes I’m alive #some of you will remember me and others may not #you may know me as Bollywood Bev #regardless it will be clear that this account was inactive for a long time until now #I left the tumblr and the trek fandom completely because of the poor treatment in Trek spaces I experienced as a WOC #and witnessed towards other BIPOC #it was unbearable #folks seem to think that being a trek fan makes one inherently anti-racist but that is hardly the case #the fact is this fandom and franchise is filled with racists and bigots who parade around like they’ve done nothing wrong to harm POC #I have stories for days about what I have seen and endured #so I wrote this open letter to the community which I think is completely necessary #just as there is a worldwide reckoning taking place there needs to be one in the overall Trek community #to address racism and anti-Blackness within all Trek spaces #and I’m going to make sure it happens bc I can’t allow this supposed progressive franchise to continue to ignore its blind spots #while fans of colour like me suffer silently and pay the heavy price of racist actions against us #the fandom drove me away from it years ago with the incessant micro and macro aggressions thrown about by white fans #like that stuff really messed me up for a while but now I have decided to reclaim my space #and speak up after years of biting my tongue #because I deserve to be here and for Star Trek to be a safe space for me again #I’ll deal with the racism in the crusher fandom at a later point bc that is the one I was mainly involved in #but for now I issue this call and hope it is heeded #please read this and receive it as the gift that it is #thanks #tng #ds9 #star trek tos

[ichayalovesyou]

Why Does God Need A Starship? (Live Reaction):

I always thought Sybok was cool and interesting and NOW I’m sure! You know it’s times like these that I’m grateful I kinda came back into the Star Trek fandom on my own, because I don’t have to deal with Opinions of older/louder Trekkies. This one kinda has a lukewarm reputation but I’m getting the vibe that I’ll genuinely enjoy it.

Yet again Bones is serving up some LOOKS damn! Look at these elder gays! Spock has rocket boots, amazing. “Because it’s there” and then falling off the goddamn mountain is such a James Tiberius Kirk thing to do 😂 “HI BONES!” These guys omfg. OH MY GOD SO WE DO SEE CAITIANS OUTSIDE THE CARTOONS?? Hell yeah! Also pole dancing to no music, is... weird. Lmao. Also okay I’m sorry Sybok is cool! Sybok is cool and interesting and I really like him! (Not morally obviously dude is shady as all fuck, but a cool dude nontheless!) Always fascinated by Cult Leader type villains, especially when they point out valid criticisms about the society from which they came (important distinction is that the CAUSE is not vilified, but the person and their means, something M****l has largely forgotten)

Awww I may ship Hikura, but Uhura & Scotty are also cute as hell!! Awwwwwww!!!! Old married couples can be so freaking cute. Chekov & Sulu are LOST ohhhh my god this is hilarious, these two idiots. Also can we talk about how Koenig’s eyebrows are slowly gaining sentience and Takei aged like fine wine? Lol. THE HOLY TRINITY OF ELDER GAYS ARE CAMPINGGGG! I’m- oh my god they’re so cute. “Marshmelon” this is cute as hell oh my god. They’re indulging and messing with Spock at the same time I’m dead! They’re singing ohh my god this gonna give me cavities with how sweet it is!!!

This Klingon dude is frickin ROCKING the eyeliner! Bruhhhh was the frickin spotlight necessary! Leave the gays alone SHHHH they’re SLEEPING!! Lmao. Yo I’ll be real this movie starts incredibly slowly but I seriously do not mind, it’s relaxing to not have to worry about missing important details if you look away for a second, it’s nice. WAIT? Does Jim’s shirt say GOT MILK?!!? Oh no, it says go climb a rock, oh thank god [“fatty milkers” flashbacks]

Seriously McCoy is just radiating so much old southern lady/gay energy in this movie and I love it so freaking much “if you ask me (and you haven’t) this is a horrible idea” he sounds like my North Carolina living Meemaw. Wow you can see Spock low-key taking psychic damage from seeing Sybok 😲 V’tosh Ka’tur of the highest order huh? Still disturbing that his government literally cast him out, that’s a red flag 😬. What happened with Sybok is probably a lot of why Spock was pressured to be as Vulcan as he was, I’m sure Sybok was a massive scandal/shame for Sarek, and knowing him, he’d end up making that his kids’ problem not his 🙄

Oh neat!! Chekov is in the in the captain’s chair. Oh this is the song they replaced Nichols’s voice for 😤 but also GIRL THAT WAS BADASS AND THAT SONG WAS A BOP! Quick question, wow these “alien” horses are somehow even worse than the unicorn dog (also it’s a desert planet, wouldn’t it be better to have, like, alien camels or something?) This dude’s Klingon is freakin impeccable btw! He’s really got the vibe down! Jim did you forget how fuckin bananas strong Vulcans are??? Sybok went like 😡☹️ when Spock pointed that laser rifle at him 😂😂😂 again even tho I know Scotty and Uhura are married but it’s scenes like getting held hostage right there where they radiate such POWER COUPLE energy GAWD! 🤩

Stay out of this Bones we’re having a lover’s quarrel! Jim is taking fucking psychic damage from this entire conversation lol. Okayyyy whatever Sybok is doing is definitely some kind of mind control type thing, that shit is creepy af no thank youuuuuu (spores anyone?). Oh my god Spock & Jim are so married lmao, that “I’m sorry” Vulcan kiss in the brig man Aw. (Oh man Magic’s of mega-tsu got devani mixed by that comment lame!) SCOTTYYYYYY!! YAS!

Yay rocket boot glomp! Lmfao! Sybok needs to brush up on his earth history Columbus did NOT figure out the world is round 🙄 Ah Scotty being like “listen, you’re not okay rn so I’m not really down for whatever you think you wanna do right now it can wait until you’re right in the head again” and they could’ve not done that and it would’ve been creepy (especially by today’s standards) but they didn’t! And that was awesome!

Bones being skeptical and has every right to be! He’s faced down would be gods and would-be messiahs before! Also I’ve seen people judge Bones for being the first to cave but Sybok totally did that shit to him without consent! He didn’t go back on his beliefs, Sybok forced him to! BONES PROTECTION SQUAD IS HERE AND ITS ME! Oh Bones, man, poor babeyyyy (fuck Sybok!) 😭😭😭 OH MY GOD BONESSSSSS Sybok leave him alone! Goddamnit! Leave him alone!

I think Jim can see Spock’s Sybok induced vision cuz they’re ✨Bonded✨ (it didn’t seem like they could see Bones’s, other than what Bones was doing). JIM KNOWS SO MUCH BETTER! ITS HOW HE BEAT THE SPORES ITS HIS CORE! I UNDERSTAND AND LOVE HIM FOR IT!!! Spock 😍😍😍 he’s like, you’re bullshit happiness pill doesn’t work on me cuz I am whole for the first time in my life, and I love my husband, and I already learned my lesson decades ago 💚🖖🏻💚 (who knew how important the character development from This Side of Paradise AND Return To Tommorow would be??? Hell yeah!)

I love Scotty so much 🥰 hardcore badass Hufflepuff from beginning to end! Also I hope Sybok appears in SNW that could be really really interesting if they do it right! ITS GOD (derogatory) REVERE HIM! Oh here comes that legendary question!! “What dies God need with a starship?” Red flag don’t call Jim a creature! Oh shit god has laxer eyes oh no lmao! Bones snaps out of whatever Sybok did to him when “God” hurts his friends and we LOVE HIM FOR ITTTT! Awww Spock & Sybok and be saaaaad, oh shit! Into the lightning to fight a mirror of yourself like Lazarus in that one episode!

OH SHIT THE KLINGONS ARE HERE! Oh damn Spock just swore a cuss the right way, at a Klingon General no less! General dude just went “caotain tell Kirk you are sorry!” LMAO! NOT IN FRONT OF THE KLINGONS 😂😂😂😍 KISS DAMNIT!! God this whole after scene is so good, maybe the god is the friends we made along the way. “I lost a brother once” you also lost SAM dummy, I know you were just telling Spock you love him but still. SHUT UP SPOCK IS PLAYING ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT ON HIS LYRE??

Okay, seriously, I unironically love this movie, it might be my favorite out of the ones I’ve seen so far actually. TMP felt like the movies getting their sea legs, but it was slow and messy, it wasn’t as thought provoking as it wanted to be (aside from Spock’s wonderful arc in that film). WoK & TSFS are amazing for drama and angst and Spirk content, but they weren’t really asking the big questions Star Trek is wonderful for. Then The Voyage Home is just plain silly and fun and wholesome. But this, this movie had depth! The whole premise is “what is god and is there is one?” I LOVE that as someone who has a very complicated relationship with spirituality. I also already loved the TOS episodes This Side of Paradise, Return To Tomorrow, The Omega Glory and The Way To Eden, and this movie had the best of those concepts! Sybok was such a fascinating antagonist/anti-hero and I hope we get to see him explored more on screen one day, even if it’s just through Discovery/SNW flashbacks. It may have started off slow and it’s not without its flaws but this felt like the Star Trekkiest TOS Star Trek movie so far!

#star trek #star trek v: the final frontier #the final frontier #why does god need a starship #star trek tos #tos liveblog #liveblogging #Sybok

[typicalnematodes]

Happy Star Trek Day everyone!!!

Star trek means more to me than I could ever begin to express. I got into Star Trek in college and it honestly was a primary reason I am who I am today. Young me was always fascinated by space and the unknown, but seeing this show from the 60’s then the subsequent series made my fascination grow. It made me more passionate about molecular biology and genetics. And now I’m about to be a molecular biologist!

It made me want to be a better person and to metaphorically reach for the stars. Star trek isn’t just a show about space it’s about shining a light on society’s flaws and downfalls to show we not only can, but NEED to do better. And Star Trek does a wonderful job showing we can only be better by helping each other. It also addresses the importance of mental health and strongly encourages the idea of found family. A lot of Trekkies struggle everyday with mental health and some of this is a product of their biological family. Star Trek helped to show me that family shouldn’t be people you feel obligated to love, but instead people you actively CHOOSE and continue to choose to love and keep in your life. Live long and prosper🖖🏻🖖🏼🖖🏽🖖🏾🖖🏿

#star trek #Star Trek day #Star Trek means the world to me #star trek: tos

[absuuuurdstarkid]

My personal highlights of the Starkid Broadway Whodunit 4/10/20

Strap in this could be long...

Lauren’s character is pregnant and she has the biggest most fake looking bump I’ve ever seen

Joey is wearing a baby carrier even though the baby isn’t due for another MONTH

James is amazing and so convincingly nervous as has character, I think he was the only one who didn’t break the whole time

Jaime is playing herself and controlling her puppet (you know, the sweet one Nick made for her wedding) but the puppet keeps saying wildly inappropriate things - think Trekkie Monster from Avenue Q

Jaime’s character later murders the puppet, cause why not

Meredith looks BEAUFITUL and her character wants to be an actress so every time she’s asked a question she turns it into a really long monologue about her upcoming one woman show

Meredith’s character (who was called Denise, love it): “I taped my breasts together with duct tape earlier and I’m worried my nipples will fall off” *drinks wine* *Andrew breaks*

Joey and Lauren used their tgwdlm newsreader voices the whole time, and Lauren was just hanging off Joey’s shoulders

Walker was playing a like 20 year old and just kept saying Dope, Dope about everything

Corey’s character was obsessed with Lauren’s (and turns out was the father) and every time he appeared Lauren moved rooms and ditched him with an UGH

Joe’s character also had a TikTok and Joe did not sound sure than he knew what TikTok was

Everyone left Joe alone in the room and he looked so offended

Lauren disappeared to ‘go pee because of the baby’ about 6000 times

Jamie Burns’ wig was even more wild than Chorn

Brian: “Can sesame street go away please” “Vicki BEAT IT”

Joe: “YEAH I am a teenager, have you SEEN my TikTok???”

Everyone had their character’s names at the bottom of their screen but there was a glitch so every time they moved rooms Lauren and Joey’s just said laurenlopez

Corey’s character Danny appeared in a ‘disguise’ which was just some sunglasses he was also wearing earlier, everyone sees through it apart from Brian

Jamie’s character was an infomercial star and came up with a product called the Butt Clamp which would stop you needing to use the toilet - everyone else kept calling it a butt plug and Jamie got increasingly angry the more this happened

Corey to Joe: “ThEy’Re GoiNG tO caNCeL YoU oN tHE inTeRNeT”

Joe’s character gets shot and dies, Lauren “He died of old age?!!!”, Brian “He looks like he has a butt clamp in” *everyone accuses Vicky of murder by butt clamp*

Andrew “I’m gonna call a private investigator”, Brian “Why don’t you call 911?”, Andrew “No!”

Andrew on the phone “please come figure out what happened”, Joey “finger who?!” *Lauren and Mere break*

Lauren “Ya butt clamp’s defective Vicky” “Yeah cause your not meant to use it on your vagina!” *Lauren, Brian and Robert all hide off camera they’re laughing so much*

The Investigator arrives aka Joe with a drawn on moustache, Jaime immediately “Is that sharpie on your face?”

WHAT THE FUCK DID THAT PUPPET JUST SAY?!!

Joe says some lines as the investigator so everyone can keep up with the plot, Brian “Are you reading this off of something?” “NO! what kind of question is this?!” “well your talking very robotically” “Yeah does feel like it was written” “Are you done?”

Joe “I’m going to introduce myself now, my name is...investigator ..moo-stache” everyone breaks, Joe can’t get through the line

Jaime “Are you sure sure your name isn’t investigator Sharpay?” *Andrew is so gone he gives up trying to hide his laughing, Lauren and Meredith fall out of frame*

Brian makes a suggestion, Joe “are you the investigator here or am I? SHUT UP”

Joe gets some words wrong and corrects himself, Lauren “See this makes be think you’re reading it off somewhere” “Yeah stick to the script”

Jamie Burns “Put a but clamp on your mouth and shut the hell up Mr Moustache” Joe in an incredulous voice “What did you just say to me? put an ass clamp on my mouth?!” “A BUTT CLAMP” *more people have broken than are still in character* Joe “I’ll have to come back to that one”

Lauren “Can you at least make eye contact when you’re talking to us, you’re looking at your shoes”, Brian “Listen, put whatever you’re reading more up by your camera and then It’ll look more like you’re not reading it” *everyone breaks, Andrew, Joey, Lo, Mere, James are all on the floor* Joe “I am remembering it, I have to look at my shoes to remember!”

*everyone heckles Joe, looks like he’s about to explode/have a breakdown*

Joe is now reading it higher and desperately trying to keep looking at the camera

Jamie “You’re a hack... I could figure out this whole investigation with my eyes closed and my butt clamped” *mass breaking*

Andrew announces that all the butt clamps in the world have been sold in an attempt to end this joke. It does not work.

*Inspector asks who people thing the murderer is* Meredith “Well let me look at... my thoughts that I’ve been writing down”

Joe uses the sharpie he drew his moustache on with to pretend to take notes

Andrew’s character “Can I tell you the truth”, Joe “You actually are compelled by law to to tell me the truth yes”

Brian to Joe “We have a lot in common actually, I mean...I went to the Apocalyptour too” (The poster is behind Joe on the wall) Joe, desperately trying not to break “my daughter dragged me”

“He’s not the murderer, he’s just stalking the fuckin butt plug lady”

Joe “I’ve just... got to check the notes on my shoes”

Joey desperately wants to name the baby after the murdered puppet

Lauren accuses Mere’s character of being pregnant, Meredith “Am I PREGNANT?! Is that why my breasts look so good?!”

Brian “Is that like an air drop? DID YOU AIR DROP A BABY IN HER?!” *Andrew corpses*

Corey tries another disguise, but he’s just wearing a baseball cap backwards

Turns out Joey’s character had been fucking the puppet “The thing is it’s got a big hole in its ass” *Lauren and Joey both start laughing*

Jaime “I’ve only killed one non human thing today” Joe “You killed a puppet made out of menstrual blood”

Lauren can’t remember her character’s surname and she and Joe break

*Brian tries to show something on an ipad* “I don’t know if you can see that” Joe “Yes, yes, the camera is auto adjusting the white balance I can see it perfectly” *Lauren hides laughing behind her hands*

There’s a TWIST that Robert isn’t French and called Luis (loo-E), he’s actually called Lewis but everyone had been called him Lewis all night anyway so it didn’t really work but was funny and Meredith felt so bad about it

Joe says the same thing twice and everyone accuses him of reading again “I’M THINKING, I HAVE TO LOOK AT MY SHOE WHEN I THINK AND REMEBER”

There’s a beautifully photoshopped ‘evidence picture’ of Joey and the puppet

Meredith is convinced Brian is the murderer, decides to strangle him

The proof that Brian isn’t the murderer is that in a video he doesn’t know how to use a gun

Robert accuses Lauren’s baby of being the murderer, Joey and Lauren are busy kissing Diane

Joe’s explaining the final plot points and pauses to find the next bit of paper to read “Sorry, one sec, I’m REMEMBERING” *everyone breaks* “LOOK AT YOUR SHOE!”

FINAL PLOT TWIST turns out Joe’s investigator was really the long lost triplet Gaston to the murdered Ashton and Sebastian THE END

Joe “You might think that because I was a triplet this moustache is fake, BUT IT’S NOT, IT’S REAL”

They all take their wigs off, Joe out of character sums it up: “I truly did not know what was going on”

#what a ride #sorry this took so long #I couldn’t work out how to put the read under the cut thingy sorryyyy #starkid #broadway whodunit #lauren lopez #joey richter #corey dorris #james tolbert #jaime lyn beatty #jamie burns #andrew barth feldman #meredith stepien #brian holden #robert manion #joe walker #lauren walker

[ladyideal]

Ficmas~ Day 17

Pairing: Leonard McCoy x Gender Neutral!reader

Word Count: 1205

Warnings: Slightly suggestive in the beginning.

Summary: You and Leonard have a day off on the Enterprise.

Requested By: @night-running-echo

A/n: Smh. I enjoyed writing writing this one. Almost got derailed lol.

7:00 AM

Sounds of an alarm pierced the silence. With a groan, your boyfriend smacked the button with a spare hand. Yawning, he watched you still sleeping, undisturbed. Waking up beside you every day was something he didn't imagine two years ago. 

It was a pleasant surprise. 

Gently, he traced your features, careful to not wake you. From the forehead, down to the nose, and stopped at your lips. There was nothing he didn't love about you. 

"Mornin', sleepyhead," He spoke against your cheek. 

"Lennn," You whined quietly, squirming around in his arms and blearily opening your eyes to look crossly over at him. "It's too early to be awake. Go back to sleep. We both have a day off."

You were the one thing he did right this time. This was where he wanted to stay, forever and always beside you. 

"I've missed you, darlin'," He silently agreed, laying his head back on the pillow. Only smiling to himself when you didn't answer. 

9:00 AM

"Pancakes or waffles?" You asked, finally sitting up in bed and reaching for one of your boyfriend's shirt.

"Pancakes." He spoke, watching intently as you padded out the room in nothing but a thin shirt of his. 

Maybe one more time. 

He enjoyed watching your ass before you disappeared out of sight.

"Gonna call your mom today?" You asked, flipping a pancake as you stood in front of the stove. 

"Momma would get mad if I didn't. I've seen her holler at Donna before. Not a pretty sight," The doctor emerged from the bedroom, giving you a nice once over before hugging you from behind. "Smells good in here, sweetheart."

"Leonard," You warned, sliding the pancake onto a plate. 

"Hmm?"

"What did we say about keeping our hands to ourselves?" You scolded lightly, adding more batter into the pan. "We don't want breakfast to burn, do we?"

He pouted at you, giving you one of his most adoring faces. You kept your resolve firm, frowning slightly at him. Looking like a scorned child, he turned to the sink to help wash and cut the fruits that would be placed later onto the plates. Laughing mostly to yourself, you continued your work and ruffled his hair. 

"Good boy."

You swore you heard a growl.

11:19 AM

Managing to finish breakfast and calling his mom and daughter, you and him scrolled through your respective PADDs. He, as the Chief Medical Officer of the ship, meant a daily review of chartings and reports. For you, as a scientist of Commander Spock's elite research team, your team was in constant communication over new findings, theories, and scientific equations.

"Enough, this is our only day off together. Who knows when the last time we get this chance again?" You placed your PADD down, and stacked the used plates and utensils together. 

Breakfast tasted far better than the cardboard version from the replicators.

"What should we do on the day off?" Leonard asked, flicking you with water as he washed the dishes. It was one way to keep the relationship interesting. 

You swiped back at him with the kitchen towel you used to dry the plates, sticking your tongue out playfully at him. "Maybe watch some holos or some classic hallmark Christmas ones? Haven't done that or decorating the place yet."

He grunted in response which you took as a reluctant assent. "What do you want to watch, sweetheart?"

“Iron Man 3! My favorite Christmas movie!” 

“FOR THE LAST TIME. IRON MAN 3 IS NOT A CHRISTMAS MOVIE.”

You laughed at his response. "Take that back, Leonard. Iron Man 3 is perfect for any season."

3:52 PM

Laundry. 

You didn't know how after so long after so many cultures and technology coming together, that no one within the Federation figured out a way to quickly fold clothes. Essentially, folding clothes were the absolute bane of your existence.

As Leonard folded the last of the cycle, you placed his away grinning at the thought. "Remember that time when you wore my uniform and you wore mine?"

He snorted. "How could I not? Even Chris didn't mention it the entire day. Said my abs looked much better than Jim's at the end of Alpha. At the end, it was Geoff that mentioned the wrong uniform. I was made a laughingstock of my own medbay."

You shook your head, chuckling. "Not making that mistake again, are we? I'm sure you were fine, doctor. The nurses must have had a wonderful day in the Medbay. Jim got a kick out of it too."

"He knows?" Leonard gasped loudly. "How the hell did the infant know about it?"

"Surely a bird told him about it."

He eyed you, the same look he'd give when his orders were being questioned. Before you could take your words, his long talented hands began tickling you. 

"Stop! Ahh," You giggled, weakly trying to shove his hands away. 

"Say 'Doctor McCoy looks better.' or I'm not stopping."

"Doctor McCoy looks better," You wheeze out, thankful that he relented. "You win, you win."

Smugly, he sat down beside you on the bed. "I missed this."

"I missed this too," You agreed, getting to your feet again. "But I know what else you're not going to be missing anytime soon."

Ding Dong!

"Coming," You winked at Leonard before happily prancing towards the door. Thanking your friend, you lugged the large cardboard box inside. 

"Ta da!"

"What the hell is this?" Your boyfriend prodded at the decorations within, as though afraid he would catch the Christmas cheer. 

"Oh this? Some tinsel, lights, some stockings, small nutcrackers, pillows for the couch," You dug through the box. "Some mistletoe somewhere here."

"Mistletoe?" He echoed. 

"Afraid to be caught under one, Doctor?"

8:01 PM

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Had a very shiny nose

And if you ever saw it

You would even say it glows

"Remind me why I can't kill the carolers?" Leonard grumbled once the carolers left for their next destination.

"Because you hold an oath," You reminded, washing away the last of the plates. Dinner was wonderful as usual. Real chicken noodle soup was always delectable.

The living room was transformed in time for the holidays. Tinsel glinted from the ceiling, stockings hung beside the TV, a small tree sat at the corner decorated with its own baubles and lights, and mistletoe hung right on top of the threshold into the bedroom. Pillows on the sofa was changed out, pumpkins were changed out for plastic snowmen, and a wreath hung right beside the door. 

"Come on, Mister Grinch, admit it," You admired the living room, taking out two mugs out to make chocolate. "You enjoy Christmas."

"It's a fire hazard, Y/N," He answered, pouring in a generous glug of whiskey into both. 

"That's not a no I'm hearing," You dunked in some small marshmallows before handing the beverage. 

"Only with you, sweetheart," Leonard clinked his mug with yours. 

"Why don't we watch a holo together? Nyota mentioned the Nutcracker ballet, a true Christmas classic." You offered. "Take the rest of the night off."

He groaned good naturedly, but sneaked a kiss in with your hot chocolate ones. 

"You're all I would ever love."

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[annakie]

Patchy

A little under two years ago I made this post, a chronicle of Patchy, the outside feral, turned inside kitty who took ten years to learn to love being petted.

Today we got some bad news.

TW for pet illness under the cut.

Patchy’s always been a bit of a puker, usually oh, say, once a month or so she’d have a good puke for no reason.  I’ve had other cats that are pukers so it’s not that surprising.

In the late winter/early spring I started to notice more frequent pukes.

I’d decided around that time that I needed to find healthier food for my cats, with Leela, the oldest turning 16, Fry turning 11, Pemily turning 7 and Patchy turning, I don’t know, 12 or 13.  No way to really know.  They already got decent food, but I did my research and had started looking at Blue Buffalo, American Journey and Dave’s canned food. 

Patchy had been on a mostly canned food diet since she went to the vet back in early 2020 and had a bunch of teeth pulled.  Also, as a note, Patchy’s brief flirtation with hanging out in the rest of the house ended after like a month.  She and Fry fought too much, and eventually he claimed the rest of the house is his.  He also still thinks the master bedroom should be his, but, Patchy defends that territory well if anyone else encroaches. (The door just stays closed most of the time.)  I really wish they could have all gotten along, I loved having Patchy out, but both Fry and Patchy agreed it wasn’t going to work.

The food she’d been on was pretty junk-food-ish though, which she did love and eat. But I wanted everyone on more or less the same diet and the highest quality food I could readily get them.  So I bought a lot of cans of different kinds of food, and kept a list of which ones seemed to be hits and misses. (I still have a dozen cans of the kind nobody liked -- Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon -- I’ve been meaning to take to the city shelter).

Around halfway into this experiment I noticed Patchy puking more, so I decided to try to stick with her favorite kinds, which, I thought was helping.

But once I was fully vaccinated this year, it was time to get all the pets to the vet.  I noticed Patchy had still lost some weight, I thought it was due to switching around her food too much earlier, and tried to stick with the things I felt she really liked.

Then, of course, Leela got sick, spent two and a half days in the pet ER and almost died back in April, and then it was like... yeah we’re done being afraid of COVID, we’re done waiting.  It’s time to get them all their checkups.

My regular vet was doing COVID restrictions so no pet owners inside the clinic back then, so they took Patchy (and the others) in without me.  I thought Patchy had lost some weight, but Dr. B. sounded alarmed when he called me with how much lost she’d lost in the last year, about five pounds.  He wanted to do some bloodwork for Patchy, and I said of course go for it.  

He called back, sounding much calmer and was like “her bloodwork couldn’t be more perfect.  Let’s try switching up her food, get her on some sensitive stomach food and let’s see how she’s doing in a couple weeks.”

So two weeks later it did seem like she was doing better, I called Dr. B back and he said to bring her back in a month.

It was my plan to take her back next week when I had some PTO coming.  I admit, later than planned... my last couple of months have been mucn more focused on Leela... who, thankfully, continues to thrive.  But feeling like my time with her is running out, she’s been my main area of concern.

The last few days though, Patchy has really not been eating well.  Sometimes she does OK, sometimes nothing at all.  And then puking every day.  I swapped her back even to a few cans of the Junk Food (Whiskas) I still had laying around.  She’d eat it... and then puke it up.  And also she... stopped sleeping with me.  I thought... well, it’s summer.  It’s probably too hot to cuddle.  But she stopped laying on the bed.  She stopped coming up for pets when I come to bed and hang out for awhile specifically to spend time with her and pet her.  She runs under the bed again when I come into the room.  It’s like we regressed to three or four years ago... just two weeks after our two year anniversary of getting to pet her.

So this afternoon we went to the vet.  Getting her into the carrier sucked.  I tried nice methods, then I had to scare her into the closet by running the vacuum, and then pretty roughly grab her.  I have scratches and a pretty deep bite on my thumb which either maybe hit a nerve or is infected, may have to go to the doctor for it tomorrow. (Yes, washed it thoroughly with soap as soon as I could.)  I also hated betraying her trust that badly, but it’s for her own good.  But it was rough.

Dr B. wasn’t working so I saw one of the other vets.  I liked him. Also COVID restrictions are gone so I got to go inside. But after talking to him for a few minutes, going over her history and what changes I’ve made, he spent a long time rubbing her intestines (Patchy was perfectly behaved, at least.)   Then he looked concerned.  Then he said let’s do an ultrasound.

A few minutes he came back in and showed me her scans. 

Lymphoma.

I was a bit stunned for a second so I missed a bit of the technical speak he said next, but it came down to the best thing we could do is give her some medicine that may buy her more time.  It doesn’t sound like Chemo or Operating is even really an option.  I’m going to call back tomorrow and see if Dr. B or the vet I talked to can talk me through it a little better now that I’ve had a chance to digest.

If I can get Patchy to take the medicine, and if she responds well to it... she may have 3 - 6 months left.

If she won’t take it, or if she doesn’t respond, it’s at this point, a matter of her comfort and quality of life.  So... weeks.  And I’m worried about getting her to take the medicine, especially since she won’t even come let me pet her and we just had a huge trust betrayal today. I don’t know if I could take her spending her last few weeks hating me, especially if the medicine doesn’t work.

The vet also told me that... I didn’t do anything wrong.  And we did the right thing six or so weeks ago by changing her food and seeing if a few other things worked. Especially with how good her blookwork looked.  He barely felt the cancer today, he said six weeks ago Dr. B wouldn’t have been able to feel it at all.  And for this particular type of lymphoma... there’s not a lot to be done, anyway.  That made me feel better, at least.

(As a really dumb side note, after I got her home, I sat down to eat dinner and watch an episode of Star Trek to take my mind off of all of this since I’d been crying since I found out, paid my bill, and drove home, stopping at a drive through so I didn’t have the mental load of cooking.  And I’m in the middle of my rewatch of Enterprise.  I bet any trekkies reading this can guess what episode was next in my rewatch because yep I’m in season two and A NIGHT IN SICKBAY started playing, of course, so obviously I NOPED THE FUCK OUT OF THAT EPISODE.  For the non-Trekkies.... the Captain has a dog on board, an adorable beagle, Porthos.  The dog gets sick and almost dies and spends his night in Sickbay.  He does pull through.  But the ONE episode centered around a beloved pet getting sick and almost dying... and that’s the episode that fate decreed I was supposed to watch tonight. I did not.  I don’t know if I can watch it anytime soon.)

So now for the next few weeks I will spend my time being grateful that Leela is alive and thriving and pray she keeps doing so -- I will continue to give her extra love and care and attention, and also I will need to do the same for Patchy.  I can’t even do it at the same time because Patchy will not come out here, and will not allow Leela in her room. 

I am low-key freaking out that there’s the possibility of the nightmare scenario happening to me again.  In winter 2016, after months of being sick, I woke up on Christmas morning and my 16-year-old cat Jim had died overnight.  It was terrible, and traumatic, and I had to deal with everything all alone because anyone who could support me was... well, it was Christmas morning and my family was all out of town, too.  Posting about it on Tumblr... actually really helped me, since it’s the only place I felt like I could talk about it.

That Christmas was on a Sunday.

Wednesday morning I woke up to hearing my dog, Cebu, moaning in pain.   I rushed him to the vet, but whatever happened overnight, it was too late, maybe there wasn’t anything we ever could have done even if I’d been awake when the puking started.  The vet said the kindest thing we could do was put him to sleep.  And we did.

Also I just, JUST now realized that the vet who helped put Cebu to sleep was the same vet who I saw today about Patchy.

But I lost two of my pets within 3 days of each other.  I was very lucky that my job let us have the week between Christmas and New Years off that year.  I had a few days to pull myself together, and I needed it.  It took months to recover totally, though.  Every once in awhile I think about that week and I still cry, though.  I miss them both so much and they both had deaths that were less than ideal.

I remember thinking then “I have like, five years of reprive.  Leela will be sixteen in five years, and that’s when I have to start to worry again, when I have to be ready to say goodbye again.”

I thought then that even after that I’d have two or three years until Patchy would leave me, and two or three years past that until Fry.  And then five more years with Pemily.

Right now I’m realizing that I will likely lose Patchy, very best case in six months, but possibly before July is over.

I need Leela to keep thriving.  I don’t know how I would handle losing another two so close together again.

Patchy is... she’s the one who chose me.  I chose my other cats.  Fry and Pemily I plucked from the backyard when they were tiny kittens and brought them inside.  They didn’t have a choice.  Leela I adopted from a rescue, she didn’t have a choice.  Patchy chose to stay.  She chose to stick around when she realized I’d feed her.  It took years but she learned to trust, she chose to come inside when it was cold, when it was hot, when it was storming, and when she was pregnant.  She chose me to help raise the last litter of kittens she’d ever had.  (My entire Rescue Kitties tag is full of adventures in finding, raising and usually adopting out strays. Lots and lots of posts about Patchy and her final litter.  Been awhile since I’ve done it, though.)

I used to joke that Patchy was my roommate, not a pet.  She ate, drank, did her business, and kept to herself for a long time.  Don’t get me wrong, she was a very good, quiet, considerate roommate and I loved her.  But it wasn’t until that wonderful day she let me pet her that I felt like she was my pet. 

I loved having her just hanging out living in the house since 2014, but the last two years especially have brought me such joy.  I’ve tried to never take Patchy’s trust in me for granted.  It was EARNED.  Every small step forward was a milestone to be celebrated. I worked for every bit of trust and love Patchy has given me, and have been rewarded.  And it was worth it.  Every minute.  Every long, patient year.

Even now I’m telling myself... without me, she would have died years ago.  Probably violently, or starved, maybe frozen to death.  Getting to die of cancer brought on by older age is not something that most feral cats ever get to do.  Getting to become an inside kitty where she’s loved, and comfortable for the second half of her life was something remarkable, brought on by her wiles and will to survive for so many years, bolstered by the food I left out for her.  She’s had this much time, this much life, this much comfort and love that she would have never had otherwise, and that’s something to be happy about.

I’ve watched dozens of ferals come and go through my neighborhood throughout the years.  I feed them, I work on seeing if I can get them to trust me enough to let me TNR them, but even those that I have, I don’t keep seeing for much longer.  There’s one right now, I jokingly call him Patchy’s Boyfriend.  He still won’t trust me and never has fallen for the trap when I’ve tried.  But he’s there most nights when I feed him around 11.  He’s getting terribly thin despite the quality food I leave out.  I’ll miss him.

But none of them were Patchy.  None of them became what she is to me. None of them survived long enough to adapt and decide to live another life.

Also?  I wouldn’t have Pemily without her.  Pemily is literally Patchy’s Granddaughter and that is one more thing I love Patchy for.

I feel guilty sometimes, both because I don’t spend nearly enough waking hours with her I feel, but I have three others who need me, as well. One who’s time is growing short, as well.  And they don’t get to sleep with me, she does.  What a joy it was all winter when I would wake up and she’d be sleeping on my chest.  I’d get a bit annoyed when she’d sleep with her backside to my face and her tail would tickle my face and wake me up.  I’m a side-sleeper half the night and she hated that it was harder to get comfortable on me that way.  She still doesn’t want to have my hand just stay on her, she wants pets and skirtches, no long-form touching.  That’s ok.  I sleep better with her weight on me.

I don’t know what the next few weeks or months will hold, but at least pet-wise, it’s going to be rough.  I’m going to wrap this up and give these three out here a good pet, then go hope Patchy comes and asks for love, too.  Tomorrow is one more day with all four of them, and for that, I’ll be grateful, for every remaining day.

#personal post tag thingy #my pets #pet illness tw #pet death tw