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cosmik-homo · 2 years

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I posted 21,560 times in 2021

1510 posts created (7%)

20050 posts reblogged (93%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 13.3 posts.

I added 1,828 tags in 2021

#undescribed - 1347 posts#cr spoilers - 111 posts#critical role spoilers - 104 posts#:0 - 48 posts#oh my god - 42 posts#deltarune spoilers - 39 posts#row spoilers - 38 posts#quotes - 37 posts#alfredcore - 32 posts#cowards glory - 30 posts - 1347 posts

#cr spoilers - 111 posts

#critical role spoilers - 104 posts

#:0 - 48 posts

#oh my god - 42 posts

#deltarune spoilers - 39 posts

#row spoilers - 38 posts

#quotes - 37 posts

#alfredcore - 32 posts

#cowards glory

- 30 posts - y- 30 posts - 30 posts0 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#בלי קשר לזה שהיא משקיעה את כל הנשמה ואת כל הפאקינג בריאות שלה בסה וללמד זה החיים שלה ותלמידים שלה שכבר השתחררו עכשיו זוכרים אותה ומפרגנים

My Top Posts in 2021

When people talk about "Star Wars Day" I like it but it's so funny to me they have one centralized day. Star Trek people celebrate seventeen times a year. Star trek people are always down to party.

242 notes • Posted 2021-03-16 10:56:23 GMT

This is why Sazed didn't want to teach electricity to scadrial

296 notes • Posted 2021-05-28 05:42:22 GMT

ok as local tmp apologist YES it is VERY MUCH aout spock being gay but its also bout spock being a GAY JEW. he is SEARCHING FOR A GOD TO CONDEMN OR ACCEPT HIM AND HIS LOVE. AND HE FINDS GOD IS NOT IN THE THUNDERSTORM OR THE DRY WORD, IT IS NOT IN DRY ADHERENCE TO THE RULES BECAUSE THEY ARE RULES, BUT PROTECTING THEIR BEAUTY AND THEIR MEANING OF THE WORLD

343 notes • Posted 2021-04-18 17:49:52 GMT

Seriously I need people to understand that Spock being miserable in Vulcan society and it is a source of struggle in his life and what not does not mean Vulcan society and culture is inherently negative, wrong, negative and harmful. Not only is that. Completely missing the point of Star Trek and of, like, being a basically enlightened person when it comes to views on the human (e) condition and society and culture, it also dampens Spock's own narrative.

Spock is miserable in Vulcan society and with Vulcan norms because it is not right for him. Because his family and community sucks, because he is discriminated against for his mixed heritage, and not accommodated or given space for his human related traits and needs. He is miserable I'm Vulcan society and under the classic, rigid Vulcan philosophy of emotional inhibitions because of his own life story.

But the ideas themselves are not evil, thru work for some people without being unhealthy and serve their purpose. On a big red planet many people live their lives and let others live, and I can assure you there are communities on Vulcan in that era or after where people like Spock were living different lives.

In the end he still finds value in Vulcan teaching and adjusts them to his level of comfort- look at late movies Spock, making his own path and acting much less rigid, answering Amanda's "how do you feel" and engaging in tomfoolery with Kirk and McCoy while still being Vulcan in his culture and some others aspect of his speech.

Anyways why don't you watch some Tuvok centered episodes and embrace Surak into your hearts. No prophet has ever offered a path who harmed none and a religion that left no frustrated children on the side of the road; just because Spock needed to get out doesn't mean there is any moral basis for thinking you know better than an entire planet and all vulcans should act in a way that fits your worldview

514 notes • Posted 2021-07-10 16:47:49 GMT

prologue to academic books on jewish masculinity im reading: “ In early modern eastern Europe, the ideal Jewish male, the Rabbi or talmudic student, was indeed characterized by qualities that made him very different from, in fact almost the exact opposite of, the "knight in shining armor" heartthrob of our romantic culture. The East European Jewish ideal of a gentle, timid, and studious male-Edelkayt-moreover, does have origins that are very deeply rooted in traditional Jewish culture, going back at least in part to the Babylonian Talmud. These characteristics, however, were not supposed to render the male even slightly unappealing, let alone "very unattractive." For Peskowitz's American students, even American Jews, the gentleness of the rabbinic male can only be imagined as sexlessness, encoded as unattractiveness, because these students (like most of us) have been molded so thoroughly by the "dominant fiction" 2 of gender that our culture maintains. A gentle, studious, sweet man can only be imagined as old and nearsighted (i.e., castrated?) and could not possibly be attractive sexually. In the readings that follow this introduction, we will see that such a man is interpreted as anything but sexless within rabbinic texts; indeed, he is represented as the paramount desiring male subject and object of female desire.” (explains how this different VALUE and not content change is what we need to understand to understand and recreate in our imaginaitons what old jewish gender cultural view was like)

Me: ....are you saying. does this mean the way Spock became a sex symbol is the best victory of jewish masculinity in years.

576 notes • Posted 2021-02-17 12:37:40 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #WOW this little guy can spockpost like it's nobodies business

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owenlars1 · 4 years

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STAR TREK ADVENTURER - 001 - INITIATIONS

IF YOU HAVE CHANCE, PLEASE WATCH STAR TREK TNG SEASON 4 - EPISODE 21 - THE DRUMHEAD. THIS INTRODUCES US TO SIMON TARSES AND PROVIDES US WITH A PARTIAL BACKGROUND. I FOUND HIS CHARACTER INTERESTING AND HAVE MADE HIM A MAIN CHARACTER IN ANOTHER STAR TREK SERIES - ADVENTURER ALL COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED AND WELCOME

Adventurer - 001 - Initiations

The large vacuum doors hissed open and crewman Simon Tarses, newly appointed medical technician of the Galaxy-class starship Adventurer, stepped into Main sickbay, his hand tightly gripping the strap of his medkit shoulder bag. He was both excited and nervous as he walked through the oval room which buzzed with the noise of the medical staff, who were dispersed into small groups throughout it. He looked about him at the impressively sophisticated instrumentation. Adventurer boasted, along with other superiorities, the largest and most advanced sickbay of any starship ever built. This was one of the reasons why Simon had applied for the position. Yet he hadn't dreamed of actually attaining it, not after the incident on board the Enterprise which he feared would end his starfleet career. He approached a small group of staff who were engaged in an animated discussion. "Excuse me, please" he said politely. A young woman turned to face him. She had short light blonde hair and a very round pretty face. She said nothing but gave him a warm smile. Simon felt his cheeks burn as he blushed crimson red. "Um...I..I'm looking for Doctor Richards," he stammered. The young woman continued to smile at him, studying his neat symmetrical features, his little pointed ears and his perfectly groomed dark hair. "Yes, we're all waiting for his arrival" she said suddenly. "He wanted to address us altogether. Shouldn't be long now, " she reassured him. "Thank you" Simon replied and gave an awkward smile. "No problem" she said, returning his smile. She turned to face her friends and continued her conversation. Simon walked over to the sickbay's office where about half a dozen or so medical staff were patiently queued. At the desk sat a female medical officer who appeared to be part-human, part-ktarian. She was uploading duty rosters from the medical database into each of their PADDs. Simon decided to join the queue, and as he did so, the vacuum doors hissed open once more. All heads turned as Dr. Richards entered the room. "Sorry I'm late folks!" he apologized quite cheerfully, and made his way to the top end of the bay, where a work station was positioned just outside his office. The noise in the room died down as he turned to face his audience. Simon noticed that the middled aged doctor had a very friendly, yet careworn face, as if he had been hiding some great secret. "Thank you all for coming" he began, "and welcome to Adventurer's Main Medical bay. I'm Doctor Richards and this is Medical Officer Luvena Kryllus, " he said pointing to the woman who had been uploading the data, and now stood at the office entrance. She nodded in response but her expression remained guarded. "Please don't hesitate to come and see either of us at any time if you need help or advice" he said reassuringly. "Now," he continued "as you know, Adventurer is one of the finest Galaxy-class starships of our time. I assure you that you are a small percentage of the starfleet applicants, so well done to all of you for attaining your positions here." He gave a noticeably nervous gulp. "Now, the doctors who will serve as heads of the auxiliary medical bays are Doctor Dakus Tolan of bay two, Doctor Oben Brax of bay three and Doctor Ursula Hunter of bay four." The Betazoid, Bolian and Terran born doctors all nodded as they were announced. "Now as you know" he continued, " Main Medical Bay is on deck two, whereas bays two, three and four are situated on decks eight, fourteen and twenty-one respectively. Only Main Medical bay will be operational twenty four hours. The auxiliary bays will normally be operational for around six hours a day, but they will all be manned in the event of a crisis. Now does anyone have any questions?" A young man from a boisterous group of crewmen put his hand up. "If we're just a small percentage of the applicants" he said, "how did Maxwell Prince get his position?" The room broke out into vivacious laughter. "Thanks very much!" retorted crewman Prince as he folded his arms. Maxwell Prince had been a notorious joker back at Starfleet Academy, and not many took him seriously. No one guessed that he would pass the training, let alone obtain a position on a starship. "I'm sure he must have done something right" Doctor Richards replied light-heartedly. "Now, does anyone have any sensible questions?" A murmur of laughter circled the room once more. The young woman who had spoken to Simon put up her hand. "Dr Richards" she asked, "is it true Adventurer is going to be exploring the Enigma Zone?" The room quietened to a complete hush. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to dicuss that.." he said hesitantly "...but I believe you will be informed when the Captain briefs you this afternoon at 14.00hrs." An atmosphere of apprehension subdued the room. No one had any more questions. "Ok, well thank you for coming" Dr Richards continued. "If you have not yet obtained your duty roster from Miss Kryllus then please do so...and if you can, please be at your posts at least fifteen minutes before your first shift. I look forward to getting to know all of you soon." With that he moved from the workstation, mopping his brow and sought to catch up with the three head doctors. The queue for data uploading resumed and a moment later, Simon stood in front of Miss Kryllus. He handed her his PADD and she began to upload it. Monitoring the upload she caught sight of the name on the screen. Impulsively she glanced up at Simon, clearly disturbed. "Tarses" she said, almost under her breath but loud enough for Simon to hear. Aware of his attention she raced her eyes back to the screen, and quickly pulled herself together. A few seconds later the upload was complete and she handed over the portable device. "Here you are Mr Tarses", she said as aloof as possible, but keeping her eyes cast down. "Your duties begin at 09.00 hours tomorrow morning." Simon moved from the queue and looked at his PADD.

REPORT TO DOCTOR RICHARDS: MAIN MEDICAL BAY - 09.00 HRS it read.

Simon was a medical technician. At least that was what his position on board the Enterprise had been. He was not sure exactly what his position was to be on Adventurer. His letter of acceptance had been non too specific. Still, he had been glad to have been accepted at all. He turned to leave but a hand on his shoulder halted him and he sensed someone peering over at his PADD. "Hey, what time does your duty start?" a voice asked. It was Maxwell Prince. Simon did not know him - Max was fresh from the academy. "Um, 0900hrs" Simon replied. "0900!" Max exclaimed. "How did you manage that? I start at 0500! I hate early mornings!" Simon went red and felt a little awkward. "I..." he began. "Hey, it's not your fault" Max interupted. "Anyway, I suppose it doesn't matter. It's dark in space, whatever time you get up!" Max smiled warmly, amused by his own joke and held out his hand. "I'm Max" he said, "but I guess you know that already" he added, suddenly looking a little embarrassed. "Simon" Simon responded nervously, shaking Max's hand. "Simon Tarses." "Nice to meet you Simon Tarses" Max said cheerily. "Say, do you fancy meeting up later in the mess hall for a drink? Say..18.00hrs?" Simon gulped. "Um...well, I..." he began. "Don't worry if you can't..." Max shrugged. "I..I'll catch up with you again." His broad smile diminished a little - he was used to being refused - and he walked off, backing into Miss Kryllus' work station as he did so. Simon watched him leave through the vacuum doors and gave a sigh. He had always found it difficult meeting new people - he feared he would be rejected before the other person really got to know him. His fear stemmed from his Romulan heritage, given away by his little pointed ears. They had been the source of much ridicule throughout his young life back on Mars colony, and since the incident on board the Enterprise, fear of his reputation preceding him had only compounded his anxiety. Before he arrived on Adventurer he had decided that it would be best to keep to himself as much as possible. The less people he knew the less he would have to confess. He felt a little guilty now though because Max had been friendly and despite his smile he had sensed Max's disappointment. There was something about Max that was very open and sincere, and he now wished he had been brave enough to accept his offer. As he thought, his eyes fell upon Doctor Hunter, the female Head Doctor of medical bay four. She appeared to have been crying and Doctor Richards was handing her a handkerchief. Doctor Richards put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her and said something, but Simon couldn't make out what it was. She wiped her eyes, smiled bravely and after a few more words from him, she headed to the doors and exited. Dr. Richards turned around in Simons direction, worry written all over his face. Their eyes met and Simon quickly looked down with embarrassment, feeling as if he had been spying on the two of them. He decided he had better go, and turned to exit. He was halted in his tracks though by Dr. Richards. "Mr Tarses?" Dr Richards inquired. "Yes, Sir" Simon replied. "Good to finally meet you Simon." They shook hands. "Me, Sir?" Simon asked quizzically. "I should explain" Dr Richards continued, "I wanted to meet with you as soon as I could." He looked around him. "Perhaps we should go into my office." He pointed to Simon to lead the way. Simon was suddenly overcome by an overwhelming feeling of apprehension. He imagined he was going to get a dressing down. They entered the office. It was quiet inside, the noise of the medical bay kept out by the plexi-glass walls. Dr. Richards noted the look on Simon's face. "I don't mean to alarm you, Simon" Dr Richards said. "I just wanted to say that I have been informed of your past history on the Enterprise and as far as I'm concerned, that's where it belongs. I've spoken to Captain Picard and Dr Crusher and both of them couldn't recommend you highly enough. But I also wanted to add that I know how people can be and to let you know that if you have any problem in regard to this, any at all, that I will unswervingly support you. I will not tolerate injustice or prejudice. I view all of my staff with the highest regard, some of them I even consider as family. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, so that you felt you could always approach me, at anytime for any reason." It was a heartwarming speech and Simon felt a lump in his throat. Only his parents had ever given him support like this and it was a great relief to know that someone was on his side. "Thank you" he replied. "I appreciate that, most sincerely. And I assure you, Sir, that I will never give less than my best. I won't let you down." Dr. Richards smiled warmly. "I know you won't Simon" he said softly. "So, when is your first shift?" "0900 hrs tomorrow morning, Sir" "I look forward to working with you, Mr Tarses." "Likewise Sir." "Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have so many people to see." They exited the office, Dr Richards striding off towards more medical personel. Simon exited medical bay with a smile on his face. He hadn't felt so good in a long time, not since he had first heard of his acceptance. Having picked up his belongings from the cargo bay holds, he headed for his quarters on deck twelve. As the door opened he had to pause with surprise. Were these his quarters? He checked his PADD. Yes, the PADD confirmed it. He entered the room, looking about him, still in disbelief. Surely these were the quarters of an officer or even the Captain? They were certainly much larger than his quarters on board the Enterprise had been. He put his bags down and walked over to the large plexi-glass window which afforded a captivating view of the planet Jupiter below. The immense orange globe hung majestically in the pitch black of space; its huge red spot glowing with activity. Simon pulled a chair up to face the window and reclined. "Computer." It beeped in readiness. "Dim lights...and play Albinoni's adagio." It was Simon's favourite piece of music. The lights dimmed and the noble melody began to play, adding to the ethereal beauty of Jupiter's backdrop. I can hardly believe its fourteen and a half thousand miles away he mused to himself. It just doesn't seem real. In his own little world he soon lost track of the time, and as Shostakovich's second movement of Piano concerto No.2 ended, he peacefully nodded his head and fell fast asleep. He was awoken by a familiar voice and it took him a few seconds to realize that the voice wasn't coming from someone in his room. It was coming over the loudspeakers and it was Captain Isaacs voice! "Oh no!" Simon said to himself, realizing he should have met in cargo bay three with all of the other staff. As he hurried out of his room and towards the turbo lift he managed to catch bits of Captain Isaac's speech over the tanoid - congratulations on selection, the names of the senior staff, something about turbo lift 4 being out of operation? He now stood outside cargo bay three, and as the doors hissed open, over 400 crewmen turned their heads to see who had arrived late. Simon felt like he had been stabbed by hundreds of pairs of eyes and his cheeks began to burn with embarrassment. He instantly wanted to walk back out again but quickly decided to slip in at the back of the assembly. Slowly, all eyes began to face forward again - except one pair to his immediate right. He turned his head slightly- it was the girl whom he had spoken to in medical bay, and she was grinning at him again. As they both looked forward, Captain Isaac's rambling suddenly became more interesting. "Now, I can confirm the rumours of a mission to Sector 28404, more commonly known as the Enigma Zone as being true. Some of you may have heard of the peculiar cases of the crew onboard the Strider, when it traversed the zone, almost forty years ago. No starfleet vessel has been near that sector ever since. Adventurer's first mission will be to explore this sector and to locate any sources of these effects. Of course, we are much better protected than the Strider, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Nevertheless extreme caution will need to be demonstrated at all times. Adventurer will leave space dock shortly at 1500hrs and E.T.A. at Sector 28404 will be in four days and 6 hours time. In that time, our main priority will be for all sections to prepare as much as possible; all sections will be given further instruction by their heads before duty shifts. Adventurer is scheduled to stay in Sector 28404 continuously for three months, unless circumstances dictate otherwise. In two weeks, we are to be joined by Adventurer's sister ship, Explorer. I have full confidence in this crew, and that Adventurer will return with every success. Thank you." As crewmen began to file out of the cargo bay, Simon could feel eyes on him again. "So, did you fall asleep?" the girl to his right asked, half joking, half concerned. Simon blushed and felt foolish. "Yes" he grinned with embarrassment. She smiled at Simon, a little curious and already fond of this shy crewman. "I'm Lori" she said, holding out her hand. "Simon" Simon replied, a little awkward with his handshake. "So, which bay will you be working in?" she asked. "Bay 1" "Ah, with Doctor Richards. I'm jealous" she added with a smile, observing his reaction. A friend of hers approached. "Are you coming Lori?" she asked. "Well, bye Simon. See you around" Lori said, as they walked off together.

After a delicious meal of roast chicken and vegetables, courtesy of the replicator, Simon sat in his chair by the window in his quarters and reflected on his day. Adventurer had overwhelmed him. He couldn't wait for the adventure to begin and to start travelling the stars. He wondered what it was going to be like to work for Dr Richards. He had seemed friendly, and caring too - almost a father figure, Simon decided. Look how he had helped Dr Hunter when she had been crying. Why though had Dr Hunter been crying? What could have possibly upset her? Perhaps he would never know. And then there was the enigmatic Miss Kryllus who never seemed to smile. Why had she seemed so flustered when she read his name? Did she know about him, about his past, his mistake? But how could she? Then there was Lori. She seemed nice but he couldn't quite work out if she was being friendly or just enjoyed teasing him. She smiled a lot though. He was certainly glad she had been there in the cargo bay after his highly embarrassing entrance. Lastly, there was Max. Simon remembered how everyone had laughed at him, and yet, he didn't seem to be that bad a person. Max had been quick to jump to the conclusion that Simon hadn't wanted to join him. Perhaps Max needed a friend? He looked at the time, it was 18.30 hrs. "Computer" he prompted, "State the whereabouts of Ensign Max..um...Maxwell Prince." "Ensign Maxwell Prince is in the mess hall" it replied, in its monotone voice. Simon wasn't quite sure what to do. Maybe Max had gone with some other friends, and Simon was a little apprehensive of meeting lots of people. Perhaps he could go and sit somewhere quiet in the mess hall first, just to assess the situation? What if Max though called him over to meet everyone?..... He almost decided not to go, but somehow he felt it was right to make the effort. He didn't have to stay long...it had been a long day after all. The mess hall doors hissed open and Simon entered the large crescent-shaped room. It was quiet and the main lights were subdued. The blue light of the bar bathed most of the room and cast its ambient glow onto the few who sat at the tables. They were mostly in twos and threes, but at the front of the room, near one of the large windows sat a lonely figure.....it was Max. Simon walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. He sat on the edge of a bar stool and looked over to the slumped figure, wondering what he was going to say. Max's figure didn't move much. Maybe he shouldn't disturb him? But then again Max had asked him to come. The barman served Simon his drink. He took a sip of it, and then suddenly decided to take the bull by the horns. He walked over to the lonely figure a little nervous. "May I join you?" he enquired, approaching Max from the side. Max looked up quickly and almost knocked his own drink over. He hadn't heard Simon approach. "Simon Tarses!" he declared, startled. Simon stood politely, waiting to be invited. "Please, join me" Max said earnestly. Simon sat down to Max's right, he felt a little awkward. Although Max smiled, sadness was evident in his eyes. "Are...are you ok?" Simon asked him worriedly. Max looked down, contemplative, then back up at Simon. "I'm ok" he said, not very concincingly. Then he added "I'm really glad you came." Simon gave an awkward smile. "I wanted to come, when you asked me" he explained. "It's just that...I'm not very good at..well, making friends and socializing." Max pointed at the empty chairs around him. "Apparently, me neither" he said. "I asked about twenty people, you know. So I really am grateful you came." "I guess everyone was tired" Simon tried. "You know, they wanted to be ready for their first shift maybe?" Max nodded. "Yeh, that must be it!" he said with a wry smile, knowing it wasn't. "So, Simon Tarses" he continued, "I don't remember you from the academy. Have you already served in the federation?" Simon gulped and his stomach churned. He knew he would eventually have to explain his past, but he wasn't ready for it so soon. He gave a nod and winced, unable to hide his feelings. He took a deep breath. "It's a long story..." he said. "I..I made a bad mistake." Max's eyebrows shot up."What did you do?" he asked, intrigued as to what this perfectly quiet crewman could have done to look so worried. Simon didn't want to tell, and yet he felt he could trust Max somehow. "I...lied on my application to Starfleet" he confessed. "I said I was a quarter Vulcan...when I'm a quarter Romulan." He paused, reliving the dreadful moment on board the Enterprise when he had been exposed. "I can understand why you said that" Max replied thoughtfully. "People can be very quick to judge....I can vouch for that." "You...you don't mind...that I carry Romulan blood I mean?" Simon asked, his face contorted with concern. Max put his hand onto Simon's shoulder. "Why should I?...all I know, is that you were the only one who came tonight. That puts you pretty high up in my estimation." Simon's apprehension melted. It impressed him how Max didn't seem to have any prejudice at all, which was quite rare, even in this enlightened generation. "When I first joined you...you looked unhappy" Simon tried cautiously. He wouldn't normally ask something like this of anyone, but he felt Max had already proved himself a friend. If Max had a problem, then he wanted to help him. Max looked down. "It's my father" Max answered presently. "Nothing I do seems to please him. I... received a message from him, not long ago. You'd think he'd be proud but..." he couldn't finish the sentence, disappointment written all over his face. "I'm sorry" Simon offered. "He should be proud, that you were assigned here I mean." Max looked down. It was just too painful at the moment to even think about. He wanted to change the subject. "Look at us, Simon!" Max declared out of the blue . "Our first day on board the finest starship in the business, adventure just around the corner, and here we are feeling sorry for ourselves! We should be celebrating!" Simon was surprised by Max's sudden change. "I am excited about being on board" he smiled. "It's an amazing ship!" "Yeh, we're really lucky to be here!...I was surprised though, to be chosen I mean." "Me too" Simon agreed. "After what I did, I'm really grateful." Max smirked. "Well, like Doctor Richards said, I suppose we must have done something right!"

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werewolves-are-real · 5 years

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Hello! if it isn't too much to ask, can you share a short snippet of whatever you're currently working on? I am particularly fond of your Temeraire fic, but anything would be good - I am enjoying your latest immensely, although Star Trek is not my fandom.

:) Thank you! It’s always nice to hear people enjoy the writing.

I’m having a lot of fun writing more Star Trek - it’s nice to write something different. It seems like I only talk about Temeraire these days, ha, so I included excerpts from a Temeraire fic *and* a Star Trek fic below

The Temeraire snippet is from a fic where things... escalate at the start of book 2, The Star Trek fic is from an old, old WIP I never posted, where I wanted to address the way the crew (and especially McCoy) tend to criticize Spock’s heritage. It’s old and.. not so great, but I like pieces of it, so I’m considering rewriting it (once I’m done with other fics, hopefully)

(Temeraire)

Laurencewakens slowly after the battle. The last thing he remembers is thefighting; Temeraire was flying, the boarders had been repelled, andthen a Petit Chevalier was falling upon them...

“Sir,”says Mr. Allen. “Are you awake? Do not try to rise, please.”

Ignoringthis, Laurence levers himself up with an elbow. He looks around;Digby and Allen are crouched around him, each holding a hand over thehilts of their swords. The three of them are behind the bend ofTemeraire's leg, and in the distance Laurence can hear an argument.

“Iswear to you,” Admiral Barham's voice rings out, “If CaptainLaurence resists we will use force...”

“Goodgod, man, shut up,” Granby snaps. Laurence winces in mortification;the lieutenant will get himself booted from the service, using thatkind of language against an admiral. “Captain Laurence is injured,and you must wait to see him.”

ButBarham's threat has already roused Temeraire. Above them theCelestial lowers his head, snarling. His ruff is blood-streaked andgory from the battle; with his teeth bared he looks savage.

Barhamroars, “You will control that beast, Lieutenant! All of you willstand down, or we will take action - “

“No,Sir,” Granby snaps. “No farther, not one damned step. Temeraire,if these men make ready you may knock them down.”

Thatis too far. Laurence struggles to his feet, ignoring Digby's objects.“Help me up,” he snaps, when Allen insists on waiting for thesurgeon. “I must speak with the admiral.'

Reluctantly,they support him from under the protective shadow of Temeraire's leg.Barham scowls tremendously as soon as he appears.

“Thereyou are,” he says. Granby looks furious. “Did you think you couldhide here like a coward? You are under arrest, and if you prevaricateany more than by god I will have the Sergeant shoot you.” Hegestures to a nearby officer, who reluctantly levels a gun inLaurence's direction, flinching under the weight of Temeraire'sgrowl. “And stand down that animal, at once!”

“Iwill not stand down,” Temeraire says. “And you are not comingnear Laurence, not at all.”

Temeraireraises a claw. At the same moment Granby makes a quick gesture.Immediately the nearest aviators jump behind Granby, forming a line.They start to raise their rifles.

Ashot rings out.

Laurenceslides to the ground, startled. Granby shouts. More gunshots.Temeraire roars – loud enough to rattle his bones – and above thetreeline, at the edge of the clearing, Maximus suddenly looms up. Hepeers over with alarm, alerted by the commotion. All over the covertother dragons rise to look their way too.

“CaptainLaurence!” Digby cries. His hands are covered in blood, and hepushes futilely at Laurence's side. Laurence stares at him, thenlooks down. His jacket is soaked and red.

Laurencerealizes that Allen is holding him by the shoulders, bearing all hisweight.

He'sbeen shot.

“Oh,hell,” Laurence says aloud, and knows nothing more.

______________________________

It'snight when Laurence awakens. He looks up at the star-studded sky,trying in vain to remember the name for the little cluster of lightsabove his head. He's lying atop Temeraire and recognizes the scalesbeneath himself without any issue; maybe this is why it takes him toolong to remember the shooting, and Barham's yells, and the screams.

Laurencetries to stand.

“Oh,there you are,” says Mr. Allen. “Please do not get up, Sir, notagain. Roland, can you tell the lieutenant he's awake?”

Emilyscuttles away. Looking around, Laurence sees that for some reasonhe's resting in a a jumble of blankets and medical-supplies atopTemeraire's back. He becomes aware of people speaking in thedistance; then they cut off, abruptly, and under him Temeraire jolts.“Laurence!” the dragon cries. “Are you well?”

“Yes,my dear,” Laurence lies. His leg is throbbing in time with hisheart, and Laurence doesn't think he could stand,even if Allen let him try; the wound in his side makes him feelqueerly like he could snap in half if he made any wrong movement.“What has happened?”

“Well,I killed that awful admiral,” Temeraire explains. “So now we areall rebelling, but everyone is arguing about how to do it, eventhough I'm not sure how anyone would fight us.”

Laurencestares at him helplessly for a moment. Then he manages to prophimself on one elbow, looking around.

Thereare other dragons crowded into Temeraire clearing; more have sweptaway the trees to combine their space with that of Maximus. There aredragons coiled atop one another, heavy-weights on the bottom withclusters of Yellow-Reapers and Longwings and Bright Coppers clingingto their backs. And in between the dragons are the crews, andservants from all over, with a group of men and women wearingcaptain's-bars standing in a semi-circle before Temeraire.

Andeveryone is craning to look at Laurence.

Laurencedoes not immediately give speech to his dawning horror; Granbyscrambles up Temeraire's side, looking profoundly relieved. There's astreak of blood across his forehead; he doesn't seem to notice. “Sir.I'm glad you're awake – should we call the surgeon?”

“Forgetthe damn doctor,” says Laurence. “What the devil happened?”

(Star Trek)

McCoy has now been aboard for fourteen days, or two Terran weeks.Spock is well aware that his own interactions with the doctor couldbe interpreted as increasingly hostile. He feels no need to censurehimself. If he cannot risk reporting the doctor or properlyreprimanding him, he at least refuses to meekly submit to the man'sslurs. He has survived worse, and he will not give this human thepleasure of victory.

To this end he continues to verbally spar with the man, but howevermuch he makes the doctor sputter and grumble the man always comesback. And however efficiently and logically Spock can cut him down,humans do not much appreciate logic. Officers who watch theirarguments continually express amusement, and this rankles worse thanthe man himself.

After one too many incidents of open disrespect that leave hisscience department highly amused at his expense, Spock resolves tofinally reprimand the irrepressible doctor when he next acts in a wayunfitting a Starfleet officer. Public humiliation is never pleasant,but he is long past the point of having to tolerate racism. McCoyshows every sign of staying aboard for a long while, and Spock willnot let this situation continue.

Then the captain develops Vegan Choriomeningitis.

There is little warning when it happens. The bridge is quiet andcalm, officers moving with easy efficiency. It's only the second hourafter the shift's beginning - late enough for the officers to haveproperly woken, and early enough that everyone is still energized.Except, unusually enough, for the captain.

Spock notices the captain's blinking eyes and the quick, painedgestures he makes to his head. A headache, obviously, but these arefairly frequent among humans. Not a matter of much concern, howeverunpleasant. The captain seems tired as well, but he assumes this is aside-effect.

When Yeoman Tracey hands the captain a requisitions form, though,the man just seems puzzled. Instead of skimming and signing thedocument, he stares at it blankly for some two minutes, Traceystanding awkwardly by his side.

No one else seems to notice, but Spock keeps his attention on theentirety of the bridge. So he hears Tracey hesitantly ask, “Issomething the matter, Sir?” and turns just in time to see thecaptain crumple to the floor.

“Send for a medical team,” Spock snaps efficiently before Uhuracan even turn to see the source of the noise. Jumping, she quicklycomplies.

Spockwaves off the frantic yeoman impatiently, checking the captain'scondition with quick, careful fingers. His skin is significantlyhotter than normal for a human - 39ºC (102.2ºF)- but he seems not to have injured his head in the fall, which isgood. The man's pulse is a rapid flutter, but weak. Spock tilts hishead. The captain must have realized he was sick, and ignored it, tohave come to this state. Illogical.

The door slides open, and in a whiskof blue uniforms and terse orders McCoy takes Kirk straight toSickbay.

______________________________

The whole ship gains a certain tensionwhen the captain is in sickbay. Spock also finds, unpleasantly, thatmore eyes watch him. People want assurance that they are underadequate leadership. Spock wonders if people are comforted by hisdirection. He doubts it.

When the immediate crisis will likelybe over, and the doctor thus free to speak, Spock hands the con toSulu and makes for the infirmary.

“Took you long enough,” McCoysnaps at the sight of him.

Spock doesn't bother with a rebuttal.“Report on the captain's condition.”

Face darkening, a scowl on his face,McCoy complies. “It's not good. Vegan Choriomeningitis. Damn thinghas a high enough fatality rate as is, and Jim, the idiot, has let itgo on much longer than advisable.”

Spock nods. “To my understanding,Vegan choriomeningitis is fatal if left untreated within 24 hours.”

“I can't tell when he picked it up -the incubation period is unpredictable. All we can do at this pointis treat him and hope for the best.”

Spock considers the situation, andsays honestly, “Given the captain's nature, it is quite possible hehas been suffering for far longer than twenty-four hours. Death islikely.”

From what he knows of the captain'snature this is true. Indeed, had Kirk not collapsed on the bridge helikely would have struggled through the entire shift, though Spockknows that this particular disease causes extreme pain in the musclesand extremities. He is an admirably determined man - but, in thiscase, sadly misguided. His death will be... truly regrettable.

But McCoy seems suddenly angry.

“Damn it, man, do have a heart atall?” He bursts.

Spock blinks, wondering at thenon-sequitur. “I fail to see how my physiology is relevant to thepresent situation,” he says, honestly puzzled. McCoy's sole focusshould be on the captain.

The doctor seems, if anything, evenmore furious. “I'm not in the mood for your damn logic, and I don'tknow what Jim sees in you. A computer has more feelings than aVulcan!”

This being said, McCoy dramaticallystomps into his office, leaving Spock blinking and perplexed in themain portion of Sickbay.

So, with little else to do, Spockleaves.

_______________________________

Later, this is what Spock learns;

Kirk goes into a critical state. Hisbody starts to overheat from the disease, and inflammation to thebrain causes him to have a seizure. After he is stabilized, McCoythrows caution to the wind and tries an experimental drug regimen -dangerous, untried, and wholly inadvisable by every tenet of logic.

It also works.

Quickly, asa matter of fact. The nurses and some biologists talk about theincredible benefit this will bring to the medical community; everyoneelse is just glad to hear that the captain is awake and talking lessthan a day after his collapse.

He is, of course,also tired. Spock assesses the captain's condition when he visits himin Sickbay. Kirk seems to have grown more pale during his shortillness. His face shines with sweat, his hair limp and lifeless. Hismovements are slow and fatigued, made only with great effort. But heseems relieved.

“It was close.And not a pleasant experience.”

“As you nearlydied, I would not expect it to be.”

Kirk smilesweakly. “Oh, not just the pain. Though that wasn't fun. I gotdelirious at the end.”

“That is acommon symptom of the disease,” Spock consoles.

“Whichisn't much of a comfort when you've rambled out all your secrets.”Kirk gives an embarrassed laugh. “I'm just glad it wasBones,” he says. “I trust him, you know? The things I said...”He shakes his head. “Anyway, he said to stop by sickbayimmediately, in the future,if I'm feeling off. What a pain; do you know how often this job givesme a headache?” He shakes his head. “But, I can deal with it forBones. Only for him! I'm not typically a fan of doctors - I'm glad Iconvinced him to come aboard.”

“It is indeedfortunate,” Spock murmurs, trying not to imagine this man dead.

Soon afterwardKirk drifts into sleep. And Spock, reluctantly, resigns himself totolerating Leonard McCoy for so long as he can safeguard thecaptain's health.

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gryphye · 6 years

Text

You need a story, don’t you?

The smirk on Shuri’s face was never a good thing. The cup in her hand had lines of chocolate criss-crossing whip cream on the top. “That is not coffee.”

“No brother, this is Starbucks. Okoye made me promise I’d make you try it while we’re in America.”

T’Challa narrowed his eyes. “I do not trust it when the two of you conspire against me.”

“Only because we have the vision you lack.” Shuri held out the cup until he finally took it.

Two sips into it, he could finally pause. “This is not coffee.”

“No, Brother, this is a frappachino.” Her smirk blossomed into a real smile, even as she bounced on her toes. “What do you think?”

T’Challa took another sip, mostly to hide his smile from her. “It’s very sweet. It’s more of a dessert than coffee.”

“And that’s the point! Sometimes you just need a shot of sweet with your coffee, not a five hour ceremony.” Shuri rolled her eyes, stepping back with exaggerated frustration.

“I think if I allowed Starbucks into Wakanda, I would quickly have a problem with overly caffinated people in my life.”

Shuri paused, her smile dropping into a frown. With a quickness born of the Panther, she had swiped the cup from his hands and turned to stalk away.

Only then did he allow the smile to spread across his face. “I also think that Wakanda suffers from too much of a monopoly in their coffee markets.”

Shuri turned to glare at him, then pointedly took a long sip from the cup. “I am going to have Okoye kick your ass for this!”

“Tsh Shuri, such language!”

Behind the royal siblings back, Ayo shared a moment to roll her eyes at her partner Milaje, then took off after the fleeing pair.

-~-

Like that? That’s just a sample of my quick snippet story writing. If you like it, well guess what? I’m opening up for commissions!

What I’m offering: I can do short 300-500 word drabbles like this, larger flash fiction of 1000 words, and up to a short story of 5000 words, there-abouts. I’m willing to work in most fandoms, but I may ask for a quick overview of the character before I run to teh googles. My main fandoms are a lot of the mainstream ones. On AO3, I’m mostly known for a Leverage/MCU fic I did last year. I’ll link it below. Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Wonder Woman, Star Wars and yes, Star Trek both, an eclectic baker’s dozen of writers, Pixar and Disney, and many many more are fandoms I’m familiar with. And I’ve picked up quite a bit from others over the years from friends. So don’t count me out if yours isn’t on the list!

ALSO! I’m offering Self Insert fictions. Others would call them Mary Sue/Gary Stu stories, but ugh.. That phraseology is so last century, plus it’s also very reductive. I’ve seen sections of my identity in mainstream offerings, but I’ve rarely ever seen my full self. Some of you may have never seen yourself at all. Or you see something so bad and stereotypical, it makes you cry. I think that’s bullshit. So bring your lovely self here and tell me what story you want and a little about you, and I will put you in the adventure. You found Cap’s shield? Smackdown on an alien in NYC during the Chitauri invasion? Helped Sam and Dean find the book they needed in the library? Told Sherlock off for being rude to John? Backed your wheelchair up enough to pin a Storm trooper in a corner? Bump into a scared kid crossing the border who didn’t know where to go, so you pointed them towards Xavier’s school?

Long post is Long. If you’re interested in more, click the readie

I’m Ace. I have so many friends who don’t fit the norm due to their gender, sexuality, race, diagnosis, or other reasons. All of us have multiple aspects of our personality and identity. Tired of one dimensional stories that don’t reflect your heritage? Gay or adventure stories that are always, always white washed, even if it’s set in a non-American/Western location? Personally, I’m tired of stories that set on an axis of two, or if we’re lucky, three main identity points and leave out all the rest, relying on the Western Cismale viewpoint as default. I don’t want to do that. Not sure I can work it into just 300 words, but 1-5k it would be doable, I think.

MORE THAN JUST FANDOM TOO! I have a Bachelor’s in history! Lemme put it to work for you. I can add in historical events into your story if you want to set it some place or some when else. I’m not gonna say I know all of the world’s history, but I did study more than American Politics and Western Civ, I promise. What I don’t know, I can research! My focus in college was Native American history and Eastern Bloc/Soviet Russia, but I also took as many non Western Civ courses I could. I also read current events and historical articles about everything and everywhere. I think it might just be easier to link you to my good reads account than go down that list.

That’s just a sample of what I’m willing to write. Why am I asking for commissions? Well, this year is shitty personally, not just politically. I haven’t really said much online other than complain about my headaches, but I have a mass up in my pituitary gland/sphenal nasal cavity area. It’s benign! But my ENT guy thinks it’s a tumor on the pituitary gland itself, and it’s been pushing down into my sinuses for a long time. Over a decade, most likely. Now, I’m lucky in that I got most of what I need to pay for it and a good insurance plan, but it’s a large chunk of change to pay for my max out of pocket costs. I’m very lucky that my insurance plan HAS a maximum that I have to pay out of pocket. They’ll cover the rest from there. I see my neurosurgeon next week to know for sure what we’re dealing with.

The reason I’ve got that, is because I was saving up to get my roof fixed. I live in a two story house and it leaks into the downstairs master bedroom and bathroom, as well as the garage. We’ve been mostly just dealing with it when it rains, but this last big storm opened up a small crack in the bathroom ceiling. Downside of owning your own home is having to do the maintenance yourself. Yes, I do have home insurance, but since I live in Tornado Alley, my deductible is 1% of my coverages, so around $1600. IF it’s covered and IF they say that they’ve already paid for repairs off the last claim we had to fix the roof over the garage. It’s a long freaking story, and in the end all that matters is, it’s gotta get fixed. And so does my face. [insert witty sarcastic comment about American Capitalism here]

So that’s the sitch. Let me write you stories! Email me at [email protected] or hit my ask box. It’s open to anons and non-mutuals alike. I’m also on Discord as Gryphye if you want to talk there.

My no fly zones are pretty limited: No abuse, no rape, no bullying, no gore. I can write kink no problem, but I’d rather stay out of squicky non-con areas. We can work it out together before I say no to your suggestion and suggest an alternative.

I’m quick, and if I get a backlog, I’ll close commissions, but I’m hoping not to have to do that. Once my surgery is scheduled, I will finish up open commissions and close until after I know I can hit my word count again.

Payment! I have a Ko-Fi set up, and my paypal is the same email as above. I’ve not had occasion to use any other service, but I can be open.

100-500 words: $3 500-1000 words: $5 1000 and more, $10 for each thousand.

Give me a word count and I’ll bring it in under. If you have a range of say 2000-3000 words? I’ll do what’s best for the story to keep it enjoyable, not pad the word count.

My AO3 account is Pohadka, if you want to see a better representation of what I can do. Mostly Marvel and Leverage there.

My Ko-Fi! If you just wanna pop a few bucks my way. I appreciate it, but I’ll still love to write something for you, so just add a comment! Buy Me a Coffee

If you read this far, thank you so much.

#story commissions #fundraising #okay yeah I'm nervous #but dammit #time to step up?#short story #flash fiction #let me write for you!

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mylittleredgirl · 2 years

Text

space swap letter 🚀💖

dear space swap writer,

thank you so much for writing fic for me! i’m mylittleredgirl on both ao3 and tumblr.

i’m pretty easily delighted, so do your thing and i will love it. tags in the request are not listed in order of preference. in case it helps to inspire you, here are some things i love / don’t love so much, and a few optional thoughts on the fandoms i requested!

general things i love:

happy or hopeful endings

i reeeeeeally like episode-related fic

pining (especially no-i’m-definitely-NOT-jealous pining)

hurt/comfort (especially “oh my god you’re not dead”)

friendship

canon divergence

five times fics

kinks enjoyed: gentle dom/sub vibes (bondage & praise yes, pain & shame no); amtdi; overindulgence (food, drinks, whatevs); masturbation (mutual, pining, whatevs); i’ve never said no to a quality blow/hand job fic

things not so enjoyed:

character death

hurt no comfort

historical or supernatural AUs

character- or pairing-bashing: please assume i like everyone in canon, including canon love interests that are not my preferred pairing

fandoms requested:

stargate atlantis:

i prefer fic set in seasons 1-3 or an au where elizabeth gets rescued

sheppard/weir is my otp -- you don’t have to include/mention them if we matched on a different tag, but i’d rather they not be romantically paired with anyone else

some things i think about in this fandom: john and the challenge of giving/receiving affection or Having A Feeling in general, elizabeth should get to go off-world more, a little surprise telepathy/alien bonding rituals/interesting reactions to alien booze could do everyone some good, and i’m always here for fix-it and recovery fics.

stargate sg-1:

i love clone sam/jack with some angst, the tension between what they have lost and this new life they have, navigating a relationship when they spent so long NOT being in a relationship...

i usually prefer fics where just sam & jack have been cloned, rather than it becoming an entire high-school AU

high school era is great, but i’m also really curious about what happens to them later -- how is it to be 20 or 25, when they were cloned at 15? at what point does this life feel like their own? are they still connected with the SGC? do they want to be?

star trek enterprise:

i just really love trip & t’pol, and enjoy fic set at any point along their colleagues-to-friends-to-lovers-to-vulcan-bond relationship journey

i think a lot about the tension between t’pol’s vulcan heritage and her relationship with trip, the trellium-d arc and its aftereffects, the vulcan bond, the discovery part of sex/love/life with another species...

totally fine with pretending the series finale does not exist :)

star trek voyager:

i want everyone to be friends, everyone to care about their professional responsibilities, and (if we matched on a relationship pairing) i also like them to fall in love!

but friendship is always the core of star trek pairings for me

please please please treat seven of nine well

i prefer fics set in the delta quadrant rather than post-canon in general, but janeway/chakotay/seven can be post-canon

i fully support any canon divergence that keeps the family together (kes staying aboard, the borg children staying aboard, not returning to the alpha quadrant...)

star trek picard:

What If Soji Asha Had A Nice Day For Once

Maybe With The Troi-Rikers

also obsessed with the possibility of the elnor & seven of nine adventures

star trek discovery:

pike/vina is such a rarepair otp, i will be so happy with any content whatsoever

i think a lot about the possibility of long-distance connection/dreams/etc

or AU possibilities where she did come with him, either after “the cage” or “in memory serves”

or reunion fic after “the menagerie”... really, any content whatsoever

star trek the next generation:

if we matched on beverly/jack, i’m fine with fic just about them or fic with jean-luc in the mix

for all the other tags, i’d love for it to be set during the 7 seasons on the enterprise-d and to include as many friends as possible

for picard/crusher and riker/troi, i’m happy with outright romance fic or friendship-with-romantic-undertones like we see in the series, either way!

star trek deep space nine:

i love the extended o’brien family so much, and would love to know more about their dynamic

if you want to invite in other friends/polycule members (canon or otherwise) that’s fine, but i care the most about the three of them & the kids

and i really care about kira getting to keep her new family post-pregnancy (and post-series, if you set the fic then)!!

thank you again!! i accept anonymous asks if you have questions or want to chat. :)

#space swap #dear author #if you're interested in this swap you gotta act fast because the deadline is in like 10 hours #look up space-swap.dreamwidth.org for info if so

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elizabethcariasa · 3 years

Text

Make the most of mail tax deductions in December & beyond

Santa Claus, Indiana, is one of many merrily named communities across the country. However, this Christmas-year-round town is the only one with an official U.S. Postal Service Santa postmark. (Photo by tengrrl via Flickr CC)

Ho! Ho! Ho! And Merry Christmas Eve from all the holiday themed towns across the United States.

There are the municipalities dubbed North Pole in New York, Colorado, Alaska and yes, it's even OK in Oklahoma.

For those who revel in the season's greenery we have up the road from me Garland, Texas, as well as virtual forest full of Evergreens. There's an Evergreen in Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina and Virginia, as well as a Tannenbaum, Arkansas.

We can't forget the associated holiday names, like Noel, Missouri, or Mistletoe, Kentucky, or, for the youngsters and young-at-heart, Rudolph, Wisconsin.

If the religious ties to Dec. 25 are important to you, we have a couple of where the carol O Little Town or Bethlehem would be appropriate year-round.

Our nativity scene gets some Lone Star State touches, including a big Texas star and a folk-art armadillo joining the usual stable animals in attending Baby Jesus. (Photo by Kay Bell)

The biblical birthplace of Jesus shares its name with Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Bethlehem, North Carolina. There's Nazareth, PA, too.

Don't overlook those towns that cut to the chase with city limits signs reading Welcome to Christmas in Florida and Michigan, along with the slight variations of Christmas Cove, Maine, and Christmas Valley, Oregon.

Santa's eponymous hometown: But for most kiddos — and those of us who still act like we're 8-years-old too much of the time! — tomorrow, Dec. 25, is all about the Jolly Old Elf, St. Nicholas, St. Nick (if you know him well), the Big Guy.

We're talking Santa Claus!

There's Santa Claus, Georgia, and Santa Claus, Arizona. The folks in the Gem State are more casual, at least those who live in Santa, Idaho, are.

But there's only one town named after the master of holiday cheer that gets to officially use a special Santa Claus postmark each December. That's in the ZIP Code of 47579, aka known by its jolly residents as Santa Claus, Indiana.

This town of around 2,500 in the southwest part of Indiana didn't start out with a holiday-themed name. The original settlers back in the mid-1800s wanted to name it Santa Fe, but another Indiana town beat them to it.

So when the residents gathered one Christmas Eve to decide upon a permanent moniker, they went with the seasonally appropriate Santa Claus. Now, the city is known nationwide as "America's Christmas Hometown."

Among its year-round attractions are the Santa Claus Museum and Village, a hotel called Santa's Lodge, the Santa Claus Christmas Store, Holiday Foods, Kringle Place shopping center and Santa's Candy Castle, which claims the title of the first themed attraction in the United States.

Santa Claus' special seasonal postmark: But for folks who still snail mail Christmas cards each December (guilty!), as well as those who write letters to Santa, the town's main attraction is its U.S. Post Office.

Since 1983, travelers from near and far have trekked to Santa Claus, Indiana, to get something they can only get there: the town's annual, holiday-themed official picture postmark, hand stamped every year from Dec. 1 through Dec. 24.

Each year, the red or black stamp is different. And each year, the postal workers cheerily brace for the inevitable avalanche of mail.

This special picture postmark, either red or black, is different each year thanks to local budding artists. As part of an art class at nearby Heritage Hills High School, upperclassmen are encouraged to submit a design for the Santa Claus Postmark during the spring semester.

Finalists are selected and narrowed down to the top design which becomes the featured picture postmark to cancel postage stamps on holiday mail out of the Santa Claus, Indiana, Post Office. Below is the 2020 postmark.

There's no extra cost for the postmark. But don't forget to put a stamp — one of the seasonal ones, of course, that the Post Office offers each year — on your envelope before taking your letter to the Santa Claus, Indiana, station.

Business mailing tax breaks: While snail mail each December does tend to take on a kitschy throwback aura, it's still a valuable tool for many businesses.

Even in this increasing electronic age, some clients like to receive mailed paper invoices. And lots of them appreciate getting your fancy company brochure in its final full color version instead of having to download and print it in black and white using their own equipment.

And, of course, it's a good marketing tool to send your customers a real, delivered-by-a-Postal-Carrier holiday greeting every December, thanking them for their business and continued support into the new year.

That's why the Internal Revenue Service says that postage costs are a tax-deductible item on your small business' tax return.

Line 18 on Schedule C says it is where you enter office expenses. But when you follow the parenthetical direction on the form and "see instructions," they tell you to "Include on this line your expenses for office supplies and postage."

Other business mail and shipping costs: As long as what you're mailing or shipping is business-related, you can deduct the cost of postage, envelopes, P.O. Box rental fees, metered mail machinery and alternative delivery services like FedEx and UPS.

Even a messenger service counts, as long as the delivery method is ordinary and necessary for your business.

Many filers enter enter these not-just-stamps postal/delivery expenses as allowable Other Expenses in Part V of Schedule C. Just be sure to note on the line where you enter the cost exactly what business expense it covers.

And if your company sells physical goods and you pay the cost of shipping, don't forget to count those fees. This expense, however, is calculated as the cost of goods sold in Part III of Schedule C.

If you're unsure about where to claim your business costs, including postage and other mailing and shipping expenses, check out the previously mentioned Schedule C form and instructions, as well as IRS Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business (For Individuals Who Use Schedule C), or, of course, your tax adviser.

But do that next week.

Today, Christmas Eve, you've got some last-minute holiday tasks to take care of so you can relax and enjoy Christmas, whatever the name of the place you call home!

You also might find these items of interest:

The importance of good, and separate, business records

How ordinary & necessary expenses become tax deductions

Home office tax deduction still available, just not for COVID-displaced employees working from home

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unknown-de-mordor-blog · 6 years

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Plot Bunny Dump: Star Trek XI

This is a post on my old blog. Originally published Jul 12, 2012.

I hate when my plot bunnies just decide to reproduce like, well, bunnies! I couldn't care for them all so I’m putting it here for adoption if anyone cares for one.

The 2009 Star Trek movie gave me a great big kick. I got a couple of bunnies popping up in this fandom.

Warning: Highly K/S, but not necessarily

The Kirk-has-kid fic:

(For this bunny, I’m actually using the edit I posted on K/S archive)

Summary: During the second year of the five-year mission, Kirk was contacted about an illegitimate son he didn’t know existed who would be transferred to his care on the Enterprise. It’s one thing to fight off Klingons and Romulans. It’s another to have a fight at home.

Detail:

After Jim drove his father’s car down the cliff, Winona Kirk finally took notice of her family problem and came back to divorce Frank. In the meantime, Jim was sent to Tarsus IV to stay with his relatives. The famine struck, and Kirk and a bunch of kids stuck together to survive. He got attached to one older girl who took care of him at the time. They were together for a while before they were saved and separated once got back to Earth. Jim was sent back to Iowa without a chance to tell her where he was going, and they never saw each other again.

Jim only knew that he fathered a son with her on the second year of the five-year mission when Starfleet contacted him that she had died. Without other relatives, the boy was sent to his father on the Enterprise and the drama ensued. Jim tried to be a father when he never really had one. His son, with a deep grudge against his father whom his mother loved and worshipped but was never present, took every opportunity to throw it at Jim’s face that he had abandoned them. Spock tried to be a mediator and ended up with the boy kind of hero-worshipped him and his Vulcan coolness. Add that on top of life-threatening missions and a tension between Kirk and Spock that they never thought of exploring, until they were forced to raise a child together.

Notes and Bonuses: I kind of see Jim’s son as the angrier version of ten-year-old-something Jim Kirk with Jim’s IQ and all that, but I’ll leave it to the writer’s discretion on how much of a troublemaker he’s going to be. I don’t think he actually hates Jim, he’s just kind of jealous that his mother loves Jim (ahem, giant Freud alert!) and is angry that Jim was never there for her. So, bonus if he is the first to realize that there is something going on between Jim and Spock, and he disapproves at first because he doesn’t want Jim to forget his mother just like she had never forgotten about him. Another huge bonus for a happy ending, please. Note 2: Just in case you're wondering what to do with Uhura. I never think she and Spock are in a romantic relationship, although they are obviously attracted to one another because: (1) during the Academy years, Spock would have been her instructor. I don't think his moral code would allow them to overstep the bound. (2) he would have made clear to her after Narada that he intends to join the New Vulcan colony. They would have agreed to go their separate ways if she shows up on the Enterprise for its launch. (3) once he joins the Enterprise, he would be her commanding officer. Again, I think Spock would find it inexpedient to initiate a relationship with her. Of course, the writer can play with their friendship or chemistry as much as they want. :)

The Dystopian AU fic:

Summary: In an alternate reality, Terran civilization collapsed before the invention of warp-drive and the First Contact never occurred. Cities disintegrated in chaos and centuries later what was left was settlements of humans, now mostly nomads and farmers, scattered across the world with only a glimpse of the world that came before.

How will Kirk and Spock find each other and save the Federation from a crazy time-travelling Romulan, then?

Detail: Earth was labelled a loss after a global collapse and the Federation rarely paid attention to the contacts made by aliens who try to reap resources and capture human for slave-trade. The incidents were few enough for them to be the stuff of legend for the human struggling to survive in the aftermath.

Jim Kirk of Iowa was out in the field with his sheep when a gang of alien tried to abduct him. He was saved and brought back to the Enterprise, a sentinel ship protecting the Earth, by Captain Spock due to the violation of the Prime Directive. Without anyone else in his family (Father, died since he was young, Brother died in Texas IV, Mother died from illness a few years earlier), Kirk agreed to join the crew, which consisted of aliens but mostly of human Spock has saved from all around the world.

In this universe, Starfleet actually comprised different fractions based on their home planet and thus was quite fractured, more like a group of mercenaries under than an actual organization. Spock was under the Vulcan Fraction but was at odds with them due to his mixed heritage and his fascination with his mother's people who were now regarded as backward. Against his father's wish, he proposed project Enterprise (christened by Amanda) as a collaboration between the Vulcan Fraction and the Vulcan Science Academy so he could spend time studying and protecting Earth from orbit.

Kirk is directly trained under Spock because of his aptitude in logical thinking and computation. Kirk also had a fascination with the Time-That-Has-Gone-Before and liked to spend hours with Spock's personal book collection salvaged from Earth. After a close friendship with Kirk, he started to see the human's potential in command and later appointed him First Officer.

After things start to settle down, they were called back to Vulcan because of Nero's attack. The Vulcan Fraction lost to Narada's superior technology. They, however, managed to save a small group from the planet, but not Sarek whom Nero captured because of his status in Starfleet and Amanda whom Nero psychically broke and killed to spite Spock. Unable to save his mother, suffering from his broken bond with T'Pring and a psychic back-latch from an entire planet being destroyed - Spock became unstable and transferred his command to Kirk but not before he managed to relay an order to aid every Vulcan survivors in all surrounding planets.

Because of that order, Chekov found a life signal on Delta Vega belonging to an elder who seemed to know Kirk. He told Kirk of Nero's intention to destroy all Federation planets and that he would destroy Earth despite the fact that Earth was not a member of the Federation in this reality. With that information, Kirk, against all orders from the Federation, took the Enterprise to Earth to stop Nero and saved Sarek.

I didn't have much idea on how it transpires between here and the end where Spock gave Kirk permanent command of the Enterprise while he decided to join the other survivor and rebuild their race. Kirk, of course, convinced Spock that the Enterprise and Earth needed him more than the Vulcans. Spock was finally convinced to stay with the people that had now become his family and took the position of First Officer.

The MPREG fic (Yes, I've Been There):

Summary: Kirk and Spock went on a mission with the result of Kirk getting an alien uterus and a fetus with his and Spock's combined genetic. With Spock wanting a child, Uhura reluctantly agreed to her boyfriend's suggestion of co-parenting between the three of them. However, as time went by, she started to feel the rip in hers and Spock's relationship and a beginning of Kirk's and Spock's.

Detail: I don't care much about how the pregnancy is made possible, only how they deal with it. McCoy wasn't happy for medical reasons. Uhura wasn't happy because she wasn't ready. Spock wanted a child because his race was diminishing, and Kirk wanted to make Spock happy (in a non-romantic way, at first). But due to the different biology between the carrier, the uterus, and the baby. The pregnancy was complicated and their daily lives changed to accommodate. Although she agreed with the co-parenting term, Uhura soon started to realize that she didn't feel a connection to the baby while Kirk and Spock started to behave more and more like a couple. She also learnt from Kirk in one of their rare private camaraderies during the pregnancy that Kirk had fallen in love with Spock but was not planning on doing anything about it because he respected hers and Spock's relationship. Uhura started to have doubt in her own feeling soon after when she spotted Spock attempting a telepathic communication with his unborn child while Kirk was beaming and realizes that she didn’t really have a place there. When Kirk had to go through preterm birth and was isolated, and Spock was almost driven crazy both because of Kirk's condition and his need to telepathically bond with the child. Uhura confronted Spock about his feeling for Kirk and encouraged him to explore it (she had seen it coming months before after all; she had lots of time to prepare for this). She remained the third parent according to their agreement (and maybe finding comfort in McCoy?), while Kirk and Spock started to build a family.

The Real Reason Kirk Can't Sleep Alone:

Summary: Kirk didn't like his bed empty. Spock just assumed it was his captain's libido. That was until one diplomatic mission put Kirk and Spock in the same room that he realized Kirk's problem ran much deeper and attempted to help.

Detail: After Tarsus IV, Kirk was traumatized because a friend of his died during the night that he developed a fear that everyone might just drop dead while he slept. He dealt with the problem by either exhausting himself, getting drunk or bedding somebody so he had a warm body to hold and feel safe. On the ship, he often resorted to Bones' sedative or cuddled with the man himself (they were best friends after all). It was never a problem to his ability to command as long as he had enough sleep. Spock, only aware of Kirk's reputation with women and his frequent visit to the Doctor's quarter, assumed all along that it was just Kirk's sexual appetite until they went on a diplomatic mission together and Kirk's problem started to make itself known. (He was really stressed and really needed a cuddle, and McCoy wasn't around to help.) Upon learning about the true nature of the problem, Spock offered to cuddle with Kirk. They took the practice back to the Enterprise which soon turned into intimacy, and, of course, McCoy was always the first to know.

#star trek #aos #plot bunny #spirk #old post #my post

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serceleste · 7 years

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Well, considering you think Poe and Ben are interchangeable aside from skin color, I think it’s safe to say who doesn’t actually care about Poe here. You only care about Poe and his ‘heritage’ when it suits your agenda of fandom policing and harassment.

The idea that I am only writing about Poe as a substitute for Ben is so laughable I can’t even. If I wanted to write about Ben, I would just write about Ben – and I do! My works list is filled with Ben and Kylo fics! I have at least half a dozen WIPs in my file featuring him! I literally do not give a FUCK what fandom thinks I should care about or thinks I should write; I have always and will continue to write what interests me, regardless of what anyone says. Writing is a hobby and as such I put my effort into characters and ships I love, and I try to treat them all with care and respect. I’m not sure what “consequences” you think I am afraid of; I’ve had negative comments, I’ve had trolls like you harassing me and making ludicrous accusations, and I’m still gonna continue to write what I want. Considering how many months you’ve spent trolling me without getting me to stop should probably have clued you in on that. I will ship things harder out of spite, and thus produce more content. So… congrats? I’m working on something right now, I hope you fucking hate it.

Poe’s heritage is that he was raised on a colonized moon by a pilot and a soldier. He lived on a ranch with a Force tree in the yard and his mother taught him to fly in her A-wing. That is all the canon info we have. Believe me, I have read every bit of tie-in material that exists about Poe, because I love him as a character. He is played by an actor of Latino heritage, that much is true, and his parents, as drawn in comics canon, are correspondingly darker-skinned, but culture as we understand it does not exist in Star Wars. Star Wars is not Earth. Our countries do not exist there. Our cultures do not exist there. The Star Wars universe has had intergalactic space travel for tens of thousands of years, with all the intermarriage and mingling of races that that would create. Attempting to equate that with Earth is frankly ludicrous. Star Wars is not even Star Trek, where there was a more clear-cut difference between planets and races and cultures.

Can a writer draw from Oscar Isaac’s immigrant background and use that to tell a meaningful and enriching story about Poe? Absolutely. If you can, and that interests you, go for it. But it’s not actually canon, so if a person doesn’t write Poe that way they aren’t doing anything wrong, and when done incorrectly it is only stereotypical and borderline offensive. Making Poe constantly eat tamales to make sure we all know he isn’t white isn’t actually a great story-telling technique.

Racism as we know it does not exist in Star Wars. Again, all that co-mingling and space travel. Even the Empire didn’t care what your skin color was – they only cared if you were human or alien. Representation is absolutely important and we as viewers want to see people of all kinds in Star Wars, but the actual characters do not care what you look like and making it an issue is creating a problem that does not exist in the universe as written. Skin color to them is utterly unremarkable, in a way that we as a society are still a long, long way from achieving. We should aspire to be more like the people of Star Wars, rather than try to bring them down to our level.

Fandom is meant to be fun, and if people want to draw from their own cultures in writing a character like Poe, that is absolutely fine. Please do! Latinx kids never got to see someone who looked like them in Star Wars before characters like Bail and Poe. That’s an amazing thing. I hope Poe is important to people because I think he’s a wonderful character. However, drawing attention to his race entirely for the sake of drawing attention to his race isn’t actually progress; it’s a step back. Oscar Isaac is Latino; Poe Dameron is not. ‘Latin America’ does not exist in the Star Wars universe. In Star Wars it matters only that he is human. We don’t even know what planet he is from, or what planet(s) his parents were from. (The only thing we do know, really, is that Shara Bey is not from Alderaan – her canonical first meeting with Leia in Shattered Empire would have gone differently if she were.) He grew up on Yavin 4 – which, yes, was filmed in Guatemala, and because of that Oscar Isaac thought it would be cool if that’s where Poe was from, and it is a cool character detail that I 100% enjoy – but he wasn’t born there, and Yavin 4 has no definitive culture because it was colonized after the fall of the Empire. Families from all over the galaxy came to settle there and begin new lives, bringing with them their own cultures, making it a mish-mash of everything, which is a lovely thought. Poe would have grown up surrounded by all sorts of lifeforms, which doubtless helped shape the compassionate, accepting person he is.

I am also sort of amused that somehow this became an accusation of white-washing Poe when the only thing I disputed was the canonicity of Alderaan as ‘Latinx-coded’. Which continues to be FANON, NOT CANON. Many houses of Alderaan besides House Organa were composed of other races, white and black. But, you know, if you want to ignore that, the current canon is far from giving you the answer you want. Queen Breha – the actual queen, btw, Bail is her consort by marriage, but fandom largely ignores her utterly in favor of Bail – was played by an actress who is not, in fact, Latina; she is of Spanish, Filipino, German, and Australian descent, but that is never mentioned. Captain Antilles of Alderaan was played by multiple white actors. EU character Evaan Verlaine as drawn is particularly blonde and white-appearing. Claudia Gray, who has written three official tie-in novels, uses Tom Mison (white) as her face-claim for the Alderaanian character she created, Nash Windrider. As mentioned before, the amount of intergalactic travel for such an immense length of time, in addition to the fact that Alderaan was often a haven for refugees, makes the idea of a mono-racial planet ludicrous, which current canon agrees with. I am frankly uncomfortable with the way fandom seems to want to segregate all characters played by Latinx actors to one planet, as well as the incredibly generic ‘Latin America’ way it’s often done, as though those countries don’t all have distinct cultures of their own.

I am never going to tell anyone they can’t use their own cultures in their fannish creation. If Latinx fans want to play with the idea of Alderaan as a Latinx planet, please go for it. Fandom should make you happy. As much as I love seeing non-white faces in Star Wars, it will mean an immeasurable degree more to them. When I first saw the ‘space Latinx’ trope, I thought it was kind of awesome, honestly. I have only become disillusioned with the way I have personally witnessed it portrayed, and the corresponding drama attached to it. But no one is obligated to please other people with their creations, and everyone has the ability to scroll past what doesn’t interest them. I am only objecting to the conflation of fanon to canon, and the original suggestion I disagreed with, which was that Alderaan was destroyed because it was Latinx-coded, which is just blatantly false. (As is the accusation that Cassian was killed off because his actor is Latino, in a movie where the entire point was that everyone died. EVERYONE. And Shara Bey? I love her, but ‘dead parents’ is a hugely trope-y and common convention for hero characters. Honestly Poe is a rare commodity in that he had a loving, normal, happy childhood, with one parent still living.)

Anon troll, I know you don’t actually care about anything I have to say and I know you can’t be reasoned with or listen to logic. I know that you are simply latching onto the newest thing you can think of to attempt to scare me off, and that you have never actually read a word of what I’ve written, which is obvious from all of your attacks. I just don’t like stupidity or meanness, hence this post. I hate drama! I really do! I’m in fandom to have fun. I’m not aiming to offend anyone and I fully believe in a ‘don’t like don’t read’ policy, in all its applicable uses – no one has the right in fandom to tell someone they can’t write what they want or ship what they want, despite what you seem to think. But I’m not going to be intimidated by a random anonymous online troll.

And above all, as my friend put it, IT’S SPACE AND IT’S FAKE. If you put a portion of the effort you put into harassing strangers on the internet about fictional characters into crusading for actual real world problems, something might change. Lord knows there are enough terrible things going on to choose from.

Now, kindly fuck off. Did you know that Tumblr lets you block anons? Because I do. And you’re blocked.

#Anonymous #replies #please don't reblog #this has been a post for my own sanity

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wbwest · 7 years

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New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/08/25/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-82517/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 8/25/17

In movie news, there was quite the controversial casting this week, as the color lines blurred for some comic book adaptations. First up, it was announced that English actor Ed Skrein would be portraying Japanese character Ben Daimio in the upcoming Hellboy reboot. Now, according to what I’ve read, Daimio’s Japanese heritage heavily influences the character, so this whitewashing of the character doesn’t seem to be in the best interest of the character. I mean, after the problems with whitewashing in Doctor Strange, Ghost in the Shell, Aloha, The Great Wall, and Ni’ihau, you’d think Hollywood would avoid shit like this. Yes, movies are made to make money, but it’s not like Skrein is a bankable star worth slotting into the role, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Usually this is done for the film’s STARS. Damon, Johansson, Stone. This is a secondary character, so it really wouldn’t have hurt them to seek out an Asian actor. Normally I’m just like “Well, Hollywood’s gonna Hollywood”, but this decision just doesn’t make a ton of sense.

Next up, 24: Legacy’s Anna Diop has been cast as Starfire in Warner Bros’ Titans series, slated to air on DC’s upcoming digital service. Some folks are saying they should’ve cast a Latina, but she’s gonna either be painted or CGied in orange, so it’s not like it’s gonna matter at the end of the day. Personally, if they wanted authenticity, I think they should’ve cast an actual orange alien princess. Right now there are just too many unknowns for me to get excited about this. I mean, DC announced the digital service without a lot of information. What’s gonna be on it? What will it cost? How much of the DC library will be available to be housed on it? As for Titans, this is the show TNT passed on. Ya know, the home of such illustrious shows as The Librarians and The Last Ship. I mean, they’re basically just about a notch up from what we got in the 90s from Universal’s Action Pack lineup. If Titans couldn’t fit anywhere on that schedule, then it probably just isn’t “ready for primetime” yet.

Speaking of aimless Warner Bros decisions, they announced 2 different Joker movies this week. First up is an origin tale, directed by Todd Phillips of Old School fame, and produced by Martin Scorsese. Hmm, one of those things is not like the other. I mean, why would Scorsese touch something helmed by the dude who gave us Road Trip? And who even WANTS a Joker origin story? First of all, it’s reportedly not even going to be part of the DCEU, so why confuse the audience with a story that won’t even really “count” in the grand scheme of things? Nobody needs a standalone origin of a take on a character they’ll likely never see again. This is just as foolish as Sony’s Don’t-Look-For-Spider-Man-To-Appear Venom movie. Next, the guys behind This Is Us (SO hot right now!) and Crazy, Stupid, Love are working on a Bonnie & Clyde-style Joker and Harley film, with Jared Leto and Margot Robbie reprising their roles from Suicide Squad. Since this would sort of negate the empowerment that Harley gained by the end of Squad, it’s believed that this actually means that the planned Gotham City Sirens film, also slated to star Robbie, is now dead. Honestly, I could do without either of these movies. I found Leto’s take on Joker to be…interesting, but Less is More with that character. Plus, I don’t really think the DCEU would be strengthened by this sort of movie. It’s not the world-building they need to be doing right now, as they haven’t even figured out the core of their star characters like Batman and Superman yet.

In TV news, Christopher Sebela’s comic Heartthrob has been optioned as a TV series by Felix Culpa – a production company launched by actress/Elvis’s granddaughter Riley Keough. Now, comics are optioned every day, and the final product never comes to fruition, but I hope this series sees the light of day. I’m actually a big fan of the comic, which is published by Oni Press. Set in the late 70s, it focuses on Callie, who’s received a heart transplant while the process is still in its infancy. Given a new lease on life, but still told she’s basically living on borrowed time, she decides to change her life when she meets Mercer, a charming guy with a shady side. She immediately falls for him, and he teaches her how to be bad, like rob banks and commit other crimes. She gets off on the rush. Pretty soon, however, she realizes that Mercer isn’t real. No, he’s actually the ghost of the guy whose heart is now in Callie. So, it’s a Bonnie & Clyde story where Clyde’s calling the shots from the afterlife. The book is published in “seasons”, so the first 5-issue miniseries wrapped up back in early 2016, while season 2 is hitting stores now. If you’re looking for a new comic not from the Big Two, I highly recommend it.

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In music news, Taylor Swift did a whole social blitz to announce that her next album would be called Reputation, and would be released Nov 10th. On top of that, the first single was released last night, with rumors that the video will premiere at Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards. Ya know, the same awards hosted my Taylor’s enemy Katy Perry. Yeah, that should be pretty interesting to watch. Anyway, the new song is called “Look What You Made Me Do”, and I’m not too impressed. It lacks a real hook, while the chorus itself is basically spoken. I feel like it has all the ingredients for a great song, but it’s not living up to its full potential. If this is an indicator of what to expect on Reputation, though, I’ll admit I’m curious. It can’t be worse than Perry’s Witness.

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Speaking of Katy Perry, we got the premiere of her video for “Swish Swish”, which was reportedly her diss track against Taylor Swift. After a lot of backtracking and sucking up, though, it seems Katy wants to put that feud behind her. That’s why this horrible video does everything it can to take the bite out of a song that was never really that biting to begin with. I mean, just look at it – Molly Shannon? Terry Crews? Even Nicki Minaj was clearly CGied in, as I’m sure she didn’t wanna be anywhere near this shitshow. The sad thing about the Perry/Swift feud is that Katy bailed on it the minute she realized the Swifties were a more powerful lobby than she had thought. Nobody was feeling her SNL performances, and Witness didn’t exactly fly off the shelves. She realized that she can’t really survive by making enemies, so suddenly she became conciliatory to save her ass. Plus, it’s kinda lame that this blood feud started just because Taylor stole a few of Katy’s dancers for her tour. Anyway, you’ll never get those 6 minutes back. You’re welcome.

I had the pleasure of joining my buddy Zac for his new podcast, The Zac Shipley Show. He’s treating these first few episodes as pilots for ideas he’s wanted to try, so our ep was called Streaming Pile, where we talked about the worst things we could find on streaming services. I talked about a Star Trek: Voyager episode where formerly perky pixie Kes returns all middle-aged and bitter. You should check it out, and give a listen to his other episodes while you’re there!

Song of the Week

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I’ve been a big Maren Morris fan since she released “My Church”, and I was really into her next single, “80s Mercedes”. With this song she continues not to disappoint, as I love the groove on this thing. Listen to the bassline. It’s not a dance song, yet you can do a MEAN two-step to it. Hell, I think you could even do a casual version of The Hustle to it. This will definitely go to #1 given time.

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

NBC’s planned reboot of Xena: Warrior Princess – which would’ve featured a full-on lesbian relationship between her and Gabrielle – is officially dead, as they said “it didn’t warrant a reboot”. Man, if only other studios would realize this about some of their projects…

Director James Gunn mentioned in a Q & A session that the 3rd Guardians of the Galaxy film would set up the next 10-20 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yup, you’re just now realizing your own mortality. I’ll give you a minute to deal with that.

Speaking of Gunn, he’s attached to write the pilot for (and possibly direct) a reboot of 70s series Starsky & Hutch. This adaptation is supposed to be similar in tone to CBS’s upcoming S.W.A.T. and not comedic in tone like the 2004 Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson movie.

Surprising every critic in Hollywood, Netflix has renewed the maligned comedy Friends From College for a second season.

Known for controversial publicity stunts, Alamo Drafthouse is reportedly organizing a Clowns Only screening of the new adaptation of Stephen King’s It.

We got a new poster for Thor: Ragnarok. So many colors!

Michael K. Williams has reportedly been cut from the Star Wars Han Solo film, as Ron Howard’s reshoot schedule conflicted with another role that Williams had accepted.

There are, like, 8 different Knight Rider reboot treatments floating around Hollywood, but the latest rumor is that one of those productions is looking at John Cena as Michael Knight, with Kevin Hart as the voice of K.I.T.T. Of course, it would be a comedic adaptation, a la the popular Jump Street franchise.

Super Troopers 2, the sequel to one of the most overrated films I’ve ever seen, will hit theaters April 20th, 2018.

Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson will star in Nasty Women, which is a female-led reboot of the Michael Caine/Steve Martin classic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Independence Day: Resurgence‘s Jessie T Usher will star in Son of Shaft, with Samuel L. Jackson potentially reprising his role as John Shaft (from the 2000 reboot film), the nephew of the original John Shaft, played by Richard Roundtree, who is also in talks to join the movie. Man, that gave me a headache.

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Always on the cutting edge, here’s Sesame Street’s parody of 2017’s song of the summer, “Despacito”

According to the creators, the Netflix series Stranger Things will most likely end after its fourth season

The actress formerly known as “Andrea Zuckerman”, Gabrielle Carteris, has been re-elected to a 2-year term as the President of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)

Ryan Gosling will host the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Jay-Z, on Sept 30th.

Jamie Bell is developing a Jumper TV series, based on the 2008 film about teleporters

Suicide Squad 2 is reportedly being fast tracked, but I hope they fast track it right into the garbage. I mean, I enjoyed the first one, but I don’t need a sequel.

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I like Nick Kroll, even though I never saw even a second of Kroll Show. Anyway, he’s got a new animated series about puberty called Big Mouth coming to Netflix and after watching this teaser I am ON BOARD!

We’re a month away from the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery, and it was revealed that it will be rated TV-MA, for Mature Audiences. Now, it doesn’t mean there’ll be tits and phasers, but it does mean they can tell more complex stories. That said, I still feel like they don’t truly understand the source material.

After a scathing essay from his ex-wife went public, accusing him of adultery and other generally shitty behavior to women, Joss Whedon went underground and the fan site, Whedonesque, shut down after 15 years.

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We got a new teaser for Netflix’s The Punisher. With the rate I’m getting through these Marvel shows, I’ll probably get to it just before Evie goes off to Hogwarts.

There was a national solar eclipse this week, which was the first occurrence since 1918. I’m sure you might’ve heard something about it. It was kind of a big deal. Folks were pimping out special cardboard glasses on Craigslist for insane amounts of money, and the American President made news by looking directly into it. It seems that it had a strange effect on different folks. For example, Netflix viewership went down 10% as people went outside to view the phenomenon. Not everyone understood what was going on, bless their hearts. At work, a frantic parent called in and said “Y’all watching the news? You hear about this eclipse? Is it serious?!” Apparently she thought it posed some sort of danger to her kids and the school. No, ma’am. It’s just a beautiful sky ballet. Anyway, the eclipse was EVERYWHERE. I didn’t get to see totality, but it was still nice to stand outside for a bit on a nice day. What am I saying? I hate the outdoors! Well, it was nice to not have to work for a few minutes. You couldn’t escape the Eclipse Fever at the start of the week, so that’s why the Solar Eclipse of 2017 had the West Week Ever.

#80s #Batman #Comics #Country #DC #Indie #Knight Rider #Marvel #Movies #Music #Politics #Pop #Race #Star Trek #Star Wars #Television #West Week Ever #Wrestling

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