Spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery.  

I’ve been trying to keep up, still a few episodes behind, and I do not see much conversation about this show, though it is receiving good notices. This is just a bit of a ramble.  

I think this take on the Trek universe is a strong one, but still needs some strong characters to connect with and fill out. It’s hard not to like Michael Burnham, or her relationship with Captain Georgiou, but it was cut far too short, far too soon (I know there’s more in the wings with this character, or a version of her). I’m not big on flashbacks, but I’d put up with them if it meant revisiting their relationship and adventures. As for her relationship with Ash, that was clearly a setup and I wish they hadn’t gone there (but her clever disposal of him after the Big Reveal was very good).  I enjoy her limited relationship with Sarek, but I really hope they give some time with Amanda, too. The women in Trek are so often given the short end of the stick and the mother of Spock (and Burnham) deserves her time. 

Speaking of – will they go there and let us meet young Spock? I’m going to assume there will be a reason given why Spock has never mentioned her to anyone before.  

Lorca is an interesting figure, but I don’t connect with the actor’s performance. I would have loved to see a woman in the role (the casting is still woefully short of main female characters, typical for Trek), but that’s true of almost everything I watch. I could picture an Alfre Woodward or even Lucy Lawless in the role, someone who could add a certain playfulness to the complex, wounded warrior willing to do anything to win (or is he a Mirror universe rogue?).  Jason Isaacs is a good actor (why couldn’t he have kept his accent?), but he doesn’t move much in the role and it seems too understated, just standard-issue stoic manly man (now, all this said, I do like Star Trek Discovery’s narrative of spinning characters from what we are led to believe – while Lorca is, from the gitgo obviously not what he appears – what if there’d been a little more subtlety?) 

Suru is clearly an attempt at the loveable alien figure who doesn’t really ‘get’ humanity and while he’s well-acted, if he disappeared tomorrow, not sure I’d miss him. Do you really need a character around who can literally spoil suspense?  

Cadet Tilly is cute and easily the breakout character Star Trek usually offers, but she’s cute in a really generic, chatty way.  She likes boys, gets nervous a lot, wants to be captain. I enjoy the moments when she’s pitted against one of the older characters, being allowed to question them, or show she has some real skills, but I’m not sure where this character is going. There’s the obvious trajectory of a young woman losing her innocence and, perhaps, becoming a bit of a badass or a troubled sort, but it doesn’t challenge much of anything. It’s telling that the room she shares with Burnham has no decoration in it, not even pictures from home. Why is that?  Unlike Next Gen characters who came with complex backgrounds ready-made, I’ve no idea where Tilly might be from. In fact, that speaks for most of the bridge crew who look awesome, but never get much in the way of lines or character development.  

Stamts is kind of frustrating – he gets to experience something incredible, but we never really get to ‘see’ him in this experience. We’re always outsiders. He’s abrasive and funny (a rude character is always welcome), but, like all the other characters, we just ‘assume’ we know him. Aside from being told he’s a genius, what do we really know or care to know?  

His relationship with his partner, Dr. Culber gave us some hope (and, I think, the first same-sex relationship given some depth on a Star Trek adventure), but that was cut short, too. In fact, I’m surprised there’s hardly any talk about Culber’s murder, the killing off of a significant gay MOC so early on in the series. Yes, one remains, but he’s white, too and that feels deeply uncomfortable. With Bryan Fuller gone, it feels like those in charge just did away with this representation without a thought. That he died in such a swift, sadistic manner doesn’t help. I wish there was more talk about this. If we’re going to get upset about the dead lesbians on television, we need to recognise this is happening as well.  I’ve no doubt they will introduce another love interest for Stamts in the future, but is it likely they’ll get any screen time? This beginning doesn’t leave me with much positivity.  

Back to Georgiou.  

I’m intrigued at how early they killed her off only to bring her back as it were, with her alternate universe counterpart.  It’s one of the best things about this series in that, when it works, it feels more like a multi-layered film or book and you can’t really predict what will happen or what to expect from a character. 

In a Star Trek Enterprise episode, we were introduced to ‘Empress Sato’ – I do wonder if we’ll see her again and what her relationship with ‘the Emperor’ (Georgiou) is.  Or will the Emperor remain in the Prime universe? I do hope we keep seeing more of Yeoh, as she is such a fantastic presence and it would be a shame to waste her.  Though disappointed her ‘Prime’ version was killed off, this alternate take is a nice challenge for the audience.  

Off, Rainn Wilson was wonderful as Mudd (did anyone recognise Kat Barrell as his five-second fiance?)

In all, I love the narrative idea it is building, very tense and full of surprises (and looks amazing), but I worry the current cast of characters and their relationships (beyond Burnham and Georgiou) won’t carry us very far and hope they introduce a couple more (or give that under-used bridge crew some names and storytime). Engaging with characters we relate to is so important and I’m not sure they’ve accomplished this yet. 

That said, may I submit for approval the introduction of another Vulcan character, one who has never lived amongst humans (or any other race), the veritable fish-out-of-water, an engineering genius, perhaps who annoys Stamts with her insistence upon logic, and receives ‘lessons’ from Tilly, that both shock and amuse. A character often offended by chaotic human nature (not unlike Worf), with no interest in understanding it further (an anti-Data, if you like), yet compelled toward the dangerous side of her work. May I suggest she be played by this talented young lady:

Her appearance has been proven to improve a series in its second season, but, be warned – kill her off at your own peril.  

Mum has been up for almost two days now, she can’t sleep or eat much, in so much pain after her surgery. She does have a bladder infection, but they couldn’t pinpoint exactly (?), so on antibiotics, but in so much pain. I have to help her get up and down and she’s almost incoherent from the pain of it all.  

If you read that hysterectomies are ‘simple,’ move on. There is nothing simple about it at all. 

The Hunner Podcast turns 1!!!

weasal:

How can it be! Today incredibly, remarkably, unfathomably marks the one year anniversary of our ridiculously silly podcast! One year since we f(o)isted our dulcet accented smutty ramblings upon your beautiful ear holes. 

In the past 12 months we’ve dragged and slagged, cracked and crossed-over (with Priest Lexa), workshopped your sex and feels problems with Kassie Skai, literally murdered an array of British accents, educated you in genitalia colloquialisms via the medium of smut shaming, professionally performed live action replays of DWBYG, commiserated over our Heda, swooned over our OTP and the GEC and then suffered TOAW, brought you hard-hitting and now apparently legendary interviews with fandom faves KL Morgan (who is always mos def @entirelytookeen) and @foomatic aka Vidheda, laughed so much that beer came out our noses and wee nearly came out our badly made ham sandwiches, and generally tried very hard without really having to try at all to be the biggest piles of ClexaTrash that we could be for you.

And you, our faithful, sweet and wacky Relickru have been there every step of the way – almost 4500 times to be exact! Lez be honest, you’re enablers and you should have shut us down long ago. Instead we took your download stats as proof that you simply couldn’t get enough of us and now we’re 8 short weeks away from opening the world’s only post-apocalyptic lesbian market stall, @niylahsniknaks @clexacon, trading solely in merchandise derived from the crack mines that are our BRAINS. 

You are all simply spectacular and it’s been a great joy to carve out our own very niche niche in this fandom. Thank you for letting us, and in the inimitable words of the theme tune to our lives and those of our sheroes and role models, Dorothy, Blanche, Sophia and Rose….

♥ Thank you for being our friend ♥

WeGramChos x

@weasal, @gramjams, @femininenachos

https://thehunner.podbean.com/

It’s been a year? Doesn’t seem possible.

Thank you all for the smiles and laughter (and some wild manips), quite possibly the best thing that has come out of the Clexa fandom –  apart from Clexa, of course.  

Have a bash in Vegas, lots of success to you – looking forward to hearing about all the scrapes you get into.  

XXX

wlwocsource:

mydreamymemes:

wlwocsource:

mydreamymemes:

wlwocsource:

White women really need to stop writing fics and making graphics and art about interracial f/f ships in which the visibly brown or black woman in the ship serves as the “knight” or “lionheart” for the white woman who’s portrayed as the “queen” or “princess”. You all are being transparent and gross as hell. For once, consider how lbpq women of color are already painted as angry and brutal. Consider how lbpq women of color aren’t allowed to be soft or vulnerable or sensitive. Consider that they can’t be romantically or sexually autonomous without being fetishized by the male gaze and the white, colonial gaze, especially if they’re trans. Consider that the next time you begin outlining an AU or storyline in which the woman of color is the knight for her white savior princess. 

Umm anyone can write/draw anything they want??? Like why is everyone just trying to find something to be pissed over. Stop playing the victim and maybe just don’t look/read something if it offends you???¿¿¿

Ummm anyone can criticize anything they want??? Like why are you just trying to find something to be pissed over. Stop playing the victim and maybe just don’t look/read this post or other posts about racism it offends you???¿¿¿

Funny thing is- this came up in my feed so I’m not looking for reasons to be pissed I’m calling bullshit when I see it

Funny thing is – centuries of institutionalized racism have structured everything right down to our romantic and sexual relationships so I’m not looking for reasons to be pissed I’m calling bullshit when I see it 

devilsdaughter:

Why is the wlw fandom, that migrates to every show with a lesbian, sleeping on Black Lightning??

I get that it’s on the CW (I hate it too) but this show has a WOC who is a lesbian. Who doesn’t have the usual coming out to her family, they already know and accept her. She’s already had long, intimate scenes with her gf where they actually TALK for more than 5 seconds. AND she has superpowers and CAN’T DIE! And it’s a predominantly POC cast. Isn’t this what we want?

writing-prompt-s:

A masked vigilante starts fighting crime in Los Angeles, except everyone knows it’s obviously Elon Musk.

Nah.

The masked vigilante is Laverne Cox with shock batons doing the Lord’s Work whilst Musk paces endlessly in his Penthouse of Doom, wringing his hands together, plotting his next dastardly plan.