#course:oblivion

[respocked]

Both B'Elanna and Tom demean themselves in their own marriage vows. Which is normal of them

[bizships]

This episode physically *hurts*.

[sporkandpringles]

VOY 3x10 Warlord Thoughts

Voyager does have a bad habit of making important things happen in alternate/illusory ways and then just... not explaining why they stick in reality (I'm thinking specifically of Janeway's haircut in "Year of Hell" and the Tom/B'Elanna wedding that was only actually shown in "Course:Oblivion" when it happened to their Silver Blood copies and not in "Drive" when it happened to their real versions). And I've often heard of Kes' breakup with Neelix in 3x10 "Warlord" mentioned in the same breath. Because she was possessed by an alien when she did it. And therefore it doesn't make sense that it sticks after he's gone. But I actually think the decision to have Kes break up with Neelix when when she was possessed by and evil, tyrannical alien warlord and then have the breakup stick after she comes back into control of her own body is a fascinating choice? Like, maybe before the possession, Kes felt like she couldn't leave. We know from canon (VOY 2x07 "Parturition") that Ocampa mate for life and there's no jealousy, infidelity (or presumably, divorce).

KES: On my homeworld it's so much simpler. You choose a mate for life. There's no distrust, no jealousy, no envy, no betrayal. EMH: Hmm. Your world must have very dry literature.

The EMH called it "boring", but to me that's anything but. That sounds... miserable. 9 years isn't a long time, but if you're stuck with the wrong person, it can feel like an eternity. And then, there's Kes' role on Voyager as the Nice One. Like, yes she's presumably seen breakups on the ship and knows that's something humans do, but she's always smoothing over conflicts and being non-confrontational. So maybe, in addition to all that cultural conditioning from growing up on Ocampa, she felt trapped by "I don't want to make anyone sad and breaking up with Neelix would make him sad." Like maybe she felt uncomfortable and unpleasant and deep down wanted the relationship to end for months or even years. But she was just completely trapped by having to be the Nice One all the time, and by Ocampan culture that she couldn't figure out a way to end it. And then along comes a bloodthirsty warlord to possess her brain. He isn't burdened by her cultural background, or the crippling need to be nice. And this warlord possessing her brain can literally feel all her built up discomfort and resentment and feelings of being trapped and is just like, "no, screw this, I'm ending this ridiculous relationship." Not necessarily because he's altruistic or anything. It's still mostly a selfish move to help him further his quest for power. But then when Kes comes back to herself she's like... "wait... that was an OPTION? I could have broken up with him this whole time?" And so it sticks because really it's something she wanted all along. She just needed someone mean enough with actual boundaries to help her see that it was possible. Like, yeah, I do wish we had gotten a scene were Not Possesed!Kes tells Neelix why she's going to keep them broken up. But even so, the implications of what we do have are fascinating.

[girlswater]

6 8 11 19 23 ‼️‼️

its so meny... here i go 😈

6. Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

hmmmmm i havent actually watched a lot of tv this year besides Voyager which though it does have its fun moments im not sure any of them have made year defining status... gonna go with VOY s5e18 Course:Oblivion. made me sit there making some kind of face for a while after i finished it.

8. Game of the year?

most of the games i enjoyed playing this year weren't actually released this year... but there was Great God Grove! very sweet little game that i'd been looking forward to for ages and enjoyed playing a lot

11. Something you want to do again next year?

go to pride and hang out with people and just chill and have funnnnnn that was awesome! come down here again i grab you with my tractor beam

19. What’re you excited about for next year?

welllll if all goes according 2 plan i will finally have job that lets me move into a place where i can have a pet cat! Bevel the future cat i have not met you yet but i miss you every day

23. If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

you can do ittttttt keep going soldier also get a timed lockbox and put your weed in there lol. shoutout to my new friend timed weed lockbox

[kahran042]

Some cool Star Trek episode titles

Original series:

The Enemy Within

Dagger of the Mind

Balance of Terror

The Return of the Archons

This Side of Paradise

City on the Edge of Forever

Catspaw

Metamorphosis

Journey to Babel

The Deadly Years

Wolf in the Fold

Return to Tomorrow

Patterns of Force

The Omega Glory

The Paradise Syndrome

And the Children Shall Lead

Spectre of the Gun

For the World is Hollow, And I Have Touched the Sky

Whom Gods Destroy

The Mark of Gideon

That Which Survives

The Lights of Zetar

Requiem for Methuselah

The Way to Eden

The Cloud Minders

The Next Generation:

Angel One

Coming of Age

Heart of Glory

The Arsenal of Freedom

Symbiosis

Where Silence Has Lease

Shades of Gray

Evolution

Who Watches the Watchers?

Transfigurations

Remember Me

Future Imperfect

The Mind’s Eye

Silicon Avatar

Unification

Time’s Arrow

Aquiel

Timescape

Phantasms

Sub Rosa

Emergence

Deep Space Nine (a pretty cool subtitle, itself!):

Apocalypse Rising

In Purgatory's Shadow

Sacrifice of Angels

Wrongs Darker than Death or Night

In the Pale Moonlight

Chrysalis

Voyager:

Parallax

Phage

State of Flux

Persistence of Vision

Lifesigns

Deadlock

Future's End

Macrocosm

Blood Fever

The Killing Game

The Omega Directive

Latent Image

Course:Oblivion

Equinox

Unimatrix Zero

[mylittleredgirl]

granted i'm still a couple of years before the end of the trek novelverse canon but I don't even think they've had any references to Course: Oblivion there either. no accidental "wait how do you know, we've never been here or helped you guys here." which could have been interesting (mind you they did find out about Year of Hell Janeway and Shattered Janeway)

it's such a cool opportunity!! i hope it became someone's fanfic specialty, at least. (and i never read the voyager novels, so now i'm curious about year of hell janeway and shattered janeway making a reappearance...)

i think about how the course: oblivion ship traveled sooooo much farther because of their new warp drive, and so many of the civilizations they met would have been ahead of voyager's current course.

imagine if they encounter a planet who "remembers" them -- maybe even had a trade deal! maybe they even have photographic evidence! maybe they even have federation-traceable technology!

and you have to think that with all the space time travel / alternate universe things they deal with, there would be a long list of possible explanations to consider, and "a completely alternate ship and that crew made of goo from the demon planet" would probably not be in the top 5.

if the planet has replicated objects they received in trade, they could figure it out, but then they still wouldn't know if that ship's out there somewhere...

[fluffmugger]

Watching all the baby ds9 fans run facefirst into BRYAN FULLER will never not be funny to me

[terra-bunny]

Okay but why is DS9 thought of as the "dark series"? Voyager has the greatest number of Horrible Episodes by far.

[paris-torres-month]

FEVER FEBRUARY DAY 4: Fixit Friday

What is a fixit fic, you wonder? It’s a missing scene, or usually a coda, and sometimes a complete rewrite of an episode that needs…more. More/better. Sometimes just a smidge more, sometimes a lot. Sometimes an episode needs a set up, or an argument needs an explanation, or a justification, or sometimes the episode simply needs a denouement.

A list (pulled from nowhere) of the top five six P/T episodes that need fixing accord to the sheer volume of fanfic codas/etc I’ve seen:

1. ENDGAME

Tom doesn’t get to meet & hold his baby? After B’Elanna being pregnant for most of the season & her pregnancy/the baby being used as a plot point for several episodes? After the writers making her finally go into labour just as they’re about to make their last/best try for home so Tom has to choose: fly Voyager through that Borg transwarp corridor or witness the birth of his daughter? Come on!

2. DRIVE

…no wedding?!?!?! And don’t try to tell me that the wedding in Course:Oblivion counts. I’ve also seen several fics that try to explain WHY B’Elanna is done with Tom & believes that since he forgot their romantic weekend getaway for his bit of macho-adrenaline infused foolishness, it means their relationship is over. Also, how does he manage to propose AND convince her to accept without telling her that he loves her? Give me some wedding vows and an ‘I love you, B’Elanna’ please.

3. FRIENDSHIP ONE

Big song & dance throughout the episode about their marriage/B’Elanna’s pregnancy/Tom’s impending dadhood, with zippo followup at the end. Especially since Tom was held hostage on that toxic planet. Especially since Joe, B’Elanna’s senior engineer & right hand man, was murdered and it could have easily been Tom instead! One little scene of B’Elanna running into sickbay to see him or her being in the friggen transporter room when he beams back.

4. REVULSION

He’s going to check on Harry?! Really?! Really?!?! After that amazing, passionate, all-too-public corridor kiss in the beginning of the episode? After the Doctor interrupts them? After B’Elanna is yanked away on that away mission before they spend some quality time together exploring their budding new relationship. After B’Elanna nearly dies on that away mission and is likely transported straight to the sickbay, arriving at Tom’s feet half dead, Tom is going to check on Harry’s precious feelings instead of escorting B’Elanna back to her quarters. Okay.

5. EXTREME RISK

Tom knows she’s not acting normally. Tom wants to help. Tom even gently confronts her about it and discusses her odd behaviour with Captain Janeway. Tom pilots the new shuttle. B’Elanna kicks Vorik off the shuttle & takes his place on the mission. B’Elanna eats ‘feel better’ pancakes alone in the mess.

6. MUSE

Tom was ready to take out a shuttle & search the system planet by planet until he found her. They even worked Tom & B’Elanna’s relationship into the script when Kelis confronts B’Elanna about her love for him. How about a f’ing Welcome Back sickbay hug when she beams back up to Voyager?

Bonus: NIGHT

That fight in the mess. Why is Tom being so bitchy/cranky/disgruntled toward B’Elanna? Why is intentionally attempting to instigate an argument? We know why - because they’re building up to B’Elanna’s house of cards durato tumbling down In Extreme Risk. Show us this, please!

Bonus #2: GRAVITY

Okay, for B’Elanna it was only two days. No need to panic. But for Tom, before it was two months it was forever! And instead of them actually reuniting we get Tom telling Tuvok and Noss about their reunion and how blasé B’Elanna was about him being back. Fine. At least we got more than nothing.

Bonus #3: MEMORIAL

That wonderful, amazing, gut-wrenching argument in Tom’s quarters leads to… zero resolution for Tom & B’Elanna. “I’m sorry” “You know where to find me.” Does he go find her after he beams back up from that planet? Does she swallow her pride & find him? Does Tom have a hard time moving past his false memories of that battle? Do they pretend it all never happened? We’ll never know.

Dishonourable Mentions:

DAY OF HONOR

Fine. Leaving them hanging (haha!) set up that wonderful opening scene in Revulsion, but would it have killed them to include a quick scene of B’Elanna waking first (she has 3 lungs so maybe had more oxygen in her system) in sickbay, seeing a sleeping Tom, verifying that he’s okay then reevaluating what she’s just done & running like a startled deer? Or conversely, Tom waking and noting that she’s gone, freaking out because he thinks she’s dead, being reassured that she’s been released, realizing that she’s not standing vigil over his sickbead and deciding that her ‘I love you‘ wasn’t actually true & she only said it to make him feel comforted because they were dying. !!

INVESTIGATIONS

She didn't see him off, she can at least welcome him back! Or confront him about his ‘mission’ to rout the Maquis traitor. She cared enough about his behaviour in…Dreadnought? If she’s pissed about the whole thing, let’s see it!

FACES

……..?? Sigh…

THE CHUTE

Maybe she doesn’t care that he was stabbed in that filthy prison and almost died?

YEAR OF HELL

“Hi honey, I’m home.“ A five second scene of a hug would have sufficed.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Just give her the freaking present!! And show them together after B’Elanna is back. Tom was ready to go in, guns blazing, to get her back, remember?

THE KILLING GAME

Let’s talk about that holopregnancy, okay?

DEMON

A short scene with B’Elanna confronting Demon-Tom would have been wonderful because to her, he’s a monster who replaced her boyfriend, and for him, he’s the actual Tom Paris who loves her. Let him talk her into contributing her DNA.

ONCE UPON A TIME

They don’t even have to address his lame ass final message to her. One welcome home, I’m so glad you’re not dead hug would have sufficed. …Sense a pattern here?

NOTHING HUMAN

Ohhh… there’s definitely a missing conversation/argument here!

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME

What did they fight about? When? Why? Contrary to popular belief, barring mind control/alien influence, they rarely argue. (Suck it, Harry & KJ!)

EQUINOX

Her ex appears from nowhere & we get nothing? Not one little scene in pt 1 with Tom prodding and her reassuring him that he has nothing to worry about? Nothing at the end when Max, that rat bastard, turns out to be exactly the man she dumped in SFA? Okay.

BARGE OF THE DEAD

Fine. Hug Janeway when Tom’s right there! How about a little scene of her teaching him Klingon?

REPRESSION

This one’s easy! A little scene, in their quarters, of Tom urging her to wear that Maquis outfit more often…

RENAISSANCE MAN

At some point Tom figures out that it was the Doc, not B’Elanna, he kisses in engineering, right?

Almost perfect but not quite: PROPHECY

I love this episode. I love everything about it. I would have added a kiss. That is all.

So, my darling fic writers, find an episode to fixate on and fix it!

[mylittleredgirl]

i will die for the headcanon that harry and seven made it back to the demon planet, reconstituted the goo crew, and as they are now native residents of the delta quadrant, goo!janeway & company start building a delta quadrant federation for peace and mutual cooperation and when decades later the Real Starfleet™️ makes it out that far, they find a federation flag hanging in a star base that looks suspiciously familiar and admiral harry kim is like “hey guys what’s up”

“Course: Oblivion” has to be one of the saddest Voyager episodes!

I found the idea of the crew’s copies remaining on that Demon planet beyond creepy, and I am glad they addressed that plot line again. I was creeped out by all the melting for most of the episode but the ending was so sad!

They were copies with full memories and dreams and goals. They acted like the real crew, came so close to finding the real Voyager, only to disintegrate into nothing. It was heavy to watch 🙁

[courtp0909]

‪Watching: Star 💫 trek voyager:s5:e17-course:oblivion ‬ https://www.instagram.com/p/B8xWk--nDG_/?igshid=j72tqeyeh5tb

[bizships]

Mom and Dad giving away the Bride and Groom. 💕

Also why does everyone look so damned GOOD in Course:Oblivion. It’s such a beautiful damned cast and this ep proves it.

Also Bio-Memetic JC were 💯 together. You can’t tell me otherwise.

And I’ve got a plot bunny swirling around this ep that is next on my list as soon as I’m finished wet the story I’m in the middle of right now.

This is it, Tom. Your bachelor days are over.

[mylittleredgirl]

i’m thinking about voyager season four, and how much of it just... doesn’t happen in any way that matters. 

“year of hell” is nuked from the timeline. most of the crew weren’t themselves for and don’t remember the hirogen occupation in “the killing game”. “unforgettable”? forgotten. “living witness” is alien fanfic our crew aren’t even aware of.

there are also a handful of unreality episodes in here. the point of “nemesis” and “retrospect” is that the traumatic events chakotay and seven experience didn’t actually happen. the crew all remember “waking moments”, but it’s kind of a folie-a-everyone since it takes place in dreams.

i reblogged that post yesterday making the broader point about voyager hitting the reset button in other seasons (“before and after” / “timeless” / “course:oblivion” / “endgame”), so i’m not really treading new ground here, but i find it interesting that so much of season four happens for us but not for them. 

[winged-mammal]

Seven: I fail to see the benefit of monogamous relationships.

B'Elanna: So you want to stay single?

S: If you remain open to social situations with a wide variety of individuals, then yes.

B: I'm married. I'm not going into stasis for the rest of my life.  No, I plan to have-

S: I do not wish to be dependent on anyone. By marrying, one limits one's romantic interactions to a single individual, a circumstance which implies extreme monotony.

Oh, do go on Seven.  *chinhands*

[madamairlock]

I knew Janeway (or a copy or whatever) would die on the bridge. She's too stubborn to die anywhere else.

.

[courtp0909]

‪Watching: Star 💫 trek voyager:s5:e17-course:oblivion ‬