thatoneemoginger

[thatoneemoginger]

dude stop telling me to count dracula I only ever see the one

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In case anyone wanted; James Doohan knew about all the Spirk porn, and in fact wanted a copy for himself. He also seemed rather bored by the fact he was only ever drawn with women. Someone draw him some Scotty yaoi asap!

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coworkers: have any fun plans for the weekend?

me:

[thatoneemoginger]

Transferring an old twitter thread of mine here to make it easier to read: I had some dipshit straight Spock truther in my mentions, so in the group chat we were talking about the Hays Code and how Star Trek began before it was abolished in 1968.

By 1966 when it premiered, there was already a lot of pushback, but showrunners were still at the mercy of whatever studio was putting their work out there, and especially with something that was already pushing the envelope, the studio likely wouldn't let them get away with too much. So even if Roddenberry and/or the writers had wanted to make Spock's queerness more obvious, the studio would have shut it down. Star Trek got away with a LOT of the progressive/queercoded stuff they did by making it look innocuous to a casual viewer, but obvious to anyone watching closely. For example, in "City on the Edge of Forever", you have Jim saying how "let me help" is an even more powerful statement than "I love you", and then in the very NEXT episode Spock is saying "let me help" to Jim. But I digress. There's a lot in S3 that's less subtle overall. For example, there have always been instances where it’s implied that Jim seduced someone on mission in order to get information or gain trust (honeypotting), but the first time it’s really clear that sex occurred is in "Wink of an Eye" when we see him sitting on the bed putting his boots back on, and the woman at his dresser fixing her makeup. By this point, the Hays Code has been abolished in favour of the MPAA rating system. With that in mind, I want to talk about how all of Spock's mind melds with Jim occur in S3, which ran from late in 1968 to 1969.

We've seen Spock perform mind melds before, but not until "The Paradise Syndrome" do we see him do so with Jim. Context implies this is not only the first time we are shown it as viewers, but also the first time they've done it. Spock is visibly affected by Jim's mind, to the point that by the time he breaks the connection, he's disoriented, panting and limp. When McCoy asks if he's all right, he says, "His mind... he is... an extremely dynamic individual." You don't have to try very hard to view this as sexual. And we know that touching minds is a form of intimacy for Vulcans, because we've been shown and told this previously, in "The Enterprise Incident" when Spock and the Romulan Commander touch fingers rather than kiss in the human way, and in previous instances where Spock performs a mind meld.

The first time we as viewers are shown the meld is in S1, with "Dagger of the Mind". This one is presented as very mystical and witchy, with Spock explaining the act to McCoy, who looks on in sort of a terrified fascination as he melds with Dr van Gelder. But even here there is an energy to it that is very sensual. And in this, and other instances of Spock performing the meld before "The Paradise Syndrome", it's always very clear when he's totally in control of it and when he isn't. Melds are presented as emotionally draining for him, yes, in "Devil in the Dark" and "The Changeling", but it's not until his meld with Jim that we get the impression he was affected on a personal level. And we can believe at this point it's because he and Jim do have a very close relationship. It's been set up throughout the entire series! Of course having their minds join would affect him personally!

Even if it's simply a coincidence that this aligns with the abolition of the Hays code, this couldn't really have been shown earlier than it was, because they'd set up this incredibly meaningful and flirtatious relationship between Jim and Spock throughout the series. If they'd done what they did in "The Paradise Syndrome" in S1, there might not have been a S2! Can you imagine if the first meld we see were between Spock and Jim, after Spock goes on and on about the intimacy of mind melds and how it's a sacred act for Vulcans? After we've watched the two of them in episodes like "The Naked Time" and "The Enemy Within"? There's no way it couldn't be read as sexual, or at least deeply emotional. They had to first establish that Spock could perform a mind meld for many other reasons and purposes without it having a lasting effect on him.

By the time we reach "Turnabout Intruder", Spock needs only a second or two with his fingers on the face of Janice Lester to determine that it's Kirk's mind inside her body. The argument, of course, is that it would be obvious to anyone who was able to touch his mind that it was him and not Lester, but the surrounding context is also important. Just before the meld, Kirk says, "You are closer to the captain than anyone in the universe. You know his thoughts." This, again, on the surface, might read to a casual viewer as just the expected closeness of a captain and his devoted first officer. But the ease with which Kirk uses this particular choice of words indicates that Spock is by this point familiar with his literal thoughts via the mind melds they've shared (explicitly in "The Paradise Syndrome" and "Spectre of the Gun", and others perhaps not shown but implied by action or dialogue), and that Kirk feels comforted by this.

Spock is the only one who can truly see him in this incredibly vulnerable moment— what could be more intimate than that?

[thatoneemoginger]

i had a vision

[thatoneemoginger]

Hmmmm

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I feel compelled to say this to newer trek fans - specifically new k/s shippers invested in their relationship on snw - kirk and spock are never going to be a couple and kiss on your tv screen.

i’m saying this from a place of love as one of their biggest shippers. spock is paramount’s golden boy - he will never sleep with men because of that. every new iteration of spock becomes more and more heterosexual for that reason. the sooner you accept that, the easier you will breathe. the more you will enjoy what we do get.

just enjoy the subtext (it’s there and will always be there) and know in your heart of hearts that their love transcends paramount+

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"tumblr's the only social media without algorithms!" "you can still be anonymous on tumblr!" "tumblr's so nice because you don't have to show your face!" WRONG tumblr is special because you can have 3000 followers and still get an average of seven likes a post. i'm doing stand up comedy at a packed venue and one person is laughing

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[thatoneemoginger]

My favorite part of any episode of Star Trek is when the writers have casually forgotten that Spock is approximately three times as physically dense as the average human. Mans standing on Kirk’s shoulders, getting hoisted places, and I really think Kirk ought to share his workout routine with the world. He is holding up over 300 pounds of eminently logical Vulcan with minimal effort on the daily. Nobody is doing it like him.

[thatoneemoginger]

A good rule of thumb for AI is "would you trust a trained pigeon to do this?"

"We trained a pigeon to recognise cancerous cell clusters and somehow they're really good at it" okay great, that's something that could plausibly be a thing.

"We trained a pigeon to recognise good CV:s and left it in charge of sorting through all our job applications" uh perhaps consider not doing that.

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SHOOTING CIVILLIANS POINT BLANK. SHE WAS TRYING TO GET HOME AND THEY SHOT HER FOR NO REASON. GET THIS FOOTAGE OUT!

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whats he going to do? @ominous-signs

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I procrastinate so much that I have a gaping hole of dread inside my chest where I think my other emotions are supposed to go. unless a potential employer is reading this, in which case I don’t do that & I have all the normal emotions that human beings have & I love capitalism

[thatoneemoginger]