no prize to perfection

multifandom - currently obsessing over witch hat atelier - mostly posting murderbot, star trek, etc - main @frondescence

[gorgynei]

god i love hadestown so much and this recording is next level. oh my god. oh my GOD.

[omagpies]

whatever. go my train!ART

[hinamie]

are these what the kids are calling *checks notes* magical girls?

[riverstarlight]

Usually I’m not overly bothered by fanon, but in respect to TOS I do think that popular fanon often overshadows or even entirely ignores the (very intentional) narrative purposes of the show.

I think this is most apparent when it comes to the common fan interpretation of the relationship between Bones and Spock. Most often you’ll see the kind of “silly guy”-ification of their dynamic, flattening their frequent conflicts as mutually antagonistic, yet ultimately playful, banter which has no impact on the cultural dynamics on the ship.

This is grating to me because, at least from my point of view, Bones serves a really important narrative purpose in relation to Spock, even beyond the typical emotion vs logic foil. Bones is very clearly set up as a representation of the 1960s American establishment. He’s a white southern man with very typical Western values and a military man sensibility. Spock represents a disruption of the establishment, as a mixed race alien with an entirely foreign system of beliefs and values. This framing of the two characters was definitely not coincidental considering the show was written during a major turning point in American politics and culture thanks to the enormous social reckoning brought on by the civil rights movement.

So when Bones denigrates Spock’s dedication to logic, his Vulcan heritage, etc, it doesn’t read to me as friendly banter. It reads as a very intentional portrayal of racial prejudice. (“pointy eared vulcan” and Spock’s proceeding anger) Within the context of the show, Bones’ behavior towards Spock isn’t a simple conflict of emotion vs logic, but also a conflict of past vs future, prejudice vs acceptance. The flattening of this dynamic to serve the purposes of fandom woobification is frustrating because the relationship that exists in the show is infinitely more interesting and has greater potential for growth and character development.

And it could be argued that Spock is equally disdainful of Bones’ humanity, but I don’t find that to be true. Spock is quick to point out the paradoxes and confusions of human behavior, but it never feels as though it comes from a place of antagonism or vitriol. And, importantly, it’s directed at anyone who he believes is acting illogically. For Bones, his antagonism and prejudice seems directed exclusively at Spock, which becomes especially insidious considering that Spock is the only major non-human member of the crew. The cultural dynamics this conflict creates are central to many of the social themes in the narrative of the show.

To clarify, I’m not trying to execute some sort of take-down of Bones. He’s one of my favorite characters precisely because of the complexity I’ve outlined above. I don’t view him as some sort of ultra bigoted conniving villain, but he’s also not the perfect angel he’s often made out to be in fanon. In fact, I think the sanitation of his behavior by the fandom is disrespectful to his character and the nuances that exist within that character.

[ochiody]

day 3: promise/this is where my heart is

[whaspellbook]

✶PREORDERS OPEN✶

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— “Magic exists to make people happy.”

For witches seeking the complete Spellbound experience, this bundle gathers our whole collection. Perfect for those who wish to master every circle on every page!✨🪄

✦ Eligible for all Stretch Goals!

✶GOODWILL OF HER GRACE✶

— “Learn from your failures, and it becomes knowledge.”

A carefully curated collection for witches who want a generous helping of Spellbound while travelling a little lighter.🍃📜

✦ Eligible for Cover Print and Diffraction Decal Stretch Goals!

✶SINCERITY OF THE SHIELD✶

— “The things that make you who you are will never disappear.”

For readers who wish to retreat inside their secret space with only the essential Spellbook, this bundle serves as a great starting point!📚✨

✦ Eligible for Cover Print Stretch Goal!

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— “I have my own kind of magic!”

Can't receive physical mail? Study from the comfort of your own atelier with our digital edition, featuring the complete zine in PDF format alongside our digital merch bundle!💫

✦ Not Eligible for Stretch Goals!

✶STRETCH GOALS ✶

As more apprentices join our atelier, even more magical rewards will be unlocked! Gather your fellow witches, spread the word, and let's fill our atelier with even more magical inventions! 🌿🖋️✨

[unidentifiedspoon]

network effect.png

[uovoc]

Teammates

read No Class: I Know What You Did Last Hot Bot Summer by FlipSpring

[filledwithtomorrows]

second reblog because I have now finished The Big Chonk 100k word fic in nullverse and I just have to say THANKS for being the spark that convinced me to go read it!!! such a delight

[uovoc]

Teammates

read No Class: I Know What You Did Last Hot Bot Summer by FlipSpring

[flowerbleedme]

Well as a "fan" I would be "serviced" by some THEMES AND MOTIFS #themesandmotifs #artwithmeaning

[artaudmatic]

It was fascination, I know ♪〜

Seeing you alone with the moonlight above ♪〜

inks ;)

[salientseraph]

Had me on my ASS laughing why does he not gaf

[daftpatience]

I love your MB drawings sm

I’ve doodled MB a bit and felt conflicted on how to do the hair and you just nailed the vibe perfectly

waaa thanks!!! heres some doodles about Amena styling murderbot's hair from system collapse that i hadn't shared yet 🥺

this is all still before platform decay's length/colour/texture change and i was thinkin about how "amena made my hair fluffy" could be interpreted

[jadefyre]

debugged: a Murderbot Diaries Comic by jadefyre

A big thank you to @blessphemy for cheering me on while I did the first draft of this back in, uh, July. And for giving me the perfect title :D

Now available on AO3!

Image descriptions are in ALT text but if you have trouble reading those, I'll include them here as well.

Page 1:

A title/splash page. Title reads: debugged, by jadefyre. Image is of an idyllic scene of a hill with a trail leading down it. The trail has a fence, and on the other side of the fence are grass, pushes, and a pond with a toad and some reeds and cattails. In the background are trees and two small figures cresting the hill. In the mid-ground is a drone with the effect text "whrrrr" next to it.

Page 2:

Panel 1: The same idyllic scene as the title page, now zoomed in on the area with the pond. The two people are now walking beside the pond: One is Ratthi, who is gesticulating and chatting, and the other is Murderbot, walking behind him, with its drones floating around its head as it looks over at the pond as the toad jumps into the water. Both have backpacks on and are apparently out for a hike.

Panel 2: A closeup of Ratthi, who is saying: "Thanks again for coming, by the way. I know you usually prefer more notice than this."

Panel 3: A closeup of Murderbot, who says: "I wasn't about to let you go alone into the wilderness." Coming from off-screen to the reader's right is a speech caption saying "bzzz"

Panel 4: Even more of a closeup of Murderbot, showing just the side of its head. On its right is a mosquito-like bug coming closer with the effect text "bzzz."

Panel 5: Back to the first closeup of Murderbot, who has the effect text of two exclamation marks next to its head. The bug has landed on its cheek with the effect text "*land*"

Page 3:

Panel 1: Murderbot squashes the bug, its eyes closed tight. The effect text "*splat*" is next to its swatting palm.

Panel 2: With a disgusted expression on its face, Murderbot is looking down at the squashed bug on its hand. Above it is a stylized ellipses, and it says, "Ew. There are so many bugs out here."

Panel 3: A closeup with Ratthi with Murderbot visible over his shoulder. Ratthi is saying, "Do you want some bug spray?" Murderbot has a blank expression stylized as two dots for eyes and a line for its mouth. There are a drone and a handful of bugs near it.

Panel 4: The panel refocuses on Murderbot, who has a stressed set to its mouth as it looks off to the side. It says, "Uh. No Thanks, that's even worse. I think."

Panel 5: A swarm of bugs going "bzzz, bzzz" hovers at the top left of the panel with an indicator arrow pointing at it and text saying (swarm). Ratthi is below, shrugging and saying, "Okay, suit your self." There an indicator arrow and text that says "bug-free" next to him.

Panel 6: The swarm seems to be dive-bombing Murderbot from the top left. Murderbot backs away to the right with its hands up while saying, "Uhhhh..."

Page 4:

Panel 1: A closeup of a couple of Murderbot's drones, as well as some bugs. The text says, in a console-style monospace font: ">> drone_swarm, new directive: seek (image of bug), destroy: (image of bug), > initiate_"

Panel 2: More drones and bugs. The drones turn toward the bugs with a crosshair with the effect text, "targeting" as the bugs buzz around.

Panel 3: Splash panel with a bold effect text in chunky font saying "bzzzz" in capital letters and a blast-caption shape around it. Murderbot is standing with its face covered by its hands as the drones attempt to eliminate the bugs with "pew pew pew" effect text and targeting crosshairs. More bugs are flying in from off-screen.

Panel 4: Closeup of Murderbot's face looking stressed. As the bug-drone battle rages on with "bzzz" and "pew pew" effects, Murderbot thinks, "There's too many, the drones can't get them all"

Page 5:

Panel 1: The same closeup as the previous page's fourth panel, now with an expressionless Murderbot as it dives into the feed. There are suggestions of lines of text flowing across its eyes to indicate this. A popup text box on the left side says: "database search: bug repellent." the bullet point list beneath it says: "spray, cover bare skin, citronella candles, high-frequency tones"

Panel 2: A full-body shot of Murderbot with the same two dots and a line expression on its face as a drone and a bug circle it.

Panel 3: The same shot, but now Murderbot's head is pointing to the right, its mouth is open comically wide, and it emits a frequency (evoking the image of a bat with echolocation) at the bug, which has the effect text "*urk*" next to it.

Panel 4: A closeup of the bug amidst the frequency lines and an ellipses over its head.

Panel 5: The same closeup of the bug, but now it has turned around and goes buzzing in the other direction.

Page 6:

A full-page picture. At the top are a multitude of featureless dots indicating the bug swarm, with a few detailed bugs in the fore- and midground, and below them, Murderbot is walking, surrounded by drones emitting the same frequency lines as Murderbot did before. There are no bugs near Murderbot. A handful of indicator arrows point at the drones with the text, "emitting frequency only bugs and SecUnits can hear." An indicator arrow points at Murderbot with text saying, "filtered out that frequency from its audio."

Page 7:

Panel 1: "Later…" Murderbot is hanging out while its drones emit the bug-repelling frequency. An indicator arrow points at Murderbot with text saying, "watching media outdoors, bug-free." Secunit 3 approaches from behind with a question mark over its head. It says, "1 point-oh, what is wrong with your drones?"

Panel 2: Murderbot turns toward Three as its drones power down with effect text that says "zhewww". Additional effect text says ">> drone_swarm, pause" as Three continues looking at Murderbot.

Panel 3: Murderbot and Three continue looking at each other. Murderbot says, "Well, uh…" while Three raises a skeptical eyebrow.

Panel 4: The same shot, but now with a "bzzzz" sound effect across most of the top of the panel. Murderbot says "Nothing" as it and Three are being swarmed by bugs to the point where it's hard to see them. Three looks shocked and says, "Ack! Turn them back on! Turn them back on!!!"

Page 8:

Panel 1: "Later still…" Murderbot and Three are represented as floating heads with no background detail or bodies. They are surrounded by multiple instances of an "eee" text effect, as well as drones that do not appear to be emitting the frequency. Murderbot says, "So apparently the frequency thing only works on bugs from this specific area" and Three says, "That's weird, I wonder why"

Panel 2: Murderbot turns to Three and says, "I bet Ratthi would know. Turn off your sound shield, I'll comm him." Three says, "I don't have mine on. I thought you had yours on."

Panels 3–5 are in a row. In order, Murderbot first looks blankly at Three, then it looks down, and then its eyes get wide as it continues looking down.

Panel 6: A splash panel showing Murderbot and Three seated next to a bunch of frogs while their drones hover around their heads. All of the frogs are saying "eeee," while one of them catches a bug. The rest of the bugs are fleeing the scene. A text box reads: Preservation screaming toads: natural predator of the Preservation mosquito."

End of comic.

(I'm not very skilled at captioning so if there's something I've missed or should've done different please (kindly) let me know!)

[suckunit]

synonym challenge...

my fill for the @mutualrapport event! tysm to the organizers & everyone who submitted a prompt, this was super fun to work on 💖💖

ao3 mirror

mutual rapport ao3 collection

[unidentifiedspoon]

reread going slow as molasses because chap 4 of artificial condition is actually a slapstick comedy featuring two MIs in a trenchcoat and i am helpless to resist

[castielrisingabove]

I just keep thinking about how Ryland Grace used to be a regular at his local diner.