tardigrade cuteness

[rivendellrose]

The above image from this tweet by Rekha Sharma shows Rekha (Landry) and Kenneth Mitchell (Kol) posing with a giant plush tardigrade. I initially thought the tardigrade might be an upcoming thing from the CBS store, but a little thought (hmm, the tardigrade has been gone for a while...) and Googling told me that it's most likely this one from Think Geek.

Pretty darned cute, right?

But for those of us who don't have $40 USD to spare on fluffy giant microbes, there is still another way to have your own adorable plushy tardigrade! This pattern is available for free online for anybody who can crochet (in the style of amigurumi)! I haven't tried yet (although I promise I will), but I'm pretty sure if you did it in a soft chunky- or super-chunky weight yarn (maybe something like this?) and used bigger safety eyes than the pattern calls for, you could get something pretty adorable, and not entirely dissimilar to a slightly-smaller version of the one being shown off above.

Anybody else have any Disco-related craft ideas they're thinking about taking up over the hiatus?

Comments

[rhoda]

Dang that pattern is adorable, if only my crocheting skills were up to snuff.

[rivendellrose]

Aww, I bet you could get up to it pretty quick! There's a lot of great amigurumi tutorials on YouTube, and the techniques for this little guy seem pretty basic!

[monanotlisa]

D'aww!

[rivendellrose]

♥

[st_aurafina]

That is adorable! You could probably make a pretty damn big tardigrade with some of the super bulky yarns, like bernat blanket. *ponders*

[rivendellrose]

Exactly what I was thinking! The craft store near me almost always has huge skeins of that stuff (often on sale) for people making baby blankets and whatnot, and something like that would be perfect, I imagine. Might have to take a trip to the craft store today.

[lizbee]

I'm extremely into how many of the cast members, even the short-lived ones, seem to be friends.

[rivendellrose]

Isn't that sweet? I love when actors seem to genuinely get along and be friends behind the scenes. ♥

[lizbee]

After the open secret that big chunks of the Voyager cast hated each other, and half a decade in a fandom for a cartoon, where some cast members didn't even meet in person, I need all the table tennis and TV nights I can get.

[rivendellrose]

Oh, man, yeah. I read all those behind-the-scenes books they put out for the 50th anniversary of Trek and damn was the Voyager stuff brutal. Yikes.

(Correction: I read the latter one. I didn't bother with the TOS one.)

[lizbee]

I'm really glad that Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan are friends now, but I hope that came with a massive and abject apology from Kate.

(On the other hand, Roxane Dawson is super right wing and Jennifer Lien has a bunch of charges for domestic violence and drug offences, so, like, Kate and Jeri could be doing worse!)

(Summary of the TOS one: Gene Roddenberry was THE WORST, everything we love about TOS came from Gene Coon, there's a great story about how Coon was like, "Why don't we have any PoC behind the scenes on this show about equality in space?" So he rang up the Black Panthers, who sent Malcolm X's secretary to work for him. She has some delightful tales about Roddenberry.)

[rivendellrose]

Yeeeeah, I hope she apologized to everybody, but especially to Jeri.

Oh, lord, both of them sound... special. Well, that's exciting!

The TNG chapters of the later-series book definitely covered the stuff about Gene Roddenberry being The Worst (and I already knew a lot of the stuff I love came from D.C. Fontana, who was still getting screwed over by Gene and his lawyer well into TNG), but I did not know that about Gene Coon! That's marvelous!

[ironed_orchid]

Argh, I am rewatching Voyager now, and this is upsetting but not particularly unexpected.

[kore]

They really do. It seems like a very happy and cute set.

[kore]

WHAT CUTIES. (I really wish Landry hadn't died, sigh)

[rivendellrose]

I know! I was so looking forward to seeing more of her in this than I did on BSG, and then they go and have even less of her than BSG did! ARGH!

[kore]

SERIOUSLY

Also, I hated all the Tory hate in BSG fandom. I really didn't like what they did with her in the final seasons (well, EVERYTHING past Rapture in S3 kinda really sucked) but the misogyny was pretty nasty.

[rivendellrose]

Yeah, she was really poorly-served by that role. Which was why I was so happy when I heard she'd be playing the chief of security in Discovery, because I thought "Oh, wow, that really fits her and I'll get to see so much more of her and she'll probably be painted as a lot more likable..."

Shows what I know. :P

[kore]

NOT JUST YOU. >:-(

I really wanted Lorca to have something on her and for her to be slowly won over to Michael's side and have a big Moment of Decision during the inevitable mutiny....sigh. That's what fic is for, right? Lorca collects psychological pressure points on the people around him and loves pushing on them. Maybe she knew the truth about the previous ship, or even was on it somehow (altho that could make them a little too Mal-Zoe?). Maybe she did some awful but justified thing he supported her in while making clear in his Lorca way that it could end her career/life. She was clearly career military, she would look down on Lorca's little band of misfits, but maybe Admiral Kat could convince her Lorca is going nutty? (And she'd be conflicted, because clearly he is, but....her loyalty! and secret!) So many possibilities....(Imagine if Lorca'd ordered her to work with Damaged Hottie Ash and both of them had been resentful and envious but then shared their damage in a trapped-in-convenient-danger type situation and began together to secretly doubt Lorca. -- Because frankly Michael is an exception, but giving Damaged Hottie a big position fresh out of the prison ship? I don't care how charming/damaged he is, SOMEONE would go 'WHUT.') (I just want a crew uprising against Lorca SO BAD, I freely admit it.)

But no, they hit her with the stupid stick and she went CHARGING AFTER the dangerous beast in the dumbest way and boom, she died. SIGH.


(also, what fucking fool would kill off Rekha Sharma so early, she's gorgeous)

[rivendellrose]

So much yes to all of the possibilities you're listing! It really did seem like Lorca had something on her and that was why she was so neurotically loyal to him while also being kind of bitter about it and "You'll see how this ship works in time." I like the idea that she did something justified but horrible and Lorca held it over her as a way to earn her loyalty - like "I could tell Starfleet, but I just know you're better than this, and we all do things in war that we regret. You know we have to break the rules sometimes in order to win this war, and you know how important that is" and all that kind of stuff.

And her and Ash having to share their position or something, oh boy. They did that a little on ENT with Malcolm Reed and the leader of the MACOs and... it kind of didn't work very well because, er, Malcolm isn't actually very competent? I mean, I love him for really weird reasons, but he's the least competent head of security on any Star Trek ever, I think. But it would be really interesting to have this dynamic where Landry is legitimately pissed off about this damaged stranger coming in and taking part of her job and Lorca's all buddy-buddy with him and poor Ash is caught in the middle and it's not his fault! And then the trapped-in-convenient danger situation and figuring out that Lorca is the real threat and aaaaahhhhh, it would have been so fabulous! I want that fic, now. And I can't write it because I'm already halfway through two other fics that I'm stalled on. XD

(I just want a crew uprising against Lorca SO BAD, I freely admit it.)

I firmly believe that if we wait patiently, IT WILL HAPPEN. There's just no other end game that makes sense here. ...And then I will be sad because we won't have Lorca being a dick anymore. Unless they find a way to let him go to be the recurring baddie somehow.

(also, what fucking fool would kill off Rekha Sharma so early, she's gorgeous)

Not to be shallow, but YES, EXACTLY!!! That woman is gorgeous, and I've had the makings of a crush on her for, like, seven years now! I was really looking forward to the opportunity to actually crush rather than just going "wow, she's really pretty, too bad the writing for her is so awful."

[kore]

It really did seem like Lorca had something on her and that was why she was so neurotically loyal to him while also being kind of bitter about it and "You'll see how this ship works in time." I like the idea that she did something justified but horrible and Lorca held it over her as a way to earn her loyalty - like "I could tell Starfleet, but I just know you're better than this, and we all do things in war that we regret. You know we have to break the rules sometimes in order to win this war, and you know how important that is" and all that kind of stuff.

That is PURE Lorca, yeah. And I get the feeling he's been all "we're at war now and this means we have to do Certain Things" with the crew for a while now, remember how weird and kind of muffled everyone seemed when Michael first came on board? They've dialled that way back, but his main interactions with the bridge crew still seem to be either "you have FAILED in this training and I can't even look at you" and "you SUCCEEDED at being warriors, I am proud like a father." Maybe he commanded her to do something against her conscience and she did it and now she's bitter? It was such a juicy setup!

it would be really interesting to have this dynamic where Landry is legitimately pissed off about this damaged stranger coming in and taking part of her job and Lorca's all buddy-buddy with him and poor Ash is caught in the middle and it's not his fault!

THAT SOUNDS DELICIOUS, YES
We already got some of that with "Don't bother coming back without her" or whatever it was, LOL, but I think another thing Lorca does is subtly pit the crew members against one another -- Lorca and Michael (I can't imagine he'll be thrilled about that romance), Stamets and the doctor to some extent, Michael as the favoured kid (which isolates her and keeps her dependent on him). (....I'm just so fond of Machiavellian Lorca. I imagine he schemes the way other people collect coins.)

And then the trapped-in-convenient danger situation and figuring out that Lorca is the real threat and aaaaahhhhh, it would have been so fabulous! I want that fic, now. And I can't write it because I'm already halfway through two other fics that I'm stalled on. XD

Ahahaha, every time I think about writing a Disco fic I'm like "but all that backstory and canon, aaagh." I mean, I watched TNG and VOY and TOS repeatedly, but that's about it, and when I see some people making detailed arguments about the chronologies I'm just like "...." It's a little intimidating. (Which is probably dumb on my part, but still.)

I firmly believe that if we wait patiently, IT WILL HAPPEN.

IT BETTER

There's just no other end game that makes sense here. ...And then I will be sad because we won't have Lorca being a dick anymore. Unless they find a way to let him go to be the recurring baddie somehow.

I would be fine with a couple of options -- he goes out in a final blaze of glory, kinda redeeming himself; or he is deposed and thrown in jail and that's it (unlikely, given Isaacs is big in the billing); or he is deposed, escapes and goes on to be a recurring threat. We're probably going to get that third one, I bet. I'd plot the back half of S1 with the rebellion gearing up and then Captain Burnham going into S2. But who knows, they might be saving that for the end or whatever.

I was really looking forward to the opportunity to actually crush rather than just going "wow, she's really pretty, too bad the writing for her is so awful."

HARD SAME as the kids say nowadays

[mekare]

I want that fic, now.

Me too! I was really diappointed that they killer her off so early, she was so interesting!

[aryas_zehral]

Man that sounds like a fun set of fics you've suggested there. XD

[kore]

Yeah, if only I could ever finish anything. //rue

[aryas_zehral]

yeah I haven't even written any fic in like two years and even when I did it was always short.... and yet I adore coming up with super long complicated plot bunnies and just plain old plots. Endless, endless plots. Who has time!?

[aryas_zehral]

Well I hadn't had any thought of Disco related things but now I wanna try that tardigrade. I wonder what wool I have here.... I could go crazy and make it flashy disco coloured. LOL.

That said I was wondering about how to make myself a Disco shirt. The font doesn't look too hard and I have a sewing machine and loads of fabric. Get myself a cheap t-shirt and I might be able to throw something together.... And it'd be an excuse to work out how to use my sewing machine. LOL.

[kore]

They do sell an official DISCO shirt, but it's thirty bucks! Thirty bucks for a T-shirt....making one definitely sounds better.

[aryas_zehral]

I don't know, for a shirt, that's just a t-shirt? Think how much more fun a home made one would be.

I wonder if there are any discovery related cross stitch patterns.

I wonder how hard it is to develop cross stitch patterns. LOL

[rivendellrose]

CROSS STITCH PATTERNS. Oh god, I do not have enough time for all the ideas you're giving me!

[aryas_zehral]

I'm really good at ideas. Actually finishing things.... not so much. LOL.

[rivendellrose]

Oh, awesome, what a great thought! I haven't done fannish shirts in a long time, but back in the day my roommates and I bought a roll of mylar and used exacto knives to cut out stencils that we painted onto shirts with fabric paint. The results were actually pretty cool, so that's another option if applique or embroidery doesn't work!

[aryas_zehral]

I do have fabric paints. And that stuff the fusable webbing stuff so you can iron fabric shapes onto other fabric things.

At the moment I wish I could draw so that I could draw a cute tardigrade and put a santa hat on it. XD

I like your icon.

[rivendellrose]

Ohhhhhh, that would be super cute! I wish I could do cartoon-y style drawing so I could try to do that. Maybe someone else will see this and be inspired.

Thanks!

[aryas_zehral]

*Fingers crossed* Although now I've started wondering whether I can combine the shot of the tardigrade in space with something Santa Claus-y, maybe with a sleigh, for a fun Christmas icon. Or gif. Or just picture. :D If Santa was a space tardigrade that could explain how he manages to go round the world so fast. LOL.

I may be getting too tired for sensible ideas. LOL

[nonelvis]

Ooh, I might have to try to replicate the crochet amigurumi as a knitted toy! I even have some spare craft eyes in my stash :D

[mekare]

AWWW this is so cute thank you! I'm not gonna do any handicrafts but I've been planning on doing a Captain Georghiou portrait since episode 1. Now that my Bigbang stuff is over I'll hopefully finally get to do it.