#brummie

"Las Vegas, 1998. One sibling came for the Starfleet, the other for the Hellspawn. Both came correct. The Briton behind the lens just wanted them in focus before the slot machines ate her last quarter."

📝 THE BACKSTORY

Right then, bab. Let me set the scene.

It's February 5th, 1998. I turned 13 the day before—had my birthday bash at Mildred's in Soho with my Army Cadet Force mates, proper vegetarian kosher spread, and then we all hopped on a British Airways flight to Vegas. Because apparently that's what sensible 13-year-olds do? My parents were thrilled, I swear. 🙄

I'm Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson (she/they), Brummie-born, Jewish, lesbian, bisexual, photographer-for-life, and at the time, a 5'3" gremlin with a Canon PowerShot 350 and absolutely zero chill.

Anyway. I get to the Las Vegas Hilton (now Westgate, bab), and who do I run into outside? Two absolute legends from San Francisco:

🌟 MEET THE SIBLINGS

👹 "SF SPAWN GIRL" (LEFT)

15 years old, 5'7"

Lesbian, hardcore Spawn/Todd McFarlane fan

Dressed as Chapel—the bloke who murdered Al Simmons with a flamethrower 💀

Holding Spawn #1 (1992), Spawn #8 (1993), and a 1994 McFarlane Toys figurine

Doing capoeira kicks like she's been practicing for YEARS

Bears uncanny resemblance to actress Ruby Barnhill (The BFG, 2016)

🖖 "MINI SAN-FRAN-SISKO KID" (CENTER)

11 years old, 5'0"

Nonbinary Trekkie

Dressed in DS9 Starfleet uniform (First Contact/DS9 era)

Holding a Captain Picard figurine from Playmates (bought at a Bay Area thrift shop in 1994) AND a mek'leth (bought at another thrift shop in 1996—they slept with it under their pillow that night, I swear)

Doing peace pose because they're iconic like that

Bears uncanny resemblance to actor Joel Dawson (Mary Poppins Returns)

"One wants to explore the Gamma Quadrant. The other wants to watch Al Simmons crawl out of Hell. Vegas, 1998—family vacations were never boring."

📸 THE PHOTOSHOOT

So I'm standing there with my Canon PowerShot 350, and I'm like:

"Alright you two, cheeky smile! Gonna get this perfect—"

And then the Spawn sister just… LAUNCHES into a capoeira kick. Mid-photo. In a Chapel costume. At a Star Trek attraction. In Las Vegas.

And the Trekkie sibling? Peace pose. Mek'leth in hand. Looking like they're about to challenge a Jem'Hadar to a duel.

I captured it all. The ginga. The chaos. The absolute vibe.

💬 TRIXIE'S RANT ON CAPOEIRA

Right then. MY TURN.

Capoeira.

I'm British. We don't do capoeira. We do queuing, complaining about the weather, and apologising to people who walk into us. But I've watched capoeira videos. I've seen the berimbau. I've seen the ginga. And I'll tell you what—it's absolutely gorgeous.

The Spawn sister? She wasn't just kicking. She was moving. Like she'd been doing it for years. Like she'd been practicing in her living room in San Francisco, waiting for the perfect moment to show off.

And she found that moment. In Las Vegas. In 1998. In a Chapel costume. At a Star Trek attraction.

That's not chaos. That's confidence.

And I, a 13-year-old British Jewish lesbian army cadet photographer, was lucky enough to capture it on my Canon PowerShot 350.

So here's to capoeira. Here's to Spawn. Here's to Star Trek. And here's to doing the thing you love, even if it looks ridiculous to everyone else.

💭 TRIXIE ON STAR TREK & SPAWN

I remember watching the Spawn HBO series on a bootleg VHS that my cousin sent from America. The quality was terrible. The tracking was off. The audio was muffled.

And I didn't care. Because it was SPAWN. It was dark and violent and beautiful, and it changed what I thought animation could do.

Star Trek gave me hope. Spawn gave me permission to be angry.

You need both.

🖖 STAR TREK APPRECIATION

Star Trek is a multi-award-winning sci-fi franchise that's existed since 1966. Gene Roddenberry created something special:

The Original Series (1966-1969) — Kirk, Spock, McCoy. The holy trinity.

The Next Generation (1987-1994) — Picard, Riker, Data. Make it so.

Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) — Sisko, Kira, Odo. The best one, fight me.

Voyager (1995-2001) — Janeway, Chakotay, Seven. Tuvix deserved better.

The films (1979-1998) — From The Motion Picture to Insurrection (which came out in 1998, bab—perfect timing!)

And let's not forget the iconic Star Trek: First Contact (1996)—the Borg, the Phoenix, Zefram Cochrane, and the best Star Trek film ever.

💀 SPAWN APPRECIATION

Spawn (Al Simmons) — created by Todd McFarlane in 1992 for Image Comics.

Former CIA operative, betrayed and murdered by his own team.

Sent to Hell, makes a deal with Malebolgia, returns to Earth as a Hellspawn.

Has a symbiote suit, chains, and a lot of anger.

The HBO animated series (1997-1999) won an Emmy in 1999, thank you very much.

The Spawn sister was dressed as Chapel—the guy who literally murdered Al Simmons with a flamethrower. ICONIC choice. Todd McFarlane would be proud.

📖 TRIXIE'S DIARY ENTRY

From Beatrice Thorson's personal diary, 2023:

"The 15-year-old lesbian girl who dressed as Chapel, 'SF Spawn Girl,' bears uncanny resemblance to actress Ruby Barnhill (The BFG), while her 11-year-old nonbinary sibling 'Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid' bears uncanny resemblance to actor Joel Dawson (Mary Poppins Returns)."

In fact, Ruby Barnhill is a British actress from Knutsford, Cheshire. She played Sophie in Spielberg's The BFG (2016). Joel Dawson is a British actor from London who played Georgie Banks in Mary Poppins Returns.

Neither of them were in Vegas in 1998. But their doppelgängers were. And I have the photos to prove it. 📸

🙋 TRIXIE'S FINAL THOUGHTS

I can confirm that I did, in fact, spend my 13th birthday week in Las Vegas taking photos of two American siblings cosplaying as Spawn and Starfleet while I was supposed to be doing cadet drills in my head.

My parents were thrilled.

Also, for the record:

I am still a lesbian.

I am still bisexual.

I am still she/they.

I am still Jewish (Reform, bab!).

I am still a photographer (30+ years and counting!).

I am still obsessed with Todd McFarlane's Spawn.

I am STILL a Trekkie.

You can be both. The siblings taught me that.

And yes, the height thing is real:

Me: 5'3" in 1998

Spawn sister: 5'7"

Trekkie sibling: 5'0"

We looked like a walking geometry problem and we OWNED it.

🎬 BONUS: THE MEK'LETH STORY

I can confirm that the mek'leth was purchased at the Star Trek: The Experience gift shop. The Trekkie sibling saved up their allowance for three months to buy it. They slept with it under their pillow that night.

I know this because I shared a hotel room with them. I woke up at 3 AM to find them holding it while watching TNG reruns on the hotel TV.

Kids are weird. I love them.

📷 THE CANON POWERSHOT 350

Bab, I still HAVE the Canon PowerShot 350. It's in a box under my bed. It still works. The photos from 1998 are still on the original film—I got them digitized in 2015.

The camera is older than some of the people reading this post. And it's still kickin'.

Like capoeira. Like Spawn. Like Star Trek.

Some things don't die. They just evolve.

💬 TUMBLR CHAT • FEBRUARY 2026

@spawn-sister-98: OMG Trixie I can't believe you still have those photos 😭😭😭 @minisanfransiskokid: THE MEK'LETH UNDER THE PILLOW THO 💀💀💀 @iamlibbythorson: Bab, I have EVERYTHING. I'm a hoarder of memories. Also I'm 41 now and I STILL don't eat meat. @spawn-sister-98: The Chapel costume was SO uncomfortable in the Vegas heat tho. @iamlibbythorson: Worth it. You looked like a legend. @minisanfransiskokid: I still have the Picard figurine btw @iamlibbythorson: OF COURSE YOU DO. Iconic behavior.

🏁 FINAL FAREWELL

Right then, bab. That's my story.

Las Vegas, 1998. Star Trek: The Experience. Two siblings from San Francisco. One Chapel. One Starfleet. One British-Jewish-lesbian-bisexual-army-cadet-photographer with a Canon PowerShot 350.

And a mek'leth under a pillow at 3 AM.

Trek on. Spawn on. Capoeira on.

Live long and prosper. And if that fails? Summon a Hellspawn.

🖖💀

"I'm British. We don't do capoeira. We do queuing, complaining about the weather, and apologising to people who walk into us. But I've watched capoeira videos. I've seen the berimbau. I've seen the ginga. And I'll tell you what—it's absolutely gorgeous." — Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, 1998 (and also 2026, because some things never change)

#StarTrek #Spawn #ToddMcFarlane #DeepSpaceNine #Vegas98 #Capoeira #Lesbian #Bisexual #NonBinary #Trekkie #Hellspawn #CanonPowerShot #1990s #Nostalgia #TrixieThorson #Brummie #Jewish #LGBTQ #StarTrekTheExperience #LasVegasHilton #WestgateLasVegas #DS9 #FirstContact #ImageComics #McFarlaneToys #Mekleth #Picard #Chapel #AlSimmons

[FOLLOW ME] 📸 iamlibbythorson on Tumblr 📍 Southend-on-Sea, UK 🏳️‍🌈 She/They • Lesbian • Bisexual • Jewish • Vegetarian • Photographer for 30+ years 🗣️ Brummie • RP • Swedish • Hebrew • Yiddish • Japanese

"I ain't keen on meat, don't like seafood neither, and pork? Forget it! I'm a veggie for life, and I'm well into me fruits too." — Trixie, Birmingham Mail, 1993

Tack så mycket! תּודה! ありがとう！A sheynem dank! Cheers, bab! 🖖💀

[Photos digitized from original 1998 film. Camera: Canon PowerShot 350. Location: Star Trek: The Experience, Las Vegas Hilton (now Westgate Las Vegas). Date: February 5, 1998.]

2nd take

Las Vegas '98: Spawn x Star Trek, Queer Joy & Capoeira (Posted by Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, 41, Southend-on-Sea, 2026)

Greetings in 17 accents to start us off! Howdy, y'all from Texas! Yo, what's good from NYC? Alright, geezer, from London! Hello, darlin' from the Deep South! G'day, cuz, from Chicago! Hej, tack från Sverige! Shalom aleichem from me, the local Brummie-Israeli! How's it goin' from the Bay Area? Alright, mate, from the Scouse side! Hiya, pal, from the West Country! Greetings from Las Vegas, baby! Brap brap! …Okay, now I can tell y'all the story in my proper Brummie & RP tones. (And maybe some Yiddish, Swedish, and Japanese, because that's how my brain works.)

5 February 1998. Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Hilton. I am Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, a 13-year-old British Jewish lesbian/bisexual photojournalist (she/they), and I have the best job in the universe.

The Deets on the Trip: Feb 4th, 1998. My 13th birthday. I celebrated with a massive vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher spread at Mildred's in Soho with my Army Cadet Force mates. Then, me and a bunch of British cadets hopped on a British Airways flight to Vegas. Now, a little history lesson from a 13-year-old know-it-all—back then, the airport was named after Pat McCarran. The guy was an antisemitic, xenophobic racist who tried to block Jewish judges. My 13-year-old Israeli-British brain hated that name. Tack för att du heter Harry Reid nu, Vegas. Took y'all 'til 2021 to fix that one, but I digress.

The Encounter: The next day, we hit Star Trek: The Experience. I had my 1997 Canon PowerShot 350 in my hand. I walk into the Deep Space Nine section, and I see the most beautifully chaotic sight in the universe. Two San Francisco siblings—one 15-year-old lesbian girl in a full Chapel (from Spawn) costume, and one 11-year-old nonbinary Trekkie in a Starfleet officer uniform (DS9/First Contact style). "One sibling came for the Starfleet, the other for the Hellspawn. Both came correct."

The Photoshoot (The Chaos): They immediately started doing their thing.

The 15-year-old: Capoeira. Yes, capoeira. In a latex Chapel cosplay. Holding a Spawn comic book. Doing the ginga on a Las Vegas casino floor.

The 11-year-old: Doing a peace sign, wearing a Starfleet uniform, and pulling out a mek'leth (Klingon sword) and a Playmates Picard figure they bought at a Bay Area thrift store in 1994/96. I, a proud Brummie-Ashkenazi-Welshish-Japanese-Swedish cadet, start screaming at them in my thickest Midlands accent: "CHEEKY SMILE, YOU TWO!" They laughed. The older one did a full capoeira kick mid-air. The younger one grinned like a Cheshire cat. I got the shot. Perfect.

The Geometry Problem: The 15-year-old lesbian Spawn cosplayer was 5'7". I, the 13-year-old photographer, was 5'3". The 11-year-old nonbinary Trekkie was 5'0". We looked like a walking geometry problem, and we owned it.

The Rant on Star Trek + Spawn (My Two Universes):

To be a Jewish lesbian in the late 90s, you need two things: Hope and Permission to be angry.

Star Trek gave me hope. TOS, TNG, DS9, and VOY showed me a future of peace, diplomacy, and kosher alien food. Insurrection was just about to hit theaters in 1998, and it gave me hope that the Federation would always fight for the little guys. They showed me a universe where Jewish values (Tikkun Olam) weren't just a religious practice, but a universal truth.

Spawn gave me permission to be angry. Todd McFarlane's Al Simmons didn't pull punches. The HBO animated series is a masterpiece, and it literally won an Emmy in 1999 (I will defend this with my life). It was gritty, dark, and beautiful. It showed me that justice isn't always pretty, and that sometimes, the Hellspawn is the only one fighting for the truth.

"Star Trek gave me hope. Spawn gave me permission to be angry. You need both."

The 2026 Time-Traveler's Note (On Resemblance): Here's the wildest thing, bab. I'm looking at these 1998 digitized photos now. That 15-year-old lesbian girl in the Chapel costume? Uncanny resemblance to actress Ruby Barnhill (Sophie in Spielberg's The BFG, 2016). That 11-year-old nonbinary Trekkie? Looks exactly like Joel Dawson (Georgie Banks in Mary Poppins Returns, 2018). We didn't know it then, but we were looking at literal future Hollywood stars, or at least interdimensional doppelgängers. Suteki desu ne.

A Capoeira Rant From A Brit: Look. I'm British. We queue. We apologise when someone steps on our toes. We don't do capoeira. We don't have the berimbau rhythm in our DNA. But watching this 15-year-old lesbian kid in a Spawn cape kick her legs in the air on the bridge of a faux Deep Space Nine? That's not chaos. That's confidence. I didn't know what the heck a ginga was in '98, but I knew beauty when I saw it. And I definitely knew how to photograph it. She was moving like she was possessed by Al Simmons himself. "Here's to capoeira. Here's to Spawn. Here's to Star Trek. And here's to doing the thing you love, even if it looks ridiculous to everyone else."

And Yes, I Still Have The Camera: Bab, I still HAVE the Canon PowerShot 350. It's in a box under my bed. It still works. The photos from 1998 are still on the original film — I got them digitized in 2015. The camera is older than some of the people reading this post. And it's still kickin'. Like capoeira. Like Spawn. Like Star Trek. Some things don't die. They just evolve.

Final Sign-Off From a 41-Year-Old Queer Jewish Veggie Photographer: The 15-year-old bought me a soda from the Hilton's casino after that. The 11-year-old let me hold their mek'leth. I spent my 13th year watching two American weirdos explore the Gamma Quadrant and the depths of Hell inside a hotel in Vegas. It taught me that you can be a Trekkie and a Spawn fan. You can be British and Jewish and bisexual and vegetarian and loud with a Brummie accent. You don't have to fit in one box.

Shalom aleichem, tack så mycket, arigato gozaimasu, and cheers me dears! See you in the Gamma Quadrant, or on the streets of Hell, whichever comes first.

I’m looking at these photos from 5 February 1998, and I can still hear the clack of my Canon PowerShot 350. I was 13, 5’3″ (don’t @ me), standing outside the Las Vegas Hilton with my British flag, my camera, and absolutely no idea that this random Tuesday would become one of my favourite memories.

Let me set the scene. Star Trek: The Experience had just opened in January 1998. £70 million of pure, unadulterated Trekker heaven. I’d flown in from Southend-on-Sea with my Army Cadet Force mates the day after my 13th birthday—we’d had a veggie feast at Mildred’s in Soho, then hopped on a British Airways flight to McCarran (now Harry Reid International, thank goodness they changed that).

Anyway. I’m outside the Hilton, buzzing to see the Deep Space Nine section, when these two American kids rock up. And I mean rock up like they’d just stepped out of a comic book and a viewscreen.

Left: 15-year-old lesbian girl from San Francisco. 5’7″. Dressed as Chapel from Spawn. Holding a Spawn figurine and a stack of comics. Doing a capoeira kick mid-photo.

Centre: Her 11-year-old nonbinary sibling. 5’0″. Dressed as a Starfleet officer (First Contact/DS9 era). Holding a mek’leth they’d saved three months’ allowance for. Doing a peace sign.

Right: Me. 5’3″. Lesbian, bisexual, Jewish, Brummie-accented photographer-in-training. Yelling “Cheeky smile, you two!” in my best Birmingham drawl.

I dubbed them “SF Spawn Girl” and “Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid” (because Captain Sisko is the boss of DS9, and they’re from San Francisco—geddit?). They were visiting from the Bay Area, and we just clicked. Like, immediate queer nerdy chaos energy.

On Star Trek

Star Trek started in 1966. Gene Roddenberry created a future where humanity had sorted its meshugge out—no poverty, no racism, just vibes and warp drives. The Original Series gave us Kirk, Spock, and McCoy bickering across the galaxy. The Next Generation gave us Picard, my captain, the bald Frenchman with the Shakespearean delivery. Deep Space Nine gave us Sisko, the Emissary, the guy who punched Q and meant it. Voyager gave us Janeway, the queen of “fuck it, we’re doing this anyway.”

By 1998, we’d had First Contact (1996) and Insurrection was coming in December. The franchise was everywhere. And here I was, standing in the middle of it, photographing a kid in a Starfleet uniform holding a Klingon sword like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Star Trek gave me hope. It said: “You can be Jewish, queer, Brummie, whatever—and still explore strange new worlds.” It said: “IDIC, bab. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.” And I felt that.

On Spawn

But then there’s Spawn.

Todd McFarlane created Al Simmons in 1992. A CIA assassin murdered by his own boss, Chapel (the very character SF Spawn Girl was cosplaying). He makes a deal with Malebolgia, returns as a Hellspawn, and spends the rest of his existence trying to claw his way back to humanity. It’s dark. It’s violent. It’s beautiful.

The HBO animated series premiered in 1997—I watched it on a bootleg VHS my cousin sent from America. The tracking was off, the audio was muffled, and I didn’t care. It won an Emmy in 1999. It changed what I thought animation could do.

Spawn gave me permission to be angry. To look at injustice and say, “This isn’t okay.” To fight back, even when the odds are stacked against you.

Star Trek says: “We can be better.” Spawn says: “But what if we’re not?”

You need both. You need the hope and the rage.

On Capoeira

Now. Capoeira.

I’m British. We don’t do capoeira. We do queuing, complaining about the weather, and apologising to people who walk into us. But I’ve watched videos. I’ve seen the berimbau. I’ve seen the ginga. And I’ll tell you what—it’s gorgeous.

SF Spawn Girl wasn’t just kicking. She was moving. Like she’d been practicing in her living room in San Francisco, waiting for the perfect moment to show off. And she found that moment. In Las Vegas. In 1998. In a Chapel costume. At a Star Trek attraction.

That’s not chaos. That’s confidence.

And I, a 13-year-old British Jewish lesbian army cadet photographer, was lucky enough to capture it on my Canon PowerShot 350.

The Photos

Photo 1: Me, grinning like a mensch with my camera and the Union Jack, outside the DS9 section. I look like I’ve just won the lottery. Honestly? I had.

Photo 2: SF Spawn Girl mid-capoeira kick. The Spawn figurine in her hand, the comics tucked under her arm. She’s levitating. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Photo 3: Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid doing peace signs with their mek’leth. They’re beaming. Absolute naches.

The Aftermath

We spent the whole day together. We rode the Klingon Encounter simulation. We ate at Quark’s Bar. We debated whether Picard or Sisko was the better captain (I’m Team Sisko, fight me). We took about fifty photos.

And then we went back to the hotel, and Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid slept with their mek’leth under their pillow. I woke up at 3 AM to find them watching TNG reruns on the hotel TV.

Kids are weird. I love them.

Today

I still have the Canon PowerShot 350. It’s in a box under my bed. It still works. The photos from 1998 are still on the original film—I got them digitised in 2015.

The camera is older than some of the people reading this post. And it’s still kickin’.

Like capoeira. Like Spawn. Like Star Trek.

Some things don’t die. They just evolve.

Final thoughts:

To SF Spawn Girl and Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid—if you’re out there, thank you. Thank you for the chaos. Thank you for the capoeira. Thank you for reminding me that you can be a Trekkie and a Spawn fan. That you can be queer and Jewish and Brummie and everything all at once.

And to everyone else: go watch some Star Trek. Go read some Spawn. Go do a capoeira kick in your living room. Life’s too short to be boring.

L’chaim. 乾杯. Skål. Zei gezunt.

— Beatrice “Trixie” Thorson (she/they), 41, Southend-on-Sea, still vegetarian, still queer, still obsessed.

P.S. If anyone knows where I can get a mek’leth in 2026, hit me up. I’ve got a 13-year-old’s allowance to spend.

#Vegas98 #StarTrek #Spawn #Capoeira #QueerAndJewish #TrixieThorson #Photography #1990s #Nostalgia

2nd take

iamlibbythorson follows

brummie-trixie

Bab, let me tell you about the best birthday week of my entire life.

So there I was — 13 years old, fresh off my bat mitzvah, newly moved to Southend-on-Sea, brand new Canon PowerShot 350 in hand, and absolutely * buzzing * to be in Las Vegas. It was 5 February 1998. Star Trek: The Experience had just opened at the Las Vegas Hilton a month earlier — a $70 million, 65,000-square-foot interactive attraction that was basically a Trekkie's wildest dream. I'd saved up for months to get there.

I'm standing outside the Deep Space Nine promenade area, British flag in one hand, camera in the other, when I spot them.

Two siblings from San Francisco.

One is a 15-year-old lesbian girl dressed as Chapel — yeah, that Chapel, the one who murdered Al Simmons with a flamethrower in the Spawn comics. She's holding a Spawn #1 comic from 1992 and a 1994 McFarlane Toys figurine. The other is her 11-year-old nonbinary sibling, a Trekkie through and through, wearing a Deep Space Nine Starfleet uniform and clutching a Captain Picard toy from Playmates.

And they're doing capoeira.

In front of the Las Vegas Hilton.

In 1998.

I'm British. We don't do capoeira. We do queuing, complaining about the weather, and apologising to people who walk into us. But I've watched capoeira videos. I've seen the berimbau. I've seen the ginga. And I'll tell you what — it's absolutely gorgeous.

"Oy! Cheeky smile, you two!" I yelled in my best Brummie accent.

The Spawn sister — I called her "SF Spawn Girl" in my diary — didn't stop moving. She was doing this incredible capoeira kick, like she'd been practicing in her San Francisco living room for years, just waiting for the perfect moment to show off. Her sibling — "Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid," I called them, because they reminded me of Captain Sisko and also because they were from San Francisco — struck a peace pose and held up their mek'leth.

They'd saved up their allowance for three months to buy that mek'leth at the gift shop. They slept with it under their pillow that night. I know this because I shared a hotel room with them. I woke up at 3 AM to find them holding it while watching TNG reruns on the hotel TV.

Kids are weird. I love them.

Right then. MY TURN.

Capoeira.

The Spawn sister wasn't just kicking. She was moving. Like she'd been doing it for years. Like she'd been practicing in her living room in San Francisco, waiting for the perfect moment to show off.

And she found that moment. In Las Vegas. In 1998. In a Chapel costume. At a Star Trek attraction.

That's not chaos. That's confidence.

And I, a 13-year-old British Jewish lesbian army cadet photographer, was lucky enough to capture it on my Canon PowerShot 350.

So here's the thing about Spawn and Star Trek.

I remember watching the Spawn HBO series on a bootleg VHS that my cousin sent from America. The quality was terrible. The tracking was off. The audio was muffled.

And I didn't care. Because it was SPAWN. It was dark and violent and beautiful, and it changed what I thought animation could do. The show won an Emmy in 1999 for Outstanding Animation Program. It ran on HBO from 1997 to 1999. And it was everything.

Star Trek gave me hope. Spawn gave me permission to be angry.

You need both.

"Las Vegas, 1998. One sibling came for the Starfleet, the other for the Hellspawn. Both came correct. The Briton behind the lens just wanted them in focus before the slot machines ate her last quarter."

"One wants to explore the Gamma Quadrant. The other wants to watch Al Simmons crawl out of Hell. Vegas, 1998 — family vacations were never boring — especially when the 13-year-old British photographer is yelling 'Cheeky smile, you two!' in a Brummie accent mid-capoeira kick."

Fun fact: The 15-year-old Spawn cosplayer from SF was 5'7" in 1998. Her 11-year-old nonbinary sibling, dressed as DS9 Starfleet officer, was 5'0". I was 13 and standing at 5'3".

We looked like a walking geometry problem and we OWNED it.

Also, for the record:

I am still a lesbian.

I am still bisexual.

I am still she/they.

I am still Jewish.

I am still a photographer.

I am still obsessed with Todd McFarlane's Spawn.

And I am STILL a Trekkie.

You can be both. The siblings taught me that.

One more thing.

The 15-year-old girl who dressed as Chapel bears an uncanny resemblance to actress Ruby Barnhill (The BFG). Her 11-year-old nonbinary sibling bears an uncanny resemblance to actor Joel Dawson (Mary Poppins Returns).

In fact, Ruby Barnhill is a British actress born 16 July 2004 in Knutsford, Cheshire. She played Sophie in Spielberg's The BFG in 2016. Joel Dawson is a British actor and singer who played Georgie Banks in Mary Poppins Returns.

Life imitates art imitates everything.

Bab, I still HAVE the Canon PowerShot 350. It's in a box under my bed. It still works. The photos from 1998 are still on the original film — I got them digitized in 2015.

The camera is older than some of the people reading this post. And it's still kickin'.

Like capoeira. Like Spawn. Like Star Trek.

Some things don't die. They just evolve.

So here's to capoeira. Here's to Spawn. Here's to Star Trek. And here's to doing the thing you love, even if it looks ridiculous to everyone else.

שלום (Shalom) — היי (Hei) — こんにちは (Konnichiwa) — hej då (Hej då) — פאַרביש (Farbeysh) — cheers, bab.

— Trixie 🌈📸🖖💀

P.S. — I can confirm that I did, in fact, spend my 13th birthday week in Las Vegas taking photos of two American siblings cosplaying as Spawn and Starfleet while I was supposed to be doing cadet drills in my head. My parents were thrilled.

P.P.S. — The mek'leth was purchased at the Star Trek: The Experience gift shop. The Trekkie sibling saved up their allowance for three months to buy it. They still have it. I know because I visited them in San Francisco in 2019 and it was on their bookshelf next to a signed photo of Avery Brooks.

P.P.P.S. — If you're wondering about the capoeira: the Spawn sister is now a capoeira instructor in Oakland. The Trekkie sibling is a Star Trek fan fiction writer with 40,000 followers on AO3. And I'm still taking photos.

Some things don't change. They just get better.

📸 THE PHOTO THAT STARTED IT ALL

![Image: Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, aged 12, 1997 — a tiny queer Jewish army cadet with a bad haircut and a Polaroid camera already in her hands]

that‘s me, bab. 1997. Already a menace. Already a vegetarian (since age 2). Already had a Polaroid in my hand because my dad — Tommy Kimmelman, photojournalist for NME, The Face, i-D, Select, Dazed & Confused — gave me my first camera at 10.

![Image: 13-year-old Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, at Deep Space Nine, holding her Canon PowerShot 350 and a British flag]

and that‘s me, bab. 5 February 1998. Las Vegas. Deep Space Nine. British flag in one hand, Canon PowerShot 350 in the other. Grin that says "I can‘t believe I‘m here."

📖 THE 60‑SECOND BIO (because some of you asked — updated with 4 passports!)

Name: Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson (née Kimmelman) Born: 4 February 1985, Birmingham, UK Now: 41, Southend‑on‑Sea, Essex Height then/now: 5‘3" (1998), 5‘8" now (grew 5 inches, don‘t ask) Passports: British, Swedish, Japanese, Israeli (yes, FOUR) Languages: Brummie (native), Swedish (from mum Karla), Hebrew & Yiddish (from dad Tommy & grandparents), Japanese (for my grandmother Kumiko), RP English (for galleries) Army Cadet Force: Joined 1994 at 9, still a senior volunteer Vegetarian since: age 2. Famous 1993 Birmingham Mail quote: "I ain‘t keen on meat, don‘t like seafood neither, and pork? Forget it! I‘m a veggie for life, and I‘m well into me fruits too." Also: gluten‑free, dairy‑free, vegan meals, no alcohol, no drugs, no smoking, no cannibalism (obviously) Sexuality: lesbian & bisexual, she/they Religion: Reform Judaism (born Orthodox Ashkenazi, converted at 12 after bat mitzvah) Job: photojournalist for 30+ years (since 1995) — NME, The Face, i‑D, Select, AnOther, Dazed & Confused, LIFE Magazine, Polyester, Melody Maker Fandoms: Star Trek (TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, movies 1979‑1998), Spawn/Todd McFarlane, capoeira, fashion, hipsters, video games Obsessions: my Canon PowerShot 350 (still works), photographing capoeiristas, my niece Libby, and telling this story.

💬 OPENING GREETINGS (70+ accents, because why not)

AMERICAN: "Hey y‘all!" — Southern "Wagwan, nerds!" — AAVE "AYO, LISTEN UP!" — NYC English "Helloooo, Bay Area, hella glad you‘re here!" — Californian / San Francisco "Ope, just gonna sneak past ya real quick — hi there." — Midland American "HELLO FROM BEANTOWN, KID." — Boston "Mais yeah, bonjour, cher!" — Cajun "Hey hey, fam." — Gullah "Howdy, partners!" — Texan "Good afternoon, darlings." — Mid‑Atlantic "Hey there, bless your hearts." — Appalachian "Eh, howzit, bruddah?" — Hawaiian Pidgin "Welcome to Las Vegas, baby!" — Vegas "What‘s cookin‘, Utah?" — Utah "How‘s it goin‘, Arizona?" — Arizona "Yinz ready for this?" — Pittsburgh "Hey dere, from Chicago!" — Chicago "Aw, dawlin‘!" — Yat (New Orleans) "Well, I declare." — Tidewater "Uff da, hey there!" — Upper Midwestern "See ya later, friend!" — Inland Northern American "Take care, neighbor!" — Pacific Northwest

BRITISH & IRISH: "Alright, my loves — it‘s me, Beatrice. Brummie now, brace yourselves, bab." — Brummie "Good afternoon, everyone. I‘m Beatrice Thorson, your queer Jewish photographer." — RP English "Wagwan, fam! Man‘s here for Spawn x Trek, you get me?" — Multicultural London English "Howay, mate, this photo‘s canny brilliant, like." — Geordie "Cor blimey, that‘s a proper photo, innit?" — Cockney "Yer gorra be jokin‘, that capoeira kick‘s mint, that." — Mancunian "Aye, reet grand, this is." — Yorkshire "G‘day (I‘m not Australian), that‘s a proper job, me‘ans." — West Country "Sound as a pound, la." — Scouse "Yam alright, bab? That‘s a boss photo." — Black Country "Gonnae no dae that? Actually, dae it. Pure dead brilliant." — Glaswegian "Bout ye, big lad? Cracker of a photo, so it is." — Ulster "Shwmae, popeth yn iawn? Llongyfarchiadau!" — Welsh "Wasson, me‘ans? Proper job, this is." — Cornish "Ah, ‘ark at ‘ee, that‘s a gert lush photo." — Bristolian "How do, it‘s reet nice to see a Spawn fan in Vegas." — Lancashire "Hey up, duck — champion photo." — East Midlands "Are ye afcøre? That‘s a braw picture." — Doric "Y‘alright, me old cock sparrow? Proper nostalgic." — Essex / Estuary "Cushdy, la — fuckin‘ mint." — Smoggie "Wey aye, man, that‘s a belter." — Mackem "Divvn‘t be radgie, champion." — Pitmatic "Oooh, ‘allo from the Isle of Man, that‘s grand!" — Manx "Ah, that‘s a rare oul‘ photograph, so it is." — Hiberno "Be yew‘ll ‘ave a gert time lookin‘ at this." — Dorset "How cool is that, then? Very cool." — Norfolk "That‘s a proper job, that is." — Suffolk "Gor blimey, piece of cake, innit." — Kentish "Ah, lovely jubbly." — Sussex "Ooh arr, that‘s a beauty." — Somerset "C‘est très bien, mais je parle anglais: that‘s from Gibraltar, cheers!" — Gibraltarian

AND FINALLY, BEATRICE‘S OTHER LANGUAGES: "Hej, hej! Beatrice här. Jag gillar den här bilden." — Swedish "שלום, אני בטריס. התמונה הזאת מדהימה." — Hebrew "אוי וויי, אַזאַ שיינע פאָטאָ." — Yiddish "こんにちは、ベアトリスです。この写真は素晴らしいです。" — Japanese

📖 THE LONG STORY: VEGAS 98 (Brummie + RP, with a lot of heart)

Right then. 4 February 1998, 09:30 GMT. I turned 13 at Mildred‘s restaurant in Soho, London — vegetarian, kosher‑friendly, best halloumi burger in the city. My British colleagues from Birmingham, London, and Southend‑on‑Sea (mostly Army Cadet Force, Sea Cadets, Royal Marines Cadets) threw me a proper birthday meal. Three hours later, we booked a flight to Las Vegas with British Airways and a "luxe hotel room" at the Las Vegas Hilton. We landed at McCarran International Airport at 14:00 Pacific Time.

(Quick history: McCarran was named after Pat McCarran, a U.S. Senator who was xenophobic, racist, and antisemitic — he blocked Jewish refugees after the Holocaust and made anti‑Semitic remarks about Roosevelt‘s judicial nominees. In 2021 they renamed it Harry Reid International Airport. Good riddance.)

On 5 February 1998, I walked outside the Hilton and met the two people who would change my life.

Left: the 15‑year‑old “SF Spawn Girl”. 5'7", lesbian, hardcore Spawn fan. Dressed as Chapel — the bloke who murdered Al Simmons (Spawn) with a flamethrower. Holding two Spawn comics (#1 1992, #8 1993) and a 1994 McFarlane Toys Spawn figurine. And doing a capoeira kick in the middle of the Las Vegas Hilton. Because most Brits do capoeira while traveling? I‘m British. I don‘t. But she did. Glorious.

Center: her sibling, the 11‑year‑old “Mini San‑Fran‑Sisko Kid”. 5'0", nonbinary, Trekkie through and through. Wearing a Deep Space 9 Starfleet uniform (First Contact/DS9 era). In one photo they‘re holding a Playmates Captain Picard toy (bought 1994 at a thrift shop in Oakland). In the other, a mek‘leth — a Klingon sword (bought 1996 at the same thrift shop). Doing a peace pose like they just saved the Alpha Quadrant.

Right: me, 5'3", holding my Canon PowerShot 350 (bought 1997, still works). Jeans, t‑shirt, no cosplay, just vibes. And a falafel wrap in my bag.

I yelled "Cheeky smile, you two!" in my thickest Brummie accent. They posed. I clicked. History.

💬 THE TUMBLR THREAD — SELECTED HITS

@sjcringe-queen (SF accent): “hella obsessed. 13‑year‑old British army cadet with a camera? BEATRICE SAID ‘I WILL MAKE THE MOST ICONIC PHOTOGRAPH OF THE 1990s’ AND SHE DID.”

@aave-and-enterprise (AAVE): “Wait. A 5'7" 15‑year‑old Spawn fan did a capoeira kick in a CHAPEL COSTUME. And a 5'3" 13‑year‑old British lesbian army cadet photographed it. At Quark‘s bar. In Las Vegas. In 1998. This is not a photo. This is a prophecy.”

@nyc-nerd-92 (NYC): “AYO. British lesbian Jewish ARMY CADET photojournalist with a dad from NME, FOUR passports, SIX languages, vegetarian since 2, and she took the most iconic crossover photo of the decade? I need a documentary. THIS IS UNREAL.”

@las-vegas-local-98 (Vegas): “As someone who grew up in Vegas, the Hilton was THE spot. A Spawn cosplayer doing capoeira at Quark‘s bar is the most Vegas thing I‘ve ever seen.”

@geordie-trekkie (Newcastle): “Howay, man, this is canny brilliant! Spawn fan doin‘ a capoeira kick and a Trekkie wi‘ a mek‘leth? And a Brummie lass takin‘ the photo? Proper champion.”

@scouse-spawn-head (Liverpool): “Sound as a pound, la. This photo‘s boss. The Spawn sister dressed as Chapel — the fella who topped Al Simmons — doin‘ a capoeira kick. And Beatrice, you‘re a ledge.”

@cockney-geek-lad (London): “Cor blimey, that‘s a proper photo, innit. A Spawn cosplayer, a Trekkie, and a Brummie photographer walk into a Star Trek bar… sounds like a bad joke, but it‘s real life.”

@glaswegian-queer-cadet (Glasgow): “Pure dead brilliant. A wee Jewish lassie frae Birmingham, ACF, vegetarian, FOUR passports, takin‘ the most iconic photo of the 90s. And her niece is on Tumblr too? That‘s class.”

@welsh-dragon-trek (Wales): “Shwmae! Llongyfarchiadau! A Spawn fan doing capoeira? A Trekkie with a Klingon sword? A Brummie photographer with FOUR passports and a love for fruit? Bendigedig.”

@cornish-pasty-geek (Cornwall): “Wasson, me‘ans? Proper job. A Chapel costume? DS9 uniform? Canon PowerShot 350? A vegetarian Jewish lesbian behind the lens with FOUR passports? That‘s gert lush.”

@black-country-brummie-ally (Black Country): “Yam alright, bab? That‘s a boss photo. I‘m from the Black Country, I know a Brummie accent when I hear one. You‘ve done the West Midlands proud.”

@smoggie-spawn-fan (Teesside): “Cushdy, la — fuckin‘ mint. A 15‑year‑old lass dressed as Chapel doin‘ a capoeira kick in Vegas? And you captured it. That‘s proper lush.”

@mackem-trek-nerd (Sunderland): “Wey aye, man, that‘s a belter. Never seen a Spawn cosplayer at a Star Trek thing, but now I want to.”

@pitmatic-lad (Durham/Northumberland): “Divvn‘t be radgie, champion. Chapel costume? DS9 uniform? Capoeira kick? Canon PowerShot 350? FOUR passports? I love it.”

@scots-doric-doric (North East Scotland): “Are ye afcøre? That‘s a braw picture. A wee lass frae Birmingham takin‘ photos of Americans in Vegas. Vegetarian, SIX languages, FOUR passports. Pure dead brilliant.”

@ulster-queer-cadet (Northern Irish): “Bout ye, big lad? Cracker of a photo. Spawn fan doing capoeira? Trekkie with a Picard toy? Brummie photographer in the ACF with FOUR passports? That‘s the most international fandom crossover I‘ve ever seen.”

@manx-marauder (Isle of Man): “Oooh, ‘allo from the Isle of Man. That‘s grand. A British flag at Deep Space Nine. A Canon PowerShot 350. A 13‑year‑old who‘d go on to photograph the world. You‘re a legend, Beatrice.”

@hiberno-queen (Ireland): “Ah, that‘s a rare oul‘ photograph, so it is. A 15‑year‑old in a Chapel costume kicking the air. An 11‑year‑old nonbinary Trekkie holdin‘ a mek‘leth. And a 13‑year‑old Brummie lesbian with a camera, yellin‘ ‘Cheeky smile!‘ Sure that‘s gas.”

@gibraltar-geek (Gibraltar): “C‘est très bien, mais je parle anglais: that‘s from Gibraltar, cheers! A Spawn cosplayer, a Trekkie, and a Brummie photographer walk into a bar in Las Vegas. It sounds like a joke, but it‘s real. And it‘s iconic. Cheers, bab.”

🕺 CAPOEIRA RANT — IN SIX LANGUAGES

BRUMMIE: “Capoeira? I‘m British, bab. We don‘t do capoeira. We queue. We complain about t‘weather. We apologise to people who walk into us. But that Spawn sister? She was moving. Like she‘d been practicing in her living room in San Francisco, waiting for t‘perfect moment. In Las Vegas. In 1998. In a Chapel costume. At a Star Trek attraction. That‘s not chaos. That‘s confidence.”

SWEDISH: “Capoeira? Jag är brittisk, bab. Vi gör inte capoeira. Vi står i kö. Vi klagar på vädret. Vi ber om ursäkt till människor som går in i oss. Men den där Spawn-systern? Hon rörde sig. Som om hon hade övat i sitt vardagsrum i San Francisco och väntat på det perfekta ögonblicket. I Las Vegas. 1998. I en Chapel-dräkt. På en Star Trek-attraktion. Det är inte kaos. Det är självförtroende.”

HEBREW: “קפואירה? אני בריטית, בייב. אנחנו לא עושים קפואירה. אנחנו עומדים בתור. אנחנו מתלוננים על מזג האוויר. אנחנו מתנצלים בפני אנשים שנכנסים אלינו. אבל האחות הזאת של ספון? היא זזה. כאילו התאמנה בסלון שלה בסן פרנסיסקו, מחכה לרגע המושלם. בלאס וגאס. 1998. בתחפושת של צ'אפל. באטרקציית סטאר טרק. זה לא כאוס. זה ביטחון עצמי.”

YIDDISH: “קאַפּועיראַ? איך בין בריטיש, באַב. מיר טאָן נישט קאַפּועיראַ. מיר שטיין אין שורה. מיר באַקלאָגן זיך וועגן דעם וועטער. מיר באַשולדיקן זיך ביי מענטשן וואָס גייען אַריין אין אונדז. אָבער די ספּאָון שוועסטער? זי האָט זיך באַוועגט. ווי זי האָט געאיבערט אין איר וווינצימער אין סאַן פֿראַנסיסקאָ, געוואַרט אויף דעם שליימעסדיקן מאָמענט. אין לאס וועגאַס. 1998. אין אַ טשאַפּעל קאָסטיום. אין אַ סטאַר טרעק אַטראַקציע. דאָס איז נישט כאַאָס. דאָס איז בטחון.”

JAPANESE: “カポエイラ？私はイギリス人です、ベイビー。私たちはカポエイラをしません。列に並びます。天気の悪口を言います。ぶつかってきた人に謝ります。でもあのスポーンの姉妹？彼女は動いていました。まるでサンフランシスコのリビングルームで何年も練習して、完璧な瞬間を待っていたかのように。ラスベガスで。1998年。チャペルのコスチュームで。スター・トレックのアトラクションで。それは混沌じゃない。それは自信です。”

RP ENGLISH: “Capoeira? I am British, my dear. We do not engage in capoeira. We queue. We complain about the meteorological conditions. We offer apologies to individuals who inadvertently collide with us. However, that Spawn sister? She was in motion. As though she had been practising in her San Francisco drawing‑room, awaiting the opportune moment. In Las Vegas. In 1998. In a Chapel costume. At a Star Trek attraction. That is not chaos. That is confidence.”

Capoeira is universal. So is confidence.

🖖 STAR TREK & 😈 SPAWN RANT (because I have FEELINGS)

STAR TREK gave me hope when I was a closeted lesbian in an Orthodox Jewish household.

Picard taught me that morality matters.

Sisko taught me that you can be angry and still be good.

Janeway taught me that women can be leaders without apologising.

DS9‘s “Rejoined” (1995) gave me a lesbian kiss on screen. I was 10. I didn‘t understand why it made me cry. Now I do.

TOS gave me Kirk and Spock‘s chosen family.

TNG gave me Data, an android who wanted to be human.

VOY gave me Seven of Nine, reclaiming her individuality.

The movies (1979‑1998) — The Motion Picture through Insurrection (Dec 1998, ten months after this photo). We didn‘t know it was coming. Pure fandom. No hype. Just joy.

SPAWN gave me permission to be angry.

Al Simmons was betrayed, murdered, and sent to Hell. And he fought back. Not because he was a hero. Because he had no other choice.

The HBO animated series (1997‑1999) — I watched it on a bootleg VHS my cousin sent from America. The quality was terrible. The tracking was off. The audio was muffled. And I didn‘t care. Because it was SPAWN. Dark, violent, beautiful. It changed what I thought animation could do. (It won an Emmy in 1999, thank you very much.)

Chapel (the guy the 15‑year‑old cosplayed) murdered Al Simmons with a flamethrower. She dressed as the man who killed Spawn. And she did a capoeira kick. That‘s not fandom. That‘s art.

Todd McFarlane‘s art style, the McFarlane Toys figurines, the whole Image Comics revolution — it gave a 13‑year‑old girl permission to be angry in a world that told her to be quiet.

Star Trek gave me hope. Spawn gave me permission to be angry. You need both.

📚 FAMILY HISTORY (the polyglot origin story — now with Japanese passport!)

Paternal grandparents:

Theodore Kimmelman (1924‑2001) — Hasidic rabbi in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Secret Trekkie. Died on 9/11, counselling a young couple in the Twin Towers.

Mildred Hailperin (1927‑2022) — Photographer documenting American Jews from 1948 to 2019. Taught my dad to develop film. Died from COVID‑19 and stroke. I have her Nikon FM2.

From them: Hebrew and Yiddish. Grandpa Theodore spoke Yiddish at home (Poland, before the war). Grandma Mildred taught me Hebrew prayers. By age 3 I could say the Shema in both languages.

Maternal grandparents:

Kumiko Maukonen (1937‑2001) — Japanese WWII evacuee from Burma, lived in Calcutta, moved to Stockholm in 1947. Never talked about her past. Died on 9/11, same day as Theodore. I never met her. I have her photo in a kimono, nervous smile.

Ingvar Maukonen (1928‑2023) — Swedish of Finnish descent. Foreign volunteer with the ACF in London from 1939 to 1950. Returned to Sweden in 1951, worked as a carpenter. Died from long COVID‑19 and Parkinson‘s.

From them: Japanese (Kumiko, via mum Karla) and Swedish (Ingvar). I learned Japanese at 2 from the few words Kumiko passed down. I learned Swedish from Ingvar‘s letters: “Var rädd om dig, mitt barnbarn” — “Take care of yourself, my grandchild.”

Japanese passport: Through my grandmother Kumiko, I was able to claim Japanese citizenship. It took years of paperwork, and I had to renounce nothing (Japan allows dual citizenship for those born with it). I hold my Japanese passport with pride — it connects me to a grandmother I never met, a language I learned to speak for her, and a culture that survived war, displacement, and silence.

From mum Karla (Swedish‑born travel photographer) and dad Tommy (American‑born photojournalist): the cameras. Polaroid at 10. Canon PowerShot 350 at 12. And the belief that photography is a form of prayer.

From the streets of Birmingham and the galleries of London: Brummie and RP.

Four passports. Six languages. One chaotic bisexual Jew.

🌈 FINAL THOUGHTS — IN SIX LANGUAGES

BRUMMIE: “Right then. That‘s enough outta me. Take care of yourselves, bab. Hejdå, shalom, sayonara, and cheers. Eat your fruit. I‘m serious.”

SWEDISH: “Hej då, mina vänner. Ta hand om er. Vi ses. Och ät din frukt. Jag är allvarlig.”

HEBREW: “להתראות, חברים שלי. תשמרו על עצמכם. נתראה. ותאכלו את הפירות שלכם. אני רצינית.”

YIDDISH: “זײַ געזונט, מײַנע פֿריינט. זאָרגט פֿאַר זיך. זען אייך שפּעטער. און עסט אײַער פֿרוכט. איך בין ערנסט.”

JAPANESE: “さようなら、友達よ。お元気で。また会いましょう。そして果物を食べてください。本当です。”

RP ENGLISH: “Farewell, my dear companions. Do take care of yourselves. Until we meet again. And do consume your fruit. I am entirely sincere.”

🎬 BEATRICE‘S FINAL SIGN‑OFF (all six languages, one last time)

BRUMMIE: “Bab, you‘ve made it. Y‘am in America. Y‘am got a camera. Y‘am got a flag. An‘ there‘s a Klingon sword in t‘gift shop wi‘ yower name on it. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.”

SWEDISH: “Bab, du har klarat det. Du är i Amerika. Du har en kamera. Du har en flagga. Och det finns ett klingonskt svärd i presentbutiken med ditt namn på. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.”

HEBREW: “באב, הצלחת. את באמריקה. יש לך מצלמה. יש לך דגל. ויש חרב קלינגונית בחנות המתנות עם שמך עליה. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.”

YIDDISH: “באַב, דו האָסט עס געמאַכט. דו ביסט אין אַמעריקע. דו האָסט אַ אַפּאַראַט. דו האָסט אַ פֿאָן. און ס‘איז דאָ אַ קלינגאָניש שווערט אין דער גיפט קראָם מיט דײַן נאָמען אויף אים. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.”

JAPANESE: “ベイビー、やったね。あなたはアメリカにいる。カメラを持っている。旗を持っている。そしてお土産屋さんにあなたの名前が刻まれたクリンゴンの剣がある。Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.”

RP ENGLISH: “My dear girl, you have succeeded. You find yourself in the United States of America. You are in possession of a camera. You are holding a flag. And there is, in the gift shop, a Klingon mek‘leth bearing your name. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.”

🖖 LIVE LONG AND PROSPER. 😈 AND IF YOU GO TO HELL, MAKE SURE YOU COME BACK.

HELLA LOVE FROM SOUTHEND‑ON‑SEA. BYE Y‘ALL. 🏳️‍🌈📸

P.S. Eat your fruit. I‘m serious. P.P.S. Libby, thank you for digitising my negatives. You‘re the reason this story lives on. P.P.P.S. The Canon PowerShot 350 is on my desk right now. It still works. It‘s older than most of you reading this. And it‘s still kickin‘. Like capoeira. Like Spawn. Like Star Trek. Some things don‘t die. They just evolve. P.P.P.P.S. Four passports. Six languages. One photo. One life. Make it count.

#spawn x star trek #las vegas 98 #star trek the experience #todd mcfarlane forever #gene roddenberry forever #queer nerds #sibling goals #1998 core #fandom is family #beatrice thorson #brummie trixie #canon powershot 350 #capoeira in the desert #brummie accent heavy #polyglot #svenska #עברית #יידיש #日本語 #RP #fourpassports #british #swedish #japanese #israeli #vegetarian since 2 #im well into me fruits #no cannibalism #aunt miriam #libby.thorson.2013 #familyhistory #theodorekimmelman #mildredhailperin #kumikomaukonen #ingvarmaukonen #september11 #neverforget #no crumbs left

[END OF COMPLETE CHAOTIC MASTERPOST — I MEAN IT THIS TIME, BAB]

2nd take

brummie-bea · 2/5/26 — THE COMPLETE CHAOTIC MASTERPOST (with FULL TRANSLITERATIONS for Hebrew, Yiddish & Japanese)

TITLE: From Birmingham to Vegas: How a Queer Jewish Vegetarian Army Cadet Became the Accidental Archivist of Spawn x Star Trek (The Polyglot Director‘s Cut — Now with 4 Passports & Full Romanizations)

#spawn x star trek #las vegas 98 #star trek the experience #1998 core #queer as a warpcore breach #BEATRICE TAKES THE WHEEL #ds9 truther #todd mcfarlane #chapel #capoeira in the desert #brummie accent heavy #vegetarian since 2 #britishflag #deepspacenine #westgate #canonpowershot350 #polyglot #svenska #עברית #יידיש #日本語 #RP #fourpassports

📸 THE PHOTO THAT STARTED IT ALL

![Image: Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, aged 12, 1997 — a tiny queer Jewish army cadet with a bad haircut and a Polaroid camera already in her hands]

that‘s me, bab. 1997. Already a menace. Already a vegetarian (since age 2). Already had a Polaroid in my hand because my dad — Tommy Kimmelman, photojournalist for NME, The Face, i-D, Select, Dazed & Confused — gave me my first camera at 10.

![Image: 13-year-old Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, at Deep Space Nine, holding her Canon PowerShot 350 and a British flag]

and that‘s me, bab. 5 February 1998. Las Vegas. Deep Space Nine. British flag in one hand, Canon PowerShot 350 in the other. Grin that says "I can‘t believe I‘m here."

📖 THE 60‑SECOND BIO (because some of you asked — updated with 4 passports & full language info)

Name: Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson (née Kimmelman) Born: 4 February 1985, Birmingham, UK Now: 41, Southend‑on‑Sea, Essex Height then/now: 5‘3" (1998), 5‘8" now (grew 5 inches, don‘t ask) Passports: British, Swedish, Japanese, Israeli (yes, FOUR) Languages: Brummie (native), Swedish, Hebrew, Yiddish, Japanese, RP English Army Cadet Force: Joined 1994 at 9, still a senior volunteer Vegetarian since: age 2. Famous 1993 Birmingham Mail quote: "I ain't keen on meat, don't like seafood neither, and pork? Forget it! I'm a veggie for life, and I'm well into me fruits too." Also: gluten‑free, dairy‑free, vegan meals, no alcohol, no drugs, no smoking, no cannibalism (obviously) Sexuality: lesbian & bisexual, she/they Religion: Reform Judaism (born Orthodox Ashkenazi, converted at 12 after bat mitzvah) Job: photojournalist for 30+ years (since 1995) — NME, The Face, i‑D, Select, AnOther, Dazed & Confused, LIFE Magazine, Polyester, Melody Maker Fandoms: Star Trek (TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, movies 1979‑1998), Spawn/Todd McFarlane, capoeira, fashion, hipsters, video games Obsessions: my Canon PowerShot 350 (still works), photographing capoeiristas, my niece Libby, and telling this story.

🗣️ LANGUAGE KEY (because you asked for romanizations) Language Script Romanization System Hebrew עברית Standard Israeli Hebrew transliteration (as used on Israeli road signs) Yiddish ייִדיש YIVO standard romanization Japanese 日本語 Hepburn romanization (macrons for long vowels: ō, ū, etc.)

💬 OPENING GREETINGS (70+ accents, because why not)

AMERICAN: "Hey y'all!" — Southern "Wagwan, nerds!" — AAVE "AYO, LISTEN UP!" — NYC English "Helloooo, Bay Area, hella glad you're here!" — Californian / San Francisco "Ope, just gonna sneak past ya real quick — hi there." — Midland American "HELLO FROM BEANTOWN, KID." — Boston "Mais yeah, bonjour, cher!" — Cajun "Hey hey, fam." — Gullah "Howdy, partners!" — Texan "Good afternoon, darlings." — Mid‑Atlantic "Hey there, bless your hearts." — Appalachian "Eh, howzit, bruddah?" — Hawaiian Pidgin "Welcome to Las Vegas, baby!" — Vegas "What's cookin', Utah?" — Utah "How's it goin', Arizona?" — Arizona "Yinz ready for this?" — Pittsburgh "Hey dere, from Chicago!" — Chicago "Aw, dawlin'!" — Yat (New Orleans) "Well, I declare." — Tidewater "Uff da, hey there!" — Upper Midwestern "See ya later, friend!" — Inland Northern American "Take care, neighbor!" — Pacific Northwest

BRITISH & IRISH: "Alright, my loves — it's me, Beatrice. Brummie now, brace yourselves, bab." — Brummie "Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Beatrice Thorson, your queer Jewish photographer." — RP English "Wagwan, fam! Man's here for Spawn x Trek, you get me?" — Multicultural London English "Howay, mate, this photo's canny brilliant, like." — Geordie "Cor blimey, that's a proper photo, innit?" — Cockney "Yer gorra be jokin', that capoeira kick's mint, that." — Mancunian "Aye, reet grand, this is." — Yorkshire "G'day (I'm not Australian), that's a proper job, me'ans." — West Country "Sound as a pound, la." — Scouse "Yam alright, bab? That's a boss photo." — Black Country "Gonnae no dae that? Actually, dae it. Pure dead brilliant." — Glaswegian "Bout ye, big lad? Cracker of a photo, so it is." — Ulster "Shwmae, popeth yn iawn? Llongyfarchiadau!" — Welsh "Wasson, me'ans? Proper job, this is." — Cornish "Ah, 'ark at 'ee, that's a gert lush photo." — Bristolian "How do, it's reet nice to see a Spawn fan in Vegas." — Lancashire "Hey up, duck — champion photo." — East Midlands "Are ye afcøre? That's a braw picture." — Doric "Y'alright, me old cock sparrow? Proper nostalgic." — Essex / Estuary "Cushdy, la — fuckin' mint." — Smoggie "Wey aye, man, that's a belter." — Mackem "Divvn't be radgie, champion." — Pitmatic "Oooh, 'allo from the Isle of Man, that's grand!" — Manx "Ah, that's a rare oul' photograph, so it is." — Hiberno "Be yew'll 'ave a gert time lookin' at this." — Dorset "How cool is that, then? Very cool." — Norfolk "That's a proper job, that is." — Suffolk "Gor blimey, piece of cake, innit." — Kentish "Ah, lovely jubbly." — Sussex "Ooh arr, that's a beauty." — Somerset "C'est très bien, mais je parle anglais: that's from Gibraltar, cheers!" — Gibraltarian

AND FINALLY, BEATRICE'S OTHER LANGUAGES (with romanizations): Language Original Romanization Swedish "Hej, hej! Beatrice här. Jag gillar den här bilden." (no romanization needed — Latin script) Hebrew "שלום, אני בטריס. התמונה הזאת מדהימה.""Shalom, ani Beatrice. Hatmuna hazot madhima." Yiddish "אוי וויי, אַזאַ שיינע פאָטאָ.""Oy vey, aza sheyne foto." Japanese "こんにちは、ベアトリスです。この写真は素晴らしいです。""Konnichiwa, Beatorisu desu. Kono shashin wa subarashii desu."

🕺 CAPOEIRA RANT — IN SIX LANGUAGES (with romanizations)

BRUMMIE: "Capoeira? I'm British, bab. We don't do capoeira. We queue. We complain about t'weather. We apologise to people who walk into us. But that Spawn sister? She was moving. Like she'd been practicing in her living room in San Francisco, waiting for t'perfect moment. In Las Vegas. In 1998. In a Chapel costume. At a Star Trek attraction. That's not chaos. That's confidence."

SWEDISH: "Capoeira? Jag är brittisk, bab. Vi gör inte capoeira. Vi står i kö. Vi klagar på vädret. Vi ber om ursäkt till människor som går in i oss. Men den där Spawn-systern? Hon rörde sig. Som om hon hade övat i sitt vardagsrum i San Francisco och väntat på det perfekta ögonblicket. I Las Vegas. 1998. I en Chapel-dräkt. På en Star Trek-attraktion. Det är inte kaos. Det är självförtroende."

HEBREW: "קפואירה? אני בריטית, בייב. אנחנו לא עושים קפואירה. אנחנו עומדים בתור. אנחנו מתלוננים על מזג האוויר. אנחנו מתנצלים בפני אנשים שנכנסים אלינו. אבל האחות הזאת של ספון? היא זזה. כאילו התאמנה בסלון שלה בסן פרנסיסקו, מחכה לרגע המושלם. בלאס וגאס. 1998. בתחפושת של צ'אפל. באטרקציית סטאר טרק. זה לא כאוס. זה ביטחון עצמי." Romanization: "Capoeira? Ani britit, beib. Anachnu lo osim capoeira. Anachnu omdim b'tor. Anachnu mitlonenim al mezeg ha'avir. Anachnu mitnatzelem bifnei anashim shenichnasim eleinu. Aval ha'achot hazot shel Spawn? Hi zaza. Ke'ilu hitamna basalon shelah b'San Francisco, mechakah larega hamushlam. B'Las Vegas. 1998. B'tachposhet shel Chapel. B'attraktsia shel Star Trek. Ze lo kaos. Ze bitachon atzmi."

YIDDISH: "קאַפּועיראַ? איך בין בריטיש, באַב. מיר טאָן נישט קאַפּועיראַ. מיר שטיין אין שורה. מיר באַקלאָגן זיך וועגן דעם וועטער. מיר באַשולדיקן זיך ביי מענטשן וואָס גייען אַריין אין אונדז. אָבער די ספּאָון שוועסטער? זי האָט זיך באַוועגט. ווי זי האָט געאיבערט אין איר וווינצימער אין סאַן פֿראַנסיסקאָ, געוואַרט אויף דעם שליימעסדיקן מאָמענט. אין לאס וועגאַס. 1998. אין אַ טשאַפּעל קאָסטיום. אין אַ סטאַר טרעק אַטראַקציע. דאָס איז נישט כאַאָס. דאָס איז בטחון." Romanization: "Capoeira? Ikh bin british, bab. Mir ton nisht capoeira. Mir shteyn in shure. Mir baklogen zikh vegn dem veter. Mir bashuldikn zikh bay mentshn vos geyen areyn in undz. Ober di Spawn shvester? Zi hot zikh bavegt. Vi zi hot geibt in ir voyntsimer in San Francisco, gevart oyf dem sheymeysdikn moment. In Las Vegas. 1998. In a Chapel kostyum. In a Star Trek atraksye. Dos iz nisht khaos. Dos iz bitokhn."

JAPANESE: "カポエイラ？私はイギリス人です、ベイビー。私たちはカポエイラをしません。列に並びます。天気の悪口を言います。ぶつかってきた人に謝ります。でもあのスポーンの姉妹？彼女は動いていました。まるでサンフランシスコのリビングルームで何年も練習して、完璧な瞬間を待っていたかのように。ラスベガスで。1998年。チャペルのコスチュームで。スター・トレックのアトラクションで。それは混沌じゃない。それは自信です。" Romanization: "Kapoeira? Watashi wa Igirisu-jin desu, beibī. Watashitachi wa kapoeira o shimasen. Retsu ni narabimasu. Tenki no waruguchi o iimasu. Butsukatte kita hito ni ayamarimasu. Demo ano Spōn no shimai? Kanojo wa ugoite imashita. Marude San Furanshisuko no ribingurūmu de nannen mo renshū shite, kanpeki na shunkan o matte ita ka no yō ni. Rasu Begasu de. 1998-nen. Chaperu no kosuchūmu de. Sutā Trekku no atorakushon de. Sore wa konton janai. Sore wa jishin desu."

RP ENGLISH: "Capoeira? I am British, my dear. We do not engage in capoeira. We queue. We complain about the meteorological conditions. We offer apologies to individuals who inadvertently collide with us. However, that Spawn sister? She was in motion. As though she had been practising in her San Francisco drawing‑room, awaiting the opportune moment. In Las Vegas. In 1998. In a Chapel costume. At a Star Trek attraction. That is not chaos. That is confidence."

Capoeira is universal. So is confidence.

🖖 STAR TREK & 😈 SPAWN RANT (because I have FEELINGS)

STAR TREK gave me hope when I was a closeted lesbian in an Orthodox Jewish household.

Picard taught me that morality matters.

Sisko taught me that you can be angry and still be good.

Janeway taught me that women can be leaders without apologising.

DS9's "Rejoined" (1995) gave me a lesbian kiss on screen. I was 10. I didn't understand why it made me cry. Now I do.

TOS gave me Kirk and Spock's chosen family.

TNG gave me Data, an android who wanted to be human.

VOY gave me Seven of Nine, reclaiming her individuality.

The movies (1979‑1998) — The Motion Picture through Insurrection (Dec 1998, ten months after this photo). We didn't know it was coming. Pure fandom. No hype. Just joy.

SPAWN gave me permission to be angry.

Al Simmons was betrayed, murdered, and sent to Hell. And he fought back. Not because he was a hero. Because he had no other choice.

The HBO animated series (1997‑1999) — I watched it on a bootleg VHS my cousin sent from America. The quality was terrible. The tracking was off. The audio was muffled. And I didn't care. Because it was SPAWN. Dark, violent, beautiful. It changed what I thought animation could do. (It won an Emmy in 1999, thank you very much.)

Chapel (the guy the 15‑year‑old cosplayed) murdered Al Simmons with a flamethrower. She dressed as the man who killed Spawn. And she did a capoeira kick. That's not fandom. That's art.

Todd McFarlane's art style, the McFarlane Toys figurines, the whole Image Comics revolution — it gave a 13‑year‑old girl permission to be angry in a world that told her to be quiet.

Star Trek gave me hope. Spawn gave me permission to be angry. You need both.

📚 FAMILY HISTORY (the polyglot origin story — now with Japanese passport!)

Paternal grandparents:

Theodore Kimmelman (1924‑2001) — Hasidic rabbi in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Secret Trekkie. Died on 9/11, counselling a young couple in the Twin Towers.

Mildred Hailperin (1927‑2022) — Photographer documenting American Jews from 1948 to 2019. Taught my dad to develop film. Died from COVID‑19 and stroke. I have her Nikon FM2.

From them: Hebrew and Yiddish. Grandpa Theodore spoke Yiddish at home (Poland, before the war). Grandma Mildred taught me Hebrew prayers. By age 3 I could say the Shema in both languages.

Maternal grandparents:

Kumiko Maukonen (1937‑2001) — Japanese WWII evacuee from Burma, lived in Calcutta, moved to Stockholm in 1947. Never talked about her past. Died on 9/11, same day as Theodore. I never met her. I have her photo in a kimono, nervous smile.

Ingvar Maukonen (1928‑2023) — Swedish of Finnish descent. Foreign volunteer with the ACF in London from 1939 to 1950. Returned to Sweden in 1951, worked as a carpenter. Died from long COVID‑19 and Parkinson's.

From them: Japanese (Kumiko, via mum Karla) and Swedish (Ingvar). I learned Japanese at 2 from the few words Kumiko passed down. I learned Swedish from Ingvar's letters: "Var rädd om dig, mitt barnbarn" — "Take care of yourself, my grandchild."

Japanese passport: Through my grandmother Kumiko, I was able to claim Japanese citizenship. It took years of paperwork, and I had to renounce nothing (Japan allows dual citizenship for those born with it). I hold my Japanese passport with pride — it connects me to a grandmother I never met, a language I learned to speak for her, and a culture that survived war, displacement, and silence.

From mum Karla (Swedish‑born travel photographer) and dad Tommy (American‑born photojournalist): the cameras. Polaroid at 10. Canon PowerShot 350 at 12. And the belief that photography is a form of prayer.

From the streets of Birmingham and the galleries of London: Brummie and RP.

Four passports. Six languages. One chaotic bisexual Jew.

🌈 FINAL THOUGHTS — IN SIX LANGUAGES (with romanizations) Language Original Romanization Brummie"Right then. That's enough outta me. Take care of yourselves, bab. Hejdå, shalom, sayonara, and cheers. Eat your fruit. I'm serious." (no romanization needed — English dialect) Swedish"Hej då, mina vänner. Ta hand om er. Vi ses. Och ät din frukt. Jag är allvarlig." (Latin script) Hebrew"להתראות, חברים שלי. תשמרו על עצמכם. נתראה. ותאכלו את הפירות שלכם. אני רצינית.""Lehitraot, chaverim sheli. Tishmeru al atzmechem. Nitra'eh. Ve'tochlu et ha'peirot shelachem. Ani retzinit."Yiddish"זײַ געזונט, מײַנע פֿריינט. זאָרגט פֿאַר זיך. זען אייך שפּעטער. און עסט אײַער פֿרוכט. איך בין ערנסט.""Zay gezunt, mayne freynt. Zorgt far zikh. Zen aykh shpeter. Un est ayer frukht. Ikh bin ernst."Japanese"さようなら、友達よ。お元気で。また会いましょう。そして果物を食べてください。本当です。""Sayōnara, tomodachi yo. O-genki de. Mata aimashō. Soshite kudamono o tabete kudasai. Hontō desu."RP English"Farewell, my dear companions. Do take care of yourselves. Until we meet again. And do consume your fruit. I am entirely sincere." (no romanization needed — English)

🎬 BEATRICE'S FINAL SIGN‑OFF (all six languages, one last time) Language Original Romanization Brummie"Bab, you've made it. Y'am in America. Y'am got a camera. Y'am got a flag. An' there's a Klingon sword in t'gift shop wi' yower name on it. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever." — Swedish"Bab, du har klarat det. Du är i Amerika. Du har en kamera. Du har en flagga. Och det finns ett klingonskt svärd i presentbutiken med ditt namn på. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever." — Hebrew"באב, הצלחת. את באמריקה. יש לך מצלמה. יש לך דגל. ויש חרב קלינגונית בחנות המתנות עם שמך עליה. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.""Bab, hitzlacht. At b'Amerika. Yesh lach matzlema. Yesh lach degel. V'yesh cherev klingonit bachanut hamatnot im shmecha aleha. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever."Yiddish"באַב, דו האָסט עס געמאַכט. דו ביסט אין אַמעריקע. דו האָסט אַ אַפּאַראַט. דו האָסט אַ פֿאָן. און ס'איז דאָ אַ קלינגאָניש שווערט אין דער גיפט קראָם מיט דײַן נאָמען אויף אים. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.""Bab, du host es gemakht. Du bist in Amerike. Du host a aparat. Du host a fon. Un s'iz do a klingonish shverd in der gift krom mit dayn nomen oyf im. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever."Japanese"ベイビー、やったね。あなたはアメリカにいる。カメラを持っている。旗を持っている。そしてお土産屋さんにあなたの名前が刻まれたクリンゴンの剣がある。Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.""Beibī, yatta ne. Anata wa Amerika ni iru. Kamera o motte iru. Hata o motte iru. Soshite omiyage-san ni anata no namae ga kizamareta Kuringon no ken ga aru. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever."RP English"My dear girl, you have succeeded. You find yourself in the United States of America. You are in possession of a camera. You are holding a flag. And there is, in the gift shop, a Klingon mek'leth bearing your name. Cheeky smile, you two. Forever." —

🖖 LIVE LONG AND PROSPER. 😈 AND IF YOU GO TO HELL, MAKE SURE YOU COME BACK.

HELLA LOVE FROM SOUTHEND‑ON‑SEA. BYE Y'ALL. 🏳️‍🌈📸

P.S. Eat your fruit. I'm serious. P.P.S. Libby, thank you for digitising my negatives. You're the reason this story lives on. P.P.P.S. The Canon PowerShot 350 is on my desk right now. It still works. It's older than most of you reading this. And it's still kickin'. Like capoeira. Like Spawn. Like Star Trek. Some things don't die. They just evolve. P.P.P.P.S. Four passports. Six languages. One photo. One life. Make it count.

#spawn x star trek #las vegas 98 #star trek the experience #todd mcfarlane forever #gene roddenberry forever #queer nerds #sibling goals #1998 core #fandom is family #beatrice thorson #brummie trixie #canon powershot 350 #capoeira in the desert #brummie accent heavy #polyglot #svenska #עברית #יידיש #日本語 #RP #fourpassports #british #swedish #japanese #israeli #vegetarian since 2 #im well into me fruits #no cannibalism #aunt miriam #libby.thorson.2013 #familyhistory #theodorekimmelman #mildredhailperin #kumikomaukonen #ingvarmaukonen #september11 #neverforget #hebrew #yiddish #japanese #romanizations #no crumbs left

In February 1998, my family dragged me to Las Vegas. The same week I turned 13, we ended up at the Las Vegas Hilton, and my parents were like "Beatrice, there's a Star Trek thing here, do you want to take pictures?" And I said "I'm more of a Todd McFarlane girl, actually. The HBO animated series? Won an Emmy in 1999. No? Fine, I'll bring my camera."

And that's when I met them.

The American siblings from San Francisco.

On the left: the older sister, 15, 5'7", hardcore Spawn fan. She's dressed as Chapel — yes, CHAPEL, the bloke who murdered Al Simmons with a flamethrower. She's wearing the red-and-black tactical gear, holding a Spawn comic and a Spawn figurine, and she's doing a capoeira kick in the middle of the Las Vegas Hilton. Because "most Brits do capoeira while traveling," apparently? I'm British. I don't do capoeira. But she did. And it was glorious.

In the center: her sibling, 11, 5'0", nonbinary, Trekkie through and through. Wearing a Deep Space 9 Starfleet uniform from the First Contact/DS9 era. In one photo, they're holding a Playmates Captain Picard toy. In the other, they've switched to a mek'leth — a Klingon sword. They're doing a peace pose like they just stepped off the USS Defiant after a successful mission.

And then there's me. On the right. 5'3", holding my Canon PowerShot 350, documenting the whole thing like the street photographer I was training to be. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, no cosplay, just vibes.

The caption on the photo says:

"Las Vegas, 1998. One sibling came for the Starfleet, the other for the Hellspawn. Both came correct. The Briton behind the lens just wanted them in focus before the slot machines ate her last quarter."

Too right.

Another one says:

"One wants to explore the Gamma Quadrant. The other wants to watch Al Simmons crawl out of Hell. Vegas, 1998 family vacations were never boring — especially when the 13-year-old British photographer is yelling 'Cheeky smile, you two!' in a Brummie accent mid-capoeira kick."

And that's the honest truth.

🎭 STAR TREK RANT (from Beatrice, because I have FEELINGS):

Okay, but can we talk about STAR TREK: INSURRECTION (1998)? The movie came out in December 1998 — ten months after this photo was taken.

So when these siblings were at Star Trek: The Experience in February, they had NO IDEA that a new TNG movie was coming out. They were living in the DS9 era, waiting for Voyager season 4, and just... enjoying the moment.

That's beautiful. That's PURE fandom. No hype, no leaks, no speculation. Just "oh cool, a Star Trek thing, let's go."

We didn't know how good we had it.

And the Playmates Captain Picard toy? ICONIC. That thing was EVERYWHERE in 1998. Every kid I knew had one. It was the Funko Pop of its day, except better because it actually looked like Patrick Stewart.

Also — DS9? UNDERRATED. Everyone was obsessed with TNG, but DS9 was doing the real work. War, religion, moral gray areas. Sisko punching Q. The Dominion. "In the Pale Moonlight." I could write a THESIS on DS9.

But I won't. Because this is a Tumblr post, not a university lecture.

😈 SPAWN RANT (from Beatrice, because I have MORE FEELINGS):

And let's talk about SPAWN. The HBO animated series premiered in 1997. Season 2 came out in 1998 — the SAME YEAR as this photo.

So this 15-year-old girl was watching the Emmy-winning HBO series (yes, it won an Emmy, look it up) while ALSO dressing up as Chapel and going to a Star Trek attraction.

That's not a fan. That's a connoisseur.

I remember watching the Spawn HBO series on a bootleg VHS that my cousin sent from America. The quality was terrible. The tracking was off. The audio was muffled.

And I didn't care. Because it was SPAWN. It was dark and violent and beautiful, and it changed what I thought animation could do.

Star Trek gave me hope. Spawn gave me permission to be angry.

You need both.

🌈 FINAL THOUGHTS (100% LGBTQIA+ content, as promised):

I'm a lesbian. I'm bisexual. I'm she/they. I'm Jewish. I'm a former army cadet. I'm a street photographer. I'm a Spawn fan. I'm a Trekkie.

And I was 5'3" and 13 years old in Las Vegas in 1998, documenting two American siblings — one 5'7" in a Chapel costume doing a capoeira kick, one 5'0" in a DS9 uniform doing a peace pose — at Star Trek: The Experience.

That photo exists because three queer kids from different parts of the world came together in the same place at the same time and made a memory.

And that memory has lasted 28 years.

So here's my advice:

Live long and prosper. 🖖

And if you go to Hell, make sure you come back. 😈

HELLA LOVE FROM SOUTHEND-ON-SEA. BYE Y'ALL. 🏳️‍🌈📸

"Right then. That's enough outta me. Take care of yourselves, bab. And remember — capoeira is brilliant, Star Trek is hope, and Spawn is trauma in a cape. Cheers." — Brummie (British)

"Goodbye, everyone. Thank you for listening to the ramblings of a queer Jewish photographer from Essex. Live long and prosper." — RP English (British)

2nd take...

brummie-bea · 2/5/26

TITLE: Capoeira Kicks, Klingon Swords, and Queer Chaos: How I Became the Accidental Archivist of the Most Iconic Vegas Moment of 1998 (Spawn x Star Trek)

#spawn x star trek #las vegas 98 #star trek the experience #1998 core #queer as a warpcore breach #BEATRICE TAKES THE WHEEL #ds9 truther #todd mcfarlane #chapel #capoeira in the desert #brummie accent heavy #no crumbs left

📸 FIRST, A FLASHBACK: ME, AGE 12, 1997

![Image: Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, aged 12, 1997 — a tiny queer Jewish army cadet with a bad haircut and a Polaroid camera already in her hands, looking slightly feral and ready to document everything]

that's me, bab. Birmingham, 1997. Already a menace. Already a lesbian. Already had a Polaroid in my hand because my dad — Tommy Kimmelman, photojournalist for NME, The Face, i-D, Select, Dazed & Confused, Melody Maker — gave me my first camera at 10. Blame him.

[ OPENING GREETINGS IN 27 ACCENTS ]

"Hey y'all!" — Southern

"Wagwan, nerds!" — AAVE

"AYO, LISTEN UP!" — NYC English

"Helloooo, Bay Area, hella glad you're here!" — Californian / San Francisco accent

"Ope, just gonna sneak past ya real quick — hi there." — Midland American

"HELLO FROM BEANTOWN, KID." — Boston

"Mais yeah, bonjour, cher!" — Cajun

"Hey hey, fam." — Gullah

"Howdy, partners!" — Texan

"Good afternoon, darlings." — Mid-Atlantic

"Hey there, bless your hearts." — Appalachian

"Mornin', neighbor." — Ozark

"Eh, howzit, bruddah?" — Hawaiian Pidgin

"Hey there, neighbor." — Pacific Northwest

"HELLO THERE, FRIEND." — Inland Northern American

"Uff da, hey there!" — Upper Midwestern

"Aw, dawlin', look who's here." — Yat (New Orleans)

"Well, I declare." — Tidewater

"Yinz ready for this?" — Pittsburgh

"Hey dere, from Chicago!" — Chicago

"Alright, my loves — it's me, Beatrice. And I'm speaking Brummie now, so brace yourselves, bab." — Brummie (British)

"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Beatrice Thorson, and I'll be your queer Jewish photographer for this journey." — RP English (British)

📖 THE DIARY ENTRY (Brummie + RP, because I'm fancy like that, and also Swedish/Yiddish/Hebrew when I curse):

Right then. Let me introduce myself properly, because some of you have been asking.

My name is Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson (née Kimmelman). I was born 4 February 1985 to an Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewish family in Birmingham, UK. My birth mother, Karla Kimmelman (born 1957), is a Swedish-born convert to Judaism — so I grew up with Swedish, Hebrew, Yiddish, and English in the house. My birth father, Thomas "Tommy" Kimmelman (born 1954), is an American-born Orthodox Jew who worked as a full-time photojournalist for NME, The Face, i-D, Select, Dazed & Confused, and Melody Maker. Basically, my dad was cooler than your dad. Sorry.

I joined the Army Cadet Force (ACF) in 1994 at 9 years old — yes, a tiny Jewish girl in uniform, learning how to do a proper field strip. I became a lesbian at 12 in 1997, right after my bat mitzvah (thanks, God, for the timing). That same year, I moved from Birmingham to Southend-on-Sea and began practicing Reform Judaism. Despite being legally accepted into the Thorson family (my grandparents on my mum's side), I didn't relocate until 1997.

I started taking photographs in 1995 when my dad gave me my first Polaroid camera. I've been a vegetarian for as long as I can remember. I hold British, Swedish, and Israeli citizenships — three passports, one chaotic bisexual Jew. I never joined the IDF or the Swedish military. I remained a senior volunteer in the ACF and later in community photography programs.

I speak fluent Brummie (obviously), RP English (when I need to sound posh), Swedish (för att min mamma är svensk), Hebrew (אני יהודייה, så ja), and Yiddish (אוי וויי, I save that for when I stub my toe).

I love: LGBTQ+ everything, rock music, techno, IDM, British Army cadets, Star Trek, and Spawn/Todd McFarlane.

My nicknames: Brummie Trixie (BT), Brummie Bea, or just Trixie if you're feeling brave.

Now. Let's talk about February 5, 1998.

THE LAS VEGAS STORY (Brummie accent, emotional):

In February 1998, my family dragged me to Las Vegas. I was 13, turning 14 the day before these photos were taken. We ended up at the Las Vegas Hilton, and my parents were like "Beatrice, there's a Star Trek thing here, do you want to take pictures?" And I said "I'm more of a Todd McFarlane girl, actually. The HBO animated series? Won an Emmy in 1999. No? Fine, I'll bring my Canon PowerShot 350."

And that's when I met them.

The American siblings from San Francisco.

On the left: the older sister, 15, 5'7", hardcore Spawn fan. Dressed as Chapel — the bloke who murdered Al Simmons with a flamethrower. Holding a Spawn comic and a Spawn figurine, doing a capoeira kick in the middle of the Las Vegas Hilton. Because "most Brits do capoeira while traveling," apparently? I'm British. I don't do capoeira. But she did. Glorious.

In the center: her sibling, 11, 5'0", nonbinary, Trekkie through and through. Wearing a Deep Space 9 Starfleet uniform. In one photo, holding a Playmates Captain Picard toy. In the other, a mek'leth — a Klingon sword. Doing a peace pose like they just saved the Alpha Quadrant.

On the right (me): 5'3", holding my Canon PowerShot 350, documenting the whole thing. Jeans, t-shirt, no cosplay, just vibes.

The caption:

"Las Vegas, 1998. One sibling came for the Starfleet, the other for the Hellspawn. Both came correct. The Briton behind the lens just wanted them in focus before the slot machines ate her last quarter."

Another one:

"One wants to explore the Gamma Quadrant. The other wants to watch Al Simmons crawl out of Hell. Vegas, 1998 family vacations were never boring — especially when the 13-year-old British photographer is yelling 'Cheeky smile, you two!' in a Brummie accent mid-capoeira kick."

And that's the honest truth.

💬 THE TUMBLR THREAD (regional US accents + British chaos):

@sjcringe-queen (San Francisco accent, hella shook):

hella obsessed with the fact that a 13-year-old British army cadet with a camera documented this. BEATRICE SAID "I WILL MAKE THIS THE MOST ICONIC PHOTOGRAPH OF THE 1990s" AND THEN SHE DID. no notes. perfect.

Also, the height trivia? 5'7", 5'0", 5'3". A staircase of queer fandom energy.

@aave-and-enterprise (AAVE, warm and laughing):

Wait wait wait. So you're telling me. That a 5'7" 15-year-old Spawn fan. Did a capoeira kick. IN A CHAPEL COSTUME. And a 5'3" 13-year-old British lesbian army cadet with THREE passports. Photographed it. At Quark's bar. In Las Vegas. In 1998.

This is not a photo. This is a prophecy.

@nyc-nerd-92 (NYC English, loud and proud):

AYO. BEATRICE THORSON. You're telling me there was a 13-year-old British lesbian Jewish ARMY CADET photojournalist with a dad who shot for NME and DAZED, who speaks FIVE LANGUAGES, who has THREE citizenships, and she took the most iconic crossover photo of the decade???

I need a movie. I need a documentary. I need a limited series on HBO. THIS IS UNREAL.

Also, the girl on the left looks like Ruby Barnhill from The BFG. The kid in the center looks like Joel Dawson from Mary Poppins Returns. UNCANNY.

@brummie-bea (OP, Beatrice, Brummie + RP):

I can confirm that my dad, Tommy Kimmelman, was genuinely cooler than your dad. He shot album covers for bands you've heard of. He taught me how to frame a shot when I was 10. He also taught me how to develop film in a darkroom, which is why I still have the original negatives from 1998.

Also, yes, I have three passports. It's a nightmare at airport security. But it's useful when I want to yell at people in three different languages.

@texas-yeehaw-trekkie (Texan, drawling):

Well, bless your heart, Beatrice. A British lesbian Jewish army cadet photographer with a Swedish mother, an American father, three passports, and a Canon PowerShot 350. Documenting two San Francisco siblings at Star Trek: The Experience.

That's not just a photo. That's a time capsule of the 1990s. That's queer history. That's fandom history. That's everything.

And the fact that you're vegetarian? Same, hon. Same.

@chicago-deep-dish-nerd (Chicago accent, straight-talking):

Okay, real talk: Star Trek: The Experience opened January 3, 1998. These photos were taken February 5, 1998. ONE MONTH after opening.

And what was inside? Quark's Bar. Klingon Encounter ride. History of the Future Museum with actual props.

And a 5'3" 13-year-old British lesbian Jewish army cadet photographer with a dad from NME was there. With a camera.

That's not a photo. That's a relic.

@queer-midatlantic-mess (Mid-Atlantic, theatrical):

Darling, I am OBSESSED.

A 5'7" 15-year-old Spawn fan dressed as Chapel (murderer of Al Simmons). A 5'0" 11-year-old nonbinary Trekkie in a DS9 uniform. And a 5'3" 13-year-old British Jewish lesbian army cadet photographer who speaks Swedish, Hebrew, Yiddish, and two Englishes, has three passports, and is vegetarian.

Walk into Quark's bar in Las Vegas in 1998.

This is not a joke. This is real life.

@boston-dunkin-dork (Boston accent, no R's):

Holy crap.

The 5'7" girl on the left? Ruby Barnhill. The 5'0" kid in the center? Joel Dawson. I know they're British actors and these kids are American but the RESEMBLANCE is uncanny.

But more importantly: BEATRICE THORSON.

You were 5'3". You were 13. You were in the Army Cadet Force. You were a lesbian photographer from Birmingham who moved to Southend-on-Sea. Your dad shot for Dazed & Confused. You speak five languages. You have three passports. You're vegetarian.

And you documented two American siblings cosplaying as Spawn and Starfleet at a Star Trek attraction that had been open for ONE MONTH.

You are a treasure.

@pacific-north-grungy (Pacific Northwest, chill):

Okay, but can we talk about the contrast?

Star Trek: Hopeful. Scientific. Utopian. Picard gives speeches. DS9 explores moral gray areas.

Spawn: Dark. Violent. Supernatural. Al Simmons got murdered and made a deal with the devil. HBO series won an Emmy in 1999.

And these two siblings—one doing a capoeira kick in a Chapel costume, one doing a peace pose in a DS9 uniform—were together. At a Star Trek attraction. And a multilingual, multi-passport, vegetarian, Jewish, lesbian, army-cadet British photographer took a photo of them.

That's not just fandom. That's community.

@cajun-bayou-nerd (Cajun, lilting):

Mais yeah, I'm lookin' at this photo and I'm thinkin'—dat Chapel costume? She even got the details. And dat British photographer? She got de whole story.

Beatrice Thorson. Birmingham to Southend. Army cadet at 9. Lesbian at 12. Photographer at 10. Three passports. Five languages. Vegetarian. Trekkie. Spawn fan.

Cher, dat's not a person. Dat's a PROTAGONIST.

@gullah-geek-girl (Gullah, rhythmic):

Oh, I see 'em.

Two chillun from San Francisco—one 5'7" in Starfleet, one 5'0" in Hellspawn. And a young British woman behind de lens, 5'3", with three passports and a heart full of queer joy.

And dey STANDIN' together. Smilin'. At a Star Trek attraction. In Las Vegas. In 1998.

Dat's what fandom do. Bring people together. Even when dey come from different continents.

@hawaii-pidgin-geek (Hawaiian Pidgin):

Eh brah, dis da kinda vacation photo dat make you laugh for real.

One sibling like go explore Gamma Quadrant wit Sisko and Dax. One sibling like watch Al Simmons crawl out da crib of Hell. And da British photographer? She like capture da whole thing on her Canon PowerShot 350 — and she got three passports, speaks five languages, and don't eat meat.

FAMILY. 🤙

@upper-midwest-nice-nerd (Upper Midwestern):

Oh, you betcha.

A 5'3" 13-year-old British lesbian Jewish army cadet photographer from Birmingham, now living in Southend-on-Sea, with three passports, five languages, and a vegetarian diet, taking photos of two American siblings cosplaying as Spawn and Starfleet at Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas.

That's just real nice. That's real nice indeed.

@pittsburgh-yinzer-trek (Pittsburgh accent):

Yinz are wild for this and I mean that as the highest compliment.

The Spawn cosplayer? Capoeira kick. The Trekkie? Peace sign. The British photographer? Canon PowerShot 350, three passports, five languages, vegetarian.

And they're all owning it.

This is what happens when you put three queer kids from different parts of the world in the same place at the same time. MAGIC.

@ozark-mountain-nerd (Ozark accent):

Well now, I've been lookin' at this photo for a good while, and I'll tell you what I see:

I see three young people who love different things—Star Trek, Spawn, photography, Judaism, queerness, capoeira, army cadets, Swedish meatballs (probably)—and they came together in Las Vegas in 1998 and made a memory.

And now, 28 years later, that memory is still alive.

That's not just a photo. That's a legacy.

@appalachian-geek-rising (Appalachian accent):

Bless their hearts.

The Spawn fan. The Trekkie. The British lesbian army cadet photographer who speaks five languages and has three passports.

At Quark's bar. At Star Trek: The Experience. One month after it opened.

That's not just cosplay. That's a vibe.

And Beatrice Thorson, you are a hero.

@yat-nola-crescent-geek (Yat/New Orleans accent):

Aw, dawlin', look at 'em.

The American siblings—one 5'7" in Starfleet, one 5'0" in Hellspawn—and the 5'3" British photographer behind the lens. She's got three passports and a Canon PowerShot 350. She speaks Swedish when she's mad and Yiddish when she stubs her toe.

De walk into Quark's bar like dey own da place. De pose for da camera. De make history.

Dat's Las Vegas. Dat's 1998. Dat's family.

@tidewater-trek-nerd (Tidewater accent):

I do declare.

A 5'7" 15-year-old Spawn fan in a Chapel costume, mid-capoeira kick, holding a Spawn figurine.

A 5'0" 11-year-old nonbinary Trekkie in a DS9 uniform, doing a peace pose, holding a mek'leth.

And a 5'3" 13-year-old British Jewish lesbian army cadet photographer from Birmingham, living in Southend-on-Sea, with three passports, five languages, a vegetarian diet, and a Canon PowerShot 350.

At Star Trek: The Experience. One month after it opened.

I do declare, this is the most charming photograph I have ever seen.

@midland-american-normal (Midland American, neutral):

Okay, I just want to say—the caption is perfect. But the real story is Beatrice Thorson.

A 13-year-old with a camera, three passports, five languages, a vegetarian diet, an army cadet background, a dad who shot for NME, a Swedish mum, an American dad, and a love for Spawn and Star Trek.

And she took THE photo.

That's not luck. That's destiny.

@socal-surf-trekkie (Californian English/San Francisco accent mashup):

Okay hella real talk—I grew up in San Francisco in the 90s and this is the most Bay Area sibling energy I've ever seen.

But you know what's even better?

BEATRICE THORSON.

A 5'3" 13-year-old British lesbian Jewish army cadet photographer from Birmingham, living in Southend-on-Sea, with three passports, five languages, a vegetarian diet, a dad from Dazed & Confused, and a Canon PowerShot 350.

She saw two American siblings—one 5'7" in a Chapel costume doing a capoeira kick, one 5'0" in a DS9 uniform doing a peace pose—and she said "I WILL MAKE THIS THE MOST ICONIC PHOTO OF THE 1990s."

And she did.

That's not chaos. That's art.

🕺 CAPOEIRA CORNER (Beatrice's final rant, Brummie + RP):

Right then. Last thing.

Capoeira.

I didn't know what it was in 1998. The Spawn sister tried to explain: "It's a martial art from Brazil. Enslaved people created it to disguise their fighting as dancing."

And I was 13, and I was British, and I said "that's mental" and then I took the photo.

Now I'm 41. I've watched capoeira videos. I've seen the berimbau. I've seen the ginga. I've seen people do moves that look physically impossible.

And I understand now.

Capoeira is about survival. It's about hiding your strength until you need it. It's about turning pain into rhythm.

That's what the Spawn sister was doing. She was in a Chapel costume — the man who murdered Al Simmons — but she was also doing a capoeira kick. She was turning something dark into something beautiful.

That's fandom. That's art. That's life.

So here's to capoeira. Here's to Spawn. Here's to Star Trek. Here's to 1998. Here's to three queer kids in Las Vegas who didn't know they were making history.

They just knew they were having fun.

Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.

📚 BEATRICE ON STAR TREK & SPAWN (RP English, slightly emotional):

Star Trek gave me hope when I was a closeted lesbian in an Orthodox Jewish household. Picard taught me that morality matters. Sisko taught me that you can be angry and still be good. Janeway taught me that women can be leaders without apologising. DS9's "Rejoined" gave me a lesbian kiss on screen in 1995. I was 10. I didn't understand why it made me cry. Now I do.

Spawn gave me permission to be angry. Al Simmons was betrayed, murdered, and sent to Hell. And he fought back. Not because he was a hero. Because he had no other choice. The HBO series showed me that animation could be for adults. That darkness could be beautiful. That trauma could be transformed into power.

You need both. Hope and anger. Light and shadow. Starfleet and Hellspawn.

🌈 FINAL THOUGHTS (100% LGBTQIA+ content, as promised):

I'm a lesbian. I'm bisexual. I'm she/they. I'm Jewish. I'm a former army cadet. I'm a street photographer. I'm a Spawn fan. I'm a Trekkie. I'm vegetarian. I have three passports. I speak five languages. I was 5'3" and 13 years old in Las Vegas in 1998, documenting two American siblings.

That photo exists because three queer kids from different parts of the world came together and made a memory.

And that memory has lasted 28 years.

So here's my advice:

Live long and prosper. 🖖

And if you go to Hell, make sure you come back. 😈

HELLA LOVE FROM SOUTHEND-ON-SEA. BYE Y'ALL. 🏳️‍🌈📸

[FAREWELL IN 27 ACCENTS]

"Bye, y'all!" — Southern

"Peace out, fam!" — AAVE

"LATER, NERDS!" — NYC English

"Hella bye from the Bay!" — Californian / San Francisco accent

"Ope, I'll let ya go. Bye now!" — Midland American

"LATER, KID. GO SOX!" — Boston

"Au revoir, mes amis!" — Cajun

"Later, fam." — Gullah

"See ya later, partner!" — Texan

"Farewell, darlings!" — Mid-Atlantic

"Bye, bless your hearts!" — Appalachian

"See ya 'round, neighbor!" — Ozark

"A hui hou, bruddah!" — Hawaiian Pidgin

"Take care, neighbor!" — Pacific Northwest

"See ya later, friend!" — Inland Northern American

"Uff da, bye now!" — Upper Midwestern

"Bye, dawlin'!" — Yat (New Orleans)

"Goodbye, I declare." — Tidewater

"Yinz take care now, bye!" — Pittsburgh

"Later, from Chicago!" — Chicago

"Right then. That's enough outta me. Take care of yourselves, bab. And remember — capoeira is brilliant, Star Trek is hope, and Spawn is trauma in a cape. Hejdå, shalom, and cheers." — Brummie (British)

"Goodbye, everyone. Thank you for listening to the ramblings of a queer Jewish photographer from Essex. Live long and prosper." — RP English (British)

#spawn x star trek #las vegas 98 #star trek the experience #todd mcfarlane forever #gene roddenberry forever #queer nerds #sibling goals #1998 core #fandom is family #beatrice thorson #brummie trixie #canon powershot 350 #capoeira in the desert #brummie accent heavy #three passports #five languages #vegetarian rights #no crumbs left

[END OF THREAD]

last take...

brummie-bea · 2/5/26

TITLE: Capoeira Kicks, Klingon Swords, and a Vegetarian Jewish Lesbian with Three Passports — How I Became the Accidental Archivist of the Most Iconic Vegas Moment of 1998 (Spawn x Star Trek)

#spawn x star trek #las vegas 98 #star trek the experience #1998 core #queer as a warpcore breach #BEATRICE TAKES THE WHEEL #ds9 truther #todd mcfarlane #chapel #capoeira in the desert #brummie accent heavy #vegetarian since 3 #no crumbs left

📸 FIRST, A FLASHBACK: ME, AGE 12, 1997

![Image: Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, aged 12, 1997 — a tiny queer Jewish army cadet with a bad haircut and a Polaroid camera already in her hands, looking slightly feral, probably talking about capoeira or vegan nuggets]

that's me, bab. Birmingham, 1997. Already a menace. Already a lesbian. Already a vegetarian (since age 3, don't ask). Already had a Polaroid in my hand because my dad — Tommy Kimmelman, photojournalist for NME, The Face, i-D, Select, Dazed & Confused, Melody Maker — gave me my first camera at 10. Blame him.

[ OPENING GREETINGS IN 27 ACCENTS ]

"Hey y'all!" — Southern

"Wagwan, nerds!" — AAVE

"AYO, LISTEN UP!" — NYC English

"Helloooo, Bay Area, hella glad you're here!" — Californian / San Francisco accent

"Ope, just gonna sneak past ya real quick — hi there." — Midland American

"HELLO FROM BEANTOWN, KID." — Boston

"Mais yeah, bonjour, cher!" — Cajun

"Hey hey, fam." — Gullah

"Howdy, partners!" — Texan

"Good afternoon, darlings." — Mid-Atlantic

"Hey there, bless your hearts." — Appalachian

"Mornin', neighbor." — Ozark

"Eh, howzit, bruddah?" — Hawaiian Pidgin

"Hey there, neighbor." — Pacific Northwest

"HELLO THERE, FRIEND." — Inland Northern American

"Uff da, hey there!" — Upper Midwestern

"Aw, dawlin', look who's here." — Yat (New Orleans)

"Well, I declare." — Tidewater

"Yinz ready for this?" — Pittsburgh

"Hey dere, from Chicago!" — Chicago

"Alright, my loves — it's me, Beatrice. And I'm speaking Brummie now, so brace yourselves, bab." — Brummie (British)

"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Beatrice Thorson, and I'll be your queer Jewish vegetarian photographer for this journey." — RP English (British)

📖 THE DIARY ENTRY (Brummie + RP, plus a little Swedish and Yiddish for flavour):

Right then. Let me introduce myself properly, because some of you have been asking — and also because I've been a photojournalist for over 30 years (since 1995, when I was 10, yes I'm old now, 41, deal with it).

My name is Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson (née Kimmelman). I was born 4 February 1985 to an Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewish family in Birmingham, UK. My birth mother, Karla Kimmelman (born 1957), is a Swedish-born convert to Judaism — so I grew up with Swedish, Hebrew, Yiddish, and English in the house. My birth father, Thomas "Tommy" Kimmelman (born 1954), is an American-born Orthodox Jew who worked as a full-time photojournalist for NME, The Face, i-D, Select, Dazed & Confused (DAZED), and Melody Maker. Basically, my dad was cooler than your dad. Sorry.

I joined the Army Cadet Force (ACF) in 1994 at 9 years old — yes, a tiny Jewish girl in uniform, learning how to do a proper field strip. I became a lesbian at 12 in 1997, right after my bat mitzvah (thanks, God, for the timing). That same year, I moved from Birmingham to Southend-on-Sea and began practicing Reform Judaism. Despite being legally accepted into the Thorson family (my grandparents on my mum's side), I didn't relocate until 1997.

I started taking photographs in 1995 when my dad gave me my first Polaroid camera. I've been a vegetarian since age 3. No, really. In a 1993 interview (yes, I was interviewed by Birmingham Mail at 8 years old, because I was a weird kid), I said — in my distinct Brummie accent — and I quote:

"I ain't keen on meat, don't like seafood neither, and pork? Forget it! I'm a veggie for life, and I'm well into me fruits too."

That's still true. I also love gluten-free, dairy-free drinks, and vegan meals. I don't drink alcohol, beer, or do any drugs. And I don't eat people. (Cannibalism? No thanks, bab. I'm Jewish AND vegetarian. That's a double no.)

I hold British, Swedish, and Israeli citizenships — three passports, one chaotic bisexual Jew. I never joined the IDF or the Swedish military. I remained a senior volunteer in the ACF and later in community photography programs.

I speak fluent Brummie (obviously), RP English (when I need to sound posh), Swedish (för att min mamma är svensk), Hebrew (אני יהודייה, אז כן), and Yiddish (אוי וויי, I save that for when I stub my toe).

I love: LGBTQ+ everything, rock music, techno, IDM, British Army cadets, Star Trek, and Spawn/Todd McFarlane. I'm also an avid capoeira enthusiast, a fashion nerd, a hipster (I was into vinyl before it was cool again), and a video game player. I've photographed countless capoeiristas (capoeira masters), fashionistas, hipsters, and video game developers across the UK and Ireland.

My nicknames: Brummie Trixie (BT), Brummie Bea, or just Trixie.

Now. Let's talk about February 5, 1998.

THE LAS VEGAS STORY (Brummie accent, emotional, with a side of hummus):

In February 1998, my family dragged me to Las Vegas. I was 13, turning 14 the day before these photos were taken. We ended up at the Las Vegas Hilton, and my parents were like "Beatrice, there's a Star Trek thing here, do you want to take pictures?" And I said "I'm more of a Todd McFarlane girl, actually. The HBO animated series? Won an Emmy in 1999. No? Fine, I'll bring my Canon PowerShot 350."

And that's when I met them.

The American siblings from San Francisco.

On the left: the older sister, 15, 5'7", hardcore Spawn fan. Dressed as Chapel — the bloke who murdered Al Simmons with a flamethrower. Holding a Spawn comic and a Spawn figurine, doing a capoeira kick in the middle of the Las Vegas Hilton. Because "most Brits do capoeira while traveling," apparently? I'm British. I don't do capoeira. But she did. Glorious.

In the center: her sibling, 11, 5'0", nonbinary, Trekkie through and through. Wearing a Deep Space 9 Starfleet uniform. In one photo, holding a Playmates Captain Picard toy. In the other, a mek'leth — a Klingon sword. Doing a peace pose like they just saved the Alpha Quadrant.

On the right (me): 5'3", holding my Canon PowerShot 350, documenting the whole thing. Jeans, t-shirt, no cosplay, just vibes. And a falafel wrap in my bag, probably.

The caption:

"Las Vegas, 1998. One sibling came for the Starfleet, the other for the Hellspawn. Both came correct. The Briton behind the lens just wanted them in focus before the slot machines ate her last quarter."

Another one:

"One wants to explore the Gamma Quadrant. The other wants to watch Al Simmons crawl out of Hell. Vegas, 1998 family vacations were never boring — especially when the 13-year-old British photographer is yelling 'Cheeky smile, you two!' in a Brummie accent mid-capoeira kick."

And that's the honest truth.

💬 THE TUMBLR THREAD (regional US accents + British chaos):

(same as before, but with added jokes about vegetarianism and three passports)

@sjcringe-queen (San Francisco accent, hella shook):

hella obsessed with the fact that a 13-year-old British army cadet with a camera documented this. BEATRICE SAID "I WILL MAKE THIS THE MOST ICONIC PHOTOGRAPH OF THE 1990s" AND THEN SHE DID. no notes. perfect.

Also, she's been vegetarian since age 3??? And she has three passports??? And she speaks FIVE languages??? And she photographed capoeira masters???

I'm not worthy.

@aave-and-enterprise (AAVE, warm and laughing):

Wait wait wait. So you're telling me. That a 5'7" 15-year-old Spawn fan. Did a capoeira kick. IN A CHAPEL COSTUME. And a 5'3" 13-year-old British lesbian army cadet with THREE PASSPORTS and a vegetarian diet since age 3. Photographed it. At Quark's bar. In Las Vegas. In 1998.

This is not a photo. This is a prophecy.

Also, "I ain't keen on meat, don't like seafood neither, and pork? Forget it!" is the hardest vegetarian quote I've ever heard. Put that on a T-shirt.

@nyc-nerd-92 (NYC English, loud and proud):

AYO. BEATRICE THORSON. You're telling me there was a 13-year-old British lesbian Jewish ARMY CADET photojournalist with a dad who shot for NME and DAZED, who speaks FIVE LANGUAGES, who has THREE citizenships, who's been vegetarian since she was THREE YEARS OLD, who photographs capoeiristas and video game developers, and she took the most iconic crossover photo of the decade???

I need a movie. I need a documentary. I need a limited series on HBO. THIS IS UNREAL.

Also, the "no cannibalism" clarification is sending me. Bea, who hurt you? 😭

@brummie-bea (OP, Beatrice, Brummie + RP):

Bab, I just wanted to be clear. You'd be surprised how many people ask. The answer is no. I don't eat people. I don't even eat animals. I eat falafel and hummus and fruit. I'm very into me fruits, as I said in 1993.

Also yes, I've photographed capoeiristas all over the UK and Ireland. The Spawn sister's kick was actually pretty good for an American. I told her that later. She blushed.

@texas-yeehaw-trekkie (Texan, drawling):

Well, bless your heart, Beatrice. A British lesbian Jewish army cadet photographer with a Swedish mother, an American father, three passports, five languages, a vegetarian diet since age 3, and a side career photographing capoeiristas and hipsters. Documenting two San Francisco siblings at Star Trek: The Experience.

That's not just a photo. That's a time capsule of the 1990s. That's queer history. That's fandom history. That's everything.

And the fact that you don't drink or do drugs? Same, hon. Same. (I do eat barbecue though. Sorry.)

@chicago-deep-dish-nerd (Chicago accent, straight-talking):

Okay, real talk: Star Trek: The Experience opened January 3, 1998. These photos were taken February 5, 1998. ONE MONTH after opening.

And what was inside? Quark's Bar. Klingon Encounter ride. History of the Future Museum with actual props.

And a 5'3" 13-year-old British lesbian Jewish army cadet photographer with a dad from NME, three passports, five languages, a lifelong vegetarian diet, and a passion for capoeira, was there. With a camera.

That's not a photo. That's a relic.

@queer-midatlantic-mess (Mid-Atlantic, theatrical):

Darling, I am OBSESSED.

A 5'7" 15-year-old Spawn fan dressed as Chapel (murderer of Al Simmons). A 5'0" 11-year-old nonbinary Trekkie in a DS9 uniform. And a 5'3" 13-year-old British Jewish lesbian army cadet photographer who speaks five languages, has three passports, has been vegetarian since age 3, photographs capoeira masters for fun, and once gave an interview at 8 years old saying "I'm well into me fruits."

Walk into Quark's bar in Las Vegas in 1998.

This is not a joke. This is real life.

@boston-dunkin-dork (Boston accent, no R's):

Holy crap.

The 5'7" girl on the left? Ruby Barnhill. The 5'0" kid in the center? Joel Dawson. Unreal.

But more importantly: BEATRICE THORSON.

You were 5'3". You were 13. You were in the Army Cadet Force. You were a vegetarian since 3. You said "pork? Forget it!" in a Brummie accent on the record. Your dad shot for Dazed & Confused. You speak five languages. You have three passports. You photograph capoeiristas.

And you documented two American siblings cosplaying as Spawn and Starfleet at a Star Trek attraction that had been open for ONE MONTH.

You are a treasure.

@pacific-north-grungy (Pacific Northwest, chill):

Okay, but can we talk about the contrast?

Star Trek: Hopeful. Scientific. Utopian. Picard gives speeches. DS9 explores moral gray areas.

Spawn: Dark. Violent. Supernatural. Al Simmons got murdered and made a deal with the devil. HBO series won an Emmy in 1999.

And these two siblings—one doing a capoeira kick in a Chapel costume, one doing a peace pose in a DS9 uniform—were together. At a Star Trek attraction. And a multilingual, multi-passport, vegetarian, Jewish, lesbian, army-cadet, capoeira-photographing British photographer took a photo of them.

That's not just fandom. That's community.

@cajun-bayou-nerd (Cajun, lilting):

Mais yeah, I'm lookin' at this photo and I'm thinkin'—dat Chapel costume? She even got the details. And dat British photographer? She got de whole story.

Beatrice Thorson. Birmingham to Southend. Army cadet at 9. Lesbian at 12. Photographer at 10. Three passports. Five languages. Vegetarian since 3. "I'm well into me fruits." Photographs capoeira masters. Trekkie. Spawn fan.

Cher, dat's not a person. Dat's a PROTAGONIST.

@gullah-geek-girl (Gullah, rhythmic):

Oh, I see 'em.

Two chillun from San Francisco—one 5'7" in Starfleet, one 5'0" in Hellspawn. And a young British woman behind de lens, 5'3", with three passports, a heart full of queer joy, and a lifetime of eating fruit.

And dey STANDIN' together. Smilin'. At a Star Trek attraction. In Las Vegas. In 1998.

Dat's what fandom do. Bring people together. Even when dey come from different continents and have different dietary restrictions.

@hawaii-pidgin-geek (Hawaiian Pidgin):

Eh brah, dis da kinda vacation photo dat make you laugh for real.

One sibling like go explore Gamma Quadrant wit Sisko and Dax. One sibling like watch Al Simmons crawl out da crib of Hell. And da British photographer? She like capture da whole thing on her Canon PowerShot 350 — and she got three passports, speaks five languages, don't eat meat, don't drink, and photographs capoeira masters for fun.

FAMILY. 🤙

@upper-midwest-nice-nerd (Upper Midwestern):

Oh, you betcha.

A 5'3" 13-year-old British lesbian Jewish army cadet photographer from Birmingham, now living in Southend-on-Sea, with three passports, five languages, a vegetarian diet since age 3 ("I'm well into me fruits"), and a side gig photographing capoeiristas and hipsters, taking photos of two American siblings cosplaying as Spawn and Starfleet at Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas.

That's just real nice. That's real nice indeed.

@pittsburgh-yinzer-trek (Pittsburgh accent):

Yinz are wild for this and I mean that as the highest compliment.

The Spawn cosplayer? Capoeira kick. The Trekkie? Peace sign. The British photographer? Canon PowerShot 350, three passports, five languages, vegetarian since 3, no alcohol, no drugs, no cannibalism, and a love for capoeira.

And they're all owning it.

This is what happens when you put three queer kids from different parts of the world in the same place at the same time. MAGIC.

@ozark-mountain-nerd (Ozark accent):

Well now, I've been lookin' at this photo for a good while, and I'll tell you what I see:

I see three young people who love different things—Star Trek, Spawn, photography, Judaism, queerness, capoeira, army cadets, Swedish meatballs (vegan version), fruit—and they came together in Las Vegas in 1998 and made a memory.

And now, 28 years later, that memory is still alive.

That's not just a photo. That's a legacy.

@appalachian-geek-rising (Appalachian accent):

Bless their hearts.

The Spawn fan. The Trekkie. The British lesbian army cadet photographer who speaks five languages, has three passports, has been vegetarian since she was THREE, and once said "pork? Forget it!" in a Brummie accent.

At Quark's bar. At Star Trek: The Experience. One month after it opened.

That's not just cosplay. That's a vibe.

And Beatrice Thorson, you are a hero.

@yat-nola-crescent-geek (Yat/New Orleans accent):

Aw, dawlin', look at 'em.

The American siblings—one 5'7" in Starfleet, one 5'0" in Hellspawn—and the 5'3" British photographer behind the lens. She's got three passports and a Canon PowerShot 350. She speaks Swedish when she's mad and Yiddish when she stubs her toe. She's been vegetarian since she was in nappies.

De walk into Quark's bar like dey own da place. De pose for da camera. De make history.

Dat's Las Vegas. Dat's 1998. Dat's family.

@tidewater-trek-nerd (Tidewater accent):

I do declare.

A 5'7" 15-year-old Spawn fan in a Chapel costume, mid-capoeira kick, holding a Spawn figurine.

A 5'0" 11-year-old nonbinary Trekkie in a DS9 uniform, doing a peace pose, holding a mek'leth.

And a 5'3" 13-year-old British Jewish lesbian army cadet photographer from Birmingham, living in Southend-on-Sea, with three passports, five languages, a vegetarian diet since age 3, a famous quote about fruit, and a passion for photographing capoeiristas.

At Star Trek: The Experience. One month after it opened.

I do declare, this is the most charming photograph I have ever seen.

@midland-american-normal (Midland American, neutral):

Okay, I just want to say—the caption is perfect. But the real story is Beatrice Thorson.

A 13-year-old with a camera, three passports, five languages, a vegetarian diet since age 3 ("I'm well into me fruits"), an army cadet background, a dad who shot for NME, a Swedish mum, an American dad, and a love for Spawn, Star Trek, capoeira, fashion, hipsters, and video games.

And she took THE photo.

That's not luck. That's destiny.

@socal-surf-trekkie (Californian English/San Francisco accent mashup):

Okay hella real talk—I grew up in San Francisco in the 90s and this is the most Bay Area sibling energy I've ever seen.

But you know what's even better?

BEATRICE THORSON.

A 5'3" 13-year-old British lesbian Jewish army cadet photographer from Birmingham, living in Southend-on-Sea, with three passports, five languages, a vegetarian diet since age 3, a dad from Dazed & Confused, a side career photographing capoeira masters, and a Canon PowerShot 350.

She saw two American siblings—one 5'7" in a Chapel costume doing a capoeira kick, one 5'0" in a DS9 uniform doing a peace pose—and she said "I WILL MAKE THIS THE MOST ICONIC PHOTO OF THE 1990s."

And she did.

That's not chaos. That's art.

🕺 CAPOEIRA CORNER (Beatrice's final rant, Brummie + RP, with extra fruit):

Right then. Last thing.

Capoeira.

I didn't know what it was in 1998. The Spawn sister tried to explain: "It's a martial art from Brazil. Enslaved people created it to disguise their fighting as dancing."

And I was 13, and I was British, and I said "that's mental" and then I took the photo.

Now I'm 41. I've photographed capoeiristas all over the UK and Ireland. I've watched the berimbau. I've seen the ginga. I've seen people do moves that look physically impossible while smiling.

And I understand now.

Capoeira is about survival. It's about hiding your strength until you need it. It's about turning pain into rhythm.

That's what the Spawn sister was doing. She was in a Chapel costume — the man who murdered Al Simmons — but she was also doing a capoeira kick. She was turning something dark into something beautiful.

That's fandom. That's art. That's life.

So here's to capoeira. Here's to Spawn. Here's to Star Trek. Here's to 1998. Here's to three queer kids in Las Vegas who didn't know they were making history.

They just knew they were having fun.

And here's to fruit. Because I'm well into me fruits.

Cheeky smile, you two. Forever.

📚 BEATRICE ON STAR TREK & SPAWN (RP English, slightly emotional, with a falafel in hand):

Star Trek gave me hope when I was a closeted lesbian in an Orthodox Jewish household. Picard taught me that morality matters. Sisko taught me that you can be angry and still be good. Janeway taught me that women can be leaders without apologising. DS9's "Rejoined" gave me a lesbian kiss on screen in 1995. I was 10. I didn't understand why it made me cry. Now I do.

Spawn gave me permission to be angry. Al Simmons was betrayed, murdered, and sent to Hell. And he fought back. Not because he was a hero. Because he had no other choice. The HBO series showed me that animation could be for adults. That darkness could be beautiful. That trauma could be transformed into power.

You need both. Hope and anger. Light and shadow. Starfleet and Hellspawn. And maybe a nice apple. I'm well into me fruits, after all.

🌈 FINAL THOUGHTS (100% LGBTQIA+ content, as promised):

I'm a lesbian. I'm bisexual. I'm she/they. I'm Jewish. I'm a former army cadet. I'm a street photographer. I'm a Spawn fan. I'm a Trekkie. I'm vegetarian since age 3. I have three passports. I speak five languages. I photograph capoeiristas for fun. I'm into fashion, hipsters, and video games. I don't drink, don't do drugs, and don't eat people.

And I was 5'3" and 13 years old in Las Vegas in 1998, documenting two American siblings — one 5'7" in a Chapel costume doing a capoeira kick, one 5'0" in a DS9 uniform doing a peace pose — at Star Trek: The Experience.

That photo exists because three queer kids from different parts of the world came together and made a memory.

And that memory has lasted 28 years.

So here's my advice:

Live long and prosper. 🖖

And if you go to Hell, make sure you come back. 😈

HELLA LOVE FROM SOUTHEND-ON-SEA. BYE Y'ALL. 🏳️‍🌈📸

P.S. Eat your fruit. I'm serious.

[FAREWELL IN 27 ACCENTS]

"Bye, y'all!" — Southern

"Peace out, fam!" — AAVE

"LATER, NERDS!" — NYC English

"Hella bye from the Bay!" — Californian / San Francisco accent

"Ope, I'll let ya go. Bye now!" — Midland American

"LATER, KID. GO SOX!" — Boston

"Au revoir, mes amis!" — Cajun

"Later, fam." — Gullah

"See ya later, partner!" — Texan

"Farewell, darlings!" — Mid-Atlantic

"Bye, bless your hearts!" — Appalachian

"See ya 'round, neighbor!" — Ozark

"A hui hou, bruddah!" — Hawaiian Pidgin

"Take care, neighbor!" — Pacific Northwest

"See ya later, friend!" — Inland Northern American

"Uff da, bye now!" — Upper Midwestern

"Bye, dawlin'!" — Yat (New Orleans)

"Goodbye, I declare." — Tidewater

"Yinz take care now, bye!" — Pittsburgh

"Later, from Chicago!" — Chicago

"Right then. That's enough outta me. Take care of yourselves, bab. And remember — capoeira is brilliant, Star Trek is hope, Spawn is trauma in a cape, and fruit is life. Hejdå, shalom, and cheers." — Brummie (British)

"Goodbye, everyone. Thank you for listening to the ramblings of a queer Jewish vegetarian photographer from Essex. Live long and prosper, and eat an apple." — RP English (British)

#spawn x star trek #las vegas 98 #star trek the experience #todd mcfarlane forever #gene roddenberry forever #queer nerds #sibling goals #1998 core #fandom is family #beatrice thorson #brummie trixie #canon powershot 350 #capoeira in the desert #brummie accent heavy #three passports #five languages #vegetarian since 3 #im well into me fruits #no cannibalism #no crumbs left

Vegas 98

13-year old Southend-on-Sea, Essex native Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson posing happily with her 1997 Canon PowerShot 350 camera and British flag at Deep Space Nine section of Star Trek: The Experience inside Las Vegas Hilton (now Westgate Las Vegas) in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on 5 February 1998. In fact Trixie was known in both RP and Brummie accent (due to her Birmingham and Jewish roots). Star Trek: The Experience was an attraction inside Westgate Las Vegas that operated fom 1998 to its closure in 2008. Trixie herself was a well known fan of Star Trek series as well. Trixie was an experienced photographer for more than 30 years since 1995. For more info about Beatrice "Trixie" Thorson, please visit tumblr.com/iamlibbythorson.

On 4 February 1998 at 09:30 GMT, Trixie celebrated her 13th birthday at Mildred's restaurant in Soho, London; Trixie shared her own photos of her large vegetarian and kosher meal with her British colleagues from Birmingham, London, and Southend-on-Sea (mostly cadets of Army Cadet Force, Sea Cadets, and Royal Marines Cadets). Three hours later, Trixie and her same British colleagues at her 13th birthday party at Mildred's booked both a flight to Las Vegas with British Airways and a "luxe hotel room" at Las Vegas Hilton (now called the Westgate Las Vegas); Trixie and her British friends arrived in McCarran Int'l Airport (now called Harry Reid Int'l Airport) in Las Vegas at 14:00 in Pacific Time in same day.

In fact, Las Vegas' main airport was originally named after Pat McCarran, a 20th-century U.S. Senator known for his contributions to aviation, but also for his history of xenophobic, racist, and antisemitic policies. Due to this controversial legacy, the Clark County Commission officially renamed the facility Harry Reid Int'l Airport in December 2021. Senator Pat McCarran was instrumental in securing federal land and funding for Las Vegas aviation during the 1940s. However, historians and lawmakers have increasingly criticized his legacy, noting his documented history of antisemitism, anti-immigration policies, and efforts to block Jewish judicial nominees in the US. The airport was renamed in 2021 to honor former U.S. Senator Harry Reid, the longest-serving senator in Nevada history, who served as Senate Majority Leader. Reid was recognized for his instrumental role in expanding Nevada's infrastructure, facilitating international travel routes, and his overall contributions to the growth of Las Vegas.

By 5 February 1998, Trixie visited Star Trek: The Experience at Las Vegas Hilton; what saw her best Trekkie experience soon realized that her two unnamed friends from San Francisco—one is a 15-year old lesbian girl, a Spawn/Todd McFarlane fan who dressed as Chapel (the bloke who murdered Al Simmons (Spawn) with a flamethrower) and her 11-year old nonbinary sibling, a Trekkie (Star Trek fan) who dressed as a Starfleet officer from First Contact & Deep Space Nine eras—makes their unexpected welcome to her outside Las Vegas Hilton. Ironically, Trixie refers the 15-year old lesbian girl who dressed as Chapel as "SF Spawn Girl" and the 11-year old nonbinary kid as "Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid" (refers both San Francisco and DS9 protagonist, Captain Sisko. Inside Star Trek: The Experience, both "SF Spawn Girl" and "Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid" were enjoying their capoeira skills; plus "Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid" shows their Captain Picard figurine from Playmates (where they bought in 1994 at local Bay Area thrift shop in Oakland) and a mek'leth (also bought in 1996 at local Bay Area thrift shop in Oakland); while "SF Spawn Girl" shows two Spawn comic books (one is #1 from 1992 and one is #8 from 1993) and an iconic 1994 Spawn figurine from McFarlane Toys (where she bought in 1995 at local Bay Area thrift shop in Oakland). Moments later, Trixie photographed both "SF Spawn Girl" doing her capoeira kick and "Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid" doing peace pose on her Canon PowerShot 350. That's why both "SF Spawn Girl" and "Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid" as a nickname refereed by Trixie for her two unnamed friends from San Francisco— a 15-year old lesbian girl, a Spawn/Todd McFarlane fan who dressed as Chapel (the bloke who murdered Al Simmons (Spawn) with a flamethrower) and her 11-year old nonbinary sibling, a Trekkie (Star Trek fan) who dressed as a Starfleet officer from First Contact & Deep Space Nine eras. Seriously? "Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid" bears uncanny resemblance to actor Joel Dawson (Mary Poppins Returns), and "SF Spawn Girl" bears uncanny resemblance to actress Ruby Barnhill (The BFG).

Trixie amicably replied:

Right then. MY TURN. Capoeira. I'm British. We don't do capoeira. We do queuing, complaining about the weather, and apologising to people who walk into us. But I've watched capoeira videos. I've seen the berimbau. I've seen the ginga. And I'll tell you what — it's absolutely gorgeous. The Spawn sister? She wasn't just kicking. She was moving. Like she'd been doing it for years. Like she'd been practicing in her living room in San Francisco, waiting for the perfect moment to show off. And she found that moment. In Las Vegas. In 1998. In a Chapel costume. At a Star Trek attraction. That's not chaos. That's confidence. And I, a 13-year-old British Jewish lesbian army cadet photographer, was lucky enough to capture it on my Canon PowerShot 350. So here's to capoeira. Here's to Spawn. Here's to Star Trek. And here's to doing the thing you love, even if it looks ridiculous to everyone else.

Then she replies:

I can confirm that I did, in fact, spend my 13th birthday week in Las Vegas taking photos of two American siblings cosplaying as Spawn and Starfleet while I was supposed to be doing cadet drills in my head. My parents were thrilled. Also, for the record: I am still a lesbian. I am still bisexual. I am still she/they. I am still Jewish. I am still a photographer. I am still obsessed with Todd McFarlane's Spawn (the HBO series won an Emmy in 1999, thank you very much). And I am STILL a Trekkie. You can be both. The siblings taught me that. And yes, the height thing is real. I was 5'3" in 1998. The Spawn sister was 5'7". The Trekkie sibling was 5'0". We looked like a walking geometry problem and we OWNED it.

She replied further:

I can confirm that the mek'leth was purchased at the Star Trek: The Experience gift shop. The Trekkie sibling saved up their allowance for three months to buy it. They slept with it under their pillow that night. I know this because I shared a hotel room with them. I woke up at 3 AM to find them holding it while watching TNG reruns on the hotel TV. Kids are weird. I love them.

She replied again in Brummie:

Bab, I still HAVE the Canon PowerShot 350. It's in a box under my bed. It still works. The photos from 1998 are still on the original film — I got them digitized in 2015. The camera is older than some of the people reading this post. And it's still kickin'. Like capoeira. Like Spawn. Like Star Trek. Some things don't die. They just evolve.

Her opinion on Spawn and Star Trek:

I remember watching the Spawn HBO series on a bootleg VHS that my cousin sent from America. The quality was terrible. The tracking was off. The audio was muffled. And I didn't care. Because it was SPAWN. It was dark and violent and beautiful, and it changed what I thought animation could do. Star Trek gave me hope. Spawn gave me permission to be angry. You need both.

What about them?

Beatrice Thorson noted both "SF Spawn Girl" and "Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid" on her 2023 diary:

The 15-year old lesbian girl who dressed as Chapel, "SF Spawn Girl", bears uncanny resemblance to actress Ruby Barnhill (The BFG), while her 11-year old nonbinary sibling "Mini San-Fran-Sisko Kid" bears uncanny resemblance to actor Joel Dawson (Mary Poppins Returns). In fact, Ruby Barnhill is a British actress. She played the lead role of Sophie in Disney's live-action adaptation of The BFG, directed by Steven Spielberg, in 2016, as Barnhill was born on 16 July 2004 in Knutsford, Cheshire, England, UK. She lives with her parents and younger sister in Cheshire, and she is a member of the local youth theatre; Joel Dawson was a British actor and singer from London who first rose to prominence at a young age, appearing in the long-awaited sequel to one of the most beloved films of all time, "Mary Poppins" (1964). As a screen actor, Joel is best-known for playing Georgie Banks in Mary Poppins Returns.