#’geordi my job is security’

[diesoonandsuffer]

my thoughts on star trek: nemesis

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

:(

i knew data was going to die but i still wasn't happy about seeing it. it's funny i was thinking to myself "how can they kill him in a permanent way? he'll probably have to explode" and. well he surely did.

let's put that to the side for the moment. in terms of the movie itself, it definitely had high stakes, it didn't feel like an episode of tng the way the 1st and 3rd movies did. obviously destroying all of earth vs one colony of people are higher stakes but i also mean in terms of the pacing, the music, the mood, etc. i found tom hardy.......sort of interesting? i had to adjust to both his voice and looks since i've never seen him look like a bald twink and speak with anything other than a gruff voice so that took a lot of adjusting lol. but his character would interest me at times and bore me at others. i liked his line "you won't live to see the echo defeat the voice" and at the end when he purposefully pulled the sword or whatever further through his body so he could look picard in the eye as he died. but then he would do boring villain stuff or sexually assault troi and i would be like ok what are we doing here.

also really? fucking sexually assaulting troi AGAIN?! tng writers get a job stay away from her. literally any time a non-cast member man is near her i feel fear. and i know they tried to do the whole her taking back her power thing with the mind connection to the viceroy but girl it is not the serve you thought it was. however i can't deny i loved seeing her in the classic trek/noir "light over the eyes" i'm shocked they haven't done it for her sooner since she has the black betazoid eyes. but anyway that shit pissed me off.

other than that troi scene pretty much anyone who isn't picard or data is irrelevant to this movie. you could replace worf with a regular security agent and almost nothing would change, beverly could just be any doctor and riker is mostly relevant to the few scenes with troi, which as we've discussed i don't like. i did enjoy seeing their wedding at the beginning and i liked picard's speech, but seeing them get married reminded me of how quickly they got back together in insurrection and then i got mad again lol. society if i had the time to rewrite their plot in insurrection for a fic. but that's besides the point.

i can't really think of anything else to talk about other than data's death. like i mentioned i knew he was going to die in this but i didn't know how or why, however early on in the film it was easy to figure out that he was going to sacrifice himself. it's a little odd that the movie was like here have his stupider younger brother as a glimmer of hope or something even though data himself is like yeah that guy isn't me even if he has my memories. so what was the point of that?

i think the part of data's death that made me the saddest was when riker comes back to the bridge and troi runs over and embraces him. you see geordi look at them with this smile but it's full of sadness, and then his face falls and he looks back at the explosion debris. why did they linger on that. i could literally feel geordi thinking that the person he wanted to be with forever just got fucking exploded. it was so clearly that emotion and i don't know what they were trying to convey otherwise but they failed. literally they should have filmed geordi kissing the android just once like they deserved it!

also side note so funny how they finally completely gave up on the emotion chip. no mention of it and data makes a comment on having no emotions. they could have said oh he left it behind so b-4 can have it but they didn't even do that. goes to show how stupid of an idea it was.

[edit: oh my god who is going to take care of spot. i just thought of that and got so sad. i guess b-4 could and spot might not be able to tell the difference but that android is not equipped to take care of an animal i don't think. WHO TAKES CARE OF SPOT. if this is ever answered please let me know.]

but that's that i suppose! overall i think i like the tos movies more than the tng ones, at least the first four compared to these four. the tng movies are definitely better than the last two tos movies. they might be better movies overall just from a technical standpoint but i think the tos movies are more rewatchable. i think the only tng movie i would rewatch is first contact, and even then i have no active desire to at the moment. however not every trek movie can be the search for spock so i have to be realistic. it is crazy to think there are no trek movies left for me to watch since i've seen the aos movies already. i liked having them for me at the end of the show, so it'll be sad whenever i finish ds9 and there will be no movies for me to watch. they added a gravitas to their original shows that made everything feel fuller and dynamic, and elevated it beyond what the tv format ever could. i think the first tng movie is the best example of this, i loved seeing the tng set through a movie. but, that's that!

#tng lb #tng #nemesis #sam's thots

[thegreaterlink]

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S4E6 “Legacy”

THAT'S RIGHT! I'M NOT DEAD!

I promise I wasn't taking another mid-season hiatus. This has just been delayed through a combination of work, writing and general procrastination. Sorry about that.

Anyway, on with the review.

THE PREMISE

The Enterprise tracks the crew of a Federation freighter to a colony on Turkana IV, the birthplace of the ship's late chief of security, Tasha Yar. An away team beams down to find themselves in the midst of a war between the colony's two factions, the Alliance and the Coalition. They discover that the Alliance is holding the freighter's crew hostage, and the Coalition's leader, Hayne (Don Mirault) offers Ishara Yar (Beth Touissant), Tasha's sister, as a liaison.

MY REVIEW

Yeah! Tasha Yar! Remember her? The show… kinda does!

Ishara can’t be played by Denise Crosby, though. Only Soongs get to have that level of family resemblance. At least she carries her sister's penchant for the most 80s haircuts the 24th century has to offer.

Regardless, Data manages to form a connection with her which thankfully does not involve intoxicated sex. In fact, he probably talks more with her in this episode than he ever did with Tasha, despite his claims to the contrary.

“Tasha and I spent much time together. We had a number of conversations.”

You’ll just have to take his word for it. After all, writing scenes like that would’ve required things like "effort" and "proofreading" and "second drafts."

Ishara gives them the gist of how the colony went to hell, explaining that Tasha left shortly after the factions abolished the government and asked Ishara to join her, but by that point she had already joined the Coalition.

They then get a message from one of the hostages telling them that they have twenty hours before the Alliance starts killing them off. The crew acknowledge that they're probably being deceived by the Coalition, but that this is an opportunity they can't pass up... even though the Federation seems to have known about this conflict for a while now and has made zero attempt to intervene. Hmm.

Anyway, our heroes construct a plan to infiltrate the colony and install an amplifier into the freight's escape pod so they can use the pod's vital sign monitor to locate the hostages. Ishara will beam in first and trigger the alarm to create a diversion.

Before the mission starts, Dr Crusher acquires Ishara's DNA in sickbay to verify her identity while she asks Data about her sister's death.

Ishara: How did she die?

Data: Lieutenant Yar was killed on Vagra II by a malevolent entity.

Ishara: In battle?

Data: No. She was killed as a demonstration of the creature's power, without provocation.

Ishara: ...That's not how I intend to die.

Wow. They actually almost acknowledged how bullshit her death was. I’m impressed.

The plan goes a bit tits up, with the away team being delayed by Geordi needing to fix the scanner while O'Brien fails to beam up Ishara before she gets taken down by a phaser blast.

I guess random instantaneous deaths run in the family.

Okay, that's not true. Ishara is injured but survives the attack. After all, do you see a red blotch on her face? I didn't think so.

I can appreciate Riker's sentiment of going out of his way to save Ishara after Tasha died on an away mission under his command. Picard even gives him a little "good job, but don't do it again" nod, then goes to sickbay to check on Ishara.

Ishara: I don't run away when things get tough, like some people. Like my sister did.

Picard: Let me tell you about your sister. The first time I saw Tasha Yar, she was making her way through a Carnellian mine field to reach a wounded colonist. Her ship had responded to their distress call, as had mine. When it was all over, I requested that she be assigned to the Enterprise. Her ship's captain owed me a favour. In the months that followed, she never once failed to put the safety of the crew before her own, and she died doing the same. I'm sorry you never knew the woman Tasha became. I think you would've been proud of her, and she of you.

Look, I've not been the least bit subtle about my disdain for this series' treatment of Tasha Yar, from mostly treating her like a glorified extra before killing her off with next to no fanfare, but I can appreciate the creators attempting to rectify their mistake and trying to pay tribute to her like this. This episode even rectifies The Measure of a Man's little fuckup by emphasising that Data and Tasha's relationship was based on more than that one time they had the space equivalent of a drunken hook-up.

Thoroughly convinced, Ishara gets back to helping the crew with their plan to rescue the colonists and some more bonding with Data, to the point where they consider each other friends. She even comes to terms with Tasha's decision, realising that she wasn't weak for wanting a better life in a more constructive environment.

I'm pretty sure Ten Forward has done more therapy for these characters than Counsellor Troi ever did.

It makes it all the more infuriating when we find out that she's secretly been working with the Coalition to deceive them and that the whole thing has basically been a lie. Though it's clear at least some of her newfound affinity for the crew (specifically Data) is genuine.

After using the Enterprise's phasers to drill down to the colony, an away team consisting of Riker, Data, Worf and Ishara beams down and frees the hostages, but then Ishara slips away in the confusion and Data finds her trying to disable the Alliance's security grid.

Data tries to intervene, since this would make the Federation technically responsible for the Alliance's defeat, but she is still fully prepared to kill him if it means the success of her mission. And God bless him, Data actually looks heartbroken at the realisation that their friendship was merely part of the deception. Data manages to stun her, but they realise that she did fully intend to carry out her threat of killing him.

Hayne demands her return, and despite Riker's objections Picard agrees to return her. He reflects that they all trusted Ishara so much because they were trying to get part of Tasha back through her sister, to the point that they saw more of her than was actually there.

Ishara and Data share an understandably awkward walk to the transporter. While she reaffirms that she did what she had to do, she claims that not all of her experience was a lie.

Ishara: You know Data, I wasn't always lying to you. That time we spent talking, that was the closest thing to friendship I've ever had... if that means anything to you.

Data: ...Energise.

It's quite fitting, really. One way or another, both Tasha and Ishara learned not to fuck with an android.

A few days later, Data goes to talk to Riker about Ishara, and they have a nice little conversation which I just have to include here.

Riker: In all trust, there is the possibility of betrayal. I'm not sure you were prepared for that.

Data: Were you prepared, sir?

Riker: I don't think anybody ever is?

Data: ...Then it is better not to trust.

Riker: Without trust there's no friendship, no closeness, none of the emotional bonds that make us who we are.

Data: And yet you put yourself at risk?

Riker: Every single time.

Data: Perhaps I am fortunate, sir, to be spared the emotional consequences.

Riker: Perhaps...

And so the crew takes off, apparently content to leave the occupants of the colony to tear each other apart. The end!

Yeah, this ending is... not the best. And the same goes for this whole episode. The conflict is nothing we haven't seen before, aside from the presence of Ishara and her interactions with the crew adding some much-needed flavour to an otherwise formulaic plot. And while there are some interesting ideas about the impact that Tasha has left on the crew, much like her they could’ve used some more development.

6/10 - Serviceable, but nothing special.

Previous Episode | TNG Masterpost | Next Episode

#star trek #star trek the next generation #star trek tng #star trek review #jean luc picard #captain picard #uss enterprise #will riker #tasha yar #ishara yar #star trek data #season 4

[gays-the-final-frontier]

Every Shot of Tasha Yar (25/x)

The Naked Now (S1E3), gifs 011-020. HD versions of all gifs are available upon request.

#Tasha Yar #the definitive gif collection #’geordi my job is security’ #damnit geordi i'm a security officer not a therapist #i did NOT sign up for this #my gifs

[pl4nt-b0y]

Ayo Star Trek oc I guess

So first of all he’s an alien I made up, called Florans. I’ll make a more in depth post about their physiology and culture later, but the general idea is “plant people that learned how to harness natural electricity in organisms and their tech developed that way”. Again, more in depth post to come.

His name is Iris Flos, he’s a jr grade lieutenant, and works in weapons on board the Enterprise. Because he’s in weapons and lets be honest combat does not really HAPPEN much in tng, mans has a lot of free time. His job mainly entails up keeping the systems and making minor improvements- essentially just a specialized engineer.

His work station has a lot of potted plants around it, usually propagated from plants on planets he’s visited, some from his home planet Dulmertua, and some he used the replicator to get. A lot of his free time is spent taking care of them, and studying the new ones he picks up.

When away teams expand beyond the main crew, or when help is needed in security, he’s often early to volunteer.

Members of the main cast that he would know better than just “that’s my boss”, are Geordie, Worf and Maybe Data.

TLDR, funky plant goat man I love dearly

#star trek tng #star trek #star trek oc #tng #next gen oc #geordi la forge #commander worf #data soong #data #my ocs

[ladyfogg]

May I? - 11/?

May I? - 11/?

Fic Summary: Ensign Faith Diaz struggles to hide her mental illness from her fellow shipmates aboard the Enterprise until an intrigued Data goes out of his way to try to understand her behavior. At his insistence, Faith tries to figure out what she’s truly passionate about and eventually seeks the professional help she needs. Fic Masterpost.

Fic Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Data/Female OC

Warnings: tw: depression, tw: anxiety, fluff, friends to lovers, eventual smut

Screenshot by @ geekygwen

Data left Faith's quarters, replaying the kiss in his mind over and over again. It was the first one he himself had initiated and he was still uncertain as to what made him do so. However, when he told her he enjoyed it, he was not putting up a pretense. While it caused no emotional reaction, he was still able to appreciate the nuance of the kiss.

Faith's lips were soft against his but firm in their pressure. He could hear her heart beating wildly, sense elevated blood flow running through her veins. The way she looked at him when he pulled away was what stuck with him the most. Hyperspace reflected in her pupils, dilated with arousal. She had studied him as if she were afraid he would disappear, taking in every detail she could.

No one had ever looked at him like that before. And that was what he enjoyed.

He had every bit of confidence in her ability to handle her new position within Engineering, though there was another matter that Data needed to address.

Geordi was busy organizing his staff when Data arrived. The android took note of who was available, searching for Carver. When he did not find him, he approached Geordi just as his friend was finishing up his instructions. 

"Team One you'll stay here and begin repairs. Sawyer, I want you to keep a list of needs to be done at starbase and what we can do on our own. Team Two, you'll help me dismantle the device for study. If anyone comes back from sickbay, let me know and I'll assign them a team. Team Two, be ready to go in five minutes."

Everyone scattered to get to work and Geordi turned to Data. "How's Faith?" he asked.

"She is resting, per Dr. Crusher. She will be ready to take her post by morning," Data informed him.

"Good. I'm glad she's alright. She did a damn good job today."

"Yes, she did," Data said. "Have you spoken to Ensign Carver about his behavior?"

"Oh yeah," Geordi assured him. "It was the first thing I did when I got back."

"Where is he?"

Geordi gestured towards the warp core. "Working with his tail between his legs. He knows he screwed up. I don't foresee any more trouble coming from him anytime soon."

"Excellent." Data turned and headed in that direction.

"Whoa, hey, where are you going?" Geordi asked. 

"I must speak with him myself."

"What are you going to say?"

"While I was waiting with Faith in sickbay, I researched ways to defend the honor of one's romantic partner," Data explained. "I then pulled from my research and wrote a program based on this particular situation and what I believe Faith will or will not appreciate."

"In other words, a guy insulted your woman and you're gonna give him a piece of your mind?"

Data gave a firm nod. "Precisely."

Geordi smirked and lovingly shook his head. He put his hands up in surrender and said, "Be my guest." As Data walked by him, Geordi grabbed his arm to stop him. "Seems like that dinner was a date after all."

"It at least was an attempt. We will try again once things are less hectic."

"I'm happy for you, Data."

"Thank you, Geordi."

Data took the lift up to the second level. He found Carver fixing one of the conduits but as he approached, the ensign immediately stopped his work and straightened up.

"Commander!" he exclaimed. "What can I do for you?"

"I believe you and I need to have a talk," Data said. "It is about what happened this evening."

Carver had the decency to look sheepish. "Commander La Forge already spoke to me. I am so sorry! I was way out of line."

"That you were. But this is of a personal nature," Data said. "I do not appreciate you insinuating that Faith was being unjust in her reaction because she and I were intimate."

Carver's eyes widened. He clearly was not expecting Data to question him directly about the incident.

"Commander, I—"

"I am not finished," Data interrupted. "Not only were your comments based on false information, but you also insulted her honor and integrity. I can only assume you jumped to the wrong conclusion when you overheard me speaking to Commander La Forge this morning. After this talk, I will not air my personal life out in the open. Regardless, you were in the wrong and I expect you to apologize to Lieutenant Diaz when she arrives tomorrow morning." He stepped in closer, voice dropping into a low but firm tone. "Understood? " 

Carver swallowed thickly, nodding. "Y-Yes, sir. I will, sir. Again, I am so sorry."

Data took another step closer and Carver practically shrank back. "She does not need me to fight her battles, nor do I wish to overstep, but should I hear even a whisper of insubordination or crudeness coming from you, it will be me you have to deal with. Am I making myself clear?"

Carver nodded again, harder this time. "Yes, sir."

Data straightened his stance and took a step back. "Good. I am glad we had this discussion. Carry on." He turned and left Carver behind, satisfied in his approach. 

Geordi was waiting for him when he stepped off the lift. "Feeling better?"

Data did not have the need to reiterate his lack of emotions. Instead, he said, "Much. I shall return to my quarters to check on Spot. I will be working from my console for the remainder of the evening, analyzing the enemy ship. Please let me know once the dismantling of the device is complete."

"Will do, buddy. See you in the morning."

Data nodded and left Engineering.

He found Spot hiding under the bed. It took some coaxing for her to come out but when she finally did, Data rewarded her with her favorite supplements. 

Data sat at his console, loading all the information from the battle. The ship that attacked them was an anomaly. While its warp function did not match up to the Enterprise, its weapon system did. It bore no resemblance to any of the Federation's known enemies and it never responded to their hails. It attacked them completely unprovoked. 

Logically, it did not make sense.

Data worked through the evening, analyzing and compiling information. Worf's security sweep yielded nothing and Engineering was still dismantling the device by the time oh-seven hundred hours came.

Deciding to meet Faith before their shifts, Data left his quarters. She answered the door already dressed, but her eyes told Data she had not slept well.

"Good morning," he said, stepping into her quarters. "You do not look particularly rested."

"I don't feel it either," she said, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek. "Let me grab some coffee and then we can head out." She walked over to the replicator. "French vanilla coffee, hot, cream and two sugars."

As the cup appeared, Data said. "I believe we concluded having only coffee for breakfast is not nutritious."

Faith rolled her eyes but there was affection in her gaze. "Scrambled eggs with two pieces of buttered wheat toast." She made a show of holding up the plate when it appeared. "There, better?"

"Better." 

They sat at her table together and Data watched as Faith took a dutiful bite of toast before reaching for her coffee.

"I was monitoring the investigation's progress last night when I couldn't sleep," she said. "Can't say I'm surprised security didn't find anything."

"Neither was I," Data said. "Our culprit does seem to be a slippery foe. However, I believe I may have created a way to detect how they are cloaking themselves."

"How?"

She reached for the coffee again but at Data's raised eyebrow, she took a spoonful of eggs first before taking another sip.

"Last year, we encountered a group of terrorists who traveled inter-dimensionally. It was highly unstable and harmful to travelers. However, it allowed them to transport without being detected. The computer still has the data from their devices. I believe I can use that information to create our own device that will detect that technology."

"Excellent. If we can connect it to the sensors, we'd be able to tell if someone decides to pop up on our ship."

"Precisely."

"Would we be able to stop them from leaving again?"

Data considered her question. "With a few minor adjustments, I believe that will be possible."

"Great! Let's get started!" Faith stood but Data touched her hand.

"Faith, I do not wish to come across as pushy, but you will function more efficiently with the proper sustenance."

Faith chuckled. "Are you telling me to finish my food first?"

"I will ask that you consider it."

She smiled and sat back down. "You know, Data, if you were anyone else I'd be annoyed or angry."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'd feel like they were judging me," she said, returning to her breakfast. "At least with you, my anxiety can't go that route. I know it's because you are genuinely concerned."

"While I appreciate the compliment, I will say that I do not believe those close to you on the Enterprise will judge either."

"No. No, I suppose they wouldn't. Alright, let me finish this so we can go." She scooped the eggs between two pieces of toast and bit into the makeshift sandwich. 

Once she was done eating, Data put her plate back on the replicator for her while she downed the rest of her coffee.

Before they left, however, an alarm peeped and she stopped by her desk. "Almost forgot!" she said, pulling out her hypospray.

Data watched her take her medication before replacing the device. "Computer, reset alarm," she said as she adjusted her uniform. She turned to Data. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful."

She smiled softly, reaching for his hands which he accepted. "Thank you," she said. "For caring."

"You are welcome."

They did not leave her quarters hand in hand. Faith let him go as soon as they crossed the threshold. Together they walked in silence, though Data did not feel that Faith was at ease. Data could sense the tension in her. 

"What is occupying your thoughts?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"To me, yes."

Faith was silent for several seconds. "Do you think Geordi said anything to Carver?" she eventually asked.

"He did," Data said. "As did I."

Faith stopped walking but it took Data a second to notice. When he did, he paused and turned to look back at her. 

"You spoke to Carver?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"His behavior towards you and insinuations needed to be addressed."

Faith did not look relieved or appreciative. "But I was going to address them. Now he's really going to think I can't take care of myself." Her voice sounded strained and he could identify the panic in her eyes.

"I do not share your conclusion," Data countered. "Your actions during the battle proved otherwise as did your ability to speak out against him." He studied Faith's expression. "Did I make an error? Are you angry?"

She took a deep breath as she rubbed her forehead absentmindedly. "No. Well, yes, a little," she admitted. "Just...if this happens again, please let me handle it on my own."

"I understand and I apologize if I overstepped," Data apologized. "If it helps, I did preface my comments by saying you do not require me to fight your battles."

Her lips twitched into a smile and she began to walk again, catching up to Data so they could continue together. "That does help a bit. Apology accepted."

"I shall adjust the program as necessary."

"Program?" 

"As you know, I lack sufficient programming for many human situations. Last night I wrote a program designed specifically to defend your honor."

"Aww, you wrote a program for me? How sweet."

"If you do not wish for me to defend you at all, I can delete the program."

"Well, let's not be too hasty. How about this: if someone insults me to your face, then feel free to defend me however your program sees fit. Sound good?"

"I can establish those parameters." 

When they reached Engineering, they were met by Geordi. "Glad you guys are here," he said. "Faith, I need you to continue coordinating repairs. We'll be reaching the starbase soon and I want the crews to be able to start the second they get on board."

"On it, Commander," she said with a nod. "I'll talk to you two later." She shot Data a smile before taking her leave.

"Data, take a look at this," Geordi said, pulling up the device's schematics on the main console. "My team just finished our investigation."

"Did you find something intriguing about the transmitter's construction?"

"That's the crazy thing…no," Geordi said. "We found nothing unusual or interesting. It was a standard transmitter made from basic materials. Aside from the fact that it was seemingly made by ghosts, it's not special at all. There's absolutely no signature or indication of where it came from."

Data scanned through the information, cross-referencing it with the reports he and Faith had compiled to ensure nothing was overlooked. Finding no inconsistencies, he took control of the console from Geordi.

"I have been constructing plans for a device that can detect and disable interdimensional travel," he said. "Since we know the intruders are not physically on the ship and it is highly improbable they were able to transport on, it is my next working theory."

"At this point, I'd try anything," Geordi sighed, sounding exhausted. "How long will it take to build?"

"I will need several hours."

"Do it. And while you and Faith have got this covered, I'm going to get to some sleep."

"That is a good idea. I will contact you once the work is complete."

"Thanks." Geordi stepped away to speak with Faith before he left to go rest.

Data spent the rest of the day focused on his device. It was difficult finding the right parts, as many spare materials were being used for the ship repairs. But he managed to improvise when necessary.

Occasionally, Faith would come over to check on him, but for the most part, he worked in solitude, determined to produce something that could give them an edge.

It was well into the night by the time he finished. By then, Faith had already retired to her quarters and the night Engineering crew had started. 

Data knew his device would work and after integrating it with the sensors, he let Worf and Geordi know what to look out for before he too retired for the day.

With nothing to do with the investigation except to wait, Data decided to take part in one of his recreations. He had the image of Faith in the starlight that he wanted to capture on canvas. After feeding Spot, he set up his supplies and began to paint.

He had been painting for two hours and sixteen minutes when his door chimed. "Come in."

The doors opened and Faith shuffled in. Data had not expected to see her before morning. She was wearing a fluffy robe tied at the waist and had braided her hair per usual, but the loose strands suggested she had been tossing and turning. The dark circles under her eyes supported his theory.

"Cannot sleep?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I keep dozing off and then waking up," she muttered with a pout.

She wandered into the living area and dropped down onto the couch across from him. "Find anything useful with your device?"

"Not yet."

"If that doesn't work, what's your plan?"

Data opened his mouth to answer but then stopped. Instead, he put down his paintbrush, giving her his full attention.

"I do not think working will help your insomnia," he said. 

"I'll be fine, Data."

He knew this to be false. Sleep was essential to humans just as eating, drinking, and breathing.

"I do not share in your assessment," Data said. "You have been working very hard and need your rest in order to have full control of your mental faculties. I must insist you go to bed."

"Since when did you become so protective?" Faith asked. Her tone suggested she was teasing him.

"Since I adjusted your defense program to include a protective function. Now…" He put his hands on his hips to simulate a stern stance. "Will you go willingly or will I have to make you?"

What he said seemed to have a different effect on Faith than he anticipated. Rather than looking chastised or sheepish, her face flushed and her tongue darted out to wet her dry lips.

"Make me?"

"I am stronger than you. I will carry you to bed if need be."

"Uh...I'll, uh, I'll go to bed on my own," she stuttered, getting to her feet. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Data studied her retreating frame curiously. "Did I make an error again? I did not mean to come across as controlling."

"N-No, you didn't. You're fine. Really fine. It's fine." She quickened her pace, almost reaching the door.

Her nervousness was different. Data ran through the scenarios until he realized what was wrong. "Did my forceful tone arouse you?" he asked.

Faith halted her steps and turned back around, showcasing the sheepish look he had been anticipating earlier.

"You took me by surprise is all," she said. "I've never heard you be so...firm before." Her hand reached up to fiddle with the end of her braid. "Don't worry about it. Actually, can we just forget this ever happened?"

"Not possible. I do not forget anything."

"Yeah, figured it was a long shot to ask." She nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"I shall refrain from using such a tone when we are not alone, so not to arouse you in public."

At that, Faith chuckled. "I'm an adult, Data. I'm not gonna throw my legs in the air every time I hear you give someone an order."

"Legs in the air?" He processed her words. "Ah. You mean sex." Data raised an eyebrow. "Do you wish to do so now? We are not currently in public."

"Are you asking me to have sex with you?"

"I am asking if that is something you wish to do at this moment."

Faith studied him curiously. "You don't feel sexual desire, correct?"

"That is correct."

"So you asking me right now is purely for my benefit? You don't get anything out of it?"

"Not necessarily," Data corrected. "While it is true I do not feel pleasure as humans do, I can appreciate the need for sex and the closeness it provides. As I stated previously, I am fully capable of engaging in intercourse and am programmed in many techniques."

"Have you had sex before?"

"Yes. Only once. Six years, seven months, and twenty-two days ago."

Faith looked pensive. "I guess I never thought about whether or not you had sex."

"Because I am an android, most assume I cannot," he said. "Do you not wish for our relationship to become sexual? I would ask if you are sexually attracted to me but based on certain reactions I know that you are."

Faith's face increased in temperature again and she folded her arms across her chest in a protective stance. "I am," she admitted. "But we just became close and I'm not ready for that yet."

"I understand. For most beings it is a big step forward in the relationship," Data said. "Would you be more comfortable discussing this at another time?"

"Yes. Yes, I would."

"Very well," Data said. "Though, when I ordered you to bed, I did not intend for you to leave so soon. You may sleep in my bed if it will help your anxiety."

Faith smiled softly and closed the distance between them, uncrossing her arms. "May I kiss you, Data?"

"That would be acceptable."

She slid her arms around his neck, her fingers playing idly with his hair before she pulled him down into a kiss. Data placed his hands on her waist, tilting his head to provide the most comfortable angle for her. 

When her lips met his, they were softer than before and slightly dry. She sighed and let her eyes flutter closed. Data mirrored her, calculating the safe amount of pressure he could apply. 

Three seconds later she withdrew, her forehead pressed against his. After another soft peck, arms slipped from his neck and she smiled up at him.

"Still as good as the first time."

"That is nice of you to say but you do not need to sate my ego, as I do not have one."

"Trust me, I wouldn't. I'm not that type of person," Faith said. "I meant what I feel when I kiss you is still as strong as before."

"Ah, I see. May I ask what it is that you feel?"

"Once I can articulate it, I'll let you know," she yawned and slipped her arms around his waist in a light hug. "I should sleep now."

"Yes, you should."

He led her over to the bed, pulling back the blanket so she could lay down. She removed her robe, draping it over the couch. Underneath she wore a nightgown. It was made of rather thin material and Data noted that it hugged her frame in a flattering way. Once she slid into bed, he tucked her in like he had the night before.

"Computer, dim lights."

The room grew dark and Faith shifted to get comfortable. Data recalled several hundred old Earth movies he had downloaded when researching romance and leaned down, placing a kiss on her forehead. 

"Sweet dreams."

Faith smiled, her eyes already drooping. "Good night."

Data left her alone and went back to his painting. He listened to her heartbeat steadily and then her breathing evened out, signaling she was fast asleep. He found he enjoyed her presence even when she was not awake. Data never considered himself lonely by any means, but having another person in the room did offer a comfort he had not expected.

Three hours later, Data's communicator beeped.

"Lieutenant Worf to Commander Data. The sensors picked up a signature. Please come to the Bridge."

"I'm on my way," Data responded.

He knew it was too early to wake Faith, so he decided to leave her be. Before he left, he replicated a rose like the one he had Guinan bring for their date. 

Data set the glass vase on the small nightstand. The blanket had slipped off so he gently draped it back over her. It was then he noticed Spot curled up asleep at the foot of the bed. 

This intrigued him but he did not feel the need to move the feline as she was not disturbing Faith. 

Studying the image of the two for a moment, he allowed himself a soft smile before refocusing his attention and going to meet Worf.

#commander data #lt commander data #data tng #data soong #star trek next generation

[trekwiz]

I was tagged by @chadbot01. I haven’t done one of these in years, so why not? Name: Joe

Nicknames: Star Trek Joe/Admiral Joe. The former was a college nickname, and the latter a smart camp one. An instructor named me Captain Joe because of being a Trekkie, and “promoted” me a couple weeks later.

Zodiac: Irrelevant.

Height: 5’8

Languages: English. I work with clients globally, though, so I’ve picked up a few words in French and Spanish. Nothing I could converse with.

Nationality: American. My background is Hispanic, Latino, and generic white.

Favorite Season: Winter. I sleep much better when it’s very cold.

Favorite Flower: I’m not really into flowers.

Favorite scent: Probably vanilla, coriander, or cinnamon

Favorite fictional character: Geordi LaForge

Coffee, Hot Tea, or hot chocolate: I really don’t like any hot drinks. But I also dislike drinking the cold variations of these, so I guess that’s a moot point.

Average sleep: 6-10 hours. I try to plan for 8, but it doesn’t always happen. And I get closer to 10 (or more!) on the weekend when I just opt not to set an alarm at all.

Dogs or cats: I don’t like pets. But we have a plushie cat family. 7 of them. And they’re the cutest ever!

Number of blankets: Top sheet is mandatory, and at least one blanket. I have a heavy faux-mink that’s usually warm enough. @ovenroastedtwerkey‘s parents gave us a weighted blanket that I use if it gets really cold.

Dream trip: I don’t really like to travel, and I definitely don’t fly. But if I ever have copious amounts of disposable income and generous time off, I’d like to take a cruise. Preferably to visit some of my UK-based friends.

Blog established: January, 2018.

Random fact: My BF and I are currently watching Stargate SG1 and Atlantis, in the original airing order.

Gender: male, he/him pronouns

Current time: 6:20 pm

Favorite musical artists: Wolgemut, Tanzwut, Corvus Corax,Patty Gurdy, Reliquiae, Bastille, Fallout Boy. Though I tend to like songs more than having a particular interest in the artists.

Stuck in my head: Zumbaj (Reliquiae), Chicken on a Raft (Pyrates!), and March of Cambreadth (Heather Alexander)

Last movie I saw: At this point, I don’t even remember. I’m not much of a movie watcher.

Last thing I googled: How to find my account creation date

Other blogs: Nope

Do I get asks: Rarely. They’re fun, I wish I knew how to get more.

Reason for URL: i’ve had the name for 22 years ish. It means I was really into Star Trek.

Followers/following: following 379, 137 followers. The majority are mutuals; I tend to follow back, especially if someone reblogs or otherwise interacts.

Lucky number: None

Currently wearing: Black pajamas. Enjoying the rare work from home day.

Dream job: I’m honestly not sure anymore. I could have answered that 5 years ago. I’ve managed to get many of the things I find satisfying for work, but now I’m trying to find a new direction for better quality of life and work-life-balance. I’m more interested in living the kind of life that I want, than having some kind of dream role. A job is just the means of securing that which is more important.

Favorite foods: So many! I love food! I’m a very picky eater, so I tend to have a lot of breadth of foods I enjoy, but very little depth. Crab, cheese, and chicken are probably my favorite ingredients. And I really love Americanized Asian foods; it’s such a contrast to the boring Italian food I grew up with.

Instruments: I have no musical talent. But I did play the drums once upon a time.

Favorite song: Zumbaj by Reliquiae.

I tag: @ovenroastedtwerkey @justarandomguyhere @the-golden-shinning-boy @bering-strait @rangerdeon @midlandmidian @jucheboy @treypug

#it was fun #feel free to do it if it's fun for you too

[setyourphaserstoslutty]

If you could create a crew composed of any star trek characters, who would be in the crew and why?

This is a fantastic question Well my Captain would have to be Kathryn Janeway cause 1) she's the best captain and 2) I'm high key in love with her but it's mostly cause she's always trying her hardest to keep with the Prime directive

First officer is tough but it would be Spock (at least I think he's a first officer but I'll count him as science officer as well, my knowledge of TOS is limited) but I really like Spock's story arc and... okay I don't have a good reason, but having Spock interacting with Janeway would be fun (not as fun as Picard but whatever)

Chief Medical is easy it's EMH better known as The Doctor I love his dry humor and how incredibly goofy he can be (check out Projections cause he's hysterical in that one) but he's really good at his job (and to my knowledge doesn't fuck a ghost, I love Crusher I swear but I also love throwing shade)

Chief engineer is of course Geordi Laforge because as someone who also has crappy eyesight he is kinda an inspiration and I think Janeway might try to adopt him which would be funny (now I'm picturing Janeway as a chicken trying to cuddle a very angry determined duckling aka Geordi lol sorry got off topic)

Security officer Odo (he's technically not Star Fleet but I'm throwing rules out the window at the moment) Odo is an extremely stringent gooman (he isn't a human but a gooman... changling you guys get it)

If I missed any positions (I'm pretty sure I am but I'm also extremely hyper ADHD is a hell of a drug) just let me know and I fix the holes

#anon

[girlsinthestars]

guilt isn’t always an emotional response

Pairing: Data/Geordi La Forge

Word count: 2480

Summary/Warnings: Post ‘Descent’ angst with an undercurrent of miscommunication - ends happily

Read on AO3

Geordi hadn’t seen Data since he stopped him from destroying the emotion chip. Every time he tried to talk to Data, he gave an excuse and left, he tried to arrange dates but every time Data claimed he was busy, Data’s shifts had even been moved so they didn’t line up with Geordi’s. He didn’t understand it, Data never avoided people like this, that was an emotional reaction. He had no idea what to do, he loved Data, he hadn’t spent this long without talking to Data since they met. It felt like there was something missing, he kept thinking if he just left it long enough Data would turn up at his door and they would go to Ten Forward and everything would be okay again. But it had been weeks. He was having nightmares, where Data’s voice would call from the darkness surrounding him, but it kept moving and every time he thought he was getting close it would move again. Then Datas hands would strap him to a table and Data would hiss that he never liked Geordi, that he had been so glad to finally be free of him, that Geordi was awkward and clingy and even without emotions Data found him repulsive. Geordi would wake to an empty bed, desperately calling out for Data but receiving no reply. At the three week mark he finally made an appointment with Counselor Troi.

“I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what he’s thinking.” He finished telling Troi, who finally looked up from her notes.

“If I didn’t know better I would say he feels guilty. Humans, after an event like this, might struggle to reconnect, one feeling afraid or angry at the other and the other feeling like they can’t trust themselves, an overwhelming guilt and lack of self confidence. If Data were human I would say you need to make sure he knows you don’t blame him, and then give him the space to work through his feelings. However, as it is, I’m not sure what to recommend.” She paused, “I do believe you should first focus on yourself, deal with how you feel about the event, are you angry at Data?”

“No!” Geordi replied quickly. “It wasn’t his fault, you should have seen him, he was ready to destroy the emotion chip to guarantee he would never hurt me again.”

“Ok… what about fear?”

“I could never fear Data.”

“I don’t mean fearing Data himself, I mean fearing your feelings for him, his feelings for you, are you afraid of the hatred he felt when he was on the planet?”

Geordi’s stomach lurched. “It wasn’t him.”

“But it looked like him and sounded like him, before this you had never considered the possibility that if Data had emotions he would have the capability to hate you, to reject you.”

“He’s always been able to reject me.”

“Geordi, I think one of the things you found attractive about Data was the fact that he would never turn on you, even if you were to break up you would have returned to being friends because Data has never been capable of the complex emotions involved in break ups. You’ve always had a security net and for a split second it was gone.”

“That’s not- obviously I didn’t like hearing my boyfriend say he hated me but-” Geordi huffed, trying to gather his thoughts again. “I don’t just love Data because he won’t hurt me.”

“I’m not saying that. You love Data for who he is, but a part of that is this safety net that he will never hate you, cut you out of his life completely. And suddenly you are faced with that possibility.”

“I don’t-” He sighed. “What if he doesn’t want to be with me anymore?”

Deanna smiled gently at him. “I would be willing to bet he is thinking the same thing.”

“He won’t even look at me.”

“Look Geordi, I don’t think there is any reason to think he has given up on this relationship, I think you both just need some time to process what happened on the planet.”

Geordi left his session with the counselor with instructions to ask the doctor for help sleeping and not much else, he wasn’t particularly comforted by her words and she clearly didn’t know how to explain Data’s behaviour any more than he did.

Geordi finally came across Data in Ten Forward a few days after his appointment with the counselor. He watched him walk into Ten Forward and scan the room before sitting at the bar, as if he hadn’t even seen Geordi. After almost 20 minutes of watching Data chat with the bartender and sip the drink he ordered, Geordi finally got up the courage to approach him.

“Can I buy you a drink?” He asked, sitting next to Data.

“Currency is not used at this establishment.”

“I know Data, it’s just a phrase, can I join you?” Even just hearing Data’s voice made Geordi’s chest tighten

“I am not sure that would be wise. Considering the circumstances.”

Geordi’s chest filled with stones. “Sure, ok I’ll leave you alone.” He managed to say before making his way out of Ten Forward, eyes locked dead ahead, but not actually seeing anything. He’d had his heart broken a thousand times before, but it had never felt like this, like he didn’t even have a heart anymore. 

Geordi was kind of glad Data had put so much effort into avoiding him now, it meant he barely had to do anything, as long as he stayed in engineering or his quarters there wasn’t even a chance he would run into Data. He started taking the sleeping medication Doctor Crusher had prescribed to him, and sometimes, when he was busy working, or just waking up, he could feel like everything was fine. So he didn’t bother going back to Counselor Troi, and he went about his days as usual. He managed this, avoiding Data, for nearly two weeks before Riker came down to engineering to inform him he was being assigned to a mission with Data.

“I know things are complicated between the two of you at the moment, but you’re the most qualified people for the job.” Riker said, his voice sympathetic.

“I understand, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, well, I’m here for you if you need someone to talk to.” With that Riker left Geordi to his work.

They were meeting to beam down to the planet at 0600 the next morning, and for the first time since he had begun taking the sleeping aids, Geordi couldn’t get to sleep. He knew Data was going to be perfectly professional, but he couldn’t stop himself from imagining every possible scenario, including both ones in which Data was cold and cruel to him, and ones where Data admitted to missing him, told him he made a mistake.

Of course, Data was perfectly polite.

“Good morning lieutenant, I have modified two tricorders to detect-”

Geordi knew what Data was telling him was important but he couldn’t help the way his chest hurt when Data used his rank rather than his name. The way his mind wandered off, replaying all the times Data made him laugh, made him happy, made him feel loved, watching Data’s mouth moving but not hearing the words. This mission was not going to be his best work.

If Data noticed his odd behaviour he didn’t say anything, they completed their tasks with little to no conversation and returned to the Enterprise. Geordi kind of wished Data had said something or done something, anything to indicate what he was feeling- or thinking -about Geordi, but he simply nodded and turned to leave.

A wave of resignation hit Geordi, an overwhelming feeling of this is it. This is all that remains of his relationship with Data, he won’t even speak to him like they’re friends, like they’re anything more than strangers who work together.

But Data paused before he reached the door, nodding at the transporter chief, who nodded in return and left.

“You have been tense.” Data said, turning back to Geordi.

“This isn’t an ideal situation.”

“No, in the future I will endeavour to avoid overlaps of our professional lives.”

Geordi gave a pained laugh. “You’re chief of operations and  second officer and I’m the chief engineer on the same starship, we’re going to have to work together.”

Data was silent for a moment. “Perhaps I will request a transfer.”

“No! No, Data, come on, we’re adults, we can work through this.”

“If you are sure.” Data paused, his expression softening. “I do not wish to infringe upon your life any more than is necessary.”

Geordi stared at him, not quite comprehending what Data was saying. “...I’m sure.”

Data nodded and left.

That was odd, definitely odd, what did Data mean infringe upon his life? Did Data think he didn’t want him around? If the counselor was right, what was the thing in Ten Forward about?

He had told himself Troi had helped him all she could and there was no point bothering her again, but he was beginning to think she might know more about Data’s functioning than he gave her credit for.

Rather than making him an appointment Troi turned up at his quarters and asked him to lunch.

“I haven’t seen you on the bridge lately.” She commented, as they walked to Ten Forward.

“I’ve been busy in engineering.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that that is where Data spends his shifts?”

“No! We don’t even have overlapping shifts anymore.”

“I know, the captain asked for my opinion on the situation before approving Data’s transfer.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“Well, at the time I hadn’t spoken to you, and Data had given the captain the impression you had - how does he put it - discontinued your relationship on mutual terms and this was his attempt to make the transition more comfortable for you. So I told him it sounded like a good idea, on a temporary basis, of course.”

“Why would he say that?”

“Well, that is the impression he seems to be under, that the wish to end your relationship was mutual.”

“You’ve spoken to him?”

“He came to see me after your encounter in Ten Forward, he wasn’t sure what to make of it.”

“What does that mean? He rejected me, plain and simple.” Geordi made his way to a table, and Troi was silent for a moment as she sat down across from him.

“I don’t believe that’s how he saw it. He is convinced you wanted to end your relationship with him, from his point of view he is doing what’s best for you.”

Geordi stared at her, searching for any sign of deception. “That would make some sense.”

“You suspected as much.”

“After we were assigned together the other day he told me he didn’t want to ‘infringe upon my life any more than was necessary’.”

“He misses you.”

Geordi shook his head. “Data isn’t capable of that emotion.”

“You don’t believe that.”

Geordi sighed. “No, I don’t. But I don’t believe he misses me either.”

Troi was silent, clearly giving him the space to elaborate. “He was so cold in Ten Forward, and he’s put so much effort into avoiding me at all costs, I can’t even imagine that he could be missing me.” He paused, “Even if I believe that he is feeling guilty about what happened on the planet, even if he’s doing this because he thinks I wanted to end it, I can’t imagine him missing me.”

“He never goes to his quarters, other than to feed Spot, he spends all his time pacing the halls or working.”

“Data doesn’t need rest.” Geordi replied quietly, his eyes were beginning to burn and a lump had formed in his throat, he had only just got used to the idea that Data didn’t want to be with him, and realising that Data was thinking the same thing, feeling guilty and lonely. He wanted to run to Data immediately, tell him that he could never stop loving him, that he would never hold what happened on the planet against him, that it wasn’t his fault. But Data was still on duty, he wouldn’t get off for another two hours.

Troi smiled at him. “No, perhaps not, but time he would usually spend with you is now time he’s spending staying busy, a human behaviour, a reaction to missing someone.”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Good, would you like to play a few games of chess while you wait?”

“That sounds good.”

Troi walked with him back to his quarters a few minutes before Data’s shift ended, and he gave it five minutes before he tapped his combadge.

“Geordi to Data.”

“Yes Geordi?”

“Will you meet me in my quarters?” There was silence from Data. “Please?"

After another heart wrenching minute Data replied: “I will be there momentarily.”

Geordi sat on his couch, then stood up and moved to his table, then stood up again and got a drink from the replicator and sat back down at the table. Before moving back to the couch. After what felt like an age his door chimed and he let Data in.

“What did you wish to discuss?” Data asked, entering cautiously and sitting on the armchair across from the couch.

“Data, I… I love you, and I miss you.”

If Geordi didn’t know better he would say Data’s expression was pained.

“You cannot.”

“What do you mean?”

“I hurt you, Geordi, I am a bad boyfriend, it is only logical to conclude our relationship would have to be discontinued.”

Geordi’s chest clenched. “ You didn’t hurt me Data, you were being manipulated, it wasn’t you!”

“You did not wish to discontinue our relationship?”

“No, Data.”

Data watched him, taking in his tear filled eyes and clenched hands. “I have caused you emotional distress.”

“You felt guilty, you don’t have to apologise.”

“I do not experience emotions, I have no excuses for my actions other than misinterpretation.”

“Guilt isn’t always an entirely emotional response, sometimes it seems logical, like you’re just drawing conclusions.”

“I see.” Data was still for a moment, then he reached over and threaded his fingers through Geordi’s. “I believe I… missed you too.”

Geordi couldn’t hold it together anymore, he pulled Data over to sit next to him, kissing him gently. And for the first time in a month everything seemed okay again, Data’s arms around his waist, Data’s hair wound through his fingers. When they finally split, Geordi buried his face in Data’s neck, relief flooding through his body at the simple feeling of Data’s body against his own.

“Geordi, you are crying.”

“Yeah Data, I’ve missed you a lot.”

“I, too, have found my days rather empty without you.”

#daforge #data x geordi #star trek #Star Trek tng #Star Trek the next generation #Star Trek next gen #data soong #Geordi la forge #geordi laforge #cc writes

[dearophelia]

Hi friends! Meet my lack of impulse control Ash Ryder!

They swear all the time (like, all the time), are a twentysomething total goddamn fuckup, and were born blind and have cybernetic eyes that do cool shit like Geordi’s VISOR. They’re a soldier(ish), who worked security on Illium (for jobs of often questionable legality) until Alec and Scott were like “come to another galaxy, it’ll be fun”.

Absolute fucking disaster of a human who makes up for it with sass, cursing, overly-dramatic millennial humor, and a general attitude of “welp, this might as well happen.” Unfortunately a Gryffindor. Explosives specialist. Like 90% hot chocolate at any given time.

They’re gonna hook up with Vetra and it’s gonna be grand.

“Don’t push that, Ryder.”

“They wouldn’t have put a button here if it wasn’t meant to be pushed, Cora.”

#ash ryder: this is fine #WHY ARE ALL MY MASS EFFECT OCS GRYFFINDORS WHAT THE HECKO #ashface

[tkmedia]

Let’s embrace The Gareth Way before Southgate-mania wanes

Johnny Nic ponders what’s so great about Gareth while recognising that one day, the tide will turn against Southgate. It always does… Who’s this then? Gareth Southgate (always Gareth, never Gary) is a six-foot-tall former centre-half for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough. He played 638 club games and scored 35 goals, as well as gaining 57 caps for England. His playing career lasted from 1990 to 2006. At Palace he was a right-back and a midfielder before settling into the centre-half role and became club captain in 1993, leading the side to win the second tier, stupidly called the First Division at the time. When they got relegated in 1995, after 191 games and five years, he moved to Aston Villa for £2.5 million, for a further six years, winning the League Cup in his first season there. His move to Middlesbrough in 2001 cost the club £6.5 million for the 31-year-old. He replaced Paul Ince as Boro captain and led the club to its first major silverware (if we are not to count the Anglo-Scottish Cup and the Kirin Cup as such) by winning the League Cup in 2004 and, after a remarkable campaign, being runners-up in the 2005-06 UEFA Cup, a position they achieved by losing one leg of each two-leg knockout game. In the semi-final beating of Steaua Bucharest, coming back from four goals down on aggregate, he was taken off injured after less than 20 minutes however, he is widely credited for giving the half-time speech to the side that inspired a massive comeback and amazing 4-3 aggregate victory, as boss Steve McClaren stood by and looked on in that way he has. When he took over from McClaren as manager of Middlesbrough, at a time of major financial restriction, he led them to 12th and 13th-place finishes before being relegated in his third season. When the club was one point off the top of the Championship, and lying fourth in the table, he was sacked in October 2009. And that was the last we thought we’d probably hear from him. That he’d end up as a successful England manager was not on anyone’s radar at all. He ducked out of football for fully four years, before returning as boss of England Under-21s replacing Stuart Pearce. He won the Toulon Tournament in 2016 with them and his record shows in 37 games, he only lost five. When Sam Allaradyce got involved in what we must call Wine-gate, he stepped in on a temporary basis to run the England side, passed the audition and has been there ever since 2016, leading the team to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championships final. Everything eventually came up Gareth. His win ratio is currently 63 per cent only behind Fabio Capello who tops that list with 66 per cent, so make of it what you will, and Allardyce who, the records show, has 100 per cent win ratio after winning his only game in charge. A stat I’m sure he’s keen to let everyone know about. He made his England debut under Terry Venables (47 per cent win ratio), missed THAT penalty, took part in a famous pizza advert and was recognised as an all-round, self-deprecating good guy. Even so, that he bestrides the national game as a veritable, if modest, colossus is somewhat surprising and one of recent years’ most cheering developments. Johnny Nic: Gareth Southgate is evaporating England cynicism every day Why the love? First, he was a very good defender and had a decent turn of pace but above all, excellent reading of the game, fearless in the tackle and a good organiser. The fact he was the club captain for the majority of his career suggests that he has always had leadership qualities. However, being a leader in the early 90s is a different task to being one in 2021. So he must’ve grown and evolved his skills over the years to fit in with the changing culture of the game, the expansion of his learning and understanding is one of the best things about his tenure to date. He’s not trying to pretend he’s a football sage, just someone who’s done some research, thought deeply about the game and understands the importance of psychology in making good players play well. Many love this about him. That he treats the job like an intelligent person and not some shouty blowhard, feels like a win for common sense and brains. Obviously, this is also what some really dislike and those people refuse to get with the Gareth programme of being inclusive and pleasant. He’s not what a certain type thinks should be an England manager, which is basically a flatulent bulldog in a Flag of St George waistcoat. But at this moment, Gareth is riding high amongst the majority of England fans for reviving the national team’s fortunes. Acres and acres has been written about how he’s done this, so I won’t go over it all again here but instead will point out that there is a good argument to say an element of over-the-top love of Gareth, right now, that is teetering on fetishisation of him. This happens a lot in modern media and I think I’m as guilty of it as anyone of indulging in it A person becomes the repository of everyone’s faith and hope, the future: our saviour. We all sing songs about him, laud his every move, his dress sense, even. The Gareth Way becomes A Thing and The Only Way. This in turn ensures he will eventually let everyone down because he is, after all, just a normal fella, and as such, liable to get stuff wrong. It’s not hard to see those murals defaced after a 2-0 home defeat to Hungary in October. When you’re put on a pedestal, there’s only one way to go. Now there are murals of him on walls, this seems almost inevitable and we need to remind ourselves that quiet revolutionary he may be, but he’s as liable to screw up as anyone is. The man himself will already know this well enough, of course. Politicians are now falling over themselves to get on board the Gareth train, even though, a few months ago many couldn’t have picked him out of a line-up and just a few weeks ago, disparaging his lead in taking the knee, as gesture politics. This was, as David Conn put it so well ‘playing on perceived prejudices to foment division’. Which is shocking enough, but he goes on, ‘One senior football figure told me there was “deep outrage” in the game about Johnson and Patel backing the fans who booed England players taking a knee, describing it as “the deepest insult”, evoking the most shameful period of racism in football. For the first time, a government saw an advantage for itself from siding with racists rather than supporting those who have worked for decades to kick racism out.’ Of course, Gareth has seen all of this bilious sh*t since the start of his career at Crystal Palace, seeing the attitudes towards Mark Bright and Ian Wright. Like any decent man, this surely must have informed his recent positions. At Palace team-mates actually thought he was posh. Is anyone from Watford posh? And they also thought he spoke like Denis Norden hence the ‘Nord’ nickname, which is even more bizarre because he doesn’t sound like Denis Norden and I’m fairly sure didn’t walk around Palace with a clipboard making acerbic comments. It was always a case of still waters running deep with Gareth, I think, and football then and largely now, was hardly the place to be expressing any degree of sensitivity. That was weak. Now, it is rightly seen as a strength. His ascent to the current pinnacle started at Middlesbrough. His time there is often painted by critics as disastrous but it wasn’t. As stated, he led them to two mid-table finishes and then got relegated. This is seen by his critics as proof of his limitations but wiser heads have pointed to the fact that you only learn from your mistakes and from adversity and thus he returned a wiser man and at just the right time. St George’s Park was coming on stream, and lots of good young players began to emerge. But this was a different generation of players. Shouting at them was not working, giving them confidence to express their own talent very much was. He worked for ITV as a co-commentator in the 2006 World Cup and, post-Boro again in 2010. Clive Tyldesley, who he worked with, has reported him as being a tremendous chap who was great to work. The two struck up a friendship that lasts to this day. When took over England in 2016, the old-fashioned view about him still predominated. He was too soft. He didn’t have the gravitas, the heft, to be an England manager. Couldn’t open a jar of pickled onions. He was out of his depth. None of this proved to be true, even though at first he seemed to doubt his own suitability to the role. He has grown and learned on the job, and taken his players with him on the journey. He understood from the start that you needed a strong team of support staff around him. His revolution has been quiet and undemonstrative. The very opposite of grandstanding; all content with little show. And this has worked perfectly in the modern environment. I’m sure he’d be the first to say that he still has much to learn. At 50 he’s got a long managerial career ahead of him if he wants. With a semi-final and a final in the bag already, he’s got a high standard to maintain and while the team looks to have quality in depth, football is an ornery sport that can sit up and bite you at any moment. Just when you think you’ve got it all sorted is the moment it all falls apart. So his position, though secure at the moment, would, as I say, not take long to be cut down. Everybody loves… Emma Hayes | Jimmy Greaves | David Seaman | Alan Shearer What the people say Not a massive postbag this week. Maybe everyone is looking away, taking a post-tournament breather, or maybe people are all-Garethed-out. My missus, a Geordie and not prone to dress up anything in flowery language, says of our man, “He’s the sort of lad you’d fancy because he’s just so nice. Just being nice is massively underrated when it comes to making someone f*ckable”. So with that in mind… – He’s so thoroughly likeable and decent that he makes me want England to win…and I’m Irish. – Nothing about him worries me. We should have realised he was special when Harry Hill immortalised him with the Gareth Southgate Badger character on his Channel 4 show in the late 90’s. pic.twitter.com/hfp6EC3wsx — David W Poole (@DavidWPoole73) July 16, 2021 – Like the way that despite having had an impressive career as a player he has stayed well away from the ‘Proper Football Man’ nonsense that so often imbues English ex players. – He’s a lucky manager. Which is half the battle. – Where to begin… Calm, measured, articulate, instantly likeable. He’s tactically more savvy than he’s often given credit for, as well, although maybe a touch conservative. He’s built something special with his England players, and they clearly trust and respect him enormously. I really like him. More than any England manager in my life, I’d say. He’s just so dignified, and that’s dead important isn’t it? I worry the media will eventually bury him. Maybe there’s a shout for him to go before they do, but that would be a huge loss for us. – One of few football managers you could imagine being successful as an office manager, sympathetically coaxing a team member through a performance review and agreeing some targets for the next quarter. Treats the England players like emotionally intelligent adults, supports them on and off the field. It’s telling there were no grumbles from star players left out of the team during the tournament – I like Ray Parlour’s story about him when he became Boro manager. Southgate instructed the players that as he was now manager they were to call him ‘gaffer’ and not Gareth, Gaz etc as they had done when he was simply a team mate. ‘What about big nose?’ asked Parlour. Not sure if Parlour made many appearances in his final season at Boro after that. Great bloke and a thoroughly decent human being Southgate – I think he was dealt a bum deal by Boro in the end and we ended up with Strachan, possibly the worst manager in living memory as a result. – His management style is changing football culture. For a number of reasons it seems entirely inconceivable a manager like Sam Allardyce would go on a network like GB News and support players’ anti-racism campaigning in previous eras. Most of the clip is the aftermath, but gotta respect his “tackle” on Roy Keane!https://t.co/PUBkohLx3n — Mark Lewis (@SankeySinner) July 16, 2021 – At his very core he’s a thoroughly decent man; something that has been missing from leaders in Britain for quite some time. Three great moments Our man was the manager the day Boro beat Manchester City 8-1 – and City were lucky to get one. Even Afonso Alves scored. The famous pizza advert. He regretted it but it’s still funny. Mind, that’s not a proper pizza, that’s a weird, greasy, vegetable and cheese flan, isn’t it? If I was Italy, I’d sue… And he could score a toe poke with the best of them… Future days How long will he manage England for? It’s hard to predict but it seems certain he’ll take them to Qatar as it’s only 18 months away. After that it’s only 18 more months until the next Euros. After two World Cups and two Euros, maybe he’ll feel it’s time to move on from a very intense job There is no pressure on him from the media right now, something that annoys those who take against him. That derives from firstly, there being no obvious replacement candidate for the press to pally up to and push, but also because he’s played the press very well. He’s made players be more available and in less formal situations. He’s anticipated what they will be asked and what “the boys” might want well in advance of the fact and thus planned how to deal with them. I often see press guys saying what great access they get to England players and how Gareth is so good with them. Of course he’s played them and engineered the situation to be like that so as to avoid being subjected to the vagaries of fashion and commercial interests that dictate newspapers agendas, as much as possible. But we all know that knives can be sharpened very quickly. None more so than Southgate himself. It is hard to see him managing a club again, for some reason. While offers will surely arrive, I feel there remains a scepticism about him at the highest level. This would evaporate if he won a trophy for England I’m sure, but even so, you don’t want to be stepping down from England to have to go and manage West Ham or Palace. This may just be a failure of my imagination but I think post-England he’ll take an extended break and then go back into the game in a more advisory role. He doesn’t seem the sort to wear the mohair coat on a cold, sleety January night, away to Port Vale in the cup, it would, inevitably, feel like a come down from taking the national side to major tournaments. He’s already made his mark on English football history. He has nothing to prove to anyone and anyone who thinks he has, he’ll never be able to convince. We all have much to thank him for, not least lifting the mood around the England side which had been entrenched in depression and division for so damn long. Is it a permanent change or will it last only as long as the manager does? Time will tell but the typical. FA policy of appointing the opposite of the recently departed incumbent suggests this is but a blip. In which case, suck it all in, breathe in the Garethness of the current situation for it may be over sooner than we’d like and then, well, who knows? Read the full article

[thegreaterlink]

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S1E20 "The Arsenal of Freedom"

I tried to find a more interesting image but this was the only HD one I could find.

THE PREMISE

The Enterprise has been sent to the Lorenze Cluster to search for the USS Drake, which had disappeared while surveying the planet Minos, which many years ago had become very wealthy by selling weapons. When they reach the planet, the crew is greeted by a holographic peddler advertising the “Arsenal of Freedom” and inviting them to the surface.

An away team consisting of Riker, Yar and Data beam down to the surface, where they’re greeted by Captain Rice of the Drake. But they quickly realise that he’s a fake. The image of the captain disappears, revealing a security drone which attacks them and freezes Riker in a stasis field.

MY REVIEW

I feel like this episode would’ve worked excellently in the Original Series. You have the camp factor of the crew being attacked by death spheres on strings, a debate over the morality of the weapons business and a subplot where two of the crew are trapped and one of them is injured. But the Original Series this is not. Unfortunately.

The method of getting Picard and Dr Crusher down to the planet is a bit contrived, to say the least; they can’t beam Riker through the stasis field, so the two of them beam down to help him. But then the drones come back, and in the skirmish Picard and Crusher fall in a pit and Crusher is severely wounded. Now the Captain is separated from the rest of the crew and Geordi is left in command of the ship thanks to that contrived coincidence. Back on the surface, Data, Riker and Yar are left to deal with the probes, which are pretty obviously on wires.

When I was watching Picard and Crusher in the pit, I couldn’t help but wish it was Spock and Bones instead. Maybe Bones would get into one of his usual spats with Spock over his seeming lack of compassion, only for Spock’s friendship with Bones to cause him to defy all logic to keep him safe. And while Bones would never admit it, he’d appreciate Spock’s refusal to leave him behind.

That sounds a lot more interesting than what we got, since it feels like Picard and Dr Crusher, through no fault of the actors, just don’t play off each other that well here.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise is under attack by a cloaked assailant, with each attack having more of an impact. Chief Engineer Logan (we’ve gone through a few chief engineers in this season, come to think of it) argues that they should flee the planet, but Geordi refuses to leave the away team behind. He and Logan eventually reach a compromise - they’ll separate the ship’s saucer section, with Logan in charge of the saucer while Geordi uses the battle bridge to take the star-drive back to Minos. Geordi is clearly panicking throughout this episode since this is only his second time in command (the first was in “Angel One”), but sucks it up to act as a proper acting captain. He’s a bit of an unsung hero in this episode.

I could be wrong, but I believe this is the first Star Trek episode to have three storylines running simultaneously, and I think this episode does a good job of juggling them.

Anyway, while Picard is searching through the pit, he finds a computer system which causes the peddler to reappear. I’d like to take a moment to commend the performance of Vincent Schiavelli, who steals both scenes he’s in. It turns out the whole attack has just been a demonstration of the weapons’ effectiveness and ability to adjust to any attacks upon it. Picard agrees to “buy” the arsenal. The demonstration ends and the attacks stop. Anticlimax.

6/10 - Bit of a mixed bag, but interesting enough to hold your attention.

Do you have any idea how boring it is to have to find different ways of saying that an episode is good on paper but lacking in practice? That phrase could pretty much be the review for most of this fucking season!

Concept good, execution meh. There, I said it. And that’s how I’m going to say it from now on.

Previous Episode | TNG Masterpost | Next Episode

#star trek #star trek tng #star trek the next generation #the next generation #uss enterprise #jean luc picard #will riker #deanna troi #tasha yar #geordi la forge #data #star trek worf #beverly crusher #wesley crusher #holograms #weapons dealer #reviews #tv review #series review #star trek review

[pb1138]

Jealousy

So, it’s almost 11pm at night. I still have to pack a week’s worth of shit to go home tomorrow. I have to study vital information for my job and read a contract for a new job. I have to clean my room. I have to finish some work. And I have to get to bed by at least 1 because I have work at 9.

SO HEY LET’S WRITE SOME FANFICTIONS THAT LITERALLY NOBODY ASKED FOR!!! :D

Summary: Quark grabs something he shouldn’t and Data gets very jealous. 

Warnings: Minor unwanted groping, a bit of possessiveness, but otherwise not a whole lot.

The Enterprise arrived at Deep Space 9 at 0930 hours. Most of the crew had elected to go to Bajor to spend some shore leave in the sunshine, but most of the bridge crew and some lower officers, including yourself, decided to stay and explore/study the ex-Cardassian station.

Picard had arranged for nearly two weeks of shore leave since it had been nearly four months since their last chance to take a breather. Everyone, even Data, had begun to get irritable, tired, antsy, you name it. It was surprising that you managed to feel relieved as you stepped onto the station. You had expected it to be little different than stepping from one endless hallway on the Enterprise to another. But, whether it was because of the array of people, the cheers of “DABO!” echoing all the way down to the docking bay, or even just the way the air smelled just the tiniest smidge more like Andorian cuisine, the second you had through the doors you felt a giant weight come off your shoulders, as though the last four months were only three and a half. Mostly, you were excited to see O’Brian. He had been your tutor on board the Enterprise, and a very dear friend. It had been about two years since he and Keiko transferred to DS9 and you hadn’t seen him since then.

Data took your hand in his as he came up behind you. He gave you a genuine smile that you happily returned, and the two of you headed towards the Promenade. As you two stepped over the bulkhead, you heard the screeching of Lwaxana Troi shouting, “Odo!” You could just barely see the brightly clad woman nearly sprinting across the Promenade after a man with a halfway-defined face who was trying to inconspicuously run the other way. Deanna and Will stood off to the side, laughing to themselves. Lwaxana had been talking about practically nothing but the station’s chief of security for the three weeks she was aboard the Enterprise, much to Picard’s relief.

Data quickly became the object of attention, with several alien scientists converging on him, asking him a trillion questions about his processing speeds, his aging processes, his positronic matrix. He started being physically pushed away from you and you just laughed, waving him on. “Go ahead, I’m going to go find O’Brian.” He tried to stammer something out, but waved it off with a sigh and turned his attention to his adoring fans.

You watched him go with a smile before you felt a shoulder bump intentionally into yours. You looked over and saw O’Brian there, smiling widely at you. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said, folding his arms across his chest.

You laughed and clapped your hand on his shoulder. “Oh, Chief, you have absolutely no idea.”

He chuckled, taking your arm in his, and he started guiding you to what looked like a bar. “Come, let’s have a drink and catch up a bit. You can tell me all about how my ship is holding up.”

The two of you sat at the bar for what felt like minutes (but, judging by the soreness of your butt, was really two or three hours) before O’Brian’s combadge chirped and someone asked him to take a look at a personal replicator which would only produce stale gagh. You said your goodbyes and he left you with a hug, promising to see you again tomorrow.

You turned your back to the bar, leaning your elbows on it and you watched the gambling tables with latent interest. After a while, the Ferengi barkeep approached, wringing his hands nervously. “Um, I’m afraid you two will have to order something else or my brother will—”

He couldn’t finish his idea before another Ferengi, this one not wearing the traditional Ferengi headdress and who was wearing a surprisingly nice suit, swatted him away. “I am so sorry for Rom. He’s an idiot, but he’s family. My name is Quark. Is there something I can get you? A Cardassian Sunrise? Some Dabo chips? Some…time in the holosuite, perhaps?”

You smiled at him, not noticing how the simple action seemed to make him do a double take. “You know, I would love a Romulan Ale. But, considering that it’s illegal, I’ll settle for Bloodwine, neat.”

He nodded and slipped behind the bar. “So, what brings you to DS9?”

You turned to face him, putting your chin in your hand. “Shore leave.”

“Hell of a place for shore leave. Here you go, one ‘Bloodwine.’”

You quirked an eyebrow and smirked at him as you looked down at your clearly-not-red drink. “Why, thank you.” You took a sip and sighed in relaxation. “This is some good ‘Bloodwine.’”

“Only the best for my esteemed customers.” He took to wiping out a raktajino mug, eyeing you up and down. “What ship are you based out of? Obviously Starfleet. You sure seemed to know the Chief, too. If I had to guess, I’d say…Enterprise?”

You nodded to him, taking another sip of your Romulan Ale. “You got it. First shore leave in four months.”

He let out a whistle, learning against his side of the bar. “That’s rough. A pretty thing like you deserves to be in the sun, not cooped up in some boring old starship.”

You raised your eyebrows at him and finished your ale in a quick move. You decided to let the sexism go. Ferengis weren’t known for their political correctness or their appropriate behavior around women. You tapped on the glass and put it back on the bar. “Well, without O’Brian, it’s just me and Geordi who can keep the thing in the air. Er, you know what I mean.”

He refilled your glass, slowly, you suppose so he could stare at your breasts. You kind of regretted your dress, at least the strapless-ness of it. It was floor length, grey with thin white stripes, and the bust was too short for your breasts. But, the bust was tight enough that you didn’t need a bra, and damn if your cleavage didn’t look good. You almost couldn’t be offended that he wanted to stare. You snapped at him, pointing up to your face. “Up here, buddy. Eyes off the merchandise.”

He cleared his throat and stood up, passing you a refilled glass. “So this Geordi guy. He your boyfriend?”

You scoffed. “No. We tried it once. It was terrible. Like, the worst.”

He grew a devious smile and scooted around to sit by you, bringing the bottle of Ale with him and another glass. “You don’t say.”

You subconsciously scooted about halfway off of your stool, away from him. You shrugged, shooting back the glass in one go and passed it to him to refill. “Eh. It was a long time ago.”

You weren’t looking at him, but if you had, you would have seen how his arm didn’t return to his side after he passed your drink back. Instead, it went straight to your ass, which he promptly gave a squeeze. You let out a squeal and jumped to your feet, bumping back into something hard. You turned to look and saw Data and sighed in relief. “Oh, Data. It’s you.”

Data moved around you and partially shielded you from Quark. You saw the Ferengi stumble over his stool, eyes wide as he took in the android. “Hey, look pal, there’s just been some kind of misunderstanding here.”

Data let out a noise that sounded sort of like a growl before he grabbed the Ferengi’s chest and drew the shorter man up off the floor. It was kind of funny to see his legs kicking in the air. “You have inappropriately placed your hands upon my girlfriend. I suggest you begin explaining how there was a ‘misunderstanding.’”

The Ferengi stammered for words, clawing at Data’s hand.

You gently touched Data’s other arm, wrapping yours around it. “Data, honey, it’s not worth it.”

Data looked at you and the anger in his expression instantly faded away. He turned back to Quark and put him down, a little roughly. “Let this be a lesson to you. It is never appropriate to touch somebody without their permission.” He glowered down at Quark. “No matter what you are misconceiving. Without spoken, sober consent, you are committing assault.”

Quark nodded, raising his hands in defense. “I hear you, I hear you. I’ll never touch a woman again.”

Data nodded, and almost turned to leave before he turned back. “And, apologize to the lady.”

Quark started spewing out the fastest, most afraid apology you had ever heard. You held up your hand to him to shut him up, reached across and grabbed the glass of ale, and knocked it back. “Just put these drinks on the house and I’ll let it slide.”

The Ferengi started to protest, no doubt because Romulan Ale is difficult to smuggle in, but thought better of it when he saw Data’s quirked brow. “Of course, yes, please, take the bottle.”

You beamed at him, accepting it from him wordlessly before you turned to leave, tugging on Data’s arm. “Come on, Data. I want to go watch the wormhole.”

The two of you sat on the railing above the Promenade, watching the wormhole open and close with ships coming and going. You looked over at Data, inebriation starting to take hold of your mind. You scooted closer to him and took his hand in yours. “Thank you, Data.”

He turned to you and quirked his brow. “For what?”

You smiled, leaning your head on his shoulder, entwining your fingers in his. “For coming to my rescue. It was a little much, but I still appreciate it.”

He chuckled slightly, leaning his head on top of yours. “I believe I was feeling a new emotion.”

“Oh?” you said, looking up at him.

“Yes. It was a most unusual sensation. I saw you two sitting there and I was happy to see you. And then I observed that you were sitting 13.54 centimeters off of the edge of your stool away from him and I grew concerned. And then, when his hand began to move, I was overcome with such…anger, but not like anger I have ever experienced before. It was…overwhelming. But there was also an element of being insulted, and an element of protection, and also an element of fear and—”

You cut him off by putting your hand on his lips. “Data, babe, that emotion is called jealousy. A little jealousy every now and then is fine, natural, even to a small degree flattering. But, you have to be careful to not let it become too overpowering. There’s a fine line between jealousy and possession.”

He tilted his head, considering your words before his expression grew concerned. “Did I cross that line?”

You smiled slightly and kissed his cheek. “Maybe a little, but I’ll let it slide since you were so gallant. I mean, he did grab my ass.” You chuckled and pressed your lips to his before he could begin to express his next question and he smiled into you, wrapping his arma round your shoulders to pull you closer.

The two of you sat in front of the window for another hour or so until the station security chief Odo came by, swatting you two off of “his railings,” an enamored Lwaxana of Troi hanging onto his arm like a school girl.

#data #data x reader #emotion chip data #emotion chip #star trek #star trek next gen #star trek enterprise #enterprise #star trek deep space nine #star trek deep space 9 #deep space nine #deep space 9 #quark #ferengi #star trek x reader #jealousy #jealous

[lacetrekmusings]

tng liveblog episode 19 ‘Heart of Glory’

i’m having a really shitty night letsee if TNG helps

wow they jsut launched right into the drama here. no build up. I like it. You guys to don’t have to set the scene in every episode. they’re learning!

wow they’re like really willing to separate the saucer at all times

ROMULANS???? HELL YEAH HELL YEAH (asshole aliens always end up being my fave... why is that)

aww just someone the Romulans beat up. Talarians? sounds familiar but... why...

best thing about netflix trek watching is skipping the poening o you don’t find yourself mockingly repeating ‘where no one has gone before after five episodes even though you love that bit.

Geordi’s visor infoooooo SO COOL WE GET TO SEE HOW GEORDI SEES THE WORLD. OMG I LVOE THIS. Geordi’s explaining everything. DATA IS GLOWING AND GEORDI JUST THOUGHT EVERYONE SEES DATA WITH HIS FANCY AURA ALL THE TIME THIS IS SO GREAT

You know if they were worried it was a trap... why didn’t they take any security officers with you?

aw no more cool geordi vision

I lover demonstrations of strong data man.

KLINGONSSSSSSS (everyone looks at Worf... Guys he doesn’t just know every klingon)

‘Beam them out now!’ that’s a lot of pressure to put on Tasha man...she’s not even the transporter tech

the klingons looking at worf like WTFFFFF. lol these guys are like ‘Yeah but they were *ferengi* so we blew them up

this meeting with these guys is weirdly cordial

wow that subspace frequency takes a forever... guys launch some bouys or something.

Don’t mock worf guys. it’s not cool.

aww their friend died. Time for KLINGON HOWLING fuck yeah i love it when they do that.

WORF’S ADOPTED FAMILY MENTIONED WORF BACKSTORRRYYYYYYYYYYY.

These klingon bros ran away so they could find a better fight... this mentality that peace stagnates them is what led to them picking that fight with the Cardassians in ds9 man

Klingons have come back to finish the job man

Worf babe, I think these guys aren’t gonna help you out.

Good to know the klingons atren’t down for taking kids hostage

I can’t wait for worf to get his proper bandoleer.

Worf’s speaking klingonnnnnn aww he’s standing up for them.

One should never ever assume a klingon is unarmed. ever.

aww his buddy died. yeah I think this guy is determined to go out on his own terms no matter what.

yeah picard trust your Worf.

dude.... that’s an awful lot of hope you’ve place on worf after only knowing him a few hours

WORF HAS REAL HONOR DUDE YOU WOULDN’T GET THAT

Wow glass floors in engineering are a super bad idea

He will howl for you dude and warn Sto-va-kor of your arrival.

THEY DIED WELL. they did man, they did. aww he’s offering Worf a spot on his ship.

lol they’re all like ‘WORF YOU CAN’T LEAVE US’

i’m so pleased they gave worf a proper episode. that was lovely.

#tng musings #star trek tng #tng: Heart of Glory

[starship-imzadi]

S2 E15 Pen Pals

It's amazing how many things the Enterprise stops to look at for not being a science vessel... They're part science part tactical... because exploration can be as dangerous as it is interesting....or something.

Troi: I never particularly though if you as an animal person

Picard: small animals no, but horses...

And then over thirty years later lo and behold he has a pitbull...

I don't know anything about horses but from a quick internet search that looks to be an English saddle.

That sounds like some sort of telepathic Doctor Dolittle. It never feels like someone is planning out what Betazoids are actually capable of. Instead it feel like every episode somebody different just makes something up they think sounds alien enough and then just throw it at Marina to try to integrate it into her character, regardless of any contradictory or weird material.

Riker is the ultimate space dad

"well, the game isn't big enough unless it scares you a little"

I have a hypothesis (bear with me): everyone hates Wesley, viewers I mean, because secretly they're jealous of him. Who wouldn't want Picard, Worf, Troi, Riker, and Geordi as surrogate parents? (Pulaski doesn't count; Data sort of a child in his own right) I mean imagine having all those people to support you and with such dedication and care.... Remember there are other kids Wesley's age on this ship too.

[The old hypothesis is Welsey is set up as boy genius whose only job is to inexplicably save the crew every time they're too stupid to figure it out for themselves]

I love Troi and Riker walking down a hallway together. Troi laughs but Riker didn't say anything...(telepathy?!?) Also, I can't get over the parental vibe they give off. Part if it is they feel like such a partnership, it doesn't need to be hetero normative, it's the fact that they're so mentally in sync in their guidance of Wes, they work as a unit which good parents should as a source of stability.

The pep talk from Pulaski....if she did more of that she might change my mind about her.

Riker flirting hasn't been that frequently up to this point. So far his romantic/sexual interactions have been in "Justice" and "Angel One" and there seemed to be some slight flirting in "Home Soil". Minuet was, of course, a creation in the holodeck so I wouldn't quite put her in the same category (there was also that time Riker was listening to music played by two hologram women in his quarters in "Haven") I would say there are two separate developments established: his enjoyment of women and his desire to be "social" (as it was put in "The Outrageous Okona". In "Encounter at Farpoint" he very noticeably didn't flirt with the woman who showed him how to use the Enterprise computer.

It'll be interesting to see, and I'll pay close attention as I go, how the relationship between Troi and Riker develops. What I remember before is it sort of gets pushed to the background. Depending on the chosen point of reference it already kind of has (compared to "The Naked Now" for example). But seeing Troi and Riker walking down the hall they're clearly still close. Whatever label their relationship has they seem to retain each other as their primary confidantes.

"family emergency" ❤️ HE REALLY IS A SPACE DAD!!!

This episode shows so much of why I like Riker. He's very available to Wes for advice (as he always is whether it's girls or something else) and he's reasonable and wise.

This episode feels very different from any prior episode, and I mean that in a very positive way. We've never seen this level or frequency of debate between upper command. It's establishing a new level of relationship, how open they are to genuine debate and honest discussion. It shows their group dynamic a lot more, as opposed to the frequent pairing off. It's also informal enough it feels like they enjoy each other's opinions and debate, they're not here just because they've been ordered to be present.

Damn the Prime Directive

And look at Riker lounging in that chair; he's so much more relaxed and at home than he used to be.

The Captain's second cup of tea

Riker officially protecting O'Brien makes me think of "Lower Deck". We the audience grow so accustomed to the principal characters that I feel almost like I take for granted how familiar they are. In this sense I mean familiar like family: we see their private conversations, their security clearance secrets, their personal lives. I really enjoy the dynamic change, to be reminded of the responsibility they carry.

The finger prosthetics don't really work. It's good to try something more than the usual variation on forehead bumps but it looks bad.

I really like how direct and Riker is with his support of Wesley. Saying the words "I'm proud of you" can make such a difference in a kid's life.

I have no memory of having watched this episode before but I really, really liked it. I didn't even mind Pulaski. Maybe she's getting better.

#space dad

[fmlfpl]

Lineup Lamentations - Blank GW28

Our Transfers, Captains, and Starting 11s for the week!

No Walsh this week at all so thank you to both Derek and Guest for subbing into Friday (Thursday) My Life and also doubley thanks to Guest for subbing in for these Lambs.

<3 Pod Boys <3

—

GUEST JASON

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Aubameyang, Maupay, Mahrez

IN (for -4 points hit): Vardy, Jiménez, H. Barnes

Hits are good. Discounted hits for -2 are even better.

I’m contradicting some of my positions on the pod after a solid night of sleep and many dreams about Saka. On whether or not to drop Aubz it comes down to the simple fact of 2 matches > 1 match. That and the sound of Alon saying “Aubz and Vardy are the same player.”

Elsewhere, Neal Tha God’s watch has ended and I decided to go for Jimi over Jota. This transfer was meant to be a long-term hold and I feel like Jimi can better take care of my wants and needs on that kind of timeline better than fuckboi Jota. Harvey Barnes finally arrives and the people rejoice.

I hope everyone had a great Whiskey Thursday. Now let’s get to work.

GK:

Schmeichel (nor)

Woodman owners are unlucky this week with the blank so trusted backup keeper Schmikes comes in to cover. Normal service will soon resume but for this weekend I’m gonna be Like Schmikes.

DEF:

Alexander-Arnold & van Dijk (wat)

This father and son duo are the lifeblood of my defense and long may it last. Conceding to Moyes’ Boys last week was not encouraging but I’ll take it as a blip and trust that at Twatty the clean is still V V Due.

Stephens (whu)

Jack the Lad comes up against a garbage team with a garbage manager. Reasonable expectations of a clean but I’ll still consider myself lucky if it comes through.

Rico (CHE)

Fuck Rico and fuck me for owning him.

MID:

Salah (wat)

I would never sideways transfer you to Mane. Go on lad, collect your 3 points and fuck over the captaincy masses.

Barnes (nor)

I welcome this Pretty Young Thing to the squad with great anticipation. Long the apple of my eye-test, this patch of green fixtures has been drawing us closer and closer together for weeks. Well here we are. Let’s fuck.

Traoré (tot)

Eagerly anticipating the 20-minute appearance and 1 point return as per. He much prefers playing on the continent so fuck me, I guess.

FWD:

Ings (whu)

Lads, it’s West Ham. Dings will dong as Dings does.

Jiménez (tot)

I opted for the security blanket of Jimi rather than chasing Jota’s goals from last week. Fair chance that this spot stays untouched from here on out.

Vardy (nor)

Vardy is Auba. Einhorn is Finkle. Right then, simple transfer. But the true dumb thing that pushed me over the line on making this transfer was reading that Vardz is on 97 career prem goals. The thought of him hitting that hundo with a hatty on his 200th appearance… that’s narrative baby.

CAP:

Alexander-Arnold (wat)

As discussed on Friday My Thursday, I’m dead set on a differential cap this week. I’m sewing a scarlet “C” onto his chest so the whole world can see how much I love this lad.

—

ALON

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Aubameyang and Martial

IN: Vardy and H. Barnes

Look at us bringing in all the Leicester attackers!

In the end I decided against taking a hit because based on talking it out with Newcastle fans and Man. United fans and Slackers and people on Twitter I feel pretty ok about starting Hayden and B.Williams this week. Logic would say they start but even if only one of them starts I’ll take it.

I’m following what’s been a successful and good strategy for me which is going aggressive for the guys with high ceilings and going with guys I like and good fixtures to exploit etc... fundamentals... Vardy been missing pens and outta form and yet here we are and he’s got hatty potential against Norwich so we make those moves.

Barnes I just love and have loved since last season and he looks fantastic so I’m going there. I wasn’t feeling strongly enough about Bruno or Rich to spend 2.5ish million more on them... Also kinda cool this gives me 5m in the bank so if it ends up being a double GW next week I can basically get anyone.

GK:

McCarthy (whu)

Alex coming in to do a job here. This is why I have you bro get in there!!!

Good shout for a clean vs. West Ham always but who knows they scored twice vs. Liverpool what do I know?

DEF:

Alexander-Arnold & Gomez (wat)

Couple a lads going for it.

Big boon for me that my cup opponent does not have Trent so hoping for huge Trent scenes this week in what should be a clean... Although Watford played Liverpool really really well in the reverse fixture must be said.

Williams (eve)

I think expecting Williams back in at wingback with 3ATB for Man. United is very logical and reasonable.

It’d be a death sentence for United’s CBs to leave them 2 on 2 vs. DCL and Rich they’d just run them ragged imo so go to 3ATB which is where that formation came from in the first place to counter 442 it all makes too much sense.

BWill fresh and ready to bomb up and down the wings and get a yellow card and concede multiple goals for a 0 pointer. Get in.

MID:

Salah (wat)

Shouted on Thursday My Life that I’m thinking about the sideways Mo -> Sadio move because honestly the way Mo has looked lately and the fact he just gets triple team draped by defenders every time he’s on the ball I just do not like his prospects for regularly returning points.

That said he’s still a legend god so go on Mo prove me wrong.

Barnes (nor)

I don’t think I have it in my vocabulary to do a better write-up on Barnes then what Guest did up above so yeah just reread his poetry.

Hayden (BUR)

Isaac always finds his way into the 11 and this week he’s an integral part.

Hopefully the Geordies on Twitter are right and Bruce switches things up because they’ve been embarrassingly bad and Bentaleb is complete trash and so Hayden gets back in there. Go on.

McCarthy (bha)

Double McCarthy for me this week is interesting...

This Mc is the ultimate 1 point yellow card floor and 3 point ceiling kinda guy. We take it... Cheapest nailed mid in the game so whatever give it to me. If you offered me two points right now I would take it.

FWD:

Vardy (nor)

Alan Vardew hatty potential locked and loaded and ready to fuck. Very few shots and elite finishing he’s just like that guy Aubz who I just binned off and he has an extra match, what’s not to love?

Ings (whu)

Ingsy gonna keep Ingsing.

Jiménez (tot)

Steady Raul keep it going lad. Got a nice rest and should be ready to bang against Spurs.

CAP:

Vardy (nor)

I’m on Vardy now but there are all sorts of lineup nightmare cuck leak rumors on Twitter so I guess I might change off him before the deadline... My second favorite option is joining Guest on Trent especially since my opponent in the cup doesn’t own him. We’ll see what goes down. Godspeed.

#lineup lamentations