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lily-orchard · 3 months

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which fandom has it the worst when it comes into missing the point of the media they consume?

I can't really think of one, because I'm struggling to determine where "missing the point" ends and "ignoring the point" begins.

Actually shit, I have a scratchpad here about that somewhere.

What is media literacy? It's your ability to comprehend a work. That's all it is. It's when a work presents a theme, and that theme actually registers with you. So an example of bad media literacy is when Star Trek fans complain about newer shows "injecting politics" into Star Trek when Star Trek was always so political it bordered on straight-up communist.

But I'd go as far as to say that even that isn't their fault, because before Deep Space Nine came out and ruined Star Trek with the plague of serialization, it was always really good at balancing those really insightful episodes with episodes where Kirk punches another green alien, or Riker's beard seduces a woman, or the Doctor learns how to daydream and fantasizes about being his own self-insert fanfiction character.

Star Trek is just as goofy as it is political. So it's possible in the reality that is broadcast TV for someone to just not see those episodes. This is also true when Deep Space Nine comes around and just has less of those episodes because it's focused on chasing the trend of serialized Science Fiction about the Space Navy.

Voyager had way more of those episodes, but Voyager was the undeserved black sheep of the franchise for a long time. So it's not even that they didn't get it, they have always applauded Star Trek doing things other than being "Fully Automatic Luxury Space Communism: The Series."

And for several entries in the franchise, it was doing that. So even the best example of bad media literacy is way more complicated than Twitter would have you believe.

Fallout is probably the second best example, as it has tons of right wing fans in spite of the fact that the franchise as a whole has always been deeply critical of American jingiositic nationalism.

And yeah that's a deep paradox right there…

Until you factor in that the most popular entries in the franchise are the ones that don't do that. When you remember that, you realize it's suddenly very easy to be a right wing, jingoistic Fallout fan. You just have to not play the games that told you to your face that you're an idiot.

Which is a whole... two of them.

To give a less politically charged example, Baldur's Gate 3 has an origin character called The Dark Urge, which is a Bhaalspawn whose story is about resisting the impulses of their tainted blood. This goes hand in hand with another character, Orin the Red, which is both a second and third generation Bhaalspawn, being the daughter and granddaughter of Sarevok (no you didn't hear that wrong).

A lot of people who play Dark Urge save it for an evil murderhobo run, but I've heard many people claim they love the idea of a good-aligned Dark Urge that resists Bhaal's taint in stark contrast to their sister.

What most people who have played this game are unaware of is that this idea is literally the entire plot of the previous games. Gorion's Ward and Imoen's conflicts with their brother Sarevok, and the rest of their siblings among the Five, and how they resist Bhaal's essence and strive to do good is the entire plot of the best series of RPGs ever made.

Yes Good-Aligned Dark Urge players, this story would be compelling. I would know, because I played it twenty years ago.

And if I were a weaker human being, I could call this Bad Media Literacy, but I know better. Most people who have played Baldur's Gate 3 flat out haven't played the older games. They might vaguely know the story, but the level to which the story is about Nature versus Nurture would fly over their heads. This is partly why I often say that Baldur's Gate 3 is a better game if you haven't played the originals, because it often steals storylines and plotlines directly from the original games wholesale and repackaged them with more preservatives and lube.

I haven't found an instance of poor media literacy that has not been able to be explained away by the simple reality of personal preference or the reality that no human being can consume every last piece of art on the planet.

Most people don't have time to see everything, and honestly it isn't a crime to be dumb. What I have seen is this technical sounding term be thrown around by fandoms angry about discourse they don't like, because the worse a work is the more adversarial and abusive the fanbase is.

In the eyes of fandom, the themes of a work are self-evident of it's quality. It's impossible to both understand a work's themes and still think it isn't good. So if someone thinks their favourite thing is bad, they must not have understood it. This is an offshoot of the way fandom treat's a trope's mere presence as quality itself regardless of execution.

Fandom is full of self-protective bullshit arguments like this.

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three-drink-amy · 2 months

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Thanks for the tag @kiwiana-writes! Here’s a sneak peek at the next chapter of the bodyguard fic!

Just as the door is about to close, Pez’s eyes flash over to Alex. Immediately, they widen, a brilliant smile crossing his face. He pulls Henry to his side, his arm going around his shoulder as he turns them to face Alex. “And who is this?” he asks.

“Er, my bodyguard…” Henry says, staring at Pez like he’s missing something.

“Wow,” Pez says, nodding approvingly. “You’re quite different from that old windbag, Riker.”

Alex laughs. “Well, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

With a pleased grin, Pez replies, “You should. You really should.” Henry rolls his eyes, trying to nudge Pez inside. Shrugging him off, Pez keeps watching Alex. “Why don’t you come in and join us?”

Henry locks eyes with Alex. For a second, Alex has genuinely no idea how to react. Protocol calls for Alex to wait outside the premises. But Henry would be just as protected if he were inside. Does Henry even want him to come in and spend time with them? He’s spent so much of the week with Alex already. What if he wants some fucking peace from him?

“I don’t… think I should…” Alex tries.

Pez won’t take no for an answer, though. From all of Henry’s stories, Alex should have realized that would be the case. “No, I insist. I’d love to get to know the person protecting my best mate.”

Glancing over at Henry, Alex raises a brow in question. With a small shrug, Henry gives a half-hearted nod and walks further inside. It feels like he doesn’t want him there, but he doesn’t know how to say no with Pez’s overwhelming demands. So, Alex goes inside.

No pressure tagging; @everwitch-magiks @welcometololaland @rmd-writes @orchidscript @strandnreyes @carlos-in-glasses @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @liminalmemories21 @cha-melodius @dumbpeachjuice @thisbuildinghasfeelings @walkinginland @indestructibleheart @inexplicablymine

#wip wednesday #bodyguard AU

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sshbpodcast · 4 months

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Character Spotlight: Katherine Pulaski

By Ames

We may have only had Dr. Pulaski for one season of The Next Generation, but that didn’t stop her from leaving an impression. Your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By are big fans of her character and also of Diana Muldaur’s performance of the cantankerous and brilliant doctor who graced the Enterprise-D’s sickbay during Dr. Crusher’s time away from the ship (more on her next week!). She even made a couple of our top characters lists from TNG!

There’s a lot of negative feelings about the McCoy knockoff in the Star Trek community, and we’ll cover some of those below, but overall we have to give credit to the good doctor for how much she grew in only the twenty episodes we had her. By the end of season two, she was viewing Data as a peer, saving lives left and right, and fighting for the rights of other species. There’s no telling how much better she’d get if she stuck around. So raise a cup of Klingon tea to the best CMO of the Enterprise (I said it!) with our highlights below and elaborated upon in this week’s podcast episode (timestamp for this one is 58:29). Fight us, haters.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

Crammed full of crumpets We’ve made a running gag on the podcast about how Professor Moriarty stuffed the doctor full of crumpets in “Elementary, Dear Data” but there’s more to this episode than crude jokes and blue humor. Pulaski ran with the Holmesian scenario in the holodeck, proved to be stalwart and brave in a hostage situation, and totally rocked the period attire!

At least someone still remembers quarantine procedures While the whole thing did backfire on her, Pulaski’s actions in “Unnatural Selection” kept the rest of the crew safe. She was willing to risk her own health on her hunch that the augmented children weren’t carrying any pathogens, but let’s give her credit for taking the child and Data out in a shuttle so that, if (and when) things went wrong, things were contained.

Knives and bearskins! When the biobeds are on the fritz due to the contagion in “Contagion” and her staff is whining that the bone knitter isn’t working, Pulaski pulls some tried and true methods out of her back pocket – make a splint! It may be archaic medical technology, but it’ll do in a pinch and having that kind of medical knowledge saves the day (or saves someone’s leg at least).

Generous doses of PCS I just really love the sweet little moment during “The Icarus Factor” when Dr. Pulaski is tending to some crewmember suffering from the flu and says part of her prescription is PCS – Pulaski’s Chicken Soup. It shows how much she cares about her patients and gives the audience that warm feeling of having someone care for you when you’re home sick from school.

Jettison the emotional baggage you’re still carrying around Also I have to give my girl some props later in “The Icarus Factor” when she’s flirting with Kyle Riker right in front of Will. We find it a nice character inclusion that she and Kyle used to be down to clown, and even that she would have married him in a heartbeat, and she tells his son off in the most “oh no she didn’t!” way and then proceeds to drop like fifty mics all over Ten Forward.

Take your Prime Directive and shove it up your hatch! We on this podcast (who am I kidding; it’s mostly Chris) have a certain skepticism about the Prime Directive sometimes, and it’s usually the CMOs of their respective shows that get to question it most blatantly. Pulaski sure does in “Pen Pals” because screw the prime directive in this case! When a whole planet is on the line, Pulaski is the conscience that we all need!

Forget me, forget me not This is one that could have gone in either the Top Moments or the Worst Moments list because, face it, mind wipes are horrifying. But I’m gonna give Pulaski the win for erasing Sarjenka’s memories in “Pen Pals” because it’s impressive as hell. And she uses it to kinda-sorta stay within the Prime Directive that we just shat on. Plus she let Sarjenka keep the singing rock!

You’re still the Captain. Invincible. I’m still not certain what Chris was getting at about Pulaski’s letting Picard avoid the heart treatment he’s been neglecting out of sheer vanity in “Samaritan Snare,” but I’ll do you one better: she winds up fixing his stupid ticker for him in the end anyway! And is the grouchy little man thankful afterwards? Not even a little bit! Pulaski gets no respect, I tells ya!

Quote me a little of that poetry While you’ll see in just a moment that Pulaski’s views on Klingons were initially unkind, by “Up the Long Ladder,” she’d bonded with Worf enough that she was willing to engage in some Klingon rituals. She goes out of her way to concoct an antidote so she can take part in a poisonous tea ceremony with him, which is above and beyond (and also fuels some shipping), and she also keeps Worf’s measles a secret!

Bust him up, Data! In “Peak Performance,” it’s Pulaski who sets up the Strategema match between Data and Sirna Kolrami, and she ends up feeling really bad for goading him when he loses to that smug Zakdorn prick. So it’s that much sweeter that she’s there cheering him on when Data thinks outside the box causes the stalemate, telling him that in that way, he did indeed beat him!

Feelings of warmth and friendship What a shame that the last episode we got with this amazing character was one of the most infamously bad. But none of that is on Pulaski because she’s actually on full display in “Shades of Grey,” partly because she’s one of few characters in the non-clipshow scenes. But she (and Troi, as I brought up last week) pulled out all the stops to save Riker’s brain from certain doom.

Pull your head out of your ass! Okay, this last one’s not canon, but I just couldn’t help including this plug to go read Caitlin’s fanfic “The Pulaski Maneuver”!!! Or listen to it on the podcast back when we wrapped TNG with our episode “Tales from the Holodeck.” Pulaski finally telling Geordi everything that he’s deserved to hear might be my favorite moment, and it’s so in her character that I say it counts!

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Worst moments

The cold hand of technology Most of Pulaski’s negative personality traits are going to circle around her treatment of Data as a piece of equipment and not an individual. In her introduction episode, “The Child,” one of her early interactions with Data is to tell him he’s not wanted in the delivery room because he lacks the human touch. Lucky for us, Troi sticks up for him and he gets to watch her whelp an alien baby.

One is my name; the other is not Shortly afterwards, still in “The Child,” we get one of the fandom’s most hated moments from Pulaski when she not only mispronounces Data’s name, but doesn’t seem to understand that doing so is rude and problematic, instead deciding to put the onus on him for being capable of offense. It’s a tough moment for fans to accept, and if that were the level of bigotry her character stayed at, I’d understand why so many Trekkies dislike the character.

I’m not accustomed to working with non-living devices More growing pains come from Pulaski in “Where Silence Has Lease,” in which she refers to Data as “it” and Picard has to gently correct her. We’re two episodes into the season at this point, and Pulaski is still finding it difficult to accept the personhood of this fan-favorite character, something viewers pretty much got on board with in episode one. At least she apologized.

The mystery of the lack of any mystery Here we are, three episodes in when we reach “Elementary, Dear Data” and we see more of Pulaski judging Data for being incapable of thinking creatively when he solves Holmesian riddles. We may have blamed Geordi for accidentally creating Moriarty when we covered his character spotlight, but it was definitely Pulaski who goaded them on in the first place.

Medical research is sometimes a risky business While we may have praised her above for not putting everyone else at risk when she released the augmented child from his wrapper in “Unnatural Selection,” Pulaski was still dead wrong about the experiment being at all safe. She still got contaminated by the fast-aging disease and was resigned to her fate until Picard and O’Brien were able to transport her back. Speaking of which…

I’m a doctor, not an original character One rather understandable complaint we can see in the Pulaski character is that she’s just Dr. McCoy in a skirt. Which may not be a bad thing, per se, but when we see her racism against the outsider character, her Bones-like irascibility, and even her specific fear of transporters in “Unnatural Selection,” we start to wonder if the writers couldn’t have been a little more original.

I’m just glad that humans have progressed beyond the need for barbaric display We get a couple glimpses that Pulaski is a little repulsed by Klingon culture throughout the show. First, in “A Matter of Honor,” she’s grossed out by Klingon cuisine and calls Klingons barbaric, and not in the way Klingons would probably like. And she also gets a little smug after watching Worf’s Age of Ascension ceremony in “The Icarus Factor,” which she seemed pretty judgey about (but hey, at least she went!).

Quit cloning around! We gave Riker some guff for this as well in his character spotlight, and there’s enough guff to go around to give to Pulaski as well for their actions in “Up the Long Ladder.” Sure, the clones were made of them without their consent, but to take matters into their own hands and murder these people without discussion is not the Starfleet way.

Never to be heard from again… Obviously the worst character moment for us is Pulaski leaving the show after just one season. Notice how most of the bad moments come from earlier and the good moments are mostly from the latter half of the season. That shows how much the character was getting better, even in the rough first couple seasons of the show (you’ve heard our coverage of Chaos on the Bridge, right?). And while many celebrate the return of Crusher, we still have to wonder what the show would be like with more Dr. Pulaski.

—

And just like that, she’s gone and so is this blogpost. Keep following along because we’ve got another doctor of the Enterprise-D to discuss next week, and it’s not Selar! We also hope you’re making the schlep through Enterprise with us as we cover the whole thing over on SoundCloud or your podcast platform of choice. Wave your medical tricorders over our Facebook and Twitter pages, and get the pronunciation right: It’s Data, not Data!

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prettyboypistol · 21 days

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Star Trek TNG Men Reacting to a Sudden Confession! (x M!Reader)(mutual pining)

(Worf, Data, Will, Picard, Geordi)

Worf

Surprised, but very confused and refuses to show it

Mentally freaking out but physically stoic, rejects you at first- then asks to think about it- then accepts your feelings about three days later.

Asks if you are joking initially and orders you back to your station, but you stay in his mind for every waking moment(and asleep moment!) thinking about how a human/klingon romance would work between two men... two men kissing... battling for dom-"YES WORF SPEAKING WHAT IS NEEDED?"

Data

"as an artificial intelligence bot, I-" chat GPT aa

Curious and asks a bunch of questions (how did you know you were in love? What made you confess? What about me drew you to romantic attraction?)

Would accept your feelings and offer a trial relationship period to see and study how people act in romantic situations- after all, that information is hard to come by!

Will/Riker

RizzLord96 over here with a charming smile and a witty remark to your confession. If he's in the mood, he'll kiss your hand and remark about he knew he still had it.

He gives "fuck on the first date" energy, so just like... be prepared?

He'd call you cute for confessing and charms you to death with flirty remarks but mentally freaking about how to handle this.

Picard

maaaan rip this man will insta reject you even if he likes you back. He's so sacrificial that he'll tell you "it's for the greater good"

Just know that you're all he thinks about.

You're like a plague in his mind, a fever he can't sweat out. Definitely regrets his actions for a long while when you give him longing stares from across the hallways.

Geordi

Probably the most chill out of the group ngl a "really? Me?" and a "Wow, I never expected you to like me back, man."

little shy smiles from across the room and awkward waves, lunch minidates where you two lowkey dance around actually flirting but the mutual affection is clear as day to anyone who sees you two

secret Lore

RIP TO LORE HE HAS NEVER ENCOUNTERED THIS BEFORE

"Oh! Of course I knew this was coming. It was obviously written all over your face." (he did not know and it's burning up his wires inside that he's flustered)

short circuits a little bit but acts all high and mighty about "seducing" you so easily.

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maleyanderecafe · 24 days

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Hey, Idk if you’re into sadodere stuff, but i found this game that was just released with some great artwork. https://mellowbile.itch.io/where-he-is-king

Don’t feel obligated to play. Just a recommendation!

Normally I don't do sadodere stuff because, well, I am a yandere based blog, but I figured I might give it a shot. This game is very bloody and contains nudity, having an r18 rating on it. It is, however, very wonderfully made visually, with animations for the blood as well as quite a lot of CGs. The main character we see here, Friedrich “JunJingl” Marchosias, has quite a number of horrific forms, all of which look very cool and horrifying. You can try the game here, but be sure that you read all of the warnings since it can get pretty gruesome.

The story itself is pretty simple. The MC ends up meeting Friedrich, a god of sorts with a legion of demons hell bent on becoming the only god around. He and the MC had made a deal in the past, which allowed him to become powerful and he's come back to destroy the MC. Most of the endings involve running away from Friedrich, in an some horror form or another being unable to escape. Friedrich usually ends up torturing the MC, whether it be cutting her open and ripping out her guts, amputating her, eating her face, taking out an eye amongst other sorts, each with it's own unique CG and animation. There's even one where bugs come in and eat you from the inside out. There are two endings that don't end up with the MC becoming a sack of meat, with one making a deal with Friedrich again, basically stating that the MC will be his pet, causing the MC to give up their will and not be killed by Friendrich. The other is relating to his status as a god. The MC realizes that in this world, gods gain power through belief, so the more you believe that a person is a god, the more god like they become. By viewing him for what he really is, a demon, the MC is able to remember the knife they carried with them, ending up stabbing and eating his heart, with her becoming the god.

This game, at least from what I can tell, is a sort of artistic vent from the creator, and basically what I would consider either a murdersim or a torture porn to some extent. I will say that while I feel like I'm not the target audience for either genre, I can enjoy the various experience it does give me. For one, I think that the game is actually very well made from the CGs to the animated effects. Each ending has at least a handful of CGs, all of which make Friedrich this horrifying being, with tongues, teeth, eyes sticking out and making them into a true monster. I really enjoy the various forms that he takes, each more horrifying than the last. I think I just have a great love for unique monster designs honestly because that's something I hope to achieve one day. The effects for the blood splatters are really nice and watching the MC's guts come spilling out is very horrifying. I think that I really like the endings where he gouges out the MC's eyes and it actually stays on screen as if your eye had actually been taken out. It reminds me a bit of one of the routes in Forcefully Yours where Riker takes out the MC's eyes. It looks a little better on this one, but it does look very splendid. Out of all the endings though, the ending where we eat his heart and become god is my favorite, because, well, if you know me, you know I love destroying things and watching them suffer.

Generally the only real issue I have with this game is the font, because at times it is rather hard to read. The UI for some of the preference screens is also a bit small, which can likely be changed so that it's easier to actually be able to click on them. Perhaps a trigger warning before the game might be good too? I suppose since it's on the main page, it's not as big of a deal, but that's what I would at least think would be nice.

Friedrich himself is more of sadodere, which is someone who is sadistic to the person that they like. I wouldn't really qualify him as a yandere though, because while he does have some endings that do show affection towards the MC, (as seen above in the screenshot), most of them just involve him torturing and eventually killing the MC, mocking them and making them into a piece of meat. I guess you can sort of see it as a type of sadistic yandere, but he doesn't always show affection in all endings, or even most endings, so based on the very slim chance that it is, I really doubt it.

I think for what it is, it is a relatively well made game. Considering it is supposed to be a murder sim style/ torture porn style game, I think it achieved that very well. I've heard from friends that this anon has been going around promoting their game, so hopefully this ask response will do it justice. I'm sure that many in the yandere crowd will enjoy such a more sadistic game, so hopefully this will help get more people to play it. If the game does sound interesting, please give it a try.

#asks #recommendation #Where he is king

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eponymous-rose · 9 months

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So I've been rewatching Star Trek: TNG as comfort TV during/post-move and just got to Yesterday's Enterprise, which I remember liking well enough, but man, it's really unusual in the context of the rest of these early episodes. For one thing, the violence shown is a lot more stark than we've seen in the show thus far - Riker with his throat cut, Captain Garrett with the metal shrapnel in her head, lingering close-ups on dead faces. It's dark and moody and the "happy ending" resolution (as far as we know at this point, anyway) is saving the few survivors of a brutal battle, patching them up, and then shipping them straight back into that battle to be killed.

Given the show's not-so-great track record with its female characters, it's weirdly refreshing that we get a re-do for Tasha Yar. And yeah, she falls in love with a dude and goes off with him on his ship, but she was ready to say goodbye to him and that would've been that - what finally prompts her to step willingly into the meat-grinder is the realization that she had an "empty death" (Guinan had some really raw lines in this one) in the other timeline, and that now her death can have some meaning. It's nicely done, if a bit of a self-flagellating "mea culpa" on the writers' parts.

The alternate timeline isn't the gleeful, campy evil of the Mirrorverse, it's just an exhausted grind through the final days of a losing war. Lots of little touches show how desperate things have become - Wesley's been fast-tracked to a full ensign, Picard is a tactician first and foremost (he takes officers' opinions under advisement, yes, but he's also keeping from them the inevitable, imminent surrender), the bridge is laid out so the captain is front and center with everyone else in the background. As a contrast with the actual Enterprise's chill 90s living room lounge vibe, it's pretty striking. It's like a sneak preview into the bleak and war-heavy sci-fi that would start saturating pop culture a decade or so later, and then it's a firm rejection of that premise - "This isn't a ship of war. It's a ship of peace."

I have a long, long history with TNG - DS9 is my favorite Trek on balance, but TNG is encoded in my DNA. From around ages 3 and 5, my brother and I were watching and rewatching TNG constantly. (My parents would laugh over the fact that my brother didn't know how to read yet but had memorized the episode titles of the first couple seasons.) We had pajamas. We scoured every garage sale and had a giant metal can full of action figures and phasers and tricorders and ships and even, shockingly, that transporter toy that made things disappear using mirrors.

The tactile experience of those toys is burned in my brain - the loose nacelles on the Enterprise model, the click of the left phaser button, the little hole at the bottom of the Borg cube that we once stuck a pencil in and had the tip of the graphite snap off and rattle around forevermore. My brother and I played incessantly with our action figures, to the point where most of them had the paint at least partially rubbed off - we created hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of new episodes over the years. The first time I ever used a touchscreen was at some sort of Star Trek exhibition in Canada in the early 90s that we stumbled across on our way to visit my grandparents.

I'm always fascinated by how kids interact with fictional media - my brother and I were so young, but we obviously knew Star Trek wasn't real. Except... I just always assumed that important people watched it, realized "well, that seems nice", and were actively working to make that future happen. I was (perhaps a little embarrassingly) older when I realized that no, we weren't gonna be out there on science missions to the stars during my lifetime. At least, not in an Enterprise kind of way.

At any given time, there's just this Star Trek filter over how I experience the world - when I got to go to college thanks to scholarships, I had that weighty feeling of responsibility and awe that came with daydreaming about Starfleet Academy. I saw my career shift from the gold of engineering to the blue of science to the red of command. And the older I get, the more I appreciate a show that, for all its flaws, managed to make a utopia interesting and complex.

Because TNG was such a phenomenon when I was a little kid in the early 90s, a lot of my family relationships also have TNG tied up in them. I remember going to my grandparents' apartment and my uncle showing us a fan magazine about the show. I remember another uncle who didn't really "get it" but gifted me and my brother astronaut ice cream because he knew we liked that space stuff. I remember watching most episodes curled up on the couch or my parents' bed with my brother and my mom and dad. When Mom got sick and we talked about death, I remember the way she wistfully brought up the Nexus from Generations or how she hoped she could see the next season of Picard (she didn't, sadly, but she really enjoyed that first season). Hell, one of the first real bonding moments I had with my otherwise hyper-professional and businesslike PhD advisor was when she made a TNG joke, I laughed at it, and she said, "I just love that show, everyone's so nice to each other."

It's just been a lot of fun coming back to this show, is all. I think I periodically forget how much it's affected me and the extent to which it was a fundamental, formative influence. While a lot of it either hasn't aged well or fails to hold up to modern media analysis, so much of it is still lovely, and occasionally there are these moments of shockingly good storytelling.

Star Trek good.

#eponymous text post tag #eponymous moving tag 2023 #star trek tng

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stellarred · 21 days

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A TIME FOR AWE

Picard smiled tenderly at Q, who hung his head in overwhelming gratitude at the chance to finally marry and bind himself to the one being he loved in all the Universe.

"Q, it's alright," Picard whispered.

With tears slowly dripping from his ancient eyes, Q gripped both of Picard's hands tighter.

"Jean-Luc, I...I can't" Q whispered, his shoulders slightly trembling.

Picard's eyes widened in shock.

"What do you mean? You don't want to--"

"No, Jean-Luc," Q looked up and leaned forward until he and Picard's face were inches apart.

"I can't believe...this is finally happening. We're about to be married."

"Yes, we are. It's been... a journey."

Q quickly wiped a tears from his eye and caressed his Favorite's face.

"Too long, mon capitaine. But worth every milisecond."

Finally, Admiral Ramirez approached them to begin the ceremony.

Q took a deep breath and smiled broadly.

Picard turned and smiled at his closest friends and colleagues. Riker, Geordi, Beverly, Worf,and many others were in attendance.

They had made a rather lukewarm peace with Q in their own ways. But, they were happy to be there in support of their captain and friend. Despite their misgivings about Q, they trusted Picard's judgement in the end.

Even Guinan had reached some semblance of acceptance. Just barely. Although, to a few people, her saying to Q something about "knowing where Q lived if anything were to happen to Picard" created a bit of confusion and concern.

Picard sighed as he scanned the other side of the massive and opulent wedding hall.

"I don't see any of your fellow Q. I'm sorry that you are alone during this very special moment," whispered Picard.

Q chuckled.

"What does a moment matter to eternal beings, Jean-Luc? We are living embodiments of Existence Itself."

"It matters to you. And it matters to me."

Q took a deep breath, as he felt a lump in his human throat.

"But he is not alone!," a powerful voice echoed throughout the wedding hall.

Everyone watched as a member if the Q Continuum, approached the Admiral, Q, and Picard.

"Q! I didn't think anyone from the Continuum would even want to come," Q said in disbelief.

"This is a new time for you, Brother. We wanted to be here for you."

And what Q and Picard saw next would be the most humbling and awe-inspiring sight they had both ever beheld.

The columned walls and towering arches of the hall disappeared into a neverending expanse of stars and delicate nebulae.

Q caught his breath and smiled, tears welling in his eyes.

"Q,--" Picard began, looking up at him.

"Jean-Luc, look!"

Q pulled Picard close against him, almost in a protective hold.

"Do you see?" Q asked, his voice slightly trembling. He pointed towards the vastness of space.

Picard squinted as he scanned the expanse.

"I'm sorry. I don't see any--No wait!!!"

Q looked down at Picard adoringly as his capitaine began to smile.

Picard trembled with awe as a multitude of very faint forms of bending light and space, and in different sizes, began to form in the distance.

"I think...I think...I see them, Q," Picard whispered.

It was almost frightening to see, as what appeared to be hundreds of these forms slowly approaching closer and closer.

Q looked over at the Q representative, who smiled slightly.

"Well, this is a first," Q said.

The Elder Q closed his eyes and nodded.

"So it is, Q."

Q opened his mouth to speak, but his shock was so much that he pressed his trembling lips together.

"Yes, Q," the Elder said with a smile.

"The entire Continuum came."

#qcard #star trek q #q #star trek #star trek tng #q and picard #jean luc picard #eternal love #q continuum #a bit sappy #but what the hell #i love me some qcard love

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ddejavvu · 2 years

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couldi request a blurb about fake dating emily prentiss??? that woman makes me insane

send me some blurb requests!

she's actually the love of my life, i want to marry that woman.

tw: homophobia/typical cm violence/hate crimes, do not read if this will upset you.

You had to admit, you understood where the unsub's stressor had been coming from. His wife had left him three years post-marriage, after coming out as a bisexual. A homophobe, he'd lashed out on her and beaten her senseless. You'd have left him too.

The good thing about undercover work on this case was that you got to work with Emily. She was always eager to joke with you, chatter on about this and that, and it was no different now that you were on a 'date'. You had seen the unsub coming in, whispered to her that you needed to act especially affectionate, to be sure he took the bait. But you were realizing more and more that it wasn't a strain to do so, it came naturally.

"He's headed this way," She murmured, clasping your hand in hers across the table, "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." You glanced at the reflection from the glasses she'd been given, seeing the man approaching at rapid speed, and launching into your banter on a whim, "-but my mom said she couldn't watch him this weekend, so we'll have to find a catsitter."

She nodded resignedly, her red-glossed lips parting to respond, when the man stopped dead beside your table.

"Excuse me ladies," He started, his voice eerie and low, "You wouldn't happen to be interested in swinging, would you?"

You shared a dramatically thoughtful glance with Emily, raising a cautious brow, "We've talked about it once or twice."

"There's a session going on a few blocks from here, could I offer you a ride?"

You pretended to be delighted by his offer, "Oh, thank you so much! That's so thoughtful of you."

Emily nodded eagerly, "Yeah, thank you, uh...?"

"Adam," He clarified, "Call me Adam."

She nodded, never letting go of your hand before standing from her seat, helping you out of yours. The chairs were high-up, and you found yourself landing with a soft thump onto the floor of the bar.

You followed after Adam, locking eyes discreetly with Morgan who was leaning against the back wall. He nodded near-imperceptibly, slipping kindly away from the woman who had been vying for his attention to wait for your cue.

"So," Emily queried, letting Adam lead you out into the chilly night air behind the bar, "Are the hosts friends of yours?"

"You could call us that." He mused, stuffing his hands into his jacket pocket. You instinctively reached for the gun you had concealed under your dress, strapped tight to your thigh. But he didn't pull anything out, so neither did you.

He reached his car, no doubt about to slam your heads against the wall and stuff you inside. But you lingered behind him, one hand still hovering protectively over your gun.

"Well? Hop in." He flashed you two a smile, his teeth glinting eerily in the dim lights of the street.

Neither of you moved, waiting for his attack.

"Come on," He growled, rushing forward to grip Emily's wrist, "Let's go!"

"Adam Riker!" Hotch's booming voice filled the alleyway, "Step back."

You pulled your gun from your hip, aiming it at him in the blink of an eye. He stared bewilderedly up at you from where he'd stumbled against his car, fear alight in his eyes.

"Don't- don't shoot!" He begged, "I just- you were like her."

Morgan was the one to cuff him, leaving you and Emily to stand side-by-side. You had shot into what you now realized was a protective stance beside her, adrenaline coursing through your veins after he'd lunged.

She stepped away, letting out a sigh. Of relief or grief you weren't sure, but you walked after her to check.

"Everything okay?" You questioned softly, and she turned to face you, a sad smile on her face.

"It will be. Just a bit disheartened, I guess."

"Tell me about it." You mumbled, kicking a lone rock into the street, "What a dick."

She snorted softly at your assessment of Adam, nodding, "I was gonna use that word too."

"At least you were good company." You nudged her shoulder gently, falling into step with her as the team began making their way back to the vans, "It was fun to pretend I had a cat with you."

"By all means, you're welcome to share mine." She offered, and you knew it was a joke, but your heart leapt. The domesticity of the proposal left your heart soaring, and you managed to summon enough courage to respond.

"So what, I get him on weekends?"

She let out a laugh, weak but sincere, "Come over Friday night, we'll stage a custody battle so he feels important."

"I didn't have any other plans." You mused carefully, "If you're free too...?"

"Custody battle for five minutes, wine for three hours?" She suggested, a slight smirk falling over her face.

"Sounds like heaven." You ducked your face to the ground, fumbling with the car door handle, "I'll be there at five."

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warpfive · 1 year

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HOW THEY KISS YOU

how the tng men kiss you

CW: kissing, suggestive, gn!reader

CAST: jean-luc picard, will riker, data, geordi la forge, worf

JEAN-LUC - like every aspect of his life, jean-luc’s kisses are careful and well-thought out. they are never random or meaningless (though, he never considers any kiss to be devoid of meaning). and being as patient as he is, your lips are never really his first target. jen-luc is constantly thinking strategically - a cheek kiss when he’s leaving early in the morning, a nose kiss when you’re cross with him, a chin kiss while laying in bed and he’s too content to move a single inch higher. and he saves those lip kisses for when you have his complete and utter attention, and he wants his actions to speak louder than his words.

WILL - the tax for getting a kiss from will is having to hear a joke that might hit or miss. 99% of the time, a kiss is preceded with some flirtatious remark or silly joke or even a genuine compliment on how drop dead gorgeous you are in that exact moment. will nearly always leads the kiss - he’s always the one who wants more, goes deeper, stays longer. he prefers to be touching you in some place other than your mouth, like an arm around your waist, your thighs over his hips, or even something as simple as his hand against your cheek. and of course, you can expect a lot of kisses from our number one.

DATA - honestly, you’ll have to teach him how to kiss with more fluidity and passion because data has 100% only been reading guides or watching demonstrations on how to properly kiss a loved one. he’s got the spirit, if that’s any consolation - he knows to run his hands over your arms and legs, and allow you chances to breathe before swooping right back in, and even use just a little tongue (though, he’s definitely not proficient in the more advanced levels of kissing). whether or not he’s very good at it, it’s still very wholesome to see him try and ask how you’re feeling and constantly try to learn new information. and let’s not forget that data is a very quick study - he’ll be surprising you before you even know it.

GEORDI - soft and gentle, like whispers on your skin, geordi really takes his time and makes sure each kiss is good and perfect. he isn’t a fan of rushed, sloppy kisses behind corners - no, geordi likes taking your face in his hands, says something corny to make you smile, and then kisses you while you’re still struggling to stifle your laugh long enough to enjoy it. though, as an engineer, geordi knows that there’s usually several different ways to come to the same conclusion - which, of course, is making you blush. so his kisses sometimes migrate down to the backs of your knuckles, or up to the junction of your neck and shoulder, maybe even behind your ear if he’s feeling extra. but his default is always your lips - they’re what he knows best.

WORF - i don’t have to tell you that Klingon kisses are far from what humans usually give one another. and to worf’s credit, he does try it your way in the beginning. teaching himself to slow down, be tender, don’t use his teeth so much even though his body screams at him to just bite down… he refrains, and it’s usually just in his most primal moments that he gets really rough. some tiny part of him feels bad when you need to show up for your shift the next morning with marks peeking out from under your collar - but that’s just a tiny part, and worf enjoys seeing those marks almost as much as he enjoyed putting them there.

#star trek x reader #star trek headcanons #jean luc picard x reader #will riker x reader #data x reader #geordi la forge x reader #worf x reader

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lordlexion · 6 months

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Brief thoughts on Lal

I'm watching Star Trek TNG s03e16 and- I love the character of Lal. It was amazing to experience the whole process of her development (I really wish we were given more information about it) it was really comical.

But from the beginning; the process of choosing her form (and gender). At the very beginning of her existence, Lal has freedom that most beings don't have – especially us humans – yet she is faced with a very difficult choice. Because what she picks will be an integral part of her forever.

Later, a tour of Data's quarters, their shared home. That certain lack of human fluidity, was captivating. Lal's exploration of the world (although brief) was intriguing, giving a new perspective on Data's world. And all the way through Lal's learning, from what Data himself (who really did a wonderful job as a father) could and did show her, to what the school taught her. The loneliness that comes with being different, misunderstood – she might not have felt the emotion, but it's not hard to see that something is wrong.

The whole process of Lal's development was also an extraordinary experience for Data, who was given the opportunity to re-experience 'childhood' (like any other parent). Having an insight into an already familiar experience from a completely different perspective. He saw his child develop, at the same time growing with her. He was learning new things, such as what Doctor Crusher told him about sharing his experiences with his child so that he could see that he was not alone. Letting him know about his own struggles, which are similar, making a connection, just being empathetic…

Finding out about human romantic relationships, what people do and how they do it… Hasn't everyone had a kind of fascination similar to hers? The questions she asked with her conversation with Guinan are much more mature, you can see how quickly her development is progressing. She has entered a level of “puberty”.

And to top it off, a kiss with an unsuspecting Riker. I was dying of laughter.

And then there's a very important element, the conversation between Data and Lal about emotions, which resulted in them holding hands… A really moving scene and showing what an incredible family these two androids are.

I will skip over some events until the memento in which Lal experiences fear. Although her movements are strangely robotic, you can immediately see the huge level of fright she is experiencing. Her immediate going to Troy in a moment of great distress is somehow logical, and at the same time indicative of the bond she has established with others on board.

She is not just experiencing the fear that comes with talking to an admiral who is trying to separate her from her father, the ship and everything she knows, but with the very fact that she is feeling. She is experiencing feelings and that puts her into a certain level of panic.

And the end of Lal… Deep emotion, emotion, sadness, grief, mourning. There would probably be even more words to describe the emotions that were evoked by Lal's dying. And yet in all this sadness and pain, there is something beautiful to be found. Lal's (and Data's) love. Pure, innocent and strong, touching almost to tears.

How quickly can one character we have come to know in the space of a few minutes evoke such a strong attachment in the viewer, and be mourned by so many of the crew. Lal was a wonderful character who I'll never forget.

#star trek #data #star trek data #data star trek #lal #lal star trek #star trek lal #will riker #commander riker #star trek tng s03e16 #star trek tng #star trek the next generation #my thoughts #brief insight #not a reblog #star trek thoughts #star trek gifs #my gif #my gifs

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three-drink-amy · 3 months

Text

Thank you for the tag @clottedcreamfudge @thisbuildinghasfeelings and @kiwichaeng!

Henry sits in the music room, half slumped over the piano, plunking lazily at random keys. Bea walks in with an easy smile on her face. It makes Henry jealous. “Tell me of the outside world, Beatrice,” he says over-dramatically. “What color was the sky? How were the people?”

Bea sits on the couch by the piano and fixes him with a bewildered stare. “What the bloody hell is wrong with you?”

He groans as he sits himself back up on the bench. “I’m so tired of staying inside these four walls. I’m fucking bored. And I still have no idea how far along they are in the process. I have no idea when I’ll get to leave again.”

“I just don’t understand why they didn’t bump one of the other members of the security team up to your personal bodyguard,” she says, fiddling with the ends of her hair. “I’m sure Toms or Locksley or Waites would have been fine.”

“Probably,” Henry says, grumbling a bit. “I just don’t care for them much. I don’t really know them. They go in, sweep the area, etc., etc. and that’s it. They stay on the edges making sure I’m covered.”

Bea nods. “Arguably, an important job.”

“I’m not saying it’s not, Bea. I’m just saying that I don’t know them. And I requested someone new be hired so that we could just dispel all the bad blood with Riker.” He taps a key nervously. “I’m sure those three are mates with him.”

She sits up straighter, narrowing her eyes. “But they don’t treat you the way he did, right?”

Henry shakes his head easily. “No. Goodness, no.” He shrugs. “I don’t interact with them much, honestly. Beyond what is absolutely necessary.”

“Has Shaan given you any updates on how the search is going?”

Again, a shake of the head. “Not really. I worry he’s mad at me because I demanded Riker be fired.”

Bea gets up and sits next to Henry on the piano bench. “He was a total prick, H. You had every right to get him out of your life. You didn’t need to be around that constantly.”

No pressure tagging: @everwitch-magiks @indomitable-love @cha-melodius @dumbpeachjuice @athousandrooms @cricketnationrise @rmd-writes @welcometololaland @walkinginland @strandnreyes @liminalmemories21 @alrightbuckaroo @bonheur-cafe @catanisspicy @inexplicablymine

#wip wednesday

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curator-on-ao3 · 6 months

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I'd love to hear the Director's Commentary on Chrysalis 🧡

Bless you, anon. ❤️

Confession: I have no idea what a “fanfic director’s commentary” is supposed to be, so please let me know if I mess this up or if you wanted something different.

Okay, here we go …

I wrote the first 6,000 words of Chrysalis in 24 hours after the season one finale. (I went back and edited later.) It was like — you’re going to show me a multiverse? I’ll show you a multiverse.

But here’s the thing. At first, I was mad because I thought “A Quality of Mercy” diminished Pike by saying Pike wasn’t up to the job Kirk did. But then I realized that’s part of it, but not the full story. Spock gave Pike the same advice Spock gave Kirk. But Kirk took Spock’s advice when Pike didn’t. Kirk trusted Spock’s wisdom as first officer when Pike didn’t.

That factor, plus Pike’s upset when Spock answered the call for Number One, plus Pike asking repeatedly what happened to Una … well, it’s clear. The episode isn’t just about a captain’s choice. The episode is about captains and first officers and the trust they need to have in each other to be at their best. And I truly believe that’s a form of love (Riker’s face when he first saw Picard as Locutus — damn, gets me every time).

From there, it was an absolute joy to dig into how Pike would process returning to his own time only to see Una about to be taken away from him again … except oops, now they’re accidentally guilty of murder and on the run from Starfleet. So now Chris has to unpack everything — his feelings about seeing the future version of himself, the drinking he had been indulging in on Enterprise, the implications of his behavior both in a timeline in which he was away from Una and his behavior once he returned. Meanwhile, Una has inadvertently become even more of a criminal than she was before and she has to figure out who she is without Starfleet, without her fear of getting caught ... and why the hell Chris freaked out in the transporter room the way he did.

So they both need to let go — of preconceived notions about each other, of their own stubbornness, of the service that brought them joy but then turned against them. Throw in a little “best crew in the fleet” assistance, Disco canon, and Chris’ test piloting skills (plus a visit from a future Una with whom I am half in love) and we have a story.

(A note about future Una — she’s the future self I wish for all of us. She’s so kind to her past self, understanding, almost generously maternal. That’s in part to contrast with future Pikes who follow what Dr. Boyce said about Chris being too hard on himself. But it’s also because I like to think we all would find it in our hearts to be lovely to our past selves who are in the process of becoming who they need to be … hence the name of the fic pertaining to the shuttle Chris and Una enter floundering and exit three days later with surety.)

My favorite part as far as comments might be reactions to the reveal of what Chris was about to say when he said, “I don’t care what she is. That’s my f—” in the transporter room.

My favorite part for writing might be the various escapes from Starfleet.

Oh, and the sex. Because l like character revelations through sex and also these characters are both very pretty.

Want more information about a fic I wrote? Send me an ask.

#i love asks #fanfic director’s commentary #pikeuna #pikeone #pikeuna fanfic #pikeone fanfic #star trek strange new worlds #a quality of mercy #fun fact: this story has 99 kudos - will you be lucky number 100? 🙏#anon

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thegeminisage · 7 days

Text

well, it is star trek update time. last night we watched ds9's "whispers" and tng's "lower decks."

whispers (ds9):

this episode was really really really really good but it sent me into an absolute existential FIT

i don't usually like episodes where they string us along and don't give us enough clues to figure the thing out for ourselves. and that's what this did because really WHO could predict that. however the ending did gut punch me so i forgive them except i never want them to do that to me ever again

red herring with the coffee. he ordered it so many times i was sure there was something in his coffee

i feel so bad for the replicant. i feel SO BAD FOR HIM. also, did you know this is the only time in trek they use the word replicant

action hero obrien, even under false pretenses, was very very very good. he literally can kick ass and he's smart as hell too like he's so cool???

"tell keiko i love her" JESUS CHRIST. anyway!!!!!!!!

lower decks (tng):

this episode was ALSO pretty good...i really loved especially the dual poker games

i also love the waiter in ten forward who got to go to BOTH poker games, king, but where tf is guinan?? i miss her sm

riker is your worst nightmare. alexa play poker face

worf was also very good in this...he loves and supports his little guys so much. siskocore.

picard was as usual the devil incarnate. i cant believe he yelled at this girl just to see if she could take the pressure of a dangerous mission because he had RACIALLY PROFILED HER and then he, who has been tortured by cardassians, let an ensign SEVEN MONTHS INTO HER FIRST ASSIGNMENT do this covert ops shit. AND THEN SHE DIED!!!! i hope he feels bad forever

i liked her so much :( which i know is the point, but

i kind of wish that unlikable guy who was trying to suck up to riker had died instead because that would be a gut punch in a different way

ALSO NURSE OGAWA'S MAN RUNNING AROUND ON HER?? and then beverly is like oh thank god he proposed GIRL that doesn't mean you didn't see him talking to another woman! just bc you let picard do that shit does NOT mean you don't let alyssa know what you saw!!! smh

i'm still not looking forward to the show lower decks...the art style is so fucking ugly and reminds me so much of family guy, the unfunniest show ever to air on television. as in, even south park was funnier. but maybe if the plots are a little like this it will make it slightly easier to tolerate

EDITED TO ADD: i nearly forgot to mention, the vulcan this episode was CHANNELING mister leonard nimoy. i recognized so many of his little acting tics. absolutely delightful.

TONIGHT: ds9's "paradise" and tng's "thine own self" which i know has AMNESIA!!!!!! i've been in bed since i got home from work but i got out of it specifically for this reason. it better be good

#personal #star trek blogging #ds9 lb #tng lb

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