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#Star Trek PRO
unknownfaceless-ds9 · 7 months
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I need a fanfic about a Human who is working close with Vulcans or Romulans. I don't care if it's on a ship or an embassy as long as it's with as many of them as possible.
The Human knows enough about vulcan / romulan society and culture to get by and avoid any major embarassements however the finer details are not known to them, which is why they don't understand why everyone around them gets absolutely flabbergasted at the sight of their pierced ears and painted finger nails.
Meanwhile the Romulans /Vulcans try very hard not to blush and to appear as normal as ever because they don't want the Human to know that such things are more than frivolous because the Human would probably die of embarrasments.
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myenterpriseisparked · 10 months
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Rank the Star Trek captains based on whether or not they're expert road trippers
Archer - He tries. So hard. He burns a CD mixtape to listen to and rents a huge RV that only kind of works. He plans out a bunch of stops but "leaves room in the schedule for unplanned adventures :)" and then proceeds to not follow the plan at all and everything goes wrong. Actually, now that I think about it, Archer on a roadtrip would probably just mostly be the plot of the movie "RV."
Pike - He lets Una plan the stops and he METICULOUSLY plans the food. He and Una take a survey about what all their crew wants to see along the way and try so hard to integrate them all into the trip. He plays LOTS of car games, like Eye Spy or that one game where you count animals on your side of the vehicle until you see a graveyard and have to start over or that other game where you describe a movie plot badly and everyone has to guess what it is. He lets Uhura control the music and Spock read the map and Ortegas drive. The plan for the trip goes off the rails, of course, but everyone ends up having a blast anyway. Overall a SOLID roadtrip.
Kirk - Kirk takes everyone to see every single tourist trap they can find and, you know what? It's fun. Is the World's Largest Truckstop really all that special? No, but the memories they make there are. I also imagine his roadtrip largely takes place in Iowa and other parts of the Midwest so a lot of the trip is rolling cornfields. Overall not a terrible trip, if a little slow and nutty.
Picard - Due to being European, Picard's idea of a roadtrip is a little... different. The crew is a little confused as to why they are only doing about 3 hours of driving a day, but they do appreciate that it's through Wine Country, where the rolling hills are lovely. I imagine Picard plans a "themed trip" (wine tasting and touring) and Riker is the one to throw in the fun tourist traps they do end up visiting. Q is somehow at every single place they stop. Lwaxana is at a few of them too.
Sisko - Sisko takes everyone on a tour of the MLB baseball fields. He meticulously plans places to eat (mostly cajun places that he critiques as 'not as good as his dad's, but acceptable.') and fields to visit. In the meantime, Jadzia picks some more... colorful places to visit in the evenings. Different groups of people get lost but they always find each other. Everyone is a little wary of visiting baseball fields, but once they find out that it was Jake's idea to cheer his dad up, everyone acts like each field is the most fascinating thing they have ever seen. In the end, the trip is a little tedious, but they have all bonded over the solidarity of making Sisko feel better.
Janeway - Janeway drives through the middle of nowhere. Absolutely no cell signal ever. Google Maps will not work. They stop every hour or so to look at the sights. At several points, their van gets robbed and they have to craft new supplies as they go. They make some "road enemies" (other roadtrippers that get competitive about parking spots and camping areas and stuff) and get in several fights (that they win). They camp alongside the road instead of staying in hotels and it's kinda miserable but it builds a lot of relationships and character. Their van breaks down a lot but they always fix it themselves. B'Elanna ends up souping up the engine about 4 different times. In the end, they all get home pretty much dead on their feet, but the whole crew is planning the next road trip anyway.
Freeman - She has a schedule that no one follows and she yells about it a lot. The road trip keeps getting completely derailed. They absolutely do not hit any planned stops and they have to replace each of the van's tires 3 times. Good news, however, is that they got a GREAT sale on all the trinkets and stuff that they bought along the way so everyone is still having an okay time.
Dal - Barely has a plan. He basically piled everyone in a vehicle one day and started driving. They stop whenever they feel like it and do odd jobs to earn enough money to keep going. The end goal is to reach San Francisco by the end, but Dal has to keep them backtracking for various reasons and they're having a heck of a time understanding exactly how this brand-new Chevy Silverado with a fancy computer system that they accidentally stole works. Everyone has fun anyway, even though they are also kinda lowkey running from the cops.
Burnham - I don't honestly know enough about Burnham as a captain to say for sure but I think she and Saru would plan a pretty chaotic lil road trip that kinda jumps all over the country in a strange order. Lots of zigzags and backtracking and stuff. I think they have fun though?
FINAL RANKING:
1st Place - Pike
2nd Place - Kirk
3rd Place - Janeway
4th Place - Sisko
5th Place - Archer
6th Place - Burnham
7th Place - Picard
8th Place - Dal
9th Place - Freeman
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Sometimes you, as a writer, just wish you would be able to draw so you could be able to draw your own OCs.
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itsmyfandomandilikeit · 2 months
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Star Trek series I perceive as having similar impact poll round 3:
DIS vs PRO
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I'll have a uhhh highly serialized Star Trek series about an experimental starship that can jump long distances in space. Yeah, I think it should have a single protagonist who is a little screwed up, partially because they were raised as part of a culture with very nonhuman values and behavior, who worships a highly decorated female Starfleet captain as their hero and mother figure. This hero captain has an onscreen dark sexy evil alter ego, of course. The first officer is really tall with a pale grayish complexion from a species that is very associated with violence and death. The series overall has a tone that focuses on the contrast between the darkness of the wider universe and the hope that Starfleet chooses to represent. Also there's a bubbly redheaded scientist girl. Ok I'm stretching it.
I decided to pit these two series against each other because they tie a lot in polls. I think they both have small but dedicated fanbases relative to the other Star Trek series and neither particularly try to appeal to everyone. I also see a lot of Reddit commenters say they have seen every single Star Trek show except for one of these.
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makiruz · 8 months
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Read a couple of spoilers about Prodigy and now I'm more convinced that this is probably the best modern Star Trek show
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captaincrusher · 1 year
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I'm watching some Prodigy currently, for the first time, and it really is beautifully made.
I'm not much for animated shows but it's visually interesting in a way that keeps me interested even if the stories don't always grab me (Because I'm not necessarily the target audience).
The way some shots are framed to really emphasize the emotions and the connections between the characters is so nice.
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And then we also zoom out to get a sense of the the characters feeling small, alone or vulnerable.
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The theme of the show are that these characters go out in a vast universe and they only have each other - and the show really does a good job telling this visually and not just through the stories themselves.
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star-trek-pop-quiz · 9 days
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Star Trek POP-QUIZ #27
( 20 / 04 / 2024 )
Question 1. What is the name of Tuvok's granddaughter? a. T'Pel b. Sek c. T'Meni d. Asil
Bonus Question: Which other family member of Tuvok's shares this name?
Question 2. TRUE OR FALSE Captain Kirk is not the person who achieved Captain faster than any other person in Starfleet history, it is actually Captain Janeway.
Question 3. Which of these series has Roxann Dawson directed episodes of? a. The Next Generation b. Picard c. Enterprise d. All of the Above.
Bonus Question: Which character does Roxann Dawson play? ( Spelling Counts! )
Question 4. Which relative of Nyota Uhura was a retired Starfleet officer? ( According to the 2009 Reboot ) a. Cousin b. Uncle c. Grandmother d. Father
Question 5. Fill-in Question! How many species ( other than Human ) does Dal R'El's DNA contain?
Bonus Question: Which two species are specified in Memory Alpha?
Score: __/ 5 + 3 bonus ( Answers under cut )
Question 1. c. T'Meni
+ Tuvok's mother.
Question 2. FALSE. According to the TNG episode 'Conspiracy', Tryla Scott achieved Captain 'faster than any other person in Starfleet history'.
Question 3. c. Enterprise
+ B'Elanna Torres
Question 4. c. Grandmother
Question 5. 26 other species.
+ Vulcan, proto-Organian.
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lt-cmdr-titties · 2 years
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so, since i've officially finished watching all of star trek, i'm going to start watching it in chronological order! i made this google sheet with all the episodes and movies in order by the main universe timeline! this is not based off stardates, because for a lot of the trek shows the stardates don't really mean anything in-universe. i'll be tweaking and fixing it as i make my way through watching it, but if you notice any glaring mistakes feel free to let me know!
the first page is without color, and the second is color-coded!
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commandermeg · 2 years
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One month until 'Star Trek Prodigy' finally returns!
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astralbondpro · 1 year
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I started watching Star Trek Prodigy, and what a charming show. I wish this was on when I was a kid, so I could see it through those eyes.
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queerlybelovdd · 10 months
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unknownfaceless-ds9 · 1 month
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"Spock, Kirk and Bones" this. "Picard, Riker and Data" that.
You know who my favourite leading trio is on Star Trek?
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Team "Sarcasm surpreme".
Team "Do no harm, take no shit".
Team "I'm this close to killing everyone if I don't get my coffee right now".
Team "I am so sick of this bullshit, I just want to explore some space rocks"
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avoidingdestiny · 1 year
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Love that Jellico is on Prodigy! For the past decade I’ve thought he went down with the Cairo in the Dominion War.
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Part 4: A Symbol of Love
Pairing: Tysess x Ophelia (OFC) Fandom: Star Trek Prodigy Words: 5.3K Summary: Ophelia has to learn something more about the culture of her significant other as well... A/N: Huge credit for this Part goes to @indignantlemur who is the creator of the "ruuphviik neek" ( andorian courtship rings) that are featured in their magnificant fanfiction "Emigre" ( which you all should totally read, because they put a lot of work into creating not only the story and the characters but also a whole culture with traditions for Andorians). Thank you again for allowing me to use this, I really hope that this part does not dissapoint your expectations.
Body Language Masterlist
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Hectically, Ophelia threw on her beige coat, tucked the phone under her ear, and glancing at the clock, uttered a Klingon curse taught to her by a Klingon on a space station, which instantly earned her a scolding from her mother, who was on the other end of the line. "Ophelia Celeste Zubira. Don't put words like that in your mouth. Your father and I raised you better than that." Ophelia rolled her eyes. "Mum, you don't even know what I said. You speak English and Spanish. Not Klingon." All at once she noticed that the bags, which she wanted to take with her, were no longer beside the door. Panicked, she snapped her eyes open.
"I speak Bengalis too." Sheyla Zuberi sounded offended, however Ophelia didn't have time to worry about that right now as her evening, if she didn't find the bags, would be ruined. "Don't take offence, Mum, but your Bengalis isn't what it used to be either." Ophelia was too busy searching behind the giant potted plant Noum had once given her as a joke and loved to pay much attention to her mother's snapping. "Listen, Mum, I love you, but my boyfriend and I were going to cook together today and I think I've lost the ingredients and I have to be there in fifteen minutes.
Silence reigned for a moment and Ophelia paused in her search. Her mother was never quiet. Never. "Mum? Are you still there?" "You have a boyfriend? Un novio?" Rolling her eyes she continued her search. Of course that was the only part that mattered. "Yes, Mum, as unbelievable as it is I have a boyfriend."
This statement was enough to bombard her with questions, however Ophelia stopped her half way, inwardly wincing at the disrespect shown to her mother. " His name is Tysess, he is the first officer of the ship I serve on, he is sweet, lovable, confident and yes he loves me, I know that. We have been together for almost five months and I am really late. I'll call you when I arrive in Barranquilla, love you." Without letting her get a word in edgewise, knowing full well that she would regret it when she returned home, she hung up and threw the phone on the sofa before hurrying to the kitchen.
A load fell from her mind and she breathed a sigh of relief when she found the two bags on the small kitchen counter of her borrowed quarters. Hastily, she hurried over and took one last look inside to make sure everything was there before dashing for the door and making her way away from the Starfleet compound, making it to the Andorian neighbourhood.
Over the years, many large cities had formed small neighbourhoods that were home to more non-humans than humans, and San Francisco, with Starfleet's headquarters at its heart, had the most neighbourhoods in all of America, especially in terms of Founder species.
Which did not mean that members of that species lived there exclusively, no. It was merely the case that mostly the inhabitants of other worlds, especially at the beginning, had come in batches and in groups and had accordingly settled together in one neighbourhood. Thus, over the centuries, several generations of non-humans had been born on Earth, who had rarely if ever seen their "home planet". In fact, Ophelia was good friends with a Denobulan family who had been living on Earth for almost two hundred years and that consisted of six generations now.
Tysess had settled in the Andorian district. He had explained to her that it was not because he wanted to live only among his own, but simply because there were shops and places there that had typical Andorian things like food that were otherwise hard to get and he just liked having everything close by. Moreover, the Andorian district was the closest to Starfleet headquarters, which allowed him to be there quickly in case of an emergency.
Ophelia personally did not live in San Francisco. She herself associated this city too much with work and study to live here in peace. Instead, she had bought a small flat in Seattle, which was her pride and joy.
However, since she had been newly promoted and was now partly responsible for the repairs of the USS Dauntless, she had expected so much work that it would have been too much trouble to always drive from Seattle to San Francisco, so she accepted Starfleet's offer of small quarters where she only ate and slept.
Tysess had offered her to stay with him, but he had seemed hesitant, which she could understand. They had only been together for five months and moving in together and living together was a step they had agreed on that was still too big. But that wouldn't stop them from having a date night.
When they had decided to give this relationship a try, they had promised each other that they would do their best to understand each other's culture and Tysess had done this, like everything else in his career and life, with excellence. While they had not had much time together due to the Protostar and its chaos, they had done their best.
Then, a few days ago, Tysess had gently taken her aside and asked her to spend an evening together. Ophelia would leave tomorrow and return to Colombia to visit her family. She had filled out the necessary forms regarding the Dauntless and now the repairs were in the hands of Starfleet engineers, so she wanted to give herself a few weeks rest. Tysess had to stay longer to work, otherwise she would have asked him to come along to introduce him to her family, so they had agreed to devote tonight to just each other.
In addition, Tysess had asked her to teach her something about her culture. Ophelia had been sceptical at first. Her parents were each from two different cultures, making her and her siblings children of four cultures, but in the end she had agreed to teach him about the culture that had been most prominent in her life: Colombia. Ophelia had sat down to pick out simple, yet typically Colombian, dishes from her childhood, which she now wanted to make and share with Tysess.
But as she flipped through her abuela's cookbooks, she had suddenly realised how little she actually knew about Andorian culture. However, she had to admit immediately afterwards that she had never really asked.
Many species felt that sharing their cultures was something very private. Tysess himself could be quite withdrawn and introverted from time to time. Which was not to say that he didn't trust her, no. In fact, Tysess had already confided so many private things to Ophelia that she probably knew more about him than anyone else.
And as much as she wanted to know more about Andorian culture, she would not press Tysess. She would be patient and wait until he was ready to talk to her about it. And until then, the only thing she could do was to introduce him to her cultures and customs and make him feel trusted and loved.
Five minutes later than agreed, she rang the doorbell, a little out of breath. The downstairs front door had already been open and Ophelia, already late, had seized the opportunity and slipped into the building, where she now stood in front of his flat door. Her gaze slid to her reflection, which was reflected in the window.
The black and loose blouse fit reasonably acceptably and the light-coloured trousers didn't look particularly dirty either. Ophelia had tied her loose hair back with a blue scarf. Tomorrow morning, before returning back home, she had an appointment with her hairdresser, who would braid her hair. Today she still had to cope with open hair, even though it didn't really bother her. Braids were just usually the easiest to work with.
The door opened and Ophelia's gaze was instantly focused on Tysess. He was wearing a grey jumper with wide puff sleeves and collar and some kind of black yoga pants, which he had explained to her were a typical piece of clothing on Andoria. He smiled slightly and stepped aside to let her in. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."
Ophelia shook her head in amusement and pressed a kiss to his cheek as she passed before setting the bags down on the floor. "Forgive me, mi amor. My mother had called and I didn't want to cut her off right away. But come on, it was only five minutes. I've been much later before." Tysess stepped behind her and took her coat from her, hanging it on the coat rack. "Besides, I might have misplaced the bags of ingredients for today for a moment and panicked."
Tysess chuckled softly and lifted the bags easily, handing her a pair of slipper-like shoes. "Here, so you don't get cold feet." Ophelia had to smile in the face of his thoughtfulness and hurriedly exchanged the boots for the slippers before following him into the kitchen. His flat was pretty. It was kept simple and mostly painted in neutral tones, yet he had somehow managed to demand a touch of personality to it with little. However, Ophelia would not judge his style of decorating. She already considered it an honour that Tysess felt so comfortable around her that he let her invade her privacy so far. Admittedly, she had already been in his quarters on the Dauntless, but it had not felt so intimate.
In the kitchen, Tysess was already unpacking the bags and accordingly stood with his back to her and for a moment she simply allowed herself to look at him from behind. After all, she was his girlfriend, so she was allowed to do that. Besides, it was absolutely not her fault if Tysess' jumper had to stretch so impossibly over his shoulders, was it?
"I assume your family is fine," Tysess asked over his shoulder, and Ophelia reluctantly disengaged her gaze from his shoulder blades. "Everything's fine at home. My siblings are there too, though Julio had to leave his boyfriend, I still don't know his name, at home. Apparently he caught the Klingon flu. Don't ask me how though, I have no idea."
She heard Tysess laugh softly and a warm feeling spread through her. Of course, Ophelia didn't mind that Tysess was a little more controlled in things like showing emotion, and heavens she would never complain about him being in "first officer mode" (her term for when Tysess was in command and giving orders, looking very handsome), but those moments when he allowed himself to really laugh and relax made her heart swell. Metaphorically speaking.
"Don't laugh at me," she protested, playfully offended, crossing her arms in front of her chest. He turned, shook his head in amusement and stepped towards her to place his fingers under her chin and lift it slightly. "Would never do that, beloved."
Ophelia's knees went weak at the use of the nickname and then when he pressed his forehead against hers, it was over and she felt the blood rush to her face. "Stop being so damn charming," she grumbled, but wrapped her arms around him. "Stupid Andorian." " Adorable human." With that, Tysess let go of her and went back to the bags, where he immediately brought an opaque cake bell to light and turned to her with a questioning look on his face. "That's our dessert." Ophelia stepped towards him, took the cake bell from him and, at an approving nod from Tysess, placed it in the latter's fridge.
Said Andorian leaned back against the kitchen counter. "I thought we were going to cook together today." His expression looked serious, but she could hear the teasing in his voice, so she grinned cheekily at him. " That's quite all right, though the starter and main course will take up enough time as it is. Besides, I didn't want to bring several glasses of fruit soaked in rum and wine for the Torta Negra Colombiana as well." She patted his arm. "Don't worry, Tysess. You'll get to cooking." A smile spread across her face and she reached into the bag and pulled out two aprons. One yellow for herself and one purple for Tysess, who raised an eyebrow at the sight of it.
"Don't look like that," Ophelia scolded gently and put the apron on him, careful not to touch his antennae. " That's what it's for, to make sure you don't get dirty. Besides, purple suits you." With that, she grabbed the, now empty, bags and, promising to put them away later, hauled them to the floor before putting her hands on her hips and smiling happily at him. "So, are you ready to learn some of the Colombian cuisine?" He saluted in jest. "Yes, ma'am."
Tysess stood next to her and looked at the ingredients as if trying to figure out what they would make. "So," Ophelia brushed a strand of hair behind her ears. "I thought it would be good if we started with relatively simple things for now. I don't know how good a cook you are, or how often you've made human food, so I wanted to start with the most classic dishes of my childhood."
She looked up at him. Tysess didn't seem offended that she was suggesting he might not be able to cook, but actually looked curious. His antennae were pointing forward and swaying back and forth a little, which Ophelia believed was a good sign.
"For starters we have pandebonos. These are sort of little Colombian cheese buns. We're going to mix this cheese," she pointed to the mozzarella and feta cheese," into the dough so that the dough becomes very fluffy and you can pull it apart like cheese strings. We do the classic version. Sometimes people fill it up with other things, but that's how I've always eaten it at home. We'll make a simple salad to go with it. It might not be typically Colombian, but it tastes really good." When no questions came from Tysess, she continued.
"For the main course, I chose my favourite childhood dish, which I had every year for my birthday and which my mother always made when I was unwell. Arroz con Pollo." Tysess tilted his head and Ophelia knew his translator was working. "Rice with chicken?" She nodded with a smile. "Exactly. It's actually pretty simple too. You cook chicken with vegetables and lots of spices and serve it together with rice. Quite basic actually, and maybe not completely typical Colombian, but incredibly tasty."
A little unsure if he agreed, she looked over at him, but he just smiled gently down at her and she smiled back in relief. "That does sound like a plan." Tysess rolled up his sleeves and looked at her expectantly. "What do we start with?"
~**~
Over the next two hours, the two of them worked around in Tysess' kitchen. Ophelia didn't even want to think about the quantities of vegetables and meat they had cut. Well, much more Tysess. After she had shown him how to properly cut each vegetable, Tysess had taken it upon himself to process the mountain of vegetables and meat. Ophelia suspected he didn't want her near knives for fear she might hurt herself. Under other circumstances, this would have hurt Ophelia. After all, she was an adult and skilled enough to cut simple food, otherwise she would never have made it this far in engineering, however, she cut him some slack.
The events concerning the living construct and, yes you could call it that, Starfleet's massacre, all weighed heavily on them. Ophelia had woken up screaming and crying several times in the past weeks as well, Maira's corpse more than visible in her mind's eye.
However, next to the Admiral, it seemed to weigh most heavily on Tysess. He had thrown himself into his work over the last few weeks, as if it would give it some value of unnecessary redemption, which he didn't have to do. Because she knew, even though she had told him it wasn't his fault, that he still blamed himself and would probably continue to do just that for a long time to come.
Most of all, she knew, he was afraid of losing her and even the smallest possibility of hurting herself, for example with a kitchen knife, made him feel uneasy. Ophelia knew it couldn't go on forever, but she wanted to indulge him once more tonight. Besides, she really wasn't complaining, as she had made sure that everything was well seasoned, perfectly put together and it had been her job to taste it all.
Now they were sitting together at Tysess' dining table, which he had set with devotion. He had fetched a bouquet of flowers for her, which was in a beautiful vase of Andorian craftsmanship, as he had told her. Since it was dark, he had lit candles which gave it a slightly romantic ambience and he had actually taken the trouble to fold the napkins.
When Ophelia had first seen the table, she had fallen around his neck and covered his face with dozens of kisses, thanking him and telling him that he was just sweet. Tysess had acknowledged this with a roll of the eyes, but his antennae had betrayed him, swaying gently back and forth in love.
Ophelia watched Tysess gulp down his last pandebono. "And?" He nodded in agreement and smiled gently. "They were excellent, Ophelia. Thank you." He looked thoughtfully at his plate. "They probably would have even pleased my sister, who is usually quite a fussy eater." Ophelia almost dropped her glass of wine at the casual mention.
(Tysess had provided it, as it was the best alcoholic drink, next to the classic Andorian ale, on Andoria, according to him. The wine was made from the tuber of a plant whose name Ophelia couldn't remember, but which meant something along the lines of "frost poison". At first the name had put her off a bit, but she had dared to try a sip after Tysess had explained that the poison part only referred to the rest of the plant and only if it was raw and unprocessed. And indeed, this wine was one of the best she had ever drunk).
Tysess had never spoken of his family before and that comment had, admittedly, thrown her off. "You have a sister?" Tysess looked up in confusion before his expression turned a little sheepish. "I guess I didn't talk much about my family, did I?" And before Ophelia could answer him, he launched into a narrative about his family, interrupted only when they dished up the main course.
He told about his parents, both his "birth parents" and his "additional parents", Ophelia had almost forgotten that Andorians usually married in fours, which he hadn't seen in a long time. He told about his younger sister, who was a biologist, and his younger brother, who had graduated top of his grade at the Andorian Academy of Arts and Crafts. In fact, the vase on the table in front of them was his.
Ophelia listened to him spellbound, rarely interrupting him for questions and otherwise simply enjoying the sound of his calm, deep voice, which wrapped her up like a blanket but did not make her sleepy. She was learning more about Tysess than she had hoped to for the evening, so how could she think of sleeping.
Ophelia, however, did not realise he had finished until he stared silently at his, now empty, plate. "Forgive me, I've talked a lot. I didn't mean to bore you." Ophelia's chest tightened at the sight of him, antennae drooping, gaze down and avoiding her, and gently, yet lovingly at the same time, she placed her hand on his.
"Tysess. Don't apologise for talking to me. I love listening to you, especially when it comes to such things as family." She smiled gently. "I know Andorians don't like to open up to people they're not close with, which is why it's nothing but an honour for me when you confide in me about such topics. Please don't apologise for such a thing."
Tysess looked up a little embarrassed, but turned his hand so that her palm was in his and squeezed it gently. "I really haven't told you much about myself, let alone my culture, have I?" Her mind raced, searching for an answer that would make him not feel bad, before she paused. She had learnt early on that Andorians valued truth above all else and couldn't stand hypocritical posturing.
Ophelia sighed resignedly. "No, you haven't. And I confess that it has made some situations a little more complicated to understand, but I respect your boundaries and I'm not complaining. I know you'll tell me more as time goes on, once you feel comfortable enough, and I'm more than fine with that. And no-" she interrupted him as he started to speak, "-I will not accept criticism. You respect my boundaries, you always have, which is why I will respect and accept yours. Because that is the only way a relationship works, with respect and acceptance.
She stood up and picked up her plate and his. "I'll get the dessert and please, mi armor, don't worry too much about it." Lightly she leaned down and pressed her forehead against his. "I love you."
Ophelia initially feared that the mood would now be heavy on them and Tysess would retreat back into himself, but it seemed as if he was as confident as she knew him to be and they made light conversation over the course of the meal, in which Tysess praised the cake more than once, causing a swell of pride in her. After the meal they cleared up together and since Tysess, for whatever reason, didn't seem to own a dishwasher, they decided to wash it by hand. However, he turned out to be something of a child, as he more than enjoyed occasionally splashing Ophelia with drops of water or depositing little clouds of foam on the tip of her nose, until she finally threw him out of the kitchen and told him to go ahead and wipe the table.
As it was still quite early in the evening, they decided to end the evening with a glass of Frost Poison wine in his living room ( she didn't know if she would ever get used to that name). Ophelia had put her legs up and pressed her back against his front, telling him about the events of the last few days. Tysess was silent, occasionally humming his agreement, only to lapse back into silence. Ophelia let him remain silent, after all he had been talking a lot too, and only stopped when he quietly interrupted her with the whisper of her name. She turned her head slightly to look at him over her shoulder. "Yes?" She heard him swallow and felt him slowly sit up, which also caused her to sit up and put her feet on the floor.
"There is something I would like to talk to you about." He looked nervous to her, kneading his hands in his lap while his antennae twitched in different directions. "I ... have been thinking about mentioning the subject to you for some time now, however, the appropriate situation has never presented itself. After our conversation today regarding borders and Andorian culture, however, it seems fitting."
Ophelia put her hand on his and she looked at him seriously but lovingly at the same time. "It would be my pleasure. But only if you are comfortable with it, Tysess. I just don't want to force or pressure you into anything." Tysess shook her head and looked at her. "You don't, beloved. You don't."
He took another breath, Ophelia slowly beginning to worry, before he sat up straight and turned to her, looking deep into her eyes, brown meeting purple-grey. "There is a tradition on Andoria when courting. It's called the ruuphviik neek." Ophelia frowned. "I think the UT has a bit of trouble with the term, unless it's called... dating circles?" Despite his visible nervousness, Tysess chuckled softly. "Not quite. A suitable translation would be..." he hesitated briefly. " -Courting rings."
He gave Ophelia a brief moment to get the meaning of it. Even if it wasn't necessarily what she had expected, it did make sense. She had heard of many cultures wearing a sign of a relationship. Even on Earth, similar symbols were used in many cultures, though if more for engagements and marriages. Ophelia nodded slightly, inviting him to continue. Tysess exhaled audibly. "I don't know about your culture, but on Andoria, Andorians wear a ring at the base of their antennae to show they are in a relationship. Usually one ring is worn for each partner."
Ophelia hummed softly and nodded. "There are similar traditions in my culture, however these are engagement and wedding rings and meant for much later in the relationship." Tysess frowned. "Engagement?" "Oh." Ophelia had assumed he was already familiar with the term. "When a human couple decides to get married, one proposes to the other with an engagement ring. If the latter accepts, the two are engaged, wear the engagement rings and are in a state of engagement until the wedding, when they exchange wedding rings." She considered for a moment. "Otherwise, I don't really know of any such symbols to show that one is in a relationship."
Her eyes fell on Tysess, who looked a little embarrassed, at least judging from his dark cheeks. "These courting rings are not so ... binding. They merely signal that one is currently in a relationship. Neither marriage nor ... engagement, are part of it." His antennae swung back and forth a little. "Of course, these rings, are replaced upon marriage, however, the ruuphvik neek are not nearly as binding." Ophelia gave him an encouraging nod as his gaze fluttered briefly to his lap.
"They are a sign that a couple is ready to take a step from the still fresh, sometimes uncertain, stage of the relationship, the beginning stage you could well say, into a more solid relationship." Ophelia's heart pounded in her ears and all of a sudden the flat, which was otherwise very cool, seemed surprisingly warm. Tysess gently brushed a strand behind her ear and smiled that calf-eyed smile that melted her heart. "I don't know about you, Ophelia, but I'd be willing to take that step." Ophelia didn't know exactly what to say, which is why she let her impulsive thoughts control her, fell around his neck and kissed him.
It wasn't the response Tysess had probably imagined, however Ophelia was pretty sure it got her answer across sufficiently. For a moment he seemed surprised, but she could feel the tension fall from him as she felt his shoulder relax under her hands. Gently he placed his hands, on her hips and when they separated, he rested his forehead against hers. "I guess that was a yes." Ophelia laughed softly. "Otherwise it would have been a very strange 'no', don't you think?" Tysess pulled back looking amused and regarded her. "Thank you." "Not for that. I'm afraid I can't wear it around my antennae, though."
Tysess just smiled. "I think we could find another solution for you." Ophelia nodded and leaned forward to kiss him again as her hair fell forward. An idea occurred to her. "How about my hair?" His antennae curled in confusion and she hurried to explain. "I was going to the hairdresser tomorrow anyway to have new braids braided. I could have the ring braided into my braid then, couldn't I? It's not unheard of to have such things braided into your braids and would be a lot more practical than a ring or bracelet that would interfere with work. If that could be done?"
Tysess considered for a moment and gently ran his hand over a strand of her hair before smiling. "As long as it doesn't bother you?" She shook her head. "Of course not, I'd probably barely notice it is there. I've always wanted to do something like this and now it even has a wonderful meaning." Ophelia leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his again. "Now explain to me where we're going to get these rings."
In the end it was a lot easier than she had thought, Ophelia had expected that they would have to get the jewellery in some special Andorian shops, but she had forgotten that there were such things as replicators in their time. About half an hour later, which they had spent flicking through or scrolling through magazines, there were two rings in the palm of her hand, one larger than the other. They were made of an Andorian metal that appeared greyish-silver but gave off a slight blue-violet glow when held up to the light.
Gingerly she took the larger of the two rings, Tysess's ring, and held it up. "May I?" Tysess hesitated for a moment, understandable since the antennae was one of the most sensitive parts of the Andorians, but then nodded in agreement and sat down so Ophelia could even reach his head. "Which side?"
"Doesn't matter." Ophelia nodded and decided on the right. Very carefully, one hand as steady as if she had to disarm a torpedo, she pulled the ring over the tip of the antennae, along the shaft until she reached the base. Slowly she pulled her hand away and looked at her handiwork with illogical pride. "You look wonderful." She pressed a kiss to his forehead.
Tysess rose slowly, wiggling his antennae to get used to the feeling, then went into the hall to look at himself in the mirror. Ophelia followed him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "The colour compliments your eyes." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "You were actually right about the colour choice." As he turned, she pressed her ring into his hand. "Keep it for me, will you? Though I'm afraid you won't be able to braid it yourself, you can come if you like. But be warned, it may take a very long time."
~**~
Ophelia was right. The whole process took a little over seven hours, but Tysess had not left her side for a moment, which had even impressed her hairdresser, a Klingon, a little, even if she did not want to admit it. The end product, however, was something to behold. Ophelia had had the ring on the right side woven into the braid that framed her face, about ten centimetres from the parting. In addition, she had chosen fifteen small cylindrical golden metal beads, which were woven into her hair at irregular intervals. Thus, the ring did not look lonely, but it stood out as special.
Tysess and Ophelia stood at the shuttle landing site and said goodbye. He carefully stroked the ring in her braid before pushing it behind her ear. “You look beautiful. ” Ophelia blushed a little, but grinned broadly and quite in love. “You don’t look bad either. ” A sound made them look up and realize that the shuttle was landing. Hurriedly she pressed one last kiss on his lips.
“Don’t overwork yourself. And wish me luck, mi amor. I slipped out on the phone that I have a boyfriend and my mother probably won’t leave me alone. ” “I hope you’re not going to say anything bad. ” Ophelia grinned and released her hand from his. “Only the truth. ”
The boarding didn't take long, she had secured a window seat, and before she knew it, they were in the air, flying towards Colombia. Ophelia glanced back at Tysess, but the only thing she could see from him was a blue patch of color in the distance and a bright sparkle in the sunlight above it.
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@bigblissandlove1 @akamitrani @indignantlemur
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quasi-normalcy · 7 months
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Which Star Trek series should you start with?
The Original Series: Advantages: + The one that started it all + Has some sophisticated and socially conscious science fiction that has held up exceptionally well + The lead characters all have really good chemistry and fun to see play off of one another + It's what most people probably think of when you say Star Trek (together with TNG) Disadvantages: - It can feel very dated and kind of sexist, particularly in its treatment of women - The sci-fi and social commentary may have held up, but damn it, the special effects really haven't - When TOS is bad, it's really, really bad.
The Animated Series: Advantages: + Basically just more TOS. Disadvantages: - Basically just more TOS, but substituting extremely cheap animation for bad special effects
The Next Generation: Advantages: + Probably the most popular one at this point + The crew is full of interesting characters and they're fun to spend time with + Just really smart people solving Space Mysteries + Socialist space utopia + Geordi-And-Data! + Lots of cool sci-fi concepts and social commentary + It's what most people probably think of when you say Star Trek (together with TOS) Disadvantages: - Although not in the same way as TOS, it can feel dated at times, particularly in terms of its treatment of women and it's near complete refusal to acknowledge queerness - Without wanting to bias viewer opinion, the first season is widely considered to be pretty bad - The series makes no bones about the fact that the socialist space utopia is better than every other society that has ever existed and will reiterate this point over and over again
Deep Space Nine: Advantages: + The most popular Trek series on Tumblr + Has a complete story arc, as well as arcs for all of its characters, including the extremely minor ones + Plain, simple, Garak. The humble tailor. + Garashir, if you're into that + Seriously has a really sophisticated treatment of things like post-colonial politics, anthropology, worldbuilding, and the horrors of warfare + Just the characters in general + Is the only Star Trek prior to the 2010s to even look meaningfully at queer representation Disadvantages: - Has an absolutely massive inferiority complex with respect to TNG and this drives a few poor writing decisions that seemingly exist just to poke the Socialist Space Utopia in its eye - Introduces a space religion and then just slowly turns it into Christianity with the numbers filed off - Seems to think that sexual harassment is just a quirky eccentricity - There's no women in its writers' room, and frankly it shows
Voyager: Advantages: + Probably the clearest instance of found family in space + Lots of really good episodes + Lots of fun new characters + Strong female role models + "Set a course...for home." Disadvantages: - Continuity? I never knew her! - Probably about 90% of Trek's reputation for technobabble comes from this one series - Even less queerness than TNG. - Only like...3 characters actually get arcs. - The first few seasons lean very hard into bullshit fake "Native American" spiritualism with one of the characters - How do these guys have warp drive but can't find any water?
Enterprise: Advantages: + Chronologically the first series + 90% less technobabble + The only series to plausibly frame our heroes as astronauts...on some kind of...star trek. + Still has probably the best production values of any series + Makes alien cultures of the week feel somehow richer and deeper than other series + Faith of the Heart is good, fuck you. Disadvantages: - Oh my god, the decon scenes - Seriously, if you've ever wondered what a "sexy" series written by a 14 year old boy who's only ever seen a bit of scrambled softcore porn on late-night cable would be like, this is the show for you - Somehow feels more sexist and racist than the show from the '60s - Seriously, the POC characters mostly exist to fill seats on the bridge; the women constantly have to undress themselves - Hellooooo, Bush II-era political analogies - Scott Bakula is a good actor but you wouldn't know it from this series - In season 3, they add a tambourine beat to Faith of the Heart and ruin it
Discovery: Advantages: + Noticed the lack of queer characters in the first 50 years of Star Trek canon and decided to make up for lost time + Seriously, the "Bury Your Gays" tally for this series is like...negative two + Just incredible representation in general + Some really good science fiction plots, particularly in later series + Some really fun, memorable characters + It's still running, so it has an active fandom on Tumblr Disadvantages: - Makes Elon Musk out to be one of the great visionary geniuses of history - Not really representative of Star Trek as a whole - The series swerves wildly in tone because of constant, behind-the-scenes churn in the writers' room - Offputtingly grimdark first season - Let's be honest, none of the season-long arcs have actually had satisfying conclusions - Half the cast feels like it's just there for exposition and to be killed for cheap drama
Picard: Advantages: + Has the best dramatic acting of any Star Trek series by a fair margin + Has the best musical score of any Star Trek series + Introduces a whole crew of fascinating new characters + Introduces all kinds of fascinating transhumanist concepts + AGNES. JURATI. Disadvantages: - You know all of those fascinating new characters that I mentioned? Yeah, it unceremoniously gets rid of all of them to bring back the old TNG gang. - You know that all of those fascinating transhumanist concepts that I mentioned? Yeah, it gets rid of those too so that to give us some generic action - Oh my god, someone teach the set designers to operate a fucking light switch - Grimdark - Nossssstalgia - Each season is basically unrelated to every other season - Depends so heavily on TNG that its final season is basically unwatchable if you haven't already seen a 30-year-old TV series
Lower Decks: Advantages: + It has probably the most efficient storytelling that I've ever seen; seriously, it's incredible how much it can fit into a half hour episode + It has a bunch of delightful, archetypical characters you get to know and love + You like hanging out with these people + The ship is kind of crap and you will learn to love it that way. + Basically a sitcom version of TNG. + Has a big fandom on Tumblr Disadvantages: - The art style is pretty Rick & Morty-ish - It takes most of its first season to really strike a good balance between being a sitcom and being a Star Trek series - The main character, Mariner, is kind of unlikable for the first season or so (she gets better) - Lots of callbacks to other series (though always either incidental or clearly explained) - Given that it's the first Star Trek sitcom, the comedy is honestly kinda the weakest part? Subjective I know.
Prodigy: Advantages: + Absolutely gorgeous to look at; the most visually stunning Star Trek by quite a ways + Lots of fun new characters on a cool ship + Gives you clear on-boarding notes to the Star Trek franchise if you're watching it for the first time + Can be watched on its own, but also works as a direct sequel to Voyager and a prequel to Picard (making both of them retoractively better, in fact) + Kind of like the Clone Wars or Rebels of the Star Trek universe, I guess? + Found family in space! The next generation! + Soon to be running on Netflix, so if you already have a Netflix subscription, you don't need to pay for another service + Written for a younger audience. Not necessarily an advantage, but nice if you happen to like family friendly animation or YA. Disadvantages: - *sigh* You basically need to pirate it. Thanks, Paramount. - Has a second season that we may or may not ever actually get to see even through piracy. Thanks, Paramount. - Isn't airing on the same streaming service as all of the other ones. Thanks, Paramount
Strange New Worlds: Advantages: + Basically what the original series would be if it were released today, rather than 57 years ago; all of the cool, socially consciousness sci-fi adventure, none of the weird 60s sexism + Fun, awesome characters you get to like spending time with right away + Incredible visuals + Nifty sci-fi concepts, mostly without the 90s-style technobabble Disadvantages: - A huge cast with only ten episodes a season, so many of them feel underdeveloped - Unfortunately, a bunch of its characters are younger versions of the characters from The Original Series, and they hog most of the spotlight; and the characters whose futures aren't locked in stone are kind of treated as disposable - In general, it needs to spend less time being a prequel, and more time being its own thing - "What if Starfleet ran into the Xenomorphs from Alien?" "Well, they'd probably kill them." "Okay, let's spend several episodes on this."
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fate-motif · 1 year
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there’s something so messed up in how we’ve seen the breaking apart of the voyager family only out of the corner of our eyes in both picard and prodigy. seven gets rejected to the academy. chakotay goes missing. by picard seven isn’t on speaking terms with them anymore. i don’t know if we exactly need a proper followup to what happened to the voyager crew, but every time we meet a character who was from voyager you can just feel they have a hole in their heart where the voyager family used to be and it’s heartbreaking
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