#though still not exactly like it (as borg have no free will) and very invasive/frightening

[bumblingbabooshka]

Hi,

I really like your art and I love reading all your ideas in your tags. I especially like how you go into Tuvok's bond with T'pel and how her absence affected him.

Since his bond was a combination of two minds creating something greater than the sum of its parts, how do you think this affected Tuvok when he and Neelix were fused as Tuvix? The relationship and similarities between being fused and having a bond mate. Do you think that Tuvok may have felt whole for a bit? Was it super invasive and in no way comparable to what he had with his wife? Or was is painfully similar, in that he longed for it. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. :)

(I'm really sorry if you already went into this)

I'm so sorry this took so long when you were so kind to me v_v I just forget things. Also!! There's no need for you to be even a little bit sorry let alone 'really' sorry~!! I haven't talked about this and even if I had - whatever, 's all good~!! I think the Tuvix things would be distinctly different from a meld or a marriage bond and I illustrated this in pictures bc it helps me visualize it better! (They're just lil sketchbook doodles)

So like, using Tuvok/T'Pel for this since she's his bondmate. When Tuvok has a stable bond with T'Pel they are 'two bodies one mind' but since they are two bodies and do different things all day/have different personalities/upbringings their 'one mind' is constantly being shaped by the two of them. They are distinct beings who are just constantly sharing ideas, thoughts and feelings with one another. They're more of a 'unit' in my mind than a singular person. I used the IDIC symbol to visualize this bc I realized it was sort of similar; two seemingly disparate shapes come together to make something beautiful, but you can still see all the parts that make the whole. Meanwhile Tuvix is a distinct person. Neelix and Tuvok don't communicate while they are joined within him (as evidenced by the fact that they can't be asked their opinion on separating him in the episode. They have essentially 'died' in order to make Tuvix) and Tuvix seems to view them as more his parents. They provide a certain amount of background for him (he remembers their relationships with people) but has his own will and talents separate from them (He appears to be shown as very charismatic which neither Neelix nor Tuvok seem to be in canon, though I personally find them charming). I would characterize Tuvix more of a 'son'. Tuvok and Neelix's experiences are his 'upbringing' but they are no longer there to have opinions on what's happening. He can guess what they would think but as he's a distinct person his thoughts on them are colored by his own personality. (As evidenced by him saying they'd both want him to live which Janeway challenges) I visualized this through numbers. When you see the number '3' you can imagine how it got there...2+1, 4-1, etc but you can't see it. I also wanted to show two people who are not bonded. As you can see Tuvok is a 'whole' person without a bondmate but I imagine he wouldn't feel that way because of how long he's operated as a bonded mind. As he said, "I feel incomplete without them." To me it doesn't seem that being part of Tuvix would be comparable to a bondmate as 'Tuvok' doesn't exist while part of Tuvix. He isn't a 'unit' he's a small and static component of a completely different person. Hypothetically, if Tuvix had been allowed to live he would have probably eventually stopped closely resembling either Neelix or Tuvok as he would have other things and experiences to draw from in regards to who he was. It's sort of the difference between discussing where you want to eat with someone else as opposed to reading online reviews?? You wouldn't really say you came up with a decision together in the latter case.

But I also don't think Tuvok would find it invasive. I think he would find things like his brainwashing by Teero or being assimilated into the borg invasive but the Tuvix situation feels more like he'd think it was 'interesting' or 'mildly disconcerting'. He might vaguely dislike the thought of almost being unfaithful to his wife but also have to just accept that Tuvix wasn't him v_v which I think he could do pretty easily. Maybe Neelix would be more perturbed by it hehe...~

#Q&A #40cleverways #this was a very interesting question and also I love talking about Tuvok and how I see Vulcan bonds #so I REALLY don't know why I didn't ans wer it for like SO long I'm SORRY #It's honestly amazing ppl wanna ask me stuff about things so thank you very much~!!! #I hope this answers your question~!! And hey - this is only my opinion...it's canon gray area! #if ANYTHING I would think him being assimilated into the borg would weirdly and complicatedly be more similar #though still not exactly like it (as borg have no free will) and very invasive/frightening #I think about Seven saying she misses the 'voices' of the collective and how alone she felt without them and I look at Tuvok and I go hmmmm #same hat???????? #st voyager