#NX-bit

[w04hxo]

[kalied0skull]

i kept skipping over this for some reason but only now did i just notice the second gif had sonic the hedgehog and I've never so loudly thought the word "SONIC???" in my life until just now

[hopefulkittenconnoisseur]

They ARE so so sooo CUTE!!!!

Plague Doctors get a bad rap for their scary masks but if you think about it, Plague Doctor was one of the most selfless professions in history. Going into heavily affected areas by the horrifying plague that defies natural explanation with nothing more than pre-industrial or early industrial protection measures, just to help comfort people who are probably going to die soon anyways.. 💜

Plague Doctors were really kind actually!!

what if there was a plague doctor that was so so so cute (and was also secretly a bird themself)

[bellspun]

apollo & hyacinthus designs. nxs partial nudity below i wanted to show off his body markings lmfakoskoa

in any case struggled quite a bit on the giant lyre. for the bit. For obvious reasons nothing is set in stone but I spent too much time on this not to share 🥲

🤞.

[stra-tek]

WARP CORE DEEP DIVE!

Where it all began. So much so, that they never quite nailed down what anything in engineering was. We know the thing in the middle was a "matter/antimatter integrator" and it had a dilithium crystal in it. But it didn't appear until later on, the floor was originally empty. There were also large transformer-ish things that moved about as the plot demanded. The big thing behind the mesh? That's the pipe cathedral. Maybe it was an impulse engine (as per the old Star Trek Blueprints by Franz Joseph) or perhaps it was part of the warp drive. Originally the idea was that the warp nacelles generated their own power. But that would change soon...

The Animated Series gave us something very similar to the TOS engine room, with the pipe cathedral and one BIG transformer, but instead of the matter/antimatter integrator we got a glass tube with what looked like measurements on it. Maybe it's a proto-warp core a la TMP, especially since it's in a similar spot to Strange New Worlds'. Or maybe it's a coolant pipe like the 2009 movie. Who knows? We also saw inside the "antimatter nacelle" in one episode, which is generally assumed to mean inside one of the warp engines themselves but it's all a bit vague.

The Motion Picture gave us the original Big Blue Lava Lamp, the physical set was 3 stories high but augmented with forced-perspective, in the form of a painting at the bottom of the shaft and a truncated horizontal intermix chamber crewed by children at the end of the main level. The engineering crew on the main deck now wear radiation suits, adding to the idea this big blue thing isn't your friend.

This was also the Big Retcon, making the intermix chamber the power source for the warp nacelles. Every Trek regardless of era would follow this route.

In Wrath of Khan, they'd add a very important side room with dilithium crystals in for Spock to self-sacrifice in. I always found it very amusing this room, where the most important part of the engineering machinery was, was in no way physically connected to the intermix chamber. Nor did it exist in the previous movie.

The Next Generation gave us a pot-bellied stove, with neon segments glowing one-by-one up and down to give the impression of pulses of energy colliding in the middle then being fed to the nacelles. No more radiation suits needed, and the room has a nice carpet. This was also the first time "warp core" was used, a phrase that would retroactively be applied to all the prior ones.

The Enterprise-E and DS9's Defiant would have bigger and smaller warp cores that were variations on the same theme as TNG.

Voyager brought back the classic Motion Picture big blue lava lamp, just without the horizontal tube this time. It does the nifty swirly thing too. Q Junior makes it do club lighting one time.

NX-01 Enterprise is just kind of this big industrial tank with some glowy bits. It's weird that in the classic movies they needed radiation suits to work in engineering, but in the series set 100 years earlier they didn't.

The 2009 reboot filmed engineering in a thinly disguised Budweiser brewery, which made the area look enourmous and extremely complex, but lost all the high tech clean room vibes prior shows had. What in real life were giant brewing tanks housed the intermix chambers which made up the warp core, which were ejected through a hatch in the roof at the end. This look was extremely controversial with some, but personally I loved it.

In Into Darkness the warp core looks like an almighty piece of kit, and that's because they shot on location at the Lawrence Livermore National Ignition Facility. It's a real-life fusion reactor. And then you can climb inside it and it turns out that inside is one very important laser thing, some dilithium crystals you barely see and lots of deadly radiation. At least the self sacrificing happens inside the core itself and not a weird separate side chamber this time. The brewery from the last movie was still there, implying this was all along even if we didn't visit it. But that complicates things because the bits they called the warp core are very different. Perhaps the intermix chambers ejected last movie and core seen here are all part of the same huge warp core system.

Strange New Worlds reboots the original... sort of. They put a vertical intermix chamber in there and instead of a mesh and forced perspective they've got an AR wall with an enourmous array of high tech pipes. But weirdly, the writers guide says the big AR wall with the updated pipe cathedral is the deflector dish machinery not the warp core. I guess the confusion makes it more authentic TOS.

[arcadia-of-pluto]

Twist of Fate; Chapter Four

Pairings; LADS OT4 x reader

Word count; 2,588

Themes; isekai, eventual smut

Rating; 18+ for swearing and some mature themes

Notes; I swear these chapters feel longer on the word doc. Anyways, I was too excited to leave it at just three chapters so here's an extra fourth one for today 🎉

Prev || Next

Masterlist

It's been a few weeks since you went to Snowcrest with Zayne. In that time, you played a few rounds of kitty cards with Xavier- not having the heart to bring Rafayel to the café since you knew he was afraid of cats, played the claw machine with Rafayel and took him to see the aurora in Snowcrest. You also got the painting Rafayel sent you and hung it up on the wall behind your couch, the fox plushie Xavier got you sitting on a miniature bookshelf underneath it. You put the pins got from the Meow's café tokens up on the bookshelf as well, a set of antique books you got from your original time period, a few antique gaming consoles like the Gamerboy and Ninyendo ds- it hurts to call those antique and your wallet definitely hurt after buying them. 

You got the Waystation NX as a way to pass the time besides when you were working. Honestly being a hunter paid well and once you got used to it, the work wasn't even that bad. 

Now, a few days before you assume your mission with Rafayel is, you decide it's time to get a friend. You were torn between a dog or a cat but since every single character loves cats besides Rafayel…you decide on a cat. You put on your yellow dress since all your other clothes were darker in tone and you didn't want to get cat hair all over them and head out after putting your shoes on. 

Stopping by Meow's Café first would be a good idea. Since they were a cat café then maybe some of their cats would be up for adoption and if not, you could always ask if an employee could point you in the direction of a shelter. 

Today was just a nice day to be on your own. 

At least that's what you thought but the moment you step foot in Meow's Café, you spot a few different things. Your gaze lingers on a white haired man that was sitting in the corner, cats all around him as he slept during the day but that wasn't Xavier. He seemed a bit familiar but you brush that feeling off and walk over to the actual Xavier. “What're you doing here without inviting me?” You tease with a playful pout. 

Xavier, who was dozing off, tiredly looks at you before a small smile appears on his lips. He yawns, covering his mouth with one hand. “I would've invited you if I knew you were awake.” “Don't worry about it.” You ruffle his hair before looking over all the cats. “I'm looking for a friend today.” 

“Are you talking about an actual person this time or another plushie?” 

“Neither. I'm looking for a pet.” You admit, rubbing the back of your neck. “I'm going to see if any of these cats are up for adoption and if not, I'll go look at some shelters nearby.” “Do you want me to come with you?” He asks, unable to hold back another yawn and you shake your head, “While I appreciate the offer, you should go home and take a nap. You look like you're about to pass out at any moment.” You pat his shoulder before heading to the counter to ask about the cats and order a drink. 

You settle on just a basic sweet tea and also buy some cat treats and the employee tells you that the cats here are sponsored by the local shelter but urges you to go to the shelter in person since the older cats are kept there. 

It would probably be better to get an older animal than a younger one since most people prefer the babies so you take her up on her offer. You take a sip of your tea, turning to wave goodbye to Xavier as you put the location of the shelter in your gps and start your walk. 

As you stand in front of the homey looking building, an employee peeks behind the gate. “Welcome to Paws animal sanctuary!” 

“Are you open today?” You ask, checking the time on your phone worriedly. “We just opened so we're cleaning up a bit but feel free to come inside! We had to open a tad earlier today since our sponsor stopped by.” The lady smiles at you and waits for you to follow as she walks toward the front doors. “Sponsor?” You echo, looking around at the interior as you step inside. Hardwood floors, cream wallpaper with different coloured paw prints- probably the paws of the actual inhabitants of the shelter. 

“Yeah, Mr S sponsors all of the shelters in Linkon City! It's thanks to him that we can take better care of our animals and give them the lives they deserve even if they're unable to be adopted.” The employee smiles before pausing, “oh my, I just realized I didn't tell you my name! That's so rude of me. My name is Raven.” 

“You're fine. I'm Y/n.” You smile back, holding your hands together. “I don't mind listening to you speak, you really seem to care about the animals you have here.” “We all do, it used to be so sad working at shelters in the past but now, oh- Mephi!” She laughs as a black bird flies over to land on her head. 

“Aww, she's a pretty bird. Is she a raven or…?” “She's a crow.” Raven says, letting the little bird perch on her finger. “She's actually mostly robotic since she got hurt in an accident. She was Mr S's pet before that but once Mephi got too injured, he surrendered her here and she's been living her best life ever since!” Raven scratches the crow under the chin before she heads behind the counter. “Anyway, What're you looking for today?” 

“Ah…I was looking for a cat? Possibly an older one or one who's been here for pretty long. My apartment has felt really lonely as of late and I feel like a pet would really help liven up the atmosphere and make me a bit happier.” You say, lightly drumming on the counter as Raven types in everything on a computer. “Perfect, we have about…four cats that match that! Well, we have five but..” 

“But what?” You lean forward, suddenly curious. 

“She's a bit of a handful. She's slightly younger than the rest and she's been returned multiple times. She's been here for about four years and she has a disability.” Raven says, running a hand through her hair. “Do you want me to add her to the walk through?”

“It wouldn't hurt to meet her. What's her name?” 

“Well…each home she's been to never gave her one so we've been calling her Estelle, you'll know when you see her.” Raven grabs her clipboard and leads you to the back with Mephi on her shoulder. You follow behind, looking at the window through each door as you pass before Raven stops at a room in the very back.

“This is Caesar, Spork, and Freya.” Raven says as she opens the door, pointing at the older orange cat that laid splayed out and the calico munchkin cat that was bopping the diluted calico ragdoll on the head. “Though Spork and Freya are a bonded pair so it would be hard to get just one.” She marks those two off of her list. “Where's…oh, there's Dino.” She crouches down on the floor. “Dino is the old tabby hiding under there. He's a bit nervous when it comes to new people.” 

None of the cats were catching your eye. Sure, they were definitely cute but none seemed to care about you specifically. 

“I guess you want to go see Estelle?” Raven questions after fixing her hair that Mephi was busy ratting up. “I think so, sorry.” You whisper your apology to the cats before you both leave the room. “Estelle is in a room by herself. She prefers to be alone and she's a bit moody.” Raven comments as you head to the next room a few doors down. “And here she is.” 

Raven opens the door and you both step inside. She quickly closes the door behind her as heavy paw steps thundered toward the door. An audible thump being heard as the cat hits the door. 

“Keep in mind, she's a runner.” Raven seems a bit out of breath. “We've had to chase her around the whole building before.” The woman steps to the side to reveal a large silver tabby mainecoon. “She's a mainecoon so she's a big cat and her coat is a rare colour. It's really uncommon to see a silver or gold maincoon.” 

The cat in question turns her head to look up at Raven before she notices someone else is in the room. The cat's fur bristles but she fully stops her movements the moment she made eye contact with you. A soft meow comes from her before she walks up to you and rubs against your leg. 

"Oh uhm-” Raven quickly flips through her clipboard, “She's never reacted like that before. I guess she likes you.”

You crouch down to run your fingers across her back. She sort of reminded you of Pie with her stature and how soft her fur was. “I'll take her.” You said, scratching her under her chin as she purrs. “I can pick up a body harness and walk her home. I think that's what she wants.” 

“Do you want to try picking her up as we head back to the front desk? Be careful she's heav-” Before Raven can finish her sentence, you've already picked the big cat up. “Nevermind.” Raven laughs, letting you follow her back to the front office. 

“So for Estelle, she gets a bit of a discount just because of her temperament and since you'll have to cover the cost of any more prosthetics she needs.” “Prosthetics?” You're suddenly confused and look at the cat in your arms. She didn't seem like she had any on. 

“Ah, Estelle was brought here with a really bad infection in her right front paw so they had to amputate. She only recently got a state of the art prosthetic with the help of Mr S. You can't even tell the difference and I think she's a lot happier with it.” Raven says, smiling at the cat in your arms who lets out a raspy meow. “But right so I'll add a harness, leash, and cat food to your bill and some vitamins for joint health and that'll be…”

She tells you the price and you gladly pay. You crouch down to put the purple body harness on Estelle and hook up the leash. The food and other stuff would be at your apartment before the end of the day. “Thank you for everything!” You wave to Raven and even Mephi caws as you leave. 

“Hey there pretty girl.” You say with a smile as Estelle looks up at you as you walk. 

With you being distracted, you don't notice a person walking next to you until you bump into your shoulder. You stumble back at the contact and quickly turn around in order to tell them off but a faint black and red smoke is the only thing left where the person should be. You hear the caw of a crow and look up, noticing a black crow perched on top of the light pole. 

“Weird..” you murmur, rubbing your temples and Estelle meows at you as if to tell you to keep walking. “Alright, alright.” You laugh, “I'm moving.” 

Once back at your apartment, you set Estelle's cat food bag down next to your island in the kitchen, putting her other canned food in the cabinets alongside her vitamins and some cat treats. Then, you hear a knock on your door. You head over to the door, Estelle trotting alongside you and she meows as the door opens. 

“Oh Xavier, what're you doing here?” You question, raising a brow but he holds up a bag. “I brought some stuff for the cat.” He says, a smile in his voice before he peeks around the door to see Estelle. “Woah.”

“Her name's Estelle.” You say, letting him in and taking the bag from him. “Estelle, you've got a bed now!” You cheer, going to put her bed in your bedroom. “Ooh and a food and water dish. Thanks Xavier, I didn't have a chance to pick anything like this up just yet.” You turn to look at him and he points at the bag, “One more thing.” 

You reach back in and there's a rod, you pull it out and notice it's one of those fishing rod cat toys but this one has a star at the end of the wire. “Here,” you hand it to him with a smile, “You came over here to play with the cat, didn't you?” 

“That wasn't my only reason.” He chuckles, sitting down on the couch as he plays with Estelle. “I wanted to hear about your plans going forward.” 

“Oh right.” You completely forgot about that. You sit down next to him, ready to explain. “I'm planning on getting some information from the Nest about an aether core being sold at the protocore auction in the N109 Zone. So I need an invitation for Hunting day. I'm…already working on getting an invitation but my problem lies with getting into the N109 Zone itself.” 

“You,” Xavier sighs, shaking his head, “You really are searching for trouble. I don't think you should go but I don't think anything I say will stop you..but since you have Estelle now, you at least have a reason to come back alive.” 

“Well, if I do die, take care of Estelle for me.” You joke with a smile but Xavier turns toward you with a straight face, “Don't joke about that, Y/n.” “Ah, sorry.” You clear your throat, looking down, “I am a bit nervous, if I'm honest but I know I'll be able to do it so if I go missing for a few days, make sure to feed her. I'll give you my spare key.” 

“I'll hold you to it.” Xavier takes the key from you and puts it in his pocket. “I'll figure something out if you go missing.” 

The mood wasn't as happy as before, that was clear to see so instead you nudge him with your elbow. “So at the shelter, they have this really cool sponsor who helped every single shelter in Linkon City. He had this pet crow that he surrendered because she got injured and he paid for Estelle's prosthetic.” 

“She has a prosthetic?” Xavier raises a brow, allowing you to push past the last conversation with ease. “Yeah, it's on her right paw.” You lean forward to tap said paw, your cheek brushing against Xavier's knee and he clears his throat. He shifts to the side on the couch to move his knee away from you. “Ah, I can see it now.” It's Xavier's turn now to lean forward and look. “That's really cool. It almost makes me want to get a cat.” 

“There's some really sweet ones at the shelter. Like Spork and Freya are a bonded pair!” “...Spork?” “Don't laugh, I think it's a cute name!” 

It's late by the time Xavier finally leaves to go back to his apartment, you say your goodbyes and get ready for bed with Estelle curled up next to you.

---------------------------------------------------

I guess 2k is the standard for every chapter so far. By the time chapter 10 hits, they should get longer so I hope you guys don't mind the shorter chapters for a bit! It's so odd though because on Google docs I feel like I'm writing so much and I need to end the chapter or else it'll be too long, and turns out...I've only written 2k- Edit: I just checked and they do get a bit longer but 3k and 4k aren't exactly at lot. If yall stick around until twenty then I'll make sure it's longer than 4k!! I feel so bad posting such short chapters.

Also, hope you enjoy the Sylus crumbs ✨️

[abadbowlofsoup]

So some time I ago, I read and enjoyed Avatar of Victory by James Golen, a Mass Effect and Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover. Being me, I sat down and composed a list of what Star Trek characters would be under similar circumstances: If the World of Avatar was the Earth of Star Trek. I came across that list today and decided it deserved a bit of an overhaul as well as expanding to include Discovery, Prodigy, Lower Decks, and Picard.

-----------------------------------

TOS

Kirk: Water

Spock: Earth

McCoy: Badass Normal

Uhura: Air

Scotty: Fire

Sulu: Air

Chekov: Badass Normal

Yeoman Rand: The Avatar, discovered to be so only when well into her career, as she did not want to be known. (What, you thought KIRK would be the Avatar? Hell no.)

Nurse Chapel: Badass Normal

Star Trek the Animated Series Only:

M'Ress: Water

Arex: Badass Normal

----------------------

TNG

Picard: Badass Normal. (Starfleet has an unconscious bias towards favoring benders in command positions, but Picard is just that awesome.)

Riker: Air

Data: No bending, but he’s surprisingly aware of the spirit world.

Worf: Fire

Troi: Badass Normal (Bending is incredibly rare among Betazoids)

Beverly Crusher: Water

Wesley Crusher: Badass Normal

Pulaski: Fire

Guinan: Air

Ensign Ro: Fire

LaForge: Water

Ensign Jae: Water (Jae Tribute Music Video, as some may not know who she is, but with more than a hundred appearances across TNG, DS9, and Voyager, actress Tracee Coco deserves to be acknowledged)

--------------------------------------

DS9

Sisko: Earth

Kira: Badass Normal

Jadiza Dax: Water

Ezerei Dax: Air

Odo: N/A (Note: The Dominion had never encountered bending until DS9. They’re very interested. Odo, on the other hand, regards it as a mildly useful trick)

Bashir: Badass Normal

O’Brien: Water

Worf: (See TNG)

Quark, Rom, Nog: N/A (Ferengi don’t have benders)

Garak; Badass normal

--------------------------------

Voyager

Janeway: Fire

Chakotay: Earth

Torres: Earth

Paris: Air

Kim: Air

Doctor: N/A

Tuvok: Air

Neelix: Earth

Kes: Badass Normal

Seven: Unclear. Towards the end of her time on Voyager, Seven was begining to display signs of being an airbender, but also some hints of waterbending. By the time they got back to Earth, Voyager learned that Avatar Rand had been killed in action against Jem’Hadar fanatics in the Delta Quadrant around the time Seven had been freed from the Borg. Chakotay theorized that being set free of the Borg could count as being born, which means Seven could be the new Avatar. As of this writing, the White Lotus has refused comment.

---------------------------------------

Enterprise

Strangely enough, the crew of the NX-O1 were all non-benders save for T’Pol, an Earthbender, and Phlox, who’s species only produces Airbenders.

-----------------------------------

Discovery

Burnham: Fire (And How!)

Saru: Badass Normal

Book: Badass Normal

Lorca: Earth

Reno: Badass Normal

Stamets: Earth

Culber: Water

Detmer: Air

Owosekun: Badass Normal

Tilly: Earth

Adira Tal: Badass Normal

Vance: Normal

----------------------------

Strange New Worlds Pike: Water

Spock: (See TNG) Una: Due to Illyrian Genetic History, Una was not, strictly speaking a Bender, though she did display some form of energy manipulation following the Hetmit 9 incident, though these displays were only under moments of extreme stress. Uhura: Badass Normal

M'Benga: Badass Normal

Chapel: Badass Normal

Khan: Fire

Erica: Water

-----------------------------------

Prodigy

Janeway: (See Voyager)

Dal: Badass Normal

Gwyn: Fire

Rok-Tahk: Badass Normal

Jankom: Fire

Zero: Badass Normal

Murf: Badass Normal

-----------------------

Lower Decks

Captain Freeman: Earth

Jack: Normal

Shax: Fire

Mariner: Fire

Boimler: Normal

Tendi: Water (Bending is a rare talent among Orions)

Rutherford: Water

T'lyn: Earth

T'Ana: Fire

Bilups: Earth

---------------------------

Picard

Picard: (See TNG)

Raffi: Earth

Seven: Though the White Lotus officially hailed her as the Avatar, Seven continued to refuse the title, even to the point of attributing her long lifespan to her Borg implants and medical science, eventually dying in 2604, She was succeeded by Avatar Juros Boimler.

Jurati: Badass Normal

Rios: Air

Elnor: Badass Normal

Jack Crusher: Though officially a non-Bender, Jack displayed an astonishing awareness of the Spirit World and there were, reportedly, incidents of multibending, though 32nd century historians have suggested that these are examples of Q meddling and not Crusher being some sort of Co-Avatar, as Crusher died at the age of 86.

[marointhemoon]

Yes, please infodump! I always enjoy reading your thinking behind your fics.

Limiting myself to four, but more than happy to drop another ask later if you're up for it!

1 - Not everyone can be the main character!

13 - drowning in affection

14 - loophole

22 - go in service

okay okay okay an infodump to tire myself out once and for all before i collapse into bed (it's about midnight where i am and i FINALLY finished the very first part of my lady of mercy. i'm going to clean it up tomorrow and finally post it and i am very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very excited.

SO! i'm gonna briefly chat about the general vibe of each thing and give an excerpt if there's one that i particularly like. what i'm saying is you're going to be eating very very well.

Not everyone can be the main character!

What's the vibe: A slice-of-life chronicle of life going on on the NX-01, outside of what the Main Seven do. There's laughs. There's gaffs. There's character development for characters you have literally never heard of. It's a little bit of an OC fic without 100% being an OC fic.

Who does it feature: A metric fuckton of side characters. You've got the usual suspects (e.g., Rostov, Kelly, Hess, Cutler), for sure. But you also have some people who had literal seconds of screentime (e.g., Zabel, Fletcher, Tanner, Jane Taylor). You've got people who straight up only appeared in the novels (Ravi Chandra, Mireya Meir, Donna O'Neill) (characterization may vary). You're got straight up OCs (e.g., both of Malcolm's seconds-in-command (because I 100% refuse to believe that one member of personnel would have been seated with all of his administrative shit)). As I say, there's laughs, there's gaffs, there's chaos, there's character development.

When can we expect to see it in full: Not for a good long while. All told, this work is probably my white whale, and it will probably be simultaneously the richest yet most piecemeal thing I create for a good long while.

An excerpt:

April 13th, 2151. 1600 hours. “Lieutenant senior-grade Annika Hess, reporting for duty.” “Commander Trip Tucker—Trip’s just fine. You must be mah new second. You just get promoted?” “Ah—yes, sir.” Shit. What did I say? “You don’t have to say ‘senior-grade’.” “Oh. Right.” I can already feel my face going red. Commander Tucker laughs lightly, and I feel like dying. “This must be yer first time in command, too, huh?” “Ah… yes, sir.” How humiliating. Trip smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Well, you’re here on time and ya seem to have yer wits about ya. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” I allow myself an uneasy chuckle. “I appreciate that, sir.” “Ah mean it. Ah’ve heard nothin’ but good things from yer past COs. Couldn’t ask for a more qualified second.” Americans and their flattery. I swallow thickly, trying to get myself to say something. Anything, so long as I don’t further embarrass myself.

drowning in affection

What's the vibe: The thing that was supposed to be my submission for Drown Malcolm Reed Month. Basically Malcolm is touch starved as fuck, so Trip and Hoshi offer him a cuddle sesh. He refuses for months, until a bad day hits (complete with edible arrangement in the form of a migraine) and he's left with few other options than to accept the affection or wallow in misery.

Who does it feature: Malcolm, Trip, and Hoshi. I wanted to experiment with the idea of them as a threesome, but not necessarily as a romantic or sexual one.

When can we expect to see it in full: Not for a while, albeit not as long of a while as the slice of life thing. IMO, this is kind of rushed and piecemeal, much more so than I'd like. Just because it's the G-rated equivalent of PWP, that doesn't mean I want it to be completely contrived. Ultimately, I want to flesh it out significantly so that things make sense.

An excerpt:

Before he thinks better of it, he’s commed Trip to let him know to expect him. It feels like he’s doing something wrong, somehow. Like he’s heading off to be taken apart and debauched, as though Trip and Hoshi think the solution to his migraine is to fuck his brains out. But he knows them well enough; that was never the offer being made. This was never a sex thing, nor was it even an offer of a romantic relationship. Still, protests that small, defensive, ever-insecure part of his soul. The stern, sardonic, stiff-lipped Chief of Security, off to be cuddled? Suddenly, he’s ringing Trip’s doorchime. The door opens, and things start to happen relatively quickly. Trip offers his hand. Malcolm lets himself be pulled into the dark room. He’s sat down on the comforter of Trip’s bunk. Hoshi’s not far behind him, come to help along the plan she’d hatched. She crawls onto the bed, behind him. Her body nears his, and he shivers as he feels her nails lightly trail over his shoulders. She settles in, resting her head right between his shoulder blades, drawing a contented hum from both of them. Then, the piece de resistance: Scritch, scritch, scritch. Malcolm mushes his face into Trip’s shoulder, feeling his spine turn to jelly as the engineer's blunt nails gently scratch at the base of his skull. “Aww…” Trip can’t help himself, his baritone drawl at full strength. “Does that feel good?” “Fuck off.” At least, that’s what Malcolm wants to say. What comes out instead is a low, disgruntled whine, which only makes Trip pull him closer and Hoshi coo with adoration. That’s a new one: adoration. People have been attracted to him, that’s true enough. He knows what that’s like— to be wanted, desired —but this is different. Trip and Hoshi don’t just want him. They like him. They want to take care of him. That’s new. And oh, it feels good. Trip’s hands move, his thumbs sometimes coming back to rub firm little circles behind his ears. If either he or Hoshi say anything in the next minute, it’s lost to warm, sleepy oblivion.

loophole

What's the vibe: Hoshi's having nightmares and the NX-01 rumor mill is a well-oiled machine, so she finds out about T'Pol's neuropressure "services" (such as they are) and decides to see if she can't be helped.

Who does it feature: T'Pol and Hoshi. The original intention wasn't to have it be explicitly shippy, but the work is so early in the process that there's still some room for me to change my mind.

An excerpt:

As it was, Hoshi stood nervously outside of her quarters. She’d been trying to muster the courage to ring the door chime for the last hour and struggling to sleep for the last three. Falling and staying asleep had started getting harder a week ago, and things had been steadily getting worse since then. Last night, she’d only gotten three hours of sleep. She couldn’t keep on like this. Despite her anxiety, Hoshi yawned. What time was it, 0130? Was the Sub-commander even awake? Oh, to hell with it. Hoshi rang the doorchime. “Come in,” said a low, feminine voice. There was no hesitation behind it. Hoshi took a steadying breath. She could do this. She opened the door and timidly stepped into T’Pol’s quarters. A faint smell—incense?—hit her nose, and she immediately felt a little calmer. T’Pol looked up from where she’d been meditating, her expression neutral as ever. “Ensign. What can I do for you?” “Hi. Um…” Hoshi sighed, already feeling her cheeks going warm. “Look. I heard through the grapevine that you’ve been doing neuropressure to help with sleep issues. I’ve been dealing with similar things, and I thought about trying to do it myself, but I’ve also heard that you can get really hurt if you do it wrong. If you’re not comfortable doing it, that’s fine, I just wanted to—” “Ensign,” T’Pol said calmly, cutting Hoshi off. The younger woman snapped her mouth shut. “I…” Hoshi was stunned. The Sub-Commander, at a loss for words? She was so screwed. “Normally,” she said, snapping Hoshi out of her reverie. “Neuropressure is a fairly intimate act. Along the lines of massage or acupuncture. Having said that, it’s logical that you would want to see someone who knows what they are doing. I … I can appreciate your being proactive in that regard. My concern has more to do with fraternization. You are, after all, in my direct line of command.” “I understand.” Hoshi looked away. “Just … forget I said anything. Please don’t report me.” T’Pol blinked. “Why would I report you?” “I don’t know, I just … didn’t want to come off too strong. I’m being weird. Sorry.” T’Pol regarded Hoshi for a moment. To the best of her knowledge, Starfleet’s fraternization regulations prohibited personal relationships: romance, cohabitation, sexual intercourse, and things of that nature. This didn’t seem to be a proposition for any of those things. Quite the opposite: even taking it in the least charitable light possible, Ensign Sato was asking for something slightly more intimate than their professional relationship allowed. It wasn’t as though T’Pol had no boundaries; she could push back if things went out of hand. Besides, she figured, Sato’s work is bound to suffer if she doesn’t rest. T’Pol fought the urge to wrinkle her nose in disgust. If she could do this for Corporal Cole, surely she could do it for her ensign.

go in service

What's the vibe: T'Pol is well outside of her pon farr and therefore has almost no sex drive. Unfortunately, Trip does. Luckily, thinking outside of the box has always been one of his strengths.

TL;DR - T'Pol is grey-ace and outside of her pon farr, so ServiceTop!Trip, wanting to both get off and make her feel good, does a body worship.

Who does it feature: Trip and T'Pol. I really like the idea of ServiceTop!Trip, especially as applied to non-sexual contexts. I suspect, given everything that's happened between them (sexually and not) that there's this really easy intimacy between them. Not totally identical to a human couple, to be sure, but they're certainly not shy with each other in terms of nudity.

HOWEVER!

I also wanted to explore the idea of T'Pol being on the ace spectrum, particularly outside of her pon farr. I feel like it's pretty reasonable to assume that Vulcans have sexualities outside of that, regardless of whether they express them or not (traditionalists like Soval might not, but others like T'Pau, Spock, and T'Pol might). Even so, it follows that acespec Vulcans are a thing, and I wanted to try to balance that idea with how sexual Trip and T'Pol's relationship canonically is. Obviously, T'Pol is sexually attracted to Trip, and obviously she's not 100% sex-repulsed, but there's absolutely nuance beyond that that I think could be super interesting!

An excerpt:

Trip pressed his lips to T’Pol’s, unhurried and gentle. There was, at most, a very delicate heat to it, Trip softly humming and moaning in the back of his throat. Faintly, T’Pol wondered if he’d try to introduce his tongue—she would have had no problem with that—but he never did. He wasn’t there to claim her, or attempt to make her submit. These kisses were gentle and patient, calm and easygoing. Ultimately, this was why she would always want Trip. He was her peace, and she knew she was his. For him, a shelter from the chaos of his circumstances. For her, an outlet for the chaos of her mind. Almost meditating on that, she allowed herself a long, slow breath, prompting him to hum approvingly. He pulled away, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, before starting to kiss his way up her cheek. He smiled as she turned her head, allowing him more access. “That good, darling?” She hummed in approval. Hesitating for a moment, he pressed a kiss to the shell of her ear. She shuddered. He paused, concerned. “That okay?” It was her turn to hesitate. “I… would prefer that you not. I have changed my mind.” “No worries.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, prompting another hum. “Thanks for tellin’ me.” Gently turning her head, he kissed her other temple. She allowed herself a sigh, and he smiled even wider, trailing kisses down the other side of her face, then down her jaw. As he reached her neck, his hands came to rest on her waist. “Let’s get you settled and relaxed, shall we?”

i hope you enjoyed my infodumping! i'd be happy to share more if you want to hear more! for now, i'm going to bed!

thanks for the ask!

for those just joining, the link to the original ask game is right here!

[amekonocternia]

here's my suggestions!

I think Milk deserves to be a little cunty. /nx /nf

I took the oppertunity to try do a rendering study for the sillies

He gets to slay a little bit, as a treat/ref

[sincosma]

So. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I need to sing this show’s praises (no plot spoilers!) and if you’re a Trek fan, you need to watch it ASAP.

LISTEN. This show is on another fucking level. I know a lot of trekkies have been complaining about “New Trek” (even though a lot of their complaints are curiously similar to the complaints about VOY and DS9 back in the day), but SNW is genuinely one of the best Trek shows PERIOD. Say whatever you wanna say about the missteps of early Discovery or the massive stumbles of ALL of Picard, but SNW came out the gate FINE-TUNED and honed in on the show’s message, identity, and place within the canon. And it SHINES. No weak pilot or cumbersome first seasons; SNW knows what it is and goes for it without hesitation. Love the irony that a show about the captain from the TOS pilot (which had very strange circumstances) and yet his own show knocks it out of the park. Delicious. At last, justice for Jeffery Hunter’s Pike!

They absolutely perfected the episodic-mini-serialized-arc style that DS9 pioneered. Pike is hands down the best all-around captain in the entire series, with the friendliness and openness of Archer, the daring and charisma of Kirk, and the principles and empathy of Sisko all rolled into one. There’s even a little bit of our beloved Janeway’s questionable decision-making and stalwart loyalty in his character!

The way they’ve highlighted each crew member with barely a single character arc fumbled is supremely impressive. Special mentions to the character arcs so far for M’Benga, Chapel, Uhura, and La’An. Ethan Peck’s Spock goes places that truly delight and shock me. The fan service has been subtle and tasteful (e.g. incorporating young Jim Kirk, references to future TOS show/movie villains, etc.). The deep lore cuts have had me shouting incoherently at the TV in excitement. Watching Lower Decks crew nerding out over TOS-era characters while SNW crew geek out about Archer, Hoshi, and Travis from Enterprise NX-01. These moments are so skillfully handled and feel so natural. It reminded me fondly of the incredible DS9 episode where Dax and Sisko end up on Kirk’s Enterprise.

Side note, I have to specifically mention episode “Subspace Rhapsody”…man, THIS is how a musical episode is DONE. Fucking BRAVO.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I’m truly impressed with the topics they’ve been unabashedly tackling with true Star Trek earnestness, optimism, and reverence. The challenging ethics of prejudice, eugenics, racism, sexism, fascism, war crimes. It’s all here, man. Yes, it’s not perfect and SNW of course has some issues, but this show hits the bullseye overall. Its flaws are completely overshadowed by its triumphs.

TL;DR: STRANGE NEW WORLDS IS STAR TREK AT ITS BEST.

[selfshipgushing]

hiii it me, fairy tail anon, im pretty sure i got my emojis wrong like numerous times but its 🐉🌸 ,,, i had to check once my ask was answered and i think i sent in an ask where i used 🍵🌸? THATS STILL ME THO 💔💔 IM JUST A BIT STOOPY 💔💔💔

anyways i made artwork of me and my boyfie,, it was back for his birthday, which is feb 13th. im working on some artwork for me and black sapphire as well!!!!! i realized peach blossom was queer-platonic rather than romantic, meaning black saph and gray are my only 2 romantic f/os... so i guess they get special treatment by getting artwork /silly

gray has a canonical stripping habit so hes usually shirtless if not also pantless and i love him so much ueueueue it means i can look at him unabashedly and admire him all the time. he so handsome... he so... he... im asexual so this is all /nx,,, i just think hes soooooo prettyy...

i dont mind if im kept anon or not, considering my watermark and signature is right there, but ill still refer to myself as 🐉🌸 anon anyways if thats alright :3

very prettiful art ! :)

(hiatus backlog)

[sunstoner]

happy pride people of the internet

is your gender a bit fucky? are you tired of the same old same old honorifics? are you simply just bored and looking for some reading material? well youre in luck!

in my scouring of this site ive yet to find one giant list of alternate honorifics/prefixes/titles or whatever you want to call them (maybe i didnt look hard enough, who knows) so i decided "fuck it! let me make my own." it took a while to find these and i definitely have to thank the gender census for a lot of them. (note: this is probably not all possible prefixes! these are just what i could find and what i could find pronunciations for (excluding part 4). feel free to mention any others & their pronunciations!)

anyways! continue below the part

part one: matching

these honorifics/prefixes/titles look similar enough to mr/ms/mrs/miss while also not being those. and no, its not just mx! note: for space purposes there may be a list of titles with one pronunciation

1. m.

can be pronounced em, mist, messer, master, or magister

2. m*.

pronounced miss-star

3. ma.

pronounced mistra

4. me.

can be pronounced mew or messer

5. mg.

can be pronounced mage or magister

6. mir.

pronounced mir

7. msc. ; misc.

pronounced misk, shortened from miscellaneous

8. mist. ; mrm. ; msm. ; mtr.

pronounced mistrum

9. ml.

pronounced mistrel

10. mm.

can be pronounced mistum or mistrum

11. mn.

pronounced mine

12. mnt.

pronounced mount

13. mq.

can be pronounced mick or marquis

14. mre.

can be pronounced mistree or mystery

15. mrsr.

pronounced merser

16. mrw.

pronounced morrow

17. mry. ; mse. ; mys. ; myst.

pronounced mystery

18. msr.

can be pronounced messr or misser

19. msry.

pronounced misry

20. mssr.

pronounced messer

21. mst.

pronounced mist

22. mstr.

pronounced master

23. mt.

can be pronounced mount or mistrum

24. mtx.

pronounced matrix

25. mu.

pronounced as written

26. mv.

pronounced maverique

27. mw.

can be pronounced mew or morrow

28. mx.

can be pronounced mix, mex, mux, mixter, mistrum, or monselle

29. mxr.

pronounced mixer

30. myr.

pronounced myster

31. mz.

pronounced miz

32. mzr.

can be pronounced mezzir or mezzer

part two: branching

these honorifics/prefixes/titles are the same as part one, but they look different from the "default" format. so many letters. note: for space purposes there may be a list of titles with one pronunciation

1. an.

pronounced any

2. c. ; cap. ; capt. ; cpt. ; cptn. ; ct.

pronounced captain

3. cd. ; cde. ; cmd. ; cmr. ; cmrd. ; com.

pronounced comrade

4. cit. ; ctz. ; cz. ; czn.

pronounced citizen

5. cnst.

pronounced constellation

6. cr.

can be pronounced comrade or cryptid

7. de.

pronounced done

6. div.

pronounced div, shortened from individual

7. dm.

pronounced dame

8. dr.

pronounced doctor

9. drst.

pronounced dearest

10. em.

pronounced as written

11. en.

can be pronounced enby or entity

12. ent.

pronounced entity

13. eu.

pronounced eunuch

14. fh.

pronounced fellow human

15. fw.

pronounced fellow worker

16. hm.

pronounced human

17. hon.

pronounced on, shortened from honorable

18. hx.

pronounced hex

19. ind.

pronounced as written, shortened from individual

20. inv.

pronounced inevitable

21. jan.

pronounced as written

22. lic.

pronounced licenciature

23. nb.

pronounved en bee, shortened from nonbinary

24. nl.

pronounced null

25. nr.

pronounced nister

26. nx.

can be pronounced nix or nex

27. per. ; pr.

can be pronounced per or person

28. phl.

pronounced philosophe

29. prof.

pronounced professor

30. rab.

pronounced rabbi

31. rev.

pronounced reverand

32. sai.

pronounced sigh

33. san.

pronounced as written

34. ser.

can be pronounced ser or serah

35. sr.

can be pronounced sir or serrah

36. syr.

pronounced as written

37. sys.

pronounced system

38. the.

pronounced as written

39. tr.

can be pronounced ter or teacher

40. vd.

pronounced void

41. vr.

pronounced ver

42. vx.

can be pronounced vix or vex

43. xr.

pronounced xer

44. zr.

can be pronounced zir or zeester

part three: sir? ma'am?

these honorifics are specifically meant to replace the sir/ma'am words. they feel different than the other ones so they get their own part.

1. boss

2. captain

3. chief

4. comrade

5. friend

6. gentile

7. m'ir

8. sa'am

9. sai

10. tiz

11. xir

12. zir

part four: how do you say...

these honorifics are ones i couldnt find pronunciations for... if you know em lmk please & thanks 🫰🏾

1. sn.

thats it, i couldnt find a pronunciation for it but i thought it was cool 🤸🏾

thats all folks

i might update depending on the responses i get and anything else i find :)

last edits: 3 jun 2024

[kyova]

So, for those who refused to vote for Kamala Harris because of Gaza:

How’s that going?

It’s going exactly as I expected.

I get Harris wasn’t inspiring to many. She turned off a lot of people for a lot of different reasons. But she at least wanted a cease fire, and so did other Democrats. Republicans were clearly fine with razing it, killing thousands, and turning the rest into traumatized refugees so they could do what they wanted with the land. They made it pretty clear. Trump made it clear during his first term he hated Muslims and brown people. Why would anyone think he’d help them in any way?

Don’t judge a politician by anything except their record. Check what they say and do when they think no one is paying attention. And don’t judge based on a single issue or action. Look at the whole.

There were no truly good options. Israel is basically a militarized colony of the U.S., smack in the middle of a resource rich area over which the politicians want influence. Few politicians are going to jeopardize that by defunding Israel, pushing for a two state solution, or risking Israel finding support elsewhere (I’m sure Russia and China would jump all over that chance, plus many others).

But dammit, there was a choice that was at least a bit better than what they got! 😞

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/05/nx-s1-5287857/trump-gaza-congress-republicans

Morons.

[dystopian-intellectual-pigeon]

Trump called them WHAT?!?! 😂

But also, it's worth reading the other bits of his speech as well. .

Trump tells Christian voters they 'won't have to vote anymore' if he's elected https://www.npr.org/2024/07/27/nx-s1-5054272/trump-christian-wont-vote-anymore-speech

[stra-tek]

Lots and lots of random spoilerific things about Star Trek comics

Gold Key's old run was written by people who had never actually seen the show. Later they involved fans like Doug Drexler to make things a bit more authentic

This however made them, IMHO, amazing

Blond scotty. Wearing green.

Voodoo planet, with papier mache versions of Earth landmarks which, when blasted with a death ray, cause the real ones to collapse

Spock learns voodoo to combat this threat

The Enterprise completely razes a planet of hostile plant spore things. Like full on extermination of all life

There's a locked room on deck 7 full of evil Vulcan spirits. A yeoman blunders in and all hell breaks loose

Kirk doesn't know what a god damn black hole is

Spock is kidnapped by aliens, has their entire knowledge downloaded into his brain which makes him into a bobblehead for awhile

The Enterprise is briefly taken from Kirk and given to Captain Zarlo, who is a total bellend

Spock forgets to have pointed ears sometimes

The old UK newspaper comic strips were even worse. The first few issues feature "Captain Kurt" and he wears a red shirt. Bailey is also a lead character, giving away which one episode they had knowledge of

Depictions of the Enterprise in their very first strip will shock and horrify you, but after that the art becomes amazing and maintains a very high standard

Marvel did a series following The Motion Picture, and it was a vast improvement, although they technically had rights to the movie and not the series, which led to a little weirdness. Tons of references still were snuck in, though

There's a series of Book and Records, which you can listen to on YouTube and are goofy fun. The Enterprise desperately needs a meal in the art, though.

They draw Romulans as green wizards

They didn't have the rights to Nichelle Nichols or George Takei's likenesses, so get ready for White Uhura and Black Sulu!

They didn't have the rights to The Animated Series either, so M'Ress is a human with weird face paint and Arex is substituted for just some guy

There's an unlicensed Chinese adaptation of The Motion Picture's novelisation (made with zero prior knowledge of Star Trek), which features an all-star cast like O.J. Simpson as Decker and James Brolin as Kirk. It's called The Star Trek, which is a better name than The Motion Picture, IMHO.

DC comics' first run is considered some of the best Trek ever. They're made with love and a deep knowledge of the source material

You know how Star Trek III takes place right after II? WRONG. It was several months later and the crew (with Saavik taking over from Spock) had tons of adventures in the interim. It just seemed like it was right after😂

Before Worf and long long before Ash Tyler, Kirk had a Klingon on his crew

He was a cowardly Klingon named Konom who fled the Empire

He fell in love with a human woman named Bryce

They adopted an albino Klingon/human child with dwarfism which they named Bernie

Kirk has an unhinged, insubordinate crewman on board named Bearclaw and they hate each other

Tension escalates and eventually there's a stabbing

Sulu/M'Ress happens and I don't think people knew what furrys were in the 80's

You know how Spock comes back at the end of III but isn't his old self until the end of Star Trek IV? WRONG AGAIN. He came back just fine, and lost his marbles following an incident months later that just happened to line everything up to make it all seem like it was right after.

After STIII, Kirk becomes captain of the U.S.S. Excelsior NX-2000 and Spock becomes captain of the U.S.S. Surak. We get a few issues exclusively focusing on Spock's ship and his band of merry weirdos.

The U.S.S. Surak keeps changing design, starting off as a sort of Oberth-class ship, then randomly becoming an Excelsior-class ship and finally ending as the warp sled shuttlecraft from The Motion Picture

The Surak's crew include a giant chicken man, a Vulcan hating racist lady and a balding man with a bicycle

They all die horribly and a massive reset button is pressed so everyone is exactly where they were at the end of Star Trek III

In order to make that work they had to bs that the Klingon Bird of Prey was hidden in Excelsior's shuttlebay all this time despite it being way, way too big for that

There's a full on mirror universe invasion

Kirk becomes a celebrity from saving the galaxy all the time

Mr. Arex comes back and becomes chief of security but doesn't really do much

HORTA CREWMEMBER. It's as amazing as it sounds

The first Next Generation comic miniseries was made with knowledge of the first 2 or 3 TNG episodes and nothing else

Everyone is hench as fuck. Picard has washboard abs and bulging muscles

Data is emotional and Troi feels the emotions she senses a la "Encounter at Farpoint"

Wesley is drawn as if he's 10

The B-shift con and ops team are a husband and wife who wear caped superhero versions of Starfleet uniforms with bare legs.

They argue. A lot.

The crew meet an alien Santa Claus and Q loses his powers years before "Deja Q"

The whole Q Continuum visits the Enterprise and they're all John De Lancie but in Starfleet uniforms of every colour under the sun.

After that initial miniseries, the Next Gen crew lose a lot of their muscle mass and start resembling their on screen counterparts a lot better

Picard had a brother who fell down a hole and died as a child. Q offers to rewrite history so he doesn't die. Claude Picard grew up to be Space Superhitler and turns Starfleet and the Federation fascist.

Before all this Q turned Jean-Luc into a goat for the lolz

Marvel's The Early Voyages was very literally Strange New Worlds before Strange New Worlds.

They have a pyrokinetic security officer named Nano and he's awesome

Marvel lost the Trek license quite suddenly, and so the series ends on a cliffhanger where Admiral April is up to something iffy.

Marvel did a Starfleet Academy series featuring Nog and its utterly fantastic

A female Andorian cadet tries to make Nog feel at ease by greeting him in the nude, but Nog fails to take it as an innocent gesture and she immediately sends him flying across the room

Romulan agents with split personalities in Starfleet Academy!

They visit Talos IV and get help from Captain Pike, who's still alive

IDW comics did a prequel to the 2009 reboot where Picard is an ambassador, Data is captain of the Enterprise-E and Nero has hair. It was co-written by the movie writers and was considered sort of vaguely semi canon ish for a time

They originally wanted the Romulan supernova to destroy a lot more, including Earth and have Nero kill the TNG crew. It was the Star Trek Online devs that got them to scale things back because they'd have no universe left to set their game in.

Nero's ship looks like it does because after Romulus was destroyed he took it to a secret Romulan base and had it equipped with reverse-engineered Borg technology

You thought DC struggled to keep ship designs correct? IDW's comics keep using traced fan art from Google Images, and fan art (sometimes with unique ship designs) has shown up on multiple occasions as the Kelvinverse U.S.S. Enterprise

In one IDW TOS comic, the bridge is totally covered with TNG LCARS graphics.

In another, an Orion ship is a gigantic Stargate sticking out of the middle part of Battlestar Galactica.

Wanna see Kelvinverse versions of TOS episodes? That was their first comics run, picking up after the 2009 reboot movie. They start off very faithful and as the series goes on things diverge more and more

To the extent some stories have very different backstories and outcomes

We visit 2 Kelvin mirror universes and a genderswapped universe too. No, Kirk doesn't do what you're thinking.

Q visits the Kelvin Universe and brings the crew forward in time to their version of Deep Space Nine

Nero's time in Klingon prison (from the Star Trek 2009 deleted scenes) and escape is fleshed out

Nero meets V'ger.

Nero mind melds with V'ger.

V'ger turns away due to the sheer force of Nero's hatred.

I wish I was making that up.

Klingons get their hands on Narada's technology and go to war

We get a Khan backstory where the Eugenics Wars are a full on nuclear conflict and "Khan" is the title that little Noon Sing adopts when he takes power

After being revived in the 23rd century, Admiral Marcus has Khan surgically altered to look like Benedict Cumberbatch as part of his John Harrison cover identity

They did a series of shorts called Waypoint, and in the first one Geordi is captain of a future Enterprise and his crew is made up of holographic versions of Data and it's a really sweet concept (this was several years before before ST: Picard brought Data back twice)

There's a prequel series centred around Number One where nobody manages to say her name before being interrupted. If you put the bits together it seems her name was Eureka Robbins. Of course, this is long before novels and SNW made her Una Chin-Riley.