#also why I have a blog dedicated to romulans….

[romulan-gender]

Currently being forcibly reminded of my weakness for mean elves whilst playing the Witcher games

[aenslem]

ATTENTION: REPOSTER ON TWITTER/INSTAGRAM - glojo3798 / GlojoCuscuhing

Hey guys, I will take some of your time here by writing about this particular Star Trek gifs reposter that’s been brought to my attention, but first let me provide some links explaining what reposting is and why it is bad. See posts here and here. A lot of gif makers and other content creators have faced reposters since tumblr exists and I myself wrote a lot of posts about it, but those sum it up well.

Recently I was notified by @ansonmountdaily that there is a massive reposter who’s been going through tumblr stealing thousands of Star Trek gif sets over the course of at least three years, and reposting them on their Instagram and Twitter accounts glojo3798 and GlojoCuscuhing, 99.99% of the time without giving credit to the original gif makers on tumblr, which come from every Star Trek fandom (TOS, TNG, VOY, DS9, Discovery and Picard) See list by AnsonMountDaily at the bottom of the post for a sampling of gif makers that have been targeted. The purpose of this post is to let people know their work has been reposted offsite without credit. It is not meant to attack the reposter in any way.

This individual has reposted 7000+ gif sets for which they’ve received thousands of views and likes from their 4100+ Instagram and 1700+ Twitter followers. Reposts include gifs clearly watermarked with the gif makers’ names but conveniently re-cut by them to make the watermark on gifs harder to see. Glojo also has the habit of combining stolen gifs, creating a collage, changing the size and order of the gifs, putting additional text over the graphic, and sometimes even their own watermark on stolen edits (original), giving the impression they’re the creator of those works. To top it off, Glojo has turned other people’s gifs into “birthday gift” collages, tagging Star Trek actors’ Twitter/Instagram handles on the reposts, again making it seem as if the gifs were their creations.

Glojo knows where the gifs originate from because the captions on the reposts are often the same as on the tumblr posts, and on the rare occasion they do admit the gifs are not theirs, it’s done in a vague manner, in the style “credit to the owner” (“gif from tumblr”) which is not credit at all, it’s merely acknowledging the platform the gifs come from, when credit should be given to specific users.

Before AnsonMountDaily told me about the reposting I did not know about any of this and am pretty sure the gif makers on the list didn’t either. They have since been notified. Glojo was contacted via Instagram about giving credit more than once, only to block those users. I myself wrote to them (also commented) about it, but they were not even bothered to answer me, but still continued to repost my works after i wrote them.

I want to ask those who see Glojo’s reposts or already follow them on social media, to NOT like/follow reposters or give them views. Please encourage the content creator and not the thief. We know it can be difficult sometimes to recognize an account as a reposter, and that net etiquette about reposting and ”resharing” isn’t immediately clear to everyone browsing social media, which is why we’re alerting people about this particular case, and spreading the word to other graphics makers who have been affected.

If you respect content creators who provide you with fanart and gifs for your favorite fandom, if you appreciate the love and dedication and energy they put into their work, and don’t want them to lose interest in giffing (a skill that takes time to practice and learn, and a process that is longer and far more involved than non-gif makers tend to believe), do not encourage people like Glojo into stealing more because it is very upsetting. As a member of @startrekladies I had a hard time going back on posting there because a lot of Glojo’s stolen works originate from said blog or got reblogged by it. More than that, Glojo went through my old blog @spockemon and reposted 50+ edits and gifs, and even my Doctor Who gifs (original), and that’s just what I found from browsing their instagram a little, pretty sure if i scroll down to the end i could find more :/ which is very upsetting.

They reposted not only Star Trek gifs/edits, but also Doctor Who, Farscape, Stargate and Star Wars gifs.

We do hope that if they repost more they will give a credit to original creator, but as someone whose gifs and edits were reposted a lot and even re-edited and watermarked by glojo, i prefer them to not repost my works at all. Even if it is just a small screencap edit, I still put my time and effort into it and using it as a base for their work and even claiming as theirs is disrespectful.  The worst is - Glojo is not the only one who does this, there are more accounts stealing works from creators and getting praise for it, never mentioning that it is not their work. That is why my recent gifs are all watermarked. I put in my about page that if someone reposts my works outside tumblr at least give me credit, linking back to my tumblr, that is not much to ask and all the time I ask for the credit I get rude answers and get blocked. or no answer at all :/ I hope you will have better luck with it.

Feel free to reblog this post to help us spread the word, thank you! If your gifs have been reposted and you wish for them to be deleted, we suggest you either contact Glojo on their social media and politely request a removal (please, DO NOT harass or attack them!), or report the reposts to Twitter/Instagram.

Thank you very much for reading!

The following are gif makers’ names and examples of their gif sets that have been reposted on Glojo’s Instagram and/or Twitter that we can recognize. Please note this is just a small sampling of gifs Glojo has taken from each gif maker, there are many more, just like there are numerous other gif makers not covered on the list! (if you want to be removed from the list, contact me)

@anneboleyns: Janeway’s hair (repost)

@ansonmountdaily: Pike, Spock and Number One (repost + another), Ensign Spock (repost), Pike’s thruster suit (repost)

@bamfness: Saving the galaxy (repost), We are Borg (repost + another), Seven (repost)

@burnhamandtilly: Burnham outfits (repost + another + another), Sarek outfits (repost)

@carlithiel: Disease (repost), Infinite Regress (repost), The Thaw (repost), Seven (repost)

@claudiablacks: Intendant Kira (repost), Jadzia outfits (repost + another)

@cowboyjimkirk: Spock beanie (repost + another), Talos IV (repost)

@cuddlybitch via @picardsource: Clancy and Picard (repost + another), Locutus (repost), 218 warbirds (repost), Picard’s wine (repost + another), Airiam (repost)

@danvers-carols: Pike (repost)

@discovernow: Jet Reno (repost), Spock on the bridge (repost)

@e-ripley: Pike’s winter uniform (repost), Pike and Spock (repost)

@gatissed: Are we safe here (repost + another)

@gayparmak: Odo and Quark (repost)

@gayspockk via @picardsource: Raffi’s fave holo (repost + another)

@geordilaforges (@jane-foster): Troi (repost), Crusher (repost)

@haybalemaze: Enslave them (repost + another), Seven drinking (repost + another)

@indianajcnes: Pike (repost), Pike in the chair (repost)

@intergalacticexplorer: Number One as Admiral (repost)

@jeor: Pike’s traits (repost)

@leisylaura: Kate Mulgrew (repost)

@likefreedominspring: Pike and Georgiou (repost)

@lovely-trek: TOS happy cast (repost + another), Kirk and Tribbles (repost)

@marcygoomen: Kate Mulgrew’s Birthday (repost)

@mindmeld: I do love you (repost)

@mistressvera: Heads up (repost), We have to stop them (repost + another)

@myrcella: Beverly (repost), Beverly and Jean-Luc (repost)

@onaperduamedee: Georgiou (repost), Burnham white undershirt (repost)

@philippageorgiou: You had it coming (repost + another), Pike on the bridge (repost), Beverly (repost)

@readysteadytrek: The Voyage Home (repost)

@ssaalexblake: Sarek and Amanda (repost)

@startreksource: Pike (repost)

@static-warp-bubble: The Pikes (repost), The Ensign or Cadet (repost)

@toboldlyblahblahblah​: Tasha Yar (repost)

@whatelsecanwedonow: Hubris (repost), Romulan lives (repost), Shields up (repost)

@youmissedthewholeshow: Hit it (repost), Number One (repost)

and mine (@sopheirion): Pike and Spock (repost), Pike’s goodbye (repost), The Orville (repost) Rand and Uhura (repost), Original (repost), Kirk (repost) - and many other recent gifs of mine and not only from @startrekladies and @sci-fi-gifs.

[daleisgreat]

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Five

-Greetings and thanks for joining me for my semi-annual coverage of marching through Star Trek: The Next Generation. Today I am covering season five (trailer) of the BluRay collection that I continue to ever-so-slowly progress through at one or two episodes a week. I started season five off in February and wrapped it up a couple days ago by watching at this rate. Part of the side effect of that was taking advantage of extended free trials of CBS All Access and binging through all of Picard and the first two seasons of Discovery within two months while keeping up with an episode or two a week of season five of TNG. There happens to be a couple episodes of this season of TNG that play a notable role in Picard, so the timing of it all gelling together was a lucky coincidence. I gave brief recaps of both Picard and Discovery in my annual TV season recap blog that can be found by click or pressing here. I apologize in advance for the questionable-in-quality pics in this entry from my ancient Samsung Galaxy S7 which makes it worth it to grab so many subtitle moments from this season! -The only notable cast change this season is the addition of Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes). She becomes a recurring character this season as someone who is essentially introduced as coming off work release after a court martial and working her way back into Starfleet in the lowest rack of Ensign and serves primarily at the helm of the bridge. Forbes is fantastic as Ro and she has a few landmark episodes this season with my favorite of hers being “The Next Phase” where Ro and Geordi (LeVar Burton) are de-moleculed and appear as ghosts to the rest of the ship who responds by throwing a funeral for them in the form of a Mardi Gras-esque party at Ten Forward. Forbes is absolutely sublime here in Ro’s pining curiosity at how Riker (Jonathon Frakes) will eulogize her.

-This was a big episode for other recurring characters this season too. That is kind of a big deal considering season five is the only season of the series without a Q (John de Lancie) episode. I like how they find new ways to bring back Denise Crosby, who was shown as a mysterious cliffhanger to the end of the two-part arc of “Redemption” that finished off season four. It picks up in a big way with how Denise Crosby’s new character is connected to Tasha, and how the Romulans get involved in the never-ending civil war of the Klingons that eventually has the gratifying conclusion of Worf winning back his honor among Klingons. Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) has her biggest role yet in the series this season in the two-parter “Time’s Arrow” that has the first part wrap-up season five where we discover the origin of Guinan in the 1890s as the Enterprise crew time travels back then and also encounters an antagonistic Mark Twain in an intriguing episode. Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) returns for two episodes this season. One is an oddball episode where all on the Enterprise but Wesley and Ensign Lefler (Ashley Judd) are mind controlled by a mysterious augmented reality game. The other episode is much better as Wesley and a few of his squad mates deliver prepared depositions as they are ruthlessly interrogated on the death of one of their peers. The annual Lwaxana (Majel Barrett) episode is about the expected chore to get through in her continued struggles to find a partner where she sets up an arranged marriage that is doomed from the beginning. Props to Chief O’Brien (Colm Meaney) having a kid this season! -Season five marks the addition of two major personal belongings to one Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). One is the iconic jacket he dons throughout most of the season. I have no idea yet if he wears it in the remaining seasons, but it is a slick jacket and gives him a space cowboy type of vibe to him! I bet it sold boatloads in merchandise! The other item is a special flute that is gifted to him in “The Inner Light” when Picard’s mind engages in a Inception-like lifetime of memories in the span of under a half hour where he experiences an all new culture and life. It is a delight of an episode I appreciate the more I reflect upon it. I later learned in the bonus interviews that this flute melody became a common occurrence at weddings.

-I want to make sure to give kudos to some of my other favorite episodes this season. I loved seeing Spock (Leonard Nimoy) finally make an appearance on TNG. At this point of the show, appearances from the core Original Series crew has been extremely rare and limited, but TNG gets the most out of Nimoy with him playing a major role in another two-part arc where Spock tries to reunite the Romulans back into the Federation of Planets. One of the top episodes this season is “Ethics” where an accident leaves Worf (Michael Dorn) paralyzed and according Klingon ritual must self-sacrifice himself for the greater good. This results in some of the best speeches of the season where Riker and Picard implore Worf to reconsider before Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) impresses with her surprisingly improving doctor skillset to resolve Worf’s paralysis. An episode that initially appears to have a silly premise, but I outright loved by the end is “Darmok.” Picard winds up stuck on an island with an individual of an undiscovered species that only speaks in metaphors. Picard is as baffled as me trying to decipher the metaphors at first, but gradually picks up on it and by the episode’s end forms a kindship with him as the duo team up against a new threat. “I, Borg” is an episode that plays into Picard later on that sees the Enterprise take in an injured Borg and give it the ability to have independent thought again.

A guilty pleasure TV theme of mine in recent years is the time loop episode theme in the form of Groundhog’s Day. Discovery had a terrific rendition of it in its second season. I was thrilled to see TNG do their version of a time loop episode in “Cause and Effect.” It has a banger of an opening that sees that Enterprise exploding and eventually the scenes start to repeat that sees the crew start to recognize their situation and attempt to find a way out of the time loop. I came to discover in the bonus interviews that this episode preceded Groundhog’s Day by nearly two years, and unlike that film and all the TV shows that have pay homage to it over the years, TNG plays it in a serious manner and not as a comedy, but the writing for it is so well done that it works and is pulled off in a way that had me invested until the end! -While there were a fair amount of standout episodes this season, I would be remiss if I were not to go this far and fail to mention there were several clunkers. Some of the ones I recommend skipping is where Riker falls for an androgynous being that has a non-committal ending and the episode plays out totally differently today than it was intended then. Another dud is where them dang Ferangi are up to no good again in failing to kidnap a seductive being that has a strong desire for Picard. The biggest abnormality this season is where according to my notes I surmised the episode as ‘imaginary friend comes to life, blargh!’ Trust me on that being all you need to know on the astutely titled episode, “Imaginary Friend.”

-I want to once again give a shoutout to the podcast, Star Trek: The Next Conversation. Hosts Andrew Secunda and Matt Mira breakdown every episode of TNG and help provide ample background, facts and insight with their analysis of each episode. Because of re-watching TNG and combined with their podcast I have been able to better pickup on countless TNG references in other TV shows and podcasts over these past couple years. Click or press here to give them a listen if you have not already. -There are nearly four and a half hours of extra features that are nicely spread out across all six discs. In addition, there are also four episodes that have commentary from cast and crew with one noteworthy highlight being Orville creator, Seth McFarlane guesting on the commentary for “Cause and Effect.” A lot of the bonus extra are carried over from the original DVDs, but like previous seasons there are a couple of new HD bonuses for the BluRay. Mission Overview deep dives into the production of a couple of my favorite episodes of the season, “Darmok” and Spok’s return in “Unification.” Tribute to Gene Roddenbury has clips of speeches from various Star Trek luminaries at a building dedication to Gene and has fond memories from the cast and crew of Gene. Intergalactic Guest Stars interviews many of the aforementioned recurring characters on why they keep coming back on.

These next two are new HD bonuses for the BluRay. The Music of TNG is an in-depth 75 minute discussion with three composers from the series that I truly appreciated hearing the composers dissect some of the most memorable scores and melodies of TNG history. Finally, Requiem is a two part, hour long look about writing the controversial conflicts that have been touched on throughout the run of TNG, and also has additional tributes and testimonials on Gene Roddenbury. Both are excellent thorough takes on both subject matters, and if you dig bonus features as much as I do, then I highly recommend both of them! -Season five of The Next Generation continues the success of seasons three and four. I would only mark it a notch under those two strong seasons because there seems to be a few weaker episodes this season than in the previous two. I gathered from the bonus interviews that it seemed that this season tried to go all out exploring new conflicts and themes, and sometimes it worked exceptionally well in the cause of “Cause and Effect” but other times it worked against them a few more times than usual this season. Overall though I would still rank this in the upper tier of TNG season and hope to see the final two season keep up this high bar of quality. 

Past TV/Web Series Blogs 2013-14 TV Season Recap 2014-15 TV Season Recap 2015-16 TV Season Recap 2016-17 TV Season Recap 2017-18 TV Season Recap 2018-19 TV Season Recap 2019-20 TV Season Recap Adventures of Briscoe County Jr: The Complete Series Baseball: A Ken Burns series Angry Videogame Nerd Home Video Collections Cobra Kai – Seasons 1-2 Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 1 | Season 2 OJ: Made in America: 30 for 30 RedvsBlue - Seasons 1-13 Roseanne – Seasons 1-9 Seinfeld - Final Season Star Trek: Next Generation – Seasons 1-7 Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle Superheroes: Pioneers of Television The Vietnam War: A Ken Burns series X-Men – The Animated Series: Volumes 4-5

[lightxart]

About

Stardate: 4848.6 I made this blog after having the idea to make a Star Trek fanfic, (it’s a work in progress but its right here in case you’re curious ) so my character exists during the TOS timeline. However, she can be modified for newer ST timelines upon request. Below are her biography and description.

Name: Aliah Kine Tu'aran

Species: Tu'aran or Tauran

Age: 25

Gender: female (she/her)

Height: 161.544 cm or 5'3"

Occupation: physicist

Abilities: telepathy, telekinesis, transmutation, light manipulation.

About her:

Aliah was born on the planet Taurus V in the Taurus sector, located along the borders of the Beta and Delta Quadrants. She is a member of the Kine family of the Tu'aran people (or Tauruns, according to the Federation). Her mother, Ri'a, is a member of the planet’s high council and her father, Duron, is a watchman, or an officer for the council’s peace force. She has a younger brother, Hec'ru, who is also a watchman, but he is only in training.

The smartest of her family, Aliah completed her schooling two years before her peers, delving into her research on the manipulation of matter almost immediately after. She works under the direction of scientist, Dr. T'bru, a respected elder in her community. She is also formidable in hand-to-hand combat, thanks to her father.

Aliah has long dark hair, light pale skin, blue eyes, and dark purple birthmarks covering the majority of her body. Her hands are also purple, being so clouded by the markings. She inherited her mother’s ability of transmutation, which influenced her mother’s decision for Aliah to become a physicist. However, she also was born with the power of light manipulation, which left her the choice of becoming an artist. Her “paintings” often consist of multicolored clusters of perpetual light. They decorate her home. Aliah’s art is her one true passion, much to her mother’s dismay. She has expressed an interest in pathology, although she is not likely to pursue this.

Aliah has seemed to never quite fit into the social norm of her people. In fact, if it were not for her mother’s position on the high council and her budding career as a promising scientist, she would be deemed an outcast. She does not adhere to her society’s fruitless effort towards maintaining “perfection”, and thus, strives for individuality and creativity. Her clothing often reflects this, being mostly black in color with asymmetrical splashes of purple. The ends of hair also are dyed purple, as her psychic energy follows this color scheme, and thus, the pigment remains whenever she is to cut her hair with said energy.

Unfortunately, this yearning for self-expression goes against Aliah’s biology. The need to be perfect screams at her, leaving her more than troubled. As a result, Aliah has developed excoriation disorder and has many small scars and scabs on her back and a few darted across her upper arms and hips. She is also known to suffer from almost crippling loneliness, afraid that her views will keep her from finding another to share her existence with. Although she is promised to Rey'nok, another watchman of her people, she wishes for another. A being like her. Someone different.

Aliah is not very friendly at first glance. This is partly because of her people’s customs and partly because she has learned to remain wary of others. She is aware that to her own people, she is less than perfect, less than worthy of their acceptance. She has deemed it an acceptable price for her individuality.

About the Tu'aran:

The Tu'aran are a race of telepathic and underground dwelling aliens previously unknown to the Federation. They are a cat humanoid species. Their main characteristics are their slit pupils, fangs, retractable claws, pointed feline-like ears, and of course, their strange and unique colorful markings. Each Tu'aran’s markings are unique to them alone. The color and arrangement of freckles, dots, or patterns is indeterminable, much to their disliking. The Tu'aran do not have whiskers, fur, or tails. Although their skin coloring can vary from very pale to very dark. The sclera of their eyes can be either white, yellow, or black. The iris can vary to any color. Much like cats, their eyes and ears are extremely sensitive. They prefer little to no light but will wear protective lenses if necessary. They don’t care for loud noises.

They are also born with powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities, inheriting additional powers from their ancestors. As such, they have no use for spoken language, and do not speak beyond purrs, growls, and mewling. They have the biological capacity to speak of course, but they would need much time to learn. They do, however, have an ancient written language. It is near impossible to pronounce. This is partly why the Tu'aran are also known as “Taurans” by the Federation. They have a lifespan averaging around 280 years, although the grand Councilman, E'ray, is said to be 314.

Because of their brain chemistry, a Tu'aran is not capable of communicating telepathically with a human. The human will instead hear a strange and irritating buzz, much like a mosquito. Forcing telepathic communication with humans, touch-telepathy or otherwise, would severely harm them and possibly even kill them. A Vulcan or Romulan, however, would easily be able to communicate with a Tu'aran by means of touch-telepathy, as their brain chemistry is much more similar. Touch-telepathy is not essential to communicate with said alien species, though for the clearest communications, it is best. At most, there would be a sort of “static” if attempting to communicate without touching. Similar to speaking on a telephone with bad reception.

There was a time, when the Tu'aran lived above ground. Because of their planet’s proximity to Romulan space, they were invaded and fooled into wiping out nearly all of their people in a monstrous war. Those that were left divided themselves into two groups. One group, later named the “V'tari”, dedicated themselves to a deity of war and vowed revenge against the Romulans, whom they called the “Old Ones”. The other, the Tu'aran, seeing what violence could do, deemed fighting illogical and instead went into hiding under the planet’s surface. The V'tari destroyed what was left of their cities and used it to build ships in which to battle the Old Ones. It is said they had died in combat, leaving the  Tu'aran to their new lifestyle. They strive for perfection in hopes that it will somehow lessen the shame of their ancestors.

The Tu'aran do not believe in violence, and as such, has nearly eliminated all crime on their planet. However, they will defend themselves if need be, and as such, have the watchmen. They are governed by a Council, consisting of five members. They are a people of logic, although not entirely. Seeing emotion as the downfall of their distant ancestors, they strive for purely intellectual and logical approaches to much of their lives. Their powers though, are driven by their emotions, so it is deemed necessary to express the bare minimum in order to maintain them. Too little emotion and their powers would weaken and possibly cease to function. Too much, however, and they would lose control, no doubt wreaking havoc for all involved. Their is a day, approximately once every year, that the Tu'aran hold a celebration for the survival of their people. They are permitted then, and only then, to express much more emotion. This is called Ki'rocco, or “Day of Celebration”.

Their music, is much like the music of humans, however it focuses much more on low frequencies, and of course has no lyrics. Those born with sound manipulation are especially fond of bass or sounds parallel to that of a cello. This music is played during periods of meditation or during Ki'rocco only, as music is known to effect the emotions of the Tu'aran immensely. Musicians are held in as high regard as doctors and scientists for this very reason, as their work can both heal and hinder, create and destroy.

The watchmen posses gauntlets able to amplify their natural abilities, as well as conjure energy blades if none can be manifested naturally by the wearer.

The Tu'aran, because of the harshness of their planet, are much stronger than humans. They are also more durable, and of course, faster. Because of the harsh cold of their planet, their blood is blue. It has similar properties of that of an Antarctic squid, allowing their bodies to receive oxygen even in the cold. As such, their body temperature is lower than that of humans. They also have an organ-centered in their chest, that gives them their telepathic abilities. Their hearts are just below that, nestled between the bottoms of their lungs.

Due to living underground, they also have excellent night vision, but poor vision during the day, or in harsh lighting. The herb, nepeta cataria, or catnip, is also a very powerful stimulant. In high enough doses, it can kill a Tu'aran, or at the very least, severely impair them. Something akin to the effects of alcohol on humans, or chocolate on Vulcans.

Their diet mostly consists of bitter vegetation, red meat, fish, and the milk of surface animals.

Although they are accustomed to the cold, they wear thick light colored clothing with long sleeves. This is to both keep them warm and hide their markings, as their strive for perfection leaves them disgusted by the asymmetrical patterns on their skin.

Taurans don’t enjoy appearing vulnerable. Although they, like their feline ancestors, are highly adaptable to their environment, their need to be perfect prevents them from appearing uncomfortable in front of others. If one is sweating, in pain, unhappy, or suffering in any way, they will isolate themselves until they deem themselves worthy of public scrutiny again. This is why Aliah, like many other of her people suffering from mental illness, will not seek help. It is not their way.

Tu'aran’s have a period, two or three months out of the year, when they feel most inclined to mate. The women do not ovulate until this time and must either mate, and suffer from lack of inhibition for the duration of their heat (as do the men). The men will become more aggressive, the women more promiscuous. Emotions are far more unstable during this time. Sweating, twitching, mewing, hissing, and drooling are common symptoms of the heat. The heat will remain until the Tu'aran has mated, with symptoms reoccurring every two weeks after the three month period. This time is known simply as Li'o or “heat”.

Marriages, or Pri'tyv (meaning “promises”), on Tu'aran are usually arranged, as this makes life easier for them. However, freely chosen marriages have and do occur. It is customary for two courting people (I say people because the pairings can be of any gender) to express some form of affection and/or emotion towards their promised when in private. The most intimate of gestures being the gentle pressing of noses together. This signifies immense trust and concern. It is not to be taken lightly.

About their planet:

Tu'aran (meaning “home”), or Taurus V, is the fifth planet in their system of seven planets. It is an M-class planet. Their star is very much less luminous than that of Earth’s, but is far larger. Thus the habitable zone for the Taurus sector, is Taurus III- Taurus V. These planets are home to several Earth colonies. Taurus V, being the farthest habitable planet, is significantly colder than that of Earth. It reaches -89 degrees Celcius during the winter and -50 degrees in the summer. The mass of Taurus V is larger than that of Earth, making the gravity stronger, but still survivable by human standards. The surface is decorated with mostly forests, plains, and mountain ranges. The land-to-water ratio is similar to that of Earth. Dilithium crystals grow in abundance under the planet’s surface, which is partly the reason for the Romulans’ attack all those years ago. The Tu'aran have found a way to compress the crystals into a small cube. The cube itself is able to provide the people enough energy for one hundred years at a time. This method was discovered by Dr. T'bru.

Three cubes in total are needed to power their entire civilization. It is broken up into 4 sectors. At the center, there are the three cubes which engineers have power branching out to the other three sectors. This center is mainly home to the Council’s chambers, science labs, and engineering stations. The five members of the Council do not leave the center sector. There is also a very large grotto where the people hold most of their celebrations, both public and private.

The other three are proportioned evenly and divided by profession. The first sector, north of the center, is home to the musicians, scientists, and doctors. The second, to the east of the center, is home to the engineers, farmers, watchmen, and the laborers. The third is home to a variety of civilians, including Aliah.

It is much more difficult to scan below the planet’s surface, as the Tu'aran wish to remain hidden by outsiders.

Art by @trashyscarface