#like its learning about vulcans and their culture

[brenshor]

Listen it doesn't NOT work

[stonedtrek]

we really don’t give Star Trek: Enterprise enough credit for all its heavy lifting connecting Star Trek lore. andorians are FOUNDING MEMBERS of the whole damn Federation and we don’t know hardly anything about them until ENT. and we’ve heard about Surak before a few times but never actually learn about his teachings in detail until ENT. not to mention ENT finally pushes back on the “whole planet of aliens is culturally homogenous” trope by creating different cultures of Vulcans. we only ever see a few Orions before the crew stumbles into them. the ship has no shields, can barely make Warp 5, and routinely gets its ass kicked but the crew is like “yeah we’ll take these dinky phase pistols and hazardous transporters and save earth” and by god they do it. we could never have Kirk or Picard without Archer.

[leohtttbriar]

I think Michael like for all that she is she is definitely an anthropologist like I think she takes a very great cultural lense before a scientific

you know, i think you are absolutely right! thank you so much for bringing this up! i wasn't even thinking about her academic specialties when i wrote this post. her first question being about "praying" could very easily just have been the way she was trained to meet alien peoples where they are first before obnoxiously being like "what is that, tho"

and, to your point about the cultural v scientific lens:

for better or worse, i'd say star trek collapses the boundaries between a lot of academic disciplines. "hard" v "soft" science doesn't seem to be a distinction in the star trek speculative world, where linguistics and anthropology are as much about physics and biology and no one is going to pretend like learning languages is a different kind of Study to learning chemistry. this sometimes does not work, imo, because sometimes the writing will accidentally slip into an unexamined essentialism with the alien cultures, which renders the whole of the allegory sort of silly and potentially all kinds of offensive. but it sometimes does work.

discovery, from what i remember of the first two seasons (i'm only just now starting the third, bc i lost my cbs account between 2 and 3, alas! etc), seems more able than other series to collapse the distance between disciplines and walk the line between what is cultural and what is material culture informed by biology. like saru constantly talks of his alien species and how their history of being hunted on his planet manifests in a perpetual anxiety and tamed-curiosity for him but also lends a level of care and sensitivity that he excels in---all of which fleshes out the character while giving him the awareness and consciousness to know why he may be acting a certain way compared to others and why he shouldn't ever be demeaned for it and where his body and his body's millions-of-years-old natural history can be challenged with that consciousness and how his consciousness can be valued precisely for its origins.

the klingons and vulcans, while not as sophisticated as the character saru, also seem to be largely cultural products that are informed by their specific biology. michael, somewhat caught between the cultural product and her own biological reality, can affect vulcan mannerisms and is very often portayed as thinking like a vulcan, while remaining very recognizable to us. her phrasing and her pattern of speech, while not monotone, are normally utterances that move from established fact to logical conclusion. I have nowhere to go back to...the only thing I can do right now is trust something, she says, upon being thrust nine-hundred years in the future. it's the statement of a stoic philosopher (probably one of the "vulcan" influences). she is concerned with what is material and what is real and what is real to others.

which is why i really like what you pointed out about her anthropology expertise--culture is real and often naturalized to those who live in it. michael is definitely someone, what with her studies and how she was raised, who is intimately aware of how the alien can be made familiar, how bodies can't be denied but you can learn to know them, how consciousness is strange and existence-in-causal-time stranger, and how people (all creatures included) are never all one thing or another.

obviously there's no perfect speculative fiction creating speculative cultures. the hurdles of making a sell-able show and the ingrained biases and limitations of the writers are not insignificant. but the storytelling here is engaging with conceits concerning the preciousness of life and the immutability of that preciousness--even if you don't understand it.

(also i just love michael burnham with all my heart. don't think it was a coincidence she was named after the angel who carries a sword.)

[electronickingdomfox]

"My Enemy, My Ally" review

Romulans stole Spock's brain! (or at least, some Vulcan brains)

Novel from 1984, by Diane Duane, and the first of the five-book series Rihannsu.

The plot itself is okay: the Romulans have a new devious scheme (capturing Vulcans to extract the telepathic abilities from their brains), and the Enterprise must stop their plans. Only this time, Kirk will have to collaborate with a bunch of good, renegade Romulans to succeed. It's not terribly original, nor it's the first time that Kirk has allied himself with Romulans in these novels, but as a plot it's entertaining. However, the narrative drags a lot, specially in the first half of the novel, and it takes a reaaally long time to set things into motion. In part, this is due to a "tell, rather than show" approach. For example, there's a lengthy conversation about how the Enterprise and its Romulan allies are going to stage a fake battle between both ships, in full detail. And then a lengthy description of the ships doing just that. One of these two segments isn't needed. There's also a lot of fluff, specially in scenes at the Recreation deck, and plenty of new character introductions, that don't lead anywhere nor have any real importance. A lot of the new character roles could have been filled by the usual crew, anyway. Now, I don't think that a novel should just be barebones plot, but I didn't find these "extra" scenes particularly entertaining nor enlightening. So in my opinion, this novel would have improved greatly if it was cut short. Though the later sections suffer less of this, and are more focused.

The story is notable for introducing a lot of new material about Romulan culture, and specially language (which seems to me even more unpronounceable than Klingon). In fact, most of the time Romulans are referred to as "Rihannsu", which is the name of the race in their own language. I don't know to what extent Duane developed the grammar and vocabulary, but it seems to have a certain structure to it. There's also much emphasis on the power of names over things and people, and some glimpses into the Romulan worship of Elements. A lot of this has probably never been incorporated into the series, but Romulans having several names (of which only the first is revealed to strangers) seems to have its origins here.

As for characters, the most developed one is Ael, the Romulan commander that strikes an alliance with Kirk. At times she comes dangerously close to Mary Sue territory (for example, beating McCoy at a game she had just learned, despite the doctor being skilled enough to beat none other than Spock). But otherwise, she's fine for her role in the story. In many ways, she's both a mirror and a foil for Kirk, suffering also under the weight of command, and the difficult decisions between duty and her crew's wellbeing. Though not exactly a tragic character, there's also a lot of sadness and burdens in her past. On the other hand, Kirk rubbed me the wrong way. Or rather, his relationship with his crew. I found it way too lax and informal, and sometimes it seems he's more like a cool dad for them, rather than a Captain. Kirk in the series had his goofy moments, of course, and Shatner imbued him with much comedic potential. But nonetheless, there was always some gravitas about him, and a respectful distance with his subordinates. Even with someone as close as Spock, he was usually pretty formal. The only one who broke this pattern was McCoy, and that was precisely why their relationship was special. So yeah, I just don't see Kirk trading jokes with Sulu while under enemy fire, or receiving sassy remarks from Uhura, sorry. Also, as happened in The Wounded Sky, there's again a wide array of fancy aliens populating the Enterprise. I didn't mind them that much in the previous novel, since the story is so unusual, that it could have existed outside the Star Trek universe without damage being done. This time around... I've decided that I'm not a fan of this idea. Apart from being too distracting, Starfleet strikes me as a mostly human institution, at least at the time of TOS (after all, HQ is in San Francisco), and Spock often struggled being accepted among the crew. He was THE alien, and this led to isolation and even ocassional prejudices against him. Now, this wouldn't make much sense if the crew were regularly sipping coffee next to a gelatinous blob of tentacles... As for Spock and McCoy, they're mostly okay, though they tend to get overshadowed by the extended cast, and obviously, Ael.

I must be in the minority here, since most people seem to love this novel, but in general, I didn't like it much. Perhaps it's a consequence of having just read John Ford's masterful The Final Reflection, and his fascinating take on Klingons. Perhaps I simply don't care all that much about Romulans...

Some spoilers under the cut:

The first chapters switch perspectives between Ael and Kirk. While Ael reflects on her falling out with the Romulan Senate, because of her opposition to a certain revolutionary research, Kirk is ordered to patrol the Neutral Zone, as part of a task force. Ael has been "exiled" as commander of a shitty starship named Cuirass, crewed by shitty subordinates. But she keeps contact with her old, loyal ship Bloodwing, now commanded by Tafv, her own son. When news of the Federation ships arriving reach her, she sets her plan into motion. After sabotaging the Cuirass' systems, she escapes in a scout ship to Bloodwing. And the latter ship destroys Cuirass, whose crew she considers traitors to the Empire for their collaboration in the Senate's schemes.

After this, Bloodwing rendezvous with Enterprise near the Neutral Zone, and Ael asks permission to come aboard alone, promising some very important info. Then she explains to Kirk what's going on: The Romulan government has started developing a new weapon at the station in Levaeri V. They capture Vulcans and extract their brain tissue, in order to implant the genetic material into Romulans, and thus give them all their telepathic abilities, even enhanced. After leaving Vulcan centuries ago, the Romulans' divergent development made them unable to mind-meld, or do any of that cool Vulcan stuff. But now, with the new research, powerful individuals could read minds, control thoughts and subject any opposition. Ael believes this will ruin the Empire and its old code of honor. And in turn, will cause conflicts with both the Federation and the Klingons. Thus, she asks Kirk to "lend" her the Enterprise, to help destroy the research station. Her plan is faking a capture of the Enterprise by Bloodwing, then towing the starship into Romulan space and destroy the facility along the way. Spock confirms through a mind-meld that Ael's telling the truth.

Kirk is sympathetic with her cause, but refuses to go along with the plan, on the grounds that he can't intervene in Romulan internal affairs. Things change, however, when the Vulcan ship that was patrolling near the Enterprise is spirited away under their noses. Ael explains that its disappearance matches the modus operandi of Romulans. The Vulcans are being taken to the research station (and now I understand why Spock chose to serve in a human starship; Vulcan ships seem to have the worst luck, between being eaten by amoebas and now this...). Kirk can't ignore the matter anymore, now that the Vulcans are in danger, so he decides to go with Ael.

After faking a battle between Bloodwing and Enterprise, they proceed to Levaeri V. Ael's crew take positions in the Enterprise bridge, while Kirk and the rest of the officers play a bit of theater, faking their capture in the brig, to fool the escorts sent by the Empire. Once approaching the station, Bloodwing and the Enterprise suddenly turn against the escorts and destroy them.

In the last part, Kirk sends a large strike force into the station, to free the Vulcan captives and destroy all research with their brains. But meanwhile, the Enterprise is assaulted by a treacherous faction among Ael's people. Scotty, Chekov and Sulu must fight to recover the ship, while down in the station the battle continues.

Spirk Meter: 1/10*. There's a bit about Spock being particularly interested in the proceedings of Kirk's mind, while playing chess. But I can't think of anything else, and even this is really minimal.

There's also some Mcspirk. McCoy likes to study Kirk and Spock while they play chess, to delve deeper into their personalities and psyches. And when Kirk complains that, if Spock and McCoy keep babysitting him, he'll end up taking their hands, McCoy says that's okay with him. But warns him about Spock, and the kind of rumors that could run through the ship. Also, Ael observes that the three of them seem to share a single mind. Though that's downplayed by the comparison with the similar link between Ael and her son.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[unknownfacelessfanfictions]

Hi! I saw that your requests were open, so I was wondering when if you can do where the team meets Fem! Y/n who is mute and is La’an’s twin sister?

Two Parts of a Whole

Pairing: (familial) La'an Noonien-Singh x fem!mute!reader; Crew x fem!mute!reader Fandom: Star Trek Strange New World Words: 4.5K Warnings: Mentions of La'an's Gorn trauma, Spoilers towards season 1 A/N: Thank you so much for requesting!! I hope it's satisfactory because this is the first time I wrote something like that. To be honest, I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but it won't get better. And I'm sorry that it took so long

The promenade of the space station she was currently on was packed and she was grateful that she had been able to get an empty spot on one of the pillars near the airlock. Not only several freighters had arrived almost simultaneously, but also two Vulcan research ships and an Andorian battle cruiser of the Imperial Guard. She had only noticed them in passing, however, as her focus was on the huge Federation starship. The USS Enterprise, NCC - 1701, Constitution Class and the flagship of the fleet. She, however, only cared about, one person on this huge ship.

Searchingly, she bobbed up and down, heel to toe and back again, hands clasped behind her back. Apparently she seemed to be so conspicuous that people were worried, because she was approached by an Andorian woman, quite brusquely, asking if she needed help, but she had quickly waved her aside. She was doing fine, even better than that, after all, she would be able to see her sister for the first time in months.

Perhaps it was a little paranoid of her to worry after such a short time, but the meeting with the Gorn had also left its mark on her. Unlike the rest of her family, she had not been on the SS Puget Sound because she had contracted Bolian smallpox, which was highly contagious, on the space station where they had stopped. Accordingly, she and her aunt, who was also ill, had been left on the station, with the expectation of returning to collect them after two weeks. At that time, no one could have guessed that it wouldn't come like that.

Her world had collapsed that day and, believing she had lost her entire family, she had spent days crying and refusing to eat or drink. And she probably would have gone on with it, had it not been for her aunt, who had begged her that her family had not wanted it that way and that she should not leave her alone. So she had carried on with her life as best she could, but it had seemed hollow and empty to her. Her siblings, but especially her twin, had been her motivation, her joy of life. A life without them had become unimaginable for her.

But just when she had convinced herself that it might, just maybe, be possible to survive without her family, the news arrived. La'an had survived. Her sister was alive. At first she hadn't wanted to believe it, the fear of raising her hopes unnecessarily was too great. Even when they were standing at the airlock, she had vehemently refused to even consider the possibility that she might still be alive. It was only when La'an had thrown herself around her neck, crying, and she had realised that, yes, La'an was alive, that she had been unable to hold on any longer and had cried just as unrestrainedly as La'an.

For the next few months, the twins were inseparable. Neither could last more than a few minutes in a room without the other, and their aunt had caught them both lying close together in bed at night to feel each other's body heat. Over the years, the situation had improved, but she still felt an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach when they were apart for long periods of time. She had been all the happier when she had learned that their paths would cross on this space station.

She herself was only nearby because she had been assigned by Starfleet to look more closely into the culture of Jitrav IV, with which it had only recently made contact. Strictly speaking, she was not a member of Starfleet in the sense of travelling the galaxy, but more in the sense of gathering information and reporting it back. In the past, she might have enjoyed flying through the quadrant in starships and getting to know new civilisations, but after the disaster with the Gorn, she had developed a real phobia about starships.

So she had devoted herself to exploring alien cultures from the safe distance of her home on Earth, but her work had been so distinguished that Starfleet had taken notice and wanted to hire her on one of their ships. She had decided against it, but in the end had gotten a relatively good deal out of it: Although she had to travel by starship from time to time, she would spend longer periods on other planets to learn about their cultures and languages. She documented her research thoroughly and sent it to Starfleet, whereas they paid for all her expenses as long as they remained within reason.

But this fear had not stopped her from getting into the first shuttle to this space station when La'an had told her that the Enterprise would dock there. She had been standing at her spot since early morning so as not to miss her sister. A few minutes ago, the first stream of Starfleet officers had poured onto the Promenade and she had to do her best to calm down. She knew La'an. She would not disembark until she was truly one hundred percent sure that there were no further duties. Knowing that her sister would need some more time, she began to observe the crowd of officers.

Frowning, she realised that most of them were human. She had expected this, but she had also been convinced that there had to be more non-humans on board. She noticed two Tellarites, a handful of Bolians and she thought she caught a glimpse of a Vulcan in a blue uniform out of the corner of her eye.

After twenty minutes of waiting, she saw an Aenar in a red uniform who was accompanied by a young woman in an equally red uniform who was talking intensely to him. Although he seemed grumpy and annoyed and gave the impression that he was not listening, she could see from his antennae directed at the young woman and the fact that she had spent two years on Andoria among Andorians and Aenar that he was listening more than attentively to her. Smiling, she shook her head and turned her attention back to the airlock. What a strange combination.

All in all, it took almost three quarters of an hour until she finally spotted her sister's dark braids, which were tightly braided back, but by then she could no longer be stopped. The promenade had emptied out a little in the meantime, so it wasn't particularly difficult for her to make her way to La'an, who fortunately noticed her in time. The latter fortunately noticed her in time to put her bag down before she crashed into the security officers. " Oof-" La'an groaned, but chuckled softly in response and after a short time of stiffness also put her arms around her to press her twin sister against her.

For a while they held each other tightly, even if it earned them some strange looks from bystanders. When she broke away from La'an, she noticed that she had blushed a little, but she didn't care. You are late, she signed. La'an nodded and smiled a little stiffly. "I know. However, I wanted to make sure everything was ready myself before I went to disembark." The young woman raised an eyebrow. Besides, you had to keep your reputation. La'an rolled her eyes. "Maybe a little."

La'an picked up her bags and followed her. They had agreed in advance to share quarters, so she just followed her to her quarters. Since it was difficult to converse while walking if one had to sign, they walked side by side in comfortable silence without another word to the other. It didn't bother her, as she knew that she and La'an would have plenty of time to talk. At the moment, it was simply important to her that her sister was with her again. Halfway to the lift, however, a voice stopped them. "Lieutenant Singh!"

They turned and she saw two women running towards them, whom she didn't know, her sister by all appearances did. One was slightly taller, had chin-length white-blonde hair and had apparently been the one who had called out to La'an. The other was smaller, had short dark hair and a cheeky grin on her lips. La'an just raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" "We were going out for a drink. Care to join us?" The taller one added with a quick glance at her" That goes for your...girlfriend too of course?" La'an narrowed her eyes. "She is my sister. And no thanks. I'm busy."

However, the two of them seemed not to have caught the last sentence, as the anthropologist and linguist was now the focus. "I didn't know you had a sister, Lieutenant." The blonde propped a hand on her hip as La'an took a deep breath. "Now you know." The shorter one held out her hand, which she hesitantly accepted. "My name is Erica Ortegas, Erica will do. And this is Christine." The blonde waved, but before she could do anything, La'an had placed a hand on her shoulder and hastily introduced her. "She is pleased to make your acquaintance, however we would like some time alone." Christine frowned. "Why don't you let her speak for herself?"

La'an's eyes only narrowed more, whereas she merely smiled in amusement and opened her mouth. Erica and Christine looked at her expectantly, only to look even more surprised when she began to sign instead. I'm mute and La'an translates for me, so it's all okay. She nodded her thanks to Christine. But thank you for your concern. After giving La'an a prompting look, she translated what her sister had said through clenched teeth, clearly annoyed at having been stopped by her colleagues.

Christine smiled but at the same time turned red in the face. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean it." She just tilted her head and nudged La'an. "That's all right. However, I would like to spend some time with my sister now." Erica and Christine, who was obviously still embarrassed by the whole thing, nodded and said a quick goodbye and she gave her sister a reproving look. You could have been a little nicer. La'an didn't respond any further.

Once in their quarters, La'an just barely took off her shoes and threw the bags on the floor before she fell backwards onto her bed and groaned. Her sister smiled slightly and snapped her hand to get her attention, whereupon she opened her eyes languidly. That bad? La'an sighed and sat up. "Well, I wouldn't know how to describe two run-ins with the Gorn any other way." She flinched and if she hadn't needed her hands to sign, she would have reached for La'an's. How? That was all she could bring herself to say, so much were her hands shaking. She knew how much the incident with the Gorn weighed on La'an, even more than on her, and the thought that her sister had had to face those monsters again did not make her feel at all comfortable.

La'an's voice broke several times before she was able to reply. "There were four Gorn ships. On Memorial Day. We barely got away, but we lost several crew members." She swallowed, but when she was asked if she wanted to stop, she replied in the negative. "The second time, we were on a planet, Valeo Beta V, responding to a distress call from a ship that had landed there. There weren't many of us, just a handful, and Enterprise had to move on and..." La'an broke off and her sister, who was now sitting next to her, squeezed her hand. In a shaky voice, La'an continued. "We found two survivors, however one was infected and before we knew it we were dealing with three hatchlings. Cadet Chia and Lieutenant Duke died. We almost lost our chief engineer as well."

But only almost? La'an laughed shakily. "It was more luck than good sense, really. We found out that the Gorn reproduce via their poison and Hemmer, our engineer, was hit. It didn't look good and without Doctor M'Benga on site...." She broke off. Gently her sister patted her back. He's all right though, isn't he? He's alive. "He was willing to sacrifice himself." La'an's voice was no more than a whisper and she had trouble understanding her. "I was the only one in the room with him, I could have stopped him, but I didn't do anything. I was too scared. If it hadn't been for the captain..." She tried to make calming noises to reassure La'an, however this seemed to have the opposite effect as she jumped up.

"No! You don't understand! I was ready to let a colleague, a friend, die because I was too scared! Because if I had thought even for a moment that he was from bloody Andoria, it might have occurred to me that he had a lower body temperature and consequently the process of hatching would be slowed! My fear almost killed Hemmer! How can I be head of security if my fear doesn't allow me to think clearly to protect the people who are under my protection?!"

She was shocked to see tears in La'an's eyes, which she resolutely wiped away. It's not your fault. She stood up and went over to her sister. Do you hear me? It is not your fault. He's alive, that's all that matters. "But I-" She clapped her hands loudly and interrupted La'an. No. It's not your fault, she repeated. Her gaze softened and she stroked La'an's shoulder. You have experienced traumatic things. No one blames you for being afraid. Most would have hidden in your place. Not you. No feelings of guilt. Please. La'an smiled bitterly before hugging her sister. "Thank you."

It took a while for the sisters to let go, but when they did, La'an seemed a lot more relaxed than before. At least, as relaxed as she could be. You have an Andorian as chief engineer? La'an frowned. "What makes you think that?" You said Andoria. "He's Aenar. They run even colder than Andorians. Don't ask me why though, I'm not a doctor."

I know. She grinned cheekily at her and they both had to think back to the incident in their childhood where La'an had tried to treat her wound with baking paper that did not absorb liquids. La'an smiled slightly. "I was six." So was I. Knew better anyway. She frowned briefly. Think I saw your chief engineer. "Oh yeah?"

She nodded. About that tall? She raised her hand. Red uniform. Grumpy? La'an smiled. "Sounds like Hemmer. Was he in company?" She nodded. Woman, small, short hair, black, red uniform. Talked a lot. La'an chuckled softly. "And that would be Uhura. She's a cadet, but one of the best linguists around. And she's somehow managed to befriend the grump of the ship." I didn't know you guys were friends. "Haha."

But he looked okay. Not hurt. A little grumpy, but healthy. "If that's your attempt to tell me it's all okay, stop. It's not making it better." She gave a silent sigh. Fine. But you need distraction. And relaxation. Her mind wandered back to the conversation from before. Fancy a drink?

~**~

It was like pulling teeth to convince La'an to go to the bar, but in the end she won and, followed by a somewhat grim-looking La'an, went down to the promenade, which by now, due to the hour, had filled up again. Which one do you want? Take your pick. La'an sighed and finally pointed to a larger establishment that formed the centre of the promenade. "If we're going to drink, let's do it properly." Her sister grinned and together they entered the room.

It was already well filled, yet she was still able to grab a small booth for them while La'an went to the bar to return with two colourful drinks. "Well then," La'an sighed as she slid into her seat and raised her glass. "To a wonderful evening." Her facial expressions were far too exaggerated, yet she didn't care. Cheers, she signed back, before picking up her glass herself and clinking her glass against her sister's.

The glasses clinked softly, the sound drowning in the noise around them, and in sync the sisters downed the drink. But while La'an remained expressionless, she screwed up her face and hastily put the glass down. What is this!!! La'an smiled to herself, which caused her sister's expression to darken further. "A little bit of everything." She screwed up her face. I'm going to have the hangover of my life. "Probably." Thank you for your compassion.

La'an grinned, however that smile faded as she looked past her sister. "Oh God." She turned, following La'an's gaze until her own gaze lingered on a group of people in Starfleet uniform. There were four people, three men and one woman, if she was so free to take that in. One of the men seemed to be "leading" the group. He wore a yellow and gold top, had silver and grey hair and a cheeky grin on his lips as he talked incessantly to the woman, also dressed in yellow. The latter had tied her dark hair into a high plait and did not look very impressed, but had a narrow smile on her lips. The other two were dressed in different shades of blue. One was slightly shorter, had a beard and was giving her dad vibes, whereas the other was clearly a Vulcan, his arms behind his back and one eyebrow raised sceptically.

The first man seemed to notice them because his face lit up and he waved at La'an before turning to the others, whereupon the group of four came towards them. La'an narrowed her eyes. "Just what I needed." Her sister gently slapped her arm and gave her a reproving look before the group was already beside them. "Hi." The man smiled broadly at her and briefly she wondered if this man had ever considered becoming a model for dental advertising, so white did his teeth appear. "Would it be okay if we joined you, La'an." The woman interposed. "Unless of course you'd like some time alone, which would be perfectly understandable." At that she gave the man a stern look, under which he shrank but his smile did not.

La'an glanced briefly at her sister before, in the face of the hopeful smile, she sighed in surrender and slid up a little to make room for the four. As everyone looked at her more or less expectantly, she took over the introductions. "This is my sister. She is currently working on Jitrav IV as a xeno-anthropologist. This is Captain Christopher Pike, Commander Una Chin-Riley, Lieutenant Spock and Doctor Joseph M'Benga. We serve together." She grinned at La'an. Oh really, I would never have guessed. La'an just rolled her eyes, however, she seemed to have caught the interest of the others.

The Vulcan, Spock, raised his eyebrow. "You use sign language." Mockingly, she raised her eyebrow in turn. Oh do I? I hadn't noticed. La'an snorted into her drink and tried to suppress a laugh. "What did she say?" Pike looked at her as if she was the most intriguing thing he'd ever seen, which flustered and confused her in equal measure. It wasn't that special now. La'an cleared her throat. "That she is pleased to make your acquaintance." Indignantly, she slapped La'an's arm. I didn't say that! "Subtext," La'an added, which earned her a snort.

She then turned her gaze to Spock. I am mute. Sign language is therefore my only way of communicating with others. It has been done that way for centuries. La'an translated for her without twisting the words in her mouth this time. Well, hands. M'Benga cleared his throat. "I thought there were treatments by now." She shook her head. No long-term ones. Besides, the risks are too great. After that, the four of them left it at that and they returned to a more relaxed conversation. At least they tried to, since most of the conversation was really just Pike and her, La'an's translations excluded, and the occasional comment from M'Benga. Una spoke up from time to time, as did La'an, but Spock was silent almost the entire time.

After half an hour, their drinks were empty and Pike offered to get more, which everyone agreed to, but he came back with two more people in tow, though she had already seen them. "Look who I ran into. Thought it would be nice to add to the fellowship," Pike grinned as he placed the drinks on the table, pointing to the Aenar and the young woman standing behind him. While the Aenar, Hemmer if she remembered correctly, looked just as grumpy as before, the young woman, Uhura, smiled all over her face and instantly locked eyes with her.

"Hi, you're Lieutenant Singh's sister, aren't you? The Captain had mentioned it." She held out her hand. "I'm Cadet Uhura, but please call me Nyota. This is Hemmer and don't worry," she leaned down a little towards her, "He's only half as grumpy as he looks." Hemmer scoffed. "I'm blind, not deaf, Uhura. I heard you." Nyota blushed but didn't apologise and on closer inspection, she could see that Hemmer didn't really look mad. She smiled at them both and quickly introduced herself. To her surprise, La'an didn't even bother to translate, as Nyota seemed able to do so herself.

"Oh, that's a beautiful name." You know sign language? Apparently one could see the surprise on her face, because Pike laughed softly. "Uhura is quite talented with languages, you might say." For the first time in half an hour, Spock spoke up. "Cadet Uhura speaks over thirty-seven languages, so by human parameters, she is more than 'quite talented'." Her jaw dropped? Thirty-seven? You're too good for this ship. That elicited a laugh from Uhura and after they had all scooted up, the other two had also squeezed onto the bench, Hemmer a little more reluctantly than Uhura, which was why she was now squeezed between La'an and Pike. There were worse things.

In time, they were joined by Erica and Christine, who had a young man named Sam Kirk in tow, which was the moment they decided to move the whole thing to a larger table. Now seated between M'Benga and Hemmer, facing La'an and Uhura, she noted with relief that her sister seemed to be starting to warm up. She knew that La'an would have preferred to be alone with her, but they would have plenty of time for that and at the moment she simply enjoyed being among so many people, which was not really common in her job, with the constant changing of places.

However, after almost another half hour of the crew telling their stories in Starfleet, including the amusing part of the Gorn disaster where Hemmer and Uhura were shot off the ship (Uhura confessed, admittedly a little drunk, that Hemmer had looked like a meerkat. The latter had protested, but his antennae and dark cheeks had betrayed him), they turned their attention to her and her profession. Patiently she answered, with La'an's help, until Uhura asked a question that made her think of something. "How do you manage to do your job with people who don't speak SSL (standard sign language)?"

For a moment she paused and frowned. What do you mean? La'an quietly translated for the rest and Uhura shifted back and forth in her seat. "Well, you meant that you were getting to know the native inhabitants of the planets to study their culture and the intricacies of their languages more closely, but how-" -can I do that without speaking myself? Uhura nodded and she smiled at her. One moment.

She rummaged in her trouser pocket and pulled out ten rings, each of which was connected to another, smaller ring with thin steel bands. She slipped them over her fingers so that the larger ring sat on her knuckle and the smaller one just below her fingernail. She then rolled up her sleeves to reveal two bracelets, one on each wrist, which she tapped on for some time until they beeped briefly and began to glow blue.

I don't need to speak. I have these. She signed, but a tinny female voice spoke for her. The people around her stared at her with wide eyes and of course Spock was the first to catch himself to ask a question. "Why didn't you use that before." It isn't complete. She regarded him with narrowed eyebrows as the voice continued to translate for her. It's missing the sensors for the face, arms and torso that I usually wear. Sign language is not just language of the hands. Is complex.

She looked down at her hands. It's not exact and I have to sign very slowly and clearly for the right thing to come out. Besides, it's slow. Takes longer than living translator. Not a problem with speeches, awkward with conversations. With that, however, she seemed to have caught Hemmer's attention. "Sure the whole thing couldn't be calibrated more sensitively?" She shrugged. Don't have a clue about such things. Starfleet takes care of that sort of thing. However, this is just a prototype, better is to come soon. Apparently she had signed too quickly and uncleanly this time, because the voice didn't spit out "Starfleet" but "Stargazer". Annoyed, she frowned and deactivated the bracelet.

"I think it's cool," Nyota declared, smiling broadly, which earned her a slight smile as well. Quite a bit.

After that, the conversation turned back to more mundane things and no one talked about the bracelets, even though she sensed that Hemmer was tempted to get his hands on them. He did not say so, but his antennae twitched conspicuously in her direction. After two hours, however, La'an and she decided to leave. This was accompanied by a series of disappointed noises, but they did not let themselves be brought down. After promising Uhura to polish up her SSL and Hemmer that he could look at her speaking aid tomorrow, she and La'an wished everyone a good night before they left the bar.

In the lift, they leaned against the wall and La'an heaved a sigh. "This is not how I had imagined my evening to be, if I'm honest." But it was still nice, wasn't it? La'an pursed her mouth. "Tolerable." She grinned at La'an. I can live with that. She pinched her sister's cheek to keep her attention. I like them, all of them. They're nice. La'an shook her head with a smile. "Especially Uhura though, right?" It's always nicer to talk to people who understand you without you. The lift doors opened and La'an pulled her behind her. "Come on. You owe me another game of cards and this time you won't be able to wriggle out of it."

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

@bigblissandlove1 @akamitrani

[anewstartrekfan]

Spitballing Strange New Worlds s3 episode ideas, Spock edition:

(With Sam Kirk crashing the blog at the end)

Keep in mind I’ve only seen s2.

Assuming Christine is written out of the show for a little bit so the Doctor Korby romance can happen, maybe explain just how Spock was able to know that Rayna was going to die from being overwhelmed with emotions she was just experiencing for the first time in requiem for methuselah? I mean I assumed he was speaking from personal experience when I first saw it, but it could also be him diagnosing the situation based on what he was taught as a Vulcan.

So far strange new worlds (and from what I’ve heard Discovery too) has gone out of its way to show how Spock ended up in the mindset he was in about emotions and stuff. I think it would be cool if Spock either met someone else, or the events of episode 10 rekindle the Spock/Christine romance, Spock feels something entirely new, and then immediately regrets it when Chapel reveals she’s either engaged, in love with Korby, both, or some bad stuff dies down between him and whoever else he meets. This hypothetical relationship with a random alien doesn’t even have to be romantic.

Let’s say Spock gets caught on an alien world, meets a native, is stuck with them for a bit, and then in a life or death situation, the alien chooses to save Spock when we’d know that before meeting Spock, this character wouldn’t have done this, and somehow dies as a result. I’m thinking poison. Which would play into not only Spock’s actions in Requiem for Methuselah, but also Devil in the Dark. Wherein Spock at first wanted to try to reason with the Horta, but the second Jim was in danger he did a 180. It’s not that Spock would be against nonhuman entities learning human emotions. It’s that he would be far more cautious than Jim was.

“The joys of love made her human, and the agonies of love destroyed her.”

And while Spock is solidifying his stance to be more closed off, Other characters, Pike maybe? could finally open up to their friends. Maybe add some character development for Sam to explain why he’s so competitive with Kirk. Make it beyond daddy issues. Maybe make it mommy issues?

Oooo! I’ve suggested before that Jim and Sam’s mom maybe died on Tarsus IV. Maybe the reason Sam didn’t go on the command track like Jim was that becoming a xenoanthropologist would allow him to understand dead alien cultures discovered on various planets the federation may wish to occupy, or know how to communicate with living natives. And this would allow settlers/colonists to be warned about the local widelife like say, an exotic fungus that infects most of the food supply?

I work Tarsus IV into everything.

Since (in this hypothetical plot line) maybe there were native aliens to Tarsus iv, but because no one could communicate with them or even tried, the colonists weren’t able to be warned about the fungus. It would also be cool because of how it would naturally contrast Jim’s reaction to the massacre.

Jim wanted to be there when the disasters happened to save everyone.

Sam wanted to prevent the disasters from happening to save everyone.

Fun to spitball.

[mercury-prince]

Now, what I want to see from star trek is how aliens represent other aliens in art. Imagine if that ancient Bajoran guy who space-sailed to cardassia came back and told ppl how cardassians look, spawning hundreds of kinda shitty drawings in bestiaries after a long game of telephone where they barely look recognisable (like these: first is a scorpion, second is a panther)

[Image ID: a square medieval illustration of a creature with a human-ish face, a fish-like body, and four limbs sticking out akimbo. it has a sharp tail that is piercing someone's hand. /.End ID]

[Image ID: a deer-shaped creature with a red belly, face, and legs, a blue back, green butt, and beige neck. it has white streaks coming out of its mouth, as if it's exhaling or spitting. a group of rams, sheep and deer look at it, with very confused expressions. /. End ID]

All the pre-warp species that the federation had broken the prime directive with must have some sick paintings of vaguely humanoid creatures standing around in matching outfits.

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY: do other species have something like the zodiac? Or drawings of the star systems around their planet, using familiar figures to link different stars together? What did they call the foreign planets, before they learned they were called Vulcan or Romulus or Ferenginar? Imagine all the pre-warp star maps in different alien languages and art styles. the ones we have irl say so much about the cultures they were made in.

first pic [Image ID: a photograph of the nebra sky disk, from 1800-1600 BC. It is a turquoise coloured metal disk with a gold circle representing the sun, a crescent moon, and small circles depicting the Pleiadies star cluster. /. End ID]

second pic [Image ID: an annotated diagram of the Mayan Wakah-Chan Tree, a design found on the burial lid of Lord Pacal, from circa 680 AD. It is an illustrated diagram depicting the sun, moon and planets with intricately patterned symbols. /. End ID]

third pic [Image ID: an illustration from The Book of Fixed Stars by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, circa 964 ad. it depicts the constellation of Orion, using a black ink drawing of a kneeling figure with the stars drawn as red circles on different parts of the body. Each of the stars are labelled in Arabic. /. End ID]

I could go on forever about how we love to look into the vast unknown to find reflections of ourselves, and how i think star trek is an extension of that urge we've clearly been having since the dawn of time. Its not just the need to study things that will help with our everyday lives (like looking at the harvest moon), its the way we often take a celestial body and make it the symbol of a human characteristic, like how klingons represent honour and vulcans represent logic. what we think about space and what we do to fill in the gaps of the unknown say a lot about how we think in general. and according to trek we think a lot about weird little blokes in weird little outfits so. yh fair enough

i think this is my most research heavy shitpost ever lmao. but please add ur thoughts or take these ideas however u like

[skimblyspones]

No but an interesting aspect to the spones dynamic in Friday’s Child isn’t just that amazing hand-cheating scene, but also just. The conceit of the episode. That of the three, it’s Bones who knows this alien culture, and knows it well. Bc, as we know, he doesn’t Get Vulcans. He doesn’t understand them and he’s made uncomfortable by their culture, most likely because he doesn’t know its intricacies (there’s also the added factor of Spock being half-human while taking every opportunity to shittalk humans, and he seems to be Bones’ main avenue to Vulcans. So we see him get confrontational and xenophobic abt Vulcans, but this is also often in the context of him and Spock sparring words, where most of the time they seem on the same page). So now we get a Bones who isn’t just open to but actively, deeply aware and respectful of an alien culture in a way that he isn’t with Vulcans.

There’s one episode between Friday’s Child and Amok Time in terms of production; Amok Time coming after. Bones is one of the first to know Spock’s behaving strangely. He goes to Vulcan; he is honored to be invited to the surface by Spcok. He sees most of the ceremony. Vulcan is no longer this vague alien thing represented solely through Spock. There’s still a whole lot he doesn’t know or understand, he was on the planet for less than a day. But he’s now seen Vulcan as a planet; as a people; as a culture.

Journey to Babel was produced well after Friday’s Child (they are 12 episodes apart). In Journey to Babel, Bones shows interest in the Vulcan salute, tries to imitate it, and considers attempting it again for Sarek before putting his hand back down. His comments are also far less barbed when made, but this could also be because, you know. They are literally hosting The Vulcan Ambassador. But there’s an effort there. An attempt to learn what he doesn’t know and be respectful.

...And then Immunity Syndrome happens a few episodes later. A full vessel of Vulcans dies, and Spock is noticeably overwhelmed with the telepathic connection/severance, and with the ensuing grief. And he and Bones fall out of sync. In his distress, Bones ushers him to Sickbay. There are some usual quips about ineffable Vulcan anatomy, which don’t get a response, but then the disconnect becomes clear. Bones is trying to understand what’s going on; he doesn’t understand how Vulcans tick; what he thought were the rules for telepathic connection aren’t carrying through here. And 400 instantaneous deaths strains human comprehension.

But the way he approaches the topic is in his typical fashion; that is, he words it confrontationally. “Not even a Vulcan could feel a starship die.” And because we’ve gotten to know McCoy, we can probably, safely assume that he’s not trying to be like “You’re lying, the starship didn’t die,” so much as “This is new information to me, and I am struggling to comprehend the scope of what’s happened.” But Spock literally just experienced 400 simultaneous deaths and is, shockingly, Not In The Mood, and reads it as invalidation. And the hurt is p obvious in his voice. So Bones clarifies with “But 400 Vulcans?” Spock picks up now that it’s not disbelief of his experiences but a struggle to swallow what has happened, but he’s still hurt and grieving, and turns it into an attack on humans, as well as a specific call out towards McCoy’s usual comments abt Vulcans as unemotional.

McCoy isn’t the only one aboard to make these comments, and usually no matter who says it, Spock is able to understand the context and that it’s usually said without active malice. But he’s hurting, and Bones is here, struggling to understand the depth of loss, and what better time to release your resentment over your crewmates’ favorite joke than when your hurt seems to be being ignored? “You speak about the objective hardness of the Vulcan heart. Yet how little room there seems to be in yours.” Bones has often been the one to worry about large-scale loss of life. Bones is a doctor. He already has to compartmentalize death. He never planned on joining a branch of the military where combat and death are more likely to happen. And now 400 Vulcans have died. He is not heartless. But Spock is grieving, and the two have generally tended toward callousness toward each other.

McCoy lets the comment sit until Spock is almost out the door, offering a small parry of “Suffer the deaths of thy neighbor, eh, Spock? You wouldn’t wish that on us, would you?” It’s a gentle pushback to be understood in the way they talk to each other. It’s, “I understand, in theory, what it is you’re going through. It’s true that I can’t fathom it. I validate that this is a horrible experience to go through. However, it’s not fair to call me heartless because I can’t fully understand your experience.”

And Spock, still hurting, answers by playing dumb to what McCoy was primarily angling at, instead saying “It might have rendered your history a bit less bloody.” He is not backing down on his claim about humans’ capacity of grief and feeling. He is not in the mood for a back and forth. So McCoy leaves it there.

In general, Spock is able to collect himself after this. Instead, we get Bones in a more agitated-than-usual state in the episode. He’s had his capacity of dedication challenged. Going out into the giant organism is a scientific opportunity, yes, but Spock is also a Science Officer and, as he mentions in the episode, knows how to use the Life Science equipment. Bones is not so stubborn as for his indignation over Spock being chosen to be solely based on missing out on a chance at glory.

Anyway. Back on the topic of what I meant for this post to be out, that being a small arc in terms of Spones and Bones’ approach to Vulcan culture.

The confrontation in front of the Shuttle launch bay. Bones covering the control pad. And first of all just. “You’re determined not to let me share in this, aren’t you?”  UGH that line kills me. As I mentioned before, I don’t think Bones is so thick-headed as for that to just be about scientific discovery; he’s talking abt the risk to self;  specifically the risk to self in order to help the crew at large. His compassion as a doctor has been challenged and it hurts (and also bc Spones--they never want the other to be the one at risk). But Spock isn’t backing off, specifically wrt the aftermath of The Intrepid’s loss. He wants to make up for it. It’s not just his pride or his self image, it’s about righting a wrong done to his people.

“Whether you understand it or not, grant me my own kind of dignity.”

“Vulcan dignity? How can I grant you what I don’t understand?”

He’s still being defensive, but. He removes his hand from the panel as he starts to speak. He’s giving Spock the chance to leave. And he doesn’t outright refuse Spock’s request, but reiterates his issue that started their miscommunication in the episode: He Doesn’t Understand Vulcans. He doesn’t say “what do Vulcans need with Dignity” or “Isn’t pride a forbidden emotion on Vulcan,” something to that effect. He literally doesn’t understand how to give what’s being asked.

“Then employ one of your own superstitions. Wish me Luck.”

And now Bones’ genuine statement that he can’t do what’s asked of him because he doesn’t know how is met with a genuine compromise. There’s no diminishing of the human culture of wishing someone else Luck; there’s no implication that wishing him Luck is an inferior behavior but will still “do”. McCoy has admitted that he doesn’t know what to do, and Spock offers him an option; he bridges their gap in comprehension.

And, of course, as we know, Bones is a petty bitch and doesn’t wish Spock luck until the Vulcan can no longer hear him, giving the later “Tell Dr McCoy he should have wished me Luck,” comment extra Ow Factor, both to Bones and to us the audience, but he still does what is asked of him. He was asked to do something for Spock, said he didn’t know how, was given a substitute, and did that substitute.

He also opens the door for Spock, who seemed to already expect he would do so, even if he is rather visibly disappointed by Bones’ silence. The quiet door opening could be read with hostility, in a “get out already” sense, but it can also be seen as Bones relinquishing his grudge. Spock doesn’t need Bones’ blessing to leave; he doesn’t need to be wished Luck and indeed goes out thinking Bones is mad at him. All the same, Bones let him go. He didn’t quip or argue.

And anyway this got way away from my initial v general thought while rewatching Friday’s Child but uh yeah there u go. bit of a s2 arc for spones wrt the Vulcan Culture Ignorance aspect

[geronimomo-spd]

man, if i could make eveyone who watches Star Trek tos and Doctor Who to watch Mork & Mindy i so would

do you want to watch an alien, who is basically a Spock parody but diffrent, where he was so nerodivergent that he was booted off his home planet to observe on earth, only to actually fit in and find a family that loves and accepts him as who he is?? while still accepting and respecting his Orc culture???

join me while chewing in scenes that sometimes they littiraly took from the star trek tos set, while seeing a character that somehow feels took insparation from the doctor while still inspiraing the doctor for years to come (11 is so mork its not even funny, while 2 feels so much like mork it feels like they are the same character in a diffrent font)

while giving us Mindy, a girl who sees this weird ass alien and just wants to learn everything from him, while holding his hand through it all.

somethjing something about this show being about what if Spock was a sitcom character that showed how diffrent he is from other vulcans instead of how similer he is to them on the outside, and just by that its a fasinating social experiment to me

while also symotinesly being so Nerodivergent, and so Queer at the same time

imagine if the aspect of "human and alien learning from each other about the beuty of each other's culture and the joy in living in our own very "boring world" of doctor who and star trek was actually just its own show, giving respect and phylosiphy while being a silly sitcom about teaching about social lessions, like its not good to lie kids, by making the aformantioned alien simply revive a man from the dead to show this very important lession XD

i do not want to spoil too much but goodness me, i could not recoomand this show enough. please give mork and mindy a watch, thank you <3

[ichayalovesyou]

(Re)Discovering A Strange New Spock: “Miri” (1x08)

Previous: What Are Little Girls Made Of?

Next: Dagger of The Mind

A meta anthology where I re-examine TOS, especially Spock, in light of the new information Discovery & Strange New Worlds has revealed about him to us.

Onto the Analysis!

No Appetite For Green Blood

“Being a red blooded human obviously has its disadvantages.”

Yet another testament to Spock’s utter distaste for Humans and rejection of the humanity within himself. I know you’d probably HATE to hear this Mr. Spock but you sound just like your father! Also, point of advice spock, maybe don’t tease the CMO whose tryna save everyone’s lives atm!

That being said his Vulcan blood is both saving his life, and could isolate him here on this foreign world. Doomed to live much, much longer than those around him. Almost a microcosm of his senior years… oof. So he gets to be a little flippant and infodump about microscopes a bit, as a treat.

Our Boys In The Only Blue I Respect (Science!)

On a slightly lighter note! This is the first time Spock & Bones have had to work together in a vacuum where there are no other science division members as a buffer. They are the only people on this planet capable of getting the job done.

Not only that we finally see them with the same priority, and agreeing with each other on something other than keeping Jim safe. It is the fact that the communicators are, in the grand scheme, more important than finding Janice. None of them can save her if they’re all dead. On this much, Bones and Spock agree, and remind Jim of that reality.

Almost Losing Bones (Do I Have A SECOND Friend?! Ugh! Annoying!)

They’ve stopped outright disliking each other, they’ve learned to trust each other, they’ve started teasing, they both realized Jim needs both of them. Now Spock is realizing he cares about and respects this curmudgeonly Doctor a lot more than he had anticipated.

Spock doesn’t want McCoy needlessly risking his life when Jim could get back to them in time. When Bones recklessly injects himself with the possible cure, and realizes something is wrong, the person he cries out to in panic is Spock. Possibly because McCoy instinctively knows, if anybody is gonna save him from himself, it’s gonna be him.

Then what does Spock do after checking McCoy’s vitals after he finds him?! He takes Bones hands and doesn’t let go, not even when Jim returns. The significance of touching hands in Vulcan culture brings further potency to this. Was this an instinctive, sentimental human gesture from a living man to a dying one. Or, was it subtle, deliberate Vulcan mental contact?

There’s a lot more adventures to be had in SNW, but as far as we know. This is may be the first time Spock has been in telepathic contact with someone who is unconscious and he believes is dying. I can’t help but be reminded of when AOS Spock stayed and melded with Pike as he died in Into Darkness.

On the same subject, I’ve talked about the ways Kirk reminds Spock of Chris (and Michael). I think, especially in this moment of reckless self-sacrifice, Bones reminds Spock of him too. Not only of Chris, but of Hemmer, who sacrificed himself as well, abrasive and grumpy on the surface but with an incredibly gentle soul underneath.

How much he gleaned of this truth from touch telepathy or from the immediate emotional pressure of Bones possibly dying is of course, ambiguous. Another aspect of this is for the first time since they’ve met, Bones was right! He was crazy and brash and almost died needlessly but Spock’s guilty of that too, just not today!

Spock is visibly relieved that it turns out he wasn’t dying after all, not only that but to his disbelief, correct in his risk. Jim is even present for most of the undeniable proof that Spock does care for Dr. McCoy.

I assume not wanting to ruin the progress or betray Spock’s trust Kirk might’ve kept his mouth shut. Just like he waits for Spock & Bones to concede to each other than oust the fact one confided to him that he agreed with the other in private.

Bones doesn’t know how much Spock cares yet, and won’t for a while. Spock may know that Bones cares thanks to the events of the episode. They’ll both know they care about each other eventually, but won’t admit it for a looong time. Jim knows they care about each other, but knows they’ll have to figure that part out for themselves.

The triumvirate continues to solidify as their adventures continue. Bones and Spock’s relationship in particular, crossed a threshold in this episode.

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

YOURE SO RIGHT literally spock suddenly forgetting how to be vulcan was so weird?? it would’ve made much more sense for this episode to be about him reconciling both halves and realizing he can claim his vulcan side despite constantly being told he’s not vulcan enough

Yeah I really don't know what the writers are on and why they act like Vulcan ideology is so incompatible with humanity. For one some people just like leaning on logic over emotion. For two, while its not a perfect analogy, autistic people exist? And we tend to prefer routine, logic, and fierce honesty and are still human? Wtf?

It dehumanizes vulcans (in the sympathetic sense) and is just an insult to the vulcan AND human man Spock grows further into. I don't love any of the stuff they're doing with Spock this season. He deserves to grow comfortable in his full identity, not have this strange internal battle where he's "denying" himself his humanity. Instead he should learn he's still a Vulcan no matter his biology, and also perhaps there are parts of human culture he can embrace and enjoy, too.

Other than the harp/lyre. That can stay. The rest can go.

[roughscribs]

This was longer than I intended but it’s just a rant about kid fics in the startrek universe 🤧💜

I can always tell when a spirk kid/mpreg fic is written by someone with a fundamental misunderstanding of how culture and race works. I hate fics that outright condemn Spocks culture and especially when they use Kirk as a mouth piece for it it's so out of character.

It's so nasty to me to see ppl write Kirk haphazardly raising Vulcan/half Vulcan children. Neglecting their Vulcan heritage and culture. It smells like white parents rasing poc children and filling their head with dangerous notions about race. Neglecting to teach them about racism and dismissing their concerns for how the world will treat them once they enter society independently. It's why so many mixed race children grow up with a weak sense of identity.

Considering that xenophobia and discrimination are still very much present in star treks sociopolitical climate it would be extremely damaging to interspecies children and their sense of identity and even their biological health bc of actually being a different species.

WE LITERALLY SEE IT WITH SPOCK. How his lack of education on his human heritage and forced emphasis on his Vulcan heritage has left him fighting these two identities FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE. So why would y'all write Kirk taking care of Vulcan children in such a negative and dangerous way???

One of my fave kid fics is my beautiful human by ladyTauriel on ao3. It paints a really vivid picture of a loving multiracial parent child relationship. Kirk works hard trying to teach his adopted son Vulcan heritage to the best of his abilities WITH real research and he seek outside sources when he knows he is not enough. His child’s emotionalism isn’t shamed or neglected. But as a Vulcan the path of logic is essential to his growth and wellbeing and Kirk may not get it but he knows its necessary. It's so great and healthy and beautiful I love it.

For the ppl who just don't GET IT. Let me put it in another way. Living with strict or conservative parents/family and having to stifle a certain type of self expression and then finally u hit those year when ur finally independent and ur left spiraling trying to figure out who u are bc u weren’t allowed to explore or even learn about other options? Well that is this. Except racial identity is not an invisible internal struggle it also an unwillingly external one and it's something every poc is gonna have to deal with.

For queer ppl do y’all know how much different it would be if ur parents would have given u the option to explore ur sexuality??Or even expressed to u that different sexualities existed and they aren’t queerphobic???

Growing up as a interspecies child having one half of ur identity just not even made available to u is wild. So many consequences. Vulcans are telepaths. They need guidance perfecting these abilities why would Kirk just??? Neglect this especially if he’s taken in the challenge of parenting. Kirk raising Vulcan children as if they are just average human children then them being set out independently into society being rejected by both Vulcans and humans and not having either identity properly reinforced at home would be fucking awful to them.

((This also just shows an ignorance of health parenting… just saying. Sometimes, as some with child care experience, seeing the way ppl write children and parent interactions has very “go to room young man” energy, very “this person has never interacted with children or ever been in a position to take care of children” energy. That’s not y’all’s fault so it’s not a real criticism it’s just a person gripe and I laugh at a lot of dialogue 😭 u know how ppl with siblings can tell when a writers has no siblings.))

Anyways While my dislike for this is a personal opinion and I'm not saying this makes anyone a bad person. Or anything pls write whatever u want but like it does show a lack of understand about these subject.

[tanadrin]

I want to explore at length someday the way that Star Trek setting up a particular opposition between “rationality/logic” and “emotion,” in addition to other tropes like the “natural development of a species” and an “evolutionary ladder,” all spring from a common source in Victorian attitudes toward progress, where in parts of the cultural discourse sentimentality was excluded from the domain of “science” or “rationalism” as a way to keep political power structures from being responsible for moral transgressions, a way to reinforce conservative ideologies rebranded with pseudoscientific language like social darwinism, without exposing them to criticism on traditional moral grounds, and the way that the long half-life of these ideas is still being wrestled with in Star Trek in the 60s, 80, 90s, and even the 21st century.

More of Star Trek as a case study in these things than a particularly egregious example--in fact, I think Star Trek, especially in its humanistic dimension, is struggling against these ideas sometimes, though it’s not very good at articulating why they’re wrong. A core example is “Patterns of Force,” which falls for Nazi mythmaking even as it’s attempting to repudiate fascism. And Star Trek’s hostility to genetic engineering is a reflection of a genuinely humanistic belief in equality, though it’s framed in ways that grant Victorian assumptions about the natural development of species up a hierarchy of being.

The Vulcans are another good example: emotion/intuition and logic are seen as countervailing forces, even though any truly “logical” Vulcan would have to grant that apparently irrational decisionmaking processes like intuition are often based on logical processes that simply aren’t exposed to the conscious mind, and can be valuable; and that many other apparently “irrational” features of humans are perfectly natural developments given the context of evolution as highly social animals negotiating complex interactions and hierarchies. A passionate alien species that has learned to control its extremes of emotion through careful cultivation of discipline, and has attained a great deal of wisdom as a result, is a cool idea for a humanoid alien species, and a great way to hold up an SF mirror to human society--but in the hands of lesser writers who fall back on recapitulating a commonplace of folk wisdom, that these two domains are somehow entirely distinct (a commonplace that, if not created, was reinforced by discourse in the 19th century that tried to contrast “rational” and “scientific” empire and exploitation against “emotional” appeals for restraint), we instead get supposedly highly intelligent Vulcans like Spock being befuddled by things any first-year anthropology student could explain.

And I think that would be worth exploring in particular because we still often implicitly grant the 19th century apologists for empire and exploitation the premises of their arguments--that they really were rationally and scientifically minded people who simply were clouded by their biases, rather than political ideologues searching for any set of ideas they could use to support conclusions they had already come to. I’m not shitting on empiricism or rationality here. Quite the opposite. There were plenty of people doing good science in the 19th century who didn’t fall into the same traps, and plenty of people who didn’t see rationality and empiricism as opposed to morality and sentiment. But those who did were especially useful to enterprises like the British Empire, and so their legacy is outsized.

[clementine-kesh]

Yea, true, I didn't really consider alien programming languages, that's a good point, we have no way of even imagining what those might be like. Point taken, you were right lol.

That said, I defo wanna address some of the stuff mentioned by @a-girl-called-bob in their comment because it's pretty interesting.

Metaprogramming is an interesting one I hadn't considered. I haven't done much of it myself so I'm mostly drawing from what I've heard from others but it's probably even more relevant in the far off future. Again, I'm no expert, but I think it's probably likely it would mostly be done in one language (tho I doubt it'd be a descendant of Lisp by then, probably a new language created with metaprogramming as its core goal or a descendant of that) that, while potentially very different from other then modern languages, would likely be more commonly taught. But I may be wrong about that.

As for pointer access... I'm gonna be a little controversial here. I know programmers are notoriously resistant to change (tho at least in this case it'd honestly be unfeasible to update all existing code still running important systems within the foreseeable future but you know what I mean) and C++ has failed to deter even new programmers from using raw pointers in brand new code for decades, but I think that especially in a 'utopian' society like star trek, either some evolution of smart pointers or just straight up references (depending on which 'side' wins lol) would be the norm, making pointers obsolete. Again, I know this is controversial but I think it's realistic. Not necessarily better tbh, I do love being able to fuck things up as much as I want if I feel like it, but safer and more reasonable.

Monads... I'll just admit, I cannot say. I've not personally done any functional programming and the people I know who have I haven't discussed it with. So no comment there.

Object oriented features tho are already present in so many languages I doubt there's many (if any) programmers who aren't familiar with them so I honestly don't think it'd be much of a roadblock for anyone, today or in the far future.

Just as I wrote that last sentence I saw a new comment come in from @egg-tats and yes, that's basically the point I tried to make initially: learning a modern language with documentation and/or internet access is pretty easy, at least to about mid level proficiency. But yea, this would in no way be applicable to alien or otherwise unrelated ones and also not really to certain advanced concepts as some of the ones mentioned by Bob. Come to think of it, who knows how alien computers would even work, their concept of programming might be so fundamentally different it's not even recognisable to us.

But yea, long story short, y'all make some very good points, it would probably not be as easy as I want it to be 😔

Consider my mind changed.

-Levi

(including both replies for posterity)

to your other point the idea of alien programming languages is so fascinating to me. there’s this assumption that the way we build programming languages (and other data infrastructure) is based on some sort of universal logic when like… the way we conceptualize and classify things is so different even just across human cultures. just look at how many papers there are on integrating nonwestern conceptualizations of space into gis and other technologies built on western assumptions. really interesting and eye-opening stuff. i can’t imagine what that would look like for actual aliens, i need to hang out with some vulcan programmers for real

[bumblingbabooshka]

Do you have any interesting takes on Ocampa lifespans?

I don't know?? Ocampa are interesting because their life span mimics more like, animals, than it does humans.

I think they age very very quickly to get past the "child" stage. Like how a lot of wild animals have children that can walk a few minutes after being born.

Kes says that her father died when she was a one year old but also that he was "The greatest inspiration in her life." and that she thinks about him when she needs guidance, etc. Kes is two years old when she's first on Voyager but she seems to be the rough equivalent to whatever age Tom, B'Elanna and Harry are. (20's I assume)

This implies to me that as a one year old she was probably already like...an older teenager?

I think that to an Ocampan the first year of their life is like their entire childhood/adolescence and by the end of that first year you've become an adult. Parents typically spend a /lot/ of time with their children because this stage goes so fast and its the only time they can really impart their own values etc on their children.

I think Ocampans are baby-babies for like...a few days. Not even a week. Most of their time in childhood would be as kids who can walk and talk and play, learn, explore.

They're babies for a few days and then spend the rest of their first year as children/teenagers. By one they're considered adults and four-five is when they hit "middle age" and begin to physically age again to match what humans would look like at around 40. Then by seven or eight years old they again age, deteriorating rapidly and dying. Either within the year at eight or next year at nine.

So to me Ocampans have four distinct 'aging' times and before that they retain their look. Aging is not a gradual process like it is for other species. I also think that on Ocampa people are very kind and attentive towards elders since it is such a rapid and frightening process.

Ocampans to me would probably have a culture that embraced death as like, another stage of life. Especially since their dormant telepathic power is SO great - Kes can literally at one point see through molecules and into the universal unknown so yeah...death being another form of life is probably something that would have been seen as exciting, like an ascension rather than a loss (Pre-Caretaker Event of course but Post-Caretaker Event I think some sentiment of that would still be around)

I also headcanon that Ocampans have the same innate...like, abilities? Like, Ocampan babies don't need to be taught how to walk or talk. They begin to do those things on their own so parenthood is more about imparting wisdom and values onto them.

I think Kes would be surprised that so many other species have babies that take so long to get to a stage where they can be semi-autonomous and that parents had to do so much physical teaching of children. She's surprised they've lived so long!

Umm....Ocampans don't have periods because they only have one shot to have a baby and then that's it!

I think that Ocampans before the Caretaker event would have spent their lives after reaching one year old dedicated to the strengthening and control of their mental abilities. Like, physical learning is for children and mental learning is for adults.

Ocampans typically mate with one person for life (Kes is a REBEL!!!) and don't experience any "negativity" in that relationship (distrust, jealousy, envy, betrayal). That makes me wonder a lot about Ocampan relationships...!

I think they'd probably get together at one or two years old and spend the rest of their lives together but like...how do they not experience things like "distrust" or "envy" ? From what we see of Ocampans they seem to have the same emotional regulation as like, humans, though they do have a sort of 'higher-plane' energy going on...

I don't know if I'm explaining myself right but like, a Vulcan might (hypothetically) not experience "jealousy" because they have a telepathic bond to their spouse and also highly regulate their emotions. Do Ocampans have something similar? Are they taught it? I guess in their underground city maybe its so peaceful and commonplace that it's just consequently something you don't have the need for? Like a utopian society type thing.

Speaking of Kes I wish they'd leaned MUCH harder into her being an explorer or even a bit of an offbeat zealot. The Caretaker was basically celebrated as a God to the Ocampans and Kes went "Mmm....No :/" and went off on her own. That takes a lot of guts and belief! And I do NOT think she would be satisfied just staying in sickbay all day.

I also wish they'd played with her age more. I think there could have been at least an interesting B Plot where Kes resisted the human urge to treat her like a child. Or felt she didn't fit in with others humans put in her age group...or maybe humans in general? The two people we see her speaking with the most (aside from Neelix) are Tuvok and the Doctor. Tuvok is like 90-100 + Vulcan and the doctor is an ageless holobeing. I wonder, if she hung out with say B'Elanna/Tom/Harry, would she find them immature? boring? fun? What about Chakotay or Janeway?

Or an episode where she expressed resentment towards others for how long they got to live. A sort of "You can live for what to me is multiple generations and you waste your time doing this??"

I want her to be WEIRDER. Her soft, low voice...her immense power...her incredibly fast ability to learn...I think it would be fun if she WAS a very compassionate, kind person but also looked down on humans a bit which increases as her powers do. She's just written so blandly in the show - why?? She has interesting stuff to work with!

This is someone who was sheltered all her life underground, defied her apparent God to explore the world, got captured and tortured by the aliens above, and discovered that like...there's a whole UNIVERSE out there! I think she's portrayed as too even keel for that.

I actually have a lot of thoughts on my personal ideal Kes characterization but that's off topic (wasted potential fr) v_v so uhh yeah! That's it. Was any of that interesting?? I dunno~!

[delta-queerdrant]

pedagogy of the repressed (Learning Curve, s1 e16)

The kindest thing I can say about "Learning Curve" is that it wasn't meant to be a season finale. For better or worse, that honor was intended for "The 37s," with additional Season 2 episodes aired between. I find this episode so incoherent as a climax to the first season that I considered reviewing them in filming order, before rejecting the idea as deranged.

On the whole I really like Tuvok as a character. As the oldest officer on board, he brings experience and depth of memory to his interactions, and while his Vulcan persona is familiar and by-the-book, Tim Russ's performance makes it feel fully realized (with perhaps an edge of charm).

I guess making Tuvok a piece of shit authoritarian is part of the specificity of his character, even if flexing your power over your students isn't terribly logical. But by making his bad teaching methods representative of the Starfleet ethos, there's only one possible conclusion, and it's nothing the show wants to face: Starfleet sucks.

The episode begins with a brief Janeway holonovel scene. It is inane. Why would anyone want to LARP being a governess? The obnoxious children make their appearance, but soon the whole exercise is happily interrupted.

A cohort of underperforming former Maquis is assigned to "field training." Let's remember, these folks never consented to work on this ship; their only obligation is to Chakotay as their former captain. After they walk out of training (a labor action if I ever saw one), Tuvok's next move is the enforcement of the Starfleet dress code. I was MAD when Gerron has to remove his Bajoran earring - so much is made of Ro Laren's earring in TNG, but here it's a passing moment of forced cultural assimilation that goes unchecked.

The episode wholly accepts that the view that these Maquis crew are undisciplined, lazy, and just can't cope with the rigors of Starfleet service. That their lives are anarchic-in-a-bad-way is underscored by Chakotay throwing a punch to put Dalby in his place - that's "the Maquis way," apparently! To which I say, really? Listen, I don't know the first thing about guerrilla fighters, I'm sure things get colorful between weapons drills and political philosophy debates, but wouldn't a large, sustained insurgency have methods for self-organization that don't involve frequent acts of violence?

Tuvok's training devolves into an episode of "The Biggest Loser," characterized by tough love and long-distance jogging. When his approach fails, an apt metaphor from Neelix makes him realize that he needs to build a relationship with his students, but it's too late. Only a crisis in the last act, in which Tuvok bend the rules, causes the Maquis to realize that they're willing to change as well(??)

It's just the stupidest ending - Tuvok and his students never demonstrate an ability to work well together, and Starfleet methods are never vindicated. In fact, nothing has changed by the end of this episode, as Tuvok has already showcased an ability to break rules in "Prime Factors." The episode's failure, in my mind, speaks to the failure of the show as a whole to tackle the Maquis/Starfleet conflict. After all, to deliver on its own premise would mean to complicate its belief in Starfleet heroism, and this show is too damn conservative to attempt it.

The only saving grace of this one is the cheese subplot, which is actually a hoot. There is no scientific mystery too ridiculous for this show, and I think that's wonderful.

I laughed out loud: "To discuss the patient's condition in front of the patient would be a serious breach of professional etiquette. It's been suggested that I cultivate a greater sensitivity to my patient's needs. Don't worry, my little friend."

Like a fermentation gone wrong, this one stunk. 1.5/5 infected alien cheeses.