#synthehol

[startrekuniverse]

LOWER DECKS

4x08 Caves

[dat4l0re]

[mostly-natm]

Lore goes on a date! 1,017 casualties.

[gaykarstaagforever]

Paramount and Universal should still team up and stick it to Disney by doing a DS9-themed hotel experience.

Like, yeah, way more niche than Star Wars. But making it way cheaper and less fucked-up than the Star Wars Hotel would bring people in, even if they barely care about Trek.

The story would be that the Dominion thinks DS9 is a military base, so to disprove that, the Federation and Bajor have agreed to let tour groups from Earth visit for a weekend.

You hang out at Quark's and can play dabo and use the "holosuites," which are all VR-esque arcade games and little rides Everyone gets 10 bars of gold-pressed latinum to play with, and if you burn through it you have to play some kind of easy mini game to get 5 more (20 total limit, some exchange rate with cheaper latinum strips, and all the Federation-specific stuff is free). All food is comp'd, and it's all really tasty versions of nerd lore food (Alcohol is extra, but synthehol mocktails are also free.)

Occasionally the command crew comes through to hang out. At some point there's a Dominion attack that takes out Sisko and Co. and guests have to go onto the little bridge set and help fire photon torpedos at the Jem'Hadar.

Yes they would have to figure out how to do alien headgear that looks good and is easy to take on and off. But I assume someone who works in theme parks knows how to do that. Part of the dramatic battle show uses old skool magician trickery to make it look like Odo turns into a trained bird that flies across the space. You can buy little buckets of Changeling goo to play with afterwards.

[idiot-riker]

i think that if you were at starfleet academy and you'd been partying kind of hard but only drinking synthehol and one of your friends was like "check this out, tonight we're drinking real alcohol" that would be a surefire sign that you are about to obtain an injury

[ensignsimp]

Games: TNG Taurik x GN! Reader (One-Shot)

A/N: This is such a cute request I made it into a One-Shot.

Prompt: You teach Taurik to play different Earth games, tonight is one of great skill! (Takes place before TNG S7 EP15: Lower Decks)

It was your turn to pick the game for game night again. This had become your Friday Night tradition with your friends. One of you would pick a new game to play at the Ten Forward. Last week Sam brought Monopoly which ended badly. So it was put on the Banned Games List. Sito wanted to try to play a Table Top Role Playing Game but only you and Alyssa seemed interested. (That became your Saturday Night.)

You were digging around in your locker looking for something to do when your fingers gripped a little box. You pulled out the box and looked at it. It was the size of a deck of cards, red, with a black stripe across the front reading, "UNO".

"Perfect." You laughed, thinking of the looks on everyone's faces.

Later that day you joined your friends at the Ten Forward. You were met with a few casual waves by Sito and Sam, Alyssa was already sipping on a pink cocktail, while Taurik gave you a familiar nod.

"What have you got for us this time?" Sam asked "Can't be as bad as your last pick."

Alyssa playfully slapped Sam's shoulder.

"I figured after The Monopoly Incident, we could play something more fun." You said pulling out the deck of cards.

"A card game, how old are we?" Sam asked, "Next time you'll want to play poker with the Senior Officers."

"Are you afraid you will lose again like last time?" Taurik asked raising an eyebrow.

Taurik always found ways to defend your choice. You always did the same for him. He would usually pick strategy games that would take forever to finish because Sam would insist on playing until he beat him.

"No, let's play." Same said

After reading the rules, and dealing out the cards it wasn't long before a few rounds had passed. You had gone through three synthehol drinks before you were completely dizzy and unable to focus.

"Gin Rummy." You said throwing down your plus four card to Sam.

"You mean Uno." Sito giggled watching you sway slightly in your seat.

"Yeah, that." You laughed while Sam begrudgingly took four more cards to his massive stack.

You saw Alyssa get a big smile on her face before writing something down on a blank card and then passing it to Taurik. He looked back at her and then to you only to look back at her. You could feel her swinging her feet underneath the table. She was up to something. You watch as Taurik then pulls twenty-five cards out of the deck only for Sito to let out a snort when she sees the card Alyssa played.

"What's so funny?" You asked playfully narrowing your eyes at them.

"Nothing." Alyssa said innocently, "Just playing to win."

Sito drew a card from the now diminished deck. You looked down and noticed you also had to pull one as well.

"So much for your winning streak," Sam said laying down a card.

Alyssa played another card, "Color change blue."

Then suddenly Taurik was slapping down cards. Before you knew it he was completely empty-handed.

"I believe I have won yet again." He stated proudly.

You all let out a groan throwing your remaining cards in a pile.

"How does he do that?" Sito asked, taking a few sips of water.

"Every time." Sam banged his head on the table.

"I was so close." Alyssa sighed, "I was hoping that card would work."

"You tried your best." You consoled laughing "Let's face it, we're never going to beat him."

"Whatever, let's go again," Sam said but before he could gather up the cards Guinan walked over.

"Time for bed you guys." She said, "Almost everyone else has left."

"She's right, I don't think I could play another round." You said picking up the cards and putting them back in the box.

"You'll have to wait until next Friday, Ensign Lavelle," Taurik said rising to his feet.

Sam let out an annoyed groan, "I think I already know what I'm going to bring next time."

You chuckled and walked out of the bar with your friends. Just as you were about to split up to say good night Sito grabbed Alyssa and Sam's sleeves and called over her shoulder.

"Hey Alyssa why don't we help Sam feel better and grab a quick late-night snack at the Replicator, we'll see you guys later." She said before quickly pulling your other two friends away leaving you a Taurik alone.

You questioned why the sudden change in plans, "I better be heading back to my quarters. I have an early shift."

"Allow me to escort you while the Synthehol wears off," Taurik said, you noticed a light green tint to his cheeks and ears.

You nodded and started walking together. The two of you talked about the game. It wasn't until you were just outside of your quarters you decided to ask.

"What did that card say?" You raised an eyebrow feeling more sobber.

Taurik stood in front of you sheepishly. He folded his hands in front of you and the corners of his lips twitched slightly.

"It was of a personal nature that was illogical to share." He said looking down slightly.

"Oh, well, it is always logical to tell me." You said, your curiosity was burning.

"It may compromise a relationship with someone I hold in high regard." His face was turning a dark shade of green.

"Please, don't play with my curiosity." You said pulling on his arm, "Who is it?"

"(Y/N)," He said unfolding his hands and placing one over yours.

You were shocked this was the first time he'd ever called you by your first name. He looked deep into your eyes. His sweet umber eyes were filled with so much emotion, sadness, longing, and admiration.

"I declare koon-ut so'lik, my desire to be your mate." He shut his eyes tightly, and he gripped your hand as if he was afraid you'd slip away.

"You're not playing games with me are you?" You asked reaching your free hand up to caress his cheek.

"I would never play games with you like that, Tal-kam." He said releasing his grip slightly and leaning into your touch.

[101-android-luvr-010]

Are you not an alcoholic? Legally not allowed to drink? Going to a friend's party you weren't invited to and seeing they only have juice? Or a pregnant woman?

Perhaps this nonalcoholic drink called Synthehol, can help you not feel left out!

All you need is 1 1/2 cups of Blueberry Lemonade

1/2 cup of Pineapple juice

And one to 2 drops of blue food dye

Mix all together, garnish with a blueberry and ice. Enjoy!

[marziemoo]

women can never flirt normally its always like "are you happy? [that's not a question i get asked very often] ..oh but it should be" and "in my opinion you are the most valuable officer on this station" and asking for a swig of your synthehol right after you take a sip

[omgpurplefattie]

WIP Wednesday

From the next chapter of my MLC Star Trek AU, RV Lianhua Lou. At Qiao Wanmian's and Xiao Zijin's wedding aboard the USS Sentinel. Li Lianhua's pov.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

A young Vulcan stepped into the ring next, formally offering the challenge to unarmed combat. That would make Xiaobao happy.

"However, you could do me another very big favour," Xiao Zijin was saying. Li Lianhua looked at him. The man had quite obviously had real wine as well, not synthehol; he was listing. And oozing.

"Yes?"

"I know you are our guest, and I treasure your presence."

There were more 'sh' sounds in that sentence than there ought to be.

"But could you perhaps — hang back a little? So my bride won't see you? Even though she is quite grateful for your little contribution."

Far too many 'sh' sounds.

Fang Duobing, right there by the ring, finished his beer, then handed Wuyan to Yun Biqiu, of all people.

"Hold my cat," he said, took off his leather jacket, and stepped into the ring.

"Why that?" Li Lianhua said cluelessly, not looking at Xiao Zijin because he was watching Xiaobao answering Vulcan bows with Chinese ones.

"You wouldn't know," Xiao Zijin muttered, "but you bear an unfortshunate if shuperfishial shimilarity to our late, grsheat Captain, Li Xiangyi. She had known him vershy well; I would no want her to have to shtare at his ghosht on her wedding day…"

"Oh, I know," Li Lianhua said airily while Fang Duobing and the Vulcan were circling each other while make formal gestures of threat. Both traditions had them. "I get that a lot. Normally, the comparisons end with expressions like 'badly drawn caricature' and the like."

"Yesh, eggshacktly," Xiao Zijin said. "So you see, pleashe, why it would be unpleashant for her to have to look at you?"

Xiaobao did his little tiger's claw gesture. So cute, really. He had apparently loved tigers when he was a kid; never mind the Bruce Lee reference.

"Yes, absolutely, don't worry," Li Lianhua said. A robotic waiter tray drifted by with several bowls of peanuts; Li Lianhua grabbed one and threw a handful into his mouth.

"Grsheat," Xiao Zijin slurred; he clapped him on the back, then sloped off, listing.

Good thing Qiao Wanmian wasn't present, as far as Li Lianhua could tell. She would have second thoughts.

[windvexer]

inhuman alien: I bet you couldn't make art out of that

human: Hold my synthehol and watch this

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

I, K and Q for the ask game

ask game here :)

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

i try not to believe in guilty pleasures as a concept because i don't think that's a healthy frame of mind but i do like the fanservice-y 'two characters from completely different parts of canon meet and hang out' fics. it's just good silly fun.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

already answered here!

Q: Do you have any discarded scenes/storylines/projects?

ooh i found a cut scene from chapter two of we pick ourselves undone during their drinks & cards scene after meeting alone on La Sirena and before hooking up. i got about a page into it and then realized the pacing of this whole sequence wasn't great and i'm not the best at writing flirting to begin with so i took it out. (under the cut)

Seven was still having a hard time figuring out Raffi Musiker. She knew a bit from running a brief background check on all of La Sirena’s crew – born on Earth, graduated from the Academy in 2371, fast tracked into Starfleet Intelligence, Picard’s XO during the Romulan relocation, dishonorably discharged, and had a few minor criminal charges still on the books. Seven had met the type before – ex Starfleet who hates the establishment and thinks they’d make a better vigilante. They stopped on Fenris frequently and never managed to stay long.    But Raffi didn’t seem like the person her file suggested.    For one, she didn’t carry the same gritty cynicism that most ex Starfleet people seemed to project and ultimately fail to live up to. And for another, Raffi seemed to actually like her. First Soji, then Elnor, and now Raffi… Seven had never been quite sure how to handle positive attention and dealing with it three times in as many days was more than a little baffling.    Maybe because of that, she wasn’t quite ready to trust Raffi. Soji had nothing to hide from her, Elnor couldn’t hide his intentions if someone paid him 50 bars of latinum, but Raffi? She was a spy, worked with Romulans, and dealt in conspiracy theories. Everything about her past seemed to be a red flag for people like Seven.   But her recent conversation with Elnor was still more than present in her mind. Relying on friends, not pushing them away, living a life again. Maybe Seven needed a casual evening with someone who didn’t have the baggage of the past.   So Seven walked over to the replicator that she had only just repaired an hour ago and ordered a whiskey. “What are you having?”   Raffi hesitated momentarily, just long enough for Seven to notice. “Whatever you’re having.”   Seven grabbed another glass and sat down at one of tables at the center of La Sirena’s main cabin and took a sip of her drink. She remembered back when even just a few sips of alcohol would have her head spinning, apparently something in synthehol reacted badly with her implants, but she had built up a tolerance long ago when she learned how well it took the edge off unpleasant memories.   She handed the other glass off to Raffi who had somehow already procured a deck of cards. “Do you always travel with cards?”   “I think I was being overly hopeful that I would find someone to play with back in Synthville.” She heard the tinge of bitterness all too well.   “So why’d you come out here then?”   Raffi shrugged, “Thought I’d check on the ship. See if I could get main power back on but I guess you already took care of that.”   “What happened to Rios not liking people messing with his ship?”   Raffi smiled, “Yeah but annoying Rios is one of my favorite hobbies.” She started shuffling the deck.   “You know each other well?”   “Well enough but I think we’ve both been a bit antisocial the past few years.” Seven got the impression that a few years was a an understatement. Not that she was one to judge on that front.   Seven raised her drink, “A familiar tale.” Maybe she and Raffi had more in common than she thought.   “Welcome to the ship of antisocial runaways.” Raffi paused her shuffling and raised her glass in response. Her smile really did make her face light up. “So what are we playing?”   Seven had learned enough card games in her time as a Ranger as it was unexpectedly useful when it came to gathering intel. Not that she understood why so many in the criminal underground were willing to part with information based on a game of luck but it seemed to turn out in her favor. Though tonight with Raffi’s 52 card Earth deck, Seven thought of a game that Tom Paris once taught her, “Texas Hold’em.”   “Sure thing. Got any poker chips? My pockets aren’t limitless, y’know.”   “I have some isolinear chips,” Seven said, digging some burnt out computer chips formerly belonging to La Sirena out of her pockets.   Raffi laughed, “Ah the engineer’s poker chips. Perfect.” And she started dealing out the cards. “So what have you been up to since the battle with the Romulans and everything?”

[1-7776]

does synthehol get u drunk or is it just like an ultimate mocktail that actually tastes real

[mythcreantsblog]

Star Trek is well known for making us ask the big questions. How will we recognize other life when we find it? What are the fundamental rights of humanity? Can synthehol get you drunk or not? Seriously, it seems to change every other episode. 

[karmaphone]

considering the implications of replicators as standard equipment in Star Trek is wild. they regularly order caffeine n shit so drugs are fine BUT you can only order synthehol - which gets you drunk but not Drunk. you gotta Know Someone who has access to The Real Stuff if you wanna get Fucked Up. do you think their weed isn't capable of getting you Wizard High. do you think Antifederation Weed Guy is a thriving business

[subrosa03]

Love how in most treks humans are all “we’re above the intoxicating effects of alcohol now, we only drink synthehol” and then in Enterprise they’re like “Having a bad day? Let’s down some whisky that Zefram Cochrane gave my dad.”

[thegeminisage]

it IS tng update time. saturday we watched "relics" and "schisms" and last night* we did "true q" and "rascals."

*times altered bc as usual im typing this up late at night

relics:

oh boy. ohhh my god

so like, i'd like to preface this with: i am not a scotty stan or anything. don't get me wrong i love the guy and i'm fascinated by the way he tricked me into thinking he had all ten fingers. like he's v fun and all. but im not like Extremely Emotionally Invested In Scotty. all right. that said

I CRIED. LIKE A BABY. no one was more shocked than i was. actually i'm sure catherine was not shocked at all

i didn't cry when he first showed up which is what i suaully do when i see spock. no, no, no, no. it was when he went to the holodeck and created the fucking BRIDGE OF THE ENTERPRISE. and they played the main theme!!! the sound effects were even the same!!!!!!! and like all his friends are dead now except spock and bones and bones frankly has one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel!!!!!!!! I'VE NEVER BEEN SO UPSET IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

chronologically, this is also the last time we'll ever see a tos cast member coming back to reprise their role except for aos spock and um. an appearance which i do not wish to discuss now or ever. anyway it's definitely the last time in tng proper. and like yeah we have aos and snw and everything but those guys arent the OGs. AUGH.

also wah him saying the doctors are prettier on this enterprise. thats SO MEAN TO BONES………………….i miss him so bad and he's WAY prettier than beverly sorry beverly

i definitely wanted to kill geordi for yelling at scotty when he tried to tell his old man stories. im glad they hung out for the rest of the episode and that geordi treated him really niceys but it still felt a teensy bit patronizing of him at first like he was just doing it because picard told him to make scotty feel useful

THAT SAID. for once, i am pro picard, because picard is a giant nerd and he wanted to listen to scotty's old man stories as much as i did. not that i got to enjoy them while being blinded by tears. i'm actually genuinely tearing up right now while typing this just thinking about it. i think it was genuinely compassionate for picard to want to give scotty something he could genuinely help with in a way that WASN'T patronizing. like old people are just regular people you know. we all get old one day if we're lucky

spotted scotty's missing finger twice, which is two more times than i spotted it in my original watch of tos.

he remembered how to hide the missing finger (mostly) but forgot how to do his fake scottish accent. in his defense it's been ages and he was old but it was still funny

synthehol is wack. it's just another way in which there's no work-life boundary in tng. you're always on call, so you can never get drunk. you will NEVER have personal time aboard this ship. they can call you in your son's parent-teacher meeting. they can call you during birthday parties. you cannot raise your children here. but they do. anyway.

IT'S GREEN!!! i remember seeing a gifset of data floating around saying that to somebody, and then later i saw a gifset of scotty saying it in tos, but i didn't realize data was talking TO SOCTTY i thought it was just a reference!!!!!!! there were actually sooo many tos references in this episode, i was so pleased to hav caught them all <3

looooooved the dyson sphere. that was genuinely so fucking fascinating and it was the b plot!!!!! why can't it be the a plot!!!! it was so cool looking

i thot for a sec they were gonna kill scotty at the end and got REALLY worried but they didn't and he decided not to retire after all and good for him <3

anyway. that cry felt like a full-body workout. horrific.

schisms:

OFF GOES RIKER TO THE COFFEE SHOP

i waited so long to see the episode that gifset is from and it did NOT disappoint

my one sour note re: this ep was the beginning with data's poetry. can we please be nice to him and not loudly fall asleep in the front row. i know the circumstances are highly extenuating. i of all people understand sleep deprivation, which i am currently experiencing even as i type. but that was just rude!!! could he not have simply explained he was unwell and unable to attend!!!!!!! the crowd being restless was terrible. if you simply tell him that he has to have a limit on his poems he would understand. i'm glad geordi was an honest critic when data asked later but i would have liked to see data's results after incorporating his feedback. ok anyway

firstly, i loved when a little guy is sleep deprived. it was great when sam winchester did it and also great when riker does it

SECONDLY, that whole sequence with the table was fucking insane. everything getting darker and darker both literally and metaphorically and deanna starting to look uneasy near the end and riker's eyes being ABSOLUTELY HAUNTED and that table was basically like a chair, anyway

when they were like "yeah the aliens cut off your arm and reattached it" READER I HOLLERED. you can't just put a guy on a chair and tear his arm off and then make him forget stuff. please. it's been nearly 10 years.

when he's like theyre gonna take me again whether i want them to or not. yeah man they sure are. this isn't quite riker roulette but it is definitely adjacent

i think the best cure for insomnia is to be absolutely terrified of going to bed because you're still in uniform and have a tracking device on you because you are about to get abducted by fucking aliens. who could resist sleep after that.

i did wonder why he laid on the table so long before attempting his escape when time was precious but i doubt i could have done any better in his shoes. i sure did love the way that knife thing hung right above his neck though. i'm pretty sure we spent that entire scene hollering DISMEMBER HIM. TRAUMATIZE HIM!! and then they didn't <3 but i'm not even mad about it

anyway. 10/10 episode they need more space horror in star trek bc it's always fun. i remember reading that tos was originally meant to be space horror-y, but i found the pacing of those earliest episodes waaaay too slow. i want a star trek show with more dismemberment though.

true q:

mistakenly thot this episode was named qpid (got it mixed up) and was hoping for more of q wanting to fuck picard to so bad it makes him look stupid but all we got was one little arm around his shoulder. which was REALLLY funny because picard instantly made a face like he'd eaten sour lemon but we deserved more. to reiterate i do NOT want them to fuck i think the dynamic of q wanting to fuck and picard preferring to die first is the funniest possible set of circumstances

instead, q constantly displays predatory body language towards this EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL. he leans really close to her and whispers in her ear and all that stuff and i did Not like it

i kept waiting for this girl to secretly be his child, or for her parents to have once been friends with him, but they literally were just randos to each other. disappointing, especially after he vanished while she was having her emotional moment on seeing their faces

where do the puppies go when she vanishes them? do they cease to exist?? did she just kill 12 puppies on screen???? too horrible to contemplate. i wish i could make kittens out of thin air though. actually that would be a terrible power the world is overpopulated with kittens as it is but STILL.

i want to know more about the weather altering net. we could have an entire episode about that alone. you just...got rid of tornadoes? and forest fires? did you fix climate change??

riker almost being killed by an empty barrel sent me into fits. they didn't strap them down after what happened to worf? this spaceship gets jostled horrifically EVERY EPISODE. what are they thinking!!!!!!!!!

RIKER ROULETTE STRIKES AGAIN. her bringing him to the alternate dimension and trying to lay on the moves was bad enough but using her powers to MAKE HIM START KISSING HER? HELLO???? i'm still mad they wrote an episode about rape and just used it for deanna fetish fuel instead of actually discussing what this poor guy goes through. why is it somehow ok/not noteworthy when it's men. come on now

it was kind of silly to have this girl go "no way im a human forever" and then immediately solve climate change on this other planet because her lil crush (/VICTIM???) was down there. like that was so rushed and weird

ultimately not a very good episode. i only like one thing about q and they did NOT deliver. he was also a misogynist to beverly once...like, die

rascals:

this got a 1 on letswatchstartrek.com and i simply disagree. i would have given it a 2 or mmmaybe 3. well no probably a 2 but STILL. first of all, tng's children are ALWAYS charming, and these guys were no exception, save possibly the kid who was playing picard, who was fine until the tantrum scene/riker's son bit, at which point i wanted to die

i never want to hear riker say daddy again.

i HAAAATE the ferengi theyre racist theyre misogynist i HATE THEM.

i felt like there was a missed opportunity with obrien and keiko to have him be cool about it, instead of awkward like everyone else. like i obviously dont think they should be canoodling or anything, gross, but there's nothing wrong with a little platonic compassion. he got there in the end ig but idk it would've made a nice contrast

how old is their fucking baby??? i just looked it up and she was born at the beginning of season 5...her ass is NOT old enough to be talking yet let alone full complete clear sentences??????

anyway speaking of compassion............GUINAN AND RO

i actually unironically loved ro's little arc here. anyone who had a shitty childhood will tell you they'd cut off their arm before going back, but she had to go back anyway, and guinan neither pitied her nor minimized anything she'd gone through. instead she got to occupy that space in a totally harmless way and receive a little closure. while the rest of this episode was okay-ish to maybe less than okayish (i NEVER want to hear riker say daddy EVER again) ro's little bit was so so so good.

re: ro...i love that we don't constantly bring her past and situation up as if it's the only thing about her but nor do we shy away from it and how it's shaped her and the narrative has never once suggested she's too harsh or too angry or whatever. of course with a season and a half left there's still time to ruin it but so far her whole thing has been one of the very few instances where tng is doing everything wonderfully.

NEXT TIME: "a fistful of datas" (noooo it's a holodeck episode) and "the quality of life."