#unification ii

[arabella-strange]

just an average day and then I remember that William Shatner pressed to produce a no-dialogue short film revisiting the major moments in the life of Jim Kirk – with CGI young Kirks, approval from Paramount and ST and the Nimoy estate, Michael Giacchino score, named after a TNG episode about Spock, on and on – purely so he could have it culminate in older Kirk sitting before a sunset and holding older Spock's hand together in wordless peace, together, and then all oxygen leaves my body and I am deceasèd

[ostensiblyarticulate]

Out here rewatching Unification II and the sheer audacity of making a Spock & Picard episode with a daddy issues subplot and then casting Picard as daddy is genuinely fucking wild

[schn-tgai-saavik]

This moment from TNG in the context that Spock melded not once but TWICE with Saavik in the Pandora Principle-

Talk about breaking the cycle with how your parents raised you

[sshbpodcast]

I’ll Spock the world and meld with you, Pt 2

By Ames

Last week, we probed our minds to recall all the times we saw mind melds in The Original Series, and we’re pretty sure we left our katras lying around somewhere. So the A Star to Steer Her By hosts are back this week to touch more temples, to make lots of O faces, and to see how the mind meld scenes from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager compare to Spock’s original concepts.

It’s going to be a much shorter list than last week since two of these shows didn’t have a resident Vulcan on the roster, and Tuvok in Voyager didn’t get his touch on nearly as often as the OC Vulcan. So prepare your mind as we get ready to play detective at least as well as Tuvok so frequently does. Follow along with the list below and listen to our telepathic banter on this week’s episode of the podcast (jump to timestamp 49:12). Fascinating.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

“Sarek” TNG makes use of mind meld scenes a couple of times when Vulcans are visiting the crew, and it’s always methodically used and poignant. Perhaps the best example comes in “Sarek” when the titular character needs to meld with Picard in order to stabilize his Bendii syndrome–laden brain and do his ambassadorial job. And the scene gives us some of the best acting we’ve seen on the show to date. Using the linking of minds to really explore what it means to be a Vulcan, suppressing emotion but experiencing it nonetheless, is powerful stuff.

“Unification II” Later, we get kind of a culmination of that meld between Sarek and Picard when Spock also melds with the Enterprise-D captain. He knows Jean-Luc holds the memories and insights of his just-passed father, and this is a truly sweet way for our favorite Vulcan-Human hybrid to perceive how his dad really felt about him. Sarek is a terrible dad, we’ve established this many times, but somewhere under his Vulcan demeanor, he does care about his son, and the pleased look on Picard’s face when he shares this with Spock says it all.

“The Maquis, Part II” Just the one mind meld scene in Deep Space Nine, and that’s when that Maquis member Sakonna attempts to forcibly pry information from Dukat. We established last week when Spock mind melded with Valeris that the mind meld can be weaponized, which is fairly horrifying. These Vulcans are way too overpowered. But Dukat has prepared for just this scenario and his mental fortitude is no match for this Vulcan interrogator. Even if Gul Dukat is a bad man, you’ve got to find some triumph in him fighting off a nonconsensual meld.

“Ex Post Facto” The rest of these are all going to be Tuvok moments from Voyager, but we promise the list is barely half as long as all the Spock moments from last week. Interestingly, Tuvok uses melds a ton when he’s in his role as ship detective, I mean, security chief. Melding is the perfect tool for determining the truth in a situation, and Tuvok does just that when he melds with Paris as part of his murder investigation. He gets Tom off the hook and saves him from the Baneans’ weird disciplinary action and their little dog too!

“Meld” If you’ve been following this space for a little while now, you’ll know that Lon Suder is among my favorite minor characters. The mind of a psychopath is just so interesting; why else would there be so many podcasts about them? Tuvok also finds Suder’s mind compelling and can’t help himself when he wants to determine his real motives for murdering Darwin. The rest of the episode, we’re treated to some extraordinary Tuvok acting as his logical mind can’t handle the chaos in the thoughts of a madman. What a ride.

“Flashback” Is it a little weird that Tuvok melds with Janeway of all people in order to plumb his mind when he starts experiencing unsettling visions? Yeah, a little. Some could argue that maybe he should have melded with Kes or with another Vulcan on the ship (this was before we knew anything about Vorik, mind you) instead of putting the captain in danger of losing her mind as well. But their relationship is nice and the scenes of them putting together the pieces of what happened back on the Excelsior make for a cute little riddle.

“Warlord” If we were lamenting not seeing Tuvok mind meld with Kes in “Flashback,” then we can feel appeased that we see them meld in “Warlord.” Kes is being possessed by that tyrant Tieran, and Tuvok sneaks in his consciousness long enough to see that the Ocampan is still in there, fighting back as hard as she can. It’s a nice moment between the two since we already know that they have bonded over their telepathic powers and Tuvok has taken her under his wing as her mentor.

“The Gift” All that makes the final appearance of Kes (we’re not counting “Fury”) that much more tragic. In “The Gift,” Kes’s mental powers are spinning out of control and it’s only a matter of time before she blows. There’s a quick moment when Kes is phasing wildly in and out of corporeality and Tuvok fights through with a mind meld to stabilize her just long enough to get to the end of the episode. Vulcans don’t show it a lot, but it’s clear that Kes means a lot to Tuvok and he grieves in his own way when she leaves the ship/show.

“Random Thoughts” Detective Tuvok is best Tuvok. Like he did with Tom in “Ex Post Facto,” he melds with Torres to understand what really happened when she spread her violent thoughts in “Random Thoughts.” He learns enough from her experience to distrust that guy Guill, who was bogarting her feelings of rage for his own disgusting use. But Tuvok is on the case!

So when our Vulcan investigator weasels his way into Guill’s company and learns he’s dealing in disturbing memories on the black market, it’s the perfect time to whip out the mind meld! This jerk Guill is really asking for it, so Tuvok shares so many disturbing memories with the guy that the Mari merchant will be lucky if he’s not catatonic for the rest of his life. It’s one of the more squicky uses of a mind meld, like the ones from The Undiscovered Country and DS9’s “The Maquis,” and they couldn’t have picked a more deserving victim.

“Infinite Regress” Arguably, Tuvok mind melds with the most beings at once when he melds with Seven in “Infinite Regress.” It’s like melding with dozens (if not hundreds? Thousands?) of personalities at once because Seven is inhabited by all the individuals whom she’s assimilated into the Borg. And what a trippy LSD trip of a scene. We do admit: it does go on for way too long. The camera trickery and lighting makes it look like Tuvok wandering through a claustrophobic rave to find Seven amidst the masses, something only a skilled Vulcan can stomach.

“Gravity” Okay, this one’s really sweet. When Noss falls in love with a reluctant Tuvok, all he can really do is tell her he’s not interested, and he’s got a wife to get home to, and why can’t you fall for Tom like everyone else? But this hardened Vulcan is quite the softy on the inside. At the end of the episode, he mind melds with her so that she can see in his mind how he thinks about her. There’s some real vulnerability and openness about the experience, and you can tell that he cherishes their time together in his own Tuvoky way.

“Unimatrix Zero” Most of the Tuvok mind melds have used the Vulcan superpower as a way to get to the insight needed in a scene for the episode to progress. Its lie-detector capability is long established, after all. So it feels like we’re getting back to the campy roots of the thing in “Unimatrix Zero” when we get yet another magical element layered on top of it. Tuvok essentially sets up a mental conference call between Seven and Janeway so they both can enter the Borg paradise. But not Tuvok for some reason? It’s hilariously inconsistent here.

“Repression” One final use of Detective Tuvok on this list, but in this instance it’s not that Tuvok is using his meld to investigate some kind of crime. The meld was the crime in the first place! It turns out Tuvok is investigating himself! The poor guy is being mind controlled by some Bajoran whacko a whole quadrant away, and he ends up forcibly mind melding a bunch of former Maquis members into comas. That’s right, it’s mind-meld-as-a-weapon time yet again, and this one is truly bizarre.

“Workforce” Finally, we make it to Quarra, our final use of the Vulcan mind meld in Voyager. The whole crew has been brainwashed into happily working 9-to-5 jobs, but Tuvok, being a Vulcan, comes out of his brain fog more quickly than anyone else. He comes to understand the situation enough to know that an even better superpower than mind melds is Borg nanotechnology, so he mind melds with the brainwashed Seven so that she can eventually save the day.

—

So what conclusions can we draw between Spock and Tuvok’s uses of the mind meld? Well, the Vulcan technique is still definitely so overpowered as to be laughable when it can get you out of nearly every problem, but Tuvok’s melds mostly seem to be in service to his role as Security Chief, so they seem remarkably more consistent. How about next week then, when we have more mind melds to compare? Keep following us here to detect our thoughts, catch up on the podcast over on SoundCloud (or wherever you podcast), touch our minds over on Facebook and BlueSky, and don’t mind meld within two hours of eating.

[spocks-husband]

This specific interaction from Unification II in TNG has me BAWLING

I can't do this anymore bro

[eleftherian]

not worf requesting klingon opera at the dive bar 😭😭😭

[talk-nerdy-to-me-thyla]

ok so im obsessed now, and ive learned a little bit more about the Roddenberry Archive, the project responsible for Star Trek Unification.

This goes a LOT further than just the one short film. Rod Roddenbery is heading "a multi-decade collaboration to preserve Gene Roddenberry’s lifetime of work for future generations to experience in next generation media formats."

Basically they're digging deep into concept work for star trek phase II, Star Trek: Planet of the Titans, the motion picture novelization, and the Cage. Mostly with a goal an preservation and recreation? its a lot of meticulous 3d models and renders. They want to make physical sets for everything. They're really heavily into the cage pilot, which is why THIS girl with the pony tail keeps showing up. her name is J.M. Colt

they are apparently developing a Roddenberry Archive Interactive Exhibit (WHICH I GOTTA ATTEND SO BAD) based off the Cage. theyre implementing "new holographic mediums for future generations to experience Gene Roddenberry’s legacy with the highest levels of immersion and historical fidelity." which sounds BANANAS. It's a fully immersive, interactive 360-degree experience where you can just WALK around the cage enterprise. You can use the turbolift to go to different levels, flip through Spock’s presentation of Talos IV in the briefing room, go through all of pikes stuff in his room. AND YOU LEAVE. BY BEAMING OUT.

I WANA GO SO BAD

Also bonus:

They got a little Animated series Arex!! Look at him!!! My boy!!

feel free to correct me if im wrong or add stuff! All of what i know is from like 2022 lol

X

X

[spockcock]

Spirk edit made for me by my partner who has never seen Star Trek, when should I propose?

[thenervousest]

the vulcans and romulans of ni’var talking about spock like a new version of surak (“the teachings of spock”) implies that kirk/spock could be the 32nd century equivalent of jesus/judas

[satoshi-mochida]

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars adds PS5 and Xbox Series versions, launches March 6, 2025 - Gematsu

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam on March 6, 2025, Konami announced. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions are newly announced.

Digital pre-orders are available now for all platforms except Switch, which will begin pre-orders on September 6. Physical edition pre-orders will begin on August 28.

The following downloadable content is included with pre-orders for the digital edition:

57,300 potch – In-game currency

Fortune Orb – Doubles the experience gained by the character that bears it.

Prosperity Orb – Doubles the “potch” gained when winning a battle with the character that bears it.

Here is an overview of the collection, via Konami:

About

A hero’s destiny is written in the Stars. The legendary Konami JRPGs Suikoden I and Suikoden II have now been remastered in high-definition!

The Story of Suikoden I

A once renowned hero turns into a violent tyrant, and an empire falls into decline. A Liberation Army is rising up in an act of rebellion against an oppressive rule. One by one the 108 stars of Destiny gather to shape the course of history.

The Story of Suikoden II

Our story’s hero and his friend Jowy are members of the Unicorn Youth Brigade, which participated in a drawn-out border dispute between the Highland Kingdom and the City-States of Jowstown. A few months earlier, a truth agreement was signed between the two forces, both of which were happy to see an end to the fighting. However, hidden under the momentary peace the fires of a new war continued to smolder…

Key Features

-Graphical Improvements

Pixel sprites and environment art enhanced with new screen effects including lighting, clouds, and shadow animations Flickering flames, smoldering smoke, the movement of leaves and insects, all add up to a lively in-game atmosphere!

The effects and direction have been redesigned, bringing memorable scenes back to life in more beautiful ways!

-New Character Drawings

All character portraits have been updated in HD. Junko Kawano, who designed the characters for the original version of Suikoden released in 1995, has newly re-drawn all the character portraits for Suikoden I HD Remaster: Gate Rune War.

-Sound Improvements

Field Sound – A large number of environmental sounds not found in the original version, such as the sound of running water in the river, wind, insects, and running footsteps, have been added. You can enjoy an immersive experience like never before!

Battle Sound – All sound effects are now in HD. In addition to the impact of the 3D effects, the realistic sound greatly enhances the dynamism of the battles!

-Game System Improvements

Many new features have been added, such as dialogue log, auto-battle, double-speed battles, etc.

Watch a new trailer below.

Release Date Trailer

English

Japanese

[magicmalcolm]

Okay, they did not have to make Milich's house obviously visible on the world map sprite for Gregminster, but they did and I appreciate the detail.

[demifiendrsa]

Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars | Release Date Trailer

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on March 6, 2025.

Digital pre-orders are available now for all platforms except Switch, which will begin pre-orders on September 6. Physical edition pre-orders will begin on August 28.

The following downloadable content is included with pre-orders for the digital edition:

57,300 potch – In-game currency

Fortune Orb – Doubles the experience gained by the character that bears it.

Prosperity Orb – Doubles the “potch” gained when winning a battle with the character that bears it.

Overview

About

A hero’s destiny is written in the Stars.

The legendary Konami JRPGs Suikoden I and Suikoden II have now been remastered in high-definition!

The Story of Suikoden I

A once renowned hero turns into a violent tyrant, and an empire falls into decline.

A Liberation Army is rising up in an act of rebellion against an oppressive rule.

One by one the 108 stars of Destiny gather to shape the course of history.

The Story of Suikoden II

Our story’s hero and his friend Jowy are members of the Unicorn Youth Brigade, which participated in a drawn-out border dispute between the Highland Kingdom and the City-States of Jowstown.

A few months earlier, a truth agreement was signed between the two forces, both of which were happy to see an end to the fighting.

However, hidden under the momentary peace the fires of a new war continued to smolder…

Key Features

Graphical Improvements

Pixel sprites and environment art enhanced with new screen effects including lighting, clouds, and shadow animations Flickering flames, smoldering smoke, the movement of leaves and insects, all add up to a lively in-game atmosphere!

The effects and direction have been redesigned, bringing memorable scenes back to life in more beautiful ways!

New Character Drawings

All character portraits have been updated in HD. Junko Kawano, who designed the characters for the original version of Suikoden released in 1995, has newly re-drawn all the character portraits for Suikoden I HD Remaster: Gate Rune War.

Sound Improvements

Field Sound – A large number of environmental sounds not found in the original version, such as the sound of running water in the river, wind, insects, and running footsteps, have been added. You can enjoy an immersive experience like never before!

Battle Sound – All sound effects are now in HD. In addition to the impact of the 3D effects, the realistic sound greatly enhances the dynamism of the battles!

Game System Improvements

Many new features have been added, such as dialogue log, auto-battle, double-speed battles, etc.

[legolasvegas]

Disappointed that there are zero pirek fics on ao3, but also I’m at a loss to what that fic would look like when there are 3 episodes to go on. I’ve written for rare pairs before but idk what to do. I want it to exist!

[schn-tgai-saavik]

Lipsticks I think Saavik could have been wearing in her appearances

The Wrath of Khan: 535 Rhum raisin by Revlon

The Search for Spock: 420 Blushed by Revlon

765874 Unification: 027 Violet Frenzy by Revlon

Ok they are all Revlons but hey its not sponsored it was just easier to find ref images

[vordenburg]

When years later in my large-scale Star Trek: Strange New Worlds AU Ambassador Spock and Praetor Sera unify Vulcan and Romulus after forging a new lasting alliance and peace with Admiral La’an of the rebuilt United Federation of Planets, I will know peace.

[twohitgames]

Konami Press Start: todos los anuncios y tráilers

KONAMI ha revelado más detalles sobre sus próximos títulos durante la transmisión del Konami Press Start. Para Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater se presentó Fox Hunt, un nuevo modo multijugador en línea. También se mostró un diario de desarrollo de Silent Hill f ​​y un adelanto de un esperado remake de Silent Hill, actualmente en desarrollo, ofreciendo a los espectadores un emocionante primer…