#andorian language

[indignantlemur]

Hi! I saw all your headcanon stuff on Andorians and since I have a mass of files around the Aenar, I wondered if you knew anything about Andorii? Is there a conlang out there already that you know of? I made one after lazily looking at the barebones wiki- but it is based on the Aenar Conlang I made :)) if you'd like the notes? if Andorii already exists please lmk! Also, love the headcanon ideas- they're amazing!!

Hello! I've been enjoying reading through some of your Aenar headcanons and lore!

With the bare bones of what's available in canon, and even the dubious canon, we know that Andorii consists of extended vowels and a mix of hard and soft consonants. Double vowels - aa, ii, ee, oo - are often either followed or preceded by hard consonants, though rarely both. I've also noted that, rather like Norwegian, they have emphasis on the first and third syllables more often than not, but they occasionally switch that up. The Andorian opera featured in Discovery, for example, while not actually meant to have proper words or a translation, follows these rule at least somewhat, but seems to change where the emphasis on syllables lies. I've been implementing bits and pieces of all of this into Emigre and my headcanons.

The closest I've been able to find to an actual conlang is from a defunct site which records an a priori conlang constructed by Spence Hill back in the 1990s. For the most part, I've spent as much time referencing that as I have inventing words and terminology myself, and I've been keeping the conjugations and tenses very simple for ease of use. I don't rely entirely on Mr. Hill's work, and I draw from multiple sources, but I will say his is the backbone of my own work.

Here's the Grammatical sketch of the Andorian language by Spence Hill and the dictionary he created for your own uses, if you like. The dictionary is not as extensive and comprehensive as I would like, personally, but it gives a solid foundation for creating compound words as needed and the overview of grammar is quite comprehensive. He also has a written script, thought it does not particularly resemble canon Andorii as seen in ENT, or depictions of Graalen found in some of the RPG sourcebooks. I also have a list of words and terms I've created, but some of them are a wee bit spoilery for Emigre.

At some point, I would like to sit down and actually make a dedicated conlang of my own for Andorians, but I'm not fully confident in my ability to do so properly without further education and research.

I'd love to chat sometime about our headcanons, if you ever feel like it! <3

[indignantlemur]

Alright, it appears I've been summoned! I've actually answered something kinda like this before, so I'm gonna rehash it a little. Some context for the folks who don't know me: I write about Andorians. A lot. I take the fragmented, sloppy lore and do my best to make it make sense from a narrative and scientific perspective, while creating the largely absent culture from scratch and inventing everything from food to traditions, religion, fashion, body language, biology, political and social structures, wildlife, etc.

Since this question is for generic information, I'll be keeping my writing specific info/headcanons out of it.

With the bare bones of what's available in canon, and even the dubious canon, we know that Andorii largely consists of extended vowels and a mix of hard and soft consonants. Double vowels - aa, ii, ee, oo - are quite comment, which I've generally interpreted as an elongated vowel sound in each case, rather than a double vowel with a glottal stop in the middle, which would be indicated with a break in the form of an apostrophe, as with Va'Al Trask's name (SNW: Under the Cloak of War). Soft consonants are often paired with soft or hard consonants in the same word, often framing the vowel sounds, but I don't think I've seen as many cases of hard vowels being paired together. Then again, we hardly have a complete lexicon to be working with.

I've also noted that, rather like Norwegian, there seems to be an emphasis on the first and third syllables more often than not, but that's not set in stone and may just be down to my own biases. The Andorian opera featured in Discovery, for example, while not actually meant to have proper words or a translation (which is just so lazy), follows these rules for the most part, but it's not a perfect match by any means.

The closest I've been able to find to an actual conlang is from a defunct site which records an a priori conlang constructed by Spence Hill back in the 1990s. He did amazing work, and I really can't recommend reviewing it enough.

Here's the Grammatical sketch of the Andorian language by Spence Hill and the dictionary he created.

The dictionary is not as extensive and comprehensive as I would like, personally, but it gives a solid foundation for creating compound words as needed and the overview of grammar is quite comprehensive. He also created his own version of a written script, thought it does not particularly resemble canon Andorii as seen in ENT, or depictions of Graalen found in some of the RPG sourcebooks. Graalen seems to involve simpler, distinct symbols rather than an interconnected flow ending in a flourish that Andorii features. I've always wondered if Graalen is a more primitive form of writing, or a kind of short-hand - but, of course, we'll never know at this rate.

Hopefully, this is helpful!

Hi Star Trek fans and nerds! Do we know what the Andorian language sounds like? Do you have a headcanon for it? I would love to know all of your opinions and ideas!

[laney-rockin]

At some point y'all, Star Trek needs to do a time travel episode where they time travel to like Vulcan 2023 and the human on the ship is given Hot Topic elf ears in an attempt to blend in.

[doyouwanttoseeabug]

Star Trek crew but they're all different species hear me out:

Jim - Jim has to remain human. He's the humanist human around, and also there is infinite comedy in the idea of a bunch of other species making exhausted eye contact whenever he pulls his bullshit.

Spock remains Vulcan obviously.

I initially thought Tellarite Bones BUT I think Andorian Bones fits better. Adding an extra-spicy layer to his Thing with Spock if their grandparents were literally shooting at each other. Every time Jim is Extremely Jim, Bones pulls out the ushaan-tor with a Dammit Jim I'm a doctor not a duellist but DON'T TEMPT ME

Romulan Uhura. No listen, trust me on this. Escaping from the Romulan empire because her love of languages leads her to a love of other cultures and a fiercely anti-imperialist anti-hegemonic stance. Her poise and calm comes from a lifetime of lying to the Tal Shiar, who were aggressively trying to recruit her before she joined Starfleet. How did she become an expert in diplomacy? Well her favourite childhood hobby was not getting dissapeared by the state so the rest came naturally.

Klingon Rand was revealed to me in a dream.

SCOTTY is the Tellarite. Jim rings down to engineering all meek like "hello Scotty can you tell me why the "ship is about to explode" light is flashing" and Scotty's like your mother was a leper and your father was a clown. Yeah the engines are fucked.

Chekov is Orion for The Angst TM

I know I KNOW that the Federation hadn't made contact with the Cardassians in TOS but Cardassian Sulu. He's so nice and smiley and polite :) and he's just saying Captain that if you want anyone poisoned I might know a guy :) the guy is me, Captain :)

I really wanted a Ferengi on here but no one fits so. Ferengi Chapel I guess. She's actually incredibly nice and way more professional than Bones but occasionally there's a gleam in her eyes and you just know she's thinking Oh, if I wanted to, I could rip these suckers off.

[sleepymccoy]

Universal translator headcanons:

Spock speaks English perfectly and is not using the translator, not even when he doesn't recognise a word. He insists on learning it old school style. When he uses a translator he tries to learn the words as best he can for future reference and now has a strange hodge podge of vocab across various languages

Uhura uses the translator to speak, but she does so to practice speaking a different language every day. It's translated into English but she could be speaking Estonian or Andorian. She's happy using the translator cos she basically built it

Chekhov didn't realise you could use the translator at work and is pissed off to discover he's been struggling through conversations that could've just been translated by tech for him. Scotty even says it can keep your accent as a sort of respected identity feature!

Scotty is speaking English but he uses the translator purely to give himself a thicker-than-actual Scottish accent. If you subscribe to the Scotty is Canadian and stuck doing the accent after a bad joke theory, this fits. If you think he's Scottish, this is just him keeping that front and centre

McCoy uses the translator less than you'd think, he's conversational in a handful of common languages like Cantonese, French, and Denobulan. He's learning Vulcan but it's not clicking for him, perhaps because he hasn't told Spock he's trying to learn so isn't practicing as much as he should

Kirk uses the translator when he needs to without worrying about it. His area of expertise isn't languages and he's happy to rely on his crew to supply that if the translator goes down. He does, however, know just about every greeting phrase there is across the galaxy just in casies

Sulu can really only speak english, but when he's talking to someone from home he uses a translator to another language to maintain some privacy. His family are used to having to translate his video messages back into English

Chapel uses the translator when needed, but will always try to have a conversation in English first. She's possibly the most normal about the translator tbh

Rand will invariably try to communicate via mime or grunts or anything else before pulling out the translator. She thinks it sanitises conversations and obfuscates tone. But she will resort to it when needed, reluctantly

[indignantlemur]

YOU UPDATED! YAY!

This was lovely! I really like how you've handled both Ophelia and Tysess throughout this piece. It felt like a mature, reasonable conversation between adults with valid concerns instead of the unnecessary drama-fest it could have been, and I love that for them. They're both such level-headed characters, and this entire development felt like a natural progression in their relationship. Well done!

Part 7: Ace of hearts

Commander Tysess x Ophelia Zubira (OFC) Words: 2K Summary: Tysess has been fighting with something over the last weeks and can't hold it in anymore Warnings: Talk about sexual activities (nothing graphic or so, just talk), coming to terms with identity A/N: This was kind of inspired by this post from @zierzim. I have wanted to write something along those lines for quite some time and finally got the needed inspiration, so thanks for that

Body Language Masterlist

Lost in thought, Ophelia sat on the small armchair she had pulled in front of the ship's porthole to watch the stars go by. Two weeks. For two weeks she had been trying to convince Tysess to ask the Admiral for a transfer of quarters so that they could move in together.

They had both talked about it before and her partner had seemed willing to take the next step, but something seemed to have happened. She didn't know if Tysess had changed his mind or not, but for the past fortnight he had been avoiding the subject whenever she dared mention it.

In general, Tysess seemed to be withdrawing lately and Ophelia didn't know how to react. On the one hand, she was convinced that it would be best to give him his freedom and the peace and quiet he seemed to need. On the other hand, she feared that he might fall back into old patterns, something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

Sighing, she rose and wandered to her little kitchenette, hoping a cup of coffee would help her, when all at once her doors slid aside to reveal a rather stiff-looking Andorian. "Tysess!"

A warm smile graced her lips as he entered her quarters, his hands clasped behind his back, standing tall with a nod of acknowledgment. "Ophelia," he greeted softly.

Stepping forward, she enveloped him in a tight embrace, though she sensed him tense at her touch. After a moment, she released him, concern furrowing her brow. "Are you alright?" she inquired gently. Tysess avoided meeting her gaze, sidestepping her to approach the porthole she had occupied just moments before.

 "Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?" His voice sounded pressed, and his antennae seemed a little too much to the rear for her taste.

Noticing his unease, she cautiously reached out to touch his shoulder, causing him to flinch reflexively. Pulling back, she regarded him with growing worry, stepping around to meet his eyes. Tysess averted his gaze, his expression tinged with something akin to shame.

"I don't want to be a pain," she murmured in a calm voice, hoping to put him at ease as well. "And if you just need some you-time, that's totally fine. But I'm beginning to worry about you, Tysess. I'm truly concerned."

Tysess remained silent, his gaze unwaveringly fixed on the scene outside. After a few moments of heavy silence, Ophelia turned away with a resigned sigh. "We can just keep quiet, if you prefer, mi amor. Just let me get my tea quickly, then-"

"Are you expecting us to have sex?" The question sliced through the air, causing Ophelia to spin around to face him, her expression a mixture of confusion and surprise. "I beg your pardon?" Taking a deep breath, Tysess turned to squarely meet her gaze, his eyes piercing. In that moment, Ophelia felt as if she were staring not at her boyfriend, but at her stern commanding officer. "Do you expect us to participate in sexual activities?"

His tone was matter-of-fact, professional, reminiscent of a Vulcan's demeanor, leaving Ophelia unsure how to react. "What ... what makes you think that?"

"It’s irrelevant." Ophelia, caught off guard by the abrupt question and the sudden shift in his demeanor, found herself fumbling with her words and her arms. "I... no idea. Maybe I do? I don't know how-"

"Do you think our relationship will fail should we not be able to be sexually intimate with each other?" The question hung heavy in the air, leaving Ophelia speechless as she gaped at him, her silence seemingly confirming something to Tysess. With a palpable sense of disappointment, he turned away, his expression etched with resignation."I knew it."

"Woah, give me a break," Ophelia interjected, running her hands over her face in bewilderment. "No one's breaking up with anyone here, alright? Just take a breath, Tysess. I'm struggling to keep up here."

"It was a simple question,“ Tysess countered.

" That came out of nowhere," she argued, reaching for his arm. "Please, Tysess, where the hell do you come up with this now? And why does it seem so important? We are not even at that step yet."

"And perhaps we never will be," Tysess wheeled around and stared down at her. With any other person, she would have flinched, maybe even taken a few steps back, but not with him. Not with her Tysess. All she saw in his eyes was fear, exhaustion and frustration.

"Mi amor," she murmured and tentatively tugging on his hand to pull him onto the sofa next to her. "Breathe in and out and start again. Please, I can't follow you."

Tysess sat down on the sofa and ran her fingers wildly through her hair so that the white strands were sticking out in all directions. Under other circumstances, it would have looked pretty cute.

"I... I'm not able to feel these things, to give you these things. These... sexual urges," he spat out the words in disgust, "are beyond my understanding. I... I don't know what exactly is broken with me, but I... I just can't. I'm... I'm sorry, my love, please forgive me." Ashamed, he buried his face in his hands, and to her shock, she realized his shoulders were shaking with sobs after a few moments.

"Hey, hey, Tysess, mi amor," she said softly, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and drawing closer to him. "That's no reason to cry. And certainly no reason to leave you. What makes you think that?" He mumbled something she didn't understand and when she asked him to repeat himself, he just spat out a "Nada". Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and an uneasy, foreboding feeling spread through her stomach. "Lieutenant Nada? What's he got to do with it?"

 "We were talking, please don't ask me how it came about, I don't know myself, and he asked me if we were both ... one step closer. He was drunk, which is probably why he dared to do it in the first place. When I said no, he said..." Tysess's voice broke off, but Ophelia didn't let up and urged her to keep talking in a stern voice. "He said that if I wasn't able to satisfy your ... needs, you'd find me inadequate and seek someone else."

"Oh that motherfucker!" Ophelia shot up from her seat, her anger boiling within her like a cauldron. "I'm going to kill him!" The mere thought of the Cardassian planting such poisonous ideas in Tysess's mind made her blood boil. How dare he meddle in their relationship? How dare he speak about it in such a disrespectful manner? He had absolutely no right to interfere.

As she made her determined stride toward the door, a firm grip seized her wrist, halting her in her tracks. Still seething with fury, she spun around to find Tysess, still seated, his expression a mix of confusion and exhaustion.

"Let go of me! That bastard has no right to talk to you like that! Who does he think I am anyway? A fucking broodmare?!“  "Ophelia..." Tysess attempted to interject, but she cut him off. "No!" Kneeling down next to him on the sofa, ensuring they were at eye level, she gently took his face in her hands, forcing him to meet er gaze.

"He has no right to talk like that! Absolutely no right! Especially because he couldn't be more wrong, mi amor." She gently ran her thumb over his prominent cheekbones, watching as a glimmer of reassurance returned to Tysess's eyes.

"You don't think I..."

 "Tysess," she murmured, feeling like her heart was breaking into a thousand tiny splinters. He didn't deserve to be put to the test over and over again, to doubt himself until it drove him to ruin. He might be grumpy and his aura was usually not really inviting, but she knew the man beneath that layer.

A man who was kind and loving and possessed a heart of gold that had been broken and betrayed far too often.

She gently stroked a few white strands from his face, her fingers brushing against his courtship ring. "I'm not interested in such things." Her fingers lovingly caressed his cheek until he closed his eyes and surrendered to the feeling. Ophelia felt him slowly relax beneath her.

"I don't need anything like that. Then we won't have sex, who cares? If you can't feel sexual feelings, mi amor, I'm hardly going to force you to. Do I really seem like someone who judges you for the way you are?" Tysess opened his eyes slowly, ashamed, and shook his head

"Ah, ah, ah!" She tapped him lightly on the chin. "Let's not even start with that. Blaming ourselves accomplishes nothing. It's not your fault. It's no one's fault for anything here because it's a normal thing. There are a lot of people who don't feel sexual feelings. My best friend at school wasn't just asexual, she was also aromantic and it never posed any issue. The only person to blame for anything is Lieutenant Nada."

Tysess frowned and his eyes darted back and forth, as if he was looking for an answer to a question he didn't yet know himself.

"But..." he hesitated and his gaze dropped. Ophelia placed her fingers under his chin and lifted his head, an encouraging smile on her lips. "Yes?"

 "What if you want to have children later?" This question surprised her almost more than his question about sex, and somewhat taken aback, she dropped onto her bum. Meanwhile, Tysess's cheeks turned a delightful shade of lilac. "I know, I know, it's way too soon, but... it's still something to consider." His tone seemed firm and now it was he who looked her firmly in the eye.

"Ophelia, correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding of the situation is that we're both ready to take this relationship a step further." She nodded tentatively, indicating for him to continue talking. "

We've been together for over a year and a half, been through quite a bit and made it through and both decided that living together permanently is something desirable." He took her hand and squeezed it gently before beginning to draw patterns on the back of her hand with his finger.

"I don't want to put pressure on you, nothing is further from my mind than that. However, it is something to keep in mind. Especially now that we're both ready to enter into a more committed, serious relationship."

Ophelia mulled over his words for a moment before offering a nod of agreement. As always, he wasn't wrong. "I understand you, Tysess. Your concern is valid, though it's unnecessary. Even if you were able to feel sexual feelings, that wouldn't guarantee children. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be against children, but we have to keep in mind, mi amor: We are not the same species. Andorian and human physiology differ significantly, if memory serves from my Academy biology classes. The chances of our species producing offspring... well, they're virtually non-existent."

She pressed her forehead against his. "I love you, Tysess. That's something that can't be changed. Whether you're asexual or not, whether children are possible or not —it doesn't matter to me. All I want is to be with you, right here, right now. It's okay to think about the future, it's even necessary. But please don't let it spoil the present, mi amor." A tranquil silence settled between them, not uncomfortable, but rather a moment in which everyone could sort out their thoughts.

"All right." Ophelia smiled and leaned in to give him a brief, tender kiss. Tysess smiled narrowly and, in an unguarded moment on her part, he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"By the way," he murmured, "didn't you mention speaking to the Admiral about our quarters arrangements?"

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

@akamitrani

@bigblissandlove1

@indignantlemur

[evviejo]

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE // S4E9 Kir'Shara He was a soldier who lived a long time ago. He was standing watch over the gates of the city of Gol and he saw a cloud on the horizon moving toward him. He thought it was a sandstorm, so he told no one. It was an army. They destroyed the city, but they let Nirak live. His name now means "fool" in our language, just as yours will in Andorian!

[justreckin]

Alright all, SNW Enterprise hits an anomaly that’s got everyone stuck speaking their native language. Who’s screwed?

Personally I’m going with Nyota (we know this from TOS), M’Benga (accent), and Una (didn’t grow up in a Federation colony to the best of my understanding), Pelia (dead language or Lanthanite?), Hemmer (Andorian)

I’m rather on the fence about Spock; figure he has a 50/50 chance of being taught both Vulcan and Federation Standard as his first language and am willing to fall on whichever side creates the most shenanigans.

La’an I also figure could go either way. I can see her family sticking to Standard first because of prejudice against their ancestry, or going the complete opposite way and saying nope, this is our culture/heritage and y’all can deal with it.

Erica is also up in the air for me. We just don’t have enough information one way or the other so I figure she’s also just gonna have to fall the way of shenanigans. Honestly, I could also see Standard being her first language but her messing around with people off duty as if it weren’t.

[lostyesterday]

I finally finished Enterprise season 1!

Things I liked:

The cast is fun! My favorite characters are still Hoshi and T’Pol, but I really like Travis and Phlox too (although the lack of focus on Travis is tragic). I generally like Trip and Malcolm except when they’re written as being really sexist, ugh.

I’m enjoying the development of Vulcan and Andorian culture so far, although I’m really hoping for more focus on the Andorians in the rest of the show. I think I like the mixed/partially negative depiction of Vulcans from the perspective of humans. It’s interesting.

I think Enterprise is doing a surprisingly good job of being a prequel. It feels like the creators of the show put genuine effort into thinking about how the world of Star Trek would have been a century before TOS. I like the way Enterprise retroactively shows how much human and Vulcan society have changed over time. It’s not as if I love every single retroactive bit of world-building, but even the aspects I don’t like I can generally appreciate and see how there was some thought put into them (unlike some of the other Star Trek prequels tbh, I won’t name names).

The crew movie nights and the other little moments of regular life interspersed throughout episodes are great. Phlox teaching Hoshi his language, Hoshi convincing Travis to sit in the captain’s chair – all these moments go a long way toward making the crew feel like a cohesive group even when there’s not much individual development of anyone except Archer, T’Pol, and Trip.

The way the characters feel less prepared and more uncertain than the crew of any other Trek show because they’re the first and they’re making things up as they go is great too. I think Enterprise nailed that vibe for the first season of the show at least – similarly to how I think Voyager really managed to capture the vibe of being stranded far away from home, giving it a different feeling from any other Star Trek show.

My favorite episodes were The Andorian Incident and Fallen Hero.

Things I didn’t like (under the cut because I don’t want to put negativity straight into the tag):

The sexism. I was prepared for it, but it’s annoying how much (arguably) worse it is compared to the 90’s shows.

It wouldn’t exactly be accurate to say that I dislike Archer because I liked him fine in some episodes, but the fact that he’s definitely my least favorite of the main cast is irritating given that he’s the main character. Whenever T’Pol takes command of Enterprise, I find her so much more fun to watch as the captain than I do Archer.

I wouldn’t say that Enterprise season 1 has a higher proportion of bad episodes compared to the first seasons of Voyager, DS9, and especially TNG, but it does have a higher proportion of boring episodes – episodes that aren’t actively bad but that I just found myself having almost no interest in. This is 90% of the reason I took so long getting through the first season.

I’d also like to specifically complain about all the episodes that made it seem like Travis or Hoshi was going to be a major part before switching them out for Trip or T’Pol or even Malcolm at the last second. I thought the sidelining of the characters of color in Voyager was bad, but it’s even worse in Enterprise so far.

And I’d also like to complain about the episode Shadows of P’Jem which tricked me into thinking Shran would be a major part of it only for him to be in like three scenes. I can’t believe how few episodes he’s in, everyone made it sound like he was a much more major character. :(

I already complained about the Trip pregnancy episode, but I’d also like to complain about the Risa episode which was both bad in the normal ways for a Risa episode and also incredibly transphobic.

Idk what I think about Trip/T’Pol yet (I could go either way depending on how things progress), but at least it isn’t Archer/T’Pol. Every single time the writers tried to force a Moment between them was painful.

Overall opinion: I didn’t hate it! I half expected to hate it, so that’s good. So far, nothing has particularly grabbed me, but it’s significantly better than I expected, I think! I’m hoping season 2 has fewer boring episodes.

[jazzypizzaz]

I've been watching Enterprise recently, and I'm struck by the thought of each of the characters would react to being thrust into a later Trek show:

Hoshi on Deep Space Nine, first discovering how far the Universal Translator technology has come... then turning UT off and chilling at Quark's bar, letting all the incredible diversity of alien languages wash over her, all the people passing through from three quadrants (Dominion languages!!)

Phlox on Discovery, amazed at how diverse Starfleet is not all that long after he was alive, all these people coming together in Starfleet for exploration and discovery. I always get the impression that regardless of his curiosity and openness, he's a bit lonely on Enterprise, a bit of distance between him and the rest of the crew. Also I feel like he'd get along really well with Saru, plus -- non-human captain! he'd dig all the mushrooms / tardigrade business too I think lol.

T'Pol interacting with Spock!!! as a Vulcan on a human ship of course, a bridge between their people, the role he has had in that. and Amanda/Sarek married, having a kid?? also ongoing attempts at reunification with Romulans???

Mayweather on Voyager of course, nerding out with Tom Paris on the Delta Flyer. also everyone being so far from home, so much less connected to family in a way that original Enterprise was more than other Alpha/Beta quadrant crews I think. sacrificing that connection for their overarching mission together.

Archer, any Trek, seeing what Starfleet has become!!! Andorians and Vulcans and so many species all exploring the universe together in (relative) peace and cooperation! going boldly together! the way humans have brokered this peace throughout the centuries!!!

[indignantlemur]

Full size: HERE

Detail shots - and a secret, seasonal fourth panel - below:

I'm really pleased with the Andorian panel - everything turned out just right, I think!

Working with the limited expressions of Andorians is definitely a challenge at times, because it feels like I'm relying on a lot of body language and antennae cues to convey what the other characters can convey through comparatively simple facial expressions. Still, I think I did alright here!

As for the Vulcan panel... somehow, Soval's assistant (originally intended to be Rekan from Deck the Halls (And Not The Vulcans)) turned into Sarek, so I guess that's happening now.

And onto the Tellarite panel! As much as I like how the Andorian panel turned out, I can't help but love Ambassador Gral in this panel just a little bit more. He was a lot of fun to draw!

And now for the super secret fourth panel, in honour of the season! (full size here)

(I choose to believe that Archer moved a decimal point two places over in a stalled trade agreement and waited to see how long it would take them all to notice. At least they're all talking again!)

Look at that face. That man has been concussed so many times. (We love him.)

Season's greetings and happy holidays to all who celebrate!

[dutchesscapybara]

This is my version of an Andorian female in the Andorian Imperial Guard. There's not a whole lot of reference images for Andorian females but I noticed that Andorians typically have very layered haircuts with short almost micro bangs. They also have triangular eyebrows and pronounced facial bones above their eyes that lead to their antenna.

Some Andorians have more pronounced facial and body plates that are a result of their partial exo-skeletons. For this reason I decided to give her a slightly hooked nose because I thought it would suit Andorians more angular features.

The symbol on the bottom is of the new Andorian Guard. Andorii is the primary spoken language of Andoria. Graalek is the written form of Graalen which is considered the root language of Andorii. There's no official chart for this but I found a very well fan made one to write Andorian going down the side.

Andorians are such a fascinating species and I want to research them further.

[scifimademequeer]

Vulcan Gender Thoughts (copied from my twitter)

You know how andorians have four genders? What if vulcans have more than two as well. Bc I'm loving lately the idea of spock using she/her pronouns but otherwise masc-coded terms. So the statement "she is a Vulcan male" would be correct. What if this is a translation of an alien gender?

Hello, what if Vulcans invented femboys and Spock was assigned that at birth??

Or more realistically I feel, if most vulcans have intersex characteristics ranging across a spectrum with two mildly overlapping bell curves, and in the center of each bell curve is "male" or "female" and there exist genders for each section of the spectrum.

So Spock was assigned "male" at birth but children are raised with an expectation that they will developmentally differentiate across a small range of presentation categories, some more populated than others.

I've actually been cooking on this concept for a while and it's even present in the background of my published PWP but I think I know how I want to use it for Heavy Braid now.

Spock spends her time on earth and then in starfleet letting humans assume she is a man by their category terms bc she sees it as just another part of Vulcan culture that is inaccessible to humans. Like, she's already masking all the time with everyone, is it even misgendering if there's a planetary language barrier? Etc. But unfortunately it makes her drop her femme side for a while lowkey.

I'm gonna have a event in the first month or two of the 5yr mish that more or less outs Spock as femme and kind of forces her to negotiate a little bit on what would actually make her feel more comfortable for everyone to say or do. And the rest of the crew realize they might have written her off. Scotty in particular is sad that they aren't friends and that Spock never told him, bc they've both been on the enterprise for years now as colleagues.

McCoy, Kirk, and Uhura all explain to her how coming out of the closet is important and how humans place a positive value on it, and they're grateful to like. Have an opportunity to show her decency and respect.

And it triggers introspection for Spock ofc, and she starts wearing more makeup and maybe non-pants clothing more? Earrings? And everyone notices and it creates an awkward, mild positive feedback loop.

And Kirk Notices notices. Spock is obsessed with him as soon as they are in the same room for the first time, she's seen his pic but in person there's a huge spark for her and it alarms and confuses her and she only realizes it's an attraction much later. At first Spock is like, I just find him compelling, he's a high caliber person and a surprising leader...

But anyway Kirk thought she was cute on sight but doesn't let himself think about that as a new captain, he's too busy.

[soylent-crocodile]

Klingon (Race)

(Artist Unknown, taken from the Klingon Core Rulebook)

(After vulkans, klingons are THE Star Trek race, so I had to do 'em. Also, I hate gamebooks that list all their artists in one big clump at the start without also giving credit to individual art pieces. Makes sourcing damn near impossible.

Also, if it's not clear, I'm not fond of klingon's near-fascism.)

Klingons are a race that pride themselves on a strong warrior code and strict adherence to honor. A klingon’s life is expected to be given in its entirety to battle and strength; he will train from adolescence, and seek an honorable death so as not to shame his family. Horrifically, a klingon who is no longer able to fight is considered useless and a burden on their kind- they are expected to commit ritual suicide. While almost all klingons pay lip service to the ideals of their code, the fact is much of their leadership prioritizes gaining power for themselves rather than acting with honor and honesty, and will gladly stab someone in the back if it means advancement for them. 

Klingons who hew close to this culture tend towards law and evil, although there are klingons who have escaped it and choose to define their own ideals.

Ability Scores: Klingons are tough and powerful, but consider intellectual pursuits to be dishonorable. They get +2 to Strength and Constitution and -2 to Intelligence. Medium: Klingons are medium creatures that get no bonuses or penalties based on size. Speed: Klingons have a base speed of 30ft. Languages: Klingons start play knowing Klingon. Klingons with a high intelligence score may choose from Common, Orc, Andorian, and Tellarite. Redundant Organs: Klingons have redundancy in their anatomy, meaning no one injury deals critical damage. They take half precision damage and get a +4 racial bonus to AC against critical confirmation checks. Honorable Death: Once per day, when brought below 0 health, a klingon may make a melee attack as an immediate action before falling unconscious. Weapon Training: Klingons are proficient with the Bat’leth.

Bat’leth Exotic Two-Handed Melee Weapon Cost: 100gp Damage (S): 1d4/1d4 Damage (M): 1d6/1d6 Critical: 19-20/x2 Range:- Weight: 12lb Type: S, P Special: Double, When wielded by a proficient user the Bat’leth grants a +1 shield bonus to AC.

[idol--hands]

Captain Data: “I am experiencing overwhelming stress.”

Idol ⭐️ Hands: note, I believe Data is modeling himself after Captain Sisko’s style of leadership here — as earlier, Sisko, laughed at Commander Data’s suggestion to consult Starfleet’s admirals before heading into a potentially fabric-of-reality-altering situation. As text is smaller below (a two-page spread), I’ve transcribed the dialog.

Acting Captain Data: Ensign Sato, broadcast Starfleet evacuation codes to all affected planets with my over-ride authorization.

Ensign Sato (the Andorian): Yes, sir.

Acting Captain Data: Additionally, broadcast the sub space frequencies of all nearby Starfleet vessels so they can be coordinated with directly.

Ensign Sato: Help is on the way!

Acting Captain Data: Lieutenant Descheeni, reassign all personnel from sciences and research to communications and telemetry. Transfer display protocols rather than physically relocating staff.

Lt. Descheeni: Clever, Captain.

Acting Captain Data: Simply necessary, Lieutenant. They will assist in efforts by Ensign Sato to coordinate evacuating in local language and custom as well as aid Ensign T’lr’s upcoming calculations.

Ensign T’lr (the Vulcan): Speaking of which, sir. I have a trajectory that might allow us to alter the course of the creature slightly by affecting their warp field stability, like a gentle nudge.

It will not change where they are going, but it should affect less inhabited systems.

Acting Captain Data: That is acceptable. Execute. And, Mr. Paris?

Lt. Paris: Don’t gotta tell me what to do, Captain. I’m the first human to ever achieve trans warp flight. I can handle the turbulence. The problem is going to be keeping up.

I can feel the engines, Commander. They’re not up to this.

Acting Captain Data: Mr. Scott, to address this, please activate the the Theseus’ classified propulsion system.

Chief Engineer Scott: I dinnae know what you’re talking ab—

Acting Captain Data: I looked over your design as soon as I was assigned, sir. It is incumbent on a first officer to know everything about his ship.

And while such a classified marker would no doubt deter most, my best friend is a decorated warp drive engineer. And so I was able to infer the use of the redacted capsules near each of the Theseus’ warp nacelles.

I was also able to infer that they were classified because they were, in fact, not yet working.

Chief Engineer Scott: Aye. Torres tried to get it working for months, but the containment frequencies never held.

Lt. Paris: Wait, B’elanna Torres? Like, my wife, B’elanna Torres? This was her little ‘side project’?

Chief Engineer Scott (on speaker): Aye, laddie. She said if you behaved, she’d let ye design the Bridge canopy.

Acting Captain Data: I have just relayed to you containment frequencies that I believe will solve the problem.

Chief Engineer Scott: It...it works. My God...

Acting Captain Data: No, Mr. Scott. Simply an android. Now, if you would be so kind, please take the vessel to transwarp.

Chief Engineer Scott: Way ahead of ye, Captain. But one little correction...like I always said, transwarp’s nothing but a dead end.

We call this little beauty...proto-warp!

Acting Captain Data: “I am experiencing pride.”

[karam-ba]

I updated Sylo since it’s been a while since I’ve drawn him. I chat about him a bit under the cut.

He was assimilated at 9 during the lead up to the Borg Invasion in TNG and liberated from the collective at 11 by a Klingon ship towards the end of the invasion. His origins are a mystery to him but the Cube he was rescued from included a large number of assimilated from sectors 30 and 31, pointing perhaps to a history as a colonist near the Neutral Zone. 

He spent a couple of months aboard that ship where he formed a bond with a Lieutenant Kahvek, a kind man who talked to Sylo frequently while he was confined to medbay. After a couple of months the Klingon ship made it back to friendly space and released Sylo to a Federation run community home. He found this transition difficult. 

He chose his name after reading a military history book that was recommended by a commander on the base that was friendly to him. Sylo’s a “chan” which is the Andorian sex of somewhat male lol. The correct prefix for his last name, in Andorian culture, would be 'ch’ instead of ‘zh,’ which is for “full” females but since assimilation totally robbed him of his culture, he just chose the prefix at random, not understanding the significance behind it. And ‘Voquik’ is something he chose because he felt safe aboard the Klingon the ship and wanted something to tie him to that.

For several years after reclamation, Sylo was mute and used federation standard sign to communicate. This is still his preferred language. 

Also I decided Andorians don’t have ears like us, just the dent/holes on the side like dolphins idk lmao. 

And I don’t want this to became an essay lol so i’ll just leave it here