#michael/saru yes or yes

[chillychive]

Episode 6

Poor poor hugh 😣. His flinch at Saru’s movements I’m crying.

 ‘Nervous breakdown’ tyler???? No. This was a complete unraveling of Spock’s ideology and worldview. Not a damn nervous breakdown 

Well… we’re heading back to Kaminar…

 Oooof

 Not Rhys standing up as Saru approaches 

Poor Hugh. You can tell he wants so desperately for the scan to find something wrong with him, and hearing that he’s pristine… poor guy

So much for not telling them abt star fleet

Ah gosh poor Sirana

Saru noooooooo

Oh goshhhhh

Oh goshhhhh

Oh goshhhhhh

Cue horror film ba’ul entrance

Bro what?? Saru is so dangerous oh my gosh. So powerful.

Ouchh all Kelpians ever

Whoaaa its the red angell

Tyler broo

Yoo gonna go find spock yoo

[eastsideofthemoon]

Celebrating Black History Month

Captain on the Bridge: CAPTAIN MICHAEL BURNHAM

Seasons 4 was our first full season of Michael as captain (finally)! So I'm reflecting on things she did that stood out to me. Also, it's Black History Month! She's our first Black female lead in a Star Trek Series and our first Black female lead captain, played brilliantly by Sonequa Martin-Green.

1. The Queen of Chaotic Ingenuity

Michael is a master of thinking on her feet. If a plan goes awry, she can course correct on the fly (bars). Honestly, we've seen her do this throughout Disco, but as captain, we especially see it in the season opener, Kobayashi Maru, with the Alshain (aka The Butterfly People). When their re-contact mission goes sideways, Michael is able to identify that there is an issue with their navigation and work with her crew to come up with a solution while being chased and shot at.

The Alshain did not report the problem, but by providing them a solution - no strings attached - Captain Burnham was able to win over their trust with the Federation.

2. Collaborator

I love how Michael respects the expertise of her crew and encourages their involvement with problem-solving. Having personally been on teams where collaboration was encouraged, it does a great deal in boosting team morale, building teamwork, and communicating through action that the individual team members' skills and ideas are valued. This is seen best in Anamoly and Stormy Weather. It's also seen with how she suggested to Book that he talk to Dr. Culbert. As a counselor, he's more equipped to manage Book's mental and emotional state after losing Kwejian.

3. Recognizing the needs of her crew

"All In" was one of my favorite episodes this season. The fun, the action, and Owosekun getting to shine. One of my favorite scenes was seeing how Michael responded to Owosekun's outburst with Saru from a previous episode. Instead of choosing to double down with additional punishment or verbal reprimand, she saw an opportunity to allow Owosekun to do more in her service to the mission at hand.

O: Why bring me?

M: Saru told me about what happened at the subspace rift. How you didn't want to stand down when he told you to.

O: I was totally out of bounds. I apologized to him.

M: I know. I also know how it feels to want to do something. Anything. And how it feels when you can't.

Michael recognized Owosekun's actions didn't come from a place of rebellion but a place of wanting to do more to help. Michael found an opportunity to allow her the space to fulfill that desire and utilize that drive.

Also, allowing a place on her ship that provides mental and emotional support for the crew via Dr. Culbert becoming the ship's councilor is the sign of a leader that cares about the whole health of her crew. Yes, I know other captains have had a ship’s counselor. The point it Captain Burnham does too and it deserves recognition.

4. Balancing her heart and duty

Captain Burnham had the challenge of being the supporting partner to the man she loved, who lost his entire home planet while maintaining her commitment to Starfleet. And she did a stellar job. Yes, she loves Book deeply and was willing to do all she could to help him. But when he went rogue, she chose to stay committed to the course of a peaceful first contact, despite it putting her at odds with the love of her life. Furthermore, when she thought Book died (Sonequa gave one of the best performances in Star Trek), she was still able to see the mission through, despite her heartbreak.

5. How she handled the Magistrate

Although empathetic to their plight, Captain Burnham still set clear boundaries with the magistrate about WHO has the authority, what WILL happen while on HER ship, and some food for thought when they arrive to wherever they find refuge. And she didn't have to raise her voice to do it. One's ability to yell at subordinates is not a true show of power and authority.

6. The Beginnings of a Diplomat?

Now we know Michael is a Kirk-type captain. And this season, she does not like politics or politicians. But during season 4, as much as she can’t stand it, we are shown that Captain MB may have the makings of a Diplomat as shown best in All Is Possible and But To Connect.

7. Leading a successful First Contact

Captain Burnham led a first contact like none other. A true first contact with serious stakes riding on its success or failure. After successfully getting through the Galatic Barrier (shout out to Detmer's immaculate piloting) and utilizing her (Michael’s) xenoanthropologic skills to investigate the 10-C's home planet, she along with some of the Federation's best had to figure out how to connect with the 10-C. A truly alien species, where universal translators failed to help with communication and who Starfleet had 0 records of. What makes Captain Burnham stand out is her willingness to step out on faith. She led her team on a mission on the 10-C's home planet to find some form of culture context to aid in their ability to communicate with them. It paid off. It laid the foundation for the first contact team and the USS Discovery crew to help understand how to communicate with the 10-C. Also, it should be noted that Michael admitted to President Rillak that she was angry, but we don't see her anger and frustration run her emotions or hinder her ability to command. I've seen people accuse her of being emotional. There's a difference between emotional intelligence and being emotional.

Also, I admire her recognizing when to take the lead and when to be a team player. As already stated, her calm demeanor and unwavering trust in the crew were excellent in helping them get across the Galatic Barrier. But she also recognized that it was President Rillak's voice that needed to be heard when informing everyone that the DMA moved to the Alpha Quadrant. It takes maturity to know when someone else need to lead and humility to let them lead. All of these actions lead to a successful first contact.

Conclusion:

In closing, Captain Michael Burnham is not the same Michael Burnham we met in season 1. In season 4, she has inner peace. She has a balance with human emotions and her Vulcan-trained logic. She knows who she is and has confidence in herself. Her duty to Starfleet and the Federation is matched with joy in what she's fighting for. Captain Michael Burnham is THE captain of the USS Discovery. No one else.

I want to end with this. There's plenty of room for more than one Black Starfleet captain. We can celebrate Sisko, Burnham, and Freeman in a way that respects them all. There's no need to pit them against each other. They all matter and are important in representing Black people in the future.

Happy Black History Month

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

For the character ask game: What about Tuvok and Michael Burnham?

from this ask game

Tuvok:

how i feel about this character.

i love Tuvok so dearly. i think he's the strongest Vulcan character of the whole franchise and Tim Russ does such a masterful job portraying him. i really can't think of a single scene where i don't enjoy Tuvok's presence in some way.

all the people i romantically ship with this character.

just his wife t'pel. i can't think of any other tuvok ships i've seen that i hate but there aren't any that really interest me either.

my non-romantic otp for this character.

Tuvok & Janeway without a doubt. they make such a good best friend pairing. all of their scenes alone together make my heart melt a little with how much they care for each other

unpopular opinion on this character.

hm... the only thing i can think of that might be controversial is the fact that Tuvok and his morality is flawed. i think so often he (and other Vulcan characters) are seen in the fandom as the paragon of reason and sense and i think that flattens characters somewhat and also doesn't reflect what we see in canon. there are episodes like Meld where Tuvok advocates for the death penalty or Learning Curve where he's shown to hold his crew, especially his Maquis crew, to unrealistic standards or Resolutions where the crew has to basically mutiny before Tuvok considers going back for Janeway and Chakotay. yes Tuvok does have a strong sense of justice and yes he almost always follows logic but he's also very much a utilitarian and sometimes his morality is at odds with the audience and the rest of the crew which i like and i think should be considered more often.

one thing i wish would happen/had happened in canon.

that he got more stories... i mean it's not a secret that we only really get three-ish stories stories in the last four seasons that truly focus on Tuvok as a character and not just on him as a supporting character for others. i think he gets some strong supporting roles as a mentor and friend but i wish we got more stories actually centered on him.

Michael:

how i feel about this character.

MICHAELLLLL! Michael has by far one of the strongest arcs and characters in all of Trek. while early disco is a bit hit or miss for me, Michael is such a strong & compelling character that it makes up more it.

all the people i romantically ship with this character.

i love Michael/Book and am very happy with how they ended up in s5. i also do like Michael/Laira too because even just a few scenes i think their chemistry really jumped off the page.

my non-romantic otp for this character.

i do really love Michael & Saru. the few times they hug in s4 and s5 really took me out and i love the mutual respect & trust they've managed to cultivate despite their rough beginning in s1.

unpopular opinion on this character.

i mean i think it was a common (non tumblr) fandom opinion that Michael cries or emotes too much and that's obviously just some racist and misogynistic bullshit. Michael's whole journey is about throwing off the repression she was forced into as a child by growing up on Vulcan and live her life on her own terms and part of that is embracing her emotions. like probably one of the best scenes in the whole show is the sheer joy after she makes the time jump to the future at the beginning of s3.

one thing i wish would happen/had happened in canon.

i would have really liked Michael to have explored her relationship with Vulcan culture/society more, especially in s3 and beyond. like she obviously had a difficult time growing up but Vulcan culture is still her culture and i would have loved to see her more with post-Burn Vulcans and Romulans. even just her and T'Rina bonding over a Vulcan holiday or something would have been so good.

thanks for the ask!!! <3

[do-you-ship-it-polls]

Do you like their friendship?

reason to love them under the cut!!

ok I could write pages about Michael & Saru I have a horrible disease. in short; Michael was orphaned as a human and adopted by a vulcan family, growing up feeling like she would never belong, overcompensating for everything, repressing who she is to try and fit in in a world that isn't hers. Saru is a refugee* from a non-federation planet - he thinks he can never go back due to first contact. being the first and only of his kind in starfleet - to even know about starfleet - he wants desperately to make a good impression. they have automatic language translators but he still learns 94 federation languages. they both had to leave siblings** behind, and found that comfort in each other; two people who never thought they would belong finding belonging in each other. helloooooo. him they are both captain of discovery at some point, and both appoint the other as their number one. *crash course: Saru' species, Kelpiens, live on Kaminar, alongside a second sapient species, the Ba'ul. who eat Kelpiens when they go through a biological process called the vahar'ai. **Michael's brother is Spock startrek. she still uses her family name, though. Saru left his sister Siranna behind when he fled Kaminar, though he brought one possession of hers - a knife. OK IT TIES TOGETHER NOW. Saru experiences his own vahar'ai on the discovery, and believes it is going to kill him - he lies in his room, surrounded by plants from his home planet, having let nobody but Michael see him for days. He asks her to take his sister's knife and kill him. (ofc he survives but damn that shit was intense. the bffs ever. what the fuck.) HELLOOOO AM I SPEAKING TO A WALL RN!?!?! probably yeah. believe it or not this IS short.

tag: @vampireautism

[sidebloggingsohardmydickfallsoff]

Does this Star Trek character know where the clit is?

Let’s start with the captains:

Kirk- probably? But he doesn’t always use it proper. Still better than most.

Picard- this man’s posture becomes a plank as soon as the word is mentioned. Yes he knows, yes it because he slept around as a student, no he will not talk about it.

Sisko- 100% knows and knows how to use it too. I think he loves giving head.

Katheryn- of course.

Archer- doubtful. He claims to know but he goes into every sexual encounter as well prepared as he goes into his role as captain or any battle situation or ANY contact with aliens or- I’ll stop.

Saru- no. Man’s didn’t even know his body was capable of surviving a major fever.

Michael- Of. Course.

Freeman- yes, but.

Pike- for certain. I think he also liked giving head or anything as long as his partner is into it. I just KNOW he’s also a little freaky, but refuses to show it to anyone, ever.

[lightshiningforth]

I watched Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery, after putting it off for a while bc I didn’t love the first two seasons. My god. Season 3 is when the show finally, finally finds itself.

I had a litany of issues with the first two seasons, which have certainly been hashed out by fans before but which I will divide into two relevant categories for the sake of discussion:

Being a prequel, the show leaned on, altered, and got bogged down with preexisting Star Trek lore. They changed the Klingons’ iconic looks and made them the villains again. They brought in Section 31 in a role that was far too front facing for what that organization is supposed to be. They burdened Michael’s character with the baggage of being part of Spock’s family, and made the family even more dysfunctional and traumatic than it was in TOS to drive the plot forward. Now, there are plenty of things they did well. The integration of the mirror universe was clever. The uniforms, IMO, were a better pre-TOS imagining than those in Enterprise or AOS. Original content, like the Kelpiens, was beautifully done. Overall, however, the show felt stuck. They couldn’t cover new ground without altering pre-established ground, and those alterations were frustrating.

The show didn’t allow us to get to know and care for the crew. This was especially a problem in the first season, when we spent all of a few minutes with the Shenzhou crew before everything went to hell, and then the rest of the season on Discovery was war and trauma. How were the characters before the trauma? What changed, what was lost? We sure don’t know! And who are these characters now? Yes, we know Michael, Saru, Tilly, Stamets, Culber - they get individual moments, or moments with each other. But everyone else? The rest of the bridge crew? What are their names, what are they like, how do they interact with and feel about each other? We don’t know. It’s all a swirl of faces and bad situations. We don’t know these characters, but we’re expected to feel their pain as they’re pushed into the most extreme, traumatic situations possible. I didn’t even understand that Airiam was human until the episode in which she dies. Suddenly, then, we get a handful of sweet, everyday interactions between her and the rest of the crew. And boom! She’s gone.

But Season 3… what a breath of fresh air. Finally, the show is in the future and free to cover new ground. The Burn, a differently configured Federation, the couriers, the Emerald Chain, new planets, new peoples… finally, finally, finally. Yes, there is still the familiar here. We see the Trill, the Vulcans, the Romulans, the Orions, the Andorians. But the show can do new and interesting things with them in the far future, WITHOUT bucking the familiar lore of Star Trek’s past.

And now that Discovery made a journey alone and together, as just their crew? We KNOW them. There are still characters who get more focus, certainly. Michael, Saru, Tilly, Stamets, and Culber, still. But now I would count Owo and Detmer among them - we see more of their personalities, their relationship with each other and with others, and they become crucial support to the character dynamics and plot. Now Bryce, Rhys, and Nilsson are more to me than just faces in the background - they are finally familiar as fixtures on the bridge.

Characters who are more occasional, like Jett Reno, Lt. Linus, or Dr. Pollard, fall into a different category for me - they were always distinct presences, and I did know who they were. Even so, I feel that they get to stand out more now that the main cast feels solidified, as opposed to before, when we had a blur of the Enterprise crew and other rotating characters cycling in and out.

(Don’t think I’ve forgotten Nhan or Emperor Georgiou, who are both impactful, distinct characters. It’s just that Nhan always felt like Enterprise crew to me, even after her transfer to Discovery, and leaves early in Season 3. Georgiou, meanwhile, is both a not-quite-crew character and plentifully developed from her initial appearance. She was never a mystery to me.)

Also! Book? I ADORE him. I adore his relationship with Michael (FUCK Ash Tyler, this is the romance she deserves). I adore Grudge (she’s a queen!!) (just stop taking her on deadly missions ok it stresses me out).

Oh, and Adira? A treasure! A delight! Ready to join the Star Trek category of “local teen collectively parented by starship or space station crew.”

Anyway. After two whole seasons didn’t resonate with me, I’m so glad to finally be able to say that I like the show. It feels like Star Trek now.

[mushroom-crew]

Reunions Pt 2

@offederationsfuture

Tilly groggily looks up from where she'd fallen to the floor, her hand coming up to her head on instinct. Sparks are flying everywhere. Groans and quick shuffling from other crew members resound as everyone tries to get back to their stations after that last wave out of the wormhole. Tilly barely manages to stand, finding her way to her own station and looking at the readings. "Feels like my head is in a vice"

"Tidal forces from the wormhole. Like G-force, but nastier." Reno pops up from where she'd managed to get up herself. "Must've knocked us all out, including my damn back." She groans, right as the ship hits something like an asteroid field, sending everyone spinning again.

Tilly barely holds on for dear life. Shields are down. They don't have navigation or warp. They barely have a way to land themselves down on the planet. Detmer manages to get them lodged in a patch of ice, successfully stopping them from exploding on impact with the surface, but still sending everyone flying again in the process.

It becomes abundantly clear once they land that they don't have communications, or truly any of the ship's functions online, outside of life support. Tilly's heart aches in her chest. "Michael's alone."

The words hang in the air for a moment. Saru takes a breath and begins to address the crew. "We are completely disconnected at present, yes. But. We are also together, and alive. If Commander Burnham landed elsewhere, I trust she is aware that we will find her as soon as we are able."

They go about repairs, quickly and efficiently. Tilly throws herself into her work. There's nothing else she can do right now. If she stops for even a moment, she knows she'll break down. Michael, somewhere out there, all alone. Their daughter, left behind in the past with no way of reaching them. She knows that if she lets herself think about it, the weight of it all will crush her.

She still can't tell them exactly where they are, but she finally gets the scans back of the nearby surroundings. What she finds is enough to give her a weary smile. In a flash, she's rushing off to find Saru and explain her findings. Pockets of air on the surface meant for sustaining life. Pockets that must have been made. She finds him checking on repairs in a hallway, and she quickly falls into step with him as she talks.

He looks down at her with a sad look. "Then we are not on Terralysium."

"No, sir." She shakes her head, tears springing back into her eyes for a moment, before she continues. "But there is evidence of an active settlement in one of these pockets, so there... There's life."

"There is... Life." Saru takes a moment to take that in. It worked. Their plan worked. Control did not destroy this future. No matter what, they have to hold onto that fact. Their mission was not a failure.

Their joy is short lived, however, when they discover that one of their communication transtators is need of a complete rebuild. Without the parts they need on the ship, Saru and Tilly brave the outside world, hoping to find help from the local settlement. Philippa demands to go with them, but Saru refuses. He cannot let her interfere with their first contact to the outside world.

The walk to the settlement is long and Tilly talks the whole way there. She's terrified of not knowing where they are, of what it means now that they're here. So many things could go wrong. So many things already have. Saru lets her talk, his own mind still reeling with all of the things that have happened. All he can do is trust in his crew, and trust that they'll find a way out of this mess. The way they always do.

When they reach the settlement, they're almost immediately held at gun point by the locals, who seem just as confused by them being Starfleet as they do by how they're reacting. It's a standoff until they come to a deal. Some of Discovery's dilithium for help with repairs and information.

Things are going well, until Zareh, the courier who's been exploiting the colonists, shows up and causes trouble. He demands that they take him to the Discovery, and kills one of the colonists when Saru refuses to do so. It's enough to make him decide to bargain, offering to give the courier some of their dilithium in exchange for their freedom and the safety of the colonists.

Once a deal is struck, Zareh turns to Tilly, slowly beginning to walk towards her. "Now you. I genuinely like you. I believe you'll come back with my property. So you're gonna go get me that dilithium. How about we wait here, where it's cozy. But be quick, Ensign. Come nightfall, the ice... well it does what parasites do. It infests everything. I've seen it get down someone's throat. But you look like you can handle yourself. Maybe you can outrun it. Explosives help. You forge yourself a path back to us once it's dark. Okay, sweetheart?"

Before she can answer, one of his men finds Philippa around the perimeter, dragging her into the bar with a surprising amount of ease. She stumbles in, still as cocky and assured as ever. "Did I interrupt a critical moment of diplomacy?"

Zareh lets out a dry chuckle and moves to sit down at the bar. "A one-woman tactical response. V'Draysh has officially reached its nadir."

Philippa just smirks and rolls her eyes. "A fancy vocabulary doesn't mean you're scary. It means you have a thesaurus."

"Shoot her," He growls out.

"No, shoot him! He's gonna get you killed." Philippa looks at the one holding her at gunpoint expectantly. "This is when you ask why."

He lets out a small sigh and raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

Philippa grins widely, like the cat that got the canary. "Glad you asked. You think you're the only ones that saw a big ship fall from the sky? He knows your competitors probably detected the ship, and they're already on their way. But he hasn't told you, you're too weak to take them out, and you don't have the firepower."

"Enough!" Zareh rises from his seat, and pulls his own weapon, aiming it at her.

"I'm gonna enjoy this new world. If this idiot can run a settlement, then imagine what I could do in my sleep."

He shoots her as she turns to face him, the laser beam hitting her in the shoulder. It's not enough to kill her, but it's enough to send her reeling. "You've got a mouth, but I've got a gun."

He shoots her several times like that, having a sadistic sort of enjoyment in torturing her. She looks to Saru from where she's fallen to the ground, and he nods in understanding.

She gives it another moment before she rises to her feet, that self-assured smirk coming back to her face. Zareh raises an eyebrow and aims his weapon again. She kicks a barrel into his legs before he can shoot, sending him sprawling. Philippa and Saru manage to subdue, or in her case, kill their assailants, until there is only their leader sitting on his knees on the floor.

Philippa wants to kill him, but Saru refuses, instead letting the colonists decide his fate. They decide to send him out on his own come nightfall, let him fight his way through parasitic ice to find safety if he can.

Night comes sooner than the crew would hope, and it's almost completely dark by the time they're able to leave. One of the colonists gives them a personal transporter to make it to their ship without braving the ice, but it's still much to late to get Discovery off the ground.

They try to take off, to push themselves out of the ice with their thrusters, but it's too strong, they can't get through it alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another ship appears on scanners, and they all fear it's one of the many competitors looking to use their ship and their dilithium. The ship gets ahold of them with it's tractor beam, giving them that last little push they need to be free of the ice. Once they're free, the other ship hails them.

With communications finally back online, Saru decides to answer it. Whoever it may be, they need to try and communicate before more drastic measures are taken. "Open a channel, Mr. Bryce. We will face whatever or whomever has come for us together."

"Channel open."

Saru stands from the captain's chair and takes a few steps forward. "On viewscreen, please."

It takes several moments to get the viewscreen up running, the whole bridge crew waiting on baited breath for whoever will be on the other line. After what feels like an eternity, the screen finally comes on, revealing a smiling Commander Burnham on the other end. The crew lets out breaths of relief and small cheers at seeing her alive and well.

"Saru!" Her smile brightens as she says his name, her eyes watering slightly.

"Michael?" He looks at her in awe and complete disbelief. Her hair, her demeanor. If he didn't know her so well, he wouldn't believe it was her for a moment.

She nods and chuckles. "Yeah, it's me. We found you. We've been looking for so long."

Tilly puts her hands up to her mouth and sighs a breath of relief. At least Michael is home. Her heart breaks again in the same instant when she realizes she'll have to tell her that Jackie never made it back on board. A small quiet sob wracks through her and she turns away for a moment to compose herself.

Saru stutters and tries to find the words to say. "You... You're... You look--"

Michael shakes her head, her smile softening for a moment. "Saru... I landed here a year ago. I've been waiting for all of you, all this time."

Saru finds his voice after a moment, clinging onto the one thing he knows to be true right now. "So you know. Our mission was a success."

Michael lets out a small sigh, and nods. "Yeah, Saru, I do. But there's more to discuss once I come on board. It'll be two to beam down. I have a bit of a surprise."

Saru cocks his head slightly at the mention of a surprise, but he nods all the same. "Of course. We will be here for you when you arrive."

Michael clicks off the channel with another small nod, and turns to Jackie with a large grin. They finally found them. They're finally home. She holds out her hand to her daughter, happy tears welling in her eyes that she has to blink back. "You ready?"

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 100 - Lorca in the Klingon Prison

Finally justifying my decision to number these with triple digits, been at this for 100 days.

Star Trek: Discovery - Season 1 Episode 5 - Choose Your Pain

We open with a dream sequence showing Michael's guilt over Discovery's use of Ripper to navigate, and Ripper's behaviour has taken a turn for the worse in response to the pain. Meanwhile, Discovery is being taken away from the front lines to preserve it until more ships can be fitted with Spore Drives, much to Captain Lorca's dismay. Also Sylvia is still a sweet bean, and I love her. She is the emotional support human, and she's still amazing.

While Lorca is returning to Discovery from meeting the Admirals however, his shuttle is attacked by Klingons, and he is kidnapped, and Saru as First officer is sent on the mission to rescue him! The episode immediately hits to the core of the issue do the ends justify the means when it comes to using Ripper to navigate. Does saving Lorca's life, and the many other lives the speed of the spore drive can save justify Ripper's suffering? As I said yesterday, it's a gripping moral dilemma.

Also, I love that Saru asks the computer to compare him in the role of acting captain to captains past, that was great. I recognised Archer, Pike and Georgiou's names from the list, so I took note of the other names there to see if they come up at any point in the future. Robert April and Mathew Decker. Since 3 of the 5 names are references, I imagine these two are as well.

Lorca wakes up in Klingon prison with a delightful over dramatic thespian of a man. This guy is dressed kinda Doctor-ish, but he acts a lot more sinister and self-serving. I love dramatic characters like this, and he is a fantastic villain. He's been feeding information from the other prisoners to the torturer. Apparently this guy knows Lorca however, and Lorca has sacrificed his previous ship's crew to save them from similar torture. This is an interesting direction to take our captain, and I would love to find out more about him.

Paul, Michael and Sylvia begin to figure out an alternative to the Tartigrade, however they have trouble finding a suitable host for the Tartigrade's DNA sequence. Apparently Humans are compatible, but as we learned in Enterprise, Human-Genetic experiments are outlawed. Their experiments however need to take the spore drive offline, and delays Lorca's rescue, which is used as a beatiful way to further the dynamic between Saru and Michael.

Michael is confined to her quarters, and unfortunately this jump pushes Ripper into survival mode, and one more jump could kill it. Saru however, orders engineering to crack it open. Meanwhile, Lorca launches an escape with the other Starfleet prisoner, but abandons over-dramatic man behind. After a flight escape, Lorca and his escape buddy get transported onto Discovery.

Discovery makes the jump out of Klingon space, and then we're hit with the great reveal that Paul didn't use the Tartigrade. In order to save it, he injected Ripper's DNA into himself so he can use the navigation system. Thankfully, he survives.

We also get a brilliant making up scene between Saru and Michael, where Saru forgives Michael, Michael gives Saru Georgiou's telescope, and they agree to set the Tardigrade free.

I absolutely loved this one, the character work was great, especially in relation to Lorca and Michael, and it was great seeing Saru in the Command chair. I love his attention to detail in command, and I'm really curious what results his computer's comparison to other captains yielded, since he deleted them. This was a fantastic episode.

Also proper Queer Rep! Yes!

[quietcontradictions]

Started Watching Star Trek Discovery Yesterday Here are My Thoughts (episodes 1-4)

Michelle Yeoh!! Love her. Too bad her character got killed off.

Really interested in Michael Burnham. She's carrying this series. I like how they made her mixed heritage. I also like how they've been backing up her characterization of both smart and traumatized.

I was watching Star Trek Voyager before this, so I know there's established prison systems in Star trek cannon. However, when they sentenced her to life I really had to stop and have a Think. How credible is their "post-want civilization" when they still have slave labor systems in place? Like imprisonment makes a whole lot more sense when you're confined to a star ship and it only lasts an episode. I'd think if you lived on an entire planet full of people spending time as they wished, they're be more rehabilitation and restorative justice options available.

This is in the New Star Trek Timeline right? Did they make the Klingons look that inhuman in the movies? Any costuming change is an improvement to that Star Trek standard "just a guy with a weird nose", but I'm kinda torn about making the main bad guys so inhuman. Especially when they're traditionally played by people of color

While we're on the subject, kinda sus that they introduced the main Klingon, and then immediately killed him off to push forward the albino one. What's his name?...Voq.Like best case interpretation, they wanted their main Klingon to stand out from the crowd like an anime protagonist.

On a better note, I really like Saru. Sentient prey species is an interesting idea. Also I just love seeing how TALL he is next to Burnham

Tilly's fun. I'm liking the mentorship thing they're setting up between her and Burnham.

Lorca's classic star trek evil captain. "Ah yes, I see you noticed me being nefarious. Let me now smooth talk your valid concerns away because y'all are too afraid to back up any call outs you make." I just hope they don't try to redeem him.

[lizzie-jones]

my thoughts on st dsc season 5, episode 2

the friendship between saru and michael is one of the best things in the show

I'm so gay for Laira Rillak

"Action Saru" - I laughed very loud

"Probably the bravest soul I've ever known." 🥹💙✨️

please don't hurt saru, we need him for his wedding

"T'rina would be heartbroken" - yes and not only T'rina

"She would want me to perform my duties as I always have." 🥹💭

can he stop making me cry, please

we're going to trill

the connection between book and moll seems interesting to me

I always loved sarus quarters

"from a life of fear to a life of hope" ✨️🫶🏻

the forehead touch <<<3 😭💙

Admiral Vance, can I marry you?!

[tangleweave]

10 Fandoms / 10 Characters / 10 Tags

Tagged By: @kylo-wrecked

I have to admit I needed a few minutes to assemble ten fandoms, and a few minutes more for each one to think of ten characters for a couple of them! Fortunately, having an RP blog means I already interact with a few...

~*~*~*~

Marvel Universe Eddie Brock / Venom Beta Ray Bill Peter Parker / Spider-Man Phil Coulson Groot Stephen Strange Vision {Seriously, did anybody expect the first seven to be any different?} Curt Connors / The Lizard Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler Henry McCoy / The Beast

DC Universe Clark Kent / Superman Barry Allen / The Flash James Gordon Alfred Pennyworth Dick Grayson / Nightwing Tim Drake / Red Robin Kyle Rayner / Green Lantern Jimmy Olsen J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter Victor Stone / Cyborg

Star Trek Universe Data Julian Bashir Saru Wesley Crusher Spock Miles O'Brien The Doctor Nog Worf Jadzia Dax

Star Wars Universe (yes, I count Legends, come at me) Corran Horn The Dark Woman Plo Koon Luke Skywalker Han Solo Anakin Skywalker Chewbacca Leia Organa Wedge Antilles Din Grogu

Trigun Nicholas D. Wolfwood Vash the Stampede Hoppered the Gauntlet Milly Thompson B.D.N. Rem Saverem Midvalley the Hornfreak Meryl Strife Dominique the Cyclops Legato Bluesummers

Yu-Gi-Oh! Joey Wheeler Tristan Taylor Yugi Muto Yami / Pharaoh Atem Rafael Mai Valentine Duke Devlin Mahad Odion Mako Tsunami

Power Rangers Universe Billy Cranston Zack Taylor Kimberly Hart Trini Kwan Jason Lee Scott Adam Park Robert James Anubis Cruger Lord Zedd Tommy Oliver

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Donatello Leonardo Michelangelo Splinter Raphael Casey Jones Bebop Rocksteady Mondo Gecko Muckman

Babylon 5 Stephen Franklin Zack Allan Vir Cotto Lennier G'Kar Lorien Marcus Cole Michael Garibaldi Jeffrey Sinclair John Sheridan

The West Wing Josiah Bartlet Charlie Young Toby Ziegler Sam Seaborn Dolores Landingham C.J. Cregg Margaret Hooper Leo McGarry Debbie Fiderer Josh Lyman

~*~*~*~

Tagging: @brooklynislandgirl @nightmarefuele @illbringthechaosmagic @itmeanspeace @morgansmornings @sokovianfortune @defectivexfragmented @yggdrasilushxrt @tabbyrp @corinnebaileyrp

[staringdownabarrel]

I've seen the most recent episode of Discovery, Lagrange Point. Here are my thoughts.

Overall, this season hasn't been as action heavy as some of the previous seasons have been. That final ten minutes or so, where Discovery is trying to get the Progenitor device off the Breen ship, stands out because of that. I think this will probably also end up standing out as one of the best action sequences of the entire show when people talk about it in ten years or so.

I think the final action sequence did a good job at being a traditional Discovery action sequence (e.g., very special effects heavy) while also being a traditional Trek action sequence. Like, there's a lot of focus on how they're going to pull this off in a technobabbly sort of way--go in at a specific angle and then go out, etc.

Honestly, I feel like Discovery sometimes gets a bit too much flack for not being Trek enough in how it approaches its action sequences. Yes, they are often very reliant on CGI, but a lot of the major action sequences will involve some very traditional Trek tactics. Like, in the first season when Discovery goes up against the Klingon ship of the dead, they had Stamets jump the ship around fast enough that the Klingons' sensors wouldn't be able to keep up. That's very much in line with the traditional Trek battle strategy of exploiting the limitations of the other combatants' sensors--the Picard maneuver is basically the same thing, but with warp engines instead of a spore drive.

Really, the traditional problem for Discovery is that it'll sometimes focus so much on having these big expensive action sequences that it'll get in the way of developing the plot. This criticism makes a lot more sense. I get that the new Trek shows have a much larger budget and they want to show it off and action sequences are an easy way of doing that, but this is science fiction. Big complicated alien sets and new alien prosthetics can also show off a big budget, and given Trek's traditional focus, are a much better way of doing that.

Still, Lagrange Point was an example of a Discovery-style action sequence done well. It had that traditional Trek focus on tactics and it kept the plot moving--in fact, it was pivotal for the plot, given that it was how they'd get the McGuffin.

The other thing I've generally liked about this season so far is the Saru-T'Rina dynamic. I think the show has generally done a much better job at giving them a romance arc without it feeling melodramatic.

This is the other thing that I feel Discovery hasn't done well. Usually its approach to romance arcs have been very heavy handed and overall the least interesting part of the show. Even in this season, which I think has been the best season of the show, the Michael-Book dynamic has been the least interesting aspect of the season--while it makes sense that there'd be some awkwardness there, it's just so melodramatic that it's hard for me to take it seriously.

The Saru-T'Rina pairing is more interesting to me because the focus is on how they navigate being in a relationship and squaring it with their official capacities. With a lot of the other Discovery pairings--and, ultimately, other Star Trek pairings more broadly--the focus is just on the relationship and that's it. It's not as interesting to me if it's just there for the sake of being there.

Anyway, that's all I have for now.

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

LAST DISCO EPISODE!!!!

maybe i'll write out some more coherent thoughts later but i really really loved it. if i rewatched, i could probably find some nitpicks in the episode itself but as a last episode of Discovery, it was really perfect. i was a bit worried that it wouldn't really feel final because it wasn't designed to be the finale and i was worried the reshot ending would have been oddly stitched on but everything about it was just right. it was so sappy and sentimental in the best way possible. truly with all of the Star Trek finales (with the exception of TATV because that is not the Enterprise finale), the last scene/shot is always a perfect representation of the show from tng's poker scene to ds9's shot on Kira and Jake as the camera leaves the station to Voyager's shot of Janeway looking out as Voyager finally reaches Earth and now Michael walking onto Discovery's bridge one last time in the future and seeing all of her family before it's just her because as much as i love the other Disco characters, it truly is Michael's show and she's earned it.

i also love that our concrete ending is in the far future and we get a little hint of the rest of Discovery's adventures (TEMPORAL COLD WAR???? YES PLEASE) without boxing them in too much, especially as i think it's likely we'll see at least some of the characters in Starfleet Academy/other projects.

other things – the Burnham/Book chemistry, especially them as an old couple was outrageously good. i'm glad they got their happy ending. Saru and T'Rina's wedding was adorable. and i did quite like the resolution to the season plot!! the idea of an ouroboros loop of creation is really compelling to me along with a pointed refusal of answers but encouraging more questions (very Star Trek V coded). i love that all of the main cast seemed to get at least one scene or two to really shine which is a rarity in Discovery so i'm happy to see it!

also the season overall was really great. there were two episodes that kind of lost me a bit (not bad, they were just a bit boring for me) but all the rest were excellent and it's my favorite Disco season by far and probably my favorite last season of a Trek show.

[the-shanone]

I wish you would write a fic where...Michael and Laira get caught in the rain and end up very caught up in mutual pining.

This is probably not quite what you had in mind, but it's what came out, so . . . I hope you like it anyway!

“Remind me why we didn’t take our badges, again?” Laira’s thin blouse is so completely soaked with rain, it’s almost see-through.

Michael does her best not to look. “Because you wanted to play hooky from your security team.”

“I’m not playing hooky, Captain Burnham,” Laira shivers, “I just wanted to take a walk without being surrounded on all sides.”

“So you brought me instead?”

It’s a good thing Michael is walking out ahead of her, because Laira can feel a slight warmth blossoming in her cheeks.

When she doesn’t reply, Michael continues, “Suppose you couldn’t have warned me you were planning to take your walk on top of a mountain in the middle of a thunderstorm, huh?”

“The storm wasn’t a part of the plan.” Neither was Michael looking this good in rain-soaked clothes.

The rain is coming down harder now; a solid wall of water unhindered by the sparse tree canopy above. Thunder rumbles in the distance.

Michael glances back to look at Laira. She’s quickly following the path Michael’s setting down the mountain. “Just a little farther. I scanned the area before we beamed down, and there should be some kind of shelter just past this ridge.”

Laira nods determinedly, but Michael can see her visibly shaking; her Cardassian side makes her more sensitive to the cold.

They scramble down the rocky slope, and they’ve almost reached the bottom when Michael hears a sharp inhale and the sound of sliding rocks behind her.

Laira is lying on the ground violently shaking, her left ankle turned at an odd angle. “Stepped in a hole, then slipped on the rocks,” she says as Michael sprints over to her.

One look at the ankle causes Michael to wince, “Well, we’re not going anywhere now. You can’t walk on that.”

“I have Cardassian bones, they don’t break that easily.”

“Well Madam President,” Michael gives a tiny smile, “somehow you’ve managed to do just that.”

Laira is suddenly very aware of how close Michael’s face is to hers.

“Madam President doesn’t break bones, Captain.” The pounding in Laira’s ears is definitely the drumming of the rain and has absolutely nothing to do with the way Michael’s hands are lightly ghosting over her, checking for other injuries.

“Oh, of course, my apologies,” Michael slowly and gently brushes her thumb over Laira’s brow ridges to keep the water dripping from her hair out of her eyes. “Madam President doesn’t break bones, only Laira the mountain-walker does that.”

“Yes,” Laira’s voice is a mere whisper as her teeth chatter in the wind. “Now you’ve got it.”

Michael is looking at Laira’s lips to make sure they haven’t turned blue.

“Captain —”

Michael raises her gaze to meet Laira’s eyes, “Is this Madam President talking, or Laira the mountain-walker?”

“Laira,” she smiles faintly.

“Ah, well then, she should call me Michael, don’t you think?” Michael winks, trying to keep lighthearted. “Just so I know who I’m talking to.”

“Michael?” Laira’s eyes are still bright, even if she is shaking like a leaf. “I’m cold.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Michael takes a deep breath, “I’m going to lie on top of you; my body heat will help keep you a little warmer and it’ll protect you from some of the rain without disturbing your ankle.”

Laira’s eyes grow fractionally larger.

Michael gently lays down over Laira’s shivering form, wrapping her arms around Laira’s head and neck and laying her own head down on Laira’s chest. Laira turns her head so that her cheek rests against Michael’s wrist and inhales deeply.

“Michael?”

“Yes?” Michael breathes against Laira’s collarbone.

“How much longer until the time we told Saru to beam us back up?”

“Soon,” she whispers. “Very soon.” In her head, just briefly, she allows herself to wish for another moment in time where they’re lying like this. A moment where Laira kisses her wrist, and she kisses Laira’s collarbone, and they laugh and roll over in the warm, sunny grass. But she pushes the thought away. This Laira is injured and shivering, and it’s Michael’s job to keep her safe.

[fluorescentbrains]

I’ve watched snw and lower decks but haven’t watched discovery yet (not sure if I’m going to frankly) I feel like all I hear is negative things about it? And my opinion is that snw would be unwatchable without uhura and the occasional charm from some of the other characters (none of which are like. Consistently great even if they all have their moments) but lwd is really solid perhaps my favorite Star Trek thus far (I’ve seen up to season 2 tng of old trek watching in release order)

Is disco really that bad? Is it worth watching? I always kind of wonder if people hate on it excessively because it has a black woman as the lead (lwd does too ofc but she notably shares that role with a white man and it’s an animated workplace comedy as opposed to a serious space adventure)

so I think one thing that trips people up with discovery is that the first season is pretty grim and violent and a lot of the characters hate each other. i don’t know why bryan fuller went for hannibal rather than pushing daisies when he wrote season 1, but he did. i think this is what puts a lot of the tumblr demographic off. the tone changes a lot in later seasons and becomes more recognizably star trek, and you can really tell they went through multiple showrunners.

for the reddit demographic, i do think they’re just mad about a black woman being captain and gay people being featured in prominent roles lmao. they give themselves away when they say michael burnham is a mary sue—she’s no more mary sue than james kirk. the fact she’s spock’s adopted sister might seem kind of silly at first but i think the show actually does some really compelling stuff with it, and i loved their sibling interactions.

all that is to say, the show has some issues which may or may not impact your enjoyment, but imo yes, it’s worth at least giving a chance—it’s worth it just for sonequa martin-green’s performance as michael burnham, honestly, even if you’re not interested in the plot. saru and stamets are my other two favorites, and they get some pretty interesting stuff to do.

in conclusion—i understand why some people don’t like disco’s vibe and feel like it’s got too many convoluted plots and firefights for a star trek show. i agree with that to an extent, but i also think it’s got some really good characters and interesting takes on pre-existing lore.

[ignisgalaxia]

Star Trek Captain/First Officer Ships

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I wanna talk about the captain/first officer ships. I think that it’s perfectly normal to ship the captains and first officers to some degree. I mean after all, they’re ideally the relationship that gets the most focus in each show. That being said, I think each pair has their strengths and weaknesses so I will be ranking them accordingly in tiers, from not romantically compatible to practically married.

Low Level Ship Tier

As you can gather, this tier is mostly for the pairs that have the least amount of ship energy. Either they have the bare minimum or their dynamic is just not suited to romance imo.

Carol Freeman & Jack Ransom

I love Lower Decks for many reasons, but these two’s relationship leaves a lot to be desired. Honestly these two feel the most like coworkers. You know, the ones who only put up with each other because they’re on the same team. The biggest reason I feel nothing for them is that I just don’t like Ransom. At all. He’s like a caricature of Riker with all the male stereotypes and none of the charm. Plus Carol is already happily married (at least I assume happily; we should really see them together more), so I don’t really see any appeal to them.

Jean-Luc Picard & William Riker

I think for a while Will saw Jean-Luc as somewhat of a father figure. But based on the scenes they’ve had together in Picard, I think their dynamic has shifted to really close friends. Seeing them talk with each other so casually filled me with such joy. I love them as a team, but I don’t see any romantic potential, especially since they both have amazing women for significant others (and yes I do mean Deanna and Beverly). Also age differences make me uncomfortable sorry.

Michael Burnham & Saru

These two give off sibling energy more than anything. Their relationship has improved significantly over the past four seasons, but man season one was rough. I get why Saru was mad at her, he was grieving Phillipa and Michael did hold some responsibility for her death, but his attitude toward her got really infuriating at times. It was interesting seeing how they rebuilt their relationship into one based on trust and understanding though.

Benjamin Sisko & Kira Nerys

I don't really have much to say about these two since I haven't watched DS9 yet. But I also think they work best as friends. I mean I guess there could be something but I think the whole Bajoran prophet aspect makes things a little weird. Idk I really don't have any opinions on them because I lack knowledge.

Mid Level Ship Tier

This tier has the pairs that have a good amount of romantic potential, but something’s holding them back from being truly top tier. But overall I think they’re pretty good.

Jonathan Archer & T’Pol

I KNOW T’Pol ends up with Tucker (I don’t understand how or why), and her and Archer are very different but hear me out. You know the episode Twilight? Well that was originally written as a Voyager episode for the pair later in this list (and you know where they’re gonna be). So yeah, a romance episode for another pair was rewritten to fit these two. Kinda telling, don’t you think? Other than that not much to say since I haven’t seen Enterprise either.

Christopher Pike & Una Chin-Riley

I like this ship, I really do. But I just haven’t seen enough of them together to truly get on board. From what I have seen though, their dynamic is very cute. Like when he fumbled her name trying to introduce her. Frikkin adorable. And I love the idea of her just lifting him with zero effort since she’s apparently freakishly strong.

Dal R’El & Gwyndala

These two have come a long way in just the span of one season. Dal telling Gwyn to keep her eyes on him at the end of episode ten and his anguish when she accidentally saw Zero through his combadge’s reflection. AND THEN THE FINALE KISSES! Dal’s got some balls for planting one on her in part one, and then in part two their mutual kiss before Gwyn leaves. I LIVE FOR THIS SHIT. I hope these two go somewhere, but the fact that Gwyn isn’t gonna be with the crew next season is making me not get my hopes up too much.

I think it’s also important to note that this is the only pair to have ACTUALLY KISSED and is even remotely canon. And it’s two teenagers. The fuck’s up with that?! (That is also why they are not in the high ship tier because while they’re frikkin adorable and I’m happy they kissed, they’re still minors so I’m not investing every part of me into them if that makes sense)

High Level Ship Tier

This tier is reserved for the pairs that I legitimately think belong together. Like it’s borderline cruel that they’re not a couple. This tier is for two pairs in particular, but there’s always room for more if they prove worthy. I’d also call this the ‘Oh My God Just Kiss Already’ tier.

James T. Kirk & Spock

These two aren’t the fathers of slash fanfic for no reason. Again, still haven’t seen the original series, but having seen several clips, specifically from Amok Time, yeah they’re pretty gay. And considering there’s an entire movie dedicated to Kirk finding and bringing Spock back, it’s giving off soulmate energy.

Kathryn Janeway & Chakotay

And surprising absolutely no one is the couple I would literally sell my soul to see become canon. I mean, do I really need to explain myself? The only reason these two aren’t together is because the writers are cowards. For God’s sake he built her a bathtub! And she dropped everything to go searching for him when he went missing. He is her rock and she is his peace! THEY ARE SOULMATES DAMNIT!

So there’s my list. What about y’all? Do you agree with my ranking or would you put any pairs in a different tier? Let me know, and have a happy Valentine’s Day!