#respect for IDIC

[a-most-beloved-fool]

makes me a little sad when star trek ignores IDIC. like. vulcans are logical. that is true. But 'logical', for vulcans, does not amount to 'without compassion,' and it definitely doesn't amount to 'racial superiority.' Belief in 'infinite diversity in infinite combinations' should NOT result in the weird racist/speciest stuff we're getting in some of the newer treks. It does make sense that some vulcans are discriminatory. They're still flawed. But that should not be common or expected, like it seems to be in SNW. If it is, then it's a race of hypocrites, which. doesn't seem very true to Star Trek's message.

I think TOS Spock does a pretty good job of embodying this. Not always, it was the 60s, after all, but mostly. He was often trying to find non-violent routes, and get by without killing - even if they were in danger or had already been attacked. (See: the mugato, and the horta (until Kirk was the one in danger, lmao. t'hy'la > IDIC), the Gorn ship). Kirk, in his eulogy, calls him the most human soul he's ever known, and I've always read that as Kirk calling out Spock's overwhelming compassion.

It's just so much more interesting when Vulcans get to be radically compassionate. I want them to believe that everything and everyone has value. I want them to respect all ways of being. I want them to find ways for even very non-humanoid aliens to exist unfettered in society. I want them to see hybrids and think that it's amazing. Also, like, disability rep. I want Vulcans to have The Most Accessible Planet and available resources because they want everyone to feel accepted and valued. It makes for better characters and more interesting stories.

[ryannorth]

this forum does not exist but if it did I would HOPE they'd respect the IDIC ethos as introduced in 1968's "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" during the original series' third season

[pavel-chekov-appreciator]

I want better for Sybok.

I want a world where he got a fighting chance to do anything but become a cult leader. I’ve seen aus where he becomes a counselor and I can’t stop thinking about it.

No gods, no Sha-Ka-Ree, no cult. Just a kid who knows his history. Who researches Surak, and the world before him, and finds himself dissatisfied with present day Vulcan’s interpretations of his teachings. Unable to see the logic in following one ancient man’s words with no additional input or thought. Is this truly the best way for them to live? His mother didn't think so. He doesn't think so either.

He’s young, and he has big ideas and a lot of charisma, and a lot of inner pain from losing his mother and being suddenly told the way she was raising him was wrong. He quickly earns a reputation as a troublemaker. Indulging in blatant displays of emotionalism, just to prove his point, that he smiled and nothing bad happened, he cried and he felt better after.

He’s dissatisfied and ostracized and convinced there’s a better way to be living.

He fucks off at 18-not quite banished, but so strongly encouraged to leave that he might as well have been-and goes to a college on Earth, because the federation is a post-scarcity society so he has his basic needs met and he just wants to figure himself out, and where better to do that than a college campus, as far away from Vulcan society as possible. On his step-mother's home planet, where he knows at least a little of the culture, the language, what to expect.

He sees the school counselor a lot, and gets a lot out of their sessions. Takes some psychology courses and ends up getting really passionate about it.

Teaches himself to embrace his emotions while acknowledging that it’s very easy to be ruled by them. Utilizes aspects of traditional Vulcan control combined with the human practice of mindfulness to understand his emotions and control his strong impulse to act on them, without completely rejecting them. Knows he is choosing not to control his emotions, but he can and should control the actions he takes in response to them to avoid hurting himself or others. Knows that understanding why he feels a certain way can help him understand himself better.

Lives his best life and studies psychology to help other people find the same joy and peace he has, in whatever form that takes for them.

Then he finds out his baby bro basically told the VSA to fuck off and that dad more or less disowned him for joining Starfleet. Feels so damn proud of him for standing up the their parents like that.

Reunites with his brother after years of separation.

It’s rocky at first, but after both being disowned they’re all the family the other has left now, and they both do really care about each other.

Spock doesn’t understand Sybok’s choices, but he doesn’t need to understand them to respect them; Sybok is clearly still exercising some degree of control over himself, he even still meditates, he’s just controlling himself less, and differently, and his mind is more at peace than it’s ever been before. Sybok doesn’t really understand Spock’s continued dedication to logic either, but he respects it too, because clearly it still means something to Spock in a big way.

They make peace with each other, and their differences, and with the fact that their parents and society have rejected them. That Sybok did everything “wrong” and Spock did everything “right” and yet they both ended up in the same place; on Earth, with mom ignoring their calls, because she loved them both but she loves her husband more.

And ultimately he enrolls in Starfleet medical to become a ships counselor, because he still takes great joy in doing things he knows dad would hate, and because he wants to specialize in trauma and grief counseling and Starships need a lot of that, and because getting a new perspective on life from being around humans helped him a lot and he’s rejected a lot of philosophy that he found unhelpful but IDIC is something he still believes in; he wants to be around as many different ideas and perspectives as he can to improve himself and his practice, and Starfleet is a great way to do that.

Getting to follow his only remaining family into space is just a bonus.

[hopecomesbacktolife]

I’m a religious syncretic, I love both Star Trek and LOTR ✨ you’re welcome to join me if ya want! we have:

-high holidays (threshold day, sub rosa day, middle-earth new year, hobbit day, 7/9 day, durin’s day, etc)

-sacred music (shire theme, star trek theme, rohan theme, stiv theme, edge of night, beyond antares, nature’s reclamation, etc)

-special foods (po-ta-toes, italian [food], strawberries with cream, mint juleps, appreciation for a good ale, etc)

-guiding principles (IDIC, valuing food+cheer+song above hoarded gold, equity and equal rights for all, friendship and love and hope, doing good for goodness’s sake, being true to yourself, science appreciation, gorgeous textiles, enjoying a simple/comforting life, nature conservation and respect, anticapitalism, etc)

-icons (uhura, arwen, spock, aragorn, frodo, ben sisko, kira nerys, eowyn, etc)

-beautiful lyrical texts (LOTR, the silmarillion, unfinished tales, the wounded sky, spock’s world, etc)

and more!

[fox-the-artist-fruit-canid]

Tears of a broken promise

They were currently at the port they were reunited to say goodbye to eachother before they go into their respective misions,the ambience was tense in betwen the two o them they hadn´t talked since the discussion that they had last night.

He was nervous not dearing to speak as he waited for his elder brother to at least say something not receiving any answer he was going to speak,when suddenly a warm embrace took him by surprise.

The elder one was hugging him tighly almost making him suffocate hiting a bit his older brothers back to idicate that it was enough to wich he let go letting him breathe.

''what got to you so suddenly?''

He asked looking to his brother who to his surprise had a warm but wide smile in his face smile he hadn't seen in a really long time,not since their other family members passed away.

''im just a bit happier than this last days thats all''

Said the older before ruffling his fluff or rather hair making him chuckle he hadn´t seen him this energic and overall happy since a long while it almost felt off,but he wasn´t going to question it at least not now.

''if you say so''

Claimed the younger one as he just stared at his old brother hearing a 'ejem' coming from behind him looking at a certain masked irken that came with him just to make sure he didn't lated much.

''are you two done over there?''

Questioned the masked one looking at them with a deadpan expresion that could be senced troughout the plastic mask.

Both looked at eachother him looking more melancholic felling like he should say something but his brother moved before he could say something,moving towards the masked irken who looked a bit paniked at the sudden aproach.

''what are you-hmph!''

He had almost no time of reaction before he was hugged with such force he was even lifted off the floor hitting the taller one´s back to indicate he was suffocating under his grasp,the older one let go afther laughing abit as the other recovered from the bear hug.

The older one really had no reason to do that but he still did,the younger one weanwhile also laughed at this scene looking as the masked irken recovering and sending a dead stare at his brother as if they were enemies to wich his brother only smirked amused.

''Mis hurry up! we have to go!''

Soon the taller one was called an female irken with a lizard like apearence was calling him to come as she moved some samll metalic boxes inside the spceship.

''thats my call…looks like is time to say goodbye''

Said the taller one as the other two noded,he smiled at them before going for another hug,strange comming of him that he was very touchy that day since he usually disliked fisical touch.

This time he hugged both of them softly in diference to before,the younger one corresponded aswell as the masked one afther a couple of seconds.

''take care you two,ok?''

Was what he said before letting go off them,he patted both of their heads a bit to the disgust off he masked one who pushed his hand grumbling to wich the taller one only giggled.

''MIS!''

The taller one was going to say something but the angry scream of the irken of before made him jump and turn around to shout aswell.

''coming!''

An unamed planet were irk had an still operating investigation center or that was till they sent an almost screaming help mensage to the central,so a small rescue team was sent in case it was a trap.

he waved at them as he was leaving smiling brigtly,both waved back,the younger one left things unsaid but if they saw again maybe they could talk it out,but he couldn´t help but have a bad felling about this.

.

.

.

They had been traveling since a couple days now,the travel was about to end as they were aproaching the destination.

The rescue was more regarding the investigation that was on that rather small investigation center of the desertic planet than to rescue the investigators and scientist of the place.

Cruel maybe,but at this point they couldn´t risk it this was one of the last investigation centers hidden away and that was far away from irk and wich was still accesible.

The rescue team consisted of 5 memebers 2 elite pilots,an mechanic,an exterminator and a rebelious xeltrian,quite a weird combination if things had to be said.

Once they were on close proximity off the planet they were warned by the pilots as a call to be ready for the landing were their mission will start.

They landed safely afther that,once on the sanded ground of the planet he felt an rather agonaizing pinch on his neck almost like it was a burning red needle being puntured on his neck.

It wasn´t the first time he felt that kind of pain that came associated with the fact of now being part of the xeltrian hive mind,but he thought this signal probably came from amber the xeltrian that was with them.

But due to no signal of life outside it was obvious something went wrong and they had no time left and due to the abcent of any form of ship they probably escaped given the oportunity or the one´s that could.

Soon he learned he was wrong in thinking the signal came from amber.

.

They aproached to the base prepared for the worst since once close they could see the base rather dismanteled like they tried to get everything to get out of the planet as fast as posible.

Ignoring this they decided to enter the base looking around in watch of survivors for now only finding corpses some under fallen debry,something truly went wrong in there.

Once they reached the center and most important part of the investigation center they found with horror that everything was destroyed leaving nothing of research behind everything was destroyed.

He couldn´t help but curse under his breath as he saw this mass destruccion and bodys of all the scientist and researchers being trown everywhere some even hanging above their heads.

All their reasearch was gone but maybe there were still something to save,as they started to look around in watch of something they could save they had no clue they weren´t alone in fact being watched.

Saeri his cousin and the mechanic of the team soon in one of the corpses found an ipad that was mayorly intact only having a cracked screen.

''hey! found something''

''what is it?''

''its an ipad it has the screen cracked but it seems intact''

''good…if we can´t find anything else we'll take that and leave''

Was their converstion as he still looked for anything else they could safe meanwhile amber guarded atentive to any sort of danger.

As saeri got the ipad out of the body´s hands a sudden but low growl only him and amber heard made act of presence they got pale as they also received a transmission trhough their flagella.

They weren´t abble to warn saeri before a rank 4 xeltrian ran straiaght towards her,even if saeri reacted fast and shielded herself with an arm,what she didn´t take in count was that the xeltrian riped a part of her arm off.

She let out a loud pained scream as she fell to the ground with only a part of her now dislocated arm left as the other one was being swalowed by the monster known by the name the silent death.

Amber attacked knocking off balnce the rather more small xeltrain in coparicion taking saeri in her arms and runing being followed by him short afther since he had to make sure they had a way to distract that beast.

He closed doors and halls to try and slow down the rank 4 who started following them opening and opening gate afther gate and door afther door with only brute force.

Amber and saeri ran out fisrt being followed by mis who had closed the principal gate of the base which was more resistent and will take a while to destroy.

''someone has to distract it''

Said amber kinda the obvious somethng had to entertrain the rank 4 so that the others could go safely back to irk.

''im going to,i know how…''

Sighted mis prepared to sacrifice himself for the safety of the others,upon hearing this saeri tried to go down of amber´s arms but amber hold on tight.

''no! were not letting you here!''

''…it´s the only way…im sorry…''

Were mis words with a heavy heart as he loocked at the gate as shounds of broken metal were heard from the inside of the base.

''amber go now the rank 4 won´t late that much on reaching and breking the frontal gate…''

Amber only noded as saeri was still triying to get of her arms as this happened,amber started runing with saeri on her arms going far quickly.

''NO! MIS!''

Was the onle thing he could hear saeri sayas they went away sighting a bit sad,he took out his weapon and shot it staright onto the floor on a specific place.

He could hear a 'pip!' come from the sand as the floor now iluminated with tiny blue doted lights that blinked quickly making some sort of patern.

Now his gaze was taken quickly by the sound of the frontal gate being hit repeadly with extreme strenght being slowly but surely open seing as the blades of the rank 4 pierced the door.

His heart rate was speeding up fast almost feeling as if his heart will jump of his chest knowing the iminent death aproaching not by the rank 4 itself but by the mines he just activated.

The inside of his head was a disaster full of thoughts,regrets,with fond and bad memories,feelings and emotions,as he most likely was seing his life pass before his eyes.

Even if he didn´t realice at first due to feeling numb his shaking legs betrayed him making him fall on his knees being unable to get up,he experienced this kind of fear before and he didn´t like it in the bare minimum.

In his trys to calm down he inhaled and exahaled all the air in his body,now a bit more prepared his flagella wen out transmiting a signal to amber before starting a soft signal to the rank 4.

Said rank 4 went out trowing the gate down and finally coming out with a blood chiling roar,he walked out slowly now facing him it´s eyes full of hunger and anger,it growled at him as it received the signal he was sending.

Both looked at each other eye to eye with a firce glare,but one of their gazes softens and looks lost into the void of the sunrising sky.

He was sorry,really sorry,he once again broke the promise he made to her sister before she departed that he would be there for his brothers.

Now he was about to leave this world wich meant leaving take his only alive brother left behind…

Bitter tears fell off his face as he forced a smile into his facial expresion,he was sorry for everything he was sorry for absolutly everything,he was sorry…

At the sound off a last 'pip!' from the mines,the rank 4 charged at all its speed preparing its claws to decapiatate him,he was ready.

''saeri!''

afther that it all turned white.

.

.

.

They were close to reaching the ship in fact she could see it from a distance,saeri wasn´t cooperative still trying to jump off her arms and finally being abble to when she stoped runing when a transmision hit her

''we have to go back!''

''saeri no!''

''we can´t leave him! not like this!''

''saeri he´s gone!''

She stops her path upon hearing this slowly turning towards her,saeris face was covered in tears that rolled down her face non stop.

''i know…yet we have to try…''

Before she could continue walking or letting her answer something a loud boom was heard from the distance both seing a fire and smoke structure formed in the distance were the investiation center used to be.

She acted fast runing towards saeri and tackled herto the floor using her body as a shield in counter of the electromacnetic shockwave that followed.

But as spectated nothing just nothing,a great pair of metters they found the dead body of the rank 4 complitly destroyed and in another couple of meters they found the only thing left of him.

Once done they watched in horror as there was nothing but smoke left the truth making itself evident it was all nothing more than ashes now.

.

As they were back they watched for anything that could signal he had survived somehow,this hope being unrealistic and nothing more than a dream.

His PAK was still mildly intact but it was unfunctional completly shut down,upon this decovery a pained and deep in sorrow scream from saeri was heard meters away as bitter tears fell from both off their faces.

''making a hole in the floor wont make them come back faster…''

He truly was gone.

.

.

.

Back on irk he awaited kinda inpatient walking left and right as he awaited for the ship to return at the port,yet he wasn´t alone like last time being acompained by his masked companion.

''i know,i know,im just nervous''

Was their short conversation as the awaited moment finally arrived the ship in were his brother and cousin departed had arrived afther a week since he returned to irk.

He went as close as posible waiting impatient hoping to see his brother again seing as the ship landed waiting as the ship now opened its gate to let the tripulation out.

Saeri was the first to come out tho she looked lost in thought her eyes being abscent of any kind of shine and most importantly he noticed that a piece of her arm was missing.

He worried upon seing this something must have went wrong he didn´t hecitate any longer and sproached her almost triping onto his own feet.

''saeri!''

''take…?''

Saeri raised her head off the floor to see him noticing the others cast on his arm wich meant it was broken,she worried upon seing this tho she lowered her gaze again.

''saeri! wha…what happened?…your arm…''

''it was ripped off…''

Was her simple answer that make him worry even more he didn´t said a word just staring at her with worry.

''what happened to yours?''

''it was just an accident nothing to worry…''

She was going to talk when upon the sound of movement he got distracted looking inside the ship in watch for his brother seing the pilots come out and later on amber who hold something in her arms but no clue of his brother were abouts.

''were´s mis…?''

The question saeri was fearing to come was made she only stared at the side blinking fast as if she was triying to contain her tears thing wich confused him.

''he´s gone…''

Was amber´s short but certain answer,upon this revelation he was taken aback quite not beliving what he just heard.

''what…?''

''he is gone take….he is dead…''

He went pale breathing heavily while bitter tears of remorse and frustration started producing in his eyes,he was going to say something until he saw that what amber was the only remain of his brother being his now unfuntioning PAK.

Silent decorated with a face of authentic horor and tears of complete and uter pain feel down his face,his legs failed him falling to his knees.

His cousin followed him kneeling down in front of him and hugging him gently while she also started criying in join to him.

''im so sorry…im really sorry…''

''no…''

Were her words as he finaly broke down crying his heart out while he hugged her back as they both cry amber holds her tears.

.

Meanwhile at the conmosion his masked companion comes closer noticing the scene not quite understanding what was happening until he notices the object in ambers hands realization hitting quick.

But despite none of them knowing someone watches this being mis or rather his soul who looks with eyes full of sadness repeating words of sorry no one can hear as tears run down its face.

Was all he could muster felling his troath dry and closing a bit out of nowhere knowing perfectly the reason as his eyes start to feel anoyed by something aswell,he clenches his fist as a form to mantain composure.

.

As bitternes and grief revolved in the ambience people observes the whole thing uravel without interrupting.

'at the rise of a new sunrise a hero says goodbye…'

Says a female voice to it´s left wich happened to be his mothers soul voice she also looked sad but she wasn´t as emotional as him.

'it´s time to go back…'

Upon hearing this he sighs and cleans his tears and nods taking a last glance again saying an apology before they both depart into the horizon.

[junewongapologia]

I know it's been lost in the many, many annoying years of ST writers deciding Vulcans are bad and contemptible for having what amounts to just really visible cultural differences from humanity, but I really like how... Culturally Vulcan Spock is.

His colleagues have like a fixation on his mother's heritage but... he grew up culturally Vulcan on Vulcan and his human mother all but states in Babel that she's basically assimilated into Vulcan culture because she agrees with its ethos. In all of TOS Spock considers himself Vulcan.

He's... very well adjusted and settled in so he is, he's a guy who sacked off the VSA to join a pseudo-military against the wishes of his pacifist dad and on the ship he plays Vulcan musical instruments with his human colleagues, and keeps a room full of Vulcan cultural artefacts that presumably remind him from home. (I get that this is half-retconned in the movies - most explicitly in ST V 🙄 - and also pretty inconsistently written in TOS but it's still there!)

Idk it's kind of sad to me that the Vulcans are literally the innovators of IDIC and they've been flanderized into these isolationist bigots because the stoicism/pacifist vibes can be kind of confused and off-putting to people.

Like. List of Vulcans we actually meet in TOS:

Spock

Spock's dad, ambassador to Earth, married to a human in some weird 60s sitcom couple dynamic, in-text reason he is estranged from his half human son is literally stated outright as being because he thinks Starfleet is too militaristic and he's a pacifist - like most Vulcans.

T'Pring - Spock's fiancée/wife, breaks up with him because it seems like too much of a hassle to be married to a celebrity, never seems to have any issue with his parentage, clearly thinks he's Vulcan since she divorces him via Vulcan ritual (logical, fight to the death) and not Human ritual (illogical, loopholes/contacting your local divorce lawyer)

Stonn - has two lines, neither of them are about Spock.

T'Pau - kind of maybe says something bigoted ("they say thy Vulcan blood is thin"), but then pulls strings to get the Enterprise off the hook for disobeying orders at the end of the episode, presumably as a favour to Spock, who she knows is going through a rough time, or out of respect for Not-Really-Dead Jim.

Surak - from a war torn civilisation five hundred years ago, still less bigoted towards other species than McCoy lmao

I might be so wrong about this but idk I just like Spock's room full of unabashed Vulcan shit, and I think ST has ignored and wasted opportunities for interesting stories bc they're kind of obsessed with deconstruction of everything about TOS/the ST universe to the detriment of anything else including the actual original ethos of Starfleet.

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

for the made-up fic title thing: imperfect paragon

I think I'd write a Star Trek fic about Spock, exploring his Vulcan side and the concept of IDIC.

It'd be about AOS!Spock trying to be "more" Vulcan following the destruction of his planet by observing and learning from his Prime counterpart, and being frustrated that Spock Prime seems so human when AOS!Spock feels like he'll lose all his Vulcan traits and his very identity if he tries to walk that fine line.

Spock Prime would guide him by showing him how everything he does is actually perfectly half-Vulcan, since they are half-Vulcan. The balance is already there, Spock will never be too human to be Vulcan. Spock Prime's own feelings would also be explored, as one of the few remaining Vulcan Elders now tasked to be the guardians and paragons of their cultural heritage - he'd have to deal with the burden of the responsibility, and bond with the other elders over their own respective weaknesses, none of them being as perfect as they feel they have to be to guide their people.

I'd write it as a love letter to Vulcan culture, drawing mostly from TOS, AOS and VOY (we love and respect Vulcans and Surak in this house), to counterbalance how much Star Trek media & fic is about Spock "learning to be more human." Background Spuhura, because AOS Spuhura is my Star Trek OTP.

[abyssus-aeterna]

Enneagrammatic Alchemical Symbols

Upon reading this write-up made by RafflesiaArnoldii (kendrixtermina) I was inspired to symbolically represent the Enneagram types in an alchemy-esque manner.

Centres of Intelligence & Underlying Fixations

Gut / Impulsive → Anger

Heart / Emotional → Shame

Head / Mental → Dread

Either fixation can manifest in a three-fold manner:

Exteriorised { anger / shame / dread }

Centralised { anger / shame / dread }

Interiorised { anger / shame / dread }

Note. In hindsight, my symbols for 3 centres of intelligence are akin to how 4 congitive functions are represented in Socionics (〇 for sensation, △ for intuition, □ for thinking/logic, ∟ for feeling/ethics).

Object Relation Triads

Rejection / Transactionalist / Relationist → “Sulphuric”

Attachment / Pragmatist / Adaptive → “Saline”

Frustration / Idealist / Utopian → “Mercurial”

Hornevian Triads

Assertive / Aggressive → “Idic”

Withdrawn → “Egoic”

Dutiful / Compliant → “Super-Egoic”

Note. This is based on the theory of scrambling of centres. In hexad types (1/4/7 & 2/5/8), the secondary centre is in service of the primary, whilst the tertiary is (mostly) taken out of the picture; in triangle types (3/6/9), it’s their primary centre that is walled off from the secondary & tertiary centres.

Harmonic Triads

Positive Outlook / Reframing → “Sublimating”

Competency / Procedural → “Dissolving”

Reactivity / Expressing → “Præcipitating”

Note. Out of the multitude of alchemical processes to represent the harmoning triads I have chosen the following three: sublimation, dissolution, & præcipitation. This was done on the basis of their metaphorical meanings that are in common usage but which have been ultimately derived from their respective primary (al)chemical significations.

to sublimate (← Latin sublīmō “to raise, elevate”)

(alchemy & chemistry) to change directly from the solid to the vapour state without passing through the liquid state

(psychology) to divert the expression of (an instinctual desire or impulse) from its unacceptable base or primitive form to one that is considered more positive or socially or culturally acceptable

Types 2/7/9 cope with an adverse situation by shifting away from it, reframing it into sth positive, habitually searching for silver linings, &c. Thus, they sublimate.

to præcipitate (← Latin præcipitō “throw down, hurl down, throw headlong”)

(alchemy & chemistry) to cause vapour to condense and fall or deposit; to separate a substance out of a liquid solution or suspension into solid form

(common usage) to bring about a certain condition, especially abruptly, sudddenly, and quickly; to fall headlong or act with violent or unwise speed

Types 4/6/8 have an immediate, intense, flaring response or even an outburst to an adverse situation. Thus, they præcipitate.

to dissolve (← Latin dissolvō “to loosen up, break apart”)

(alchemy & chemistry) to disintegrate into a solution by immersion into a liquid or gas

(obsolete usage) to solve; to resolve; to clear up

Types 1/3/5 tend to cope by finding rational, logical solutions. Verbs solve, dissolve, & resolve share the same root. The image that comes to mind is this: analysing the situation at hand (i.e., dissolution) and coming up with the most suitable course of action to deal therewith (i.e., (re)solution).

Constructing an overall symbol (ligature) for each Enneagram type

It is possible to construct a cumulative symbol for each type by combining their respective triadic glyphs into one ligature.

Thus, the Hornevian Triad glyphs for each type would become the base to which the rest of the glyphs would be adjoined.

Then, for hexad types, one would append the respective Object Relation Triad glyph (sulphur for 2/5/8 or mercury for 1/4/7) on top of the base; for triangle types, the salt glyph (for 3/6/9) would instead go underneath.

As for the respective Harmonic Triad glyphs, those would go below everything: the dissolution glyph (for 1/3/5) would be inverted for the purposes of visual congruity; the glyphs for sublimation (for 2/7/9) & præcipation (for 4/6/8) would be used as they are.

Instinctual variants

It is also possible to represent the dominant instinct by adding one of the following to the overall symbol for any Enneagram type:

[ * ] Self-preservation instinct

[ ** ] Sexual instinct

[ *** ] Social instinct

Note. These can be either asterisks or small dots and can be added onto any side of the main symbol. To represent all of the instincts from the dominant to the blind-spot, one can simply stack the asterisks or dots on top of each other accordingly.

[romanakeysmash]

Oh!

from The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin:

"The First Mobile, if one is sent, must be warned that unless he is very self-assured, or senile, his pride will suffer. A man wants his virility regarded, a woman wants her feminity appreciated, however indirect and subtle the idications of regard and appreciation. On Winter they will not exist. One is respected and judged only as a human being. It is an appalling experience."

When I say that The Left Hand of Darkness explainded my asexuality to me, I refer to this passage specifically.

The book, to those unaware, is a science fiction novel about a planet (here called Winter) whose society is functionally agender and asexual for the most of the time. The fragment that I quoted comes from the chapter "The Question of Sex" (heh) and is written with the future (gender-binary) explorers in mind.

My first thought when I read it was "I would feel great as the First Mobile on Winter actually! Nothing appalling in being respected and judged only as a human being!"

My second thought was "Obviously, I'm asexual and therefore don't feel the need for my sex appeal being appreciated." It was when it clicked for me why I could never understand why people care about this gender thing so much. "Detached from gender" is a great term for what I have always felt. I mean, I guess there is a reason why people connect sex (both as an action and as "biological sex") and gender so often and why I don't care much about any of them.

Anyways, The Left Hand of Darkness is a great book in genaral (just be aware that it was also written in the sixties), but I specifically feel great respect for Ursula Le Guin for managing to explain me my lived reality with her fun little "hey, wouldn't it be crazy if there were people who are like, asexual and agender?" thought experiment. Like, she really Did get it right, huh.

i feel so seen!!

(twitter thread)

[wundergeek]

One of the dudes at my kung fu school is being really sweet and earnest in trying to support me about starting HRT, since I've been worried about how people will react.

(To be clear, everyone was chill and supportive when I came out as trans and changed my name three years ago But being NB, I know that there are going to be folks who are weird in a well intentioned but clueless kind of way)

Anyway, he just sent me this message and. Like. If a 50+ white guy martial artist can be like this, it gives me hope that maybe it won't always be this terrible.

The text:

Thought of you the other day watching Star Trek Voyager.

And the Vulcan IDIC.

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations

From ChatGPT:

The Vulcan IDIC, or "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" is a concept from the Star Trek universe, specifically from the Vulcan culture. It represents the idea that the vast array of differences in the universe, whether in terms of species, philosophies, or cultures, is a source of strength and beauty. The symbol of the IDIC is a circle overlaid with a triangle, with a gemstone in the center, representing the harmony of diversity within unity.

The IDIC is a core value of Vulcan philosophy, emphasizing the value of understanding, respecting, and embracing the differences that make up the universe, rather than seeking to eliminate or homogenize them. This concept signs with the Vulcan principle of logic, as diversity is seen as a necessary component of a complete and logical understanding of the universe.

[ejesgistnews]

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Whether you're seeking education funding, business support, or skill development, these programs offer valuable assistance to help you achieve your goals. Explore the initiatives that apply to you and take advantage of the opportunities they present

[kcscribbler]

1, 4, 5 and 11 💛

list 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

For the ST fandom: I love that, in the true spirit of IDIC, we all have a healthy respect for each other's interpretation of characters and relationships.

For the Loki fandom: I love that for the most part, they have been highly welcoming of someone writing in the fandom for the first time. Particularly as I lean toward writing an ambiguous gen for ships rather than smut, it's been a hugely pleasant surprise to have that much engagement on my fics.

For the Good Omens fandom, I love that there's plenty of gen/QPR/aro/ace representation in addition to everything else

4. say something nice about a ship you don't ship (it can be another ship in your fandom, a mutual's OTP, etc)

I don't personally ship AOS Kirk/Spock/McCoy in any way, as I feel like the AOS triumvirate just hasn't had enough screentime to really grab me that way, and that the full intention of the AOS was to bump McCoy in favor of inserting Uhura. (Which I don't hate in and of itself, either.)

But I love that this isn't the same for a lot of my mutuals, and that I can live vicariously through them.

5. something you see in fics a lot and love

I'm a big fan of the "Jim Kirk is a stack of books with legs" trope in TOS. I also love seeing that being pulled into AOS, though I think it's probably a lot rarer there.

11. if you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

I'm personally proud of The Last Dream, my emotional-aftermath-of-STIV fic.

It was cathartic at a time when I needed it to be, and I overall just ended up mostly happy with it, which isn't always the case. Curse of being a perfectionist.

Thanks so much for the asks!

Full Ask List Here

[rustiejs]

I picked Star Trek.

The thing about Star Trek is, while there are certainly racist, fashy misogynists in the online fandom, not only are they not a huge percentage, they tend to get told how absolutely stupid they are. Not, "dude, bigotry isn't cool," but, "dude, you've so completely missed the point that I'm not sure we were even watching the same thing, you moron."

A large number of the most beloved ST episodes are about the value of diversity (IDIC, fam), the equality of all sentients, individual dignity, etc. The rest of them are mostly explorations of moral & ethical questions that conclude somewhere in the gray, while striving to recognize different viewpoints.

The thing about Star Wars is, there are way too many racist, fashy misogynists in the online fandom, & while many SW fans would indeed say "dude, you've so completely missed the point that I'm not sure we were even watching the same thing, you moron," there are a *lot* of Empire/Sith/Palps/Vader stans.

How do you root for the *Empire,* ffs!

In the ST fandom, nobody rooted for the fashy-ass Dominion or Romulans. They are the bad guys, explicitly *because* they're fascist bastards. Because they're oppressive regimes with no respect for the idea of equality or individual rights.

In the SW fandom, those Empire stans are *rooting for the bad guy,* whether because or in spite of the fact that they're an oppressive, fascist regime. Too many people in the SW fandom fixate on the laser swords, or love the power fantasy of being a Sith, or envy the amoral disinterest in either other people or the greater good shown by most of the bounty hunters.

Too many ignore the whole damn point of both Star Wars & the Force. That freedom, justice, & democracy are not found at the barrel of a gun. That giving in to fear, anger, & hate is *always* the wrong answer. That we are all part of the Force.

Please reblog

[geekns]

(you cannot control what others do or do not)

This should go without saying, but apparently it doesn't, so...

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Even if it's a shitty one. Yes, even then.

If my opinion is different than yours, then it doesn't mean that I hate you. To be fair, it also doesn't mean that you hate me...it depends entirely on how we react.

The question seems to be: what is the adult, rational thing to do when we disagree with someone?

If you can state your viewpoint rationally (and without throwing poo), then go for it. Reblog with your side. Ask if they knew about x information, sure. But be respectful. And realize that not everyone will come to the same conclusion as you even with the same information. And not everyone will fit inside the box that you try to put them in.

Not everything is A vs B. Sometimes there are other viewpoints that you might not have even realized existed.

If you decide to interact, you must realize that the other viewpoint has the right to equal air time. They are not ever obligated to agree with you in any shape or form. If they block you, that's also not an automatic win (or a loss). That's a boundary that you should respect.

If you start trolling, calling names, flaming, making fun of the ones who have a different opinion, leaving snide comments insinuating that their opinion is invalid and/or must be evidence of x negative emotion, or--heaven forbid--telling someone to kill themself! Then you are the one actively engaged in hate. This behavior is not in fact rational or justified. It's just not. It's rude and immature.

Please understand: nothing is ever completely black and white. They probably agree with at least some of your points (shocker, I know). Yes, you will have some opinions in common!

They might even have contradictory info and statistics. Can you be willing to modify your opinion based upon that new info? Can you agree to disagree? Can you see from multiple sides simultaneously? Can you grow?

If you need to live in an echo chamber and have zero interest in IDIC, then block the people who disagree with you. And leave it at that.

Blocking means "leave me alone." It means "I need space, so I'm setting a boundary." It can mean "your argument was stronger than mine." It can also mean "your argument was so weak." It can mean "I don't care."

Always remember that disagreement in a mature debate is not meant as a personal affront in and of itself.

Fuck, in a true debate, the two debaters don't always get to choose which side they are arguing! There may be times that you might not even agree with what you are quoting, that isn't the point. Hiding contradictory information because it disagrees with your conclusion is not a valid tactic. And it's most definitely not about emotion; it's about rhetoric and learning to adapt.

There are people in this world who say shit just to get a reaction out of you, regardless of what they personally think, because they like to watch the drama. (My father is one of these assholes lol.)

Yes, you are entitled to your opinion, and yes your hurt feelings are understandable and natural. That does not make them a license to be a dick. Those strong emotions do not mean that you're a better person or that your points are the only ones that matter. They do not equal moral superiority in any shape or form. Only rational information is truly relevant.

If rational information is making you feel a strong emotion...maybe that's something that you need to think about (calmly) and reassess.

You are allowed to change your opinion. You are allowed to not change your opinion. The same is true for the other party!

People are allowed to reblog other people's content, 100%. People are allowed to ask questions in other blog's inboxes. But again...trolling, name-calling, flaming, taunting, and death threats? Not cool. Ever. It's not "being nice." You don't have the right to "educate" others on anon. It's bullying, plain and simple.

If this is the choice you have made, you have lost the high ground and any appeal to authority because you decided to throw a tantrum.

Don't throw a tantrum. Don't demonize based on fear. Do more research. Make peace with the fact that not everyone thinks the same way. Let it go. Accept diversity. Life will go on.

[eirian-houpe]

Monday Mmmm

Fair warning: This post is not all sweetness and light - though I wish it were different - I'm going to be calling out a few folks; and a specific fandom (and branch thereof). I'm saddened by it all to be honest, but... I've given it well over 24 hours and I still feel just the same as I did when the antecedent occurred, and so, I feel like I have the right to speak my mind.

The TL;DR version of this post is here: If you're going to be hyper-precious about responses and/or reblogs to and of your posts on a site that was created for discussion and sharing, you might want to reconsider your participation on Tumblr and get the fuck out of dodge!

If I was 'rude', as was asserted by the person throwing shade in the poorly disguised guise of objection and subsequently supported by many of their followers, then I will apologize for troubling myself to provide them with an example of the very content of which they were lamenting a lack. I made a very tongue-in-cheek comment after providing the example about "shameless self promotion" - “...just a quip... not serious,” (Espenson).  But the sheer ageist venom that followed... nope. Unacceptable.

If you want to know where I'm coming from, it's under the cut.

The Tolkien fandom on the internet - and Tumblr especially - has become beset by younger members of fandom who are - sadly - prejudiced, pretentious and privileged. I've got news for you.: to demand respect while giving none yourself is the height of hypocrisy, and to call older Tumblr users, "mummies," and claiming that you're having "trouble with the breathing mummies with too much treasure" (Melkors-Defence-Attorney et al). THAT, my friends, is disrespect of the highest order.

I can't help but wonder what kind of "trouble" you, as a younger member of the fandom, could possibly be having with your elders, (and note, I said 'elders' and not 'betters' because, hell, nobody's perfect, and even elders make mistakes).

To turn around and try to school someone at least twice your age on proper internet (and/or Tumblr) etiquette? Please - someone hold my beer - I've got more news for you, Snowflakes, we were there when the internet was little more than a twinkle in your daddies' eyes, and we were the ones that spent our blood, sweat and many, many tears to create the tenants of online etiquette which you now wield as a club with which to beat us.

See, here's the thing: a Tumblr reblog is like a single point in a multiverse.  It's like IDIC ("IDIC”). One person with ten followers reblogs, and say three of those followers also reblog, and their followers do likewise and so on and all of a sudden you have an extremely diverse discussion in which ANYONE can participate. So if you don't like something someone posts in their reblog of something you're a part of, don't read it. Someone else further down the chain might, and it might lead to an interesting discussion among an extended group of people, of which you don't have to be a part.  Where the threat in that?  Or if this is not about feeling threatened, then why make such a fuss?

I also can't help but wonder, as you post such 'scholarly' discourses on your blog posts (without citing references, I might add), how many of you have actually sat down to read multiple versions and revisions of the same source material in order to truly analyze Tolkien's intent for any given passage before being programmed with the 'received' interpretation in the form of the many indices and commentaries provided by Christopher Tolkien on his father's work. How many of you have read, let alone studied the many volumes of The History of Middle Earth (Tolkien), and who among you, writing Elvish fiction would know LaCE (Tolkien 207) if it leaped up and bit your arse? From the discourse I've read among the posts, not many, I'd wager, and those that have simply... what? Discard it as 'inconvenient'?

Is this harsh? Yes, probably, but at this point my lines have been well and truly crossed, and my rope is frayed, and beyond the edge. If you're going to stick around on Tumblr and participate in interesting and meaningful discussions with other users, then please, grow the fuck up!

----

Espenson, Jane. “Skin Deep.” Once Upon A Time, season 1, episode 12, ABC/Disney, 12 Feb. 2012. 

“IDIC.” Memory Alpha, Fandom TV Community, 27 Mar. 2022, https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/IDIC#References.

Melkors-Defense-Attorney, et al. “Untitled.” I Make Tolkien Roll in His Grave on Tumblr, Tumblr, 3 May 2023, https://www.tumblr.com/melkors-defense-attorney/716333000833515520/my-last-post-wasnt-an-invitation-to-promote-your?source=share.

Tolkien, Christopher, and Tolkien J R R. The History of Middle-Earth. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020.

Tolkien, J R R. “Laws and Customs Among the Eldar.” The History of Middle Earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien, vol. 3, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, NY, 2020, pp. 207–253.

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

It’s really something how, especially after the 2009 movies, but before that, too, the Star Trek TOS fandom will write Vulcans off as racist, xenophobic and bigoted at their root, a problem the society has at their core, even though it goes against their beliefs*, but will bend over backwards to explain away Spock’s distaste of McCoy and his “potions” that “turn his stomach” (some of those explanations including being studied, if I’m allowed the expression, inhumanely, as a science experiment, in Vulcan - although it seems like this intense research never even succeeded, since the usual explanation for the second issue is that most medicine for either species won’t work on his hybrid physiology and so McCoy’s just shooting in the dark, even though he’s clearly similar enough to a full Vulcan that 1) he has a Vulcan blood type, 2) he can donate blood to his father and 3) he’s similar enough to a full Vulcan to be similar enough to a similar species to use drugs designed for them**), totally ignoring how, when Spock says that in The Apple, McCoy answers with “Well, If your blood were red instead of green, you wouldn't have an upset stomach.” Like, “I am so sorry most if not all medicine I give you has unwanted and undesirable effects on you, have you considered being human?” 

You might say, “well, it could mean they got the human/Vulcan balance in the kind of medicine a hybrid like him would need wrong!” Nope, he specifically says he’d need red blood. “Could be he only brought down human medicine for that mission” one, and that’s not racist??? Two, Spock says all of McCoy’s “potions” turn his stomach. Either for some reason he only or mostly gets treated on away missions and Bones never brings anything suitable for a Vulcan (refer to point one), or there’s nothing aboard suitable for someone who doesn’t have “red blood” (... actually, refer to point one again). It just... really bothers me, because general consensus seems to be that Spock only finds acceptance once among humans and, while other reasons for this are paid lip service, at the end of the day most humans are shown as accepting while most Vulcans are shown as bigots, and the fault for his isolation seems to lie with the people who have IDIC as a main tenet and who reached out to humans in the first place (once they developed a warp drive, so it seems like they followed some sort of Prime Directive, created so that cultures would have the chance to develop some sort of identity before being met with and possibly swallowed by another one, showing, once again, a respect for diversity on their part)... but never on us, right?

(To be clear, while I don’t like it, necessarily, because I’m a TOS and Vulcan fan first, I’d never criticize AOS mainly fans for this attitude, since it’s just canon in those movies. Same for Disco, which borrowed mainly from those movies, because of intellectual property rights stuff or something like that, although who knows if they’d have done differently otherwise.)

*And this is not a comment I make about how it doesn’t make sense for fandom to believe this (aka, it’s not me saying “how can they be bigoted if their beliefs go against that?”) -  this hypocrisy on their part is often an essential part of how fandom and even recent canon interacts with Vulcans, because it leads to a select few of them, usually outworlders or others influenced by them, especially humans, having to point out those flaws and teach the rest of Vulcan society the true meaning of Surak’s tenets. 

**All of this is from Journey to Babel. In it, it’s revealed that Spock has T-negative blood, just like his father (although with some “human blood elements” in it that need to and can be filtered out), and that, to produce enough of it to donate to Sarek for his heart surgery, Spock has to take a drug meant for Rigelians... and it works. And that’s without getting into how, every time there’s something typical of Vulcans, it applies to Spock - telepathy, having no salt in his body, the second eyelids, the visors with which to look at a Medusan that only work on Vulcans, Pon Farr... I think people look at the whole half-human/half-Vulcan thing in a too literal way, not recognizing that, in his expressed DNA, and in where and how he was raised, Spock’s much more Vulcan than human (and that’s without getting into how... US- and neurotypical-centric the definition of “human behaviour” can get. Let’s have a toast to that one time the Star Trek fandom, despite multiple references to the contrary, convinced themselves that money doesn’t exist there because Kirk didn’t know what a dollar was).