#tuvok: have you considered not looking at it?

[giffingthingsss]

Neelix and Nebulas

NEELIX: Now look what she's gotten us into! KES: Do all nebulas look like that? NEELIX: I wouldn't know. I'm smart enough to go around nebulas when I encounter them....This ship is the match of any vessel within a hundred light years, and what do they do with it? 'Well, let's see if we can't find some space anomaly today that might rip it apart!'

...

TUVOK: May I ask when you became morale officer? NEELIX: Oh, just a few minutes ago when I sensed crew morale might be especially low. Mine certainly was. We were in a free fall at the time. KES: Cooking always helps Neelix to unwind. NEELIX: Yes, and after we stabilized, I certainly needed to unwind.

...

NEELIX: The crew seem a little on edge. TUVOK: Oh? They don't appear particularly anxious to me. NEELIX: They're very good at hiding their fears. Starfleet training. I was wondering how soon we might be leaving this nebula. Knowing could help me assure them. TUVOK: It's difficult to say. The Bussard Collectors are running at maximum, but it's a slow process. We could be here for several more days. NEELIX: Days? TUVOK: Mister Neelix, are you certain it's not you who is on edge?...I can assure you, a J class nebula is no cause for alarm.

NEELIX: I know it's illogical, but staring into this murky cloud for hours on end can be a little unsettling. When I was a child, an immense plasma drift passed through the Talaxian system. The stars and the moons were blotted out for months. From horizon to horizon all you could see was this enormous, menacing cloud. Ever since then I've found it a little disturbing to be in nebulas.

TUVOK: Perhaps the Captain might give you permission to install curtains. NEELIX: That's an excellent idea. And I have just the right material.

[bumblingbabooshka]

[TUVOKTOBER: Day 17] Little Things Grown with Care.

[isagrimorie]

People give Janeway guff about not giving Kazon replicators and transporters. Still, it's proven repeatedly that giving one Kazon faction an advantage over the other would be mixing it up in an internal war that would LITERALLY shift the balance of power.

Klingons at least know the technology they have engineers, even as it's becoming a dying breed over Warriors.

TLDR in Alliance Chakotay and Tuvok convinces Janeway that making an alliance with a Kazon faction is the way to go.

And so she does finally concede on this little experiment but with a lot of reservations going in: That once they leave the infighting will go on, and might actually have been worse.

Tuvok naively thinks it might help and bring about a Federation.

B'Elanna then pushes forward Harry's sarcastic comment about forming an alliance with Seska and then at the first sign of this, Chakotay balks.

And then Janeway says something that I feel is her guiding principle in dealing with hard decisions:

Janeway: "You can't have it both ways Commander. If you want to get in the mud with the Kazon you can't start complaining that you might get dirty."

Again, this is what I love about Janeway -- she gets flack for it but when Janeway makes a decision no one else wants to make it.

As I've mentioned in another post in tags: #right or wrong#i admire how janeway is always the one#who goes#the buck stops with me#she makes the hard choices on voyager#especially during debates#when the staff just goes around and around in circles#like in memorial where she starts just in the background#listening to the senior staff debate#from how janeway started in episode 2 of season 1#where she's presented with the horrific#sophie's choice of neelix dying because he has no lungs#and then subjecting another person to the same fate#to the (now boring debate about tuvix)#to this moment#to the moment on the memorial episode#she will take on that burden#and she will always stare at the hardest choice unflinchingly#because someone has to#as the 12th doctor once said#sometimes all your choices are bad ones#but you still have to choose#

In this episode, she allowed herself to be persuaded but she's not sold on it. But she's letting her crew run with it -- okay so we do this, but if we do this, we commit to it. And yet, at the first uncomfortable decisions... there's already balking. This was Janeway testing the waters if any other person on her senior staff could carry water about making the hard choices.

So far the ones who have stepped up were B'Elanna, Tom, and Neelix.

Anyway, I wish there was more fallout on the whole Kazon vs Trabe conflict because that was actually interesting.

But also Voyager had a Doctor Who problem -- if they meddle in the affairs of a spatial politik, they don't know the repercussions of their actions and just look at Living Witness and the reputation Voyager gained simply by doing a bit of a trade deal.

Voyager can help when they can, see: helping Brenari refugees escape the Devore. (Counterpoint).

But they can't and shouldn't really interfere with internal politics. They're not like DS9 where they can stay in one place and fix things permanently. They're just passing through.

This is also why I think she wasn't really considering Tuvok and Chakotay's thing during the Void episode where they raid another ship's resources. (Also, because after Ransom and Equinox, she knows what faltering in the Federation principles can do).

Crucially, she's also known both Chakotay and Tuvok enough that while she loves them -- Janeway knows neither men have the stomach for their proposals.

The Alliance episode was one example of that already.

Janeway, though, if she is pushed to make that commitment and there was absolutely NO way they can prevent raiding others-- Janeway would have committed to that action 110%. This is why I feel Janeway would actually come to a similar conclusion as Sisko in In the Pale Moonlight.

Especially, if she gets daily reports of Starfleet casualties. I have a feeling, there would be less kicking and screaming when Garak finally does his reveal.

Janeway has rules for a reason. She is fastidious about it. For a reason. Because once she commits to an action, it will take both hell and high water to take her off that course.

/edited

[mai-komagata]

Vulcan skin color meta (why its not green)

In the past i've seen a lot of discussion about whether we should or should not draw vulcans as green, mostly centered around antisemitism. I want to start out by saying this meta is not gonna go into much of any of that. Regardless of whether it is antisemitic for vulcans to be green or not, the truth is they aren't. They also aren't quite human colored. It isn't a technical limitation; they aren't shown as green in the show or cartoons even when orions are green. This meta will mostly concern 3 questions:

in universe, why are vulcans not green when their blood is green?

in universe, are vulcan mucus membranes and other colored tissue like lips and nipples green? If not why not?

What color would a vulcan blush (do vulcans blush?)

If you are interested in this exploration, read on!

Why are vulcans not green when their blood is green?

Ok, maybe we should ask a more fundamental question: why are humans not red when our blood is red? Humans absent melanin don't look red. We look whitish, except for veins that look greenish/blue. Why is that? Well yes, all our non-pigmented innards are largely filled with red fluid, but our skin absorbs red light, so it isn't reflected back into our eyes. our skin reflects and scatters blue/green light so we see the bits near our skin that are green/blue after your remove all the red. Additionally, most people have varying amounts of eumelanin (which gives us brown/black coloring) and some much smaller amounts of pheomelanin (which is red). but yeah, we don't look red despite being sacks of red fluid because we are a bag of red-absorbing white film with black/brown/red coloring. But like, vulcan skin could be different. it could mostly absorb green light. It could have a lot of pheomelanin that would counteract the green color. A more pinkish base skin color could be advantageous in the hot Vulcan temperatures at blocking more infrared and prevent overheating, for example.

This would have the end effect of giving the skin this yellow cast vulcans have in the show via makeup. it is not green, it is not red, but something in between. Vulcans could then have eumelanin on top of that that give us normal deep shade variations from tuvok to stonn. Because of the predominance of eumelanin, characters like tuvok would not appear as yellow as whiter vulcans. There are other skin pigments vulcans could have that we aren't even considering. There are selenium based melanins that have higher skin uv protection, which could add even more pigments and change the color of vulcan skin even more.

Ok, but are vulcan mucus membranes and lips green?

First thing to note is human nipples and lips aren't red b/c we just have our blood just hanging out right there. We have red pigment (i.e. pheomelanin) that is making them red. (and other amounts of eumelanin just like all skin, which can end up looking purplish in certain skin tones). Look I like a green vulcan penis fanfic as much as anyone else, but we are shown no evidence that vulcan lips, nipples, tongues, mucus membranes in general would be green. If we go by the previous section, and assume vulcans want greater sun protection, they could have large amounts of eumelanin and less translucent skin to ensure they still look reddish on the outside. But vulcan skin doesn't have green pigments in it as portrayed by the show. And it doesn't seem biologically advantageous to have green pigments just for lips/inside the mouth when all your other pigments are red based. Ok, but maybe this is a technical limitation, maybe they just couldn't make red lips on actors without a lot of unnecessary makeup. Maybe. But in none of the cartoons are vulcans shown having green lips, and Orions *are* shown having green mucus membranes in the cartoons even when they couldn't for technical reasons make them all green in live action. if this was the intended coloring of vulcans, they would have colored them that way. But they don't.

Can they at least blush green?

Well, the first question here is: why and how do humans blush? So the way humans blush is by increasing bloodflow to their skin deep capillaries. There is suddenly a lot more red closer to the surface, so there aren't as many layers of skin to absorb the red and more of it peeks through. Humans vasodilate for a number of reasons, including shedding excess heat, any chemicals in our bloodstream that increase bloodflow, and for social signaling.

So in theory, vulcans that vasodilate would look greener. Unlike paler humans that often have complementary pheomelanin in their skin that would make them look redder than normal, vulcans wouldn't have green pigments making them look greener. The red pigments would still be there to counteract some of the green. So i don't think a vulcan would ever look as green as a tomato-red human, but if they had a reason to vasodilate their skin would darken/green with the green blood.

But do vulcans have the autonomic processes to blush when embarrassed/angry/etc? That is an interesting question. Social signaling in Vulcan would be very different. Most animals don't blush. Babies don't blush. We know also that Vulcans have much more conscious control over bodily functions than humans do. So it is possible Vulcans (specifically post-surakian) don't blush at all. Or maybe they only blush if impaired, like during pon farr. That said, maybe there are other reasons they turn dark yellow/greenish like hyperthermia, intoxication, allergic reactions, hives, etc.

[lostyesterday]

It’s interesting to me that Voyager has so many episodes where Tuvok becomes disabled and then stops being disabled by the end of the episode. The obvious examples are Year of Hell where he becomes blind before the timeline is restored, and Riddles where he experiences a major brain injury whose symptoms are cured at the end of the episode. But then there’s also Endgame, where alternate timeline Tuvok is in the later stages of a degenerative illness, and Meld, where what happens to Tuvok when he mind melds with Lon Suder could arguably be considered a disability (especially from a Vulcan perspective). Arguably Flashback counts too. These types of plots aren’t uncommon in Star Trek, but I think it’s interesting that such a large proportion of these storylines in Voyager happen to Tuvok in particular.

So, why Tuvok? I think it partially comes down to the fact that many people find it narratively interesting to see the most in-control, stoic, and independent characters stripped of their skills or strengths in some way. In other words, disabling them. How does a character who is defined by their self-control and discipline deal with a sudden loss of ability to control themselves? How does a character who deeply values their independence deal with a sudden necessary dependence on others? Tuvok is arguably the Voyager character who most represents competence, ability, and control. If being disabled is to be unable in some way to measure up to the standards of what a person “should” be able to do in society, then Tuvok in his typical state represents or possibly strives to represent the opposite of that. So, from this perspective, making Tuvok disabled affects him as a character more fundamentally than it would other characters, which is theoretically more narratively interesting.

From an able-bodied perspective, it could be argued that such a storyline represents a deep-rooted fear of becoming disabled. Able-bodied people fear disability because it represents the weakness and dependence that anyone can find themselves embodying under the right circumstances. Accidents and illness and old age can happen to anyone, and happen to almost everyone in time. Disability is a fact of life, but for many people, it is a looming cloud on the horizon – something they might ordinarily choose to ignore. To explore such a theme in fiction is to thus look at a subject tinged with discomfort. To give such a storyline to a character that represents the peak of control and ability could serve either to heighten that discomfort by showing even the “strongest” person being vulnerable to disability, or to lessen it by displacing that fear from an “ordinary” and thus more relatable character to one who is unusually skilled or strong (in this case, Tuvok being Vulcan on a ship of mostly humans). Either way, though, if the character is cured in the end and their disability is gone by the next episode, that discomfort is narratively relieved. Disability affects able-bodied characters only temporarily. There’s nothing to fear – they’ll be returned to “normal” next episode.

This might make it sound as if I entirely dislike the disability storylines centered on Tuvok, but that isn’t true. To a certain extent, the cures or time resets that bring Tuvok back to his able-bodied state after every episode are an inevitable part of a mostly episodic show like Voyager. Beyond able-bodied fears and miracle cures, I do think there can be something compelling about telling a disabled story centered on a character like Tuvok. I like that Year of Hell shows Tuvok skillfully using a tactile console and navigating the ship while blind, while at the same time having much more difficulty with certain tasks than he did before, because that’s realistic – that’s how it often actually feels to become disabled. Some tasks that were easy before become impossible. Some tasks seem at first to be impossible, but over time become possible as you adapt and learn new strategies. A skilled and resourceful character can be skilled and resourceful in adapting to disability, but they are still disabled. I also like that Riddles asks the question of what it means for a person to feel less valuable when they become unable to perform the tasks they did before. That kind of question can become more profoundly unsettling when applied to a character who defines himself fundamentally by the abilities he has lost. I do think it would have been interesting if Tuvok had been disabled for longer – if disability had been a more defining element of his character rather than merely a frequent theme. But I also think that what is there in the text has interesting elements as well.

[star-trek-fandom-confessions]

About all the following discussion surrounding confession #718: I think y'all read too much into it. Imma try not go too much into details but I'll start by stating I see where both sides of the debate come from.

For now let's ignore any mention of the original series being made in the 60s and also any implication of sexual tension with the "bickering". I will also only talk of the original character depictions.

Fact: McCoy many times unnecessarily makes fairly insulting comments to Spock about being Vulcan. Also fact: this only applies to Spock. Throughout the series and movies, he never makes any comments torward other Vulcans, like Sarek, Saavik or Valeris. This is because Spock is half Vulcan and is explicitely shown to be disgusted at his Human side (yes, that makes him racist as someone else pointed out), and because of that trying to force, prove his Vulcanness to a point it would be unnatural even for a full Vulcan, and McCoy doesn't like or understand that, which his why most of his actually offensive remarks ("slurs", i'll come back to that) happen in a critical moment when Spock is convinced acting the most Vulcan way possible is what will work when it's shown not to (whether or not it's a valid way to let out frustration is another debate). Replace Spock with Tuvok and you wouldn't see any of that. Throughout TOS Bones shows a respect to the differences of other cultures, including defending Spock's Vulcan side when outsiders act genuinely hostile torward him for being a Vulcan.

About the slurs, it seems like a lot of people equate McCoy's insults to ethnic slurs, but there's no indication they're established slurs at all and I highly doubt this, looks more like only McCoy's using obscure words to criticize Spock. I just wanted to clarify that because I think it's an important detail.

Now about the original series being made in the 60s. Ignoring actual racist sentiments, as someone who has read historical memoirs from early-middle 20th century (period in which the creators grew up), making explicit comments about a friend's racial and ethnic background without any ill intent wasn't uncommon, if just to give a little more context.

About the bickering and sexual tension: besides the "old married couple" energy (which personally makes me slightly uncomfortable) and comments about private anatomical differences, I too dislike the idea racist comments would imply anything (from both parties). Besides, it goes with a lot of mischaracterization of Spock and his private life, and on a side-note, I've come to kind of try to ignore any shipping content of Spock with anyone because I feel like people reaaaally misunderstand him and that annoys me.

About the Katra sharing etc: it is explicitely shown in TOS and the movies that Spock and McCoy are as a matter of fact very close to each other (from their interactions but most importantly their body language, especially considering Spock's Vulcan heritage) and implying that he had to deal with McCoy as workplace courtesy, and that he wasn't at least one of Spock's first choices for Katra-storing (a deeply personal procedure) is dishonest at best (besides knocked out Scotty was right there!) I can only think of Kirk and maybe Saavik before him.

Hopefully this is the last ask related to this confession as it seems this whole discussion is starting to get judgmental. Force to OP for having to deal with us, lol.

.

[insanewaykathy]

CHAKOTAY: It's not every day we go looking for the Borg. What's up? JANEWAY: Seven needs a new cortical node. TUVOK: Captain, need I remind you the Borg often return to salvage damaged cubes. JANEWAY: It's a risk I'm willing to take. CHAKOTAY: I want to help Seven as much as anyone, but if we're not careful we'll all end up with cortical nodes.

If there are moments that support the NON-RELATIONSHIP between C7, these are the ones. I really don't know how people can ship the two of them. It would be the same as shipping Tuvok and B'Elana, in other words, it makes no sense at all.

Chakotay never showed affection for Seven, nor she for him. And some people might simply say that he changed his opinion about her, and in fact, over time he began to respect her and even consider her part of the crew. But there was never the slightest sign of affection. I'm rewatching Voyger and paying more attention to the details, I'm already in the second episode of the seventh season and I noticed that there was no flirtatious interaction between them. He's nice to her, but that's it. At this point they could have developed a greater interest if it was meant to be, and I think this statement of his proves that there is not even the slightest bit of affection. Would he say this if the person in question was B'Elana or Tom, or Harry? I don't think so. Unlike Janeway, he was concerned about the ship and not her, he would never risk the ship or his own life for her. So in ENDGAME they create a sudden passion for her, which they obviously got out of their asses (probably from Beltran and Braga's asses because of that ridiculous bet). And just like that, you destroy two excellent characters, and traumatize thousands of fans. HOLY SHIT!

Not to mention that I never imagined Chakotay agreeing to participate in a relationship research of an ex-Borg! Who was he after all? A lunatic? A needy person?

I will never forgive the writers, Braga and Beltran for this nonsense!

And did they really want to shove down our throats that Seven and Chakotay got married and that he died of heartbreak because she died? Please!

[ibm7094lover]

Is Sarek abusive?

After a lengthy argument/discussion with my mother (og Trekkie, strangely unfamiliar with K/S culture), I seem to be at a stalemate. It's fascinating because there's a lot of points on both sides. I'll provide my own argument and my mother's argument under read more.

Mine:

-Sarek's behavior (and by proxy, many Vulcans) towards Spock's mixed genetics is a direct contradiction to IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) as Spock represents a small portion of that ideal: Mixed race, arguably queer, and neurodivergent.

-In the Star Trek 2009 deleted scene, Sarek calls him "so human," and from some theories it's believed Spock was surgically altered to appear more Vulcan

-Arguably, you could say this was so other Vulcans wouldn't bully him for looking so human, but we already know how that went.

-Amanda is passive in her parenting, and does little to engage Spock in human traditions along with Vulcan. She goes along with Sarek's beliefs, even if it hurts him.

-Sybok was exiled(?) for embracing emotion and encouraging others to do the same. Michael ran away and is a complete emotional mess (but probably the best out of the three). Spock has identity issues. See a pattern?

-Tuvok is seen to embody a healthier ideal of Vulcan: Permitting himself positive emotions, because it is illogical to deny himself of that. You could imply Sarek's family is just very dysfunctional.

-You can only go so far when excusing behavior with culture, but if someone is being hurt or caused harm, however indirect, it must be addressed by the society or a third perspective in order to improve.

Mom:

-everyone is abusive by modern standards / by human standards, everyone's abusive

-Sarek is an extreme outlier for marrying a human

-Most surgical procedures for Spock make sense, because they'd have to fix some conflicting issues (iron-blood/copper-blood, organ arrangement, etc.) but it is sad Sarek thought to change Spock's appearance when it didn't hinder him in any way.

-By Vulcan standards, Sarek isn't abusive because if anything he's less strict than other Vulcan parents.

-Sarek wasn't considered abusive when the show aired, and he isn't considered abusive now.

-You can't judge another culture by your own standards. (Side note: also believes you can't judge the cult in MidSommar for drugging someone, along with other things they did because it's "their culture.")

With all this in mind, I'm curious to know the general consensus around this topic. I'll leave some extra context below:

My mother comes from an extremely abusive family. Jack Stauber's Opal-level abusive. (I showed her the film and she cried with me) As such, it's understandable that we might have different definitions of abuse, given the generational difference (she's an older mom) and cultural difference (she's Mexican).

Because of this, I'm a pretty sheltered kid, but that also means I don't have a lot of exposure to difficult situations or significant abuse. I can acknowledge that I still have a lot to learn, and I'm trying to peel off my black-and-white mentality as well. I'd appreciate any feedback relating to this and the poll above so I can revise my perspective if I'm wrong!

[catgirljaneway]

For the character ask game: Kes + 1, 12, 20

Thank you so much for the ask!! (Ask game in question)

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Ok! So I'm a huge Kes fan, and I was initially drawn to her because she's got this little aura of joy, and you can't help but love her, which you can see in other character's interactions with her on the show. Any room she walks into instantly gets a little brighter and she's just so fundamentally kind and gentle and full of love.

So that's what initially drew me to her, but what hooked me, was that fact that the longer you watch, the more we learn about her, the more deeply strange she gets. We've got that fantastic scene in elogium where she eats all those fucking bugs with that deranged expression, and of course, my all time favorite, this one scene where the doctor tells Kes he has some autopsy reports for her to read because he knows she loves autopsies. This by the way, is NEVER brought up again which I think is a terrible loss, because what thing to say about a character and then never mention! What a fact!

So you've got this little elfish looking girl, who's still fundamentally kind and gentle, but now we also know "oh she's a bit of a freak!" and she's wicked smart, and then she learn, oh, she's got these terrifying powers at her core and actually she might not be as fundamentally gentle as we (the audience) or kes herself thought. And now Kes has to grapple with this, and she's still a deeply good and loving person at heart, but now she has to try a little harder to suppress these urges and that makes her fundamentally more interesting.

Also her relationships with Janeway and Tuvok and The Doctor all bring me so much joy. Janeway's love for her, and the way she smiles when Kes is around, the way she hugs her when she leaves just!! Rip me to pieces. And Tuvok's mentorship and quiet protection of her?? And that scene when the Doctor holds her in Twisted. Kes has 3 parents, and honestly all three of them think they're taking care of her, but they need her more than she needs them.

And what's kept me loving her, is in a way her missed potential. So much about Kes wasn't explored, so much was left unanswered, and getting to rotate her around in my head and think about all the things she could have been is so fun. I deeply wish she had been used more, because on paper she's such a fascinating, deeply weird character. And she was just starting to come into her own when we leave her. She's broken up with Neelix, she's making her own choices, and I want to imagine where that would have gone. (I have further thoughts on this, but this is already ridiculously long, so I will continue this in a different post)

Long story short, she's a lovable little weird girl, and I like weird little girls. She'd crawl around on all fours and make up weird stories at recess in fourth grade and I like that about her.

Also she reminds me of the "a little guy!" > "oh they're actually fucked up" meme.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Well I LOVE the art where people make her look a little more bug like. With weird pupils and antennae and such. I love that, I definitely headcanon her looking a bit creepier like that.

I also headcanon her as a lesbian. Her whole relationship with Neelix baffles me. I honestly LOVE them as friends, they're so great when they're just silly best friends, but I cannot stand them as a couple. She's a gay girlie.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

SEVEN!! Seven!!! GAH! The missed potential! Pretty much a weirdgirls club with Seven, B'elanna, and Kes. Kes would have been the perfect person to help Seven reintegrate into society, because she's patient and kind, and she'd get a huge kick out of Seven's deadpan humor. I mean, the EMH is her best friend, she's very good at dealing with people who others consider hard to get along with.

Kes wouldn't make Seven feel bad about the way she is, or try to pressure her to conform to what she wants from Seven. She'd take her how she was and love her for her whole being, not for what she could be. Also Seven would be Kes's scary dog ❤️ Because people meet Kes and think she's an easy target or a pushover (even though she could probably obliterate anyone if she so felt like it) but then Seven is standing behind her looking menacing and they hurry away as quick as they can, completely unaware they were scared of the wrong blonde.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Elieth.

_ “I apologize again for the inconvenience.”

“It’s fine,” B’Elanna said. “We’re both going the same way.”

The Klingon woman was walking with him through the quiet city streets. They were both on their way to the transport station and Tuvok had decided to walk rather than ride with anyone else. The fresh air would be…beneficial. 

It was surprisingly calm for a city at night. Even on Vulcan, nighttime was usually when the city came to life. Tuvok glanced up at the sky, looking for stars, and found only a swath of smooth black interrupted by jagged buildings.

“B’Elanna.”

The woman straightened. “Yes?”

“Have you ever heard the word pelrinah?” 

B’Elanna nodded. “Yeah, it’s Terrelian right? For gotcha.”

Tuvok narrowed his eyes. “Forgatcha?”

B’Elanna gestured but Tuvok didn’t know how to interpret it. He was still intoxicated and it was dark. He could only really see her in the lights from the businesses they passed.

“You know…um…gotcha! Like, fooled you.”

Tuvok blinked, turning forward once again.

B’Elanna smiled. “Did someone play a prank on you?”

“It would seem so,” Tuvok said thoughtfully.

“Maybe you should get them back,” B’Elanna suggested.

“I believe it would be in poor taste given the person in question is either in hospice or-” he paused, remembering that Terrelians did not have graves or funerals. He remembered the red bag. What did they do with their dead, if they didn’t bury them? 

“It just hits you sometimes, huh?” B’Elanna asked.

Tuvok tilted his head.

B’Elanna continued. “I’ll just be walking along, minding my own business and suddenly it’ll crash onto me like a ton of bricks aimed right for my chest; oh, she’s dead. He’s dead. They’re all dead.”

“You’re referring to the Maquis,” Tuvok guessed.

B’Elanna hummed in affirmation. “I know you probably don’t care about them but they were my friends. They were like family to me, really.”

“On the contrary, I believe that any loss of life is unfortunate.” Tuvok looked at the woman’s hazy profile. She seemed strangely energetic. From what he remembered of her she’d usually been somewhat agitated, frowning, she’d most often seemed…upset. Dissatisfied. He’d expected her to be even more so after ending her marriage to Tom Paris.

“Though I do not ‘care’ in the way you might feel is warranted, I do appreciate that their loss is not something to celebrate.”

B’Elanna exhaled, perhaps laughing. “Thanks Tuvok.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes and it occurred to Tuvok that they’d never really spoken like this aboard Voyager. There had never been any occasion for them to. When they spoke there had always been a reason or some sort of pressure behind it.

He stumbled and held out his hand to stop B’Elanna from touching him. She held hers up and backed away, watching him carefully as he continued on.

“Can I tell you something?” she asked after a moment.

“You are free to do as you please,” Tuvok replied.

“Great, well…” she hesitated and stilled as if considering whether or not she’d like to speak while sedentary but then began to move again, even faster. Tuvok kept up with her pace.

“Sometimes when I think of them it’s that thing I said before. The bricks and the sadness and the…the hollow feeling. Like, ‘what’s the point?’ where nothing has meaning anymore.”

Tuvok remembered the ex-lieutenant’s past troubles. Kathryn had been disturbed by her self-destructive tendencies and Chakotay had been frightened. Tuvok had not understood why a living being would intentionally seek to injure itself. In truth he still didn’t but he understood the mindset that B’Elanna was speaking about; the urge to do nothing, to stop and stay down. 

Unlike her however, he did not desire to feel anything.

“People get that,” B’Elanna continued. “People are sympathetic about that but then there are things they aren’t quite so sympathetic about. Like the anger.”

“Anger?” Tuvok asked, avoiding a puddle. It had begun to snow. It reminded him of ash.

B’Elanna shook her head. “It’s horrible but sometimes I think if I could see them again all I’d do is scream. It’d be all I could do to keep from wringing their necks; How could you do this to me? What were you thinking? Nothing in the universe was more important to me than your life and you threw it away for some ideal that never took hold.” 

When Tuvok didn’t respond she brushed her hair out of her eye. She’d let it curl a bit. “The ones in jail thought I’d berate them for being cowards. I said I’d rather be friends with a live coward than a dead idealist. Some days I don’t know if I believe that, others…”

The snow began to come down harder and B’Elanna sighed, muttering about the weather on Earth. Tuvok held out his hand and let a snowflake hold against his skin, melting slowly. 

“Neat trick,” B’Elanna said.

Tuvok wondered where Elieth was.

“Look, I know I’m getting all…” a frazzled hand gesture. “A lot with you right now but I just thought maybe you could use someone. I know you’re Vulcan and all but…the captain feels too guilty to even face you, Chakotay’s gone, Seven’s gone and the rest of them don’t really know what to say. I mean, I don’t either but…”

Tuvok turned his hand over and thought about the ashes sitting in an urn of T’Pel’s making. She had worked tirelessly for several days while Tuvok slept or attempted to meditate before sleeping once again. He remembered Wari’s effigy.

“It is important that I move past this,” Tuvok asserted.

“Your son’s death? I think even Vulcans-”

“You know nothing of Vulcans,” Tuvok said icily before lowering his hand. “I am not…processing my grief as I should. It should not be so…present.”

Several nights he had laid awake in bed, aching. The longer the ache lasted the more fright chased after him, attempting to devour him whole. He was frightened of how much he was grieving. Vulcans could not allow themselves to become victims of their emotions. It could kill them. He was well aware of this, having nearly died from the shon-ha’lock in his youth: the burning, being engulfed by the flames of affection. 

This was a different sort of engulfment. It was weighty and draining and whenever he slept there was a voice in the back of his mind that told him this time it might be forever and that always brought with it a…relief.

“You’re right,” B’Elanna said, voice slightly rougher than it’d been previously. “I don’t know anything about Vulcans or how you’re feeling- or not feeling right now. But despite everything, we’re friends. And because we’re friends I just wanted to let you know that I’m here if you ever need anything.”

She looked up at a passing hovercar. Snow was sticking to her hair but it melted the moment it touched her skin. “...You’re a good father. You care about your kids in your own way and if I ever lost Miral I know it’d be the end of the world to me. That’s all I know. The rest I can’t imagine.”

She looked at him and quickly wiped her eyes, clearing her throat. She’d always been overly sensitive. “You’ve probably heard this too much but I have to say it. I’m sorry, Tuvok. I’m so sorry.”

“Elieth-” Tuvok started before knowing how he was going to finish his sentence. “I did not feel his death. He shut us all out from his mind the moment he decided to forgo evacuation. He did not leave his katra behind or it did not come to me. The ash Starfleet gathered for our mantle holds nothing of him.”

Tuvok’s eyes burned. He tilted his head. It felt as if he were observing his body from another, detached, perspective. He disliked the weak creature he had become since his experiences in the Delta quadrant. He had no control over himself. Though the world had stopped spinning he was still stumbling and acting like a fool.

“One moment he existed. On Deneva, within my mind, and the next he did not and there is nothing but…absence, to confirm that he lived at all.” 

B’Elanna didn’t speak but she stepped closer to Tuvok as he sat down on a bench. His head was in his hands. She was blocking him from view.

“Elieth…” Tuvok began again, voice low as the snow came down around them; the vigilant Klingon and the Vulcan with tears in his eyes. “...I wonder if he sang.” _ This is a snippet of 'Tuvok: Patron Saint of Love' which you can read in full as a member of my patr*on (any tier) or on my itch*io! I hope you enjoyed regardless!

[maliciousalice]

👕 & 🍽️? For the trek ask game

Heheh thanks for Asking Meg!!! All aboard another long winded ramble about my wife ST: Voyager!!!!!

👕 Character whose fashion you like.

While I answered in the last one, I think I'll add to it by saying I love the Ds9/Voyager Uniforms--Infact I'm a HUGE sucker for them--At least to me, they feel like THE signature trek costume rather than TNG or TOS ones. Plus, they are fun to draw! I love how they look on the actors with the structured upper half, and loose, high-waisted pants that give everyone the illusion of height.

Those that are dressed in the uniform are portrayed with a respectable heft and a pleasant, overall shape. I know it's not the case, but they look like they are really practical. This is fully intentional as the lead costume designer said they wanted the suits to appear modular and have advantages in different environments. That's why sometimes they are unzipped or twisted around, depending on the narrative.

I could go on and on about them. I act feral over how they look when when all the actors stand together, turned in various ways, posing so that that folds pucker on their joints, or when subtle differences in their body sizes take up screen. It just looks so cool! I'm a big fan of squad-based, colour-coded uniforms and clean silhouettes.

Most importantly though, it gives them all BODY-ODY-ODY!!!

AYO WHICH LOCATION THEY AT??? CW: GORILLA DUMPIES!!! 👀👀👀 😳😳😳😳

🍽️What alien food/drink would you want to try?

I wish I could find the video but I've seen bits and pieces about how they designed the food on the sets and I think it's super charming!

Lots of effort went into considering the cuisine. It just about decorates every set and It was important to the show. Voyager engaged in a lot visual gags, or dialog discussing food. It was in a comforting way that would present the characters with their personal ideals of home.I find that subtext of world-building really endearing.

Many scenes involved characters bonding in the mess hall, socializing around food, or isolating with it to gain a sense of self. In contrast, it's used as a device for diplomacy, or to make settings seem more alien, unnavigated and removed from regular comforts. It's even incorporated into main plot points, such as with Tuvok in ''Riddles'', when he gains a newfound skill around cooking after a serious accident, and he solves the plot by decorating a code on a cake. Through food, we saw a lot of what it could be like to be a crew member on the ship, and live inside their Universe. It wasn't always pretty but they made it work.

We have a really rich food bowl and diverse food-culture In Australia, I love noticing exotic food that are used as set decoration of as props--I am used to seeing tropical fruit or Asian ingredients around my community, so it's fun to see it transformed. And much like the characters in Voyager, I relate to the comfort and the charting of new territories when it comes to seeing/ eating food.

I suspect being a chef / working in hospitality would be an interesting occupation in Trek. Everyone complains about the lack of authenticity from replicated food, so I'm sure being a good Chef would be worth your while.

I genuinely want to try Old-mate Neelix's cooking. He seems so creative and passionate about what he plates up, and he CLEARLY (they all put on weight haha) kept the crew well-fed. ''Bitches make do'', but you can tell he cares by the questions he askes everyone, or the detail he places into his recipes. I'd like to see what all the fuss is about with Leeola Root Stew. I bet it's not that bad! (I like bitter food) Or better, serve me up a Jimbalian Fudge cake! It's so quaint how there is an evolution to his work as he gets more integrated with everyone.

(crying over this ^) Neelix Nation Rise Up!!!!

[myfaveisfuckable]

Tuvok:

Ok, first off: real world standards, he's not normal passing. Apart from the ears, he's just too autistic (sorry, "Vulcan" 🙄) to be considered "normal looking". He went to 1990s earth once and Did Not Pass as normal. But in universe, he would on the surface seem like a model Vulcan. And he is, kinda. But he's also so gd weird. (/aff)

Not even gonna get into how badly he wants to be Will Graham because obviously that's there too but we don't have all day. Anyway.

Obvs the emotions struggle is real as it is for any Vulcan worth paying attention to, if only because they were all only ever written by humans.

But also, tangential to him being Will Graham coded (but still separate enough) he is a total mind slut. You know how some characters will go "when I have a problem, I set it on fire" or shit like that? When Tuvok has a problem, he mind melds with it. Homoerotically if it's an option. Dude even got a mind std one time, despite the fact that's not even a thing.

And then whatever the fuck kinda thing he has going on with Janeway. Not even necessarily in a shippy way ("not romantic, not platonic, so devoted the lines blur") but like... not only is he unreasonably loyal to her but he does shit like not only letting her touch him whenever she wants but *deliberately offering her HIS HAND to hold* to comfort her when she needs it (reminder that hand touching is very intimate to Vulcans and can be likened to human kissing) and again, they're never even stated as romantic or anything, they're just friends and yet he is more loyal to her than he is to his own code of ethics.

Obviously part of all of it could be because Janeway (or possibly Kate Mulgrew) is simply Like That, she does do shit like tell her platonic subordinate "then be a good rat and find us the cheese" in a tone that makes me lose it, but it's not all her, Tuvok is also extremely not normal about it. I should submit Janeway too actually, I'll do her next.

Also, afaik Tuvok is the only crew member of Voyager (who makes it back) who had a romantic partner before the ship got lost in the Delta quadrant and remained loyal the entire seven years they were lost. I *think* Samantha Wildman also did but she's a minor character (so she could've been getting it off screen) and she started out pregnant so once born Naomi both kept her busy and was a living reminder of her husband's love. So in that regard, Tuvok is very much not normal but like in the most positive way. He literally didn't cheat on his wife even when his life was in danger (they *were* out there for seven years so of course he hit pon farr eventually) and I think that's really cool of him. But also very not normal.

I'm very tired rn but once the polls come out, simply check out the blog of Bea @bumblingbabooshka (wanna clarify, I'm not him but he is THE Tuvok blogger in my opinion) who has written much on this already.

There's also the whole stuff that happened around his monestary era but I'm not even at that part yet but it must've been wild.

Anyway. Vote Tuvok

Janeway:

- will literally martyr herself at the drop of a hat

- will kill you if she thinks it's what she needs to do for her crew

- will not kill you if she thinks you've got residue humanity after decades as a borg drone even though realistically she really should've (tho ofc we're all glad she didn't)

- will violate your personal rights if she thinks you're not "human" enough and also compare you to a replicator (yes I'm still salty about that. wait what was the question? right, i'll get back on track)

- will say absolutely deranged shit like "then be a good rat and find us the cheese" in the a tone that makes me lose my mind and basically give everyone a crush on her (and also mommy issues) if they spend too long in her vicinity, leading to a very loyal crew

- her solution to having a crush on a fictional character was to delete his wife (very relatable but also very not normal)

- she wanted to watch hot Q on Q sex (possibly for scientific reasons) and looked very disappointed when it was severely underwhelming

- WHO brings a bathtub on a spaceship???

- there's more but y'know

[lostyesterday]

I’m generally a Star Trek femslash person, especially when it comes to rarepairs, however, I do have a few het rarepairs that I like and think more people should give a second thought to:

Guinan/Picard: They have an intense and unique dynamic in canon and most of their interactions have such an enjoyable tension to them. Their mysterious history and the refusal of canon to ever entirely define what their relationship means to them is also very appealing to me. Also, have you seen their interactions in Time’s Arrow?

Deanna/Worf: I do like Deanna/Will (and especially Deanna/Worf/Riker), but I think Deanna and Worf together have such an underrated dynamic and canon really fucked them over by primarily ignoring their established dynamic when they actually got together. I find the idea of their relationship beginning in connection with Alexander interesting, but even aside from that, they have such fun interactions and genuine respect for each other and the actors have great chemistry in my opinion.

Jadzia/Quark: This is number one on my list of ships I liked until canon ruined them. Quark being obsessively in unrequited love with Jadzia all along was a bad writing choice. Clearly they were friends with benefits. To me, neither of them was ever in love, they’re literally just weird friends who have sex sometimes.

Janeway/Tuvok: It’s about the loyalty and devotion regardless of the circumstances. It’s about the intensity of their love for each other, the softness in Janeway’s eyes when she looks at him. I admit I like to consider their dynamic more with Chakotay in the mix (JCT forever), but Janeway/Tuvok alone is very underrated.

Harry/B’Elanna: I shipped them from the time B’Elanna first called Harry Starfleet (affectionate). I love a ship with characters who both contrast and parallel each other – they have seemingly opposite relationships with Starfleet and extremely different life circumstances, but they both work really well together and connect deeply anyway. Also best friends to lovers <3.

[leohtttbriar]

tuvok so easily looking sideways at the regulations and then being told off for it by janeway while janeway had done the same thing in the first episode and continues to struggle with the balance of upholding normalized starfleet operations in a place so distant from normal---it exposes exactly the thing that's so terrifying about the voyager predicament. that is, the predicament of voyaging--the idea that absolutely nothing is certain and nothing is ever known in full and being able to draw lines of right and wrong is not so much an exercise in relativism but an exercise in discovering your own lack of relativism. i feel like vulcans were written to address this particular anxiety of consciousness and culture: where humans would struggle, here's an alien that would not because through the mechanisms of logic nothing is certain and nothing is ever known in full but that hardly robs a creature the ability to respond.

it's like tuvok is saying "you're constrained to regulations which are made up. i'm constrained by something that's real--wanting to return home." and whether or not he's right, it's still a more interesting tension than maybe(??) the show knew, what with the way tuvok immediately apologizes and janeway says he is a morality-guiding-star of sorts and he can't act that way again. it's funny that tuvok expresses that he is more than aware of the "ethical dilemma" and chose for janeway and then is treated like he wasn't considering the ethics at all. the point is the ethics were competing and tuvok responded--an easing of the responsibility and the pure anxiety any person would feel in that situation, if they were so committed to their principles like janeway.

i wish janeway had said, instead of "you are my moral compass,": "in the vastness of how absolutely fucking lost we are in the middle of absolutely nowhere and everywhere, we have to define ourselves by something. right now we are our home and have to act it." just to lay out that it's all about being lost and being home and what that all means. of course, maybe that's what was meant by the "compass" comparison, just said in more personal terms. which is what makes this whole moment so affecting: a big philosphical dilemma playing out between two friends lost in space together.

[this-geek]

May I have your thoughts on Janeway for the character breakdown thingy, please? :)

Hello, hello, this took longer than I thought it would but here are my thoughts on Kathryn Janeway

• How I feel about this character

I love and adore her. She was one of the first characters that I got brainrot for and my attraction to her finally gave me the courage I was looking for to come out and look for help to stop hating myself. So yeah, she's pretty damn special to me.

• All the people I ship romantically with this character

I think it's just Chakotay tbh. I have read in the past some excellent fics about her and Ayala though. It was mostly because they were missing the people they truly loved.

• My non-romantic OTP for this character

It's gotta be Tuvok, he considers her insane and reckless and yet he stands by her. Ride or die besties. I also like her & Tom, in my head they grew up adjacent to one another as Starfleet brats so they have a sibling energy where for the most part it's all good and then Tom does something so unbelievably stupid & she has to fight the urge not to clip him round back of the head because that would be imature and unbecoming of a Starfleet captain.

• My unpopular opinion about this character

Hmm, I'm not sure. I don't like the J/7 ship which I know is quite popular, I just don't see it personally. But I'm not going to be a dick about it, you do you.

Sometimes I feel like she is over maternal-ised (probably not a word lol) which I think just comes from the era she was created in (Star Trek will always be a product of its time) and the circumstances of her character (no other Starfleet, highest ranking officer etc etc). Like yes, she is protective of her crew because she is the Captain it doesn't always have to be about 'Mama bear' instincts.

• One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I think it's pretty obvious. I'm going to need her to tell Chakotay she loves him and for him to say it back. It's been too long at this point and I've only been in the fandom 10 -12 years which is a fraction of the time others have. (I'm still watching Prodigy S2 and trying very hard to avoid spoilers).

[thessalian]

Thess vs the Desert

Well, I seem to have aimed a bit for POSEIDON without really meaning to, but it's been quite the ride thus far.

LAST NIGHT

Hmmkay, what've we got this way? Ooh, a settlement.

...Well, fuck you too.

"Hair like blood", huh? That's ... a descriptor. I guess.

You ... pen the machines and slaughter them that way, huh? HAEPHESTUS probably doesn't like that very much... Yeah, see? You guys are such efficient hunters you get Thunderjaws thrown at you. Yes, I will help.

So ... yeah, I heard something about this from the flood people - you have to trade machine parts for water that's not polluted? This is some Immortan Joe bullshit, right here.

Right. None of this right here is too onerous. No Thunderjaw yet. This here is just a Tuesday, frankly.

(I mean, literally. It is Tuesday.)

So ... "bagged and tagged" means to bury with honours here? That's actually kind of fascinating. Because what it means in the real is just "put in body bag and tie a tag to the toe to identify them", but because they all wear dog tags... Huh. I do love how the Cradle people worked out things based on a combination of religion and really basic anthropology.

Wait. The Tenakth -- the TENakth -- call on the Ten. I checked, and it's not branches of military, unless they added more in this world's future / past / whatever. Hmm. How many subordinate functions does GAIA have? ...Nine. And GAIA makes ten. Clever.

Right. Onward to get your fellow hunters their honourable burial-- Oh, hey, you got a survivor! Great!

Yes. That is a Thunderjaw. Now stop yelling at me I am hiding in this bush for a reason.

Gun gone, gun gone ... Thunderjaw gone without firing off a shot.

Oh, you want me to go on ahead with the hearts? You're trusting me big time. But I guess since I just two-shotted a Thunderjaw for you, that's fair.

I'mma hunt those Frost Bellowbacks first. Sorry not sorry.

And see? I barely just beat you here with your injured comrade.

Oh. You think something bad is going on in your capital whatever. And having to pay that kind of premium for potable water wasn't enough? Yes, fine, I will meet you there later but I kinda need some Tallnecks first.

Also ... hi, Tuvok.

Right. Gonna edge my way south a bit for a few more campfires and... Ooh. Question mark. What is--? Oh. Oseram camp.

Ah. You were waiting on those folks on the other side of the mountains. Yeaaaaaaah that didn't go well. I'll help you deal with that tomorrow.

THIS MORNING

Right. Going to go track what happened to the rest of that dude's crew.

Rumble rumble-- This is going to end with a Rockbreaker, isn't it.

Alas, poor Lunda. Also ... yep. Rockbreaker.

There is some shiny down here. Hope Porguf doesn't mind my having hit this place first. Well, if he does, that's his problem. I've got Burrowers and a probably-Rockbreaker to deal with.

Aha! Way out! ...Wait, did I just get trapped in-- No, there's enough room to sneak through the gap that's left.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Rockbreaker. Sneak. In. Quietly.

Okay. I am concealed in a high place. SHOW YOURSELF, YOU SUBTERRANEAN ANNOYANCE-ENGINE!

Theeeeeeeeeeeere you are. Okay. This might get spicy. POONK.

...

......

.........I. Just. One-shotted it.

I JUST ONE-SHOTTED A ROCKBREAKER AND THEREFORE WIN AT EVERYTHING!

Right. More shinies and ... yes, Porguf, you can have your lockbox back.

Aloy, only you would consider "vertically up a mountain" to be a 'shortcut'.

And now that I've mastered gliding, I can-- SUNWINGS SHIT INTO A BUSH.

Okay, there's you dealt with. I'll turn in this quest and see what I have to climb for the Tallneck--

What do you mean, "it looks damaged"?!?

Right. Porguf, here. I'll be back after I look at that apparently damaged Tallneck and maybe take out a rebel outpost or something.

Oseram have been trying to take down a Tallneck?!? Ambitious little buggers, I'll give you Oseram weirdoes that, but HAEPHESTUS clearly is not a fan of their plans. But I need to do the same idiocy that got you dipshits killed so I can fix your dipshittery.

Okay ... one anchor, and we get Burrowers. Bye, Burrowers.

Two anchors, aaaaaaand ... Sunwings.

YES I KNOW I COULD USE THE BALLISTA ON THE SMALLER MACHINES, BUT I DON'T WANT TO! THESE THINGS HAVE NO PRECISION!

Huh. Bellowback. ...Acid Bellowback, in point of fact. New scan, huzzah. Now, lemme pop you like a pimple-- Theeeeeeeeere we go.

Okay, those are impressive when they go down.

Aaaaaand reboot! Huzzah! BEGONE, FOG OF WAR!

Right. I probably do have time to hit a rebel outpost but I do not have the energy to do so. I need to save spoons for work. So lemme clear these Burrowers out of my way, set up at this shelter, and I can deal with other stuff later or tomorrow or whatever.

I do not know what's been waking me so damn early lately. Maybe I need thicker curtains. Eh, at least it gives me "wake up to the Forbidden West" time...