#bad counselling

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 117 (Feb. 22, 1988) - “Home Soil”

Teleplay by: Robert Sabaroff Story by: Karl Guers, Ralph Sanchez & Robert Sabaroff Directed by: Corey Allen

The Breakdown

The Federation has asked Picard to check in on a terraforming outpost, since the team that was stationed there has gone radio silent.  With the Enterprise’s arrival at the outpost, the project director (Kurt Mandl) reluctantly picks up to explain that nothing suspicious is going on, and that Picard is welcome to politely fuck off (I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist).  Counsellor Troi confirms that Mandl is indeed as shifty as his unmistakably shifty behaviour would suggest; so, Picard sends Riker down to check it out.  While there, Riker and his team are introduced to the other Terraformers (Arthur, Bjorn, and Luisa), who kindly provide the audience/away team with a useful exposition dump about how the terraforming process works.  They impress upon Riker and co. that every planet designated for terraforming undergoes rigorous vetting to first determine that there are NO LIFEFORMS WHATSOEVER, before they begin the decades long process.  Geordi starts to nerd out with Arthur about some of the unique challenges this planet has presented, but Mandl sends Arthur away to ‘go work on the drilling lasers’, because they have a tight schedule to keep.  Predictably, the drilling lasers go bonkers and kill Arthur, so now we have a mystery on our hands.

Since it does KIND OF seem like Mandl had his guy killed in a cover up attempt, Picard brings the terraforming team to stay on the Enterprise while his people try to find out what caused the malfunction.  During that time, Data has his own run-in with the killer-laser (which he destroys) and is able to determine that something was indeed controlling it, but it wasn’t Mandl.  Further inspection of the drilled bedrock leads Geordi and Data to discover some glowing matter that exhibits strange properties, so they have it beamed up to Crusher’s lab.  There, it’s determined that they’ve discovered the first known non-carbon life form, and that it’s not only attempting to communicate, but also capable of reproducing.  What initially looks like a Christmas light on a petri dish, begins to grow until it eventually forms into an exotic looking plastic crystal, roughly the size of a baseball.  While this is all initially very exciting for the Enterprise crew, things get a bit more concerning when the non carbon lifeform reveals that it plans to wage war on the gross ‘water bags’ that attacked it (aka humans).  To make matters even more dire, the life form starts taking over the ship’s computer functions, as it grows exponentially more powerful.

So what’s going on?  Well, it turns out that the terraformers did indeed notice some exotic energy deposits on their planet, but they didn’t think much of it at the time.  Little did they know that their terraforming was endangering the saline water deposits beneath the planet’s crust, which apparently serve as a sort of networking system for the micro crystalline life forms living there.  So why was Mandl’s team behaving so secretively?  Because they’re workaholics and they don’t like distractions, and that’s… apparently the actual reason for their behaviour.  With that out of the way, team-Enterprise figures out they can stop ol’ Crystal (I’m calling it crystal now) by dimming the lights, which were evidently the source of it’s power.  Crystal agrees to a peaceful surrender, on the condition that no more Water-Bags return for at least 300 years (which is fair enough), and Riker has it beamed back to the planet.  Mandl won’t be able to finish his project, but at least it’s led to an exciting new discovery, and all it cost was Arthur’s life.  WORTH IT.

The Verdict.

Considering how many aliens look like humans with forehead prosthetics (Yes, I realize there’s an episode that addresses this), it’s kind of refreshing to see a Starfleet crew discover non-carbon life that isn’t just an abandoned supercomputer, or some other kind of artificial intelligence.  Realistically, if humans ever did discover extra-terrestrial life, it seems reasonable to expect that it would be almost wholly unrecognizable to us.  To that end, I found myself enjoying the story when it focussed on the mystery of a truly ‘new life’, something alien in every sense of the word.

Where the episode loses me is in the red herring that kicks off the episode, which suggests that Mandl’s team are up to no good.  We spend much of first couple acts as Picard and Mandl play cat and mouse with the truth, but the answers we’re given don’t really justify the investment we put into them.  Mandl WAS acting very suspicious, and Deanna supposedly could sense he was hiding something, so what exactly was he trying to hide?  He didn’t murder Arthur, and apparently neither he nor his team were aware that they were harming an unidentified species.  Mandl doesn’t even really give any kind of satisfactory explanation for his lack of decorum when Picard first arrived, leaving us to chalk it up to professional tunnel-vision. So, I guess he was trying to cover up… scheduling delays?  I don’t buy it.  I love a good red herring as much as the next guy (and trust me, the next guy won’t fucking shut up about them), but a red herring still needs an explanation that holds up to scrutiny. 

It would have been a stronger choice to have Mandl (or one of his team) acting with malicious intent, leaving a conflict that would be a little more complicated, and more interesting, to resolve.  Star Trek doesn’t always need to be a morality play, but that is the foundation upon which the franchise was built, and there was a decent opportunity to weigh the balance of scientific ambition with ethical restraint.  As it stands, ‘Home Soil’ narratively amounts to little more than “Woops.  Our bad.  Sorry about that.”  Perhaps that doesn’t classify the episode as an outright failure, but at it’s best this was a missed opportunity.

2.5 stars (out of 5)

Additional Ovservations

The electronic voice given to the NCL (aka “Crystal”) sounds kind of like a slightly less annoying Dalek.  Couldn’t the computer have provided it/them with something that sounds a little more dignified?

Troi-spiracy: I think it would be so funny if it turned out that Deanna Troi was just lying about her empathic abilities.  I’m just imagining that she never actually inherited any of her mum’s telepathy, but always felt too awkward to admit it (Lwaxana is kind of the worst, and you know she would never let it go), so whenever someone acts obviously sketchy she’s like “Yeah, I can totally sense they’re hiding something with my abilities that I absolutely have.”  Maybe Mandl wasn’t acting sus after all.  Maybe he’s just a tense fella, and Picard caught him at a bad time, but then he SEEMED off, so Deanna had to pretend that she sensed something.  Lucky it all worked out. This time.

Bad Counselling: Riker asks Deanna for the terraform team’s psychological profile.  Troi offers that Luisa is basically talented and imaginative, but otherwise an intellectual scatterbrain, and indicates that Riker’s charms might work on her (to get information), presumably because Riker is irresistible to a grieving airhead woman.  Yikes.

Riker enters a darkened lab, and approaches the Crystal in a way that I found hilariously, unintentionally, sultry.  But you just know Riker would if he’d had more time.

#star trek the next generation #tng season 1 #home soil #retro review #star trek review #troispiracy #bad counselling #deanna troi #william t riker #terraform #terraforming #star trek #star trek tng #sci fi #sci fi tv #80s tv #80s television #80s tv shows #80s tv series #classic television #episodic nostalgia #robert sabaroff #karl guers #ralph sanchez #corey allen

[kittensouls]

press f to forgive

#bad boe jamo #the angel whose voice shook the earth saith unto me- go forth unto the corner store and purchase thee a pack of camel lights #and behold- the second angel spoke: nay- come forth across the western border and buy thee a carton #i asked counsel of him: who is archangel michael and who is archangel lucifer? and the angel answered #do you forgive Bad Boe Jamo? #can you forgive yourself? #immmmmmmm so tired also i have like part of a lil hlalyx but gnome draw/anim done and i still need to finish it ouuughh #also cloud bg stock ref from nikkayla on devart thanx nikkayla #socpens #wayneradiotv #draw a thing

[o-vera-nalyzing]

look i know the most likely option for why kipperlilly hates riz specifically is that he like has amazing grades and good friends and is one of agueforts faves while like chronically skipping class and breaking the rules (and laws) but i also have 18 stupid ass reasons i wrote down from rewatching s1 that i think are funnier

#i have not stopped thinking about her mentioning him in counseling since we learned ab it clearly #i also wanna know if it was before or after gibbons died caus it would be really fucking funny if it was quite literally the first day #also it’s crazy she felt comfortable talking to jawbone about all that considering the bad kids basically got him the job #thought i think jawbone would very much understand anger issues and feeling unfairly treated in the system ngl #anyways #fhjy spoilers #d20 fhjy #fantasy high #fhjy #kipperlilly copperkettle #riz gukgak #jawbone o'shaughnessey #original overanalyzing

[ewwww-what]

Holding onto your Archdevil friend’s hand because she is a self-contained radiator!!!

Closup below

#digitigrade Fig but you cant see her fun goat legs #she has leg warmers too :( #also everything Adaine is wearing belongs to sandra lynn #they didn’t have time to buy her anything but worlds best ranger Sandra Lynn has emergency winter clothes #been thinking about them bad lately #I think they should’ve held the elven counsel at gun point #but dance battle is pretty badass too #fantasy high #d20 #d20 fantasy high #dimension 20 #d20 fanart #fh #fantasy high fanart #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #vaguely #adaine abernant #adaine o'shaughnessey #fig faeth #figeroth faeth #adaine fantasy high #fig fantasy high #undescribed #not described #my art

[jaggedwolf]

big fan of apollo telling prosecutor guy that he's the one going to hell

#i kind of love when apollo and athena are co-counsels because they both would like to inflict violence on their opponents and bad witnesses #this is good enabling #phoenix is unhinged but not in a violent threats sort of way you know #ace attorney #jaggedwolf plays aa6 #apollo and trucy have a very cute conversation at the end of the case but i keep thinking TELL THEM THEY'RE SIBLINGS WHY DON'T THEY KNOW #WHILE HAVING THIS CUTE CONVO #apollo justice

[tofixtheshadows]

I keep thinking about chapter 85, when Marcille is lord of the dungeon and her friends are trying to appeal to her by offering her all these things she wants and sharing what they want in return. Specifically I keep thinking about the one thing she asks for that they can't give her.

Because that's the heart of grief for me. It can't be placated. It can't be reasoned with or drowned in honey. Death is a permanent hole in your life. All the tasty meals and good experiences in the world don't change the fact that I can't share them with my loved one anymore.

Marcille had 35 years with her father and still wishes they had more time together. Because no amount of time with your loved ones is ever enough. Nothing less than a thousand years will do.

#Dungeon Meshi #Marcille Donato #Dungeon Meshi spoilers #sorry to get a little too real here on tumblr dot edu #me Marcille and Kabru all together in the bad brain club. literally had to pause working on my Kabru PTSD meta because I got triggered.... #Marcille honey you should have gone to grief counseling and made lanyards with me #musings with Dea

[raayllum]

it's funny because in our two examples of "what does a high mage do" we see Viren be involved in basically every decision that Harrow makes as an advisor, even ones that wouldn't necessarily warrant it immediately, versus Callum, who *checks canon* isn't substantially involved in any decision Ezran makes as king in any given season

#high mage club #i JUST WANT TO KNOW #1) how over bearing viren was (bc i feel like he would be) #vs 2) how few fucks callum actually gives #like he attends council meetings like the rest of the council. suggests/contributes nothing #except (beloved) bad jokes #corvus asks ezran about his plans and discusess his reasons #sorvus are both involved in ezran's b-day party planning #crownguard do handle security (as soren makes extra plan in 4x01) #he steps up when things go wrong in 4x03. opeli gives counsel #hell we don't even know if the painting was made by callum either #LIKE #i'm willing to be kpp'ar was actually normal - did his job and worked on personal projects in his spare time #viren was overbearing and overly involved but like. harrow being a warmer king than his dad yeah yeah #meanwhile callum is only as peripheral to ezran as he is bc they're brothers #but he actually does even less as a high mage Court Politics Wise than either of the other two #bc hyperfixations

[sholmeser]

actually what i think would be cool is an ace attorney game where each case is its own individual mini-spinoff. first case is kristoph gavin: ace attorney a few years pre-aa4 with apollo as kristoph’s college intern and clay as the defendant. we get to learn more about clay and apollo’s friendship alongside apollo+kristoph and krisnix dynamic. we’re forced to forge evidence because there isnt anything concrete proving clay’s innocence, giving us an inside glimpse into a corrupt attorney’s life. second case is simon blackquill investigations pre-UR1 where on someone else dies at the space center and metis is accused. we see more of athena/simon/aura/metis family dynamic as well as athena and juniper’s friendship as children. manfred von karma investigations (kid miles and vk family dynamic) or lana skye investigations (pre-SL9 ema mia gant jake angel neil) or mia fey ace attorney (maya lana pearl morgan diego maybe even dahlia and iris) or robin newman ace attorney/hugh o’conner investigations (self-indulgent but would be so cute)….the possibilities are endless……just fun little ways to expand on pre-existing character dynamics that might not have been discussed too much without necessarily making an entire game revolving around those characters

#i dont say fran investigations or athena ace attorney bc those could more easily be their own games #anyways more thoughts. mia ace attorney could be a murder at kurai’n village #shes college student interning at rossberg’s so she investigates with diego while getting to hang out with her family #not sure who prosecutor could be but lana as their co-counsel #getting to see how she interacts with morgan and pearl #kristoph aa speaks for itself i need it soooooo bad #i need clay real. and also more krisnix content #ALSO SELFINDULGENT BUT IF AT THE END OF MIA AA SHE ASKS DIEGO OUT ON A DATE. HELPME😭😭😭😭😭 #hes like a little more nervous than usual and shes like Hmm….it seems like Mr. Armando wants to ask me something…. #AND THEN LETS SAY THERE WERE FLOWERS UNDER WVIDENCE OR SOEMTHING. U CAN PRESENT THEM AND ASK HIM OUT #OHMYGODDDDDDDDD😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 #also selfindulgent sorry but id kill for miego interaction #ok im done now sorry #ace attorney #gyakuten saiban #myne

[thealogie]

every day of having a job is like “well well well if it isn’t the consequences of other people’s actions”

#not my coworkers never my coworkers. I feel sorry for all of you dealing with others being bad at their jobs I only work with people who are #both amazing at their jobs and nice to me. however clients? co-counsel? outside vendors? opposing counsel? it’s nom stop bad at their job

[spooky-activity]

Honestly the MVPs of my Persona 3 Portable run

#mitsuru kirijo #yukari takeba #persona 3 portable #P3P #persona 3 #mine #my art #not pictured: my gayass FeMC whose POV we share having a gay heart attack #she’s a himbo she’s a jock she is down BAD for the student counsel President #honestly down atrocious #sorry Hamuko in my heart she’s a lesbian but not in the game #but seriously Mitsuru with the Mind Focus and her high magic stat #AND being able to take a reasonable hit (unlike Yukari) #and Yukari (with her dodge electric shoes lmaooo) with her mass heals #POWER TEAM #they were NEVER off my lineup #everyone else got to rotate in that last spot #but it was mostly Aigis and Koromaru #and even then it was like an 80-20 split between the two

[littlestardescendants]

Lol I hate grinding to Lvl 8 in Secret Club.

Raphael just called me pathetic because I was watching a Barbie movie instead of getting him off (ಥ ͜ʖಥ)

#what in hell is bad #whb #what in hell is bad secret club #whb secret club #what in hell is bad raphael #whb raphael #Omg it was Swan Lake im sorry pleasuring you has become a chore #don't @ us we'll be in couples counseling because intimacy is dead when youre grinding your troops pleasure off-

[tennessoui]

COUNSELING FIC MY BELOVED <3

it is she!!! i'm currently writing the next chapter #confirmed it will not take another six months lol

this one is me absolutely toeing a line because i am not a slow burn kinda gal but also anakin absolutely doesn't know he's in love with obi-wan yet

and padmé shouldn't either, not really -- she thinks it's all a bit strange, but she's also comfortable in their marriage now that the war is over, comfortable thinking about their future

meanwhile i just keep wanting to get to the confrontation scene which is like......ten chapters away at least. probably 15 or something.

so i gotta restrain myself and just toe the line of anakin being like 'i love my master so much i would kill everyone in the room and also myself if something were to happen to him' and him loving padmé the same way

(this will not be an anidala fic for obvious reasons)

(i.e. i'm writing it)

#asks #couples counseling au #im debating adding a very important scene in this chapter #cause i want to add it so bad #but i know it's probably too soon in the fic #but i want #(padme takes anakin to the opera and he freaks out because of palpatine trauma and he calls obi-wan but obi-wan doesnt pick up) #the drama....the trauma......

[cavinginhisfvce]

'I'll be good, Stevie..."

Paring: Harringrove.

TW: Implied/referenced child abuse and domestic violence.

(DON'T KILL ME, THINGS GET BETTER, they're not what they seem. Kinda.)

This thing between Billy and Steve was fragile.

When it first started, they stepped on each other's toes more often than not. 

Steve was always waiting for the day Billy would lash out, shove him or hit him.

No such day came, even in the most heated of arguments, Billy never so much as raised a finger in his face. He'd yell, they both did, but it never went further than that.

Steve never expected he would be the one to back the younger boy into a corner, never considered he would be the one to snap. 

It all still feels like a bad dream. Steve's hand shoving Billy when he'd gotten close enough to the younger.

The way Billy stumbled into the wall, a startled gasp leaving his lips, is forever imprinted in his brain. The look of utter betrayal and hurt his boyfriend shot in his direction was heartbreaking. The look soon morphed into one of barely concealed anxiety, and fear.

Steve still doesn't know what evoked this response out of him. He doesn't know what came over him, he truly doesn't. 

One minute they were shouting, and the next...

Billy had almost immediately began apologizing, his hands shaking as he stepped forward to grasp at Steve before letting his movements stop short, "I-I'll be good, Stevie. I'll be good, 'm sorry…"

He hadn't meant to upset Steve, hadn't meant to make the older of the two so angry he only saw violence as a means of putting Billy in his place. 

And Steve's heart just shattered. His boyfriend was begging for his forgiveness after Steve hurt him. After he hurt him in a way he swore he never would. 

But he had.

Steve's silence seemed to do nothing but send the boy spiraling further, his bottom lip wobbling as he sniffs, hands once again reaching out for Steve.

This time Steve hesitantly gathers Billy in his arms, noting how the boy almost immediately relaxed into his hold.

"Baby, I'm so fucking sorry. I should never put my hands on you...I know better than that. That's not the kind of man I am…" Billy, for his part tenses up briefly before shaking his head, "it's okay. I've had worse…" he pauses, seeming to ignore Steve's immediate interjection, "was my fault anyway. Shouldn't have started yellin'..."

The blond doesn't meet Steve's eye despite the elder's attempts, but Steve presses on.

"No! Fuck, Billy. No. It isn't your fault, it's mine. We yell at each other all the time, but what I did...I crossed a major fucking line."

Billy just shook his head, his face pressing further into Steve's neck as he let out shaky breaths. "Stevie, s'okay...I know you'd never...I know you didn't mean it. I shouldn't have gotten loud. Shouldn't have kept pressing when I knew you weren't havin' a good day.."

The elder tightens his arms around Billy's frame, only gently leaning back to make their eyes meet, "Baby, it's not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for, please listen to me…"

He pauses briefly, knows Billy is listening from the way he's tensed up in Steve's hold, "you have no idea how sorry I am, bug. I'll forever be sorry."

For a moment, the room is filled with deafening silence before Billy is peering up at the latter, his blues swarming with confusion and doubt, "what makes this any different from when we almost fought last year?" His brows were furrowed, a sign that he was well and truly at a loss and not attempting to rile Steve up. 

Steve takes a breath, lips pursed as he mulls the question over. "We weren't dating then, Billy. Back then, we were just two dumbasses about to fight. But, this…" he cups the boy's cheek, relief flooding his system when Billy shows no signs of discomfort, and instead leans into the touch, "Us...it's not acceptable. You're supposed to be safe with me, you should never be afraid I'll hurt you, like he does…"

The 'He' in question being the blond's shitty father. The sole reason Billy is so willing to forgive Steve for this slip up. Neil Hargrove is the reason for most of Billy's tears, self doubt and general pain in life. 

Steve always vowed to be the opposite of him. He was soft where Neil was harsh and unrelenting. He was warm whereas Neil closely resembles a frozen tundra. 

But, somehow, Steve lost that about himself, no matter how brief, he'd been all too close to being the man Billy feared most in the world.

"Gods, Blue Bird, I will never stop making up for this. I'll never give you another reason to feel unsafe with me. I swear.."

The shorter leans up, quickly pressing a kiss to Steve's lips, the action so feather-like Steve could've imagined it, before he's nodding once. "I know...I trust you, Stevie. M'not afraid of you. Could never be." If not for the fact Billy never broke eye contact, Steve could've easily written it off as him trying to placate his nerves, or sweep an uncomfortable situation under the rug. 

But, as blues held browns, the only thing that was brighter than the love in Billy's eyes, was the truth. 

He wasn't afraid of Steve. 

That felt like enough to have Steve relaxing into their embrace, another apology spilling from his lips as Billy molded their bodies together.

They had shit to work on, that's for sure. But he knew he was safe. He knew that should he decide this relationship was going down, Billy would jump ship with little thought. He'd keep himself safe even if it meant losing Steve. 

#billy antis dni #billy hargrove #steve harrington #harringrove angst #harringrove fic #harringrove #billy hargrove deserved better #billy hargrove protection squad #steve made a big no no #they work it out #theyll keep working it out #billy wants to sweep it under the rug and steve will have none of that #theyre gonna get couples counseling ive decided #tw: violence #tw: child abuse #tw: domestic disputes #steve is not a bad guy he just made a mistake #hurt/comfort #angst fic #billy hargrove x steve harrington #billy hargrove fic #billy hargrove fanfiction #steve harrington fic #harringrove drabble

[handweavers]

when reading scripture or religious texts in my studies from a variety of religions (a not-insignificant part of my education has been religious studies) i can appreciate and understand the beauty and appeal of it and make sense of its internal logic system and worldview and feel that i'm picking up what it's putting down even if i don't necessarily identify with it on a personal level, but i gotta be honest i always feel like i'm missing something or losing my mind when i read christian texts like i don't get it and it doesn't make sense to me and nothing about the trinity makes sense to me and the entire worldview feels so harsh and terrifying and bleak for no reason and every time i've asked anyone in my family (on the christian side) to explain any of it to me like sincerely i just feel more baffled and whenever i've had to read passages of the new testament i dont get it at all like even abstractly i don't understand and it makes me feel crazy like what i'm looking at has to be completely different from what other people are seeing and i don't mean it in a reddit atheist smug asshole way like it's genuinely beyond my comprehension I Don't Get It and i don't think i ever will

#and this is solely looking at texts/scripture/writings like i understand its historical and material context and aesthetics #i appreciate the way thay different ethnic groups have adapted xtianity to their culture and find it fascinating when it is syncretic #with ancient traditions and respect peoples right to practice and understand many xtian minorities have faced persecution etc #but every time i read something from the new testament im like is this really...??? uhhhh #and i dont feel that way at all w any other religions texts i can vibe with it i see what its doing and understand it and appreciate it #i find it so deeply unappealing in every possible way . truly just not for me sorry #it doesnt help the sheer amnt of bad experiences ive had with xtians targeting me for conversion #explicitly even after being told that i am sikh and not interested and continued to be harassed #and a genuinely traumatic incident w christian family counselling ive blocked out lol

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Z-One to Kaiba scale of how well you handle your loved ones dying

THIS IS SUCH A FUNNY SCALE??!? THEYRE BOTH SO CANONLY AND CHRONICALLY TERRIBLE AT HANDLING GRIEF. this is like "on a scale of rampaging wild boar to enraged bull how well are you being gored to death." this scale is two inches wide. in this corner we have "old man slowly going insane watches his three weed smoking girlfriends die so he makes robot copies of them and then gets mad at them for being robots" and in THIS corner we have "teenage CEO's card game rival peacefully transitions to the afterlife so he creates an entire virtual duel world full of memory ghosts that has now become literally Every Yugioh Character's Problem."

honestly maybe kaiba woulda been able to process shit in any semblance of a healthy way if HE'D just gone ahead and built a robot copy of Atem!!

#ygo posting #i love when a ygo guy is bad at handling loss. get these guys grief counseling NOW!!!!! #asks #anonymous

[truckstoptigers]

i'd give anything to have a day where i don't think about it

just one day, that's all i ask

#it never stops #csa vent #trauma vent #actuallytraumatized #actuallyabused #its starting to get bad. nightmares & flashbacks & hypervigilance. im getting into counseling again soon though #the worst is when you know your abuser dont feel the same. theyre not remorseful or guilty. they can sleep at night