Naamloos

Like Data views himself as a neutral arbiter and he’s naturally curious, so when he finds someone crying about their significant other he’ll sit with them and ask questions that he probably doesn’t mean to come off as pointed as they are, he’s really just trying to learn (probably) but they are clarifying as shit. Data is canonically pretty good at getting to the heart of things because of his (perceived) emotional distance, I imagine this makes him a real good friend to go to when you need someone to ask you the right questions to help you pull your head out of your ass, especially if it’s someone who you know isn’t going to come into it with perceived cultural notions on how things should go.

Data helpfully offers to assist the shitty ex in transferring to a new department on the ship or move ships, depending on the case and where they are in space/time. (He is probably unaware of how threatening some of these people find it, at first- though he does learn that people find this threatening, he still utilizes this method when he feels it warranted.)

He convinces people to talk to Counsellor Troi when he feels it’s warranted.

When she first took to the air, her parents watched on, billing and cooing in their pride that their chick was so strong.

Now, her parents had each taken new mates, and had new chicks. They were all so small, while she continued to grow. The lake wasn’t enough to feed her anymore, but the hills around it provided ample food. The tiny grey balls of down and clumsy legs would tuck around her, giving all of the parents a chance to feed. They knew that she would protect the chicks, and keep them warm. She radiated a heat from within that feathers could never match. Every chick reached adulthood that year.

No brave male ever approached her in the warm and sparkling days of spring to begin the steps of courtship, but she didn’t grieve. They were all far too small and easily knocked over by a gusting breath of irritation. She didn’t need a mate, she could brood abandoned eggs on her own and bring them up without the help. She had learned her lessons from her parents, fussing if they ventured too far from her warmth, cooing with pride when they took their first clumsy flaps to lift them up.

"Been working hard, figured we deserved a weekend away dancing…xx"

I'll be doing a basic garter stitch for a nice scarf on a bench and everyone thinks I'm probably some nice grandma-friend. Meanwhile, I'm listening to how someone got dismembered or a statement on being trapped in a coffin.

Sincerely, 

9, flabbergasted: excuse me, who's in charge here?

MARTIN: Hey Tim, you were friends with Jon back in research, right?

TIM: Yeah, why? This doesn’t by any chance have to do with that crush you totally don’t have on him, does it?

MARTIN: Well, I- I mean, I just, I was just wondering if, uh, you had any idea what Jon’s sexuality is?

TIM: No idea. Honestly, I feel like he just… doesn’t have one.

MARTIN: What, like, he’s ace?

TIM: I mean, maybe? I don’t think he’s straight, but the guy’s pretty private about his personal life. Like, you can talk to him for hours and realize he hasn’t said a single word about himself, but I don’t wanna push him, ya know?

MARTIN: Right, right. How can you tell he’s not straight?

TIM: Oh, little things here and there. Like, last year I asked if he wanted to come to Pride with me and he just said it was “too loud for his tastes,” but didn’t give any other reason why he wouldn’t want to be there, or trip over himself trying to explain that he “still supported me” or whatever, which is-

MARTIN: -what a straight person would do, yeah.

SASHA: Hey, are we talking about Jon’s sexuality? Because I’ve been trying to figure that out for AGES! The man has nothing on his Facebook! I mean, not like anyone really uses Facebook anymore, but usually there’s at least like some old photos or something that someone else tagged you in or something, but the best I found was some old uni photo with his arm around some girl, but they could’ve been good friends or something.

MARTIN, taking all this in: Wait, do you have a crush on Jon?

SASHA: God, no! I don’t really do crushes, and if I did, I’d probably go for Tim.

TIM: As any reasonable person would.

MARTIN: Then why…?