A conversation between Guinan and Q in Deja Q about Qs fear and how Picard did not seem to understand it would have been interesting. Because Guinan knows, that Picard knows fear but as Captain of this ship he does not allow himself to let it show. That he has to appear in control of the situation even when he is terrified. Especially when it's not (only) his own life he has to fear for but the lifes of those he considers himself responsible for as well.

"Oh, don't pretend like you didn't know. You know exactly what kind of effect you have on others. Or at least used to have. And you enjoyed it. You must have really enjoyed it as you sat on top of your chair and froze Tasha Yar as a way to let them all know 'their place'. To see him stand up to you even as you held his crew hostage. And I can certainly assure you that the Captain did not forget your smile after you had him and everyone on board terrified of the Borg with pleasing your bruised ego in some way being the only hope to escape certain doom.

You played with his life and you played with the lifes of his crew. And you were both aware that there was absolutely nothing, absolutely nothing, he could do to stop you. That's why he doesn't believe you now. . Why a part of him feared you.

And your absolute disregard to anything else but your own selfish desires no matter how much and how many suffer because of them is why he hates you."

With the Georgiou/31 spinoff turned to a movie special (I'm going to follow TrekCulture's lead here and call it a Long Trek), I have been thinking about some ideas for other Long Treks that could be put together. Cuz there's plenty Trek out there to build on for series, Short Treks, and Long Treks, so let's get some exploration of these ideas.

Gonna put this behind a cut though, since I go on and on, especially when I give myself a platform.

First off, and most importantly, I really want to return to the Picard-original cast and give them further features - hearing that Isa Briones thought that fans didn't like her broke my heart, so let's immediately jump into a Soji-Data story that features father and daughter. Not to say that screen Trek should totally rip off the novelverse, but that could also give a genuine return for Moriarty, since his actor was disappointed to not actually be playing Moriarty. Or do some follow up on the synths who left that message that the Zhat Vash were so afraid of and deal with THAT aftermath. But yeah, let's see the father-daughter adventure that Picard Season 3 couldn't afford.

I'd like also to take advantage of Rios being in the early/mid 21st century and actually get a WW3 story - y'know, we have this established major character (possibly characters if Guinan gets to be involved as well) who would be there in this time frame, and, on top of that, this is a story that kinda DEMANDS being told, since Rios stayed for Teresa and Ricardo, so presumably with the intent and desire to protect them when the war broke out.

Then there's the natural Jurati and her Borg Collective to explore, which would be able to also explore what that massive galactic threat was - if, just as a theory to connect it with what else was happening in Picard season two, it was tied to the death of Q, for example, we could also learn about the fates of the Lady Q and Junior.

Elnor, I think, would have a story more appropriate to a Short Trek, not these Long Treks, but only because I feel like it would be reasonable to have him join the cast of the potential "Star Trek Legacy" that people call for. With that in mind, I'd like to see him settle on a career in Starfleet that suits him - specifically, counseling. Cuz sure, the guy is a sword wielding badass and looked to Picard as a mentor figure, so those imply a security or command track, but I'd sooner see him turn his heritage with Absolute Candor be part of how he helps others to heal. That said, there's certainly room to build up a cast of Starfleet cadets who are experiencing the aftermath of the Borg Attack on Frontier Day - how many of them were also assimilated and turned on their teachers and instructors and families? Indeed, that could be part of the catalyst of him taking that career track. Plus we'd be able to get more of Romulan history and culture explored.

Speaking of the Romulans, we really DO need a story that explores the actual events of the supernova that destroyed Romulus - it was a plot MacGuffin in 09 Trek, Picard season one dashed the Hobus star explanation utilized in the original Countdown comic and adopted by Star Trek Online by calling it the destruction of the Romulan star, and the novel Last Best Hope (which, while not being something that screen Trek is bound to, there has been more cross over/through with canon/non-canon material in modern Trek, so it's at least something that might be acknowledged) implied that the supernova was caused by some internal faction of the Romulans. This is a mystery that deserves to be solved - or, more bluntly, a plot mess from a time that didn't expect to HAVE to deal with it that needs to be cleaned up.

On a similar note, SELA. This character needs some kind of actual use and development - for all the fanfare that she got as an introduction, she ended up used as just a generic Romulan antagonist, and she should be further explored. She could be a major character of the Romulan supernova story or of a separate story, say, of rebuilding the Romulan society in the aftermath.

As a bit of 'hold us over until Star Trek Legacy can happen' kind of thing, I'd also like to get a Seven and the Fenris Rangers adventure, develop some of how she ended up with this group. As a bonus, we could get some acknowledgement of other Voyager crew in the mix as well - maybe she ends up running in to Harry Kim (finally promoted). Potentially, if this were to take place between the first two seasons of Picard, we could even get more of Santiago Cabrera as the La Sirena holograms (yes, I just want more Santiago Cabrera in Star Trek). Either way, though, I want to explore the shift in Seven from the end of Voyager to the time of Picard.

On a "just cuz" note, I want to see a pre-Picard Worf and Ro Starfleet Intelligence story, maybe something that further alludes to what Worf had sacrificed, as he said in Imposters. Plus explore more of his growth and development. I mean, I'd certainly not mind a Captain Worf of the Enterprise-E story (see just what was- er, WASN'T his fault about why they couldn't use it), but I feel like the Worf-Ro dynamic is something that it'd be interesting to dig in to (and, yes, I am aware she's among his crew in the Star Trek Defiant comics, but more is good).

This is where I'm going to cut myself off, because I could probably just keep going and have dozens more ideas. But just... I liked Short Treks, I want to see Long Treks be a thing, and I think both ideas give a great deal of room to explore more of the Trek universe.

Voyager. Now that’s a kettle of fish. Obviously watch/enjoy whatever you wish, but I do recommend also checking out SFDebris’ reviews of the episodes (he’s the rwde of Voyager). He is a lot smarter and more eloquent than me.

Putting these two asks together since my thoughts on both are all jumbled! 

Now, I want to emphasize that I’ve only watched the first 16 episodes (Season One + Season 2 premiere), so idk if Voyager is going to go seriously downhill later on, but right now I do really like it. And not in a, “Lol yeah compared to the other crap on it’s good, I guess” way, but in a completely honest, “It has its flaws, but is overall a solid, compelling show with lovable characters” way. Out of curiosity I watched SFDebris’ review of “Phage,” though I’m afraid I didn’t agree with it. The only part were I was like, “Yeah okay” was pointing out that they had the Doctor using a keypad when he supposedly wasn’t solid, but that’s precisely the sort of continuity error that, in an otherwise strong show, I’m willing to shrug off. For all the major points, it sounds like SFDebris is concerned primarily with the show he wants Voyager to be, rather than the show Voyager actually is. Which I know sounds familiar--I’ve heard that criticism leveled at my own work: “You just want RWBY to be a totally different show”--but the difference is that Voyager is a part of an established franchise, following three other TV shows, an animated series, and a collection of films. It’s not an original show (like RWBY) that can take itself in any direction the story may need/claim to want (again, RWBY). It has a brand and those established characteristics seem to be bumping up against SFDebris’ critiques: 

Hating Neelix as a character - You’re supposed to hate him. Or at least find him frustrating (I don’t personally hate him) because that’s what all the characters are grappling with too. From Tuvok forced to have an awkward conversation while Neelix is in the bath to Janeway dealing with him taking over her dining room, Neelix’s conflict revolves around how others learn to accept him. Star Trek as a franchise is about “Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.” Voyager begins with the problem of how the trained Federation officers are supposed to work with the more violent Maquis. Difference doesn’t just create “Wow, you’re so amazing!” reactions, it also includes frustration, disagreement, and outright hostility. Creating an outsider character with a kind heart but incredibly overbearing personality is a great way to test the other characters’ convictions. Do they actually care about all life in the universe? Or do they only care about life when they personally find it palatable? Having Neelix around is a great reminder for them--and the viewer--that just because someone annoys you at times doesn’t mean they’re any less worthy of love, respect, and companionship. It also doesn’t mean they don’t have something to offer: he keeps the crew fed even if his cooking is horrible, he provides information about this area of space even if he sometimes gets it wrong, we roll our eyes at the “Morale Officer” stuff, but Neelix does provide much needed perspective for characters like Tuvok. If Neelix made fewer mistakes, stopped bugging the crew, became a “cooler” character for the audience to root for rather than be frustrated by... a lot of the point of his character would be lost. 

Frustration about discoveries not carrying over to the next episode - AKA, the crew finds inanely powerful, alien tech and then (presumably) never uses it again. This would indeed be a big problem in a serialized story (like RWBY) but Voyager maintains much of Star Trek’s original, episodic nature. Though we have continuity in the form of them inching towards home and evolving as characters, the world still resets to a certain point at the end of each episode. This is what allows Star Trek to explore so many different questions and have so many different adventures. If you demand that serialized continuity--this character needs to have an arc to deal with this traumatic experience, the crew has to follow the thread they just discovered, our Doctor needs to do something with the new tech they just found--then you lose the variety that Star Trek is known for. Instead of a new story each week (or, occasionally, across two weeks) you’ve got a single story spanning months. Neither form is better or worse than the other, it’s absolutely a preference, but there’s a very specific, structural, intentional reason why the characters “forget” about the things they’ve discovered and, at times, experienced. Unlike Ozpin forgetting that he has a nuke in his cane for seven volumes, or Ruby forgetting to use her eyes at crucial points, Star Trek deliberately sets things aside to ensure there’s room for new ideas and questions next episode. 

Janeway doesn’t kill the Vidiians to get Neelix his lungs back - No Starfleet captain would. At least, not during this period of Star Trek. Sisko has development in that regard (making morally gray choices), but that’s built into the heart of the show from the start: he’s on a station, not a starship, that is jointly run by the Federation and the Bajorans, and built by the Cardassians. The rules of the Federation always had a tenuous hold there and Sisko as a character always pushed the boundary of the Federations expectations (Q: “Picard never hit me!”) Janeway, in contrast, is 100% a Federation captain and, more importantly, has explicitly told her crew that they will be operating as a Federation vessel, despite being so far from home. That’s the conflict between the officers and the Maquis. That’s why Tuvok accepts the alien tech in “Prime Factors,” recognizing that Janeway can’t. That’s why Seska is a compelling antagonist, pressuring the crew to abandon their ideals for survival. The series (or at least that first season) revolves around questions about identity and whether they’re willing to give that identity up now that they’re out from under the Federation’s thumb. Overwhelmingly, they choose not to... which would make murdering the Vidiian a complete 180 for her character. We’re not necessarily supposed to agree with Janeway’s choice, we’re supposed to acknowledge that murdering another sentient being is not some simple choice to make, especially when you’re a leader devoted to a certain set of ideals. We’re supposed to recognize the challenges here (many of which SFDebris doesn’t acknowledge) like how you’re supposed to keep a prisoner for the next 75 years when you’re already struggling to feed and take care of the crew you have, or the fact that they claim to take organs from dead bodies and this was a rare time when they couldn’t. (It’s only in “Faces” that we learn this is complete BS and they actively kidnap people to work as slaves and then be harvested.) The frustration that Janeway doesn’t act here stems from wanting her to be a character who is, fundamentally, not a Star Trek captain. 

Granted, I only watched one review, but that’s what the whole thing felt like: wanting a series that’s not Star Trek. Something without a token, challenging character, without hand-wavy science, that’s more serialized, and doesn’t adhere to a “do no harm” code. (I just started “Initiations” and Chakotay asks a vessel to stand down three times, while actively being attacked, before finally retaliating and then he tries to reestablish communications and then he warns them about their engine and then he beams them aboard his shuttle. That’s what Star Trek (usually) is: that idealized love of life, even when that life is actively hostile). And like, that’s obviously fine! As you say, Flawartist, “watch/enjoy whatever you wish,” but just based on this one review I wonder if SFDebris just wants something other than Star Trek. 

I think one of the reasons why I feel passionately about this (beyond my love of context and recognizing when shows are actively trying to accomplish something specific) is that I went through this with DS9. For years I heard about how horrible the show was. It’s trash. It’s a mess. It’s not TNG, so don’t even bother. Or, if you do, be prepared for disappointment. There was this whole, strong rhetoric about how silly it all is--Star Trek is, by default, silly, so supposedly only the Shakespeare loving, archeology obsessed captain is sophisticated enough to save it--and then... I found nothing of the sort. I mean yeah, obviously Star Trek is silly as hell (that’s part of its charm), but DS9 was also a complex, nuanced look into everything from personal agency to the threat of genocide. There’s so much wonderful storytelling there... little of which made it into my cultural understanding of DS9. And now I’m seeing the same thing with Voyager. When I did some quick googling I was bombarded by articles saying how bad it is and now I have an ask comparing it to a show I don’t think has even a quarter of the heart the Star Trek franchise does. Which is is not AT ALL meant as a knock against you, anon. I’m just fascinated by this cultural summary of Star Trek: TOS is ridiculous but fun if you’re willing to ignore large swaths of it, TNG is a masterpiece and that’s that, DS9 is bad, Voyager is bad, and to be frank I haven’t heard much of anything about Enterprise. It’s weird! Because I watch these shows and I’m like, “Holy shit there’s so much good storytelling here.” Is it perfect? Not on your life, but it’s trying in a way that I can really appreciate. It’s Star Trek and Star Trek (at least at the time) meant something pretty specific. Criticisms about divisive characters or idealized forgiveness feel like walking out of a Fast and Furious film and going, “There was too much driving and silly combat. Why didn’t they just fix the situation in this easy way?” Because then we wouldn’t have a film about lots of driving and silly combat! If you make all the characters palatable, make Janeway harder, extend the impact of all the discoveries, remove the ridiculous science that doesn’t make any sense... then you don’t have Star Trek anymore. 

Q Vadis

A/N: I have been watching way too much TNG in the last two weeks and was pretty disappointed with the amount of Q fanfic. So. Io and behold. Here we go. I don’t know if I’ll continue this, but this part was a lot of fun to write and I’ll probably do a second part. I’m still getting a hang of the characters, bear with me!

Story: Reader is a Lieutenant on Picards Enterprise - and happens to run into a certain chaotic god-like entity when she just tries to start her shift. She gets a stern lecture and a surprise visit. Local superbeings noticing you admiring their looks might notice.

Words: 2000ish

Q x Reader

You weren’t thinking of anything special that day as you headed over to the bridge - the past few weeks on the Enterprise had been calm and without much action. The crew had visited a planet, collected samples of early plant life, some amazing fungi. No sapient life though, but topped off with long evenings at ten forward. It was nice, a bit boring and absolutely uneventful, which in sum made up for a very happy Captain Picard and therefor a happy crew. You’d take over astronavigation for the next few days, with Ensign Wes being ill and confined to his bed until further notice. Not that there was much to do right now. It was simply duty. Thus was your mind pre-occupied with idle thoughts of nothing in particular, when the turbo lift stopped and opened it’s doors to the bridge for you. “Lieutenant…”, you began to signal your appearance on the bridge but stopped as soon as you took in the scene unfolding before you.

For a moment your thoughts unfolded in an unorderly manner while you tried to assess everything at once:

At first you noticed Captain Picards strained voice. The kind of strain that made people happy to stay far away from his ready room, or the bridge. And usually for good measure - he was the kind of stern, friendly father you never wanted to see really upset. Next you noticed a certain angry excitement that had everyone up on their feet, shuffling around, their faces - as far as you could see them - expressing varying degrees of irritation. And then you noticed, at the center of all that attention, a tall man - at least two heads taller then most of the crew, his hair in short black curls. He wore a captains uniform - all black and red and very very suiting. You felt a smile creep on your face. Cocking your head lightly, it took you a moment to rip yourself from your temporary admiration of the figure before you Maybe I can get a transfer to THAT ship. Snapping back to attention had you noticed a couple of things that had escaped you until now: For one, your captain had stopped talking angrily and had turned around to you. You saluted quickly and wiped that stupid grin from your face pressing your lips into a firm line. Well, so much for being subtle. Huh. “Lieutenant Y/N, reporting back to the bridge, Sir. I didn’t know we had a guest on board. There was no information about another ship.” - “Thats because there is no other ship”, Picard stated matter of factly, “And he is no captain.”

“Oh, mon capitaine”, the tall figure pouted and put his hand in a motion of false hurt on his chest with more unnecessary bravado then you had ever seen. His voice though… His eyes turned from picard to you, a curious glint in his eyes. With a snap of his fingers he vanished and reappeared just centimeters from you - leaning with one arm against the turbo lift door and looming over you, wiggling his eyebrows. “I’m afraid dear Jean-Luc”, there was an exquisite sarcasm as he spoke your captains first name - it was outrageous, really, “is not very fond of me.”. “Leave her alone, Q. She has nothing to do with this.” The person called Q turned half around, without letting go of the door, to face Picard. “See, I’m JUST trying to have a civil conversation. Didn’t you just say I know nothing of your species?” He clicked with his tongue at that and shook his head, a perfect display of disappointment. “Now, my love.”, he continued, turning back to you and producing an excited smile. “Since your dear captain does not wish to see poor moi anymore today, we will discuss…” he paused for a split second, searching your face curiously, “… We will discuss your wonderful entrance later.” and with another snap of his fingers he vanished and where he had been, only the rest of the bridge crew was left. “Lieutenant“, that was your Captains voice and he sounded more stern then usual. „To my ready room, please. Counselor Troi, Commander Riker, please follow me as well. Commander Data, you are in command.“ Oh shit. „Aye, Sir.“

Deannas reassuring smile was what kept you from freaking out. You had nothing done wrong, had you? „Sit down“, Picard said and sat down first, everyone followed him doing so after that. Riker was smirking, but he did that a lot, so nothing to worry about. Yet. „Sir,“ you began, figuring that perhaps a forward attack was your best chance. „Have I.. done something wrong? I didn’t want to interfere, just attend to my du-„ Your captain waved his hand, cutting you short. „You did nothing wrong, Lieutenant. But I felt it was necessary to explain to you the situation at hand.“ Riker and Troi exchanged a look. „Sir?“ you asked looking nonpluzzed. „He calls himself Q.“ Picard began, leaning back. The memory alone stiffened his expression and he folded his hands in front of him. „As far as we know he is an entity that regards itself omnipotent.“ Troi eyed you curiously and then continued in place of the captain: „Our experience with him so far confirms his statement. He seems not … malevolent.“, which garnered her a pointed look from the Captain, „but … chaotic. He seems fond of games and only concerned with his own interests.“ „It is best we have him interfere with us as less as possible.“ finished the Captain, folding his hands front of him. You nodded, still confused as to how that pertained to you. „Sir, I have one question though…“ you began carefully. „How does this relate to .. me?“ Riker chuckled. „He seemed interested in your appearance on the bridge.“ Heat spread over your cheeks and Troi was now grinning alongside Riker. Even Picard had to withhold a smile that tucked visibly at the corner of his mouth - though the expression vanished as fast as it’s shadow had crossed the captains face. „Last time he was particularly interested in Commander Riker. You weren’t on board back then.“ „Ugly business, Lieutenant Y/N“ „Yes“, Picard stretched the word and his eyes looked at you with equal parts stern captain and worried father. „I want to remind you that if he seeks you out, you must remember that he is immensely powerful, chaotic. The purpose of his actions eludes us.“ You nodded, a dim feeling spreading through your chest. „Understood, Captain.“ „If he engages you, you are to tell me immediately. Understood?“ „Aye, Sir. Understood."

Afterwards you were released from the Captains ready room - accompanied by Trois sympathetic smile, as she probably felt exactly how confused you were about what had happened. But there was no more mention of this early Alphas events and you were happy to occupy yourself with the Enterprises telemetric systems. Since Alpha was not your usual shift, end of shift kinda caught you by surprise - though not an unpleasant one - and you went on to have dinner, work out, get an alcohol-free drink at ten forward as well as dessert to your dinner and then head over to your quarters to spent some time alone. Guinan offered some very good drinks, but you felt that you wanted a clear head tonight. Besides, the last few weeks were filled with one party too many. Pulaski had some serious lectures about extended drinking (and drinking games in particular) and Captain Picard would never tolerate the discipline of his crew deteriorating. Sighing and rubbing the bridge of your nose you entered your quarters, door sliding shut behind you. You threw your uniform jacket on the bed and stretched slowly, hands over your head, your joints snapping. „Ew, that’s awful.“ „WHAT THE -„ you yelled and jumped upwards, like a frightened cat, just not as graceful, then hastily turning around to see the foreign captain leaning on the wall next to your door. He pulled a disgusted face. „Really, was that necessary? You should let someone have a  look at those joints, in fact …“ he lifted his right hand, pressing the tip of his thumb and his middle finger at each other. „I could do that for you. As a gift. It’s no problem for me, fixing your archaic biology.“ You stood there - your mouth open and your brain hastily correcting your first thoughts: No, not a captain. Omnipotent. Dangerous. Some sort of god-entity. „No.“ your voice was pressed. „No? I’m starting to feel that my generosity is wasted on your species.“ „I’m sorry“, you answered, your retort more of a puzzled reflex then a heartfelt apology. You managed to collect yourself to answer: „These are my quarters.“ „Well,“ he quipped his eyebrows,“I do hope so. Otherwise we’d be trespassing!“ „Yes. I mean. No. I mean.“ you took a deep breath before you continued. „You’re in my quarters. Why.“ „Ohhhhh“, he stretched the word and pushed himself off of the wall, strolling lazily into your direction. „Yes, that’s right of course, ma chère. Good old Jean-Luc always gets so irritated with my presence.“ he scoffed, rolling his eyes „Seized my ship, psh.“, he mumbled to know one in particular, then returning his beaming smile back to you. „I thought I’d pay you a personal visit. This ship really is home to some fascinating primates“, continued the being and his tall figure stopped right in front of you, locking eyes with you. „Especially with that really interesting entrance back then.“ It was hard not feeling intimidated. You noticed that his eyes were dark with what looked like a hint of gold. Maybe it was the light in your room, maybe it was just a trick of your mind, maybe just your nerves. Your breath caught for a second. He was perhaps an obnoxious omnipotent - dangerous and sly, untrustworthy - but dear god it took all your composure to keep your knees from shaking and your breath steady. „Isn’t there a more interesting species for you to pest.. Q?“ He huffed and lifted a hand. „None that’s as interested in me as you are, archaic little thing.“, he answered and grinned at that. Lifting his hand further he gently touched the bare skin at your shoulder, just an inch over where your uniform ended. At first there was just the touch itself - a soft fingertip on soft skin. Then there was an electric quality to it. Like the soft buzz you felt in the air just before a thunder storm hit. You felt it in the muscle beneath your skin and deeper than that, a tingle that rose goose bumps on your skin and made you shudder involuntarily. „What are you doing?“ you asked, but the question sounded neither as self assured, nor as demanding as you had intended. It was a mere whisper. He leaned even closer before answering:
„Spoiled you for a mortals touch.“

His suddenly sultry voice was a soft purr - gentle and affectionate. But his eyes - his eyes were those of a predator prowling wounded prey, lazily taking one step after another, assured of a prize that offered itself up to him, perhaps without knowing so. His face was so close to your neck and ear now that you could feel heat emanating from his skin, and that heat colored your own cheeks crimson red before you even knew what had happened. There was a burning, tingling sensation where he had touched you just seconds before - stray electrons twitching gently over that small part of bare skin, muscles spasm with anticipation and memory. “Imagine”, he whispered. And then he stepped to the side, to watch you like a piece of art he had just finished and a wolvish, smug grin spread over his face. “Enchaté”, he murmured and with a snap of his fingers, a white flash, he was gone and you were again alone in your room, the silence of the walls pressing down on you. Only then did you remember to breath again and exhaled slowly.

Smallest taglist in the world. I really don’t know who would want to read this. If you wanna be tagged please notify me.

@eufeme @noodledragonoverloard @trashcan-to-end-all-trashcans @reading-in-moonlight

TNG S03

I’VE DONE TWO OF THESE ALREADY YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT’S COMING BY THIS POINT also everybody on this fucking show wears like one-piece jumpsuits and all I can think is how goddamn inconvenient must that be every time you need to take a leak.

Geordi la Forge - Geordi’s finally getting some focus episodes this season and it’s excellent, I’m remembering that I actually super like him as a character in his own right and not just as Data’s BF/BFF (it’s one of those two things). There’s something so pleasing about how he’s kind of socially-awkward and yet consistently responds to situations by being level-headed and compassionate. We should all be a little more like Geordi.

Guinan - I think Guinan’s a pretty cool lady, eh wears fantastic hats and doesn’t afraid of anything. She’s like the spacefuture version of “retired adventurer runs a tavern” which is a character type I’m fond of.

Lwaxana Troi - Honestly I could watch an entire episode consisting of nothing but Lwaxana, she is a gift to this world and her existence is basically the only thing which makes standard-issue Troi a tolerable character to me. I’m totally certain she’s not actually into Picard and is just trolling the shit out of him, which is honestly my favourite dynamic for people interacting with Picard (see also: why I love Q, although in Q’s case I’m like 80% sure at least some of the interest is genuine).

Worf - Man what is Up with Worf. It’s weirding me out how he keeps being presented as like, the most klingon klingon to ever klingon, Proud Warrior Race Guy who had his sense of humour surgically removed and replaced with HONOUR, but also he was mostly raised by humans yet despite this likes to act as though he’s unfamiliar with human culture sometimes?? I don’t even know, man. His determination to be super stereotypically klingon kind of makes sense as overcompensation for the whole raised-by-humans thing but that hasn’t actually come up in canon yet, any explanation you can make for his behaviour at this point is just fanwank. I don’t know, I feel like the show could be doing a lot more with Worf than it actually does.

S03E07 The Enemy - I don’t have super much to say about this episode but it sort of epitomises what I like about Geordi, he’s smart and resourceful and his response to a romulan pointing a space gun at him is to go “hey we’re in the same leaky-as-shit boat here, let’s work together to save ourselves using the power of FRIENDSHIP”. Meanwhile Worf thinks his honourboner is more important than not starting a war I guess?? fuck’s sake Worf.

S03E10 The Defector - Oh man I really loved this episode’s oneshot NPC!! Like a frankly ridiculous amount of really loved him; he’s my favourite (awful) shade of morally-grey and his motivation was something I found super compelling.

Honestly I super enjoyed everything about this episode. It was delightful and one of those rare episodes which completely worked for me, from the storyline to the character interactions to Data’s Shakespearian holodeck shenanigans suddenly becoming way less of a non-sequitur when Picard quotes it later in the episode. The plot leant just hard enough on all the is-he-or-isn’t-he that if you don’t think twisty enough you might forget that there’s a third possibility, and that’s always wonderful.

S03E11 The Hunted - Okay look if this episode wants me to agree that “stick them all on the moon” is a bad way to deal with people who automatically respond with uncontrollable hyperviolence when even slightly threatened then it needs to make less of a deal about how they’re people who automatically respond with uncontrollable hyperviolence when even slightly threatened. Seriously, they’re wired on a hairtrigger and they have literally have no ability to not respond with hyperviolence when set off, you can’t let them run around with the rest of the population and expect that to end well for anyone involved. The part where you gave up on helping them and decided to treat them all as criminals instead is horrible, but the basic plan of “stick them all on the moon” is really the only reasonable thing you can do under the circumstances.

S03E13 Deja Q - Man what fucking drugs are the Q even on though. “Hey I know we’re supposed to be punishing you here and you’ve only been human for like five minutes but also I guess what you’re doing right now bears like a super vague resemblance to a selfless act, what do you mean you’re trying to commit suicide oh my god Q just shut up and lie through your teeth for once, I need you to agree with me that this is a selfless act so that I have an excuse for giving you your powers back okay bye.”

I’m just going to assume they realised that Q trying to kill himself meant that they’d either have to permit him to cut his punishment short or else constantly interfere to prevent him from doing so and like, what even is the point of punishing Q if you can’t laugh at him while he suffers? Might as well restore him, at least that way the next few times he steps out of line you can threaten to hit him with the mortality stick again and laugh while he flinches.

S03E14 A Matter of Perspective - So we’re just gonna. We’re just gonna ignore the part where hologram!Riker sexually assaulted someone and this was (according to Troi) a true and accurate representation of what went down from the perspective of the person he nonconsensually macked on? We’re ignoring that, then. Okay.

S03E20 Tin Man - Somebody remind me to write up another red-string conspiracy headcanon post about why I’m convinced Data and Tam Elbrun fucked during this episode because they absolutely did, Tam Elbrun definitely 100% rode the fuck out of that android dick and I will fight any man to the death in defence of my interpretation of this episode.

S03E24 Ménage à Troi - This is another episode dominated by What’s Wrong With Wesley. See, FUCKING WESLEY THE WORST CHARACTER wants to go to Starfleet Academy, but the show doesn’t want FUCKING WESLEY THE WORST CHARACTER to go to Starfleet Academy it wants him to stay on the ship so I can suffer more. But because FUCKING WESLEY THE WORST CHARACTER is FUCKING WESLEY THE WORST CHARACTER he can’t just fail the exam because that would make him not the bestest most wonderfulest, so they have to think of Something Else. Last time the Something Else was that FUCKING WESLEY THE WORST CHARACTER solved someone else’s problems for them, but they couldn’t do that again so this time it’s that FUCKING WESLEY THE WORST CHARACTER saves the day by solving a problem and this makes him late for his space bus. In conclusion: FUCKING WESLEY THE WORST CHARACTER.

tl;dr: Still want to live in the parallel universe where Jarok gets to be a main character and has focus episodes and a character arc and everything, also I’m glad Data finally got to have fully-consensual sex not under the influence of Weird Space Drugs.

IN OTHER NEWS about halfway through this season I had to start watching every episode multiple times because I hit a point where my brain just would not register anything happening onscreen. So okay I guess it is time to Take A Break. Remember to check back in next week for your randomly-scheduled Hap Doing Senseless Bullshit!

Ooooooo so many good ones! 10 or 15, your choice, with Qcard?

i shall go with 15: “Shhh, they’ll hear us.” 

“I don’t understand why we have to sneak in here like that,” Picard complained.

“Shhh, they’ll hear us.” Q was wearing one of his most billowing robes, and had slung an arm around Picard in such a manner that he was almost completely concealed by the fabric. As if the sneaking weren’t stealthy enough just by itself.

“How are you planning on showing me around the place without rousing anyone’s attention?” Picard insisted.

“I don’t know, but maybe we’re lucky. Maybe if they’re out or… minding their business…”

“Where would they be? Why would every single Q be otherwise engaged at this present moment?”

Q rolled his eyes to the artificial sky. “Look, do you want to see the Continuum or not?”

Picard did. He had to admit he was curious. Since Voyager had come back home and the data she’d collected had been made available throughout starfleet, Picard had perused Captain - now Admiral - Janeway’s logs. And he’d paid special attention to her encounters with Q.

Janeway had encountered the entity way less than Picard had. Only three times in total - but each time seemed to have been of monumental importance to the Q. And he didn’t want to admit it but deep down, in a petty little part of his soul, it vexed him that Janeway had seen the Continuum twice while he, Q’s actual lover, hadn’t. So he had asked Q to take him there.

What he was looking at was different than what Janeway had described, at least when she had logged her first encounter with the Q. There was no dusty road, no desert, no decrepit little outpost. Instead, a gravel path led to a sprawling mansion tucked into lush, green hills. Plants were blooming everywhere, and the air was fresh and balmy. Sure, the path needed weeding, and as they reached the mansion, Picard saw the stucco peeling off the walls and the faded paint job on the door. But it wasn’t the dead waste that Janeway had seen.

“Thinking of Kathy’s logs, huh?” Q said, right on point. “Yes, it’s changed since then. What she saw on her first trip here was Quinn’s Continuum. I let him pick the set dressing, and I’m afraid that all his depression and world-weariness and et cetera went into it. This is my Continuum. There needs to be work done, but it’s a living place.”

Picard nodded. “Do we go inside?” he asked, indicating the door.

“Yes,” Q said and opened it. “But shush now.”

“Why must you smuggle me in like that? If mortals have been here before…”

“Keep your voice down,” Q hissed.

The house turned out to function unlike a normal mansion would. There was no entrance hall, no staircase, no hallway, the front door led directly to the living area.

It was a spacious, airy room that communicated, above all, faded comfort. Plush couches and armchairs were everywhere. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and any space without bookshelves was covered in pictures - not paintings but photographs, arranged into collages, all depicting, as far as Picard could tell, the same group of people. Every horizontal surface was absolutely littered with all sorts of knick-knacks, ranging from quaint to bizarre. Dust danced in sunbeams from the windows. The furniture showed obvious signs of wear - this was a place where people lived together, people who, to an entity, weren’t very scrupulous about cleaning up after themselves. Clothes (that were really more costumes) were all over the floor and a good part of the furniture. Someone had spilled a glass of wine all over a couch.

The room was also deserted. Further back, a door opened into a hallway. Many more doors diverged from it, all closed.

“We seem to be in luck,” Q said. “Nobody’s here.”

Then, the silence exploded.

Picard shielded his eyes against the influx of bright light and sound. Diamonds of light were popping up from everywhere, each of them heralding the arrival of a Q.

“Oh, damn!” Q exlaimed, throwing his hands up.

Within seconds, entities were everywhere. They sprawled on every surface. And they were all looking curiously at him and Q.

“You all ambushed me!” Q accused, pointing an enraged finger.

“We had to know why you were sneaking in like this,” a Q, who appeared in the form of a blonde human woman, said.

“And who was with you,” another Q continued, this one of no known gender or species and with lilac skin. “Another mortal?”

Q sighed. “Jean-Luc Picard.”

Picard nodded awkwardly.

A hushed whisper ran through the assembled entities. Then suddenly they all spoke at once.

“It’s him! It’s the Picard!” “That’s the Picard?” “I would’ve imagined him to be taller.” “Don’t humans usually come with hair?” “Everyone, get over here, look, Q’s brought his boyfriend…!”

“I knew that this would happen,” Q muttered as more and more entities began to crowd around them. Picard found himself touched, petted and prodded by many curious fingers.

“Say Q, what does one do with a mortal boyfriend?” “Is it nice? Is it lovely? Does it put out?” “It’s warm. It’s pleasant to the touch.” “Its mind is so different from ours.” “Can I try it?” “Will you share it?”

“They don’t get out much,” Q explained. “The war has shaken some things up here. Many of them haven’t seen a mortal in thousands of years.” He shooed the crowd aside. “And no, you cannot try him, Q! He’s only mine! We had a war about this!”

“Is he going to adopt me?” someone asked.

At the odd question, the Q whispered and shuffled. Picard was startled when a sudden teen popped out from behind a couch. The boy was gangly and looked vaguely annoyed with everything in the way of teenagers throughout the universe. Picard, as always when faced with a sudden child, had no idea what to say or do.

The boy huffed, waiting for an answer. “So? Are you going to be like my stepdad?”

“I’m sorry, but who…?”

Q put a hand on the boy’s shoulder with evident pride. “Didn’t you finish reading Kathy’s logs?” he asked. “This is Q. My son. The future of the Continuum.” He had that expectant look on his face that all proud parents had. Say something about how great my child is. Come on. Do it.

Picard put on a horrid, false smile. He had known intellectually that the kid existed, but it hadn’t… sunk in yet. Q, of all people, was a father. He was dating an entity with child.

“Splendid,” he croaked.

To Boldly Go

Wrote this last semester for my final English project and in the end though that I would share it with all of you as I am pretty proud of it. 

To Boldly Go

Introduction

“Space the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” - William Shatner 

Star Trek, one of the greatest science fiction programs of all time, is also one of the most groundbreaking. It draws the viewer in as mentioned in my interview with my friend by teaching us valuable lessons, which were taught to the audience through the idea of mythology. It retold old myths and created new ones which will last for a lifetime. And even though these myths and lessons are buried under the main plot of Star Trek they come to the surface if you only stop and look.

What is a myth you might ask? Well a myth as defined by Joseph Campbell, as stated in the article Star Trek: A Mythology For Our Time, must be mystical, cosmological, sociological and pedagogical. This definition will be important later on when we talk about how Star Trek creates its own myth; for now it's relevant that we note how ancient Greek or Roman stories have these elements, or parts of any way, which is why we can call them myths. This being helpful when comparing Star Trek to myths as it gives us a solid foundation when comparing the two.

How Star Trek Shows Mythology

Comparing Star Trek to myth like that of ancient Greece is quite easy to do; So imagine if you will, two people each on a journey. One of these people travels, exploring the world by way of the ocean, the other by way of space. These two people are none other than Captain James T. Kirk and Odysseus, two men on similar journeys. Journeys paralleled by strong, intelligent leaders each taking their crew on an epic adventure on which they fight of monsters and aliens; a comparison pointed out by the article Greek Myth & Science Fiction. Though this is only one of many similarities that are made in this article. Others can include things from comparing Vulcans to the Greek god Hephaestus or the idea that the Orions compare to the greek goddess Artemis which is stated in another article entitled 10 Similarities Between Star Trek and Ancient Rome.

The next thing that we could make a comparison to which I previously stated is the Star Trek alien species Vulcans to the Greek god Hephaestus. Vulcans are an alien species that have pointy ears, green blood, a different arrangement of their internal organs, are governed by a strict code of logic, no emotions and live on a planet call Vulcan. Hephaestus on the other hand is the Greek version of the Roman god Vulcan, so that’s all ready one similarity in terms of name. Other similarities come from what Hephaestus is the god of which is fire, the forge, metallurgy, volcanoes and technology. Fire and volcanoes go hand and hand and can relate Hephaestus to the Vulcans in the fact that their home planet Vulcan has a surface with many volcanoes and lava fields. Lastly, I find that the most important observation is that while Hephaestus is the god of technology, Vulcan’s are Star Trek’s god of technology or master as they are noted for creating advanced warp drives in order to travel the galaxy.

The last example that I shall give is to that of the Orions. In Star Trek the Orions are a green skinned alien species that comes from the planet Orion. Now the relationship between this and mythology can be summed up quite easily in the fact that the name a least relates to the Greek goddess Artemis. In mythology Artemis had a special relationship with Orion and in Star Trek The Orions fit nicely with in the realm of the universe even with their animalistic and primal ways. Forthright it is to be noted that like the mythical Amazons the Orion woman also give poor treat to men.

How Star Trek Creates Its Own Myth

In this last part we take the idea of mythology one step further, into the realm of originality. To do this we begin with the definition of a myth as given by Joseph Campbell where he states that a myth must be mystical (infinite), cosmological (infinitesimal), sociological (how to existe with in society) and lastly pedagogical (how to live in any time period); Star Trek A Mythology For Our Time goes on to state what each part of the definition means, same as me.

The mystical part can be represented by Star Trek’s demonstration of the many possibilities of human life and culture. Basically Gene Roddenberry vision for humanities future.

The cosmological part is depicted by semi-omnipotent being and their general disregard for humans. In my mind the best example of this is with Q. Q is a being of the Q Continuum and from the article One Trek Mind: Benjamin Sisko - Son Of A God, it is stated that Captain Picard refers to him as “Having the power of god.” This power lets him do whatever he wants, so with it he chooses not to care about the wellbeing of humans and other species.   

The sociological lessons from Star Trek are plentiful. There are literally so many examples that I don’t think that I can give one. Though one main theme or lesson is that of inclusivity and of not discriminating. This is shown throughout the series with the many different species getting along.

Lastly we have the pedagogical function where  the characters are seen as role models. These characters are role models because they help tell you how to act in life and you can relate to them. I personally find a role model in Captain Kathryn Janeway as she is the first Female Star Trek Captain, loves science and is not afraid to give you her opinion. In an interview with my friend, it was stated he connected to characters like that of Data, Captain Picard and The Doctor because of there musical ability.

Long after The Original Series, long after any of the series the fans have rallied to make their mark on The Star Trek universe. The most common way that they have done this is through fanfiction. The definition of fanfiction according to dictionary.com is “fiction written by fans of a TV series, movie, etc., using existing characters and situations to develop new plots.” This is extremely helpful as it allows the sociological aspect of myth to change, to evolve and conform to the world in which the piece of writing is written. I personally have created many character just for Star Trek fanfiction and what I have found is that this does allows me to tell my interpretation, my view on the Star Trek myth.  

Star Trek has even created a few in universe myths/religions for that of the Klingon and Bajoran species. These “myths” do the same thing for the species that believe them as the myth of Star Trek does for the viewers. The important thing these myths do is help give certain characters, (like that of Worf with his honor and Kira with her strength and testiment of faith) qualities that bring out the pedagogical function of mythology.    

Conclusion

As you can see Star Trek is an ever changing universe that uses and creates myths to teach us a lot of valuable lessons. It is our modern myth. A world with character and situations that relate to the time in which it is written.

Tags: @outside-the-government @lyrasilverroseelizabethamanti @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse @poetictrekkie @trekpositive @trekmystars @lizzexx