#Odan Mai

[lilghostiequinni]

Not the Only One

Main Masterlist Lestappen Masterlist

Pairing: Norris!female oc (Lea) x Max Verstappen x Charles Leclerc

Warnings: Fluffy,

Summary: She comes to Formula One as a photographer. Well, kind of. She's something else but a photographer nonetheless, but for three teams, she takes photos.

Requested: NO / yes (Saturday Poll)

The better part of all 10 teams was gathered in one of the many conferencing rooms in the F1 headquarters; every team had its own little section.

"Alright, well, we have a new member joining, she is a photographer to all teams, partially and three teams full time," Stefano says to the group of teams in the room as he walks in, a woman following behind.

"She is already assigned to one team of her choice. The other two will be determined via her terms," Stefano says, moving to the side for the woman to come forward.

"This is Lea, Lea Norris. She will also be taking team photos and the grid photo for this year's beginning," Stefano says, pointing to the woman as he does.

"Hello, I'm Lea. The team of my choosing was McLaren. I brought it up to Stefano about how to determine the other two teams I will be working for, and that is a charity race for what ever charity you choose. Any questions?" Lea asks the grid, and a few hands go up.

Lea pointed to Alex Albon, "How are you related to Lando? He never mentions you."

"Well, I'm his twin sister, his more successful little twin sister," Lea walks over to Lando and wraps her arms around his neck, and he holds her arms with his hands.

Carlos raises his hand next, "I would like to point out that I knew of you, just not what you do?"

Lea smiles, and Lando shakes his head, "She co-owns Quadrant with me because she can do the behind-the-scenes better than I can. She also owns her own clothing brand, Leona & Odan, also owning the multi-million dollar company Leletics, the company that makes many parts of the liveries and other things. Let's not forget her athletic ability," Lando says; he does an eye roll at the end but still has a smile.

"That is all true. I own the fashion company Leona & Odan, along with the company Leletics, which is also a design company not just for livery parts and 'stuff.' I also co-own Quadrant with my brother, but I am never on camera because I don't want to. I am also athletic. I do ballet and a few other sports myself. I am terrible at golf, though," Lea says, letting go of her brother to walk back to the front of the room.

She stands at the front of the room, watching the drivers.

"Why are you doing this?" Comes from the Mercedes team.

"Because I need a change of pace. I do what I love every day, but there is only so much I can do about my hobbies, such as photography. Also, I may have punched one of the chairmen to Leletics because he was there for a few years and still thought I was an assistant and not the CEO. He tried to do something that shouldn't be done, and I may have punched him a little too hard," Lea says with a fake smile on her face.

"Someone tried to touch you! Was it that asshole Brason?" Lando demands in big brother mode.

"It's fine, Lando, later, please," Lea begs her brother; Lando clenches his jaw but backs down.

For the next hour, she answers all the questions on what she is to do before she gets a question from one Max Verstappen, "So, what are we to do for this race?"

"The race is to determine what other two teams I'll technically work for, and for charity, the two teams to win will get to give 1 million dollars to a charity of their choosing. McLaren will also be competing because they don't want them left out, but they won't get anything if they win; a charity of their choice will still get a million dollars, and the charities of the rest of the teams will still get half a million dollars, each." Lea says before she continues. "Listen, I know it sounds bad because you don't even know what I can do, but I just want to give back, and I... I don't really know how to explain myself to you. I just want to do what got me started, talking pictures of racing."

It was basically a mock race in Silverstone; liveries were provided to each team, so everyone was on the same playing field as the racers; there was a single level of qualifying and a single free practice to get familiar with the car.

In the last laps of the race, it was pretty clear that the two other teams would be Red Bull and Ferrari, but Mercedes was still in the running for the third team, attempting to over take Ferrari.

But in the end, it was Ferrari that just barely beat Mecades as Carlos passed Hamilton.

Later that day, Formula One announced the addition of a three-team photographer, and the day after, McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari announced themselves as the three teams for the newest photographer

Lea proved herself, too, to all the teams, not just the three that had become her job, that she was capable of taking the necessary photographs in the sport of Formula One.

It was no surprise to her brother, though, when she showed up at Woking with a helmet for her brother, one he sort of forgot about. Just barely remembered a helmet design he told her for the 2024 season, so she designed it but did not tell him she designed it, giving it to him before testing as a surprise.

A/N: So, Lestappen won, but I will check later when the poll ends and post a thing about which two get one shot in a week. There will also be a part two posted in Week 3, it will take place in Maimi, Imola, and Monaco of the current season. This didn't have much Lestappen content, but in the next one it will.

Tags: If you want to be added to the lists or a single list, let me know

[dmagedgoods]

For Sal my beloved:

7. Is your KC religious? If yes, which deity do they follow? If not, what is their view on religion?

13. What is their biggest regret regarding their time as the KC?

22. Who was their favorite advisor during crusade council?

Aaaaaa, thank you so much! 🥺💕 7 Is your KC religious? If yes, which deity do they follow? If not, what is their view on religion? Salvadore is an atheist. He sharply criticizes most gods (especially Pharasma) who, in his eyes, are too flawed, indifferent and/or selfish to be worthy of that term and the connected devotion and worship. In the end of the game, he has a slightly higher opinion of Iomedae than in the beginning, but still views her merely like an ally he can respect. If Salvadore had to pick a god who represents some of his views, it would be Abadar. One day, he may take the Test of the Starstone, as always very much willing to prove that he is more suited for the position. The other 2 answers under a read more because of spoilers. [Teddy, don’t look, I mean it, it's the huge kind of spoiler.]

13 What is their biggest regret regarding their time as the KC? Always with the knife to his throat, I see. 😁 Surprisingly, the deed that causes him the strongest feeling of guilt is not his biggest regret. Salvadore did never and will never regret that he picked Daeran’s wellbeing, security and freedom over his own principles and killed Liotr for him. The murder itself lies heavy on his conscience, but confronted with the decision once more, he would decide the same over and over again. His moment of strongest regret, is Galfrey’s death. Eyeing her position early after his raise to power as the Knight Commander, with the goal to declare Drezen’s independence and win influence against her in Mendev too, it felt like a subconscious choice to induce her demise rather than an unfortunate development that led there. When he decided to aid her last in Iz, Salvadore did it out of his conviction that a leader has the duty and ability to hold out when necessary to protect those they’re responsible for. Still, he can’t say for sure if his action wasn’t also caused by strategic calculations of a different sort. When the dying queen used her last breathes to apologize to him and he saw Daeran tensing and turning away from the scene, he knew the painful regret about his decisions in Iz would follow him for a long, long time. 22 Who was their favorite avisor during crusade council? Salvadore found all of them concerningly incompetent, except, maybe, Odan. He is knowledgeable to a degree and used the second chance he asks him for to prove himself as a general. You will laugh, but post-game Salvadore’s favorite among them became Lady Konomi. He despised her and her lack of skill during the diplomacy councils and when Daeran and him caused the replacement of the members of the Royal Council in Nerosyan, she lost her position. It’s unclear if she forgives him for that and she’ll probably always view him as a usurper, but she and Salvadore have dinner whenever she visits Drezen.

[trillscienceofficer]

“[Star Trek: The Next Generations fourth season episode ‘The Host’ i]s one of the most outstanding episodes we've ever done,” says story editor Brannon Braga. “Being in love with someone is not very fresh. Having the parasite being as the real intelligence and the body as the host is. It was not originally pitched as a love story, it was pitched as a squirmy worm who's really the intelligence. What's ironic is that the most repulsive story ever pitched to us ended up being the most touching love story and that's why it's so unique." Elaborates Ron Moore, “The addition of Beverly to that story is the vital component. A lot of freelancers would take that premise and say this is a show about the ambassador and the struggles of the parasitic creature and the war negotiations. No one really cares about that. But when it becomes a Beverly problem, who's in the position with the problem, and to some extent Riker, that's how it became a Star Trek story.” Ultimately ‘The Host’ has become one of the most popular Trek episodes in light of its non-polemic, but effective, advocacy of tolerance and acceptance. [...] Although many questioned Dr. Crusher's rejection of Odan, once transplanted into a female body, as homophobic, [director Marvin] Rush disagrees vehemently. “Most of the people that I have talked to thought the show worked pretty well and were entertained. Some comment was that they were unhappy with the ending because it was left a question. There was, or could have been, a sort of homosexual aspect to is [sic] and we chose not to go that route with it. I felt that it was more about the nature of love, why we love and what prevents us from loving. To me the best analogy is if your beloved turned into a cockroach, could you love a cockroach? It's the same person, if the person is the personality and the core within, but can you get past the outside? We as humans are affected by the whole package, including the outside shell, and Gates [McFadden] in her last scene talks about maybe someday our ability to love won't be so limited. She says mankind may one day be able to deal with this, but I can't. To me that is about the nature of love and I think that's an interesting, worthy discussion. Rather than deal with the fact it was because of any homosexual bent per se, it's just that in our culture and our society people who are heterosexual who want the companionship of a male because they are a female, wouldn't be able to deal with that opposite situation.”

From “Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages” by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman (1995)

[For the record, I'm quoting this while completely disagreeing with the argument Marvin Rush made here. I think it's a textbook example of someone going ‘no I'm not a homophobe but—’ while also bringing transphobic sentiments to the table in order to justify themself. And it would've been easy to entirely sidestep all these ad-hoc rationalizations for ‘The Host’, just by doing what ‘Rejoined’ did with the same concepts—of the Trill and of love transcending hosts while still not being quite enough for a happily ever after—only a few years later.]

[lukedanger]

6, 9, 11, and 23 for the WOTR mechanics asks?

For Elaina:

6: What about their skills - what story is told by their skill and feat selection, or was it pure gameplay?

Between 14 INT, being human, and Fast Learner, Elaina had a full spread on Persuasion (her primary skill) and both Lore and Knowledge skills, with (Mythic) Skill Focus in Persuasion. She had a formal education in rhetoric, particularly as part of the Order of Heralds where she used it to challenge overzealous Inquisitors or to help get the minor orders working together. While not a full time scholar, she was extremely well read thanks to her upbringing and education at the abbey, which served to inform the rhetoric she used.

In terms of feats, Elaina going down Dazzling Display, Cornugon Smash, and Shatter Defenses was meant to build on her high CHA and Persuasion during combat. Story wise I see it as where she dips into the ‘Angel of Retribution’ branch of the Angel mythic path, putting the fear of Iomedae into those Abyssal bullies. The rest of her feat distribution I did not have a specific story behind, other than playing on her being in more of a supporting role such as Extend Spell to pair with the angel spellbook or Selective Channel later on to lean into Holy Champion maximizing CPE.

9: How does their Background choice reflect their character, and how does it play into their build?

Healer was more or less why Elaina’s archetype was Hospitaller instead of the standard Paladin or Divine Scion. Build wise, it was also so that she could add her INT bonus to Lore skills rather than using her average WIS. This being bundled under ‘Oblate’ also gave me the idea of her being raised at an Iomedean abbey.

11: How does their mythic path synergize with their build?

Angel naturally synced up well with being a paladin, as it gave Elaina a wider pool of defensive spells to cast on the party (particularly once the communal wards unlock), and Sword of Heaven stacks with Weapon Bond. By the end game, between both Elaina may not be using fancy techniques but when her sword connects it hits hard.

Bolt/Storm of Justice was flashy, devastating (especially with a maximize rod), and also just super fun to use, but ultimately didn’t really sync up with the way she fights.

23: What units did they pick in the Military Council (Infantry, Archers, Cavalry, Spellcasters, Grand Tier), and why?

Infantry - Conscripts. The idea was that they reflected the pragmatic reality of Mendev and the Fifth Crusade’s situation: this is an existential war that has gone on for nearly a century, and the rest of Avistan is (mostly) using the Crusades as a dumping ground for undesirables. Mendev can’t afford to turn those recruits away, especially now that they’re on the offensive and need more bodies to cover more ground.

Mechanically, they also are just absurdly over-tuned: four times the HP of Champions and twice that of Spearmen, only one less AC than Shieldbearers, and only a third/half the infirmary space of those two. For infantry they give really good bang for your finance points without instantly filling your infirmary when something glares angrily at them.

Archers - Marksmen. While conscripts were needed for numbers, with ranged troops vetting quality would pay more dividends as using warbows requires strength and training. Peasants with self-bows or slings would just not do the necessary damage to hurt demons past dretches or babaus. Besides, anyone who wanted to be an archer but couldn’t could be funneled into the infantry afterwards. Rangers were also a viable option, but those specialists were needed for scouting, screening, and skirmishing rather than pitched engagements. Thus, Marksmen.

If Odan had suggested crossbowmen instead of slingers (which would have actually fit the argument he presents), those probably would have been picked on similar grounds to Conscripts. Crossbows compensate for all the issues of using a warbow without training, even if they still need some.

Cavalry - Paladins. It’s not an Iomedean campaign without these righteous warriors and their sheer survivability. Their job of course was to directly engage the nastiest demons and keep them off of the bulk troops, being uniquely equipped for both jobs between Smite Evil and Lay on Hands.

Spellcasters - War Priests. Mechanically, spellcasting tanks that can also heal much like paladins, drawing damage towards a unit that can take it. Story wise, the idea was that they would support the bulk infantry and help them through alive with divine magic.

Also, it felt like a natural evolution of recruiting Priests as “mercenary” units in the first half of the game.

Grand Tier - Dragonslayers. In this case, it was looking to ensure they had specialists who could bring down large demons that were being deployed increasingly often as they closed on Threshold, and to have them as instructors for training troops. The Knights of Ozem would fill many of these roles as well, but they both have their duties in Lastwall and by this point the demons’ undead forces like their ghouls have been eradicated.

[Link to Ask List]

[oxumaresandstrom]

VODUN DAN (instruções para o xire)

Qualidades do Orixá Oxumarê

Setembro 7, 2008 por Manuela

Oxumaré é o Orixá do arco-íris e da transformação. É o Orixá das adivinhações, grande feiticeiro, babalawo e curador. Tem dupla representação, hora como arco-íris, hora como o homem serpente. Traz nas mãos duas cobras de metal amarelado ou branco, representa o lado masculino e feminino, dependendo do caminho. A sua saudação: A Run Boboi!!!, quer dizer: Vamos cultuar o intermediário que é elástico.

Qualidades nagô/vodun

Dan – Vodun conhecido e cultuado no ketu com o nome de Oxumare, é a cobra que participou da criação. É uma qualidade benéfica, ligada à chuva, à fertilidade e à abundância; gosta de ovos e de azeite de dendê. Como tipo humano, é generoso e até perdulário.

Vodun Dangbé – É um Oxumaré mais velho que seria o pai de Dan; governa os movimentos dos astros. Menos agitado que Dan, possui uma grande intuição e pode ser um adivinho esperto.

Vodun Becém – Dono do terreiro do Bogun, veste-se de branco e leva uma espada. Becém é um nobre e generoso guerreiro, um tipo ambicioso, combativo de Oxumaré, menos superficial que Dan. Aido Wedo, também é uma qualidade de Oxumaré conhecida no Bogun.

Vodun Azaunodor – É o príncipe de branco que reside no Baobá, relacionado com os antepassados; come frutas e “leva tudo de dois”.

Vodun Frekuen – É o lado feminino de Oxumaré, representado pela Serpente mais venenosa. O lado masculino de Oxumaré é geralmente representado pelo Arco-Íris.

Vodun Danbale ou Dambala - O reflexo do arco íris no mar calmo ou na lagoa, No vodu, Damballa é um dos mais importantes de todos os loa. Ele é tanto membro da família Rada como uma raiz, ou racine Loa. É representado como um serpente e associa-se estreitamente com cobras. Ele é considerado o pai de todos os loa e, juntamente com sua esposa/companheira Ayida Weddo, considerado no Vodou haitiano o Loa de criação.

Algumas de suas canções rituais indicam que ele "transporta os antepassados", na sua volta ao Ginen (casa espiritual do Loa, e o pós-vida). Sua esposa é a serpente arco-íris Ayida Weddo (ele também é casado com a Erzulie Freda). Como um loa da nação Rada está associado com a cor branca. Sua cor especial é o branco. Suas oferendas são muito simples e que ele prefere um ovo em um monte de farinha. Algumas casas também servem-lhe com anisete (licor de anis) e xarope de milho. Ele não fala quando se apresenta em sua posse, mas faz barulhos, sibilam como uma cobra.

Na maioria das casas, ele é sincretizado com uma das imagens cristãs de Moisés ou São Patrício.

Nomes alternativos: Damballa Weddo (filho de Odan Wedo), Danbala, Zombi, Danbala Wedo, Damballah Weddo, Danbhala Weddo.

O Orixá Oxumare possui ainda vários outros nomes na África como no Brasil, que como acontece com todos os outros Orixás, se referem a cidades, lendas ou cultos específicos de uma determinada região, e com isso ganha suas particularidades e costumes; alguns dessas outros nomes são: Akemin, Botibonan, Besserin, Dakemin, Bafun, Makor, Arrolo, Akotokuen, Kaforidan, Danjikú, Aido Wedo, Foken, Darrame, Averecy, Akoledura e Bakilá. Oxumare Araká é nome de uma mais antigas casas de candomblé na Bahia, o Ilê Axé Oxumare Araká.

XIRE DE DAN

O BARRACÃO PODE SER ENFEITADO COM FITAS DE TODAS AS CORES E DE TODAS AS LARGURAS COM O COMPRIMENTO DE UM METRO

Veve de Dan. Para ser bordado em um decido de pópeline branco de1,20 por 0,60

[star-trek-fandom-confessions]

Answer #571: the only problematic stuff in the host is the lack if consent from Riker. Not sure he allow Odan to use his body this way but I may be wrong.

One last thing, it's important to watch this episode in english and to understand it. some non english country did change the script and made Beverly said she wish Odan was in a male host and she can't love them in a woman's body = if I remember, you could translate it by "it's not the human way", from a non english perspective Beverly denied the existence of human gay people.

Posting as response.

[divinemissem13]

Stability

Trektober (NSFW) prompt 1: Rebound Sex

Jean-Luc did promise Beverly he would be there for her...

Beverly sat at her desk, one knee tucked under her chin as she stared blankly at her office door long after Kareel Odan was gone. Had she made a mistake, letting her go? Despite what people might think, it wasn’t the fact that Odan’s new host was female that had stopped her. Beverly did love Odan, no matter what shape they came in. Although she could admit to not exactly being physically attracted to the symbiont itself. But even that was beautiful, in its own way. 

No, what it came down to was fear. She rarely admitted it, even to herself, but Beverly was afraid of change and Odan was constantly changing. It made Beverly’s head spin and she just couldn’t keep up. 

She needed stability. She needed someone… someone who never changed. She needed Jean-Luc, she realized. He had been a steady, strong presence for her throughout the last twenty years. Oh, he may have come in and out of her life, but if she could rely on anything in this universe, it was that the Jean-Luc Picard who came into her life would be the exact same man who had gone out. 

And, she thought with a self-satisfied smirk, he could always be counted on for a good fuck. 

Almost as if he read her mind, Jean-Luc appeared in the doorway of her office. 

“Picard to Crusher. Come in, Dr. Crusher,” he teased, breaking through the thousand yard stare apparent on her face. 

Jean-Luc’s hazel eyes twinkled when Beverly responded with a genuine laugh. “Come in, Jean-Luc,” she invited him, smiling at her own play on words. 

She stood and moved around to the front of her desk and perched on the edge so that he could get a good look at her. She made a show of leaning back on her arms and arching her back as she stretched and crossed her long, shapely legs. For good measure, she tossed her hair and licked her lips before finally meeting his eyes. Her voice was low and sultry when she asked “What can I do for you, Jean-Luc?”

Predictably, Jean-Luc tugged at his collar and cleared his throat uncomfortably, but he made no move to leave the room. Quite the opposite, he took another step into the room, allowing the door to slide closed behind him. 

Despite his demeanor, his voice was all business when he replied “I just saw Odan off and she informed me that she would not be returning to the Enterprise.” His voice softened a bit as he continued, “I wanted to make sure you are alright.”

Unconsciously, he had stepped closer still as he spoke, as if their bodies were drawn together by some invisible force, and she was now within arms reach. 

“Who’s asking? My Captain? Or my friend?” Beverly whispered, drawing his focus to her lips. 

Jean-Luc’s hazel eyes had turned nearly black with desire, but his legendary self control still kept him from reaching out and touching her. “Your friend who will always be here for you.” He whispered, repeating the promise he had made earlier in his ready room. 

That was all Beverly needed to hear. She uncrossed her leg and wrapped it around his waist, pulling him in and eliminating the remaining space between them. She could feel him stirring against her as she hooked his collar with one finger and brought his face within inches of her own. 

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say,” she husked softly and then surged forward to capture his lips with her own. 

Her kiss was hungry and desperate and there was a voice in the back of Jean-Luc’s head warning that the kiss wasn’t really for him. Beverly released his lips and began nibbling along his ear and neck. Between gasps and moans, he managed to croak out the question he didn’t really want an answer to: “Beverly, are you sure this is what you want?”

Beverly pulled at his earlobe with her teeth and growled in his ear, “Shut up and fuck me.”

If there’s one thing to be said for Jean-Luc Picard, it’s that he knows how to follow orders.

[sepdet]

These are too new for a GenXer except Sailor Moon, so I'm gonna take you back — to 1991, the heyday of niche "lesbian slice of life" comic Dykes to Watch For.

That was also when @neil-gaiman gave us Sandman's trans Wanda and lesbian couple Hazel & Foxglove, as well as minor queer characters (plus the Endless) before them.

In 1991-92, Star Trek: The Next Generation made a couple of daring-for-the-time attempts to tackle LGBTQ+ issues by proxy. Both used Roddenberry's trick of dodging censors by "resolving" the situation in a way that leaves all but the more bigoted and oblivious viewers dissatisfied and pondering.

EG the Trill first appear in The Host (their look altered in DS9) in order to give Beverly a body-swapping love interest. It doesn't work out:

CRUSHER: Perhaps it is a human failing, but we are not accustomed to these kinds of changes. I can't keep up. How long will you have this host? What would the next one be? I can't live with that kind of uncertainty. Perhaps, someday, our ability to love won't be so limited.

KAREEL: I understand.

CRUSHER: Odan, I do love you. Please remember that.

(Kareel takes Beverly's hand and kisses her wrist)

KAREEL: I will never forget you.

(From Chrissy's transcripts. I had forgotten that Beverly doesn't say she feels differently now that he's a she, but that humans struggle with physical fluidity. I don't recall discussion of gender identity so much as "alternative sexualities" at the time, even in my queer-friendly college, but maybe that was my own ignorance.)

That kiss was Kind of a Big Deal, sold by McFadden's conflicted expression. Like the Kirk/Uhura kiss, it was enough to earn hate mail from scandalized viewers while others thought that's kind of hawt the lady doth protest too much "Oh come on, Bev!" and may have reexamined their own attitudes.

TNG tried again with the clunky 1992 story, "The Outcast," featuring a species that's done away with concepts of gender and finds them sexually deviant. Of course, Riker's love interest self-identifies as female, which puts her in danger from her race's legal system and bigotry in ways he doesn't fully comprehend.)

Note that TNG was often the first LGBTQ+ rep our parents saw, with us watching them.

Meanwhile, fansubs of 1987-88 Vampire Princess Miyu (both male and female queer characters) were trickling in from overseas. And I only just realized that behind the Japanese mythology, Miyu was reimagining Hollywood's classic Lesbian Vampire trope. 😅)

In 1989, Doctor Who kept giving Ace a Captain Kirk style "girlfriend of the week," but it wasn't clear the production team knew that's what they were doing. The writer of the final story confirmed she absolutely did do it on purpose — and she made Ace's girlfriend a furry! However, she had to sneak it past the censors via hints and coding.

It wasn't until Revolutionary Girl Utena (1996-1998, fansubs trickling across by 1999) that I saw the real deal: a star-crossed lesbian romance (and every kind of AO3 warning and ship).

That said, we all knew in the mid-90s that Xena and Gabrielle were a couple — it wasn't so much queerbaiting as censor-baiting ("What transparently flimsy plot justification can we use so they'll let us get away with THIS?")

So I nominate Xena/Gabi for the "HOW COULD YOU FORGET?" option.

[idolsgeneration]

[marx48]

[vanvelding]

I'm not evolutionary biologist, but symbiosis doesn't necessarily happen all at once.

This is going to be long and RHW may not want to read conjecture for writery legal reasons:

I think it involves addressing three questions: How are Trill hosts and Trill symbionts joined? Are symbionts sentient? What is the advantage to both for the first host to have a symbiont?

How are Trill hosts and Trill symbionts joined?

Modern Surgery - We've seen, I think, three transfers of hosts: Curzon->Jadzia, Jadzia->Verad, & Odan->Will Riker (Maybe Discovery had more?). In each case, the transfer was surgical, which points to a relatively modern origin.

PreHistoric Surgery - But then, trepanation has been practiced since prehistory, so a rough version of a surgical procedure could have been practiced amongst the Trill since their own prehistory. Unique factors of their physiology and planet may have made that type of procedure relatively safe before the development of more reliable medical technology (better immune systems or fewer invasive microbes or a better natural defense against those microbes).

Early Modern Surgery - Or hey, the Trill developed subspace communications before warp, so maybe--given the fact that their civilization has surgery as a major component--they developed sanitation and germ theory before sailing, or gunpowder, or masonry, or currency, or the wheel. Maybe.

Natural Late Symbiosis - Maybe there's a 'natural' way of joining. Maybe the Trill symbiote burrows into flesh while emitting an anaesthetic slime. Then the flesh grows over it with a little scar. Maybe the host Trill have a pocket used for young, an otter pocket, or a second orifice to slowly digest some foods over time, a natural way to gain slow-release nutrition from an external plant to make up a natural deficiency. Whatever it is, which Trill symbiotes can burrow into Trill hosts, but surgical transfer is quicker and safer when the option is available. This is kind of like StarGate's Goa'uld, which were parasites instead of symbiotes. There's just a happier ending (for the record, the Trill were introduced in 1991 and Stargate came out in 1994).

I don't want to impart exotic qualities to the less human member of this pair: it's entirely possible that the host Trill have an ability to 'pocket assimilate' some organisms and develop a biological relationship with them.

Natural Early Symbiosis - Maybe the two Trill species were symbiotic before that. Maybe even before both species were sapient. Maybe the pre-sapient symbiotes provided memory assistance to the hosts that encouraged symbiotes to develop or pre-sapient hosts needed to develop motor and communications faculties that made them more appealing to sapient symbiotes.

It's kind of like if humans kept breeding dogs until they were sapient enough to communicate the things they could smell/hear and understand complex commands.

Are Symbionts Sapient?

Yes - In the first appearance of the Trill, TNG's "The Host," it's understood that the symbiont Odan was the main life form and the host was just a shell that added some flavor. That was key to the episode's LBGT allegory.

We do hear in "Equilibrium" that the symbiotes can get cranky and make demands of their Trill hosts.

This means that the joining could have been an intentional choice by the symbionts who knew a joining was possible and thought it was a good idea. Or the hosts.

No - But in DS9, we get to meet every one of Dax's past hosts, but the asset that Dax brings to Jadzia's life is the experience and wisdom of its past hosts. We break down Jadzia, Ezri, and Curzon, but don't really talk about the Dax symbiont itself.

The symbiont has been treated as a non-entity: at most, a gestalt of the previous hosts' personalities.

That dog thing I said above might be a bit insulting and I don't want to dehumanize something because it's a lumpy worm, but it's entirely possible that the symbiotes aren't that sapient.

This means that it was most likely the Trill hosts who initiated the first joining. If you can host other organisms; why host this one. If there's a parasite out there: why put it into you?

What Is the Advantage to Both for the First Host to Have a Symbiont?

Symbionts - For the Trill symbiont, it's easy to be a little bio-centric and assume just having a bipedal form with thumbs is advantage enough, when it's a mammal that has to suck air, is a big target for predators, and--assuming Trill hosts are a mammal analog--have to eat a lot to fuel their stupid warm blood.

It could be that symbionts joined because the hosts were warm or because "yeah, the apes eat all the time but damn can they cook!"

I prefer to think a simple spirit of exploration might have inspired two otherwise compatible species--parasite Trill symbiont or assimilation pocket Trill hosts--to work together and the extra vistas of experience offered by that is what kept them together. This makes Jadzia Dax's actions in "Meridian" extremely true to her nature as a Trill, but let's not do anything as dramatic as trying to justify "Meridian."

It's an easy answer, and a very Star Trek one too.

But let's assume a slightly more complex/cynical possibilities. If you're still reading I have to assume you're down with that.

Maybe it was a migratory advantage to ease overpopulation; merge with a life form and then when it hits another compatible pool which can host Trill symbiote life then you bail and get a new, roomier habitat.

Trill symbiotes could actually use hosts to compete for limited habitats, possibly due to sapients Being Like That. It's possible that the limited Trill symbiotes we see now are carrying the cultural baggage of their own self-inflicted apocalypse, now living in leftover habitats deep beneath the planet's surface.

If we assume a shrinking habitat, then host Trill become another habitat for the symbiotes. It's possible that Trill hosts are a place where lowest-status symbiotes are sent while higher-status symbiotes can stay in the pools where they're safe and comfortable. Making the pool worms the 1% of Trill society.

Or imagine if there are very smart, lake-dwelling fish whose environment is vanishing. You can give them scraps from hunting and they bring you...shiny lake rocks or seaweed spices or maybe they herd fish that you kill and split with them.

Well their environment is vanishing and Jobiah says that they if they live in water and mud and the four humors of the Trill body include water and mud, so maybe they could live in us because there's an allusion in a Trill religion to living within good people and they look at a few volunteers uteruses (uteri?) and go, "let's try a thing." Maybe there's some animal testing?

Hosts - What does the first host gain? Obviously, once a symbiont lives with a Trill host and then outlives that host and goes into a second host, the advantages are fucking huge.

But the first host doesn't see that deferred advantage. How could they?

Sure, each member gains some memories of the others and as a land-dwelling ape I'm underselling the experiental value of being a swimming worm with EM emissions as a sensory organ. I don't think that's enough. Maybe you do.

I've suggested improved memory, because I feel like the advantages would be soft and slightly deferred. Trill hosts don't gain the kind of resilience that Gou'ald hosts do. And they don't gain any of the symbiont's environmental abilities like breathing underwater or communicating/sensing via electrical impulses (maybe they do but we've never seen it because no story has ever needed two Trills to touch stomachs to quietly communicate some information).

Would some additional universal perspective be that helpful? Would observation of aquatic life forms inspire enough people to do the same? Would a host provide a tangible, immediate benefit to the first host ever that would inspire others to do that, but wouldn't have ever come up in Star Trek before?

Maybe they do. Maybe Trill host physiology does benefit from an altered body chemistry that makes them more resistant to poisons, chemicals, or other stimuli. Small advantages not too relevant for a space-dwelling Trill, but one that's very noticeable for one that's farming, hunting, or gathering Trill.

It might be as simple as getting the second-hand enjoyment from the symbiont enjoying food, sleep, and sex as a host does. A dopamine hit from someone enjoying those things for the first time.

There's also the ever-present social issue. Maybe there's just one weirdo in a cave that merges with a symbiote who is also a weirdo in a cave and they have a little cult. Depending on the difficulty of the joining in the social milieu, it's possible that Trill history has several cults of joining (and fake cults of joining).

Widespread Adoption

There are also questions about how Trill society adopts it on a widespread basis. The earlier the first joining happens--which might be something that the Trill could capitalize and even have First Joining myths--the earlier it would get widespread adoption. If someone on 21st Century Earth learned you could stick a lobster in your chest and gain the ability to overcome a nut allergy, and then you could give that lobster to someone else after you died and they could have your memories...there would be a lot of resistance to that.

Eventually, on Trill, the practice is legitimized by science or a joined Trill rising to a position of power and making joining either required or a fashion amongst the nobility.

Or maybe it's something common Trills do that nobles don't think is important but eventually--when combined with the symbiotes-as-exiles theory above--results in a unique type of class-consciousness among the Trill.

This assumes some very Terran assumptions about historical societies, yeah, but it also assumes a citizen of the 24th century could meet the Trill version of Karl Marx.

The first joined trill must've been having a day.

[random48fan]

[akbbirthdays]

Birthdays for October 4, 2018

Iwatate Saho (AKB48 Team B) and Odan Mai (NMB48 Team M) both turn 24.

Nuttakul Pimtongchaikul “Gygee” (BNK48 Trainee) turns 17.

Morishita Maiha (STU48 Kenkyuusei) turns 14.

[yagura-nao]

Shiroma Miru x Odan Mai x Mizuta Shiori x Kato Yuuka 

 Girlspedia

[juriken-nyan-blog]

Entame January 2018 Credit to a certain Jurina oshi twitter

[demon-world-48]

Emichi (えみち) ~  Antan (あんたん)  ~  Maichi (まいち)  ~  Momone (ももね)  ~  Rikatii (りかてぃー)  ~  Airi (あいり)  ~  Yuzu (ゆず)  ~ Shion (しおん) ~  Yamarina (やまりな) ~  Kojirin (こじりん)