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seaphoam-writes · 9 months ago

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A Father's Duty (34/?)

A Father's Duty on AO3

Summary: An encounter with a quantum fissure leaves Picard with more responsibility than he asked for, but he'll do what he always does—his duty.

Chapter 34

Will Riker didn’t always want kids of his own. Initially, he believed that he probably shouldn’t have a family; Will’s father was garbage at being a parent, so what if Will was garbage at it too? He didn’t want another kid to go through what he went through, and he didn’t want to find out that he’s just like his father after all.

He discovered, eventually, that interacting with kids is easy—and that he likes it and that he’s actually pretty good at it.

Deanna attributes it to his “youthfulness”, a trait Will tried very hard to suppress for most of his career because that description had usually been wielded as a critique and not a compliment. Deanna was the first to use it positively, to encourage him to not only embrace it but hone it into something useful: a unique command style that complements the captain’s and makes the Enterprise the most desired posting in all of Starfleet.

It's the Enterprise that changed Will’s mind about kids, but up until recently he thought he had more time. He thought he could continue to focus on his career, that kids could come later once he finally got his own ship, that maybe then he’d be able to settle down enough to focus on finding the right someone to share a life with.

But Captain Picard’s advice has been weighing on him.

“Don’t let your career stand in the way of starting a family.”

He thinks the captain meant that Will could have both, not that it’s necessary to sacrifice one for the other.

Not that there’s anything holding back Will’s career at this point besides Will himself. His goal was to become captain before he turned 35—a deadline fast approaching—and he’s been offered the opportunity to achieve that goal more than once, but he’s not ready to leave the Enterprise.

He’s not ready to leave Captain Picard.

Will has stayed put because he believes that what he still has left to learn from the captain is more valuable than the prestige of his own ship, and recent events only renewed that belief.

He glances over his shoulder at Louis, realizes Louis is so far behind that he can barely see him, and stops walking. Will forgets sometimes how long his legs are, but he also forgot how used to this particular holodeck program he is—he could walk to Curtis Creek in his sleep, but Louis is straggling. When he catches up, however, he grins.

“This is fun,” he declares, bright-eyed.

Will grins back. “Do you want me to walk slower?”

“No. I’m okay.”

Will walks slower anyway. “It’s just a little bit farther,” he says.

He knows it’s not physical ability causing Louis to straggle—the kid’s got energy and he’s surprisingly sure-footed, he’s just completely unfamiliar with nature. The path is uneven, full of rocks and exposed roots, blocked in one place by a fallen tree; often it’s narrow and flanked by tall, wild greenery. Louis steps carefully, as if he’s afraid to harm even a single blade of grass.

It’s reverent.

And it breaks Will’s heart a little. He loves space, he loves exploring the galaxy—but sometimes he thinks that the kids who grow up on starships are missing out.

“This is a real place?” Louis asks.

Will can tell by his voice that he’s keeping up. “Yes. I used to come here when I was younger.”

“It’s in Alaska?”

Will chuckles. “You know about Alaska, huh?”

“I know that you grew up there. Are we by your house?”

“We’re about two kilometers north of where I lived.”

“That’s far!”

“It’s not too bad.” Will used to walk even further sometimes, just to get as far away from his father as he could.

“You came here a lot?”

“All the time.”

Curtis Creek isn’t a place Will ever went to with his father.

His father doesn’t know it even exists.

Curtis Creek is where Will once stumbled upon an elderly man named Eugene who didn’t mind sharing his favorite fishing spot. It’s a place Will went whenever his father disappointed him, which was often. It’s a place Will continued to go to even after Eugene passed away, because it was peaceful, and it reminded him of a man who was kind and patient and taught him that fishing didn’t have to be about sport.

“I suspect there’s much you can teach him that I can’t.”

When Will went to Deanna for guidance, Deanna told him to just be himself, and that what Louis needs most right now is just to feel safe.

Curtis Creek is a place where Will feels safe, so it made sense to him that Louis might feel safe here too.

“Well, here it is.”

Will stops and sweeps his arm in a wide arc, indicating a wide swathe of grassy bank guarded by a small copse of balsam poplars.

He could have made the program open onto this spot directly, but the walk is part of it; even after all these years, even though Will knows Eugene isn’t here—that this is a holodeck program—it’s always a little disappointing to round the bend and not see that gnarled little old man bent over his tackle box.

Louis steps around him to survey the area. “It’s pretty,” he says. “I like Alaska.”

Will’s about to tell him about the long periods of continuous light and endless dark around the solstices, but then he realizes it wouldn’t be that shocking to Louis; his entire life he’s lived in an environment where there’s no noticeable different between night and day—the windows are always black, and the hallways are always brightly lit.

“Are there bears?” Louis asks.

Will raises an eyebrow. “Why? Are you afraid of bears?”

Louis gives him a flat look. “Yes. They can eat you.”

Will laughs as he leads the way towards the stand of trees. “In the real Alaska, there are bears. But there aren’t any here on the holodeck.”

“Have you ever seen a real bear?”

“A few times, yea.”

“Were you scared?”

“Yes,” Will admits.

“Really?”

Will halts and turns, regards Louis seriously. “Of course I was scared. Bears can eat you.”

Louis laughs and follows Will to the tree closest to the waterline, where there’s a tackle box and two fishing rods waiting for them. Just before they plunge into the shade, Louis pauses and lifts his face to the sky, letting the sun warm his cheeks.

It breaks Will’s heart all over again. He knows he doesn’t need to be involved—Captain Picard seems to be handling fatherhood quite well—but he wants to. Will really likes the kid. He’s curious and polite and he has a sense of humor.

But aside from that, Will feels almost…obligated.

The other Will Riker—Louis’s “Uncle Will”—abandoned the bridge to find Louis and make sure he got into an escape pod; he even gave the other Data an order that he must have known would eventually put Data in direct conflict with Starfleet.

Will feels like he owes it to his other self, to that other Data, to help make sure Louis is okay.

“Alright, come here,” he says, beckoning Louis over to the tacklebox and its array of fluorescent lures. “I’ll show you how to rig your line.”

-/-

Aside from his parents, the person Louis missed the most was his Uncle Will, and the way this Will treats Louis feels the same.

It feels like they picked up right where they left off.

“Can we eat the fish?” Louis asks. He never went fishing with Uncle Will before, but he remembers Uncle Will talking about it.

“Unfortunately, no,” Will replies. “These fish are just holographic simulations. If we tried to take one off the holodeck, it would disappear.”

“What if we cooked it on the holodeck and ate it?”

Will frowns. “Huh. I don’t know. I never thought about it. We’ll have to ask Geordi.”

He reels his line in and then recasts it, sending it deeper, towards where he said the fish like to hide because its deeper and colder.

“Maybe when we get to Earth,” Will says, “we can go fishing for real.”

“In Labarre?” His father told him that after they talked to Starfleet, they were going to Labarre.

Will chuckles. “I don’t think I’m coming with you to Labarre. Maybe you and I can go before Labarre—or maybe your dad can take you.”

“Papa said he doesn’t know how to fish.”

“I guess you’ll have to teach him then.” Will reaches out and ruffles his hair the same way Uncle Will used to. “When’s the last time you visited?”

Louis shrugs. “I was very little. I don’t remember it.”

He saw pictures. His parents took him to Labarre once when he was a baby, and once right before they joined the Enterprise.

“When’s the last time you went to Alaska?”

“I haven’t been back since I left for the Academy.”

“Do you miss it?”

Will sighs and makes a weird face, like he’s sad but being sad hurts. “Sometimes.”

Louis never had a home on a planet like Will. Or his father. His home has never been somewhere that stayed in one place. Home was his parents. Home was the Enterprise. Home was Data, their stolen shuttlecraft and their borrowed quarters.

Home has always been space. He wonders if he’ll miss being in space when they’re on Earth.

The thought of Earth and what might happen there makes Louis suddenly nervous. He doesn’t want to think about it, so he goes back to watching the red bobber he’s supposed to be paying attention to. He already got one “bite” but lost the fish (Will said it was alright, it happens, just try again and be patient) and while he stares out at the creek, he feels a tug on his line.

“I got one!” he gasps, and leaps to his feet.

Will jumps up next to him. “Ok, reel it in slow and steady, just like before. You got it.”

The fish fights him. Louis grits his teeth against the burning in his arms and shoulders, and when he finally pulls it out of the water, he’s surprised by how small it is—it felt like it was ten times bigger.

Fish must be really strong.

But then Will grabs the fish and pulls the hook out and holds it up for Louis to see, and it doesn’t look strong, it looks…pathetic. And scared.

Louis feels sick. “Can we put it back?”

Will’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline. “Of course.”

He kneels and lets the fish slip out of his hands into the water. “See?” he says, smiling. “No harm done. It’s going to swim back to all its friends and tell them to watch out for neon yellow worms.”

Louis swallows. Something is trying to crawl up his throat.

He’s not in Alaska anymore. He’s on the shuttle, watching a Borg cube overtake the Phoenix, knowing everyone on there—his friends, the music teacher that let him come to her quarters and play her baby grand piano, the handful of people who were nice to him and didn’t care what his last name was—are being assimilated.

Knowing they’re scared and in pain and that they can’t escape. Not like he can. Not like he always does.

There are hands on Louis’s arms, turning him away from the creek, and then hands cupping his face. Big hands. Louis blinks. Will’s very close, his eyes big and round and worried.

“Do you want me to take you back?”

Louis feels bad for making Will worry. He shakes his head, but it makes him dizzy so he puts his arms out to steady himself and grabs two fistfuls of Will’s flannel shirt. It’s soft, and it’s real.

Je ne suis pas là-bas, je suis ici. I’m not back there, I’m here.

“Are you sure?” Will asks.

“Oui.” He tightens his fists until his knuckles hurt. He’s with Uncle Will—non, just Will—and he’s safe. “Je vais bien. I’m okay.”

Will drops his hands and Louis lets go of his shirt.

“We don’t have to fish anymore,” Will says. “We can just sit.”

“Can we see a bear?”

Will grins. “Sure.”

He clears the fishing gear out of the way so they can sprawl on the grass close to the water, and then he orders the computer to create a bear on the opposite bank. It’s huge and brown, and even though Louis knows it’s fake, when it lifts its head to look at them, he still feels a thrill of fear down his spine.

“Louis, sometimes we must do things that frighten us.”

Louis frowns. What if being safe and happy is what frightens him?

#star trek: tng #star trek: the next generation #tng #star trek fic #tng fic #picard #captain picard #picard fic

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dcbnam-aep · 3 years ago

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Star Trek picard 209 thoughts:

- once again here for the agnes content in the episode recaps and alison pill getting to narrate the ‘last time on…’

- still not over how rios brought his new crush and her son to a ship that’s about to be attacked by the borg, not his smartest choice

- kinda sad seven is referring to the borg queen as jurati tho, out of everyone she should understand the most that agnes isnt rlly agnes

- oohhh dead borg?

- ok the changing clothes thing was cool

- ALISON PILL IS AN ACTUAL GENIUS THIS PERFORMANCE IS ALREADY AMAZING AND SHES ONLY SAID LIKE 2 LONES

- shoutout to the cinematography crew, im already rlly liking the vibes and the shot of everyone transporting in amongst the vineyards was very pleasing

- *opening credits*

- ok but now suddenly they’re all together i though the ships transporter was offline??

- ACTUAL AGNES MY LOVE

- MORE AGNES BORG QUEEN MINDSPACE WITH BOTH OF THEM BICKERING MY FAVOURITE SCENES

- ‘trash dump of a mind’ lol even AI cant organise their files and thoughts

- lonely ahhhhh

- ayyy agnes genius is definitely not an idiot pop off

- OMG NEW HOLOGRAM AND ELNOR I LOVE THIS EPISODE ALREADY

- ACTUAL AGNES AND HOLO ELNOR TEAM UP AGAINST THE BORG SO GOOD

- forgot how much I loved actual agnes like ahhh bestie is so smart and considerate and HUMAN and ahhh I’ll say it again Loml

- the switch to baby picard was at the worst time I was getting so invested and excited

- haven’t decided whether I’d consider this mental health rep good or bad yet

- ok back in action love and also the transition was nice

- rios what are you doing ur gonna get someone killed- maybe yourself-

- oohhh that was some nice tech

- rios don’t be mad at least let her treat ur arm first

- completely removing rios from the core of the episode AGAIN *sigh*

- why did Tallinn lowkey look evil in that shot tho

- Soong is so… Soong

- I predicted that shift back into the past ngl

- why do I want to play hide and seek with young picard now?

- ok at least Seven is not in the white top so we’re not at risk of her being killed YET

- The green beam thing made me jump

- the green beam thing made me jump AGAIN

- ok and then what was meant to be the jump scare didn’t make me jump

- gfs who kill borg together stay together 🥰🌈

- kudos to the picard child actor cause he’s doing a rlly good job

- i like the lighting giving dnd vibes

- Raffi bandaging up Seven 🥰🌈 (clexa parallel)

- the white shirt underneath the white shirt underneath the white shirt underneath ahhhh

- don’t forget the ice pick

- ‘we’re not getting out of this’ ‘no, probably not’ IF THIS IS FORESHADOWING I SWEAR TO GOD-

- why they didn’t look for Elnor in the weapons area is beyond me like that’s highkey obvious-

- stop with the rios flirting scenes ndjhfhf agnebal 4 life ✋😫

- damn it Soong also being a genius and working the hidden door out

- i predicted the ‘like me’ owch- I feel so so bad for the mum she just needs some help and truly does care for Picard

- ahhh now im invested in the young picard storyline cause I wanna know what happened to the mum but at the same time I want them to go back to agnes out queening the borg queen

- ahh I missed Elnor’s accent

- ahhhh fake but not exactly fake reunion awwww

- ‘she’s still in there fighting the queen’ u bet she is

- Seven has no right to look that hot covered in blood

- core theme of this entire series- loneliness

- now the jacket is unbuttoned we’re slowly creeping towards her maybe death uurrgghhhh

- ayyy pop off seven

- would’ve been bad if they’d rematerialised not in the walls lol

- huh well that didn’t work

- the borg queen kinda slaying in agnes’ body means agnes has great fighting potential

- ahhh fuck and there’s the mortal injury noooo

- ‘love’ at least we’ve got it acknowledged on screen that seven and raffi love each other

- THE BLOOD IN THE SHAPE OF SEVENS BORG IMPLANTS THATS SO POWERFUL BUT ALSO OWCH

- GO AGNES FIGHT

- the borg queen confused at crying giving tpol energy

- sadness, loss, dispair- the things agnes is plagued with actually helping her fight the queen

- REPETITION FOR EMPHASIS AGNES JURATI IS THE LOML

- damnnnn go agnes gonna defeat the borg queen with some well-placed rambling

- ‘cant be sad forever’ agnes is gonna take that as a challenge lol

- throwing the queens words back at her

- agnes ready to save everyone who wants help awwww <3

- collect scraps and offer second chances

- ‘a real collected based not on assimilation but salvation’

- weakness can be strength go agnes keep preaching

- AGNES GONNA MAKE AN ACTUALLY GOOD BORG SYSTEM- USING THE BORG TO HELP

- muscly rios arms

- he’s gonna kiss her and leave anyway

- oop he kissed her

- aaannnddd he left

- wow prediction expert go me

- SAVE SEVEN NOW GO GO GO MERCIFUL BORGATI FOR THE WIN

- RAFFIS FACE AS SHE THINGS SEVENS DYING THO-

- boom

- *runs away* that would also be me

- GIVE AGNES CONTROL TO TALK TO SEVEN AND RAFFI PLS

- ‘becoming something new, something better’ IDC IF ITS BETTER I WANT OG AWKIES LOML CYBERNETICIST AGNES

- ah no the mum- i still haven’t decided if it’s good or bad rep, bit of both? at least it was dont somewhat sensitively? but not sensitively enough?

- not the slo-mo of the brick flying stop jsjjdjd

- and the crack sound why is it funny-

- Raffis adorable sigh at seven and her calling her extraordinary kskdjdj 🥰🌈

- ‘whoever you are now’ THE WAY THEY WONT EVEN CALL HER AGNES STOP

- I DONT KNOW HOW I FEEL ANOUT THIS YET

- PLS GIVE ME NORMAL AGNES FOR AT LEAST A LITTLE LONGER

- SHE NEVER GOT TO SAY GOODBYE TO RIOS-

- WHAT IF THEY JUST REMOVE HER FROM THE STORYLINE TO THE VERY END OF THE LAST EP NOOO

- ‘we’ve lost a friend’ THEYRE RLLY JUST GIVING HER UP LIKE THAT STOP-

- agnes leaving a final message for her wannabe father figure

- well they basically confirmed that agnes is the borg queen from ep 1

- final thoughts: I MISS OG AGNES ALREADY JSJJDJDJDJ

#agnes jurati #star trek picard #borg queen #star trek #dr. agnes jurati #picard #raffi x seven #seven of nine #raffi musiker #elnor

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sttngfashion · 4 years ago

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5.26 and 6.1 - Time’s Arrow

Oh my god. Y’all. It’s a new Fashion It So post. In the year of our Picard 2020. Yes.

For literal years, Charlie and I have been like UGH WE NEED TO DO TIME’S ARROW PARTS 1 AND 2 BUT IT’S JUST SUCH A MONSTER.

Well, I’m doing a complete rewatch of the series with my partner and we just got to these two, so IT IS TIME.

We open in a cave in San Francisco, where Data and Picard are checking something out:

Rent for the cave is $6,000 per month

Showing them around is this guy in a Science Outfit:

He’s ready to go night biking

We’ve seen this look before in both Silicon Avatar and Devil’s Due, and it’s functional, yet cute. Basically a windbreaker in jumpsuit form.

They find a couple of items in the cave, including a pocket watch from 1889 and also:

I left my head in San Francisco

IT’S DATA’S HEAD!!! And it’s been there for FIVE HUNDRED YEARS. What could have caused this? And why is Data’s head so absolutely terrifying?

Is that fondant

This head is, in a word, haunting. The 2020 of heads.

Data and Geordi chat in Ten-Forward about what the presence of Data’s head in the cave means. Data says it means he’s mortal; that someday he will die, and that’s comforting. Spoiler alert: that’s not what it means. But it’s a nice conversation.

Also, Guinan is here!!!

Merlot My God!!

Or maybe: Burgundy-lightful!! Or perhaps: De-Crimson-alize Sex Work!! Okay that last one was a stretch but I really think I missed my calling as a nail polish shade namer.

Anyway, she’s here in her classic look of a pizza-sized hat and a flowing gown/coat/top/robe. The collar here is a little too close to a mock turtleneck for my liking and honestly - this is a little staid for our friend Guinan. I want a TEXTURE or a SWEEP or some WIDE RIBBING or some PLEATS. Don’t worry, though...she will get plenty more later.

Then there’s some plot which frankly we DO NOT HAVE TIME to get into but let’s just say: the away team goes to a planet, there’s a temporal disturbance, and Data ends up here:

Huge mood

Where are we? Or should I say WHEN are we??

Well that old-timey font is a good clue...also the horse

Are we in the Old West land of an off-brand Disneyworld? Are we going to ride something called Large Lightning Mesa Train Tracks? What colorful characters will we meet here?

Winner of 1893’s Mustache Medal

This type of ‘stache is called a Fu Manchu, after the character Dr. Fu Manchu. It’s not...a great look? But it is memorable, which is sometimes enough. He’s also wearing a simple black cap, probably made of silk. He’s keeping it cazh.

So where are we?

SAN FRANCISCO, OPEN YOUR GOLDEN GATE / YOU’LL LET NOBODY WAIT / OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR

Yes, it’s San Francisco. And it’s *eyes popping out of head like a cartoon wolf seeing a busty babe* 1893!!!! That temporal disturbance was...disturbing.

So who else do we have hanging out?

Please check out our Vaudeville act, Knit Cap ‘n’ Bowly

These dudes understand those famous Bay Area MICROCLIMATES, amirite? We’ve got a Henley. We’ve got a buttondown. We’ve got a vest. We’ve got a coat. No matter which way the thermometer decides to go, THEY ARE READY. Also loving the pop of forest green on Knit Cap’s knit cap.

We also have a 49er:

No, it’s not Steve Young. I googled “famous 49ers” to complete this joke so if there is a more famous 49er please let me know

It’s a literal 49er. Since it’s 1893, this guy’s been hanging around in town for a while, and he’s also familiar with the layering techniques one must master if one is to conquer the Bay Area’s climate. He also has a kicky Colonel Sanders-type tie. He asks Data for money and gives him a few panhandling tips. He’s chill. We like him. But don’t get too attached if you know what I mean!!!!

Data decides he needs somewhere to stay, so he finds a hotel:

Brian.

Why is this so funny to me. Brian. Why would you name your hotel Brian. Brian!!!! I know it’s a last name but like...Brian. HOTEL BRIAN.

This bellhop’s name is not Brian:

Where’s your hat, bro

He’s giving us a classic bellhop look, complete with too many buttons. He gives Data the very important information that there’s a poker game happening in the back of the hotel, which means: Data is about to be RICH rich.

The poker game includes a few good looks:

Louie Anderson IS Wolverine IN a Lands’ End barn coat

Two plaids? Sir...I salute you

Colonel Sanders Goes to Carnaval

Data, of course, wipes the floor with them so hard that he wins their clothes:

Didn’t get that barn coat tho

Yes, that’s the actual vest and the actual hat of those guys from the previous scene. Oh, I love it. I love Data in a vest over his uniform and I love Data with a feather in his cap. Let’s call it macaroni.

Meanwhile, out on the street, the plot is happening:

Beige: inescapable

This is our first taste of the decadent 1890’s sleeves that appear in this episode, and these aren’t even the best sleeves!! These are an amuse-bouche of sleeves. An armuse-bouche, if you will.

Anyway, these two are aliens disguised as humans who are here to steal the 49er’s life energy.

Pew pew pew

I told you not to get attached!!!

Back on the Enterprise, Guinan is doing mixology:

She would never call it something as stupid as mixology though

She tells Picard that he needs to go check out the temporal disturbance, too, even though captains don’t normally go on away missions, and then she gives him this look:

It’s that serious

When Guinan looks at you like this, you do what she says.

Now this outfit is much better than the earlier one. We have some pleated sleeves, which I didn’t even think was a thing you could DO. We have some sort of functional(?) strap(??) across the front. We even have matching fingerless gloves which always make a look A LOOK. And if Picard wasn’t sure whether he needed to go on this away mission, she then gives him THIS look:

Okay now it’s REALLY serious

Back in 1893, Data is making something:

It’s actually just a really complicated and large music box that plays “I Left My Head in San Francisco”

He’s gotten his hands on some more period-appropriate clothing, including a bow tie and a vest. Since he’s not wearing arm garters and his sleeves appear to be the correct length for his arms, we can conclude that the shirt was custom-made, not ready-made, because Data is now a baller due to his poker earnings.

Then, Data sees this in the paper:

I know her!! From work!!!!

Yes, it’s Guinan. In 1893. In a hat!!!!

We cut to the literary reception, which is honestly not as well-attended as I thought it would be, considering it got a GIANT photo of Guinan on page THREE of the paper, but okay. And who should we spy there but:

You’ll love my secret blend of 11 herbs and spices

No, it’s not Colonel Sanders. (Sorry, I really have Colonel Sanders on the brain because of that Lifetime movie.) It’s Samuel Clements, AKA Mark Twain. I had an English teacher in high school who explained the origin of his pseudonym (it indicates a mark of two fathoms, aka twelve feet, on a steamboat) and for some reason she shouted MAAAARK TWAAAAAIN when she told us that story so now her delivery of that line is in my head until I die I guess.

Anyway, it’s Mark Twain.

He’s wearing his iconic white linen suit with a black bow tie, and he’s also wearing a lot of prosthetics, because the actor playing him (Jerry Hardin, AKA Deep Throat from The X-Files AKA Melora Hardin AKA Jan Levinson-Gould’s dad) (was that too many AKAs) (you get it, right?) didn’t look enough like Mark Twain, I guess? In conclusion: what if eyebrow wigs were a thing?

Twain is having a chit chat with “Madame Guinan,” who is wearing what can only be called a sumptuous gown:

It’s 11:30 and the gown is sumptin’ sumptin’

There are so many ELEMENTS to this look! First of all: the color. Royal purple. Fit for a queen. Appropriate.

Then: those sleeves! These sleeves are known as “leg of mutton sleeves” because they KIND OF look like a leg of mutton. Have you ever seen a leg of mutton? I haven’t. I’ve only seen these sleeves. Plus they have a stripe?? No, I don’t know why, but I LOVE IT.

The cuffs and the cravat bring this from “dress” to “lewk.” Top it all off with this hat and you have a true 1893 mood.

What bird is that feather even from

We get a few good extra looks in this scene as well:

Pink Lady is NOT wearing a corset

Look, sometimes you don’t have enough period-appropriate undergarments for all the background people and that’s fine. But I WILL notice.

Is that Loretta Lynn

I am loving all of this! That purple dress is fantastic, those stripes? I die. Military man has some fun flair on his shoulder, and there is a dude in a beautiful turban back there. Plus, another Black lady in addition to Guinan and That One Ensign Who Is On The Bridge Sometimes.

Data rolls in to the literary event in a different suit with a CRAVAT:

Craving a cravat

Data is like “we serve together on the same starship in the 24th century” and Guinan is like “huh” but then she’s like “okay” which...I’m not sure if I would believe that? But let’s just say it’s fine.

Over in the 24th century, the literal entire bridge crew is checking out the temporal disturbance and I DON’T LIKE THIS AT ALL:

Blue Man Group...on ACID

These beings are like ghosts but also like Dr. Manhattan but also like pure energy.

Then everyone goes through the temporal disturbance AND THE SEASON ENDS.

Fortunately for you, this post will continue...right now.

Okay, so we’re back in San Francisco in 1893. You can tell by the horses:

Also the fruit carts

Samuel Clemens is strolling around with a reporter, telling him that he has a great story for him that involves time travelers and, like, protecting the nation.

Here’s the thing about this episode’s version of Mark Twain: he’s kind of a dick. Was the real Mark Twain kind of a dick? I just feel like Mark Twain should be JAZZED about meeting time travelers and not acting like a fuckin’ time cop* and trying to put the Enterprise crew on blast.

Anyway I love his double-breasted vest.

See my vest

The reporter’s hat is technically period-accurate, but that style is SO associated with the 1930s-1950s that I would have gone with something else. He looks cute though.

Meanwhile, Data is wearing a three-piece suit:

My positronic olfactory synapses are interpreting something as...a fart

I hate brown, but this is fine.

Additionally, the beige baddies from before are back and this time, they’ve got a SNAKE CANE:

Love the snake cane, hate how they suck the life out of people

But we are not here for them, we are here to see our faves in period clothing. Our first look is at Riker, who is dressed as an actual cop, not a time cop like Mark Twain:

The past just had...so many buttons

I guess if you’re a time-traveling white man there are worse disguises than a cop. But WHERE DID HE GET THIS UNIFORM? I choose to believe that he found a cop with a similar large handsome body to his own and beat the shit out of him and stole his clothes. Now we can all enjoy imagining a cop being beat up.

The badge that Riker is wearing is a great historical detail; the SFPD started wearing them in 1886 and are reportedly the first law enforcement agency to have worn the seven-pointed star, which is now a common shape among sheriff’s departments across the United States.

But let’s move on to a better look: Dr. Beverly Crusher:

Curlz MT

Okay, now I have more questions. Beverly obviously wouldn’t beat someone up for their clothes, so where did SHE get HER outfit? And who did her hair? Did she do her OWN hair? Where did she get a curling iron? Does she know how to use a curling iron? Was it one of those ones that’s actually made of iron that you have to heat up in a fireplace?

We will get answers to zero (0) of these questions.

We actually get a much better look at her dress later, so let’s focus on that cloak!!! I love it and I also love her hat. Okay, I guess I had less to say about those than I thought.

Bev and Will, along with the rest of the officers, have somehow procured a room/apartment in some lady’s lodging house. It’s cute!

They gave it 5 stars on AirBnB

This also raises questions. How did they get this room? How many bedrooms does it have? Are they sharing one large bed? If so, who has to sleep crossways at the foot of the bed and why is it Geordi? We will get zero answers to these questions as well, so let’s move on to arguably the hottest costume in this two-parter:

I’ll be in Holodeck 4

Whewwwwwww. He’s giving us a rolled sleeve. He’s giving us a casual tweed vest. The pants? They’re perfect. And he KNOWS how that slouch is working. It’s working VERY well. But the Irish landlady? She’s having NONE OF IT.

Absolutely NO nonsense

She needs the rent, but Picard charms her and she leaves. So I guess that’s how they got the room. Her look is knitwear-forward:

Eileen Fisher does sound like an Irish name

She’s got a shawl AND a cardigan! The cozy factor is OFF THE CHARTS. She also has a brooch, because a touch of fancy is always welcome. I will say that her hair is a little more fashion-forward than I’d expect for a woman of her age and station. This is straight up 1890s hair, and she would probably still be rocking an 1860s look, which isn’t as sweepy and would likely involve more braids. Still, she looks lovely.

Geordi is also here looking dapper:

Make the collar as high as you can. I want to be sliced open by my own collar

You CAN go wrong with a three-piece suit, but it’s difficult to. He can’t wear his visor, so he has some kicky shades which we’ll get a better look at in a sec.

Back at the Hotel Brian (lol), the bellboy (who we learn in this scene is Jack London, inspired to be a writer by Mark Twain [citation needed]) lets Mark Twain into Data’s room and allows him to look around unsupervised. This is very bad hotel management.

Great Scott

Then Data and Guinan show back up, and Mark Twain hides in an armoire.

One short day in the emerald brocade

I think one reason I love Guinan’s looks so much, both in the 24th and the 19th century, is that our color palette is very similar. We’re both winters. Bold jewel tones are the vibe. This one is in a beautiful deep green fabric with what looks like a velvet flocking pattern on it. The collar is also velvet, and I love that sleeve with a flounce on top like there wasn’t already enough fucking fabric on the sleeve so they just added a random piece to be like “yes, bitch. I’m a sleeve.”

Naturally, the hat is also jaunty af:

San Francisco’s hottest milliner is: Madame Guinan

This hat has everything: feathers, netting, a brim, an angle that makes you think it’s going to fall off but it doesn’t. We stan.

Meanwhile, Picard is setting up a sensor in a hospital while wearing a hat:

I’m bowled over

We haven’t even asked where Picard got these clothes, but I would like to point out that he’s dressed as a lower-class guy, while Riker is a cop, and Geordi looks like a gentleman. Was there even a discussion they all had about how they would disguise themselves? Was Picard like “I just really want to wear a beat-up bowler hat” and since he’s the captain, they extrapolated from there? This episode is NOT CONCERNED about any of this. They all have clothes, end of story.

Bev even has TWO outfits!!

Hello nurse!!!!

I love this look. She still has her unlikely hairstyle happening, which means her nurse’s cap is sitting atop her voluminous hairstyle. (Not very practical, but realistic!) She’s sporting a simple striped dress and a button-on apron. (Look closely and you can see the two buttons holding the apron to the dress.) The fabric underneath might be cotton seersucker, but it’s likely a lightweight cotton or linen twill. You can see how closely her look matches these nurses from a similar time period:

Hello nurses!!!!

Deanna is also in this scene and this episode, but you wouldn’t know it from what she’s given to do. HUGE SHOCKER: TROI NOT GIVEN ENOUGH TO DO IN AN EPISODE. 🙃

She still looks beautiful:

Why aren’t capelets more popular

We never get a really GREAT look at her whole outfit, but I can tell you that it has a capelet, it’s in the red family, and the hat has a lot of business going on. For those reasons: approved. It has a flounce in the back too:

More fabric = more wealth

Sometimes I think about just how much fabric it took to make these old-timey dresses and I’m like...how did anyone get anything done?? It takes me like 4 weeks to finish a pair of leggings and those have like 5 seams and I own a serger. These historical bitches were sewing whole ass dresses in no time at all.

Okay, so Bev is in this hospital and here come some more energy-stealing aliens, disguised as healthcare professionals this time:

I cannot take a medical professional wearing a LIGHT BROWN TOP HAT seriously, sorry

Bev AND this energy-stealing alien have BOTH managed to get their hands on the SAME nurse’s uniform?? I guess in the case of the alien, she is a shape-shifter, so she got her clothes from...that. And her hair.

I hate this light brown top hat. If you’re going to wear a top hat, don’t DISRESPECT IT by making it BROWN, but if you’re going to make it brown, make it a good brown, like chocolate. Stupid energy-stealing aliens.

There’s a skirmish, the energy-stealing aliens disappear, and the real cops show up:

MOUSTACHE

Of course, the cops showing up is bad, because when has a cop showing up ever made a bad situation better? Never. Defund the police, but don’t defund handlebar mustaches. Those can stay.

Fortunately, Data has gotten a ping on that machine he was building before and shows up on a motherfucking HORSE:

Brent just wanted to show off

He’s back in his brown striped suit and red tie. Okay.

Everyone returns to the boarding house to suss out the situation, and we get a look at what Riker is rocking underneath his cop jacket:

Suspend me daddy

You can see very clearly here how the collar is not actually attached to the shirt. This was a thing people in the olden days did so they could wear their shirt for multiple days in a row and just switch out the collar and cuffs so they looked clean. As someone who is wearing the same sweatshirt for the third day in a row, I support this method. (If you’re interested on more info about collars, here is a very enjoyable article about them.)

We are also blessed with a better look at Deanna’s sleeves and bodice:

Black lace cuffs? Decadent!!!

You can also see Geordi’s shades, which suit him really nicely. One thing I’ve been enjoying on this rewatch is just how well LeVar Burton can act without having his eyes visible. He’s great. Let’s just all think about how great LeVar Burton is for a second

And also Bev’s dress:

I legitimately want this dress

I don’t think those buttons are functional. Can you imagine how annoying THAT would be? But I am absolutely in love with this dress. Two paisleys, Beverly???? A goddess. I’m also dying for that brooch with the chain. A+ look all around, great work.

Finally, FINALLY, Guinan meets the rest of the crew:

When you meet someone you won’t actually know for 500 years

She is wearing a hat that looks like a toilet paper cozy. Did your grandma have one of these? They’re so stupid and I love them so much.

Picard and Guinan meet for what is the first time for her, but not the first time for him, and honestly it is...sensual?????

If I got a m’lady from P. Stew I wouldn’t even mind

Patrick and Whoopi truly do some nice work in this ep. But we are here to yell about clothes, so: LOOK AT THIS DRESS ON AN EXTRA:

Gimme dat dress

I just want that dress to wear around my house. I legitimately bought an 18th century costume dress to do just that, so don’t think I won’t literally do this.

OKAY, WE ARE ALMOST TO THE END.

The crew, plus Guinan, go back to the cave where this all started:

Cave Club, the only club that meets in a cave

We get a nice look at the bodice of Guinan’s dress here and guess what: MORE BUTTONS. Buttons on the lapels, and also buttons on the front panel with the pointy top. I wonder if she has multiple front panels for that dress in different colors, like a Swatch watch.

Unbeknownst to them, Mark Twain followed them!! Then there’s a scuffle with the energy-stealing aliens during which a few things happen:

Data’s head flies off

Mark Twain gets sucked into the temporal disturbance

Guinan gets hurt

Picard stays behind to make sure Guinan is okay

So we end up with Mark Twain on the Enterprise, where he sees Worf, and he’s like:

Buh-WHAT

Worf is also confused:

This is...extremely perplexing

We have a few more looks back on the Enterprise, including Regular Guinan:

ShoulderSpreads™: The Bed Spread for Your Shoulders

I love love LOVE this outfit. The color is perfect, the shoulderspreads are perfect, the front draping is perfect. It looks like a velvet housedress from the 1960s except FANCY which is kind of my ideal aesthetic. And it’s red (my fave).

We get a quick glimpse at the barber uniform:

Bitch let me pass, idc if you wrote Huck Finn

This barber does. not. give. a. fuck!!!!

Geordi reattaches Data’s head, the one they already had, which means this whole thing was a ding dang closed loop. The reattachment also kind of diminishes the whole conversation they had earlier about how Data’s head in the cave meant that Data could die someday, because...he didn’t. He still might, but his head is back and he’s fine now.

Meanwhile, Picard is still back in 1893 and they have to go get him, but only one person can come back through the temporal disturbance, so Mark Twain is like “duh I’ll go get him.”

And finally Guinan and Picard can talk about how their friendship spans 500 years!!!!

Hey girl

Hey

YOU’RE WELCOME

*abolish the police

#SEASON 5 #SEASON 6 #TNG #TNG FASHION #STAR TREK #STAR TREK FASHION

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soul-dwelling · 3 years ago

Note

I think the only thing I like about this connection between Fire Force & Soul Eater is that it shows more clearly that Lord Death does not have a human face behind the mask like a lot of people seem to think and what is under the mask looks to be some sort of light, nothing resembling a human at all.

...Except it's "canon" that Lord Death does have a "regular face":

Alt Text: In the Yen Press English translation of Chapter 70 of Soul Eater, in the Death Room, the witch Risa (AKA Tabatha Butterfly) asks Lord Death, "Hey, Shinigami-sama? Whatcha hidin' under that mask, huh?" She points at Lord Death. Lord Death says "What?" In the next panel, Naigus and Marie look on with ellipses word balloons as Sid and someone else clink drinks. Lord Death says to Risa, "I'm not 'hiding'...I mean, it's just a regular face." Risa replies, "Really!? I, like, sooo wanna see! C'mon, you gotta show me!"

I swear, Fire Force has retconned so much stuff, and I don't know what is gained.

Maybe this can be justified as, "Upon his creation, Lord Death had no human form, then, 800+ years later, when he met Risa in the Death Room, he had already created a human form by then." Or "Lord Death says he has a 'regular face,' but what is 'regular' for a shinigami like him may be bizarre to a witch or a human."

I'm really trying not to sound like a Star Trek fan who holds onto canon even when it gets in the way of trying to tell better or at least new stories (Discovery, Picard, etc), or a Star Wars fan insisting we need to keep the novels in-canon and ignore what Disney is doing.

But I feel like Fire Force has closed off so many stories and took away a lot of the magic that Soul Eater had. When everything is now the creation of a 17-year-old who just made a god, what do you do with stories now potentially kicked out of canon (Poseidon was canon in Soul Eater, so is that still in this timeline or not?). It's not as if fan works can't ignore this prequel crap, but it does sour a lot of the experience, when what is added to "canon" feels like it's taking away a lot of avenues to pursue other storylines.

#long post

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eolewyn1010 · 3 years ago

Text

How Star Trek: Picard managed to piss most of its potential down its leg

Hi, I write overly long, cranky comments on stuff that I watch. It's all my biased, terribly argued, rude personal opinion, and it's generally chokeful of spoilers as far as spoilers can go. Feel free to ignore.

First, because I'm petty: I could have done without the lens flares. They were annoying in the J. J. Abrams movies, and they are annoying here. Put that light elsewhere, will you?

And now let's get into how characters get fucked over. Continuity? Who's that? ...didn't Picard have, like, a brother or something? How comes said brother never shows up or is even mentioned in the flashbacks to his childhood? It's always Jean-Luc here, Jean-Luc there. And then the absence of Lal in all these talks of Data's daughter(s). Was she ever even mentioned in passing? She should have been the main point of reference for Data's species of androids procreating. Also, we get zero reflection on Picard's opinion on his synthetic body. What was even the point of introducing Picard's fatal illness in the first place if he was supposed to survive it? Dude is canonically older than ninety; it would have been perfectly alright to have him die a natural death. Honestly? When that plot point was introduced, I was like, "oh, makes sense; they wanna give him a deadline - this is a one-season thing to introduce the next Star Trek generation and send Picard off heroically." And then they just… didn't. He survived the end of the season. As a synthetic human. Which he doesn't take an issue with. Despite the massive trauma he had from his stay in the Borg collective that sent him up the wall back when he first met Hugh. No issue with being an android now tho. Cool.

I also find it strange that holograms are not forbidden at all - even though we know from previous Star Trek series and get reinforced here via Rios' crew that they are indeed a form of synthetic life, with personalities and autonomous intelligence and all. They argue with their boss, for heaven's sake! The news lady holo deliberately provokes Picard! (And I love the archive's Index; they're awesome.) What, are you telling me holos can't be corrupted the same way androids can? Then I gotta ask you how your computers work. They aren't striving for freedom and being put on equal level with organic life? I got a Doctor over here who'd like a talk with you. This double standard weirds me out.

Cristobal Rios and his holo crew were btw a favorite of mine in season 1. I loved the scenes with them, their interactions with human Rios, all the snark. So, of course season 2 wasted no time in doing away with them. Not only did Seven apparently unite them all into one (WHY? That's just IDIOTIC; Rios created an entire crew to man his ship - WHY WOULD SHE ROB HERSELF OF THE HOLOGRAPHIC STAFF???), this one also only shows up for introducing Seven's situation, and then bye. Y'know, I love Rios himself, and his storyline in season 2 with the cute doctor lady and the entire immigrant issue of the 21th century tackled is intriguing. But still, throwing away the holo crew was a sucky decision.

Then. Seven and Raffi. Seven of Nine? Great character. Awesome character. Loved her back in the ever-so-flawed Star Trek: Voyager, love her even more now. They really made something of her, and damn if she doesn't look fine in something that's not a skin-tight catsuit. And the development she went through between Voyager and Picard! I love how they reintroduced her character. And Raffaela Musiker? Hell, I learned to love that woman within five minutes of screentime. She's doing so great. ...and yet, when they ended the first season with these two great ladies holding hands, I was like, "huh??? What the actual fuck?" Gotta say, it is a real accomplishment to set up a queer relationship between two characters I love and annoy the shit outta me with it. Because Seven and Raffi? Have exchanged maybe three sentences at that point, in a situation of high crisis. And then one of the last shots of the season is them sitting there, holding hands and making heart eyes at each other? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM??? Did they have any heartfelt interactions? Moments of great trust shared? Did they get to be there for one another? None of that! (Also, why is it Seven again? Her relationship with Chakotay at the end of the Voyager series came out of nowhere all the same. Is that supposed to be a running gag?) Of course, then comes season 2 and catches up on that, building their relationship - after they have basically ruined it, because the season starts with them being at least geographically long-term separate and Raffi lowkey moping that she'd hoped for something more. I'm a little willing to cut them some slack because over the season, they spend a lot of time together and talk about their relationship (and are hilarious squabbling girlfriends in between and I'm here for it), but that really didn't get off to a good start.

And for all I like season 2 and the positive changes, they have picked up on The Curse(TM). Of killing off sympathetic characters to get across how dark and edgy they are, that is. Seven's adopted son Icheb? Got fridged graphically in his, like, two minutes of screentime so Seven suffers and is vengeful. And then they take that EXACT storyline and recycle it for season 2! By killing Elnor so Raffi suffers and is vengeful! That is so DUMB. Only they already introduced Elnor within this series' canon over the course of the first season to us. They made him funny, and sweet, and a bit of a dumbass. This fine, cute himbo material who might be a killer machine but has the social competence of a rock. They made us care. Me, anyway. And then they toss him away in season 2. Fuck. You. Wasn't Hugh enough? I say Hugh was already too much. I kept reading "Hugh survives" premise fanfic for weeks on end because I just couldn't believe that they would throw away a beloved character like that. But I guess after tossing away Hugh, it was easier to toss away Elnor, too, who was bonding a lot with Hugh during the first season. Don't need one, don't need the other either, amirite? Just kill them; it's not like the audience loved them or anything. (Ill logic also that Raffi loses her cool, but Seven doesn't this time around when she was kind of a parental figure toward Elnor, too.)

There's one more character who falls prey to The Curse(TM) and in an ungrateful manner, too - offscreen, that is. Zhaban dies between seasons for... no reason I can logically discern. He wasn't ill as far as I can tell, he wasn't very old. He was admittedly not as consequential of a character as Elnor and Hugh, so it didn't leave me with the same amount of hurt, but it left me wondering just what the hell was that for. He was a nice guy, he would have been taking care of Picard's estate with Laris while Picard's off on adventures. Honestly, I'm bitter enough at this point to wonder if they only killed off his character so they could do what they do best, hook up their old white male lead with a woman twenty years his junior - yeah, I know, Romulans age slowly, so Laris is approximately the same chronological age as Picard or even older, but my point is that she, as a woman, is required to look younger to be considered as a romantic partner. Is that why Zhaban had to die?

Note also that they kicked off the plot by killing Dahj's boyfriend (how charming that the first dude dying in this series is not only a non-Terran, but also a POC; that jibes really well with the anti-racist message), and then they killed off Dahj herself. Sympathetic, relatable, friendly and positive Dahj to whom we were introduced for an entire episode is killed off - to give us Soji instead. Who is snappish, hostile, arrogant, and proves willing to kick off a galaxy-wide genocide of trillions of people to save the synthetic species on cost of every single organic species of the galaxy. Gotta love her. And I wasn't even willing to cut her some situational slack because at that point, they hadn't put much effort into warming her up to me in general.

But that fits into the protagonist-centered morality, doesn't it? Which pisses me off a lot, because previous Star Trek series always made a point of how the protagonists could be in the wrong and had to bear the consequences of their actions. Soji wants to kill off organic life in the galaxy and only got talked out of it last-second via Picard, our great hero, because who even cares about other life than him? Oh, goodie; all is forgiven and she goes on to become a celebrity ambassador of the galaxy. Agnes Jurati, after all she has done, murder and conspiration for more murder and whatnot? Yeah, she runs around freely in season 2. Not even psychological care after the entire Romulan brainwash thingie? Okay, whatever. She seems like a stable, reliable person. And Picard - I would find it funny that he gets repeatedly called out on his sheer fucking hubris if the people doing the calling-out weren't permanently framed as being in the wrong. Because it is hubris. Dunkirk?? Fuck you. Fuck you and reframing of real-life history to set yourself up as some kind of great hero. This comparison doesn't hold up, because the death of the Romulan planetary system was not a war situation with two antagonistic forces; it was a natural disaster. (Also, the Dunkirk evacuation was a means of absolute despair. How good of you to try and get some glory out of the situation of a fucking despairing people, Picard.)

Not to mention season 1 spent way too much time on antagonists I found not really compelling. Narissa was just disgusting and didn't live up to her big fat ego, Narek not interesting enough for such an extended romance arc that was bound to fail anyway (plus superfluous talks about how hot he is? Got nothing else to do, Soji, do you). This takes too long. Thanks for bringing in the Jurati-Borg Queen relationship and Q for the second season! Q is also an exception in the way they treat the old characters when they bring them in, in that he's actually utilized in a way that fits him, with his dirty tricks and relations to the Borg and stuff. The others? Hugh got killed off, Riker was of minimal impact except to return as deus ex machina at the last minute (how was he even authorized to do that??), and Deanna was of no consequence at all. Oh yeah, and Data is alive, kind of! As turns out in the last episode of the season. Only to kill him off then without his character being of interest at all, so the farewell scene lacks any emotional impact. And there's Guinan in season 2 as a plot device, and with not much recognition value because that actress isn't working much with what's established of her character. I know they try to justify it with the fucked-up time she lives in, but that only goes so far. Can't wait for season 3; they already announced the return of all the old crew, Worf, Geordi, Doc Crusher... presumably to have them show their faces once and then get outta there ASAP. Or get killed off.

TL;DR: Shoot me now. There are just enough things about this series that intrigue me sufficiently to keep me watching, and just enough to gnaw my fingers off in frustration. This could have been so good! Stop killing off the characters with potential!

#Star Trek #Star Trek Picard #personal opinions #which means you don't need to feel attacked by this #this got way salty #got this out of my system

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the-goofball · 4 years ago

Text

Raffi Musiker...

...and how she became Picard’s First Officer.

Excerpt from ‘The Last Best Hope’ by Una McCormack

[...]On-screen, the woman said, "My name is Lieutenant Commander Raffi Musiker, and I'm an intelligence specialist at Romulan Affairs. As you're aware, we've been tracking some odd communications from Romulan space in recent weeks - odd even by Romulan standards."

Listening to Musiker, Picard found himself taking a liking to her. She had a faintly disreputable air, a plesant change from the smooth operatives that Starfleet Intelligence usually fielded. Her frankness was refreshing, as was the fact that she was clearly not daunted by the grandeur of her audience. Most of all, she was on top of her briefing. A question came about the reliability of their sources, which was dispatched with confidence and ease. Then another question came about the range of the blast from the supernova, and here she stopped and took a moment to collect herself.

"What I want to say is, that these calculations are a worst-case scenario. This implies that effects in climate change are already being felt. Sometime in 2387. I'll show you that first. Because it might make the best-case scenario less damn frightening."

Picard leaned over to Clancy. "What was her name again?" "Raffi Musiker," said Clancy. "Lieutenant Commander Raffi Musiker."[...]

Hours later Picard talks to Beverly Crusher via com:

[...]"Can I offer you some free advice?" she said.

"Of course, Beverly. Of course."

"Put someone right next to you who isn't scared of you."

"Scared--?"

"You're quite... now, let me get this right. Not intimidating... not severe... huh. That's it. You can be quite certain of yourself. And that can stop people from telling you things that you need to know."

"Certain of myself?"

That half-smile again. "Don't get me wrong! With good reason. Most of the time. But you're only human like the rest of us. You make mistakes. And you need someone there who's able to tell you when that's happening."[...]

[…]Lieutenant Commander Raffi Musiker, when asked to wait for a senior officer, did not generally sit patiently in a chair, and she saw no reason to do so for a legend either. She stood outside the admiral’s office, bouncing up and down ever so slightly on her heels, ready for action.[…]

[…]Raffi mentally ran through her presentation one more time. The instruction to see the admiral had been brief, courteous, and not particularly informative as to the purpose of the meeting. She knew, from superiors and colleagues, the impact of her presentation and so she assumed she was here to give a direct one to the man himself and answer any questions he might have. Then back to her desk at Romulan Affairs. Only now she would have met a legend. Gabe, her son, was dying to hear about him. Mom’s job was mostly that thing that meant she didn’t always make his soccer matches, but every so often she managed to deliver something incredibly cool, like this.[…]

(And because I couldn’t decide what to leave out, there’s a bit more under the cut.)

[…]The admiral closed the screen, rose from his chair, and came to greet her. The legend, come to life. She had the edge on him when it came to height, but he moved with a commanding grace. “Commander,” he said, “thank you for making the time to see me today.” His voice was measured, cadenced; the kind of voice, she suspected, that you could not help but listen to, and then do exactly what was requested.

“Happy to supply whatever you need, sir.” She looked around the room for an audience that wasn’t there. Didn’t he have a senior staff in place yet? “Are we meeting here?”

He gestured to two comfortable seats in the corner of the room, where teapot and cups stood waiting on a low table. “Take a seat. Tea?”

“Sure, thanks.” Raffi sat, uneasy in the easy chair, putting padds on the floor beside her, and then leaning forward, palms on her knees. He took the chair opposite, smiled disarmingly, and poured tea. “I assumed I was giving a presentation this morning, sir.” She sipped her tea. What the hell was this stuff? It tasted of goddamned perfume. Was it too late to ask for coffee?

“I’ve watched your presentation half a dozen times now,” he said. “It’s insightful, informative, and precise. I was very impressed.”

Hey Gabe, wait till you hear what the Great Man said about Mom. “Thank you, sir.”

“Could you tell me, please, from your perspective as an expert on Romulan affairs, what you believe our chief difficulty will be in Starfleet’s dealings with them?”

He didn’t waste time, did he? Raffi took a breath. “Opposition, sir,” she said. “Believe it or not, they are not happy that Starfleet is devoting so much time, energy, and resources to helping them. They are hating all this. They hate that we know they’re in trouble, and they hate accepting help. They won’t want to lose face.”

“I understand. What else?”

“And even if they’re united on this, they’ll be divided among themselves about what to do with us. Some will want to accept our help for a while. Some will try to make it impossible for us to function. Others might try to get rid of us—”

“By force?”

“By subterfuge, more likely. Secretly, so that half of them won’t know whether it’s a sanctioned operation or not. The saying in our office goes that Romulans don’t tell their left hand what their right hand is doing.”

The admiral nodded. Yes, he recognized that.

“That makes them inconsistent and unpredictable,” Raffi said. “Not to mention damn annoying. They’ll say one thing and do another, and they won’t even know themselves what their real policy is toward us. Expect the unexpected, sir.”

“I see. Would it help at all, Commander, if I approached Ambassador Spock and had him petition the Senate to instruct cooperation with this mission?”

“Excuse me, sir? How would that help?”

He looked surprised. “The ambassador surely commands considerable respect—”

Raffi laughed out loud. “Spock? They think he’s a nutcase!”

His eyes opened wide. Shit, she thought, me and my big mouth. She had a vision of herself, explaining to Gabe: No, the admiral hated me, and that’s why I’m being court-martialed… Hold on. Was he… smiling? “Sorry, sir,” she said quickly. “No, I wouldn’t advise that. Ambassador Spock’s mission to Romulus may look very laudable to us, but from the Romulan perspective he and his supporters are outliers. Reunification of Romulus and Vulcan? Hey, when I was a kid, I wanted a unicorn. With wings. I didn’t get one. I didn’t even get a damn pony—”

“A personal mission of peace, the ambassador calls it.”

“Well, the Romulans consider it very personal. Almost…” She scraped around for a word that wouldn’t offend. “Um. Idiosyncratic?”

“In other words, they think he’s a crank.” He was most definitely smiling. “Carry on talking so frankly to me, Commander,” he said, “and we shall get along very well. Very well indeed.”

The door buzzer sounded. He called out, “Come.” Kaul came in.

“Apologies for the interruption, sir, but you asked me to let you know immediately when the ship was ready for you.”

“Ah, yes, thank you, Kaul! Yes, I’ll be on my way shortly.” He turned back to Raffi. “The Starship Verity has been assigned to lead the first fleet out to Romulan space. A nice name, don’t you think?”

“Sure…?”

“ ‘A true principle, especially one of fundamental significance.’ ” He looked pleased. “I believe that remembering such things will be crucial to the success of our undertaking. Above all, we are on a mission to protect, preserve, and save lives.”

Raffi nodded, faintly. This meeting was not going in the slightest how she had anticipated. No presentation. He said he’d already watched it half a dozen times. He clearly didn’t want it in person. For some reason they were now discussing eternal verities. She was a simple intelligence officer, maybe turned a mite suspicious by having to think like a Romulan twenty-four hours a day. She wasn’t any kind of philosopher. Why was she here?

“Lieutenant Kaul,” added Picard conversationally, “was on staff here before even I was. Seconded from Admiral Bordson’s office. Their loss has been my gain. She’ll be vital to operations here on Earth.”

There it was again, that extraneous information, as if giving her a picture of the setup here.

“Sir,” said Raffi, “may I ask you something?”

“By all means,” said the Great Man. “You must always feel you can speak freely to me.”

She’d never had any superior officer say that to her. Sometimes quite the contrary.

“This isn’t a briefing, is it?” said Raffi. “This is an interview.”

“That’s correct, Commander. My apologies if I kept my cards close to my chest, but I wanted to see how you answered my questions face-to-face.” He sipped some of his revolting tea. “You’ve answered them most satisfactorily.”

“Which means…?”

“Which means I’d like you as my XO.”

She put down her cup with a rattle. Tea spilled. “Shit!”

His mouth twitched. “I sincerely hope not. Most certainly we have some difficult times ahead. More difficult than either of us can imagine.”

She turned and looked out through the transparent aluminum partition into the busy office. All those people, dashing about, putting the nuts and bolts of this mission together, building this operation from data, information, decisions, actions. Sure, it was easy to take the piss out of the padd pushers, but nothing could happen without them. Working out what was needed, where it could be found, how to get it all to the right place at the right time. She had no idea how to do this… She took a breath. How do you say “no” to a legend?

“Sir,” she said, “I’m not an administrator.”

He blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“I mean, this is a flattering offer, sir, I hope you understand that. Truly flattering. But an operation like this?” She gestured to the room beyond. “I’m not cut out for this kind of work. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

She saw understanding dawn in his eyes. “Ah, there has been a misunderstanding. I have a very able administrator arriving to head up the office here on Earth, Commander Crystal Gbowee. She’s on her way from Starbase 192 as we speak. She’s worked with the UFPHCR coordinating numerous missions— she was on Bajor for a while after the Occupation, and on Cardassia Prime during the reconstruction effort there. Once she arrives, I shall move over to the fleet. This mission must get underway, and soon.” He glanced out across the busy room. “No, the appointment here is filled, I’m afraid. I’m sorry if that’s a disappointment.”

His eyes were quietly twinkling with suppressed mirth. No, of course he didn’t want her here. She’d be no damn good here, would she?

“Then—”

He leaned forward in his seat, held her eye, very serious now. “I’m asking you to come aboard my ship, Commander. Be my first officer on the Verity. But I’m asking more than that, and I think you know it. I have left my crew behind on the Enterprise. I must replace them, and if I am to succeed, I need an excellent XO. And what I require above all from my XOs is honesty. I shall need you always to tell me the truth. What do you say? Is that something you believe that you could do?”

Shit, she thought, and managed not to say it out loud this time. No, this was not what she’d been expecting when she’d walked into this room.

“It’s a big decision,” he was saying. “There may be all manner of ties keeping you here on Earth…”

Gabe had a soccer match next week. She’d missed the last one putting together that damn presentation. “When does the ship leave?”

“Six days.”

So she could make Gabe’s match. But there would be the next match, or the match after, the long months away, the individual seconds and moments of simply being present that were tiny for her, but that constituted the whole of Gabe’s life, his childhood.

“I…” Damn, she wanted this post. She could do this job. She was made to do this job. She’d known the second she walked into this room that she wanted to work with this man in some way. But she’d never imagined she would be offered this. Right hand to a legend. Right in the middle of the greatest operation that Starfleet would ever mount.

He was smiling at her. “Would you like to see the ship, Commander? The Verity? You’d be spending a lot of time there, after all. You can make your decision after that.”

“Yes,” she said, already knowing what her decision would be. “I’d love to see the ship.”

#raffi musiker #jean luc picard #star trek picard #last best hope spoilers #the last best hope

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mirrorhunt · 3 years ago

Text

I’ve got red in my ledger

betrayal | misunderstanding | broken nose

It's another late night, and Raffi has a talk with Rios

Raffi tries to choose. Bourbon or whiskey? Not that that matters. She’ll be drunk by the end of the first bottle both ways. Seven would say bourbon, Rios would prefer his hell-drink that's closer to Romulan ale than anything that could’ve been made on Earth. Besides, it smells like panettone she once made long-long ago.

Bourbon it is. Raffi selects a combination and waits for her bottle. It’s late. Everyone with less demons than she has is asleep. She knows Seven is with Picard, giving him a lecture about his snapping at Soji today. Elnor and Soji are in their cabins. Agnes was having a headache and retired before dinner. That’s left Rios. And she has no idea where he was. She thinks she saw him in the morning while she was waiting for Picard to hurry up with his tea, but not after. Not once. She doesn’t remember there being trouble with the ship, but she wasn’t really paying attention to whatever Enoch was saying, left on the bridge alone.

And, speaking of the devil, Rios appears. He has a smudge of something dark on his face, and he’s rubbing his hands off the rag.

“Where were you hiding? La Sirena is not that big of a ship,” asks Raffi, pointing on the two-stories deck.

“What? Oh, in the tubes. There was a leak in the cooling system, so I had to take a look,” he says dismissively, still trying to rub the grease off.

“And it took you all day?”

“Wha… What time is it?” frowns Cris, finally letting go of the rag.

“It’s almost midnight,” shrugs Raffi, unscrewing the bottle.

“Shit”, he throws the rag on the table, eyeing Raffi’s bottle. “Did something happen while I was there?”

Raffi shrugs.

“Picard yelled at Soji for some bullshit, Seven’s dealing with him, kids went to sleep, and Agnes had a headache,” summarizes the day Raffi, taking a drink.

“Shit,” repeats Cris, sighing. “I’ll ask Agnes in the morning. Is Soji alright?”

“Oh, she’d almost bitten his head off, she’ll be fine. I gave her some ice cream and it snapped her out of her murderous rampage,” Raffi waves her hand dismissively.

“Good job,” says Cris, relaxing and ordering some dinner for himself.

Raffi drinks while he eats, they both silent, Cris probably because he’s tired and she… Well, she’s just on the “don’t talk to me” stage right now.

“Wanna go to the bridge?” suggests Cris, disposing of his plate. “I need to check out if I’ve done it right.”

“Yeah, sure,” agrees Raffi, hardly remembering when it was just them talking. With so many people on board, it was close to impossible to find a moment for just two of them. She doesn’t really want to talk, but with Cris it has always been easy to be quiet. They both have their own history and no one wants to pry on the pain of the other, apart when it’s necessary. Or when Raffi’s curiosity takes better of her.

That first year when Cris got La Sirena, was fun. She teased him halfheartedly every time he called her, hearing loneliness in his voice. He’ll never say this, but he missed the ‘Fleet’s comradery. She knows, because she missed it too. It wasn’t so much for exciting adventures, going to where no one has gone before or whatever, but the crew. That feeling of belonging, of family, being surrounded by people who care if you live or die. It makes her want to live. And, remembering how the First Officer of Ibn Majid was with his crewmates that time she met him, he was the same.

Maybe that’s why they get each other. Why they stick together. They both were betrayed by Starfleet for different reasons, and now the people, for whom they once would die for, who once were their family, hate them.

She thinks back to the time when Picard contacted her and asked for a civilian pilot. She knew a ton of them, sure, but could think only of Cris. She knew Cris and Picard had a lot in common, and hoped it’ll do Rios good to talk with someone like JL. She just didn’t think Picard would bring a small army with him. Probably Cris needs to design his own uniform now. With hats and feathers.

“No,” shakes his head Cris. Raffi frowns. “I said you then and I’m saying it now – no uniform.”

Oh. She must’ve talked out loud. Oh well.

“But that’s not a rejection of hats,” points out Raffi, sipping from the bottle. “You do look great in hats.”

“No hats.”

“Boring,” sighs Raffi, looking at the holo-screens. ETA is still two days away. She hates long journeys.

Cris ignores her, checking whatever it was from his captain chair. Raffi takes another swing.

“So why did Picard yell at the kid? What’s his problem this time?” says Rios, still going through his holo-screen.

“Something about her still not trusting him,” Raffi winces, remembering the look on Soji’s face. The kid has her reasons not to trust them. She was fooled her whole life, even about who she really was. It’s natural. But Jl got used to people trusting him without a question just because he’s Picard. And he betrayed those people too. So what’s his problem with one more person not trusting him?

“Well, maybe he should take his ass from his head,” Cris shakes his head. Raffi snorts. “What?”

“I thought I was the drunk one.”

Cris looks confused. Then, understanding, he gives her a half-smile and looks like he would throw something on her if there was anything nearby. He wouldn’t throw his cigar cutter, and definitely not cigars. So Raffi just snickers with mirth.

“And Agnes?” Cris drops the subject, and Raffi knows that he will check on Soji in the morning. He loves the kid, and she can’t blame him, especially knowing now what happened on Ibn Majid.

“She’s fine. Emil told that she was just tired and needed to drink more water and rest. I ordered her to go to sleep.”

“You? Ordered her?”

“She loves orders,” Raffi huffs, and Cris sends her a warning glare. She ignores him. “I can understand now why you like her that much.”

“What does that mean?” Cris shifts in his chair. Raffi knows it means “run for your life”, but again, ignores him. She has almost a full bottle of bourbon inside of her, she has no self-defense mechanism.

“Well, you didn’t look at her twice when she first came on board. Just a cute little doctor, who bit off more than she could chew. Who knew she would be a Romulan spy.”

Cris says nothing. Raffi drinks the rest and puts the bottle down.

“I…” Cris’ voice is hoarse, like he wants to defend himself, but has no argument against her accusations.

“I mean, she became so brave and found her voice right after Maddox died. Her friend as we thought back then. She barely cried, poor thing, and I thought, huh, the kid is more broken than I thought. Who knew she killed him in cold blood while we were thinking she was so naïve and too good to be there with all of us. But no. Little Agnes appeared to be right where she needed to be. With people who everyone thinks betrayed them. But the thing is – we know we didn’t betray them. And she did betray us.”

“Stop it,” almost growls Cris. Raffi laughs cruelly.

“A Romulan spy on your ship and in your bed. That’s funny. And I thought she was an interesting choice, knowing about your Marquisa and that Iotian, Ledger, yeah? You must’ve felt she wasn’t so innocent then. I always thought your taste in women will kill you sometime. But, I think, now that that weird-ass crystal is out of her system, you’re probably safe.”

“Why are you so wound up about this?” asks Cris incredulously and hurt.

“She almost killed us all! She wanted to leave the kids and JL to the Romulans!” Raffi is just about to scream with frustration. She had been thinking about that day for a long time.

“She was scared!”

“Yeah. So scared, she wouldn’t just tell us. Like we wouldn’t help her,” Raffi’s hands are itching to squeeze the bottle now.

Cris is silent for a moment. Raffi crosses her arms and buries deeper in the chair.

“Maybe it was my fault,” sighs Rios, and Raffi takes pity on him.

“It was Oh’s fault and her fanatic ideas. How could this be your fault?”

“I… I told her something that maybe guilt tripped her,” says Cris. Raffi turns to face him.

“And what could’ve you possibly said to her to trigger… that reaction?” Raffi points her head towards the sickbay.

“Well… I… Uh…” Cris shoots her a guilty look, and Raffi frowns.

“What is it?”

She had never seen Cris so uncomfortable. Not even before that stupid undercover mission on Freecloud in that ridiculous suit that he somehow had pulled off.

Suddenly she remembers something. Something she dismissed at times, thinking Cris was just stressed and trying to make weird jokes.

“You thought I was a spy?” calmly asks Raffi despite a storm of too well known emotions rising up in her.

“Raffi...” sighs Rios, but Raffi stops him with her hand.

“You thought I would put you in danger? You, Elnor, and JL? Because, what? I had a couple of conspiracy theories? About how Romulans were planning to kill us all? That’s why I would’ve helped them?” Raffi almost hisses in anger. Who does he think she is?!

“You were out on Freecloud, alone, not planning to come back, and then you changed your mind! We had a Romulan tail, and we knew that the snakehead was trying to track us down to find Picard and Soji, what could I think?” shouts Cris, standing up. Raffi follows him.

“Well, if you remembered that I told you that I had a son and was meeting with him, maybe you would think better that time!”

“Yeah, and maybe there was no son. Maybe it was just a catch,” coldly says Rios, and a chill runs down Raffi’s spine.

“Why would I lie about him?!”

“Well, you tell me, ex-Intelligence agent Raffaela Musicer.”

Raffi swings her hand. One second, and Rios stumbles backwards, grunting in pain and holding his nose.

“Son of a bitch,” hisses Raffi, stomping away and trying to hold her tears at bay.

“What is the nature of your emergency?” she hears behind her and grits her teeth. Rios doesn’t deserve the treatment. She wants him to hurt like she is hurting.

“What is this about?”

Oh, great. Just what she needs. Picard and his holier than thou attitude.

“Raffi?” and Seven is with him. Damn it.

Raffi holds a hand up, going past them as quickly as she can. She’ll be safe in her cabin. She can have another bottle there.

#whumptober21 #no.5 #fic #misunderstanding #broken pieces #raffi musicer #cristobal rios #star trek picard

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ramblefang · 3 years ago

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TOH s2 ep3

I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep up the liveblog thing, but the first few seconds of this episode already has me thinking things I want to write down.

But really quick: some post-episode 2 thoughts. Nothing too big, just follow-up thoughts on Luz learning alongside Eda and Lilith given how the episode ended. Seems like Luz being the teacher is pretty much done already, and the adults—with their experience and wisdom better contextualizing what they’re learning about glyphs—may more solidly have the edge at teaching. Though, Luz may still have plenty to contribute; she’s proven to be mighty creative in her own right, so she’ll likely pick up on “glyph writing” pretty quick.

00:06 - So these first few seconds seem to be a flashback. I was initially tipped off by the, like, blue tint and the, like, hazy effect at the edges of the screen. But I also rewinded since I started writing, and this hooded figure does have Eda’s staff and the hand grasping it certainly looks like hers.

00:14 - Oh, it’s all confirmed just seconds later. Okay then.

00:27 - An intriguing cold open that was. My first guess is that that was how Eda met King. But it could also be introducing a new character.

01:10 - Looks like Lilith explained things to Luz between episodes. These notes (especially the confusion) reminds me of trying to wrap my head around Homestuck shit.

01:38 - Huh. Lilith looking a tad unhinged. Last episode left us with the impression that she had a decent direction when it comes to these glyphs, but maybe exploring this uncharted territory is a bit much for the rule-obsessed perfectionist

01:49 - I must say again that I really appreciate Hooty having a good relationship with someone.

02:53 - Demon lore! Sounds like this might really be about King and Eda meeting, based on this King focus and the title having something about the past (didn’t commit the title to memory)

03:53 - Hmm, so King’s story doesn’t match up with the expert’s understanding of history. I wonder if it’ll turn out that King was just the big fish of a very small pond. Alternatively, King’s story might be prehistory. Eda did appear to have found some ancient ruins in the cold open.

04:20 - Ooh, indeed, this could be dealing with delusions. The appropriate way to handle someone experiencing delusions isn’t really something I’m familiar with. And it’s still uncertain if that’s really where this is going; King’s story could still be real (at least in a fashion)

04:25 - But in the moment, I do appreciate Luz’s approach to things. Delusion or not, it’s not like King is hurting anyone. Well, it is correlated with some toxic behavior (like that time King took credit for the story that he wrote together with Luz), but I’m unsure if I’d pin that stuff on delusions. Those things can be addressed without necessarily stressing King out over his “delusions”.

04:55 - Uuh. I have no idea what to expect from Hooty coming with. I’m honestly kind of scared.

05:00 - And based on those sounds and the pulsating flesh left behind on the door, yeah, I was right to be kind of scared. But the “Porta-Hooty” is cute.

05:30 - “Again” Eda says. Huh. Quick guess is that Eda manages an elaborate charade to keep King happy.

05:37 - A flying bathtub huh. That caught me off guard. I guess that’s the back-up for when Luz takes the staff (whose name I do not recall at the moment.)

(Apparently it is Owlbert.)

06:18 - This does appear to be the location from the cold open, so it’s probably real. I wouldn’t expect that young Eda was already orchestrating an elaborate charade for King. It’s also uncharted, so more credence to King’s story being at least partially true—but it also works for my idea that King was the master of a very small pond.

07:07 - Not sure if significant, but that door is keyhole shaped.

07:27 - Ooh! Prehistory! Or, well, prehistory as known by Lilith. Pretty sure actual prehistory is, like, “before history was recorded in a way we could dig up.” And this is literally language that could, probably, record history

08:30 - Hmm, so there’s something sneaking around these ruins, reminiscent of something sneaking up on young Eda in the cold open. I had thought that would be King, but it could be something else. It could also still have been King in the cold open, and it’s just something else now—it could even be Eda.

09:20 - Oh, so “apple blood” is basically an alcoholic beverage. It’s practically just a euphemism here.

09:30 - And the positions have flipped. These ruins are enough evidence to fully trust King’s story, despite his hazy memory. Luz still sounds the way she did earlier in the episode: simply humoring him.

My present theory is that the true extent of King’s story is that he lived here. But that does not mean he was the ruler of this place; he may have just used the art in these ruins to incorrectly fill holes in his memory.

10:20 - Hmm, the mummies of a bunch of vaguely insectoid...soldiers? The main thing I’m getting is that they don’t look much like demons. Also one is skittering around still, so maybe they aren’t exactly living? Like, maybe they were automatons in the first place?

10:50 - Ooh, a surprising fleshiness to this “monstrosity”. But, I mean, zombies are a form of automaton in my book. Or they can be at least.

11:12 - That sort of flesh warping ability is always fun. The kind that means you can never be pinned (especially by impalement) and also functions as a healing factor

11:24 - So now I’m guessing that by Eda’s exclamation of “Again?!” before, she’s had to protect/save King from these things before. Not only from the cold open, but other times that King has decided to visit this place.

11:40 - Eda has fought this thing before and knows, with certainty, that it can’t truly be defeated. I wonder why King wasn’t aware of it though.

13:02 - I was right about it being King in the cold open, but oh my God I wasn’t prepared for how cute baby King would be.

14:10 - A fair enough explanation for King’s memories. Though, it doesn’t explain the art in the ruins which does, indeed, bear a resemblance to King.

14:43 - Again, I’m not familiar with how real delusions are handled, but I can say that this probably wasn’t the safest place for this conversation

15:09 - Considering I initially agreed with Luz, it’s appropriate for me to reflect as I did agree with her approach. Perhaps there is more nuance to dealing with delusions. Luz theoretically could have been honest while still avoiding outright contradicting King’s delusions; in the bluntest terms, she could have outright said she doesn’t believe that he’s the king of demons, but would be willing to treat him as if he was anyway. The main thing I still agree with is Luz not pushing King on his delusions: more because it wasn’t her place to than anything else—Luz simply doesn’t have the full picture for her to be able to. Eda did though, so if anyone was going to challenge King’s delusions, it was her. Still could have been done somewhere safer though.

16:28 - Establish something that is true and positive regardless of the delusion: the delusional person having support. It can act as a safe foundation when one’s reality otherwise seems uncertain. Provide something that is at least as comforting as the delusion.

16:55 - Curious. The “monstrosity” is restacking the stones, King’s make-believe soldiers. It’s true enough that it didn’t attack baby King, as King was already in the ruins before Eda arrived. It specifically attacked Eda. Even on this latest excursion, it had never attacked King directly: it was simply imposing enough for King to agree to run from it.

18:30 - Eggshell? Was King born here? Maybe, rather than having been king himself, he is an heir?

20:32 - I would let him keep it. Yes. I like the monster.

20:42 - I like the symbolism of the horn as, like, King’s memory? It was damaged by his delusion, but now it’s whole again. King is more complete than he was before.

20:49 - Oh, they did bring the monster! Right there in the background. And King named it “Jean-Luc”? At least that’s how I’m assuming it’s spelled, after Jean-Luc Picard. I wonder if, coinciding with King’s further development, they can revive it to work outside of the ruins.

Closing Thoughts

Through season 1, I had thought that King trying to live up to being “the king of demons” functioned well as an analogy for toxic masculinity. He was trying to be tough and controlling, because that was how he thought he ought to be as a demon king—much the same things that toxic masculinity pushes on men to be “real” men. So making it through these his delusions makes room for King to mature and be more genuine to himself.

#the owl house

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starfleetimagines · 4 years ago

Text

Worf - “What were you thinking?”

Pairing: Worf x gender neutral security officer reader Requested by user Kalumiko425 on wattpad: The reader is a security officer like Worf and goes on most away missions with him. The reader does have feelings for the Klingon but can’t tell if he likes them back. Story wise maybe they’re exploring a new planet and the away team consists of the Captain, Number 1, Counselor Troy, Worf and a few other officers. They come under fire by something (you choose what alien I’m not entirely sure) and the reader is injured. Word count: 920 Warnings/notes: Reader gets injured, no real descriptions of the injury though Tag list: @dancingwith-thesunflowers, @anicamarei, @sinschesters, @groovyfluxie, @space-helen - if anyone wants to be added to or removed from a tag list, please let me know!

Your tricorder became to beep as you scanned the area around you. “Commander, I’m detecting lifeforms.”

Riker went over to you and looked at your scans. “Humanoid?”

“I believe so,” you replied, “but the magnetic field from those mountains are interfering with the readings.”

Worf took out his own tricorder. “I cannot tell what species they are.”

“Deanna, can you sense anything?” you asked.

Deanna paused and then said, “I sense their presence, yes. They’re not too far from us.”

“We should have a look,” said Riker. “But make sure to stay out of sight. We don’t know if these people have warp-capabilities.”

You all nodded in agreement.

“Riker to Picard.”

“Picard here,” the captain replied.

“Captain, we’ve detected other lifeforms. We’re going to go check them out.”

“Understood. Stay safe. Picard out.”

The four of you made your way towards the lifeforms, being careful to keep an eye out for anyone along the way.

“Hang on,” you said as your readings began to change.

“What is it?” Riker asked.

“The interference is weaker here. I’m able to get clearer readings.” You frowned.

“What do they say?” Worf asked.

“They’re Romulan.”

“Romulan?” Riker exclaimed. “What on Earth are the Romulans doing here?”

Deanna shook her head. “There haven’t been any intelligence reports of Romulans being near this sector.”

Riker pulled out his phaser. “Let’s go see what they’re up to.”

You all took out your weapons, you and Worf taking the lead as the two security officers of the away mission.

“They’re just over this hill,” you said quietly.

When you rounded the top of the hill you saw a camp of sorts, only with a lot of technology.

“What is it?” Deanna asked.

“It looks like a surveillance site,” Worf said angrily.

“Just what we need,” Riker said with a sigh.

“We should make our presence known,” Worf said. “Let them know they can’t just spy on us.”

You scanned the camp and shook your head. “I’m reading over fifty life-signs. We’re outnumbered.”

“With all that equipment, they must know we’re here,” Riker said. “But I’m guessing they might not know that we know they’re here as well.”

“I recommend returning to the ship,” Deanna said.

“I agree,” Riker said. “We need to report back and figure out a plan.”

Just as you were all starting to turn back, something caught your eye. “Worf, look out!” you exclaimed, shoving him out of the way as a Romulan fired a weapon in his direction.

Worf stumbled back and you felt the burn of the disrupter blast hitting your side. You yelled in pain and fell to your knees.

“Y/N!” Worf exclaimed, going to you quickly.

“Riker to Enterprise, emergency beam out! Lieutenant Y/L/N is hurt.”

“Stand by.”

Worf gathered you in his arms and your head slumped against him as your vision went dark.

When you awoke, you were in sickbay, the bright lights making you squint.

“Y/N,” Doctor Crusher said gently, “how are you feeling?”

“A bit sore,” you said. “But I’m okay.”

She smiled softly. “Luckily, the Romulan disruptor didn’t do too much damage. You just passed out from the shock and the pain. You’ll make a full recovery in a day or so.”

You gave her a tired smile. “Thanks.”

“There’s someone who’d like to say hello,” she said and stepped away from your bed.

Your brow furrowed until Worf appeared.

“Hey,” you said.

“What were you thinking?” he asked.

You raised your eyebrows. “Um. I was thinking of protecting you. You’re welcome.”

“You could have been killed,” he grumbled. “It was reckless.”

You huffed out a laugh. “What? So you’re the only security officer who can protect others?”

Worf frowned. “No, but if you had been killed…” He shook his head. “It would have been a great loss to the crew.”

“Thanks, but I wasn’t,” you said flatly.

“Why did you step in front of the blast for me?”

“Because it’s my job,” you replied.

“You could have just shot at the Romulan or told me to move out of the way. You did not have to risk yourself for me,” Worf said.

“Yeah, well, maybe it’s because for some unknown reason I have feelings for you,” you said before you could stop yourself. You immediately cringed when you realized what your pain-med-filled mind had just made you say.

Worf stared at you. “You… you have feelings… for me?”

You rubbed at your eyes and sighed. “Cat’s out of the bag now, huh?”

“You’ve never said anything,” he said, voice softer.

You looked at him and shrugged slightly. “I guess I didn’t know how you’d react. I mean, you’re my superior officer and a friend. I didn’t want to ruin anything or make anything awkward.”

“It will not be awkward,” Worf declared.

“It won’t?”

“No. Because I have feelings for you as well.”

A smile spread across your face. “You do?”

“Yes,” he said, almost shyly. “I am sorry for not saying anything sooner, but I am not one for expressing more… intimate feelings.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” you said, reaching out to him.

He took your hand. “When you’re feeling better, I would like to take you on a date. If that is acceptable for you.”

“I would love that.”

“Good.” Worf kissed your knuckles gently. “For now, just focus on recovering.”

“Will you stay here with me for a while?” you asked, starting to get drowsy again.

He took a seat at the edge of your bed. “I’ll stay as long as you want.”

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#worf #worf x reader #worf imagine #star trek #star trek imagine #star trek imagines #star trek fanfiction #star trek fanfic #star trek tng #star trek the next generation

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calliecat93 · 3 years ago

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ST: TNG S4 Watchthrough Episodes 6-9

Legacy: We have ended up on the home planet of Tasha Yar… and wow it’s not a nice place. We also find out that she has a sister, welp. So… it was alright. Ishara is very similar to Tasha in demeanor, but also very different. I tilt my head at the crew being so willing to trust and accept Ishara into their midst when they know nothing about this woman. I could see the ‘she’s using them’ plot a mile away. But to be fair, the episode addresses it. They wanted to see Tasha. They wanted to see the brave, loyal, strong-willed Security Chief that they lost so callously in her sister… and in the end, that took over. While I can see why Ishara acted as she did, she didn’t know these people and hasn’t seen Tasha in years so she’s under no obligation to care about them, it really has to hurt that she used them and almost committed mass murder and make them take the lame. Her world is a hellhole so her actions make sense, but that doens’t change the betrayal. Especially for Data. Riker sums it up well, with trust comes betrayal… but without trust, there is no friendship. That’s just the cruel truth. Anyways, it was a fine episode. I like that we have a pot-mortem for Tasha even if late… but it just makes me wish that tasha herself didn’t get killed sos he could have had her own plot and feeligns focused on. It still pisse sme off and is just a reminder of so much wasted potential. But ah well, for what they had to work with, they did it welll. 3/5.

Reunion: K’Ehleyr is back… and with a child. Worf’s child, to be exact. Huh. have been waiting very patiently for a follow-up to Sins of the Father and this was an excellent one! Back in K’Ehleyr’s first episode, she was unwilling to take the Oath and Worf wanted to so much and follow the Klingon traditions. Here? K’Ehleyr is ready and doens’t care that he was discommendated… but now Worf can’t. he’s been dishonored and even if it means nothing to K’Ehleyr, it means a great deal to him. He can’t let her or his son bear that shame. It’s so hard to watch him here. How anguished he feels, the way the other Klingons treat him despite it being their damn fault that he accepted it, to begin with, just knowing that he did nothing wrong… but for the greater good, he has to bear it. He doesn’t even want Alexander to be known as his son not because he’s unwilling to accept parental responsibility but to spare him of the dishonor. Just… freakin’ ouch. I was so happy to see K’Ehleyr back and her character is just so freakin’ good and her wanting to allow Alexander to find his life path? Excellent parenting. So… needless to say, her being killed off pisses me off. They at least allowed her character to shine, but… it feels like they only did it to make Worf suffer more. It was well-executed, I was about ready to tear up and Worf being driven to kill Duras for all the suffering that he put him through and now killing the woman he loved (which btw the romantic chemistry was MUCH better here than last time)? I can’t blame him at all. I get why he got reprimanded since Duras was a political figure and this can cause a whole host of problems and clearly Picard was sympathetic… but I just felt so bad for Worf. At least he admitted that he was Aexander’s father and hopefully the poor kid will have a good life with Worf’s parents, bu… yeah. K’Ehleyr’s death stops me form giving this a perfect score, very least I wish we had gotten to see her fight instead of goign to commerical and them walking in on her bloody corpse… but at least they got the tone down. I just hope that one day, Worf and his brother can truly expose the conspiracy because Worf deserves a Hell of a lot better. 4.5/5.

Future Imperfect: Let’s perform a thought experiment, shall we? Imagine going on assignment on your birthday, business as usual… then some kind of mishap happens. You wake up… and discover that you have lost sixteen years' worth of your memory. You can’t remember significant life changes, special moments for yourself and your loved ones, or even your spouse and child. Then just as you begin getting used to things and accepting this new life… you find out that it was all a lie and you were in an illusion all along. You were captured and tricked… and then you find out that was also a lie and it was all due to a lonely alien child left on a barren planet/within a highly advanced Holodeck system that can give him anything that he wants, everyone he knew had died and he did all of this just to have a friend. Congratulations folks, you have now experienced what Riker went through this episode! Yeah, this episode was crazy. I feel bad for the poor kid, while he shouldn’t have done what he did we’re talking about a lonely child essentially forced to live in a Holodeck and just wanted to interact with someone real. Also, I loved how Riker got clued in on how the future word was fake, excellent call-back to Season One! Not much else to say, but good episode! It was wild, that’s for sure~ 3.5/5.

Final Mission: Well folks, this is the curtain call for Wesley Crusher. I know that he pops back up once or twice, but this will be his final episode as a main character as he finally enters the Academy. We’ll get to my final thoughts on Wesley here in a bit, but l focus on the episode itself first. And… it was fine. We have Picard, Wesley, and some third guy crash land on a desert planet, the Enterprise unaware of if they’re alive or not. Thus the three struggle to survive which not only is the third guy essentially a paranoid asshole… but a cave-in seriosuly injures Picard. Thus Wesley is more or less on his own and has to keep Picard alive. Thankfully we avoid killing him off, and thus they make sure to give Wesley a proper send-off. They let him showcase his strengths with his intellegence, fast thinking, and compared to in the beginning he’s much more mature and capable of handling an Away Mission. This convinced me that yes, Wesley is ready for the Academy and that he will be a great Starfleet Officer someday. Meanwhile the Enterprise are dealing with their own issues because of course they are. Nothing can ever just go easy for these people. can it? It’s fine. The Enterprise plot didn’t have me invested aside form worrying about Dr. Crusher. The poor woman just burris herself in her work to deal with her worry about Wesley and evades Troi when she tries to assure her Otherwise the plot is there sot hat it can be a solo Picard and Wesley adventure without hem interfering. Which while I havn’t been the biggest fan of their dynamic, it’s clear how much Welsey admires Picard such as recounting their Samaritan Snare adventure, and Picard admititng that he brought him along because he was going to miss the kid. It’s a nice moment between the characters and allows Wesley to truly open up… though I wish it focused more on him and his mother since that’s been seriously lacking, but ah well. It was still a good send-off episode for Wesley and that’s how you want to treat your characters, whether they stay ont he show or not. 3/5.

As for Wesley himself… it’s been a bumpy road. Do I agree with the consensus that Wesley is an annoying child character that even his actor agrees with (albeit I think jokingly but still)? No. Wesley isn't a bad character. He’s a smart young kid, tries his best, makes mistakes but tries to do his best, and he grew. He’s a perfectly likable kid and this episode especially shows the best of him. Do I agree that the character's role and execution were annoying and contributed to his reputation? Yes. That is ultimately what it boils down to decent character, poor execution. In S1 Wesley was elevated far more than he needed to be. He was given privileges that no other character his age would have been granted no matter the competency level that borders on blatant favoritism. Whenever he made a serious error, he got praise for fixing it, never scolded for his actions with The Naked Now being the worst example. He still had good episodes like Coming of Age, but alas. I think having a kid character who aspires to be in Starfleet, has a parent who is a prominent crew member, and being able to use his skills to help was a perfectly fine idea… but there were just issues with how they did it. S2 and 3 were. While I disliked him at the end of The Dauphin and he still got showed some blatant favoritism, it was better balanced. I didn't feel he earned to be an Ensign until this episode… y’know, the one that shipped him off to The Academy. Crusher being written out in S2 and then brought back in S3 also really killed any and all potential that their dynamic could have truly brought which also hurt. It really feels like by S3 they just didn’t know what to do with the character anymore, limiting him to mainly Helmsman duty. He wasn't being elevated anymore… but he wasn't adding anything anymore either. Maybe promoting him was to help give him something… but Wil Wheaton decided to go, and that ended that. I can’t say I’m sad to see Wesley go because his potential just got squandered to the point that keeping him just felt pointless, and having him go to the Academy feels like the best natural end-point for him, so might as well be now. Nevertheless, Wesley was still part of the crew and for all that I criticized, he certainly didn’t deserve the hate that he got. If people like or even relate to the character, that’s great! He just didn’t work for me unfortunateley. Wil Wheaton obviously moved on to bigger, better things and is well-liked in the fandom, so that’s good cause he certainly did the best that he could. He just wasn’t given a lot of good material. Hopefully Welsey’s later guest appearances will give him somethingg ood and heck maybe they’ll convince Wheaton to come back in Picard one day, but for now… farewell Wesley. Can’t say I’ll miss you, but it wasn’t the worst ride either.

#st watchthrough

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ozymandiasdirge · 4 years ago

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okay more star trek engage

episode 1x09 Hide and Q

from the title i am guessing Q is back and hopefully bringing some more fun campiness back with him and i dont have to see any ferengi for a while

no troi which :(

we are one (1) minute in and worf has already half flipped over the hand rails on the bridge to point a phaser at Q who is just a light orb with snakes on it in. we have no choice but to stan.

q’s entire new outfit is just starfleet uniform with added sparkle trim. at least someone here has some joie de vivre

frankly q just wants to bring some excitement i say let him

riker no braincells moment 64: gets teleported down to unknown planet by a crazed god being dressed like napoleon and offered a chalice with an unknown beverage. just drinks it.

is this just what happens when troi isnt around

data’s highlighter???? excellent

why do i have a feeling worf could end this fight if picard would just let him throw hands

i dont know if it’s because it’s in HD but whoever did poor tasha’s makeup..... learn to blend and match skin tone WHY DOES SHE LOOK GRAY AROUND HER T ZONE

tasha was just weirdly attracted to chad patrick stewart and q came back and got all huffy so i guess i’ve found out what corner of the enetrprise the gay fumes are going to be coming from this time

okay now theyre just sitting here arguing over shakespeare i see you

riker is over here stanced the fuck up while geordi is being a pair of binoculars and data an encyclopedia

getting godlike power on star trek never ends well so this is about to go poorly

oh god its been 4minutes and we’ve already reached maniacal laughter

wesley just got stabbed and thats been his only contribution this week

why...why wont they let riker just save the 500+ people with his god powers....he hasnt done anything evil...

okay i know that the god powers are a bad idea bc genre savvyness but in universe.....literally why wouldnt you use them to help

please tell me they arent going to let this little girl die just to prove a point

okay wow they are...uhhh fuck this episode???

okay but he’s not mad at picard because hes mad with power hes mad because a child died this writing is terrible holy shit

wesley go away my irritation is already high enough

“what is this need of your for costumes Q” hes gay and messy picard duh

so riker can give them present but not save a childs life huh

WHY ARE THEY ALL ACTING AFRAID OF HIM HE HASNT DONE ANYTHING??? WHY HAS THE WRITING GOTTEN SO BAD

is...is geordi...you know. good for him.

okay but levar burton is so handome why doesnt he get to take the visor off more?

oh hot klingon lady maybe this isnt irredeemable..okay worf just punched her nevermind. let worf smash. LET HIM SMASH GENE RODDENBERRY

wow i really did not like this. the writing and pacing were both awful.

next episode we’re meeting troi’s mom. hopefully the writing will improve.

#star trek lb

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iowiymiw · 4 years ago

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i really dont think i’ll ever get over the fact that the writers of star trek: picard canonized that picard is gay, and in love with data. what a good example of writers getting in the spirit of things, and doing the complete opposite of anything anybody saw coming. picard and data had such a lack of chemistry in that way its unreal. picard seemed to actually did not like data AT ALL for the first season or so, and not in like a fun rivalry dislike, but actually annoyed by everything he said and did because data doesn’t get neurotypical people humanoids. even in later seasons when he becomes endeared to him it still doesn’t really strike me as that at all.

meanwhile, you’ve got obvious two male characters who would make completely viable love interests for each of them right there? you’re saying the writers never considered that Geordi la Forge, who was Data’s best friend that understands him better and is more considerate towards him than everyone else on the ship, could be in love with him?

Q??? mx. “maybe I should’ve appeared to you as a woman if I knew that was the best way to get under your skin” Q??? “wakes Picard up by appearing in bed with him” Q????? don’t look a gift horse in the mouth i guess, but that was what they thought of. huh

#.txt #st #tng

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thesadchicken · 5 years ago

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What was wrong with the Picard finale

okay so before I start I just want to say that I really don’t like being negative, especially when other people seem to be very happy with how ST:P ended. I’m usually the one saying ‘hey, don’t rain on other people’s parade’. But since I was asked… here it is.

also: this is my personal opinion about the ending but it doesn’t mean I hated the entire thing. I’m only this upset about the finale because I really liked the rest of the show, and frankly I thought they could have done much, much better.

So basically… I thought it wasn’t very clever, to put it mildly. Because:

We don’t get any real answers to the questions we’ve been asking ourselves the entire season. Why did Data team up with Bruce Maddox to create all the android babies? What was his purpose? And the super-powerful synth entities that were supposed to destroy all organic life in the galaxy: who are they? Why are they doing this?

The Romulans are too easily convinced. They went to so much trouble finding the synth homeworld. Infiltrating Starfleet Command, orchestrating the incident on Mars, driving their own people to the very brink of extinction. They didn’t care that Captain Riker brought the entire ‘Fleet to stop them. They were going to kill the synths, by Remus! Well, until they heard Picard via subspace giving Soji an (admittedly very nice) speech. That convinced them, like, right away. I can’t believe they would just abandon a mission they’d been working on for 14 YEARS? Just like that? Because Picard said please?

Same thing goes for Starfleet: too easily convinced. So Riker is just going to escort Oh out of Federation space, huh? She’s not going to stand trial for, uh, I don’t know, infiltrating Starfleet Command?? Also how convenient that the Federation lifted the ban on androids so Soji and Picard can just live their lives as if nothing happened. Too easy.

Now all that I can forgive. Like honestly… it’s not that bad. A bit frustrating, but not tragic. What really pisses me off is this: (here’s the part where I get a bit more negative, sorry lmao)

They put Picard in an android body! But it’s an exact replica of his own natural body! I can’t say this enough: an EXACT replica. Same age, same everything. He will even die of old age. Nothing has changed at all except for - ah, so convenient! - the brain abnormality, which is gone “for good” (I quote). HOW? How did 3 people do this in, what? A day? Soong had been struggling with this for decades. And now suddenly it’s that easy? The result is PERFECT too. No glitches, nothing out of place, nope. And they’re so chill about it! They just redefined life as we know it but no biggie, they’re sipping earl grey tea and laughing about it. Is no one going to have an existential crisis over the fact that humans are now potentially immortal? That Jean-Luc Picard’s brain/thoughts/soul/whatever have been transferred to a synthetic body? I mean this is huge and supposedly impossible to do. Why are they so casual about it?

It was unnecessary. Picard’s body was fine. They didn’t need to put him in a new (but it’s an exact replica!) one. The problem was his brain. It all just seems so pointless. Same with having the entire crew cry their eyes out over his death. Did they not know that Soji, Agnes and Soong were working on reviving him? Was it supposed to be a surprise?

Data. So after 20 years of thinking Data was dead, turns out he isn’t really. He’s in some sort of mechanical limbo. Do we get to celebrate this? No, because he dies 2 seconds later. Maybe this is just me, but it feels an awful lot like cheap shock value.Data is a fan favorite, that’s no secret. They just had to kill him again. Because, you know, watching a beloved character die once isn’t quite enough. Yeah, it’s a tearjerker (I myself cried not gonna lie) and don’t get me wrong, the imagery was really fucking beautiful (the cinematography, the entire scene at the end, wow) But. My question is. WHY?? If they can revive Picard, a human, and put him in a new body, then why not do the same for Data? Why keep him there for 20 fucking years?? When he was obviously suffering? WHY. I’m asking the writers: why do this? What does it add to the story? Picard didn’t even ask him what the android babies were all about. It gave us nothing.It just really seems to me like the writers know Data is everyone’s favorite, so they had to squeeze every last bit of content out of him. And it was poorly executed, in my opinion, because none of it made any sense, and it was super rushed.

So yeah, that’s it. There are also some minor details like: why do they not refer to the ‘brain abnormality’ (which we all know is Irumodic Syndrome) by name? And at the end where the hell did Narek go? What about the Borg Cube, what happens to it now?

But I guess those might be answered in season 2.

All in all I was very disappointed (so disappointed I could have cried, I swear) because it was going so well, and they’d set it all up so perfectly, it could’ve been epic. Instead I feel a bit cheated, like they wanted to sell me Data’s sad death once again (Blue Skies and all) and tried to distract me from the obvious lack of answers by waving android!Picard at me.

(I would also like to point out the lack of LGBT+ characters??? not a SINGLE GAY IN SPACE??? and yeah no Raffi and Seven held hands but that’s not representation is it? That was cute in 1967 when same-sex love was censored. But it’s 2020 so how come Agnes and Rios get a kiss but for Raffi and Seven all we have is ambiguous hand-holding?)

Oh well. Can’t wait for season 2 anyway, it was a good show to be honest and I did very much enjoy it (despite… everything I just said lmao)

also i’m a sucker so of course i ship the fuck out of seven/raffi even though they literally gave us nothing thanks cbs you know that i’m a clown and that i’ll take anything lol

#wow that was long #sorry!#negativity #please forgive me i hate being negative #st: picard #st: picard spoilers #spoilers #picard spoilers #shut up selma #anon #anonymous #Anonymous

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