#seven of nine & hugh third of five

[regionalpancake]

(pst...made you a present @song-spero 😘 )

"you ok there, buddy?" "yeah, why do you ask?"

Based on this post [x]

[isagrimorie]

It's probably better that it was Hugh the Enterprise Crew met in I, Borg because Hugh is more amenable to becoming an individual. Meanwhile, Seven of Nine would have been angrier and haughtier, Seven was proud of being Borg. (I guess those with a strong personality and who grew up within the Collective can still have a flavor of their personality). But also, comes with my theory that despite the Borg claiming to not have a hierarchy they still do — the standard worker drones, those who organize the drones. How the Collective determines which becomes which is unknown, but there is the central Queen that organizes all principles and orders.

Anyway, Guinan would not have responded well to Seven of Nine. Guinan and Picard didn’t have a need for keeping a Borg alive, especially with someone like Seven of Nine who was all the way bought into being a Borg. For Seven, being part of the Collective makes Seven bigger. It’s only, after Seven’s been disconnected from the Collective from months that she’s grown to appreciate her own individuality.

It took Hugh only a day or two to have his own individuality.

In a way, Hugh is even more of a fresh slate, an easier and more open and innocent one to accept the concepts of personhood.

But returning Hugh to the Borg after learning all that, even when he volunteered to do it to protect the Enterprise also felt wrong.

Considering Guinan’s issues with the Borg, I wonder how she first took to Seven. Especially since, unlike Hugh, Seven insisted on her Borg name.

Hugh asking and using “Hugh” instead of Third of Five was a factor for Guinan softening towards him.

Seven has no instincts for that, Seven is the name/designation she grew up on. It will remain to be so.

Annika is used rarely and only as a Shibboleth to call Seven back to her individuality.

But Seven of Nine is her True Name, to use Fairy Tale languages.

Anyway, I feel, especially after Bjayzl’s betrayal Seven has distanced herself from using Annika in everyday life.

Seven is her chosen and true name.

Hugh’s experience is different.

Seven’s severing was more of a baptism of fire, in the middle of a war between Borg and Species 8472. While Hugh was taken for the sole reason to be used as a weapon his interactions with the Enterprise crew was not as embattled.

Hugh and Seven were the first Borg to be completely severed from the Collective without other Borgs unlike in Unity (Voyager).

Also, from what we saw in Unity the Collective there were adults who had a life before becoming Borg unlike Hugh and Seven who grew up Borg.

[remholder]

newly divorced single dad picard and his xb gremlin adoptees

[curator-on-ao3]

The latest issue of Star Trek Quarterly is out and includes a Seven and Hugh friendship ficlet of mine with absolutely gorgeous art by the gloriously talented @regionalpancake!

If you’re interested, the pdf is at https://startrekquarterly.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/spring-2023-1.pdf and the Facebook link is https://www.facebook.com/startrekquarterly. If you want to contribute to a future STQ, the editor, Sarah, is super nice and the submission form is here: https://startrekquarterly.wordpress.com/submissions/

[djrenard]

20 Favorite Star Trek Characters:

Data

Saru

Reginald Barclay

Dorian Collins

Rom

Elim Garak

Gul Dukat

Seven of Nine, Annika Hansen

Worf, son of Mogh; Worf Rozhenko; Worf of the House of Martok

Kira Nerys

Christopher Pike

Thy'lek Shran

Keyla Detmer

Phlox-tunnai-oortan

Icheb

Jett Reno

Montgomery Scott

Hugh, Third of Five

Lon Suder

Peanut Hamper

[procrastinatorproject]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Star Trek: La Sirena, Star Trek: Picard Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: The Motley Crew - Relationship, Raffi Musiker & Cristóbal Rios, Laris & Zhaban & The Motley Crew Characters: Laris (Star Trek), Zhaban (Star Trek), Cristóbal Rios, Raffi Musiker, Elnor (Star Trek), Hugh | Third of Five, Soji Asha, Seven of Nine, Jean-Luc Picard, Number One | Jean-Luc Picard's Dog, Emil | La Sirena's Emergency Medical Hologram, Mister Hospitality | La Sirena's Emergency Hospitality Hologram, Ian | La Sirena's Emergency Engineering Hologram, Enoch | La Sirena's Emergency Navigational Hologram, Emmet | La Sirena's Emergency Tactical Hologram Additional Tags: Crew as Family, Family Dinner, Cooking and Baking, Friendship, Fluff, Humor, Some angst, Canon-typical swearing, Season/Series 1.5, Hugh | Third of Five Lives Summary:

On the way from Château Picard to Vulcan, the crew of La Sirena and their guests prepare a mighty feast. If only these things ever went according to plan...

Illustration by the inimitable @horizonproblems!

This is our contribution to the @startrekpotluck 2024. I'll post the rest of the chapters over the next few days, so if you want to find out what could possibly lead to Laris telling off Enoch over a basket of bread, you'll have to stay tuned 😁🥖🥐

Thank you to @regionalpancake for being the best co-host anyone could wish for! 💗✨

[in-flagrante]

Downton Abbey ‘makes shock return’ as secret revival series ‘begins filming’

Report claims that the hit period drama is returning for a seventh series, nine years after coming to a close

Louis Chilton

1 hour ago

Hit ITV period drama Downton Abbey is reportedly filming a new series, nearly a decade after coming to an end.

The series, which originally aired on ITV from 2010 to 2015, followed the lives of an aristocratic Yorkshire family in the years between 1912 and 1926.

A new report in the Daily Mail claims that a revival series began filming a few weeks ago, and is expected to arrive on screens “by the end of the year”.

The outlet quotes a source close to the production as saying: “Filming has been going on for a few weeks now, it is all very, very secret. There are people working on it who have never seen secrecy like it.

“Those working on the set have been made to sign non-disclosure agreements so that they don’t give the game away but there is a lot of excitement at the return of Downton.”

The Independent understands that the series has not been commissioned for ITV.

The original series featured an ensemble cast that included Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Joanne Froggatt, Dan Stevens and Maggie Smith.

It was reportedly Smith’s reluctance to continue that prompted Downton to come to an end after six series in 2015, though the thespian returned for two feature film sequels, 2019’s Downton Abbey and 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era.

Rumours of a series comeback started surfacing back in May 2023.

In December, series creator Julian Fellowes didn’t brush off the possibility of a comeback, telling Radio Times: “I have said goodbye to Downton so many times, and I have written the last scene about six or seven times. Now I’ve got out of the habit of making permanent statements about whether it’s gone.

“It just gives me a lot of pleasure that so many people enjoyed it, so to feel that you created a show that cheers people up and they had a good time with it, I love that.”

The Independent has contacted production company Carnival Films and Fellowes for comment.

During its peak, Downton was one of the most popular series on UK TV, with its third series pulling in an average weekly audience of 11.5 million people.

In a two-star review of the latest film adaptation, The Independent’s critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “Downton Abbey: A New Era is whatever the opposite of a French Exit might look like. Rather than a party guest slipping out quietly, it’s the bumptious visitor making their final, sluggish turn around the room. Their pottering seems to extend for another hour or two – or another cocktail.

“The first film, released in 2019, was designed to pay a final farewell to Downton’s 47 TV episodes and five Christmas specials – an opportunity to tie up a few loose ends and resolve things with a hearty slap on its own back. A New Era manages to uncover even more threads, and makes neat little bows in the most languid way possible. It’s as much of a film as an encore to the encore can be.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/downton-abbey-new-series-return-itv-b2495921.html

[thegeminisage]

oh boy IT'S tng update time. last night* we watched "imaginary friend" and "i, borg."

*tonight. it's 1am. whatever. it's posting tomorrow when i'll be awake but busy. anyway im gonna have to start splitting these up so tumblr will stop FUCKING me re my character count

imaginary friend:

what i like about this episode and indeed tng as a whole is that the little girl was fucking adorable. tng fans, your show has at least one point of validity. whenever there was a child on tos i wanted to throw them out of the airlock because they acted possessed. all the children on tng inspire within me motherly concern.

HOWEVER. THERE SHOULD NOT BE. CHILDREN ON A STARSHIP.

we've gone over this at length. we don't need to do it again. i am sick to death of hearing myself talk about it. i want to stop. and yet. every. and i mean EVERY. SINGLE. PROBLEM. in this episode. happened because there were children on a starship.

problem #1: child is making up a fake imaginary friend instead of making real ones = it's because her dad hops from starship to starship

problem #2 her imaginary friend is real now and wants to drown her in the pool like in that one episode of s*pernatural = this is because an alien, from space, read her mind, which it could not have done if she wasn't in space on a starship

problem #3: the alien HATES the grownups and thinks they should die = because she is seeing the ship from a child's pov, because there are children on this starship

and on and on and on.

aside from this huge and ongoing point of contention it was solidly watchable. i liked the little girl. i like guinan. i like worf being a big old softie when he found them out of bounds. i like people not undermining deanna's counseling work. i liked the horrifically unsettling imaginary friend with laser eyes who definitely absolutely inspired 2.11 playthings.

can anyone tell me if the other star trek shows just let them have kids on the ships? ds9 i get because that's a space station but are there kids on the ship in enterprise? voyager? discovery? genuinely please write in i can't take living like this

i, borg:

ooooooh. ooh i am twirling my hair and kicking my feet and giggling about it. OHHH finally we get a good tng episode. and not just a good episode a GREAT episode. the liz community has forgiven tng. oh baby where do i even begin

okay, firstly, beverly. she so instantly sees someone injured and HAS to help, i mean HAS to, it's so good. it's very bonescore in a way that doesn't feel like they're trying to make her a cheap bones knockoff but rather a spiritual successor. he would have also helped his enemy rather than watching him die. hell, he DID do that and got quite literally mind-raped for his trouble, and he'd probably do it again. i was really really lukewarm on poor bev at first but she's come into her own so well and i'm proud of her

the borg himself - third of five, aw, just like seven of nine - but no, hugh - the name is dumb but whatever i'm glad he has one - was well-cast. it would have been easy to make him uncanny and an unpleasant presence onscreen (this was my biggest issue with data's daughter even though the ep DID make me cry, deeply sorry to data whomst i love the most). his "you will be assimilated resistance is futile" song and dance was actually really funny when played off of geordi's wry indifference. "ok, but before we get assimilated, can we please finish x test?" so true king

geordi's a natural choice to pair with this guy because when he's not being the creepiest person on earth to holodeck girls he's sociable, outgoing, and patient. PLUS he has experience befriending machines because of data. hugh actually reminded me of data in some ways because of his general lack of understanding re: humanity but - and this is critical to me - HE IS HUMAN

like, i feel like the episode didn't quite nail the point home hard enough possibly because they were afraid of the implications but the cold hard truth of the matter is that each and every person on the borg cube IS A PERSON. they have been assimilated, but we've twice now seen that it's possible to unassimilate them with only a few days of effort. picard (and guinan!) consider the entire collective their enemy but the collective is comprised of brainwashed prisoners. those fucked up little borg babies they found in the cube were assimilated as INFANTS - i assume they weren't born on the cube bc if the borg could reproduce on its own it wouldn't need to assimilate - but even if they were born on the cube, they had no choice but to be this. you know.

which is whyyyy it's so fucked picard was like yeah give hugh some digital poison let him carry it back to his cube and we'll kill them like ants <3 like, oh my god his lingering borg trauma or whatever. MWAH. when he told deanna he didn't wanna talk. when he and guinan had to trauma-bond while fencing. when he told geordi that he needed to unattach himself because it was nothing more than animal experimentation. STONE FUCKING COLD BY THE WAY. he is fighting in the war on animal experimentation on the side of animal experimentation. he was going to let his cre heal and feed that kid and then send him back laced with poison. diabolical <3

and, of course, when he didn't want to speak or associate that borg kid at all because that's who he used to be AND WHO HE STILL IS in some corner of his brain (!!!)

LIKE. WHEN HE WAS FINALLY CONVINCED TO INTERROGATE THIS KID. and IMMEDIATELY broke out the locutus voice. he still remembered all the protocol! the way of speaking! everything! i was so shocked and thrilled.

i love also how everyone who spoke to hugh came away extremely unsettled but also totally convinced of his humanity. even guinan, which was so fun, because she was even more anti-borg than picard at first and they were bonding over trauma and fantasy racism. that bit where hugh, who had only known about the concept of loneliness for like an hour, immediately pegged her as lonely after like three lines of dialogue. oh my GOD???

i was decently satisfied with the ending - obviously they couldn't send him back with poison nor could they protect him from the borg, but i wish they had informed him of the inevitable memory wipe before he made his choice. (a selfless choice! he loves geordi!!) still i think he mostly walked into it with eyes open. very sad but very proud of him.

my one tiny nitpick with this episode is that for all beverly's genuine and justified concern about hugh, i don't think theyre ever gonna address the fact that she shot and possibly killed some of the borg in the episode where picard got assimilated. i feel like after realizing they are all people, like hugh, she should also realize she's broken the hippocratic oath, and have a little crisis about it. i have no idea why we had the DOCTOR shooting and killing anybody but let alone if we aren't gonna get into that. i don't think anyone cares/cared except me though.

but tbh, for me this is one of the main draws of the borg. they're ALL brainwashed cyber-assassins and they're ALL prisoners and in theory ALL of them could be saved if only they would stop attacking first. sure, yeah, in fights you gotta do what you gotta do because your own life has gotta come first, but the unique scifi horror aspect of all of those guys being perfectly innocent people fucks and they should utilize it a little more!!!

NEXT TIME: "the next phase" and "the inner light."

[bongaboi]

Brisbane Lions: 2024 AFL Premiers

THESE will forever be Brisbane's kings of the pride.

After last year's heartbreak, a 0-3 start to the season, five season-ending knee reconstructions, missing out on the top four, three finals on the road, a semi-final win for the ages and storylines everywhere you looked, Brisbane is the premier for 2024 after a Toyota AFL Grand Final dismantling of Sydney.

In the redemption cup – the Lions looking to go one better than their four-point loss to Collingwood and Sydney hoping to overturn its disastrous 2022 decider – it was Chris Fagan's men who saluted by 60 points in an MCG masterclass in front of 100,013 fans.

The 18.12 (120) to 9.6 (60) win delivered the Lions their first flag since 2003 and 12th through its Fitzroy history as Fagan lifted the cup in his eighth season at the helm.

This was a rough welcome to the jungle for the Swans – everywhere Sydney turned, Brisbane was there. Every way the Swans looked, the Lions had them covered.

It would have been a terrible case of deja vu for the Swans, with the club now losing its past four Grand Finals since 2012. Three of them have been thrashings.

Where to start with Brisbane's band of heroes? It was a Lions' share: Lachie Neale, carrying an ankle injury, was sensational as he saluted with a flag in his third Grand Final attempt with 34 disposals and nine clearances.

Kai Lohmann lit the fuse early and finished with four and Callum Ah Chee kept the flame alive throughout with four majors. Will Ashcroft, having missed last year's decider with his knee injury, was superb and showed again he is a champion in the making with 30 disposals and a goal. Joe Daniher is considering retirement but showed he is at the top of his game, with only inaccuracy potentially costing him a Norm Smith Medal.

But where the Lions were hot, Sydney brought the cold. It was difficult to find a winner for the Swans, who had their star-studded midfield nullified, their forward line shut down and their back half picked apart.

Katy Perry started the day with a roar, but the Lions added a mighty to it. Sydney struck first with the opening two goals, the first from Will Hayward and the second a superb snap from Tom Papley. But that mini lead didn't quite sum up the contest after the Lions' early inaccuracy.

Lohmann quickly changed that. The eye-catching Lion kicked their first, and then their second a minute later on his left foot to give Brisbane the energy it needed, his tongue-out celebration a spirit boost to match his side's ascendancy.

They continued to control the play with their uncontested marking game as Hugh McCluggage cruised into a third goal, with the gun midfielder tallying nine opening-quarter disposals.

James Rowbottom's long set shot was a steadier for the Swans, who were preferring their shorter forward targets than their key position options, but Charlie Cameron's snap from the boundary – and subsequent bow to the crowd – restored Brisbane's eight-point lead at the first change.

Brisbane's premiership was won in an exhilarating second quarter. The Lions kicked seven goals to one for the term and they came from everywhere as the Swans, for the second time in three years, were pounded.

Lohmann kicked his third from the pocket, Cameron spotted Daniher cleverly for another, Ah Chee's brilliant finals series continued with two for the term, Jarrod Berry capitalised on Nick Blakey's turnover to slot a long goal and Eric Hipwood kicked one of the great Grand Final goals from the boundary line after dodging Dane Rampe, slotting the goal and reprising three-time Lions premiership star Jason Akermanis' pseudo shocked celebration afterwards.

When Logan Morris booted their 11th, the Lions had leapt to a 46-point lead for half-time as their youth, speed and hardened run into the flag decider proved beneficial.

Where the Lions' big names and lesser lights all stood up – from first-year player Morris to champion two-time Brownlow medallist Neale – Sydney couldn't find a winner as its midfield was battered, its defence under siege and forward line ineffective.

Party time started early as Neale continued to dominate the midfield battle in the third quarter, with Daniher also showing up the Swans defence. If it is to be Daniher's last game of an enigmatic career – the 30-year-old is weighing his future – then he went out on a high, kicking 2.4 but proving pivotal to the Lions.

His forward presence, as well as important around-the-ground ruck efforts, helped a fleet of smaller Lions capitalise time after time.

Lions fans spent most of the second half rejoicing, as more highlights came their way: the Cam Rayner hanger, Ah Chee enjoying a day out, one last Lohmann flying grab and, of course, a Daniher left-foot snap to close things out. The pride of Brisbane town – and beyond.

SYDNEY 3.1 4.3 5.4 9.6 (60) BRISBANE 4.3 11.7 16.11 18.12 (120)

GOALS Sydney: Parker 3, Warner, Rowbottom, Papley, Heeney, Hayward, Fox Brisbane: Lohmann 4, Ah Chee 4, Morris 2, Daniher 2, Rayner, McCluggage, Hipwood, Cameron, Berry, Ashcroft

INJURIES Sydney: McDonald (ankle) Brisbane: Nil

SUBSTITUTES Sydney: Braeden Campbell (replaced Logan McDonald in the third quarter) Brisbane: Conor McKenna (replaced Logan Morris in the final quarter)

Crowd: 100,013 at the MCG

[adastrafanfic]

Ad Astra News - 8/13 - 8/19

State of the Archive Aside yours truly losing her mind due to work (and football season), all's going well!  Challenges are going good, review hunts are great and the archive is pretty stable.  Come on over and join us here or on our Discord!

Weekly Challenge #16: Heat The dog days of an Earth Summer. Vulcan's Forge. Or maybe something less weatherly: Maybe the heat of battle. Or maybe the heat of sex. Write between 100 and 700 words based on some kind of heat and post it to the archive!

Add it to the Weekly Challenge collection and tag it: Weekly Challenge: Heat.

Challenge ends on August 25th at 11:59P Eastern!

Stories Archived ★ denotes Weekly Challenge Entry

Star Trek: Enterprise

by LordRobertBruceScott Star Trek Enterprise: The Avatar - G - Porthos, T'Pol, Phlox, Jonathan Archer

Star Trek: Discovery

by lah_mrh Together - G - Hugh Culber/Paul Stamets Paint the Night Red - T - Ash Tyler| Voq/Christopher Pike Don't Move - E - Ash Tyler | Voq/Christopher Pike Christmas in Sickbay - G - Ash Tyler| Voq/Christopher Pike by squireofgeekdom Fungus Not-Amongus - G - Christopher Pike & Sylvia Tilly

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

by LadyEmma ★ Outside the Box - G - Montgomery "Scotty" Scott/Nyota Uhura by squireofgeekdom Not Alone - G - Christopher Pike & Joseph M'Benga Being the Captain - G - Christopher Pike & Spock when you're gone we won't say a world ... - T - Christopher Pike & Spock, Christopher Pike & Tenavik You're Just a Little Boy - G - La'an Noonien-Singh reparative (write another story, we're fine) - T - Christopher Pike & Multiple

Star Trek: The Original Series

by LordRobertBruceScott The Transplant - G - James T. Kirk, Spock, Leonard "Bones" McCoy by SLWalker ★ Expected or Not - G - Andrew "Corry" Corrigan/Montgomery "Scotty" Scott Contrast - T - Andrew "Corry" Corrigan, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott

Star Trek: Alternate Original Series

by daraoakwise ★ Unexpected - M - Andrew "Corry" Corrigan (AOS)/Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (AOS) by lah_mrh Welcome Home - E - Gaila (AOS)/Nyota Uhura (AOS)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

by jamaharon Scar Tissue - E - Elim Garak/Julian Bashir Where the Orchids Bloom - G - Elim Garak/Julian Bashir by Sharpest_Asp ★ A Guest in the Night - G - Faysha Ry'Tor, Leonard "Bones" McCoy

Star Trek: Picard

by Kennel_Boy Human Experience - NR - Hugh | Third of Five & Seven of Nine

Alternate Universes

by LordRobertBruceScott Star Beagle Adventures Episode 2: Astral Traveler - T - Ensemble by SLWalker Nance's Fashion Review - G - Arnold J. Rimmer, Nan-Cy DeVant Smith, xover The Last ShadowKnight - T - Arnold J. Rimmer, xover

Expanded Universes

by Hawku The Hangover - M - Ensemble Cast

[spectraspecs-writes]

I think they made Hugh Third of Five because they hadn’t quite figured out ranks among the Borg yet. Seven is Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One, she held a very high rank in the Collective. But because three is in the middle of five, they didn’t have to figure out whether Hugh was highly ranked or not. And the world may never know

[jrpneblog]

Time Gentleman please!

The torture goes on for North End fans with the third defeat in seven days , this time 0-2 at home to lowly QPR. It wasnt the fact that we lost this particular encounter it was the manner in which it was lost. Following on from a horror show on Tees-side on Tuesday evening North End produced another, sideways, backwards, punchless, toothless, couldn't care less and possession without impact shit show. It left those who were inside Deepdale at the final whistle, and there weren't many, pondering at just where we go next with a manager clearly not up to the task of getting the best from his charges. QPR were timid in the first half to be honest but we never looked like scoring and after the break the visitors just stepped up their game and won quite comfortably in the end. North End were appalling once again and after a freezing night at Middlesbrough on Tuesday watching the dross Lowe is serving up it was one step too far to see an almost repeat performance at home in front of the watching nation. It was embarrassing.

Lowe made three changes from the eleven who allegedly played at the Riverside in midweek with Browne, Holmes and Ramsay coming in for Ledson, Best and Potts. In an instantly forgettable first half it took us fifteen minutes to get near goal with Evans effort easily dealt with. Dykes was lucky to stay on the field half way through the first half when an elbow went right into Andrew Hughes mouth but the referee deemed it a yellow when on another day it could have been very different. The visitors had a couple of half chances towards the end of the first period but in all honesty it was one of the biggest forty five minute non-events we have seen at Deepdale for some time. We had plenty of possession in the first stanza but did absolutely nothing with as we looked very much like a side who didn`t believe in the brand of football they had been instructed to play. It was a woeful opening half.

North End introduced Liam Millar after the break but the significant change was the visitors bringing on Ilias Chair who went on to dominate things for the Hoops. Within ten minutes of the restart Chair had set up the opening goal for Rangers as his ball across the goal found Smyth at the back post and he bundled to the ball into the net to give the visitors the lead. Woodman had a couple more good saves to make as Chair and Dozzell tried their luck against a North End side clearly bereft of any ideas on what to do to break the visitors down. With three minutes of normal time remaining QPR closed out the game as Chair sent a ball across again to the back post and Willock made no mistake from close range. It was the cue for a mass exodus from the stands at Deepdale and I would wager there were less than two thousand inside the stadium when the final whistle went. There were not that many boos as, I believe, a majority of people have just given up on the current regime regarding the manager and his ability to get the best from his players and some consistency in their performance.

People who know me and read this blog will know I am not one who calls for the head of the manager after a couple of defeats. Ryan Lowe has given the fans some good days especially on the road but the general manner of the performances and of the managers complete inability to take full personal responsibility leads me, unfortunately, to say I think it is time for a change in the managers office at Deepdale. Not all will agree with that statement and I understand and respect peoples opinions. However, having seen every one of Ryan Lowe`s ninety six competitive games and taking into account we have taken just nine points from the last thirty three on offer, sadly he no longer has my support. Time, Gentlemen please!

.

PRESTON 0-2 QPR

.

WOODMAN 6

STOREY 5 LINDSAY 6 HUGHES 5

RAMSAY 5 WHITEMAN 4 BROWNE 5 HOLMES 6

FROKJEAR 5 KEANE 5

EVANS 6

.

Subs:

MILLAR 6

McCANN 5

STEWART 5

WOODBURN 5

.

MOTM: Duane Holmes

Attendance 14,280

Preston Fans 13,738 (96.2%).

[isagrimorie]

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again— if they were hesitant to put Seven of Nine in a Starfleet uniform in Voyager, then they should have at least let Seven keep the black outfit during the Killing Game:

Seven looked good in it, it flattered her better. It also doesn't look Starfleet, and in a way it does kind of look like the Borg jumpsuit Hugh wore on Picard season 1:

Anyway, as much as possible, in my head, the black Maquis black ops outfit is what Seven wears.

(Still Sad and Mad Hugh and Seven never met onscreen. I'm SMad.)

[remholder]

its not like it was his choice

[curator-on-ao3]

hello, i’m immensely enjoying Decidedly Motley Stories! if i may, i’d like to request “how long have i been asleep?” with hugh borg & seven or hugh & soji

Oh! 🥹 Thank you so, so much, @clinttbartton! 💕 I’m enjoying getting prompts — and this is a great one! I went with Hugh Borg & Seven, and I hope you like it.

For those who prefer to read on AO3:

For those who prefer to read here:

And When We Awaken, Eyes Open to Possibility, We Find Our Voice in the Night

The doctors at Starfleet Medical marvel over the increased acuity in her artificial eye, the nanoprobes in her bloodstream, the cortical node that replaced the cortical node that regulates the implants that forced their way in where her childhood should have been.

The doctors don’t ask if she likes music. Or Kadis-kot.

But they seem pleased to inform her that the eighteen percent of her that is Borg hardware within her skin, her bone, her very marrow, has been sufficiently cataloged and studied to allow her a choice.

A proportionate amount of humanity, perhaps.

So they ask as if offering a prize, would she like to sleep instead of regenerate? A procedure can tie the electromagnetic activity in her brain to her Borg systems, a one-time algorithmic upgrade — a ticket to dreamland, one doctor says as a joke and she does not laugh.

It’s tempting to agree, to sever her need for the regeneration alcove moved into her hospital room from Voyager’s cargo bay 2, a monolith to her onetime monoculture that subsumed even her slumber.

But more change is frightening.

So she tells the doctors that she needs to think about it.

She’s never had trouble with a decision before.

Crew from Voyager visit her, query as to her thoughts and feelings.

She talks with them, but not about this, this opportunity to rewrite her most basic of functions, this potential deepening of her supposed humanity at the very time she’s both surrounded by more humanity than ever and acutely aware that the ideals she was made to believe pertained to humanity may be lacking in practice.

And not just medical practice.

But a knock taps against her door — not a chime, an actual knock — in a sequence of bursts. Borg alphabet. The letters “x” and “b.”

Curiosity triumphs over wariness and she calls out for the person to enter.

The door opens and he steps in, fluid movements, almost graceful, the metal fragments that pierce his skin evidence of experience akin to her own.

“I’m Hugh.” He doesn’t ask to sit the way most people do, seemingly preferring to stand the way she does. “Formerly Third of Five. I heard you were here and came as quickly as I could. I wanted you to know … you’re not alone.”

She’s been told this before, mostly by members of the Voyager crew.

But she believes it now.

He teaches her the word “xB,” an identity, a resource, a decentralized community of individuals who are happy, angry, hurt, healing, afraid, brave — and ready to help those like them.

Her ocular implant is not malfunctioning, though her fingers brush the tears away as if there is something wrong when, in fact, this is finally something right.

She asks questions.

He answers.

And when she wants to know if xBs regenerate or if they sleep, he seems to understand that she’s not just inquiring about rest cycles, she’s seeking information to help her get closer to leaving Starfleet Medical so she can meet those among whom she can be understood, not former drones who still use identifiers forced upon them, but xBs who created their own terminology, their own comfort with each other, their own — individual — place within what they were, what they were before that, who they are, and who they wish to be.

“Some regenerate. Some sleep. It’s not an easy decision for anyone, Seven.” The vestiges of an implant on Hugh’s cheek shift upwards as he smiles — a supportive smile, empathy. “But if you choose sleep and want someone here when you wake up — and that first time can be disorienting, it’s true — then I can promise that I’ll stay with you.”

She accepts Hugh’s promise, regenerates one last time, her back straight, the familiar before yet another everyday aspect of her life changes. And there’s the upgrade, a doctor tapping at a console, no change, she feels no change, but it worked, the regeneration alcove rejects her attempt to interface, and how will she do this? How will she know if her rest cycle is complete if the computer doesn’t tell her so?

“You,” Hugh speaks softly, carefully, “will adapt.”

She attempts it. A pillow under her head, a blanket tucked around her shoulders, the bed soft under her as she … is the human phrase “tosses and turns”?

From a cot in her room set up for his own rest, Hugh talks to her, asks if her parents ever told her a bedtime story, requests that she tell the story to him — the tale of the brave ballerina who flew a starship to the science conference to share her hypothesis.

Her words slur and there’s darkness.

Not scary.

Gentle. Like a hug from inside.

The hug slips away.

“How …” she speaks into the dim light of her hospital room, “how long have I been asleep?”

From his cot, Hugh answers, “About four hours.”

It’s as if she’s been pushed into cold water.

She didn’t complete her first attempt at a rest cycle.

It’s the middle of the night.

She failed.

“Remember, Seven,” it’s as if Hugh knows — and he probably does, “you can choose how to feel about this. Standards of Borg perfection don’t apply.”

Her first attempt at a rest cycle.

And she made it more than halfway to human sleep requirements.

She … succeeded?

“Thank you, Hugh.” Seven adjusts her blanket, curls onto her side. “I will resume this rest cycle and … see you in the morning.”

“Sleep well, Seven.”

“Sleep well, Hugh.”

And she does.

———

Send me an ask with character(s) and a prompt and I’ll do my best to write up a gentle hug for your people. ❤️

✨ All prompted Picard ficlets are also available on AO3 as Decidedly Motley Stories. ✨

[meeedeee]

There's No Stopping Time

Fandoms: Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager

No Archive Warnings Apply

Beverly Crusher

Jean-Luc Picard

Jack Crusher (Star Trek: Picard)

Wesley Crusher

Will Riker

Data (Star Trek)

Lal (Star Trek)

Soji Asha

Deanna Troi

René Picard

Kestra Troi-Riker

Elnor (Star Trek)

Laris (Star Trek)

Guinan (Star Trek)

Tasha Yar

Worf

Raffi Musiker

Q (Star Trek)

Ro Laren

Agnes Jurati

Sidney La Forge

Dahj Asha

Hugh | Third of Five

Yvette Picard

Cristóbal Rios

Seven of Nine

Geordi La Forge

Kore Soong

Alandra La Forge

Robert Picard

Lore (Star Trek)

Narek (Star Trek)

Gabriel Hwang

Pel (Star Trek)

(Feed generated with FetchRSS) source https://archiveofourown.org/works/47541616