#vs the needs of a Starfleet captain

[yourbuerokrat2]

'Be mine'

A request from a godlike entity that would leave many either flattered or terrified.

Jean-Luc Picard felt neither.

He did not know how to feel about it.

Even now that he had indulged Q the demands still continued.

Because Picard could never give Q all of himself.

Because the other parts of him already belonged to so many others.

And Picard realized, that for Q this would never be enough

That when a self-proclaimed god says 'be mine' what they mean is

'Be mine. Entirely. Forever'

Picard was not sure he could or wanted to give Q this.

[emonydeborah]

If the crew became kids

I doubt this is going to happen, especially because TNG already did it, but I would personally have such a great time.

An overarching theme would be Una's height because reasons, and because her talking to someone and suddenly having to look down at some child would be hilarious.

So some kidifying ray swept the ship, affecting them either one at a time or all at once.

Chris will not shut up about horses. He's swinging his legs on the biobed and chattering away. He accidentally interrupts and is so apologetic bc he never wants to be rude!!!! He wants to be friends!!! "Are we friends?" Spock has to look down at his captain/father figure and say "...yes. Chris." (Also Chris stares up at Una and says she's pretty bc he has more brains as a child than a grown man). He stares out at the stars with the biggest eyes.

Una the preteen is the same height as La'an and La'an is pretending not to be salty about it. They know she's Illyrian and she Freaks Out, and she and La'an have a talk about accepting themselves and not being defined by what others think that is more educational for La'an than for Una. What a gangly woman. She is out here constantly knocking things over, and the crew sees someone who had to grow into herself as much as anyone. Her default response is silence and big scared eyes but she can be tempted with some trivia. Erica spends hours showing her the flight controls.

Spock is a complete deadpan sassbucket and no one is prepared. the cute chubby cheeks. The bowlcut. His babysitters lose sight of him for sixty seconds and he disassembles a replicator because he heard a funny noise. Don't touch that. Why? *is touching it* They cannot make him believe he is in fact an adult and they're trying to fix him. "Mother says to find a mother with children and ask her for help if I get lost." Man asks Una for help because he's lost. Legend.

Uhura is such a little imp. Once she gets over being scared she disappears into the jeffries tubes. Her giggling echoes through the ship like the ghost of a demonic victorian child. Hemmer is down to let her roam but Una crawls in and drags her out. If any of the kids get a leash, it's Uhura. Erica distracts her with sweets. She needs to be occupied at all times or she will wander away.

Erica is the surliest eleven year old. Everyone expected her to be the easy child but she makes a point of being difficult. Una is tearing her hair out and Chris is like yes but have you considered. She is eleven. She's edgy and moody and everyone is like how did our Erica come from you. Una says she's the best pilot she's ever met and sits her at the helm and Erica stops her griping for a bit. She determinedly does not show interest but she does look at the buttons and subtly watch Jenna doing her job.

La'an has a lisp and sucks her thumb. Una insists she has to stay with her. For security reasons. Una has to go yell at people and La'an is holding her hand/on her hip the whole time. Everyone else is curious about little La'an but Una goes NO get your OWN. Little La'an wants hugs and cuddles and Una goes well if I must. For Starfleet. Chris does get custody for a while and he carries la'an around on his shoulders.

Christine and her big fat smart mouth. ackshually I read about this and you're wrong. Her sass is only matched by baby Spock. Grown Spock does not know how to handle it. This eight year old and her sassy little crossed arms leave everyone speechless with the sheer audacity. Joseph "don't touch that you'll break it" vs Christine "we use these at school all the time I know what to do" *breaks it* "... I didn't do that."

Joseph is the smiliest boy. He's having a great time. He follows Christine around and asks her about everything. Someone is in Sickbay with a sprained ankle or something and Joseph goes hmm. Looks like you're real sick. Do you have chicken soup here. He's the most charming little kid. Everything he does is cute. Everyone gets hugs and secret handshakes.

Hemmer, like Spock, takes stuff apart for the heck of it. Uhura tries to distract him by asking about Andoria and he could not care less. Man is tearing apart the EPS manifold and Uhura goes ...buddy let's not do that. Una says stop and he stops. All the deadpan blind jokes. Look away for two seconds and he is actively climbing into the warp core. What are you doing?!?!? Hemmer *shrugs*

Pelia is off like a shot all over the place. Talking a mile a minute. Young Pelia is such a foreign idea no one knows how to handle it. She's their wise old hermit and their wise old hermit is hanging upside down off the biobed. Now she's on the ground and her head hurts. Oh crap she's crying.

[fyeahcompetentwomen]

Phryne Fisher vs. Kathryn Janeway

Remember: don't vote on "who would win in a fight", but on "who, when given a task that fits her skillset and talents, would do that task better: more comprehensively, faster, with more pizzazz, with less collateral, etc."

Endorsements! "What is she good at?"

Phryne Fisher, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries: A renaissance woman in the 1920’s who hasn’t taken anything seriously since the war but can turn her hand to whatever. She can drive, she can fly, she can shoot. Behind every man is a good woman who needs to be ready to step in front. Smarter and quicker than most. Runs rings around everyone.

Kathryn Janeway, Star Trek: Finding coffee in the Delta Quadrant, captaining a solitary ship far away from space station and Starfleet Command, intimidating bullies, scaring the embodiment of fear, integrating Maquis and Delta Quadrant natives and a former Borg drone into her crew, crossing the Warp 10 threshold, dealing a fatal blow to the Borg and stealing their tech to make it back to the Alpha Quadrant - with the help of her future self who will stop at NOTHING to save the people she loves. Also, being name-dropped.

[anewstartrekfan]

I can’t shut up about Conscience of the King

Well hey it’s my blog I’m allowed to obsess over this.

Okay so I need to address the Kirk vs Kodos scene cuz it is not only extremely underrated, it gives us some incite into Kodos’ fascism and why I believe Kirk was on the execution list.

So let me paint a picture. It’s been 20 years since the Tarsus IV massacre and Kirk had done fairly well for himself. He’s the captain of the enterprise after all, people owe him favors everywhere, and (as far as I’m currently aware since I’m still watching s1) he’s seen as an asset to starfleet. Then over the course of an investigation, Kirk meets Kodos the executioner face to face, and Kodos calls Kirk inhuman.

“Here you stand, the perfect symbol of our technical society. Mechanized, electronisized, and not very human. You’ve done away with humanity, the striving of man to achieve greatness through his own resources.”

Kodos sees Kirk as someone who only got where he is today with the help of technology. Kirk is the symbol of everything Kodos hates about the universe. Basically what fascists say when fighting against stuff like affirmative action and social welfare programs. Kodos is arguing for a false meritocracy.

Edit: The fact that Kodos’ theater troop is steeped in old plays is also another tell for his fascism. The emphasis on so called tradition is key, and Kirk is not a traditional captain by any stretch.

So yeah, if Kodos sees the decorated captain of the enterprise like this, the barely a teenager Kirk was definitely on the execution list 20 years ago.

Kodos’ description of greatness here is also key. Because later on when he describes the massacre of the colonists, he says this,

“If the supply ships hadn’t come earlier than expected, this Kodos of yours might have gone down in history as a great hero!”

Kodos wasn’t just trying to save the colony. He was trying to achieve greatness as governor. He wanted a legacy, to go down in history for this. And he did, but not in the way he wanted. Just like the Nazis and other fascists. This also proves how much of a hypocrite he was. After all, what’s the difference between Kirk using the tools at his disposal as captain and Kodos using the resources at his disposal as governor? And Kodos even admits this, though instead refers to his acting as his tools. Kodos knows on some level that he’s lost, which is why he tries to goad Kirk into killing him.

“If you’re so sure I’m Kodos, why not kill me now?! Let bloody vengeance take its final course! See what difference it makes to this universe of yours.”

Kodos isn’t just being a dramatic actor here. He even later admits he doesn’t treasure his own life. I believe he wants Kirk to kill him now because Kirk does not have definitive proof that he is Kodos yet. So Kodos wants to die as Karidian, a nothing actor that barely made an impact on the universe at large. This is also why in the end Kodos’ priority is his daughter and why her murdering the survivors of his crimes breaks him. She was going to be his legacy, carrying on the Karidian name performing classical plays of old across the galaxy. But she couldn’t escape her father’s past. In fact, she used it as justification to murder 7 innocent people.

In conclusion this episode has many many layers.

[stra-tek]

With Picard season 3 ending very soon, let's review the endings to modern Trek, and see the chances of it ending well. Or rather, you read what I think.

Discovery S1: Flat as a pancake end to the Klingon war, following epic and satisfying ends to the Klingon sarcophagus ship and Lorca's mutiny storylines. Massive backstage unheavel meant the end and beginning had very different creative direction. 1/5.

Discovery S2: I loved it, a massive epic space battle, a big emotional farewell between Spock and Michael (argubly the first time Discovery paused a massive crisis for a therapeutic chitchat, which would go on to become a tiresome cliche) and great time travel scenes even though the Red Angel did things Michael never could have (like disable the Ba'ul technology as if by magic) so it doesn't work if you look closely. Still, more creative upheaval and rumours of a massive change in creative direction mid-season, supposedly dropping a faith vs science plotline which would have featured a religious Captain Pike butting heads with Michael for the fun but cliche Control/Skynet story. Set up Section 31, Strange New Worlds spin-offs and Discovery's jump to the 32nd century. 5/5 despite flaws I was buzzing afterwards.

Picard S1: A flat ending to the synth storyline, a weird choice to kill Picard and make him a synth (perhaps a fix job for an originally planned sacrifice they had to work around when they decided to carry the show on?) and with some solid gold scenes with Picard and Data in the weird synth computer simulation afterlife. 2/5.

Discovery S3: A fun end with big fist fights in an impossible hammerspace between Discovery's decks. 3/5.

Picard S2. The final scenes between Q and Picard were solid gold. The rest was runny shite. 1/5.

Discovery S4. Big alien aliens. Deus ex machina brings Book back from the dead. Book gets community service for terrorist activities. Peace is made with the floaty giant aliens. Flat again, as was the whole season IMHO. 2/5.

Lower Decks S1. I don't remember. 3/5 it was always fun and watchable.

Strange New Worlds S1: The Ghost of Christmas Future and a reboot of Balance of Terror. Iffy Jim Kirk casting. 4/5.

Lower Decks S2. I remember Carol's arrest. 3/5.

Prodigy S1. Amazing season, amazing finale. Every emotional beat was earned. 5/5 the best of modern Trek, watch it if you haven't.

Lower Decks S3. Loved the race between Cerritos and the Texas-class. But holy shit Starfleet needs to stop with letting AI control anything important. The end with the Cali-class saving the say was ace. 4/5.

Don't fuck it up, Picard S3 people. Your season has been an amazing, contrived, fanwank explosion clusterfuck that somehow works really well so far. Don't ruin it.

[sshbpodcast]

Tasha Yar vs. Ro Laren: Fight!

By Ames

We’re taking a quick break from our normal character spotlights because I just couldn’t justify doing individual articles about either of these characters, but when I realized I could discuss both of them, I got a little carried away. So welcome, one and all, to the Enterprise-D’s contest between its two resident badass bitches. Your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By needed to know – who wins? Tasha Yar or Ro Laren?

This calls for another Big Board (seen previously when we ranked the Trek films and Star War films)!

To determine this as fairly as possible, we’ve designed this competition and discussed it at length in this week’s podcast episode (jump to 50:53 for the boxscore) to score our two contestants against each other in eleven categories. Not every battle went as we thought it would, there are surprises in store, glavins to be thrown, and the occasional double-cross to keep things interested. Ready? Fight!

Some major spoilers for Picard are below and discussed on the podcast, if anyone cares. Shrug emoji.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

1. Childhood History

Yar: If there’s one thing (and one thing only) the writers knew about Tasha Yar when writing her character, it’s that she grew up in a failed colony full of rape gangs. Which she brings up all the time. Like, way too much. We see a brief glimpse of it in a flashback in “Where No One Has Gone Before” and yeah, it does not look fun. Basing a character around horrible trauma for no good reason is just the kind of thing the season one writers did, for better or for worse.

Ro: Ensign Ro arrived when the series was much more established with a much more established history that made for the background of the episode “Ensign Ro.” The whole concept of Cardassia-occupied Bajor came along with her introduction, and the story that she tells about watching her father get tortured to death by Cardassians was the complex foundation that this show (and others!) found worthy to explore.

Winner: Ro Laren. The story of the Bajorans ended up being such a major seed for all of DS9, while the established rape gangs of Yar’s childhood only ended up getting entirely contradicted later in “Legacy.” Speaking of which…

—

2. Pre-Enterprise Backstory

Yar: Picard tells Tasha’s sister Ishara in “Legacy” about the first time he saw that woman who would later become the chief of security on the Federation’s flagship. He encountered her rushing to rescue a colonist on a Carnelian minefield. Picard was so impressed that he immediately requested that she join his crew, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Ro: We learn that Ro had a very different standing in Starfleet before her reluctant posting to the Enterprise-D in “Ensign Ro.” Apparently, she got eight crewmen on the Wellington killed due to disobeying orders, and was given the choice between going to prison or performing a mission for the definitely corrupt Admiral Kennelly. Hell, Picard’s first impression of her was basically “I don’t want someone like her on my ship.” Lucky for us, he eventually came around!

Winner: Tasha Yar. These two couldn’t be more different in standing within Starfleet when we first meet them. I’ve got to rule that anyone who piques the interest of Captain Picard is worth a point in this category.

—

3. Friends

Yar: Tasha seems friendly with pretty much everyone on the ship! Worf plays Parrises Squares with her in “11001001” and he even bets on her for a martial arts competition in “Skin of Evil.” We see her borrowing clothes from Troi in “The Naked Now.” And it’s all the more clear that she leaves an imprint on all her friends’ lives when she leaves final words for so many crewmembers after her death in “Skin of Evil.”

Ro: On the other hand, Laren is so much more reserved and particular about who she chooses to spend time with. It’s so significant that Guinan decides to befriend her in “Ensign Ro,” and we see more of their dynamics together in “Rascals.” There was also something hinted at between her and Riker when he says in “The Next Phase” that he wants to deliver her eulogy, but we never get to see what that was.

Winner: Tasha Yar. Clearly she has a rapport with so many of her shipmates in a way that actually affects them deeply and personally, as we’ll see in a moment with Lt. Commander Data.

—

4. Pets

Yar: We see in “Where No One Has Gone Before” that at one point Tasha had a kitty whom she cared for and kept safe from the rape gangs on Turkana IV. Surely, that cat was probably the only good thing going for her through her traumatic childhood.

Ro: None we’re aware of! Your loss, Laren!

Winner: Tasha Yar. This podcast full of cat people has deemed it so! We can’t not spread the love to fellow cat parents, so the winner here was a given.

—

5. Romantic Interests

Yar: I can cite that really hot scene with Data in “The Naked Now” as much as I like, but when you think about it, both of them were under the influence at the time so it’s a little bit squicky. And while it’s clear in episodes like “The Measure of a Man” and in the series Picard that it was meaningful to Data, for Yar, it was just Tuesday. However, the truly lovely romance that we see for her comes in the alternate timeline in “Yesterday’s Enterprise” where she gets to make googoo eyes at Richard Castillo, and we are here for it!

Ro: Similar to that caveat above with the drunken Data, we have to put an asterisk on Laren’s romance scene with Will Riker in “Conundrum” because they were both amnesiacs at the time. Again, there’s something not fully consensual about the thing because they don’t have all the information to know what they’re doing, no matter how much chemistry they have together.

Winner: Tasha Yar. If it had just been a Data versus Riker battle for this category, I’d be uncomfortable making a call because of the lack of the ability to consent involved in both. But that budding romance between Yar and Castillo actually holds meaning for her and we ship them hard!

—

6. Fighting Prowess

Yar: Here’s where we start to put up our dukes in this competition. As chief of security, Tasha clearly kicks some ass. We see this many many times in “Code of Honor.” She drops Lutan’s bodyguard Hagon like a load of bricks in their first meeting, displays her combat skills in the holodeck for the Ligonians, and finally wins in the combat ring against Yareena without killing her. Points off, however, for getting utterly destroyed by Armus in “Skin of Evil,” but we’ll get to that in a minute.

Ro: While phased in “The Next Phase,” we get to see some killer moves from Ro when the phased Romulan confronts her. She sneaks through a wall and gets the jump on Parem, a chase ensues which leads to a fistfight. And while we may have misremembered Ro being the one who threw the guy through a bulkhead (turns out, it was Geordi), she still holds her own and kicks some phased butt!

Winner: Ro Laren. Okay, so we’ve established that both of these women are badasses, so which of them would win in a fight? Put that way, we’ve got to give it to Laren because she’s Maquis and may be more likely to fight dirty. Catfight! Meow!

—

7. Command Skills

Yar: I bring up this category mostly to talk about some missed opportunities on both sides! Ro and Troi were the obvious choices for who should have taken charge while dealing with the matriarchal society in “Angel One,” but Riker walks all over them because it turns out all these bitches needed was a man to tell them what’s what. C’mon! This should have been Yar’s show and instead she relinquishes command.

Ro: Similarly, there’s a power vacuum during the disaster in “Disaster” and Ro is this close to mutinying against Troi who is utterly flailing and refusing to make the hard choices. Ro is there and making the right calls for the situation, displaying that she has the nose for command should the situation arise, but frustratingly, nothing comes of it and she has to apologize to Deanna at the end (even though she was right!).

Winner: Ro Laren. After we later see Troi pass the command test by killing holo-Geordi, it stings that much more that we see how right Ro was when she advocated sacrificing the engineering section, so the point goes to her for being willing to make the tough calls.

—

8. Ethical Stands

Yar: Oh boy, the most up on her high horse we see Tasha get is in the infamous scene with Wesley about drug addiction in “Symbiosis.” The whole scene reeks of Nancy Reagan’s war on drugs and the scene feels forced as hell, like an after-school special somehow invaded an episode of Star Trek. And ya know, the messaging was perfectly clear without Yar spelling it out with a heavy-handed “say no to drugs, kids” speech.

Ro: We do give Ro a lot of credit for coming clean to Picard in “Ensign Ro” after that chat with her new bestie Guinan. Ro’s more obvious display of standing up for what she believes is her joining the Maquis, even though it gives Picard a sad in “Preemptive Strike.” BUUUUUUT! Somehow all that gets undone in the Picard episode “Imposters” when she has apparently rejoined Starfleet, shitting all over that big moment of character growth. Oh Laren, you’re making this one tough!

Winner: Stalemate. Sorry, but we’re going to have to give half a point to each since we could not agree on a winner after that episode from Picard really ended up complicating things (as I’m sure Chris refused to cut from our discussion in this week’s podcast episode). We’ll see in a moment how this affects the overall competition in the Verdict section…

—

9. Strategy & Tactics

Yar: This category was meant to be a catch-all of miscellaneous things the characters have done, and it really made us realize that the tactical officer rarely makes decisions that are particularly… tactical? Yar and later Worf seem to get punked whenever they try to do anything. In both her confrontations with Q, she gets knocked out – frozen in “Encounter at Farpoint” and sent to the penalty box in “Hide and Q.” Is there really anything else worth mentioning? No, really. I’m asking. Comment below.

Ro: We see Ro in fewer episodes than we see Yar, but she at least gets to attempt to do some things. Her plan to use the unmanned Bajoran transport to trick Kennelly in “Ensign Ro” was pretty ingenious. While it’s a good idea to try to knock out all the aliens possessing crewmembers’ bodies in “Power Play,” she does miss Data entirely and her little scheme is foiled. And finally, she and the other child-shaped folks in “Rascals” outthink some Ferengi, low bar that that is.

Winner: Ro Laren. This was an easy win for Ro because, frankly, Yar just plain doesn’t get to DO much in her season of Trek, and when she does, she gets Worfed (before Worfing was even a thing!).

—

10. Death(s)

Yar: A character so nice they killed her twice. There is still much controversy over her death in “Skin of Evil” because it’s so abrupt and pointless, but that was the point. Is that a good or bad thing? Aside from her nice post-mortem message, we’re barely affected by it. Her sacrificing herself in “Yesterday’s Enterprise” would have been an excellent resolution to her character… but that seems sullied by the knowledge that she survived, was kept as a Romulan concubine, and then killed when baby goddamn Sela ratted her out, as established in “Redemption.” Dang, Yar can’t catch a break.

Ro: This one’s tricky because it does mean we have to dip into the Picard series, which we haven’t been doing for other characters in our spotlight series because we haven’t covered it on the podcast yet. Say what you will about the myriad character deaths in Picard (and we can, have, and WILL), but Ro’s death fighting the conspiracy in “Imposters” is a pretty good place to resolve her character. She resolves some character stuff with Picard, uncovers a huge Federation-wide plot, and goes out in a blaze of glory. Is there a better way to go?

Winner: Ro Laren. Especially for a Picard death, Ro’s character resolution actually feels earned and not like the writers picking and choosing who lives and who dies just for shock value (*cough cough* Ah cHugh *cough*).

—

11. Personal Style

Yar: Ooh la la. That hair in “Haven.” Get it, girl. We don’t see either of these characters out of uniform very often, so it’s in little personalizing elements that we get to see their own style, and Yar sure knows how to doll herself up for a wedding-planning dinner. I’ll also give a couple nods to that outfit in “That Naked Now,” though I’m pretty sure it’s alluded to that Yar yoinked that from Troi’s closet.

Ro: Ro’s defining stylistic feature is her big Bajoran earring, which she defiantly wears as a statement of heritage, culture, and a big F YOU to Riker, and we like that about her. Her little headband that we see in “The Next Phase” and “Rascals” is a little funny since it’s so matchy matchy with her uniform, so it might be a wash. I’m also gonna say the undercover garb we see her sporting in “Preemptive Strike” doesn’t count because that was for a mission.

Winner: Tasha Yar. Did we include this category just so we could give heart eyes to that great hair pouf from “Haven”? Yes. Yes, we did.

—

Verdict

That’s 5.5 points for Tasha Yar and 5.5 points for Ro Laren. We have a tie! We really weren’t expecting this, though I must admit throwing Yar a few bones (and cats) since I really thought Ro would run away with the whole thing. Even when we tried to agree to stop citing plot elements from Picard so that we could pick Ro as the winner of the Ethical Stands category, then we’d have a stalemate in the Deaths category and we’d STILL have a tie. 

So what does that mean for us? Sure, we can continue to claim that Ro Laren is the better written character from a strictly story perspective (and Michelle Forbes of course is a stellar actress), but she also has the advantage of joining the show after the writers’ room chaos of the first couple seasons had sorted itself out. If Tasha Yar had been given that same chance (as we glimpsed in something like “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” we’ve just proven she’s got the potential and backstory to go toe-to-toe with one of our favorite recurring characters from TNG. You go, girls!

—

So our big fight set piece ended with both combatants sort of hugging it out, which seems the Star Trek way! We’re back to our usual character spotlights next week with a character that bridges our trajectory from TNG to DS9 (and it’s not O’Brien!). So join us for that, continue listening along to our Enterprise watch-through on SoundCloud or wherever you podcast, do the wave with us over on Facebook and Twitter, and punch like a girl!

[stellarred]

Hide n' Q Observations!

It's been a long time--counting in years here--that I've watched Hide n' Q.

But, I managed to catch it tonight, and there are things that I thought were interesting.

**Warning: Lengthy post**

1. We already know that in Q Who, Q focuses all his attention on Picard in scenes, like in Ten Forward. Riker is a total afterthought. So is the crew in the Bridge scene with "I need You!"

It's Picard vs Q. In Encounter at Farpoint,

Q stares at Picard quite a bit when he appears on the Bridge near the end of the second episode. A lot in fact, for an alien, who is supposed to judge and condemn Humanity. Humankind is screwed but, this human's safe. He's bald and so special.

In Hide n' Q, Q spends a lot of the scene before transporting the crew to the planet, looking at Picard. He even asks Picard, "Oh, come Picard. Why do you distrust me so?" What about the crew? Why does PICARD'S lack of trust matter? If there's anyone Q wants to talk to, it's Picard. If there's anyone who matters, it's Picard. The crew? Who needs 'em.

2. When Q transported Riker, Tasha, Worf, Data, and Geordi to the planet to play a game, he left Picard behind, alone and trapped on the Bridge. Why? Is it possible that

A. Q separated Picard from his crew to observe him, as one observes a fish in a fishbowl? "Hmmm. This one is interesting. He's worth taking a look at."

B. Could Q have kept Picard on the Bridge because he didn't want to risk Picard getting hurt or killed in his game? True, Picard was on the planet for the second round, but by this time, Q knew that Riker could use the power of Q in case something happened. The first round? Q hadn't even introduced Riker to the Q powers yet.

3. "Consorting with lower-ranking females, captaine?" said Q to Picard when Picard was comforting Tasha. Q doesn't like Picard engaging with females, like Tasha, Vash, Beverly...

4. When Picard says to Q that Riker will defeat him just as he did at Farpoint, (for which Picard is only too happy to take full credit, when his crew also helped him) and Q makes a wager with Picard, he wagers Picard's *command* against his staying out of out of Humanity's path forever. Picard's command? Why would Q want Picard to lose his command, his position and authority over the Enterprise? Because if Picard loses the wager, he's kinda free from Starfleet, is he not? Free for Q to get ahold of Picard, aaannnd?...Picard will do whatever Q says?

5. Immediately after making the wager with Picard, Q saunters off to Picard's Ready Room, but not before turning and casting a lingering gaze at Picard, who's looking elsewhere. That entity was SO beginning to feel love for Picard! Riker's the Continuum's target and Q's mission. But outside of Q Continuum duties, Q is focused on Picard, for sure!

6. We know this scene well:

Q is really into learning and knowing more about Picard, isn't he? He reads his mind to get inspo for the French Revolution decor, occupies his chair, reads his Shakespeare book, and who else knows what Q studied and touched in his Ready Room? Gathering information, and getting insights into the things that make Picard who he is is what people do when they are deciding how interested they are in someone. They talk to people about their romantic interest, look at their social media, find out likes/dislikes, etc. If not for deep attraction, why else would Q do that?

7. Did you see Picard's little expression immediately just after the moment when Q vanished from the Ready Room? To me anyway, it looked almost like a, "Oh, Q, come back here! I was enjoying the back n' forth Shakespeare!

8. When Q shows up as a monk, and tries to pressure Riker into accepting being a Q, Picard tries to convince Riker not to accept the power of Q, Q accuses Picard of being jealous. Jealous, Q? Of what? Jealous of Riker getting powers, perhaps? Or, knowing about Q's budding feelings for Picard, also jealous that Riker is the target of Q's "interest" (Remember, Riker is only an assignment for Q.)? Given that Picard is steeled to being the moral one here, Q is accusing Picard of jealousy when there is none. Wishful Q.

Q was immediately attracted to Picard in Encounter.

Q was both interested and increasingly attracted to Picard in Hide n Q. But, he most likely couldn't understand his feelings for him.

Qcard has its origins all the way back to the beginning!

Q may be under orders to prove Riker's worthiness to become a Q. But, Q doesn't care. Not really. He's just towing the company line here.

But, Q saw something attractive in Picard from the very beginning. For Q, Picard changed everything for him.

Yes, Q has his duties cut out for him, courtesy of the Continuum. But off duty, Q has his own pursuit. It isn't Riker. It's isn't anyone else except one person.

And this person bested him not once, but twice.

At least Q knows they both appreciate Shakespeare and French things.

[ezrisdax-archive]

fic ideas I had for things but never finished or started properly (also a lot of these I came up with with other people):

b7

fake dating au

accidentally got married au

 mutual pining whoops we're sleeping together anyway

ace attorney au

 seven as the one in shattered instead of chakotay au with maquis!b'elanna in janeways spot

future fic from naomi point of view about her gay aunts

dragon age au with warden!b'elanna and morrigan!seven

kes stays and is sick of them flirting and locks them in a closet au

 the coffee shop au I never finished which became a whole world anyway

 help desk support b'elanna dealing with ext 709 on the phone every day

hades game au

stuck on the holodeck and have to act the parts out to get out

utena au

xena au

troisha

expanding on the au I had where alternate reality tasha ended up in prime timeline instead of going to the past

xena au

roommates at starfleet au which I think I may have also done? so like...a different better one

 tasha didn’t die but ended up in some limbo form and deanna keeps seeing her as a ghost

kiradax (either dax)

reverse au with ezri as the dax host before jadzia and jadzia in season seven

mass effect au with asari!jadzia and human!kira

dragon age au with hawke!jadzia and mage!kira

au where kira stays on ds9 at the end of season six and is able to get to jadzia in time to save her but jadzia has to leave for trill for healing for a while and they write each other

chlodine

time loop au where they're looking for atlantis and whoops its got a funky artifact that has nadine looping

au where they meet much much sooner

office au where nadine is night security and chloe works late and keeps forgetting her badge and breaking in

wilenko

the au where one of them gets the beacon instead of shep

winter soldier cerberus au where they show up instead of sheps clone in ME3 or take kai lengs place in ME3

tim hortons vs starbucks au in niagra falls listen I'm canadian

stargate au

grissom academy instructor kaidan but ash on the normandy still

 pacific rim au

star wars au with clone soldier ash and jedi kaidan

vetryder

never went to andromeda au and ryders dig site needs supplies and she finds vetra

the typical au where sara isn't the pathfinder but calls dibs when she wakes up and meets vetra anyway

were dating pre andromeda but vetra thought ryder died when the hyperion didn't show up

misc star trek

seven/ezri where seven ends up on ds9 by the borg attacking the defiant and them getting seven from it look it wasn't fully fleshed out

divided we fall rewrite (ezri/lenara)

on an away mission together leading to fake dating (joann/keyla)

the kes stays on voyager, tom leaves au with kes, harry, b’elanna, and seven shenanigans (gen)

ezri and harry bffs serving on captain geordi's ship (gen)

misc

 ichiban time loop au (yakuza, gen)

au where korra doesn't fully get her memory back in season two but thinks her and asami are dating (lok, korrasami)

seong-hui keeps texting saeko and this leads to a relationship (yakuza, seong-hui/saeko)

tifa finds aerith at shinra hq where she’s been locked up for a while (ffvii, aerith/tifa)

tifa dead all along based on the latest trailer and technically a ghost but aerith drags her back to living anyway (ffvii, aerith/tifa)

rei begs susato to dress up again to get out of dating other guys (ace attorney, susahao)

franmaya star trek au with romulan/vulcan fran and trill maya (ace attorney, franmaya)

[moonhuit]

Would you consider dropping some j/7 fic recs?

ive had this in my inbox for a while ! and ive been adding fics to it but i realized 7 should be enough for now omg. the selection is a little bit twisted it seems

Small Dreams of a Scorpion by tigermoth 26

i just want everyone to know im normal about this fic. im all about introspection mode seven but introspection early s4 seven days????? girl dinner

The 74' by cobbs

this is for the admiral janeway and captain seven enjoyers. in my mind this is canon

Drowned / Drowning by yeaka

vampirism?? with borg??? AND in j7???? need i say more (also supplemental reading is @isagrimorie post about survival instincts script actually talking about borg recycling)

Post Hoc by linguisticallycunning

its not my set of j7 fic recs if i dont have at least one from the killing game episode

With a Little Help by Anderson

immovable object (janeway and her starfleet protocols) vs unstoppable force (seven of nine with a mission)

Radiant Thaw by baileyjumps

seven of nine being normal about kathryn janeway (absolute 180 degree on this)

[izzysarchivedblogs]

special verse tag drop. mostly my ship verses.

closed -> not open for outside interaction, besides some anon asks about this verse semi-open -> open to some outside interaction, asks, and anons about this verse open -> open verse for interaction and requesting single ship -> this verse is single ship, meaning only one romantic ship for the character w/ another character established, but may be an open verse for other interaction. this will only be from my end / the case for my end / not expected the same from my partner. this is just for me.

verse; clint barton; who shares your burdens (mrtonystark) // a mostly closed verse in which most of 616 is canon, and look y'all have seen the 1200+ note thread. @mr-tony-stark and i go ham on plotting and writing. so i just wanted a verse tag, and like if anons wanted to ask clint questions in that verse, i'd accept them, but otherwise it's a closed verse. but i am absolutely in love with ironhawk and how much, we write and plot together <3 i love you <3

verse; clint barton; how many more chances can i have with you (biitchcakes) // a semi-open verse, in which Clint is in a relationships with @biitchcakes - look, i just wanna gush about what Aurora and I have plotted, like I have already outlined the 2 major breakups and 1 break, and the 4 times that Clint and Jess are fools who get back together. It's relatively canon divergent in 616 event, and like y'all, Clint and Jess' West Coast Era is amazing, also Leftovers we need to write Leftovers . . . and the way i could write a netflix tv show about their west coast era, and then civil war 2 but make it more government vs. heroes and make it sad for clintjess.

verse; clint barton; entangled to a loser like me (crisispider) // a semi-open verse, in which Clint is in a relationship with @crisispider - incorporates both 616 and spiderverse events into the fold, and clint and peter are absolutely just two golden retriever boyfriends together.

verse; clint barton; how can i watch you fade (crisispider) // a closed verse with @crisispider, in which i mess around with hawkeye: blindspot concept, and really just here to torture peter and mel

verse; clint barton; to boldly go (ss; crisispider) // an open, single ship (on my end) STAR TREK AU, i have a whole write up for Clint's Star Trek au, and I've considered this verse single ship w/ Mel's Peter; but otherwise it's very open to interaction and being requested. Clint's just your unhinged helmsman who sows chaos into all of starfleet/the federation :) [ here is the written up verse information to read ]

verse; linda carter; to heal across the stars (thefleetsfinest) // an open, single ship (on my end only) STAR TREK AU, for Linda Carter, whom is now a cardiac surgeon aboard the Enterprise. On my side, not Mel's side, I am only writing one romantic ship in the Star Trek setting/au and that's with Mel's @thefleetsfinest. Very dedicated woman to medicine and well-being of the crew. [ verse write up pending ]

verse; pepper potts; captain of her own (uss unreliable) // an open star trek au verse, in which Pepper hot off the heels of being the infamous Captain Tony Stark's first officer (of which there's is many rumors surrounding him), has been promoted and now is Captain Potts of the USS Unreliable. . . . her first officer being Steve Rogers (@liibertysdream) of whom is a former captain himself (rumors surrounding him as well, oh no pepper what are you doing). She was communications and command before hand, with prior goals of managing a starbase or colony, now being made Captain of a ship.

[frogblast-the-ventcore]

I've been having thoughts on Star Trek recently, and what I would do to make appeal to me more. Very few people will likely see this, but I wanted to get my thoughts out of my brain. I'm aware that many of the things I describe as issues come down to real-world factors (multiple writers, costuming, realities of being a show made by humans), but I'm choosing to ignore those.

My top 5 things that would improve Star Trek in my personal opinion. Under the cut. Stuck the one that's probably gonna be most controversial first, to get it out of the way.

1) make Starfleet more openly military inspired

This boils down to me finding stories with militaries in them, and military sci-fi, engaging. I would change three major things, and a lot of minor things.

The three big things are: give Starfleet an actual Marine Corps, give Starfleet an intelligence service (that actually has an onscreen presence), and give Starfleet space fighters. Two of those things solve some major issues the series has, the other is just fun, but all of them bring Starfleet much much more in line with modern navies. And Starfleet is a navy, it is a military. The series dances around it, but that's what they are, so they should drop the pretenses and say that's what they are.

The Marine Corps and intelligence service ideas fix big issues the series has had. Having actual Marines makes it so that Starfleet wouldn't be incompetent in ground battles, like we see in DS9 and other shows. Plus you could leverage the tech of the setting for some really cool kit. A semi-related point here is: stop waffling back and forth with the phasers to make them look not like weapons (the TNG era shows were really bad with this). Just make them have the general form factor of a modern pistol or an actual rifle with a stock. Stick with the later TNG era idea of the phasers firing pulses instead of beams, those just look better on screen. I know the series is about spaceships doing spaceship things, but an actual organized ground combat only makes sense. You cannot take on planets and win wars without putting boots on the ground to hold it.

For the intelligence service, it makes it much easier to have espionage style stories without making the main characters do everything. Real militaries don't have ship captains leave the ship to go do commando raids. Give Starfleet Intelligence (and Section 31 - we'll get to them) actual special forces units to do that stuff. Have them attached to the ship for specific missions, and follow the actual team on their mission, so we can see competent examples of special operations on the show. I want my Space Green Berets dammit.

For the space fighters, this is mostly just for rule of cool because any realistic phaser array would be instant death for fighter craft, but you can hand wave it away with an explanation that most main phaser arrays/disruptor cannons/what have you are not optimized to shoot at small fast targets like fighters and shuttles. This also allows for CIWS to come into play if the fighters are firing photon torpedoes/missiles at enemy capital ships. Pulse phaser based CIWS turrets are an awesome idea and would look very visually cool imo. Plus having a space fighter corps just adds the element of having more potential characters to examine, and makes for very cool set pieces (imagine a Star Trek version of BSG's Starbuck and Viper vs Raider battles for example).

The little things are things like, have the characters give salutes, have visible medals/award ribbons on dress uniforms (which tbf, the various series set earlier in the timeline actually do, I don't why they dropped this), have more military inspired jargon, naval traditions, songs, etc.

Finally, they really need to have a consistent uniform with nametags and POCKETS for God's sake; I would very much base the uniforms off of Star Trek Online's 2410 Odyssey uniforms, they're a truly excellent Star Trek uniform "family", and has distinct duty, dress, utility, medical, and admiralty uniforms that do a much better job of differentiating between specialist roles.

2) establish firmly that the Federation is socialist, not communist

This is more me getting annoyed at pop culture meme-ification of the Federation, but I want explicit mention of the Federation being socialist, in the sense of a middle ground between capitalism and communism.

I'd start by making it expressly clear that the Federation as a whole has a currency. Call it whatever (credit was used a few times). Have it based on a non-physical abstract value (say something like energy usage for a replicator). But have it exist. Have a form of physical currency of some form for purposes of trade with other interstellar nations as well. Sure, by all means, have Earth itself be a utopia where a combination of Federation social safety net policies and similar United Earth-specific policies make it so no one needs currency to live *on Earth*, but having an entire interstellar civilization have no money makes no sense.

Adding to that, I want an actual explanation of the social safety nets that the Federation provides. What does a life on nothing but the bare minimum standard of living in the Federation look like. I would wager it's very good by our standards, but not by theirs; an exploration of how those values and expectations have changed would be cool.

Next, have corporations be a thing that gets explored. Have some be state-owned, have some be private owned. We already have examples of corporations and such in canon (Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems for example), but no idea what that looks like. I think exploring what the Federation's economy looks like under an interstellar system of democratic socialism would make for interesting stories. Not to mention, just based on the interstellar scale of the Federation, there would definitely be the equivalent of megacorporations, and exploring what a megacorporation would look like in a socialist environment would be interesting in my opinion.

3) add more grey morality and move away from "people are perfect, the Federation is perfect"

To Trek's credit, it has started to do this in more recent entries, and ofc DS9 made it clear that the Federation was not a perfect utopia, I just want more of these things. Section 31 ties into this. I don't honestly mind that they exist. Every other interstellar polity in Trek has a shadowy organization like Section 31. Not having one may be a good moral statement on the part of the Federation, but makes no practical sense. Have them be a subunit of the larger Starfleet or Federation intelligence community, make it so they're under extreme scrutiny and oversight after what happened in DS9, but the Federation needs an organization to counter things like the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar.

4) make the series sexier/more appealing to monsterfuckers, and showcase more nonhumanoid aliens in general

This one is very much personal to me, but I'm pretty tired of having only the most human-looking aliens be the ones that get the romantic attention. Give me Star Trek Online style Tzenkethi, have species like Tholians be acknowledged as just as attractive as a human, have species that aren't just "human with makeup" be a part of Starfleet crews, show us what adaptations for those non-humanoid body plans/life support needs would be like. And have somebody fuck a Gorn already.

5) explore topics the series has shied away from

I want to explore things that the series either left unexplored, hinted at, deemphasized, or dropped.

A big one of these is religion within Starfleet, and specifically human religion. I find it not very believable that human religion would have gone away after contact with aliens, especially considering real world discussions and decrees from human religions on this subject. In addition, we mostly see alien religions as something either practiced in isolation from others (even of their own kind), or as something shown in a more negative light. Regarding it's place in Starfleet, the original series had a chapel onboard the Enterprise. I would add those back to Starfleet ships (at least ones big enough for them), and have actual chaplains onboard alongside counselors to handle religious matters.

Another thing to explore is interspecies relationships. This one is something that does come up in Trek, but not often, and how it's handled is inconsistent in my eyes. I want more of this, and more of it involving characters that aren't human.

Semi-related, a society like the Federation, that has come into contact with species like the Denobulans (for example), would very likely have a much more liberal interpretation of what constitutes an acceptable relationship - we ought to see more romantic relationships, family dynamics, and friendships, that are beyond our own modern human norm, and these sorts of relationships should be afforded the same level of respect.

[annikasevenshots]

Star Trek Picard: Season 3 Episode 2 Reaction (spoilers!)

All the Titan bridge babies looking around when Shaw fights Seven 🥺 yes 🥺

Oh baby La Forge 🥺

"There's something familiar about him" RIKER PLEASE IM HOWLING

Oh RAFFI 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Ohhhh my god. Oh Raffi. Oh my GOD. Oh my darling my sweet girl you can do no wrong 😭

my clever girl 🥺 my clever baby girl.

oh. oh raffi.

SEVEN SLAY

i am SO proud of her.

Seven's "you could be the heroes that saves heroes" vs Raffi's "someone needs to speak for the dead" PARALLELS!!!!! HELPING PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO ONE ELSE TO HELP THEM PARALLELS!!!!!!!!!!

lmfaooooooo Picard half beaming Jack out I'm begging be more serious fr 😭

Jack's "smack it until it works again" is so me-coded of him teehee

BOOPIN ON THE SENSORS

NO STOP THE WAY THE TITAN JUST APPEARED IN THERE I CACKLED SO HARD

THIS SHOW IS A MF COMEDY I SWEARRRRR

YES AN EPIC VERSION OF THE TITAN THEME MY BELOVED

"We're basically a hotel now" he's so grumpy shaw is so slay actually

Seven <3 i love uuuuuuuuuuu

JAE??????????????? LIKE JAES AN ARTIST JAE????????????? JAE WHO HAS PAINT SPLATTERS ON HIS SHIRT JAE???????????? HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCKJNG FUCMF HOOOOOOLY FUCK

"i have to be. i want to be." my strong darling.

JAE OWNS A BAR?????????? SIR

people believe raffi challenge. fuck you jae. fuck YOUUUUUU jae.

oh my god. gabe or sneed??????? GABE OR SNEED?????????????????? GABE OR SNEED YOU ARE FUCKING JOKING ME IM LEAVING IM NEVER COMING BACK

I HATE EVERYTHING. i hate everything. i. hate. everything.

"You boys are in so much trouble" I agree with Shaw actually. Not the deadname but like

"Captain" "WHAT" "WHAT" this show is so unserious

Oh this villain is JUIIIIIIICY! she is so SLAY

"Official psychological profile with starfleet" SIR IS NO ONE EVER NORMAL IN THIS FORBIDDEN SPACE MILITARY

i can just SEE seven's cogs turning at "jack crusher"

What is it with people and smoking in this show 😭

SIDNEY LA FORGE IS SO BABY AND CUTE 🥺 protect her pls

THIS SHOW IS LITERALLY SO UNSERIOUS DID THEY FUCKING YEET THE ELEOS AT THE TITAN FRRRRRRRR SHE ACTUALLY FUCKING WENT YEET IM CRYING

i actually can't this is a fucking circus show

La forge talking about law of physics yes baby you're so smart and funny 🥺🥺🥺🤏

"How is that even possible" lowkey Shaw is getting relatable like no one @ me but

"We are cornered in space which has no corners" helppp and seven's constant side eyes like sir are you tripping

"Fenris folk" love you hiro and deet <3

TITAN THEME COMING BACK YAYYYYY <3

BRIG TIME HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

james cole 💀💀💀

"Sir as a former fenris ranger" yes you are my girl <3 my sweet sweet girl <3

i'm... i'm torn here. shaw's kinda right but seven 🥺 she's just trying to do right by people who would have lost their lives. 500 injuries vs 4 deaths? just. just. THAT'S The complexity of star trek i've missed. the moral dilemmas. the losing either way.

Picard calling Seven Seven slay

Dare i say it PatStew actually looks spunkier this season? When in S2 he just looked covid tired?

"Why are you dancing around it" RIKER KNOWS 🤡🤡🤡

DO THE MATH??????????????? IM WHEEZING DOES RIKER KNOW WHEN THEY'VE BONKED

this show is ACTUALLY SO UNSERIOUS

"do you not see what i see? a british accent, jean luc?"

"Who do you think taught me all this" "..." please this show is a comedy

BEV KICKING JACK'S ASS SO TRUEEEEWWEWEEWEWEEEE

"Because you know her so well" CALL ME A WEEWOOWEEWOO I AM BEGGING

"WHO IS YOUR FATHER" "I NEVER HAD ONE" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

raffi? 🥺 you good girl? 🥺

oh gosh. please told me she found sneed on her own instead of through jae. please. please please please.

A FUCKING BASEBALL???????????????????????

"Artists are unknowable assholes" vs "Jae's an artist" in NML AND WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME

Oh my god Michelle Hurd's acting is so chefs kiss 🤌🤌🤌

haha section 31 why would you BAIT ME LIKE THAT

oh. oh my god. OHHH MY GOD. RAFFI. RAFFI RAFFI RAFFI. NO. MY DARLING GIRL NO. PLEASE NO

"it takes a real addict to fight it this hard" NO

TAKE IT BACK TAKE IT ALL BACK

WORF???????????????????????

OMG IS THAT WHERE THE SCENE OF WORF CARRYING RAFFI COMES FROM

WHY IS THE USS SAFFI SO SMART WE LITERALLY CAUGHT HER HAIR ON HIS SHOULDER LIKE

ALSO. WORF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WORF????!!?(!?!!!!???????

also. RAFFI. OHHHH RAFFI. RAFFI 😭😭😭 MY DARLING GIRL YOU'VE BEEN SO BRAVE AND SO STRONG. I LOVE YOU. my sweet clever girl.

why was their grand plan mf WAKING bev they're actually 👁️👄👁️

BEV'S ACTING IN THIS ONE IS A MASTERCLASS IN LESS IS MORE

The shrike being called the shrike is so slay

In conclusion, i laughed a lot until raffi's second scene. then i laughed less.

[jennawynn]

Discovery Season 1 Episode 9-

Episode 9-

Listen, you never plan to retire or to tell your husband you're going to be able to do whatever he wants after this one last mission/jump. That's when things go wrong.

Time travel or alternate universe? Find out next time!

Episode 10-

Time for a character roundup! on the axes of interesting and likeability...

Lorca- Interesting character if a little cliche, unlikeable. 9/10

Burnham- Interesting character, likeable. 10/10

Saru- Interesting, undecided. 7/10

Tyler- I don't think I like him much. 5/10

Tilly- Not particularly interesting, but likeable and relatable. 10/10

Georgiou- Interesting, likeable, badass, but -1 point for being dead. 99/10

Admiral- Not particularly interesting yet, but has potential. Undecided. 6/10

It's interesting that they have evasive maneuver patterns... It seems like a waste of a good pilot's instincts. The way that the captain has to decide which pattern to use, relay it to the pilot, the pilot has to recall what motions to take for that pattern, and then enact it feels like it would take precious seconds that might be better used in a "It doesn't matter what you do as long as you do something" reaction.

Alternate universe it is!

Michael's hair is always excellent.

Man I knew there was something still shady about Tyler. Fuckin Manchurian Candidate. Dude is not ready to be doing any of what he's trying to do. "I need you to trust me." No. You can't trust yourself, how are you going to expect anyone else to trust you? Tyler and Lorca both, man. Making decisions to protect themselves that can (and certainly will) put others in danger.

Hey Terran Empire, that's the same as the Enterprise's alternate universe.

Hah Tilly's captain. Talk as little as possible. That might be a problem.

And then Lorca does a Scottish voice for the Engineer. :joy: that a Scotty reference?

I like the way they actually show the tech that (as far as i know) got handwaved in other shows. The change of the Discovery's designation by robot, the synthesizing of uniforms and ranks. It makes it feel more scifi vs scifantasy.

Heh they specifically test for Manchurian/brainwashing stuff.

The weird half bob of Tilly's is... interesting.

Damn that was a line... "If you talked to me like that I would cut out your tongue and use it to lick my boots."

OH SHIT. That's not cool! You can't kill the gays.

I don't like the gender neutral 'sir' and I'm not really sure why.

Aww that was the guy I liked? Connor? I didn't recognize him :joy: I didn't actually look at him for long before he died the first time.

lol Tyler and Michael fucking while Lorca gets tortured. Way to make it quick, y'all.

Episode 11

Oh no... they're going to think that Stamets killed him :(

Is that Starfleet assigned/synthesized lingerie or is it Empire? :joy:

Sparing Saru from knowing his counterpart is a slave who waits on her in this universe. :sob:

(I just realized that where Enterprise was bloodless and nobody was Really Dead, I had no hesitation to believe Culbert was dead.)

They changed the way Andorians look (and sound) too?

I don't... I don't know if I don't like this thing with Tyler because he's not convincing? Or if I don't like the arc itself? I'm not sure.

Now that's an interesting moral quandary. The easy route is to let the Terrans execute him- he's a threat and a murderer. But is it 'right'?

UNBURY your gays.

Heh... I called that one. beam him out just in time to beam him aboard the Discovery. Oh nice, she got the chip out too! I didn't see that one coming.

Ha! The Emperor. I kinda figured (how could it not be if Burnham was captain of Shenzou and they wouldn't say who the emperor was), but man what a gut punch for her.

I forget where to put it now, but the Defiant... is that the one that the mirror!Enterprise found in that docking bay? The time fuckery ontop of the parallel universes has my head spinning, especially since I wasn't closely watching ENT.

Episode 12

I didn't like the mirrorverse episodes of Enterprise- they were both too dark for the show they were in and yet not dark enough to be believable.

I do like this arc, though. It feels like it has the right weight and other than the Tyler plot, it feels believable and consistent. The characters are interacting with the world in consistent, believable ways. Maybe it was because in Enterprise, we were watching actors in different characters?

Fixing Stamets and the only way home while also pretending to be a bloodthirsty captain is a lot of pressure for a cadet.

omg. Have my ganglia :joy:

idk why I forgot about what happened to Voq. I guess I assumed he died.

I was trying to figure out why they couldn't pick between turning Klingon into human or overlaying the Klingon personality into Tyler, but I guess I misunderstood. They overlaid TYLER ontop of the Klingon turned human. Man that's complicated.

How weird it must be to hear the man you loved died... from him.

UNBURY THAT GAY.

Ew- a father 'turned more'?

Oh what the fuck. Ok this one I didn't see coming. Wow. I'm impressed. His ruthlessness. His pulling the puppet strings of fate. The light sensitivity. It's rare that I don't have an inkling of a well-designed twist. Well played.

[fyeahcompetentwomen]

Sister Beatrice vs. Seven of Nine

Remember: don't vote on "who would win in a fight", but on "who, when given a task that fits her skillset and talents, would do that task better: more comprehensively, faster, with more pizzazz, with less collateral, etc."

Endorsements! "What is she good at?"

Sister Beatrice, Warrior Nun: Oh my GOD what is she NOT? Mastery in various martial art forms, fluent in Lord knows how many languages, master strategist, BOMBS, and always has a kind word for those who need them.

Seven of Nine, Star Trek: severed from the Borg collective after spending most of her life with them (she was assimilated *as a child*), she found a way to reconcile her human and her Borg heritage, and helped her new "collective", the Voyager crew, overcome all the obstacles that the Delta Quadrant threw at them - including the Borg themselves. Never afraid to speak her mind, she impressed Kathryn Janeway into a relationship some see as friendly, some see as romantic. After Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant, Seven joined the Fenris Rangers to do good in places that the Federation did not (want to) reach, and in the process saved the day for another Starfleet captain (and former Borg!), Jean-Luc Picard. Snarky, standoffish, with a heart as big as the galaxy behind a barrier just a tiny little bit more penetrable than the final frontier, she proved her humanity all over again - including serving as queen for a lone Borg cube and coming back from that! And then she gave us the first canon lesbian couple, with Raffi, and later was promoted to captain of the newest USS Enterprise - the first canon queer/wlw captain of the entire show! (okay I'll stop now)

[biblioflyer]

Autonomy vs Institutionalism in Picard

Those who have read more than a few posts here will quickly recognize that I've been hammering away at a theme.

Each season of Picard has kind of had its own themes although two in particular seem to cross seasons: the first being relationship repair.

The first season focused on Picard's own tendency to hold people at a distance and express his affection and feelings in the modality of a starship Captain. Every encounter early in the season is about Picard, his cause, and his needs and a lot of those early conversations: with Clancy, with Raffi, with Elnor, probably others still, go very sour because Picard can only praise their competencies and how those competencies will serve his mission.

To some extent it was also about rediscovering hope and rebuilding the capacity to hold oneself to a higher standard.

The second season is much more about intimacy and the recognition that other people need to be given space to find their own way, even if that way isn't exactly what you would choose for them. This is really where I think Picard's stubbornness about Starfleet really comes into play because he just doesn't quite get Seven's discomfort with Starfleet outside of Voyager, or that perhaps pushing Raffi back to ship service may have been a mistake because psychologically she just wasn't ready for high stakes and its also just not where her skill set is at its strongest. Who could fathom James Bond as the XO of a naval warship?

The third is more intergenerational. Its at its strongest I think with Geordi recognizing that there is a time to set aside the maximalist protective role of the parent and to protect your child at their side rather than by trying to limit their autonomy. I don't really see a lot of point in talking about Jack because "Last Generation" makes it pretty explicit.

And that is a good segue to talk about moral authority and how Star Trek Picard has dealt with it.

I'm not going to back over every piece of evidence that I've written extensively about, but suffice to say that virtually every last episode of Picard except for the very last is a critical examination of whether Starfleet and the Federation are the omniscient do-gooders of lore or if there are other sources of moral authority than acting as an agent of the state aboard a big shiny starship. Now I find little that is actually contrary to the idea that Picard, the character, or various crews of various starship Enterprises were good actors, merely that a starship full of cool gizmos and profoundly earnest people is one but not the only vector through which good works can be done.

This is why it left me feeling a little weird about ending with Raffi, Seven, and Jack all in Starfleet and all in ship service. Especially since those characters each in their own way have done the most to make the argument that Starfleet does not have a monopoly on moral authority and that its very nature means that Starfleet does things in a very institutional and procedural way. After all, Starfleet officers are agents of a state and what they do or don't do will be viewed as not just their own idiosyncratic whims but as an expression of the will of the Federation itself.

This institutional and procedural pathway allows the Federation to organize vast resources in a relatively responsible way (when it doesn't get hoodwinked by Romulan deepcover agents or Changelings operating at a very high level....which is a major liability for this sort of highly centralized institution) but because of protections in place to ward off making tragic errors analogous to the colonialism of Earth, its own rules of engagement make it unresponsive to a whole host of problems that fall outside its mandate.

Picard the series wasn't shy about showing us these problems and how others, like the Fenris Rangers, take it upon themselves to address these problems and how they have to invent their own rules of engagement as they're in the act because they don't have the luxury of sitting back and having a philosophical discussion in a conference room.

The grand finale didn't exactly refute this theme, but I think it undermined it at least a little by pushing Jack, Raffi, and Seven into command chairs. Now as I have seen pointed out, this is in many ways a moment with a lot of symbolism. Its the Next Next Generation.

A torch passing. Indeed I think while Picard the series did a good job of problematising heroic narratives about Space Paladins and their mighty chrome steeds, I would be remiss if I didn't think that there is also a part of me that kind of likes the unapologetic "great hits" album that was the finale.

The problem with deconstructions is that they can veer into nihilism very easily. The Star Wars sequel trilogy looms over everything else like a shadow because there's this stubborn reminder that nothing anyone does will actually making the setting better in a lasting way. If our heroes don't fail and become more broken versions of themselves (except Leia, you kept up the fight) then in spite of their best efforts they or their successors are doomed. The Mandoverse is a post apocalyptic setting focused on rebuilding that doesn't know its destined for another apocalypse that will set fire to everything they achieve.

And that's just not what Star Trek has ever been about. Every dark future has been something to be struggled about and overcome by reasserting moral clarity in the present.

This is where I find some small comfort in Shaw's final performance evaluation of Seven, contrasting their methods, and observing that Starfleet has become a very by the book kind of institution without really recognizing what the point of it all is. Whereas Seven flouts rules that don't fit the scenario. There's a whole other conversation to be had about whether Seven was relentlessly reckless this season (and I have debated that in more than a few posts myself) and I have usually landed on the side that Seven's too individualistic.

On the other hand if what's being gestured at in Shaw's evaluation is a return to a level of autonomy and permission to follow your conscience of say, the Kirk era or even how Picard often got away with breaking the Prime Directive when he thought it was absurd, then there is a lot of symbolism in "a spy, a pirate, and a thief" being given a new Enterprise.

I feel like that was the narrative intent there: to show that Starfleet is learning and returning to its roots, it just sort of feels a little bit like a way to put a bow on a season that was too restrictive in its runtime and budget to bring in all of the legacy characters that ought to have made an appearance (Janeway, Wesley, Elnor, Jurati, - the cut scene where Ro is discovered captive and alive) as well to provide a better resolution of both character arcs and themes.

To beat a dead horse, this fandom belongs to everyone. The nostalgic TNG-ers, the people who supported Picard seasons 1 and 2, the people who followed Worf into DS9, and the Voyager fans. Considering there's every reason to be pessimistic about more 25th century live action, it wouldn't have killed Paramount to fork over enough cash for two more episodes to deliver the goods for all of the fans and to make a less abrupt transition from the themes and arguments of the first 29 episodes of Picard to where we land in episode 30.

[icepixie]

SNW 2x06

Spoilers

Soooo...are we going to get individual episodes of all the ladies being helped by Nicest of Guys James Kirk? Because I'm worried this is going to start feeling like an excuse to showcase this dude I don't particularly care about rather than the show about these particular characters I do care about.

I mean, it wasn't a bad story. But like the episode with La'an, it would have been better had one of the other characters we know and love played Kirk's role.

That said, structurally I liked this one more than La'an and Kirk's Excellent Toronto Adventure, since the story was, you know, set in space, in the future, and the other characters appeared for more than a few minutes. The idea of aliens in the deuterium communicating through hallucinations was cool. It was certainly apropos for Uhura! I loved Captain Dad Pike being ever so supportive and dad-ish to Uhura. (In present-day reality, someone at the same place on the totem pole Uhura is would...not get believed that easily, that's for sure. And even if they were, profit motive would almost certainly lead to no one caring about aliens who can't be seen or heard except by one woman. Sometimes Starfleet is indeed utopic.)

I kind of wish they hadn't reduced the Una/Pelia friction to her still missing Hemmer and only disliking Pelia because she was the replacement. Because I actually LOVED Pelia calling Una out about being ticked she isn't the smartest in the room anymore! That is so ACCURATE! Yes, yes, sloppy vs. orderly odd couple as well, but the root of their conflict is absolutely Una not taking well to competition.

...I want to stick them in an elevator together like Londo and G'Kar so badly right now.

I hope the Spock/Chapel scene indicates that will be over soon, but I fear it does not. Christine bitching about how everyone ignores the "orders" part of "doctor's orders" was funny, though.

To end on a positive note, Chris saying that the "gas station" (heh) needed Una's particular managerial style, or whatever it was, was amazing. I love me a frighteningly competent character whose boss recognizes it.

6 or 7 out of 10. Would have been improved without Kirk, but not bad on its own.