#well q could always make picard love him

[gayelderstourney]

OLD MAN YAOI BRACKET ROUND 2

Propaganda:

Sheo/The Nailsmith:

It's really nice because you unlock it after the nailsmith asks you to kill him with the pure nail and you refuse and walk away. He then says he was wandering hallownest without purpose until he found sheo who helped him discover that there was more to life than just one calling. These two are probably the only characters in the game to have a genuinely happy ending

The nailsmith loses his purpose in life after finishing his ultimate masterpiece, his lifelong goal, the pure nail. He requests the protagonist to try the nail on him, but If you refuse, he will find sheo who helps him to find new meaning in life and realise that there is more to life by teaching him different crafts. They can then be seen sculping figurines together, and sheo is also painting the nailsmith.They share a common love for art and crafts and inspire each other. Sheo's story is that he was a nailmaster, but got tired of it, and put down his nail to pick up a paintbrush. I think it's beautiful that he could help the nailsmith realise what he himself did. They both also used to live in solitude without even realising how lonely they were, and I think it's cute tuhat they can do art together now :]

They are two bugs retired from their career and making better lives for themselves and they’re gay about it. Nailsmith believes at first that he has nothing left after creating the perfect nail and asks the knight to strike him down, and if you don’t, he meets Sheo, a retired nailmaster finding a new calling in painting and sculpting. They find a shared love in creating things and Nailsmith finds a new calling in art as well. The achievement you get for uniting them is called “Happy Couple”

Gay bugs gay bugs gay bugs (Cw mention of suicide) They both used to pursue their one passion in life: forging the perfect nail (sword) for the Nailsmith and the art of combat for Sheo. Sheo realized he could just leave that life when he lost his passion for fighting, and he found himself a new purpose in life: art. However, he always seemed very lonely, completely isolated by all other bugs in his hidden house in the middle of a thorn jungle. When The Nailsmith achieved his goal and forged the perfect nail, he lost his purpose in life and his will to live. He asks the player to kill him. However, if the player refuses, he can later be found in Sheo's house, modelling for Sheo or sculpting figurines with him. He thanks the player for not fulfilling his request, because he has found a new calling in life here, making art together with Sheo. They both express how happy they are to no longer be alone. This also gives you the "Happy Couple" achievement, confirming that they are a couple.

THEY'RE CANON!!! They're fucking canon!!! You can talk to them at one point after doing a Bunch of Stuff to get them to meet each other and you get an achievement called "Happy Couple"!!! Gotta love old man yuri

Jean-Luc Picard/Q:

theyre kind of the ogs. q fucked that old man for SURE. if they arent old enough for you in the next generation (1987-1984) they probably will be in picard (2020-2023). also when i went looking for the pic i included i googled “star trek picard q in bed” and there were actually multiple different instances of that happening that popped up

um it’s unclear what age Q is supposed to be in TNG but in Picard they’re both undeniably old as balls. Q has godlike powers that he just uses to hang out with this bald old man in increasingly strange and annoying ways. And call him “mon capitane” like a freak and materialize next to him in bed and say Good Morning Darling and lounge all over the Enterprise like a fruit anyways I think they’re abnormal and I like them

what if you were an all powerful nearly omnipotent being who has been worshipped as a god on planets across the farthest reaches of space and the first guy to just not give a shit about you makes you fall madly in love with him

I can’t get my thoughts clear right now but they mean so much to me. They’re meant to be with each other ok. the sequel to spirk. they would be canon if paramount werent COWARDS

if I were an entity as old as the universe itself and I kept visiting some old guy on a spaceship trying to justify the existence of humanity it would 100% be for gay reasons and Q understands this concept on an intimate level actually

[neopuff]

since im rewatching TNG for fic writing purposes im gonna review every ep now that i can remember them better. lets start with season one:

1x01 - 1x02 - Encounter at Farpoint: the first time i watched this episode i was bored out of my mind. the second time i enjoyed it a lot more. i think its messy and too much is happening but its always fun to see Q and obviously i love the scene where Will and Deanna see each other for the first time in two years they're so funnyyyyyy 6/10

1x03 - The Naked Now: first time i watched i was like 'why would they put this so early in the show? thats nonsensical' but now when i rewatch it i just find it very very funny. its silly and stupid it makes me laugh what else do i need 5/10

1x04 - Code of Honor: yeah well. im sure it couldve been worse 1/10

1x05 - The Lone Prophet: its fine nothing really super interesting happens and classic style ferengi are so strange to watch. 4/10

1x06 - Where No One Has Gone Before: traveler!! idk hes weird but i like him. i think the camera angles in this ep are unique for some reason. its one of the better Wesley-centric stories 5/10

1x07 - Lonely Among Us: gasp...among us. i like this ep just fine its weird but in a fun way 6/10

1x08 - Justice: lmaoooo this ep makes me crazy its so dumb but its so funny and weird 5/10

1x09 - The Battle: i wouldnt call myself a Picard fan by any means but i think the story for this ep is fun. its neat. better than the first Ferengi ep 7/10

1x10 - Hide and Q: one of the worst Q eps, its just not very good. the Q Riker thing is weird. tasha hitting on picard makes me uncomfortable 3/10

1x11 - Haven: well what do you expect from me? i love Deanna. i love Lwaxana. i love Will acting like a whiny baby bitch. i prefer the dialogue from the original script than the end product and wish i could know why they made some of the changes they did. especially i dont understand why they removed the line where Deanna talks about honoring her father........its a good line. it adds a lot to Deanna's motivations in the ep. she loves her dead dad so much. whatever, its so weird and so messy but all Betazoid episodes get high scores from me cuz i love them but this is probably the lowest of the Lwaxana episodes because it is so goddamn messy no one is surprised to learn that the writers had very few pre-determined details about Betazed 8/10

1x12 - The Big Goodbye: i hate holodeck episodes and this is the first one! also its clearly out of order, 11001001 definitely shouldve come before this one, so thats annoying. anyway whatever. it bores me but i like when Beverly plays and actually this ep has one of the few Beverly/Jean-Luc scenes that i like so thats fun 3/10

1x13 - Datalore: i would like this episode better if not for all the Wesley stuff. its still a fun episode but it could've been better yknow? 7/10

1x14 - Angel One: i am one of very very few people who dont hate this episode. idk i think its funny. ohh feminism reverse sexism planet its so backwards and horrible unlike us in starfleet we have no sexism anymore obviously none at all equality is real and its here. anyway. i digress. this ep makes me laugh 7/10

1x15 - 11001001: this is probably my least favorite episode of the first season. genuinely i find 'create your perfect woman'-type stories to be 100% irredeemable garbage. there has never been one that i could find even remotely enjoyable. riker and picard both come across as shallow creeps 0/10

1x16 - Too Short a Season: its not the most memorable ep but i like the story just fine 5/10

1x17 - When the Bough Breaks: i like seeing Deep Throat from The X-Files. i also think Deanna saying "humans are unusually attached to their offspring" is a very funny line. i like Wesley in this ep, too. 7/10

1x18 - Home Soil: i am completely neutral about this episode i think. nothing really stands out one way or another 5/10

1x19 - Coming of Age: the Wesley story leaves me confused about Starfleet Academy things but the other storyline is a fun way of recapping the season so far. not that interesting though 4/10

1x20 - Heart of Glory: oh good a Klingon episode. its fine, i guess. (shrugs) 4/10

1x21 - The Arsenal of Freedom: okay i stay confused about officers ranks and whose allowed to do what but WHATEVERRR Geordi and Deanna have their first 1:1 scene in this episode! the first of maybe 4 in the entire series. isn't that insane? its fine. I also like the weird security capitalism planet i think this ep is fun 7/10

1x22 - Symbiosis: sad story. i like when Lower Decks came back here and said "wtf". prime directive stories often make me crazy and this one is no exception 6/10

1x23 - Skin of Evil: another unpopular opinion but i actually enjoy this episode. i think Armus is a fun nonsensical villain monster, i like the mortal danger. i don't like that Tasha dies but I wouldn't have liked that no matter how it was done lol and Deanna got some good scenes in this ep so i cannot hate it! sorry Tasha 8/10

1x24 - We'll Always Have Paris: hmmm its fine? its fun. its confusing, a bit. this is a good ep to rewatch actually 7/10

1x25 - Conspiracy: this ep i'd probably like better if any of it mattered later in the series? lol. i dunno its just kind of like "okay but what happened next?" and the answer is nothing 5/10

1x26 - The Neutral Zone: for whatever reason, i really enjoy this episode. something about it...its fun. its weird. obviously it makes no sense as a season finale but thats life for you 8/10

[thewomancallednova]

Justice

I'm gonna say it upfront: I love the Edo god-thing. I love the uncanny half-phased out design how it just hangs there. And stuff like this just wouldn't look as good with modern filming and tv producing technology cause it would look so much better and that would suck.

The scene where the god-thing materializes in the Enterprise and the voice booms and the whole ship shakes like never before, except the sphere which stays perfectly still is amazing. Like, 100% better god-vibes than Q, it breaks the fucking format by just staying still on-screen. 10/10, I know it's just a technological limitation of how they did the special effect, but it genuinely looks so impressive and awe-inspiring.

Also the god-thing plays into the whole "other cultures that are peers to the Federation" thing which I quite like.

Also Picard's a huge jerk to Data :( Leave him alone!

Similarly to Code of Honor, but less aggregious this episode's a bit racist by casting it's whole alien species as all white people. Like, we see a lot of them, this isn't a "we saw three members of this species" situation, we literally see dozens. And they're all white?

Uh yeah the Wesley gets the death penalty episode

So this was what they meant on Lower Decks when they said "wellness based societies"

I kinda like that it ended with Picard just giving a convincing argument to the god-thing.

The Edo's law is pretty terrible though. There's also a minor error, where one of the Edo says there is no crime here, but then later it's confirmed that they did indeed kill people before and that it's always very sad and all that

I know it's not the point of the episode (the point is the conflict of the two prime directives), but I'd have just appreciated a little bit of anti-capital-punishment propaganda beyond "it's bad and we outlawed it forever ago" (Talos IV who?)

It is so funny to me that the Edo won't make an exception for Wesley who as ignorant of the law and commited the tiniest possible transgression. I get that it's important for the resolution to work (like if Wesley had maliciously murdered someone Picard wouldn't have won his appeal to the god-thing I think), but all the adult Edo just seem like jerks when the children clearly point out how it is wrong. I know they're going for cultural differences, but that really doesn't seem like it when all the children are on the other side.

I like that the Edo are clearly pre-warp but the Federation still has contact with them. I don't think this is a continuity issue or anything, the Edo could have already come into contact with another conventional space-faring civilization and at that point the cat's kind of out of the bag. The Edo certainly don't seem like they just learned that extraedoan life is real, although their visit is unusual.

I love that Wesley's first reaction to falling into the plant thingie was like "I'm fine don't worry", cause that shows that he's used to people being primarily concerned about his well-being vs. primarily concerned about him breaking stuff. Bev's a good mom yay ^^

[yourbuerokrat2]

On your Data was right/Q sees Picard as his beloved pet AU but with a cracky/silly twist: I know with all MY pets I've been overcome with love and cute aggression and just scoop them up and carry them around for a bit. So obviously this Q does his equivalent of that, like disappearing Picard from his ship for a few minutes to hover him inside a void and just stare at him or something before putting him back, something like that. Idk, I got the brainworms

Anon, I am pretty sure that Q already sort of does this in canon.

Small fic:

In the beginning, the crew did not really know what to do. One second their Captain was there and the other one he was gone. No missing shuttle, no clue as to where he was, nothing.

But then only moments later, he was back. And the only answer from the Captain to the questions as to where he was and what happened was a sigh and "Q".

Which, all other potential options considered, was a relieving answer. After all, the only part of the Captain that was ever truelly harmed when he was once again kidnapped by Q was his pride.

Q was a ... strange fellow. And as Picard had found out after Q had taken him to the Continuum that one time, he was even considered a strange fellow amongst his own kind. Picard was not sure wether he should feel relief at finding out that the way Q treated him was not considered normal or healthy and that even though Q apparently used to have 'toys', the way he handled Picard was something new and unique. The question as to what happened to Qs previous 'toys' and how dare Q treat other beings like such was only answered by an amused smile and the 'reassurance' that Picard did not need to worry about that because he meant so much more to Q then they did.

That had been the first and only time Picard, so far, had been to the Continuum. Or perhaps better to say had been kidnapped to the Continuum. Mainly because Qs jealousy had been rather apparent, especially when some of Guinans friends tried to explain and apologize to Picard that they can not intervene.

So, usually whenever Q felt lonely (Q never admitted to him that he was even capable of feeling lonely but considering Qs overall standing and banishments from his own species and his apparent inability to make friends with other, 'lesser' beings that seemd to be a given) or just generally felt like he wanted Picards company. Right. Now. the Captain was gone.

Where exactly Picard ended up usually depended on Qs mood. Sometimes it was for an 'adventure' that was clearly set up and arranged by Q and wheres Qs attention was less on the things at hand and mostly on Picard and his reactions. Other times, Q did not even bother to snap other people into existence or bring them to a planet.

That were the times when Picard found himself in the strange, white void. At first Picard had protested, knowing that he was not dead and that he demanded to be brought back to the Enterprise. Q, who was either with him in that void in his human form or just a voice coming from all around him always promised him to do just that but to see this as a 'short break' for both of them.

At least Q .. tried to be accomodating during these times by materializing a place for Picard to sit, to let him have some of his favorite brand of tea but there was always the weird sense of feeling like he was being... held the entire time he was there. It was a rather strange sensation considering that whatever (well the question as to who was doing this was not really unanswered) was utterly inhuman and so it was not really like one would feel when being held by another organic body and it was generally a light hold. Wether it was because Q tried to make it so Picard did not notice or wether Q simply thought Qs human body was fragile was another question Picard did not want answered. Although after this happened a few times, Picard could feel the pressure slightly intensify which he met with a 'stop it, Q'. His clear disapproval was met with amusement but, thankfully, also a disappearance of any sort of pressure on his body. Temporarily.

Another thing the crew did not know was that Qs insistance on having Picard for company at the oddest of times did not stop at the kidnappings. Because sometimes he felt Qs presence wherever he was. On the Bridge, during the missions and even when he was alone in his quarters, although there Q often did not even bother to be invisible.

All of this was at first met with clear protest and telling Q to leave him alone. His rather strong requests and even the ensuing arguments with Q however were not really taken seriously by the entity in question. And so over time Picard began to feel a reluctant acceptance towards his situation. In the end, no harm was done or presented itself.

Although some boundaries Picard still held unto. For once, he refused to let Q actually hold him in his human form. Partly because then Q tended to be quite clingy. His requests at refusing to be held when he was sleeping were, as far as he was aware, still being accepted although it was clear to him that with his continues trys to get Picard to relinquish this boudnary that Q was trying to wear him down enough so he would accept this part of 'innoncent affection' as well.

Picard just really hoped that Q was going to get bored of him and this game he was playing with him. That Q actually laughed when Picard brought up the possibility of him getting bored of 'this' and Picard did however not seem very promising.

[stellarred]

Laris: You're just using Jean-Luc! You don't really love him, Q.

Q: And what, pray tell, would make you come to such an astoundingly ridiculous conclusion?

Laris: I don't know much about you, Q.

Q: You don't say.

Laris: But, I do know you're powerful--

Q: Beyond

Laris: You are cruel and vile--

Q: You've been hanging with Guinan, haven't you?

Laris: Look! Just shut up! Just...let me speak!

Q:

Laris: You could have anyone you wanted.

Q: Oh, really?

Laris: And yet, you insist on playing these games with him!

Q: No more games. They...never really were.

Laris: Oh? And what would you call them?

Q: Something deeper. Meaningful. Scaffolding to where he and I are today.

Laris:

Q: I hate to break your poor, little, rejected heart, my dear, but it's always been a slow burn between us. A love story. Over thirty years in the making--

Laris: I don't believe it. You're telling me that Jean-Luc loves you?

Q: He does. I know he does.

Laris: Well, he can't.

Q: If you're such an expert on Jean-Luc Picard, perhaps you can educate me.

Laris: Because he will never submit to your power, Q! You can't make him love you the way you want.

Q: Can't I?

Laris: I don't know that much about you. But, I think I despise you.

Q: What can I say? You're in good company. I could make Jean-Luc fall head over heels in love with me. I could seep into his mind, his thoughts, his very soul ...

Laris:

Q: And will him to submit to me.

Laris:

Q: But, what good would that do? What meaning is there in forcing him to give himself to me?

Laris:

Q: You grossly misjudge me, madam.

Laris: You mean, with all these great powers at your fingertips, you're willing to forgo any opportunity in ensuring he loves you?

Q: I can lose Jean-Luc. I can watch him turn from me a million times. I can let go...if it means he will have what is best for him.

Laris: I don't--

Q: I'm sure you would do the same for him. You agree with me, n'est-ce pas?

Laris:

Q: Now, what was this about my not really loving him?

Laris:

[rpfofficial]

starred trek as well….. any series you want to do :)))

HIIIII ok bcos im tired and brain fried ill just do tng cos its my favourite series :P i could do tos since its the one ive watched most recently but i do whatever I want forever .

favourite character: data forever and ever and ever and ever. it's usually hard to choose just one favourite character i always have 2 or 3 but with tng i know for sure it's data above all

second favourite: riker mein beloved and also deanna ough. And geordi ofc. and Q cos he's fucking stupid. and soren the one from the planet where they're all Gender neutral but she decides she's female after talking to Dr crusher idk I thought that was an interesting episode and soren really stuck with me as a character

least favourite character: i don't know there were no characters that stood out to me like I Dislike This Person greatly. not that I can think of. but ur answer did make me realise i don't like pulaski so I'll copy u and be lazy and say pulaski cos of course once again you're right as you are about everything

character I’m most like: im like if data's autism and Q's eccentricity were embedded into one person. i know that q and data are literally opposites but I contain multitudes and they're both me

favourite pairing: geordi and data, and I don't always mean romantically even though they're literally boyfriends . i just like them and all their interactions:3

least favourite pairing: im also copying u with geordi and hologram leah like ok thanks but I don't care and also 🙅‍♂️🙅‍♂️🙅‍♂️

favourite moment: its so hard to choose like u said theres so manyyy good moments cos theyre such a fun crew and theres so many fun episodes. Im gonna say any moment of data and spot i would die for that cat. also this is so silly but the first one I thought of was this tiny bit in i think the gambit episode part 2 I think it's just this one scene where picard says "data escort riker to the brig" and data says "aye sir" and picard walks off and riker goes to leave but data grabs his arm and is like this way sir and rikers like he was joking you know that right. right?? Data? he was joking. and data just looks dead ahead and leads him to the brig and idk that bit is so silly but i love it I love data

rating out of 10: 10 out of 10 my favourite star trek series a formative part of my childhood and i love to think about it and should rewatch it someday

[starship-imzadi]

S6 E6 True Q

I don't remember what happens in this episode. Even though I have mixed feelings about Q, and some Q episodes are better than others, I do enjoy John de Lancie's performances.

I like when Crusher's mama bear comes out. Q describing her as "shrill" is something I find distasteful. Possibly misogynistic.

Hang on. So Q reveals himself in a staff meeting. Data isn't in the meeting. Q teleports Picard to his ready room for a brief conversation. Once it's over Picard walks onto the bridge and talks to Data, who is at the helm and somehow already understands why Picard says that Amand's parents were Q and that Q has been on the ship.

Q is so invasive. I must say I enjoy Amanda's reaction to Q trying to take her. I'm not sure why he doesn't understand the concept of tact.

I think it's worth noting that the Q are (nearly?) omnipotent but NOT omniscient. Often the two are conflated but, since they're theoretical concepts, we don't really understand the bounds of what it would mean to be able to do any thing but not know everything. It sounds dangerous; being all powerful but not all-knowing, so you can't know the consequences of your boundless power.

Can Q bring people back to life?...

Topeka Kansas is such a mundane place to die, within the grand scheme of the universe.

I'm not sure why Amanda needs hand gestures but Q doesn't.

I can't tell if Q's lack of a space bubble lends itself to being intimate or predatory.

Riker maneuver

Amanda is pre-academy right? That's way too young for Riker (in actually the actress, Olivia d'Abo, is about 23 here and Frakes is about 40; which would still be a notable age gap.)

Times like these I wish Troi's character was better developed. She's an empath sitting next to a Q who's very jealous of Riker, Troi's on-again-off-again romantic-partner and always-friend. I want to know her read of the room!

Also: poor Riker. I think he gets manipulated most by the Q (I hate the second Q episode where Riker is given powers, but alas it is canon. Thank goodness his character moved away from whatever direction that was.)

I'm not sure what time period this is supposed to be (somewhere in the 1800's I'd guess) with Frakes it's giving me "Noth and South" vibes but could be leaning more Jane Austen; I don't know the difference. Anyway, there's something very satisfying in Frakes having sleeves that are actually the right length. I think subconsciously I'm aware of how uncomfortable the space suits always look so being free of them I feel more comfortable the way the actors look more comfortable.

Consent is so important! I appreciate how gentle Riker is when he's trying to explain why her behavior is inappropriate. I'm not sure I have my wits or talking points well enough collected to make a thorough argument now, but I'd say Riker is the most abused character after Troi. He is also the most overtly sexualized after her. (And I differentiate between being sexual and being sexualized. The latter is done to you by other people without your consent.)

Riker being forced to "love" Amanda makes me incredibly uncomfortable because of how it violates his wishes. I get the sense that she's bothered by the fact that she knows he isn't really choosing her, rather than the fact that she's forcing him against will. And that's a disturbing lack of empathy. (She definitely owes him an apology.)

This conversation between Picard and Q is fascinating. Q seems genuinely serious in a way that is incredibly rare. "With unlimited power comes responsibility. Do you think it is reasonable for us to let omnipotent beings roam free through the universe?"

I wonder if the Q couldn't just strip Amanda of her power? It happened to Q in Deja Q. Why is it up to her not to use her power? (I realize there's more Q in Voyager that I haven't watched but, from what I've seen from reddit search results, other people have had these same questions. Some posited that Amanda would be left with her powers in order to try to continually tempt her to join the Q)

So, is she going to go resurrect her parents?!? Oh, she meant her adoptive parents....well, we still don't know if the Q can bring people back from the dead.

[yourbuerokrat2]

@kpetova

Okay but this one is rather intersting because looking up the Erlkonig there is also a german song about it as well although there he is more of a Fae that kidnaps a boy.

Here it is more directly brutal and if the translation of the song I have read is correct here Q would be the Lord of the swamp, who falls in love with the lord of the death (which in this case would be Picard). And that is honestly such an interesting case because according to the lyrics of

And it happened to fall in love with the lord of the dead With him you can't get along with a kind word, you can't keep him on a chain You can't bewitch him on herbs, there is only one sure way Blood flows down your palms. Where are you, dear? Are you thirsty?

Imaging Q as a dangerous trickster entity who falls in love with Picard who is likely just a bit disgusted by Qs way of life and annoyed by Qs existence would be so interesting.

Here, have a short fic about one of their meetings orchestrated by Q:

The swamp was cold this night yet full of light and colour. If it wasn't was the blood staining the water and the earth of three wanderers who had fallen victim to Qs twisted sense of hospitality one would almost be tempted to call it a romantic night. Although Q definitly called it one because where there was this kind of .. special creative outlet and carnage his beloved would soon arrive.

Jean-Luc Picard, as he was known in his mortal guise when he pretended to be a human rather than the lord of death, arrived just as schedule. And Picard definitly wouldn't call anything he was seeing right now as anything even remotely romantic.

Q, standing there in an outfit that he had specifically chosen for their next rendezvous in both hope and belief that Picard would be impressed by him, grinned and opened up his arms in a showy way as if presenting his new .. decorations and the souls Picard would carry with him as a painting made just for him.

Picard meanwhile was much to Qs endless frustration dismissive of Qs effort to gain his attention and consequently his affections and instead carefully brought the souls carefully out of the human bodies (they had been a pair of lovers from a few towns away who had against the wishes of their parents fallen in love with one another and had now hoped to steal themselves away and start a new life together far from their hometown).

Q, of course, complained about Picard ignoring him in favour of what to Q might as well be toys meant to be broken and discarded. A complaint that only earned him a familiar glare that Q both loved and loathed.

And then their arguments started as they have started by now for hundred of years. Picard did not like coming to Q, especially since he knew that the only reason he would be forced to walk into the Erlkonigs home was to bring another poor unfortunate victim to the Other Side.

'Then come willingly', a demand Picard would not grant because the Lord of Death took his duty quite serious and rarely if ever allowed himself a minute of rest and the time he was granted rest would certainly be spent with a being that seemed to be incapable of viewing what they did as anything more than a game.

The argument continued, Q bringing up points that they have discussed long before and always there was an underlaying demand of 'Stay'. Even as Picard stood there with the souls he was now in charge of he could feel the Erlkonig try to make him stay. Magic and curses like vines from the ground trying their best to chain him down and failing every time.

'Stay', a plea in the way tried to keep their conversation, their game as Q called it, going and going. 'Stay', Qs smile and eyes demanded at the mere movement of Picard that suggested he would soon take his leave. 'Stay' begged the hand reaching out as Picard turned around and left.

For @yourbuerokrat2 and @centipede-rain

Slavic AU. Like The ballad «Der Erlkonig»

People say that the owner of the local lands was once a human. It seems to me that they are lying – this monster has never had a soul.

The blood flows imperceptibly, like a scarlet thread onto the sprout. The Owner of the Swamp has a gentle voice and a cruel personality. Song: Сны Саламандры - У хозяина болота

[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.

[turnipotentiary]

don't know if i feel like laughing or crying at the fact that a Lot of gay star trek pairings are canon and would be acknowledged as canon if not for heteronormativity. like vulcans kiss with their hands right this is a well known fact spock lets kirk kiss him i mean. vulcans are generally not all that tactile because they're touch telepaths but he lets kirk grab him clap him on the shoulder hug him every time.

why is q so obsessed with picard? why is q always saying mon capitaine, my captain, mine, would you like to play a game? leaning forward real close to him and whispering, risking the entire ship just to hear picard say i need you, q, i need you because he loves him and he has a convoluted way of showing it but he loves him. "she's found a vulnerability in you… a vulnerability I've been looking for years. If I had known sooner, I would have appeared as a female." a vulnerability i've been looking for for years. how would their relationship be viewed if one of them were female? how would all of this be received, how would audiences react if one of them were female and the producers consistently denied their relationship had any sort of romantic sides?

garak, a cardassian, is used to argument signaling romantic interest. he picks fights with julian, baits him into snapping back, meets up with him once a week just to argue. it's a date you guys. an argument could be made that julian doesn't know but garashir, at least one-sidedly, is canon. it's CANON y'all i feel like screaming sometimes because it's like am i missing something?? is there something that would make this straight? kirk is t'hy'la. kirk is, to spock, literally a new word they made up to mean some sort of brother/friend/lover/soulmate mix. it's ambiguous and it can be romantic and add that with the fact that what they have fits the definition of love given in Metamorphosis and their CANON kisses and the many parallels their stories have to traditionally romantic stories especially in the movies and even in-universe with kirk's female love interests and "you? [you belong] at his side, as if you've always been there and always will" and what do you get? canon k/s. you get garak opening up to bashir and andy robinson having explicitly said he played garak as VERY interested in bashir, at least in his first ep, and their own parallels to romantic tropes and the trust bashir puts in him and "i forgive you, for whatever it is you've done" and "stop staring at her!" "she's the only cardassian woman on the station she's bound to attract some attention" "not yours!" and bashir going to cardassia to save him and the dominion knowing that garak dying could break julian and q and picard lying in bed together shirtless asking do you regret anything? and where do we go from here? i have a lot of thoughts about this. the logical next step for julian bashir and elim garak is to give them a relationship after the events of The Wire, when garak breaks apart because living on this station is torture for me, doctor and i have nothing to look forward to but having lunch with you and i can't believe i enjoyed it and every time i think i'm going to wrap this up the post gets longer. the list gets longer, and longer, and longer and the show has ended! these are from years ago, decades ago, and yet the list just keeps getting longer. . . this isn't some delusion of mine if it is please tell me. if there's some way this can be read as utterly platonic, if there's something i'm completely misinterpreting feel free to let me know because i'm kind of going crazy here these are canon! literally they kiss, they flirt, they act like romance protagonists and for what. if one of them was female then what? how would things have been different simply because the relationship is suddenly heterosexual? take a moment to imagine a moment. one from the things I've mentioned above, maybe, or perhaps you have your own moments you find subtextually romantic. now switch out one of the characters' gender so that it's now a man and a woman. now what do you see? what becomes clearer even though nothing has changed except that it's no longer gay? why is holding hands swoon-worthy with an m/f relationship and just guys being dudes in an m/m? why is it different when it's not straight?

[captainpikeswoman]

Ooh, having children with Jean-Luc Picard would include please (Jean-Luc and Reader are married)??

Hope you like it!

Having children with Picard would include:

•our dear Jean-Luc is a man who was made to be a Father. He doesn’t always see that, in fact he finds himself awkward around kids, particularly young ones.

•but the first time he held yours and his baby in his arms. Well, he was utterly smitten! You’ve never seen him be so tender before, and the look of love on his face…it made your heart sing!

•Jean-Luc wants you to choose the baby’s name- you’d done all the work growing and then birthing the baby! But you were determined that he would choose- and he ended up choosing something a little old, unique and of course, it was French. (I’m thinking maybe inspired from French literature?)

•when it’s just the three of you in your quarters sweet Jean-Luc will lounge around in something casual, showing plenty of chest so he could have skin to skin contact with the baby.

•he definitely does LOTS of reading about the different stages of development. So at any given time he knows exactly how your child is changing and growing and forming new links and knowledge.

•naturally, with a Father that’s as academically inclined as Picard, your baby has a story read or told to them every single night- he never misses! Even if he has duties he finds the time to sneak back to you and his child and read them to sleep.

•the only thing Picard perhaps didn’t realise would be such an issue is fear- the first illness the kid suffered nearly sent him mad with distraction, he could barely manage his job!

•the first broken bone…Picard arrived in sickbay ready to have a heart attack, but clever Beverley had nearly patched the poor little mite up to good health. And how had it happened? Climbing trees and rocks on the Holodeck- the kid was clearly a Picard, just like their Dad!

•Jean-Luc was a hands on Dad when the kid was little, but as they grow he delights in following around in their footsteps, answering every question they have about the world!

•and he’s fiercely protective. Whenever Q or the Borg show up Picard goes full throttle bad ass, doing absolutely everything in his power to keep you and his child safe. He did consider sending you to Earth; to stay with his family, but when it came to it he trusts no one more than himself to keep you both from harm.

•it was never really going to be just one child for you two. But there was a fair age gap- Picard baby 2 didn’t come along until Child 1 was 5/6 years old and attending school on the ship.

•Picard stepped up even more then- the pregnancy was tiring and raising your child was exhausting too. So he took time off properly and worked carefully to make everything manageable for you.

•it was like riding a bike when the second baby landed in his arms, it all came back to him.

•Jean-Luc knew it was extremely important that your elder child didn’t feel left out! But it was all ok, they were absolutely meant to be an older sibling! It was what they had wished for for a while!

•two years later another little patter of feet was heard…and this one came with a surprise- a set of twins! You and Jean-Luc agreed that four was the limit, and suitable precautions were taken after that.

•as the kids grew the Picard brood became well known. Each child was different and yet, all shared so many traits of their Father! Starfleet was already watching the progress of your eldest, they were hoping for a dynasty of Picard’s.

•but you and Jean-Luc didn’t mind either way- you simply wanted your children to be happy! They were all loved and safe and warm whenever they were with you both.

•Picard always stayed a hands on Dad, he always encouraged the kids to keep learning, to practice what they were good at. But he didn’t push them hard, he encouraged them gently! Got them the help they needed. And even if they failed, or if they struggled to follow all the rules of being a Captain’s child on a ship, he never ever raised his voice or his hand to them. Everything was solved through communicating, through kindness and understanding.

•he never lost his temper, not like you did sometimes. You started to wonder if he was a saint!

Bonus:

•the eldest became an Ambassador in Starfleet, training and qualifying in record time and earning a prestigious position! They were academic, studious, serious.

•the second eldest became a painter and settled down on Betazoid, staying with Lwaxana Troi who considered them to be her adopted grandchild! They were bohemian and creative.

•twin one became a Doctor in Starfleet, they worked on first Will Riker’s ship and then on Wesley Crusher’s- they stayed very much with the family. Level headed, calm and cool in a crisis.

•twin two…well, there had to be a Picard who went a little wild? Twin two became a space pirate, wanted for breaking rules on warp travel, breaking in secure facilities, stealing artefacts and information from planets. Naturally they found a way to stay in contact with you and Jean-Luc, it may or may not have been with a little assistance from a certain proud Q.

•you were both insanely proud of all of your kids.

[yourbuerokrat2]

@literallyonfire because I just absolutely love both of their expression (especially Picard refusing to even look at Q):

Captain Picard was not exactly having the best week of his life. Not exactly one of his worst ones either, but when his last shift of the week finally came close to an end he was feeling a dire need to pretend that he was someone else if only for a little while. And while he certainly appreciated the company of his friends most of the time, today he preferred to indulge in his session of make-believe alone.

Or at least he had hoped to be able to do so. A hope which had quickly evaporated and turned to dust the moment he saw an all too familiar wannabe- god enter 'Dixon Hills' office as if he owned the place. And it had only taken Picard a short and failed command for the simulation to end that he became aware that he was no longer on the Holodeck but instead inside of another thing purely fabricated by Q for Qs own amusement (even though 'playfully' insisted that he was doing this for both of them "Really,Jean-Luc, we could have so much fun together if you would just allow yourself to have it"). So technically Q did own this place.

Great.

Well, at least with Q he knew that whatever he was going to put Picard through, whatever 'game' he forced Picard to play with him, was in the entitys mind most likely another lesson that Picard was apparently in need of. So, the only thing that was going to get hurt was Picards pride.

Or at least this was what Picard had thought when Q declared himself Dixon Hills companion for the entirety of the adventure. Playing the villain was certainly fun, Q admitted, but he believed that by now they had moved beyond that. So, instead Q had opted to create a villain just perfect for this setting.

And as much as Picard hated to say it, Q really knew how to make a good villain. Intimidating, smart and powerful, 'Big Jim' was certainly no one to laugh at. Their first confrontation however had proven to be rather unfruitful since even though it was clear as day that this man was the one behind the murders they (and Q took great enjoyment from each moment Picard or anyone else acknowledged them as a 'team', although the people around them tended to treat them more as if they were a romantic couple) had little to no evidence. The lack of evidence however did not stop 'Big Jim' from sending his goons and at least half of the criminal world of the town after them to stop them from finding any.

For someone whom he was sure hated any kind of exercise, Q seemed to rather enjoy it when they were chasing a criminal or when a bunch of criminals were chasing them.

Now however, as the game was finally coming close to an end, with them being so close to finally gaining much needed information Picard was also gaining information he had never asked for.

Because their latest chase had rather surprisingly ended with them having to enter a ball of sorts. Not really an elegant one but a much more cheaper and casual one, which thankfully allowed Picard still in his Dixon Hill costume to not really stand out. Q had reasoned that the only way they could continue to not stand out and for them to keep their eyes on anyone suspicous was if they too started dancing. The entity had not even given him the time to choose a dance partner and had instead grabbed him and gotten him to the middle of the dance floor.

It was very clear very quickly that Q did not really intend to pay their surrounding any attention at all. Instead, all of Qs attention was on the man who was now very much forced to see the rather uncomfortable amount of fondness and various other rather clear emotions directed at him.

And as if the nature of Qs.. obsession with him was not already made very clear to Picard in this moment, the 'powers that be' decided that a song which was a little 'slower-paced' and of a rather romanic nature was much more fitting right now.

Picard decided to do what he always did when he knew Q was staring at him, looking anywhere but at the entity. Which was considering their current situation a bit difficult especially since Q now really seemed to want to have his attention.

That the way Q said "Please go with the flow, Mr. Detective." reminded Picard of the time and the way Q had said that they would spent eternity together did not help at all.

So, the questions Picard now found himself faced with were how, when or (painfully enough) if he was going to get away from an armourous god who had created an entire world just for the two of them?

Some sketches bc im focusing on my cms rn and still thinking abt dixon hill qcard like if someone writes fanfic abt q appearing in holodeck while picard was playing dixon hill and q wont let him out before they do smth like he gives picard a mission or smth idk i would love to read it

[ericac318]

Choosing Love

Summary:

Before the events of Star Trek: Picard season 2, Q met the love of his life in Rose Carter. Will Q let her join him on his mission to ensure Picard has the same opportunity to find love that Q has found with her? This is not 100% canon compliant. QxOC

Chapter 2

“What did Picard mean when he said you looked unwell, Q?” Rose questioned, still unable to focus on anything else. “Is there something wrong with you? Is that why you let me come along?” Her questions came out rushed because she was in such a state of panic.

If she was going to lose him, she wished she’d asked to join him much earlier so that they would have had more time together.

“Sh,” Q soothed as he moved closer to her, placing his hand comfortingly on her cheek, “I have been traveling the universe for an extremely long time. Such a long amount of time that your human mind wouldn’t be able to comprehend it. There is a possibility that I’ve reached the end of my life, but I don’t know that for certain. You have nothing to worry about. Not yet, anyway.”

He took a chance and glanced into her eyes where he could see tears starting to form. “Don’t mourn me yet, my dear. The end for a Q could still be more than the rest of your lifespan. Please, calm down and don’t cry. I promise not to leave your side again if that will help you to feel better,” he offered as he wiped away the lone tear that had escaped.

Rose took a deep breath, gathering herself, “I can agree to focus on your test for Picard, but after that, I can’t make any promises,” she stated, earning a smirk from him. “However,” she added, “I will be holding you to your word that I get to join on all of your missions from now on. There is no way I’m wasting any chance to spend time with you.”

“I can agree to your terms,” he whispered before he placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Would you like to know when we are?” Q inquired while his eyes danced playfully.

She took a step back, wondering if she’d heard him correctly, “Did you say ‘when’ we are?”

Q’s eyes lit up as he replied, “I most certainly did. We have come back to the year 2024. This is the time period when Earth had its last chance to turn things around. Picard has to make the right choices in this time period in order to save his future, but everything his instincts will lean towards will be wrong,” he explained.

“Don’t you think you should have given him a bit more information before we left?” she asked, starting to feel dizzy from all of the information she’d taken in over the past six hours.

He shook his head, “I can’t guide him to the right decision. If I did that then it would mean nothing. He needs to learn for himself. Don’t worry, my dear. Jean Luc always figures things out, even if he hits a few speed bumps along the way.”

Rose raised her brow, “You left him in the present so he has to find a way back in time, too. Only one ship in Federation history has accomplished that and Kirk had Spock.”

“Don’t fret, my Rose,” Q comforted her, wrapping his arms around her, and pulling her tight against his chest, “Jean Luc has someone as well. And, his someone is essential to his entire test.” He changed the subject, “What would you like to do while we wait for our next moment to appear in Jean Luc’s life?”

His words distracted her from her worries as she pulled back, just slightly so she could place her hands on his face, “I thought you said I had to keep my hands off of you during missions?” Rose teased as she ghosted his lips with her own.

“I suppose I should have clarified that you only had to refrain when we were among a crowd,” Q stated, his voice low, as he took her mouth with a kiss, laced with passion.

She broke the kiss for a moment, “I’m glad to know there’s a difference because you know that I have a very hard time resisting your …” she let her words linger as she trailed her fingers from his neck, down his chest, until they reached his erection.

“Don’t be such a tease, my temptress,” he inhaled before he lifted her into his arms allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist, as he gently slammed her against the wall. “You know how easy it is to get me all worked up,” he added, his breath hitched as she ran her tongue along his neck before trailing kisses along the same path.

Follow along here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44520028/chapters/111980926

[yourbuerokrat2]

So, Q would never intentionally just snap his fingers and make Picard love him. But what if other Qs don't really see what the 'big deal' behind doing something like that it. I mean, in there mind despite Q being a strange Q he is still a Q and therefore any mortal should be incredibly flattered by his interest and grateful. Which could lead to two scenarios:

a) Q arrives on the Enterprise and 'finds out' that Picard is in love with him and just after a surprise kiss he has wanted for ages, the Q who made Picard fall in love with Q is similiar to how he was when Riker was 'in love' with Amanda. And being like 'so you always talk about this human and we figured that since you caused less chaos ever since your obsession with him that you deserved him.'

b) The Q are aware that Q for some, to them, unknown reason would be against this and manipulate Picards emotions towards Q in a lot more subtle ways and are careful to keep Q from finding out about this. And it works perfectly. The orchestrating had taken a lot longer than just snapping this relationship into existence would have, but Q is happy and distracted. They are so happy together that after a few centuries Picard even agreed to spend eternity with Q. The problem? Q wants Picard and him to be true equals and for Picard to become a Q as well after a certain point. Which would cause a problem because Qs cannot really control the emotions of other Qs and therefore the Continuums hormonal and neurological manipulations would no longer work. Of course, they don't reveal this to Q and Q even though he would be suspicious would not even want to question or come to the potential conclusion why the other Qs are against making Picard a Q.

[centipede-rain]

Sweet as ice

(Qcard vampire Au, enemies to lovers, part one)

Q is a powerful vampire, and Picard is a vampire Hunter, part of the legendary federation guild. Will one of the two be successful in their endeavour to kill their nemesis? Or does fate have something completely different planned for the unlikely pair?

Ao3 Link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35251033/chapters/87846316

The looming building looks exactly as welcoming as the inhabitant probably feels towards visitors. Well, he isn’t exactly a visitor. And to be fair, he doesn’t really have good intentions either, so perhaps the inhabitants hostility isn’t all that unwarranted…. he did come here to end his life after all.

Picard despises to see others in pain, and he despises bring the reason for it even more, but what he is about to encounter can hardly be called a “person“.

The one who lives in this castle is hardly human, more beast than man, really. Nothing but a bloodthirsty monster who brutally murders others to survive.

No…. he’s not a person at all.

With newfound determination he climbs over the fence, landing on the other side in a crouch. He has to be quiet, stealthy, or his next mission could very well be his last. That’s always the case of course, if you‘re a part of the legendary federation guild. That’s just what it means to be out here on the field, putting his life on the line so that others can be safe and blissfully unaware of the horrors that stalk the night.

Silently he crosses the garden, illuminated only by the pale moonlight which makes the shadows of trees and bushes seem alive in truly terrifying ways. He almost swears he can feel another presence, something moving in the dark- but no. It’s only his imagination, it has to be. He has been so careful, he can’t have been spotted just yet.

He slides open one of the old wooden windows, careful not to produce any noise, before entering the house and taking out his sword.

Because somewhere in this inky black there’s him, his next target.

The vampire named Q.

And he’d like to be prepared for their little rendezvous.

What an odd name though, he ponders, as he slowly creeps up the stairs. Why did he choose it? It’s not unusual for a vampire to pick a different name than their previous human one, but normally they choose something gloomy and intimidating, like the suffering or something pretentious in Latin like Malum. But a random letter of the alphabet? That’s certainly a first.

To bad the unique name will not do him much good, as he will fall to a hunters sword like all the others before him.

Now, if only he’ll be able to surprise him…

“So many homes and you specifically decide to break into mine? Your lucky star must have betrayed you, little thief.”

The sickly sugar coated drawl comes from directly behind him. Immediately he swivels around, pointing his sword at what he had falsely presumed to be merely a shadow.

“I am no thief, and tonight it will be your turn to curse the stars, not mine! ”

The figure steps forward, revealing a tall man, dressed in a pristine blue suit. His charcoal black eyes glitter menacingly, yet infinitely amused.

“Why would I curse the stars? They are so pretty after all. I don’t know about you though, little thief… or shall I say would-be-murderer?”

Not letting himself be distracted by the monsters civil act, he scans the area. At least eleven objects he can use as a weapon, for example the poker from the fire place. The end would be burning hot too, giving him an additional advantage.

“This is no murder, parasite. I am simply seeking justice for your victims.”

Q sneers, baring his fangs and giving Picard a little taste of the horrors that lurk just beneath the surface of that pleasant face of his.

“You humans sure love to talk a lot without knowing or understanding anything, don’t you? But I’ll give you another chance, as I’m in a good mood today. Run and perhaps you shall live to see another day.”

This confuses Picard slightly. A vampire offering to let potential prey off the hook? Perhaps it is a ruse to catch him unaware, or perhaps this vampire is smarter than he looks and has realised what he’s dealing with…. it doesn’t matter. One of them will have to die tonight.

“May you finally find peace.”

He goes directly for the heart, aiming to make it quick. There’s no need to make him suffer, no need for cruelty. Nothing but a quick and clean end to an abhorrent existence.

But his sword is met by nothing but air. Where Q was standing just a second before, there is no one.

He tries to swivel around in time, but something hits him in the back full force, making him lose both his balance and hold of his sword.

It clatters to the floor loudly, just out of his reach. he immediately lunges for it, only to find it held in place by a black boot standing on top of it.

“How disrespectful! I offer you mercy, and you immediately try to kill me. I shouldn’t have expected better from a human. That’s always been my weakness, I’m too lenient with your lot.”

Merde. Time for plan B.

He quickly rolls over, landing in a crouch just beside the fireplace. Which seems to have been a very good decision, considering where he’s been lying just a moment before there is now an ornately carved and lavishly decorated dagger sticking from the ground.

His gaze locks with the steely gaze of Q, who watches him with interest and what seems to be intense contempt. For a few seconds, neither of them does anything, both considering their next move.

Then everything happens at once. Picard lunges to grab the poker, feeling his finger curl around the metal just in time as Q lunges towards him, successfully slamming him into the nearest wall.

The pain which explodes in his head overwhelms him for a moment, and the breath is knocked out of him, but the dizziness accompanied by a ringing in his ears is way worse.

Nevertheless, he holds on tight to the poker, slamming it into Qs knee with as much force as possible.

A loud hiss of pain and slackening of the grip which was keeping him in place indicates that his action was at least partially successful. He shoves the vampire as far away from him as possible, holding his poker like weapon, in case he needs to defend himself quickly.

Considering his current state, it might be smartest to stall for time until he is able to let go of the wall without losing balance though.

Q might my hurt too, but a small injury like that would never stop a vampire from tearing their enemy to pieces. If anything, the pain would make them even more cruel and savage.

And sure enough…

“That. Was a mistake. I would have made it painless and quick, perhaps even have let you go after teaching you a lesson, but you just had to go and ruin it.”

The furious glare seems like a good indicator that he’s finally managed to get to his opponent in some way. Whether that’s a good thing or not, he isn’t entirely sure right now.

“If it is a comfort to you, I did plan to make it quick and painless for you as well, but you ruined my plan also. It is only fair I suppose, that I ruin yours.”

He does not seem especially amused.

This time he does not see it coming before he is once again slammed into the wall, even rougher than before, his own sword pointed directly at his throat.

“Any last words, little thief? And don’t you dare beg for my mercy, because you already had your chance.”

Picards mind races. What should he do? How could he still get out of this alive? And why is this vampire so strong? They told him it’d be an easy job…

Fighting does not seem especially promising right now, and expecting compassion from a vampire? What a ridiculous idea.

No. If he wants to survive this, he has to negotiate, to somehow convince Q to let him go. Luckily he has an ace up his sleeve.

“I wouldn’t kill me if I were you.”

The man laughs, actually laughs right at his face.

“And why, pray tell, shouldn’t I? You broke into my house to kill me, chose a fight over my peace offer, and now that I’ve defeated you and your pathetic attempts at trying to murder me I should just let you go? What’s in it for me?”

“If you kill me, the federation will send a dozen more, willing to rip you apart limb by limb.”

His amusement abruptly comes to an end.

“The federation sent you?”

He seems to ponder his options for a moment, before begrudgingly lowering the sword, holding him in place on the wall by his neck instead. He shivers at the cold touch, not exactly violent but not gentle either. A warning.

“Now listen well if you want to keep your pathetic life. You will tell the federation that I am to be left alone. That if they send me a hundred of their best hunters, I will send a hundred mutilated corpses back to them. Understood?”

Not trusting himself to speak right now, Picard only nods.

His cooperation is rewarded with a cruel and mocking smile.

“Very well. Sweet dreams little thief.”

He barely has time to wonder what his captor means by that, before his head is slammed into the wall once again, violently, sending him straight into unconsciousness and his limp body into the waiting arms of his enemy.

[fictionadventurer]

If you're still taking the fictional asks, how about Star Trek (I know you occasionally talk about TNG, but would be curious about any of the rest as well)?

Star Trek: I love how tactile everything about the spaceship is--all the very sensible '60s knobs and switches. I like the over-the-top sense of adventure. I love the Tribble episode (which is one of the few full episodes I've seen, and I've seen it several times because it always seemed to be on TV).

Next Generation: Data! Oddly enough, the machine is the most interesting person on the crew. His fascination with humanity and struggle to connect with them, his innocence and wisdom, his love of his cat and Holmes stories--I care about him so much. I've finally seen enough episodes to appreciate the other characters, but back I was struggling to connect to their bland competence, Data was what kept me coming back, and he's always going to be one of my favorite characters of all time.

Other things to appreciate include: Picard's captaining and speech-making skills; the incredibly relaxing background hum of the spaceship; the occasional appearance of Q, the holodeck (I know all the cliches of the holodeck stories can be contrived, but I'm obsessed with the possibilities it provides for storytelling), the Picard vineyard, whoever finally decided to give Troi a real uniform, the astonishingly well-formatted structure of the finale. And ever since I saw I, Borg, I think about it constantly.

DS9: I've seen, like, an episode and a half of this show. (One was the Tribbles crossover event. Very well done). But I also saw a bit of the episode where it crossed over with TNG, and Bashir + Data was a friendship dynamic that I never knew I needed.

Voyager: Janeway. For reasons that I can't explain, I just like her. Possibly because she reminds me of Katherine Hepburn, who I also instinctively like for unknown reasons. (This is so funny to me, because whenever I mention Voyager to my dad, who was a ST fan when these were actually airing, the first thing he always says is that he could never get into this show because he didn't like Janeway. The gender divide, perhaps?) She's just a fun captain to watch.

This crew also has more races and species and genders involved among the main crew, and even if it's not all handled well, it provided a nice change of pace from the rather samey-feeling TNG crew.

Enterprise: I've definitely only seen an episode and a half of this show, so I can't say much. But I like the more rough-and-tumble frontier atmosphere--these people don't know what they're doing, and they're just trying their best. I like that they don't have all the Star Trek tech, so they have to do things like have a linguist to help with translation issues. And one of the episodes I've seen was the one where Trip and T'Pol go to Vulcan, and I loved the gentler exploration of dealing with domestic life in an alien culture.