#and he knows he'll learn more from her than he would one of the Starfleet security officers | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

itsmyfandomandilikeit · 5 months

Text

A Minor-to-Medium Prediction for Prodigy Season 2

All right so I'll admit, I haven't gotten to the TOS episodes about Organians yet, so I'm kinda making a lot of assumptions.

(season one spoilers under the cut)

So I've been thinking about Dal's Augment abilities, and I think it's really important to the story that they remain fairly minor. The series is about Dal's growth as a person, and him getting a bunch of random superpowers does not help that. I find the story of someone who starts from nothing and fights to become somebody very inspiring, so I do truly hope his character remains more important than his DNA, and I also think it would be a mess if we had to sit through an episode about each of the minor traits he gets from each of his component species. He's his own person, that's like the point of the series.

But I do think he'll still have some variation in ability. He's got his neck-tail thing, he seems to be pretty acrobatic, and telepathic abilities seem to be a recurring motif.

I think he might not be able to really rely on his ability to swap bodies, at least not to the degree that he can cheese it like a Quirk or anything, but I do think he'll be able to use it and skills like it again. I think it will be interesting to see how the minor telepathic abilities of his component species can interact, especially since the way they work seems to be so... undefined. He can swap bodies with a person he knows, so long as there's SOME form of physical contact, like a phaser beam across starships. It's transitive. But we don't know what all this can interact with, and how else it can be used.

Next season will take place, it seems, largely on Solum. A planet that exists in two separate timelines, one in which it is almost entirely devoid of life and one in which its future remains uncertain. It sort of reminds me of Dal, whose past is pretty dark and empty but whose future could be better, we'll have to wait and see.

Anyway I'm kinda rambling but I think next season he's going to swap bodies with Gwyn. I don't know when and how this will impact things, but I think it's where the story is going. Honestly he'll probably go to a place where she is in the other timeline and think about how he misses her, and they'll swap places and have to deal with each other's situations. That's my theory. I don't think this will be the ending to the season or anything but I think it'll happen in the middle somewhere so they can provide some insight to the other's situation that helps but doesn't entirely solve some problem. It also, as in Mindwalk, really doesn't allow them to talk.

I think it's going to turn out that the reason Solum was so conflicted about joining the Federation is that they would have to give up genetic engineering. We've seen they have advanced technology in other fields, but I think we saw in Kobayashi that Gwyn was genetically engineered. I think the reason the word "progeny" was emphasized so much is because it has to do with how Vau Nakat reproduce. Gwyn isn't an exact clone of her dad- they don't have the same facial markings.

Overall I've almost convinced myself that Dal will learn and grow under Janeway, but ultimately leave Starfleet to forge his own path. It's unfair but I think neither he nor Gwyn can join Starfleet and for the same reason- and we're less than a year out from the events of Picard S1. But I think, if things are going the way I think they are, it'll be a powerful story nonetheless. I think Dal as an independent actor who attains far more success and influence than the likes of Okona could be a very satisfying ending. Not to mention the fact that I don't think I'd like watching him be treated like garbage by Starfleet and still decide to dedicate his life to it.

At the very end of season 1, Janeway walks off and asks the children if they're coming with her on their new ship. They all chase after her, except for Dal, who stops and watches Gwyn’s shuttle leave. I think that was foreshadowing. I think he'll grow under Janeway's guidance but ultimately become his own person.

#star trek #Star trek prodigy #dal r'el #gwyndala #This was supposed to just be about the mindwalk thing but I just kept typing #My bad #I've been thinking about this for months so it's not really coherent #Also I wrote part of it sitting on the toilet

14 notes · View notes

ofhouseadama · 2 years

Note

I found a past post from you of how very much Julian would want to be protected/rescued by Garak but also being unable to articulate that or even realize it. And Yes Garak is all about the physical protection, conniving to get anyone who would harm Julian destroyed, threatening the life of anyone (S31) who tried to force him into something he didn’t want, etc.

But I’m weak for the idea of Julian getting triggered by something (war trauma? Patient loss? Missing friends? Anti-augment news from the federation? The sight of a family with a child with learning disabilities who obviously love that child? Idk) and Garak just… emotionally protecting him. Getting him home where he can take him into his arms and stroke his hair and murmur “I know, dearest” very softly to him. And Julian…just loses his shit. Full-body shaking sobs and clutching him hard enough to make an unintended tear in his tunic and repeating “don’t go” over and over whilst he struggles to breathe. Not even fully as a reaction to the upsetting event but because he’s having an emotional release/upheaval in that he didn’t think this kind of care was something he could have. And the thought of losing it-even just because Garak wanted to end the embrace too soon for Julian’s standards-is suddenly Unbearable.

Oh for sure.

I think, in general based on what we see on the show, Julian is someone who is adept at shoving things down for a long long time before they come back up with the force of an erupting volcano. He's gonna take in the distressing information and immediately shove it down to avoid processing it and feeling the distressing emotion. And that makes him a good doctor and an excellent trauma surgeon, especially once the war starts! He compartmentalizes his emotions very well! He absolutely compartmentalizes them too well.

So does Garak. Or well, so did Garak. We see Garak hit that wall a couple of times during the show, but he's about twenty or so more years traumatized than Julian. He's at capacity. The wheels are falling off. Especially once the reality of Cardassia's immediate future finally lands for him in season seven.

They're both just staggering on, barely putting one foot in front of the other, by the end of the Dominion War. Mentally. But give them a task and they will continue, loping along, no matter how bad the injury is. And Garak's just been given a very big task: save Cardassia. Save her people.

And Julian is left to flounder. He's in fucking free fall. His friends and support network are dead or gone, his purpose is gone, he's got Section 31 breathing down his neck, and his C-PTSD now has a bunch of brand new violent trauma dumped on it. He, once more, can never go home again. DS9 will never be home again. Earth will never be home again. Starfleet may never be home again. He is outrunning the one mistake that will send him to an institution or into exile.

Which is why I love fics that have Julian running away -- to Betazed, to the Gamma Quadrant, to Cardassia. That boy is a runner, let him run! He's gonna outrun the trauma until it catches up to him and he hasn't let it catch him yet! But oh boy is that monster of childhood and now war trauma coming close to getting it's fingers in the back of his shirt and feasting on his psyche! I love the idea of Julian either fully going AWOL or otherwise putting in for a transfer/volunteering to go to Cardassia, thinking that it'll distract him. That he'll just be able to ignore his feelings for Garak and ignore his trauma like he always has. Because why won't he? He's been doing that for eight years. He's an expert.

But then he arrives on the planet's surface, six months after the bombardment, and gets slam dunked into a struggling rural hospital on the northern continent that needs a pediatrician who's not afraid of trauma... and simply never gets a moment to come up for air. He never even gets a moment to tell Garak that he's there. But it feels like he belongs to a crew again, and slowly starts to make friends again, has to throw all his extra energy in learning how to cook and how to be a plumber and how to be an electrician and any of the hundreds of things the people in the region need him to be and while he's just there to serve and to distract himself and to run away from himself... he ends up finding himself. Finding a community. Finding a place to exist and to breathe. And he starts to unspool, just a little, but it's okay because they're all struggling and all unspooling and all drinking too much and all being a little too reckless and far too restless, both the Federation aid workers and the Cardassians alike.

When snow comes to Cardassia for the first time in a millennia, it comes to the northern continent.

And when Garak arrives on the government transport bringing aid and relief workers, he finds Julian with a beard, wearing the ugliest sweater in the known universe, and speaking some hick dialect of Kardasi with a sick and snot-nosed toddler on his hip and understands why none of his subspace messages have been opened in eight months.

Because holy fuck has it been hard. Supplies are scarce and the terrain has been changed by the bombardment and the weather is violent and the water isn't safe to drink and food? I hope you like rations. There's hope for the next harvest but the one they were supposed to live on this winter never grew at all, not with the amount of chemical waste in the soil. The children are sick and the children are starving and the children need radiation medication and the children need vaccines and the children are injured, disabled, orphaned. But they are loved. And it's been absolutely intolerable. And Julian hasn't gotten a break once, which means he's never had to deal with it but also means he's exhausted. The only reason he's been getting by is because no one here knows him, not really, not well enough to call him out on it. And certainly no one here has the impetus to call him out on it, when they're all doing as poorly as he is -- certainly the Cardassians, but the Federation aid workers as well. They're all dealing with something. On the run from something. Avoiding their own truths and own pasts and their own pain. Because if they feel it at all, it's game over.

But Garak knows Julian. He knows that someone who is okay doesn't give up their post as CMO on a cushy space station in order to disappear into the frontier of rural Cardassia. He knows how abruptly Julian left. He's been worried and Julian has never worried him before. So he tries to get Julian alone, and Julian fights it, and Julian avoids him and it's just like during the war but this time there's no holosuite to break into.

So he corners Julian in the repurposed supply closet that is his office. And asks him what in the fuck is Julian doing here, because he's livid and concerned and just like, Julian, so, so tired.

And Julian knows why he's here, but doesn't want to think about why he's here, has spent the better part of a year not thinking about it. He's fallen out of contact with the people who love him in order to not think about it. He's been sleeping on a hard cot in his office on the pediatric ward to not think about it. He's been drinking too much, working too much, throwing himself fully into helping this community in order to not think about it.

But Garak is precise and needling and has never given up on something even once in his life so he keeps going until the cracks show in Julian's anger. He is an interrogator and a torturer and he knows. He knows. He's always known. And the breakdown Julian's been postponing since he was fifteen finally happens, in part because it has to and in part because he knows Garak will shoot anyone who comes through that door. He is safer here than anywhere else he has ever been in his life.

Garak knows how to take someone apart as quickly and efficiently as any surgeon, but has never really learned how to put them back together. But he's also always been a quick learner. When Julian collapses down onto the cot behind his desk, he asks if he wants him to go -- and gets a swift and choked off, no. Please don't go. You can't go now. So he stands between Julian's legs and lets him rest his forehead on his stomach. Puts his hands on Julian's shoulders, stroking gently, then his hair. For all that comfort is a foreign country, he's seen it given and taken. So he just doesn't move, and however long it takes is how long it takes.

Eventually, Julian gets a page from his charge nurse -- an infant has come in with febrile seizures -- and he has to go. The moment breaks. And they could both choose to not acknowledge it, to let it become another moment in a long line a moments that could have meant something. Could have built to something. But Julian wipes his eyes before checking to see if his tricorder is still in his coat jacket, and asks Garak if he'll still be there when his shift ends.

Garak says this is where they're stopping for the night. Then, hesitating for only a moment, offers Julian the spare keycard for the room he's been assigned for the night at the only hotel in town.

And Julian takes it.

#ask #anonymous #otp: there's hope for you yet #emily watches ds9 #do they fuck? maybe #but also maybe julian just needs a semi-comfortable bed and to get his hair petted

85 notes · View notes

seaphoam-writes · 5 months

Text

A Father's Duty (26/?)

A Father's Duty on AO3

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

Chapter 26

Will plays along, and they allow Louis to increase the ship’s speed by a warp factor of one for several minutes before returning the Enterprise to its original velocity. The boy’s hands are steady on the controls, but when he’s finished he stuffs them into his lap and looks quickly at Picard, who grins.

“Well done,” he praises, then adds in French, “If I didn’t know any better, I might assume you already had flight experience.”

Teaching Louis to pilot a shuttlecraft would have been entirely practical, given his and the other Data’s situation. Louis glances past Picard, where Picard guesses this reality’s Data is side-eyeing him back. Neither of them denies it.

Suspicion confirmed, Picard says, “Now, let’s let Ensign Gates return to her post.” He stands and turns to where Gates was waiting a polite distance away. “Thank you, Ensign.”

“Of course, Captain.” The young woman offers him a smile, and Picard decides that, however fun this all just was, he should be cautious when considering allowing it again in the future; he needs to maintain his appearance, ensure his crew doesn’t begin to believe he’s gone soft. Picard has no idea what Starfleet may attempt to leverage against him, but he imagines nepotism and the loss of his crew’s confidence would be quite detrimental to his case.

Head ducked, Louis slides from the chair and murmurs, “Merci—thank you,” before tucking himself against Picard’s side.

“You have the bridge, Number One.”

“Aye, sir.”

Will’s grinning broadly. It’s incredible that a man who excels at strategy can be so appallingly inept at masking his emotions. Or perhaps it’s that he puts in the effort only when necessary. In any case, Picard’s aware that he’s far from exuberant, so having an “uncle” who exudes sunshine from his every pore as Will Riker does will be good for Louis—at least, that’s what Picard tells himself as he herds Louis into his ready room and tries to ignore the sensation of that ray-like grin sizzling between his shoulder blades.

Once inside his ready room, Picard sits at his desk and Louis sprawls on the couch with Les Aventures de Tintin propped on his belly.

“Confortable?” he teases.

Comfortable?

Louis hunches bashfully, an impressive feat given his horizontality. “C'est OK?”

“Bien sûr.” Of course. His own father would have scolded him had he abused a piece of furniture in such a way, but Louis spent years squeezed into a shuttlecraft and Picard can’t fault him for stretching his body in any way that pleases him. “I’m only teasing you; sit however you want. But watch out for the painting.”

Louis shifts his foot so it’s not knocking against the picture frame. “C'est le même.”

It’s the same.

“The painting?” Picard asks.

“Everything.” His eyes rake the room slowly, snag on the desk. “Almost everything. It’s like your quarters. Same, but different.”

“Our quarters,” Picard corrects gently. He waits for Louis’s solemn answering nod before continuing. “What was different about your papa’s ready room?”

As awkward as it is for Picard to learn about his other self, he wants Louis to keep those memories alive, to preserve that version of his father, a man Picard hopes to live up to.

“He had a photo of us,” Louis replies. “And one of my drawings. And some of my books.”

“Were you in here often then?”

“Only when you and maman were both working late.”

“You preferred your papa’s ready room over stellar sciences?”

Louis says quietly. “I like how the ship sounds from here.”

“I do too,” Picard agrees—it’s why he’s often in his ready room even when he’s not on duty.

They share a smile, and then Louis returns to reading and Picard settles in to review the relevant reports from the previous day. Several minutes of easy silence pass before Louis abruptly flattens his book to his chest and asks, “Papa? Why are we going to Earth?”

Picard looks up from his PADD. “Who told you we’re going to Earth?”

“Data.”

It was an oversight on his part, failing to predict that without explicit orders not to do so, one of his crew might reveal to Louis their current destination before Picard had a chance to discuss it with him.

Dread curling in his chest, threatening to hollow him out, Picard lays his PADD on the desk and folds his hands. “We’re going to Earth because Starfleet Command ordered us to.”

“Why did they order us to go to Earth?”

Perhaps, Picard muses, it would be easier if the boy were not so clever.

He takes a deep breath, says evenly, “They ordered us to go to Earth because I informed them that I now have a son, and that my son came to me from another quantum reality. They wish to meet you.”

“Why do they want to meet me?”

“Because you are proof that other quantum realities exist.”

Louis sits up, slowly. “Will they send me back?”

“No.”

“What if—”

“Louis, they cannot send you back. The rift you travelled through is closed, and there are no other rifts that we know of. Even if there were—even if they tried to send you back, I wouldn’t let them.”

Louis, his eyes wide and panicked, stands and rounds Picard’s desk with hurried, clumsy strides; the boy’s on a crash course, and Picard turns his chair just in time to catch him. He holds Louis tightly to his chest until he feels him let out a shaky breath, then says, “Je suis là, Louis. Parle moi.”

I’m here. Talk to me.

One of Louis’s hands is crushed between their bodies. It tightens in Picard’s shirt. “They tried to take me away from Data.”

“Who did?”

“Captain Amasov and Dr. Kelley.”

Picard isn’t familiar with a Dr. Kelley, but Joseph Amasov is the Captain of the Endeavor, which is the ship Louis and Data first took shelter on after they escaped Wolf 359.

“Starfleet isn’t going to try and take you away from me.” Picard prays that doesn’t end up being a lie. “The fact that you’re from another quantum reality is simply something they can’t ignore. They will want to run tests to prove whether or not that’s true, and they may want to ask you questions to determine the difference between your reality and ours—but that’s all, I promise. I’ll be with you the entire time. And so will Data.”

Louis swallows and nods, which cannot be particularly comfortable given that his face is buried against Picard’s shoulder. Picard’s not even certain how the boy’s able to breathe in such a position, but he holds Louis until Louis gently disengages, steps away and swipes roughly at his cheeks with a scowl.

“Tell me about Tintin,” he prompts.

Reassured, recovered, Louis grins.

-/-

Only several minutes have passed since Data left with Louis, Picard lost in thought—

He had of course discussed the arrangement with Louis first before requesting it of Data, and both had, amusingly, expressed identical relief and excitement at the simultaneous initiation and continuation of their relationship.

—when Beverly enters his ready room unannounced. From her expression and her gait Picard gathers she came with a purpose. His spine snaps straight, his entire body going taught, tense as a bowstring.

She sits across from him and crosses one leg over the other, angling her hips to the side in order to sling an elbow over the back of the chair. It’s overtly casual, but her piercing gaze sends a warning slither of ice into his stomach.

Did she time her appearance on purpose to catch him alone?

Very likely, he thinks grimly. He told her just that morning that Data would be watching Louis for him once Data’s shift ended.

“Deanna invited me to get lunch with her this afternoon,” she says.

Her voice is achingly sweet, like summer wine, and oh so dangerous.

Picard leans back, instinctively putting space between them in case she resorts to violence. “Yes, I know,” he replies, with manufactured mildness. “I was in the room when she extended that invitation.”

“I sensed that she wanted to talk about something specific.”

Picard sighs. There’s absolutely no point in concealing the truth. “It seems I was unusually cheerful this morning and she very easily deduced the reason why.”

Neither of them acknowledges what this implies, that Deanna was aware of his feelings prior to Picard revealing them to Beverly—that she’s been aware of Beverly’s feelings as week.

(Whatever their feelings actually are, said feelings being currently unarticulated.)

“Is there anything you don’t want me to say?” she asks, and here the moment turns fragile.

“You’re free to say whatever you wish.”

Picard thinks of his confession, admitting to Deanna that he’s loved Beverly for decades. He should have said those words to Beverly first.

“You and I should talk too,” he suggests.

“Yes.” Her tone implies this is a foregone conclusion. “Can I come over for dessert again?”

He hesitates—heart skipping a beat as his mind trips over the word dessert, wondering if it’s an innuendo—before he regains cognitive function and says, “Why don’t you join us for dinner?”

“I don’t want to monopolize your time. Or Guinan’s,” she amends with a raised eyebrow, “I hear she and Louis are getting along very well.”

Picard chuckles. “Yes, they’re quite smitten with each other.”

Beverly smiles and the tension dissolves, the air between them going soft and liquid. “What time should I come over?”

“Louis wants me to teach him how to play the flute, and I was planning on doing that after dinner. Why don’t you come over afterwards? Around 2000 hours?”

“2000 hours,” she agrees. She remains smiling at him for a long moment, their gazes locked, before finally asking, “Do you regret last night?”

“No.” And yes. He regrets that he betrayed Jack—and yet part of him regrets that he didn’t do it sooner. “Do you?”

She shakes her head. “No, I don’t.” And with that she stands.

Picard puts his hands on the armrests of his chair to push himself to his feet so he can walk her to the door but she’s coming around his desk and he freezes, able to move only his head as she bends over him, tilting his head back to receive her kiss.

It’s gentle, a delicate brush of her lips against his, just warmth and a hint of velvet, but he has to grip the chair arms to keep from touching her, to keep himself from taking her by the hips and pulling her into his lap.

After what feels like forever—what feels like an instant—she pulls away, one hand trailing lightly down the side of his face, along the underside of his jaw. And at the end, the slightest pressure, a light prick of her nails. Eyes closed, he sucks in a sharp breath and shivers.

“Dessert” was definitely an innuendo.

“See you tonight, Jean-Luc.”

She says his name like a caress, and when he opens his eyes, she’s gone.

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

2 notes · View notes

johannestevans · 3 years

Text

I was saying the last day to a friend that what people don't realise about Garak is that yes, he's extremely provocative and he lives to offend and provoke people, to pick out vulnerable threads in their characters and pluck and play with them like he's pulling them out of their clothes, and yes, he says things that are specifically about Cardassian superiority and culture, especially when he's provoking Bajorans

this is partly because he's The Worst™, partly because he genuinely feels he deserves everyone's hatred, partly because he's happy to be trusted but too much of a nationalist to be trusted if that means people forgetting he's Cardassian, and partly because he thinks it's funny

but consistently, when people describe their culture and defend it to him as proudly as Garak describes and defends his own, he is PLEASED. Garak will tell you until his face turns purple that he hates Klingons, Ferengi, Bajorans, Romulans, Vulcans, etc, but whenever Kira describes Bajor's religion or Klingons go toe to toe with him whilst talking about Kahless or when Quark defends Ferengi culture, Garak is PLEASED

because to Garak, from his moderately insane perspective, if he tells you Cardassian culture is superior and all you do is call him a spoonhead and walk away, you've just proven him right

but if you SHOW your culture, if you defend it piece by piece, it doesn't matter if you spit in his face while you do so - he'll be glad, because if you care enough about it to defend it like that, it must be good for something, and it must be worth defending.

if you don't bother to defend it, or if you jump to personal insults, that's fine, but you're ceding to Cardassian superiority in the first place, and he thinks that's a shame.

Garak as a Cardassian despises individualism and it's probably what he hates most about the Federation and Starfleet - like, Quark and Garak have their root beer conversation where they both scornfully discuss the Federation's cosmopolitan multiculturism and basically point out that the Federation is just as much a colonial force as Cardassia or the Klingins etc, and one of the ways you can consistently befriend Garak is by telling him things he doesn't know and defend them not from a place of logic or sentiment, but LOYALTY to a higher cause, and to a collective

he doesn't tell julian he needs to learn to murder his friends just bc he thinks julian killing people is sexy, although it is - it's also because he wants julian to learn that he can have his friends as an individual, or he can have his ideals as a servant and representative of the causes he claims to support, but he can't be both an individual AND truly loyal to a collective. he has to choose one, ideally the latter.

even if that cause is Starfleet, he'll grudgingly respect it

my favourite thing about garak is also how he consistently comes off as liking and trusting and respecting women far more than he does men, especially bc like

so garak is the pettiest bitch alive, but the bit in civil defence when he tells dukat to back the fuck off kira has NOTHING to do with dukat himself

garak hates dukat. he killed his father, he thinks dukat represents everything flawed and wrong and corrupted in the Cardassian military and government, he thinks Dukat is an embarrassment, hedonistic, selfish, and all these other flaws

and yet in that moment, he doesn't embarrass Dukat in the way that would hurt him most, by implying it and making Dukat figure out what he's saying. he doesn't say it to another character and let it cut him. he doesn't even tell KIRA, and let her refuse Dukat

garak, in short, doesn't do anything about that interaction in a Cardassian way. he doesn't belabour the point, he doesn't draw it out

he sees that dukat is making advances on kira, and that not being Cardassian - and also bc Kira thinks that even Dukat wouldn't stoop that low - she isn't noticing the cues, and he's furious

he's furious that dukat is disrespecting the major like that. the major that garak genuinely quite likes, no matter that kira will never trust him and always hate him - garak has never been and will never be offended when kira threatens him or insults him, even about ziyal later on, because kira is a bajoran and she makes a bajoran something worth BEING. she knows her history, she knows her culture, poetry, religion - she educates both gently and aggressively, she tells federation people to fuck off when they're ignorant, and she is PROUD of who she is. Garak calls her by her title a LOT more than he does some people, for one, and apart from the threats which we all know he enjoys from everyone, he almost never says a bad word about her when she comes up in conversation which I think is so funny

and when he sees what dukat is doing, he's disgusted. yes, he's disgusted bc dukat is disgusting and bc garak likes kira, he's disgusted that dukat is treating kira like one of the bajoran women he could pluck out of a line up and casually take for his comfort, but more than that, he's disgusted that dukat is taking advantage of kira's trust and ignorance.

but what he's disgusted by most isn't dukat himself, but that he's a Cardassian doing this in front of Garak who sees what he's doing, in a room of stupid aliens who don't know any better, and he thinks Garak will LET him? that he'll APPROVE? like fuck he will!

garak speaks very bluntly in that interaction. it's probably the bluntest and simplest we see him get outside of begging tain to acknowledge him as a son.

what's telling about it is how dukat reacts - how he says, wounded and scandalised, "Garak!"

how it's JULIAN that has to seriously tell garak to back off

because even Dukat didn't expect garak would do that. because its not very cardassian of him. a Cardassian doesn't just bluntly reveal the intentions of another like that when he has nothing to gain from it - it isn't done! it's impolite, it's improper! Kira is just an alien woman, after all, and Garak has just embarrassed Dukat in front of all these aliens not because he's being selfish and self indulgent and that's bad from a Cardassian POV, but because Garak is seeing Dukat disrespect this alien officer in a way that he dislikes, and so he puts a pin in it

as though kira is a Cardassian. as though she's worthy of that defence as an OFFICER, not as a Bajoran or a woman.

and he doesn't rub it in. he doesn't gloat over dukat. he doesn't go on and on about Dukat's affection for Bajoran women or women that don't want anything to do with him, even through he easily could, even though he enjoys hurting Dukat, even though flustering him would be a benefit in their conversation

because all of that would upset KIRA. it wouldn't be worth hurting Dukat for, and in fact, I think Garak would have done exactly the same thing if it was any other Cardassian officer, which is WHY it's so significant bc like.

Garak is so petty, as I said.

it's telling when he puts his pettiness aside to prioritise something else.

#garak #dukat #kira nerys #deep space nine #star trek

290 notes · View notes

itsany62 · 3 years

Text

SteveTony - Alternate Universe

Here are some Alternate Universe fics that I love. Don't forget to leave kudos and nice comments in every fic!

Food for the Heart, by LagLemon, 14 k >, Cooking, No Powers.

After being introduced to a gourmet food on a budget blog by Pepper (a gift for her elderly, cheapskate mother) Tony starts cooking again. The recipes are good, but the blog owner is even better. Still, Tony isn't so sure Captain America, the guy who runs the blog, can compete with Hot Bagboy, the gorgeous blond who works at the grocery store.

"Free to Good Home" by Captain_Panda, 7 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

"Oliver and Company" AU.

There's a great big world outside the box.

But it's a dog-eat-dog world, and Tony's just one cat. Then a stray dog comes along, looking for a friend.

A Day In Principal Stark's Office, by nannersmelo, 10 k > words, Steve Single Parent, Director Tony.

Tony Stark has his hands full with not only Stark Industries, but also his beloved mother's life project: The Maria Stark Academy, and as he enters his office in order to deal with a ferocious mother whose son was apparently assaulted by one of his brightest students, he was sure this day would culminate in nothing but a heinous headache. Little did he know - he was in for one hell of a surprise.

I Am the Night by gottalovev, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Vampire Tony Stark, Wizard Steve Rogers.

That's it. Tony is doomed. He rolls on his back, crosses his wings over his belly and closes his eyes. He'll await death here, misunderstood by the world to the bitter end.

C is for Calculus and Compromise, by heydoeydoey, 11 k>, Gifted AU, Post-Divorce, Angts with a Happy Ending.

Steve's just trying to give his prodigy daughter a normal childhood. Enter a meddling school administrator, Tony Stark, and too many lawyers.

tell you my love for you by jelliebean, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Based on Love Simon.

A guy at Shield High comes out on tumblr, anonymously. Tony thought he was the only gay guy on campus--not out, because of Howard--and sends him an email.

“Hey, Flying. Same here. I’ve got a secret too, and it’s like I’m hiding who I am, every day. From everyone. All the closest people to me. But I just can’t tell them. I’m gay, too. It feels like I’m putting on this mask, this shell of who I think they want me to be. Even though I don’t think my friends would judge me. I don’t know why. I just. I’ve got a secret. –Shell”

The guy seems great--amazing, even, and then Hammer has to step in and ruin it all.

Mergers & Acquisitions by Robin_tCJ, 33 k > words, Angst, sex as currency.

Steve Rogers is the CEO of the Rogers Corporation, which he built from the ground up. When he learns that Hydra International is making a bid for a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, he decides he has to do what he can to stop Hydra from overtaking the market and becoming an unstoppable, unethical conglomerate. Tony Stark asks for something Steve isn’t sure he should give, but he does it anyway – and it completely changes everything. But when Hydra keeps coming, Steve and Tony realize there’s more to this than they’d realized.

Meeting the Monsters by itsallAvengers, 23 k > words, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters.

Tony's at public school with kids his age for the first time in seventeen years, and he is determined that this year is gonna be his year. He's going to make friends. He's going to be popular. People will like him.

Unsurprisngly, none of that actually happens.

He does sort-of-maybe fall in love with a vampire in his class that everyone is terrified of, though. So... there's that.

(I Want You To See) The Darkest Side Of Me by ann2who, 45 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Post-World War II.

In Monte Carlo, Steve meets the wealthy widower Anthony Stark. It’s love at first sight—at least for Steve—and he can’t believe his luck when Tony asks him to live at Stark Mansion, his large estate in Malibu. Never in his life had Steve thought something like this was possible… never had he been this happy. However, soon Steve realizes that Tony is still deeply troubled by the death of his first wife and haunted by the many ghosts she left behind. The longer Steve lives in her shadow, the more he understands that… He can never be what Tony’s wife had once been for him. And Tony might never truly love him.

Gift With Purchase Remix by sabrecmc, 43 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, hooker Steve, Sugar Daddy.

Gift With Purchase Remix wherein Steve actually is a hooker. But for a Really Sympathetic Reason.

The Little Glass Screwdriver by ann2who, 19 k > words, Cinderella AU.

When Prince Steven is forced to find himself a bride, true love gets in the way. As the night of the grand ball unfolds, the prince meets a mysterious knight who might just change his entire life in a way he could have never imagined.

**Cinderella AU**

Covered in Lines by royal_chandler, 3 k > words, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Alternate Universe - College/University, Age Difference.

He can’t lose sight of pale, deft hands that gesture on transitive verbs, an ink-stained thumb edging underneath Tony’s ribcage with an affection that can only be called dangerous.

half-wild and glimmering by deathsweetqueen , 15 k > words, Alternate Universe - Western, Prostitution.

“Give me a drink, Tasha,” Tony sighs as he lands in front of the bar. “I’ve had one hell of a day.”

Natasha raises an eyebrow. “Have you really?” she asks, loftily, sliding a tumbler of whiskey along the well-polished wood.

Tony lets his head hang, the sweat beading on the back of his neck. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve had to put myself through today,” he sighs, wearily.

“I would not know. You will not let me work the rooms,” Natasha retorts, her voice a little strained, busying her hands in a dirty glass.

“I don’t let you work the rooms ‘cause you’re liable to kill anyone who touches ya the wrong way and we can’t lose that much of our business,” Tony reminds her, wryly amused, sipping at his whiskey. He shakes his head at the burn. “We peddle flesh, darling, not death.”

peers, fears and holiday cheers by jacobby, 24 k > words, Parent Tony Stark.

“He’s only two years older than you,” Tony finally says when the silence becomes too much to bear.

“Dad, Teddy is turning twenty-seven next year.”

“I am not dating your husband—”

“I’m not implying you are. I just want you to be...aware that he’s practically the same age as my husband.”

AKA

Tony Stark's new boyfriend is only two years older than his adult sons. Telling them is one thing, introducing them is another. What Tony doesn't expect is that the past always has a way of catching up to him, of biting him in the ass when he least expects it. Well, at least they're all together for the Holidays. What more can he ask for?

A Higher Form of War by sabrecmc, 292 k > words, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Historical Romance.

Tony is a King with a surprising number of people out to kill him. Steve and the rest of the Avengers are fighting for Pierce's rebellion and end up with Tony as their prisoner. Oops.

you can call me babe for the weekend by complicationstoo, 10 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, actor Tony Stark.

Tony left his small town for Los Angeles after high school, leaving behind everything to pursue his dream. Ten years later, he comes back for the first time and finds that some things are impossible to let go of.

Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be by iam93percentstardust, 72 k > words, Alternate Universe - Theatre.

Famed director Phil Coulson brings Shakespeare’s beloved play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to Broadway. This production though comes with a twist: a brief but passionate love affair between the faerie king, Oberon, and his attendant, Puck. In the roles of the two star-crossed lovers, Coulson casts America’s darling Steve Rogers, fresh off his third Academy Award, and Broadway royalty, Tony Stark. Steve quickly finds himself falling for the quick-witted and sarcastic actor but Tony is dating the stage manager. Unwilling to come between the seemingly happy couple, Steve steps back but all isn’t right behind the scenes and Tony may need him when everything falls apart.

and so we rebuild by raeldaza, 26 k > words, Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Soulmates, Mutual Pining.

Sometimes, a voice whispers: you will never atone for your mistakes.

Tony believes that, believes it so strongly some days he drowns in it, but he still tries. Tries through Starfleet, tries through inventions, tries through missions. Then, one day, he meets his new Captain, and things change.

and teach this heart (how to beat with light), by starklystar, 40 k >, AU Hospital, Single parent Steve.

Eight years ago, at a funeral with a baby's cries ringing in his ears, Tony Stark decided to turn his life around. He's a genius, billionaire, philanthropist. What's so hard to adding 'doctor' to that list? And after that, it can't be that hard to add 'husband' and 'father' too, right? But the past has a way of haunting even the very best of us, and in any universe, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers have never had an easy love.

Featuring: drama, chaos, Peter's scheming, meddling friends, and doctors learning again that the heart can never be as simple as four chambers and four valves.

Catching Lightning in a Bottle by sabrecmc, 120 k > words, Alternate Universe - Sweet Home Alabama Fusion.

College student Tony meets janitor Steve at MIT and they fall blissfully in love, until Howard happens and things fall apart. One divorce paperwork snafu courtesy of the ever-helpful Jarvis, and ten years later, Tony has to get re-divorced from Steve.

This does not go as he imagines.

Or, the Sweet Home Alabama AU that no one--well, okay, a few of you--asked for.

The Night Shift by weethreequarter , 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Hospital.

Welcome to the Emergency Department of San Antonio General where Dr. Tony Stark joins the team fresh from his most recent tour in Afghanistan and - much to the consternation of the other staff - strikes up an instant rapport with Nurse Steve Rogers. Meanwhile, new resident Bruce Banner refuses to give up on his patient, and Dr. Sharon Carter learns something from her own patients. Throw in a pissed off hospital administrator, Clint using the coffee pot as a mug again, and a major car crash and you have, well, just another night shift.

Cake It Till You Make It by ChocolateCapCookie, 10 k > words, Kid Fic, Alternate Universe - Bakery.

Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have a lot in common. They're single parents, they own rival bakeries at the center of town... and they both hate each other's guts.

When a mix-up at Peter and Morgan's school has both fathers scrambling to prove they're the better baker, they do the mature, adult thing and compete in a bake-off. Between the mixing and the creaming, the baking and the icing, Steve and Tony find that hate is actually not that far from love.

Looking for Heaven by foxxcub, 31 k > words, Alternate Universe - Regency, Marriage of Convenience.

When young Lord Anthony Stark learns Steven Rogers has enlisted in the army, he thinks he's seen the last of his tiny, headstrong, haughty stable boy. But four years later, Lord Stark gets an unexpected visit from Steve, whose mother has fallen gravely ill and into financial ruin. Even more unexpected, Steve agrees to a shocking proposal: they will marry, giving Steve the necessary funds to save his mother, and Tony the much-needed reprieve from harassing would-be suitors. It is a business arrangement, nothing more. But as time goes on and circumstances arise, Tony begins to learn that keeping his heart away from his husband is easier said than done.

just a guy, standing in front of another guy by theappleppielifestyle, 12 k > words.

“It’s not real,” Tony says, still smiling, jaw twitching with effort. “The fame. It’s - I’m just a guy."

(Or, Notting Hill AU, with a twist.)

Mother of Exiles (A Titanic AU) by BladeoftheNebula, 21 k > words, Alternate Universe - Titanic Fusion.

“You’ll never guess what just happened!” Steve said, taking a deep breath to try and calm his breathing. “I met someone. A guy from first class.”

Dublin 1912: Steve Rogers is barely making ends meet, living in the tenement slums of Dublin. But a stroke of good luck gives him and his best friend the chance to change their fortune. Two tickets to America on board the RMS Titanic.

The Devil You Know by shetlandowl, 17 k > words, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Author/Novelist.

Best selling author Tony Stark revives the bodice ripper genre for a modern audience. From frisky gay cowboys to ravenous lesbian pirate queens, he consistently delivers riveting thrillers full of romance, drama, and the filthy, unapologetically kinky sex that has become his trademark specialty.

Tony has everything a man could dream of - horny, adoring fans, and boatloads of money. Or that's what he thought, until Detective Steve Rogers walks into his life and turns it all upside down.

Bears and Mountains and Lumberjacks Oh My! by justanotherrollingstony (adoctoraday), 24 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Lumberjack Steve Rogers.

It was supposed to be easy--go meet the reclusive artist and buy some art. And then came the broken down car. And the snowstorm. And the lumberjack with a face like a greek god. So yea, Tony is stuck in a cabin in the woods with a hot lumberjack till the storm clears. Could be worse.

Series: A Furious Vexation by Annie D (scaramouche), 18 k > words, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse.

A Steve/Tony post-apocalypse AU that exists pretty much just for the smut.

That Feline Beat by Tito11, 5 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

Presenting Steve and Tony in the Aristocats!AU

Tony and his three kittens have been kidnapped from their fancy Upper East Side apartment while their owners are away and deposited on the mean streets of Harlem. Unsure of where they are or how to get back home, they'll have to rely on street cat Steve to guide them. Will they get home safely? Will Tony's fear of abandonment cause him to drive away the best tomcat he's ever known? Only time will tell.

do you fondue? by calciseptine, 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting.

Tony has done crazy things in the name of food, but falling in love with Steve Rogers really takes the cake.

a glimpse of heaven's love by parkrstark, 13 k> words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Terminal Illnesses.

The child begins to empty his pockets. He starts to count coins on the counter. Tony huffs a little impatiently as he realizes most of them are pennies.

The cashier actually humors the kid and counts along with him. They reach 3 dollars and 54 cents before he shakes his head sadly. "Sorry, kid. There's not enough here."

The kid sounds close to crying. "I need these paints for my Papa. It's Christmas Eve and these...he doesn't have any. The doctors said he doesn't have long. I want him to have these. In case he meets Jesus tonight, I want him to paint one more time. Please."

Tony takes a step forward, arms still full of toys he's buying just because. He can cover this child's gift for his dying father. Money. Money is what he's good for.

"I'll buy them."

Or, the Christmas Shoes AU no one but me asked for.

If you survive first impressions, you're good to go by itsallAvengers, 3 k > words, Parent Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - No Powers.

The first time Peter Parker-Stark sees Steve Rogers, he may or may not be standing in direct path of the man's motorcycle.

His daddy is really not going to be happy about that one.

A Rat-ional Conclusion by BladeoftheNebula, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, Parent Tony Stark.

He had a strong flurry of patients throughout the morning and by the time it rolled around to noon, he was just about worn out.

He walked out into the reception, stretching until he felt a satisfying pop. “Are we done?”

Bucky checked the screen. “Just about. One more before lunch - a rat, singular.”

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully straight forward then. “Great, let me know when they-”

He was interrupted by the bell over the door and looked up to see a little girl cradling a small animal carrier, being shepherded through the door by easily one of the hottest men he’d ever seen in real life.

Oh wow.

Tidal Pull by sabrecmc, 97 k > words, Octopus Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - Shipwrecked.

After the American Civil War, Union soldier Steve Rogers takes a chance on an opportunity to sail with the Stark Trading Company down in the Caribbean. During a terrible storm, his ship is lost. To his surprise, he survives, and ends up stranded on an island that isn't quite as deserted as he first thinks.

Or, a reverse Little Mermaid tale where Steve has to fall for the fish-man.

Twelve Days by elysianprince, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Ghosts.

In which Tony finds himself in a town that looks like it crawled out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, trying to sell an inn he didn't know he owned, all while dealing with Steve Rogers, the resident ghost who has returned to haunt the inn each December during the twelve days of Christmas for the past seventy years. Tony has only one logical solution that benefits them both: break the curse that binds him - but falling for a man almost a century old wasn't among his plans.

She kissed me by S_Horne, 1 k > words, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting.

“Your mom kissed me.”

Steve blinked awake and lifted his head from his pillow to look over at the silhouette in the doorway. “What?”

“Your mom,” Tony reiterated. “She kissed me.”

“Yeah,” Steve said simply, “she does that.”

#stevetony #stony #fic rec #tony stark #steve rogers #my recs

226 notes · View notes

iforcedabot-blog · 5 years

Text

I Forced a Bot To Watch Every TNG and DS9 Episode and Write One of Its Own

You may have seen “I forced a bot to watch” posts where someone claims to have “forced a bot” to read or watch hours of video and written it’s own script. Those weren’t real but in recent history it has become possible to do it for real in a pretty convincing way with OpenAI’s GPT-2 system. This is an unbroken, unedited sample of GPT-2 ‘fine-tuned’ on all the TNG and DS9 scripts. Note that television scripts have have distinct formatting and style and all of that is copied perfectly by the bot. It even *almost* gets understands page numbers (in the first example – 28, 28, 28A).

28 EXT. PLAZA/SURFACE - DAY (OPTICAL) Data and Worf as before. DATA (puzzled) You left him there? He left him there? WORF Yes. He had been there for hours... then decided that I was going to kill him. Data frowns, he can't figure out how to phrase what he did... DATA I do not understand. WORF You knew? DATA I was afraid. They exchange a look... Data thinking quickly, is back to the source... DATA (continuing) I could have programmed some medical bank monitors to monitor you for a pulse response when you could enter Klingon memory. WORF We would have -- STAR TREK: "The House... " - REV. 08/10/94 - ACT FOUR 45. 28 CONTINUED: DATA But I was afraid that it would disrupt my memory. PICARD I'll tell you what I have to do. They look at him and then Picard EXITS. Data sits in command. CUT TO: 28A INT. WORF'S QUARTERS The room is DARK and distant. Worf is struggling to regain his senses as Picard ENTERS. WORF Captain... everything I saw is gone... everything. Worf regards him for a moment... then he starts to fight it off... he stops in surprise... he doesn't know how all this is going to impact his relationship with him... he's uncertain what to do... he glances at the wall panel and frowns, surprised at the way he sees Worf... he glances around the room and tries to find a way to fight it off-kilter... it's pretty night... Worf hits the wall panel and it OFF. WORF I was... heading somewhere. PICARD Worf... what's the matter? Worf decides to break for a moment... he EXITS.

That was one the first scenes I generated that impressed me, though it cheats a bit with by being mysterious enough that it’s hard to rate how coherent it is. But you could almost see as one of the more moody and experimental character-focused episodes in Season 7 TNG. Earlier networks could copy the formatting of a TV script but they totally fell apart when you tried to actually understand the content. Even which characters were present in a scene did not stay consistent from line to line. GPT-2 handles this amazingly keeping track of not just characters but subject of conversation in a scene.

Here are some more samples chosen mostly for the humor:

DAX I think we're lucky this was just a bad batch of equipment. KIRA I'm glad you think that. DAX I'm glad we're lucky. KIRA Okay. I'm going to let you use the Bajoran storage bin to backup your data on this trip. And with that, Kira heads off down the Corridor. We HOLD on a thoughtful Dax. 19 INT. OPS Kira and Dax EXIT the turbolift, followed by Sisko, who goes to the Transporter Room in frustration. DEEP SPACE: "The Wire" - 03/01/94 - ACT ONE 12. 19 CONTINUED: KIRA It's not working. DAX I'm having trouble retuning the transceiver. The adaptors won't work. KIRA Maybe they should replace us by rentals. DAX With what? KIRA With your arms. DAX With your hands. KIRA Your arms. DAX You're lifting your arms. KIRA My arms. DAX (the hurtiest) Your arms. They're my hands. Kira takes a beat, looks down at her arms for a moment. KIRA They're your hands. (a beat) You know what I see when I get this... DAX �� (laughing and crying) Kira, you never told anyone about your arms. DEEP SPACE: "The Wire" - 03/01/94 - ACT ONE 13. 19 CONTINUED: (2) KIRA When you get to the wormhole, you should see them grow into shape- shifters. And you'd be right... because their arms are like that... closer than you can get. They grip off your arm. Bad dreams. DAX I thought you weren't going to talk about me. KIRA I told myself I was not. But when the time comes... I want to figure out what we're doing and what we are. I always figure it out. Dax looks at her own hands. Kira's too fast for her good measure. KIRA I'm holding all the cards. I'm playing them all. I'm a prisoner in here. I can't be happier. DAX You seem like you've got a lot. KIRA You have me all. Kira takes one last look at her hands. Kira can't help her enthusiasm. Her hand. Kira takes another step toward the desk. KIRA You're not going to hurt me. DAX You're not. And that's a good thing.

This is from a later batch where I stripped out some of the very repetitive content in the scripts before training — mostly headers and footers that repeat the exact same information every page. Another sample that was weirdly hands and arms themed:

42 INT. ENGINEERING Geordi and Data at their respective consoles. GEORDI We're ready when you are, Data. DATA I will prepare enough data for your desire, Commander. GEORDI Good. Data, what was the vessel in which the shuttle was launched? DATA The vessel was slightly more complex than the starship I estimate, sir. It chose a specific set of coordinates to target the specific nodes on the Enterprise-D. GEORDI And it didn't work. That's your fault, Data. DATA I fault is very fault, sir. I should have realized that. GEORDI If you had, the Enterprise-C could have taken out a few more nodes... DATA I do not believe we could have survived the attempt on the shuttle, sir. STAR TREK: "The Loss" - REV. 10/10/90 - ACT FOUR 51. 42 CONTINUED: GEORDI I know Data, it would have been difficult for you to break into hands and legs and grab a few nodes... I've never run into a shuttle in my life that didn't get that lucky. Geordi looks down at his hands and arms, frowning. GEORDI What are you so angry about? DATA My heart... and possibly my entire psychology. GEORDI That's not good. DATA I am angry that Starfleet has let you down, Commander. GEORDI I know... but I was relieved that no one tried to destroy my shuttle.

INT. DATA'S QUARTERS Data, still in his Starfleet uniform, is sitting at a desk working at the computer. The door CHIMES. DATA Enter. The door OPENS and Geordi ENTERS. GEORDI Data, what are you doing here? DATA (stands) This is my quarters. He looks at the desk for a beat, then EXITS. DATA (continuing) You are here to examine my computer. GEORDI Computer, is there anything I can do about your... computer? DATA Computer, are you aware of what I have just said? GEORDI (nods) In case you're wondering... I've told you something before... DATA I have never spoken to my computer before. GEORDI That can't possibly be the case... Data shakes his head. DATA I have been trying, but I have been unable. GEORDI Why? DATA I have been trying for over three, four nights. GEORDI It must be a pretty long night. DATA As long as it is not. GEORDI And what does it feel like? DATA I have been experiencing a sustained, transient, and unsteady increase in the emotional neurotransmitter-like activity in my cerebral cortex. The same as if I were completely offered a cup of tea, or a coffee, or an air horn. GEORDI That sounds like someone who has been through a lot. Data nods.

I experimented with mixing other TV show scripts, the complete set of Frasier in this case. GPT-2 learns very quickly never to mix characters and language from the shows — too well, I wish it would mix them! But I swear the samples trained with some Frasier feel more like a sitcom:

ANGLE ON MAIN VIEWER (OPTICAL)

ANGLE ON MAIN VIEWER (OPTICAL) Riker's face... RIKER Captain, I am detecting a Class-M planet with high radiation unaffected by the sun. PICARD Which planet did you detect? RIKER Class-M. (beat) I'm sure it looked like a Class- M planet... (beat) What is it? PICARD A small planet with low surface radiation. RIKER (laughs) Not class-M.

Here’s another one that feels more like a sitcom, in particular, the repeated dialog lines are something I see a lot in the post-Frasier samples.

======== SAMPLE 15 ======== KIRA (to Dax, explaining) Dax, we were just talking about you. I realize you're upset about me, but I've always looked good in a tuxedo. DAX I don't look good in a tuxedo. I've always looked good in a clutch, Benjamin. And I'm glad to say, I haven't seen you since I left the homeworld. KIRA (smiles) I know you're upset, but I've always looked good in a chiffo uniform. DAX And I'm glad to see you've never worn it anymore. KIRA I've never looked good in a chiffo uniform. DAX Well, I've seen you look good in it all... when you're wearing anyone else's tux. KIRA (smiles) I never look good in a chiffo uniform. DAX (smiles) I'm glad you said you were going to be happy at the Bajoran wedding. KIRA (smiles) I'm glad you said that. Dax smiles and they walk off. DAX (re: the wedding) I suppose I'll have to mention it to someone. KIRA I'm not planning to. DAX Who's next? KIRA My husband. (a beat) I guess he'll be staying with us this year. DAX He'll probably be staying with us this year. KIRA I know. I just got here last night. DAX I mean it's just a question of... who? KIRA (beat) I'm still not sure. I've got a surprise planned for the next few weeks. Besides, it sounds like somebody's going to need a place to keep me warm. DAX I'm sure they will. KIRA I'm sure they will. DAX Now what about you... are you sure you don't want to stay with me for a while? KIRA (re: the wedding) I have a job to do... I'm a �� pretty gal... DAX (reacts) I hear you're married... KIRA That's right. DAX And what about Jake? KIRA He's leaving Starfleet. DAX A few weeks ago he was sent back to the Institute. KIRA (reacts) He's gone? DAX He's been living on the station all his life... KIRA (beat) ======== SAMPLE 16 ========

This sample is as long as you can get right now the limit on the output is about 1000 words in the tiny version of GPT-2 that OpenAI let’s us play with. It would still be possible to create an entire script by taking the output from one sample and using it a ‘prompt’ to generate the next sample, over and over until you have a complete script. Since the scripts do clear structure like page and act numbers it should eventually get to ACT 5 or stick an ending on there. Maybe a project for the future.

#gpt-2 #tng #text generator

5 notes · View notes

seaphoam-writes · 8 months

Text

A Father's Duty (18/?)

A Father's Duty on AO3

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

Chapter 18

After Beverly departed, Picard does everything he can to distract himself.

He moves furniture, shifting first his dining set several inches to the right so that it isn’t crowding the doorway to Louis’s room, and then the armchairs and coffee table so that they aren’t crowding the dining area.

Then, he attempts to redisperse his personal possessions—only to conclude that, both with the loss of his bookcase and the gain of a child that likes to climb, leap, and brandish foils like a musketeer, perhaps his more fragile possessions would be better off in storage.

After packing the rarest of his books and his most breakable belongings away, however, the thoughts he’d been trying to rid himself of—thoughts of Beverly’s hands on his bare stomach, mostly—remain.

The instant he’s no longer occupied those thoughts surge to the fore, and just as swiftly, his brain extrapolates, imagines what it would be like—look like, feel like—to have Beverly’s fingers dragging up his chest, through his chest hair, nails grazing his skin—

Stop.

Picard halts, somewhere near his desk. He closes his eyes, takes several deep breaths, and starts counting.

1, 2, 3…

He can’t understand it.

He can’t understand why he’s suddenly incapable of controlling himself.

7, 8…

For years, every time they touched—intentionally or incidentally—every time they embraced, every time one of them planted a chaste kiss on the other’s cheek—

10, 11…

He’d always managed to maintain his composure, to revel briefly in the physical contact, the exchange of affection, before purposefully extinguishing the flame she kindled inside of him.

Similarly, whenever a certain smile or look in her eye caught his attention, whenever he was particularly charmed by the way her hair framed her face or fell across her shoulders, whenever he admired the graceful lines and curves of her body, he’d allow himself a short bask in his adoration before reining it in and tucking it brutally away.

13, 14…

And now, for some reason he can not fathom, the barrier he’d erected around his feelings has crumbled, and all he can think about is that he would very much like to have her in the bath with him next time—

Abruptly, he sits. He has to. He sits with his elbows on his desk and his head in his hands, knuckles kneading his forehead as if to scrub the offensive thoughts from his brain.

Merde.

More than ever, he wants to give in, confess to her how he feels.

But he’s afraid.

He doesn’t know if she thinks of him the same way. It could be that all there is between them is friendship. It could be that his feelings would offend her, spoil their relationship irreparably, drive her away.

And he couldn’t handle that.

He needs her. He learned that when she returned from Starfleet Medical and he finally understood why he’d felt incomplete for an entire year.

Picard drags in a breath, forces himself to straighten. He pulls his personal computer across the desk, but he can only stare at its blank screen, his mind on that morning. Seeing Beverly with Louis, how Louis responds to her…

He knows Beverly can’t replace the mother Louis lost—and Picard wouldn’t want that for Louis in any case—but Beverly can be a mother figure in Louis’s life nonetheless, provide for Louis’s wellbeing in ways Picard perhaps can’t.

And Picard won’t jeopardize that.

It’s easy to regain control when it’s for Louis, when the focus is not his own desires, but what’s best for his son; he’s able to turn his computer on, access all Federation custody laws, and concentrate. After a few minutes, he’s even composed enough to play some background music.

He’s uncertain for how long he’s been reading when Louis trots out of his room. Louis halts just past the dining table, tilts his ear in Picard’s direction, then smiles and announces, “Chopin.”

Picard blinks. He’d been so absorbed that he hadn’t registered what he was listening to, but then he chuckles. “Very good. Can you name the piece?”

“Nocturne in E-flat major.”

Louis comes to the side of Picard’s desk, rests his hands lightly on the edge. “Papa, are you sad?”

“No, I’m not sad. Does this piece make you feel sad?”

Louis hesitates, his brow knitting.

“Computer, pause music,” Picard orders, then he leans towards Louis, reaching out to offer his upturned hands. “What’s on your mind?”

Louis slides his hands into Picard’s. “Chopin reminds me of maman.”

“Did your maman like Chopin?”

Louis nods. “She played him a lot. You liked him too.”

Picard smiles gently and rubs his thumbs along Louis’s knuckles. “I do like Chopin. But I won’t play his music if it makes you sad.”

“No, it’s okay. It…” He pauses again, frowning, and Picard can see him struggling to express his thoughts in words. “It makes me miss her, but it…reminds me of her too.”

“It makes you feel close to her,” Picard provides.

“Oui. I feel close to her.” He takes a deep breath. “I don’t mind being sad because I also feel close to her.”

Picard gives Louis’s hands a tug; Louis comes around the desk and Picard pulls him into a hug. “You can talk to me about your maman whenever you’d like,” he says. “Or your papa.”

Louis tenses, and into Picard’s shoulder he says, “Papa liked it when maman played.”

“Oh?” Picard prompts.

“When she played, he would stop whatever he was doing and come listen.”

Louis is young, but he was younger still when he lost his parents, and he very likely doesn’t have many clear, detailed memories of them—but something about that stuck, his father being drawn to his mother’s music, stopping whatever he was doing to go and listen to her…

“Your papa must have loved your maman very much.”

“He did,” Louis whispers.

Picard clutches him tighter, kisses the top of his hair, then gradually relaxes his hold and releases the boy. “Did your papa play an instrument as well?”

Stepping back, Louis hastily brushes one hand across his cheek—hiding a tear, Picard assumes—and shakes his head.

“Well,” Picard says, “I play the flute. Perhaps you’d be interested in hearing me play it sometime.”

Louis’s face lights up, like the sun reappearing after a rainstorm. “Papa, bien sûr! Can you play it now?”

“Not…not now,” Picard says. He’s never played in front of an audience—not here, at least, not as Jean-Luc Picard, and he’s suddenly quite nervous. Louis may find his performance lacking—he doubts he’s as accomplished a musician as Nella Daren. But in spite of his fear, he wants to share his music with Louis. It seems to have been an important part of Louis’s life, an interest both his parents shared, something that bound the three of them together.

(And Picard hopes, secretly, that it might encourage Louis to play the piano again.)

“How about tonight?” Picard suggests. “After dinner?”

“How about before dinner?”

“After,” Picard says firmly.

“Ok,” Louis agrees with a grin.

-/-

At 0900 hours, Deanna visits to discuss preparations for the staff meeting, and it’s at that point that Picard realizes he can’t leave Louis alone in their quarters during that time. It’s too far away should something happen. He briefly considers asking Guinan to watch the boy, before determining it isn’t worth bothering her for—not with a solution readily available.

His ready room is both comfortable and private, and it’s just on the other side of the bridge from the conference room.

Deanna, clearly having thought much farther ahead than Picard, had assumed this would be the arrangement, and came merely to suggest they remove Will from the bridge before Picard and Louis arrived so as not to risk triggering another panic attack.

Picard defers to her judgement, but Louis is dismayed by their decision.

“I want to see Uncle Will,” he insists.

“Yesterday—” Picard begins, only to be cut off by a furiously fast shake of Louis’s head and some rapid French.

“Je peux le faire. Je n'ai pas peur.”

I can do it. I’m not afraid.

Picard sucks in the breath necessary to reassure Louis that he knows Louis isn’t afraid, only to be interrupted once again, this time by Deanna.

“Captain, I have an idea.”

And so they compromise: an arranged meeting in a controlled environment. Picard will invite Will to visit his quarters after his shift to meet Louis.

“Before dinner?” Louis asks, pointedly.

“Before dinner,” Picard assures him. At a curious look from Deanna, Picard explains. “I promised I would play the flute for him after dinner.”

“Oh,” Deanna says, then asks, with interest, “Is this a…private performance?”

“Very much so,” Picard grunts.

Lips pursed to hide a smile, Deanna excuses herself with an, “I’ll see you on the bridge.”

Alone again, Picard sighs and regards Louis. Just before Deanna arrived, Louis moved Cuivre and his folded pajamas from Picard’s bed to his own.

“Are you finished with your room?” he asks.

“Oui.”

“May I see it?”

Louis nods, and Picard follows him into his room.

As Captain, he’s furnished with a replicator of higher capability than those found in most other crew members’ quarters, but it’s still not large or powerful enough to replicate anything of much magnitude, and Picard’s first thought is that he should bring Louis to the replicating center, for he sees no toys or games—indeed, Louis seems to mostly have replicated books. The bookcase is filled, save for the rolled-up piano, tucked into a corner beside the full collection of Sherlock Holmes in French.

The drawing desk appears to have received the most attention, its various shelves, slots, and trays filled with a variety of supplies. Hanging on the wall above it are a drawing of Data and the drawing of Louis’s friends from the Phoenix; upon the desk’s surface, afforded a place of honor right in the center, is the anatomy book Beverly gave him.

Perhaps we have another doctor on our hands.

It doesn’t escape him that he thought the words we and our, as well as another, and he blushes at his own presumptuousness. He diverts his attention swiftly, focusing instead on the framed photograph of Louis and his parents on the bedside table. The joy on Louis’s face in the picture is genuine; Picard wants him to smile like that again.

He looks down at Louis. “Are you happy with it?”

“Oui.”

“Is there anything else you want to put in here?”

“Non, c'est parfait.”

Picard runs his fingers once through Louis’s hair, and resolves to take him to the replicating center anyway.

-/-

With 15 minutes to spare, Picard and Louis leave their quarters for the bridge. It feels good to be back in his uniform after nearly three days out of it. Idly, he wonders what that says about him.

(He knows what that says about him.)

He’s chuckling at a joke Louis told him—

“How do you make a bandstand?”

“I don’t know. How?”

“You take away their chairs.”

—and Louis is giggling when the Turbolift halts and the doors swish open to reveal Beverly.

“Beverly!” he greets.

“Bonjour, docteur,” Louis adds cheerfully.

Beverly steps in and Picard purposely shuffles himself against the wall, so that Louis is in between them. Fortunately, his lustful thoughts remain tightly sealed away, and he’s able to enjoy watching Beverly and Louis chat without distraction.

The growing bond between them practically glows in the air, and Picard finds himself beaming and wishing the journey to the bridge would never end.

But it does, and the moment the Turbolift halts at its destination, Picard’s heart leaps into his throat. Louis hadn’t seemed concerned earlier about returning to the bridge—he was not as affected by seeing their quarters for the first time as he had been by seeing Will—but he slips his hand into Picard’s just as the doors slide open.

Picard wishes he could take Beverly’s hand, for his own comfort. He’s been with Louis in public, of course, but bringing him to the bridge feels different. Will the crew see him differently? He cannot hold Beverly’s hand, of course, but he does seek her gaze, seek reassurance that she’s with them, and he sees from her expression that she understands what he’s feeling.

It doesn’t embarrass him, that she knows he’s nervous. He feels…seen by her. She knows him in a way no one else does.

Taking a deep breath, he grips Louis’s fingers, so small, and leads him onto the bridge.

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

4 notes · View notes