I wrote the prompt and, because the resulting double drabble looks to Voyager Seven’s journey to becoming Picard Seven, I am posting it today as part of #PicardPositivity’s Seven day. My thanks to the wonderful organizers within both fandoms.
Raffi’s a complicated character and really hope we learn more of her backstory this year. I remember wondering why she fell so hard just because Picard resigned. It didn’t make sense–her being in Starfleet isn’t contingent on him. Then I read this wonderful story here by @curator-on-ao3 who showed that Raffi’s demons have always been there. It helped me understand her better.
Thank you so, so much, @marymoss1971! It was a joy to write that story about Cadet Raffi Musiker, and the way older Raffi chooses to share her uncomfortable truth with Seven.
For #PicardPositivity’s Troi day, I simply must mention my beloved Lwaxana, a wonderfully flawed force of nature who … what’s that? Lwaxana Troi wasn’t in Picard? Ah, yes, that’s a big part of why I wrote this ficlet about her jumble of emotions upon meeting baby Kestra Riker-Troi, and Deanna’s beautiful, loving, understanding response:
Hello! I’d like to share with you a character work game! I call it “Six Secrets” and honestly it’s a work in progress but I’m sharing it anyway
List six secrets that your character has.
1 is an open secret
2 is a secret the people close to your character know
3is a secret that your character wouldn’t really care about getting out
4 is a secret exactly one person knows anything about
5 is a secret no one knows about but they sort of want to come out/to tell someone
6 is a secret no one knows and they desperately don’t want anyone to know about.
You can also decide who knows and how
The secrets don’t have to have anything to do with your actual plot! The secrets can have super low or super high stakes! It doesn’t matter! But you will absolutely have a better idea of your character’s intentions and state of mind, and you may wind up coming up with some new plot points/obstacles to play with
Six Secrets: Kirsten Clancy
Okay, so Picard season 2 is gearing up and I have no idea what (if anything), will happen to Admiral Clancy, so I’m doing this now, even though if something does happen to her that’s just one timeline and my headcanons can stay relevant in the world I created (because fic is for fun, not expectations of canon).
So, for the Clancy in my mind, pulled from canon but who became much more:
1. An open secret: She has strong boundaries (“There is no ‘we,’ Jean-Luc.”) as sometimes over-correction for a childhood that included being used as a political prop by her loving but jingoistic mother.
2.A secret people close to her know: She wishes she could hate Picard because anger can be easier than disappointment.
3. A secret she wouldn’t care about getting out: While she didn’t know that Oh bugged her office, Clancy is proud that her instincts to keep Oh at commodore — stuck at headquarters but outranked by actual decision-makers — proved correct.
4.A secret that exactly one person knows anything about: Only Sonya Gomez knows the Martian-upbringing-induced terrible things Clancy said about Earth and people from Earth, which Clancy inadvertently told her at the Starfleet Academy party at which Clancy found out that snakeleaf makes her paranoid.
5.A secret no one knows but she sort of wants to come out/tell someone: Edward Jellico doesn’t want her to share how much his mentorship and friendship have meant to her — under his command and after the destruction of Mars. She respects that’s what he wants, but wishes he would let her tell more about how much his trust in her has bettered her life.
6.A secret no one knows and she desperately doesn’t want anyone to know about: Starfleet can be dangerous (“You think you could just waltz back in here and be entrusted with taking men and women into space?”) and, when she gets nervous, she tracks the commbadges of people she cares about to check if they’re safe.
I love this!
If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend @curator-on-ao3 ’s amazing fic:
While Elnor has important canon relationships — his mutual support for and with Seven of Nine brings me special happiness … and the hope that Elnor and Naomi Wildman can have a lovely comm call about their love for Seven — I readily admit to instantly shipping Hughnor:
They’re so sweet together and, as a Hugh Lives headcanonner, I wrote them a tiny story (rated G) to give them togetherness:
Also in terms of Picard relationships, I actually had a hard time seeing the canon Agnes Jurati and Cris Rios relationship … until I got some help from the lovely Picard fandom, leading me to write this ficlet (rated T) for those characters:
Finally, I’ve written a few fics for the Raffi Musiker and Seven of Nine relationship, but this one I co-authored with two friends was a fun crackfic (rated M) for how Raffi and Seven’s newfound love could affect various other relationships on La Sirena … and the motley crew’s ability to get some peace and quiet:
