#“The first time any mans freedom is trodden on we are all damaged”

[tonguetiedraven]

i can't tell if your anti or pro and it really bothers me

Well that's worrying. Why do you care and why are you letting it bother you?

I do not care what someone reads, writes, draws, ships, head cannons or consumes. Just as long as they're not a dick about it or to other fans (or the characters in aoex) I'll welcome them.

For my part, I read what I like, write what I like, draw what I like, and try to encourage creativity. If you enjoy my stories, yay! If you don't, feel free to ignore them and go on to read something else you do. There's not enough free time in the world to waste time with things that bother you.

Hope that helps.

#asks #i've been around fandom too long to EVER be a fan of censoring #and of telling people what they can and can't write #it also tends to trample on other cultures with a specific breed of american moral correctness that attempts to police thoughts and emotion #and that leads to horrible things #my first ever fandom was star trek #and Captain Picard has a beautiful speech in Drumhead about censorship #“The first time any mans freedom is trodden on we are all damaged” #and i've seen that play out a few times in fandom where entire sites will be taken down over censorship and what is and isn't right #and it always starts with a vocal few who are outraged and end up destroying far more than what they thought was wrong #got a bit wordy there #lol

[thestupidhelmet]

One of my favorite episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation is called "The Drumhead".

Summary from IMDB: A retired admiral boards the Enterprise in an effort to determine the actions aboard the ship surrounding an act of sabotage and possible treason.

Captain Picard speaks the following lines while he's being questioned during a trial. I think his words are as relevant today as they were in 1991 when the episode first aired.

This speech has been on my mind lately. I thought I would share it for anyone it might give succor to for whatever they might be going through right now. 😊

"I am deeply concerned by what is happening here. It began when we apprehended a spy, a man who admitted his guilt and who will answer for his crime. But the hunt didn't end there.

"Another man, Mister Simon Tarses, was brought to trial, and it was a trial -- no matter what others choose to call it. A trial based on insinuation and innuendo. Nothing substantive offered against Mister Tarses, much less proven.

"Mister Tarses's grandfather is Romulan, and for that reason his career now stands in ruins.

"Have we become so fearful? Have we become so cowardly that we must extinguish a man because he carries the blood of a current enemy? Admiral, let us not condemn Simon Tarses, or anyone else, because of their bloodlines or investigate others for their innocent associations. I implore you, do not continue with this proceeding. End it now."

(...)

"'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.'

"Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged."

#Star Trek: The Next Generation #TNG #Captain Picard #ST: TNG #Star Trek #Meta #Essay

[risarchives]

cataclysm finale rambles ii

ok ok let me talk about my theory as to why vin and freelancer weren't in the finale

beginning with the poem excerpts in the descriptions of audios where vin and fl were present in:

Cataclysm | What You Deserve:

“and voices are in the wind’s singing, more distant and more solemn than a fading star” — “Eyes I dare not meet in dreams / In death's dream kingdom / These do not appear: / There, the eyes are / Sunlight on a broken column / There, is a tree swinging / And voices are / In the wind's singing / More distant and more solemn / Than a fading star.” - T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

Cataclysm | Truth Will Come Out:

“the supplication of a dead man's hand, under the twinkle of a fading star” — “This is the dead land / This is cactus land / Here the stone images / Are raised, here they receive / The supplication of a dead man's hand / Under the twinkle of a fading star.” - T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

their first audio had a description that wasn't from this poem, so i excluded it, but it's this:

“with the first link, the chain is forged” — Captain Jean-Luc Picard: “‘With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.’ Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, we’re all damaged.” - Star Trek: The Next Generation (S04E21)

GOING BACK TO THE POEM: it talks of hollow, hopeless men.

the Hollow Men exist in-between, in liminal spaces, in the bridge of life and death, morality and immortality, light and darkness. the lines “remember us – if at all – not as lost / violent souls, but only / as the hollow men / the stuffed men.” strengthens the viewpoint that the hollow men live in neutrality. they avoid the life of motion and responsibility yet also fear the face of The Shadow, which is death.

this leads us back to the truth will out audio.

as vin had stated, freelancer had lost so much of their freedom and themself in the imperium (their being under the authority of moore connects them back to the star trek quote above, since he will occasionally command them to do or not do things, an action which results to fl not being given the ability to move on their own accord or their own liking.) they don't want humanity to die (and just them, i assume. they don't want to die themself) and for elegy to be destroyed. yet also they've grown exhausted of everything they have to do to be able to spend time with their lover, however limited, and to also do what they want—which is, hardly ever.

(^ the healing class thing with moore)

there are lots of references to the Divine Comedy both in the poem and in vin and freelancer's relationship, but i’m going to focus on their decision in the truth will out audio and a specific line in the poem, which is:

In this last of meeting places / We grope together / And avoid speech / Gathered on this beach of the tumid river

this is a reference to acheron. the river acheron.

Moral Hydrography: Dante's Rivers, Daniel J. Donno

acheron separates the mortal world from the underworld, for one cannot step upon the underworld or go back to the human realm without first crossing the river acheron. the unburied, those who couldn't pay or those who were never truly alive, is said to have been doomed to always wander around the banks/shore of the river.

the ‘neutral’ stay on the banks of acheron, being tortured by worms and flies, as they are neither god nor satan, heaven nor hell, but are only for themselves.

the hollow men that are ‘gathered on this beach of the tumid river’ are the unburied in this poem.

(…) ‘My answer can be brief: These have no hope that death will ever come. And so degraded is the life they lead all look with envy on all other fates. The world allows no glory to their name. Mercy and Justice alike despise them. Let us not speak of them. Look, then pass on.’

- Inferno, 3: 44-51

honestly, i don't know what this means for freelancer and vindemiator outside the hell that is the imperium, which, as we know, is now under the guidance of the demons and the shaw pack and samuel collins (?), but this underpins the idea that they are the ‘neutral’ of this equation. they are neither facing the responsibility of survival (fighting with the resistance) nor courageous enough to face death (...the entire point of the resistance lest they fail) and so, they are stuck “on the banks/shore,” not wherever the characters of the recent audio were.

i’m guessing that the constant hopes of a garden of both imp!fl and prime!starlight is a reference to the garden of eden, which is the original homeland of humanity, although i’m not sure because ajsksfnb how does it connect ?¿???¿

the fading star in both the descriptions written above refers to waning hope. i’m theorizing it was meant for freelancer ....

but like. there are dots i still can't connect.

does this mean they're doomed to live in hopelessness for eternity? or are they now free? are they in the garden together? have they created a little home in the woods for themselves, away from the hell that is the imperium?

ARE THEY HAPPY THERE??????? SAFE?????

echo pls give us something here im dying of curiosity.

i just wish they're safe and happy right now honestly i don't need anything else

(^ i do, in fact, need something. conformation that they're fine or something. anything. but i'm sure they are, considering how much echo values these two)

#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redacted freelancer #redacted gavin #redacted vindemiator #rambles #what if i just. shut up #that would be lovely #!!!!! i hope they're safe out there. wherever they are #best couple fr #vinfl+staravi >>>>>

[nx01whore]

Have we become so fearful? Have we become so cowardly that we must extinguish a man because he carries the blood of a current enemy?

You know, there some words I've known since I was a school boy. With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably. Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today...

We think we've come so far. The torture of heretics, the burning of witches, it's all ancient history. Then, before you can blink an eye, it suddenly threatens to start all over again.

She, or someone like her, will always be with us, waiting for the right climate in which to flourish, spreading fear in the name of righteousness. Vigilance, Mister Worf, that is the price we have to continually pay.

Star Trek: The Next Generation S4E21 "The Drumhead"

#star trek #lessons we should take from star trek #the next generation #picard wisdom bomb

[comrade-spock]

[id: a a series of screencaps from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Captain Picard is speaking: “You know, there are some words I’ve known since I was a schoolboy. ‘With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.’ Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, we are all damaged.” end id]

#this episode :/ #thinks about shit the us government is doing #i know every third tng episode is a badly written social commentary but like… i love them for it #thank u tng <3 #star trek #tng #captain picard #picard #star trek tng

[lacefedora]

6 and 38, frude~

*hugs* thank you for sending me things frude

6. name five iconic quotes that make you feel things.

@ladyvean asked me this one too! okay... this will be tough. I’m a quote addict. I’m gonna do all TV shows/franchises because I could fill this up with shakespeare quotes but I hate being boring

1. “So this is how liberty dies; With thunderous applause.” -Padme Naberrie Amidala- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The feels if gives me aren’t really good feels but it is the best damn line in the prequel trilogy.

2. “What does the candle represent?” “All Life. Every Life. We are all born as molecules in the hearts of a billion stars. Molecules that do not understand politics or policies or differences. Over a billion years, we foolish molecules forget who we are and where we came from. In desperate acts of ego, we give ourselves names, fight over lines on maps, and pretend that our light is better than everyone else's. The flame reminds us of the piece of those stars that lives on inside us. The spark that tells us: "You should know better." The flame also reminds us that life is precious as each flame is unique. When it goes out, it's gone forever. And there will never be another quite like it. So many candles will got out tonight. I wonder some days if we can see anything at all.” -Delenn (and John Sheridan) -Babylon 5. As they’re n the brink of war. ( i could do all 5 from B5 tbh. I’ll restrain myself)

3. “Time wounds all heals.” -John Crichton- Farscape

4. “No prize is worth obtaining if you can never share it. Believe me, I know.” -Earnest Littlefield to Daniel Jackson- Stargate SG-1

5. “ You know, there are some words I've known since I was a schoolboy: "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie, as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today...” -Jean-Luc Picard Star Trek the Next Generation

38. would you have a painting of yourself?

If it was well done? absolutely. I am a sucker for a portrait, even if it happens to be of my own face.

[meyer-sensei]

You know, there are some words I've known since I was a schoolboy. ‘With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.’ Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard to Admiral Satie, STNG The Drumhead (1991)

Picard: We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it's all ancient history. And then, before you can blink an eye, suddenly, it threatens to start all over again.

Worf : [referring to Admiral Satie]  I believed her. I, I helped her. I did not see what she was.

Picard : Mister Worf, villains who twirl their moustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged.

Worf : I think... after yesterday, people will not be so ready to trust her.

Picard : Maybe. But she, or someone like her, will always be with us, waiting for the right climate in which to flourish, spreading fear in the name of righteousness. Vigilance, Mister Worf – that is the price we have to continually pay.

#quotes #star trek

[firerush]

I always knew this would happen

Starting Thursday December 17th, no one is allowed to meet with or socialize with anyone outside of their household in Canada. No family, no friend, only people who live alone are allowed a paltry amount of time to socialize to avoid this being solitary confinement.

I knew this was coming, I knew that the mandatory masks were just the first step. Our government here in Canada is becoming a totalitarian state and people are thanking them for it, not realizing that this restriction will never be lifted.

It sounds like a joke, but THEY LITERALLY CANCELLED CHRISTMAS!

I'm not a historian but I've done enough research to know that a crisis situation is the most fertile ground for totalitarian and dictatorial societies to grow in. The Nazis came to power post world war 1 when Germany felt weak and humiliated and was suffering from hyperinflation and resource scarcity following the treaty of Versailles that all but stripped the country of its dignity, autonomy and anything resembling relevance on the world stage. Coupled with the fear of communism rising from Russia allowed Hitler to sweep in with his big promises to make Germany great and rise from the ashes they had been left in, people gave up what little freedom they had for that promise and only when it was too late did they realize the living nightmare they now existed in.

I and other saw the signs, we protested not masks themselves but that they shouldn't have been made laws, that recommendations and encouragement were enough. I knew they were because even before it was made mandatory I saw 90% of people physical distancing and wearing masks so there was no need to force anyone to wear it with threats of fines or possible prison time. But then social media swooped in, idiots took up the call and the reasonable and cautious people who said "this isn't a good idea" were buried under idiots who held "anti-mask rallies" and social media just lumped us reasonable people in and call us "Karen" a term I despise especially for people who were named Karen and now have to feel their name become a pejorative, especially one that's just about "anyone who disagrees with me" now.

Well you got what you wanted and all it's going to cost you is your freedom. I hope it was worth it. I will close with the following quotes, one from a real person and the others from a fictional one but all from a much smarter age and one more wary of and willing to fight against these situations.

Though paraphrased and taken out of context slightly this Benjamin Franklin Quote still applies: Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety and will lose both.

-Benjamin Franklin

The following quotes are from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Drumhead" and I recommend you watch it yourself, but here: You know, there are some words I've known since I was a schoolboy: "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the  first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied...chains us all  irrevocably." Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie, as  wisdom... and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged

.-Jean-Luc Picard

Oh, yes. That's how it starts. But the road  from legitimate suspicion to rampant paranoia is very much shorter than  we think. Something is wrong here, Mister Worf. I don't like what we have become

.-Jean-Luc Picard

But go ahead, call me "karen" say "you're just trying to murder people as an asymptomatic carrier" and any number of buzzphrases I've heard. If we aren't even allowed to leave our homes to go to work and earn the money we need to live in a few months, remember that I saw this coming.

I fully expect the site to ban my account for this, and if so that's just another sign of the end of our freedoms.

#facism #totalitarianism

[trekcraft]

TNG Quotes

Almost a year ago, I decided to watch (and rewatch in some cases) all Star Trek series and collect quotes that I found inspirational, especially if they could be read in a pagan context. This is my collection from TNG.

1.04 The Last Outpost 

“Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy.” -- Will Riker, implicitly attributed to Sun Tzu

1.05 Where No One Has Gone Before

“Space and time and thought aren’t the separate things they appear to be.” -- Wesley Crusher

“Thought is the basis of all reality.” -- The Traveler

“The ‘energy’ of thought is very powerful.” -- The Traveler

1.07 Justice

“There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute.” -- Jean-Luc Picard

1.10 Haven

“All life, all consciousness, is indissolubly bound together. Indeed, it’s all part of the same thing.” -- Lwaxana Troi

1.16 When the Bought Breaks

“Things are only impossible until they're not.” -- Jean-Luc Picard

1.18 Coming of Age

“Thinking about what you can't control only wastes energy and creates its own enemy.” -- Worf

“Only fools have no fear.” -- Worf

1.19 Heart of Glory

“You look for battles in the wrong place. The true test of a warrior is not without. It is within. Here, here [the heart] is where we meet the challenge. It is the weaknesses in here a warrior must overcome.” -- Worf

“Duty, honor, loyalty. Without which a warrior is nothing!” -- Worf

2.05 Loud As a Whisper

“Confidence is faith in oneself. It can’t easily be given by another.” -- Deanna Troi

2.14 The Icarus Factor

“Respect is earned, not bestowed.” -- Deanna Troi

2.21 Peak Performance

“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” -- Jean-Luc Picard

3.16 The Offspring

“There are times, sir, when men of good conscience cannot blindly follow orders.” -- Jean-Luc Picard

4.05 Remember Me

“There is power within each of us that most people haven’t begun to realize.” -- The Traveler

“You must open yourself to time and space and the intricate threads that bind them.” The Traveler

“Let it go, Wesley. Let go of the anticipation, the expectations, the demands upon you. Let it all go. Leave it behind. Yes. The ability is there inside of you. You do not need to look for it.” -- The Traveler

4.15 First Contact

“Trust requires time. And experience.” -- Jean-Luc Picard

4.21 The Drumhead

“With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.” -- Jean-Luc Picard quoting Judge Aaron Satie

“The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, we’re all damaged.” -- Jean-Luc Picard

5.20 Cost of Living

“Life’s true gift is the capacity to enjoy enjoyment!” -- Lwaxana Troi

“Every one of us has a thousand different kinds of little people inside of us. And some of them want to get out and be wild and some want to be sad or happy or inventive or even just go dancing. That’s why we all have so many different urges at different times. And all those different little people inside of us? We must never be afraid to take them with us wherever we go. I mean, who knows when we may need one of them to pop up and rescue us from ourselves? Ah, variety, my little Alex. The great secret is not the variety of life, it’s the variety of us.” -- Lwaxana Troi

6.15 Tapestry

“Why do you persist in believing that life and death are such static and rigid concepts?” -- Q

6.17 Birthright pt 2

“Klingons do not hunt because they need food. The hunt is a ritual that reminds us of where we come from.” -- Worf

“A Klingon does not run away from his battles.” -- Worf

6.20 The Chase

“Dream not of today.” -- Professor Galen quoting the night blessing of the Yash-El

6.21 Frame of Mind

“Sometimes it’s healthy to explore the darker side of the psyche. Jung called it ‘owning your own shadow.’” -- Deanna Troi

“Don’t be afraid of your darker side. Have fun with it.” -- Deanna Troi

6.23 Rightful Heir

“Questions are the beginning of wisdom. The mark of a true warrior.” -- Worf

“We do not fight merely to spill blood, but to enrich the spirit.” -- clone of Kahless the Unforgettable

“Let the joy in your heart be heard! We are Klingons!” -- clone of Kahless the Unforgettable

“The wind does not respect a fool.” -- clone of Kahless the Unforgettable

“Real power comes from within the heart.” -- Worf

6.26 Descent pt 1

“Data, feelings aren’t positive and negative. They simply exist. It’s what we do with those feelings that becomes good or bad.” -- Deanna Troi

7.20 Journey’s End

“Everything is sacred to us. The buildings, the food, the sky, the dirt beneath your feet, and you. Whether you believe in your spirit or not, we believe in it. You are a sacred person here, Wesley. [...] So, if you are sacred, then you must treat yourself with respect. To do otherwise is to desecrate something that is holy.” -- Lakanta AKA The Traveler

#star trek #tng #the next generation #canon #quotes

[readysteadytrek]

With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged.

Jean Luc Picard 

#Star Trek #Quote #TNG #Picard

[the-cryptid-next-door]

You know, there are some words I’ve known since I was a schoolboy. “With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.” Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, we’re all damaged

Jean-Luc Picard,  Star Trek, TNG– “The Drumhead”

It is at times like these, when the freedoms of many in the U.S. are in danger, that I remember this quote. We are all linked together, we are all affected. 

It is our duty to look out for our fellow man. 

It is something we should not take lightly. 

Taking a risk is hard, and not everyone can do it. But do it. It can be a simple as the derailing of slurs on a subway, or as grand as organizing a march. But act. If we want to see a Roddenberrian future at all, it is imperative to act.

#star trek #the next generation #tng #activism #political unrest