Object Lessons (Star Trek TNG story)

Fanfiction
Title:	Object Lessons
Author(s):	Jeanita Danzik
Date(s):
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TNG
Relationship(s):
External Links:	the story was here, posted here
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"Object Lessons" by Jeanita Danzik is a story in a Star Trek: TNG Picard/Q series.

Series

• Object Lessons
• Theme and Variations
• Ruminations, or While Johnny Lies Sleeping

Reactions and Reviews

First, in all fairness, I should point out that (as some of you know already) Jeanita and I are fanfic net pals, so I could possibly be accused of favoritism here. Well, every time I review a story here, I'm indulging in favoritism, because the whole reason I do reviews is to share some of my favorite stories with everyone else.

If I ever wanted to try to explain to someone how bdsm can be part of a seriously romantic relationship, and I knew that this hypothetical someone could handle heavy details, I'd recommend this series of stories. In her intro, Jeanita warns her readers that "Object Lessons" hasn't got much in the way of a plot. While you may wonder *how* Picard and Q ended up an S/M relationship, it shouldn't bug you too much. You'll be too busy learning, as Picard does, what the parameters of that relationship are. Jeanita tak s us through the early stages of a new submissive's training, but this is no "how to" type of story, but rather a "why" and "what effect" type of story. In the course of the "lessons" referred to in the title, we discover how a relationship like this would visibly change Picard (and how other people become aware of that change) and how it internally changes both partners. We also see what happens when Q decides to mark his property, and how the balance of power isn't as unequal as one might guess. On top of it all, Jeanita writes like a dream, climbing easily into the character's heads and making us understand why both of them find the roles they assume so fulfilling.

One of the fascinating things about Jean-Luc Picard as a character is that you often get the feeling that he is more constrained by his position as captain than by anything else. Jeanita looks at the duality that exists when a man whose job demands control has no outlet for his more passionate side. Or as Jeanita writes: "The more he [Picard] gave up, the freer he felt. He could feel himself changing as his two halves came into balance."

If it sounds spiritual, give yourself an extra 10 point, bdsm often is. If you can deal with the rough stuff and you want to understand why people do this sort of thing, read this story and the ones that follow it.