#baronyofthesilverwolf

"I think your mundane appearance probably matters, too, except maybe some Liam? They do kinda rock some hobo street knight at times."

A glance to Gwen, "No offense intended at Marigold, of course, there! I'm glad she feels well enough to harass everyone." Clearly coming from a place of fondness.

"Or Aragon-as-Strider."

Art looks taken aback. "Okay, no one is that cool."

"Which is, of course, the pseudo-medieval fantasy equivalent of hobo street knight..."

She's found her sewing kit and is checking spools of thread for color.

"Mom's a dynamo thanks to that belt." A fond smile of her own.

"Thanks to you."

"You are more an elf than a ranger. Do any of'm have dark hair other than Elrond and Arwen?"

"Well, sure, but... Aragorn is cool not just because he’s a deadly warrior, but because he’s wise. He knows ancient languages, healing herbs, lost histories, and royal bloodlines. He can track a goblin across mountains and quote Elvish poetry by firelight. He doesn't just fight; he understands the world. That quiet knowledge, that calm authority? That’s what makes him more than a hero. That’s what makes him a legend."

Art blushes a little. "I just mean, I understand why Lord Aiden admires him so."

"Had help," She reminds but listens to the middle Earth commentary, "Long as no one casts me as a very tall Gimli."

"Then again, Captain Picard is like Aragorn on a starship. Not just a commander, he’s a scholar and a statesman. Like Aragorn, he carries the weight of history, speaks with purpose, and acts with quiet strength. He knows when to fight and when to listen. He reads ancient texts, navigates diplomacy with the same skill as a battle, and inspires loyalty not through fear, but through wisdom. Picard is what Aragorn would be if the sword were a starship and the battlefield were the stars.. uniting the federation in place of the Free Peoples of Middle Earth."

Now Art is waxing poetic and doesn't seem to have realized it.

"Long as you keep the hair."

A small, starry smile lingers on Thistle's face, mostly in the crinkle of her eyes.

"Arguably, Picard is more of a cowboy than Kirk. It's mostly the Earl Grey and the accent the leads folks astray."

"True. Picard was a jock in a lot of ways, an intelligent one with a love of archeology and fine literature mind, but it was Kirk who was described in his Academy days as a 'stack of schoolbooks with legs'."

"Exactly. People get distracted by the teacup and the Shakespeare, but Picard’s out there doing the real frontier work. Kirk punches his way through problems; Picard thinks his way through and still ends up in just as many shootouts. He’s the cowboy with a conscience, the Aragorn of the Alpha Quadrant."

Grinning at Thistle and Gwen in turn.

"WHile I want to defend Kirk a little, my personal favorite is Sisko so.." A shrug.

Thoughtfully, "Not that there's anything WRONG with Schoolbooks..."

Gwen smirks at that.

And, to Gwen. "Totally fair. Sisko’s the King That Stayed. He didn’t just explore the frontier, he held it." Clearly enjoying the banter, even as he watches Thistle work on the loose buttons.

"Aragorn on the throne, vs. Picard's Aragorn in the wilds!"

"Sisko is..." She ponders "He's broken. He starts out a broken warrior, and he goes to a place to guard and fix it, and he does, but while he does, it fixes him back. He's almost more Arthurian in someways I THINK. I don't know the literature as well as you."

"So Kirk is.... what? Aragorn during the war?"

"Chekhov and Sulu are 100% hobbits."

"The Merry and Pippin of the Bridge," A smile.

"Uhuru always struck me as that messenger who never gets any credit but REPORTS shit to the heroes and you're like 'oh that's nice' until you realizee that messanger has been through some SHIT to get that info?"

"Exactly." Apparently, the nocker has rainbow-dyed variegated thread. The buttons are coming along.

"Uhura is a sidhe. Uh. Possibly akin to Galadriel?"

"Nichelle Nichols could be a sidhe yeah, I mean not only gorgeous but the pose," A nod then considers "I could see her at Galadriel's side , yeah."

"If the Captains are Aragorn, is all."

"Some might be Eomir... the frustrated Rohan captain who knows his leader has been brainwashed to be a badmiral but can't do much about it? Did I get that character right?"

Art is watching the magic of the needle and thread, entranced.

"Eomir's a prince. Um. Not sure who he fits...."

"Oh" She ponders "Mm."

Thistle uses her teeth to snap off the thread, rather than digging out scissors.

"Worf, maybe?"

"Maybe. But man is Worf a bad father."

"There is such a vivid tapestry of human stories and more being woven every day. It saddens me that I have but one lifetime in which I cannot possibly enjoy them all."

"Not even Eshu get all the stories, but the hunt can be fun too," Gwen assures.

A soft sigh. "No, it's not fair."

"You think..." She pauses, biting on her lip. "It's only been fifty years. Maybe.... I mean, maybe it just takes a while, for the next go?"

A brow lift, "Pardon, what do you mean?"

"One lifetime."

"Maybe. Look, we're born of dreams, and dreams are shaped a lot by the Dreamers. SO I don't care if you're Arcadian sidhe or Commoner on the Changeling way... something survives. Whether it is a heaven with all the answers , or a new life with a new chance to search, or a hollowed hall of your ancestors who share wisdom with you, or what, they probably are ALL True, and that's what we fight for against Banality. Because as long as there's wonder and hope and dreams, we are invincible, and forever. As long as we carry the torch of 'maybe' and 'how about' and 'what if' then we're never really in the darkness, not entirely and not for long. Hell, maybe Art is Aragorn, that his spirit , not limited by time, goes back and inspires a stuffy Brit linguist professor... and the muse becomes the hero that the Dreamer dreamed in a crazy whirling loop that may grow or spin but is connected always." Gwen states, "My own belief system is... well, I'm no Theologian, but for now? I'll hold to Pratchet and if what I believe is a lie, I will believe until it BECOMES not one."

"Art is Arthur."

Gwen sees her friend's intensity and says "I wouldn't argue with you even if I did disagree. I mean, by my own theory that's totally possible. "