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konstantyaI've gotten back into Star Trek (primarily TNG and DS9) over the past few months, and since Lore is one of my favorite characters, and fics focused on him are rather scarce (and Star Trek fic in general is scattered about the web more than most fandoms), I figured I'd compile a list of my favorites. Mostly it's for my own convenience, but, yanno, I thought I'd share. (All except one are one-shots, and all qualify as gen.)
Butterflies, by Dread Pirate. PG. Captured and imprisoned on the Enterprise, Lore ruminates/seethes. Just a really great character piece. Also has a wonderful (and telling) take on Dr. Soong. (I like my Dr. Soongs less like kindly father archetypes and more like real, flawed human beings.)
Missing, presumed unique, by Dread Pirate. PG-13. AU. Kivas Fajo (of "The Most Toys" infamy) gets the wrong android. I tend to see Lore as more of a morally grey character, but even if you see him as evil, it's hard to not cheer for him here. Very satisfying in the karmic sense.Plus, Lore smoking a cigar, unf.
Trust Issues, by Dread Pirate. PG. The Intractans are a cautious, xenophobic, easily offended race who have recently applied for Federation membership. Picard has the honor of reviewing their case, and as part of formal Intractan protocol, is thrown in jail immediately upon visiting the planet. He's just peachy with this, because it was expected, after all. What he didn't expect was to see his 2nd officer stripped to the waist and being assaulted by laser fire in another cell. Except, oops, that isn't his 2nd officer. And what's all this about an assault on a pregnant woman?
--The one multi-chapter rec. Really more of an ensemble piece than a straight-up Lore fic, though he qualifies as a main character, so I'm throwing it in the list. I'm usually not one for multi-chapters, but this was too fun for me to not get sucked in. It's easy-to-digest, but I'd argue that's a point in its favor, as it's not so much about character introspection or angst or what-have-you, but more about telling a story. And it's such a fun, engrossing story! It reads very much like an episode. Everyone's delightfully IC, the pacing is great, the Intractans are wonderfully alien, and the Picard-Lore dynamic is one not often seen, so it's neat for that alone. You could argue that Lore comes off as less dangerous than he perhaps should, but again, that probably comes down to how you see the character. My only major con regarding the story? It's unfinished. (But it was last updated in January, so I'd like to think there's still hope. I keep telling myself I need to review it to express my love.)
Wrong, by ImpishTubist. The author rates it as PG, but I'd argue it's closer to PG-13, maybe even PG-15, depending. Contains some self-harm, though it's android self-harm, so things are...different, to say the least. "If there is one constant in the universe, Lore knows it is death. And the universe corrects things that are wrong [...] and it has been trying to correct Lore for a very long time." Lore being existential, and angsty, and maybe more than a little mad. Something of an AU, in that it ignores the end of "Descent," or else assumes he somehow got reactivated afterward. A wonderfully dark, innovative character study. One of my favorites.
Goblin Fruits, by ImpishTubist. G. Takes place in an AU scenario where Lal somehow falls in with her "Uncle" Lore. And she has a predeliction for produce, particularly bananas, much to Lore's displeasure. A short, cute piece that manages to be just heavy enough to keep me from calling it "fluff." Favorite line: "He has never been trusted before."
Convictions, by ImpishTubist. PG-13. Could be seen as something of a sequel to the above fic. More Lore and Lal action, though longer and darker this time around. Uncle and niece hit a rough spot concerning their differing opinions and beliefs. The Lore-Lal dynamic is really interesting, not least because Lal makes a very believable Morality Pet. Tense and complicated and yet somehow sweet.
Salvage Rights, by Bianca MarOu (glazedmacguffin). PG-13. Post-"Datalore." Lore, after he's "rescued" by Pakleds. Another great character piece, both perfectly capturing Lore and filling in one of the blanks we were never shown. "It was tough to choose who to hate more, the one that was repulsed by him, or this other that kept touching him as if he had discovered a shiny new toy." And the last line, oh, it just makes me grin because it is so deliciously, darkly Lore. (The author also has two other Lore-centric fics that follow this one, and while they're all good, this first one is by far my favorite.)
First Lore, by Kate Orman. Originally unrated, but I'm going to place it in the PG-13 range. Quite possibly my favorite Lore fic, period. Similar to the above story, this takes place after "Datalore," and follows Lore's time with the Pakleds, though it's a different take on the scenario. Beautifully written, with some wonderful flashbacks to his "childhood" on Omicron Theta. All too often it seems fanfic writers will characterize Lore as evil-by-design, naughty from the initial start-up, but this gives him wonderfully sympathetic, believable reasons for why he turned out the way he did. And again, a great take on Soong. Dark and haunting and oh-so tragic, where both father and son are to blame. (My only criticism would be that it makes no mention of Juliana, but it's entirely possible that it was written before "Inheritance" first aired. And it's hard to fault someone for not knowing the future and all. So.)
Butterflies, by Dread Pirate. PG. Captured and imprisoned on the Enterprise, Lore ruminates/seethes. Just a really great character piece. Also has a wonderful (and telling) take on Dr. Soong. (I like my Dr. Soongs less like kindly father archetypes and more like real, flawed human beings.)
Missing, presumed unique, by Dread Pirate. PG-13. AU. Kivas Fajo (of "The Most Toys" infamy) gets the wrong android. I tend to see Lore as more of a morally grey character, but even if you see him as evil, it's hard to not cheer for him here. Very satisfying in the karmic sense.
Trust Issues, by Dread Pirate. PG. The Intractans are a cautious, xenophobic, easily offended race who have recently applied for Federation membership. Picard has the honor of reviewing their case, and as part of formal Intractan protocol, is thrown in jail immediately upon visiting the planet. He's just peachy with this, because it was expected, after all. What he didn't expect was to see his 2nd officer stripped to the waist and being assaulted by laser fire in another cell. Except, oops, that isn't his 2nd officer. And what's all this about an assault on a pregnant woman?
--The one multi-chapter rec. Really more of an ensemble piece than a straight-up Lore fic, though he qualifies as a main character, so I'm throwing it in the list. I'm usually not one for multi-chapters, but this was too fun for me to not get sucked in. It's easy-to-digest, but I'd argue that's a point in its favor, as it's not so much about character introspection or angst or what-have-you, but more about telling a story. And it's such a fun, engrossing story! It reads very much like an episode. Everyone's delightfully IC, the pacing is great, the Intractans are wonderfully alien, and the Picard-Lore dynamic is one not often seen, so it's neat for that alone. You could argue that Lore comes off as less dangerous than he perhaps should, but again, that probably comes down to how you see the character. My only major con regarding the story? It's unfinished. (But it was last updated in January, so I'd like to think there's still hope. I keep telling myself I need to review it to express my love.)
Wrong, by ImpishTubist. The author rates it as PG, but I'd argue it's closer to PG-13, maybe even PG-15, depending. Contains some self-harm, though it's android self-harm, so things are...different, to say the least. "If there is one constant in the universe, Lore knows it is death. And the universe corrects things that are wrong [...] and it has been trying to correct Lore for a very long time." Lore being existential, and angsty, and maybe more than a little mad. Something of an AU, in that it ignores the end of "Descent," or else assumes he somehow got reactivated afterward. A wonderfully dark, innovative character study. One of my favorites.
Goblin Fruits, by ImpishTubist. G. Takes place in an AU scenario where Lal somehow falls in with her "Uncle" Lore. And she has a predeliction for produce, particularly bananas, much to Lore's displeasure. A short, cute piece that manages to be just heavy enough to keep me from calling it "fluff." Favorite line: "He has never been trusted before."
Convictions, by ImpishTubist. PG-13. Could be seen as something of a sequel to the above fic. More Lore and Lal action, though longer and darker this time around. Uncle and niece hit a rough spot concerning their differing opinions and beliefs. The Lore-Lal dynamic is really interesting, not least because Lal makes a very believable Morality Pet. Tense and complicated and yet somehow sweet.
Salvage Rights, by Bianca MarOu (glazedmacguffin). PG-13. Post-"Datalore." Lore, after he's "rescued" by Pakleds. Another great character piece, both perfectly capturing Lore and filling in one of the blanks we were never shown. "It was tough to choose who to hate more, the one that was repulsed by him, or this other that kept touching him as if he had discovered a shiny new toy." And the last line, oh, it just makes me grin because it is so deliciously, darkly Lore. (The author also has two other Lore-centric fics that follow this one, and while they're all good, this first one is by far my favorite.)
First Lore, by Kate Orman. Originally unrated, but I'm going to place it in the PG-13 range. Quite possibly my favorite Lore fic, period. Similar to the above story, this takes place after "Datalore," and follows Lore's time with the Pakleds, though it's a different take on the scenario. Beautifully written, with some wonderful flashbacks to his "childhood" on Omicron Theta. All too often it seems fanfic writers will characterize Lore as evil-by-design, naughty from the initial start-up, but this gives him wonderfully sympathetic, believable reasons for why he turned out the way he did. And again, a great take on Soong. Dark and haunting and oh-so tragic, where both father and son are to blame. (My only criticism would be that it makes no mention of Juliana, but it's entirely possible that it was written before "Inheritance" first aired. And it's hard to fault someone for not knowing the future and all. So.)
