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variousqueerthings · 3 years ago

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The Karate Kid/Cobra Kai Star Trek AU ideas...

@phantomcomet talked about a Star Trek AU and then I went too far in writing this post imagining some roles in Star Trek. I’ve stuck to the adults from TKK/CK and maaaainly envisioned characters through the lens of Starfleet (although not only).

Anyway, here’s some thots! Any Star Trek/CK fans add more!

First things first: I did not think of a name for the starship Miyagi’s captaining, so I’m just calling it Miyagi’s ship for now. (The Bonsai doesn’t seem like a ship name really. The Crane Kick not so much either... The Cobra totally works though... anyway, someone have some ideas?)

Miyagi: Captain of the ship (later an admiral and then retires to take care of his bonsais). Obviously has a soft spot for Daniel, whom he probably spotted doing some whiz-kid stuff on a shitty, broken down civilian ship and took onboard. You know, you probably don’t even have to mess with his backstory that much to make it fit, he grew up on a planet on the outskirts of the Federation and saw some shit and is doing good, a la similar to Kirk’s backstory. He’s experienced abandonment from the Federation, so he may work within the system, but he’s fucking with it at every turn he gets and does what he thinks is right (a la Sisko. If Kirk and Sisko had a baby? Strange thoughts, but tell me I’m wrong).

Daniel: Engineer. Low key kind of a prodigy with engines. Engineers aren’t as often officer-class (unlike science/medicine and command, which I believe always are), so I can see Daniel coming into that from a less privileged space – definitely not the Academy – and initially butting heads with Johnny (as well as a bunch of others). He’s not head of engineering, but he works for the Lead Propulsion Engineer. Also he talks to the warpcore. You know he does. All the time.

Johnny: Security Babey! Also backstory is maybe he was trying to get into a command situation onboard a different ship led by Captain Kreese and he was the golden boy, but things went South when he was pushed to doing something he didn’t feel right about, so he was demoted for something bad that he’d done on Kreese’s orders and then couldn’t let go of. And he brings that baggage aboard Miyagi’s ship.

At this point people joke about Miyagi taking on lost causes and strays…. (but never to his face).

Ali: Doctor, of course! Did everything by the book and sometimes dreams that she’d let go of her parents expectations and could go out and do something outside of Starfleet. I feel like she might’ve studied with Johnny at the Academy and for a short while been onboard Miyagi’s ship with him and Daniel, but gotten transferred into a more specialised field at some point (chasing the dream).

Kumiko: Okay there’s three different things I see for her

1. Presumably this is a galaxy-class/exploration ship (similar to the Enterprise) and so civilians are also onboard. If Kumiko isn’t with Starfleet, maybe she was using it as transport as an incredibly famous dancer and there’s a whirlwind romance that can’t last vibe.

2. if Starfleet, definitely in Command somewhere. I kind of love her for a first pilot/flight pilot.

3. Command. Even if she’s not in Starfleet I can see her having command of her own ship: Quietly competent, but steely in conviction and capability, that’s her!

Kreese: Used to be a Captain, but quietly was ousted from Starfleet during an internal investigation that showed up a lot of problems during his command and even before that. Star Trek has depicted war, and bigotry, and I think Kreese would probably have some dirty laundry there (some of which hasn’t been uncovered). Still bitter about losing his command and losing Johnny and has some personal business with Miyagi that he puts on Daniel, like in the movies.

The OG Cobras: They were all on Kreese’s ship originally, but dispersed after the incident with Johnny. I wonder if only Bobby stayed on, studying intergalactic faiths and assisting in various first communications and interchanges.

Someone help me out with Jimmy, Tommy, and Dutch. Continue on in Starfleet, yay or nay?

Yukie: I caaannot see her as Starfleet. She obviously grew up with Miyagi on that planet and I feel like she’s heavily involved in the rebuilding efforts and has been her whole life. She’s traveled to earth multiple times to petition for relief efforts, and is incredibly anti-war – there’s a whole department dedicated to her work – wait is Yukie basically some hotshot activist who condemns Federation Neo!Colonialism… I feel like… that’s poetic… also you know where Kumiko gets her calm competence from!

Sato: I mean he’s some big-shot admiral while Miyagi’s still Captain and they have History! I think Sato bought into the Federation a lot more and is consistently angry at Miyagi’s choices and wants to initially trip him up, but he just can’t. And eventually they find themselves back home and patch things up – it’s the intergenerational environmental Trauma babey. You need to go back to the source to begin to heal.

Chozen: Speaking of intergenerational trauma… I mean, he’s gone through the Academy, he’s wound up as a combat pilot/second pilot on a great ship, (in this Sato isn’t captaining a ship, he’s risen in the ranks, but he’s pulling strings), he’s going through it. Unsure of what actually would happen, but I like him for combat pilot as a counterpoint to Kumiko’s flight pilot. Poetic.

Terry: OOOOKaaaay, who the heckening is Terry Silver in this? In canon I already HC him as almost a ghost, so how does that translate here? He’s an intergalactic crime boss, he’s got 50 different stories told about him (he’s an augment like Khan, he’s worked with Borg, he’s got contacts throughout the Federation, he came from the Gamma Quadrant) – only Kreese marginally knows him and knows he used to be an ensign, but before that… even he’s not sure…

Barnes & Snake: They work for Terry… do you think he’d do a longterm con of getting his own people into Starfleet through the Academy? I feel like he would. Officer Class, except Snake probably wound up in lowgrade security, I cannot see him having the brains to move that far up the ladder. I’m inventing a whole conspiracy now…. or maybe Terry hired Barnes after he got kicked out of the Academy, hmmm...

Jessica: I want her to be Science Class, so that’s what she is. Research and Development. Social sciences and Xeno-archaeology. She makes and collects gifted pots.

Carmen: She’s a nurse. I feel like she also came through in an unconventional way, possibly studying nursing in a civilian capacity and worked on civilian ships for a few years, using it as payment for traveling with her mom and her kid. Then, eventually, ends up on the same Starship as Johnny and Daniel and Co. (and now I kinda want to see her training under Ali, but in my head Ali left before Carmen entered the picture).

Rosa: I feel like the Diaz family didn’t grow up on earth – I’m aware that this puts people of colour mainly off-earth, but I’m thinking about Star Trek’s earth-metaphor as “paradise” (DS9) while it lets all the nasty stuff happen outside, which is… very similar to “first world/third world country” rhetoric + how in Karate Kid and Cobra Kai first Miyagi and then the Diaz family are immigrants. I think Rosa Diaz would get on with Miyagi – like a type of Guinan and Picard situation, where she’s definitely a civilian, but constantly ends up on conversation with the Captain and he’s not quite sure what exactly her history is. Also I’m imagining a lil toddler-Miguel on a big starship.

Amanda: Similar to Kumiko I can see Amanda in a lot of places – administrative? Officer class? Intelligence officer/analyst? Bridge crew? Captain-in-training? What are we thinking here? Also I wonder about her past, but that’s something I do in canon as well. I kind of like the idea that she’s worked incredibly hard for what she has, putting herself through the Academy, presenting the front of someone who grew up with giving parents on the “Paradise” of earth, but actually she didn’t…

#the karate kid #ck #cobra kai #johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #nariyoshi miyagi #amanda larusso #carmen diaz #rosa diaz #john kreese #terry silver #OG cobras #jessica andrews #kumiko #chozen toguchi #sato toguchi #yukie #ali mills #any mistakes - chalk that up to this being written and not checked through

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philosopherking1887 · 3 years ago

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for the WIP meme: Julian finds out about ITPM

Thanks for the ask! (And in case anyone missed it, here's my WIP ask meme post.)

My thinking about this one hasn't really changed since the last time I did this exercise, which was apparently in June of last year. Here's that post; here's what I said:

So… if you’ve been following the series so far, you’ll have noticed that a major theme has been how Julian deals with the moral difficulties of being involved with Garak, considering what he’s done in the past. He finds ways to rationalize it away for a while, with the thought that their relationship is just a short-term thing. But after Internment Camp 371 and DBIP, they acknowledge that things are more serious and commit to each other out in the open (that’s the background of “On Seizing the Day”). Julian is only willing to make that commitment because he thinks Garak has turned over a new leaf and isn’t going to be up to any of his old tricks anymore… but something is off about Sisko’s request for biomimetic gel, so Julian starts investigating and finds out what happened. (I’m ignoring the assertion in ASIT that Garak just told Bashir – that makes no sense; I’m currently reading McCormack’s novel Hollow Men to see if there’s anything about Bashir finding out, and whether I want to use it or just ignore that too. [Note from March 2022: He doesn't seem to know or find out in that book, which makes more sense.])

Obviously Julian is not happy that Garak seems to have gone back to his Obsidian Order ways, especially right after his encounter with Section 31 in “Inquisition”… which I think he would have told Garak about immediately. I’m not sure yet exactly how bad the blowup will be and how long it’ll take them to repair things… but it’s all about the angst, the betrayal, and the philosophical discussions about morality and individual identity and roles in society and the meaning of redemption.

And then I added in a reblog:

Oh hmm, I was looking back at old posts about WIPs and apparently when I first had this idea, it took the form of Sloan telling Julian at the end of “Inter Arma” what happened in ITPM (because of course he knows)… or (maybe better) drops enough hints to let Julian work it out for himself. Gotta figure out how I want to do that and when I want it to happen. Shortly before Garak leaves to fight with the resistance on Cardassia would be good for Maximum Angst.

Then I went looking for the post where I'd first talked about that, and it turns out it was from exactly a year ago yesterday, which is funny. Of the 10 fic ideas I listed in that post, I have now written and (at least partially) posted 7 of them, which is a pretty good rate for me. The other 3 are still on my to-do list.

#wip meme #wip ask meme #wip ask game #wips #my wips #my fanfiction

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helisol · 4 years ago

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Wait so.. link to this quodo fic you mentioned in your tags?? I’m intrigued :DD

its only an idea but i will HAPPILY ramble about it in detail under this read more because i never finish writing fics but i do love sharing my notes.

they get Pretty Extensive considering this clocked in at 2k words. so strap in.

tl;dr: karaoke night gone wild leads to garashir and quodo setting each other up for holodeck shenanigans

so basically quark has acquired a karaoke program. everyone on ds9 is going mad about it and it's keeping the holosuites booked out for weeks

the main squad decides to try it out and they just jam to a mix of human, klingon and bajoran music. but lets be real it's mostly human music because i have a mighty need to see captain benjamin sisko tear up the dancefloor to Earth Wind & Fire’s September. so sue me.

anyway everyone has to sing, even odo, even garak and they all have a blast. the only person who is notably absent is Quark because Quark has a bar to run and Quark can't indulge in mindless fun activities when he has money to make.

Unless… Odo challenges him and he has to prove that Odo is wrong.

so yeah quark checks on the gang to see how they like this “Hooman Kara-oke” and if he can sell them some drinks and everyone is like “hey you should sing. just one song. we won't even laugh about your bad ferengi singing! we promise!"

and quark is about to say "ferengi voices arent that bad. im still not gonna sing tho."

but odo is ahead of the game and insults his grating voice and how it could only be worse in song. and because this is quark he’s like “actually fuck you. now I WILL sing.”

so he snatches the mic from whoever was about to go next and fucking Crushes It.

while odo starts Looking Respectfully everyone else is just going "woooooo! go quark!" which makes quark just get even more into it

Takes His Jacket Off, Drops It On The Floor, Dances With The Microphone Stand. The Works. and he's also enjoying himself like "haha! suck it odo! i'm a good performer, it's how I make money!"

until he actually looks at Odo and Odo is Looking Back and then he’s like “wait what the fuck why is he looking at me” and Promptly Messes Up A Step And Falls Off The Stage-

so now quark has a twisted ankle and julian has to take him to the infirmary, which bums out quite literally Everyone and the gathering disperses, leaving only Garak and Odo.

garak as we know is but a simple tailor, but he’s Observant and his little lizard eyes did spy odo looking at quark and making the soup-version of heart eyes. we also know he is the gayest bicth on this station so of course he’s going to poke and prod at odo to see how he reacts.

garak waits until everyone is out of the room and asks odo if he can walk the dear constable home to the ol’ bucket. because odo looked a little melty during quark’s performance, y’know. it’d be bad if he turned into soup on the promenade.

odo denies this, of course, so garak is like “oh great then we can have a Chat :)”

and odo goes "wait no i hate talking” but then they’re in garaks shop and drinking kanar and garak is getting drunk off his lizard ass and talking about Julian because, again, he IS THAT BITCH!

meanwhile in the infirmary, Julian is trying to take care of quark’s ankle, but since he’s nosy and kinda Knows that quark wouldn’t just mess up his steps for no reason he asks about that.

and quark loudly goes “NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS JUST FIX MY DAMN ANKLE-”

which of course turns the nosyness up to 11 and has julian going 👀

"no i mean uh- i was distracted" "distracted? by what?" "nothing" "distracted by nothing?" "FIX. MY. ANKLE."

so julian sits him down on a biobed and gets whatever medical thingie fixes ankles in the 24th century. and while he does that he offers quark some wine to loosen the tongue about what made him slip.

anyway one thing leads to another and before you know it quark and julian are wine-drunk sitting on the infirmary floor and talking about garak. which suits quark just fine because it means he doesn’t have to admit he fell because odo was looking at him like he just revealed all the secrets of the universe along with his bare arms when he took off his jacket.

so we have two sets of gay idiots getting drunk in two locations and the next morning two sets of gay idiots have hangovers. yes odo gets a hangover. being soup does not exempt him from it.

julian and odo do the right, logical thing and take some meds to go to work and be productive and garak shows up in the bar to fight fire with fire and finds quark Already Doing That.

so they just sit next to each other, beating their hangovers with more alcohol, and they get to talking.

garak goes on about how he took odo home and pretty much only talked about julian all night and quark is like “wow what a coincidence, the doctor and i only talked about you all night.”

and it's all downhill from there because basically quark and garak just figured out that the garashir pining is Mutual.

"wait, julian was looking at me???" "yes." "AND I WAS LOOKING AT JULIAN-" "Yes."

and then they hash out this elaborate scheme to trap julian and garak in one of the Spy holosuite programs until they make out. this is garak and quark planning. how could they NOT make an elaborate scheme involving holosuites.

anyway i promised quodo so i will keep the ‘garashir makes out in the holosuite’ section a lil more brief

so within the next two days these two gay bitches whip up a new “The Adventures Of Agent Bashir” program, but quark has ‘adjusted’ the program a little so that it only ends when the main characters kiss. fun stuff.

garak and julian go through the program, havin a blast being spies, but at the end garak’s character gets “shot”, and they are so immersed in the story that julian is Actually Concerned and garak Actually Acts like he's in pain.

they kiss, the program ends, and garak- not actually shot- goes “haha gotcha, you wanted to kiss me before i died”

so they walk out the holosuite one hour after their time is already up with a lot of hickeys and untied bowties. hooray.

But That’s Not What We’re Here For.

after garak and julian come down from the high of getting together julian asks Just How and Why quark would agree to help with this. quark Never helps Unless he’s helping himself.

and they realised Quark Has Played Them Like Cheap Kazoos. he just wanted to take attention away from himself and the unanswered question of why he suddenly fell off the stage.

so they go "wait, if odo and quark were both lying and obscuring facts and being weird about this, doesn't that mean- ohhh"

and it boils down to them deciding to help those poor fuckers because they are apparently off even worse than they were in terms of mutual pining.

they also hash out an elaborate scheme. this time it involves odo’s never ending hard on for finding reasons to throw quark into jail.

since quark technically violated the holosuite rules by locking garak and julian in there garak goes over to odo to report the “Crime”

after some back and forth about Why In The World Garak, Friend And Tailor, would report a crime to odo that doesn’t affect anyone’s safety Odo heads to the bar to investigate the holosuites and if there really was criminal activity.

he doesn’t ask quark for permission, mostly because he’d never ask permission to snoop around in quark’s property but also because quark is actually not there at the moment. for Some Reason he’s being held up in the infirmary. Weird.

so odo is looking through the holosuite recordings of the last few days, and he runs through what garak said was the illegal activity of locking them in there and just goes "Ah, alright, i can throw him in a holding cell for that.” but then he sees a message left by garak.

it was apparently left there today so garak must have prepared this which means something is afoot. and the message just reads "the karaoke session was recorded and you might wanna check what Actually™ made quark trip :)"

to which odo reacts with "hmph. why should i care. maybe hes just messing with me and quark tripped over a cable." but Odo looks at it anyway. respectfully.

and he watches the whole performance up until the point where quark falls. Multiple Times. until he remembers that this is a criminal investigation and he finally looks at the part where he falls from quark’s perspective, which is the important one.

and he just. looks right at himself. looking at quark.

and holy shit. he looked at him like he was going to shove him against a wall, not to beat him up, but to make out with him. he straight up looked like he was going to mess him up but not with his fists.

so he stands right in front of quark and replays that moment to see quark’s reaction and analyse how he fell. and sure enough quark Saw Him and his knees gave out.

after that he really just wants to walk out and spend the next 30 hours as a houseplant to cleanse his mind of any quark-related thoughts but uh oh. when he opens the holosuite door Quark Is Right There.

and odo panics and just pulls him inside, accidentally re-initiating the spy program.

“But how did Quark happen to be there at just the right time?” i hear you ask well it was OUR MAN BASHIR

while garak was at odos place telling him to investigate quark’s wrongdoings, quark himself got called to the infirmary for a check-up on his twisted ankle.

and julian kept him there, examining his ankle over and over, until garak came in to Insinuate that Someone is snooping around in the holosuites.

so quark, yelling "NO COPS IN MY BAR", hurries over to the holosuites on his totally fine ankle and bada bing bada boom, here we are.

with two idiots stuck in a locked holosuite.

odo is like "QUARK WTF" meanwhile quark is like "ODO WTF"

"YOU LOCKED US IN A HOLOSUITE" "NO YOU LOCKED US IN A HOLOSUITE" ”well it was you who pulled me in here" "but it was you who designed it like this"

anyway to get out they have to go through the program somehow. quark and garak programmed this very carefully. unless they follow the general story, there’s no way out.

and at first quark says "listen, its okay, we just have to kiss" to which odo replies with that kinda look you’d get from someone if you told them to swallow a cactus whole, for fun.

"you heard me" "quark if this is a joke-" "its not. i made rom pull an all nighter to put in the new sensors." "you paid him for this???" "no." "right of course."

and after a very quick cheek kiss doesn’t end up doing the trick the two actually go through the program properly. except quark knows the script, cheats a little, takes shortcuts and totally doesnt impress odo by shooting a few hologram guards on the way.

so they get to the end, where they believe odo is supposed to get “shot”, but turns out they mixed up the roles and quark is the one who gets shot.

And Odo Doesn’t Know. The Safeties. Are. On.

so he tearfully goes "WAIT NO- QUARK!" and quark is like "odo...odo come closer..."

"yes, quark?"

"kiss me"

"quark please dont die i'll kiss you and we'll beam you straight to the infirmary and-" "ODO JUST KISS ME"

and then they kiss. the holosuite controls unlock and quark thinks ‘oh great, now we can leave-’ but odo doesnt stop kissing him

and he doesn’t Stop kissing him until quark actually speaks up and has to go "HEY IF THIS WERE REAL I’D BE DYING BY NOW-"

"what?" "the safeties are on. I didn’t get shot. you just had to kiss me to unlock the controls-"

and odo is like "QUARK"

and quark is like "ODO"

and then odo gets up and is very convinced that he Must Turn Into A Houseplant For A Ferengi Lifespan To Atone For His Sins.

but quark says “no, wait. can you do it again?”

"yelling at you?" "kissing me."

anyway odo finally gets to fulfill his fantasy of pushing quark against a wall and quark finally gets kissed by odo like hes dreamed of for like 15 years or however long ago it was that they were first on terok nor together during the cardassian occupation.

the end.

#quodo #ds9 #deep space nine #look if anyone reads this whole thing. please talk to me about it. this is my pepe silvia.#ALSO IF SOMEONE WANTS TO *WRITE THIS*#GO AHEAD

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 2 Easter Egg and Reference

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 2, Episode 2, “Kayshon, His Eyes Open”

In The Next Generation episode “The Most Toys,” Kivas Fajo tried to keep Data forever. The idea that someone thought it was okay to “collect” was an oddly self-referential concept for Star Trek even in the 1990s. Just like now, the idea of a Star Trek collectible was a thing hardcore Star Trek fans thought about all the time. But, other than the fact that everyone would actually want to “collect” Data, “The Most Toys” wasn’t actually about Star Trek collectibles.

But, the newest Star Trek: Lower Decks episode, kind of is? In “Kayshon, His Eyes Open,” the crew of the Cerritos encounters one of those famous collectors, while the crew of the Titan deal with some very familiar transporter clones. It’s almost like this is an episode that is filled with as many Easter eggs on purpose. Here’s everything we caught.

Beta Shift

When Jet joins the Lower Deckers at the start of the episode, it’s implied they are on “Beta Shift.” This seems to check-out with Season 1, in which it was clear that the Cerritos was on a four-shift duty rotation, which included the night shift known as “Delta Shift.” (This idea was first introduced in the TNG episode “Chain of Command,” an episode Lower Decks LOVES to reference.)

Sonic Showers

Although sonic showers are referenced a lot in Star Trek, we’ve only seen sonic showers a few times. The first time was in The Motion Picture, and since then we’ve only glimpsed the showers. The visual effect for the communal sonic showers here is very similar to TMP, but the idea of communal showering for the lower officers vaguely references the novelization of The Motion Picture, too. If you know, then you know.

Collectors

Again the idea of various “Collectors” in the galaxy references Kivas Fajo and “The Most Toys.” This is what Freeman means by “they all tried to collect Data.”

Dr. Migleemo

Notably, the Cerritos’s counselor, the avian Dr. Migleemo returns in this episode, once again, voiced by Paul. F. Tompkins. Echoing Counselor Troi’s non-standard uniform, Migleemo appears to wear whatever he wants while on duty, even sitting on the bridge.

Items Owned By the Collector, Take 1

When the landing party for the Cerritos first boards the ship, just in the first room alone there are a ton of Easter eggs. Getting all of these is gonna be tricky, but we’re gonna give it a go. Here’s what you can spot when you pause the first couple of shots in the first room of the Collector’s Ship.

Captain Picard paper mache head from “Captain Picard Day” (TNG, “The Pegasus”)

The Game (TNG, “The Game”)

Baseball Bat and ball (Possible DS9 Sisko reference?)

Giant Unicorn (Possible Blade Runner reference?)

Marty McFly’s Shoes (Back to the Future)

Terran Empire Flag (TOS, “Mirror, Mirror)

Khan’s Necklace (The Wrath of Khan)

Valiant flight recorder (TOS, “Where No Man Has Gone Before)

Gold TOS Uniform

Giant Pink Tribble (TAS, “More Tribbles, More Troubles)

M-113 lifeform (TOS, “The Man Trap.” Also, this is AT LEAST the third time the Salt Vampire has appeared on Lower Decks. And, having the M-113 lifeform as a collectible not only references “The Man Trap,” but also, “The Squire of Gothos,” in which your boy Trelane had an M-113 creature as a museum piece, too!)

Special Shout-Out: Betazoid Gift Box

First appearing in TNG’s “Haven,” this was a talking box that was meant to “bond” with the person who got the gift.

The existence of this artifact here is also possible a double reference to two other things: In “Haven,” the face of the Gift Box was played by Armin Shimmerman, more famous later as Quark on DS9. But, on top of that, back in 1994 the Star Trek: The Next Generation Collectible Card Game (published by Decipher Inc.) had a very powerful card based on the Betazoid Gift Box. If you played the game, you know this was a rare and useful card that was well…very collectible.

Special Shout-Out: Whose trombone is that?

We briefly see a trombone in one of the collector’s cases, which seems like an easy reference to Riker. But, which one? Because this episode also directly references “Second Chances,” and Will Riker’s duplicate Thomas Riker, it’s possible that this is the trombone that Will gave to Thomas at the end of that TNG episode. Briefly, here’s the case for that being Thomas Riker’s trombone: In the DS9 episode “Defiant” Thomas Riker tried to steal the Defiant, but was later arrested by Starfleet. Presumably, this would mean all of his stuff would have been confiscated, including his trombone!

Keyshon is a Tamarian

Tamarians or “the Children of Tama” originate in the TNG episode “Darmok.” In case you forgot, Picard cracked the case with this species by learning they spoke exclusively through metaphor and analogy. Mariner mocks this by pointing out all you have to do is listen for “context clues.”

Riker loves…Rogue Squadron?

Riker tells Boimler to use “attack pattern delta,” on the Pakled ship. This seems to be a reference to The Empire Strikes Back in which Luke tells the snowspeeders of Rogue Squadron, “Attack pattern delta, go now!”

Items Owned By the Collector, Take 2

Here’s another go at seeing how many Easter eggs were jammed into like less than 2-minutes of screentime.

Kataan Probe (TNG, “The Inner Light”)

Vulcan lirpa weapon (TOS, “Amok Time,”)

Klingon bat’leth (TNG, DS9, Voyager et al.)

Andorian dueling weapon (Enterprise, “United.”)

Shark in a Tank (A reference to the real-life artist Damien Hirst, probably?)

Mars Rover

Kadis-kot game set (Voyager)

Château Picard wine crate (Picard)

Isomagnetic disintegrator (Worf’s bazooka from Insurrection)

Tendi is later holding:

A trident scanner (Scotty loved this thing in TOS)

And…a Kurlan naiskos (TNG, “The Chase,” a very big episode for canon!)

Kahless’ fornication helmet

Tendi says that this specific Klingon artifact is clearly something Kahless (the Klingon Jesus) wore while…well, the name speaks for itself. But which Kahless? Hmmm? The fake clone Kahless from “Rightful Heir?” or the real-deal Kahless from the 9th century? The Kahless reference gets doubly meta, because, as you’ll see later, Lower Decks eventually references the very first reference in canon to Kahless, too.

Data’s Picasso-esque painting of Spot

Barely visible, just as Mariner and the gang are trying to escape, we see Data’s painting of his cat Spot, first seen in the TNG episode “Inheritance,” and later in the background in the movie Generations.

Boimler’s description of the Enterprise-D

Let’s combine two scenes here! In two pivotal moments in the episode, Boimler is defending the honor and relative coolness of the TNG adventures on the Enterprise-D, which he just calls “the D.” Here’s what it seems like he’s referencing.

“They went to other dimensions… (This seems to reference the idea that “The D” did go to another dimension in the episode “Where No One Has Gone Before.” It also could reference “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” but nobody would remember that.)

“They fought the Borg…” (This references “Q, Who,” “The Best of Both Worlds,” and “Descent.”

“They insurrected!” (This seems to reference Star Trek: Insurrection, which was not the Enterprise-D, but instead, the Enterprise-E! The Lower Decks writers surely know this. Why doesn’t Boimler know this? Maybe the game of telephone in the Federation is a little inaccurate? In LDS Season 1, the news of Data’s brother seemed to travel…very slowly?)

“They had a regular string quartet.” (This references several TNG episodes, notably “Sarek,” and again, “Inheritance,”)

“Riker was jamming on the trombone” (A ton of TNG, including “The Next Phase,” “Future Imperfect,” and of course, “Second Chances.”)

“Catching love disease” (Probably TNG’s “The Naked Now”)

“Acting in plays” (This mostly references Riker acting in one of Crusher’s plays in TNG’s “Frame of Mind.”)

The remains of Spock Two?

In the spooky skeleton room, we see what appears to be a giant humanoid skeleton wearing a blue TOS–era Starfleet uniform. Who is this? The best guess? This is the giant Spock clone from The Animated Series episode “The Infinite Vulcan.”

Excalbian Bones and Abe Lincoln

Toward the end of the episode, the gang is trapped in a diorama that seems to have an alien and a skeleton of Abraham Lincoln. This references the TOS episode “The Savage Curtain” in which the Excalbians produced copies of Lincoln, along with Kahless and Surak. This episode was the first reference in Trek canon to both Kahless and Surak, and so, basically created the backstories of both Vulcan and Klingon cultures through historically inaccurate versions of those people. Funny, right?

Transporter clone

When Boimler beams the away team out through the distortion field, Riker says “oh, I’ve heard this tune before.” This references the TNG banger “Second Chances,” in which Riker’s transporter duplicate was discovered on a planet years after the fact. In this sense, Boimler’s transporter clone got off easy. Also, the idea that one of the transporter duplicates makes different decisions that the other also references “Second Chances,” in which “Thomas” Riker ends up being a different person than Will. The idea that both can’t serve on the Titan anymore might reference the idea that the TNG writing staff considered killing off the “first” Will Riker, and replacing him with his duplicate. This would have meant Data would have become the first officer in Season 6, and Riker, the operations officer. It didn’t happen, but from the point of view of the Titan crew, something like this basically DID just happen.

The Riker lean

While talking to the Mr. Boimlers, Riker puts one foot up on a couch. Classic Riker lean. Classic.

“Computer play Night Bird”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Just before Boimler leaves the Ready Room, “William Boimler” and Riker are sharing some Romulan Ale. Riker says “computer, play ‘Night Bird.’” This also references “Second Chances,” in which Riker is unable to play the trombone solo for this song, which Troi teases him about endlessly. “Night Bird” also appears to be a made-up song. But who knows, maybe William Boimler will be able to master it? Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 airs on Paramount+ on Thursdays.

The post Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 2 Easter Egg and Reference appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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abigailnussbaum · 4 years ago

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How to do Garak/Bashir in Canon DS9

Yesterday there was a fun tweet asking people how they would remake DS9 if they were given the option today.

Which led to some fun discussions (you can see my answers here). Obviously one thing that pretty much everyone said was “canon Garak/Bashir”. That’s generally considered one of the show’s big missed opportunities, with both Andrew J. Robinson and some of the show’s producers expressing regret over never having gone there. But it did get me thinking: how would you tell this sort of story? Because look, it’s one thing to write Garak/Bashir in fanfic, filling in gaps in the canon or changing the entire tone of the story to suit your ‘ship. But if you’re retelling DS9 along basically the same lines - the end of the Cardassian occupation, the discovery of the wormhole, the Jem’hadar, the Dominion, the war with Cardassia - and with the personalities of the characters and the tone of the show largely unchanged, how do you fit Garak/Bashir into that story?

There are some obvious issues with trying to work this ship into the show’s story and overall tone. For one thing, Bashir is a Starfleet officer. We like to make fun of his early, annoying incarnation, but even in that form he is clearly a decent, principled man with strong values. It’s one thing to flirt (literally or figuratively) with a mysterious, sexy spy, but getting into a relationship with him would not only be stupid, it would run counter to Bashir’s image of himself. You could go in a dark direction with this - Garak seduces Bashir purely as a way of gaining power over him (and perhaps out of force of habit); maybe they end up in a kind of Hannibal/Will relationship. But that doesn’t seem sustainable in the long-term, or congruent with the type of show DS9 was. Bashir can’t trust Garak, and Garak has done things that Bashir would consider disgusting. That’s something you have to take into consideration if you want to write them as a long-term couple.

It’s also worth considering that, as much as the Garak/Bashir pairing lingers over the fannish perception of the show, it’s not actually that prominent in the series itself. The last episode that I would call a Garak/Bashir story, “Our Man Bashir”, is an early S4 episode, well before the Dominion War happens. And Garak is absent for a lot of the later developments in Bashir’s life - “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” (you’d think Garak, with his complicated relationship with his father, would have something to say about Julian having been illegally genetically enhanced by his parents) or “Statistical Probabilities” (a troupe of savants who claim to be able to predict the course of the war would surely be of interest to Garak). In most of these stories, Bashir is accompanied by O’Brien, a much safer option as far as suppressed sexual tension is concerned (it should go without saying that this feels like a deliberate choice on the show’s part, to undermine any idea of a Garak/Bashir relationship). Meanwhile, Bashir is absent from most of Garak’s important Dominion War stories - his relationship with Ziyal and her death, his position in Damar’s rebellion, “In the Pale Moonlight”. So if you’re going to retell DS9 with Garak/Bashir as a real ship, you'd have to rewrite a lot of these stories to take that into account.

Finally, you’ve got the show’s ending, which is an extremely dark one for Garak, who gets everything he thought he wanted - his position restored, a place of honor in Cardassian society - just at the point where Cardassia is decimated and, in his words, left dead. Working a romance with Bashir into this ending would be tricky, and risks ending up with the final scenes of Man of Steel - two people making out atop a mass grave.

(Obviously, I’m taking it as a given that this hypothetical version of DS9 is much, much better at writing mature, complicated romantic relationships than the real one. Most actual DS9 romance was painfully juvenile, and the one exception, Sisko/Kasidy, was also an extremely low-drama ship - Sisko literally sent Kasidy to jail and the next time they met they were like “so, that was a bit of a bump in the road; dinner later?” It should go without saying that Garak/Bashir would not be a low-drama ship, so the writing would need to be there to support it.)

Anyway, complicated but obviously not impossible. This is what I’ve come up with for how I would rewrite the show with Garak/Bashir as an ongoing couple. I’m sure there’s plenty of fanfic with other, better ideas.

To start with, lose the claustrophobia business. Or, you know, keep it, but the reason Garak was expelled from the Obsidian Order and banished from Cardassia is that he’s gay. (To be fair, I feel like “claustrophobia” was pretty clearly code even in the original show.) A lot of people in the upper echelons of the Cardassian hierarchy know this - Dukat certainly knows - and miss no opportunity to harass him about it.

Obviously, in this version of the show Cardassia is deeply queerphobic. I don’t think this is a huge leap. Cardassian society is deeply conformist, and family-oriented in a fascist-adjacent sort of way that prioritizes the father as the master of the home. It’s hard to imagine a society like that tolerating deviations from gender norms, and it seems fair to assume that reprecussions for such deviations would be severe.

Garak doesn’t actually have a problem with this - or at least, not that he expresses. Garak’s defining trait is that he believes in, and loves, Cardassia deeply, and espouses its chauvinistic (in both senses of the word) values to anyone who will listen. But at the same time, he’s smart enough (and enough of an outsider) to know how hollow and destructive those values really are. So Garak will explain to anyone who challenges him on it that Cardassian homophobia is right and proper, while knowing that he has fallen victim to it himself.

Bashir is out. Though “out” might not be the right word because the Federation is so nonchalant about queerness that the notion of being closeted doesn’t really exist anymore (this is a version of Star Trek where we actually follow through on the promise of a more progressive future). But at any rate, to Bashir and the other Starfleet characters, him being gay is so unremarkable that it doesn’t even come up until his and Garak’s frienship is already established. This deeply shocks Garak - he knew humans were perverted, but the good Doctor, his friend? Bashir, meanwhile, wastes no opportunity to needle Garak about his society’s barbaric homophobia (Garak: “humans may be prone to such... urges, but Cardassians are made of finer stuff”; Bashir: *rolls eyes so hard he can see the back of his head*). But at the same time, and without being entirely willing to admit it to himself, Garak is intrigued.

And so we continue for about five seasons. Garak flirts with Bashir, partly because he thinks this is a way of unsettling the good Doctor, but really because he wants him. Bashir assumes that it’s all an act, and plays along with it a little because, hey, sexy spy. But he never imagines that it could go somewhere real, and probably wouldn’t follow through if it did.

And then Bashir gets replaced with a Changeling (this is a version of DS9 where that idea was seeded throughout the first half of the fifth season instead of being decided on five minutes before “In Purgatory’s Shadow” started shooting). And the changeling takes one look at Garak, sees an obvious in, and seduces him. Which clearly causes some awkwardness when Garak finds the real Bashir in a Dominion prison camp.

Bashir finds out. Worf tells him (this is a version of Worf who isn’t weirdly sexist and judgmental about other people’s sex lives). (Bashir: “why is Garak being so weird around me?”; Worf: “he and the fake you were doing it”; Bashir: “what”; Worf: “they were boning”; Bashir: “WHAT”; Worf: “they were engaging in sexual intercourse”; Bashir: “that's not possible. Garak only flirts with me to keep me on my toes”; Worf: *shrugs* “if that’s what you want to call it”.)

So now Bashir is upset because he’s spent the last five years bugging Garak about Cardassian homophobia and it turns out that Garak was a victim of it, plus he’s now been victimized by someone wearing Bashir’s face. And Garak is upset because he let his attraction to Bashir (Garak: “my base lust!”) blind him to the fact that his friend had been replaced by a changeling, leading to him being comromised as an agent (I will leave it as an exercise to the readers which one bothers him more). And, well, if you can’t get from there to romance on your own, you may not have read enough fanfic in your life.

Then you get the war, and honestly, I don’t know. You could do an on/off thing. You could make it a very casual relationship in between the two of them trying not to die and/or lose the Alpha Quadrant to the Dominion. You could have Bashir say “fuck it, I might die tomorrow and this guy makes me happy; who cares if my boyfriend is a liar and a murderer”. You could even go the Worf/Jadzia route and have them muse romantically about having a life together after the war. But either way, they spend more time around each other than they did in the original series.

But! When Garak goes back to Cardassia to help Damar’s rebellion, there’s a lot of tension between them, because Damar heard from Dukat that Garak is a pervert (you could still keep Ziyal’s death and Garak’s anger at Damar over it; those two always made more sense as friends anyway). And then it turns out that there’s an entire Cardassian queer underground, and in typical Cardassian fashion they’ve turned it into a whole spy network with operatives at every level of government. (Garak: “why did you never approach me?”; queer Cardassian underground: “dude, have you met you?”) And they’re willing to work with Damar if he promises that in the new Cardassia, they will no longer be persecuted (I think this dovetails pretty nicely with Garak’s observation that Damar needs to be disillusioned about the flaws of Cardassian society). So all of a sudden Garak is looking at a future where what he is doesn’t make him a pariah anymore.

And then you get to the destruction of Cardassia, and, again, I’m not sure how that combines with Garak/Bashir. The entire ending of DS9 is pretty rough on romantic pairings in general, but at least when Kira/Odo and Sisko/Kasidy break up, it’s bittersweet, and in service of other new beginnings. Garak’s ending is just bleak, and I’m not sure how you deal with a romance on top of that. The best I can come up with is Bashir saying “yes, this is horrible, but you can rebuild, and if you need my help with that, I’m not far”, leaving a door open for them to reconnect in the future.

Thoughts?

#deep space nine #garak/bashir #this got long

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lieutenantcharleslorem · 4 years ago

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Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Relationships: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak, Julian Bashir & Molly O'Brien Characters: Julian Bashir, Elim Garak, Kira Nerys, Jadzia Dax, Jake Sisko, Nog (Star Trek), Rom (Star Trek), Leeta (Star Trek), Molly O'Brien (Star Trek) Summary: Molly doesn't want to spend Halloween on the station with no human kids, so Julian offers to take her to Earth for the last week of October. Taking others with him to experience the holiday, he could probably relax and lean on them as fellow chaperones. But he has a full itinerary for Molly, with no idea she would have any plans of her own for him.

Note: Apologies for any mistakes, I wanted to get this up by the end of the month. Also, I took some liberties with Molly's personality, and by that I mean I gave her one. But hey, my mom thinks it's accurate to 8, so... 😃Oh, and I'm planning on this story remaining rather wholesome, but since there is a ship I've rated it teen just to be safe until it's all up and I have a better idea.

Quark shuffled over as Chief O’Brien and Dr. Bashir sat down at the bar a few seats away from Morn.

“Hello, boys!” he said, “Care to try our new drink for the hu-mon season? It’s called a Jack-o-lantern!”

Miles groaned and put his head on the bar. He was ignored for a moment while Bashir asked what was in a Jack-o-lantern.

“It’s a spiced rum drink, with pumpkin and carrot juice. Sure to remind you two of home! Plus it comes in these cute little face glasses,” Quark said pulling out a short glass with the black triangular eyes and a toothy grin of a carved pumpkin.

“Wow, you really went all in on the theme if you bought glasses, Quark,” said Bashir.

“Actually they’re sonic-dishwasher safe stickers. Leeta says she can get them off with her long fingernails when your creepy season is over… What’s wrong with him?” Quark pointed a thumb toward O’Brien who had lifted his head to listen to the drink ingredients, but still looked out of sorts.

“What’sa matter, Chief?” asked Bashir.

“Oh, I’m just stressing out about something that probably won’t end up mattering that much.”

“So the usual?” Quark said walking away and returning with two beers. They weren’t sure if Quark was saying Miles always worried about things that didn’t matter or just talking about their drink order, but he disappeared to help another customer immediately after, so they would never know.

“What’s the trouble?” asked Bashir.

“Keiko is really busy on Bajor and can’t take time off for Halloween.”

“Sort of an unusual Holiday to take time off for anyhow.”

“Sure, but now I have Molly because Keiko is so busy, and there definitely wouldn’t be any Halloween business on Bajor anyway.”

“That important, is it?”

“It’s Molly’s favorite Holiday. Last year Keiko took her to my parents’ house on Earth for the week. But I just can’t get away, not with the lifts acting up, and the power cells that went missing—”

“And no one else can do those things? Rom?”

“Oh… It’s not that Rom isn’t capable of being in charge, but he does get, you know, nervous when he thinks people have high expectations and… to be honest he’s been getting on my nerves lately. It’s not him. It’s all the things around here going wrong making me irritated with everything.”

“Do you have any plans?”

“Ugh, I think Keiko thinks I’ll try to make it special here. But Molly knows that’s a bust and isn’t being shy about it. There’s no other human kids here, Daddy. I’m gonna feel silly dressing up. She never used to feel silly being the only one doing something.”

“Well, she’s getting older.”

“Yeah but still so little. If she was older and making a fuss, I’d just send her on a shuttle by herself and have her Gran pick her up on the other side. Used to do that sort of thing when I was a kid, but not ‘til I was a little older than her.”

“Hmm… Well… Miles… I could take her.”

“What?”

“I have some leave. And unlike you I think my staff can handle things while I’m gone. I mean if some horrible disease breaks out, I’ll come rushing back. But it’s just a little trick or treating, right? I could handle it.”

“I… I guess you could. It’s just, there’s a lot of kids and a lot going on—”

“I did in fact trick or treat as a child, Miles; you’re not explaining it to a Vulcan.”

“Well I—”

“Oh! But I could take Garak with me!”

“Garak?!”

“Oh, he loves Molly, and he rarely gets to leave the station. I could show him a piece of human culture.”

“I wouldn’t say he loves Molly. He makes her clothes—”

“He adores her, and would sooner kill someone than let something happen to her. Hmm, I wonder if any other non-humans would like to come learn about Halloween? Kira would probably think it was a waste of time… Dax is probably quite familiar with it, but I’m sure she’d have fun. Oh! I bet Jake hasn’t had an authentic Halloween in years.”

“If you’re going to bring a huge party with you, it’s not really about Molly anymore, is it?”

“Nonsense, the more people I bring the more chaperones for Molly. Besides, I don’t know if any of these people will say yes. Maybe it would just be me and Dax or something. That would be very relaxed. I could do this, Chief, but if you’d rather Molly stuck around here and complained…”

O’Brien gave a hmf that could rival Odo’s. But he nodded, taking a sip of his beer.

“Alright. Not too much sugar, nothing too scary, bed by 9, 10 on Halloween if she twists your arm. Don’t let her wander off on her own, and keep track of her please and thank yous. I don’t want her getting used to being rude because she thinks she can get away with it with you. Call me if there are any problems, and, Doctor… Bring her back in one piece.”

“Can do, Chief. I’ll start asking who wants to come along, and you can lecture all of them too.”

“I will.”

The next evening, Chief O’Brien ran into Worf on the promenade and stopped him.

“Worf, I was glad to hear you’re going on this trip with Julian to take Molly. I really appreciate—”

“Alas, I am not. Only Jadzia is going.”

“You don’t want to go with her?”

“I have duties here. And I’m afraid I will not get the same things out of the trip that the others will. I did celebrate Halloween as a child, if only because my brother did, and because… when in Rome as the humans say.”

“Right… Well… It’s just… I had hoped, because you’re good with kids…”

“Chief… I’m flattered to hear you say that. While I will not argue, I’m not sure that Molly is particularly enthused with me.”

“Perhaps, but you’re— responsible.”

“Ah, I see. Though I am not often one to praise the doctor, I do think he is up to the task.”

“I’m sure he is. I just thought you’d want to spend some time with Jadzia, and then you’d be extra help.”

“Admittedly, there may be another reason I have decided not to go.”

“Oh?”

“Major Kira has agreed to go.”

“You… you get along with her fine, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course, but with her, and Jadzia, and the chief medical officer gone, I believe someone should remain here. But additionally, when I met Jadzia, she was wearing some sort of fairy tale costume, as was Kira, I believe to play in a holosuit program. I got the impression that they had a friendship in which they embraced their femineity together, as well as other aspects of their personalities which they share. But they have done this very little since Jadzia and I married.”

“Oh! You just want to give her some space to spend time with her friend? That’s so sweet, Worf.” Worf stifled a groan. “And if Kira’s going, that’s a load off. But how in the quadrant did they get Kira to agree to come?”

“Your daughter. She was with the doctor when he mentioned it to us this morning. Kira did not seem interested when the doctor and Jadzia explained it, but Molly said please, and called her aunty and the major agreed immediately.”

O’Brien burst out laughing and said, “I swear she’s learning how to play people.”

“Are you sure just you and Yoshi will be okay without me or Mommy around for a whole week?” Molly asked as Miles walked her to the docking ring.

“Molly, it’s been just me and Yoshi before. I think I can handle it,” he said with a smirk. “Are you going to be okay without Mommy or Daddy around for a whole week?”

“I’ve been by myself with Grandma and Grandpa before, I think I can handle it.”

“Good. You’ve got everything? You’re sure you don’t want to take an old costume with you?”

“I told you, Mr. Garak has my costume for this yeeaaaar.”

“Alright, alright.”

Waiting for them at the shuttle were Garak and Julian both holding duffle bags.

“Kira, Dax, and Jake are already aboard saving seats,” said Julian. “Ready to go, Molly?”

Molly nodded, but she didn’t let go of her father’s hand.

“Oh, good! We’re not too late!” they heard Rom’s voice from the hall as he, Leeta, and Nog approached.

“I told you the shuttle left at 1300 hours, Father. We’re right on time,” said Nog.

“Well, I still don’t want to be rude,” Rom said shyly.

“You’re going too, eh?” asked Miles.

“I hope you don’t mind,” said Leeta. Julian and Jake said they would show us a little bit of human culture. But we’re happy to be extra eyes too.” She glanced down at Molly.

“Yeah! Hey there-er-uh, Molly,” Rom said as if he’d never spoken to a child before. “I know you probably know the others better but if you need anything, Leeta and I are here for you too.”

If Rom was weird, Molly didn’t notice. “Thanks, Mr. Rom.”

“I want to see what else there is to Halloween beside academy parties,” said Nog.

“Are they still, a hundred people crammed into someone’s aunt’s house drinking cheep replicator beer?” asked Miles.

“Sounds about right,” said Nog.

“You… drank… at parties… at the academy?” asked Rom.

“Sometimes,” Nog admitted. “But, no offense to your people, Chief, but I don’t like beer.”

“Nog, if anyone tells you they genuinely like the flavor of barley beer, and drink it for no other reasons, they’re either lying to you, or to themselves.”

Nog threw his head back and laughed. “Well we better get going. I’ll get this,” Nog said with an air of sarcasm which didn’t make sense until they all realized what this was. He scooped up Molly and put her on his hip.

“Nog, she’s not a baby, you’re gonna hurt your back,” said Julian from the entrance to the shuttle.

“Nonsense. She’s not so big.”

“I’ve never been up, but still so low before,” said Molly, looking up at her father.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Nog chided with a smile.

“Alright, give Daddy a kiss and then you all better get to your seats.”

He leaned over and Molly kissed him on the cheek. “Bye, Daddy!” she said.

“Have fun, sweetheart.”

Rom grabbed Molly’s bag, and they all turned and shuffled onto the shuttle. The last thing the chief heard before the doors slid closed, was Molly saying, “I want to sit with Mr. Garak!”

“Why…” he whispered to himself.

#ds9 #DS9 fanfiction #Halloween #garashir #Garak/Bashir

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angelholme · 4 years ago

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May, Myself and I

Day 26 (Delayed) - Curtains & Day 27 - Stars

So apparently Kym Karath couldn’t swim when she was seven years old. Which seems like a very odd and random fact to start a post with and an even more odd fact to know.

However Kym Karath is probably the most famous of the Gretl Von Trapp’s in history, as she played her in the 1965 film along side Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and six other pretty famous children (at least relatively famous) and so it turns out I know more about her when she was seven than I do about most seven year olds.

But since she couldn’t swim the whole “they’re singing in the boat and the boat flips over” scene was apparently a tad more complicated. Especially when on the second take Julie Andrews - who was supposed to catch her and save her - fell out of the wrong side of the boat and could find her, so Heather Menzies had to rescue her instead. (There’s a story to tell your children).

The Sound of Music is one of my favourite films, even if I don’t watch it all that often - which I don’t because it is very, very long. It has everything you can ever want - singing, dancing, romance, Nazis who get screwed over, Nazis who get screwed over by nuns, a Nazi who gets screwed over by his girlfriend because she wants nothing to do with him......

So yes - the entire second half of the film is about saying “fuck you” to the Third Reich, which (bizarrely) is really quite ahead of its time. Except back in 1965 it was really not ahead of its time because back in 1965 saying “fuck you” to the Third Reich was literally all people did.

And the songs just last for ever. You say “Doe” almost everyone will respond “A deer - a female deer” (even people who’ve watched The Simpons and now associate “Doh” with Homer, because even they go “Doh! A Deer”)

The jokes about “The hills are alive and they are eating people” are pretty well known,

And - of course - the song that I now always confuse with the opening song in Les Miserables, because of the radio show “I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue” and the game “One Song to The Tune of Another”

Now I’m not certain if you’ve heard of this game, or if you know the rules, but it is pretty self-explanatory.

And after someone pointed it out on line, I have been unable to hear anything else but this :-

When I hear the Von Trapps singing “So Long, Farewell, Wiedersehen, Goodbye” it almost always morphs into a bunch of convicts singing “Look down, Look down, You’re here until you die”

Which is bad enough, but it gets ever so much worse because then you get to Gretl’s line....

“THE SUN..... HAS GONE....... TO BED AND SO MUST I” “LOOK DOWN! LOOK DOWN!!! YOU’RE HEAR UNTIL YOU DIE!”

Suffice to say the idea of mixing up the Von Trapp children and a bunch of convicts is quite entertaining - especially since I suspect the Von Trapp kids were probably far more dangerous and had far more criminal intent.

Although when you consider the life of Jean Valjean it does become more of a close call, because when you look him from a certain point of view he really screwed things up.

He lied, he mislead, and there is every chance that he was the one who caused the collapse of the revolution.

So all in all - depending on your point of view - Valjean could be considered a villain. And in the current climate there’s an argument for needing more people like Javert to be maintaining our law and order.

And if you take this out into other fandoms you see that Sisko agrees - once he is confronted by Eddington (the Valjean character) he turnes into Javert and goes on a tear and destroys him using some pretty desperate tactics.

Then - a few years later - he uses some even more underhand tactics to achieve the same ends.

Is Javert really a bad guy? Is Valjean really a good guy? Can you turn a good guy into a bad guy? Can you have two bad guys and no good guy?

Have I entirely lost the thread of what I was writing originally?

Maybe.

But just look at Valjean’s story from an entirely neutral point of view, and you’ll realise there are problems with his actions.

However I am going to drag myself back to the original thread, which was that the Von Trapp kids are kind of mischievous and not at all evil, and most definitely shouldn’t be thrown in the river again (all except Gretl because she clearly can’t swim and you can’t trhow people in the river who can’t swim - that’s just mean) while wearing curtains, and both Valjean and Javert are either the heroes of the villains of the piece - depending on your point of view - but either way they are most definitely the stars of the show.

#may myself and i #year 2(020)#day 26 #day 27 #curtains #stars #the sound of music #les miserables #gretl #kym karath #valjean #javert

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bioneuralgelpack · 5 years ago

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Future’s End: Star Trek Voyager as the End of History

I’ve been watching a lot of Star Trek Voyager recently as a kind of antidote to PhD stress and I was struck, while watching the time travel episode, Future’s End, by just how rooted in the 1990’s Voyager really is. And rooted in a very particular vision of the 1990’s.

Francis Fukuyama famously commented, in 1992, that the 1990’s marked ‘the end of history’. Fukuyama distinguished here between ‘history’ and ‘events’ – the end of ‘events’ would mark the end of the world effectively, but the end of ‘history’ instead could be seen as the end of political, social and economic strife which drives societal change. History has been marked by various epochs and political evolutions which, according to Fukuyama reached their pinnacle in western liberal democracy during the 1990’s. Fukuyama’s ideas were forcibly undone on September 11th 2001 when a new kind of war began, marking the cultural endpoint of the 90’s, 21 months after their literal endpoint. Interestingly, Voyager’s final episode aired on 23rd May 2001, four months before this cultural shift. Voyager then is anchored firmly within Fukuyama’s cultural endpoint.

Voyager is proud of its 90’s roots and unafraid of drawing most of its cultural beats from the decade of its conception - Tom Paris loves 90’s popular culture, the episode, 11:59, is entirely set in the last days of 1999, Future’s End has the crew visit 1996. Fascination with earth history is something of a trope within the Star Trek universe – from Sisko’s love of old baseball games in Deep Space Nine to Worf’s trips to the wild west in The Next Generation – but these references are intended to evoke a kind of nostalgia for their audiences. Voyager’s references to the 90’s did no such thing for its 90’s audience. Instead, there was a kind of complacency within the narrative; of course citizens of a 24th century utopia would take their cultural references from the decade which their utopia reflects. It is no accident that Voyager is named for a space probe, admittedly launched before the 90’s, but which is the embodiment of the 90’s utopian vision of a human society built around exploration and scientific enquiry.

This sense of complacency permeates all aspects of the series; Voyager premiered at the peak of the Star Trek franchise popularity – Deep Space Nine was in its second season, The Next Generation had made a very successful transition from small screen to big and the original 60’s Trek was drawing in huge audiences in re-runs. Voyager was a guaranteed success from day one; all it had to do was keep doing what Trek had been doing so well for the past thirty years. And it excelled at doing that. It became the Trek-est of the Treks as its crew boldly went where every Star Trek crew had already gone many, many times before. Voyager’s cultural sister, Deep Space Nine, was the red-haired stepchild of the franchise, the show that took risks, leaving Voyager to act as a counterpoint by taking no risks whatsoever. After all, it didn’t need to – the status quo had been working well for literally decades. Just as Fukuyama predicted, when there is no impetus for change, then change does not occur.

Voyager’s mission is technically to get home, but it does this with absolutely no sense of urgency. At times, it feels as though the crew are on a kind of leisure cruise through the Delta Quadrant with ample time to explore scientific phenomena and make contact with new species. At times, it feels as though Voyager is on a kind of cultural crusade to spread Federation values throughout the barbaric and technologically less advanced region in which they find themselves. In an interesting narrative choice, Voyager is a superior ship to almost anything else the Delta Quadrant has to offer, meaning that the supremacy of 90 western liberal democracy which it represents goes unchallenged. The writers seem all too aware of this dimension of the series and go out of their way to parody it in the seventh season’s Live Fast and Prosper which sees a group of con artists selling fake Federation memberships to gullible Delta Quadrant natives.

Fukuyama thought that the end of history was marked by the defeat of communist powers in Russia and increasing capitalism within China and Voyager deals with this too. In later seasons, Voyager’s main antagonists are the Borg Collective, the most communist of all Star Trek species. A liberated Borg drone, Seven of Nine, rediscovers her ‘individuality’ (puts her communist ideals aside) and ‘defects’ to the West by joining the crew of Voyager. Her new life is portrayed as being superior in all ways to her old one – so much so that tales of her experiences spread through the Borg, eventually destabilising the entire Collective. The Borg are defeated by gradually being convinced of the superiority of Voyager’s ideology.

If Fukuyama posited that the 90’s represented the end of history, then Voyager in many ways represents the end of Trek. In a literal sense, the series is set between 2371 and 2379 – apart from Star Trek Nemesis (also set in 2379), this represents a point further in the future than any other Trek series to date. Post-2009 Trek in particular has chosen to explore a time period almost one hundred years prior to Voyager, possibly because Voyager depicts a kind of cultural end point for the Trek universe. Utopia has been achieved and utopias are rather dull to write fiction about – a more interesting story is how the society depicted within Voyager came to be. Voyager also contains a number of episodes which take place, at least partly, after 2379; in Living Witness the Doctor finds himself several hundred years in the future and several episodes, most notably Future’s End and Relativity, feature the time travelling Captain Braxton who hails from the Federation of the 29th Century. The portrayal of Captain Braxton is of particular interest here since his Federation is not noticeably different from Voyager’s own – utopia apparently continues uninterrupted for at least five hundred years. Events happen, but history does not.

Perhaps this is a point for another blog post, but I do wonder if Voyager could have been written post 2001. In the climate of 90’s optimism, the end of history felt possible and achievable. Post 2001, it feels like more of a blip, a kind of brief respite from history. From the perspective of 2019, Voyager feels more like a thought experiment detailing what might have been, rather than a guidebook to what will be.

#star trek #star trek voyager #francis fukuyama #1990s

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cyrelia-j · 7 years ago

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[Fic] Deuces IV: Heartbreaker (Garak/Bashir)

(Apologies if #1 this has weird characters and #2 it doesn’t cut. I’m about to melt down trying to get this to work and on every device I use it looks wrong in a different way so I’m at a loss)

First off, MASSIVE thanks to @eilupt @ladyvean @noxziconsortium @valkyriesews and anyone else I forgot to mention for your input on Cardassian fair food. Also, I wanted things to be a bit different but don’t be alarmed by any snags in the road because this is ultimately definitely a garashir universe :) Previous parts are here:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Summary: AU (no Dominion also kept some other characters alive like Bareil because this world is a happy place) Garak and his surrogate daughter Ziyal find themselves on Deep Space Nine on a stopover to Bajor. While Major Kira shows Ziyal around DS9 Garak and Julian have their date. Julian is optimistic. After all, he’s got this down to a science

Keiko O’Brien is an absolute gift from the Prophets, Julian likes to say making use of local idioms, and if Miles doesn’t treat her properly Julian is totally going to steal her. That’s what he likes to tease, but she really is an intelligent and infinitely creative woman who has been invaluable in the success of what Julian likes to call his infallible first date sure thing holoprogram. Jadzia had at first referred to it playfully as “Julian’s Lizard Daddy Trap”. Keiko had then told the both of them about gairaigo and how a lot of Japanese products to this day bear strange sounding names because of the fascination with borrowed words . She then showed them an old “family heirloom” that was something called a “bento box” with the odd combination of words “Crunky Ball Nude” elegantly scrawled across the top. She then said with a perfectly straight face that if Julian wanted to truly thank her for her contributions to the menu that he would call it nothing less than “Julian’s Delicious Lizard Delight Circus.”

The program now bears the innocuous file name of “JDLDC1”

The program in question is the ultimate product of love and devotion- and if he’s being frank, Julian’s attempt to streamline the “first date” into a happy efficient guarantee of success. It had taken the three of them – Jadzia, Julian, and Keiko – two years to complete with some degree of trial and error but it’s a masterwork. Julian had built it off of one of Recreational Station Hidalgo’s old modules of an exotic carnival and the three of them worked to modify every parameter to meet a certain taste; namely a certain Cardassian male taste, though Julian didn’t see that it wouldn’t appeal to most Cardassians as a whole with some modifications.

Quark certainly seemed to think so. Going off Julian’s impressive track record in fact, he thought if Julian would let him copy it that it would net them both a tidy profit with the steady influx of Cardassians passing through the station. Julian wouldn’t hear of Jadzia and Keiko being left out but in the end he decided that he still wanted to get use out of it before it became public.

Quark had asked sourly exactly how many more Cardassians he really needed to entertain as many as he had already. So perhaps Julian had developed a bit of a reputation- amazingly over the course of his time on station he’d gone from Deep Space Nine’s resident Ladies Man to resident Lizard Queen- but well, he still hadn’t quite found the one who he could really fall for. Well, alright, perhaps Julian had fallen for several dozen going by Miles’ count but they just weren’t quite it. There was still something missing there. And thus came in the holoprogram that made the entire process easier.

Jadzia had contributed to the majority of the attractions, the exotic animals on display, the rides, and the shows. Of course they’d been honed and refined over time with new data to account for Cardassian musical preferences, hearing, exceptional eyesight, differences in equilibrium, adrenal responses and the like and it was absolutely magnificent. He’d also managed to- with Miles’ persuasive help initially- “sweet talk” Gilora Rejal from the Science Academy into further assisting them during her periodic visits for research. She’d thought the idea was completely ridiculous at first, but as he laid out his ambitious plans and designs, she couldn’t help but throw in corrections where she saw improvements were needed.

By the end of it, both she and Jadzia had engaged in some fantastically heated debates on adjustments and turned out a marvel of engineering. Jadzia may have also slept with her which Julian was a tad envious of since Gilora was a stunning woman. She’d warmed to Julian’s company once he’d finally stopped being so circumspect and polite and he corresponded with her regularly with her now to keep abreast of the latest news and current events on Cardassia Prime. She had a completely wicked and unforgiving wit and she also helpfully provided him with the best and most heated topics of debate that he took full advantage of using on his dates. Julian still wondered on occasion if he might not have a chance, but Jadzia was certain that it would never work.

Her associate, Ulani Belor had been curious as to their “secret” conversations and meetings though Julian didn’t know if she’d have an interest he’d explained the project to her as well. Their “colleague” Dejar had little interest in any of it and thought the lot of them were allowing themselves to get distracted by nonsense. Well, that was Julian’s introduction to the Obsidian Order and its operatives and he could say he’d be perfectly happy to go his entire life without dealing with another one of them. Ulani had taken interest in the food that Keiko had been working on. Julian hardly fancied himself a culinary expert- Miles once said he was pretty sure that Julian would ingest anything for the purposes of getting laid. But between the two of them they seemed to reach a perfect accord and marriage of both Cardassian and Earth tastes.

Or rather it turned out that the Cardassian taste was particularly receptive to a lot of Japanese and other Southeast and East Asian foods not often represented in most Federation cultural exchanges. Both scientists declared after tasting the dango smothered in yamok sauce that if the Federation actually brought some real food with them, they might find more Cardassians to be receptive to their proposals. Keiko then wondered if the Vietnamese balut that some back stalls still sold had would carry well over to regova eggs. It absolutely did and Ulani was happy to share some other Kardasi festival delights such as W’sai, Kori balls, and Nurot. Well, lacking a sense of taste or not, Julian was completely sold and it turned out, so was Legate Turrel when he was on the station during negotiations with Kai Winn and Vedek Bareil. Not that Julian is bragging, but he doesn’t think that Vedek Bareil had anything on his negotiating skills.

Julian wasn’t sure how he’d felt about Captain Sisko subsequently designating him official head of the Cardassian welcoming committee, remarking with a perfectly straight face that he was pleased Julian had overcome his initial difficulties with showing foreign dignitaries around the station. Julian was sure there was some look that passed between him and Jadzia just then which made him pout just a bit before ultimately accepting incredibly graciously. He could hardly look a gift horse in the mouth.

And he was good at it, he found, his social life aside. Julian had grown quite adept at reading the necessary cues to avoid any embarrassing incidents (Kira still seemed crushed that Gul Dukat had no interest in him whatsoever though Julian was hardly crushed by that realization as he found the man utterly insufferable) and learned which subtle ones to throw out when off duty to get a feel for the atmosphere as Keiko liked to say. Julian saved those little tricks for his dates though; no need to let on too early just how good he was at this game. Most of the men he dated seemed to prefer his “vapid twink doctor” bit anyway and he only employed the most subtle use of his Cardassian routine. He was terribly good at it.

According to Quark as he enters the bar tonight, they were taking bets on which of the newest station arrivals Julian had his eye on. Quark informs him a bit sourly that he’d lost a good bit of latinum when he bet on the older doctor from Lacoria City. Rom on the other hand had picked the Tailor Garak right off the bat and is counting his winnings rather loudly at the bar. Quark snaps that they aren’t his winnings since “his woman” had to pick the candidate for him. Julian just smiles and shakes his head as he looks for Garak to make an entrance. Leeta knows his tastes so well.

Julian had arrived exactly on time, neither early nor late knowing how Cardassians value punctuality. And what an entrance he makes. Garak looks absolutely luscious in the dark red silk shirt wrapped around him magnificently, showing off those broad shoulders and delectable thick waist. And speaking of thick… Julian is sure he must be drooling, looking at those impeccably tailored pants hugging thick thighs and Julian finds himself catching a discreet glimpse to the burnished old Bajoran sculpture that he’d donated out of generosity.

Of course those in the Federation were renown for stupid gestures like that though Julian admitted to Quark that if he would be so kind as to perhaps place it say along the one wall near the first floor entrance where Julian might make use of it for “observational purposes” he might say that he owed Quark a favor during one of Odo’s subsequent “witch hunts”. Quark hadn’t needed more than a month before he called that favor in and Odo hardly seemed amused by his accidentally spilling a drink on the “Odo in a jar” that he’d assumed the guise of to replace Quark’s actual one. Julian loves the sculpture.

Especially now that the flat, reflective surface is giving him the most stunning view of Garak’s ass that he could have imagined. Julian usually prefers bottoming but for an ass like that he’s more than willing to be flexible. …In more ways than one.

“The house takes two! Place your bets now!” Quark yells out the code as every eye on the bar turns to Julian for just a moment. He smiles a bit self-effacing at that, the 2 references the two hours Quark thinks it will take him to bed the humble tailor. Julian certainly hopes so. A few bets go for 1 and some for a half- Julian mentally rolls his eyes at that bit of optimism- but he trusts Quark, really. The house is rarely wrong. Julian meets Garak with a few steps, seeing the curious look.

“They’re taking bets,” Julian explains with a disinterest shrug. “I couldn’t begin to guess on what but I have to tell you, that you look absolutely fabulous.” Julian gives a casual but hopeful brush of his upper arm. “I love this shirt,” he says, sure to keep his flirting completely human for now. He can let the fun begin once they’re inside. Garak’s smile in return is brilliant. It’s a wide pleased grin and Julian can see the hint of tongue poking the air, tasting, scenting.

He was sure to shower and apply the deodorizing oil that he and Jadzia had developed after his second date had informed him rather bluntly that he had a delightful time but didn’t think he’d ever be able to adjust to the human scent and taste. Julian never thought he particularly smelled but Gilora had said there was a very strong musk that he would get when perspiring that had quite a salty and at times bitter taste to it. Jadzia didn’t have it and neither did Keiko and he thought it might be a male thing until Keiko reminded him (which he really should have remembered being a doctor) that humans of East Asian descent tend to have fewer apocrine sweat glands and so there began the great experiment to develop an oil that could effectively eliminate that issue. After much trial and error he realized everything Federation produced left an odd lingering taste on the Cardassian tongue even if it was supposed to have no odor.

It took months but in the end it worked with the final approval from both Gilora and Ulani he had an effective oil which sat over the skin until it wore off naturally over a few days’ time but until then reacted exactly as needed to produce no odor but a faint trace of sandalwood and root from the north renowned for it’s mild aroma. They both informed him that they’d scented him more than they cared to and he absolutely owed them both big time. He figured it couldn’t be worse than any other deals he’d cut with them.

There’s a curious glance from Garak at that but he refrains from commenting on it instead complimenting Julian’s outfit. Julian can see a linger of eyes to his bare neck, bare collarbone and he almost wishes that he could bet on himself. One. Definitely one.

“You’ve no idea how excited I am to show you what I have planned for this evening,” Julian says practically vibrating. The Midway. Julian definitely is going to start there with this one. One hour if that and he’s got this. He shoots Quark a wink holding up a finger watching as the patrons erupt in another frenzy of betting as they make their way to the second floor. Julian’s got this…

Garak doesn’t know that he’s ever been more bored in his life. He smiles politely as Julian drinks the broth out of the boiled egg his head timing out just when he imagines that Julian is going to accidentally spill some down his neck because it’s “terribly messy” and there it goes, a few inviting rivulets of the clear broth running down that nicely tanned skin.

“And I take it that’s how I’m supposed to enjoy this delicacy?” Garak asks already knowing the answer because he’s already known the answer to every insipid contrivance that this evening has brought him. Guls, if Julian wasn’t so gorgeous… but even that’s starting to wear thin. Julian smiles- wait for it- inviting tilt of his head just so, to the right, another flash of his neck and Garak knows that he should have long put a hand on Julian’s shoulder to show his interest but it’s just so obvious he can’t bring himself to give in to such egregiously blatant cues even if it drags this miserable date out further.

That and actually every dish that Julian has tempted into his hands has been completely to die for.

The teriyaki, the sweet and sour sauce covering the fried pop beetles nearly brought him to another plane of existence. Julian had gone on about the work he and Chief Engineer O’Brien’s wife had put into the food in the program along with on Ulani Belor who he’d only chanced to hear of due to his former colleague’s amateurish bungling of a simple sabotage mission. Naturally he told Julian he wasn’t familiar with her. Right about now he’s almost wishing he was on a date with her as Julian begins another “conversation starter” that he has to be fishing off of a hidden list somewhere.

“Yes, you’ve got it, you do that brilliantly,” he says in a fawning compliment that would be nice if it wasn’t immediately followed up by a predictable air scenting and an enthusiastic “flirty” draw of his finger in the air and by the state did someone print Cardassian dating manual in the Federation since the end of the occupation because Garak feels he could sit here with a list and check everything off in order.

The Regova balut is also heaven. The sprinkle of the furikake that Julian suggests is masterful. Julian then asks his opinion on the proposed changes to the household registry next quarter that the council meets and Garak nearly wants to weep. Garak is sure that Julian will present the most uninformed opinion imaginable and allow Garak to “educate” him while he tries to debate a careful but ultimately poor position. Guls, if he wanted to have a date with a vapid holoprogram he’d just run the thing without Julian and just enjoy the food and the ambiance.

How long has it even been? Garak is certain he’s lost all sense of time being trapped in this miserable mobius continuum of bad date. Perhaps he’s in fact died and this is some Faustian iteration of eternal torment for a life poorly lived. The most delicious food in the galaxy in exchanged for company so poor it would drive a man to want to take his own life. Alright, so perhaps the newly opened Federation archives have only given him a larger plethora of work with which to reference when he wants to seem smart- at least that’s what Parmak had said to him the last time they had corresponded. He’d sooner die than admit it but there’s actually some Earth derived literature that he enjoys and he’d been hoping for more interesting cultural exchanges and debates like he’s enjoyed with some of the more frequent human visitors vacationing on the Morfan Providence but…

“Is something the matter?” Julian asks and Garak can’t believe that he’s been driven to actually show any of his anguish outwardly. Ironically in a rare moment of veracity he has no clue where to even begin to itemize the obscenely long list of everything single “something” which has grown fed by Julian’s obviousness into a “matter”. My, where to even start… perhaps the scent is the most difficult to reconcile. I definitely scented you in the Replimat and it was a touch strong but very human, very alluring and it was quite nice. But here tonight it’s like tasting a pleasure doll engineered to be inoffensive which may appeal to some but it’s quite boring. You were charming in the replimat and here charm has given way to some series of contrived scripts you’ve been following exactly like a carefully choreographed routine. Which makes perfect sense of course given the interesting conversation I’d had in Quark’s but still I’d hoped for something a bit different.

He’d in fact as was his custom gone to Quark’s earlier in the day to make a discreet study of the area, check for escape routes, hazards, observe the atmosphere. He hadn’t noticed anything untoward as he ordered a drink and kept his ears and eyes open. It had allowed him to relax a bit and it wasn’t long before he started catching snippets of conversation about the “infamous” Julian Bashir which was quite a curiosity. He certainly wasn’t going to involve himself with anyone who could pose a possible danger to himself or Ziyal but then in striking up a conversation with a fellow named Morn who couldn’t shut up for the life of him he learned several interesting things.

The first being that the young doctor was infamous for the number of Cardassian men he’d bedded- primarily military men and a handful of freighter captains. The second was that his reputation was so large that the entire bar got in on serious betting whenever a “fresh wave” of Cardassians were on the station and third… Third being that he never fails to “bag his lizard” with this very program. Which Garak supposes he could see if he was feeling particularly charitable but he’s been gamely going along with this for the past hour now and he’s sure he’s put in enough time.

He went along with taking the lead in winning Julian some nonsense trinket from a target shooting booth, earning much praise from a “strength tester” that was definitely doctored, to a boat ride with just the right ambient sounds to create pleasant complimentary reactions in one’s nervous system and on and on to Julian himself who clearly has mastered the fine art of appealing to a very specific segment of the Cardassian military population. It’s a wonder they haven’t invited him back to give him his own holiday. Which Garak supposes would be all well and good- Yes, doctor, I’m so pleased with your obvious love of civic duty that I’ll gladly put a hand on your shoulder and tell you what a good boy you are- except he isn’t some authority obsessed soldier who gets off on these bland deferential power games. He wants passion, he wants a challenge, he wants there to be a reason for him to bring discipline, to lead, to bring Julian to heel. Perhaps he is getting old because Julian clearly has done this dance so much he could go through the motions unconscious but is it really asking too much to have something more than just a pleasing body to jam his prUt into?

Still, he has to bear in mind that cause embarrassment to the station CMO might prove unwise. Yes, a lie is definitely in order here, though he needs to make sure it’s not a medical one. He supposes Ziyal will have to be it. It’s uncreative and stupid but frankly, Julian doesn’t deserve his good stuff and the sooner it gets him out of here the better.

“I’m sorry, doctor,” he says a touch dramatically. He might not be getting more than Julian’s usual routine but he likes to think that even if he’s returning in kind that his routine is much more convincing. “I’m afraid I’ve been terribly poor company but you see I’ve just been so terribly concerned about Yaya. Oh, I know she’s a grown woman and I trust Major Kira to be showing her the same consideration and hospitality that you’ve shown me-“ Guls, he hopes not “-but I just haven’t been able to give you the attention that you deserve and it’s such a pity after all the trouble that you’ve gone through. It’s only my hope that we might do this again sometime.” Perhaps after he’s long dead and Julian gets some new material.

Garak wears sincerity brightly and reaches across the table to put his hand over Julian’s. He intends the gesture in the human way but sees Julian’s curious look at the display of dominance. Maybe he’ll get lucky and a fleet of Klingon birds of prey will crash into the station. But it seems to do the trick and Doctor Bashir is ending the program mercifully. Garak could kiss him, he really could. Except that would certainly make him try for a second and Garak isn’t too keen on remembering the first. He wonders if anyone ever actually bets on the doctor to fail. Judging by the expression on Julian’s face somehow he doubts it.

And it’s with that sour taste in his mouth that Garak finally gets back to his quarters determined to hack the station computers and never again eat in the Replimat when Julian isn’t on duty. He sees Ziyal laying sprawled on the couch looking about the way that he feels right about now. He opens his mouth to ask, the two of them exchanging a look before he does.

“Kanar?” She asks sympathetically already sitting up to go get it.

“Kanar,” Garak agrees with a sigh.

Looks like he’s not the only one who had a “bad date”.

(Part 5 is here)

#star trek ds9 #star trek deep space nine #ds9 fanfic #Julian Bashir #elim garak #Garak/Bashir #garashir #au #deuces #bad date #fanfic #update #cyrelia-j

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heroesandvillainsofmbti · 7 years ago

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INFJ: Weyoun, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

INFJ – the Counselor, the Seer, the Defender

Wait, haven’t we seen this guy before? No, it’s not because Weyoun is a clone, it’s because Jeffrey Combs played another DS9 villain, Brunt. They even appeared in the same episode once, though sadly, not in the same scene.

Two Weyouns once appeared in the same episode, too, because the character we know as Weyoun is actually a series of clones (Weyouns 4-8 during the run of DS9, to be specific). However, because he’s genetically engineered to do his job perfectly, he always has the same personality, even when he turns out “defective.” In MBTI, your type is generally a function of nature rather than nurture—you are wired the way you’re wired no matter what, though personal experience will influence how your functions manifest. In Weyoun’s case, his “nature” is embedded in his DNA by those who “nurture” him, the Founders he reveres as gods.

Dominant Function: (Ni) Introverted Intuition, “The Labyrinth”

Weyoun believes in the mythos of the Dominion—that the Founders are gods who bring order to the galaxy. He believes that the Dominion will endure for thousands of years after the Federation is gone, and works to advance their holdings and influence with every move he makes. He believes that his goals are divinely inspired by the Founders, perfect and not to be questioned.

Even the defective Weyoun 6 still holds the Founders in awe and reverence, even though he awakens from the cloning process with the inexplicable idea that the Dominion’s war efforts are wrong.

Weyoun always works with a hidden agenda, a far-sighted goal for the Dominion’s gain—Bashir’s genetically engineered friends can tell that he’s thinking big picture, years or centuries ahead. He arranges peace-talks with the Federation over a new proposed border, playing nice and taking an apparently disadvantageous deal when actually it will give the Dominion access to a planet with a fungus helpful to their Ketracel-white production. He and Sisko make small talk about the minefield Starfleet has put up in front of the wormhole, but both Intuitives know that the real meaning of the conversation is that they’re about to go to war.

Weyoun sizes people up quickly, searching for the clue that will give him the advantage over his diplomatic targets. Damar accuses the whole Weyoun line of having an innate flaw of overconfidence, never doubting the success of their vision. The final Weyoun understands immediately when Damar’s rebellion destroys a cloning facility, that Damar’s true goal is to keep any more Weyouns from being made.

(Although do we seriously believe Weyoun doesn’t have more copies of himself squirreled away somewhere? Please.)

Auxiliary Function: (Fe) Extraverted Feeling, “The Garden Fountain”

The Dominion’s aim is to conquer and subdue all worlds in the galaxy, but Weyoun makes it sound like a wonderful club that you’d be silly not to join.

Weyoun speaks with grace and eloquence, aiming for compromise and mutually beneficial agreements (in fact, his negotiating tactics have a lot in common with those of Quark, an ESFJ). He’s politically adept, and genuinely tries to have good working relationships even with those he disagrees with. In diplomatic discussions, he can play wounded as well as confident, keeping his adversaries off balance so he can emotionally ply them to get what he wants.

Weyoun orchestrates the alliance with the Breen, treating them like old friends as soon as the deal is made. This infuriates Damar, who Weyoun snubs in order to keep him in his place. When the Cardassians start rebelling, Weyoun gives grand speeches about the spirit of cooperation. He feigns sadness that he has to order mass executions in order to ensure obedience, gaslighting the people into believing their deaths are their own fault.

The “defective” Weyoun 6 still wants the Dominion to succeed, but he also wants peace for all people. He can’t completely betray the Founders, and so he defects to Odo, the only Founder on the opposite side of the war, hoping to start a process that will convince the other Founders to change the Dominion’s course. He fails, but still desires Odo’s favor and blessing before he dies.

Weyoun's emotionally manipulative tactics do have consequences.

Weyoun 5 dies in a mysterious transporter accident, possibly arranged after Damar got sick of his arrogance. Weyoun 7 gets himself killed after prodding Ezri about her feelings for Bashir, thus enraging Worf, who snaps his neck. Weyoun 8 gets himself killed after mocking Damar’s rebellion, and the destruction of the planet, prompting Garak to shoot him.

He dies in service to his Founder, loyal to the end.

(But again, there are more of him, right?)

Tertiary Function: (Ti) Introverted Thinking, “The Laboratory”

Weyoun can be cold and direct when he needs to be, as when he demands the removal of the minefield. He quickly segues into flattering persuasion mode afterward, of course. He delivers sharp insults when necessary as well, never afraid to call out Dukat’s tiresome egotism or Damar’s stupidity. He incisively interrogates the intruding Jake and Nog, assuming they’re conspiring against him, but when they lead him to Dr. Giger’s immortality machine, he’s intrigued by the mad scientist’s ideas.

Auxiliary Function: (Se) Extraverted Sensing, “The Kitchens”

The Founders did not see fit to create the Vorta with a sense of aesthetics. With his weak eyes, Weyoun can’t appreciate art, though he does try. He examines Ziyal’s paintings and asks Kira if they’re “good.” She’s not helpful, and Weyoun decides if the Founders had needed him to enjoy art to do his job, they’d have programmed him with the ability.

Weyoun 6, however, decides to indulge when he defects. Freed from the constraints of his duty, he goes a little crazy trying all kinds of new foods from the replicator. He takes particular delight in pepperoni pizza. The normal Weyoun disdains his working partner Damar for his obvious drunkenness, while at the same time appearing to have a secret hope of watching the captive Worf and Ezri “comfort each other.”

No wonder Worf snapped his neck.

Fortunately, there’s another Weyoun waiting to take his place, because the universe can’t get rid of him that easily (I believe in Weyoun 9, is what I’m saying).

#MBTI #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #Weyoun #Jeffrey Combs #INFJ #Ni-dom #Ni #Introverted Intuition #Fe-aux #Fe #Extraverted Feeling #Ti #Introverted Thinking #Se #Extraverted Sensing

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douxreviews · 5 years ago

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - ‘Paradise Lost’ Review

Sisko: "With a Starfleet officer on every corner, paradise has never seemed so well armed."

By nature I love brevity: Top-notch storytelling. A really hard-hitting story about paranoia and its effects on otherwise rational people. 'Paradise Lost' goes very well with its first part, 'Homefront,' although you can definitely see why some were disappointed that the story didn't go the way they were expecting.

'Paradise Lost' and its predecessor 'Homefront' are a study of human fear, and what it can drive people to do. It's an exploration of what happens to people when their safety is threatened and they need something to hang on to. It's fascinating, made even more so by the fact that the threat in this case is very real. Or at least the concept behind it is.

Because the truth is that the people of Earth have a really good reason to be scared. The Changelings can be anything and anyone, they can do unspeakable damage without anyone ever knowing it was them, and most importantly, they will. A changeling infiltrated the crew of the Defiant and tried to blow it up. A changeling infiltrated the Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order fleet and brought it to its complete destruction. And now a changeling has been spotted in the presence of a horrific tragedy at the heart of the Federation. The threat is absolutely real, and it's terrifying.

This is the setup that 'Homefront' has left this episode with, and it's a lot to live up to. Many reviewers who watched and wrote about the episode when it aired were disappointed that the changelings were not actually causing these things, in what they felt was something of a cop out. I disagree. When watching the two episodes together with the knowledge of what is going to happen already in your head, it's clear they work as a cohesive whole, and that the setup of the first part segues beautifully into the second. The opening of 'Paradise Lost' immediately sets you up to disbelieve the narrative we've been given, which feels like more than enough to me to make the unraveling of the conspiracy believable. You can see countless hints in 'Homefront' of what's really going on, and the plot threads of that episode reach a natural conclusion here.

The main point this episode is trying to make, though, as I've said, is about fear. It's this I want to focus on and unpack. The first and most obvious manifestation of fear in this episode is in the citizens of Earth as they tremble with anticipation of what may be lurking in the shadows. The decision to ground the episode with the on-the-street everyday citizen perspectives of Jake and Joseph Sisko is brilliant, and it helps to illustrate what it would be like to watch this all unfold without being a part of it and knowing what's going on. The general public is understandably afraid of the changelings, and it makes them willing to go along with whatever promises to keep them safe. The interesting thing, though, is that Joseph Sisko's character represents a man who isn't afraid. He's wrong not to be afraid. But because he isn't afraid, he's the first one who sees when Starfleet has gone too far.

The second manifestation of fear is in the people in charge, who have no idea how to keep their people safe. This, of course, is President Jaresh-Inyo. Jayesh-Inyo, as Admiral Leyton astutely observes, was never supposed to be a President for wartime. He feels unequipped, and in fact he is. Jaresh-Inyo is a peacetime sort of man, and his only concern is keeping people safe and at peace. But he's over his head, and that makes him afraid.

The most important exploration of fear in this episode is that of Admiral Leyton. At first glance, Leyton is a man who is using people's fear to further his own goals. But I actually believe that Leyton's desire to take over stems from a legitimate desire to keep people safe. Because Leyton, too, is afraid. He's afraid of the changelings. He's afraid of what they might do, and he's afraid that the people in charge will be unable to handle it. But the thing that scares Leyton the most is that other people are not afraid the way he is. When he tried to tell President Jaresh-Inyo about the security measures they needed to take, he was shut down. So Leyton, still believing that he is justified, devised a plan to show everyone why they should be just as afraid as he is. And the truth is that he was right. They should all have been as afraid of the changeling threat as he was. But the measures he was proposing to deal with it were not lines that the enlightened Federation was willing to cross. And his methods of showing everyone how scared they should be were way off-base. That's because of the last important aspect of Leyton's character - his pride. This is a subtler thing, but it's there. Because Leyton could see what everyone else couldn't about the threat the changelings posed, his pride was inflamed and he began to believe that he was the only one who could deal with that threat. No one else would have been competent in his eyes. It gave him the well-intentioned conviction that he needed to keep the Federation safe, but because its foundation was one of fear and pride, it ultimately was corrupted.

But his conviction rubbed off on Benjamin Sisko, and I'll consider this before I close. One thing that can always be said of Sisko is that he is a man of conviction. Once he gets to believe something, nothing can shake that belief, and nothing can stop him from doing everything that conviction would lead him to do. This is a great thing in situations where his conviction is well-founded, as we'll begin to see more of as the series continues. But in 'Paradise Lost' we see a Sisko who has caught on to a conviction that isn't right or well-founded. Here he has been led astray by his convictions, and it takes a lot to show him that he's been wrong. But once he does realize it, he becomes convicted to stop what he's wrongfully helped set in motion, and this drives him to ultimately set things right. It's an interesting and very human trait that Sisko has, and it makes him a fascinating character to watch.

Strange New Worlds:

This week the strange new world is Earth, but not an Earth like Star Trek has always had. This Earth, gripped with fear and paranoia, is to some the greatest departure from Gene Roddenberry's 'perfect' future that Star Trek has made.

New Life and New Civilizations:

No new species this week, though Jaresh-Inyo talked about his people the Grazerites.

Pensees:

-This episode and its predecessor 'Homefront' were initially intended to be the Season Four opener and the Season Three finale, respectively. The studio didn't want a cliffhanger finale for the third season, and then they told the showrunners to 'shake things up' in the fourth. This led to these two episodes being pushed back to the middle of the fourth season.

-Odo uses a Vulcan nerve pinch when he rescues Sisko. It's cool, but the reason it happened was because they didn't have the money to show him shapeshifting again.

-Sisko wears a TNG-style uniform for the entire episode. It's the only episode in which he does.

-The title, of course, is taken from the famous poem of the same name, about the fall of humanity in the garden of Eden.

-The opening quote is Ira Steven Behr's favorite line.

Quotes:

Nog: "Red Squad? Did you get me in?" Sisko: "Not just yet." Nog: "Too bad. They're the only people I know who aren't afraid of the Dominion."

Sisko (enjoying himself way too much): "Now son, if you think by lying to me, you/re going to save your own hide, you'd better forget it. Mistakes were made, and I will find out who's responsible."

Sisko: "So you're willing to destroy paradise in order to save it?"

O'Brien Changeling: "We're smarter than solids, we're better than you, and most importantly, we do not fear you the way you fear us. In the end, it's your fear that will destroy you."

6 out of 6 very rational fears.

---

By this time, CoramDeo is probably running, doing push-ups, writing an essay, or being yelled at.

#Star Trek #Star Trek Deep Space Nine #DS9 #Benjamin Sisko #Odo #Jake Sisko #Nog #Star Trek Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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spynotebook · 7 years ago

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All Images: CBS

Star Trek’s Mirror Universe is one of—hell, the—most famous parallel universes in science fiction history. In fact, it almost has a timeline of its own as rich as the prime reality of Trek itself. So if you’ve been confused by all the Mirror-verse happenings in Discovery—and why wouldn’t you be?—we’re here to help put it all together.

The order we’ve explored the Mirror Universe in is, just like Trek as a whole, not exactly chronologically linear. As each Star Trek series has jumped backwards or forwards in time, so has our window into this most famous of alternate realities. Some of the “newest” information on the Mirror Universe is two decades old, while new information about its early years been revealed repeatedly over the course of Star Trek: Discovery’s ongoing first season, which has spent its back half on a new Mirror adventure. So, for convenience’s sake, we’ll be running through this chronologically in terms of the Mirror Universe’s timeline, not by the chronological order of Star Trek series themselves.

Enterprise Era: Origins of an Empire

Just as Enterprise itself reflects some of the earliest years of Starfleet and the eventual birth of the Federation, much of what we learn of the Mirror Universe in both parts of the season four story “In a Mirror, Darkly” is from some of the earliest days of the rise of the Terran Empire.

Although not explicitly shown, the Terran Empire seemingly rose out of a political faction on Earth before humanity took to the stars. The Mirror version of Captain Archer described the Empire as having been around for hundreds of years, and given Enterprise is set in the 2150s, it’s likely some form of it existed pre-human spaceflight or even before the unification of Earth. Either way, the Terran Empire as we know it really began in 2063, when Zefram Cochrane made contact with the first Vulcans to land on Earth, as he does in Star Trek’s prime reality. Instead of offering a handshake, Mirror Cochrane simply shot the first Vulcan he met and then pillaged their ship—stealing technology that sends humanity not just beyond Earth, but on a mission of conquest against the other sentient species of the cosmos.

Just under a century after that first meeting, the Terran Empire was fully established, and the Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, Orions, and Denobulans had all been conquered and subjugated by the human regime. And that’s when a temporal accident sent one of the U.S.S. Defiant—a 23rd-century, Constitution-Class cruiser like Kirk’s Enterprise—to the 22nd-century Mirror Universe during the events of “The Tholian Web.” Although it was briefly captured by the Tholians, the Mirror version of Archer’s Enterprise crew took it by force.

The Defiant was wildly more advanced than any other ship known to the Empire at the time, and Archer planned to use its immense power to overthrow the current, unknown Emperor and rule the Terran Empire. Instead, his former “Captain’s Woman” Hoshi Sato betrayed him, poisoned him, and became Empress herself after threatening to bombard Earth with the Defiant’s advanced weaponry, if the current ruling order didn’t submit to her will. They did.

Discovery Era: A New Hope

Roughly a century later, in the 2250s, not much has changed for the Empire when Star Trek: Discovery enters the Mirror Universe in its currently-ongoing story line. The Empire was still the dominant force of the Alpha Quadrant, although apparently the title bestowed upon its ruler had become gender-neutral since the days of Empress Sato, and the Mirror version of Phillipa Georgiou was the current “Faceless Emperor” of the regime. Apparently the Emperor no longer rules from Earth itself (presumably to avoid situations like, say, someone rolling up with a big spaceship and threatening to bomb the planet to bits), because Emperor Georgiou appears on a gigantic cityship that also serves as the Imperial Palace, the I.S.S. Charon, which looks like it’s powered by a giant, star-like reactor.

What we do know more about is the Empire’s opponents. The ongoing rebellion against the Terrans by the races they’d conquered survived the arrival of the Defiant the century prior, and is now joined by the Klingons. Unlike their prime counterparts of the same era, these Klingons successfully united the ruling Houses of their homeworld—led by the Mirror version of Voq, who became a prominent rebel figure known as the “Firewolf”—to form a single front pushing back against the Terran Empire alongside the Tellarites, Andorians, Vulcans, and other species.

Sadly, it seems like much of this fleeting rebellion might have been destroyed, after Emperor Georgiou callously bombed its main base of operations before Voq and his fellow allies could evacuate. Who knows, maybe we’ll learn they survived by the time Discovery’s first season has come to an end?

Speaking of Discovery, the crew, currently trapped in the Mirror universe, spent this weekend’s episode trying to get ahold of the Defiant’s records, hoping to figure out how it mysteriously appeared in the Mirror-verse in the previous century in hopes of using that info to return to the Prime universe. You can learn more about how that went in our most recent Star Trek: Discovery recap.

Star Trek: The Original Series Era: Changing Fortunes

Our first-ever encounter with the Mirror Universe in the original series episode “Mirror, Mirror” is set just a decade after the events of Discovery. But we still get some new information, like the fact that despite the Vulcans had been subjugated centuries ago by the Empire, by the 2260s they could serve aboard Imperial starships—in fact, Spock wasn’t just allowed on-board the I.S.S. Enterprise, but served as its second-in-command. His father Sarek, revealed as a rebel against the Empire in Discovery’s Mirror Universe adventure, was probably whatever the Vulcan equivalent of “royally pissed” is about it.

Otherwise, everything’s the same. The Terran Empire still ruled the quadrant, gleefully putting down rebellions when they arise with an iron fist. It’s not until the end of “Mirror, Mirror” that the seeds are sown for a major change in the future of the Mirror Univers. Near the end of the prime Kirk and team’s sojourn into the malicious alt-reality, Kirk managed to convince Mirror Spock that it’s illogical to serve an Empire that’s doomed to fall one day, and that no galactic rule could perpetually sustain itself on fear and cruelty. The words stick with Mirror Spock, who went on to overthrow Mirror Kirk and eventually spark a revolution that would fundamentally alter the Mirror Universe forever.

Prime Kirk also gave Spock access to a mysterious secret weapon his Mirror counterpart had, called the Tantalus Field, which Kirk presents like it can kill literally anyone in the universe remotely—which seems like it would be a very convenient bit of gear for anyone planning a violent revolution. Yay?

Deep Space Nine Era: New Foes, New Rebels

By the late 24th-century, the Mirror Universe had undergone the most dramatic changes it had ever seen. Good news: Mirror Spock took Kirk’s message to heart, using his position of power (and aforementioned superweapon) to rise to rule the Terran Empire, enacting a swathe of reforms that brought about disarmament and a more peaceful, less warlike version of itself. Bad news: That less aggressive and demilitarized Empire got overthrown by an alliance between the Klingons and Cardassians, which liberated the worlds ruled by the Empire, and proceeded to enslave the Vulcans and Terrans themselves. The Alliance then became the dominating rulers of the Alpha Quadrant, led by Regent Worf.

Suddenly finding themselves ruled instead of ruling, Terrans formed a rebellion quite like the ones they’d spent the prior centuries ruthlessly putting down. Inspired by an accidental trip into the Mirror Universe by Dr. Bashir and Kira Nerys in Deep Space Nine’s “Crossover,” the Mirror version of Benjamin Sisko led an organized revolution against the Alliance forces, striking out at the planet Bajor, a key member of the Alliance following its liberation from Terran hands, and the Cardassian station it was ruled from. Mirror Sisko fell in battle, and was replaced by the Mirror version of Miles O’Brien. With a little help from the Prime reality in the form of plans to for a new I.S.S. Defiant, the Terran Resistance eventually captured Mirror Worf, signaling the downfall of the Alliance’s rule.

Though we last saw the “latest” from the Mirror Universe all the way back in 1999 on TV, ancillary Star Trek material has attempted to try and fill in some extra gaps in the alt-reality’s centuries-long timeline. Everything from books, to video games, to even comics have slotted themselves into the spans of decades left untouched by Trek series, but beyond Deep Space Nine, we don’t really have an idea of where the Mirror Universe went after the Alliance’s downfall.

For the foreseeable future, that’s likely to be the case. The only way we’ll see the future of the Mirror Universe is if Star Trek’s TV adventures travel beyond where past shows have gone before. With Discovery here to stay, that’s likely not going to happen any time soon.

#IFTTT #Feedly

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