#andi watches DS9

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 5x06 Trials and Tribble-ations thoughts (I’m re-watching, so beware spoilers for future episodes!) [12 Sept ‘23]

My housemates asked me if I was okay when I found out this was the next episode because I yelled so excitedly XD

[HAH - just had a good fit of the giggles looking at the script, and seeing that the investigations people are "Dulmur and Lucsly" - I'd totally missed the anagrams there that without the spellings!]

Darvinis a very good spy, I would totally believe he was human.

Julian and Miles reassuring Worf how he smells XD

"Find someone else. I have my own ways of torturing Worf" XD

The light TOS theme playing as the Enterprise appears. Perfect. My love for this is so strong.

I love how much disdain the temporal investigators have for James T Kirk. 🤣

"I'm a doctor, not a historian." Ohhh the love they have for old Trek <3

Why is Dax in red, though?

I love everything about this episode... Aside from Julian's hair 😅

"Isn't that a medical tricorder?" "Yes, yes it is. I'm a doctor." Well that wasn't actually why he was confused, Julian XD

Julian is so bad at lying, I can't, I love him.

I forgot that Worf would hate tribbles. Incredible, I love it.

And Odo is so amused by this. 😆 "This? A mortal enemy of the Klingon Empire?" Amazing.

"Sisko to Defiant..." but his badge isn't a communicator! XD I am so fond of him, look at his lil 'silly me' laugh as he gets the flip communicator out.

"But if we went we might run into Koloth." "Exactly." Sisko knows you too well, Dax.

"Watley. That was my great-grandmother's name..." I'd forgotten how funny Julian was about this XD

"Not him. Spock." "Let's go!" Again, Sisko knows the trouble Jadzia could cause too well XD

Julian and Miles' outrage at Odo having sat at the bar for three hours 🤣 they are such a fun duo to watch

"Those are Klingons?" Hehehe. Everyone turning to look at Worf

Good move panning to Worf twitching at the insult to the Enterprise!

The three of them standing up and Odo groaning "What are you doing?" xD

Julian fighting and then going "owww", what is he like? 😆

"I lied to Captain Kirk." You sure did, Miles!

How did Jadzia do that calculation?!!

"He had the hands of a surgeon." Sisko is so done XD

Kirk's "This is my chicken sandwich and coffee . I want these things off the ship. I don't care if it takes every man we've got, I want them off the ship." always gets to me. He sounds more than simply vexed, and with his Tarsus backstory it just makes me Feel.

I love the implication with these shots that Sisko and Dax are throwing the stray tribbles out if the storage unit onto Kirk.

The tribble exploding is hilarious. Sorry, tribble.

"And that's when you returned to the present?" "Well... not exactly." Awww I love this bit. Sisko is so lovely.

"However I don't think there was any harm done. Probably would have done the same thing myself." The other agent looks so shocked and disappointed in his colleague XD

Hehehe I do not remember that ending with Quark's being full of tribbles!

Excellent, very, very excellent. I love this episode with my whole heart, guys.

[tuttle-did-it]

I don’t watch Lower Decks but I will probably watch this one episode.

Yeah yeah yeah it’s an alt universe. Whatever. As far as Andy, Sid, and I (and many of you) are concerned, it’s been canon since Andy’s first appearance.

They literally performed fan fic on Sid’s YouTube channel to canonise it as best they could. And roped their fellow ds9 actors into joining them.

[gay-spock]

here’s a compilation of why rick berman of star trek fame could have ruined the franchise with his bigotry, thanks to @/thisismewhatevs on twitter:

- rick berman is usually cited by writers as the main reason gay characters were not allowed on screen in TNG/VOY/DS9/ENT even though gene roddenberry specifically wanted gay representation in the 1980s

- notably, he is responsible for demanding female actors be "sexed up" in various ways including jeri ryan's catsuit and padding terry farell's breasts

- when terry farell asked for a reduced contract similar to those of her male costars, she was fired, leading to the sudden death of jadzia dax

- with seven of nine's catsuit, not only was it berman's idea to make her "born sexy yesterday" her original costume pinched her neck so much she kept passing out. rather than change it, berman brought in nurses to administer oxygen between takes

- berman would continually comment on the appearance of female actors to the point that marina sirtis developed an eating disorder. sirtis also mentions how tight her corset and how large her breast padding was under her "uniform"

- berman was left in charge of trek because he was in the right place when roddenberry got sick. He had no experience with scifi previously and didn't really believe in roddenberry's vision of the future:

- In addition to being a dick to denise crosby after pushing her out, he's also the reason for wil wheaton was kicked out for similar contact negotiation as terry farrell

- harry kim was never promoted from ensign since berman hated his actor, garrett wang, according to him

- enterprise was a step backwards in a lot of ways because berman had far more creative control (seasons 1-3) and took a much more hands on writing role. here's t'pol actor jolene blalock discussing his sexualization of her

- as DS9 went on, garak and bashir spent less time together and garak was given zyial as an incredibly gross love interest because andy robinson's portrayal as queer coded made berman uncomfortable

- despite the "equality" promoted on the show, berman hired very few female writers, with less than 30% of episodes having even one female writer during his time

- “Rick Berman is not the only asshole to have worked on Star Trek and he is not the reason for every bad choice from TNG-ENT. However HE WAS the executive producers and show runner in charge of production so much of the sins of that time lie at his feet. When people get confused about how some people seem to "misunderstand" the point of Star Trek and don't know how they can watch/enjoy the "progressive" nature of the show and be such vile sexists and racists, this is how. They let a sexist asshole run the show for three decades. On screen representation is important. It's amazing for people to see themselves in such a hopeful future, but the behind the scenes matters just as much if not more than who is in front of the camera. Representation without responsible storytelling is a tragedy.“ -Deep Space Fine on twitter

this is not to say that TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT are bad shows, or that they shouldn’t be watched, or anything else; but that understanding why these awful choices were made behind the scenes in depicting a “progressive” future. rick berman didn’t agree with this future because he didn’t want others who weren’t white, cis, straight men like him to benefit in the ways he did.

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 2, Wave 3, Poll 2

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Chu Sangwoo-Semantic Error

Qualifications/Propaganda:

hey this is just a little more info on Chu Sangwoo (obvs you don't have to include him if you don't want to but I'd figure I'd send some more stuff in) (I also don't think I submitted him? but I know who he is) So there's a manhwa (Korean webcomic) and a tv series (I'm personally more familiar with the tv series). Basically, he's very strongly coded as autistic, though it's never explicitly stated (though in the manhwa I believe they mention that he has some unspecified disorder).So here's a list of some of the things he does in the series that are why people say he's autistic-coded:

meticulously organized and adheres to a strict schedule he set for himself

struggles when things happen that he didn't predict beforehand/throws a wrench into his plans

is very blunt, gets labeled as antisocial/being like a machine, and struggles with understanding other's social cues

practices saying things so that he won't come off as insincere

creates his own systems to accomplish tasks and struggles to work in unfamiliar environments/environments with lots of distractions

views life very logically and doesn't like it when things happen that break his rules of logic

wishes he could format his brain so he wouldn't have to deal with confusing and unnecessary feelings

There's others but that's a few of the main ones.Anyways here's a little clip from the series that hopefully helps add more context? https://youtu.be/Mai2WvTpIv8 And anyways if you still decide to not include him, that's fine, but I'd figure that I'd send y'all some more info just in case! Excited for th bracket regardless!!!

Chu Sangwoo is canonically gay, the series is a gay romance & he falls for Jaeyoung, who's the complete opposite of him personality wise. Hence the title- semantic 'error' since attraction wasn't expected. It's a really good series and Chu Sangwoo is realistic and well-written (speaking as a fellow queer autistic).

Elim Garak-Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Qualifications:

He has PTSD due to child abuse, as well as a painkiller addiction due to a brain implant. He is also extremely gay. Like literally everybody who watches DS9 immediately understands this about him. He was explicitly played by his actor, Andy Robinson, as attracted to Julian Bashir, and his only heterosexual romance is truly painful to witness. Andrew Robinson has also said that he has had a one-night stand with Dukat, one of the main villains of DS9 and noted lizard nazi. Do with that what you will. His closest relationship onscreen by far is with Julian.

Propaganda:

This man. There is a reason so many people are obsessed with him. Former spy, current tailor, forever an incurable bitch. Guilty of many war crimes, including onscreen attempted genocide. Once intentionally blew up his own tailor shop (with him in it) because he didn't want to ask for help with something. In his very first scene on the show, he wears an shirt that strongly resembles a watermelon, propositions Julian Bashir, and leaves while canonically high on painkillers. He has PTSD due to child abuse at the hands of the head of the space lizard KGB, who is also his dad, and a painkiller addiction due to a brain implant he has to help him withstand torture. He tortures a main character in one episode, and then a few episodes later they start having regular breakfasts together. Once got high on Space Weed and started systematically murdering people while making ominous announcements about chess over the PA system. The Most Character Ever.

Anything Else?:

He once told Julian to eat his rod. It was about a futuristic USB stick (datarod) but he still very much said it.

Submitted by @convenient-plot-device

[andys-whatever]

May I ask you in which movie do you saw Andy for the first time? Was it ds9 or something else?

Of course!!

I first saw him in DS9 in 2019, fell so in love with Garak that I had to find out who this actor is, then found his other work :)) The first movie of his I watched was either Hellraiser or Dirty Harry.

[isagrimorie]

I’m finally listening to the delta flyer episode for the wire, andrew robinson is a guest… and it’s amusing listening to robbie mcneill and garrett wang’s reactions to andy robinson saying that garak lusted after bashir.

and that alexander siddig’s bashir reflected that energy back to andy. it’s not not they’re uncomfortable with it but it’s a specific way cis straight men kind of have this awkward pause.

tldr tho— armin has a little too much nitpicking again.

but also! robbie! garret! i know voyager wasn’t perfect but your own show did briefly tackle the whole maquis and starfleet thing. i know it was brief but it happened!

also, contrary to what armin claims ds9 is not the only show that had a character hating the station/ship they were on

i mean, guys, seven pretty much hated being on board for her first few episodes and constantly challenged starfleet values!

i get that ds9 is cool but c’mon stand up for your show once in a while.

(also i was so disappointed that neither garret nor robbie knew before watching ds9’s maquis episode that the name was from the french resistance— this was why it was FUN that janeway was the leader of the french resistance in the killing game!).

anyway, i’m glad andrew robinson was a guest for the episode but i hope delta flyers reach out to the writers because there seems to be some thing they’re talking about out that need insight from the writer.

[celtic-romulan]

I’m fairly convinced that Armin Shimerman and Aron Eisenberg wore their Ferengi teeth while recording their lines for Star Trek Online.

I remember watching a YouTube video of him with Alexander Siddig, Andy Robinson, and Cirroc Lofton doing their own DS9 audio drama spinoff, and when Armin turned on his webcam he promptly put the teeth in just to do Quark’s lispy voice.

[littlewalken]

mar 5

For those who don't know the whole star Trek TNG Brothers thing it's roughly that this guy Brent Spiner-

(The one on the right is part of the Accidental Renaissance Pictures thing if you don't watch Trek) Was also playing this guy in the episode-

And it was sort of kind of maybe we can keep it a secret from the viewing audience as long as possible for funsies sort of thing.

And for the record this is how Brent Spiner actually aged-

Seeing more lady b*ners before lunch than some people have had hot dinners.

Because like with Alexander Siddig and his aged make-up, there was no way for Michael Westmore to know that becoming a silver fox would somehow make them even hotter.

And all of this has me telling myself to keep the plot complication based on not knowing who it is under the make-up going for a bit longer in my Hollywood story.

Last chance to read it in it's current state before I get out the hard copy and start making notes and stripping it down to its bare bones for a complete rewrite.

And I found the paper bead maker so I will then be able to cut all 250+ pages in to triangular strips and make however many cone shaped beads out of it.

But let's give that the rest of the year and know I will not delete the previous version until a newer one is typed in to the puter. Or the previous file gets something like 2023/old version so I know which ever one is the latest is the one to go with.

Something something the first few Gashir episodes, ponder if it was until The Wire or not, Sid-

Had no idea what Andy (Garak) looked like under his make-up.

So imagine flipping thru late night TV or something and suddenly you hear Garak's voice coming out of the Scorpio killer or the asshole of the week on 70s TV, extra points if you catch Dukat somewhere, and... Like hello, how many times might a young Sid have seen something like Hellraiser only to have it eventually click in his mind that's the bloke I just did one of the greatest of-course-it's-not-a-love-scene-they're-just-friends things to ever come out of television.

Even if you aren't a Star Trek or a sci fi person and just appreciated great acting the Star Trek DS9 episode The Wire is worth watching. No prior knowledge or back stories required.

[talshiargirlfriend]

hello!! :D for the ask game: 👋 An actor, writer or creator on the show you'd love to meet. + ❤️ Your ST comfort character/s.

I’ve been thinking about how to answer this. I’d love to tell Jolene Blalock that she was amazing as T’Pol and deserves all the accolades and none of the nastiness. Doug Jones is purported to give the best hugs, and I think receiving one might change me for the better. The Lower Decks crew seem like a lot of fun. Andy Robinson is so engaging I watched his entire episode of the Shuttlepod Show. So like… (almost) everybody?

Comfort characters answered here. TNG and DS9 characters all kinda feel like distant relatives. And Trip & T’Pol are the ones I like to wrap around my brain like a soft blanket.

Thank you so much for the ask! 💜

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 2x22 The Wire thoughts (I'm re-watching, so there may be future spoilers)

I'm so excited to watch this again!

I guess we don't know that Julian had the choice to "entertain one of his lady friends" the night before, but I certainly choose to believe he did, he wanted to finish Garak's book more :p

Garak's stammering in "Doctor, what do you think you're doing?" :3

"In my expert medical opinion, I'd say it's sick." XD

"Keiko would be proud of you." Hah - the thing is I can imagine the overly-excited Julian telling her about this at some point and her just sweetly saying "well done, I'm impressed" but in her teacher voice she uses for seven year olds

"It's not like you two are really friends." Julian is NOT being subtle here that at the very least he WANTS to be real friends 😅 this man and lying...

Okay and now he's stabbing the plant with the hypospray because he's so frustrated with not being able to help Garak

VERY dramatic entrance, doctor.

😬😂That looked suspiciously like Quark was miming giving Julian oomax while saying "maybe a late night session in a holosuite".

"Try not to yell at any more admirals for a while." "I wasn't yelling. I was just expressing my feelings. Loudly." Gotta love Sisko

Oh, his poor dejected face at the information recurring taking weeks :3

Love how Julian is called to take care of Garak - this isn't Dr Bashir being called, it's not a medical emergency. It's Julian being Garak's only known friend who's requested.

Is it just me or did Julian check Garak or when he said "We'll go to my quarters"?

That drink exchange was VERY smooth of Quark and Julian

"I routinely monitor all of Quark's subspace communications." "Is that legal?" XD

"I see your point"... That's actually the exact same phrase as altered!Julian uses in Dramatis Personae - only this time it's ihm agreeing to do something questionable with Odo, last time it was to do something reasonable with him.

" I hope you don't have one of those little bugs hidden in my quarters." "Should I?" What's the betting Julian's going to be paranoid about this for a few weeks?

Julian's "What?! *sigh*" after being told Garak had left the infirmary. Idk it gave me feels.

I'm here for his Angry Pacing

"Doctor, did anyone ever tell you that you are an infuriating pest" "Chief O'Brien all the time, and I don't pay any attention to him either." That answer came SO quickly, he didn't even have to think about it

"I'm a doctor. You're my patient. That's all I need to know" JULIAN I CANNOT WITH YOU

Ohh, his sad looking downness <3 <3

Endless endless compassion, I love you so much

"Right now I'm not concerned with what you did in the past. I'm simply not going to walk out of here and let you die. We need to turn that implant off and whatever withdrawal symptoms or side effects you may experience, I promise I'll help you through them." Is he really not in love with Garak?! Because this is some gay shit Julian Subatoi Bashir. GAY I tell you

"In that case I want to talk to him now. Wake him up." "I'll do no such thing." "Doctor, these are murder cases and Garak may be a suspect." "That may be so, but he's still my patient and I won't have him disturbed." I am WILD about calmly resolute Doctor Bashir

I love a sleepy Julian :3

Garak's manic speech is incredible. WHAT a performance. My word. I couldn't look away.

" I can't believe that I actually enjoyed ... staring into your smug, sanctimonious face." Staring into Julian's face sounds pretty gay to me, Garak. (Who wouldn't enjoy staring at it though?)

Ah yes, wrestling on the floor with your alien crush while he is out of his mind. Definitely never happened before in Trek. No parallels here to be drawn.........

"I don't want to hurt you." And presumably he actually could.

Julian whizzing through all the samples, brining one back having seen it for all of 2 seconds and immediately knowing which one to overlay it with. THAT SEEMS PRETTY GENETICALLY ENGINEERED TO ME. I swear I don't know how that crackpot retcon worked so well, but it DOES

"More than I deserve." Oooh, callback to earlier int he episode when he said "Has it ever occurred to you that I might be getting exactly what I deserve?" .... My HEART

"I've about given up on learning the truth from you, Garak."I The FONDNESS with which he SAYS this!

"We were closer than brothers...."Sons of Train" welp, that's the 'true' bit

Holding handsssss!!!

There's no way Sisko sanctioned this, right? Did Julian just steal the shuttle craft?!

Okay then, just beam into the house of someone you know to be extremely dangerous and start poking around?! Your curiosity, Julian, I swear...

*wide smile* "I always drink Tarkalian! ..." -suddenly realises that this is VERY personal information Tain has on him- "...Tea."

Did he just GIGGLE? *rewatches* Yep, it's definitely there - "Are all the Starfleet Lieutenants as brash as you are?" "I couldn't say - hehe - though I doubt it."

"I thought you were his friend." "I suppose I am." YES HE SAID IT that's the first step

"Information is your business." Julian you are bold as BRASS

"he'll never come home again" oof, knowing the double meaning of home as Cardassia and to Tain

The disappointment in Julian's face at the answer to his "Who was Elim?" question

Ohhh, that last conversation. Julian's so damn fond of him. That smile at the end. They ARE in love.

Well this was delightful. What a good episode. I had forgotten, and wasn't sure if it had just been hyped up. But no. Truly phenomenal. Thanks, DS9!

[ultroid2068]

Tagged by @notsoterriblymisanthropic 2023 favorites

Albums I basically listened to the same old punk music I've always listened to and more electronic music this year than in the past

Electric Chair - Performative Justice

Everything by the Wipers

Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing really loud when driving to class a lot, especially when the war in Gaza began.

Hard Skin - Hard Nuts and Hard Cunts

The Raincoats - s/t

Belgrado - Siglo XXI, Obraz

Boy Harsher - the Runner, Lesser Man

Sinead O'Connor - I do not want what I haven't got

Orties - Sextape

Lebanon Hanover

Sextile

I also actually listened to 2 podcasts repeatedly for the first time this year - 1. When a guy has a really fucked gender, and 2. the IBCC podcast (internet book of critical care - about treating medical and traumatic problems)

Books I mostly read my textbooks - pathophysiology and pharmacology, and otherwise mostly read things easy to pick up/put down during my downtime at work, but that included:

Sick of it All! Work, Inquiry, & Struggle in the NHS by Angry Workers

readme.txt by Chelsea Manning

Her Body and other stories by Carmen Maria Machado

The Sunflower Cast a Spell to Save Us From the Void by Jackie Wang

Bad as I Wanna Be by Dennis Rodman

Both Sides of the Fire Line: Memoirs of a Transgender Firefighter by Bobbie Scopa

Cathedral / Anathema by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels (Star Trek post-DS9 book)

Film I watched a ton of movies! here's my favorites:

Talk to Me, in the theater!

Northwest Horror Film Festival (Satan Wants You, Onyx the Fortuitous, various short films)

Blast of Silence by Allen Barron

Raw, Titane by Julia Ducourneau

Possessor, Infinity Pool by Brandon Cronenberg

Crash by David Cronenberg

Vertigo, The Man Who Knew too Much, Rope by Hitchcock

Trouble Every Day by Claire Denis

The Runner by Boy Harsher (I watched this at least five times)

Gaslight by George Cukor

Passages by Ira Sachs

Lots of B movies by Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento

Instead of tagging I'll just encourage everyone reading this to make a post along these lines looking back on 2023!! I'll see you in 2024 :)

[that-one-gay-hufflepuff]

Hi! 👋🏻 I’m @that-one-gay-hufflepuff

My side blog with things that stick out to me is @cool-shit-20079

Things I like:

HAZBIN HOTEL I NEEEED SEASON 2 (and Helluva Boss)

Star Trek (so far I’ve seen og. series and the movies for those, tng, and I’m starting ds9)

Star Wars (love it but haven’t watched in a while, seen all (and I mean all) up to when Asohka came out minus the 2ds and kids shows)

STARKID (AVPM, Hachetfield Universe but haven’t seen nightmare time, currently obsessed with NPMD)

Ride the Cyclone

Some Will Wood Music (I/Me/Myself, Memento Mori, and 2econd 2ight 2eer)

Many musicals including Heathers (movie and musical), Rocky Horror (Picture) Show, Reefer Madness, Avenue Q

Harry Potter (duh) but I dont support JKR or buying anything that profits or benefits her

Riordan-verse but mostly MCGA (Alex✨)

Super-Powereds Series by Drew Hayes (plus Corpies)

GOOD OMENS (book and tv show)

Heartstoppers (graphic novels and tv show)

Stranger Things

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Uninvited (small band)

DND/TTRPG/Worldbuilding

THE ALPHABET MAFIA

Plants :)

Cool Random Facts

Shitposting

Art (especially queer art)

Skulls :))))

Shortened version of things ab me:

Im neurodivergent

Bc of that I may be weird in response to social interaction

I use they/he and fall under many lgbt categories

Using tw/cw is very important to me, feel free to tell me if I forgot

No politics unless people must be warned

I may share my art, writing, or dnd stuff :)

Things ab me:

I’m nuerospicy (neurodivergent) and I have been diagnosed w/ adhd, social anxiety, persistent depressive disorder, and sensory processing disorder. I’m waiting to get a referral for an autism screening (is that the right word?) and currently am balancing meds. Edit: I HAVE THE TISM✨

Bc of social awkwardness I may be weird if I get called out/talked to but still feel free to comment bc it makes my day :D

I use they/he pronouns, Im panromantic omnisexual and polyamorous but may be questioning toward sapphic, also still questioning my gender but am probably at least trans (somewhere under the trans masc/nb umbrella) demiboy (partially but not totally male-aligned/adjancent) and somewhere on the queer spectrum. I also have a lovely gf, @jojoisfruity (she/her) :). No real segway but we are t4t and I love herrrrrr :333333. (fyi our relationship is closed rn so plz dont)

I try to put tw/cw on things but if I dont feel free to reblog with the correct tag (general tw for my blog: cursing, possible slurs but only if I fall under them, ex. f*g, f*ggot, tr*nny, qu*er, d*ke, etc.)

I try to not involve politics on my blog at any cost unless people are in immediate and severe danger and must be warned so please tag things 🙏

I’m also into writing, art, and dnd so I may share :)

Ships :))))))):

Hazbin/Helluva- favorite-huskerdust/angelhusk, not really a ship but aroace/demiace alastor hc, Octavia x Luna, kind of qpr radioapple? Idk-, Stolas x Blitz

Star Trek- favorite-daforge, garashir, quodo

HP-(forget the name but serious x remus)

Riordanverse- favorite-blitzstone

rtc-nicha, multiple versions of richie x jane/penny including mtf Savannah hdcs

INEFFABLE HUSBANDS/WIVES/PARTNERS NEED I SAY MORE

DNI:

misogynists

TERFs

homophobes

transphobes

racists

ableist

pro-lifers

NSFW

etc.

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 3, Wave 2, Poll 12

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included. 

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Norma Khan-Dead End: Paranormal Park

Qualifications:

They are confirmed to be bisexual and autistic within the series she is form.

Bisexual and autistic

She's autistic and bisexual (she's just like me fr XD)

Propaganda:

Norma is very good queer and autistic representation, showing her struggles with her autism within the series (especially in season 1, episode 3) and is the one of the first characters in an animated young audience directed series to officially come out of the closet to someone, which is a big step towards good queer representation within animated series, especially those directed towards younger audiences.

She's a badass magical security guard. Also once she found out that the actress who was her special interest was a hella creepy spirit who was haunting her own theme park, Norma took her tf down. She had so many emotions about it, got her own song about how she'd adored and looked up to this actress and how betrayed she felt and how hard it was. Also! Also she is so absolutely sweet and loyal and! and her mom supports her which is so SWEET.

There's this whole episode dedicated to her and her mom, and her mom is already so supportive of her being autistic and wants to be a part of her special interest, but unbeknownst to her mom her special interest has changed. (We don't like evil ghost ladies that possess innocent actresses in this house). Her NEW special interest is the paranormal and it makes her such a badass in the show but also a mega nerd at the same time and the two are not mutually exclusive! And she gets a crush on a girl and has this whole thing about coming out as bi and even though her crush is straight it's not weird between them. She's constantly battling demons both literal and metaphorical but comes out on top with friends and family that love her.

Elim Garak-Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Qualifications:

He has PTSD due to child abuse, as well as a painkiller addiction due to a brain implant. He is also extremely gay. Like literally everybody who watches DS9 immediately understands this about him. He was explicitly played by his actor, Andy Robinson, as attracted to Julian Bashir, and his only heterosexual romance is truly painful to witness. Andrew Robinson has also said that he has had a one-night stand with Dukat, one of the main villains of DS9 and noted lizard nazi. Do with that what you will. His closest relationship onscreen by far is with Julian.

Propaganda:

This man. There is a reason so many people are obsessed with him. Former spy, current tailor, forever an incurable bitch. Guilty of many war crimes, including onscreen attempted genocide. Once intentionally blew up his own tailor shop (with him in it) because he didn't want to ask for help with something. In his very first scene on the show, he wears an shirt that strongly resembles a watermelon, propositions Julian Bashir, and leaves while canonically high on painkillers. He has PTSD due to child abuse at the hands of the head of the space lizard KGB, who is also his dad, and a painkiller addiction due to a brain implant he has to help him withstand torture. He tortures a main character in one episode, and then a few episodes later they start having regular breakfasts together. Once got high on Space Weed and started systematically murdering people while making ominous announcements about chess over the PA system. The Most Character Ever.

Anything Else?:

He once told Julian to eat his rod. It was about a futuristic USB stick (datarod) but he still very much said it.

Submitted by @convenient-plot-device

[janitorjuliann]

thinking once again about little achievements a ds9 garashir fanfiction that sid and andy acted out over zoom together which is available for free on youtube 20min long watch it here

[fictionz]

New Fiction 2022 - December

The Chimes at Midnight by Geoff Trowbridge (2008)

It takes its time to get to the meat until there’s more to chew on in the latter half. Most of these TOS alternate histories were mildly interesting but this one is a cut above.

A Gutted World by Keith R.A. DeCandido (2008)

"What if the Cardassians discovered the Bajoran Wormhole?" This is the question that got me reading all these Myriad Universes novellas in the first place, but because I’m me and a completionist, I couldn’t just skip past the others in the series to get here. I come to Star Trek expanded universe stuff with a DS9 first approach so I was keen to read how the author spun out this alternate history in which the Dominion gets their foothold in the alpha quadrant if they met the Cardassians first. It had a little too much TNG cast for my taste (especially since those characters dominate so many of these stories), but it’s a worthy DS9 tale.

Brave New World by Chris Roberson (2008)

Now we get to a whole lot of Data, so more of TNG. The courtroom stuff doesn’t hit the same way in these stories as it does in the TV episodes, and then all the implications of androids woven into the fabric of the galaxy is strangely not that compelling.

The Embrace of Cold Architects by David R. George III (2010)

Another Data-heavy story. I think these novellas introduce interesting directions with how the Federation will absolutely exploit artificial beings if they have the slightest excuse, but this particular one needed to be its own novel. It ends just as things get interesting.

The Tears of Eridanus by Steve Mollmann & Michael Schuster (2010)

A TOS story that deviates from the prime universe thousands of years before the era we know. It revels in an alternate history in which the Andorians made first contact with Earth, and the Vulcans and Romulans never parted ways.

The Last Generation by Andrew Steven Harris, Gordon Purcell, Bob Almond, Terry Pallot, Mario Boon, John Hunt, Robbie Robbins, Chris Mowry, Neil Uyetake, Andy Schmidt, Scott Dunbier, Justin Eisinger, Mariah Huehner, Bill Tortolini (2009)

I could’ve done without Data and the TNG cast at the center of things (again), but it’s cool to see Sulu flying around being a badass in his Excelsior ship. All these TNG tales feels like the higher-ups asking “Ey, where’s my TNG (money)? I gotta have my TNG (money)!”

Strange World dir. Don Hall (2022)

I loved it, but then I’m a sucker for perilous adventure tales across strange new lands.

Violent Night dir. Tommy Wirkola (2022)

Die Hard meets Home Alone with a blend of Bad Santa and maybe God of War?

Empire of Light dir. Sam Mendes (2022)

I was there for it all the way. Sometimes I remember I’m a normie-ass man but that part that feels like I’m a distant weirdo never goes away, and this movie’s for that guy.

Demon Wind dir. Charles Philip Moore (1990)

I watched this movie within a video game along with its MST3K-style commentary at 2 AM with my youngest brother and what a thing to do and write down.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio dir. Guillermo del Toro (2022)

I mean, of course it’s great. I haven’t read the original story and it sounds like this hews closer to that than the popular perception from Disney’s takes.

Babylon dir. Damien Chazelle (2022)

This could've been dry but instead it’s constantly running at full charge, and even when we slow down to the granular level of filmmaking commentary it’s still a high pressure romp.

Jack and Jill dir. Dennis Dugan (2011)

Eh, I suppose the most impressive thing here is that Sandler sells the idea that’s he's own twin sister to the point that you consider them separate people.

The Whale dir. Darren Aronofsky (2022)

This had the potential to be bleak but instead it’s just genuinely hopeful. The performances come across a little too staged, as does the whole movie I suppose, so it’s no surprise to learn than this was originally a stage play.

The Outer Limits - "The Sandkings" (1995)

Here we go! I’d been thinking about watching the entire 1995 reboot of The Outer Limits and it’s everything I could’ve hoped for. All the 90s actors I remember from Saturday afternoon sci-fi TV, dated effects and production techniques, stories about man’s reach exceeding his grasp. This first episode even features three generations of the Bridges acting clan. The thing about intelligent alien bugs isn’t so compelling, but the overall production makes up for it.

The Outer Limits - "Vanishing Act" (1996)

I was looking for an episode that features New Year’s Day and found this story about a man who time jumps forward by ten years every time he falls asleep. It’s a sci-fi sort of twist on It’s a Wonderful Life and very reminiscent of something you’d see on Star Trek.

Tales from the Crypt - "And All Through the House" (1989)

And since I plan to also watch Tales from the Crypt after TOL, I skipped over to this story about a bad Santa stalking a bad mom.

The Outer Limits - "Valerie 23" (1995)

Here’s a reminder not to fuck around with robots. Don’t do it! Especially not if they’re hot! There’ll more fucked up robot tales in the seasons ahead...

The Outer Limits - "Blood Brothers" (1995)

We get a few stories here about rich assholes trying to live forever. This one does also present an interesting idea: what if we could all be cured of all ailments and live twice as long in the process? What happens when no one’s dying and the population count explodes? In any case, that’s more thought than what goes into the episode’s story. It’s mostly about a rich guy jumping the gun on proper medical testing and getting screwed as he should.

The Outer Limits - "The Second Soul" (1995)

Oh man, I was definitely on the paranoid side of this story as the events unfold. It was nice to get one of these where it isn’t a bleak or worst case ending.

The Outer Limits - "White Light Fever" (1995)

Another rich asshole who literally wants to live forever. And that’s it. Spoiler: he doesn’t get to.

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared - Series 2 (2022)

I wanna love this because I loved the original web series, but binging a bunch of TV-length episodes just felt like too much of it. I liked them when they were shorter and spaced out more. Binger beware, I know.

[coinofstone]

Sometimes I do a Garak rewatch, just watch all the episodes he was in. I accomplish this by keeping Andy's IMDb page open and just scrolling down to his list of DS9 episodes. There's a post on here where someone made a nice graphic list of all his episodes but I just use IMDb cuz I'm lazy

I'm watching ds9 and I'm so sorry people who are obsessed with secondary/supporting characters. I get it now I understand your pain I am one of you. every episode I'm like man I hope I see my guy garak this time. I miss my guy garak. and almost every time there is no fucking garak. just watched the ep shadowplay and when bashir MENTIONED garak I leaped into the air and clapped my hands and cheered. crazy behavior. good show though. I am enjoying it