#i haven't watched ds9 since i was little

[fru1tt0ast]

star tyrek.... ugh....

[fluentisonus]

genuinely feel there's such a clear & distinct line between pre and post 9/11 star trek

[walkingstackofbooks]

My vision for endgame Data/Julian which has consumed me ever since I watched Picard 😅

A few months after the Dominion war, the Enterprise docks at DS9 for a short while allowing Data to meet his long-time pen-friend, Julian, again. Julian's not doing well, but since he seems to enjoy Data's company, Data decides to take a couple more weeks of leave to spend some more time with his friend. However, Julian starts becoming more and more withdrawn and anxious, and after an incident one evening where he becomes agitated to the point of storming out, Data reaches out to Deanna to see if she can give him any insight into his friend's behaviour. She has some ideas, but also suggests that Data ask Keiko, and after talking with the O'Briens, Data believes he understands what's wrong. When he asks Julian if he's correct in thinking that his impending departure is what's upsetting the doctor, Julian's surprise at the question is enough that he answers truthfully - yes. To Data, the solution is obvious: if Julian is distressed by the idea of someone else leaving him, then Data will not leave. (Julian begs him not to make promises he cannot keep, and has a minor breakdown when he realises that Data is deadly serious.) After a lot of conversation, some favour-cashing, and the fortunate coincidence that one of Beverly's doctors was beginning to look for a promotion to CMO, Julian ends up transferred to the Enterprise: technically a demotion, but after so long having so much on his shoulders, it's actually a relief.

While on Enterprise, Data and Julian get closer and closer. Their relationship brings some difficulties when it becomes public, though: some see the fact Julian's dating an android as proof that he's not really human; others wonder how Data's affection can be real, and feel that if he were as human as he wants to be, then he wouldn't be dating an augment. Julian's parents definitely berate him for wasting all the gifts they gave him by marrying an android - if only he'd talked to them before the wedding, they could have adbised him against it! - making him a zillion times more grateful Data talked him out of inviting them every time he started to feel guilty about it. But that's by the by. They're together, happily married, endgame Julian/Data achieved, right?

... Wrong. I hate Nemesis, but imagine Julian following Data down before he throws himself into space, knowing he could probably stop Data from doing this if he asks. Data saying, "I know I promised never to leave you," and Julian shaking his head and barely being able to choke out the words "It's okay," and then Data's gone. And Geordi's trying to reassure Julian (Geordi's trying to convince himself...) that Data will be alright, he's got the emergency tranport unit, and they get back to the bridge, and Picard transports in, and Data's still on the ship that's blowing up, and Deanna's asking what happened and Julian's sliding down against a wall, horarsely whispering "I let him go..."

20 years later... Picard season one. I haven't quite decided when I want Julian to appear, because the idea of Julian fighting for android rights is everything to me, but also I kind of like the premise of changing as little as possible in canon... (Maybe Julian had tried to be part of the movement for android rights, bu the media had really latched onto his augment status and used it as another reason to discredit the movement, and so he'd withdrawn from it, as it seemed his presence was doing more harm than good….) So the Picard crew all return to the Riker-Troi household after the final showdown and Deanna welcomes them in with a "Guess who we finally managed to get in contact with" and bring them into the lounge where Julian' anxiously waiting. And of course the initial introduction is awkward and Julian's talking a million words a minute until Will pokes him and then over the next few days he's trying to keep his distance so that Soji doesn't feel that she needs to let him into her life... And meanwhile Soji is still, you know, coping with ALL the feelings and trauma that the last - what, week? - have given her and so she has no idea what to do with this man, who was apparently her father's husband, especially as she has no clue how he feels about the whole suddenly-having-an-android-stepdaughter thing. But eventually they do manage to have a conversation (/are forced to talk it out) and they get on so well and Soji realises how much Julian genuinely wants to get to know her for her sake and while Julian's terrified at the prospect of having a daughter, he's also delighted (and Will and Deanna make them both stick around for a whole while, 1. because they do enjoy having them both around, 2. because Kestra adores Soji, and the two are pretty good for each other, and 3. because, while they have kept in contact with Julian over the years, they also know how long he's been on his own for, and they want to make sure he's got a solid base and people to lean on. As much as Julian wants to be a good father, Soji deserves more than one traumatised, lonely man doing a best that would quite possibly not be good enough...)

Picard season 3. Julian and Soji are visiting Geordi at the museum when the Picard crew come along, and are swept into the action... Julian learning that Data's alive - kind of... Julian tenderly kissing Data before they take down the partition, telling him he has to win so he can meet their daughter... The two of them barely having time to reunite before having to rush off to their respective duties in saving the ship... (I have VISIONS of Soji and Julian working desperately together to find a cure for the transporter virus, while Julian's augment physiology has done something weird to make it that he's turning, but very, very slowly. Julian making sure that Soji is armed, and making her promise to shoot him if he turns too quickly. Soji telling him he has to keep fighting it and refusing to think about what it might come to. Julian realising he's about to lose control and getting Soji to restrain him. Soji despairing that she won't be able to find a cure by herself - she's not a doctor doctor like he is - and Julian reassuring her that he believes in her, she just needs to do her best... but most importantly, if she doesn't find it, it's alright, it's not her fault, and he loves her. Resistance is futile. A phaser shot.) And afterwards, when Soji's found the cure and it's been distributed, Julian wakes up to find Data sitting next to him and Soji hovering nearby. He tries to scramble up and leave to help the rest of the crew, but Soji informs him that just as he took longer to turn, he took longer to get better, and he's the last one to wake up from it. And then she makes to leave, to give the two of them some time alone, and Julian tells her that's nonsense, she needs to meet Data, and Soji says that it's fine, they've been talking while he was asleep, and Julian replies that now he feels left out, so she definitely can't leave, come here, sit by me, I'm not letting either of you out of my sight.

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time. monday we watched ds9's "in purgatory's shadow" (ohio edition), "by inferno's light" (ohio edition), and "doctor bashir, i presume" (ohio edition), which did blow my tits clean off, and then last night we watched voy's "unity" and "darkling" (south carolina editions, sadly).

in purgatory's shadow (ds9) (ohio edition):

kira and odo's little moment at the beginning of this episode 🥺 he was soooo embarrassed to be caught attempting to try and learn how to snag a spouse but she didn't judge even a little. girl, break up with your stupid ass boyfriend. odo is right here

i really loved bashir pointing the phaser at garak when he figured garak was lying. i was like oh damn he knows him so well and i love when this twink has had enough and becomes a little evil BUT THEN IT LITERALLY WASN'T HIM! what an incredible plot twist. we literally had to pause the episode and work out the timelines to see how long we had been living with changeling bashir. it was sooo good and i wasn't expecting it at all. mwah

jadzia and worf are so good. her personality being settled into like, comic relief makes for such a good match to his whole straight man aura. obviously she taunts him with his klingon operas. please.

also lol "at the first sign of betrayal i will kill him" <3

i do NOT like whatever they are doing with garak and ziyal. first of all, he's gay. secondly, she is like at LEAST 20 years younger than him. i want to trust them but after jake dating all those older women i am so suspicious

the backpedaling they're doing on fun and friendly former facist dukat is insane. not to say i'm not enjoying it. also, i like when he threatened kira and she was like "pffft whatever" like what a blow to his fucking ego. get his ass

VERY cool to see martok again - totally unexpected

our last wonderful surprise of this ep was tain being garak's DAD- it makes so much sense and puts so much into perspective, and, hi, JULIAN WAS IN THE ROOM DURING THIS. garak could have asked him to leave and he would have. garak could have told tain he was there. but he didn't, because he wanted the moral support, and because he wanted julian to know something true about him. AUUUGHGHGH

like, we haven't had NEARLY enough garashir since s2, but this was SUCH a good moment, even though it feels like they're trying to backpedal on that too. what a series of plot twists for this ep 10/10

by inferno's light (ds9) (ohio edition):

dukat's betrayal here i like vaguely saw coming, but jesus christ lol. he is back to FULL villain status...such a change from his little fireworks show for sisko and jake

garak's claustrophobia <3 absolutely loooved this especially since julian had to go in and get him. bangs tankard on table MORE GARASHIR! there literally has NOT been enough. i would love to know more about tzenketh but i know they will never ever tell us but wow <3

i am SO tired of seeing worf lose fights this episode was fucking great. not only did he not lose any fights except under an extremely unfair circumstances he totally kicked ass even while injured. FINALLY. even that jem'hadar guy was like i can kill him but i can't defeat him so i give up. SOOOO true finally let's respect my boy worf. why don't you bitches call him a pussy NOW

anyway, the little moment worf and garak had at the end of this episode...mwah. put them on the fuck chart

extremely excited to see gowran in this episode. he and his freaky eyes are so special to me

"this station was built by cardassia" "that's funny i thought it was built by bajoran slave labor" I LOVE WHEN SISKO IS FUN AND FERAL.

also i know the circumstances were extenuating but i cannot BELIEVE julian just fucking murdered that jem'hadar <3

watching little fake julian run around was so distressing...i kept yelling when he came on screen because nobody KNEWWWW he even fooled US! what a cool twist, again

overall these two episodes were incredibly good even though the strong action-y episodes are usually not ds9's forte. absolutely baller content for everyone except ziyal. i will at least take comfort in the fact that garak looked very uncomfortable to be hugged

doctor bashir, i presume (ds9) (ohio edition):

AGAIN. THIS ONE BLEW MY TITS CLEAN OFF

i'm mad garak wasn't in it. AUGHGHGH

okay, my main beef with this one was pacing...i thought they resolved the problem extremely quickly after the cat was out of the bag, and it's because they spent so much time on the doctor and leeta and rom. which would have been a GREAT b-plot for any other episode, i LOVE leeta and rom and i was cheering for him the whole time, but even though the EMH (sorta) cameo was very welcome, i do not welcome it at the expense of time taken from one of the most pivotal episodes for julian bashir probably in this whole series, especially when i have the sneaking suspicion that it won't be brought up again

and i did LIKE the resolution of this episode, his parents paying for what they'd done, but it didn't feel like he got to sit with it for long enough, and it certainly felt like we skipped over a few pivotal moments - the scene where he found out his best friend knows could have been EXTREMELY meaty. is he afraid of judgement? is he angry? is he worried miles will be angry? etc. but we just kind of breezed right on by it. like, i loved the way miles sat and let him get it out of his system in a fun inverse of julian talking him down from suicide but we could have had SOOO much more

anyway side from that i love. I LOVE. holy shit

like, i can't even talk about the episode itself, just this entire concept. like, they did essentially kill their kid. they made him the way he is, a new kid, and then hated him for the way he is. SPOCK CORE. and then to find that out as a teenager...

like, you know he had to google "does being genetically enhanced make me a bad person" and then of course what google spits out is "did you know about khan noonien singh and would you like to?" and he was like Oh No

like, he went into MEDICINE. and i know he had other reasons and all but he went into MEDICINE because that's the most harmless you can possibly be. he's using all his ill-gotten brainpower to HEAL PEOPLE because his first reaction was to not want to be khan...2! you can enhance genetics but just like o'brien said that can't grow compassion, which is what makes julian who he is

I WISH GARAK HAD BEEN THERE.

anyway, i will continue to think about dr bashir for a very long time and he definitely just rose a couple of notches in my character ranking

unity (voy):

i actually liked this one a lot. i love borg eps and i'm fascinated by a post-borg life lived by these people

that said, this lady gave off SUCH evil vibes that even after the truth was revealed and she and chakotay fucked i kept waiting for her to stab him in the back. which only kind of happened i guess

also, :( that chakotay is out here running around on janeway. SAD

i did love the borg meld scene though. it was incredibly scary. and i was TWIRLING MY HAIR when he got possessed or whatever the fuck

it was also so fun that he spent half of this episode dazed and stumbling around because of his little head injury. excellent material overall

oh yeah and i KNEW that corpse was gonna wake back up. i think it's so terrifying that when you're borg, even if you die, you aren't done. you can be revived because nothing kills you, not even the vacuum of space. that is easily the most horrifying part of it all

i also really liked chakotay and janeway's moment at the end. like, she was distrustful the entire time and he was too trusting, as he tends to sometimes be, and then at the end she was like aw but they weren't so bad and he was like [thousand yard stare of guy who has fucked 2! women who later betrayed him and has now been radicalized against the borg]

like i'm not saying it wasn't 99% consensual with riley or seska but i AM saying that he was hopped up on the borg meld when he fucked riley and later riley was willing to use chakotay's body for her own means when push came to shove and i'm saying that seska knew full well the whole time it was happening that it was under completely false pretenses and she stole his dna without his consent to make a baby he also didn't consent to, even if it turned out she fucked up and got that kaxon baby instead. like, chakotay better be careful or he's gonna start fitting into captain kirk's niche

darkling (voy):

this one fucking sucked so bad

like, sure, yes, emh evil now. does he have to keep creepy-touching all the women

also, WHAT? we get ONE LINE about kes and neelix breaking up and he's not even IN this episode? why did they even break them up??? just because they wrre planning on having her leave soon????? absolutely baffling

i don't think evil emh was very compelling...i am glad he got to act or whatever, but i didn't even get the usual "battle of the selves" that we often wind up with when we do these kind of tropes. it was just...a malfunction, and eventually it was corrected

also, what a BAFFLING b-plot. if you measure each of kes's years (except the first, i suppose) as a decade in human beings, we can assume she's in her thirties now, so she just...breaks up with her boyfriend to smooch the hot alien guy she met a few days ago and then maybe wants to run off with him? in her THIRTIES?

i DID like the EMH quoting the oath at the end, but without any sort of battle of the selves or real emotional investment in what he did when he was evil, it feels kind of wasted on this episode. it's a fine concept, but the execution falls soooo flat

NEXT TIME: voy's "rise" and "favorite son."

[elderly-worm]

Okay so I haven't trawled the tag but a friend told me that a new short film is being touted as canonizing Spirk, and I felt the need to compile a quick... not rebuttal per se, but provision of some much-needed context.

Disclaimer 1: I do think that the same clip of film can mean different things when aired at different times, and in the social context of the 2020s the new clip, despite showing stuff we've seen from Kirk and Spock before, means something potentially gayer than what we've seen before, since authorial intent is a thing and like... 2020s writers know what they're doing when they do That.

Disclaimer 2: I'm not the biggest TOS guy in the world (DS9 is my home turf; I've seen all of TOS and the movies once each, plus a few rewatches of certain episodes), but I thought I'd make the post in case assertions that Spirk has gone reach people with even less TOS knowledge than me and start being taken at face value by folks who don't realize Just How Gay Kirk and Spock have always been.

So.

Before you, oh imagined tumblrite with interest in the canonicity of Spirk but little contextual knowledge, applaud the newfound canonicity of such an important ship, I beg of you to take the following four instances into account. [Keep in mind through all of this that some sources say that Vulcan spouses kiss one another by touching the tips of two fingers together]:

Season 2, Episode 1, "Amok Time", 1967. Spock believes himself to have killed Kirk and tries to resign from Starfleet only to have Kirk reveal that he is alive. https://archive.org/details/star.-trek.-tos.-s-02-e-01.-amok.-time. See timestamp 46:58-47:39.

Season 3, Episode 24, "Turnabout Intruder", 1969. Kirk, transferred into a woman's body, convinces Spock that, contrary to appearances, he is in fact himself. Spock tries to break him out and they hold hands for a second amid the turmoil as the woman who has stolen Kirk's body tries to stop them from regaining control. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7q3l7t See timestamp 28:25-31:49.

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture", 1979. Spock, having briefly fused minds with an artificial intelligence named V'ger, is recovering from psychological overwhelm and tries to explain the experience. https://youtu.be/lxTaW8L_Pxo?feature=shared&t=113 The whole clip up to timestamp 2:50 is relevant, but note in particular 1:55-2:18.

"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", 1982. Spock sacrifices himself, dying of radiation poisoning to save the rest of the ship and crew. https://youtu.be/fHAOWLhrxhQ?feature=shared&t=101 See timestamp 1:40-4:56.

And finally, the new short film causing the uproar:

Now, by all means: draw your conclusions.

[girlonthelasttrain]

I didn't do a yearly roundup of my fic writing output before the end of 2023 because I was preoccupied with other things, so here it is now:

In 2023

I posted 5 stories, 4 in English and 1 in Italian

for a total of ~53,700 words, the most I've posted in one calendar year ever since I started posting fic online

2 fics for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 1 for Star Trek: Voyager, 1 for Star Trek: Picard and finally, after many years of only writing Trek-related fic, 1 for Wheel of Time (TV)

all are f/f (because in this at least I'm very consistent), and two of the stories feature polyamory

the longest fic is Best Left (~38,400 words, the longest fic I've ever posted so far) and the shortest is Sotto il Passo Ratosha (~1200 words)

Under the cut thoughts on each fic!

Mistaken for Strangers (Star Trek: DS9, Kimara Cretak/Kira Nerys, ~1700 words)

Kira calls for the Habitat Ring, Guest Sector with more mixed feelings than her usual fare. It’s not that she blames Ezri, or anyone else for that matter, for assuming things about her enmity with the Romulan senator; they wouldn’t understand. In all honesty Kira isn’t sure she does, either. She remembers all too clearly how it was to be on the other side.

Written for the Rare Femslash Exchange 2022, this is the latest entry in my longstanding Kira/Cretak series. It was fun to imagine Kira as a young, and (understandably) rigid, freedom fighter and contrast her with Kira's current predicament (ie, enjoying a secret sexual relationship with Romulan Senator a little too much for her own good).

Even when I am not, I am (Star Trek: Voyager, Seven of Nine/B'Elanna Torres, ~9,600 words)

B’Elanna turns back to the console and resumes entering commands into it with grim determination. Harry watches her in silence, once again unsure what to do. There is clearly something bothering B’Elanna, there’s no doubt about it now, and it’s deeper than he thought.

Once again written for the Rare Femslash Exchange 2022, this one is kind of niche fic. The prompt specifically mentioned the Voyager novel “String Theory: Cohesion” which is an incredibly fun romp for B'Elanna/Seven fans. In it, the girls are forced to become a ‘collective of two’—essentially telepathically connected—and I wanted to explore the fallout from that with a bit of a personal spin. I love telepathy tropes, I'm fascinated by the idea of mind-sharing and horrified that anyone could know someone else's innermost thoughts, or even get lost in them. I was reading a lot of Gloria Anzaldúa when I wrote this (the title comes from “Borderlands/La Frontera”) and I thought that B'Elanna, who all her life has been forced to live on the margins, would especially not react well to that kind of identity-erasing experience, while also being forced to confront a latent attraction which has come to the forefront.

Sotto il Passo Ratosha (Star Trek: DS9, Jadzia Dax/Kira Nerys, ~1200 words)

Si guardò intorno, come stordita; si era nascosta lì per un rastrellamento quindici anni prima, buttandocisi dentro con il fucile, e ora era tornata e aveva in mano quello stesso fucile. Eppure la cesura fra i due momenti non poteva essere più ampia.

I wrote this for the None English Fest 2023, based on the first chapter of an autobiographical novel on the Italian Resistance to the Nazi occupation (“I Piccoli Maestri” by Luigi Meneghello). I admit I haven't translated it yet because I now feel pretty ambivalent about having connected an explicit narrative of decolonization like the Bajoran struggle to this particular page of Italian history (which was not that). The reference is still meaningful to me personally, and it fit the characters and Kira and Jadzia very well imho, but it's perhaps best left as a writing exercise that very few people will be able to read. That being said, in 2023 I realized just how much Italian I'm forgetting; carrying even a slightly involved conversation has become pretty challenging and my vocabulary is shrinking rapidly. Writing this short fic was not a small effort. I want to try and write (and read!) in Italian more often in 2024. And if you're reading this as an ESL fic writer: this is your sign to write more in your native language. Do It. Don't let English monopolize your creative output.

Best Left (Star Trek: Picard, Raffi Musiker/Seven of Nine + Seven of Nine/B'Elanna Torres + Raffi Musiker/B'Elanna Torres, ~38,400 words)

She’s older now, and out of uniform, looking much worse for wear after what she just went through. But there had been a time more than twenty years prior when her face had been on every Federation newsfeed, along with the rest of the crew of the USS Voyager. “You know her?” Raffi turns to Soji, frozen in bemusement beside Emil. “I’ve never met her but yes, I know who she is,” Raffi says. “You two stay here and keep an eye on things. Seven needs to see this.”

Written for the Rare Pair Exchange 2023, with this fic I brought my current OTP (B'Elanna/Seven) into the Picard timeline while also falling a little bit in love with Raffi and learning to appreciate S1 of the Picard show, despite my many complaints. I won't lie, writing this fic was hysterical, challenging, crazy fun and it broke me a little bit. I still can't say whether or not I'm proud of how it turned out; while writing it felt like I was courting disaster at every turn, and it would've certainly benefited from a better drafting process. Still, it is one of the most ambitious projects I've ever undertaken, and I feel like I didn't completely fumble the ending, so there's that. If you read it, please let me know—I'd love to hear what you thought of it, good and bad.

Master's Apprentices (Wheel of Time (TV), Lanfear/Liandrin Guirale + Liandrin Guirale/Moiraine Damodred, ~2700 words)

“All your life you have sought power out of fear,” she murmurs distractedly, as if finding the truth of your existence in braids you don’t remember plaiting. Then, her eyes meet yours again, solemn. “But no more. I found you out, Liandrin. I know every one of your secrets. There is no need for you to hide any longer.”

Written for the Femslash Exchange 2023, I admit this fic caught me by surprise. I've written for years in the same extended universe (Star Trek), and I wasn't sure I would be able to wade into a completely different setting. So in order to get over myself I tried something I had wanted to attempt for a very long time, second person POV. I think it fit well the ‘dreamscape’ I was trying to evoke, and I'm glad I took this route. Liandrin is a fascinating character to write for me, too. I share more than a few personality traits with her (most relevant for this fic her inability to get over old feelings—I still regularly dream about my ex, despite the fact that our break up almost fifteen years ago was hardly amicable), so it wasn't difficult to relate to her or realize that I could make the same terrible choices, or be preyed on by someone figuring out my weaknesses, if I don't take a principled stand. I had fun writing this fic.

[ignisgalaxia]

Star Trek Captain/First Officer Ships

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I wanna talk about the captain/first officer ships. I think that it’s perfectly normal to ship the captains and first officers to some degree. I mean after all, they’re ideally the relationship that gets the most focus in each show. That being said, I think each pair has their strengths and weaknesses so I will be ranking them accordingly in tiers, from not romantically compatible to practically married.

Low Level Ship Tier

As you can gather, this tier is mostly for the pairs that have the least amount of ship energy. Either they have the bare minimum or their dynamic is just not suited to romance imo.

Carol Freeman & Jack Ransom

I love Lower Decks for many reasons, but these two’s relationship leaves a lot to be desired. Honestly these two feel the most like coworkers. You know, the ones who only put up with each other because they’re on the same team. The biggest reason I feel nothing for them is that I just don’t like Ransom. At all. He’s like a caricature of Riker with all the male stereotypes and none of the charm. Plus Carol is already happily married (at least I assume happily; we should really see them together more), so I don’t really see any appeal to them.

Jean-Luc Picard & William Riker

I think for a while Will saw Jean-Luc as somewhat of a father figure. But based on the scenes they’ve had together in Picard, I think their dynamic has shifted to really close friends. Seeing them talk with each other so casually filled me with such joy. I love them as a team, but I don’t see any romantic potential, especially since they both have amazing women for significant others (and yes I do mean Deanna and Beverly). Also age differences make me uncomfortable sorry.

Michael Burnham & Saru

These two give off sibling energy more than anything. Their relationship has improved significantly over the past four seasons, but man season one was rough. I get why Saru was mad at her, he was grieving Phillipa and Michael did hold some responsibility for her death, but his attitude toward her got really infuriating at times. It was interesting seeing how they rebuilt their relationship into one based on trust and understanding though.

Benjamin Sisko & Kira Nerys

I don't really have much to say about these two since I haven't watched DS9 yet. But I also think they work best as friends. I mean I guess there could be something but I think the whole Bajoran prophet aspect makes things a little weird. Idk I really don't have any opinions on them because I lack knowledge.

Mid Level Ship Tier

This tier has the pairs that have a good amount of romantic potential, but something’s holding them back from being truly top tier. But overall I think they’re pretty good.

Jonathan Archer & T’Pol

I KNOW T’Pol ends up with Tucker (I don’t understand how or why), and her and Archer are very different but hear me out. You know the episode Twilight? Well that was originally written as a Voyager episode for the pair later in this list (and you know where they’re gonna be). So yeah, a romance episode for another pair was rewritten to fit these two. Kinda telling, don’t you think? Other than that not much to say since I haven’t seen Enterprise either.

Christopher Pike & Una Chin-Riley

I like this ship, I really do. But I just haven’t seen enough of them together to truly get on board. From what I have seen though, their dynamic is very cute. Like when he fumbled her name trying to introduce her. Frikkin adorable. And I love the idea of her just lifting him with zero effort since she’s apparently freakishly strong.

Dal R’El & Gwyndala

These two have come a long way in just the span of one season. Dal telling Gwyn to keep her eyes on him at the end of episode ten and his anguish when she accidentally saw Zero through his combadge’s reflection. AND THEN THE FINALE KISSES! Dal’s got some balls for planting one on her in part one, and then in part two their mutual kiss before Gwyn leaves. I LIVE FOR THIS SHIT. I hope these two go somewhere, but the fact that Gwyn isn’t gonna be with the crew next season is making me not get my hopes up too much.

I think it’s also important to note that this is the only pair to have ACTUALLY KISSED and is even remotely canon. And it’s two teenagers. The fuck’s up with that?! (That is also why they are not in the high ship tier because while they’re frikkin adorable and I’m happy they kissed, they’re still minors so I’m not investing every part of me into them if that makes sense)

High Level Ship Tier

This tier is reserved for the pairs that I legitimately think belong together. Like it’s borderline cruel that they’re not a couple. This tier is for two pairs in particular, but there’s always room for more if they prove worthy. I’d also call this the ‘Oh My God Just Kiss Already’ tier.

James T. Kirk & Spock

These two aren’t the fathers of slash fanfic for no reason. Again, still haven’t seen the original series, but having seen several clips, specifically from Amok Time, yeah they’re pretty gay. And considering there’s an entire movie dedicated to Kirk finding and bringing Spock back, it’s giving off soulmate energy.

Kathryn Janeway & Chakotay

And surprising absolutely no one is the couple I would literally sell my soul to see become canon. I mean, do I really need to explain myself? The only reason these two aren’t together is because the writers are cowards. For God’s sake he built her a bathtub! And she dropped everything to go searching for him when he went missing. He is her rock and she is his peace! THEY ARE SOULMATES DAMNIT!

So there’s my list. What about y’all? Do you agree with my ranking or would you put any pairs in a different tier? Let me know, and have a happy Valentine’s Day!

[maybeamultiverse]

Tagged by the amazing @vegawriters to do this cute tag! Thank you <3 <3 <3

1. Three Ships: Since I'm going to keep everything securely within the realm of Star Trek for the sake of maintaining appearances of this particular blog, I do want to also bring up some ships that I think are maybe slightly on the obscurer side... and kind of DS9 heavy, and for some reason seem to involve Quark a lot.... anyways, so I love Quodo. So much in a kind of post-ironic sense. I also love Quark and Natima a lot (Qatima? Nuark?), and also Quark and Grilka (Qrilka? Guark?). Those are my less serious main ships, but I also want more fics about Vreenak and Iliana (from that fic called 'Heis'he Ri'nanovai') and also Geordi LaForge and Bochra, of course!

2. First Ship Ever: I honestly remember being such a hardcore stan for Spock and Uhura (Spuhura) when the AOS timeline came out. I remember all the unfortunate racist hate the ship got at the time online and in real life conversations, but even as a kid watching TOS, I always got the vibe that Uhura, or maybe Nichelle Nichols, had a lil' crush on Spock or Leonard, and I thought that was SO CUTE! I think I even wrote an incoherent rant at like 10 years old online on some forum somewhere... lol. Of course, Spirk became more obvious as I grew older and more aware of stuff.

3. Last Song: I just checked Spotify, and the last song I listened to was Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz hehe.

4. Last Movie: A few nights ago, I rewatched Ghostbusters for the first time in like 7 years just for fun. It was definitely entertaining, but it makes me wonder why it became such an international phenomenon. It felt oddly niche.

5. Currently Reading: I'm 'always' reading Dune, but in terms of fics, I haven't read a lot lately, mostly rereading this Labyrinth fic. (PSA: Send me your fic if you want a reader! I'm always happy to check new stuff out.)

6. Currently Watching: The Last of Us, Deep Space 9, Picard, the odd Voyager episode...

7. Currently Consuming: Water. I should make some coffee and get some toast soon, though! I just don't wanna leave my room lol.

8. Currently Craving: I really want bad diner food right now, or maybe something spicy. Or like, some arabic coffee.

Gonna tag @deepspacedukat @solarisone @mikalero @coco-little-rose @foreverforty2 @jaxifye @the-qalankhais-sweetheart @love-at-first-contact

[imightbeabuddhist]

Salutations Tumblr.

Welcome to My Blog:

By Z.D. Burkitt

The question on your mind has to be, but who are you? Well, let me answer your question with a question. Did I forget the "by" line? No, I'm really asking. Anyway.

I'm Z.D. Burkit. Z for short. I've been a hobbyist writer for 25 years. Now, I'm a Copywriter. Can you tell? -covers my username with my hand- So, I figured I'd introduce myself. As I said, I've been writing for 25 years. However, I haven't published anything other than crappy fanfiction on fanfiction.net. Assuming that website still exists. Like a blacksmith at their* forge, I've learned much about writing, honing my craft(we'll get there.* <--pun). As the name suggests, I'll mostly be posting Copywriting Memes. Sometimes it'll just be the meme. Other times I might share why I like it and any insights I gleaned from it. I'll also post regular blogs and the occasional short story. Now it's time to address the elephant in the refrigerator.

Darn that Pesky Pachyderm:

I am Non-binary. No, I won't bring this up unless I need to. Nor do I care what pronouns you use. They, he, she, or neo-pronouns are all fine. I'll leave that up to you. I should also say I am Pansexual and engaged. As I get more comfortable, I'll give more details. One final thing, I have ADHD. Since this is my first post, I think I'll leave the housekeeping there. This seems like a good time to get the elephant out of my now-destroyed fridge. -sigh- 

Some more Things about Me:

I'm fascinated by fungi. I guess you can call me an amateur mycologist. Mushrooms, lichens, and all fungi are mesmerizing. I'm working on a story about super-powered teens living in 2100. The Golden Trio in my novel are LGBTQIA+ and Neurodiverse characters. River, the MC, is a Genderfluid Pansexual shapeshifter. One of their best friends is an AMAB non-binary gay person. The other is a cis-gendered bisexual guy. I promise River is not a self-insert. You'll come to know that as I add more to this blog. I am a big-ol' nerd. As evidenced by my near-comprehensive knowledge of the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles. Feel free to test me. I'm also well-versed in Destiny and Gear of War lore. Despite not owning any, I have a growing appreciation for excellent watches. They're just cool. Although I'm no car expert, that's what we call an understatement, kids; I do enjoy rewatching episodes of The Grand Tour. While we're on shows, I'm constantly binging Start Trek DS9. It's my comfort show. I aspire to one day get a Private Pilot's license. And yet, I've never flown. I've never even seen the inside of a plane that was about to take off—just a few at an aviation museum. While we're on the topic, one of my favorite podcasts is Black Box Down; it's all about aviation disasters. Listen to it if you're afraid to fly like I was. You'll realize just how rare these things are. Not only that, but the steps taken to prevent them from happening again. Not a spon. I have no sponsorships. I'm an anime fan, shocking, I know. And I'm clearly a fan of italics. And, like David Tannat's Doctor, I can ramble when I get going, can't I? Here are a couple of rapid-fire facts about me.

I practice lockpicking as a hobby - Scrolling through TikTok, I came across a guy called McNallyOffical, who made it look like a lot of fun. So, I bought a cheap lockpicking kit of off; I'll call it the Everything Store and a cheap (read Master Lock) lock. As soon as it arrived, I stared with the clear practice lock, and once I stopped pretending I was in Skyrim, I got it on my second try. Now that little clink sound of the shackle popping is just uggh. -chief's kiss-

I'm 420-friendly - That one speaks for itself. 

I'm an ex-Atheist - I'll admit this is partially due to the anger I felt when I had to deal with any religious or spiritual things that wasn't good for my mental health. So I took a step back from the community and soon found I wasn't angry more often than not. I still respect and listen to many Atheists like Penn Jillette and his business partner, Mr. Teller. Jillette's book God No! is still a personal favorite. The anger made me decide to believe in all gods or none. I have an answer to the ontological question do you believe in god? I believe in every god. I'll delve into that later.

I do believe Science - Despite believing in spiritual things, I am an avid proponent and communicator of Science. No Flearth or anti-vax nonsese here. One spiritual practice I reject is holistic crap and other snake oil. Crystals are pretty, but they can't heal shit IRL. 

This one should be obvious - I'm someone you can come to if you're LGBTQIA+ and you need to talk. 

I have depression, anxiety, and ADHD - I'm very open and vocal about my, and mental health in general. It's important, and you are too. Never forget that.

I think that's an excellent place to stop. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Take care. 

-Z

The Convival Copywriter

P.S.

If you're interested in an INTRODUCTORY OFFER for my services, email me at zdburkitt@gmail.com. 

-The Convival Copywriter

[rotationalsymmetry]

Animorphs and Korra (which I haven't watched that recently): the characters are older, so maybe the Animorphs are more likely to have watched it recently, not years before. Idk.

Rachel very much enjoys a powerful female character having the lead role. Korra's cute. She's a fighter. Rachel likes that. She...might not like that Korra's problems are ...less straight forward than Aang's. I think she probably likes the family drama though. And the dating drama. And the steampunk (?) setting evolving out of the classic fantasy but culturally Asian rather than European setting. And oh. Asami. Omg Asami! So smart and competent and confident and drop dead gorgeous. And she races cars. It's just.

Life goals.

Plus, of course Swamp Gremlin Toph.

(She probably also really likes Lin Beifong for similar badassery reasons. Yeah, I know, she's a cop, it's problematic, I don't know what to say about that. I also post about DS9 and Odo's a cop too. I don't think there's a lot of consistency in which fandoms get people being upset about copaganda.)

This came out of absolutely nowhere, but I think Cassie has a somewhat embarrassing crush on Bo Lin. He's a sweetheart and funny and almost certainly gives great hugs. Anyways, probably Cassie likes ATLA more, but I think she'd like Korra a lot too. And she would like the general anti-extremism (of all sorts) thematics. I'm not sure Korra's disability arc season 4 makes sense to her (honestly it doesn't make sense to me) but like me she probably appreciates that the show tried. I like to think she's probably a little bit annoyed that nobody ever shows anarchists being the good guys though.

Marco is the one who's most annoyed that pro bending isn't a real world sport. Pro bending should be real. It'd be so awesome. (Oh, I think Marco probably really likes Mako and Bo Lin, both individually and together. Bo Lin's the group comedian, which of course Marco respects, but he also respects Mako's sense of responsibility for his brother. They had to be the parents for each other since their parents weren't around. But it's not, you know, it's not like with Katara where she can't go two episodes without talking about how her mother died, it's just there. They're pragmatic about it.)

I think Tobias likes thinking about how different types of bending get variations and odd usages, like blood bending and metal bending. I think he has long discussions with Ax about things you can do with bending that the show didn't really get to, or only got to a little bit and didn't fully flesh out. He really likes thinking about how you'd get early 20th century technology with bending.

I think I'm done for now. Maybe I'll do Jake and Ax later.

[bylightofdawn]

So I've been reading Garak/Bashir fanfic and when I say I screamed because the top-rated bookmarked fics were written by thehoyden whose fics I've been reading since the Before Times when I was in the fucking Naruto fandom 10+ years ago.

Oh. My. God.

I love when you find an author whose stuff you read over a decde ago in a completely different fandom. It's like meeting a dear friend who you have never actually met but you still remember fondly. Just that instantaneous "Oh, I know your name." And you're so excited because you have all these fond memories of their other work they've written for. I have the same thing with blackkat. Ya'll I've run across them in like 4 or 5 fandoms for legit like almost two decades.

Of course, I think we'll all agree blackkat is just a force of nature. I don't know how they manage the sheer amount of fanfic they write. LMAO

But anyway, the Garak/Bashir fics thus far have been S-tier and I'm in love. Reading a super domestic post series friends to lovers 80+ work by an author whom I've never read from before. I'm trying to switch off of fanfic reader move to fanfic writer mode but it's hard. I might just say fuck it and give myself a cheat day. I was kinda poking at Chapter 27 at lunch so I have written a little bit. That still counts towards my resolution goals. Pffft.

At some point though I'm gonna be SOL cause I'm going to run into canon DS9 fics and be SO FUCKING LOST since I haven't watched it since it aired all those years ago. Pffffft. But for now I'm enjoying post-canon schmoopy friends to lovers comfort fics.

And if anyone has some good recs, feel free to toss them my way!

EDIT: I lied and decided to buckle down to finish Chapter 27 and I feel kinda glad I did that. Now I can fuck off and read fanfic for the rest of the night.

I'm also squeeeee definitely giving people all the family feels before I yank the rug out from beneath them when I move into the finale which is I think right around the corner.

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 3x10 Fascination thoughts (I'm re-watching, so there may be future spoilers)

"Isn't that the earring you-" "-bought for Mardah?" Huh, I thought Bajoran's earrings were personalised and individual to them, like when Kira recognised Nalas', not something bought by others as gifts.

I say this every time, but I love Sisko and Jake's relationship

"But I'm not going to have any fun." "Oh." XD

Julian's "we've played 70 games" makes me think he's comfortable enough with the chief to not hide things like counting racquetball games <3 although I doubt it was a perfectly round 70

"And you know what all those games have proved to me? That I'm a poor substitute for your wife." "I could've told you that sixty games ago."

Okay so an average person could have done that 70x2=140 calculation in a few seconds, but Julian did 70x2=150 so either he made the mistake on purpose, or he rounded 73/4/5 games down to 70 then doubled the actual number and rounded it up to 150.

His little grin at the end there <3 Idk the "Maybe you can try and convince her to stay" was just a nudge, knowing that Miles would be like definitely not and realise he didn't really resent her being away.

Odo's noticeable slow down as he approached Nerys

Kira's smile at "Actually, I was thinking of joining you this year." - she's SO beautiful, I love her smile to bits

"Well then, we'll see each other later." "I'd like that." He's so awkward but he's trying <3 I didn't like last time suddenly realising he was in love with her, but this time round I am here for it, because she obviously thinks super highly of him, and although he's jealous and doesn't always hide it, he never tries to make her uncomfortable or push her (at this point), even though he's not used to these feelings.

"For you I will make the time, Odo." She does like him a lot. (And her smile again, wow, she's radiant)

Keiko's sigh at "I should never have given you all that candy" - if she had been looking at Lwxana, that would have been a death stare.

"I usually make it a point to drop by Quark's three or four times a day at random intervals, just to let him know that I'm thinking about him." Oh do you, now, Odo?

Ughhhh, Lwxana is So Forward and I don't like it. Odo's so uncomfortable. (I do ship them. Just not right now.)

"What kind of help do you mean?" THat is the correct question to ask. He sounds so nervous and he is so right to.

Lwaxana just being like #icanfixhim 😅

"The office has changed Kai Winn" Has it, Bareil, or is that just wishful thinking?

KIRA'S HAIR. ffffffffff I love her look rn

He's jealous of Jadzia. If she was a guy Kira would have gone "she's just a good friend." But no, perish that thought even be entertained on this throughly straight space station.

KiraDax tradition!!

Miles and Keiko's argument is so Aghhhh. Neither of them are exactly wrong but they're both tired and grouchy and need to give each other some grace or some time.

Kira is SO BEAUTIFUL, her dress is gorgeous but so is SHE

Her catching eyes with Dax who smiles back why can't they BE GIRLFRIENDS

Jake's grin and "wanna go out with me?!" he is such a child. At least in this episode it's mind games and kind of endearing.

Kira is understandably speechless at that

"Because I was hoping that you and I could get to know each other better... A lot better." Oh dear.

I don't like how Lwxana forces Odoout of his comfort zone. I think she would be good for him if she went at his pace with the PDA, and actually asked him about it, rather than assuming he needs to have affection forced upon him. I know I liked her more in DS9 than in TNG, but atm I'm just frustrated with her

Oh it's Quark's trans flag suit!

Yay, Keiko and Miles made up! "You know, I haven't sat here since you've been gone. " "That's so sweet. " I love her smile too :)

Annnnd another argument. of course.

Jealousy is not a good look on you, Miles

Yes, Miles, you are behaving like a child.

Oh fuck you Miles she is TIRED do better than this for goodness' sake you're an adult

"Of course I like her." "Well so do I." I love how simple this argument is and how clearly Jake thinks it solves everything XD

Sisko is so worried and rightly so <3 But clearly has no clue how to handle this curveball

"That's very thoughtful but I have nothing to give you in return." "Being with you is the only present I need." Nah, usually that's a sweet line, but here's it's just downright manipulative

"There's no divorce, no broken homes, nothing but peaceful conjugal bliss." This is a really good illustration of why divorce can be a fucking good thing and rising divorce rates since women have been given more rights and freedoms is not a worrying sign!

"You cancel the party, and then that way we can spend the evening alone together. What do you say?" "Sisko to Bashir." XD I just really like this as a response. Not "something is wrong", but acting on that wrongness immediately

Miles is good at apologies, I'll give him that

I remember the first time I watched this I was convinced Keiko was in her bedroom with someone else having been affected by the weirdness, and everything was going to ramp up even more between the two of them.

Huh, Lwxana is arm in arm with Julian too! She gets round XD or he does....

That was the most ridiculous kiss XD How Siddig and Visitor kept straight faces during that scene I have no idea!

Okay, so Sisko is the only sane one here and he's just noticed.

Oh, and Odo is too

Julian's slight self-awareness of "this is very embarrassing" mid-kiss is so amusing to me

Jadzia just stealing the betrothal bracelet like a magpie there

Keiko's entrance :o I'm glad she took the time for herself to just think things over and figure out what she wanted, rather than feeling like she had to accept the apology straight away.

Sisko really just took that punch

JADZIA'S SO GREAT. Taking down Bareil like that was just so much fun to watch, she's wonderful (poor bareil i guess)

Keiko and Miles are so stunned XD I forgot they've missed out on everything else and have literally no clue what the heck is going on here.

Sisko's tact XD "hen Mrs Troi's amorous feelings for ... someone on the station"

"There would have to have been some pre-existing latent attraction." They didn't have to add that in, but they sure did.

"Only on a subconscious level. Best not think about it too much, if you ask me." *Sigh* *sad nod*. Oh, poor boy, he's really going to try hard not think about it isn't he

You KNEW he didn't like you and you STILL kissed him? This is NOT OKAY, Lwxana!

I'm happy Keiko and Miles made up, but it would make so much more sense for Miles to insist on resigning and going to Bajor to be with her. I'm sure he loves her enough to, and the only reason he didn't is because he's a main character - but in universe this makes him a little eh.... and Keiko deserved sooo much better

*Throws racket* "Chief" straight away. Yep, you're definitely not trying to be a wife-substitute, eh, Julian?

So this was a long one! I did enjoy that episode, despite it's weirdness and frustrations... and how achingly heterosexual it is. Hey ho. It's silly and fun and very Star Trek, still

[thegeminisage]

it is time for. NOT a tng update. but a ds9 update!!! wednesday* we watched "emissary" and actually i'm not clear on if we watched both parts or just one since my website is wonky but either way whatever we watched FUCKING RULED. i'm dispensing w the normal bullet points so i can ramble as much as i want

*it was last night actually but it took me all day to type this up so i'm scheduling it to go up later. it got looooong lol

the first most striking thing i noticed about ds9, or at least the first half of what we watched, is that it FEELS like a video game. someone tell me if this is insane. you're playing as sisko. you get flashbacks of his backstory, you get thrown into this starbase that's in shambles and it's Your Job to fix it up. you go around meeting all the secondary characters who will be in charge of this or that gameplay aspect or upgrade system or shop: kira, o'brien, quark, odo, jadzia, julian, etc. the FOLEY in this was insane. all the noise in the back CONSTANTLY suggested a lively and whole universe outside of our direct line of focus - it felt so alive in the way not even the enterprise in tos did. i could picture myself in the opening gameplay/cutscene like slowly walking my character through what will become a hub area that i gradually upgrade over time while kira or o'brien narrates the list of problems. you're starting at the bottom rung and expected to fail, but you can FEEL the potential even in just one brief walk through the promenade. IS THIS INSANE? it feels like an insane thing to say. someone PLEASE write in if you have ever had similar feelings. if they haven't made a ds9 game yet, they should.

i also notice that not only is the quality of the ds9 episodes worse than that of tng and tos - no one has remastered them into 1080p, apparently - but the lighting is very different, as well. it felt WEIRD to see picard and the enterprise D shot this way. but it also lends, perhaps unintentionally, perhaps not, a really gritty atmosphere to what is normally a very clean universe. i guess since we mostly see it from the inside of starships, it would feel like a sterile place to us, but you know how everyone always compliments star wars on how lived-in it feels? the buttons are wearing, sand is stuck in their fancy thingamajigs, etc? this was how ds9 felt to me.

okay. the characters. let's fucking get into it. what's so fun about ds9 in general is that in all other trek shows i have picked out my specialest little guy in 5 seconds flat. tos was spock EASILY. tng i knew it was data before i started. i already know seven's gonna be my favorite voyager character, but i have NO IDEA!!! who my precious little baby in ds9 will be. what a fun surprise for everyone involved. if anybody wants to place bets go ahead.

like, i thought tng had a pretty solid lineup (hence my eternal frustration with its wasted potential) but they're not anywhere as eclectic as ds9's core cast. iirc, sisko and o'brien are the ONLY humans who for once are outnumbered by trek's cool aliens. i'm saving sisko for last because that was the part of ds9 that touched me most profoundly, but for o'brien - it was a little sad to see him leave the enterprise, because picard was right, it WON'T feel the same without him, but i'm really excited to see why everybody says he suffers more than jesus and to find out if the eyepatch is a permanent thing or if it's just mirrorverse fuckery. either way, i win. like, o'brien is cool, and i always miss him when i don't see him in tng, and i'll continue to miss him in tng from here on out, but he could never shine in that show. it's too stiff and too reluctant to put its characters through any real development. it's a shame they can't ALL move to ds9, tbh.

the next person we met was kira, who was WONDERFUL. it took me a minute to warm up to her, not because there was anything wrong with her, but because i figured at first glance she was ds9's version of ro laren, the obligatory bajoran cast member to connect us with the bajoran/cardassian plot - which would of course be good because ro is awesome, but it's not necessarily anything new and i already love ro. BUT I WAS WRONG! kira's personality is very distinct from ro's; really the only thing they have in common is not liking cardassians which lmao Yeah. my favorite thing about kira is that she smiles when she's upset or angry. that's Such an acting choic, to have her grinning at the cardassians when she's almost certain they're about to blow her whole space station to smithereens. all love light and respect to ro laren my beloved, but i think i actually like kira BETTER.

odo: WHAT is that thing he can do oh my god...is this a changeling?? i got that result in a star trek quiz once. i really loved when he snuck aboard the enemy ship posing as a bag to hold gambling winnings. i was like oh they showed us the bag to show us it will get stolen soon BUT NO it was odo!!!!!!! such a fun surprise. the exposition on his backstory was a little slapdash but i enjoyed it all the same, i cannot wait to learn more

i was most nervous to meet quark because i hate hate HATE the ferengi in tng, but he was actually so entertaining! like, you're never gonna be able to entirely remove the antisemetic undertones from the ferengi as a whole, but he was smart, practical, and endearingly longsuffering. i love his wryness and deadpan humor. i have a feeling he is gonna be so much fun to torture lovingly.

meeting julian bashir felt like meeting a famous person. for the longest time all i knew about ds9 was that cardassian guy wanted to FUCK that gay little doctor, so it was a little hilarious that in his first scene he was asking a woman* out on a date. sir do you not know you're gay?? even funnier was the fact that out of everybody in the pilot he had the least lines. we barely know him, but we finally met him. relatedly, i can't to wait to meet more cardassians, especially The cardassian. so far, they're still all gay.

*jadzia!!! gnc/trans queen! the trill stuff is SO interesting and watching that worm slither in and out of people during those flashbacks was so wonderful but also made me wince. i love that she used to be an old man and the jokes about it are actually really funny without feeling transphobic or anything SO FAR. who knows if that changes. i feel like we haven't gotten much yet from her either but i cannot wait.

SISKO. damn. where do i even...first of all, he should be allowed to bite kick kill picard. i say this as someone who experienced a genuine THRILL of pleasure upon seeing picard's borged self again. i loved that whole thing, i'm obsessed with the borg. that it comes back in this small way in ds9, and has such a HUGE impact on the storyline, was so so so fucking good. i always say tng tells and not shows, but even after just knowing sisko for a few moments i felt keenly how much it devastated to find his wife like that and THAT WAS JUST FROM THE FIRST SCENE. and it only gets better! he's a great dad. he's FUNNY. he is not above manual labor. he wants to tear picard limb from limb. and he exists HERE.

the wormhole alien sequence was. so good. it was SO GOOD. explaining linear time to aliens. the aliens using his memories to talk to him. HE EXISTS HERE. back and back and BACK to finding his wife in the rubble because HE EXISTS HERE. he CHOOSES to exist here. he existed there when he applied for a transfer to earth. he existed there when he confronted picard. he never left the ship because HE NEVER LEFT THE SHIP. they dragged him out but they COULDN'T DRAG HIM OUT. he exists here because he won't leave her to exist here alone because damn it we can't just leave her here. that was the most insane series of events i ever watched. like, because at first you DO think it's the aliens taking him back there BUT IT'S HIM. HE IS DOING IT TO HIMSELF. when the penny dropped i got literal chill bumps and when the aliens said "it's not linear" and he, openly weeping, replied "it's NOT linear," i genuinely, truly, shed a tear along with him. TNG COULD NEVER. none of those miserable fucks EVER cry!!! sisko did it in the god damn pilot!!!!!!!

and like, the fact that he can choose to stay at the space station at the end, to shake picard's hand, to exist SOMEWHERE ELSE. AAAAAUGHGHGHG

i really loved the final confrontation, too. kira is so so so so good, again, i LOVE that she smiles when she's angry, when she's sad, and it's not a fake smile, it's genuine and honest emotion, and she's genuinely and honestly going to start eating the cardassians for sport if they don't leave her alone. it was very scrappy, them pretending to be bigger and badder than they actually were because they had no other choice. you get the feeling everybody on the station and indeed the station itself is barely holding together, and what little togetherness is present comes from sheer spite.

anyway, absolutely 10/10. i was so worried ds9 wouldn't be good but it not only met my most furtive hopes it surpassed them with flying colors. it's gonna be REAL hard to go back to tng after this.

[mrbensonmum]

TV Shows - Bull VI

So, the fourth season of Bull comes to an end, and it's less spectacular than I thought. I'm not sure why, but somehow I was expecting a bigger bang. The second season ends with a severely battered Jason Bull lying in front of the courthouse because, due to his lifestyle, he suffered a heart attack. The end of the third season is a bit exciting but not quite as spectacular, so I thought there would be another big finale, but that wasn't the case.

I don't want to say that the episode was harmless because it absolutely wasn't. Taylor had to endure a lot, and that was already the second, if you count it, maybe even the third episode where a case puts her in the spotlight. No one else on the team has received so many cases and episodes. As always, not a complaint, just an observation.

However, I'm also torn here because one part of me would like to see more of Dr. Jason Bull and his team, while the other part is quite satisfied with these four seasons. Both sides are actually quite balanced, which rarely happens to me.

I'll leave out my usual points here; thanks to the other posts, they should be well known. A new addition is that sometimes I wish they would integrate Izzy and Little Bull (I can't remember the baby's name right now) more. A mix of Papa Bull and the Bull from season one, I'm starting again, would be something exciting.

But otherwise, I really enjoyed the series and liked watching it. A big point is that it's not so long. I don't know, CSI: Las Vegas was somehow intense with its 15 seasons, and since then, I've been a bit scared of such long series. At some point, it feels like a strange burden, and you "have to" keep watching. Of course, I'm only talking about myself, but I still find it strange. On the other hand, you don't have the long search in the streaming services when you want to watch something else or new. That's sometimes even more exhausting and stressful than the mentioned burden.

I'm curious when the last two seasons will become available. I calculated over the weekend that I pay 30€ for streaming services, and that's definitely too much for me. I'd like to cut something there, but I'm not sure what. This is making me wish for a service that has everything, but with all the chaos of licenses here in Europe and Germany, that dream will probably always remain just that, a dream.

At the moment, due to May 4th, Star Wars is still predominant. I've watched the movies and am considering which series I might still watch. I think I'm missing a season of The Mandalorian, and otherwise, I haven't seen anything from Ahsoka, Andor, The Bad Batch, Rebels, and Clone Wars, and I think there are still quite a few series missing, but those are the ones that come to mind right now.

For this reason, I'm not exactly sure what will come next here. I have to admit, Dr. House has been the most fun and has also generated the most resonance. Voyager was also good, but at the moment, I'm lacking a bit of the nerve for it. However, Deep Space Nine would also be due again because especially with all the Star Trek stuff that has come and is coming, I like to refer to DS9 again and again, but I haven't watched it in a long time.

[olderthannetfic]

Lol I guess a 3rd part to this DS9 ask: 1. The person who I’m p sure “started” Siskoshir did make multiple posts suggesting the reason the fandom isn’t more into it is racism. It’s not just later misinterpretation 2. A lot of people who buy into it seem to believe POC/POC is automatically more progressive than POC in other combos, 3. That said it is weird how little fic and shipping Sisko as the MC gets. I just feel like it makes more sense to base it on his canon dynamics. Why isn’t there more Siskodax!

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The MC...? That's not how I remember that show being at all. It's an ensemble, and they didn't always give Sisko the juicy plots. But I also haven't watched it since the 90s and don't actually care about any of these ships. Heh.

[coffeeastronaut]

oh also top 5 shows :) i need more show recommendations and you have good taste

i feel really normally about our flag means death and so i wont do you the discourtesy of saying that 5 times over. with that said

our flag means death it really is very lovey and heart felt and funny and i just :) romcom of the century ensemble cast of the century

santa clarita diet is really fun! its a bit nasty sometimes but its also really charming. very funny! it's about a woman whos turning into a zombie and how that affects her + her family, primarily her husband. it's full of hijinks. my quirky white realtors <3

i can't not say star trek at least once here. pick a show and go forth- tng is my favorite bc i grew up on it, data is there. tos is also a delight and a lot more campy, spock is there. ds9 is the ever iconic + has an overarching story- i would recommend watching tng first, though, since it gives a lot of context to ds9. standard warning for all of these that theyre old as fuck so be prepared for casual racism + misogyny even if theyre trying to be woke about it (for the time)

COLUMBO!!!!!!! WHAT a delight. it's a very comfortable thing to watch. go columbo go!!!!!!!

i haven't watched it in years but i fuckign LOVED white collar as a kid. like enough that i think it'll hold up even now. huge proponent in my love of heists and cons and grifting now. what if you were the fbi agent who caught me and i was the best con literally ever and we had to work together on catching other cons? and you had a swaggy wife? and i had a weirdo friend? and we were both boys? not a ship thing thats just the dynamic of the show

m realizing i watch very little tv shows. i opened netflix to try and remeber things that ive watched and it literally was liek 'ya youve literally only ever watched baahubali and these un reccomendable nostalgia shows. wanna watch baahubali again? so these arent very good.