#i think odo would have face book

[walkingstackofbooks]

cw: child abuse

Once again, I got to the point where some comfort ought to have kicked in, and stopped... I'm sorry, I don't deliver closure, only hurt aha 😅

--

"I got grounded for a month after that," Miles finished sheepishly. Julian laughed.

"And you say that's your worst? My parents once grounded me from June through to August - and I lost food privileges once a week, too!"

Far from the round of laughter and "What did you do?"s he was expecting, he was greeted with a stunned silence. He raised his eyebrows, looking around at his friends in confusion.

"What do you mean, "food privileges"?" Sisko asked. Julian shrugged.

"Just, you know, my access to food was revoked for the day, or evening, or whatever time they'd set, and think about what I'd done."

"I'm sorry, your parents starved you once a week for three months?"

"You're making it sound worse than it was," Julian defended. "It wasn't that bad."

"Not being allowed to eat is pretty bad, Julian," Jadzia said, and from expressions on the others' faces, it seemed they agreed. He shrugged again, wishing he'd never said anything.

"What had you done?" asked Miles.

Just seconds ago, Julian had been ready to spin an impish tale of the two days he'd spent hiding away in the woods, but he has a sinking feeling his friends weren't going to see the funny side of this, either.

"I ran away. For two nights," he replied. "Funnily enough, it's more difficult than you'd expect from the way adventure books make it sound."

Odo harrumphed, but otherwise his joke fell flat.

"So you can see why they were mad," he continued. "When I turned back up again, they were thinking they were going to have to involve the police, and that would have been all sorts of awful."

"You went missing for two nights and they didn't--" The captain cut himself off, shaking his head. Julian looked away; Sisko seemed angry, and he wasn't sure how that made him feel.

"How old were you?" asked Kira.

"Fifteen," Julian replied. "It was just after I found out about, um, my genetic enhancements. Which is why it would have been so hard to explain, if, you know, they'd told the police about me."

"I can't believe this," says Miles. "You're saying you were so upset at finding out your parents had given you illegal enhancements that you ran away, and not only did they choose not to report you were missing, but when you came back, they punished you for being upset rather than, oh, I don't know, apologising?!"

Julian suddenly felt very small and stupid. "Well, when you put it like that--" he chuckled weakly, trying and failing to keep his voice light. Jadzia leant over to take his hand, and he knew he shouldn't push it away.

"I don't know," he said quietly, slumping back against his seat. "I guess, yeah - that's what I'm saying."

There was another silence. The outrage had died down, and now it seemed that no-one knew quite what to say. Jadzia's hand was beginning to feel oppressively warm.

"Food privileges," Sisko muttered, seemingly to himself, disdain dripping off each word. Hell. In hindsight, Julian really ought to have guessed how little his captain would approve of that one.

[respocked]

Mora Pol and Odo raising the baby changeling is actually so deep to me and think their conversations over Odo's "childhood" are very complex

And I feel like most people I see on DS9 lean very heavily to just hating on Mora and seeing him as an abuser and seeing all of Odo's uncertainity and guilt as like stockholm syndrome or just the writers being cowards and feeling the need to have the character respect and forgive the parental figure

And I feel like this, however justified, does kind of flatten what is going on in Odo's mind a little bit

The way Odo was "raised" bears a strong resemblance to ABA "therapy" and other ways children are taught (or more suitably, threatened into or forced) to display the "correct" behaviours. Pol's method are rooted in behaviourism - when Odo shifts for the first time, it's to stop the applied painful stimulus.

This sort of abuse is most commonly associated with ABA abuse, but behaviourism is generally the foundation of most of traditional school systems. The correct behaviour is rewarded, and the incorrect one is punished. In the more liberal systems this could be done with verbal praise and degradation, sticker charts, symbolic shame punishments (standing in corners), and in the more violent ones bodily harm is used or threatened. The child is esentially trained like a dog.

I genuinely don't think DS9 writers had these views or the level of awareness (granted, I know nothing about historical views on autism in usa) but Odo genuinely works like a great autism & ABA survivor allegory. He was forced (with the threat of violence - the electric shock) to construct a facade of "humanity" (or in this case, bajoranity?) and display a full range of "human"/"bajoran" behaviours - which were to him not natural or needed. His mask is literal, because he literally shapeshifts into a face.

The thing is that it's also mastering the display of the mask is what leads him into his emancipation. Becase Odo is capable of appearing as humanoid and integrating into humanoid society, he can pursuade his "carers" to give him freedom. His freedom and dignity are dependent on the fact he could shift into a suitable form and advocate for himself.

And I think that's why Odo is not certain about Mora Pol's methods, and why when he attempts to raise the baby Changeling non-violently he is plagued with self-doubt. It's because all he has - his job he likes, his friends, his freedom - he has "because" of what was done to him.

Now, we, the audience, know that's not true. We have good grounds to theorize that Odo, raised in a loving and nurturing way, could also learn how to shapeshift, even if his development wasn't as fast as Mora would have liked, if it was "delayed" or "incorrect". But Odo will never meet the untraumatized version of himself.

And this is why I have seen many survivors of ABA or other behaviouristic pedagogic methods defend what was done to them or be unable to determine if it was good or bad, despite admitting the pain it has caused them - because the trauma forced them to display behaviours on which their acceptance into society was dependent. And they want that acceptance. Masking is tiring and it sucks that it's a necessity - but it is a useful skill to have (even though in a better society it wouldn't be).

The conversation Odo has with Mora Pol when Mora is unpleased with the changeling's not fast enough progress is reflection of many I heard in education. If the child is "behind", if "they're not meeting developmental stages", should force be applied? Should the parents and teachers be "stricter"? The educator who wants normalization says yes, they need to develop skills. The other educator (Odo) says: no, there is no need to rush them. We need to show them the joy of reading books/math/sports/shapeshifting, because doing these things can be very fun and rewarding. It's not a race. And the first educator responds: but they're behind!

And like. If you've been raised in Mora Pol's way (regarding whether it was the conventional school system or outright abuse like ABA) and have gained the skills expected of you, then it can be very hard to assert yourself. Because you don't know if you would be better off without it.

You have the urge to say "If you didn't throw me in the water when I was afraid, I would have learned to swim anyway". But the little voice in your head (the one that sounds like your stepfather/1st grade teacher/swim instructor/bajoran scientist) says "but would you? You were taking forever standing on the edge. You would have never gotten in!". And you can't argue with this, because the little child who wasn't pushed in - they don't exist, they never got to.

And Odo can't meet the Odo who was shown the joy of shapeshifting instead.

And like, idk this conflict resonates with me a lot. Maybe because I am also a former child. Maybe bc I am in education and this is a debate I both witness and take part in often.

Is it worth it to apply pressure to a child to force them to develop life skills? Obviously it is pointless and cruel to force children to conform to arbitrary norms, such as making eye contact or hugging. But what about building independence? Are skills worth it if a child has to suffer? Is happiness more important than independence, and is happiness without independence possible - not just in theory, but in real situations that unindependent individuals end up in? Et cetera, at cetera. Obviously in most situations the answers are clear, but occassionally they aren't. And every time I tell a child to stop talking when others are, or do this, or walk that way, or whatever, I always think - what is the boundary where "installing valuable skills" ends and "forcing the child into a human mask" starts? I do think there is a value in living in a society and learning skills that help us all get along better, like communicating or not chewing with your mouth open. But how much "out of comfort zone" is needed for it to become the "pain, discomfort and fear" zone?

Yeah I don't fucking know 👍And neither does Odo. And damn do I relate to him a Lot because I also have a humanoid form I shift into and boy! It Is Slipping!

PS In this post I only spoke about a subsection of low support needs individuals that gained masking skills and their feelings, bc I felt like they related to Odo's situations. It's important to know that's not everybody. For every child who learnt how to read bc they got screamed at there is a child who didn't learn and got screamed at anyway. I don't want to imply these ABA-adjacent methods are traumatic but "effective" bc in many cases they aren't and it's important to remember that 👍

[starfightervicki]

ANIMORPHS BOOK CLUUUB!

I've read the whole series, but it was a long time ago and my memory sucks, so there will be a lot of surprises along the way. I've tried rereading the series a few times recently, but my attention span also sucks and books have been challenging for me.

I'm not sure what I have to say about The Invasion. It's good? I like it?

It's so fucked up that Visser Three eats Elfangor, holy shit my parents wouldn't have let me read it if they knew. I told my dad relatively recently, and his O_O face was a wonder to behold.

But that's hardly saying anything new.

Unless you're reading this because you follow me, not because you're reading the Animorphs tags. If so, hi! There's an Animorphs Tumblr book club happening. The Invasion was published in June of 1996. I was… let me math this out… no, let me have a website math this for me…

I was twelve.

And this wasn't a "reading past my age level" situation, oh no. I was the target audience.

It's so fucked up that Visser Three eats Elfangor, holy shit my parents wouldn't have let me read it if they knew.

I love animals, so it's no wonder that Animorphs sucked me in. I also love body horror, so it's extra no wonder that Animorphs sucked me in. I also love stories that feature outsiders (Data, Odo, Tobias, Ax), and aggressive women (Ivanova, Rachel), so it's extra extra no wonder that Animorphs sucked me in. And I love scifi/fantasy so it's extra extra extra no wonder that Animorphs sucked me in.

Anyway, some scattered thoughts:

At the beginning, Jake says he won't tell us where he lives.

It's San Francisco.

The Invasion establishes that everyone lives close to a beach. Close enough that it's completely unremarkable for the Sharing to meet there, invite kids to meet there, and for kids to get there independently. Therefore, they live on a coast.

I worked out San Francisco from book fourteen, The Unknown. Short version, San Francisco's the closest coastal city to Area 51.

Side note: I've been there, I've frozen my ears off on the Golden Gate Bridge, why do I misspell it every fucking time?

Let's see, what else…

Early in the series, I don't much like Marco.

I like characters who jump into the plot the moment there's a plot to jump into. I don't like reluctant heroes.

C'mon, Marco. (C'mon, Mat Cauthorn.) This is happening. I know it's happening, because it's a book and you're clearly a main character. Stop cluttering the page with trying to make this not happen.

I do feel for him. He knows the risks, and what his death would do to his father.

It hits a bit differently now that I've been processing some stuff about my teenage years and my mother. Then again, this is You're A Kid, This Should Never Have Been Your Responsibility: The Series.

For most of my life, I thought Tobias got himself trapped as a hawk on purpose and lied about it to the other Animorphs. The way he talked about morphing made Jake worried that he was going to, so that's not unfounded.

Plus, I'd be tempted. I wouldn't do it, but I'd definitely think about it. Dogs get to be happy.

I'd also spend a lot of time morphing other humans, and fuck the ethics of it. In my daydreams, I blend the morphs together like Ax does later on, so I wouldn't be impersonating anyone. But even if I were impersonating someone, fuck it. Autism is genetic, and mine is disabling.

Anyway, I've since decided that even though it'd be very in character for Tobias to trap himself as a hawk on purpose, it would've come up in his POV books.

Rachel. Racheeel! My amazing Xena, my beautiful badass. She shines more later on than now, but it doesn't take long.

Cassieee! Animal girl, heart and conscience of the Animorphs. No cover in the series makes me Feel Things the way the butterfly does. Again, she'll shine more later on, but she has one of the most beautifully heartbreaking moments in The Invasion.

`And Cassie had gotten away clean. It had been the suspicious Controller policeman who had grabbed her. He was the only Controller to know her name, where she lived, and that she had been spying on The Sharing.`And Cassie had gotten away clean. It had been the suspicious Controller policeman who had grabbed her. He was the only Controller to know her name, where she lived, and that she had been spying on The Sharing.

Cassie said we didn't have to worry about him anymore. She didn't want to talk about what had happened to him.

And K.A. Applegate had that happen with Cassie.

Heartbreak.

As for Jake…

I think I'll like him more this time around. I have an unfortunate habit of overlooking the leaders.

[noitsbecky127]

rebecca watches ds9: the wire

alright I skipped liveblogging the last few episodes but I’ve heard enough about this one to know I gotta resume for it. I’ll detail my future liveblogging plans after the ep, let’s go

wait i want to hear more about these aliens that don’t acknowledge the concept of time

“entertaining one of your lady friends?” cmon garak julian wouldn’t cheat on you

time for the regularly scheduled homoerotic book club

a story chronicling seven generations? that feels like too many imo

cardassian literature sounds boring

garak is not fine and i know this bc of osmosis. i’m not quite sure what’s wrong with him but i know it’s bad and i know julian is gonna bust his ass to fix his bf

garak is gonna be the WORST patient isn’t he

i love kira coming in to ask what that was about. local lesbian is concerned about her bi friend and his questionable situationship

that’s an unusual patient you have there julian

jadzia why did you think his medical knowledge would extend to plants

loving the continuation of the “i’m a doctor, not a x”

the impact of bones cannot be overstated

thank god for dr google

“maybe he just doesn’t like going to see the doctor” idk man if i was in love with my doctor i’d probably enjoy checkups more

if having lunch together every week for over a year doesn’t qualify as friendship then what does? i would definitely call that friendship

“if he doesn’t want my help, that’s his prerogative” - man about to force his help on his bf

ah he’s trying out some spying of his own

quark stop manhandling julian lmao

sisko getting hurt from yelling is a mood

julian is doing everything and then some to get answers here

oh god drunk garak

“i’ll make it up to you 😏”

he invited julian back to his quarters and they have a bottle of alcohol. unfortunately i don’t think he’s in any state to consent rn

oh shit down he goes

an implant? guessing it’s malfunctioning somehow and that’s fucking him up

well no one’s better at getting info from quark than odo is

monitoring all of quark’s communications is probably illegal but it’s quark so i can’t exactly condemn it

quark is having a zoom meeting with a random cardassian

i want to kill this random cardassian

obsidian order? i’ve heard that term on the internet but i don’t think it’s been mentioned in the show yet

ah ok the cardassian FBI

i doubt the implant is a punishment device. i wonder what it actually is though

garak continues to be the world’s worst patient

that must be a painkiller of some kind

��i thought i was supposed to be the spy” you’ve been eating lunch with julian for over a year and you didn’t expect to rub off on him?

“it can’t be removed” never doubt julian bashir’s ability to do the impossible

oh ok garak’s from the obsidian order then. not exactly a surprise

and so the anti-pain device has become the source of pain

ohhh it’s addiction

“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!” he’s so real for that

wait but isn’t elim garak’s first name? i swear i’ve seen him called elim garak online

i’m 99% sure i’ve read “elim garak” on the internet. what is happening

there is no reason for their faces to be this close other than homosexuality

guess the cardassians removed all the info on their physiology when they left

i feel like letting odo question garak rn would go against the hippocratic oath somehow

he awakens?

not yet ig

julian waits patiently for his bf to awaken

NOW he awakens!

ok garak i’ll give you a pass bc you’re under a lot of stress rn but you gotta be nice to julian

and stop fucking this room up

if that first story wasn’t true i’m guessing the second isn’t either

why the fuck does he keep mentioning elim. is he elim or not. i am confusion

don’t forget handsome, garak. smug, sanctimonious, HANDSOME face

“i hate you” no you don’t

i love when star trek becomes a medical drama for a bit

i would love to watch a show that was just a star trek medical drama actually

i can’t tell whether julian’s on the verge of a breakthrough or just grasping at straws

how tf does molecular structure get changed. is that even possible. i’m an english major

whatever garak’s going to say is definitely not the truth

“elim wasn’t my aide, he was my friend” my brother in christ i’m pretty sure elim is YOU

HAND HOLDING

i cannot imagine seeing this scene on tv in 1994. i would actually go insane

is julian going to cardassia rn

is this tain?

yes it is!

julian subatoi bashir. nice name

ok he’s in cardassian space, if not on cardassia proper

julian please do not take anything to drink from the leader of the cardassian fbi

kanar is incredibly blue

i love julian threatening to ramble about his hyperfixations. adhd king

i don’t think (boy)friends let (boy)friends die

why does tain want garak to live? garak’s exiled

oh ok, survival is the punishment

“surrounded by people who hate him” it’s ok he has a bf

ok yeah he’s elim. guess i wasn’t supposed to know that. whoops

garak’s all better now! and ready for his weekly lunch dates again

“i have nothing to hide” - man who didn’t tell his friend his first name for over a year

books are in tubes in the future? fun

and so the homoerotic book club resumes

“they’re all true, especially the lies” - man who has never said anything true in his life

there is no heterosexual explanation for that smile from julian

i don’t know how any gay people in 1994 survived this episode. i’d have lost my mind

ok chat here’s how my liveblogging is gonna go from here on out. I’m gonna liveblog when I feel like it, or when an episode seems like I should (be it from the thumbnail or my having heard of it). I am not all-knowing so I would like you guys to keep me informed on episodes coming up that I should be sure to liveblog. Thanks in advance

Also I love getting replies to these posts! I’d love for more people to leave them, even if it’s just saying what you thought of the episode. Talking to the void can get discouraging. Again, thanks in advance!

[slippery-domjot-balls]

I am grateful that Odo and the changelings were limited in their powers on screen, even if it primarily was due to budget limits. If they had full access to the amazing range of their abilities it could have made some other characters redundant or even irrelevant.

In some of the books their powers are ridiculous. Odo fights another changeling in the vacuum of space in Peter David's The Siege. In the same book a murderous changeling flows his form into all points of entry in a Cardassian's face and then rapidly expands his form to kill him.

We know that when a Founder changes form into an object they basically assume some of the properties of the object. Odo states in an episode that if he took the form of a rock a tricorder reading would only find a rock.

However, in that form would that mean on a chemical or molecular level he is a rock? To be clear, he now holds all the exact properties of a rock and is not merely disguised as a rock? He would be a literal rock?

These powers make me think of Metamorpho from DC.

[littlewalken]

ap 2

Did some puttering with my latest Garashir idea. Settled on 'as long as we're together'. If the dear doctor had left quietly after I Presume we know Garak would have gone with him. Then when Starfleet left the station the Bajoran government would have insisted he come back, Odo would have told Dukat if anything happened to Garak that Cardassia would be erased from existence, and Weyoun would be all don't make Founder angry.

On the other side of life a habit of eating a "breakfast bar" in the morning will end with the last two boxes I bought, both less processed handful of ingredients ones as opposed to previous ones, to see how that affects my general health. I don't eat as much processed food as I suppose the average American eats, and I don't eat out much or drink soda because I just don't, but because of my anemia and life long war with cruciferous vegetables there isn't much I can comfortably digest.

I eat frozen what vegetables I can, mostly plain not sauced and cheesed ones, frozen is easier to make only what we need for a meal so no leftovers, I definitely eat meat because cauliflower and I are lucky to have called a cease fire. No supplements, the blood builder and my liver did not get along and the fish oil set off my ocular migraines so bad I have to plan when and if I eat any of it. Not shellfish tho but fake crab, I don't miss fish sticks or fried fish patties.

A year in this place without a gas leak and I know I've lost weight, I just know my joints would be happier if I lost some more. Wish I could exercise more but walking is hit or miss. Still I feel that I'm doing pretty good and aren't as fat or immobile as I could be if I gave up on myself.

Plans to go to the blend in with the humans club today. I'm taking the replica Bebe face doll, her fabric, and some sewing tools. The iPad and drawing box, with reference pics and an analog sketch book, will be going too incase I want ot do that instead.

Did write a few paragraphs yesterday to work out a few things. I think I can add some of it to an older GArashir story I've been working on. I definitely feel ready to start either typing up one of the two longer stories I recently wrote or start fleshing out something else that is ready to go. The theme park story, which in a way is okay but wants to try a different tone, and the mask story, which isn't sure if it wants a strait thru narration or to bounce around in its time line, are next.

Or I might just get to tidying up the "commonplace book" files for easier enjoyment of the things I've collected.

[loisfreakinglane]

has anyone asked disco yet? also ds9 also idk whatever the movies are called i can’t keep track of these things

OOOOOOOOOOH SO MANY TREKS!

disco!

The first character I first fell in love with: 

MICHAEL!!!!!!!!!!! THAT FACE. FOREVER.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

emperor georgiou is so evil and i adore her she is my EVERYTHING

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

no one springs to mind?

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

lorca was just suuuuuch a good character including all the villainy. ALSO I LOVED AIRIAM AND HER DEATH EP HIT ME HARD

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

mmmmmmmm i've just....... gotten really ambivalent about gabrielle

The character I would totally smooch: 

ash, michael, book

The character I’d want to be like: 

JETT RENO, ICON

The character I’d slap: 

lorca?????? LELAND

A pairing that I love:

ASH/MICHAEL. also ash/pike i am what i am

A pairing that I despise: 

hmmmm the fact lorca/michael exists in some universe makes me shudder

DS9!

The first character I first fell in love with: 

it was either benjamin or julian

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

GOD SO MANY PPL THO???? a huuuuuuuuge one is rom. i found him so obnoxiously weak willed at the beginning lol. ALSO O'BRIEN. oh and nog!!!!!!!!!!

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

nobody comes to mind!

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

DO PPL HATE QUARK BC HE'S AN ASSHOLE BUT I FIND HIM SOOOOOOOO ENTERTAINING. also ezri! we never should have lost jadzia but ezri was adorable

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

i used to be way more into odo at the beginning of the show. still love him but i just got less and less interested

The character I would totally smooch: 

bashir is top of the list

The character I’d want to be like: 

can i say lwaxana troi or will u judge me

The character I’d slap: 

dukat obvsly. also quark! bc i love him but he deserves it!

A pairing that I love:

BASHIR/GARAK OTP 5EVERRRRRRRR

A pairing that I despise: 

why did they try to make ezri/bashir happen out of nowhere

star trek chris pine movies i think you're saying??

The first character I first fell in love with: 

KIRK! MY LOVE!

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

i was so mad about sofia's character being a fully painted alien that i didn't expect how much i would ADOOOOOOORE jaylah. BUT I DO. MY BABY.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

nobody??? i can't think of anyone lol

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

I LOVE CAROL MARCUS SHE IS MY SPACE MOM

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

n/a

The character I would totally smooch: 

spock tops the list. then uhura, kirk, sulu, carol, etc lol

The character I’d want to be like: 

SPACE MOMMMMMMM

The character I’d slap: 

fake khan that piece of shit

A pairing that I love:

kirk/spock/uhura are an ot3 of dreams. also i fucking love both spock/uhura and kirk/carol leave me alooooooooone

A pairing that I despise: 

n/a! SO MUCH N/A

[respocked]

When I hate on them I actually mean TNG's one when they bring Tasha Yar back from the dead (by showing us her in an alternate timeline) only to have her entire arc be falling for some extremely bland guy! And choosing to die with him! (Yesterday's Enterprise) Death sentence tbh.

Also several TOS episodes which basically are just "being sexist to Kirk's woman of the week". Ew. Gross.

Ok but the ones I like: (some spoilers ahead but not too much. Also sorry for doing a listicle out of your post I couldn't help myself)

TOS Requiem for Methuselah:

Ok so this is Kirk and his love interest. But this ain't about them. What's insane about this episode is that it ends with Kirk upset over the loss of his one-episode love and there is this whole thing with Spock with like - is it better to feel and be heartbroken, or is it better to never feel at all? And the last scene is just Kirk asleep, face down, and Spock comes over, mind-melds, and says "Forget." AND THE EPISODE ENDS. This is one of the craziest things to happen btw. What do you mean he does this. This is insane. also unethical to just brainwash people in their sleep but whatever.

This doesn't really count as like a "love interest episode I like" but I included it bc I wanted to talk about it.

TOS The Enterprise Incident

I feel bad for liking this one because the actress who played the unnamed Romulan Commander didn't want the love story aspect here - (per Nana Visitor's book) but it's a good one! Spock does some espionage and the Commander is the one woman who I actually do see him having chemistry with and would like to explore further. She both actually has an interest in him sexually but is also intelligent and calculating - so it's not just another "Dumb Woman pines after Smart Spock" ship.

TNG The Inner Light

I'm not actually sure if this counts (he gets a whole family not just the love interests) but this is one of the best TNG episodes. And they do actually bring it up one time after that (he keeps the flute and plays it) which is crazy.

DS9 The Forsaken

Odo/Lwaxana was kind of the ship that was never going to happen. Lwaxana is one of my favourite characters despite her constant characterization insisting that "mature" women's sexuality is gross, funny and embarassing - kind of almost all TNG gags include people going "oh no Lwaxana is flirting with me!". But she is actually a kind, vibrant and brave character and I love her a lot.

And I love this episode... In the turbolift scene Odo has to revert back to goo, but he's ashamed and struggling. Lwaxana takes off her wig to make him more comfortable : ) and he melts and she holds him in her dress. Which is so tender and loving. Their platonic supportive relationship (in later seasons Odo helps Lwaxana escape an abusive husband) is cute, but still... what if, you know.

DS9 Chimera

This goes on here! If Laas wad played by a woman actress, this would absolutely be regarded as a Love interest episode. But he's not, and as a result we have the most fucking heartbreaking homosexuality/neurodivergence metaphor ever. This episode made me question my life, every relationship I ever had and the meaning of life and everytime I think about it I have to take 5 minutes to blankly stare into a wall. What a fucking episode.

And it's perfect in the aspect of having the interest actually not come out nowhere but play on the character's established personality and problems. It's just so good.

Y’all really don’t like the alien of the week romance episodes? :( even when they are kinda funny :( even when it means there is a beautiful woman on the screen :( even when it gives us different characterization than we usually see :( for real :(

[marxistgnome]

On the one hand i think star trek not really having an internet equivalent is cool cos it shiws we developed an entire new and possibly better system, similar to how holosuites replaced film and tv, and it slso lets me speculate about whether internet connection as we know it works in deep space or 9ver long interstellar distances (idk how the internet works so i get to just imagine). But on the other hand it would be funny if data was a twitch streamer.

[cowboyworf]

i think we should have just had a lwaxana bonding episode for every character in ds9.

sisko: a little confused, but very amused. would show her old videos of baseball, she would talk about how great their butts look in uniform.

kira: horrified at first, but then they would find solidarity over being strong women who have faced adversity. episode has very strong gay energy.

jadzia: best friends immediately. gossips constantly. makes worf uncomfortable over how much lwaxana knows how his sex life. tricks julian and garak into a "one bed" situation. wins dabo repeatedly, much to quark's disdain. also gay.

julian: victim of the "one bed" situation, but is definitely also a gossip buddy. is pleasantly surprised at how intelligent lwaxana is and they have lunch often. lwaxana asks about cardassian anatomy with dubious motives, which julian doesn't notice.

garak: he is shocked by her vulgarity. secretly loves it. he treats her with utmost respect and surprises her with handmade gowns. only participates in gossip if he thinks it will be beneficial. also a victim of the "one bed" situation.

quark: he hates how much she wins at the dabo table, but is drawn to her because he loves strong women. she loves his wardrobe and they go shopping together. he falls in love over how she haggles prices on his behalf. discuss goo dick, naturally. she doesn't tell anyone he smuggled tribbles on board for some convoluted money making scheme and that's why ds9 is now infested.

worf: he is extremely uncomfortable around her, but she earns his respect once he realizes what a strong "warrior" she is for overcoming her trauma. she visits him in his quarters when he is definitely not hiding from the tribbles. he will only use her entire title to address her and though he acts indifferent toward her, he brings her a klingon artifact as a gift for when she departs.

rom & leeta: she takes on leeta as another daughter and buys rom a new wardrobe. rom thinks she is wonderful and is completely unphased by how extravagant she is. "moogi would love you." she gets into contact with moogi and they have a life long friendship. also kind of gay.

jake & nog: participates in pranks with them. comes up with most of the prank ideas and they all are directed at odo. secretly funds a book deal for jake and writes letters praising nog to the academy every six months. gives them good life advice. gives them very bad life advice.

ezri: she also takes on ezri as another daughter. is very gentle with her and protective. teaches her that crying is not indicative of weakness and checks in with her every single day. tries to dress her up in extravagant clothing, but gives up.

dukat: spits in his fucking face

[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!

[sapphosewrites]

Also you know what it's short enough that I'm just going to put it here as well:

“Frankly, I’m surprised you agreed to this.”

“I did not agree. I was… overruled.”

“You and Constable Odo. He told me this morning he would much rather keep me in the holding cell.”

“You should not have lied.”

“Everything I said was the absolute truth.”

“You do not regret your actions.”

“Of course I do. I regret getting caught before I finished accessing the torpedoes, and I rather regret you hitting me.”

“That is not what I meant.”

“It isn’t my fault that the Federation has such ridiculous notions about 'restorative justice' and 'repairing harm'. Really, I find the whole thing deeply foolish.”

“I am not interested in having you repair anything.”

“It was either make things right with the officer I assaulted, or spend more time as Constable Odo’s guest in Security. Not much of a choice.”

“You talk too much.”

“There’s no reason to be rude. I think you’ll find me a very enjoyable conversation partner if we find the right topic. The doctor and I have some wonderful discussions about literature.”

“I do not want to talk with you about books.”

“There’s some Cardassian novels I think you might appreciate. Have you ever heard of The Chain Unmade ?”

“No, and I do not want to.”

“Oh, but I’d love a Klingon opinion on whether the main character’s actions are honorable. You see, he’s trying to exonerate his disgraced father, who was accused of colluding with the enemy and causing the deaths of innocent civilians. The protagonist discovers that his father was in fact taking the blame for someone else, in order to prevent a civil war, and agrees to go into exile rather than reveal what he knows, because it would undermine the stability of the state if anyone else were to find out.”

“That is not amusing.”

“You're right, it isn't. Sacrifice for the greater good of the state is a pillar of Cardassian society. Of course, the fact that there was a conspiracy at all made the novel rather unpopular in some corners, but I always admired the protagonist. Exile is a terrible thing, and he faced it without fear, for the good of his state.”

“In the Klingon Empire, it is called discommendation, not exile.”

“Call it whatever you like, I don’t imagine the name makes it any less lonely.”

"You have been reading classified files."

"It's only a story."

“And you are wrong about the ending.”

“What do you mean?”

“The civil war was only delayed, not prevented. But when it broke out, he returned from exile to protect his people again, and his honor was restored.”

“That’s the difference between Klingon and Cardassian stories, I’m afraid. In Cardassia, the sentence is always final.”

“Discommendation was… lonely. But even in exile, he was never alone.”

“I suppose that’s another difference between Klingons and Cardassians.”

“I do not read novels. Perhaps we could discuss opera instead.”

“My dear commander, I would be delighted.”

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Elim Garak & Worf Characters: Elim Garak, Worf (Star Trek:TNG/DS9) Additional Tags: Post-Episode: s04e26 Broken Link, Dialogue-Only Summary:

As part of his sentence for assaulting an officer, Garak is supposed to work to repair the relationship. Neither he nor the officer in question are thrilled about the idea, but they find an unexpected common ground.

—

I’ve been wanting to write something post Broken Link poking at how baffled Garak would be if the Federation tried restorative justice rather than carceral punishment, but couldn’t figure out what to do with that idea. Then today it hit me like a bolt of lightning (I literally stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk, which was a bad idea, do not recommend) that Worf had also been exiled during TNG, and this conversation was born.

[pollyna]

Garak arrival at Tarak Nor doesn't go unnoticed but, even if he's in exile, he's still Tain's protege and everyone and their mothers are afraid of him. So he has more free time than ever, his new job is relatively easily once he learns how to do it and trying to kill Gul Dukat is fulfilling for just a couple of hours the first week he's on the station. The man is quiet boring and not important enough to really attempt to his life.

Garak's day is spent sewing, reading, eating food that doesn't taste of much and hoarding secrets, one after another. But, even if he speaks most of the Kardasi's dialect and a good number of other languages, bajoran is almost alien for him. It takes him weeks to really understood a full sentence, during a lunch between two workers, and his life would be a little less miserable if he had, like everybody else, a UT but it doesn't work well with Tain's implant and the implant is more important than is own life.

By the time Tarak Nor becomes Deep Space 9 and Bajor is free, Garak knows how to speak Bajoran and three of it's dialect, Standard, a decent amount of Trill, Japanese and Arabic. For them, for the Federation just as for his fellow cardassians, there's no reason to think he doesn't have the UT and that he actually speaks all that languages.

After all the mess with the implant, doctor Bashir little trip to find Tain and a solution to save him, some adjustment to his quarters, is captain Sisko who asks him about the lack of UT and Garak laughs in his face with the little grace he has left. They don't dispense them for plain, simple tailors captain. Nobody tried to talk about him about it or to talk to him in general.

It's routine goes back to the one he had with the Cardassian's around, sewing, eating food that doesn't taste like much, reading to many books and trying to exercise a little, in the middle of the night when sleep doesn't come and the pain makes him almost blind(*). Odo still checks on him and Quark tries to sell him replicated liquor, that he swears, come directly from the capital of Cardassia Prime. The first smirk is almost disappointed when he doesn't do much else than his work and the second persists until Garak doesn't spend almost an hour straying at him, directly in his eyes, without telling a word. Apparently he hasn't lost his touch when it come to intimidation practice.

Garak is in the middle of a discussion with a Bolian man about the cut of his pants when doctor Bashir enters his store. Garak smiles at him, always polite and compose because he's a client, before turning his attention to the other man. After forty five minutes of discussion they finally find an idea that please both of them, Garak takes a break before his next costumer and he can almost forget about doctor Bashir still being there.

The number of language you can speak is astonishing Garak and oh boy, he really wants to have a conversation, doesn't he? More than enough, doctor he smiles, now, what can I do for you today? New suit or do you need another extravagant costume for your holosuit games?

No, I'm here because I wanted to ask you if you want to have lunch with me? Maybe today? ha asks and he almost seems to stand taller while he speaks.

I have to much work to do, doctor. But thank you the same for the invitation. Why his clients are always late? He has another three and then a bride before closing for the night and doesn't want to take other work to his quarters.

I- Garak, please. I know the last month I've been cancelling our lunches but- believe me when I say it was for a good cause.

I'm sure of it, doctor. That doesn't change I have a half dozen of pants to adjust, two betazoid clients coming in for two new dresses each and a Vulcan bride who's particular picky about the shade of her dress. Maybe next week. And gods be blessed because one the betazoid woman decides to arrive just in that moment and cut off their conversation. He barley notice doctor Bashir leaving the establishment. Or, at least, it what he likes to think.

The Vulcan bride leaves the shop but she doesn't take with her the headache she caused him. Cardassians may speak in circle but Vulcans are no better with their "truth". At the end Garak has to take some work to do in his quarters anyway.

The next morning, waiting for him in front of his shop, is Odo and what it follows is the most strange and peculiar breakfast he has ever had. And he had sat at the same table with the heads of, almost, every secret agency in the Alpha Quadrant.

To that it follows a lunch with commander Dax and a reluctant major Kira, who spends the entire hour alternating between looking at him waiting for a mistake and asking him about a particular fabric for a dress she would like to order from him. And then a breakfast with Quark and Odo, a lunch with Keiko and Molly, filled with pretty drawings, long talks about plants and the promise to help her to create a space for Cardssian's flower and, maybe, to look after Molly a couple of times.

In the next two weeks Garak eats with everyone, even captain Sisko and his son, a boy too tall for his own age. But not with doctor Bashir. After the Vulcan bride problem is solved he decides to go to find the Doctor, maybe to say sorry, think about how much he missed him, and maybe the could grab a bite together if he isn't busy?

What he isn't expecting, when he chimes to Julian's door, is to find the man listening to a recorded lesson of Kardasi, while repeating some of the sentences.

Doctor Bashir? Are you going to leave Deep Space 9 to live on Cardassia?

Garak! Oh god, I was hoping to have a little more time... he answers, looking almost embarrassed.

For what exactly doctor?

When we took care of the implant I realized you didn't have an UT and I asked captain Sisko if we could procure one for you because it could have been simpler for you? Just after I realized you didn't need help because you were speaking everyone's language without problems, but no one was talking yours. And I, sorta?, decided to learn Kardasi but it took me more time that I would ever imagined and a month went by and the others decided to help? I didn't even have to ask, they did all themselves and gave me a little more time to study but I still don't grasp it enough to have a serious conversation...

Oh dear doctor, you didn't have to go and learn kardasi for me! I would have continued to talk your language without any problem!

But I wanted to. And I learned about a little about your culture and about the meaning behind all that arguing at lunch. And I would like to invite you to another one, maybe tomorrow? If you have resolved your Vulcan bridezilla problem, obviously.

Garak doesn't remember the last time his cheeks felt so hot all at once. I would be delighted, my dear. And, perhaps, I could tell you some about my Vulcan bridezilla problem.

I would be perfect, Garak. he answers before kissing him on his forehead.

—

Garak's routine doesn't change much after their first date, he still sewing, eating food that doesn't taste of much, read books but now they're from all over the galaxy and in every language he speaks. He's still learning new languages and existing without a UT. But now he rarely spends a lunch alone sometimes he gets invited to dinner by Keiko or Capitan Sisko. When he doesn't sleep and everything hurts to much there always are a couple of hands shooting his ache and talking him down most of his nightmares.

Deep Space 9 it still to damn cold and distant from what he defines has home but it's something he could learn to live, because now is not alone anymore.

(*) I don't honestly know if there's some equivalent of the Italian sentence "non vederci più dal dolore" but it seemed the most appropriate translation.

[mylittleredgirl]

trekathon: disco 1x8

in this week’s episode of star trek discovery:

saru gets zapped by a sentient version of the winamp player visualizer and proceeds to terrify the fuck out of me

intrigue! on the ship of the dead

with only a passing knowledge of latin, i assume “si vis pacem, para bellum” means “if you want peace, square the fuck up”

remember that time odo said “the klingons felt menaced by fog?” 

i feel like that’s about to become relevant

we’ve avoided this topic long enough:

so

t’kuvma shining a bright light to draw klingon ships in from around the quadrant

that whole business with the red lights appearing all over the galaxy in season two

detecting klingon ships by sonar

it’s just going to be easier on all of us if we accept that for mysterious space reasons, for a brief period of time about 10 years before captain kirk’s five-year mission, light and sound traveled at infinite speed and then we don’t worry about it anymore

yikes™️:

is there anything creepier than when a character get possessed by aliens and starts attacking their friends

with a calm smile

and it turns out they weren’t possessed after all

i mean i too would go to some lengths to get rid of anxiety but i wouldn’t donkey-kick my colleagues and destroy the federation’s last hope of ending the war!! SARU!!!!

this episode is very stressful

i posted this and then immediately realized i need like three more hours of thought before i can get into it properly, but it feels actually inevitable that saru and michael would get into a physical fight and the “you won’t stop taking!” line just. the way they’re both grieving for georgiou and he’s taking it out on her HURTS.

meanwhile, klingons:

that “scream” scene with l’rell and cornwell? a+++

i don’t remember what l’rell is after and that makes this Very Good TV

but seriously... mary chieffo creating a layered character using none of her actual face or eyes or teeth and in a language she doesn’t speak

i know things are going to go to hell before redbubble would have time to deliver, but i want lorca and cornwell and tyler to have matching “i got tortured by the klingons and lived to tell about it” jackets because that seems to happen a lot

STOP STOP I ALREADY LOVE THEM:

they really really got me with the michael and ash tyler thing, like there’s a deep wailing in my soul when i think about the ship they make me think they are setting up here

“our futures look different” 😭😫😭

i was going to keep these recaps text-only because i love mediocre memes too much to stop once i start, but there’s really no other way to express my love for ash tyler’s pickup line:

AND IT WORKS

i just want them to get on a boat together in peacetime and eat fresh trout!!! discovery!!!!! why are you doing this to me!?!!???

while i’m making vaguely relevant memes:

it’s like gersha phillips looked gene roddenberry’s ghost dead in the eye and designed these field jackets as a personal attack

other characters:

tyler and lorca have now both played the Reveal Trauma card as a diversion technique and people wonder why 100 years later it became standard to put a trained mental health professional on the bridge

in the meantime, we have tilly in the mess hall!

stamets’s mushroom hangover periodically yeets him out of this dimension oops

that definitely seems like a thing you should not keep to yourselves when stamets is the key operating component of your starship engine but ok

i REALLY thought that when saru gave tyler the pahvan harmony crystal it was going to knock loose the klingon brainwashing

i have spent way too much time on this:

i feel like we should talk about captain t’shen kovil of the uss gagarin, human man with a traditionally female vulcan name

i mean obviously?? the first thought is trans human-vulcan hybrid, BUT we know from tng that vulcan/romulan ears remain dominant for at least two generations, and it hasn’t been long enough since enterprise-era for more vulcan generations to pass

so instead, consider: “10,000 names for your baby from 65 Federation worlds!” books

linus! jennifer! t’shen! imagine the federation version of the babynames.com message boards

“i want to give my baby an andorian name but that’s sooo popular right now ugh so i’m thinking i should spell it in rigellian or klingon??”

very sad though that we didn’t get a replay of that “i was told to expect a vulcan” scene with stamets, except it’s t’shen and michael meeting each other

“i assumed you’d be a woman.” “i assumed you’d be a man.” “i also thought you’d be a vulcan.” “i get that a lot.” “....... actually so do i.”

rip dude i thought about you for 75 times longer than you were actually on screen

other moments of delight:

michael’s explanation of starfleet protocol brings peace to my soul

i was going to come at voyager specifically for their tendency to toss everything under the prime directive banner but then it occurred to me that voyager is well over 100 years later, so they probably added some sub-paragraphs

so more specifically, michael’s explanation of starfleet protocol at a simpler time in star trek history brings peace to my soul

“mr. rhys, can i trouble you to FIRE at something!” i.... still really like lorca

“the needs of the one” most romantic line in star trek confirmed

[noitsbecky127]

rebecca watches ds9: profit and loss

ah ok we’re doing an in medias res opening

cardassian incoming?

cardassians plural!

cardassian lady! have we seen cardassian ladies yet?

well if we have i forgor 💀

oh and they’re nice cardassians! those are few and far-between

the boyfriends are fightingggg

or debating at least

i’ve heard the fandom talk about them and books, so ig they’re discussing a book rn

“sarek of vulcan?” “actually it was bashir of earth” i’m love him

“you wouldn’t last for five seconds on cardassia” “would you?” julian you are insane for that

outcasts, spies, outcast spies

wait hang on i want to hear about the 12 rumors quark’s started

odo and quark’s beef will never not be hilarious to me

damn quark what’d you do to natima (aside from existing and all that)

alright ig he likes getting slapped

that fully tracks actually

student: is this guy bothering you queen

quark take the fucking hint i stg

somehow i doubt that he was the love of her life

samarian sunsets look so cool i want one

odds on her throwing it in his face by the end of this scene?

oh lord. friend of yours garak?

ohhh these cardassians are not on good terms with the others

guess that explains their being nice

garak and quark are both menaces to society so i worry about their combined power

there is not a single honest statement being made in this entire conversation

garak what the fuck is the dress a metaphor for here. is it the military or political ideologies or just people in general or what

oh you’d know all about flamboyance wouldn’t you garak

girl why did you trust quark in the first place

i want to know more about the cardassian underground

cardassians have very big necks

c’mon quark no means no

the ship will be ready to go in an hour but there’s 27 minutes left in the episode so clearly something will go wrong

ah. cardassian warship. that is the thing going wrong then

julian please come collect your freak of a man. he’s doing things (showing up in ops unannounced)

i don’t think i trust what the cardassian govt has to say about terrorism

of course garak’s not just a simple tailor. i think that’s obvious

everything garak says sounds like it’s being filtered through several layers of deception

drinks on the house??? quark is down bad

what the fuck is he doing now

ah right paranoia about odo

i feel like offering the gift caused quark physical pain

natima might be willing to stay on the station as a sacrifice to get her students safe passage

however i’ve never heard her mentioned online so i’m guessing it won’t happen

alright apparently she is not the self-sacrificing sort, can’t blame her

she did NOT hesitate. she was talking practically the moment he finished

GET HIS ASS NATIMA

wait tf do you mean it was an accident. you should have done that on purpose

she changed her tune real fuckin quick. i can only assume this is a plan of some kind

if she actually did spontaneously fall back in love with him i am going to fight the writers

yeah i definitely feel like this is a deception

or maybe not! off to a cell!

how are they gonna get out of this one

did garak just bite a shirt. he’s so weird. i love him

is this guy your ex

GARAK YOU FUCKER

if bashir didn’t love you i’d reach through the screen and kill you

obsessed with odo reading crime fiction. get my king into a sherlock holmes holosuite

idk quark i think you’ll manage to find meaning without natima, we’ve still got five seasons to go

their dynamic is absolutely unhinged and i love it

time for escape!!!

oh ffs garak

i cannot figure out how they’re gonna get out of this. he’s right there with a phaser

oh god and teran’s here. this is insane

guess if he can’t go back to cardassia garak’s got no reason to go along with the cardassian plan

hence the…disintegration? is that what just happened?

garak’s moral compass is a fucking roulette wheel

i guess natima really did spontaneously fall back in love with quark. men should not be allowed to write

ok before i go, idk if anyone is still reading these but if you are please lmk, because liveblogging is starting to burn me out on trek. my planned solution is to just allow myself to not liveblog some eps but if no one’s reading then i’m just not gonna bother anymore. so please tell me if anyone reads these

[autisticburnham]

Accession

Julian said Damn, bitch, you live like this?

Molly!

Keiko, sweetie, I love you

Hate that Star Trek is making me think about Miles O'Brien's virility. I do not need to know how many tries it took to get Kirayoshi

Benjamin holding his baseball behind his back while giving a blessing as the Emissary... comfort item

Love seeing the return of lightships

Fake Emissay said what the fuck is the Federation?

Julian looks so fucking bored

Oh wait, I just remembered this guy brings back the caste system

I mean, I love Kira's birds, but maybe reconsider that decision, sir

Kira likes poetry ❤

I would argue they did give you back your life, Ben

"Chief O'Brien is having a baby!" "I thought your females carried your young"

Why does Ferenginar have children's books if it was considered normal for Nog to not be literate at the start of the show?

"Did you hear? Keiko's having another baby!" "Right now?!"

I hate Kira's "sexy" outfit. Bring back her real uniform and her boots

Fake!Emissary: The Prophets want Bajorns to return to the caste system

Bemjamin *John Cena voice*: Are you sure about that?

Deportation? From a planet??

Benjamin, is that a regular coffee cup???

Is this a vision from the Prophets? Doesn't that normally include blurriness?

Nerys... I love you

Oh, I like this little instrument

Molly I love you

Miles, your whole "Being with my family makes me miss Julian" thing is a little homoerotic

I love that Benjamin still has his clock in his office. I wish you could buy replicas of it

Benjamin's so disappointed by Nerys leaving 🥺

Benjamin I love you...

I don't think Miles' b plot is inherently bad, although I don't love the gender politics of it, but fuck, is it tonally dissonant from the a plot

Miles and Julian are acting like exes

Quark's face. He said "Is this what I'm like with Odo?"

Damn, Vedek. What the fuck?

Love that everytime the Prophets interact with linear beings they're just like "Jesus Christ, not this time bullshit again"

Oh, I forgot they send him back. I hate temporal mechanics

Local Woman Desperately Trying to Open Up Her Marriage

Nerys, I love you so much

I love Benjamin's smile

A plot? Fantastic. B plot? Fine. Together? Oh, jeez... 7/10