#the indiscretion

[cary-elwes]

[bagheerita]

Absolutely brutal. She took no prisoners.

(Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, s4e5 "Indiscretion")

[armed-with-a-waffle-iron]

Dick Grayson considers Helena Bertinelli one of his "greatest friends"🥰

Batman #694

[the-sunshine-dims]

everytime i think more about fable i am just, heartbroken

fable knew where isla was the whole time, never had that question in his mind because he was the one who cast her into the end without her mind, he stayed in the house for years with her sons pretending he'd done nothing

he knew exactly where isla was, it was never something he just happened to stumble across, and so he knew either he'd kill enderian, or hed be killed, though the former was probably always more likely especially to his ego'd mind,

it was never even for isla

when he did leave icarus and rae, he wasnt going to find isla, it was never for isla, not really, if he did even try to convince himself otherways, he left two kids, one who he called his own, who grew dependent on him,

his hatred of enderian has always been so much stronger then his love for icarus, either of the siblings, but icarus he lies about

his hate will always be stronger then his care and icarus just keeps searching for it, now able to 'problem-solve' because hey, if enough of those fable hates die, become a null problem, maybe they'll prove they deserve that scarce love, earn it

[play-my-game]

[seijorhi]

hi rhi!! oh my god violent delights was SOOO good 😭 the way reader quietly accepted her fate but also seemed to have some part of her almost WANTING that fate with hajime?!

at the end did hajime know that reader didn’t willingly stop writing him letters and that the psychiatrists and their parents had told her that he was dead? im assuming he had an inkling bc he mentioned not believing the psychiatrists saying that the reader was the one who had cut him off!!

and now how would it go with their parents? reader doesn’t really talk to their parents but im assuming from the horrific murders they would want to reach out more…?

ty my love!!

it's a cruel kind of wish fulfilment. all she ever wanted was to have hajime back and now she has exactly that. there's no take-backs just because he's a rabid, possessive psycho with a sister complex. hajime's not going anywhere (she wouldn't be able to bear losing him again).

as for whether he put it together, he suspects as much. once he's calmed down a bit, slaked a little of that fury and furore burying himself inside her, they'll talk about it. he still wants to hear the words coming out her mouth; she didn't stop, she didn't forget, she didn't know. it broke her too.

and then, naturally, he's gonna pay their dear old parents a visit, and he's not really in the talking mood.

also i think you're giving them too much credit. they're not completely unfeeling, but they're not good people. they were happy to lie to their daughter knowing it caused her so much pain because it suited their agenda. they didn't lift a finger to stop her bullying, and blamed her for her own inability to cut hajime out of her life and forget/move on like they had.

[wulfhalls]

But what if... what if daeron is gonna look like alicent with brown hair and those gorgeous big brown eyes... what then...

I would like to see it!!! the last kingdom movie twink my ultimate the hightower genes won dream cast (also wouldn't it be neat if that was the main reason they send daeron away from alicent in the first place? fear of talk of bastardry? while rhaenyra got to keep her clearly Not Fathered By Her Husband children with her? would add a whole different delicious layer. id ALSO be fuelling my gwayne u are the father agenda that's sooo very real in my head)

[skloobles]

please excuse me while i ponder bunnyville's political system. mostly based on me just having watched raucous caucus.

i'm fully of the belief that the mayor of bunnyville is just a ceremonial position put in to keep the public from rioting. especially considering there isn't any legislature (that we're shown anyway) and decisions are CLEARLY made without any oversight (see community service and charity).

there's elements of democracy there (like the punishment referendum in community service) but at the end of the day secretary octopus is the one who's in control until she resigns or dies or something like that. also if i were secretary octopus i'd think twice about handing power to modchi idk

also do candidates just REGISTER to run for mayor without needing signatures or anything like that?? political participation must be really low for there only to be 3 candidates

more on this - are political parties banned or do they just not exist? because all 3 candidates in the race ran as independents (probably). perhaps there's a sole legal state party that controls everything we just don't see. maybe mayoral candidates just aren't allowed to have any political affiliation. but tbf in such an image-dominated culture the lack of parties in the mayoral election kinda makes sense.

just some thoughts

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k d e e p s p a c e n i n e created by rick berman, michael piller Tora Ziyal [indiscretion, s4ep5]

'The Cardassian prisoners, they told me this would happen. That you'd never let me go home. But I didn't believe them...

I used to dream about you coming to save me. It's what kept me alive... If I can't be with you, then I'd rather die.' - ziyal [to dukat]

[cary-elwes]

[galedekarios]

ngl i'm starting to side-eye hades 2 with how they appear to handle the whole circe, odysseus and penelope stuff.

like i hope it's just the unreliable narrator aspect of the game, but...

[adhdo5]

A thing abt Wangxian/Xiyao parallels is that Wangxian spend decades pining and thinking for sure this is never going to be possible for them but they already prioritize each other and the people they love in general over the things people tell them are social obligation. Lan Wangji loses his headband several times long before they even think they can have this. And Xiyao think, for a time, that they can make this work even though they have never ever been able to forget the social obligations they have to prioritize over that, over everything; they think they can have each other at least in some capacity, but no matter how many nights they spend in "private conversation" at Carp Tower or Cloud Recesses Lan Xichen's headband doesn't come off once

[smokeys-house]

In the 2019 moominvalley series s2ep7 moomintroll says "they don't understand stealing anymore than an ant understands the moon"

to which little my replies "don't underestimate ants, pal." wtf did she mean by this

[tsunflowers]

this part is so fucking crazy

[stopthatbluecat]

Evidence that Dukat could never take the strap

He was obsessed with both Kira and Sisko but he could NEVER handle them carnally

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Gul Dukat

By Ames

Last week we expanded our spotlight series to include villains, and like our focus character Kai Winn, this week’s villain is so compelling he deserves his own post. It’s no secret I’m a big fan of Dukat (both my favorite Cardassian and my favorite DS9 villain), but what is it about him that’s just so entrancing? Is it the swaggering charisma he exudes? Is it all the justifications he makes for his clearly villainous actions? Clearly it’s the mile-long neck, right? Well A Star to Steer Her By is going to get to the bottom of how such a bad man makes such a great character.

Did Dukat do nothing wrong? Of course not; he’s a monster, after all. But as a character, he gets so much right, and his performance by Marc Alaimo is so devoted that, every so often, you let your guard slip and root for the guy. He has the sheer audacity to pull off some of the schemes we’ve highlighted below, so scroll on down, listen to us whispering in your ear on this week’s podcast (jump to 1:15:10), and swagger up the place.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Favorite moments

Won’t someone please think of the children? One of the most impressive things about Cardassians is their ability to scheme for the long term. And Dukat is particularly skilled at scheming. His war orphans plot in “Cardassians” to undermine Gul Pa’dar sat dormant for eight years before it emerged! How many other schemes is he sitting on, waiting for them to hatch into something nefarious?

I spent the last few years building up an immunity to mind melds When Sarkonna tries to mind meld Dukat to extract information, she learns the hard way that Dukat’s mental discipline somehow surpasses hers. And she’s a freakin’ Vulcan! And then Dukat spends the rest of the scene in “The Maquis” sassing at his Maquis captors about how terrible they are at handling their prisoners and how the Cardassians are so much better at it.

Attention Bajoran workers It is downright badass for Dukat to beam in during “Civil Defense” and snark at the crew in Ops about how naive they were to set off the counterinsurgency program… all while standing in front of a ball shooting lasers! We also see more layers of trademark Cardassian scheming when even Dukat’s program is supplanted by yet another directive from Central Command!

I thought the Obsidian Order didn’t have any ships I find it amusing that, while normal Romulans acquiesce to the Tal Shiar in “Face of the Enemy,” the Cardassian Central Command and the Obsidian Order seem to loathe each other. In “Defiant,” Dukat has teamed up with Sisko to get the Defiant back from Tom Riker, and he manages to gleefully expose the Obsidian Order’s illegal ship-building plans on the way!

Cue the fireworks! Cardassians are nothing if not petty. When the Siskos have proven it possible for Bajoran lightships to have traveled to Cardassian space in “Explorers,” Dukat is there to congratulate them. Turns out the Cardassians have beaten Sisko the punch by “discovering” wreckage of a Bajoran lightship right before Sisko arrived. Coincidence? I think not.

You’re my number one dad, give or take Okay, so Dukat was fully planning on killing Ziyal in “Indiscretion,” and it’s the lowest bar for a man to not murder his progeny, but he manages to clear it! Leaving his bastard daughter alive ends up ruining his position and his marriage, but Dukat can’t bring himself to harm his daughter when he finally confronts her. And damn does he look good in a Breen uniform.

The first Klingon Bird-of-Prey ever to be captured by Cardassia Marauding Dukat may be my favorite Dukat. Sure, he lost his status after the news about Ziyal spread, but in “Return to Grace,” he just goes with it! He uses his dinky little freighter the Groumall to actually capture a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, which is all kinds of impressive. And he even has a good rapport with Kira this episode, trying to tempt her over to the privateer life.

Remember to rate your Uber driver While Sisko, Odo, and O’Brien are dressing up like Klingons to infiltrate the Order of the Bat’leth ceremony in “Apocalypse Rising,” Dukat is flying around with his stolen Klingon Bird-of-Prey. He’s even magnanimous enough to bring our DS9 friends to the ceremony, likely as an excuse to show off his spoils and how damn great he looks in a Klingon baldric.

The enemy of my enemy, twice removed If there’s a theme to many of these favorite Dukat moments, it’s the sheer audacity he displays. If nothing else, he always picks the ballsiest moves, which makes for the most entertaining developments. And it’s nothing short of audacious when he reveals that he has allied Cardassia with the Dominion in “By Inferno’s Light” while the DS9 crew picks their jaws up off the deck.

A graveyard the likes of which the galaxy had never seen! Just everything about “Waltz” is spellbinding, which is a testament to Dukat’s character because a majority of the episode is watching him go slowly (and then quickly) absolutely insane. He reveals to Sisko with relish how he believes he was right in how he treated the Bajorans and how he deplores that they never so much as said “thank you.” Ingrates.

Yo Momma jokes, Bajoran edition Is it contrived that “Wrongs Darker than Death or Night” establishes that Gul Dukat took Kira’s mom as a comfort woman during the Occupation? Yeah, a little. And I’ve already given both Sisko and Kira guff for their actions this episode. But you’ve got to appreciate the gall of Dukat, ringing Kira in the middle of the night to drop this bombshell on her for no damn reason.

How do you fight a god? Dukat turns a new leaf when he gets really into Bajoran religion. And sure, all his leaves are evil, but this one is still new! In “Tears of the Prophets” he lets himself get possessed by Kosst Amojen so he could take on the Prophets, and subsequently hit the Bajoran people where it hurts: right in the religion. Sadly it results in Jadzia’s death, but Dukat was just that committed.

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid Another “Oh the audacity” moment from Dukat comes in “Covenant” when he establishes the Cult of the Pah-wraiths. Rather successfully too, I might add! He’s got a decent and devoted little cult going, so brainwashed that they don’t bat an eye when he knocks up [at least] one woman, and even convinces them to go full Jonestown to cover his ass.

A little more than a neck lift If other Cardassians thought it was audacious to jump feet first into bed with the Dominion in “By Inferno’s Light” or watch a Pah-wraith possess him for reasons in “Tears of the Prophets,” imagine how Damar feels when he finds Dukat has gotten cosmetic surgery to try to infiltrate the Bajorans’ ranks in “Penumbra.” This guy. Always upping the ante, he is.

I’m just a simple man of the land By the top of the next episode, “‘Til Death Do Us Part,” Dukat has weaseled his way into the good graces of Kai Winn. And an episode after that in “Strange Bedfellows,” he’s weaseled into her bed. We covered all this in the Winn Adami spotlight, but Dukat’s skill at deception and persuasion are rivaled by none. He plays Winn like a fiddle and she loves it!

Feel our love: the love of the Pah-wraiths Okay, the Prophet stuff at the end of the series treads too far into fantasy for me, but what’s perfectly on the nose is both Dukat’s and Winn’s characterization. Dukat so seamlessly plays Winn into the hands of the Pah-wraiths by “Strange Bedfellows” that it is a work of art. And he gets her to read from the Book of the Kosst Amojen in “The Changing Face of Evil,” sealing their fates and bringing the whole series toward its conclusion. Praise be!

—

What a truly audacious journey! That’s everyone from Deep Space Nine I felt like covering in these spotlights, so next week we start revisiting some of our friends from Voyager! Boy, are we missing them during our watchthrough of Enterprise, for which I hope you’re humoring us by following along on SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts. Summon the Pah-wraiths with us over on Facebook and Twitter, and see what schemes transpire!