#this is just the quark/klingon episode from ds9

[isagrimorie]

Sometimes there really are interesting things on Reddit, found this one particular passage on r/DaystromInstitute talking about Starfleet and the Cardassian war, in particular, Miles O'Brien and Kathryn Janeway's experiences in a ground war:

Ground combat was much different. O'Brian's reactions to the Cardassians in 'The Wounded' are clear that ground combat wasn't as clean for the Federation as it was in space. Same with Captain Maxwell. Even Captain Janeway was in ground combat in the Federation/Cardassian war (I think it was the episode 'Prey' where Janeway told Seven of a time during the war when she was only Lt. Janeway). O'Brian carrying anger against the Cardassians for making him into a killer. Maxwell so used to destroying Cardassian ships that a year after the treaty is signed he's still in the habit of blowing up Cardassian ships. Janeway, it's entirely possible that until the war ended she spent her entire Starfleet career in combat, earning battlefield promotions, flying up the chain of command to Commander and with the impossible situation that Voyager was in after her promotion to Captain and first command being Voyager, she found herself trying to balance Starfleet ideologies with her own history of being willing to use violence, or in her case, too willing in a few episodes.

This is an interesting thought, I remember being surprised knowing Janeway actually was in actual ground combat. As we learned from DS9, and Strange New Worlds, ground combat is a lot different from ship-to-ship battle.

Ships can also be dangerous but Starfleet shines with ship battles. Ground combats are harder, and bloodier, and leave long-lasting marks on the soldiers who find themselves in them.

I wonder if Janeway distinguishing herself in the Cardassian war is the reason why Voyager got the assignment to go after the Maquis. But also, Janeway might have wanted to distance herself from the war more and focus on science.

But the Delta Quadrant kept pushing her into that place again.

Like, now I wish Janeway interacted with O'Brien at least, two Cardassian war vets.

ETA:

Another good r/DaystromInstitute post on Janeway:

Janeway is intentionally written as a character who intellectually believes in the ideals of the Federation, but whose actions are not always in line with her stated beliefs. I think this is very human and understandable. Very few real humans are as moral as Picard. This is why Quark's quote:

"Let me tell you something about Hew-mons, Nephew. They're a wonderful, friendly people, as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people... will become as nasty and as violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don't believe me? Look at those faces. Look in their eyes."

rings so true. Janeway is trying hard to not be the type of human Quark describes, but she is failing. She still tries, though, which I think is important.

All this just makes me love Janeway more, also Starfleet is terrible with mental health.

[obsidianmichi]

The crazy part about Star Trek Online is that it's stuffed full of cameos and missions that repeatedly star characters from the main cast of every major Star Trek show except, I think, Enterprise, Strange New Worlds, and Lower Decks.

Like you can go on a fully voiced adventure with Michael Burnham and Seven of Nine in her Fenris Rangers era to decide whether the Excalbians will embrace good or evil and fight Seven's evil simulation created body double.

Worf, voiced by Michael Dorn, Worf is in the major Iconian missions and a central figure for Klingon players as they shoot up the ranks.

Martok, voiced by John Garman Hertzler Jr. (rescue him from the Tzenkethi and go on so many missions together as random space adventures, and he's just like he is in DS9.)

Almost the entire cast of Deep Space Nine, including René Auberjonois's final voicework as Odo before his passing, the same for Aron Eisberg as Nog, Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys, and there's an entire episode where you play as Quark and his Ferengi friends stealing from Iconians. Even Salome Jens pops up as the Female Changeling to play a villain in the Gamma Quandrant arcs. Plus, Chase Masterson got in ahead of them all to chew through the scenery as Leeta's Mirror counterpart, Admiral Leeta!

Levar Burton as Geordi LaForge!

Janeway and Mirror Janeway voiced by Kate Mulgrew. (Mirror Janeway is a Borg Queen!)

Denise Crosby as my Romulan main's new adopted mother, Empress Sela and her mother, Natasha Yar. There's also Tuvok (my love!), Tom Paris, Harry Kim, Seven of Nine, Jason Isaacs voicing Prime Gabriel Lorca (!!) in the Discovery missions, Tilly and my much beloathed nemesis Mirror Tilly, Stamets, and Michael Burnham. Most recently we've gotten Mirror Wesley Crusher and Mirror Doctor Crusher during Picard's third season, and Ezri Dax in the latest episodes.

There's also Leonard Nemoy, who voiced the major exploration sections and Fed character level ups in the initial game but that's been in at launch.

It's honestly impressive. Every time I turn around it feels like another Star Trek alum is lending their voice to the game. Star Trek Online is somehow the most blessed and the most cursed tie-in game in existence. The dream and the hellscape for Star Trek fans.

Also, the space combat is genuinely really fun.

[walkingstackofbooks]

Season 2 Observations - What the DS9 crew call each other

I'm back with my spreadsheet and armed with new facts. Let's go! (For Season 1 Observations, see here.)

This is a bit longer and there was still more I wanted to include - if you want to check out the raw data yourself, you can view the spreadsheet here!

Sisko

Is slightly more likely to introduce himself as "Benjamin Sisko" (6x) than "Commander Benjamin Sisko" (5x) - though this is often followed in both cases by "of the United Federation of Planets" or something similar.

Kira, Odo and Quark mostly call him "Commander", and rarely "Sir" - all are extremely consistent with season 1. (37:8, 16:2 and 11:0 as compared to in s1 35:8. 15:2 and 9:0)

Miles and Julian are more likely to call him "Sir", but use "Commander" often as well. How often has changed for them both since Season 1: > Julian has moved from using both equally, to using "Sir" twice as often. > Miles has moved from using "Sir" three times as much to almost using both equally (40:35)

Dax still uses Benjamin almost exclusively (24x), although she will use "Commander" on occasion (2x).

Is most often referred to as "Commander Sisko (22x), followed by Sisko (12x) - O'Brien is the only one to use "Sisko" more frequently.

Kira

Most often calls herself "Major Kira Nerys" (4x).

Everyone, apart from Dax, almost always calls her "Major".

Dax exclusively calls her Kira (2x) - Bashir and Sisko have both also called her this (2x and 1x respectively).

Is most often referred to as "Kira" (13x), followed by "Major Kira" (6x) - a change from Season 1 where the "Kira: Major Kira" ratio was 5:18 > Odo bucks this trend: as in season 1, he refers to her as "Major Kira" 2 times and "Kira" only once.

Odo

Introduces himself as "Chief of Security Odo" (2x).

Is called "Odo" by everybody; Kira (7x), Dax (7x), O'Brien (4x) and Quark (24x!!!!) will use this most often.

Sisko and Bashir are more likely to call him "Constable" - 13:8 and 2:1 respectively. > Kira and Dax never call him "Constable" > Miles uses it almost just as much as "Odo" (3:4) > Quark calls him it twice

Is almost exclusively referred to as Odo by everyone - Kira referred to him as "Constable Odo" once, and O'Brien as "the constable" once.

Trends are consistent with Season 1, apart from Kira stopping using Constable entirely, and Bashir, Dax and O'Brien actually speaking about/ talking to him more than two times this season!

Julian

Refers to himself most often as "Julian" or "Julian Bashir".

Sisko, Kira, Odo and Quark exclusively call him "Doctor" - apart from Kira calling him "Julian" once, on his request!

Dax and O'Brien more often call him "Julian" (9:1 and 12:5 respectively) > After Armageddon Game, O'Brien only calls him Julian.

He is still referred to as "Doctor Bashir" most often by Sisko, Kira and Odo

Jadzia still refers to him mostly as "Julian".

O'Brien now refers to him mostly as "the doctor" or "Bashir" (2x each), as opposed to "Dr Bashir" in S1 (2x) > Quark similarly uses "Bashir" most (3x), followed by "the doctor" (2x)

Jadzia

Refers to herself as "Jadzia" most often (5x), but 4 of those times are in the episode Playing God where she is talking in the third person about herself. > She also calls herself "Dax" (2x), "Jadzia Dax" (2x) and when talking to Klingons in Blood Oath, "I who was Curzon Dax" and "You knew me as Curzon Dax".

Sisko and Kira call her "Dax" most often, followed by "Lieutenant" (22:11 and 7:5 respectively). > No change from S1 for Sisko, but Kira only began to call her Dax this season. > Kira also first calls her Jadzia - unprompted! - in Blood Oath. > Sisko only calls her "Old Man" once.

Odo, O'Brien and Quark exclusively call her "Lieutenant".

Julian exclusively calls her Jadzia, but only twice.

Sisko, Kira and O'Brien usually refer to her as "Dax" - the latter two exclusively. > Sisko uses "Jadzia" just as much (6x), but only in the episode Invasive Procedures, when talking about her as opposed to Verad Dax who has stolen her symbiont. > Once again, this is same as S1 for Sisko, but a change from exclusively "Lieutenant Dax" (1x) for Kira.

Julian most often refers to her as "Jadzia" (4x), followed by Dax (2x).

Miles

Calls himself "O'Brien" most often (4x) - "Miles O'Brien" (6x) is skewed because of his repetition of it (4x) under torture in Tribunal.

Everyone most often calls him "Chief". > For Odo, this is equal with "Mister O'Brien" (2x each), and for Quark this is equal with "O'Brien" (1x each).

"Mister O'Brien" is still used at a similar rate by Sisko, being used about four times less frequently than "Chief" in both seasons. Kira only uses it once, in early s2, compared to "Chief" 14x - she used both equally in S1.

Sisko, Bashir and Dax most often refer to him as "Chief O'Brien", a change for all of them from S1. > For Sisko, this is followed by "Mister O'Brien", his most common use in S1. > For Bashir this is followed equally by "O'Brien", his most common in S1, and by "the chief".

Kira and Quark refer to him as "O'Brien" more often.

Odo uses both "Chief O'Brien" and "O'Brien" equally (2x each)

----------------------------------------

Thanks for your interest in this, it's definitely encouraged me to keep going! Not sure if this is the correct tag etiquette, but I thought I'd tag those of you who seemed keen to look at more data - let me know if you don't want this to happen in the future! (Or indeed if you want to be added to the update list!) But 100% thank you so much for your kind comments about this project - I'm glad to see it's not just me who likes to nerd out over cold, hard data! (Also feel free to talk about stuff in the comments, there were so many tag comments I wanted to reply to aha 😅)

@joelleity @elainemorisi @istherewifiinhell @dumbnerd13-42 @yourea--stubborn--man @writteninsilences @worfianism @mickstart @ilovefredjones @tomthefanboy @ds9official @ussdefiant @autisticburnham @daforged @loudfederationscreeching @deepacenine @thethirdromana @tocautiouslygo @transhologram

[pacificsaury]

xenolinguistics and lists: the ds9 promenade directory

so at around 30min of 7.05 chrysalis we have a shot of this mall monolith™ aka the promenade directory in 6 languages.

don't get me wrong, i find it super cool! stuff like this really adds to the environment and i appreciate it a lot. but the bullet points made me squint:

english (left) and klingon (right):

pretty straightforward - one bullet point next to each item, nice and organised. good work guys

(got this pic off memory alpha, no idea what episode it's from) (oh and hi kira)

ferengi:

we know from rom's handwritten letter to quark (when he 'borrowed' quark's gun) that their words go horizontally, so this checks out. but the double bullet points switching directions are throwing me off a bit.

bajoran:

this can't be right, there are double bullet points all over the place and some are in the line breaks??? i do like that they make you read in both directions, but i wonder if it's just a design choice.

cardassian (left) and vulcan (right):

nothing makes sense. these are just dots. why are there so many bullet points per sentence? some of the cardassian script looks too short to be anything at all.

the vulcan one really takes the cake though - it looks like they write vertically (sorta like east asian languages), so those bullet points refer to... nothing. wrong direction pally!

now I'm not an expert in languages (fictional or not) but this is just what i've noticed. for all we know, maybe they don't even have the concept of bullet points in their writing systems

so as always it's an open discussion, and feel free to correct me on anything!

[winntir]

I think Spock drinking bloodwine was meant as just a funny "Guy who seems so stiff gets drunk" kinda gag, but unlike many choices made by the SNW writing staff, I think it adds something in a way that enriches the Star Trek universe instead of being dubious canonicity. To be clear, I'm talking about the season 2 premiere and Subspace Rhapsody, where Spock drinks to secure peace.

In the TOS episode The Conscience of the King, Spock thanks his Vulcan forefathers for being spared from the evils of alcohol. This is in contrast with a DS9 episode, The Maquis Part 1, where a Vulcan orders Vulcan port. In around a hundred years, they just shrug their shoulders and start brewing their own fortified wine? Because that’s what port wine is, not just any wine, but when with a little extra alcohol. And the Vulcan doesn’t contradict Quark's assertion that it’s Vulcan, which I'd suspect of her like.

But when you combine it with the bloodwine incidents, you start getting an idea: this wine isn’t for mere social drinking, but rather to formalize an agreement. Drinking some kind of liquor and toasting to a new alliance is a common enough practice throughout Earth history, so why wouldn’t other aliens develop the same practice? After all, the Klingons did, and they take it quite seriously, so the Vulcans must’ve thought they if this was going to come up again that they might as well brew their own wine to their own tastes.

Is this reaching? Possibly.

[fast-moon]

DS9 Season 4 Thoughts

The Dominion is eeeeverywhere! No one knows who we can trust! So going into Season 4, our problem is...

the Klingons? Really? Guess old habits die hard WITH HONOR.

1-2. Way of the Warrior: New season, new intro! The Klingons show up to invade Cardassia under the pretext that the Cardassian government has been replaced by Changelings and they're simply "liberating" it. So Sisko gets his own Klingon in the form of Worf to stand against them. And unlike Riker last season who was just a one-off, Worf is here to stay.

3. The Visitor: Jake acts out the plot of several Doctor Who episodes where Sisko bounces through time while Jake takes the long way around, and upon Jake's death of old age, the timeline resets and it's like nothing ever happened.

4. Hippocratic Oath: O'Brien and Bashir get captured by the Jem'Hadar, but they decide not to kill them since neither one is a redshirt. Although O'Brien may not be a redshirt, he does seem to be increasingly red-pilled, as his sexism and xenophobia were on full display here.

5. Indiscretion: Kira and Dukat go road-tripping together, where the real treasure is the Cardassian asses we stabbed along the way.

6. Rejoined: Whoa, a same-sex kiss played completely, er, straight in an episode from 1995? Neat. Although, by the rules laid out in this episode, shouldn't Dax's continued friendship with Sisko be forbidden, too?

7. Starship Down: Sisko for some reason takes the entire senior staff with him just to renegotiate a trade deal between Quark and a Gamma Quadrant trader, and they once again all end up in deadly peril because he had the bright idea to fly the ship into a gas giant.

8. Little Green Men: Quark and Rom accidentally stumble upon yet another new method of time travel and get transported to post-WWII earth where they're mistaken for Martians. It's no wonder Starfleet offers a specific "So, you've found yourself displaced in time" course, with how seemingly easily and frequently this happens.

9. The Sword of Kahless: Worf gets invited on a treasure hunt, but ends up being a buzzkill. Though they rightfully conclude that returning a legendary artifact won't unite the empire, just cause it to devolve into chaos while everyone bickers over who gets to have it.

10. Our Man Bashir: Garak acts as the gatekeeper for spying while Bashir plays out a James Bond fantasy with the rest of the crew unwittingly cast in the supporting roles.

11. Homefront: Changelings have infiltrated Earth, with the aim of sowing enough distrust that people give up their freedoms willingly in the name of security. This episode is pre-9/11, by the way.

12. Paradise Lost: Sisko finds out that Starfleet had been lying about the caravan of Changelings crossing the border, bringing their murderers and rapists, eating the dogs and eating the cats of the people who live there, in order to justify declaring martial law.

13. Crossfire: Fresh off losing the hypotenuse in the last love triangle with Kira, Odo finds himself in another one, spending the entire episode hearing about how everyone appreciates him but nobody loves him. At least he got a hug.

14. Return to Grace: Dukat enjoyed his road trip with Kira 10 episodes ago so much they go on another one, and now he wants to be another leg in her love polygon.

15. Sons of Mogh: Worf gets in trouble for consensual acts between himself and his brother, so ends up non-consensually violating his brother's autonomy in order to not run afoul of regulations.

16. Bar Association: Rom forms a union and then goes on strike against Quark to protest for healthcare, paid vacation, and overtime pay. Americans watching are like, "Wait, those are things?"

17. Accession: A Bajoran pulled from 200 years in the past comes through the wormhole and Sisko is all too happy to hand over his "Emissary" title to someone more deserving. Until that guy starts trying to Make Bajor Great Again.

18. Rules of Engagement: The Klingons accuse Worf of going "It's Worfin' time!" all over a civilian transport, but it turned out the victims were all crisis actors. Alex Jones rejoices.

19. Hard Time: O'Brien commits a minor offense and is implanted with memories of spending 20 years in prison as punishment. Then he becomes a walking case study in why, if the end goal really is to stop crime, that mere incarceration is counterproductive.

20. Shattered Mirror: Sisko gets kidnapped by the Bad Fanfic Universe again, stuff happens to the Bad Fanfic versions of the characters, nobody cares.

21. The Muse: Jake gets entranced by a creepy woman who's after his braaaaains. And somehow in the future, people not only still know how to handwrite things, but write in cursive as well. Meanwhile, Odo and Lwaxana get married in order to give him paternity rights to her child, is now Dado.

22. For the Cause: Kasidy is suspected of being a Maquis infiltrator, but ♫it was Eddington all along♫. Meanwhile the show tries to set Garak up with a teenage love interest young enough to be his daughter, which for some reason they consider more appropriate than just letting him be gay.

23. To the Death: No! To the Pain. Anyway, the Jem'Hadar ransack DS9, and while on the way to kick their asses, they run into some other Jem'Hadar who have a beef with those Jem'Hadar, so they end up working with those Jem'Hadar to beat up the other Jem'Hadar. Jem'Hadar.

24. The Quickening: Bashir stays behind on a planet with a pledge to cure a planet-wide congenital plague in a week, but best he can do is make it so that no one in the future is born with it but everyone alive now is still screwed, so close enough.

25. Body Parts: Quark gets excommunicated from Ferengi commerce for not being enough of a predatory capitalist piece of shit. Meanwhile, the wrong cast member gets pregnant in real life so they need to BS a reason for Kira to be pregnant instead of Keiko.

26. Broken Link: The Founders infect Odo with "I'm melting, oh, what a world" disease, forcing him to go back home for treatment and receive punishment, which was the same punishment Q got for being a naughty boy: forced to become human and unceremoniously dropped naked in front of the Captain. #JusticeForOdo?

All right, halfway done with the series! Still pretty good so far, but some of the writing choices in this season kind of rubbed me the wrong way, particularly about O'Brien. Originally I liked O'Brien because I sympathized with him as the put-upon engineer who always has to clean up everything constantly breaking around him. But in this season he started getting... I dunno... kinda more generally mean-spirited and selfish. It almost felt like the writers were worried that the Bashir/Garak relationship was coming across as "too gay", so they performed some kind of "conversion therapy" for Bashir by making him hang out with O'Brien instead, and had O'Brien show off how a straight and manly man is supposed to act to a toxic level.

I'm not terribly fond of the new intro theme song. It sounds like the old intro theme song, just slowed to like 3/4 speed, so doesn't have as much "excitement", I guess.

There were also some cold opens that were "all the regulars are contractually obligated to a speaking part in every episode, but this episode isn't about them, so here's a random scene with them" to a distracting level. The one about Dax rearranging Odo's furniture was a particularly egregious one, because... what?

Other than that, the show continues to be scary prescient about current society, especially predicting security policy post-9/11 five years before it happened. And also the episode about the new Emissary who ran on regressing Bajoran society by 200 years for the benefit of a privileged few. In both cases, unlike reality, the ones advocating for those things eventually admitted they were wrong and stepped aside. If only.

But now, Changelings are everywhere! Infiltrating top levels of government and sowing chaos! And now that Odo isn't a Changeling anymore, does that mean his Putty Privilege is also revoked when it comes to dealing with the Dominion? We shall see in Season 5!

[thenorsiest]

#7 and #8 for the ask game!

Thank you anon! You’ve made my day!

7, favorite ds9 quote:

My instinct is to quote Sisko from “In the pale moonlight” because it’s not just one of the best ds9 quotes but it’s from one of the best trek episodes to exists.

That said while looking up quotes I found this one from Quark, and one of my favorite things about sci-fi is how it shines a light on what it means to be human:

“Let me tell you something about humans, nephew. They’re a wonderful, friendly people as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people… will become as nasty and violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon.”

8, favorite voyager quote:

from Janeway: “fear exists for one purpose: to be conquered.”

It’s just such a badass line from a badass lady. What’s not to love?!

[slippery-domjot-balls]

Our Man Bashir S4 E10

Saw this episode for the first time this week. There were so many little touches that made the episode a perfect parody of the Bond aesthetic. It payed tribute to classic James Bond (Sean Connery and it even teased the silly nature of Roger Moore's Bond).

The opening sequence of a villain crashing through glass with a follow up KO by the champagne cork was a lovely campy tribute. It had a Our Man Flint with James Coburn vibe! Try those if you like Bond parodies.

The Bondesque portrayal of Bashir works well. It both fits the desire he has to be heroic, to be more alluring and charismatic, and to take confidence in life outside the holosuite. Julian already is those things though. He just needs help realizing that sometimes. He was heroic in Hippocratic Oath when he stood for the lost Jem'Hadar. In his medical domain he is charismatic and in charge. All of his interactions with Garak show his subtle and alluring personality. He is on his journey of gaining confidence and with each passing episode he gains more self-esteem.

We all were admiring Julian just like Garak is. Look at that sweet face. Garak recognizes Julian's chance at character growth as his spy persona. By taking him under his wing, Garak can help him develop as a man of mystery!

The clothing is also perfect. Fashion was nailed for a Bond film parody. The high class tuxedos and the casual sweaters! We only missed out on the incredibly short-short-short-swim-shorts that Sean Connery seemed to love.

Miles as the main evil henchman was an excellent choice. Silly falcon eyepatch was just a bonus. It was nice to see a little spy gadget used by Bashir as well. Gotta have those!

I will make of gif of it later, but Worf blew a genuine smoke ring at one point. The white tux also looked amazing. More Klingons should wear white! It would be great for battle too. Showcases all the blood of their enemies.

Another A+ costume designed by the fabulous Trek Costume designers. The flair, the jewelry, all just works with that stunning Bajoran. She also played the Russian accent really well (not that I am an accent expert). Underneath this holosuite persona though we still enjoy Nana Visitor's warm smile. Nothing can stop her from making all our hearts melt!

Dr. Honey Bare....of course there would be a silly name like that. I wish Dax's character was treated less as plot device, but as a parody of older Bond movies I see the placement and and ridiculousness of it. It did feel like the cast enjoyed making fun of it.

This gem....I cannot even begin to state my delight over this single high pitched chort....giggle...laugh? What even is it? I knew of this gif out of context but now having seen the episode I see that Sisko was the deranged villain set out to destroy the world so he could create his human 2.0 sex island.

Above all of this, we must give the spotlight to the REAL hero. Rom. He is an absolute genius!!!! I love that he is so intelligent. Sure, Lt. Mr. Little Boy Eddington was there too, Odo helped a bunch, and Quark wanted to show off his jacket, but Rom saved the day. Rom singlehandedly saved the entire main cast. On the fly he rigged up an engineering masterpiece in a Frankenstein's monster way. Under incredible pressure with try or die high stakes, he pioneered a solution. I sure hope that Rom can be the star of the show more often in the coming seasons. He is a brilliantly written Ferengi and a well acted character. A loving and supportive father, caring brother, talented engineer, and an all around good friend to everyone.

For me, this episode surprisingly became a "wow, I love Rom" episode. Of course, I enjoyed and can see how iconic and quintessentially Star Trek the entire Bond tribute plot was, but this episode is about Rom for me as much as it is about Bashir and anything else.

I am glad that I can share my first watch of DS9 with all you lovely people. Thank you for sharing all your insights and passion for DS9 and Star Trek as a franchise with me.

Here is to many more shared laughs and warm moments together!

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time. last night we watched ds9's "favor the bold" and "sacrifice of angels."

favor the bold:

worf rescuing dax during these wartime bits is EXTREMELY sweet. i think this is like 2 or 3 times now? he loves her 🥺

i love all the big cgi shots of all the different ships...i feel like i could look at those forever just noticing the various differences

quark in this episode......................

quark e kira in charge of breaking rom out. quark/kira. QUARK/KIRA! odo who? he sucks. fuck odo.

i don't mean it. i'm actually going to try as hard as i can to forgive him because it would be too exhausting to hate him until the end of the series. but FUCK ODO!!! kira doesn't need him...quark is right there...

like, odo being busy in his room fucking the mommy changeling or whatever while rom was in JAIL and kira and odo weren't allowed to see him!!!! fuck off

THE BRIG SCENE???? where rom my king rom was like. like quark was fucking. TRYING TO COMFORT HIM? and rom was just like. brother you cannot save me from execution you've got to focus on saving everyone else first. and quark was like what the fuck is wrong with you. and then proceeded to save everyone else first???

AND THEN. HE FOOLED? DAMAR? INTO THINKING HE WAS ON HIS SIDE?

kira was also in amazing form this episode. first of all, her fucking beating damar to a pulp and daring him to do anything about it. her getting ziyal to finally turn on her dad. and most of all telling odo to sit on it and spin. literally go fuck your mother. she's amazing

nog!!! nog's little promotion. wah. about time.

sacrifice of angels:

WORMHOLE ALIENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm actually really nervous about it cuz sisko was like bajor is my home when i retire when i go home it's gonna be to bajor and they were like you will never find peace in bajor :)

it was still really cool to see them again though. i'm fucking obsessed

and like...imagine being kira, or any bajoran. and you work with sisko for five years and he's like man cmon im not jesus. stop treating me like im jesus. i dont believe in that shit. and then he goes into the wormhole to face down 2800 enemy ships and vaporizes them with his mind. buddy you're not beating the jesus allegations anytime soon or like ever

QUARK IN THIS EPISODE ALSO. everything up to him because everyone else got thrown in jail for being rom sympathizers. him kidnapping ziyal for help was brilliant. they made a good team for .5 seconds. i love also that he 1. murdered two guys 2. freaked the fuck out about it, which is exactly what he did in that one episode with the klingon lady

also, QUARK E KIRA!!!! "i'd kiss you quark but" NO! KISS HIM!!!!!!!!!!

ziyal......girl, rip. she got there in the end i guess. but holy shit, i didn't realize damar had it in him. if im being honest im glad they killed her and not rom, it looked dangerously close to heading that way i know i checked up on him on memory alpha but STILL

what was really fun about it was dukat snapping. that wasn't where i saw his arc going but him totally losing it and then giving sisko back the baseball vs sisko triumphantly taking the baseball back...wow. that prop held so much weight over these 6 episodes and i was wondering how it was gonna pay off and it paid off REAL good

odo's change of heart.....................................

look. in theory, i LOVE him having a struggle and coming down on the side of the federation because of, primarily, kira. i just think his "betrayal" came out of nowhere, he was instantly telling this mommy changeling all his deepest secrets and then linking with her without any lead up or build up. if he had been struggling beforehand, if he had still been human and wanted it taken away from him, this i would understand. but his "betrayal" had no meat to it, so his change of heart doesn't feel very meaningful either. so like i want to care but i don't.

that said, when she asked why he changed his mind and he said "i think you know the answer" that was. pretty good. that was pretty good. it makes me hopeful that odo and i can get past this very rough place in our relationship :(

TONIGHT: finally back to voyager to catch up on all the voyager we skipped to watch ds9 three nights in a row. we got "day of honor" and "nemesis," for realsies this time

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Nog

By Ames

After some great blogposts on Quark and Rom, we’ve got one Ferengi left to shine the spotlight on, and that’s another of our fan favorites: Nog! Similarly to his father, Nog’s character arc over the seasons of Deep Space Nine is captivating to watch, as he grows from a little punk ne’er-do-well into a fully realized, complex person full of nuance and opportunities to learn. Which is pretty much DS9 in a nutshell.

So get prepared for some character whiplash, as we’ve got both childish pranks and severe post-traumatic stress disorder to explore in our blogpost below as we applaud the impressive versatility and range of the late Aron Eisenberg. Check out what your A Star to Steer Her By hosts have assembled as some of the young Ferengi’s best and worst moments, and check out our discussion on this week’s podcast episode (jump to 1:15:10 for Nog!). And there’ll be no running on the promenade!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

Vulcans stole my homework As usual, we’re starting off with the good moments, and early on in “The Nagus” we see Nog get pulled from Keiko’s school out of Rom’s sheer racism. But what’s most commendable in the young Ferengi is that he sticks with it, secretly learning to read in the cargo bay with Jake and entirely subverting Sisko’s expectations and systematic racism against the Ferengi!

Maybe this isn’t a problem. Maybe it’s an opportunity. While we gripe about how the Ferengi can be cartoonishly one-dimensional at times, there are times when their obsession with profit makes for good character and plot moments. When Nog encourages Varis Sul, Tetrarch of the Paqu, to view her land-rights situation in “The Storyteller” as a business negotiation, she finds a compromise everyone enjoys!

Say that five times fast Speaking of Nog’s business acumen, he’s clearly still learning some of the basics in “Progress” but we still enjoy watching as he and Jake create their own Milo Minderbinder–like syndicate to sell yamok sauce and self-sealing stem bolts for what will turn out to be great running gags for years to come… not to mention tongue-twisters that frequently plague us on the podcast.

Because I don’t want to end up like my father From what we know about Nog by the midpoint of season three (including some of the bad moments you’ll see below), it seems entirely random for him to want to join Starfleet as he says in “Heart of Stone.” But when he exposes to Sisko that he has dreams outside of making profit, of being something greater than his father, you really root for the guy and know he’s really going to do it!

Best friends in subspace When old man Jake Sisko is ready to embark on some outlandish quest to find his father, lost in subspace for decades, in “The Visitor,” there is absolutely no surprise that Nog is right there at his side in the Defiant, ready to do whatever it takes for his old friend. Sure, it’s an alternate future version of Nog, but the connection he has with Jake is as real as ever.

On Wednesday we wear red Of course, Starfleet Academy is a challenge for Nog, who has set his sights on getting into the elite and extremely cliquey Red Squad to make a name for himself. But when it turns out that Red Squad is just a bunch of cadets being used by Admiral Leyton for his coup in “Paradise Lost,” Nog helps Sisko to find the truth of the matter, even if it is reluctantly at first.

Not quite a Vulcan Hello The B-plot in “Blaze of Glory” may not entirely gel with the A-plot of watching Eddington’s sacrifice, but it’s still some cute stuff for Nog. When he stands up to Martok after a whole episode of getting walked all over by the Klingons, you’ve got to respect the guy. As Martok says, “Courage comes in all sizes,” and it’s great to watch Nog tackle his problems head on.

Have a good day! There’s just something about “In the Cards” that makes you feel good. Nog, being the best friend a kid could ask for, agrees to help Jake win his dad a baseball card, going so far as to loan all his money to Jake (I can hear every Ferengi screaming at that). And then the rest of the episode is them going around the station, making everyone have a genuinely nice day. It’s so cute!

Boogie woogie woogie Okay, Nog might only have one line in all of “You Are Cordially Invited,” but I just find him dancing with Jadzia at her bachelorette party just so endearing that I had to include it. Aron Eisenberg came up with the little Ferengi frog dance himself, and when Terry Farrell joins in, I find myself smiling every time. Thank you, Aron, for creating this adorable moment.

Have faith in the Great Material Continuum So the whole Rube Goldberg device that is the chain events of schemes in “Treachery, Faith, and the Great River” may be kind of a repeat of the deals from “Progress” but it’s still very clever. After he joined Starfleet, you could almost forget that Nog is a Ferengi under the ensign uniform, but he pulls off deal after deal after deal to get the chief the stabilizer he needs.

We have a casino to build While it is painful to watch Nog struggle with PTSD in “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” the way he knuckles down to assist Vic with his finances and to work on expanding the lounge into a casino is simply fascinating. It’s helping him cope, so that by the end of a brilliantly acted episode, he doesn’t even realize that he’s put himself on the road to recovery that is right for him.

He’s not just a hologram, he’s my friend Speaking of Vic’s casino, Nog is quick to pay back his holographic crooner friend for helping him recover by participating in the big heist in “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang.” Nog’s part is to crack the safe in the countroom, and when he learns that it has an auto-relock tumbler that no one was expecting, he keeps his cool, gets to work, and helps the whole crew save the day!

—

Worst moments

You never get a second chance to make a first impression The very first glimpse we get of Nog in “Emissary” is him stealing shit (almost certainly at Quark’s bidding) and getting locked in the brig by Odo. He has all of two lines in the episode – “Hurry up!” and “Now!” –  but he is immediately cemented as a bad seed under the thumb of his uncle. The show literally starts Nog off with such a bad reputation there’s nowhere to go but up!

What this place needs is a school Nog’s delinquent behavior doesn’t stop there. When he and Jake strike up a friendship in “A Man Alone,” it’s by sharing the experience of pranking a couple of civilians on the promenade with some Garanian bolites, which cause them to itch terribly and turn colors in a scene that legitimately looks like torture. It’s no wonder Keiko steps in by starting up her little school.

Buckets of fun! We see another of Nog’s juvenile pranks in “The Storyteller” when he fills Odo’s bucket with oatmeal and dumps it on Jake who, utterly mortified, believes for a second that they’ve somehow killed Odo. It’s a little funny in hindsight, but at the moment it just seems cruel. Jake’s reaction of terror certainly helps that along, cementing Nog’s station status as a nuisance.

No running on the promenade! There’s one more Nog prank to make the list! When he sprays some foul-smelling fluid on Tumak in “Sanctuary,” it causes a big fight to break out with the various Skrrean kids. Nog just can’t help himself. As if these refugee kids haven’t been through enough, they have this short, big-eared, froglike nuisance wreaking havoc for them. What a brat.

No one’s asking you to think, my dear As we’ve discussed in Quark’s and Rom’s respective spotlight posts before, Ferengi culture is garbage, especially how they treat females. We see some of that come through in Nog in “Life Support” when he goes on a double date with Jake and acts like a complete asshole to Riska. He’s demeaning to her, he requests she cuts his food for him, and somehow Jake’s the one apologizing!

I’ve been looking for it for two years Even when Nog has matured and joined Starfleet Academy, we get little reminders of the miscreant that he was from the start. At his coming-of-age yardsale, Kira discovers that Nog has had her lost springball racket all along and was attempting to sell it in “Little Green Men.” Sure, that was two-years-ago Nog, but he could have returned it in all that time!

Could you massage it some more? Across so many of these posts, every time oo-mox comes up it automatically makes the worst moments lists. So when Nog tricks Faith Garland into giving him oo-mox in “Little Green Men,” and not for the first time evidently, I find it abhorrent. Here’s hoping I don’t have to bring up such rapey behavior again for a while (at least until that one Ferengi episode of Enterprise).

Healthy body, healthy mind After a season or so at Starfleet Academy, Nog suddenly becomes a tightass. The conflict with Jake, now his roommate, in “The Ascent” is manufactured and trite – the kind of odd-couple antics of eponymous sitcoms. Nog is now a neatfreak. He constantly works out. He corrects Jake’s stories without permission. It’s like his character has been rewritten to fit a punchline, and an old one at that.

I won’t turn my back on you again This one’s just a little silly peeve. After the events of “Empok Nor” when Garak’s little murder spree on the titular station, Nog vows to never turn his back on Garak when they’re out searching for supplies in “Rocks and Shoals.” But then after they get hostage-handoff’ed, he immediately turns his back on Garak as they cross the levy. Dude! What did you just say?

Red Squad, Red Squad, Red Squad! Nog got tempted by the allure of the corrupt Red Squad in “Homefront” and “Paradise Lost,” but it’s in “Valiant” that he gets thoroughly taken in. Acting Captain Watters offers Nog everything he’s ever wanted: respect, rank, and some semblance of power, in exchange for his unquestioning obedience when the utterly impossible plan goes swiftly sideways. Gee, who’da thunk?

And you find that impressive? The Dominion War sure brings out the worst in a lot of people. Sisko commits some war crimes. O’Brien is typically racist about the Jem’Hadar. And Nog starts to fancy himself a soldier, bent on killing the enemy. In “The Siege of AR-558,” he blatantly admires the Ketracel-white tubes that Reese has collected as war trophies, and Quark is all of us, displaying utter disgust at this.

You don’t come into my club and start hitting customers While we totally get that recovery from the loss of his leg is a struggle, that’s no excuse for how Nog treats his friends in “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” Living in a holodeck starts off as a way to not only avoid the people he thinks are staring at him, but to avoid helping himself get better through therapy and rehabilitation. And when Jake visits, Nog is rude to Jake’s date, and then outright attacks Jake in the middle of Vic’s set. Pally!

— You’ve got a deal! That’s the end of the Ferengi spotlights (for now?), but we’ve got more great DS9 recurring characters to examine for the next couple weeks, so make sure you’re following along here. We’re also still plodding through the Xindi arc over on our watchthrough of Enterprise, so join us on SoundCloud or wherever you get your podcasts, and hail us over on Facebook and Twitter. Now say it with me: self-stealing stem– dammit!

[the-lavender-clown]

I’m rewatching DS9 with my mom rn and it’s just reminding me how much I love Nog. I already forced my followers on Instagram to listen to my thoughts on him and y’all are my next victims

Nog is a great example for us to see the Ferengis and their culture in more depth. It's so interesting to me to watch his character develop as well as Sisko's viewpoint with him. Starfleet (specifically humans) wants to preach that they're accepting of all life forms and have left prejudice behind them but it's simply not true. In TNG we know that Worf definitely experienced his fair share of prejudice for being Klingon and Data for being an android. For the Voyager cast B'Elanna faced prejudice as a child for being half Klingon and the Doctor for being a hologram. Nog is DS9's best example I think of this kind of character. Even Worf was suspicious of Nog when he joins the DS9 crew despite having been in Nog's very situation as the first of his species (which doesn't have a very good reputation either) to join Starfleet. When introduced to the Ferengi in TNG we are lead to think that they are lying, greedy, cunning little gremlins and that's not entirely wrong but it's not entirely right either. An individual person is more than their race and culture. When they first get to DS9 Nog is one of the closest people to Jake's age and who wants to hang out with him. They became fast friends and got into some trouble for pulling pranks, tho they were never really very harmful if we're being honest but it certainly doesn't put Nog in a very good light. It looks like Nog is a bad influence and Sisko is convinced he is. He tries to convince Jake to not be friends with him and even bans him from hanging out with Nog but it doesn't work because the two boys are committed to their friendship. Jake teaches Nog how to read and Nog gives him (terrible) advice on girls. They're friendship has some bumps from the cultural differences but they always make up and push through. Ben has to admit that he was wrong about Nog and about their friendship. Ben even sticks up for Rom in an episode simply because their sons are best friends. He's able to see the Ferengi in a different light. Sure he still doesn't like Quark very much but who does? Quark is important to the station tho so they have to deal with him. (I could go into Quark’s character too but this is about Nog rn.) Then eventually Nog decides to join Starfleet and since his species isn't part of the federation he has to get a letter of recommendation from a command level officer to be able to go to the academy and he asks Sisko to sponsor him. Sisko spends the episode testing Nog to see if he's trustworthy and serious about this. At the end he tells Nog he won't write the letter because he doesn't understand why Nog wants to join and he needs to understand before he writes that letter. Nog tells him he wants to join Starfleet because he knew he didn't have the "lobs" for business just like his father doesn't and he doesn't want to end up like him. His father is brilliant but he's stuck working for his brother in a bar. Nog doesn't want that life for himself and he knows that if he's goes into business like a "good Ferengi" then that's where he'll end up. But he has his father's hands and smarts for machinery as well as his uncle's tenacity. He wants to do something worthwhile with his life and in Starfleet he can. Plus he looks up to Sisko, you can't convince me he doesn't, and Sisko is in Starfleet so that's another reason he wants to join (but that’s just my opinion).That speech gets him his letter and sponsorship. He gets to live out his dream of doing something with his life. He gets to be the first Ferengi in Starfleet proving that not all Ferengi are obsessed with profit and greed. I am so proud of him for that.

In conclusion, Nog is my brave, sweet, precious son and an incredibly complex character 💛💛💛

[abigail-nicole]

DS9 Watch Notes

“Star Trek Deep Space 9: What if the Nazis ran a shopping mall but now they're gone and you have to be in charge of the mall” - my spouse

Season Three

bc i can’t keep reblogging those already super long posts for S1 and S2 its so rude

QUARK GETTING A KLINGON WIFE AND SOLVING HER PROBLEMS THROUGH FINANCE MAY BE MY FAVORITE EPISODE

How fucked up is it that Garak helps rescue Legate whassit from his imminent torture by the Obsidian Order and he still tells Kira “no matter what, do not trust Elim Garak” like you think it’s hard making adult friends? Try being an exiled drug addict tailor spymaster

I am not a fan of Kira/Odo when Lwaxana/Odo was canon first!!!!

This Tom Riker episode was GREAT i love the Cardassians being appropriately impressed by Sisko

Someone on Tumblr said “why are Dukat and Sisko totally into each other” and you know……yeah

“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 I’m thinking about him” JUST FUCK HIM ODO

Jake saying “I love you, Nerys” may be the worst thing that happened on DS9 and I am keeping a list

This sex pollen episode is the worst sex pollen episode ever. All the people you don’t want to fuck each other and none of the ones you do

At the end of the Bell Riots of 2024 episode, where Jadzia romances Elon Musk into giving rioters a platform and Sisko leads a revolt against a state that puts homeless people in ghettos, Julian asks Sisko: “how did the 21st century let things get so bad?” and I expected Avery Brooks to solemnly stare into the camera, breaking the fourth wall, to say something like “if only we had social change focused on giving rights to people, instead of giving rights to corporations and billionaires, we could prevent this future”

DS9 really has TWO episodes where Miles O’Brien dies and is replaced with an another version of himself

Julian’s Subconscious The Episode really made me like him better as a character

These character-driven eps (Julian’s Subconcious! Miles Time Traveling! Sisko’s Wife’s Alive Alternate Universe! Even Garak Gets One!) are all gold. This is where DS9 gets great

Garak interrogating Odo and they come out friends is fantastic character work for both of them

Odo’s confession that he yearns to return home and meld with the other liquids in his species needs to be followed with “but I can’t because then I won’t see Quark every day”

EP 22 SISKO GETS A GOATEE

Sisko builds a boat and Dukat calls him up like “you going to fly that ship???” DUKAT YOU ARE OBSESSED WITH HIM

Whoa Captain Sisko! But even though it’s the space navy he’s still mostly….in charge of DS9….even though captains are in charge of ships that’s what a captain means… and we already had the Defiant but I guess ummmm promotion whatever

Season 3 ending: THE SHAPESHIFTERS HAVE INFILTRATED EVERYTHING (didn’t we know this from Garak & Odo & Tain episode)

[bijoumikhawal]

Thoughts on ds9 main cast as DnD classes

Sisko: Is it possible to be a warlock without being the initiating party? Actually scratch that, depending on how you interpret the whole thing with his mother and the prophets, he could be a sorcerer. I don't think he's a paladin because to me the defining feature of a paladin is the oath; Sisko is initally reluctant to being the Emissary and even tries to hand off the responsibility to someone else, partially out of genuine belief they might be better suited to the job. The fact that sorcerers don't chose their power is a defining characteristic, and not all sorcerers are from a bloodline. Some have a somewhat random awakening, like Sisko’s entering the wormhole. They don't learn new magic from books; they discover new abilities through the course of life, which reminds me of the episode with his visions.

Kira: Paladin. She becomes the person she is by dedicating herself to a cause wholly and completely, she never strays from it, and she's still devoted to it to this day, to the point where she gets chosen as a vessel for the prophets during the show down that wasn't. Alternatively: you could argue monk, and say her cloister was her terrorist cell, but I don't know it's as strong as the argument for paladin. That said, I am biased.

Dax: I struggled with her, not gonna lie. I feel like her massive jock energy is a known quantity, but she's also the science officer and clearly does a lot of research. I feel like you could most safely argue warlock- like I said for Sisko, sorcerers don't choose their path, and while joining could be similar to the outside influences in sorcerers, the process itself is a choice and ultimately similar to the mutually beneficial pacts warlocks carry out.

O'Brien: his face is next to the entry for "artificer". But if we were sticking to the core classes, I think his vibe is pretty close to those posts about Wizards as IT support technicians. You don't have to be a special guy to be a wizard, you just learn your trade.

Bashir: Sorcerer, but in a hypothetical DnD AU, not the usual way where your grandmother was a dragon fucker. More of in a horrible experiment way. However, he either intentionally multiclasses or pretends to be something else, and I think that's a ranger. From DnD beyond's single sentence summary: "(A ranger is) a warrior who combats threats on the edges of civilization". Now, the stuff in the rulebook isn't necessarily the best or only conceptualization of what a class is, but Julian does have that infamous line from the pilot. From a character analysis standpoint (though not an game mechanics one) you could argue disease is a favored enemy.

Worf: He's definitely a martial heavy class, not a primarily casting class. He doesn't fit as a barbarian at all, I don't think he's got a particular devotion that makes an oath for a paladin, and I don't believe he has a spiritual element to his character found with monks (admitting of course, that I'm not familiar with TNG). He does have the solitary style rangers are associated with in ds9, but not the nature association. You could argue that by serving in Starfleet, he, like Julian, is protecting a civilization from the outskirts as someone politically involved in the Klingon Empire. And even draw in his decision to live on the Defiant into this. You could also say he's a straightforward fighter.

Odo: I think you could make an argument for Odo as a paladin- his commitment to his idea of justice and fairness is very oath like, but I also find the read of paladins as cops kind of boring and not getting at the meat of what a paladin is. You could argue druid because of the shapeshifting and the idea of balance found in the class vs his idea of justice, but I feel like overall changelings focus more on a mastery over nature than being an extension of it, and that's pretty antithetical to druids when played as standard.

Quark: I do not think he is a rogue. To be fair, we see his failed schemes because those are the interesting ones, but Quark stans to my understanding like his middle aged fail babygirl vibe. I'm not sure what else he would be though... he's a decent negotiator and a good people person, so a high charisma class. That leads me towards bard, though Quark isn't much of an artist or speech maker.

Garak: hot take! Hot take alert from the known clown! Rogue/Paladin multiclass. Rogue is obvious- its a favorite for spy type characters. However- the third episode Garak is in, we learn about his sheer devotion to Cardassia, and how he classifies it as love. Paladins aren't the way they are because of religion (though that's often a big element), it's because of devotion. And that devotion can be deeply destructive. Plus- tell me, upon thinking about it, that afterimage isn't an oathbreaker level breakdown.

[walkingstackofbooks]

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

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

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

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

Julian and Miles reassuring Worf how he smells XD

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

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

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

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

Why is Dax in red, though?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How did Jadzia do that calculation?!!

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

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

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

The tribble exploding is hilarious. Sorry, tribble.

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

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

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

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

[noitsbecky127]

rebecca watches ds9: invasive procedures

oh christ another ds9 evacuation? y’all JUST took the station back from evil bajorans!

ah yes, classic trek technobabble

why is quark here

what is he planning now

idk what that device is but i’m guessing it spells trouble

whatever’s happening with that ship i’m guessing it’s bad

thank god for tractor beams

oh ffs, of course it’s klingons

miles: HEY IDIOT WE’RE NOT AT WAR ANYMORE

why is a trill working with klingons

is odo just gonna chill in the box for this episode

no doubt this is somehow connected to whatever that device quark left was

julian was expecting to be doing medicine and then he got flung into a hostage situation

so what exactly do they WANT here

oh quark definitely neutralized those security systems

kira is plotting quark’s murder i think

idk what’s going on but i fully endorse close-up shots of dax’s face

sir you can’t have the worm

you really don’t have to steal the worm

you really do have a choice

look man i’m sorry you didn’t get your own worm but that’s not jadzia’s fault and you can’t have her worm

surely there are other routes to a good life than having a symbiont

he really didn’t need to shoot miles over it. just imho. but what do i know

obviously the worm’s gonna stay in jadzia, but this is still distressing

i think julian should just kill this guy on the operating table. guess that’s why he wants to be awake

god dax is so hot

time to fight klingons!!!

actually i don’t think that lady is a klingon. idk what she is though

the worm is gross

did trill evolve from kangaroos or some shit

quark shut the fuck up

“i used to help him relax” is that code for sex

was verad lying or does he just not know shit about the joining

he’s verad dax now. not for long though, the episode ends in 20 minutes

yeto shut the fuck up challenge

i fully support julian yelling at this klingon but also that is insane of him. yeto could snap him in half

so is jadzia still dying and just awake or did julian just figure out how to remove a symbiont from a trill without killing them? bc if it’s the latter then they should probably head to trill and let them know. that seems pretty groundbreaking

what’s with the familiarity? is sisko planning smth here or is he just being like “oh well, dax has a new face”

kira’s about to start screaming. her gf is dead and her boss is laughing with the guy who did it

ok good, looks like he’s trying to talk some sense into verad

girl you need to dump your shitty murdery boyfriend

quark’s plan is just “throw coin. jump on klingon. somehow overpower klingon”

i don’t think it’s working

oh wait ok ig he wanted to be brought to the infirmary. what will he do here then

quark i think you can stop screaming now

the worm definitely made him fall out of love with her

get his ass julian

ok so jadzia’s only stabilized for now. so there have been no medical breakthroughs. not yet anyway

of course quark is a master of lockpicking

time for odo to save the day

looks like sisko will get verad’s ass!

odo and kira are kicking ass

i think sisko is gonna shoot him

there we go!!!

i think we should eject this guy into space

[redhatmeg]

Repaying the favor! What is your favorite Star Trek species and why?

Thanks for the ask!

I would like to start with stating something I noticed back when I was bingewatching post-TNG Star Trek (sans Lower Decks, Picard and half of the Discovery first season, since they weren't out yet), namely: that each series delves into cultures of aliens introduced in earlier entries because of major characters being from that culture.

This way I actually grew to appreciate Klingon culture, because in TNG commander Worf gives us an insight to more noble and honorable side of Klingons (especially when he started to take care of Alexander); Bajoran and Trill culture in DS9, Andorian culture in ENT, even Borg in Voyager!

But my absolute favorite race are the Ferengi.

Now, I am aware of their flaws, but I find their culture utterly fascinating and DS9 is one of my favorite Star Treks, because the Ferengi got so much needed character development (God bless you, Armin Shimmerman). Not just through Quark, Rom and Nog that are just fantastic characters in general, but also through introduction of Rules of Acquisition, because some of those rules sound ridiculous and cinical, but others are quite reasonable and can be applied to tactics and diplomacy (they're like Art of War but with business instead of military strategy). And the episodes about that race in DS9 are just wonderful and set my standards for Ferengi Episodes in other shows very high.

And you may probably guess that the way some characters act towards Ferengi in general, kind of pisses me of because there is racism towards this race that doesn't apply to, say, Cardassians (the actual Nazis of Star Trek universe).

Now, onto the other races...

In your reply to my question, you mentioned Bajorans. I must say that even though I don't like them as much as Ferengi, I feel a kindship with Bajorans, partly due to this religious angle, and partly because of the history of occupation. Many things that Bajor deals with is something I, as a Pole, can identify with. It reminds me of everything I was learning about WW2 and post-war situation of Poland.

(Worf's situation as someone who tries to uphold Klingon traditions in foreign enviornment also resonates with me as a Pole. I don't know if you remember, but there was a TNG episode about Klingons living in peace with Romulans and there is a point being made that the new generation of these Klingons don't know what bat'leth is for or that the "lullaby" they sing their children is in fact a battle song. There is this feeling of Klingons forgetting their roots.)

The way religion was handled with Bajor is great, because Sisko treats it with respect (and not because he's the Emissary and he met the Prophets) and in general the show gives it a nuance. It's not the Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions kind of narrative.

That's all... I think.