#And also all the interactions with DAX but this is about these two right now! Lol

[joltning]

okayyy anyway I finished sandguardians YAYYY I was gonna watch guard duty next anyway I didn’t even know ellen was voiced by the creator of that. jumpscare. anyway uhh

claire’s va change scared me so bad the tonal shift between the two is immense

THING FOR THE WHOLE SERIES BUT I FUCKINH LOVE SEALS ARMOR CHANGE GIMMICK SO MUCH ITS SO GOOD like not only for the environment but if he hangs around people more he changes to their colors? YUPPPPPP SIGN ME UP BITCH

umm I think gates is tolerable but tbh I like his dynamics with claire and miller better than his character himself 😭esp claire and gates they’re such a good duo.

I feel like out of the trio miller has the least amount of time to develop a dynamic, like miller and gates is like two guys dicking around and miller and Claire is just…I mean I guess they’re friends nothing to say about them right

am I tweaking or does miller like lowkey have a crush on nash or smth /j no but rlly I like the dynamics of miller-nash and claire-nash umm nothing on gates and nash wtf do they do

NOW WHY DID I NOT REALIZE ALL THE FUCKING BEGINNING CHARACTERS ARW VOICED BY THE CREATOR I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION “oh this is a big group of friends!” NO BITCH ITS ONE GUY. talk about range

honestly I cannot get a grasp on ichabods character I feel like every scene he’s in is ooc /j no but like I mean. like I feel like he isn’t close with EITHER dax or jason why do you feel like close enough to vent to eachother omg have you guys talked more than 10 times. OH YEAH ALSO JASON JUST DROPPING RHAT HES SUICIDAL OKAY LIKE HELLO

but tbh speaking of ichabod…… actually I feel like his interactions with ellen r closer and better than his team am I going cra

AND THE TEAM. oh lird what is happening with seal and legend Lirddd

no lie I miss the “kind of sounds like English garble talk” sangheili voice over the reverse audio one…I had this idea in my head that The Guy In White was a native sangheili speaker cuz when he grunted or did battle cries it sounded similar to that….

wtf was ellen on about when nash was like. “Ohh do you have a crush on anyone maybe mary?” And she was like “love her but not the one I’m looking for” WHO are you looking for. don’t bait me like this I will bite on the bars of my enclosure

I was starting to think like “this show has a lot of dead people who weren’t around for long🤔” BIIITCH YOU WATCHED RECRUITS I COULD NOT COUNT THE NOTEABLE DEATHS OF THAT SERIES ON BOTH HANDS if anyone gets to here hi I still might care for those guys maybe but I’m on that high I get whenever I finish a series so haiiii if anyone has watched this one too(GLARES AT YOU SKELA) let’s talk about it or smth

[green-blooded]

I wrote this analysis of the DS9 episode The Wire 7 years ago (gosh time really does keep going doesn’t it)... And I’m still pretty proud of it, actually, so I wanted to save it from my old, inactive blog and repost it here. Please enjoy these 4,000+ words of me gushing about Garak and Bashir.

DUTY, FRIENDSHIP, AND LIES IN THE WIRE (DS9 2X22)

The Wire is one of my favorite episodes of DS9, and honestly one of my favorite episodes of anything. I see something new in it every time I watch it, and it always impacts me emotionally. So, I want to talk about it. This is going to be a very, very long post.

The episode is book-ended (no pun intended) with Garak sharing a piece of Cardassian literature with Bashir. In the opening scene, the argument between them about the Neverending Sacrifice serves to set a few thematic elements. Most apparent is a tension about Cardassian culture vs. Federation(/Human) culture, which Garak snaps at Bashir about more than once.

BASHIR: None of his characters ever really come alive, and there’s more to life than duty to the state. 

GARAK: A Federation viewpoint if ever I heard one. 

[…]

GARAK:When it comes to art, you’re obviously a prisoner of Federation dogma and Human prejudice.

Bashir also says that Cardassian standards for health must be lower than his own, and he also brings up Garak’s “Cardassian evasiveness” in the next scene.

So, the main cultural conflict brought up here is that Cardassians have a duty to the state above the individual, whereas Bashir holds the position that the individual is more important. That is, after all, why he didn’t like the Neverending Sacrifice; not the repetitiveness of it (epics written by Humans tend to be repetitive too), but because the characters never “come alive”, i.e. each generation has the same motivation and no individuality.

Bashir comes into conflict with Odo about their duties as well.

BASHIR: I’m afraid your questions will have to wait. 

ODO: How long? 

BASHIR: I don’t know yet. Constable, Garak’s body has undergone a severe shock. I don’t know when he’ll recover. I’m not even sure if he’ll recover. 

ODO: In that case I want to talk to him now. Wake him up. 

BASHIR: I’ll do no such thing. 

ODO: Doctor, these are murder cases and Garak may be a suspect. 

BASHIR: That may be so, but he’s still my patient and I won’t have him disturbed.

Bashir’s idea of duty is duty to the individual–not to the state and not to justice. So, when Garak is sick, Bashir heals him, because it is Bashir’s duty to do so regardless of what anyone else wants, including Garak himself. During a short scene with Dax, Bashir does try to eschew his duty briefly, before it becomes clear how serious Garak’s illness is.

BASHIR: Garak and I have been having lunch together once a week for more than a year now. You’d think he’d come to trust me a little. 

DAX: Why should he? It’s not like you two are really friends. 

BASHIR: No, of course not. I suppose when it comes right down to it, I don’t trust him either. I mean, for all I know, the man is a Cardassian spy. 

DAX: Exactly. 

BASHIR: Exactly. If he doesn’t want my help, that’s his prerogative.

Bashir’s reasoning here is interesting. He says that he would expect Garak to trust him, and everything in Bashir’s two previous onscreen interactions with Garak would lead the viewer to believe that Bashir trusts Garak to some extent. Hell, in Cardassians when Garak shows up in his room in the middle of the night, Bashir hardly even seems disconcerted by it, and immediately jumps on a runabout to Bajor with him. That seems to reflect some iota of trust. Also, eating lunch with someone every week and staying up late to finish a book then loaned you–a book which you don’t even enjoy!–seemes to be a sign of friendship, but when Dax says they aren’t friends, Bashir laughs at the idea. It should be noted, however, that he can’t maintain eye contact with Dax when he says this and has to look away.

We see some underlying anger/frustration as well when he stabs Jadzia’s sick plant.

He also connects Garak being a possible spy to the reason he doesn’t trust Garak or consider him a friend. No, not just a spy, a Cardassian spy. It’s been made clear in the series up to this point that there is prejudice against Cardassians on the station–understandably so given why the station exists in the first place. It’s also been made clear that Bashir wants to be liked by everyone, so I can’t help but wonder if he downplays his friendship with Garak to avoid the confrontations he might have with others, particularly Miles O'Brien, whom he works at being friends with particularly hard and who has a particular hatred of Cardassians. Note that he never tells O'Brien why he’s asking for access to Cardassian medical files, only that two or three weeks is too long to wait for them.

On the other hand, a character who is much more friendly with Cardassians, Quark, knows that Bashir is the one to call when Garak is on his third bottle of kanar. Now you’d think that he’d call security. I mean, that’s the normal thing to do when someone is out of hand at a bar, but he calls Bashir. I don’t see any other reason he’d do this aside from knowing Bashir is Garak’s only friend on the station. So perhaps Bashir doesn’t hide his friendship with Garak as much around Quark, who wouldn’t think less of him for having a Cardassian friend.

However, in the end, Bashir only admits aloud that he is Garak’s friend to Tain

TAIN: I thought you were his friend. 

BASHIR: I suppose I am. 

(My opinion is that Bashir is not actively hiding that he and Garak are friends, but that he does it subconsciously, even hiding it from himself to an extent.)

In any case, it’s lucky that the one friend Garak has on the station is the chief medical officer, because it turns out he needs one of those. There’s a lot made out of the following exchange in which Bashir attempts to trick a drunk Garak into going to the infirmary.

BASHIR: I think it’s a little noisy in here. I prefer to drink somewhere quiet. 

GARAK: An excellent idea. We’ll go to my quarters. 

BASHIR: Whatever you want. But first I must make a stop at the Infirmary. 

GARAK: The Infirmary? My dear Doctor, what kind of fool do you take me for? 

This makes me curious about whether or not Bashir has ever been to Garak’s quarters. It seems to me that Bashir would’ve shown some amount of surprise at the invitation if he’d never been there before. Garak is a private person, so there is again more friendliness there than Bashir is ready to admit.

Bashir does end up in Garak’s quarters later on (and he doesn’t seem unfamiliar with the place), and learns more about Garak’s situation.

GARAK: My dear Doctor, I have no intention of putting myself on display for the amusement of the Bajoran inhabitants of this station. 

And later…

GARAK: Living on this station is torture for me, Doctor. The temperature is always too cold, the lights always too bright. Every Bajoran on the station looks at me with loathing and contempt. So one day I decided I couldn’t live with it anymore, and I took the pain away. 

It matters to Garak that he’s surrounded by Bajorans who hate him and want to see him in pain. Bashir calls it pride, which is probably part of it. Being hated itself can’t be what’s bothering him, because having been part of the Obsidian Order, he must be used to that. I would suggest that Garak’s love of his homeland is such that seeing the contempt from Bajorans, and knowing why they hate Cardassians so much, is where a majority of his stress is coming from.

Regardless, this is about the time Garak starts telling his stories about Elim. Let’s take this part of the conversation in pieces.

GARAK: Has it ever occurred to you that I might be getting exactly what I deserve? 

BASHIR: No one deserves this. 

GARAK: Oh, please, Doctor. I’m suffering enough without having to listen to your smug Federation sympathy. Do you think because we have lunch together once a week, you know me? You couldn’t even begin to fathom what I’m capable of.

Again, Garak brings up the fact that Bashir is Federation. We know a little of how the Cardassian legal system works at this point, and that punishment and unfailing justice are key for the Cardassian public. The Federation, on the other hand, does the whole innocent until proven guilty thing. Garak knows that, and so he comes up with a story that will prove he’s guilty.

BASHIR: I’m a doctor. You’re my patient. That’s all I need to know. 

GARAK: Wrong again. You need to know who you’re trying to save. During the occupation, I was a Gul in the Cardassian Mechanized Infantry. We were stationed just outside the Bajoran Capital. Shortly before the withdrawal, a handful of Bajoran prisoners escaped from my custody. My aide, a man named Elim, tracked them to a Cardassian shuttle about to depart for Terok Nor. Elim got aboard, but the captain refused to let him search the ship, because he claimed he was under strict orders from Gul Dukat to depart immediately. So I had the shuttle destroyed, killing the escapees, Elim, and ninety seven Cardassian civilians. 

Bashir reaffirms that his duty is to heal the individual, not to be concenred with any bigger picture, and so Garak tells Bashir a crime that seems tailor made (ha ha) to drive Bashir away. He killed 97 of his own people for a reason he must know is not one that Bashir would accept. Bashir made clear at the very beginning of this episode that he didn’t believe in living for nothing but duty to the state, and so Garak tells him a story in which he acts on orders alone, as he says…

BASHIR: You can’t be serious. 

GARAK: I followed my orders. None of those prisoners escaped off of Bajor alive. Unfortunately as it turned out, one of the passengers on the shuttle was the daughter of a prominent military official. I was stripped of my rank and commission, and exiled from Cardassia. So now you know, Doctor. I hope I haven’t shattered too many of your illusions. 

Not only does the story paint Garak as someone who mindlessly follows orders, but the reason for his exile is dull. It’s purely politics. It’s not the kind of thing that Bashir could romanticize the way he romanticizes the idea of Garak being a spy. From Garak’s point of view, there is nothing that Bashir should still be holding onto as a reason to save his life. The story doesn’t matter, though. Not when it comes to Bashir’s duty.

Also notice that, for a moment after Garak finishes the story, neither of them are able to look at each other until Bashir tells Garak to listen to him.

BASHIR: Listen to me, Garak. 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.

Garak gives in at that point, and his withdrawal from the endorphins begins. We’ve seen Garak in pain and frustrated, but we don’t see him angry until this point. When he wakes up, Bashir goes over to him and sits next to him.

BASHIR: Garak? 

GARAK: Leave me alone. 

BASHIR: I don’t think that would be a good idea right now. Your blood chemistry is severely imbalanced. You need to rest. 

GARAK: Don’t touch me. 

BASHIR: Just calm down.

GARAK: I don’t want to be calm, Doctor. I’ve been calm long enough. Look at this place. It’s pathetic. To think that this is what my life has been reduced to. This sterile shell, this prison. 

Garak is pushing Bashir away at this point, telling him to get away from him more forcefully than he ever has. You can see the violence building right away, and you can tell it’s not going to go well as soon as he knocks down the vase. This violent act is connected to his line about “This sterile shell, this prison.” His phrasing is curious. What, exactly, does he consider sterile? The station is a Cardassian-built station. Sure, there have been some changes as far as temperature and lighting, but everything else is stll pretty much Cardassian–just compare the way DS9 looks compared to the Enterprise. What about it is sterile compared to wherever he would live on Cardassia? Perhaps it’s living on a station rather than on land. Perhaps he means in a figurative way, as in the sterile ethics of the Federation as opposed to the… shall we say challenging ethics of the Obsidian Order.

Moving on, in the midst of trying so hard to push Bashir away, Garak revises his story.

GARAK: Stop them? I only wish that I had stopped them. 

BASHIR: You didn’t? 

GARAK: No, Doctor, my disgrace was worse than that. Unimaginably worse. 

BASHIR: What could you have possibly done worse than that? 

GARAK: I let them go. It was the eve of the Cardassian withdrawal. Elim and I were interrogating five Bajorans. They were children, Doctor. None of them were older than fourteen years old. They knew nothing. They lived in bombed-out rooms, scrounged for food on the streets. They were filthy and they stank. The room was freezing cold, the air was like ice, and suddenly the whole exercise seemed utterly meaningless. All I wanted was a hot bath and a good meal. So I let them go. I gave them whatever latinum I had in my pockets, and opened the door, and flung them back into the street. Elim couldn’t believe his eyes. He looked at me as if I were insane.

BASHIR: You took pity on those children. There’s nothing wrong with that. 

GARAK: No! I was a fool! I should’ve finished the interrogation and turned them over to the troops for execution. But because I was chilly and my stomach was growling, I failed in my duty and destroyed everything I had worked for. 

The revision to the story at first seems peculiar. At the moment when he seems to want Bashir to leave him alone the most, he tells a much more sympathetic story, which is far more likely to tug on his Federation heartstrings.

But the story isn’t about Garak, it’s about Bashir.

There are a few parallels in this story to the events of the episode. Garak mentions being cold, which is also something he said was a problem on the station. He also says that the “exercise seemed utterly meaningless”–that is, his duty to the state seemed useless. Because he no longer felt that loyalty to the state in that moment, he saved the lives of the Bajoran children, and ruined his own life.

Garak is, in his way, warning Bashir off. In this story, Garak has mercy on some pathetic Bajorans, and he suffers for it. The message, or one of the messages, is that Bashir will suffer for his own mercy on Garak.

The warning doesn’t work.

GARAK: And left me to live out my days with nothing to look forward to but having lunch with you. 

BASHIR: I’m sorry you feel that way. I thought you enjoyed my company. 

GARAK: I did. And that’s the worst part. I can’t believe that I actually enjoyed eating mediocre food and staring into at your smug, sanctimonious face. I hate this place and I hate you. 

It’s hard to miss (unless you’re Bashir apparently) that Garak says the only thing he has to look forward to is his lunches with Bashir, which are only once per week. (Also that he was staring into his face, but I’ll leave that be for this post.) Smug is a callback to “smug Federation sympathy” at the beginning of the episode. So, when he calls his face smug here, he’s referring to two things–that he’s Federation rather than Cardassian, and that he’s showing him sympathy. So, yeah, there are some layers here. Garak has nothing else going on in his life that he enjoys except spending time with Bashir, even after he started the endorphins (which appears to be before or around the same time that they met). At the same time, Bashir is part of a Federation with which Garak has little in common. Bashir, although he’s more open minded than others in some ways, strongly believes that his set of morals and beliefs are correct, and judges Garak by those standards. Of course, Garak does that right back toward Bashir, but Garak doesn’t have the support of other Cardassians to reassure him the way Bashir has other Starfleet officers. Spending so much time with Bashir, and enjoying it, is another step away from Cardassia and his Cardassian identity. For someone who has justified a lot of bad things he’s done by calling himself a patriot and a true believer in the superiority of Cardassia, that little step must be terrifying. Bashir makes him question things he doesn’t want to question.

So, he finally attacks Bashir, finally showing a pure and intense emotion without any artifice between himself and Bashir, before having another seizure and ending up in the infirmary where he will tell the third story.

But first.

GARAK: I won’t allow it. I never want that thing turned on again. 

BASHIR: I understand how you feel, but I’m not sure what else I can do for you. 

GARAK: You’ve done enough, Doctor. More than I deserve. There’s something you have to know. 

BASHIR: What’s that? 

GARAK: The truth. 

BASHIR: I’ve about given up on learning the truth from you, Garak. 

GARAK: Don’t give up on me now, Doctor.

This is the second time Garak has mentioned not deserving Bashir’s help, but he’s finally stopped pushing Bashir away. Andrew Robinson’s delivery of that last line is intense, probably even more emotionally honest than the physical attack, because this is an emotion for Bashir, and his anger was only projected onto Bashir.

And so, here comes the story.

GARAK: Now listen carefully. Elim wasn’t my aide. He was my friend. We grew up together. We were closer than brothers. For some reason, Enabran Tain took a liking to us. Before long, we were both powerful men in the Obsidian Order. They called us the Sons of Tain. Even the Guls feared us. And then there was a scandal. Someone in the Order was accused of letting some Bajoran prisoners escape. There were constant rumors of who was going to be implicated. Fingers were being pointed at me. By then Tain had retired to the Arawath Colony. He couldn’t protect me, so I panicked. I did everything in my power to make sure that Elim was accused instead of me. I altered records, planted evidence, only to discover that he’d beaten me to it. 

BASHIR: He betrayed you first? 

GARAK: Elim destroyed me. Before I knew what was going on, I was sentenced to exile. And the irony is, I deserved it. Oh, not for the reasons they claimed, but because of what I had tried to do to Elim, my best friend.

Obviously there are a few things in this story that we know are true-ish after watching the rest of the series. Garak was in the Obsidian Order, and he’s the son of Tain.

It’s also true that Tain is in the Arawath Colony–which is part of the reason Garak’s telling the story. It’s not exactly that he wants to be saved, but that he knows Bashir wants so badly to save him. Tain points out that saving Garak’s life is not kind, and instead is prolonging his punishment (i.e. his exile). Obviously Bashir doesn’t agree, but Garak certainly seems to. So, he doesn’t say it directly, but he does say it.

There’s more to the story than giving Bashir the key to finding Garak’s cure, though. This revision makes the story nearly unrecognizable. It’s no longer about trying to get Bashir away from him, either by trying to revolt him with his horrible crimes, or to show him the downsides of mercy. This time, he’s appologizing and acknowledging their friendship in a very Garak sort of way. He doesn’t directly call Bashir a friend, but the story shows he treasures friendship, and that betraying a friend is a crime worthy of the worst kind of punishment. And, as you might do after an apology, he asks for forgiveness.

BASHIR: Why are you telling me this, Garak? 

GARAK: So that you can forgive me. Why else? I need to know that someone forgives me. 

BASHIR: I forgive you for whatever it is you did. 

GARAK: Thank you, Doctor. That’s most kind. 

Considering that Garak has said multiple times that he deserves the punishment he’s received, the exile, the pain, and perhaps death, it’s clear that he doesn’t forgive himself. It’s also clear that Bashir is the only one who could give such an open-ended forgiveness and be believed. He’s proven it throughout the ordeal. No matter how hard Garak tried to push him away, Bashir was there for him, not only to help him recover physically but to listen to him, and believing him every time even though he knows Garak lies.

I’ve seen some imply that Garak and Bashir’s friendship shouldn’t work because Bashir is so naive, but Garak doesn’t need someone as cunning as he is. He doesn’t need someone with the same values as he has. He doesn’t need someone who will enjoy Cardassian literature. He needs someone who is willing to listen to him and talk with him. And whether he likes it or not, if anything their cultural differences help them engage with each other, because they’re both willing to hear the other person’s side… even if they’re not willing to admit that they agree with any of it.

Once Garak is healed, we see them return to their routine of the weekly lunch and their cultural exchange. Garak gives Bashir another bit of Cardassian literature which might be more to his taste. Bashir will read it, as evidenced by him not wanting the ending ruined, just as he read the Neverending Sacrifice. The episode ends with one of Garak’s most famous lines.

BASHIR: You know, I still have a lot of questions to ask you about your past. 

GARAK: I’ve given you all the answers I’m capable of. 

BASHIR: You gave me answers, all right, but they were all different. What I want to know is of all the stories you told me, which ones were true and which ones weren’t? 

GARAK: My dear Doctor, they’re all true. 

BASHIR: Even the lies? 

GARAK: Especially the lies.

Why especially the lies? It’s more than a clever turn of phrase. Tain says that Garak “never tells the truth when a lie will do.” As much as this episode focuses on the friendship between Garak and Bashir, they spend very little time expressing anything to each other directly. Bashir shows that he cares by healing Garak and forgiving him, but he hardly says anything directly to Garak. He doesn’t say that he doesn’t want him to die, only that he won’t let him. In a lot of ways, Bashir is as emotionally closed off as Garak is, and it’s only the extreme pain that Garak’s in that allows him to express anything toward Bashir.

Garak tells the lies because if he expresses his guilt about what he did for the Obsidian Order, that would undermine his belief in duty to the state above all else. If he expresses his fondness for Bashir, it’s making a connection with someone who isn’t a Cardassian. He has to tell his forbidden thoughts through lies which fit the narrative of Cardassian ethics–through storytelling. The exchange of literature framing this episode is not incidental. Bashir listens to Cardassian fiction every time he sits down to lunch with Garak, because they’re stories that Garak needs to tell to get to the truth.

[ezrisdax-archive]

whisper to me your star trek rare pairs o fair shipper

send me a fandom and I'll tell you my rare pairs and tell you why you should ship them

TOS

Uhura/T'Pring - okay not as much as a rare pair as before but def still not as common as Uhura/Chapel (which I also love and is also kinda technically a rare pair...) but! they only have one single interaction and I do not care. that interaction is Uhura looking at T'Pring and going 'oh no she's hot' pretty much and how can I not ship it from there?? plus I like the idea of Uhura practicing her Vulcan with T'Pring and T'Pring getting other choices that aren't just Vulcan guys. aaaand the Captain Uhura first Officer T'Pring au is my absolute fave one, I mean it's TOS, gotta have a Vulcan first officer right?

TNG

Tasha/Troi - I love Troi/Bev but a few years back when I did a rewatch my heart just fell for Tasha/Deanna. I mean that scene where Tasha is all messed up by alien stuff and goes to Deanna's room and is like 'you always look so pretty' is extremely gay and then you've got Deanna who's saying 'Tasha's very good looking' to Picard at one point. also!! Tasha reaching out to Deanna when she's in pain always gets me, I like the relationship that was built up with these two and I think it just has a strong foundation for shipping in general.

Ro/Tasha - LITERALLY DATED IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE. god I'm never over it. but also the two of them grew up in war torn worlds where they had to fight for themselves and Tasha grew to be more idealistic sure but there's the base understanding between them. I don't think they'd get along in the regular TNG world right away because Tasha believes so strongly in Starfleet which is why I think having episodes where they grow to respect each other would be key here. kinda like B'Elanna/Seven but less antagonistic to each other.

Ro/Troi - okay fine I had to complete the trifecta but I love the Disasters episode where Deanna is in charge and Ro doesn't respect her at first but comes to see how competent Deanna is. Ro has a competency kink, don't @ me about this okay. And then later they share drinks and joke about Riker and I just think it's cute they grew to have this friendship and it could also be romantic where Deanna convinces Ro to relax more and Ro later helps Deanna when she's trying out for Command track. I wish it'd been Deanna who Ro had said good bye the episode she left instead of Riker cause given how they started it would have made it more interesting to me.

DS9

Ezri/Leeta - once again, married in another universe...but I think they're cute in the main universe too, like Leeta helping Ezri figure out what food/drink she could eat whenever she comes to the promenade and Ezri interested in joining Leeta for Bajoran festivals and the like. It's a shame they never interacted much in season 7 but again, they're gay and married in another universe so I'll take the win where I can

Ezri/Kira - it's about the potential for angst. it's the stupid "Jadzia had feelings for you" arc done with Julian but better because Kira hadn't admitted yet that she had feelings for Jadzia and then Jadzia died and Ezri is here, a different person but still Dax. and Kira grows to enjoy that version of Dax in the show! I think there could be something romantic there as well and it's a pity the show never went for it.

Ezri/Lenara - same as Ezri/Kira with angst but somehow x100 because Lenara and Ezri already have that past with their hosts. They've been married, they reconnected and parted again, and now they're here where Leanara remembers Jadzia and Torias but Ezri is a whole new host and she almost threw the whole Trill society away for a chance with Jadzia and is there a chance she could do it again with Ezri?

VOY

B'Elanna/Seven - I keep forgetting this actually is a rare pair the amount of work I've put in for stuff for it honestly. I've said it before but they make me feral. They're such mirrors of each other and in the series their relationship is so interesting in that it's antagonistic and gets a grudging respect later on. They both had such messed up childhoods and see themselves as outsiders and B'Elanna literally jokes "us outsiders need to stick together" when they get back and earth and god I wish Picard had done something with that throwaway line still. I think the relationship would be a lot of work and full of miscommunication but there's something about seeing the flaws in someone else that you see in yourself and forgiving them anyway even while you can't forgive your own that just appeals to me.

B'Elanna/Stadi - okay listen, I know Stadi appears for all of ten minutes and gets killed and never met B'Elanna BUT consider the au where she stays on as the pilot. B'Elanna would /hate/ having a Betazoid around to potentially read her thoughts and Stadi wouldn't do it but boy would she have fun riling up B'Elanna that way I feel given how she jokes with Tom a little. Like it's the pilot/engineer ship I fucking deserved to have!!

ENT

Hoshi/T'Pol - it is the main femslash ship but also such a rare one but what I watched of Ent I enjoyed with them because of how T'Pol reached out in understanding and Hoshi likes to make jokes around Vulcans and they clearly respected each other and look sometimes it doesn't take much for me to ship something but that.

DSC

Joann/Keyla - if these two aren't fucking canon by the end I will storm the filming location in Toronto and hunt the writers down. they keep staring at each other across the ship consoles, they keep hugging each other, they keep joking with each other, and Joann's looks always linger. She invites herself into Keyla's vacation as a joke. They're always filmed together in scenes and Joann is the one who helps her gain some confidence back in season three and I'm going insaaaaaane. they're so gay!!!!!!

Mirror!Philippa/Reno - I just think the snarky older women should banter and have sex. it's already established they both like women. what more do you want from me.

SNW

Uhura/Ortegas - okay listen. Ortegas is always teasing Uhura and I just think it's cute and at this point Uhura need a confidence boost and Ortegas has confidence to share. somehow that works out in my head enough that I wrote a fic for them.

Mixed trek ships

Ro/B'Elanna - look they were both in Maquis, they could have met at some point. both hate Cardassians and have strong morals and tried Starfleet and didn't fully work in their rules and regulations because of their temper and I think they should kiss. but also I think they'd understand each other quite a lot honestly.

Jadzia/Guinan - look me in the eye and tell me it's not possible that Guinan and Jadzia have a) met in Jadzia's past life times and b) wouldn't try to out flirt each other the whole time

Jadzia/Uhura - Why was Jadzia wearing a red dress when they went to the past when she was sciences? Answer: to sleep with Uhura and in case they got their uniforms mixed up there'd be no problems. It's litreally the only reason I thought of this ship and I'm sticking with it.

I know I have more but I feel I may have done enough tangents now...

[ijustthinkfrogsarecool]

well alright. i guess i can try to catch up a little bit real quick.

i live in my own place now, a condo that i got to buy. i was lucky, too- most things get bought by landlords and rented out instead within days of becoming available for sale. i live across the street from my old tiny apartment, which is funny to me, but also convenient because none of my bike routes had to change. 

i still work for the university’s school of medicine. still in the same position. it’s complicated and i don’t want to talk about it right now, just, still in the same position. my team has two more people on it now so i’m not alone anymore, but that just means our boss increased the workload. i feel very overwhelmed and tired and irritable all the time, which is not a mindset i like to be in when i approach work that i feel is important and rewarding.

i have two cats, eowyn and tux. wynnie is two and tux is three. i’ve had eowyn since january 2021 and tux since october 2021. he’s a good noodle. they both just had checkups, and the vet has approved eowyn’s current weight as ideal, so i feel pretty good about my ability to correct mistakes in how much i feed them. eowyn seems much happier these days anyway- more active, playful. still very food motivated, haha.

i’m no longer in most of the online groups i’d joined during the covid lockdown. most of them went poorly. it seems to have caused some kind of trauma because i feel very off-kilter and uncertain of what i even want when i interact with people anymore. i have been feeling painfully lonely for a few months. i was trying to cling to my small friend group but most of those relationships do not make me very happy. which sucks because i am fond of these people and i finally met someone who is very similar to me and i thought i could make a meaningful connection with. well, i was fond of most people in the writing server(s) too. 

trying to get reconnected in my little in-person community, but it sucks haha. most of the clubs i was part of, the members i knew have all graduated and moved away. and it would be weird for a 30-year-old to try to rejoin student groups when i’m not a student and not even personal friends with any of the members anymore. the other older adult in the writing club, dax, is still in town and he’s trying to get back to doing weekend picnics and bike rides and parties and stuff. i went to one of his costume parties last night actually. but everyone there is always so... unsettlingly christian. it makes me really uncomfortable, the way they talk about other people. i’m always acutely aware that i’m not like them.

i do at least still work on my webcomic, though it’s... listless, the last few years. ever since i tried to join that fandom community and then all the mess after that with the writing group that i tried to help run... i can tell i’m burnt out, but nothing i do seems to bring me any energy or joy, so i can’t get un-burnt out. i’ve just been trapped in this gray muck for two and a half years it feels like.

that’s all for now i guess. i don’t know how to talk about things anymore.

[sysig]

Would you smooch an alien: Yeah or Heck Yeah (Patreon)

[plentyoffandoms]

If you're looking for more AEW requests. I would not mind more Orange Cassidy, Jungleboy, Wardlow, or Eddie Kingston. But I'm also a sucker for MJF too.

Love Story

Main Masterlist ♡ AEW Masterlist ♡ MJF Masterlist

Summary: - MJF falls for F/Reader who he usually never goes for.

MJF x f/Reader

Just like all my other stories, this has not been proofread, but please enjoy.

Gifs & photos do not belong to me.

Warnings: Some swearing.

Also the photos is just to show the outfit, not what I am picturing the reader to look like. Please imagine your gorgeous self in one these dresses or even in a dress you may want to wear for this.

MJF's POV:

I was out to dinner with Michael, Ronnie, David, Daniel who in the wrestling world are known as Wardlow, Sean Spears, Dax Hardwood and Cash Wheeler. There were also other members of AEW there as well celebrating Michael's birthday.

We are at one of his favourite restaurants the Longhorn Steakhouse.

I was sitting there, eating and talking to Ronnie when a waitress asked to fill my cup. I looked up to say yes when my breath got caught in my throat.

"Would you like anything else while I am here Sir?"

I, for once in my life am speechless. I shook my head no and she smiled at me as she moved down the table.

Michael who saw our interaction raised his eyebrow at me and I tried to ignore him as best as I could.

I excused myself to go the washroom but I was trying to keep an eye out for that mysterious waitress.

I saw her walking towards an empty table with another party behind her.

"Excuse me." I asked a waiter that was walking past.

"Anything I can help you with Sir?"

"What is her name. I did not catch it earlier." I asked as I pointed to the mystery woman.

"Her name is Y/N."

"Thank you."

I went to the washroom and came back to the table just as dessert was being brought out.

I looked around for Y/N but she was no where to be seen.

I kept an eye out for her until we left and sadly I did not see her any where.

I drove with Michael to the restaurant as the two of us were sharing a home here in Jacksonville.

Once we were alone in the car, that is when the questions started.

"What the hell was that about?"

"What was what about?"

"You know what I am talking about Max. With the waitress."

"Her name is Y/N." Damn it. That just slipped out.

"Yes, about Y/N. You never find anyone attractive unless they have a high paying job."

"Well this time it was different."

"Whatever you say man, but you will probably never see her again. I go there all the time and she is hardly there."

I changed the subject as I didn't want to talk about this anymore and I made sure we didn't talk about it again.

A few days later I was shopping for my parents wedding anniversary. I always try to get them something nice.

I checked many stores but nothing was catching my eye for the perfect gift for my parents, so I decided to hit Swarovski.

"Welcome to Swarovski. How may I help you today?" I looked at from the jewellery display at the familiar voice. It is Y/N. She has two jobs?

Y/N's POV:

Holy shit, it was the guy from the other night. My co-worker Alan told me he asked for my name.

I knew who he was because my co-workers couldn't stop talking about having some of the wrestlers from AEW there. I mean, the tall one, Wardlow I believe his name is, comes there quite a bit.

"Hey, are you not the woman from the restaurant? Y/N correct?"

"Yes Sir. Now how may I help you today?"

He looked defeated but I have a job to do. I need to make money. "My parents wedding anniversary is coming up and I would like to buy them each a gift."

"You have come to the right place. Follow me."

I showed him different options and I could tell he is very picky on what to get them. In the end he decided on a watch for his Dad and beautiful bracelet for his Mom.

I rang up the two items and he paid. "Is there anything else I can help you with Sir?" I asked him as I handed him the bag.

"Why don't I take you out to dinner?"

I wanted to, my God I did but I don't go on dates with customers. It is my own personal rule I have.

"Sorry Sir.."

"My name is Max." He said to me.

"Max I am sorry, I do not date customers. It is just a rule I have. I am sorry."

"Okay, how about you come and watch me wrestle this Wednesday night if you are free. I will have two tickets set a side for you. Bring a friend. I just need your last name as well." Smooth.

"I'll think on it but my last name is L/N."

I watched as a smile spread across his handsome face. "Just go to the box office for the tickets. See you there Beautiful."

I called my friend Abby to come with me. She is a massive wrestling fan, well more like a massive Wardlow fan.

She about screamed my ear off when I told her I have tickets. I had to explain to her how I got them.

"The Maxwell Jacob Friedman likes you?"

"Yes Abby."

She kept going on and on about it until I threatened to uninvite her. She calmed down once I said that.

It was now Wednesday night and I was standing in line at the box office. I hope Max kept his end of the deal up and didn't forget.

"I can help whose next."

"Hi, I have two tickets set aside for Y/N L/N plus one."

"Yes, MJF has two ringside seats set aside as well as backstage passes for the two of you."

I said thank you as I was handed the ticket and lanyard with the backstage pass connected to it.

I could practically feel Abbys excitement.

We found our seats and I couldn't help but feel excited about this. The last few days I have looked up everything I could about Max and I know he is a heel and he is the leader of the faction called The Pinnacle.

Abby and I watched every single match until the main event which Abby told me was between MJF and Sammy Guevara.

The audience were practically booing him but I just was clapping for him. I watched as he looked around and once he noticed me, he sent a wink my way.

Abby grabbed my arm and started to jump up and down. "For the love of God Abby, stop it. You are hurting me." She let go and apologised.

I watched the match and it looked like he was going to lose until the other members of the Pinnacle came out. Seemed odd but that is wrestling.

MJF's POV:

I had no idea Y/N would come or not but I made sure to have the tickets and backstage passes for her.

"You think she will show up tonight?" Michael asked me. Yes, I told him everything about my interaction with Y/N the other day.

"I hope so." Was all I said to him as I tried to focus on the match that was coming up.

I walked to the ring and looked around and to my surprise, there she was. Sitting there, clapping and smiling for me while everyone else was booing.

I winked at her and saw her friend grab her arm and jump with excitement, but now it is time to focus on the match.

The match was done and I won, with the help from my guys. I went backstage and had a shower and changed back into my clothes.

Hopefully Y/N will use the backstage pass. I left the dressing room and noticed Michael and Y/Ns friend were talking, well flirting. I wonder where Y/N is?

"Good match out there." I jumped alittle at the sound of her voice and I turned to see her leaning against the wall behind me.

"Thank you. I am glad to see that you took me up on my offer."

"I am glad I did as well Max. It was a fun night."

"Now how about that other one?"

"Oh, the date with you. I mean I guess I could." She said teasingly.

"When are you free Beautiful?"

"Tomorrow night."

"How about you give me your number and I will text you the details." I handed her my phone to put her number in.

I quickly text her to make sure it was the right number and it was.

"See you tomorrow Max. I have to work in the morning." She gave me a kiss on the cheek and I felt my face heat up.

"Let's go Abby. I got work in the morning and you are my ride." She called out to her friend.

I watched as the two of them walked off and I felt a hand clasp my shoulder.

"So, when is this date?"

"Tomorrow night."

Tomorrow night came and it was wonderful and I asked her out again and again and we became official after our fourth date.

We were together every moment we could be. She met my parents and I met hers.

When it was time for AEW to start to travel again, I didn't want to leave her behind.

"Come with me." I said to as we were snuggled up together on my couch watching a movie.

"Max, I have two jobs here and my friends."

I paused the movie. "Quit your jobs and you can always stay in contact with your friends. I know we can stay in contact but I want you there with me and I can not imagine being away from you."

"Can I think on this?"

"Of course Beautiful."

She didn't give me her answer when I had to hit the road and it pained me to watch the tears stream down her face as we kissed and said goodbye.

I was on the road for only a week when I got the text from her saying she was flying out to the next city where I was going and travelling with me.

I am thankful because I had a question I have been meaning to ask her for some time.

I was waiting to pick her up from the airport and she should be down at any moment.

I saw her before she saw me and I called out her name. She ran to me and I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her up to kiss her.

I know it has only been a week but it has felt like a life time.

"Max, I have missed you so much."

"I have missed you too Beautiful." I said as I put her back on her feet.

"Let me just grab my luggage." She said as she turned around to grab her bags. I will obviously be grabbing them, but first.

I heard gasps all around me as I got on one knee and pulled out the box I had in my pocket.

People were stopping to stare at us and some even had their phones out recording us.

Y/N noticed people were staring at us and quickly turned around, gasped and put her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Y/N, the moment you walked into my life, I understand why it didn't work with anyone else. You came along and gave the word love a meaning. You are my best friend, my soulmate and I promise to love you forever and always. Will you do the honour of becoming my wife Y/N?"

"Yes Max. A thousand times yes." She said as I slipped the ring on her finger.

I got up and pulled her in for a kiss as everyone clapped around us.

We had a long engagement just because I wanted our wedding to be perfect for her. I spared no expense for Y/N to have the wedding of her dreams.

She looked absolutely gorgeous as she walked down the aisle. I knew she would take my breath away and she did. Her dress was stunning.

Our first dance as husband and wife was to the song "Yours," by Russell Dickerson.

Our honeymoon we travelled all over Europe and four months later we found out we were pregnant with our first child.

We had a beautiful baby girl named Abigail Friedman who came two months early and had to spend time in the baby NCIU, but we were there every day.

The day Abigail was able to come home, we had a party at our house. All our friends and family were there to celebrate the life of our Abigail.

I was watching Y/N closely as people came up to her.

"How are they doing?" I looked over and it was Cody.

"She is doing good. Abigail is doing amazing."

"You did good Max. Never thought I would see you married or with a child."

"Neither did I Cody. Neither did I." I said as I looked at two of the most important people in my life.

Tag list: If you would like to be added to the tag list, please let me know.

[bedbellyandbeyond]

The Other Therianthrope

(Story Post)

Reid took care of Nathan, making sure he got some new clothes and a proper check up. Once again, he was perfectly healthy, with the same wolf features he ever had. This time however, his transformation had been caught on surveillance camera so the doctor made a request to get the footage for review. He did want to see the transformation firsthand at some point but he didn't want to try to force Nathan into anything, especially if it meant provoking him. He planned to look over the footage with Dr. Aias and then get back to Nathan if he found anything noteworthy. Nathan did however request for Reid to be present for the rest of the meeting with Camilo and Korsgaard. He felt well enough to finish their discussion after having lunch in the cafeteria so Camilo arranged to meet again in the afternoon. Korsgaard's office wasn't very big and cramming five people into it at once was really pushing it, so they found a free meeting room to congregate in and give everyone some breathing room. Reid was last to join them after he finished an appointment with another patient, but he got in before they really started up and sat himself beside Nathan and Dax.

Nathan got right to the point as soon as he felt ready. “If Kent's really alive, where is he? Texas?” Korsgaard shook his head. “Short drive out of Thunder Bay. New name. Kent Rivera.” “He's still in Canada?” Nathan asked. “I thought you took him back down to the US.” “We did,” Camilo said. “Initially. The FBI needed to identify him before arrangements were made to get him into protection.” “Thunder Bay?” Dax shook his head. “That's a whole day’s drive up north. It’s even plane worthy.” “Remote for his protection,” Korsgaard said. “His protection?” Nathan frowned. “He's built like a fucking tank. What does he need protection from?” “The US government,” Camilo said as he got off the phone. “The only reason he's alive right now is because we made a deal with their government to keep him out of their country. They had enough evidence to prove he was innocent of the crimes he was accused of, but proving it to the public, which already loves to believe he's guilty, would mean exposing the fact that therianthropy exists which is not something they would want to do.” “So…it's all a cover up?” Dax said. “They know he's innocent but can't prove it to the public so they fake his execution? Sacrificing his freedom for PR?” “It’s the FBI,” Korsgaard said. “They also don't have another suspect,” Camilo said. “They just want to close the case entirely.” Nathan turned to Reid. “You swear you didn't know about this?” “No, not even a bit,” Reid insisted. “Honestly, I grieved for him too. When we met him those months ago, I saw a broken man trying to survive but unable to really live his life. I was hoping you two could at least help each other.” Nathan grit his teeth and turned back to his case workers. “Why did I have to be kept in the dark?” “That would be for your protection, Nathan,” Camilo said. “The FBI is very adamant that the Canadian government participate with them and share our catalogue of registered alternative persons. They want us to but, for the most part, we don't have to and we don't want to, because their policies around the handling of such people conflicts with ours as it strips a lot more of your rights from you. If you were to be associated with Kent around the time of his transfer, we would have been required to submit your information to the FBI, including the status of your condition and all our information on your children as well.” “But that should've been my choice, don't you think?” Nathan argued. “If you just kept me up to date… I would have participated willingly.” “It's all procedure,” Camilo explained. “Kent didn't even know what the plan was until he was dropped off up north.” Dax squeezed Nathan’s arm. “At the end of the day, it already happened. And Kent's alive. That's good, right?” Nathan just folded his arms. “…I'm glad he's alive… You know, good for him, I guess. I just…this changes everything…” Camilo reached out and placed a hand on Nathan's. “I am very sorry that we had to keep this from you. But please try to see the brighter side of this. You have someone out there with a similar condition to yours. You can ask him for help and any insight into what’s been happening. And we know for a fact Kent wants to see the twins.” Nathan frowned. “…I don't even know if I want to involve them in this.” “Nathan, they're his kids,” Dax said, a bit alarmed. “So? They're my kids first,” Nathan said. “I did everything… I carried them alone. He didn't even want me to have them.” “He was scared,” Reid chimed in. “You know he was worried about leaving behind kids with a legacy like his. He didn't want them to grow up thinking their father is a murderer.” “As if I would let them think that,” Nathan huffed. “Well, with a new identity, he doesn't have to be that other guy,” Reid said. “It's up to you, Nathan,” Camilo said. “If you'd like to see Kent, with or without the twins, we can arrange transport. You just let Korsgaard know.” “Can't I just call him?” Nathan asked. “Well, you can try,” Camilo said. “He doesn't like to answer us when we call. We have a few agents that circulate around there that we can call but he doesn't go near them. He’s not allowed to leave the area so we have to check up on him regularly, but he doesn’t interact with out agents.” Reid piped up again. “I think a visit up north would give you a good break. And it’s summer too so the weather should be quite nice.” Nathan looked down, his arms crossed over his stomach. “...I'll go up there then...” He then looked to Dax. “You'll come with me, right?” “Of course!” Dax rubbed Nathan's back. “We could make it a small vacation.” Nathan nodded. “Okay...” He looked to Camilo again. “How soon could we go?” “We could probably arrange a flight for you as soon as tomorrow, it's up to your availability,” Camilo said. “We'll have to arrange for Wano to stay here first...” Nathan said. “And someone has to watch the kids.” “Maybe this weekend coming up?” Dax suggested. “Nari could sit, perhaps.” “Nari's in Europe,” Nathan reminded. “Shit, you're right... And Samara doesn't like babies...” Dax considered. “I could watch them,” Korsgaard offered. Nathan straightened up. “You could? No, I couldn't ask you to do that...” “You're not. I'm offering,” Korsgaard stated. “Korsgaard’s really good with kids,” Camilo backed up. “Raised two, and Eris loves him.” “Yeah, but... Are you good with wild animals?” Nathan said. “I have no idea if they'll stay human for you...” Korsgaard shrugged. “I like animals. Maya might as well be one...” “Uh, well...” Nathan looked to Dax. Dax shrugged. “I wouldn't say no if he's offering. I still think we should be bringing the kids, but it's all up to you.” Nathan nodded. “…Okay, sure. Korsgaard, if you'll watch the twins for us, I'd be very grateful.” Korsgaard gave a nod. “No problem.” “We'll just go...two nights?” Nathan suggested. “Is that reasonable?” “Sounds good to me,” Camilo said getting out his tablet. “So, Friday then, we’ll arrange a flight with a field agent to go along with you. You'll be back Sunday night.” Nathan nodded again. “Yeah, okay. Let's do it. Thank you...” “Don’t mention it,” Camilo said. “We owe this to you.”

[pointy-ears-kink]

Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Fic #01; prompt: Strangling

Characters: Ezri Dax & Weyoun 6

cw: violence, dissociation

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33471691

@badthingshappenbingo

“How is he?”

The rest of the senior staff turned towards Ezri. They’d been silent the entire time.

Sisko broke the tension. “Who?”

“Weyoun. I mean, they pretty much just turned against everything they’ve ever known and fled to the enemy side, the only thing that allows him to justify it to himself is Odo, and he doesn’t want them around. They must be pretty shaken up.”

“Probably, yes. Why?”

“Well… I’m a counselor. I figured I could talk to him. It’s my job.”

O’brien barged in. “Woah, wait now, I’m not sure that’s such a great idea-”

“They’re right, though. He probably needs it.” Julian interrupted him.

“I just don’t want them to get hurt!”

Sisko raised his palm. “I think they can handle themselves, chief.”

“I just think they deserve a chance.” Ezri tried to keep their voice firm. “Plus, it would also benefit us a great deal if we ensured he’s healthy. But, really, they must be miserable. Just let me help.”

Sisko sighed. “Well then. You may visit him once a day, for an hour. You pick the time. You are to meet with a security officer who will escort you to and from your meetings, during which they’ll wait outside-”

Ezri opened their mouth to contest but Sisko cut them off immediately.

“-and that’s non-negotiable. He’s still under the effect of the toxins from the fake suicide implant, I don’t want to risk it. Dismissed.”

They figured it could’ve been worse, and silently left the room with everyone else.

Weyoun 6 had been taken out of the holding cell and relocated to living quarters as they spoke. He’d only arrived an hour ago and was at first put in a holding cell, but Odo, albeit reluctantly, had vouched for him, on the condition the vorta would be confined to whatever rooms they’d be given for the time being.

All in all, this meant that at 2459 Ezri was on the habitat ring walking away from their quarters and towards Weyoun’s, accompanied by a reluctant security officer. They would have preferred waiting to be rested, but they were only allowed one hour per day, and since it wasn’t midnight yet they could still squeeze in an extra hour. It was a technicality, sure, and Sisko certainly wouldn’t be pleased, but they needed all the time they could get.

At 2512, they were standing in front of the door. They addressed the officer escorting them. “Again, I’m sorry about dragging you here this late, but it’s important. I’ll try to make it up to you.”

She didn’t look pleased but accepted the offer.

2513. Better get started.

Ezri took a deep breath and chimed.

“Who is it?” Weyoun’s voice was slightly shaky.

“My name’s Ezri Dax. I’m a counselor.”

The door opened. Weyoun was precariously sitting at the edge of the window, looking out into space. They spoke without turning their head. “What do you need?”

“I don’t need anything. I’m here to help you.”

Now he turned to look at them, his eyes barely getting them into focus. “Why?”

“Again, I’m a counselor. And I think you could use one.”

“I’m sure there are more useful ways in which you could spend your time.”

“But I chose to come here, so we might as well make the most of it.”

Weyoun remained silent for a bit. “What makes you think this is necessary?”

“Well, I figured things may be tough for you right now. You’re among those you’ve considered your enemies for years, far away from your own kind and the Founders, so I guess-”

The vorta practically hissed. “Don’t you dare speak of them!”

“Alright, we don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to.”

“Listen, counselor, I’m sure you think you can do something good here, but you don’t know what you’re talking about so don’t pretend you can waltz in and solve everything because of some flimsy licence of yours.”

“That’s not my goal, I’m simply here to talk. It’s up to you how much you want to share.”

“But that’s just another way to put it, isn’t it?” Weyoun stood and started walking towards Ezri. “You make promises of safety, put up a façade to lure me into believing I’m the one with agency here. What for? What do you want from me?”

They were standing dangerously close. Ezri forced themselves not to take a step back, or raise their palms, or do anything that would be read as defensive and invite conflict. “I’d only like to listen to you for a bit to see if we can come up with something. I’m a counselor. It’s my job.”

Weyoun’s voice became a hiss. “I’ve already told you I’m not falling for your lie, either try a new one or tell me truth.”

“It is the truth.”

Wrong answer. His hands jumped to their throat, gripping with unexpected force. Instinctively, they grabbed their wrists.

Shit. Shitshitshit not what I expected.

What did you expect? He should’ve been killed like any other enemy. That was the Joran influence. It had been with them since they’d asked for his help.

This is so not the time for this. Shit.

So far, they had managed to keep the vorta’s hands from choking them, but they were starting to waver.

God, now what?

“They should regain consciousness any second now.”

Ezri could see Julian’s back out the corner of their eye.

“Very well.” Sisko’s voice. He sounded tired.

“The damage was superficial, luckily. Just some bruises. Although I think it may have been due to lack of will rather than ability to harm. Security found him crouched in the corner, completely still and uncommunicative.”

Ezri sat up.

“Ah, lieutenant. How are you feeling?” Sisko was facing them.

Julian turned around, a concerned look on his face.

“I’m fine, really.” They tried to sound calm.

“Ezri, you were strangled until you lost consciousness. Sure, it could’ve been much worse, still, fine is hardly the appropriate term.”

“I do feel fine though.” They took a deep breath, which proved more relieving than they’d ever thought possible. “Where is he?”

“Ezri, I’m not sure you should see him…” Julian looked uncomfortable.

“He’s in a holding cell, isn’t he? I want to see him.”

“Weyoun is yet to be dismissed by Dr. Bashir, lieutenant. It is up to our CMO to decide whether they’re ready for visitors.”

Ezri looked at Sisko, then back at Julian. “Please.”

He sighed. “When he was found, he was completely out of touch with his surroundings. They seem to be slowly getting out of it, though, and I’d prefer to leave them a couple of days to recover before receiving visitors. Since security dropped them off here they’ve only interacted with the strictly necessary medical personnel and I’d rather keep it that way. As a licensed therapist, I’ll allow you in, but I’d rather wait a bit. Pass by later, around 2100. Go to sleep now. You had better be properly rested by then.”

Sisko sighed. “Fine. But this time, you’ll stay in visual range of the security officer and are not to get within two meters of him.”

Ezri almost protested, but figured they weren’t in the position to.

“One hour, lieutenant- computer, what time is it?”

“The time is 2535.”

“-starting tomorrow.”

Ezri got the hint and retired to their quarters. Julian was right, they needed to rest.

“The time is 0600.”

…

“The time is 0600 and ten seconds.”

“Alright, alright! I’m awake.” They begrudgingly pushed the cover away and got up. Turns out, getting strangled didn’t ensure good sleep. Who would’ve thought.

Ezri fueled up on ratkajino and prepared themselves for the day ahead. It didn’t look like it was going to be simple.

Stepping out into the habitat ring corridor, they ran into Odo.

“Hi, Odo.”

He turned. “Lieutenant.”

He resumed his course towards the promenade, Ezri tailing him.

A few moments passed silently. They were struggling to keep up with the pace, but eventually they resolved to speak anyway. “So… have you talked to Weyoun 6 since you two got here?”

“I have not. I thought it best to give him space for the time being.”

“Right. I imagine it might be awkward for you, being around them.”

Odo harrumphed. “That’s one way to put it.” He glanced at them, then went back to focusing on the corridor. “I heard about what happened. I wasn’t there as I was in my regenerative state, but I trust my officers handled the situation appropriately.”

Ezri nodded, even though Odo wasn’t looking at them. “I didn’t see them, but yeah, I think so.” They paused. “Dr. Bashir is taking care of them. He said they’re recovering. They’ll be fine.”

Some more silence before Odo answered. “Thank you, lieutenant.”

“Anytime.”

They spent the rest of their commute in silence. Ezri made it a point to get through the day avoiding -and ignoring- the subtle preoccupied glances, the not so subtle concerned stares, and the straightforward worried questions. They managed, mostly; up until 2030, when they stepped in the infirmary.

Julian was standing by an empty biobed, reading something off a pad. He looked up when he heard their footsteps.

“Oh, hi, Ezri.”

“Hi. I figured I’d come in a bit early.”

“I’m glad. Since we have the time, would you mind if I quickly checked in with you?” He was already lifting a medical tricorder towards them.

Ezri figured it was only fair. He’s the doctor, after all; at the very least, if they got clearance from him, they could dismiss everyone else by reassuring them they’d been checked by the CMO himself.

After scanning their neck and respiratory system thoroughly, he put his tool down. “You’re fine.”

“Why do you sound so disappointed?”

He chuckled. “I’m simply worried about you. I guess I half-hoped to find an excuse not let you do this.”

“I’ll be okay. Now, where are they?”

Julian gestured towards the other side of the infirmary. “Observation.”

The same security officer as the previous night, one ensign McKenzie, was standing by the door.

They awkwardly waved at her. “Sorry about, uhm… everything.”

She shrugged. “Just doing my job. I intend to take you up on your offer, though, so don’t die, okay?”

Ezri smiled. “Okay. Thanks.”

And in they went.

Weyoun was standing near the wall opposite, his hands joined on his back, looking at the posters on the wall about the bajoran muscular system as if it was a scenery.

“Are you feeling alright?”

They turned to look at them. “Yes. I must apologize for my current state.”

“I can’t imagine having spent multiple lifetimes seeing us as your enemy makes this easy or you. You held back though, didn’t you?”

“I… did. And, counselor, I appreciate the effort, but I don’t think you can quite, imagine what that’s like.”

“I think I can though.”

He tilted his head to the side, a question in their eyes.

“You see, I am trill. Although I, Ezri, look- and, in a way, am- twenty two, the Dax symbiont I’m joined with is over three hundred years old. Which, I guess, makes me three hundred. I have memories from seven other lifetimes, and although I didn’t spend all of them leading a war against people I later asked asylum from, I can use my imagination and say, it must be hard.”

Weyoun mulled it over for a bit. “Trill, you say…”

“Yeah. That’s the name of my species. Point is, I kind of get what you mean. And I’m here to help.”

He lightly shook his head. “I don’t wanna risk another… accident. For the time being, I’d prefer thinking things over by myself. However, I’d be glad to keep seeing you. If I am to stay on the station, I’ll need to get acquainted with its people, and I believe having you ease me into it would be good for me. That is, if you wish to.”

They considered it. “Well, sounds good to me. You sure could use some friends. I guess you can consider me one, now. And, in case no one’s told you…”

They fixed their posture, assuming the most formal stance they could muster.

“...welcome to Deep Space Nine.”

[dgcatanisiri]

I remember when I was reading the DS9 novel The 34th Rule, I complained about how David R George III, the writer of that book alongside Armin Shimmerman, has a habit of writing VERY decompressed time - there, it was having a chapter open with Kira entering Quark’s and then going on for a good two, three pages, without even mentioning her again, focusing on things like Quark interacting with a couple of characters who only appear in that scene, doing no set up or development by focusing on this bit, just... having it happen.

Which can be a service to certain stories, but with him, it seems like a consistent thing that he will STRETCH everything out, so that a book that could run maybe 280, 300 pages ends up hitting 400 easily. And because of that, all of his scene-setting and such goes on for much too long, overstaying its welcome and making the reader (me) just want it to get a damn move on already.

I think, having just reread the first of the Worlds of DS9 segment of the Star Trek Litverse, I see another issue I had, even before getting to his entry - he REALLY did not seem to care for the novel original characters of the post-finale DS9 world. Like... Honestly, the more I roll this over in my head, I’m not even sure if he cares about ANY of the DS9 cast.

Lot of details from the Star Trek Litverse, the novels set in the 24th century following the conclusion of DS9, so I’m gonna just throw up a cut so that those who don’t care about my ramblings are spared.

This is being spawned from having read the Andor entry of Worlds of DS9, which is centered entirely around characters who only exist in the novels, characters created to fill gaps in the officer roster after the end of the show. And I realized... NONE of these characters actually really feature in the course of the novels following David R George getting the primary pen that advances the DS9 setting.

Like I’m thinking ahead to the post-Destiny era, and... Of the DS9 cast who were introduced in Avatar and explored in those books... I don’t think ANY of them really fared much under his pen. Like... The Mission Gamma novels had the core cast put across the four of them, so let’s use that to show the Who’s Who.

So, left to right, Treir, Commander Elias Vaughn, Quark, Ezri Dax, Ensign Thirishar “Shar” ch’Thane, Kira, Gul Macet, Vedek Yevir, Nog, Bashir, Morn, Kasidy, Lieutenant Ro Laren, Ensign Prynn Tenmei, and Taran’atar. Not pictured are Jake (who returns to DS9 after this mini-series, getting a novel about his journey during this time of his own), former-Kai Opaka, now returned to Bajor, Ben Sisko, who returned for the birth of his daughter, and among the additional new cast developed, we have Counselor Phillipa Matthias and the new Bajoran liaison officer once Bajor joins the Federation and Kira takes on a Starfleet commission, Major Cenn Desca.

After Worlds of DS9 and the loose trilogy of Warpath/Fearful Symmetry/The Soul Key, the DS9 novels jump forward several years, and what happens?

Well, Shar and Taran’atar have left the cast, Shar in Worlds of DS9, Taran’atar at the conclusion of The Soul Key. During the Destiny novels, Ezri, now on the command track, has transferred to a new ship, the Aventine, and gotten a battlefield promotion to captain after the original captain and first officer are killed during the Borg invasion (she also took with her a few other minor original recurring characters I didn’t mention above). Kira has resigned her commission and is now becoming a Vedek (more words to follow). Vaughn became the station commander, but accepted a promotion to Captain and a ship for the Borg invasion, during which he ends up in a coma and eventually dies. Yevir has seemingly gone off into the ether. Macet likewise is not much of a figure at this point. No one even talks about Opaka’s return, despite how significant a figure she is among the Bajoran faithful - the Kai who led the Bajoran people through the end of the Occupation, lost among the Prophets only to be returned to them in a time of spiritual need. Likewise, Matthias has no real use in his stories, even though she’d been a major recurring figure in the books prior. Ro has become the station commander, complete with a Starfleet captaincy. Sisko, like Vaughn, took a ship posting for the sake of the invasion... and then actually ended up separating with Kasidy.

Actually, reading further into the Worlds series, there seems to be a reference to the naming of a certain Vedek, a man named Solis, who was mentioned on the show and who became a minor player during the late Mission Gamma period as standing against the Vedek Assembly and their response to a newly discovered book of prophecies, being encouraged by Opaka to run for Kai. But the Kai of Bajor does not appear in the post-Destiny DS9 books until the last book he wrote for the series, and it’s some woman we’d never met before. So he ignored the existing plot threads to do... something else entirely.

And then, as the Federation deals with the newly formed Typhon Pact, the station itself gets blown up.

I mean, yeah, sure, okay, take the iconic location of the series and destroy it, no problems there...

The Federation and Bajor approve the construction of a new station, but it takes a year for that to happen. When it does, Treir remains on Bajor, managing Quark’s franchise there. Prynn has been spending her time at Vaughn’s, as he’s her father, not getting ANYTHING to do other than be the mournful daughter.

Then, in a novel not penned by DRG, Bashir ends up stealing classified Starfleet data to aid in the ongoing reproduction crisis facing the Andorians (bringing in elements of Shar’s storyline), and he resigns his Starfleet commission, subsequently setting out to bring down Section 31.

Meanwhile, back with DRG’s developments, Kira has vanished among the Prophets. And, speaking of the Prophets, also in this time, we learn that one of Bajor’s moons is hollow, a “falsehood,” which casts a lot of doubt on the Prophets among the Bajorans. This, in turn, leads to Major Cenn resigning his commission and walking away, his faith shattered. And Ro, a character often defined by her lack of connection to the Bajoran faith, begins to wonder.

So... He functionally fazes out most of the DS9 crew brought in that he had no part in, and rejiggers Ro, the one preestablished character among them, to be a character honestly more in line with who Kira was while getting rid of Kira herself.

Why was he given sole creative control over these novels when it REALLY just seems to come across that he doesn’t like any of the characters developed for this setting?

Like I always come back to the “Vedek Kira” business as seeming like a fundamental misunderstanding of the character. It NEVER made sense to me. Or to Nana Visitor - as I understand it, while Star Trek Online borrowed some ideas from the Litverse, including this one, she made it a point to say that she would only return and voice Kira in their DS9 centered expansion if Kira got back into uniform at the conclusion of it. Like, yes, there was a major focus on her issues with faith in the initial run, due to her being effectively excommunicated from the faith by Vedek Yevir and the Assembly, but... That doesn’t mean she’d turn around and join the Vedeks.

Even in the book Ascendance, where we do jump back in the timeline briefly to a point after The Soul Key... Kira doesn’t FEEL like Kira in that segment, and the novel basically tries to convince us that she’s been feeling this discomfort with the uniform for a while, but... It just doesn’t ring true to the character. It never feels RIGHT. It just feels like after the fact attempts at justifying this radical shift through retcon, rather than a natural development of the character.

This isn’t even going in on the stuff done with Sisko. Like... Somewhere, I believe there’s an interview or statement or something from him that says that this was part of the beginning of Sisko’s journey under his pen, and that this is paying off the “you will know nothing but sorrow” thing said by the Prophet in the form of his mother, but... We are still talking about a white author writing a black man abandoning his family, something that Avery Brooks himself stepped in to prevent happen in the finale proper. This is not good optics, “beginning” of the story or not - even if it’s in keeping with a prophecy from the show... My dude, are you REALLY the guy who should be writing this PARTICULAR story?

(Though, admittedly, they DO reconcile and Kasidy and their daughter join him on board his new starship, but... Honestly, a part of me can’t help but feel that this was more due to the audience NOT accepting this at all, rather than being his intentional story direction...)

I mean... Maybe, MAYBE, this all was in service of some building story that never got published, because of the announcement of Star Trek Picard effectively putting an end to the ongoing Litverse, since there are a handful of lingering plot threads that I figure that the Coda miniseries just won’t be able to get to and wrap up, but... Given everything that came before, I don’t feel like that was going to happen.

I don’t understand why HE got to pen the continuing adventures, when it really just seems like he didn’t want to work with or build off of what had come before.

Like I remember in 2016, there were a handful of DS9 novels, among them the above mentioned Ascendance, which was the conclusion of a storyline started in the further above mentioned Jake novel (Rising Son), so a plotline that had run since 2003. And yet that year, in DS9 novels? I was far, FAR more excited for Jeffery Lang’s Force and Motion, which was a side story featuring Nog and Chief O’Brien on a mission away from DS9 proper. While part of that is surely just about how much the Ascendant storyline in question had dragged on for the better part of fifteen years there, it still says a lot about how much excitement this conclusion mattered to me by this point, under his pen.

It doesn’t help that my other big problem with his writing the DS9 novels is how much NOTHING seems to happen - he writes novels in the realm of 400, 450, 500 pages, and about 300, 350 of those pages constantly feel like spinning the wheels, going “hey, THING may be important, this THING we’re talking about. Hope that THING happens soon, and that THING will do THING. Yup. that’s a THING that’s happening.” It’s like the story can span weeks or months in the course of a single book, but by the end, NOTHING really felt like it’s moved forward. No character advancement, no plot advancement, just a bunch of people, standing around, talking about the THING and how the THING may be important, but we’ll have to wait around and see it anything happens about this THING.

If I’m happy about anything with the big Litverse wrap up, it’s that hopefully, he’s DONE playing in a progressing DS9 playground. Because honestly, I would probably be happy never seeing his name attached to a Star Trek novel again, because his writing style just does not work for me, on top of my above issues with his portrayal of characters.

[dreadwhoop]

Reviewing the All Elite Wrestling personnel (Part 1)

Part 0 - https://dreadwhoop.tumblr.com/post/631091725056835584/reviewing-the-all-elite-wrestling-personnel-part

Wrestlers to Push

I know - but aren't they already the tag champions how could they get any better? FTR are so good I made an entire catagory which effectively dismantles the tag division because it's clear nobody can, should, or will be capable, of beating these two anytime between now and in 2021. Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood are essentially one pick because these two will never go singles and should never be booked as such. Let their reign be long and AEW as a whole will prosper. Also try to book them as heels but not to resort to heel tactics to win every match because sometimes being dominant makes the belts worth far more.

One of the most impactful and natural talkers in his short time in AEW - everything he says has bite. He's also unique. He's going to fight dirty but he's also hard to dislike - there are just so many layers of complexity to the Mad King and the best is how people will immediately disregard him until he does something and then can't look away - this is the guy who will get new fans into the product. He's a throwback, a trendsetter, and an easy prospect all in one.

The reliable hand of AEW by far - the guy's been a mainstay throughout the year and, critically, not ex-WWE. Deserves his due. This recommendation could of gone to so many people throughout the year - Jungle Boy, Sammy Guevara, Penta El Zero M, Rey Fenix, but for one reason or another they all fail the test because of being injury-prone or getting into issues or just not ready. Stop his 50-50 booking and give him vital wins over big names.

Again I know - this guy is mega-pushed? I want to clarify something. Never de-push MJF - he's a prodigy who is already great and is going to get greater as he's cultivated. The guy doesn't need to be a star because he makes stars out of everyone he's been interacting with and yet even when elevated MJF continues to surpass them without much effort. Put him with FTR and you're going to have a reason to get rid of every other faction fast.

One of the unluckiest/luckiest men in AEW - his career has remained dorment post-Feb but pre-Feb was ace. Pac will tear up NJPW if given the chance to migrate over upon finding out his place in AEW is not as a top guy - you're easily looking at a guy who can be everything in AEW like a Prince Devitt or a AJ Styles or a Will Ospreay. When he returns you push this guy to the moon - I hope his look is even more goblinesque and PAC becomes the surprise 4th member to MJF and FTR.

Sometimes you need a good storyteller and you need people who are as good talking as they are wrestling. A complete package and a rising star who is also relatively new in AEW. Highly adaptable and versatile, AEW could pretty much give him anything and he'll turn it into gold - the Midas mouth of Ricky Starks is another way to get people into the company fast. I don't see him winning titles but I see him beating every non-title individual between now and next September. I feel like Taz should let Starks promote himself and be entertaining on his terms instead of over-promoting him. Pace his push and he'll gradually gain greatness.

Speaking of great talkers look who improved the most since the beginning of AEW. Only soured by her feud with Big Swole, Britt Baker is the embodiment of taking comedy heel to serious heights - her matches with Hikaru Shida are indications of just why she is tough and enduring as much as her behaviour is endearing. I could include her in the faction with FTR, MJF, and PAC as DMD. She just needs to improve a little and add a few moves in and she's AEW Women's World Champion bound.

Untapped potential - incredibly cool and has a story waiting to be told based on her association with the resident losers of AEW - make her somehow win by their (accidental) interference. Also please showcase her cosplay and more awoken side of being a bigger nerd than the two she manages - Leva is someone who heals all the wrongs of watching TV and her presence is always welcome. Everyone loves Leva Bates. You love her. I love her. What a woman. Heroic. Shapeshifter.

By contrast, her untapped potential is less about the entertaining side of pro wrestling and more the sports athleticism of pro wrestling - Serena Deeb is the most deserving woman in wrestling right now - of all the new signings or fresh faces there's someone who is genuinely eye-catching without having to be all about sex appeal or the gimmick. In other words I find her to be a future champion in the making and will make everyone she wrestles better off in defeat.

Ah see not everyone is an active wrestler to recommend! Taz is a fantastic personality, commentator, manager, and just about the jack-of-all-trades man you need him to be to support a product as big as AEW. I couldn't believe how well he gels with Tony Schiavone, JR, Excalibur, Jericho, Ricky Starks, Brian Cage, Darby Allin, Jake Roberts, Eddie Kingston, etc...it goes on and on and on. A hard working man - he's adapted and evolved from an underdog to a true legend.

[galaxy-bread345]

Part One: Where’s The Foundation

This is an analysis of Jak/Keira’s relationship in the Jak and Daxter series specifically why I think it doesn’t work. This analysis only covers the first three games and potentially Jak X if I feel up to it. I will not be going over The Lost Frontier cuz I don’t see it as canon and I have no desire to analyze it. I will try to keep this analysis as unbiased as possible but understand that I have biases and they may slip through.That being said if this is a important ship to you and you don’t want to read someone being critical of it, don’t. 

Ok, lets begin with the first game The Precursor Legacy. Its established early on what everyone character archetype: Jaks the main protagonist/ hero, Daxter is the comic relief/ sidekick sorry buddy you are, and Keira is the smart friend/ love interest. As we see in the first cutscene upon meeting Keira both boys are obviously infatuated with her. Daxter tries his hardest to flirt with her throughout the entire game to no avail. Keira states it very clearly: she doesn’t date animals and shows blatant disinterest to his flirting. Jak doesn’t flirt with her, hes very quiet and shy around her. We know hes interested in her because of his body language. When she flirts with him hes blushes and becomes very nervous, looking everywhere but at her. He stares at her when she gets the Blue Sage’s machine to work with a dopey look on his face. At the end of the game, Jak and Keira try to kiss which is rudely interrupted by Daxter cuz hey they just saved the world why not celebrate by kissing your crush? 

This sounds good, right? There’s just one problem: there’s no indication of a working friendship. After reviewing all of Keira’s dialogue it can be broken down into three parts: 90% of it is talking to both Jak and Daxter about the zoomer or helpful advice on how to complete tasks, 5% is responding to Daxter with a sassy remark to his flirting and the other 5% of it talking to Samos. There is only one time she directly talks to Jak and thats when she tells him to be safe after pleading with Jak and Daxter to go save her father. Keira talking about a “brave adventurer” and batting her eyelashes at Jak is a direct remark to him while answering Samos’s question but not what I would call having a conversation with him. Neither of them talk to each other or act like friends would. There’s no jokes, no activity that they both are interested in that they do together. They have interests that are associated with each other with her being a mechanic and him racing presumably. She’s not involved in his shenanigans with Daxter and he never tries to get her to come along on the adventure. She is essentially a helpful and friendly person and I hesitate to even call her a friend. This goes for both of them. Jak doesn’t go out of his way to understand her projects and he helps save her father because he’s not an asshole not yet at least  he cares about Samos and wouldn’t want anything to happen to him regardless if he was Keira’s father or not. 

Their interactions with each other revolve on the other providing a service. For Keira, its someone to test out her zoomer and to be able to work on tech. The journey isn’t personal to her until Gol and Mia capture her father and are threatening to destroy the whole world. It wasn’t personal to her when Daxter got turned into an ottsel and him remaining an ottsel doesn’t heavily effect her either. She uses the opportunity of the boys needing to travel for them to test out her zoomer. She isn’t upset at least in the beginning or even distraught over what happened to Daxter. Tbh, the only one who seemed mildly upset over what happened to Daxter is Jak. Samos isn’t so much upset as rather disappointed that they didn’t listen to him. He jokes that if Daxter were to remain an ottsel then he could take care of the village rat problem so not much sympathy there. For Jak, he has someone to give him the technology to travel and the advice on how to complete tasks. His interactions with her revolve around acquiring tools and information. Its a service that anyone can do if they are a mechanic or understand the area. So there isn’t anything keeping him emotionally invested in knowing her as a person. In a hypothetical scenario, if Jak were to leave and go on an adventure he doesn’t need Keira so long as he has someone with the tools and information to help him. We know there are other ways of traveling, mainly by boat and there are older people who have more experience and knowledge of the terrain than Keira. She is a teenager much like him so there are going to be other people in the world with a more comprehensive knowledge of it because she has not lived long enough to acquire that information and experience. 

Simply put, there is nothing keeping them together as friends. Good relationships require a good friendship and the ability to communicate with each other. They don’t do that. What they have is shallow interest in each other because they find the other attractive and useful to their own benefits. It would be incredibly easy to write Keira out of the gameplay and have her dialogue be given to another character which does not support the idea that Keira and Jak are close to one another. On the other hand, if you were to write Daxter out of the game it would change everything. Partially because the goal is to change him back but also because Jak’s friendship with him is a central aspect of the game. Jak, even though it was accidental, is the reason Daxter is an ottsel. It was Jak’s idea to go to Misty Island at night to explore it. It was Jak’s idea to continue to wonder around even though there were lurkers in the area. It was Jak who pushed Daxter into the pool of eco. Jak made a mistake but he then tried to fix it because he cares about Daxter as a person. He cares about him as a friend.  Even though it got him in trouble he still went to Samos because Samos knows more about eco than he does. Even though changing Dax back meant fighting monsters and putting himself in danger he still did that. Even though changing Dax back meant crossing a bunch of terrain and doing tasks he might not have liked i.e. mucking through boggy swamp, dealing with giant spiders, suffering the cold of the mountains because dammit he needs powercells. RACING OVER OPEN LAVA TWICE AND DEFEATING A ROCK MONSTER WHO COULD HAVE EASILY KILLED HIM IF IT WERE NOT FOR ECO!! Jak went out of his way to help Daxter and even before all that the game already establishes them as friends because not only do they converse and have direct conversations with each other but they also have similar interests (adventuring/ exploring) and are established as hanging out to the point of Jak’s Uncle seeing Jak without Daxter causes him to question where his friend is. And its a two way street. Daxter looks out for Jak. He didn’t have to sit on Jak’s shoulder and also put himself in danger. We know he’s cautious because he is constantly pointing out danger and advising against doing something stupid/ reckless. He helps collect the materials they need to power the zoomer. It would be very easy for Daxter to argue that due to the fact he is now a tiny animal that he should stay in the village, out of danger ,lets something tries to eat him. The biggest thing of all is that Daxter never holds Jak’s mistake over him. After realizing that they need the white eco to defeat Gol and Mia, Daxter agrees even though this could mean he stays an ottsel for the rest of his life. Yes, it was a life and death situation but after the fact Daxter never brings it up. (If this fact is wrong please inform me, to my knowledge Daxter never brings it up.) He never gets angry or upset or even blames Jak for what happens. They both know it was accident but that wouldn’t stop Jak from feeling guilty over completely changing Daxter’s life. It wouldn’t stop Daxter from feeling angry and hurt over suddenly no longer being human. Jak and Daxter are friends and continue to be friends regardless of what happens because they are emotionally invested in each other. They don’t need a service from each other but rather they actively choose to be there for each other. This is what makes Jak and Daxter’s friendship believable and Jak and Keira’s not. This is why in the The Precursor Legacy Jak and Keira’s relationship doesn’t work because there is no solid indication of a working friendship to begin with. 

In the next post I will go over their interactions in Jak 2

[ezrisdax-archive]

Do you ship any Star Trek rare pairs? Tell us what you like about them!!!

Send me a ship and I'll give you my (brutally) honest opinion on it

I mean that’s most of my trek ships because of femslash, I’d guess kiradax might not fully count but!

ezri/leeta

I barely see any of this which is funny to me cause their mirrorverse pair is married for god sakes. but anyway I like both the mirrorverse pair of them and the main pair itself. I just think Ezri needs someone who would let her ramble and just get it? And also maybe not be someone Jadzia was involved with that much. I know Leeta and Jadzia were friends but like they weren’t as close and Leeta seems the most chill about Dax switching hosts. She’s a go with the flow person and Ezri could learn that at times too.

idk, I mostly just think they are cute and had potential and it was a shame we only got a season of Ezri so they don’t interact as much

ogawa/tasha

I once made an au gifset of this pairing because I just like the idea of them meeting and Tasha as security always coming in injured and Ogawa helping her out and them talking and getting to know each other over time and then getting to spend time together outside of sickbay and I just think?? it could be cute?? they could be cute?? give Ogawa a girlfriend pls.

joann/keyla

now I’m not sure how much this qualifies as a rare pair anymore, it def would meet the criteria on ao3 so I’m counting it. my god the looks between these two, the way Joann has been there for Keyla this season and noticed right away something was off and has just been reaching out. I’d love to see more of them interacting, what we do get each episode is small but it does give me hope they actually might head there some day? Like I’m not used to getting the potential of canon, it’s wild.

I do wish they’d delve more into their backstory and give me more details about Joann but I do accept these two aren’t main characters and then that gives me leave to make this however much I want of a big deal. to me they’re a big deal and I just need them to get together, I want to see that relationship develop.

michael/tilly

oh man I just checked and technically by ao3 rules which is to say if you have less than 200 fics on there, they count as a rare pair. That’s just sad to me because I do feel they should have a lot more and wow I’ve only written one fic for them??? I gotta fix that at some point.

These two!!!! I don’t have enough words to explain how much it means to these how these two hug and hold hands and are just there for each other!! all the time!! always in each others corners!! trying to cheer each other up!! jumping in to help the other without hesitation!! I need more of it, like what they’ve given me is great but I miss these two being roommate buddies this season, please give me another shot of them in their room just talking to each other about what Michael’s been through the year she was in the future without them.

Like this I’ve accepted I’ll not get as canon, I’m not expecting it and that’s fine but I still enjoy every scene they get to have with each other and they are just so cute ; ; I love them both so much and please kiss, I know I just said I accepted it but please.

b’elanna/seven

okay this one counts too apparently! now a lot of my feelings for these two you can blame @trillscienceofficer because she encourages me with these two but like there’s so much there.

there’s the whole outsiders together thing going on they have, the whole somewhat antagonistic but also a huge amount of respect for each other thing, the whole pushing each other to be better, there’s just a lot with these two that I enjoy.

I think Seven does need someone who would call her on the bullshit of trying to remain logical and unemotional and B’Elanna needs someone with a cooler head at times to make her see beyond just her immediate reaction. I really enjoy that over time you can see this relationship between them grow into a friendship and I just like to imagine more from there.

b’elanna/stadi

OKAY LISTEN.

tom dies in the pilot and I get stadi au is like...one of my fave aus. they’d be so much fun together! Stadi enjoyed the teasing and I can def see her doing that with B’Elanna and sure there’d be some antaganism at first because Starfleet vs Maquis stuff but they’d get there and I just wanted to see it. I just like to imagine it happening in my head.

t’pring/uhura

oh my god I did not expect this to count but I do think it might just be a bigger thing on tumblr than elsewhere. or maybe that’s just me. anyway, these two! one of my top trek femslash ships! like c’mon Uhura straight up “she’s beautiful” and I’m expected to not take it this way?

I’ve talked about these two so much at times before so I think I don’t have too much to say here beyond....Uhura deserved a girlfriend and T’Pring deserved to see what else what out there beyond Vulcan men. and they deserved to have a proper conversation with each other and do Vulcan kisses and human kisses.

tasha/troi

???? man are all my ships so low on ao3?? I need to fix this somehow. Again I’ve talked about these two enough I don’t have much else to say here because I was robbed of Tasha being in more seasons but what we got of these two interacting was already amazingly gay and god I just like to imagine how much gayer and gooder it would have gotten over time....

ro/tasha

THEY WERE GAY TOGETHER IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE AND I DON’T THINK WE TALK ABOUT THAT ENOUGH. even if they did kill one of them off, whatever I’m over it (a lie). 

worf/deanna

the rare trek het canon ship I have, like yeah I do love deanna/riker but these two were so fucking soft and good in season seven of tng I cry

worf/riker

look I’m putting 1 (one) slash ship on here and it’s this. I just enjoy riker teasing him a lot. I’m a weak individual what can I say.

[espieviolet99]

Julian Bashir x Astraea O'Brien

So, here the group were. In the holosuite. Watching Julian's new favourite holosuite programme sing. He was quite good, Astraea was very fin of the music, for she liked tos style music. Vaguely 60s. And Julian was looking very pleased with himself as the group sat and watched him with interest.

He finished and the room applauded. Astraea, though she was secretively ill, clapped also. Smiling at Julian and nodding to him in thanks. That's when Julian called him over to introduce the crew.

"To a hologram?" Kira asked.

"Doctor, is this really necessary?" Odo added.

"Trust me. He's no ordinary hologram." Julian reassured them.

"This should be good." Astraea spoke. 

"Vic! You're terrific." Bashir called him, shaking his hand.

"Thanks, Doc." He replied, straightening his suit." I know what you're thinking. He's got pretty sweet pipes for a light bulb."

"Light bulb?" Dax said, confusion all over her face.

"That's what I am, right? A collection of photons and force fields? You're basic heuristic, fully interactive hologram." 

"Or new friend." Astraea spoke up, smiling. Vic looked at Julian before greeting her with a friendly shake.

"He knows he's a hologram?" Miles commented. With some more conversation it got To the introductions.

"Wheres your manners, Julian? Aren't you gonna introduce me to your entourage?" Vic chuckled.

"I'm sorry. This is Dax and Worf. This is Vic Fontaine." Julian announced.

"How long you kids been married?" 

"How did you know we were married?"

"When you worked as many joints as I have, you become a student of the human heart." Then he faced Miles." Don't beat yourself up, Pally. Just because you miss your wife doesnt mean your going blind." 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

It means there's a lot of pretty ladies in the room, it's alright to look at them as long as you dont touch."

"He's good." 

"As for you two."

"Yes?" Odo said.

"Nevermind, forget I brought it up. You have time for another song?" 

"I do." Astraea said.

"Now, that's good. See you around, kids." Vic wavednthe rest off.

"Know much Bobby Darin?" 

"You kiddin'? Course, I do. Does the doctor know you're sick?"

"You are good." Astraea mumbled.

"And what about those feelings of yours?"

"That's a no, too. Huge no."

"Listen, don't sell yourself short. You're a beautiful dame, with a terrific heart and, if I may say so, a wonderful figure. You are special." 

"Thanks, Vic." 

"Now, if I sing a Darin number, will you go to the good doctor?"

"Done deal."

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

"Hey, Julian." Astraea huffed in. The walk to the infirmary had taken the breath out of her. Mostly because she was ill.

"Are you alright, Astraea?"

"Nope. Not been well. For a while..." she mumbled. Julian already began sighing.

"Come, sit. Tell me what's up."

"Right. So, firstly. 3 months ago-"

"Astraea!"

"I had a sore throat, and when I looked my tonsil looked swollen. But they seemed to go down after that." Julian sighed and shock his head." Anyway, the other night, and last night, I could sleep because I was shivering. Even under a burial mound of blankets. Then I couldn't sleep because I was too hot. And these little red spots were beginning to form too."

"Oh, Astraea." He grumbled." Anything else?"

"Maybe an ear infection." She slowly and quietly said, pointing to her right ear and pouting.

"You are something else."

"Vic sent me. He took one look and was like, 'Does the doctor know you're sick?'. Among other things." 

"Lets look at this throat first." Julian said. His light was on and Astraea opened her mouth. He looked in." My God. Astraea!"

"Erm, yes?"

"Not only do you have tonsillitis, which has probably been there since June. But you have hand foot and mouth. Show me your hands and feet, let's check its just in the mouth." Astraea giggled but complied." Okay, just mouth. Ears."

"What a combination." 

"Its not funny, you shouldn't be working. You need rest. Your ear is infected. You should have come to me sooner. Much sooner. Your other ear is fine. Let's check your temperature for fev- Astraea."

"I'm giving you a field day, aren't I?"

"38.8°." 

"Oh." 

"I'm giving you a courts of antibiotics for the tonsillitis and ear infection. The hand foot and mouth will go within a few days. Drink plenty of fluids, soft foods and rest up. If you're sleep deprived, you're going to need it."

"I'll have a hot bath to help me get to sleep tonight."

"Good thinking. I'll check on you tomorrow."

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

"How's Astraea, then?" Vic asked Julian.

"Oh, don't. Can you believe she's had tonsillitis for 3 months? She's got an ear infection because of it. Not to mention she's got hand foot and mouth. Somehow. She really will be the death of me. She nags every one else to come to me when they're in need, but doesn't extend the same care to herself."

"She's a very insecure girl, Doc." 

"I don'tunderstand why. You've met her, she's beautiful, kind and wonderful. Not to mention athletic. I've seen her fight. She is the Starfleet security representative on board this station, under Odo, she babysits for parents. Actually, that could be how she got hand foot and mouth. She's lovely."

"Why don't you tell her your feelings?"

"I don't know."

"Admittedly, she is sick at the moment." Vic teased.

"That doesn't mat-. I see your point." 

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

"I'm very impressed with you, Julian." Astraea said, on their way back through the halls.

"You helped plan it, too."  

"But it still was very impressive for a doctor." She smiled.

"You look beautiful tonight." He said.

"Thanks, Julian. You look pretty good, too."

"We have been stepping around this too long." 

"Vic been on at you too, huh? Well, he doesn't hide much. I'm just not that confident."

"Even when you know something is in your favour?"

"Says you."

"Says me." 

"This is feeding me a bit though."

"Oh?"

Astraea took a hold of his collar and pulled him forward into a kiss. A kiss that was slow and sweet, and from afar the rest of the group smiled amongst themselves. Nog groaning because he lost a bet to his uncle.

[madrut16]

Day 2: With You in Mind

A/N: I decided to do a little experiment in second person POV so, hopefully, you liked it. It was really fun to write, especially the interactions between the different characters. 

Rating: PG

Book/Pairing: Hero (Grayson x MC)

Summary: On the two year anniversary of Whitney’s disappearance, Grayson unveils the proposal he’s created to fight the re-emergence of villains enhanced by prism energy.

Two years. 730 days. That’s how long you’d been gone. Blasted into the atmosphere without a trace to be found. And yet to him, it still felt like yesterday. 

He traced invisible circles on the wooden conference table, his mind drowning in thoughts of you. There wasn’t a day that went by where he didn’t slip into this forlorn tide of remembrance. All of the moments you shared together first as friends and then slowly over time as more than that. He recalled vividly the day his feelings for you snuck up on him and left him breathless. Even the most insignificant conversations he had thought nothing of at the time meant everything to him now. 

The door opened, breaking him from his melancholic stream of consciousness.

“Mr. Prescott.”

He looked up, registering the young woman he was required to hire to replace you. Marjorie insisted even though she begrudgingly missed you almost as much as he did. As everyone did. You really managed to make the entire city of Northbridge become endeared to you. 

“Yes Alice?” he responded, clearing his throat of the emotion that covered it.

Her inquisitive stare took in his depressed demeanor. Since last year she had gotten used to the fact that when addressing Grayson, different energy when he was like this.

She blinked and feigned a light cough when he noticed her lingering, mildly concerned gaze. ��Sorry, um, I just wanted to let you know that your guests, the superheroes are here in the lobby when you’re ready.”

Your friends. 

All changed by the prism energy his father exploited. Somehow, in the chaos and emptiness, since you vanished, he had befriended them too. They all shared a similar heartbreaking loss among other things. 

Finally, a smile appeared on his still angelic face, albeit a ghost of the ones you had come to miss. “Great, have them come up. Thank you.”

She quickly exited the room leaving him in silence once more. He stayed seated for a moment, remembering when it was you that did this for him. Anyone could be an efficient assistant if they were organized and diligent. Yet somehow, you did it better than anyone. You were the person who believed in him the most. You shared the same lofty ideals his father always shot down without much thought. 

A momentary scowl between his eyebrows formed. 

How dare he take you from him, the one person who was able to give him everything Silas wouldn’t. Just as soon as his anger appeared, however, it was gone. His father was to blame for many things, but this detail of that day two years ago wasn’t completely on him. It was just as much of your decision. That’s what they told him in the aftermath anyway. 

That was the thing that linked the both of you impossibly together. The lengths you would go to put others before you. To help the ones who needed it the most. You were going to change the world someday—together, the dynamic duo you had been since childhood.

But then you had to go and do the most sacrificial thing of all. And now, you were nothing but a memory and phantoms of false hope that one day you would come back soon. That you weren't gone forever. 

Because you couldn't be. Not when he hadn't gotten the chance to say the most important thing of all. 

With the heaviest of sighs, he stood up and finished the last preparations for the meeting. The idea he was going to unveil. Now, it was time for him to do something about his grief. He would not let your legacy die in vain, regardless if you ever came back or not.

Several minutes later, the boisterous voices of his guests echoed as they filed inside.

“Hey Blondie,” Eva told him, her playful smirk on full display. She breezed past him and collapsed into a plush swivel chair. She was just as bubbly and mischevious as when you last saw her. 

He regarded her with a courteous smile as she was given a chastising stare by Kenji who filed in after her. 

“What?” she gasped, feigning a look of innocence. “Someone has to cheer you up.”

“Eva,” he told her, his usually lighthearted voice having a little edge. “Not today.”

She sighed, a frown revealing the feelings she wanted to disguise. “You don’t have to remind me. I miss Whitney too y’ know.”

His boyish grin that used to annoy you to know end faltered. “Believe me, we all do.”

He plopped into another chair, the confident air sucked out of him.

You had this effect on them. Even though they had all tried to put their sorrow in a box that they could recognize but ignore, it still managed to leak out, mentally handicapping them.

As Grayson sat at the head of the table, the door slammed open abruptly.

“Sup.”

Caleb’s prescience filled the room with an uncomfortable air. While Grayson had come to befriend him, the rest of your friends hadn’t. The memories of when he was fighting against you still overwhelming the moments when he joined your side.

“What’s he doing here?” Kenji demanded, a heated flush coating his cheeks in a shade similar to his signature jacket.

“Glad to see you too,” Caleb remarked, taking a seat on the other side of the table.

They continued to regard each other with hostility. Grayson’s eyes drifted between them, a look forming that you had known well as annoyance bordering on full irritation. He always hated conflict and that had only worsened after you disappeared.

He stood up abruptly as they argued, clearing his throat. “If you would quit fighting, I will tell you why you’re here. All of you,” he scolded, pinching the bridge of his nose to keep from losing his temper completely. 

A hushed silence fell, their attention squarely on him. His displeased expression relaxed into a neutral one just like that.

“Thank you. Caleb is here for the same reason that you two are,” he explained, walking over the computer monitor. “I’m sure you are all aware of the spike in crime Northbridge has experienced over the past year.”

Caleb shook his head in contempt. “Ridiculous. And thanks to your mom Kenji, we can’t even do a thing about it anymore!”

“Hey! I don’t like it either," the DA's son exclaimed, bolting out of his chair once more. "But I can’t talk her out of it no matter how much I try, so shut it murder hands.” 

Eva tried to get him to sit back down without success.

“For the last time, I’m on the straight and narrow! I haven’t done any of that since…,” he stopped, swallowing heavily. “…since Whitney and I escaped Silas.”

This managed to stop the trail of words coming out of Kenji, something you had only been able to do before.

Grayson nodded, a shared look of understanding between the CEO and reformed street-rat. He was the one that gave Caleb his bartending job at the theatre and paid for the apartment he rented as well. It was another project that you had left uncompleted that he was determined to finish. The pinnacle example of his desire to reform Northbridge’s inner city.

“Caleb’s right. I wouldn’t be helping him if I didn’t think he deserved it,” he commented, his clipped words a plea to end the hostilities. “Now, I’ve also been talking to Meiko Katsaros about this.”

“What? Gray, you didn’t say anything about that,” her son Kenji remarked, his eyebrows shooting off his forehead.

“I know. I didn’t want to mention anything until I could get her on board with my idea of mine,”  Then, a smile, a real smile formed, one that surprised everyone else in the room. “Luckily, as of last week, I have her tentative but full support. Which means I can finally reveal my plan to you since I want you to be a part of it.”

Deliberately vague, the pent up energy radiated out of him. It was one of the things you loved about him most, how excited he got over a new project of his. 

“Us?” Eva asked, twirling a pen between her fingers. 

Grayson turned on the projector and slowly his presentation came into focus behind him. “I want to create an agency for you so that you can be superheroes out in the open.”

His words sink into each of your friends. 

“You serious Gray?” Caleb was the first to respond. 

He seemed to echo the sentiment of his companions. 

A curious smile formed on Eva’s tanned features. “How’d you get Meiko to agree with that?”

“Well, the reason for the ban’s reinstatement was because of the incident two years ago,” Grayson explained. “She doesn’t want a repeat since the prism energy is still out there. But, Dax came to me about six or seven months ago with information that more criminals and villains are emerging who have been exposed to it. I even hear that the energy is nationwide and not just in Northbridge like we’ve thought for so long. There is a need for an organized fight against it that normal police simply can't do.”

The developments stunned his guests. It seems that history might be repeating itself, and the energy was still there from the explosion all those nights ago at the gala. Maybe even permanently. 

Kenji’s eyebrows were raised in alarm, much like the other two vigilantes at the table. “So that’s where we would come in?”

“Precisely,” Grayson affirmed, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement. He was really in his element now. 

He only wished that you were here with him. 

“You see, she does recognize the value in what you do. She just wants it to be controlled which I hope to do. I regret that even if I knew about you and...and Whitney at the time that I would not have been able to help you with my father. So, I want to be able to partner with you now in what ways I can, hence this initiative I want to create.”

He could see them starting to warm up to his idea. 

“What would this entail exactly?” Caleb wondered, his lips momentarily tilting upwards before flattening into his usual expression. “Just cause I’m walking the line now doesn’t mean I want to cozy up to it.”

Grayson continued to click through the Powerpoint as he spoke. “Well, the details are for us to figure out together but, this is the basic outline I’ve thought up. I contribute capital and technology to allow for smooth operations and you, well do what you do best: protect the city. And if it goes well, maybe even the country also.”

“So like Criminal Minds?” Eva perked up. “Because that would be the life.”

“It’s a possibility, yes.”

“Well, you’re making it hard to pass up then. Just think, we could be doing what we love for a living,” she said, a world of possibilities in her eyes. 

A new light could be seen in Kenji as well. “Not just that. We could really help people...save lives.”

It seemed Caleb was the holdout. But, it was typical of him. He was the biggest cynic you knew. “Wait, you would be our boss? And you’re running this?”

Grayson’s smile barely wavered. “Yes, my time would be split due to my responsibilities here. But, I think you misunderstood. I’m not asking you to work for me, Caleb. I’m asking you three to work with me. We would be in charge together. And...and Whitney.” He swallowed an unexpected hit of sadness at the thought of you. “When she comes back of course.”

“You really think she’s alive somewhere? That she’ll be back?” Kenji asked him in surprise. 

But, the look in his eyes said a little different. Somewhere deep down that hope was in all of them. 

Looking at them, Grayson’s eyes shone with fresh tears. “I have to. If things were reversed, I know she wouldn’t give up. So I’m not going to either. In fact, she’s part of my inspiration for this whole program. It’s something we would do together if she were here. With all of us.”

A weighty silence hung over them. Finally, they all eyed Caleb expectantly. Kenji’s was almost a glare it was so intense. 

After a minute, he let out a sigh, unable to hide the inner layer within his hard outer shell. “You know I’ve been wanting to do something meaningful. I’m in.”

A smile returned on Grayson’s face, one more radiant than you’d ever seen. He was finally coming out of his father’s shadow, having no more regrets about the past. Today, this anniversary was all about the future and you would’ve been proud if you were there with them. 

“Let’s change the world then.”

[tomfooleryprime]

Voq, Ash Tyler, and Growing up Star Trek

We learned a lot more about the curious case of Lieutenant Ash Tyler/Voq in the Star Trek: Discovery episode, “Vaulting Ambition.” It was finally confirmed in the previous week that the character we know as Ash Tyler is harboring some Klingon memories, but the precise mechanism behind how that happened was still a mystery, until Saru finally brought up the thing we were all wondering about:

Which prompted L’Rell to spill the beans.

“The one you call Tyler was captured in battle at the Binary Stars. We harvested his DNA, reconstructed his consciousness, and rebuilt his memory. We modified Voq into a shell that appears human. We grafted his psyche into Tyler’s, and in so doing, Voq has given his body and soul for our ideology.”

—L’Rell

It’s not all that shocking. Months of fan speculation aside, it’s not like this is a new trope for this franchise.

Remember this guy? 

What L’Rell revealed last night opens up an opportunity for Star Trek: Discovery to venture into classic Trek territory in a very un-Trek way. How the hell are we supposed to figure out what to think about Ash Tyler’s situation? 

The Trek formula of old would have given us a tidy episode in a box where the captain was confronted with some dilemma and spent the majority of the fifty-two minutes of air time chewing on it in such a way that the audience wasn’t really required to ponder the ramifications because we had a Picard or a Janeway to serve as the wise parental figure and do the messy business of thinking for us.

Yet Discovery lacks that central guiding ethical compass: its main character isn’t a captain, she’s a convict. That arguably makes Michael Burnham the most dynamic lead Star Trek has ever put forward, but because she’s too busy finding her place on a ship in the midst of a war with the Klingons and crawling over heaps of inner turmoil, that doesn’t leave her a lot of free time to tell us how to approach the wider problems presented in each episode. She tries to speak up as the voice of reason (miss you, Ripper!), but thus far, her objections are often drowned out by a plot that’s constantly blazing forward at Warp 10. It makes for good storytelling and character development, but it leaves the analysis of complex issues to the audience.

Think about it—every incarnation of Star Trek up until now had a way of introducing us to problems that were so obviously an allusion to the issues of their respective decades, whether it was Kirk meeting a society of people who desperately needed birth control or Archer ending up in a Suliban detainee camp courtesy of President George Bush… er, whoever the Tandaran leader was during the 2150s.

Captain Picard was the ultimate master of holding viewers’ hands all the way through the first four acts of an episode, carefully spoon feeding us both sides of an issue before finally allowing us to absorb the full weight of an enormous moral, ethical, or philosophical question in the final act with an impassioned speech or contemplative captain’s log entry. We were allowed to be mentally lazy. 

Is Data a person? Who’s to say? Let’s literally hold a trial to weigh the evidence!

The issues surrounding Ash Tyler are so enormously complex and raise questions about the nature of consciousness, self, immortality, and bodily autonomy, as well as the role of crime and punishment in society. It seems pretty ambiguous whether or not the real Ash Tyler is still alive in a Klingon prison somewhere, but regardless, maybe we should start by exploring whether we can really call the person lying in Discovery’s sickbay Ash Tyler. 

If someone were to duplicate your consciousness and place it into another living being, how would you define that individual? Say hypothetically that you are still alive, so is the other being with your consciousness now also you, an extension of you, or a completely independent being that simply carries your memories? If the original version of you is destroyed, did you really die, if a carbon copy of your mind exists somewhere else? If such a procedure is possible, doesn’t that imply we could theoretically live forever through a series of host bodies?

I feel like this is the premise of one-third of all Black Mirror episodes.

Hopefully, next week’s episode will iron out some of the details behind how the procedure was performed and whether or not L’Rell successfully removed Voq’s consciousness from Tyler’s physical form, but that just raises more questions. 

L’Rell indicated that the albino Klingon we knew as Voq in the first three episodes gave up his physical form to look like Ash Tyler, so the body was originally Voq’s.

Alien talent for crafting human flesh bags into suits varies by franchise. 

So if L’Rell manages to remove Voq’s consciousness from the body he and Tyler share, is that the equivalent of killing Voq? Conversely, if she snuffs out any trace of Tyler, has she killed Tyler? Last night’s episode made it apparent that if someone didn’t do something soon, the guy in sickbay screaming Klingon curses one minute and weeping human tears the next was going to die, but is it ethical to take one life to save another, and how do we decide?

I think the natural instinct is to say that obviously Voq needs to go in favor of Tyler. It’s easy to justify too: Voq knew what he was risking, the Klingons and Federation are in the midst of a war, and it doesn’t really seem like Tyler had much say in the medical experimentation performed on him. Not to mention, it kind of seemed like it was Voq shining through when Hugh Culber was killed. The Voq side of this person is clearly violent, dangerous, and a self-proclaimed enemy of the Federation.

Now consider how you feel about the death penalty. If you ardently support it, I question why you watch a show featuring people from an idealistic utopia where the death penalty was abolished, but hey, I’m sure the issue of what to do about Voq must seem pretty cut and dry. If you oppose the death penalty for any reason, now is probably a good time to ask yourself exactly why that is and apply it to this very bizarre situation.

Before you start hurling digital rotten produce at me for daring to suggest that Voq be given rights over Tyler, I’m not advocating for that, I’m merely asking you to consider it, because while the DNA is Tyler’s, the body is Voq’s. The heart of so many modern issues rests on a similar platform, this idea that we have the right to decide the fate of our own bodies, no matter what else we’ve done. 

It’s why we don’t harvest organs from criminals or force them to submit to dangerous medical experimentation, even though some *cough*Nazis*cough* might argue in favor of crude social arithmetic that there’s some net “good” to be had by testing unproven HIV vaccines or pioneering brain surgery on our convict population. To be fair, Voq decided to become Ash Tyler, and in doing so, it seems so unfair that I should even be considering his rights when it certainly seems like Tyler’s rights were so brutally and traumatically stripped away from him.

But Star Trek has also never shied away from unfair predicaments. Remember that time Trip Tucker was in a coma and Phlox collected his DNA and injected it into a Lyssarian Desert larvae to grow a Tucker clone, which they later named Sim, just so they could harvest Sim’s neural tissue for a transplant? OG Tucker was unconscious and didn’t consent to the procedure, and while Tucker 2.0 also didn’t ask to get made, which one deserved to live?

Yeah Sim, he owed you so big. 

No matter what happens, the whole business with Voq and Tyler is a bloody damn mess and there’s no chance for real justice for anyone involved. By stuffing Ash Tyler’s consciousness into Voq’s body and then mutilating Voq to look like Ash Tyler, L’Rell created an individual who is arguably somehow both Voq and Tyler and also neither Voq and Tyler at the same time.

Star Trek built an entire species based around this premise in the form of the Trills. For seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the symbiont Dax put us through our paces as we teased apart Jadzia from Dax and all of her previous hosts. There are too many episodes featuring Jadzia conflicting with the memories of her predecessors to count, but it was always interesting, watching Jadzia stand trial for something Curzon allegedly did, and it was heartbreaking watching her husband Worf interact with Ezri, Dax’s next host, after Jadzia’s untimely death. However much fans wished Ezri would love Worf as much as Jadzia had, Ezri wasn’t Jadzia and she deserved the freedom to make her own decisions.

So, I have to come back to the question, is Ash Tyler even really Ash Tyler? Can a copy be as good as the original? In many cases, sure. If someone torched the Declaration of Independence, its meaning isn’t lost forever; we have countless copies in textbooks and Internet archives. Ideas and facts are obviously more important than the paper that they’re printed on, but aren’t people greater than just the sum of their thoughts and experiences?

Star Trek: The Next Generation asked that question once when a transporter accident spawned a clone of William Riker, only he wasn’t technically a clone, because he shared all of Riker’s memories leading up to the accident. A clone implies an individual whose genome was copied from another individual, but the person created in that transporter glitch was an exact copy.

You know Riker II is looking at Riker I and thinking, “I grew a beard because I didn’t have a razor. Don’t tell me you grew that shit on purpose?”

Are they really exactly the same though? Once their paths began to diverge with differing life experiences (one got stranded on a station while the other went on to have a successful career in Starfleet), they really became two separate individuals, more like twins than the exact same person. So, I would argue that whether or not the original Tyler is really alive out there, the Tyler we know isn’t really Ash Tyler. 

But whoever he is and however he was created, he has rights too. He’s the only innocent person in this whole shitty scenario, and even if Voq’s consciousness is removed, no doubt the experience will irrevocably alter Tyler.

But what if L’Rell can’t separate them? I think of all the options, a plot twist that finds a way for both Tyler and Voq to coexist in the same body is easily the most complicated and daring path forward. Tuvok and Neelix had polar opposite personalities, but at least when they got spliced together, they generally lived by the same moral code. All the incarnations of Dax were also wildly different, but they jived well (so long as you forget that whole uncomfortable Joran incident).

Voq and Tyler are essentially Jekyll and Hyde. Voq killed Hugh Culber and attempted to kill Michael Burnham, so should he (they) be punished for those crimes? American Horror Story: Freak Show tried to address a similar situation when one conjoined twin murdered her mother in a moment of rage. It forces us to ask which is worse, “Deliberately punishing an innocent person or allowing a guilty one to go free?”

I have no idea what will happen in future episodes, but the idea of Voq and Tyler having to learn to live together might actually provide this show with something it’s been largely lacking thus far: a character who has to learn what it means to be human and who can provide an outsider’s commentary and insight on our odd little species, much like Spock, Data, The Doctor, Seven of Nine, and T’Pol did. Given Michael Burnham’s upbringing and life sentence for mutiny, it seemed like she was well-poised to fit this role, but while she spent the latter part of her formative years on Vulcan and is a lot less emotional than most of her crewmates, she’s fairly clued in to the human condition. 

Not so great at beer pong, but still a competent human. 

Ultimately, I can’t wait to see how Ash Tyler’s situation gets resolved, but I can now safely say Discovery might be my favorite series in the franchise. Some people hate it because it’s a lot of explosions and fighting and thus far, it hasn’t really felt like Star Trek with its power-hungry captain, Klingons with heavy prosthetics, and exceptional CGI. 

No, it ain’t your momma’s Star Trek, but maybe that’s a good thing. I grew up watching The Next Generation and later watched Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise, and it was nice having Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and Archer gently guide me to the answers with calm, well-reasoned thinking. In a lot of ways, they taught me how to think about morally complex matters, and now that I’m older, I’m able to think for myself while I watch Discovery, and that is precisely why I love it so much. 

Discovery is Star Trek all grown up.  

[bedbellyandbeyond]

Dinner

(Rather Long Story Post; Art Throughout)

“You have a lovely home.” After discussing the dinner plans with Yori, Dax had offered to wait for Nathan while he was at the APID for his appointments so that he could drive them both to Yori's place. Despite not wanting to be a nuisance, Nathan took him up on it since it would've taken quite a while by transit. When they arrived, Yori answered the door and brought them in to the living room. “Thank you,” Yori said bringing them tea. “I surrogated for my boyfriend's brother so they helped us pay for this house.” “You surrogated?” Nathan asked. “Mmhm. They wanted a baby but they can't carry any so I did,” Yori said. “You'll be teaching their child, Kidd.” “Child kid? Is that a particular term…”

“I believe what Yori is saying is that the child's name is Kidd,” Dax figured. “Yes,” Yori said. “Captain Kidd Fyse is their whole name but they invited us to call them Kidd.” “Oh… I see. A very…creative name,” Nathan said. “So, even as a male, you can bear children?” “I'm a spirit. My body is as I want it to be,” Yori said. “I'm only male because my boyfriends are homosexual.” “That’s quite fascinating,” Dax said. “I was curious of any distinction between you and I but it seems to be clear now. You are not a vessel for a spirit as I am but the spirit yourself taken physical form.” “Correct. I am me. But you are two.” Nathan furrowed his brow. “You've lost me.” Dax smiled and patted Nathan's shoulder. “I'm sorry, Nathan. To be more clear… I am myself, a human, Dax. But residing within me is the spirit of the thunderbird. It is a part of me but it does not belong to me. Yori on the other hand is a spirit on his own taking a form of his choice, not bound to a human vessel. Does that clear it up?” “Yeah, I guess.” Yori went to the hall. “I'll get my children. They're next door.” “We'd love to meet them,” Dax said smiling. Yori smiled and slipped away. Dax looked around and spotted a family portrait on the mantle. “Ooh, these must be the boyfriends… The tall one is hot stuff, look.” He handed the picture frame to Nathan who took it reluctantly. “I don’t think we should touch their stuff.” “Nonsense, we're not going to break it or anything,” Dax said going through some of the other photos. “Baby pictures! So cute! They all look so alike and yet so different…” “We're going to see them in a minute, sit down,” Nathan said. “We won’t get to see them as babies,” Dax said waving the picture frame before placing it back down. “These kids are so cute. They clearly look like Yori so does that mean they're spirits like him? Or half?” “You'll have to ask them I guess,” Nathan said. “Of course. And what do you think of these boyfriends?” Dax said. “Do you think they're all in love with each other or do you think there's a focus? I have a feeling Yori's the focus but then again these two look like they could be a cute couple too…” “I really don’t want to make assumptions about other people's relationships,” Nathan said. “Fair enough. I wonder which one does the most cooking…” Yori reappeared with his three children following behind him like ducklings. They were all practically moving in sync though the girl stuck her tongue out at them. “These are my children. In order of first born to last: Marco, Skylar and Rowan.” They waved as their names were said. Dax got up and placed his hands on his hips, the teacher's sign for 'I'm you're superior but I respect you and am open to your thoughts and feelings and you can ask me anything'. A good first move Nathan thought to himself. “Look at the brilliant bunch you are. You look like you'll be little stars in my class. Marco, Skylar and Rowan. Beautiful names.” “My name's a tree!” Rowan said gleefully putting his arms straight up in the air. “That it is. You're a smart one as I'm sure you all are,” Dax said. “My name is Mr. Olivier. I'm going to be your teacher this year.” “I thought Mama was gonna be the teacher,” Marco said tugging on Yori's pants. “You're the teacher, right?” “I'm going to be a teacher but not for you,” Yori said pouting. “No, whyyy?” Marco whined. “You said you were gonna be a teacher so you'd be with us.” “They gave me a different class.” “I wanna be in that class then!” Skylar said and her triplets agreed. “I was told you're too old for my class.” “But your Mama's gonna be at the school with you every day,” Dax assured them. “You're a lot luckier than other kids for that. They don’t get to see their moms or dads at school.” “But they'll get to see our Mama more than us at school,” Rowan said. “Not all the kids. And besides, you'll have him here at home with you. The other kids don’t get that.” “I guess that's okay…” Rowan said. “Who're you?” Skylar asked suddenly pointing at Nathan. “Me? Oh, I'm another teacher,” Nathan said standing up. “I'm Mr. Cassidy. I'll be teaching Senior Kindergarten.” “What's that?” Skylar asked. “Uh it's preschool for five year olds.” “He'll teach Kidd,” Yori said. “Kidd won't be in our class?” Rowan asked. “No, you're two years older than them,” Yori explained. “That means they're in a different class.” “Aw… I wanna play with Kidd at school,” Marco said. “You can at recess,” Yori said. “Well, actually, the kindergarten classes will likely have a different recess time than you, so they won’t play at the same time…” Dax explained. “We don’t get to play with Kidd?” Skylar whined. “No, I'm sorry…” Nathan said. “But you always have time at home to play with them. He or she is your cousin right?” “Yeah.” “Not he or she,” Yori said. “Kidd is a Yulinian.” “Oh. But they're cousins?” Nathan asked. “Yeah, not entirely.” Another man showed up as if out of nowhere carrying a blue skinned child. “My brother made that one,” he said pointing to Marco. “And I made this one.” He placed the child who Nathan assumed was Kidd on the floor. “I'm Lino.” Nathan put out his hand. “Nathan Cassidy. So Kidd is your child?” “Yep. They're half me—I'm a human by the way—and half my tall blue babe…” Lino looked behind him finding no one. “Vi! Hurry up!” The Yulinian caught up to him carrying a tray of cookies. “Sorry, I wanted to check these were baked through before I brought them… Um, yes, hello. I'm Vi. Lino's partner. Kidd is our offspring.” Nathan shook the Yulinian's hand. “Do you have preferred pronouns?” From meeting a couple at the school, Nathan had learned to many Yulinians had chosen binary genders to fit in more on Earth. “Oh, he/him please,” Vi said. “Kidd on the other hand uses they/them at this time. We understand that there may be some confusion among the other children but we've discussed it with Kidd and they don't mind if there is some misgendering so long as there is correction.” “I will do my best to make sure Kidd is represented properly,” Nathan said. “I may even have other Yulinians in my class.” “Yeah, we're not likely the weirdest family with kids in this school…” Lino said. “I keep telling Vi not to worry about this stuff.” “It's okay to be concerned,” Nathan said. “Every parent worries about these kinds of things.” “Also, I feel like adding that I consider myself Kidd's mother despite identifying male and not having born them myself,” Vi said. “My own mother was not directly related to me but they were my caregiver and the one who facilitated my travel to Earth and in their spirit, I'd like to be the same for Kidd.” “I tried to tell him a dad is the same but he doesn’t listen,” Lino said. “The majority of my existence is listening, it's Yulinian culture,” Vi said. “But I came to my own conclusion about my position in Kidd's life.” Nathan smiled a nodded. “I understand. Thank you for sharing that with me.” “I've been researching Earth education systems and while I believe early learning is heavily simplified at a time when the brain is at it's keenest to learn the deepest complexities of life, I'm sure that your teachings along with supplementary learning at home will be adequate in giving Kidd an education relatively strong enough for them to succeed in their future pursuits of knowledge,” Vi said patting Nathan on the shoulders. “Uh, we probably won't be assigning homework in kindergarten,” Nathan said. “I know you won't. I meant the learning I will provide to Kidd in our home. Yulinian education. While the children can learn the necessary social skills to interact with their peers in your class, at home Kidd will advance their academic knowledge.” “You don't think that might be too much for one child to handle? Social interactions won't be the only thing we're learning. We'll be starting in math and writing and early French Immersion in our class.” “The French will be useful, but you needn't teach Kidd writing or math,” Vi explained. “They already write and calculate at a secondary level by human standards.” “…They're five,” Nathan said. “Four, but yes, a little behind for that age but we have to take into account genealogy…” Vi said tilting his head towards Lino. “Hey,” Lino huffed. “Um, children are supposed to be five years of age going into senior kindergarten,” Nathan said. “Does Kidd turn five this year?” “No, they turned four in June. We already talked to the school about this. I wanted them bumped up several grades but Lino pointed out that they wouldn't fit in with the other kids socially so we settled on advancing Kidd by one grade year.” “You know, senior kindergarten isn't even mandatory,” Nathan said. “Look, dude. Since the moment my kid was born, Vi's been trying to teach them physics and calculus,” Lino said. “Kidd needs a break. They need to go out and play and have some freaking fun. Watching them study is driving me insane.” “I want to go to school,” Kidd murmured. “And they want to go to school,” Lino said. “There's that too. Probably the most important.” “Marco, Skylar and Rowan go to school and I miss them,” Kidd said. “You won't be in their class though,” Lino said. “But there'll be other kids to meet,” Nathan assured them. “You'll have a lot of kids to make friends with.” “Okay…” Kidd pouted. Skylar swooped in and picked them up from behind. “You can't have Kidd! Kidd's ours!” she yelled before running off upstairs followed by her brothers. Lino chuckled while Vi worriedly went after them. “Kids are so crazy.” “So… Captain Kidd was it?” Nathan asked. “Probably the most unique name I'll have taught.” Lino shrugged. “Pirates are cool, dude. What can I say? And Vi turned down a lot of the other super cool names I had lined up…” “You seem like a carefree kind of guy,” Dax said. “I like that.” “And who're you again?” Lino asked. “Dax Olivier. Second grade teacher and Head of French Immersion,” Dax introduced himself. “I'll be teaching your niece and nephews.” “Are you French then?” “Québécois Métis,” Dax confirmed. “And yourself? Lino and Marco sounds…Italian or Hispanic but there seems to be more going on.” “Guess,” Lino said. “Lino Mannan. My brother’s name is Dante.” “Mannan. That sounds…” Dax tapped his chin. “Indian Italian?” “Bingo,” Lino said. “What a unique mix,” Dax said. “Which parent is which?” “My mom's from Florence. My dad's from Dubai. They met in Florence when my dad tried to hawk her an umbrella.” “That was some pretty good hawking,” Dax said. “Yeah. My dad could sell a calculus textbooks to a high school dropout.” “Must be a remarkable salesperson,” Dax said. “Requires an incredible amount of charisma and tact.” “You sound like we're playing a game of D&D.” The front door opened and the triplets came running down the stairs yelling ‘Papa'. The visitors turned to look as another man, similar to Lino came in. He grinned to the children and tousled their hair. “Hey, how are you guys? Did Mama bring us home some guests?” he asked waving to Dax and Nathan. “Yeah!” Marco said. “They're gonna be our teachers!” “Ooh, are you excited?” “Yeah!” Skylar exclaimed. “You must be Dante,” Dax said smiling. “I'm Dax Olivier and this is my new colleague, Nathan Cassidy.” Dante stood up straight and walked into the living room to meet them. “It's nice to meet you. Yori told me he'd bring home one teacher, not two.” “I'm going to be teaching your… I'll be teaching Kidd,” Nathan said. “Ah. Now I see.” Dante smiled and shook his hand. “I think the word you were looking for is ‘nibling'.” “Nibling. That's definitely a new one for me,” Nathan said. “Yeah, don't know when it came into use but a lot of dictionaries recognize it so we use it,” Dante said. “I think it's cute,” Dax said. “Now I'll have to look up something for French…” “Mr. Olivier was it?” Dante asked offering his hand. “You can call me Dax.” Dante jumped a little when their hands touched. “Oh, static…” “No, that's just me,” Dax said. “I'm sorry, you're probably the tenth person I shocked today…” “Oh, no that's alright…” Dante rubbed his hands together. “How does that kind of thing...come about?” “Oh, I'm a thunderbird,” Dax said. “The spirit within sometimes likes to meet people too…with little shocks.” “Oh. That sounds really cool,” Dante said smiling. “So, like, are you able to turn into a bird like Yori can be a dog?” “Us too!” Skylar said before transforming into a shiba inu puppy coming right out of her clothes, her brother following her lead right after. The bunch of them started running around their parents' legs. Yori chuckled and joined them, becoming a slightly bigger shiba and chasing them. Dante sighed. “Kids, when you turn back, bring your clothes to a private room, please. We're not getting naked in front of the guests.” The pups yipped in agreement and started to wrestle.

“That's incredible,” Nathan mumbled, still just in awe of the transformations he'd just seen. It made him feel weak, unable to transform at will, unable to even remember what happens when he does. These kids could do pretty much whatever they wanted as puppy without any restrictions really. “To answer your question,” Dax said addressing Dante. “Sort of. The whole bird thing is a bit of a learning curve for me. Unlike your partner and children, I don't have much control over transformation… It's sort of like the thunderbird takes over. But I have some choice of when it happens… Used to be if there was a thunderstorm, the bird took over and I was lost until the storm was over. But now I can hold my own through those kind of events but I might get a little…sparky.” “What if that happens during class?” Dante asked looking concerned. “I can assure you, should this occur during school hours, your children will not be in harm’s way,” Dax said. “I am constantly well aware of the barometric pressure and have discussed procedures with the school on handling the situation and substitution on such days.” “Well, alright… If you're sure it's safe.” “The very last thing I'd want for my students is for them to get hurt,” Dax said. “I've been teaching for four years now with no incident.” Lino bumped shoulders with Nathan. “Hey, seems like these teachers at this school have a lot of powers or whatever. You got something?” Nathan blinked and then panicked. “Uh, um…” “It's a bit personal for a lot of us revealing our species or powers or what have you,” Dax cut in. “While I don’t mind discussing mine with you, I believe Nathan expressed earlier that he rather not talk about it. Security of identity. I'm sure you can understand.” Lino shrugged. “Fine. Whatever. Personal's personal… Unless you're dangerous.” Nathan rubbed his arm. “I—” “If he were dangerous, he wouldn't have been hired,” Dax cut in again. “None of us would. However danger is relative. A normal human being can be just as dangerous as any other. But this is school we’re taking about. Student safety is number one.” “Alright, alright, chill,” Lino said holding up his hands. “ Are you gonna have some of Vi's cookies or what?” It seemed everyone had forgotten the treats the Yulinian had brought out. Nathan took one and took a bite but Dax passed. “I wouldn't want to spoil dinner,” Dax said. “I've been told I eat like a bird…” “Dinner might be a while if we have to wait for Slenderman,” Lino said. “He means our partner Ruben,” Dante said punching his brother's arm. “Ruben's on his way so I'm going to start dinner. How many are we?” He lightly pointed to everyone then twice upstairs (counting Vi and Kidd) and then adding the missing boyfriend. He paused. “Uh, Lino…” Lino raised an eyebrow. “Eh?” “Is, um, is Dusty joining us?” “Do you want him to?” “I…I don't mind either way. I just need to know how many mouths we're feeding.” “I can ask him.” “Please.” Nathan blinked, and watched as Lino left the room. This household only seemed to be getting bigger by the minute. “Nathan, Dax, do you want to help me pick a dinner?” Dante said. “We have a couple food restrictions in the house so I want to make sure everyone's happy.” “Sure, that sounds good,” Dax said patting Nathan's back. “I'm sure whatever you make will be delicious but we'll be happy to assist.” Nathan nodded, following them into the kitchen. Dante took out a big rolodex of recipes from the cupboard and started flipping. “Vi is a pescatarian so if you're down for seafood, that'll make this easiest,” Dante said. “And the kids are picky too so I gotta keep the vegetables sneaky…” “I am always down for seafood,” Nathan said with Dax nodding in agreement. Dante pulled out a couple cards. “I have the stuff for these… Seafood Paella, Lemon Parmesan Spaghetti and Shrimp , Shrimp and Crab Fettuccine...” “That last one sounds delicious,” Dax said. “Nathan?” “I can't believe you'd cook crab and shrimp for us this far inland,” Nathan said. “It's not a big deal. Lino buys a haul of seafood regularly so we have lots,” Dante said. “They have a bit more disposable income…” He leaned over and opened the pantry. “Fettuccine, Fettuccine… Ah, there…” Dax peeped into the pantry and his jaw dropped. “That is an entire grocery store of pasta.” Dante chuckled. “Well… We are Italian… And Ruben loves pasta a lot too so we keep all sorts. The dry pasta lasts a long time though I prefer fresh… But who has time to make fresh pasta all the time?” Nathan raised an eyebrow. “…Pasta can go bad?” “Yes, of course,” Dante said. “I mean, dry pasta has usually a couple years of shelf life, but it does go bad. And before then it'll lose a lot of it's flavour so you gotta keep track.” “I think I have a box of elbows in the cupboard from 2003…” Nathan said. “…Yeah, throw that out? Or you can make some art with it…” Dante pointed to the macaroni pictures on his fridge. “So cute,” Dax commented. “Rowan's the little artist,” Dante said pointing to the little orange paw print in the corner. “Marco's and Skylar's didn't…survive.” “Do tell.” “You've heard of 'my dog ate my homework'?” “Ah.” Nathan moved over near the fridge. “Would you like us to help prep anything?” “Uh, sure, let me get everything out and then see what I have for you to do,” Dante said, going to the fridge to grab more ingredients. He set them up with a few small things to do like cutting and washing vegetables while he boiled and started the pasta. After a bit Lino came back with news. “I asked Dusty if he wanted to join us all for dinner and he stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth and said he'd already eaten.” “Jeez, alright,” Dante said. “That's fine, but maybe make sure he actually eats something good. Grey too. Maybe I'll make extra anyway…” “Yeah, he'd probably like that.” Lino turned to go but Dante took his arm. “Actually, could you stir this pasta for a minute? I'm gonna go talk to him,” Dante said, directing his brother into the spot where he'd been standing. “Alright, be quick.” Dante nodded and left. “Is this more family?” Dax asked. “Who, Dusty?” Lino started stirring. “Family friend. He's living with me.” “And he doesn’t want to eat with us?” “Naw. It's complicated.” “And Grey?” “His kid.” “Will we be seeing him in school?” “Naw, he's three.” “We will have daycare services if he's interested.” “Doubt it. They're stuck together like glue. Dusty's really protective.” “Ah. Is he employed?” “Looking but he doesn’t have many human skills.” “Hmm… Perhaps he should enroll in trade school?” “Everyone’s solution to everything seems to be school these days…” “I mean, we are teachers so we're a little biased…” Dax patted Nathan's shoulder. “School doesn't always work for everyone,” Nathan said. “But we live in an age where education level is often prioritised by well paying employment… Does he have a high school degree?” “I don't even know,” Lino said. “He probably doesn't even have a résumé.” “Geez, with a child too…” Dax rubbed his neck. “It must be hard.” “That's not even the beginning of it,” Lino said. “Oh please, do tell,” Dax said curiously. “Well…” Lino looked like he was gonna say something but Dante came back a moment later. “Yeah, it's not really my business to talk about that stuff.” “Alright, alright…” Dante frowned. “Were you talking about Dusty?” “Maybe,” Lino said. “Leave him alone, Lino,” Dante said. “His business isn't ours to just talk about.” “That's what I was saying,” Lino said. “Yeesh.” Dante gave his brother a look but went back to the pot. “You're stirring it too much. Let it sit for a minute.” Lino dropped the spoon handle and backed off so his brother could take over. “Sorry.” “Could you go set the table or something?” Dante said. “I'll help,” Dax said. “Sure.” Lino looked around. “So with the kids makes ten, right?” “I believe so,” Dante answered. “Alright, we need to puts some leaves in,” Lino said waving Dax to follow him into the dining room and that he did. “Ugh, they're just gonna gossip about Dusty…” Dante sighed, getting out the shrimp and crab from the freezer. “Yeah, Dax seems to be a very…curious guy.” “You were going to say nosy.” “Yeah…” “Funny after that speech he said about personal info…” “Well, I mean he knew talking about my condition makes me uncomfortable… So I guess he just…checks himself when he knows he's overstepping.” Dante glanced over at Nathan. “Or he likes you…” “…What?” “Hmph… He was overstepping with Dusty.” “Oh. Yeah I guess so.” Dante sighed and rubbed his neck. “Dusty's a complicated situation. But he's going through hard times and the last thing he needs is people sticking their nose in his business.” “I understand,” Nathan said. Dax and Lino came back to get napkins and utensils to set the table. Dante and Nathan were nearly done when Ruben finally got home. Once again the kids swarmed him, back in human form again, and Yori greeted him at the door giving him a kiss. Ruben let Yori climb onto his back and carried him into the kitchen. He gave Dante a kiss and rested his chin on his shoulder. “Rube, this is Nathan Cassidy,” Dante said introducing the teacher. “He'll be teaching Kidd in the Fall.” “Nice to meet you, Ruben,” Nathan said. “And you,” Ruben said, letting go off one of Yori's legs to shake Nathan's hand. Nathan though Yori would've slipped but apparently he had a good grip on his partner. “I thought Yori was bringing home the triplets' teacher.” “I did,” Yori said pointing towards the dining room. “He's setting up the table.” “Ah. ‘Scuse us then,” Ruben said heading on through to the dining room. Vi came to the kitchen carrying Kidd with him on his back. “Ah, it smells so good in here.” “I'm sure you know exactly what we're making,” Dante said. “Yes, shrimp and crab,” Vi said, smiling. “Crab is my favourite. We have a species back on Yulin called tren and it's so absolutely succulent.” “Well this isn't tren of course, but it's top shelf for sure,” Dante assured him. “We're pretty much done. Could you help plate it with me? I'm not sure how much Kidd'll eat.” “Who knows. Sometimes Kidd's really hungry and sometimes they eat like they'd already come from a feast,” Vi says. “I feel like the triplets have something to do with that,” Dante said. “I know they have their own stash of snacks somewhere in their room… They've probably been sharing with Kidd even though I told them it's not as good for Kidd as it is for the triplets.” Nathan strained the pasta and sea food for them so they could start serving dinner. Dante called Yori to call the kids for dinner and then the food was brought out. The kids all sat on one side with their booster seats. Vi sat on one end so he could watch Kidd and Yori sat at the other without a plate. “You're not eating?” Dax asked Yori as he sat down beside Nathan. Yori shook his head. “I don't eat this kind of food.” “As a spirit, Yori only gets energy from sugar,” Dante said. “He'll eat when we bring out dessert.” “Why don't you eat it now then?” Nathan asked. “We don't like to encourage the kids into thinking they can have sugar instead of dinner,” Ruben said. “While they do benefit from sugar like Yori, they still need nutrition from healthy foods.” “How fascinating,” Dax said. “Perhaps, I'll have to discuss dietary differences with my class. I'm sure there are other students who will have their own health needs…” “That's probably a good idea,” Dante said. “We've had other parents look at us like we're spoiling our kids and it's hard to explain that they need more sugar without discussing their species…” “Well, at APID E you can be sure species or condition shouldn't be a problem since everyone will be different in such regards,” Dax ensured. “It's the whole point of it's foundation.” “It is a relief,” Dante said. “Not having to try and hide everything…” “Rumours went around school last year about the pups being dogs,” Ruben said. “Kids tried to pick on them about it. You know…'Teacher's Pet'.” “Oh, no… That must've been terrible,” Nathan said. “Not really,” Skylar piped up. “Well, not really for them,” Dante said giving them the eye. “The keyword was ‘tried'… They didn’t really seem to care. Of course we got calls from their teacher to talk about how our children were acting like dogs in class…” The triplets all smiled innocently. “It was hard to reason with the teacher,” Dante said. “Pretty sure she didn’t like us on Day 1 because of our family…format.” “It's sad to see bias on the part of educators,” Dax said. “Their job is to open kids minds to endless possibilities of learning, but how can they, when they can't be open minded themselves?” “Preach,” Ruben said. Dax pushed his hair off his shoulder. “In my own experience as a two spirited teacher, I have found an unfortunate amount of resistance from my peers… However there are many allies within the education system.” “Two spirited?” Nathan asked in slight confusion. “Do you mean having the spirit of the thunderbird?” “No, no… Well, in a way, yes, I suppose I'm two spirited that way…” Dax rubbed his chin. “But when I say two spirited, I refer to the native term, having both the male and female spirit. It's a very traditional concept. It is often used in the indigenous community as an umbrella term for any LGBTQ+ members.” “So you're native?” Ruben asked. “Wouldn't have guessed.” “Well, my father is of French Canadian heritage and I was mainly raised by him,” Dax said. “It wasn’t until I exhibited signs of thunderbird heritage that my father revealed my background. At that time, I met my mother's family and learned about my roots.” “Thunderbird,” Ruben said in an inquisitive tone. “Right, you weren’t here earlier,” Dax said. “The spirit of the thunderbird dwells within me. It is a sacred spirit that is born into a new host every time the old host dies.” “What's it do?” “Long story short, I can turn into a big electric bird, and occasionally zap people in this form,” Dax explained. “Oh, that's pretty cool,” Ruben said. While they ate, Nathan kept his eye on the clock. Since it hadn't taken a while for Ruben to get home, it had started getting late and Nathan really didn’t want to turn wolf on this family. He ate somewhat quickly but waited for everyone while still trying to be polite. Once the meal was over, he did his best not to involve himself in any after dinner activities but he still agreed to wash the dishes with Dax when he offered. “Now slow down a minute,” Dax said as Nathan was vigorously drying dishes. “You're going to burn a hole in those plates. Don't rush.” “Sorry…” Nathan said. “I just… I kind of have to get home soon. I have to clean up a bit.” “We can leave soon, don't worry,” Dax said. “I'll drive you home.” “Oh, you don't have to do that,” Nathan said. “I know my way from here.” “No, I'll be headed out soon too so I might as well drive you.” “Alright, thanks.” Yori walked into the kitchen and hopped up on the counter. “You're leaving soon?” “Yeah, the two of us have to get home,” Dax said. “Okay. Take some leftovers. I'll let my family know,” Yori said, sliding off the table and going back to the living room. They finished up the dishes and packed up a Tupperware each of leftovers before heading to the door. “Heading out?” Ruben said, walking up with Skylar clinging to his leg. He shook their hands. “I'm sorry I was so late and couldn't get to hang out more.” “It's no worries, we'll be seeing you around Parent Teacher meetings?” Dax suggested. “More of a Dante thing. I'll be there for pickup and dropoff.” “Alright, I'll see you around,” Dax said. Lino appeared to wave them off. “See ya. Nathan, you'll keep a good eye on my Kidd, won't you?” “Of course. See you around.” Lino nodded and disappeared and Ruben watched them until they got to Dax's car. Nathan glanced up and groaned seeing the moon hanging heavy in the setting sky. He got into Dax's passenger seat and put the sun visor down, as if that would help.

“Where to?” Dax asked as he got in and pulled out his phone. “22 Roseburn Ave.” Dax put it in and connected it to his car's navigation system before driving. “Ooh. Posh area.” “Inherited it,” Nathan said. “Couldn't afford it otherwise…” “Ah.” Dax smiled. “Did you have a good time?” “I did.” “I've never really had a parent invite me into their home before,” Dax considered. “Is it even appropriate? Is it favouritism? Perhaps we shouldn't have. I don't know. But I liked it.” “Yeah…” Nathan wasn’t really paying attention. He kept rubbing his arms, feeling the hairs lifting as they prepared to transform. A sick feeling bubbled up inside him as he began to worry. What if he didn’t get home in time? What if he transformed in his co-worker’s car? What if he hurt Dax? He noticed the hair on his knuckles beginning to grow and he panicked. “Dax stop the car.” Dax raised an eyebrow. “What? We're not even close.” “Stop the car and let me out right now!” “Okay, okay. Calm down.” Dax pulled the car over to the side of the road and stopped, unlocking the doors. Nathan threw the passenger door open and got out quickly, beginning to take off his clothes. His skin began to burn as hair forced it's way out, covering his whole body. His bones creaked and snapped as they changed form and relocated. He cried out in pain as his muscles and joints swelled and twisted to meet his new shape. He fell to his knees and then to his side, curling up in anguish. Through hazy eyes he saw Dax approaching him and he tried to yell at him to stay away but it just came out as snarls and growls. Colour began to drain from his vision and he shut his eyes tight, trying to bear through the pain. Eventually the pain peaked and he lost all consciousness.