#bashir is an actual angel

[eco-lite]

Some mostly out of context funny/sweet/heartbreaking moments from Una McCormack’s Enigma Tales:

[Text ID: “Renel took the other chair and the two guls, both big men, perched awkwardly together on the sofa. Garak had asked for the sofa’s dimensions to be just slightly too small to comfortably seat two adult males. His cruel streak always found expression somehow.” End ID]

Garak forcing stuffy military men to squeeze onto a tiny sofa together. Utterly diabolical.

[Text ID: “My real pride is, of course, my garden. I have worked hard here. Parmak helps, although he has a tendency to kill plants on touch—worrying in a doctor (previous sentences underlined in red by me). He can’t do too much damage. The plants are hardy, the flowers have their own agenda, and not even Parmak can kill dry stone monuments.” End ID]

I love that in The Crimson Shadow, it’s implied that Kelas takes care of Garak’s garden while he’s away, yet here we learn that he’s actually terrible at it. First of all hilarious. Second of all, very sweet that Garak trusts him to keep trying.

[Text ID: “’There might be another route to Garak,’ Alden said slowly, at last. ‘Ambassador, what do you know about Kelas Parmak?’

‘He is the castellan’s close friend,’ said T’Rena. ‘Probably one of his closest advisors—not officially, but certainly they are often together.’

‘Are they lovers?’ said Pulaski.

‘I don’t know,’ said T’Rena. ‘I do know that Parmak was interrogated by the Obsidian Order in his youth, and that Garak may have been involved.’

‘Damn,’ muttered Alden, ‘this place is twisted.’” End ID]

Pulaski just assuming that Garak and Kelas are lovers. A perfectly valid assumption--it’s the same assumption I make myself. Also, Peter Alden pointing out how it is frankly fucked up that they should be lovers considering the circumstances of their past encounter. He’s not wrong... Kelas is just a forgiving angel of a man.

[Text ID: “She picked up the parcel she had brought with her. ‘Hey,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to go now. I hope it’s been good to see me. But I brought you a present. Well, it’s not really from me. Several of your friends got together and found this, and when they heard I was coming they asked me to bring it with me. I hope there’s no injunction on importing livestock. I think I got away with it.’

He was hardly going to unwrap the gift, so she pulled at the paper, revealing the small brown bear inside. She reached for Bashir’s hand again, lifting it and pressing it against the toy, in case the touch stirred some memory. She pressed it against his cheek too, so he could catch the scent. Smell and memory were closely intertwined; smells took you back to places more than anything else. Then she put the bear upon the windowsill, half looking out at the city, half looking back at Bashir. She smiled at it; this little guy had been loved, she saw, and someone had done some stitching that would make a surgeon proud. She reached out and rubbed its ears.

‘He’s an old soldier, isn’t he?’ she said. ‘He’s been through some wars. We’ve all been through some wars.’ She stopped and kissed her lost friend gently on the brow. ‘Come back, Julian,’ she said. ‘We miss you.’” End ID]

Pulaski bringing Kukalaka to comfort the comatose Julian are you kIDDING ME? This scene is so bittersweet.

[Text ID: “’My father would say, all the time, how much I was wanted. How much he wanted me.’

(Next paragraph highlighted red by me) Well, he had wanted something, Garak thought. Telek’s father had not wanted the child he got. And that hurt, as Garak had cause to know; yes, that hurt very badly.” End ID]

Hahahahaaa ouchie.

[Text ID: “Garak realized that he was still holding the phaser. He slipped it back into his pocket, for he would no doubt need it again one day, and then he rested his head against the cool of the window. My poor Julian, he thought. He let himself tremble for a while, allowing his body to process the shock. He might have allowed himself some tears then, too, in the dark while nobody could see, for all that had been lost, for all that he had done; for everyone that he had harmed.

Everyone that he had been unable to save.” End ID]

Despite everything, Garak is a very compassionate person. He very kindly talked down Telek, who was about to kill him, and was sensitive and remorseful that Telek’s Bajoran genetics had been eradicated as a child, at the insistance of Telek’s Cardassian father. And then immediately after that assassination attempt--a moment in which you’re surely allowed to think selfishly--he instead thinks of “My poor Julian,” another man whose father did not want him as he was. And that’s not even acknowledging all the other shit Garak is going through here. It’s a lot.

Love to end on a sad note. But seriously, everybody go read this book! These are just a few great moments among many. Lots of angst, lots of tenderness.

#enigma tales #una mccormack #garak #elim garak #garashir #elmi garak x kelas parmak #kelas parmak #star trek books #star trek novels #post-canon cardassia

[adastrafanfic]

Ad Astra News - 8/27 - 9/2

State of the Archive Growth remains steady and the September Review Hunt is underway!  First prize being a full-color portrait of a character of your choosing, second prize being a black and white portrait of the same, or you can bank wins for a bigger piece of art!  Or you can toss me a wishlist, too.  Any which way, don't be shy about signing up; it costs nothing and you only have to read and review to participate!  In the meantime--

Weekly Challenge #19: Empathy Be it an actual psionic ability, or just the ability to feel as others do, go ahead and write between 100 and 700 words on empathy! Interpret as liberally or strictly as you like. When you post it to the archive, tag it with Weekly Challenge: Empathy.

Challenge ends September 8th at 11:59PM, Eastern.

Stories Archived ★ denotes Weekly Challenge Entry

Star Trek: Discovery

by lah_mrh Human Touch - G - Ash Tyler| Voq/Christopher Pike Those Left Behind - G - Ash Tyler| Voq & Christopher Pike Ends and Means - G - Christopher Pike, Spock Fragments - G - Ash Tyler| Voq & Christopher Pike

Star Trek: The Original Series

by TheQuietWings Aftermath of a Strange Encounter - G - Hikaru Sulu, Janice Rand, Nyota Uhura

Star Trek: Alternate Original Series

by lah_mrh All in a Day's Work - G - James T. Kirk (AOS)/Spock (AOS) Love and Marriage - G - James T. Kirk (AOS), Sam Kirk (AOS), Winona Kirk (AOS)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

by nostalgia 501 For Beginners - M - Ezri Dax/Julian Bashir How To Fall Further - M - Julian Bashir/Luther Sloan Pollen - M - Julian Bashir/Miles O'Brien, Keiko O'Brien/Miles O'Brien Some Other Life - G - Julian Bashir/Miles O'Brien The Matter At Hand - M - Elim Garak/Julian Bashir

Star Trek: Voyager

by nostalgia Starless - M - Kathryn Janeway/Chakotay

Expanded Universes

by Hawku Flortarios III - G - Ensemble by LordMcCoveyCove [PODFIC] Communiques - G - Original Characters Damn the Torpedoes! - M - Ensemble Trial of Transfer - T - Ensemble Damn the Torpedoes! Part Two - M - Ensemble Damn the Torpedoes! Part Three - M - Ensemble Milk Run - M - Ensemble by Omicrex46 Star Trek: Fortitude (Season 2) - G - Ensemble Star Trek: Fortitude (Season 3) - G - Ensemble by SevereAnnoyance, squireofgeekdom Where Angels Fear To Tread - T - Plo Koone, Commander Wolffe, Original Characters, xover with Star Wars

#star trek #fanfic #trek fanfic #ad astra #ad astra fanfic #st:tos #st:dsc #trekfic #st:voy

[curator-on-ao3]

⭐ Director's Cut on the First Impressions ficlets, please!

Bahaha! Thank you for asking about those, @fiadorable! ❤️😂

Okay, so the trio of ficlets that form First Impressions are all … first impressions … in the context of two first officers — Jack Ransom and Una Chin-Riley. I originally posted the first and second ficlets to Tumblr (sort of glorified shitpost fics) and people asked me to put them on AO3, which was really nice. I put all three stories on AO3 a few days before the Lower Decks/Strange New Worlds crossover was announced and I thought, “Whoa. Of all my crackships, is Chansom actually going to go canon?!” So, yep, the joke in the crossover made me happy because how can you have first officer actors married to each other and not make a joke about it? The show did good.

Anyway, for the first ficlet, Jack Ransom falling for an Una Chin-Riley hologram (and Mariner teasing him about pulling a Geordi LaForge/Leah Brahms) was fun, and Jack meeting — and respecting — the actual Una as an aged and wise ambassador, all in the service of Jack’s emotional journey for his own self-confidence, was nice to explore. I see Jack as having a really beautiful and needy heart that he hides to protect himself (per Deanna Troi’s analysis). Letting Jack be vulnerable with Una made my own heart happy.

For the second ficlet, I was amused by the number of Trek characters played by married Trek actors and I wanted to get them all into one place. Hence, the nightclub that in my mind is officially named “Okudas,” but I couldn’t get that in there. Having Kira and Bashir (married actors!) comment on Jack and Una (married actors!) while reflecting on Tilly and Ryn (married actors!) and so, so many more had me smiling. (B’Elanna and Damar! Spock and Admiral Rollman! Jean-Luc Picard and the lounge singer from a dive bar in 21st century Los Angeles!) I like to believe that once Una and Jack figured out why they were at the nightclub (“Okay, so we’re fictional characters played by actors who are married to each other. That’s ummm …” “Not even the strangest thing to ever happen to me.” “Yeah, same.”) that they sort of warily circled each other, then Jack made a joke about testing out the ol’ rod and berries (yeah, a Roddenberry dirty joke — I truly believe Jack would go there) and Jack got nervous when Una seemed annoyed at first by his humor … but then he saw the amusement in her eyes and they both absolutely cracked up laughing.

The third ficlet was the only one of the trio that I wrote directly for AO3 (didn’t begin life as a Tumblr fic shitpost). And I have to say, I have a special place in my heart for it. The way Christopher Pike initially dismisses Jack Ransom as an idiot and, sure, it’s fine if Una has history with this guy from the future because it’s obviously just physical attraction and … what’s that? Jack is actually intelligent? Well, shit. Writing Chris becoming more and more insecure while Jack and Una have no idea that Chris is freaking out … and Chief Kyle just wants everyone out of the transporter room … had me laughing (lovingly) as I wrote and every time I edited.

Thank you so much, @fiadorable, for asking about that trio of firsts for two of my favorite first officers. ❤️

Want more information about a fic I wrote? Send me an ask.

#fanfic director’s commentary #i love asks #una chin riley #jack ransom #una chin riley x jack ransom #chansom #star trek strange new worlds #star trek lower decks #i might write more for them because their mutual nerdy competence makes me happy #my heart is forever with poor ditched chris in the transporter room #that man had no idea what he was getting into when jack was beamed aboard #thank you again for asking about those stories #fiadorable

[mermaidsirennikita]

omg idk how far along u are in the crown so pls feel free to answer this later but the press was droning ONNNNN about how both charles and diana r portrayed as equally to blame and i dont think that’s particularly true? 😭 yes i believe diana was given a much more complex character than shes usually afforded in biopic adjacent media (i actually gasped when they let her be as charismatic as we’re often told she was irl) but that doesnt mean it was a negative portrayal? even in her more “selfish” moments, and this might just be me being biased lol, but i was fully on her side. its almost like people dont think diana can be sympathetic if she actually fights back against the the system and the people that have trapped her 😭 this all being said i think charles’ portrayal was tooo positive…. but i dont expect less from PM

Lol the press is ridiculous.

The thing is that there absolutely are people who want to put Diana up on a pedestal as this poor little girl lost who had the best of intentions but was fragile and craaaazy and only acted out because other people (not the Windsors) manipulated her poor, silly self. That is what the Windsors are putting out there. That is what the press is playing into. Fuck, that's what William put out there. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Martin Bashir acted entirely ethically; but frankly, if it hadn't been him, Diana would've eventually said that shit to someone else (and she PRETTY MUCH DID to Andrew Morton, lmao). She was spitting mad.

And the thing is? She had a right to be. Diana was seduced into a horrible marriage with a man 12 years her senior as a literal teenager. She had two kids with the man, was continuously gaslit by him, his mistress, his entirely family, most of their social circle... She wasn't perfect, and she had mental health issues that would've likely existed without Charles, but lmao. The woman was emotionally abused by those people for like... her entire marriage. Which covered most of her adulthood. She had a right to be angry.

If you think that her reacting and acting badly in turn is like... less sympathetic, you just have a very black and white view of the world. Someone can be very kind to those in need and have a mean streak towards people they clash with. Someone can be serious about charity work and enjoy the attention. All of these things can be true, and these things all existing in one person doesn't mean they're suddenly shitty lmao. You have to evaluate people (and their behaviors) as individuals.

Idk, to me Diana being selfish at points makes me more sympathetic to her than I would be if she were just a long-suffering angel. She was a fucking human being. She was very loving to her children (and most children), she was incredibly charismatic, she genuinely cared about serious issues and did what she could to bring attention to them... She also had a partygirl streak (lmao the company she kept--Elton John, George Michael, Gianni Versace, COME ON SHEEPLE), could be self-absorbed and catty, and was very needy. She was super genuinely hurt by these people, and knew how to play her audience like a fiddle. All of this... can be true. I think she was, at heart, a good but complicated person. And I appreciate that. That's why I am so fascinated by her--she's this goddess figure in the press, but when you research her she's deeply relatable. I loved that they brought shit up like her calling her stepmother Acid Raine. Anyone who's had a shitty stepmom can relate to that.

#the crown

[ihavetoomuchhomeworkforthis]

So late last night at like 2 in the morning I had a crazy idea-- who would the characters from hazbin hotel be in the star trek universe? And I tried thinking of Angel Dust first and Bashir popped into my brain and I was like no, not my cute little baby bi, you are too innocent for this, sit back down. And then my brain did a kind of reboot thing and flashed Jadzia Dax up onto the screen, and you know what? I couldn't find anything wrong with that, they even both have spots?? Someone tell me I'm wrong or suggest a better character for Angel Dust, I dare you. (actually please do tho)

After that I also thought of someone who would be Alastor but I can't remember it?? (By the way autocorrect tried to tell me Alastor should be "A pastor," which I think is hilarious) I can think of Janeway for the red hair, any Ferengi for the teeth I guess (lol) but neither are the personality? The Doctor (the hologram) kind of has the personality except -100% evil. Maybe Garak? (*gasp* maybe if garak is alastor, that's why bashir tried to audition for angel dust XD) I'm an idiot lol

If you can think of any other star trek/hazbin hotel crossovers, or figure out who Alastor or any other Hazbin Hotel characters would be in star trek, please comment them :)

#hazbin hotel #alastor #angel dust #star trek #star trek ds9 #jadzia dax #dax #bashir #doctor bashir #autocorrect #crossover #2 in the morning #late night crazy thoughts #garashir #radiodust #lgbtq

[goronska]

My OCs - Bashir

At first, he was meant like a one-off character, but he somehow got involved in stuff.

Here's his first picrew (it was done in a hurry, he should have darker, olive-brown skin and black eyes, more accurate depiction in the end):

Bashir "Banshee" Levi [early 20s, he/him, heterosexual, Turkmenian]

Bashir was born in Turkmenistan, as an only child to his parents. He was raised a Muslim, and his dad always praised him on his ability to read and cite Quran. Till this day, his accent is very thick and melodic.

He grew as a slanky, disobedient child, rather defiant, but not in a harmful way, his mischevious streak is that of a jester and prankster. As a teen he told his parents that after much deliberation, he does not believe in Allah and this is where his dad lost it. Mr Levi blamed his wife for all this and started abusing his family economically, not giving them any money, not allowing his wife to leave the house without a man anymore, portioning the food. When that didn't help, he started threatening to kill his infidel son. Soon after Mrs Levi made a desperate decision to take just some clothing and the little money she had, and fled the country, heading to Vermillion, where she hoped nobody would be able to find them.

Bashir was finally safe, but soon it turned out, Mrs Levi did not speak English or any other international language well enough and to ensure their survival, she started stealing food and necessities. Caught, both she and Bashir were found guilty and were separated to serve the sentence as slaves. Bashir was not told how long this sentence actually will last.

Now a young man, he is still defiant, rebelious and owned by one of the Council members, Lady Shiroi. This inconspicuous, plump woman is known for having many a slave, and as it turns out later, some of them are illegally mistreated. Nevertheless, Bashir is lucky. He lives in a luxiourous house, is now well-fed and dressed elegantly. He learns to tolerate the black choker-collar to emerge stronge at the other end of this ordeal and help his mum as a grown man.

But his plans for the future change, when in a restaurant he works (not for his own money, all of his salary goes directly to Lady Shiroi), he meets an even more rebellious punk rock girl, an angel actually, named Maddison. His devious grin and black eyes goes straight to her, and soon, the duo will be breaking all rules they can, so before she gets back home to Heaven, Banshee scores an angel, falls madly in love, loses his job and is under house arrest.

As soon she is back, she comes up with a masterplan, which they are crazy enough to enact. While doing an undercover mission for the Council, they decide to flip everyone a bird and just leave this place behind. After a long flight with some stops, Bashir is met with a snarky owner of the Monegasque nightclub Hell, named Stanley. The youngsters just don't yet how much trouble this will cause back in Vermillion…

#my ocs #Bashir Levi #Maddison #RPing #handsome bean #go get em boy #on the run

[subbyenbywitch]

[tv review] ds9 1x09-1x11 (1993)

1x09 “the passenger”

odo has two other cops to compete with in this episode, and i think giving odo the latitude to be much more of a 20th/21st century earth-style cop than the much more enlightened approach starfleet security generally takes is probably the worst big picture command decision sisko makes on the entire show? though it’s depicted as like, the starfleet guy wanting to be more “strict” & “by the book” which doesn’t really square at all with where the conflict actually seems to reside? idk.

it’s way too obvious that bashir is the one possessed by the killer, but i did very much enjoy how silly the scenes before the reveal are. overall this is not an especially great episode, but it does have its moments. c-rank

1x10 “move along home”

easily the most infamous episode of ds9, and one of the most infamous episodes of trek in general. i get that it isn’t a brilliant episode or anything, and i get that this is coming from robin “the episode of tng where beverly fucks a ghost isn’t that bad!” moon, so you’re probably taking this with an amount of salt that a doctor would only reluctantly endorse if you’re a trans girl on spiro, but it’s just not that bad? i actually enjoy how fucking silly it is?

i don’t have a long-winded defense of this episode in me. it isn’t a favorite of mine or anything. there are some very obvious production problems and it’s pretty clear that the cast isn’t remotely on the same page, resulting in their performances oftentimes not really meshing. again, i’m not saying it’s good, or that it’s an episode i particularly look forward to or go out of my way to revisit.

this is just moreso in the “sub rosa” or “angel one” zone. it just doesn’t bore me, and i really do enjoy some of the sillier elements in it. so yeah, i unironically enjoy this mess while still admitting that it’s absolutely a mess. c-rank

1x11 “the nagus”

it’s pretty funny that the episode where rom is the most in character in season 1 is the one where he literally tries to murder his brother to take possession of the bar. like, i don’t think the rom of later seasons even tries to do that, but at least his affect more resembles the rom we come to know later in the show.

grand nagus zek is pretty hilarious, i love basically all of his appearances on this show. and seeing quark temporarily take over as nagus was pretty fun for all the things it shook loose. overall the a plot is just a fun diversion with no lasting consequences for anyone, but considering how much of a slog parts of season 1 are, i’ll take a fun diversion with no lasting consequences for anyone.

the b plot, on the other hand, actually elevates the episode quite a bit. when rom pulls nog out of human school because of the nagus’s visit, jake & nog have their first real fight, and seeing them work to maintain their friendship even with both of their respective parents discouraging it was a pretty terrific. we also learn that jake is helping nog learn to read, which is just absolutely the sweetest thing ever. i love how blatantly proud of his son sisko is when he discovers this. b-rank

#star trek #star trek deep space nine #star trek ds9 #deep space nine #ds9 #tv review #reviews #tv

[littlewalken]

Dec 13

Thought it was going to be time to buy a new microwave, just changed spaces it was using on the power bar and hopefully that fixed things. Even if you don't really think about it change your power bar/strip regularly, they aren't extension cords, they don't last forever. Change your extension cords too.

Nothing like realizing one of the extension cords has paint from your 90s college bedroom on it in the 20s.

If your power bar has a light and the light is flickering or getting weaker it's a sign to change it. And don't overload them either.

Or maybe, Little Walken, you can live in a place younger than you with proper wiring and working outlets. Painted over pipes connected to a metal box outlet attached to the wall have a sort of Terry Gilliam's Brazil feeling. Except they could have pipes that weren't landlord white.

If I get to fancy arting today I have the want to get out the toned paper. If it's basic arting I might do some sketching in the book I keep with the reference pictures of on the loose paper I want to use up. I have a few pics I haven't really tried yet and want to get to.

Part of a Garak and Bashir idea is forming, I want a slight bit more of a logical reason to introduce the Plot Complication, but it would involve Dukat so desperately wanting to be the Main Character in a situation he goes beyond stepping too far to full on striding.

I might get back in to Good Omens for five minutes. I saved several of the more thought out who Crowley was when he was an angel posts from here to sort thru. Samael is a good candidate.

Haven't read the book yet but it helps to know that the death we saw in S1 was Azrael before my brain comes up with any stories.

I have an Azrael mythos for my own original writing and wouldn't want to get my Azrael mixed up with the Good Omens Azrael.

And to get the thought out of my head- When Adam Greydon Reid played the teacher Mr Stoneman on When Calls The Heart at least once he had to get in to Mr Shitler (that was the teacher's name) mode from YCDTOTV in front of the kids and say "Where do they find them and why do they keep sending them to me?"

If you can't stand WCTH and have to scream HOW ARE YOU FUNCTIONING IN 19th CENTURY SOCIETY WITH YOUR HAIR DOWN every time you see it, Adam plays a strict teacher so you know between takes he was lightening up so not to scare them. I strongly dislike kids but I'd be sure to break character between takes so they'd know we're just acting.

At the end the teacher supposedly learns his lesson about not being so strict and gets sent off to another school but you can see the 'fuck you, bitch' in his eyes. It's a melodrama for five year olds without many critical thinking skills.

There has to be at least one something on AO3 but as a writer I actually don't read much fiction.

But go watch Hospital Show.

[ifihadmypickofwishes]

Tagged by @titsgirlbuffy

1. Three ships: Garak/Bashir, Hannibal/Will Graham, and Mulder/Scully.

2. First ever ship: Mulder/Scully, I think? It was a long time ago. This one was noteworthy for me because I'm not a big shipper (outside of the three above), and it normally bothers me a lot when they force the leads of a show together. I like this one though. I think because the writers made sure they actually liked, trusted, and relied on each other first, it made more sense to me.

3. Currently listening: "Traffic and Weather" by Fountains of Wayne (the album, not just the song)

4. Last movie: "Don't Listen." It was pretty eh. I've seen worse though.

5. Currently reading: Bloody Fool for Love: A Spike Prequel by William Ritter and The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee. On a quest to read all the Buffy comics, both the original and the reboot; it's very slow going because the local library's ILL policies are borderline draconian. Also listening to Neuromancer by William Gibson for a book club I'm in. (Ask me about books. I love either infodumping or practicing reader's advisory. Or both.)

6. Currently watching: Rewatching Buffy and Angel. Forcing the rest of you to witness many, many posts about it. 😆

7. Currently consuming: Am slightly lost on which definition of consuming we're using. Birthday cake Oreos earlier today?

8. Currently craving: Nothing. The Oreos fixed that earlier.

Tagging: @autisticslp @wanderingwriter87 @calficer , if they feel so inclined. Also whoever else feels inclined.

#tag game #not autism #well it is about autism a little bit but not for tagging purposes

[stephantom]

i rewatched some of “favor the bold” and “sacrifice of angels” again (thinking i might make some gifs), and god everything with odo makes me so mad. 

that 7-episode arc was really good. but then. the writers never satisfyingly follow up on any of it, which makes it terrible. 

odo and kira have one long, off-camera chat in a closet at a party, and then everything is ok??? her anger and disgust in “favor the bold” is so real, and now at the end of the season, they’re... ? and the holographic image of her? she doesn’t care, seriously? (we had a whole episode about that, come on. even if that’s one of the episodes i like to pretend doesn’t exist.) she just needed him to be “fun” and “confident” to realize out of the blue that she reciprocates the feelings she seems to have been regarding as confusing and unfortunate for the last 5 years? 

odo gets handed this happiness in the way that like, 80s high school romcom protagonists get handed happiness. here’s your protagonist, he’s a nerd (so project away, lonely dudes) and he’s obsessed with this girl, and of course he’s a good guy (he’s you), so if he just believes in himself, he must get the girl. she’s so pretty but it turns out she’s shy and nervous too! now that he knows that, and now that she knows the real him, everything is great! 

they didn’t develop kira’s side of the story adequately at all. she just suddenly is attracted to him? there has never been any real suggestion of that before, except that she thinks he’s cute when he’s trying to do people things and break out of his shell. which has potential, don’t get me wrong, but they did not build that up convincingly to “oh i guess i’m in love with you!”

and what about the fucking treason? what about blithely condemning them all to die?? i know he wasn’t really wholly himself, but he should be explaining that to people and we should see him feeling bad and questioning himself. why does he get to give advice to sisko about the war still? why does he get to tease quark about not being a war-hero like bashir and o’brien like it’s the old days and not like quark very recently actually literally went up against two dominion soldiers and won, saving the lives of rom, leeta, jake, and kira, and potentially the whole quadrant, while/because odo was committing treason??? 

and i know it will never be fixed in canon. lol. there is good fic, but i know in broad strokes how the show goes, i know what their last scene is, and ughhhh. 

in conclusion, odo sucks. and the writers suck because apparently they did not notice how much they made odo suck.

#ds9 ranting and odo hate behind the read-more lol #spoilers for the episodes mentioned and season 6 in general #it's very inarticulate and ranty so if you try to read it i apologize #i think i have ranted about odo before and just left it in drafts lol #ds9 ranting

[dailytafsirofquran]

TEFSIR ibn KATHIR

At-Takwir

Revealed in Makkah

What has been narrated about This Surah

Imam Ahmad recorded from Ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah said,

"Whoever wishes to look at the Day of Judgement as if he is seeing it with his own eyes, then let him read, 

- (When the sun is wound round.) (Surah 

- (When the heaven is cleft asunder) (Surah 82)

- (When the heaven is split asunder) (Surah 84)."

Likewise, At-Tirmidhi has also recorded this Hadith.

Surah Takwir Ayah 1-14

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

1 When the sun is Kuwwirat.

2 And when the stars Inkadarat.

3 And when the mountains are made to pass away;

4 And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected;

5 And when the wild beasts are gathered together.

6 And when the seas become as blazing fire.

7 And when the souls are joined with their mates.

8 And when the female infant (Al-Maw'udah) buried alive is questioned (Su'ilat):

9 For what sin was she killed

10 And when the pages are laid open.

11 And when the heaven is Kushitat;

12 And when Hell is Su`irat.

13 And when Paradise is brought near.

14 Every person will know what he has brought.

What will happen on the Day of Judgement, and that is the rolling up of the Sun

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn Abbas: When the sun is Kuwwirat.

"This means it will be darkened.''

Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn Abbas; "It will go away.''

Qatadah said, "Its light will go away.''

Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "Kuwwirat means it will sink in.''

Abu Salih said, "Kuwwirat means it will be thrown down.''

At-Takwir means to gather one part of something with another part of it (i.e., folding). From it comes the folding of the turban (Imamah) and the folding of clothes together.

Thus, the meaning of Allah's statement, (Kuwwirat) is that part of it will be folded up into another part of it. Then it will be rolled up and thrown away. When this is done to it, its light will go away.

Al-Bukhari recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,

The sun and the moon will be rolled up on the Day of Judgement.

Al-Bukhari was alone in recording this Hadith and this is his wording of it.

Dispersing the Stars

And when the stars Inkadarat, meaning, when they are scattered.

This is as Allah says,

And when the stars have fallen and scattered. (82:2)

The basis of the word Inkidar is Insibab, which means to be poured out.

Ar-Rabi` bin Anas reported from Abu Al-Aliyah, who reported from Ubayy bin Ka`b that he said, Six signs will take place before the Day of udgement.

• The people will be in their marketplaces when the sun's light will go away.

• When they are in that situation, the stars will be scattered.

• When they are in that situation, the mountains will fall down upon the face of the earth, and the earth will move, quake and be in a state of mixed up confusion.

• So the Jinns will then flee in fright to the humans and the humans will flee to the Jinns.

• The domestic beasts, birds and wild animals will mix together, and they will surge together in a wave (of chaos). 

And when the mountains are made to pass away,

And when the pregnant she camels are neglected;

This means their owners will neglect them.

And when the wild beasts are gathered together.

This means they will be mixed.

And when the seas become as blazing fire.

Then he (Ubayy) went on to say,

"The Jinns will say, `We come to you with news.'

So they will all go to the sea, and it will be a blazing fire. While they are in that state, the earth will be split with one huge crack that will extend from the lowest, seventh earth to the highest, seventh heaven. So while they are in that state, a wind will come that will kill all of them.''

Ibn Jarir recorded this narration with this wording. Concerning Allah's statement And when the mountains are made to pass away; meaning, they will not remain in their places and they will be destroyed. Then the earth will be left as a flat, level plain.

Then Allah says,

And when the pregnant she-camels (`Ishar) are neglected (`Uttilat);

Ikrimah and Mujahid said,

"`Ishar are (pregnant she) camels.''

Mujahid said,

"`Uttilat means abandoned and left.''

Ubayy bin Ka`b and Ad-Dahhak both said,

"Their owners will neglect them.''

Ar-Rabi` bin Khuthaym said,

"They will not be milked or tied up. Their masters will leave them abandoned.''

Ad-Dahhak said,

"They will be left with no one to tend to them.''

And the meaning of all of these statements is similar. What is intended is that the `Ishar is a type of camel. It is actually the best type of camel, and particularly the pregnant females of them when they have reached the tenth month of their pregnancies.

One of them is singularly referred to as `Ushara', and she keeps that name until she gives birth. So the people will be too busy to tend to her, take care of her or benefit from her, after she used to be the most important thing to them. This will be due to what will suddenly overtake them of the great, terrifying and horrible situation.

This is the matter of the Day of Judgement, the coming together of its causes, and the occurrence of those things that will happen before it.

And when the wild beasts are gathered together, meaning, gathered.

This is as Allah says,

There is not a moving creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they shall be gathered. (6:38)

Ibn `Abbas said, "Everything will be gathered, even the flies.''

This statement was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim.

Allah also says,

And (so did) the birds assembled. (38:19)

meaning, gathered.

The Blazing of the Seas

Allah says,

And when the seas become as blazing fire.

Ibn Jarir recorded from Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib that `Ali said to a Jewish man, "Where is the Hell''

The man said, "The sea.''

Ali then said, "I think he is truthful, as Allah says, And by the seas kindled (Masjur). (52:6) and;

Joining the Souls

Concerning Allah's statement,

And when the souls are joined with their mates.

meaning, every type (of soul) will be gathered with its peer (or mate).

This is as Allah says,

It will be said to the angels: "Assemble those who did wrong, together with their companions (from the devils). (37:22)

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from An-Nu`man bin Bashir that the Messenger of Allah said, (And When the souls are joined with their mates). Those who are alike.

Every man will be with every group of people who performed the same deeds that he did. This is because Allah says,

And you (all) will be in three groups.

So those on the Right Hand - how (fortunate) will be those on Right Hand!

And those on the Left Hand - how (unfortunate) will be those on the Left Hand!

And those foremost will be foremost. (56: 7-10)

Questioning the Female Infant Who was buried Alive

Allah says,

And when the female infant (Al-Maw'udah) buried alive is questioned: For what sin was she killed?

The majority have recited it as Su'ilat (she is questioned), as it is here.

Al-Maw'udah is the female infant that the people of the pre-Islamic time of ignorance would bury in the dirt due to their hatred of girls.

Therefore, on the Day of Judgement, the female infant will be asked what sin she committed that caused here to be murdered. This will be a means of frightening her murderer. For verily, if the one who was wronged is questioned, what does the wrongdoer (the one who is guilty of the oppression) think then.

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, And when the female infant (Al-Maw'udah) buried alive Su'ilat: "This means that she will ask.''

Abu Ad-Duha made a similar statement when he said,

"She will ask, meaning she will demand restitution for her blood.''

The same has been reported from As-Suddi and Qatadah. Hadiths have been reported concerning the Maw'udah.

Imam Ahmad recorded from A'ishah, who reported from Judamah bint Wahb, the sister of Ukkashah, that she said, "I was in the presence of the Messenger of Allah when he was with some people, and he said, I was about to prohibit sexual relations with breast feeding women, but then I saw that the Romans and the Persians have sexual relations with their women who breast feed their children and it does not harm the children at all. Then they asked him about interruption of sexual intercourse to prevent the male discharge from entering the womb of the woman, and he said, That is the minor infanticide and it is the female infant buried alive (Maw'udah) that will be questioned.''

Muslim, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i, all recorded this Hadith as well.

The Atonement for burying Infant Girls Alive

Abdur-Razzaq said that Isra'il informed them from Simak bin Harb, from An-Nu`man bin Bashir, who reported from Umar bin Al-Khattab that he said concerning Allah's statement, And when the female infant buried alive is questioned.

"Qays bin `Asim came to the Messenger of Allah and said, `O Messenger of Allah! Verily, I buried some daughters of mine alive in the period of pre-Islamic ignorance.'

The Messenger of Allah said, Free a slave for each one of them.

Then Qays said, `O Messenger of Allah! Verily, I am an owner of camels.'

The Prophet said, Then sacrifice a camel for each one of them.''

The Distribution of the Pages

Allah says,

And when the pages are laid open.

Ad-Dahhak said,

"Every person will be given his paper in his right hand or in his left hand.''

Qatadah said,

"O Son of Adam!

It (your paper) is written in, then it is rolled up, then it will be distributed to you on the Day of Judgement.

So let each man look at what he himself dictated to be written in his paper.''

Removing the Heavens, Kindling Hellfire, and Paradise Being Brought Near

Allah says,

And when the heaven is Kushitat;

Mujahid said, "It drawns away.''

As-Suddi said, "Stripped off.''

Concerning Allah's statement, And when Hell is Su`irat.

As-Suddi said, "It is heated.''

In reference to Allah's statement, And when Paradise is brought near.

Ad-Dahhak, Abu Malik, Qatadah, and Ar-Rabi` bin Khuthaym, all said,

"This means it will be brought near to its inhabitants.''

Everyone will know what He has brought on the Day of Judgement Concerning

Allah's statement,

Every person will know what he has brought. This is the conclusive response of the previous statements, meaning at the time these matters occur, every soul will know what it has done, and that will be brought forth for it, as Allah says,

On the Day when every person will be confronted with all the good he has done, and all the evil he has done, he will wish that there were a great distance between him and his evil. (3:30)

Allah also says,

On that Day man will be informed of what he sent forward, and what he left behind. (75:13)

#allah #god #islam #muslim #quran #ayat #tafsir #revert #convert #convert islam #revert islam #revert help team #help #islamhelp #converthelp #prayer #salah #muslimah #reminder #pray #dua #hijab #religion #mohammad #new muslim #new revert #new convert #how to convert to islam #convert to islam #welcome to islam

[wazafam]

The American black comedy crime thriller A Simple Favor was released in 2018, and its cast members in it are extremely recognizable. The film, directed by Paul Feig from a screenplay written by Jessica Sharzer, is a suspenseful story based on the 2017 novel of the same name, written by Darcey Bell. The movie stars Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in the main roles, among other notable actors in supporting roles. The plot centers on a small-town video blogger who attempts to solve the mystery behind her friend's disappearance.

A Simple Favor was released by Lionsgate, and the movie garnered critical praise upon its theatrical release. Most critics praised the chemistry of the ensemble cast, and also wrote enthusiastically about the movie's shocking plot twists and turns. The film ended up making $5.9 million on its first day alone, and grossed a total of $97 million worldwide, on a budget of only $20 million.

Related: The Equalizer 2021 Cast & Character Guide

Indeed, the movie has an impressive cast led by its main stars, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, and Linda Cardellini are some of the supporting cast members, as well as Jean Smart, Rupert friend, Eric Johnson, and Dustin Milligan, among other actors.

Blake Lively takes on the role of Emily Nelson, Hope McLanden, and Faith McLanden in A Simple Favor, and her character's life is the most interesting part of the film. Viewers know Lively from teen movies The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Accepted, Simon Says, and other early-aughts flicks. Later, she appeared in movies ranging from New York, I Love You to The Town to superhero flick Green Lantern, which she starred in alongside her future husband Ryan Reynolds. In more recent years, Lively has appeared in The Age of Adaline, The Shallows, Café Society, and All I See Is You.

Following her success with A Simple Favor, Lively starred in the movie The Rhythm Section in 2020 alongside actors Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown. The movie follows a grieving woman who goes on a destructive path for revenge after learning that the plane crash that killed her family was actually a terrorist attack. To date, that is Lively's most recent role. From 2007 - 2012, of course, Lively starred as Serena van Der Woodsen in the hit show Gossip Girl, for which she won several accolades.

Like Lively, actress Anna Kendrick, who portrays Stephanie Smothers in A Simple Favor, has been working in Hollywood for several years. She first became a familiar face for her role as Jessica Stanley in the Twilight movies. Following the franchise's end, Kendrick began to take on different roles. She played Natalie Keener in Up In The Air, Janet Taylor in End of Watch and voiced Courtney Babock in ParaNorman. In 2012, Kendrick reached full stardom for playing Becca Mitchell in the popular movie Pitch Perfect. After that, Kendrick appeared in a slew of movies from 2013 until A Simple Favor in 2018, including  What to Expect When You're Expecting, Drinking Buddies, Cake, Into the Woods, the two Pitch Perfect sequels, and The Accountant. She also appeared in the movies Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and voiced a character in Trolls.

Related: The Shallows Behind The Scenes: How Filming Injured Blake Lively

Following her turn as Stephanie in A Simple Favor, Kendrick played Kendra Glack in the 2019 movie The Day Shall Come and portrayed Noelle Kringle in the holiday movie Noelle, released the same year. She also reprised her role in Trolls for the movie's 2020 sequel.

Andre Rannells, who plays Darren in A Simple Favor, began his career in television. He voiced characters on children's shows, like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, as a kid, and the early aughts also saw his break into theater. He had numerous roles on the stage, and in 2011 played Elder Kevin Price in The Book of Mormon as an original cast member. From 2014 - 2018, he also had roles in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hamilton, Falsettos, and The Boys in the Band.

Related: Disney+ & HBO Max Already Have One Thing In Common: Anna Kendrick

Rannells became a familiar face on the screen when he joined the cast of Girls from 2012 - 2017, playing Elijah Krantz in 35 episodes. This role led him to other television parts, including Bryan Collins in The New Normal and Frazier H. Wingo in The Knick, as well as guest appearances in hit shows like How I Met Your Mother and Glee. He also had voice roles in the shows Sofia the First, Welcome to the Wayne, and Vampirina. Most notably, in 2017 Rannells joined the cast of Big Mouth. He continues to play that role into 2021, as well as continues to make occasional guest appearances on other shows. In terms of film — Rannell's most recent roles were in the 2020 films The Boys in the Band, The Prom, and The Stand In. And before appearing in 2018's A Simple Favor, he had parts in 2016's Why Him? and 2015's The Intern.

Linda Cardellini plays the part of Diana Hyland in A Simple Favor. Cardellini first became a household name in 1999, when she starred as Lindsay Weir in the cult television series Freaks and Geeks. That wasn't her first time in a series, though; throughout the late 1990s, she appeared in shows like Bone Chillers, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Clueless, Step by Step, Promised Land, Kenan & Kel, and Boy Meets World, among other programs.

Post-Freaks and Geeks, Cardellini continued her career in TV, appearing as Samantha Taggart in ER as Bliss Goode and Shelly in The Goode Family. She also had turns in popular shows like Gravity Falls, Mad Men, and New Girl, and took on the serious role of Meg Rayburn in 2015 for 33 episodes of Bloodline. In 2019, Cardellini began portraying Judy Hale in the Netflix series Dead to Me, opposite Christina Applegate.

Related: Why Freaks and Geeks Was Cancelled After One Season

Of course, many movie watchers know Cardellini's likeness from feature films. She appeared as Chutney Wyndham in Legally Blonde, and famously portrayed Velma Dinkley in Scooby-Doo and its sequel. Cardellini also had parts in Brokeback Mountain, The Lazarus Project, Kill the Irishman, and Daddy's Home and its sequel. Superhero movie fans know Cardellini as Laura Barton, the wife of Clint Barton aka Hawkeye in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Endgame. And Cardellini has also starred in critically acclaimed films like Green Book, in which she played Dolores. In 2020, Cardellini portrayed Mae Capone in the movie Capone.

Actor Henry Golding portrays Sean Townsend in A Simple Favor. Golding has been a presenter on BBC's The Travel Show since 2014. Today's movie watchers primarily know him for playing the role of Nick Young in the hit 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians, for which he won a Teen Choice Award. He also took on the role of Tom in the recent 2019 romantic-comedy holiday flick Last Christmas. Some lesser-known movies Townsend has appeared in include Pisau Cukur, Monsoon, and The Gentlemen. His most recent project is Snake Eyes, which is in post-production. In addition to being a longtime host on BBC's travel show, Golding has hosted shows including Football Crazy, Welcome to the Railworld Japan, and Surviving Borneo.

Jean Smart, who played Margaret McLanden in A Simple Favor, is most known for playing Lana Gardner on the NBC sitcom Frasier - a role for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards. She started her impressive acting career in both film and television in the late 1970s. Some of the notable movies she's appeared in include Piaf, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, Snow Day, Sweet Home Alabama, Garden State, Life As We Know It, The Accountant, and, most recently, Superintelligence.

Related: Blake Lively & Michiel Huisman Talk 'Age of Adaline' Science, Harrison Ford & More

Smart has also appeared in television shows other than Fraiser throughout her career. She voiced Helen Ventrix in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, played Sally Brewton in three episodes of Scarlett, and played Elinore "Ellie" Walker for 13 episodes of High Society. She also gained recognition for playing Martha Logan, the First Lady, in the show 24, and for portraying Regina Newly in 35 episodes of Samantha Who? 

Smart was in numerous other television series up until her turn in A Simple Favor, and also appeared in small guest roles in popular shows like Halt and Catch Fire and The McCarthys. In more recent years, Smart portrayed Floyd Gerhardt in Fargo and Melanie Bird in Legion, as well as Arlane Hart in Dirty John, Mimi in Arrested Development, and series regular Agent Laurie Blake in Watchmen. 

Rupert Friend played Dennis Nylon in A Simple Favor. The actor began his career with the 2004 movie The Libertine. He first became a familiar face when he took on the role of Mr. Wickham in Pride & Prejudice. Throughout the early aughts he had several other significant roles, including Sandy Mardell in Outlaw and Demetrius in The Last Legion, as well as Lt. Kurt Kotler in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Prince Albert in The Young Victoria. 

Related: Bridgerton: Every Pride And Prejudice Easter Egg & Reference

TV-wise, Friend is most known for portraying the character Peter Quinn in 58 episodes of Homeland. For his performance as Peter, Friend was nominated for numerous accolades. He also appeared in other shows since the end of Homeland, including Dream Corp, LLC, Strange Angel, and, most recently, Anatomy of a Scandal.

Eric Johnson as Davis: played Flash Gordon on the eponymous 2007 - 2008 television series, as well as Whintey Fordman on the show Smallville and Jack Hyde in the Fifty Shades franchise, among other roles.

Dustin Milligan as Chris: played Ethan Ward on the teen drama show 90210. Most recently, of course, the majority of television watchers know him as Ted Mullens from Schitt's Creek.

Bashir Salahuddin as Detective Summervile: appeared in the movies Snatched and Gringo, and since then has been in Marriage Story and The 24th. He's also known as a writer on Maya and Marty and for portraying Keith Bang on GLOW and Office Goodnight on South Side.

Kelly McCormack as Stacy: known for playing Zeph in the sci-fi show Killyjoys and for playing Betty Anne on the show Letterkenny. Most recently, she wrote, produced, and starred in the feature film Sugar Daddy.

Sarah Baker as Maryanne Chelkowsky: was previously in the movies The Campaign and Mascots, as well as shows like The Kominsky Method and Louie.

Melissa O'Neil as Beth: first gained fame for winning the third season of Canadian Idol in 2005. She's also known for her roles as Two/Rebecca/Portia Lin on the sci-fi series Dark Matter and as Officer Lucy Chen on the police drama show The Rookie.

Of course, viewers have probably seen these listed stars in other movies and TV shows, too. This is a non-exhaustive list of the films and shows that they are most likely recognized from. When all of these actors came together to work on 2018's A Simple Favor, it was a notable project. The movie was praised for its ensemble effort and continues to gain traction among movie watchers today.

Next: A Simple Favor Ending: Disappearance Reveal & The Many Twists Explained

A Simple Favor Cast Guide: Where You Recognize The Actors From from https://ift.tt/37f1O1L

#Blogger

[nannyfeline]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Essential (to me) Episodes (+Garak)

I’m starting a rewatch of Deep Space Nine, but I’ve already seen it all the way through three times, so this time I’m focusing on just the “essential” episodes (plus the Garak-heavy ones).

This is a consolidated list of the episodes I’m watching so I don’t have to keep cross-referencing six other lists whenever I go to choose the next episode to watch. I’m putting this here for me to use, feel free to use it as a guide if you like or ignore it completely. 

Season 1

Episodes 1 and 2 – Emissary: The first episode.

Episode 3 – Past Prologue: Bajoran terrorists are a thing. Garak is introduced. He makes a pass at Bashir.

Episode 13 – Battle Lines: Space pope goes to space.

Episode 19 – Duet: Cardassians and Bajorans (but not Garak).

Episode 20 – In the Hands of Prophets: Nurse Ratched is Vedek Winn and she bad.

Season 2

Episodes 1, 2, and 3: The show becomes reasonably good. There’s an attempted coup on Bajor, and the station is “abandoned.” 

Episode 5 – Cardassians: Sets up some Cardassian background and has lots of Garak. Also Bashir.

Episode 7 – Rules of Acquisition: I mean, I guess. The Dominion gets mentioned, so sure, whatever.

Episode 14 – Whispers: O’Brien thinks everyone has been replaced by pod people.

Episode 18 – Profit and Loss: Quark, Cardassians, and Garak.

Episodes 20 and 21 – The Maquis: Yeah, sure. It sets them up. They’re important in other series.

Episode 22 – The Wire: GARAK! AND BASHIR!

Episode 26 – The Jem’Hadar: They’re important.

Season 3

Episodes 1 and 2 – The Search: Dominion stuff. Eddington is introduced.

Episode 3 – The House of Quark: Quark and a Klingon get married.

Episode 5 – Second Skin: Cardassians gaslight Kira.

Episode 7 – Civil Defense: Those old Cardassian safety measures on Terok Nor sure are tricky.

Episode 9 – Defiant: Riker and the Maquis. Or is it???

Episodes 11 and 12 – Past Tense: Sisko, Dax, and Bashir are transported back in time to approximately right now (2024, actually), and things are basically fucked but honestly not that different than real life in 2020. (In 1995, it seemed like we would never get to this point. 25 years later, and boy were we wrong. This one is important for understanding some memes, but it honestly may be depressing and triggering here in the summer of 2020.)

Episode 15 – Destiny: Sisko being the Emissary and also talking to Cardassians.

Episode 16 – Prophet Motive: This may be my imagination, but it looks like there could be foreshadowing for “Doctor Bashir, I Presume.” I don’t know, I haven’t rewatched it, yet. I honestly doubt they were thinking that far ahead. I’ll update after I’ve seen it.

Episode 18 – Distant Voices: Bashir is under telepathic attack. Reddit says it’s a good Garak ep.

Episodes 20 and 21 – Improbable Cause and The Die is Cast: Snap, Garak is doing some shady shit. It’s a tough watch if you want to keep Garak in the good guy column. Cardassians attack the Dominion.

Episode 22 – Explorers: Could be more “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” foreshadowing, but probably not. I’ll see.

Episode 26 – The Adversary: Founder infiltrates the Defiant.

Season 4

Episodes 1 and 2 – The Way of the Warrior: Klingons go to war and Worf joins the cast.

Episode 4 – Hippocratic Oath: Bashir’s such a grown up now! Love it! Making big boy choices wrt the Jem’Hadar.

Episode 5 – Indiscretion: Okay, sure, I mean, if you’ve never seen the show, I guess this one is important. It introduces Ziyal. She’s a terrible character, but whatever.

Episode 7 – Starship Down: Fighting the Dominion.

Episode 8 – Little Green Men: THIS IS THE BEST EPISODE! Quark, Rom, and Nog are transported back to 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, and this is the episode that makes me also sort of ship Quark/Odo.

Episode 10 – Our Man Bashir: Bashir and Garak are playing a 1960s James Bond holonovel and have to save the crew when a transporter accident causes their patterns to become integrated with the program. It’s dumb and fun.

Episodes 11 and 12 – Homefront and Paradise Lost: Starfleet violating civil rights a bit to root out Changelings.

Episode 14 – Return to Grace: Cardassians gonna Cardass, I guess.

Episode 22 – For the Cause: Garak and Ziyal become friends.

Episode 23 – To the Death: Sisko and the Dominion work together for a common goal. And we get WEYOUN!

Episode 25 – Body Parts: Quark thinks he’s going to die, so he starts selling off his body parts. Reddit says it’s a good Garak ep, though.

Episode 26 – Broken Link: Odo needs the Founders, uh-oh.

Season 5

Episode 1 – Apocalypse Rising: Whoops, there’s a Klingon Changeling, now.

Episode 6 – Trials and Tribble-ations: Set during TOS “The Trouble with Tribbles.”

Episode 8 – Things Past: Several of the kids, including Garak, are astral projecting to the Cardassian occupation.

Episode 9 – The Ascent: I don’t know, Odo and Quark are hanging out, I guess?

Episode 13 – For the Uniform: Eddington is back.

Episodes 14 and 15 – In Purgatory’s Shadow and By Inferno’s Light: The Dominion’s a’comin’.

Episode 16 – Doctor Bashir, I Presume: Julian’s secret’s out. (My favorite Bashir/O’Brien interaction is in this episode.)

Episode 24 – Empok Nor: O’Brien, Nog, and Garak are scavenging on Empok Nor, sister station of Terok Nor. Spoopy.

Episode 25 – In the Cards: A dumb Jake/Nog fetch quest episode, but Kai Winn meets Weyoun, so… 🤷‍♂️

Episode 26 – Call to Arms: Okay, there’s definitely a war on now.

Season 6

Episode 1 – A Time to Stand: They a’fightin’.

Episode 2 – Rocks and Shoals: Hey, look, the kids are stranded with some Jem’Hadar.

Episode 4 – Behind the Lines: Occupied DS9.

Episodes 5 and 6: Favor the Bold and Sacrifice of Angels: Retaking DS9.

Episode 11 – Waltz: Now Sisko and Dukat are stranded.

Episode 18 – Inquisition: Bashir is accused of being a spy, because why not. Section 31 is introduced.

Episode 19 – In the Pale Moonlight: Lol Sisko is a fascist. Garak helps.

Episode 26 – Tears of the Prophets: The Federation goes on offense.

Season 7

Episode 1 – Image in the Sand: Things just keep going, you know?

Episode 2 – Shadows and Symbols: I’m going to give this one a miss, personally, but it introduces Ezri.

Episode 3 – Afterimage: Poor Garak.

Episode 6 – Treachery, Faith, and the Great River: Weyouns Weyouning.

Episode 8 – The Siege of AR-558: Fightin’.

Episode 9 – Covenant: Dukat is bonkers.

Episode 16 – Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges: Bashir and Section 31.

Episodes 17 through 19: Probably should watch these. Beginning of the end.

Episodes 20 through 24: Getting there.

Episodes 25 and 26 – What You Leave Behind: The finale.

#deep space 9 #ds9 #star trek #deep space nine #garak #(garashir if you squint)

[ichorshrooms]

hello!!! tell me about ur ocs!!! who are they?? what do they look like?? do they have anything quirky about ‘em??

hOOO BOY OK I HAVE A LOT OF THEM. no joke i probably have like 30 characters. maybe more! most likely more! i have never counted! i have... a Lot. i’m gonna try to tell you about as many as i can before i start to lose all hope. the things you asked are actually a good short list of intro questions so.

On to the characters! (Ooh, grammar and syntax! Joy! I’m getting serious now askjlfjklsa)

Israfil Bashir | Israfil is a man of science! He’s a recently out gay man in his 40s who has a lot of baggage about his father. He’s the head of a company that researches advancements in prosthesis -- something he has been passionate about since the loss of his left leg in a near-fatal wreck. He’s active -- a little less so since he developed chronic fatigue, but he still tries to get out there and bike regularly! And he has a child named Misha who he loves and cherishes! Israfil is of Pakistani and Indian descent. He has neatly-cropped dark hair, beautiful honey brown eyes, and he usually wears his beard in a short goatee (he feels like he looks too young if he shaves it off, and he’s sensitive about it). His skintone is light brown with a warm undertone. 

His face is fairly angular, his body lean and immaculately toned (for the most part). He has a hooked nose with a slight deviation from a decades-old break that wasn’t set quite right. As I said before, he lost his left leg in an accident, so he wears a prosthetic! His prosthetic is not patterned or matched to his skin. It’s the color of the metal that was used to make it.

His... quirk... hmm... oh right, he’s telepathic. I almost told you about the secret lab under his prosthesis research facility that has developed identical-to-human sentient machines! Phew, that was close! I almost spilled the beans!

Misha Bashir | Misha is Israfil Bashir’s child! They’re just a couple of years old, but they’ve been given the intelligence of a very, very smart teenager -- and the body of one too! They’re a living, breathing machine. They’re also extremely naive and curious, as most new-ish androids tend to be. It’s not often that they leave the safety of their home, as Israfil has developed a pattern of strictness due to his fear that the government will disappear Misha from the streets and do experiments on them.

Misha is extremely lifelike. They’re modeled in part after their creator/father Israfil, but some... design cues... have been taken from a certain CSO of a rival R&D company who Israfil may have an on-and-off non-romance with. Misha inherited their skin tone, the shape of their eyes and their mouth from Israfil. The rest, though... Misha has bright white hair, blue-green eyes, an aquiline nose and -- perhaps most peculiarly -- a very slight Russian accent. 

I think Misha’s existence as a sort of pseudo-lovechild of two embittered ex lovers counts as a quirk. That weird shit aside, though, they’re a robot! That’s pretty quirky! Oh and they may or may not be part of a research program that endeavors to find out if it is possible to teach a machine to read minds. And they’re nonebinery... they dont have any binery... thats ise so cool.........

Eleanor Louise French | Eleanor is a 15 year old witch who just loves to make it known that her middle name is Louise. It’s one of her most favorite things about herself. At the tender age of 14, she set out on her own (as all young witches do) to do some independent study and learn the ways of the world. 

She is very gay, very short and very smart. Her hot-headed temper lands her in a metric fuckton of trouble on a daily basis, but she manages to escape dire consequences most of the time! She is narcoleptic, frog-obsessed (like all gays are) and is all about that baby-pink-and-blue aesthetic. She has some serious trauma from a werewolf attack, so wolves and ghouls and other “scary” magical creatures are not typically welcome in her alchemy shop. She will serve them, but it is very draining for her -- just as all trauma is. Spoiler alert: she eventually recovers, but that’s like! the main thing in her story! so! it takes time for her to get there.

She is fair-skinned with a cool undertone. Her hair is light blonde and straight as a board (which she claims is completely natural, but sometimes she forgets to drag a brush through her hair in the morning and it gets all frizzy and wavy hMMM CURIOUS). She has a grecian nose, a round baby face and bright blue eyes. Her scowl is so powerful it’s enough to strike the fear of god in... idk a lumberjack or something. Her fashion sense is a bit... conservative. She’s a little insecure and likes to cover up. Being a teenager kind of sucks sometimes!

Her Big Quirk (TM) is her ability to effortlessly turn people into frogs. She does it when she’s annoyed, and she has a frog collection. If you are bad enough, she will literally keep you in a terrarium until she decides you’ve learned your lesson. She has a couple of forever frogs and the reason is because they’re bad people (and decent frogs).

I have a lot more characters, but this is already quite long and I don’t want to write a profile for literally every character ‘cause then you’d be like “dude what the fuck.” I have demons, angels, superpowered villains in varying degrees of villainy, a ballet dancer, a park ranger, a televangelist, a fashion designer, an immortal who has seen the horrors of war, a haunted pianist, triplet thieves, princes, a princess, an embittered king, monsters of all sorts and a billion more types of characters that I honestly cannot think of off the top of my head. There is a massive list to get through! And that’s not counting some of my one-off projects involving characters I haven’t roleplayed with! You should see the state of my google docs. I have 50+ projects I’m currently working on.

I have too many characters. If you’re curious about anything on the list, I will elaborate!

#i mADE IT THROUGH THREE AND WAS LIKE ''holy fuck this is a lot'' #i am really sorry for saying so much FKJAKSLFJSAKL #tammie-brown

[fand0mfancies]

Came across this on Tumblr a few days ago, it amused me for a couple of hours or more, filling it in, while watching QI.

 Fandom Questions

 1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Star Trek: Voyager, I suppose at least for reading. Started writing with Stargate SG-1.

 2. What is your latest fandom?

I dip in and out of lots of fandoms on and off, the most recent ‘pick up’ is Ballam from Eastenders, I don’t watch soaps, but Robron and Ballam both appear a good bit on my tumblr, so I eventually gave in to checking them out via fic and youtube – thank god for youtube, lol! I still don’t watch soaps, but I watch those storylines!

 3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

Gosh, that’s... actually no that’s really easy. Primeval. For anyone not familiar, it’s a ‘silly little dinosaur show’ produced in the UK. It had 4 short seasons, with a somewhat revolving main cast – although they managed to keep 3 of them through all 4 seasons – but the fandom was/is amazing. I made life long friends through the fandom and even though I don’t write much any more I still read some and still talk with those people.

 4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

I would say no. I can’t say every fandom has always been amazing – ship wars anyone! – but mostly fandom has been a very positive experience in my life.

 5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

How long have you got... in genuinely no particular order (basically as they came to me) Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Star Trek (TNG, DS9, Voy, Ent & Reboot Movies), Marvel, Kingsman, Person of Interest, Due South, Quantum Leap, Firefly, Buffy/Angel verse, Harry Potter, The Sentinel, Torchwood(/Doctor Who), Hawaii Five-0, Shadowhunters, Sherlock, Primeval, Emmerdale (Robron), NCIS, CSI (Vegas, NY & Miami), White Collar, Empire Records, Bull, Diagnosis Murder, MacGyver (the original), 1-800-Missing, CHAOS, Without a Trace, M*A*S*H, Charmed, Queer as Folk (US), Will & Grace, Bring it On, Nash Bridges, Magnificent 7 (TV series), House, Babylon 5 – I think I got them all... a few of those were one time only deals, but a lot of them have more (anywhere from 2-52 (or more still!) ranging from 100 word drabbles, to thousands of words – hey I’ve been writing fic for 21 years... you tend to amass a lot of fandoms...

 6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Oh geez, here we go, lol! Okay...

 Stargate SG-1: Jack O’Neill/Daniel Jackson

Stargate Atlantis: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard

Star Trek: Elim Garak/Julian Bashir, Chakotay/Tom Paris, Jonathan Archer/Malcolm Reed, James Kirk/Spock – I don’t particularly have an ‘otp’ in TNG, the couple I’ve written were Picard/Data, I’ve also dabbled reading Data/Gordi)

Marvel: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Kingsman: Harry Hart/Eggsy Unwin

Person of Interest: Harold Finch/John Reese

Due South: Benton Fraser/Ray K

Quantum Leap: Sam/Al

Firefly: Malcolm Reynolds/Simon Tam

Buffy/Angel Verse: Buffy/Giles, Angel/Spike, Xander/Spike, Willow/Tara

Harry Potter: Harry/Draco, Harry/Hermione, Harry/Hermione/Draco

The Sentinel: Jim/Blair

Torchwood: Jack/Ianto

Hawaii Five-O: Steve/Danno

Shadowhunters: Magnus/Alec

Sherlock: Sherlock/John, Mycroft/Lestrade

Primeval: Nick Cutter/Stephen Hart, James Lester/Hilary Becker Emmerdale: Robert Sugden/Aaron Dingle

NCIS: Gibbs/DiNozzo CSI: Nick Stokes/David Hodges, Mac/Danny, Horatio/Speed White Collar: Neal/Peter/Elizabeth

Empire Records: Joe/Lucas

Bull: Benny/Jason

Diagnosis Murder: Steve/Jesse

 I’ve left a few out where I don’t have particular OTPs

 7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

Here we go again... lol!

 Stargate SG-1: Jack/Sam, I just... no. I’ve read a few where it’s a background or secondary pairing, but it always makes me wince a bit. I’ve read a few with Sam/Daniel as a secondary pairing that didn’t make me react that way and I’ve read Sam with other characters, but Jack/Sam just is a nope for me.

Stargate Atlantis: McKay/Keller – no, just no. that was horrible. She treated him like... awfully, trying to change him to suit her, just... no.

Marvel: Contentious, but Tony/Pepper, also Peter Parker/Tony Stark. Maybe because I saw the movies before I ever looked at the comics, but meh.

Due South: Benton Fraser/Ray V – again, contentious, but honestly I think Ray V was kind of a shit friend to Fraser.

Firefly: Anything with Jayne. No really, I just can not stand the character. I spent most of the series wanting to punch him in the face and sometimes you get characters you love to hate, but I just hated him.

Buffy/Angel Verse: Buffy/Spike, Willow/Kennedy

Harry Potter: Ron/Hermione, Ron/Harry, Harry/Ginny... basically, Ron and Ginny should just be loveless hermits who live by themselves. Ok, no, that isn’t fair... but as much as Ron was Harry’s first friend, he was selfish and bitter and Ginny/Harry just... never sat right with me. Ron literally says she spent ‘all summer talking about’ Harry, when she’d met him for all of three seconds. She didn’t know him. It always felt like she fell more in love with the *idea* of Harry Potter, than Harry Potter himself.

Sherlock: Sherlock/Molly, he’d eat her for breakfast. Serious, she’d never survive him.

Primeval: Oliver Leek and anyway. Arg. Creepy little dude is creepy and evil.

NCIS: Ziva/DiNozzo – ugh, just no.

 Again, I’ve left out ones where I don’t have particular NoTPs

 8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

Tumblr, god damned bitches posting gifs of pretty boys falling in love, roped me in!

 9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

I dabble in several fandoms at once... but if we go by ‘most recently picked up’ as ‘current’ we’re talking Ballum, which hey, it’s always fun to have an actual canon pairing be my OTP, that’s rare for me, lol.

 10.  Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Well (so far) I haven’t written any Ballum. (I say so far, because I’m a realist, lol). I rarely read in fandoms and not end up writing in them at some point. Although I have probably dabbled in a few I’ve not written for, but if I read it with any sort of consistency, I mostly end up writing it. I am weak!

  Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

 11. Who is your current OTP?

Okay, so that list above, just basically go with that. While I do drop in and hour of fandoms and some I certainly read in more than others, I do tend to go back to fandoms... If we were talking about what I’m mostly focused on writing atm... Steve/Tony, Mycroft/Lestrade, Harry/Draco and Robron are ones I’m currently working on most.

 12. Who is your current OT3?

I’m not currently writing anything that’s OT3 with any real focus. I have a couple of Neal/Peter/Elizabeth WiPs that I will at some point finish, but they aren’t a big focus just now. I did recently read a fabulous Neal/Peter/Elizabeth fic that’s been on my tbr list for ages.

 13. Any NoTPs?

Just... see above, lol!

 14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

Harry Hart/Merlin, those two are Bro’s until the end and I will fight you on this. Also, Eggsy/Roxy! OMG they are such a BroTP! And Tony/Pepper/Rhodey – I may no like Tony/Pepper as a pairing, but I love them as best friends and of course, our Rhodes, because again, I will fight you on this, they are awesome and Tony needs his best friends!

 15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

I’m not sure there is. I suppose I’ve read a few fics for some random pairings over the years, but nothing that’s made me really ship-ship them. I like Clint Barton/Bucky Barnes, after seeing it as a secondary pairing in a Steve/Tony fic, but I’ve seen that pop up a few times since, so maybe it won’t stay obscure for long!

 16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Jack/Sam, Tony/Pepper, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, Buffy/Spike – they all seem to be het pairings, oops. But I am mostly a slash fic reader/writer, so I suppose that’s not too surprising.

 17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Jack/Daniel from Stargate SG-1. I still love them. I still read them, although it has been a while since I’ve written them on their own (I have got some SG-1/SGA x-overs where they feature)

 18. What ship have you written the most about?

I’m genuinely not sure... without going and counting (and I’m not going any counting!) I’d guess Jack/Daniel, McKay/Sheppard, Jack/Ianto and Steve/Danno.

 19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

No, not that I can think off. I either like it or not. I do occasionally feel bad for not reading a fic if it’s an author I really like, but I don’t read that fandom or pairing, but nothing specific.

 20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Robron and Ballum, lol. I do not do soaps!

  Author Questions

 21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

 Stargate SG-1, Jack/Daniel, a story called The Dare, The Disaster, The Almost Happy Ending, And The Very Happy Ending – it was awful. Don’t go looking, lol!

 22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Don’t we all? No, I wouldn’t specifically say so. There are certainly fics, especially older ones, I wish I could have written better, but nothing I’d go, ugh I should never have done that.

 23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Uh... honestly that’s really hard. I... um... yeah, I don’t know, really. I wrote a nice little flower one in POI that I felt worked rather beautifully. The Language of Flowers. An I wrote an SGA fic for NaNo a few years ago, called A Different Life, but it’s not online, because I didn’t finish it yet and I knew I wasn’t going to finish it any time soon, so I didn’t feel it was fair to leave it up unfinished (there is a reason I don’t read WiP fics and I don’t post them either, because I know how much I hate unfinished WiPs) Edit: After writing this I reminded myself of a POI fic I wrote called Hours of Separation – It’s a Harold/John break up story that I always intended to write a sequel too where I ‘fixed’ them, but I just couldn’t do it. I broke them a little too well. But I really love it actually.

 24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

The afore mentioned A Different Life needs to be edited and finished, lol! Also a Primeval fic with the working title Crypt Keeper (don’t ask) that I worked myself into a bit of a corner on and I figure out how to fix it, but I haven’t done it yet, so it’s still needs fixing and finishing, lol!

 25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

I haven’t the foggiest.

 26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

Sometimes, really easily, a quote, a line from the fic, a song title... other times it’s like pulling teeth, hence working titles on things like ‘crypt keeper’ which is a reference to one scene near the very start and has no actual hint of the plot, lol!

 27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Oh the titles. Summaries you can just copy a few lines from the fic if you are desperate, if you had to post ‘untitled mcshep fic #67’ people would get cranky, lol, hell I’d get cranky!

 28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

Oh... I... huh. I mean who wouldn’t love fanart for their stories? Any of them honestly! But if I had to choose just one... I guess something in my Animal Instinct verse, which is Primeval (although I always intended to write other fandoms in the verse) where some people transform into animals, based on their ‘spirit animal’ and some art of the characters with their spirit animal form would be awesome.

 29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

Sometimes, look if you’ve read this far, you know I write in a lot of fandoms, lol. In some fandoms it’s easier than others to find beta readers. Also, sometimes if it’s just something short, I won’t bother. But I do try for my longer fics.

 30. What inspires you to write?

That old adage, if you want to read it, sometimes you just have to write it? Spite? Boredom? Honestly sometimes I just have ideas I have to get out of my brain and it’s write or go mad(der)

 31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

That it inspired them to write something.

 32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Sometimes, sometimes I find it distracting when writing because I end up singing along and forgetting what I’m writing, lol! I do sometimes get inspiration from songs, I guess mostly from the lyrics, but no particular band or genre – although I listen to a lot of country music!

 33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

Little from column a, little from column b... littler still from column c...

 34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

Around 60k, I think.

 35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I have. Primeval had/has a week drabble challenge, mostly when I’ve written drabbles it’s been for a challenge, with a specific prompt.

 36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

Uh... I mean, my fandoms really span the genres, but I guess sci-fi or crime are probably my favourites.

 37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Third mostly, I have occasionally written in first person, if it felt like the fic needed it.

 38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

Little from column a, little from column b... it depends on the fandom and the story. Sometimes you just need more characters, mostly they are minor roles, I don’t tend to write much established character/oc fic

 39. What is your greatest strength as a writer?

Ability to convince myself people will want to read it, lol! No actually to be honest, I love to know people read and like my stuff, but I gave up a long time ago on trying to ‘please’ people with what I write. I write what I want to read.

 40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Focus. The problem with 21 years of fandom history, is well... 21 years of fandom history. A lot of fandoms, a lot of pairings and as I say, I never really ‘leave’ a fandom, I just drop in and out and sometimes that means I’ll write on something consistently for weeks or months and then end up getting distracted by another fandom again and not touch it for weeks or months again. Hence, I don’t post WiP fics, because I know I’m easily distracted and don’t want anyone to suffer my lack of focus but me.

  Fanfiction Questions

 41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

I don’t read WiP fics, so yeah... but 5 I’ve recently read in different fandoms that I’ve really enjoyed

 Turns Out, I Have a Rose Garden by betheflame (Steve Rogers/Tony Stark)

Lucky by china_shop (Neal Caffery/Peter Burke/Elizabeth Burke)

Colors by Quesarasara (Sherlock/John)

Betrayal by Blackghost7 (Gibbs/DiNozzo)

Matchmaker (Part 1 of the Marmalade Series) by HastaLux, Mottlemoth (Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade)

 42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

See now this is hard, because... ahh so many...

 FredBassett – Primeval author, her Stephen/Ryan series is epic and brilliant and endless

https://archiveofourown.org/users/fredbassett/pseuds/fredbassett

 Keira Marcos – I know other people will have said her, I don’t care. I love all her stuff, across all the fandoms she writes in

http://keiramarcos.com/

 theapplepielifestyle – her Steve/Tony is amazing. Hands down some of the best I’ve ever read. I will fight you on this.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/theappleppielifestyle/pseuds/theappleppielifestyle

 JillyJames – her Tony DiNozzo is a real life grown up... exactly as he should be considered given he’s a goddamn federal agent!

https://jillyjames.com/

 missbecky – I’ve read pretty much all her Steve/Tony and Harry/Eggsy and it’s awesome.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbecky

 Honestly, I could have listed so many more, but, I’m being good!

 43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Everyone. The thing is, fandom at it’s best is like crack, the more you get, the more you want. The writing, the gifs, the art... it feeds you and makes you want to make more of it, because more of it needs to exist and if that means you need to do it yourself, so be it!

 44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

ALL OF THEM!

 45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

Oh hell no, not even, I can not. It took me an hour to narrow down 5 authors, I can not narrow down one fanfic!

 46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

I mean, it depends on what they like... probably the Hour of Separation I mentioned above, if they like the fandom/pairing, or my Animal Instinct stuff.

 47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

Archive of our Own. I haven’t touched ff.net in *years* since they started getting super restrictive about what you could post. I do occasionally post stuff to tumblr, but mostly I now post to AO3. I did have my own site and I’ve yet to upload a lot of stuff to AO3 – one of these... months... that will be a project – but it’s amazing. Seriously, having been in fandom 20+ years, going from having to search all over a million different places and now it’s all in one place, where we’re honestly, spoiled and protected. The kids now have no idea how crazy impossible that once seemed.

 48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

Yes, but not as often as I should. I love AO3s kudos button, so I can sort of say ‘hey I enjoyed this’ without having to comment, because I sort of hate leaving comments just going ‘hey I enjoyed this’ because I always feel like I should say more, like, oh I enjoyed this specific thing, which yes is an unnecessary hang-up, but there ya go.

 49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

Of course it’s nice to get comments, kudos, reblogs etc. I’m not as attached to them now as I was when I was younger, because I learned along the way that it was more important that I like what I’m writing than that other people do, but it’s still nice to know that something I’ve created is enjoyed.

 50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

I went looking for Star Trek Voyager stuff online, pics etc, waaaaaaay back when! And I came across fanfiction entirely by accident... and I read some – het stuff mostly, then I started watching Stargate SG-1, went looking for fanfiction for that, but was not on board with Jack/Sam, found Jack/Daniel went ‘huh really? That’s weird’ read it... and yeah... 21 years later... lol!

 51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Ship Wars. No seriously, just don’t. Like, who the actual fuck cares. I like my ship, you like your ship. I don’t care if it’s canon or not. I don’t care if it’s popular or not. I don’t read my NoTPs, but I’d never dream of telling someone else not too. Yes I think they are terrible, bad, no good pairings, but that’s *my* opinion. Don’t try to change my mind and I won’t try to change yours. I avoid them like the actual plague. If someone starts that shit around me, I will shut it right down. You are a dick. Go to Jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.

#fandom life #fandom

[newstfionline]

Friday, January 8, 2021

Spending the pandemic talking to yourself? If you live alone, you’re not alone (Washington Post) One bleak pandemic day in November, Aisha Tyler caught herself vacuuming the inside of her freezer. Then she scolded herself. Yes, out loud. Sometimes the Los Angeles-based actress will tell herself to “snap out of it.” On brighter days, she’ll congratulate herself on what a good job she’s doing and call for a celebration. Humans leave little unspoken, and this past year, as many of us have avoided social events and worked from home alone, we’ve been forced to talk out loud to the only person still around to listen: ourselves. Sure, it may take the form of bantering with our pets, scolding the politicians on TV or cajoling our malfunctioning printers, but that’s really just another way of hearing our own voice, helping us discern what exactly is going on inside that head of ours.      What’s going on here? Charles Fernyhough, a psychology professor at Durham University and author of “The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to Ourselves,” says research shows people talk out loud more when under stress or facing cognitive challenges. It was praying aloud that kept 44-year-old April Harris going during her 32 days in quarantine with a deep cough at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif.—not just self-encouragements like “I can do this” and “You got this, April,” but repeated declarations like “by His stripes, I am healed.” “I would pray for our country and for a cure to this virus,” she says in an email from the prison, where she has spent 24 years but had never previously talked out loud to herself. “Now I pray that I am covered by His blood, not wanting to endure that again. I pray for the women who are in isolation now.”

Here’s Why Car Thefts Are Soaring (Hint: Check Your Cup Holder) (NYT) After years of declines, car thefts appear to be surging in cities and suburbs all over the country. The spree, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, does not appear to be the work of sophisticated crime rings, the police say. Instead, this new wave of car thefts seems to stem from a combination of simple carelessness and the same technological advancement that once made stealing cars nearly impossible: the key fob. The broad adoption of keyless ignitions that began in the late 1990s ushered in a dark era for car thieves. New cars had engine immobilizers that only a microchip in the key fob could unlock, and vehicle thefts quickly plummeted. Technology, it seemed, had largely solved the problem of stolen vehicles. Until people started leaving their fobs sitting in their cup holders. Now, the police say forgotten fobs and keyless technology have contributed to soaring stolen car cases. In Hartford, the police have traced the surge to teenagers joyriding in from the suburbs. In Los Angeles, stolen cars reappear so frequently that the police believe thieves are using them like Ubers. And in New York City, a related but different problem has emerged as more drivers leave their cars running to make pit stops and deliveries during the pandemic, making their cars easy targets for thieves who can simply drive away, even without a fob.

Canadian compensation (CBC) Based on companies that trade on the TSX, in 2019 the average total compensation for the 100 best-paid CEOs of Canadian corporations was $10.8 million, while the average annual salary for a worker in Canada was $53,482 the same year. That means top CEO pay is about 202 times that of the average Canadian worker, which is actually down from the 227 observed the previous year. It also means that at 11:17 a.m. on Monday, the average CEO had already made the annual salary of a typical worker.

An unimaginable moment in America (AP) To see it unspool—to watch the jumbled images ricochet, live, across the world’s endless screens—was, as an American, a struggle to believe your eyes. But there it was, in the capital city of the United States in early January 2021: a real-time breaking and entering the likes of which the republic has never seen. The U.S. Capitol was overrun by violent supporters of Donald Trump, who exhorted them to march on the domed building as lawmakers inside carried out their constitutional duty by certifying his electoral defeat. The proceedings were quickly abandoned as the selfie-snapping mob smashed windows, marched through hallways and rummaged through lawmakers’ desks. Fourteen days before Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on the very same site, elected officials sheltered in place in their own building. Agents barricaded themselves inside congressional chambers, guns drawn. The stars and stripes—soaring over public property—was lowered, then replaced as a blue Trump flag ascended. In one of the day’s most indelible images, a hoodie-clad trespasser sat in a chair overlooking the Senate floor—minutes after it had been vacated by Trump’s own vice president, Mike Pence—waving his fist in front of a thick, ornate curtain designed to summon the trappings of democracy. The United States on Wednesday seemed at risk of becoming the very kind of country it has so often insisted it was helping: a fragile democracy.

World reacts to US mob (AP) Amid the global outrage at the storming of the U.S. Capitol building by angry supporters of President Donald Trump was a persistent strain of glee from those who have long resented the perceived American tendency to chastise other countries for less-than-perfect adherence to democratic ideals. In China, which has had constant friction with the Trump administration over trade, military and political issues, people were scathing in their criticism of Trump and his supporters, citing both his failure to control the coronavirus pandemic and the mob action in Washington. The Communist Youth League ran a photo montage of the violence at the Capitol on its Twitter-like Weibo microblog with the caption: “On the sixth, the U.S. Congress, a most beautiful site to behold.” That appeared to mock House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her June 2019 comments in praise of sometimes violent antigovernment protests in Hong Kong. Iran, another country that faces routine U.S. criticism over violations of human rights and democratic values, jumped on the insurrection as proof of American hypocrisy. The semiofficial Fars news agency called the United States a “fragmented democracy,” while Iran’s pro-government Twitter accounts gloated, circulating photos of the mobs with hashtags that included #DownfalloftheUS. “The beauty of democracy?” with a shrug emoji was the reaction tweeted by Bashir Ahmad, a personal assistant to the president of Nigeria, which has seen several coups since independence—including one led decades ago by President Muhammadu Buhari, who most recently entered the office via a vote. Venezuela, which is under U.S. sanctions, said the events in Washington show that the U.S. “is suffering what it has generated in other countries with its politics of aggression.” Several countries, both allies and antagonists of America, issued travel warnings to their citizens.

America the exceptional? (Foreign Policy) It’s not easy to say how much the storming of the Capitol will contribute to the decline in the reputation of the United States abroad. That’s because that decline has already been so steep: A Gallup poll of 29 countries in 2020 found that 20 already had approval ratings of U.S. leadership that are at new lows or that tie the previous record lows.

‘The power of life and death is in the tongue,’ Senate chaplain says (NYT) “We deplore the desecration of the United States Capitol building, the shedding of innocent blood, the loss of life, and the quagmire of dysfunction that threaten our democracy.” Those words, spoken by Barry C. Black, the Senate chaplain, resounded through the government chamber in the early hours of Thursday, as he declaratively closed a joint session of Congress marred by violence with a prayer. A Seventh-day Adventist minister and former Navy rear admiral known for his penchant for brightly colored bow ties, Mr. Black has been the Senate’s official clergyman for nearly two decades. His prayers in the chambers have long been laced with rebukes for the infighting of the lawmakers surrounding him, and his words have often served as a conscience check for those on both sides of the aisle. That was never more true than on Thursday morning, as he warned lawmakers that their words could have great consequences. “These tragedies have reminded us that words matter, and that the power of life and death is in the tongue,” he said. “We have been warned that eternal vigilance continues to be freedom’s price.” His prayer also urged new unity in the face of the deep divisions among lawmakers and within the country, driving home a need to “see in each other a common humanity.”

Twitter, Facebook muzzle Trump amid Capitol violence (AP) In an unprecedented step, Facebook and Twitter suspended President Donald Trump from posting to their platforms Wednesday following the storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Twitter locked Trump out of his account for 12 hours and said that future violations by Trump could result in a permanent suspension. The company required the removal of three of Trump’s tweets. Facebook and Instagram, which Facebook owns, followed up in the evening, announcing that Trump wouldn’t be able to post for 24 hours following two violations of its policies. Facebook later said that Trump would be banned indefinitely.

Indian farmers take to their tractors (Quartz)  On the other side of the world, a protest of a different kind is taking place in Delhi, as farmers who oppose India’s newly passed agricultural laws plan to march into the city with 2,500 tractor trolleys today. It’s the latest action in nearly two months of demonstrations that have grabbed headlines globally for their scale, but also for their inventiveness—some of the tractors have previously doubled as screens for movie viewing as protesters dug in for the long haul. The latest round of talks between the government and farmers is scheduled for tomorrow. If the two sides can’t agree on a path forward, farmers’ union leaders say a tractor rally and nationwide protests will start on Jan. 26, when the country celebrates Republic Day.

With Mass Arrests, Beijing Exerts an Increasingly Heavy Hand in Hong Kong (NYT) They descended before dawn, 1,000 police officers fanning out across Hong Kong to the homes and offices of opposition lawmakers, activists and lawyers. They whisked many off in police cars, often without telling relatives or friends where they were being taken. Within a few hours on Wednesday, the Hong Kong police had arrested 53 people, searched 76 places and frozen $200,000 of assets in connection with an informal primary for the pro-democracy camp—all under the auspices of Beijing’s new national security law. In one swoop, the authorities rounded up not only some of the most aggressive critics of the Hong Kong government but also little-known figures who had campaigned on far less political issues, in one of the most forceful shows of power in the Chinese Communist Party’s continuing crackdown on the city. The message was clear: Beijing is in charge. The mass arrests signaled that the central Chinese government, which once wielded its power over Hong Kong with a degree of discretion, is increasingly determined to openly impose its will on the city. In the months since the law took effect, Beijing and the Beijing-backed Hong Kong leadership have moved quickly to stamp out even the smallest hint of opposition in the Chinese territory, where the streets once surged with huge anti-government protests. And they have shattered any pretense of democracy in Hong Kong’s political system.

Japan declares emergency for Tokyo area as cases spike (AP) Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three nearby areas on Thursday as coronavirus cases continue to surge, hitting a daily record of 2,447 in the capital. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued the declaration at the government task force for the coronavirus. It lasts from Friday until Feb. 7, and centers around asking restaurants and bars to close at 8 p.m. and people to stay home and not mingle in crowds.

The next catastrophe has already been predicted (Les Echos via Worldcrunch) The epidemic surprised us, but it was predictable. In the risk report regularly published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for its annual Davos summit, infectious diseases were listed every year as one of the 10 biggest threats. The report’s description of a virus spreading uncontrolled around the world was exactly what played out in 2020. There were frequent discussions at Davos about this type of danger. For example, in 2016, after the damage caused by Ebola, the general director of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, sounded the alarm about the next pandemic. Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, drew a parallel with the Spanish Flu, evoking the risk of an illness that killed 30 million people. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft-cum-health philanthropist, insisted on the necessity of training teams in public health management and logistics. If this health crisis is causing so much suffering, it’s because we refused to seriously prepare for it. We didn’t follow the advice of the philosopher and engineer Jean-Pierre Dupuy, who pushes us to think about catastrophe to prevent it from happening. The time has therefore come to think about the next global catastrophes—the less predictable ones.

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