#or whatever cardassian equivalent there is

[hobbithabits]

Whenever I think of garashir in domestic situations I can’t get Julian out of Garak’s lap. Like to me he’s just always perched there, sitting pretty with a cup of tea and playing with Garak’s hair. Garak is explaining a new trade agreement that he isn’t a fan of cause the people in charge are known to be a little shady, and Julian is humming in agreement like he’s paying attention but hes mostly just listening to the rumbling tenor tone of his husbands voice while he thinks about their next available vacation days.

#truly the definition of domestic bliss #it’s to a point where people are answering holo calls from Garak and only really seeing Julian’s chest #there are quite a few comments calling Julian a ‘lap dog’ #or whatever cardassian equivalent there is #those people never seem to last long in politics though #star trek #star trek ds9 #elim garak #julian bashir #garashir #ds9

[spocks-kaathyra]

Cardassian conlang (part 1?)

Finally started making my Cardassian conlang and I'm having so much fun already. Get this:

There's a distinction between alienable and inalienable possession, something that occurs in many natural languages. An example is, like, "my nose" vs "my hat". My nose is inalienable because it will always be mine, while my hat is alienable because it can stop being mine. So in languages with this distinction, you'd use different words for "my" in those two situations.

In my Cardassian language, possession is indicated with suffixes attached to nouns and people's names. People are "possessed" in the sense that, y'know, they're your mom or your friend or your orthodontist or whatever. Generally, you'd use the alienable form for people. Your orthodontist might not always be your orthodontist, your friend might not always be your friend. The exception is that you always use the inalienable form(s) for family. Your mom will always be your mom.

So, to use the inalienable possessive for a friend would be to say that they are as close to you as family, that you trust that they will always be your friend. This is often, like, a milestone in dating. To start saying "my girlfriend (inalienable)" marks that your relationship is serious. (Traditionalists will say that you shouldn't use the inalienable form until you're properly betrothed, but kids these days have their own ideas.) In this way, it becomes a pretty straightforward term of endearment (or, rather, grammatical particle of endearment).

Since there's no equivalent in Federation Standard, the translator often renders it as "my dear."

Here's a table of the 10 different words for "my"

So, presuming that the speaker is a man, and the person they're referring to is also a man who they don't have to use the honorific form with...

/alʊk/ - "friend"

/alʊkɬei/ - "my friend"

/alʊkxa/ - "my dear friend"

/ilɨm̥xa/ - "my dear Elim"

#no I don't know what I'm doing but I'm having so much fun hehehe #disclaimer: so much respect to the awesome cardassian conlangs that already exist and the ppl who made them!! #not trying to step on any toes I just thought it'd be fun to make my own :)) #these r the first words I've come up with after settling on a phonemic inventory. which was fun in and of itself #THERE R EJECTIVES !!! ISNT THAT COOL !!!!! also no voicing distinction and nasals r usually voiceless #anyways. honorifics r mostly abt age I think. but also social class and rank probably #I like how the casual forms don't distinguish the speaker's gender. reflects that gender differences r more pronounced in formal situations #cardassians #ds9 #asit #star trek #elim garak #narcissus's echoes #q's cardassian conlang

[vaguely-concerned]

Garashir ficlet, PG, context is that Garak is about to go do… Something on his own (specifics very much ????? but probably something foolhardy and secretive and doomed ala Improbable Cause) and Julian is Not Having It this time. Probably fits into some of the later seasons vibes-wise. 

Julian said tightly: “My Kardasi might still need some work, but — ”

“Oh, no at all, considering how recently you started your studies your efforts are downright impressive, if, ah — charmingly archaic at times. If that’s to be laid at anyone’s feet it should be mine, probably, remind me to recommend you something written within the last few centuries sometime soon.” 

Giving this attempt at diversion exactly as much consideration as it deserved, Julian completely ignored him and finished his own line of thought: “ — but at this point I have a veritable doctorate in Garakese. There’s something you’re not telling me.” 

“Many things, I’m sure. If I’d known you had any interest in the optimal soil composition in which to grow Lovalan roses, I would have gladly shared my insight. All you had to do is ask, my dear. In the spirit of cross-cultural knowledge exchange, I always stand ready to chip in and do my par — ”

“Elim.” 

That made Garak blink, just that split second too long, even as his face remained perfectly still and smiling around it. It was subtle enough that an unaugmented eye might not have caught it, but Julian’s did.

No longer bothering to hide his own desperation, Julian pressed on: “Elim, please. You’ve got me worried with this. I want to help in any way I can, and — and I don’t like to think about what might happen if I can’t.”

There was a moment of silence between them in which Julian could hear his own quickened breathing too loudly in his ears. 

“That’s… characteristically kind of you, Doctor,” Garak said eventually, voice slightly hushed, like someone trying not to wake a sleeping child in another room. “But there is nothing to worry about. Really.” 

“Brush me off if you really feel like you have to, but please, at least do me the courtesy of not going out of your way to insult my intelligence while you’re at it,” Julian snapped. “How stupid do you think I am? How do you expect me to just close my eyes and sit back like nothing’s wrong while you — ”

Garak sighed. “You’re right, that was unworthy of me. Please, put it down to old habit, not a lack of respect. Very well, then let me rephrase what I was trying to say slightly, in order to be more precise — whatever might or might not be going on, there’s absolutely nothing you can do, and I really would rather you stayed out of it. Knowing you to be safely out of the line of fire would provide me with infinitely more comfort and utility than anything you could actively do to help. Which, again, is nothing.”

“But — ”

“Julian. Please.” 

Julian would have been thrown less off-balance if Garak had punched him square in the jaw. “Oh, that’s a dirty trick,” he said, unsteadily. 

“And here I thought ‘turnabout is fair play’ was a guiding Human principle,” Garak said, and his tone was light but his eyes were soft and very sad. “I see I have been misinformed.”    

The idea that Julian’s initial exposure to the Cardassian language leaves him speaking it like the equivalent of a Regency era novel or something to contemporary Cardassian ears in the beginning is a headcanon that is so dear to me  

#garashir #star trek #star trek ds9 #ds9 #julian bashir #elim garak #my writing #god. I just started a new fic this evening. I've got 5 proper wips on the go now not just this style of fragment nonsense. help

[ofhouseadama]

I keep imagining Julian, on post-war but pre-reconstruction Cardassia, pulling long shifts the rubble as they make clinics out of tents and get the hospitals back online and everyone is delirious and shell shocked as the aid pours in and Julian has forgotten entirely to tell Garak that he hasn't left the planet

right up until the women (girls, students) he's been working long hours with decide they're dressing up on their night off and Julian ends up with a face full of mostly tasteful blue make up (because the Cardassian equivalent to a lady in red HAS to be lady in blue) and wearing some very ad hoc slinky blue garment before heading to whatever the Imperial Plaza's answer to the Hawk and Dove is

where Garak is busy getting shit-faced after a long day of trying to keep the world from falling apart and thinks he's hallucinating

#emily watches ds9 #otp: there's hope for you yet

[singlecrow]

ds9 holosuite adventure in the tv show of your choice

Becca, you know me well.

--

"I'm reminded of a Cardassian equivalent," Garak decides, and Julian considers becoming a vedek.

"Do tell," he says, looking down at himself. Twentieth century street clothes. They look fine. For versimilitude, they should be women's clothes, but Julian doesn't like that even to play. Garak, meanwhile, might be persuaded into a perfectly tasteful dress just as nice as one of his own manufacture, if he could get past whatever Cardassian thrice-repetitive literary equivalent Julian is just about to receive chapter and verse and forty-four more volumes on.

"The Cardassian writer Ankoja of Prim," Garak says. "She spoke of a race of beings who, upon exposure to sunlight, took on a greenish patina and, ah... combusted. It was thought at the time to be something in the nature of a surfeit of copper ions in the blood."

"That's not how anything works," Julian says. "Could you kill them with a piece of pointed wood?"

"I don't suppose anyone ever tried." Garak looks perturbed. "They were law-abiding citizens, seeking a cure... my dear Doctor. Are you saying that the purpose of this game is to kill these unfortunate... creatures?"

"The clue is in the name!" Julian yells. "You slay the vampires! And then they die! And that's the game!"

"It sounds terribly bloodthirsty."

"No," Julian says, "that's them. The vampires. Who are bloodthirsty!"

"Everyone must live, surely," Garak says.

"They don't live. They're dead. Undead."

"Why do we need to kill them, then?" Garak asks. "If we need to kill them in any case, which frankly I doubt. I'm reminded of another Cardassian equivalent, the Pherran Scholars of the northern provinces, who wrote in the ethical mode..."

Julian wonders if the Dominion need doctors, and if they do, where to apply.

#star trek #deep space nine

[negative-speedforce]

How would your OCs' significant others react to seeing them dressed up for the first time?

Siv (With Gina or Hailey): Literally speechless. Full useless lesbian mode. Can not believe that a creature this ethereal exists, or that they can call her theirs. Probably does the human equivalent of a screenshot.

Hailey: Is fairly stunned, but still competent enough to compliment the woman she loves. She's honestly surprised how good Siv looks when they're not dressed like a homeless man.

Gina: Was honestly surprised at how good Siv looks dressed up, since they almost never do that.

Jay: Literally squealed the first time he saw Cassandra in formalwear, because he already thinks that Cassandra is the most beautiful girl alive, but she somehow looks even more stunning all dolled up. Could not keep his hands off her all night.

Cassandra: Even though the reason for her and Jay dressing up were just for a mission, she was absolutely stunned by how handsome he looked. Needless to say, they ended up almost failing their mission because they spent too much time making out.

Max: Was surprised with how well Kyle looked in a rented suit, and how it made his broad linebacker shoulders look so strong, and how it just made him want to do unspeakable things to him.

Kyle: Thought Max looked nice, and was developing a tiny crush on him, but considering that they didn't really know each other yet, he didn't have any visceral reaction.

Eric: "Who is this gorgeous man and what did he do to my husband" lol. As an anthropologist, Jacob is often covered in dust and dirt from whatever dig site he was at last, so Eric was surprised to see him so cleaned up for once.

Jacob: Kinda felt sorry for Eric, since he looked quite uncomfortable in a dress, and Jacob had never seen him wear one (Neither Jacob or Eric himself knew he was trans yet).

Onnie: For once, they lost their charm and charisma, because she was not expecting Pippa to look so pretty in formalwear, after all, she's only seen her in her superhero getup or in casual wear, so seeing Pippa all dressed up was a pleasant surprise

Pippa: Technically the first time Pippa saw Onnie dressed up was on TV, on the news at one of her father's business events. Needless to say, Pippa didn't even know who Onnie was yet and she still thought that that mysterious girl was so hot-

Jessi: The SECOND she saw Hyun-Ki in a suit, she knew he could be her stylish publicity boytoy. While she never was really attracted to him, she could tell just how attractive he was, and how much attention he commanded.

Hyun-Ki: At the surface, he felt transfixed, as if enchanted by Jessi's beauty. However, underneath the surface, Hyun-Ki was disgusted, and he wanted nothing more than for someone to finally see through Jessi's good-girl persona.

Marie: (for Qiara) could not keep her eyes off her all night. Tried to ignore Qiara because they weren't dating yet, but it was impossible (for Liah) Wasn't expecting a 6'3 Cardassian to be so femme. Cheers to you, Liah.

Liah: (for Marie) was honestly pretty speechless the first time she saw Marie dressed up- after all, the fanciest thing Marie had ever worn was her dress uniform. (for Qiara) almost passed out, because Qiara actually looked like a goddess, and while Liah knew that Qiara was essentially one, it had never really processed for her.

Qiara: (for Liah) Literally squealed because Liah looked so pretty and Qiara had never seen her dressed up so cute. (for Marie) Absolutely flabbergasted. Did not know how to respond.

Athena: Her jaw dropped, and she immediately got to work trying to convince Laila to go sneak off and take off those fancy clothes because she looked so hot-

Laila: Forgot to breathe for approximately thirty seconds because her girlfriend looked so stunning (and almost passed out)

Reyna: Thought Iorhael looked hot, but also kinda silly, considering that he still had that stupid shaggy mullet from when his long hair got caught in some machinery and Reyna had to cut it loose before his head got sucked in. (they are the disaster couple of all time)

Iorhael (Reyna's boyfriend): Absolutely stunned. The one (and only) time he ever saw Reyna dressed in actual formalwear was her own coronation, following the execution of her stepmother, Queen Carmen. However, the rule of Queen Reyna was short-lived, as two days later, she left the throne to her niece, Camille, and skipped town.

Pyrrha: Didn't really notice how Castor looked for a good few minutes, since she was so busy being self-conscious about how she looked, since she had let her friends pressure her into wearing a dress that exposed her scars. When she noticed, however, she was super awkward and she stammered out a "Y-you look g-great."

Castor (Pyrrha's partner): Was extremely proud of Pyrrha, since she had been donning heavy layered clothes and gloves to hide her cybernetics, but thanks to a little confidence boost, decided to go confront the woman who tormented her in style, in a dress that specifically showed off her prosthetic arm and the scars with it.

Aldrich: Couldn't believe that this absolutely beautiful woman was about to marry him. If he was capable of tears, he would be crying, but unfortunately, vampires are not.

Samira: It was their wedding, so Samira was honestly too busy crying happy tears to notice how good Aldrich looked in his suit (after her kidnapping, however, the photos from that are all she really has from her family)

Matt: Was honestly more nervous about what Dolores would think of him, since Dolores already dresses fairly formal most of the time already

Dolores: Couldn't believe that Matt was capable of looking so classy, since he normally dresses like a 13-year-old boy mixed with a surfer dude and a hobo.

And! Also! What they were wearing!

Siv

Hailey

Gina

Jay (is such a manwhore)

Cassandra

Max

Kyle

Jacob

Eric

Onnie

Pippa

Jessi

Hyun-Ki

Marie

Liah

Qiara

Athena

Laila

Reyna

Iorhael

Pyrrha

Castor

Aldrich

Samira

Matt

Dolores

#i REALLY need to make bios for iorhael and castor #ask revan #oc shit #practically-an-x-man

[antiqua-lugar]

i think one of my favourite things about julian and garak debating literature is that it’s all fun and games when they start with, like, classics classics canons like shakespeare or the never ending sacrifice, but once they are done with those you know they are spending like hours cramming up literature and history journals like students before an exam because yeah good luck julian now explain the context of la ciudad y los perros, wilhelm meisters lehjahre and le rouge et le noir 

which obviously is funny as hell but also like it’s kind of a very important part of their character growth? like their debates do revolve around julian being human and garak being cardassian, but by having to spread out beyond the classics classics (i.e. western english canon honestly, unless season 4 surprises me with julian and garak’s opinions on crime and punishment, and whatever its Cardassian equivalent is) they are also forced to reconstruct their view of what it means to be human and cardassian respectively. rumi’s poetry is not the same as dante’s poetry and you can’t pretend it is and call it a day. 

#star trek ds9 #garashir? #garak #julian bashir #antiqua headcanons stuff #ds9 #garashir #gashir

[kaelio]

I'm hoping that even after Garak and Julian get together that Julian and Gnnnnasi stay friends (at least until she leaves for the Gorn Hegemony). He needs a friend to gush about him with, I'm just imagining him going into that expat bar with a big smile on his face conspicuously showing off his engagement ring (or whatever Cardassian equivalent)

Gnnnnasi remains friends with him. To her this political stuff is basically irrelevant! She's a young career Gorn and she's making fat stacks and getting the D from a celebrity earthman. Life is cool!

[wheelgurl]

What’s on the menu?

A short Lower Decks fiction by Lain Kaplan , @lainkaplan on Twitter and Instagram.

I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Place: The Cerritos tertiary science bay.

(Note: the tertiary science bay is T’Ana’s second storeroom, but it pulls double duty.) Mariner and Rutherford are leaning over a terminal.

Rutherford: So my simulation’s all set up, Mariner. I’m so excited! Where do you think our ancient Earthers will want to go?

Mariner: Look, I’m planning to build my new subwarp trebuchet in here, some of the Captain’s favorite padds need a new hard reset, if you know what I mean. Let’s see your new project already so you can get out of here and I can get my groove on. I need a new kph record.

R: I’ll help, but I’m doing the presentation. Deal?

M: (eye rolling hard) Deal. Just activate it already! I have places to be!

Rutherford, animatedly: Testing! This is my fourth experimen in my new diplomatic technological developments! The Greatest Chefs of All Time! Reports from our colleagues in the Temporal Security division have said that the number of humans who have entered the present day is skyrocketing dramatically! Two reports a decade ago, seven incidents two years ago, and four last month! We’re seeing a potential for exponential proliferation.

Mariner holds a hand over her mouth and yawns faintly, trying to mask her boredom.

R: To date, the displaced people have arrived in Starfleet’s space to the best of our knowledge. We’re more equipped to handle their eccentricities than our neighbors. But eventually they’ll show up in other communities. If they end up in Cardassian space, that would be a problem, for instance.

Which is why I created the Greatest Chefs! Using the design from Voyager’s mobile hologram emitters, to help our neighbors deal with our new friendly visitors, how better to improve their familiarity with these stranded time travelers than a few similar people from Earth’s history, creating scrumptious food tailored to the local preferences? That way they’ll be totally ready for these poor confused travelers! And we will continue our great relationships with our neighbors with better cultural understanding. Again!

Each chef will travel to the neighboring civilization of their choice, I programmed a brief understanding of each of their foods and cultures. They’ll make their own decisions! And everyone eats better. It’s a win-win!

M: Hold on. You did this before?

R: Three times.

M Why do you think you need a fourth?

R: Well, for the last one, I read many reports of Ghengis Khan being a delicacy from Central Asia, so I picked the dish’s inventor!

M: So?

R: The Diplomatic Corps informed me that he’s the new Gorn emperor. I guess they really like their spicy grilled vegetables and lamb equivalents. I’m sure everything’s going to work out great.

M: Fine, fine, whatever. Move it, I want my mom’s display devices to go boom.

R: Oh, how did you know about Emeril? His recordings are some of the earliest vids on file. Excellent taste. He went to the Bajorans.

M: (beat) Yuup. Anyway…

R: So this time I asked the computer to pick someone from the 21st century who’s famous for serving. I want to see where they’ll go! Let’s see!

Rutherford stirs his terminal, causing a new hologram to come to life.

The new figure before them stands almost two meters tall, olive skinned, lanky with a relaxed stance. They reach up to check long, flowy locks of fuchsia in a windswept do. Baby blue eyeliner surround their piercing black eyes. There’s a sudden sweep of confusion over their face for a nanosecond as their eyes sweep over the Cerritos’s dingiest tech lab, but they snap back into an air of calm. They’re wearing a crisply pleated tartan mini-skirt, a pink tee-shirt cut off just below the rib cage with a black Mary Jane collar, black opera gloves, white and pink striped thigh highs, and eight centimeter heeled Doc Marten customs. There’s a round metallic pin with pastel hues where a comm badge would be, emblazoned with “All pronouns are cool, bitches”. The holo-emitter isn’t obviously visible.

Rutherford: Welcome! You’re three hundred seventy two years in your future now. Who are you, and do you know your mission?

The new visitor speaks with a delicate, musical voice with a thick Philly tone.

Tall human: (big grin) Wow, the future. I’m Alice Galaxia Georgia, I’m from North Philly, by Boner 4ever. It’s a pleasure. Cool pajamas, sib.

M: High five welcome, Queen! (They high five in a sense of mutual admiration.) I’m surprised I didn’t see that kind of outfit in my history texts, … Miss? That’s Rutherford, I’m Mariner.

Alice: Mx., thanks. Enchante!

[Note to cis readers, it’s pronounced mix.]

Wow, so I’m in space. I thought I needed a bowl for that.

R: You mean like the depictions of 1950s pulp magazine covers?

A: Hah! No, weed.

R: So is your knowledge of our neighboring people functioning? Please tell me where you want to go!

A: Oh, there’s no question. Take me to the Klingons. I know exactly what they’ll love eating. It’s perfect for their palates.

R: Gagh?

A: Almost, hon. Gock. I’m heading to the shuttle bay. Chill, I’ll text you to keep you updated, I have your code. (They walk out the bay doors.)

Mariner busts out laughing, a deep gut laugh, holding her sides, then turns to Rutherford.

M: Oh wow, she is going to be a goddamn legend on Qo’noS, let me tell you. Way to go, Rutherford, you outdid yourself this time.

R: (confused) Hold on, I’m accessing Earth historical culinary records of that era, and there appear to be no entries in any cookbook of that era for gock.

M: Oh, I can tell you stories, Rutherford. Help me with my trebuchet, and then we’ll go to the caf, and you’ll hear ALL about what she’s going to be serving. It’s pretty tasty.

R: Can Klingon replicators fabricate it?

M: (pauses to think) No.

FIN

#star trek lower decks #beckett mariner #sam rutherford #short fiction #fanfic #dirty jokes

[cogitrot]

Spitballing some tweaks I'd make to the game for balancing reasons. These aren't really suggestions, more musings, which is why I'm posting them here and not anywhere it might be taken as official feedback.

First: Remove the 12 civics win state entirely. It forces a certain kind of gameplay that doesn't always mesh with the stories being told in the Mission Trees (since each Faction has specific methods of integration that don't always fit the paths you can go down) and isn't especially well-balanced anyway (looking at you, Federation). Make the win entirely about who has the most points, which can be gained through many, many different types of play-styles, including civic-grabbing if you like. I'd also open up all options to integrate civics to all Factions, with penalties if you use a style that doesn't match your current Faction's values, possibly to the extent of even locking you out of Missions down a branch entirely if you really break character. Like if you wage an occupation war right out the gate with the Federation. You can do it, but it's going to make things difficult for you.

Second: Some tweaks to the Mission Tree. As it stands, it feels a little awkward to me and not well-integrated to gameplay, so since all the Mission Trees basically only have two routes right now, I'd lean into that more. Give each Faction a starting, mutually exclusive choice. NOT a choice that makes the branches exclusive just yet, but a choice that blatantly favors one side or the other and makes going down the opposite route a little less optimal. This should give you an idea of the tone of your game, and make it more obvious that you have goals to work for.

Now for the factions. This isn't going to be 100% lore-accurate, but then neither is the game. I'm fudging things to give all factions a rough equivalent starting point.

Cardassians: Cardassian starting planets should be extremely resource thin, have a ton of blockers, almost no boosts, whatever. Each planet only have one or two Agriculture districts, a handful of mines, maybe some all right energy production, but that's it. Have all the slots be city districts. The point is that having Bajor already occupied should be a huge deal. Make it the only resource-heavy planet in reach.

The reason for this would be to make it really hard to decide to let it go, which is where the Mission Tree comes in. For the Cardassians their "starting choice" would be choosing to assimilate Bajor or not. Choosing to assimilate gives major boosts to Forced Labor that are only useful if you go down the canon side of the tree (since slavery gets abolished on the other side) and choosing NOT to gives somewhat more mediocre but more universal boosts to, say, Diplomacy or a one-time Unity/Influence boost (or just removes penalties for Diplomatic integration), but at the expense of permanently removing the option of assimilating Bajor. Picking one or the other maybe unlocks the entirety of the rest of the tree so you can start progressing. This is also why you'd need to remove the 12 civic win state.

Taking the option to assimilate Bajor should feel easier, because it is. That's why Cardassia did it. Choosing not to should be a struggle that only pays off in the long run, if you make it that long. Whichever you pick should have an impact to your early gameplay.

Romulans: Have the Romulans start after the star has exploded, not before. They start with a ruined economy and maybe some temporary population penalties. Since their tree seems to be "xenophobic or nay" have their starting options be whether or not they reach out for help (form 2 diplomatic pacts with another Power or something, something easy) or retreat to lick their own wounds and start obsessively re-building in anticipation of attack. I'm less sure what rewards for each node should be, but I was thinking: Retreating should probably boost defensive stats, either for Fleet power or in counter-propaganda or something, maybe some small, permanent resource buffs, and give Unity at the expense of a permanent Diplomacy debuff and having to take a longer early game growth period, while reaching out for help should give a good amount of starting resources (but no buff) and some Influence, at the expense of long-term self-sufficiency benefits and a slower military growth speed. Both should give the same decent Espionage boost.

Federation: Not many changes here, but for balance's sake (and to give a more immediate reason to choose one path or another) have the Federation start after encountering the Borg for the first time, maybe. Their science ships are toast, their Fleet is WRECKED, and their officers in the negatives right off the bat (but recovering). The decision for the Federation is whether they choose to start drastic militarization in response to this threat or if they take a more moderate approach in fear of losing the core of their Federation. Choosing the "Militarize" node should give massive boosts to officer production and ship building at the expense of a major Diplomacy debuff and fewer Science Leaders, and staying true should slightly boost Diplomacy, give more Science Leaders, and maybe some Unity in return for a debuff to ship building speed and much, much higher resource requirements for officer-producing buildings. Funding can only go to so many places, so the idea is that whichever you choose to fund has the easy road while you need to scrape and save to build up whatever it is you chose not to fund. Maybe both options change what sort of tech you can research right away (not remove options entirely, but shift the likelihood a bit), if they ever get around to actually weighting those randomized tech branches. Again, this choice wouldn't lock you out of either branch yet, but it should make choosing the opposite branch a struggle.

Slightly off topic, but I thought about removing penalties for choosing to engage in an occupation war if you hit the militarize node, but chose not to. I feel that would have to be THE choice that locks you out of the canon path later. The point of no return, if you will.

Klingons: Less sure about the Klingons, but I'd say no debuffs to start for these guys. The Klingon choice comes down to what you decide to do when you're surrounded by weakened neighbors. Do you choose to conquer or assist? Do you feel like you must take these civilizations under your wing for their own protection, all under the Klingon banner alone, or do you wish to help them back to full strength first, and along the way perhaps find an...ally? I feel like the rewards should be pretty clear. The only twist I might add is that going down the Assist path eventually gives a Unity buff/a buff to all resources gained/something like that while at war if you go to war with a power that is at least Equivilant to your own. Now that they are back to full strength, perhaps it is time for glorious battle?

#star trek infinite

[mirekat]

Like, to follow up on that Insufferable DS9 People joke...I want to stress that I don’t personally endorse picking on New Trek series. Picard and Discovery and Lower Decks have all engaged me in different ways and pushed Trek in interesting directions (even if I found some of those directions infuriating) and I’m certainly going to keep consuming whatever narrative vegetarian mycoprotein Paramount throws fans like me.

But what I will say is that, for me, DS9 gets me in ways hardly any other tv series has. When we started watching it last year, amid all the cynical politicization of the pandemic and the police violence and...all that...I really wasn’t in a place to put my faith in institutions. So I appreciated DS9′s willingness to point out the ragged edges of the Federation, the ways its utopian rhetoric falls short. But DS9′s critical attitude toward institutions is coupled with a deep optimism about people. And this is why it’s become so important to me. The main cast is made up of people who fundamentally don’t want to harm other people, despite having to face the reality that some people do want to harm other people and that some power structures make it possible for those few people to do a whole lot of harm. Even Quark, who claims that every social relationship is an opportunity for exploitation, often ends up behaving in altruistic ways: he helps save the whole crew in Starship Down, he sets the resistance free during the occupation of DS9...And then you have someone like Kira, who in a lesser show might have been either forced to repudiate her terrorist past or, in a kind of Whedonesque twist, whittled down into a Badass Action Girl(TM), but who, in DS9, doesn’t have to do that. Doesn’t have to be that. She hurt people, yes, because that was the only possible response to an intrinsically violent colonial system, but she’s refused to make that capacity for violence part of who she is. Every time someone tries to get her to wax poetic about war (Thomas Riker, Dukat in ‘Return to Grace’, even--kind of--Jadzia, in ‘Blood Oath’) she’s emphatic: killing people kills part of yourself, even if, sometimes, that’s the only choice you have.

Anyway, I think it’s really unusual how DS9 manages to balance the individual and the systemic that way--to acknowledge that everyone has the capacity for harm, but that both intentions and power relations have a meaningful impact on the nature and extent of that harm. It allows the captain to collude in a murder in order to save the Alpha Quadrant, but never suggests that this one act makes him the equivalent of Gul Dukat. It acknowledges the neocolonial attitude of the Federation and yet never draws a false equivalency between the Federation and the Cardassian Occupation. It lets the good guys fuck up profoundly and still never dilutes the idea that there is not, in fact, Zero Difference Between Good and Bad Things.

IDK. When we started watching DS9 last year I was slipping into a place where I couldn’t imagine any kind of future, and while obviously it wasn’t the main reason I decided to stick around--Em is that reason, always and forever that reason--it did give me something else to hold onto. A philosophical touchstone, sort of. The Federation will always be a work in progress, was what DS9 told me, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth fighting for. And if you choose to fight--DS9 told me--there’ll be a whole lot of people fighting alongside you. 

#how star trek changed my life an essay in about a million posts #kira nerys #(let's be real this is mostly about kira nerys) #Les Damnés de la Galaxie #insufferable ds9 people #ds9 #long post #sorry

[scientific-tricorder]

A few observations and headcanons of Bajoran agriculture based on skimming Memory Alpha and Memory Beta.

We have some idea about Dahkur, Kendra, Rokantha, Eastern, and Tozhat Provinces. I think that the term 'Hill Provinces' is used to reform not to any specific province, but rather a region and group of provinces including Dahkur, and there's basically zilch about any of the others on Memory Alpha.

Rakantha Province is said to be one of the most productive agricultural lands, and apparently grows wheat and cash crops (boton, moreka, and salam grass; whatever those are). It's also mentioned as having flooded, so I'm imaging that Rakantha would be some sort of flood plain, with fertile soil ideal for growing intensive plants.

Along with Rakantha, Dahkur is the other province referenced in regards to the soil reclamators, and it's said to be also primarily agricultural. The picture we see of it on the Memory Alpha page, Shakaar's farm, does not really look like the sort of place where a lot of crop planting is going to be happening. I look at it and automatically think 'sheep', so I'd place its main focus as more animal agriculture, of small, sturdy livestock, probably whatever the Bajoran equivalent to sheep is. Their use of soil reclamators might be more focused on removing substances toxic to their livestock from grazing land (I mean, if Bajoran sheep are anything like Earth ones and the Cardassians left a lot of copper there, that needs to get gone before anything else can happen. And since pasture rotation is a good thing, they might be trying to detoxify the next pastures just in time to actually use them, hence why the Dahkur farmers really want to keep the soil reclamators because if they don't get the next pasture detoxified, the current pasture will be overgrazed).

Kendra is where Sisko's house is, and the picture on Memory Alpha just looks like nice, lush grazing land with interspersed forestry, so it might be something like a food forest, with diversified crop and animal production. The Eastern Province is described as "lush, green valleys covered in wildflowers that seem to spring up overnight", and "hundreds of small crystal-clear ponds, interconnected by waterfalls", and the picture of Tozhat Province also matches that description, so they might be next to each other, and overall sound like mountainous regions. I'd probably guess that some sort of pastoralism is practiced there, like in mountainous regions on Earth such as in the Alps, Andes, Tibetan Plateau, etc.

The show doesn't give us any sort of Bajoran livestock, but apparently beta canon gives us some brief mentions. Based on Memory Beta descriptions, batos, peng, pylchyk, and tirak might all be types of generic livestock, equivalent to our ruminants or swine. Porli might be a poultry equivalent. And apparently there is no lack of riding/draft animal horse equivalents, with fabor, lopp, verdanis, and zhom all filling that role in some way.

#Star Trek #DS9 #Bajor #Bajorans #headcanons #Space Ag #What better to do when not feeling well than dream up space ag? #Sometime later I might see if I can dig up the specific descriptions of the animals #And it's possible some are breed or landrace distinctions rather than species ones #Zhom are described as 'lupine' and with them being ridden it reminds me of Cardassian riding hounds #Also Cardassian voles would absolutely have become a food source #If they were on DS9 they were on Bajor and since they apparently reproduce quite efficiently #Tricorder Log

[spocks-kaathyra]

45. Which alien culture would you most want to live in/would feel most comfortable?

48. Name a song or music genre you think _____ would like.

(for this ask game)

45. mmm well. for all I love Cardassians I don't think I would make a very good one. same for Vulcans, I'm far too undisciplined. maybe Betazoids? I think I'd do pretty well in a telepathic/empathic society. I have the kind of autism that not only makes me brutally honest but also makes me wish everyone else was that honest too

48. oh that's a hard one. I could see Nal listening to whatever the Cardassian equivalent of like Appalachian folk music is. she's sooo country girl I love her. and Pythas could be the kind of loser (affectionate) who listens to classical music. jammin to Four Seasons or smth. I don't think Garak is self aware enough to like any of the songs I associate him with but I want to share Garak songs anyway so have u considered Neptune by Sleeping At Last

#thank u for the ask ily <333 #sorry I haven't been answering these jfjdfk I'll get to them all I prommy #narcissus's echoes #asks

[simply-having-a-wonderful-ds9]

#6 for Damar, Weyoun, Keevan??

#7 Damar, Kilana, Dukat??

🥰🥰🙏🏼

Yup it’s a double post, buckle in everybody! I’m gonna reblog this later with my answer for the second one because this one’s LONG

6. go clothes shopping with, go to ikea with, go grocery shopping with. for Damar, Weyoun, and Keevan... 

go to ikea with: Weyoun

I’m doing the IKEA one first because it’s the most important. I love going to IKEA, I love picking out cool new stuff that I don’t need, and I even love putting together IKEA furniture (which seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I find it relaxing! just putting lil wooden pegs in holes or screwing things together, and at the end you have a bookshelf or whatever). So I need someone to share in my delight and wonder every time I turn a corner and see a djungelskog or a färvik or a grönlid. And that someone is Weyoun. Both Damar and Keevan would be bored, and I am NOT letting them ruin my experience (also if i leave Keevan unsupervised he WILL shut small children in wardrobes, and I think Damar would break something). Weyoun’s innate curiosity and desire to learn will make this a delight.

If someone needs a crash course in aesthetics, there’s no better place than the IKEA showroom, an endless maze of rooms decorated in vastly different styles! I'm going to ask him to pick at least one thing he likes from the showroom. He doesn’t need to justify it for me if he can’t think of an exact reason, but I want him to experience deciding something is good and wanting to have it. Maybe a cool lamp, like one of these:

Weyoun spent a long time staring at Ziyal’s art, which is really pretty but not super complex. What the hell is he gonna think of the art at IKEA? What’s he gonna do when i show him these, two real posters for sale there?

I bet he would stare at these for a long time, and if he wants, I’d buy them and help him hang them up!

go clothes shopping with: Damar

Going clothes shopping with Damar would be fun because he’d be SO out of his element. If I remember correctly the only clothing we see him in besides his armor is this:

Look at it. Clearly, he needs help. I mean, this man even sleeps in his armor (I know he was drunk but I honestly think he’s just like that). So I am getting him pajamas first, probably in black or steel blue (I think those would be his best colors). 

The other fun portion would be making him pick out clothing for me. Since the other questions are about stuff like IKEA and grocery stores, I assume this one means I’m taking him to like a 21st century Macy’s instead of a Cardassian clothing shop. What styles of clothing currently available on Earth are the most Cardassian? Is Damar going to pick up a formal, floor length dress and hand it to me, saying it “seems suitable for everyday wear”?

I also wanna know what outfits are sexy by Cardassian standards. They seem very modest and covered up generally, with the exception of their necks (either that or all Cardassian military uniforms are the equivalent of titty armor idk). Are shorts sexy or just gauche? What about tank tops? Consider the concept of Getting Damar Flustered While Trying On Clothes Because They’re Exceptionally Provocative in Cardassia… Listen I wasn’t super into Damar until I saw the final 5 episodes of DS9 yesterday and now I’m very into Damar so you’ve caught me at a good/bad time with this one. I’ve read too many Garak/Bashir fics about modest Cardassians getting confronted by humans and their Slutty Earth fashion to pass this this opportunity up.

go grocery shopping with: 

That leaves Keevan for grocery shopping! Hmmmmm. I can clearly picture handing Keev a peach or something, asking him to check if it’s ripe, and he just squeezes it so hard the skin breaks. Then he hands the sticky, ruined fruit to me and deadpans “No it’s not ripe yet”.

Bastard.

If I want him to be helpful, I’d have to plan to make something he’ll like. Maybe I’ll ask Weyoun for a rippleberry scone recipe. Because I don’t know how often Vorta actually get to eat their favorite foods, and that’s a shame. Keevan may be the Worst, but now I’m armed with the promise of making him tasty baked goods. Since we all know his affinity for making deals, I think I could persuade him to help me shop for ingredients in exchange for fresh rippleberry pastries. But I don’t think he would actually help me bake them. He’d sit on my couch staring at me judgmentally until they’re ready, and then proceed to taste them and declare them “adequate”. He’d still eat all of em though, so he’s not fooling me.

#part 2 coming... eventually #i may do that one while drunk #so that'll either make it better or worse #weyoun #damar #keevan #asks #ds9

[ernmark]

Endocrine system reset??

So you know how there’s all this to-do about Garak’s endocrine system failing during The Wire, and it’s slowly killing him? 

I got to thinking about high school biology and wait, isn’t the endocrine system responsible for all kinds of fun stuff? I wonder how much we can fuck with Garak’s mental and emotional state while that’s recalibrating itself. I mean, come on, the idea of whatever-the-Cardassian-equivalent-of-Oxytocin alone going haywire has lots of potential.

I wrote like 2k for that fic and then looked at the script to double check something, and I discovered that it is not, in fact, his endocrine system that went kaput. It’s his lymphatic system. Which does entirely different stuff. 

Whoops.

I’m gonna say that his hormones are also all out of whack, because he’s been fucking with his neurotransmitters for years. But that’s why it’s got that particular title.

#ask meme #ds9 #star trek #garashir #philosopherking1887

[autisticburnham]

Profit and Loss

I haven't seen Casa Blanca or whatever movie this episode is based off of, so sorry if you're expecting me to get the parallels

Fuck yeah, Natima!! Rebel queen!

I knew this was the episode where we found out Cardassian arguing is flirting, but I didn't realize garashir arguing was actually featured in the episode

You know, Odo was raised during the Occupation. He may view arguing as flirting... @ Quark

Quark being attracted to women who can and will kick his ass part 2!

I believe this is also the first episode where we get the implication that blue chufas are a makeup trend. Fem!Garak rights!

"I was the love of her life" "Must have been some life" Odo, your crush is showing

If showing the ridges on your collarbone is the equivalent of wearing a crop top the way fanon claims it is, is Natima basically just wearing pasties?

We talk about Kira and Quark being wlw/mlm hostility, but what about the mlm/mlm hostility of Quark and Garak?

You're one to talk about flamboyance, Garak

Quark, "I'll stalk you until you take me back" isn't as romantic as you think it is

Garak just walking into Ops with wide eyes and a smirk is terrifying

Kanar in raktajino mugs?

Quark just slapping random objects to see if it's Odo

Offering aid to political dissidents but only if she stays with you forever is also not romantic

Hell, yeah, bitch!! Shoot him!!!

Oh, Natima's reaction to Quark touching her seems to support the neck ridges being erogenous zones thing

I'm an idiot, this isn't the Cardassian argue flirting episode

It does however have the girls with blue chufas and the boys with just flesh colored ones, and I think the makeup theory was bc Garak occasionally having a blue chufa "proves" that it's not sexual dimorphism, but what if, intersex!Garak rights?

"Do it for me" and he does!

Quark rising up from his knees in front of Odo while maintaining eye contact...

Hug!

Garak's reason for not shooting Quark being that he doesn't want to ruin a nice suit. Gay culture

"You've never been right about anything!" Listen. I don't like Garak. I in fact hate him quite a bit. But. I love Garak

I wish Natima had been recurring. I know Central Command probably killed her, but how cool would it have been if she worked with Kira's Cardassian dad or was part of the season 7 rebellion?

This is actually much better than I remember. Should I watch Casa Blanca or whatever? 9/10

#ds9 #my post #ds9 rewatch