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unidentifiedprimate · 1 year

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Let's talk about emotional repression in the Vorta!

The Vorta smile and laugh a lot. Weyoun, the Vorta we spend the most time with, is almost constantly smiling. But his smiles almost never correlate with his actual emotions; these are customer service smiles. Politician smiles. They are practiced, calculated expressions.

Tekeny Ghemor looks Weyoun right in the eyes as he tells Dukat he betrayed their people to the Dominion, a word he nearly spits with disgust. Weyoun would have felt that. He loves the Dominon more than his own life, and yet his expression doesn't show a hint of displeasure.

It seems that the worse he is insulted, the bigger his smile gets.

But there are real feelings underneath. It's clear that emotion hasn't been completely removed from the Vorta's genetic code, because occasionally real emotion does bleed through. And those are the moments I love, because it's like peeking behind a curtain.

Besides Weyoun, we rarely get to see other Vorta operate. When we meet Kilana, she is faced with an extremely important yet delicate task - to save a dying Founder without letting the Federation get their hands on them. She can't afford to trust Sisko, so she is forced to fall back on her diplomatic training. Disguise her real feelings, smile, put the opposition at ease, and get what she wants without giving anything away.

But it's clear that she is feeling the strain. You can see her fear bleeding through at points. She has real feelings, she just isn't allowing herself to show them. This is likely the most stressful thing she has ever done in any iteration, and yet she is still able to put on an impressive front.

The fact that both Weyoun and Kilana are so skilled at hiding their emotions makes it likely that the Vorta are specifically trained to do this.

With Weyoun, there are moments were you can SEE his training kick in. At one point, he allows himself to forget about his duties and has some fun at the dabo table. He is genuinely happy to the point where he is bouncing and stimming with excitment.

But the fun is cut short when Sisko arrives with a bottle of poisoned wine that had clearly been sent by Dukat. Weyoun, still full of energy, has to pull that all in and press it down. You can watch it happen - his body language closes up and he becomes very still.

He does still get to have a little genuine fun by drinking the poison in front of Dukat and Sisko. The conversation gets to a point where someone might say something damaging if the tension isn't broken, so he breaks it.

Hiding real anger is harder. When Sisko outright refuses to take down the minefield that blocks Dominion ships from coming through the wormhole, Weyoun is actually, sincerely mad about it.

Of course, Sisko doesn't react well to aggression, and Weyoun has to swallow those feelings and put the mask back on.

It only takes a moment, and all his true feelings are wiped away. He's calm and smiling again.

Even when Weyoun does lose his temper, he holds back. The Federation breaks through their lines, Dukat's plan is falling apart, Weyoun feels he's failing in front of his God, and he gives the biggest display of pure emotion we ever see - which is just a light slap of his hand on the table, immediately followed by a self-regulating clasping of his hands behind his back.

It's not much of a tantrum, but for a Vorta he might as well be screaming.

At another point, Weyoun 5 gets lost in thought when presented with some art he can't understand. He talks to Kira about it almost as if she's a friend,

and then has to snap himself out it when he realizes he is actually being vulnerable.

It's also with Kira that Weyoun lets some of his insecurities regarding Odo slip out. He stops her to ask about him,

and you can see his anxiety in the little crease between his eyebrows, the slight sigh he makes before asking his question. This is about what a God thinks of him. He can't quite hide his true feelings.

Kira asks why Weyoun doesn't just talk to Odo directly, and he's so surprised you can see real fear in his eyes. Then he quickly composes himself and masks again,

only dropping it when she's out of sight.

These real emotional responses of the Vorta are much more subtle than their performative ones. They are usually just a twitch of the mouth, a slight crease in the brow, or tension in the neck. Vorta aren't supposed to show their true emotions, so they are kept small.

Real fear

Real happiness

The Vorta, and especially Weyoun, are fascinating characters. I can't finish this without acknowledging that it's Jeffrey Combs' amazingly subtle acting that brings all of this to life. Very little is actually spelled out for us about what life is like for the Vorta, but so much can be inferred from the way he holds himself and the tiny facial expressions he makes. All of it paints a picture of a species that is strictly conditioned to hide their true feelings and only show what is useful to them in the performance of their duty. It's only in those moments when the mask slips that their real selves are visible.

#vorta #emotional repression #hi im talking about the vorta again #there is so much more i want to say about this but the words won't come #deep space 9 #jeffrey combs

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femalehumanoid · 3 years

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Fluff Alphabet - Keevan

A ctivities – What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Keevan likes to spend an occasional evening simply talking to you. Let’s face it – the list of his psychological issues and traumas is a lengthy one, but he adamantly refuses to see a counselor, so that leaves the only person he can trust – you. He tells you stories from his past, ranging from funny and entertaining to tragic and horrible; for the most part you just listen, offering an appropriate comment here and there or squeezing his hand in encouragement. You have long since learned that tearing up and trying to hug him outright is a bad idea in such moments – he sees it as pity and closes up immediately, refusing to reveal anything remotely close to personal for weeks afterwards.

But your talks are not always about his past – in fact, your discussion topics are vastly varied. He’s lived many lifetimes and knows a lot, so he has an opinion on just about everything. He relishes finally being able to discuss his true thoughts without having to constantly look over his shoulder and filter which opinions are safe to share and which ones could be used against him.

As for other activities, Keevan’s a bit of a hedonist, so he wouldn’t say no to a day at a holosuite spa or a short trip to the pleasure planet together. Freedom from the Dominion didn’t make him any less of an asshole, so when you’re in public – say, lounging at the beach on Risa – he’ll occasionally make scathing (and, unfortunately, quite funny) observations about the passersby under his breath. You feel bad for snickering at the especially insulting comments, but ultimately don’t have the heart to tell him off because he looks so pleased with himself when he manages to make you laugh.

B eauty – What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Being a Vorta, Keevan is of course devoid of an aesthetic sense as such. That doesn’t mean that he can’t deduce by the reactions of others that you are beautiful – and boy, does it stroke his ego to see people eyeing you with appreciation (and him with jealousy) when you dress up and go out in public together.

While he can’t fully perceive your beauty visually, he admires your lips for their softness, your hands for their warmth, your eyes for the way you look at him.

On a more general note, what Keevan appreciates most about you is your behavior towards him. Sure, you have many other admirable qualities – you’re fun, and charming, and intelligent – but he’s met a plethora of fun, charming and intelligent people, and you’re the only one who truly loves and accepts him.

C omfort – how would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Before he met you, Keevan had very little experience in comforting another person or providing genuine emotional support, so he’ll be somewhat stiff the first few times you show this type of vulnerability in front of him. But as soon as he’ll realize you’re looking to him for comfort, he’ll soften and open his arms for an embrace. Next thing you know, you’ll be sitting on his lap, telling him your woes and being sweet-talked to death.

By the way, if the reason for your distress is another person, you can rest assured that they would regret what they did – Keevan would make sure of it.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Keevan is happy to leave the decision of where you’re going to live fully in your hands, but if you were to ask him, he’d recommend a smaller planet with comfortable climate and of little strategic value (so that it’d be left alone if another war were to erupt). But even though he’s mostly indifferent towards the finer details of your life together, it doesn’t mean that he’s not thinking about the future. The longer you are together, the clearer it becomes to him that one lifetime with you wouldn’t be enough. So, he starts to make discreet inquiries with his old contacts at various cloning facilities – is the Dominion technology suitable for cloning a human? How would one go about it? You won’t hear a word of it until Keevan knows for sure it’s possible, and one day he nonchalantly drops the offer on you like it’s not one of the most life-changing decisions with plenty of questionable ethical implications. In his mind, the decision has already been made, and he’s not above manipulating you into accepting if that means he gets to be with you forever.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or are they rather passive?

On the surface Keevan might appear passive, simply because he doesn’t expend energy caring about most things. You want to take an assignment on a different planet? Fine, he’ll come along - as long as you’ll have enough free time to devote to him, that is. You’re feeling frisky and want to explore your dominant side? Oh, he’s way into that.

In the past, when he was a servant of the Dominion, he had to constantly assert his dominance to keep his position, but nowadays he mostly reserves those impulses for the bedroom. However, there are some things he’s not willing to compromise on at all. You’re not going on that dangerous mission even if he has to tie you to the bed. That ex of yours that recently came into your life again and is behaving suspiciously flirty? Oh look, a week later they’ve decided to take a trip to another part of the galaxy and not return, totally of their own accord.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How is their fighting?

For both your sakes, let’s hope you’re more diplomatic than he is. Fighting with Keevan goes one of two ways – it’s either a nightmare because he knows exactly what to say to make it hurt, OR your heated exchange turns into an even more heated reconciliation and you both forget what you were fighting about in the first place.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Even if Keevan doesn’t often show it, he is grateful. He knows he’s not the easiest person to get along with, and he is aware of the effort you’re putting into the relationship and into helping him through his issues even when he’s being a total prick.

He does try to smooth his edges when he’s around you (around others, not so much) and takes note of the little things that make you happy – how you light up when he takes your hand, or when he remembers how you take your morning beverage – and consciously does it more often.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Keevan wouldn’t necessarily call them ‘secrets’, simply certain information that you don’t need to know. Some details of his past, for example – stories that could traumatize you – and why would he do that to a person he loves? You will rarely catch him lying to you outright, but some things he simply omits, like how he’s convinced your colleague to back off from that assignment you really wanted.

Also, he often has trouble sharing his emotions, partly because he’s been repressing them for so long that even he can’t get to the bottom of what he’s feeling at times.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

Your relationship has transformed both of you in some respects. It might not have been smooth sailing, especially in the beginning, but it’s the healthiest relationship Keevan’s ever been in, and you’ve been gradually helping him heal and move on from a lot of trauma of his past. As for you, Keevan has taught you to be more assertive and you learned to accept the darker parts of your own psyche like you accepted the worst sides of his.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Keevan is extremely prone to jealousy, and he doesn’t bother to hide it. He likes to cultivate a reputation of a person who’s not to be crossed, and with his sadistic streak scaring people comes easily to him. That way, he can be reasonably sure no-one is going to dare take what’s his – namely, you.

But if he catches you being too friendly (in his opinion) to, say, some bar patron, he won’t hesitate to come up and insert himself into the conversation, only to artfully insult the unfortunate person, smirking and possessively holding your hip all the while. If you think getting punched in the face by a huge Klingon for such behavior would deter him, you’d be dead wrong.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

He’s a wonderful kisser – and very intense. Your first kiss happened in the middle of a heated argument, one moment you were getting in each other’s face, angrily flushing pink and aubergine respectfully, and the next you’re furiously kissing and knocking down the nearby furniture in an attempt to pin the other to the wall.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

Not in a healthy way, I’m afraid. For the longest time, he would be in denial as to the nature of his feelings towards you. Lust, he could understand – but you seem to behave in a way that implies deeper feelings. Out of curiosity, he would let himself get closer to you, and after a while he’d discover with great surprise that he has developed feelings towards you as well. Weaknesses like that tended to get one killed in the Dominion (and that’s the best-case scenario), and despite the big changes after the war, that fear would still be fresh in his mind. But even regardless of that, getting seriously involved with someone would bring out a myriad of other fears and insecurities. What if it doesn’t work out? What if he opens up to you and that scares you off? What if he becomes attached and something happens to you? It’s safer not to get involved. Without explanation, he’d start avoiding you, thereby hurting your feelings, and one night when you’re crying, drinking wine and nursing your broken heart, you decide that enough is enough and you deserve an explanation. You march to his quarters and barge in as soon as the doors slide open, to Keevan’s astonishment and slight indignation (since when are you so bold?). After that, there’s a lot of shouting, finger pointing and angry confessions, followed by passionate kissing. The next morning, you’d hear a whisper that sounds a lot like ‘I love you’ while you’re still half-asleep in his bed, but you’re not sure if that really happened or if you dreamt it.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

If you want to get married, you’re going to have to explain to him the significance of that ritual because Keevan doesn’t really understand why you need to involve the government, or even worse – god – in your personal affairs. Although your explanation won’t likely change his mind on the matter, if he sees that you really, really want to get married, he’ll concede. But under no circumstances will Keevan agree to a religious ceremony of any sort – his experiences with gods (i.e. the Founders) have embittered him to any form of religion, so he’ll never sully the matter of such intimacy and importance as your union with mentions of any god, be they real or imaginary.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Pet, darling, sweet thing. Princess, in certain situations (😉). He starts out using the nicknames sarcastically, but at some point it becomes one of his ways to show genuine affection towards you.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious to others? How do they express their feelings?

At first, Keevan in love seems even more aloof than usual. His thoughts keep returning to you, thinking and overthinking everything, imagining all the ways your relationship could go wrong and even more ways it could go right.

The others truly start to notice the changes in his behavior only when he’s with you. His movements gain a bit more grace and sensuality, he doesn’t pass up an opportunity to make a clever snarky comment where he otherwise wouldn’t have bothered. He subtly puts himself in your personal space and holds your gaze for meaningful lengths of time. In other words, he is infatuated with you, which is obvious to everyone present.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

PDA? Yes, please! Keevan’s displays of affection border on exhibitionistic. If you’re too embarrassed, he’ll tone it down, of course - but not by much, so you might as well forget about having any shame at all when he’s around. While he doesn’t tend to be too clingy in public, he thinks nothing of groping your ass if the mood strikes him, undressing you with his eyes or whispering suggestively into your ear and making you blush. Bragging about you and showing you off is par for the course.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship

Keevan has an uncanny ability to stay level-headed in dangerous situations, and years of serving as a field supervisor have taught him to always have a plan B, C and ideally ten more, just in case. So if anything happens, you can rely on him to get you both out of trouble.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

While not romantic in a classical sense, Keevan does try to keep you happy in his own way. He prefers to hide the true amount of effort he puts into the seemingly little things he’s doing for you – what it’s like to hear the whispers about his race when you’re on a date on a Federation planet, or how draining it is to socialize with your friends (you have to threaten not to talk to him for a week if he doesn’t behave civilly).

Aside from that, Keevan likes to make an occasional grand gesture to impress you – there’s nothing he loves more than seeing the awe and admiration in your eyes and hearing you praise him. Basically, flattery will get you anywhere with this Vorta.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

He knows that you’re talented enough to excel at anything you put your mind to. If you want to advance your career, he can offer you plenty of useful (if sometimes unethical) advice on how to do that quickly. But if you want him to actually do something to help, you’re going to have to ask veeery nicely. In rare cases he does help without being asked - but don’t get used to it.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice up your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Over the iterations, Keevan was known to be, shall we say, adventurous, so there isn’t much that is truly new to him. The only thing that’s actually novel is the significance of the relationship. Did he ever wake up in bed with an attractive stranger? Sure, many times. Had he ever woken up next to the person he loves? You are the first. He wants to relish every new thing he gets to experience with you, so he isn’t in a hurry to try out everything all at once.

U nderstanding - How well do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Keevan isn’t terribly empathetic, but he can read the cues pretty well if he wants to – a skill that is essential for any Vorta to acquire if they want to survive past their first iteration. For all his supposed indifference, Keevan has learned a lot about you pretty early on after you’ve first met, and if you weren’t so love-struck, you’d have probably found it suspicious. At times, it can be irritating how well he knows you, especially when he’s acting smug about it.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Once upon a time, Keevan had a career, and a rather successful one at that. Unfortunately, it was a career in a fascistic interstellar empire serving merciless gods – this kind of thing gets you disillusioned sooner rather than later. Still, his work had its moments, and having left the Dominion he had been missing the opportunity to apply himself.

But the freedom has granted him a choice – for the first time, he could decide what he wants to do. That freedom is just as important to him as your relationship, and the fact that you’re supporting him and helping him discover the new possibilities means more to Keevan than you can possibly imagine.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Keevan is a very tactile person by nature, which may come as a surprise because due to his past he’s had to learn to survive without closeness. At the earlier stages of your relationship he’d be pretty wary of platonic affectionate gestures, but as he becomes more comfortable around you, you’ll notice the casual touches becoming more frequent – he’d put his chin on your shoulder from behind to see what you’re reading on your PADD, thoughtfully trace your brow with his finger or play with your hair. Also, good luck trying to get out of bed without waking him – if you try to wriggle out of his embrace, he’ll only tighten his arms around you and mumble something unintelligible in Vortawa.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

By making everyone around him miserable. By moping around in your quarters and passive-aggressively destroying the knickknacks on your shelves (and later claiming that it was an accident).

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Oh yes. Great, borderline creepy length. Out of the two of you, you are the only one who actually has morals (and the longer you are with Keevan, the more the lines will start to blur), so he won’t have any qualms doing whatever needs to be done for your relationship. The only thing that could give him pause is if he knows you might not forgive him for doing something particularly amoral - but on the other hand, what you don’t know won’t hurt you.

. ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

dedicated to the wonderful @stay-neurotic , the originator of Keevan thirst on tumblr dot com

#Keevan #Vorta #fluff alphabet #keevan x reader #star trek

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deepspacedukat · 2 years

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Ooh ooh! 9 & 12 (and if you're feeling up for it, 14) for the ask game! 💙🥺

Hey, friend! 💙 Oh, those are some good questions!

9. What inspired you to write your first fic?

Well, my first ever fanfic was on my main Loki blog in 2014, and that was inspired by the song “Demons” by Imagine Dragons. In regards to the first fic on this particular blog, that was the first chapter of “Terok Nor,” and that was inspired by the DS9 two-parter “The Maquis.”

12. What is your favorite theme/subject matter/trope/ship to write about? Why?

Oh gosh, I love writing about a lot of things, but I suppose if I look over my writing, the theme/subject/whatever that comes up a lot and that I really love writing about is when a romantic/sexual tension finally comes to a head for the first time between people who’ve been pining for a long time. That rush relief when two people kiss or confess or whatever for the first time is really fun to portray.

14. Share a snippet.

This is from an upcoming chapter of “The Only One” - Chapter 7 (yeah, yeah, I know chapter 3 is next, but 7 decided it wanted to come out of my brain first):

When I blinked slowly awake, I noticed that my pillow was not exactly a pillow, but a person in a very familiar, asymmetrical outfit. Looking up carefully, I saw a very peaceful-looking, sleeping Vorta. His arms were around me protectively even as he slumbered, and the thought brought a watery smile to my lips. Tentatively, carefully, oh-so-delicately, I placed a kiss in the dip between his collarbones.

#deepspacedukat asks #android-boyfriends #thank you fren!!!

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writingsfromstarfleet · 3 years

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Keevan - You Can Trust Me

♫ - Fall For You - Secondhand Serenade

For a lovely Anon, and you lot too, I hope you enjoy! Hugs! ♡

Keevan considered himself many things, but a trustful man, not quite. He was most certainly as far from that as one could get. Circumstances prior had dictated it, continuing through his life and work, and Keevan was comfortable keeping everyone at a distance. Which is why when you had wandered into his life, the Vorta was suspicious.

He sat alone at a darkened table in the corner of Quark's Bar, simply observing and nursing his drink. His eyes scanned over the people present; many different beings from species strewn across the quadrants, though he did notice more Starfleet uniforms dotted around than not. Keevan scoffed to himself, never having had a good thought for the Federation and its ideals. Lost in thought, his eyes fell on you and in the moment of feeling someone staring at you, your own landed on him. A small tilt of your head and a small smile were sent his way, though nothing was returned. Keevan had not realised he was staring directly at you, and pulling himself out of his little daydream he quickly looked away.

He lost himself in though for a few more minutes, and hadn't noticed you walk up to his table.

"Hello there," your greeting was filled with an upbeat tone, what Keevan would consider a 'Starfleet issue greeting'. "Mind if I join you?"

"Yes." His voice was point blank and face bored, giving every signal he could for you to leave. Still, you stood.

"Then I guess I'll sit here, then."

The sass in your voice threw him off, and for a brief moment, his eyes widened. Rare it was for someone to defy him in such a manner, that much was not uncommon when directed at Dominion members. But, here you were, a simple Starfleet officer, a cheeky grin plastered on your face and your arse on the chair beside him.

"Didn't you hear me?" he asked, voice now lower and overtly more annoyed.

"I did."

"Well, I assume you didn't understand?"

"I did."

You smirked at him and took a sip of your drink, Keevan failing to successfully take his eyes off you. The confidence you had was shocking, not in a bad way, but almost an endearing way. Keevan now was curious, the Vorta deciding he may as well question you given your decision to stay.

"So," he began, leaning back in his chair. "You must be here for something, what is it?"

"Nothing," you replied, shrugging your shoulders. "You looked lonely, I just wanted to say hi."

"I don't get lonely, I like being alone."

"Nobody likes being alone." You placed your hand over his that rested on the table, and he pulled it away with a laugh.

"Ah, the useless Federation optimism, how much more pitiful it is up close."

You furrowed your brows at his statement, countering once again to keep the conversation alive. With a graceful smile, you spoke quietly.

"You'll realise that you can't be alone forever. I know you're part of the Dominion and you work with the Jem'Hadar, I know. But one day, you'll come to see that being on your own will get you nowhere. 'Tough guys' need people, too."

With that, you left him, and he let you go. Keevan sat a while longer. Your words ran through his mind on repeat, over and over until he felt almost maddened. 'As if I need anybody, I never have and I never will.' His thought process and the small shred of wonder of you ceased into nothing more than annoyance, and he swiftly made his exit from Quarks.

Through the week, you saw him here and there, fleeting glances at each other as you passed on the Promenade or looks through narrowed eyes across rooms. Keevan was fascinated with you, more so with your want to be around him so much. It put fear in him that you were up to something, that you weren't being truthful with him. Silly it may seem to others, but that was how he was conditioned; trust simply was not in his nature. Your words in Quark's played on his mind, and soon enough he realised how much truth there actually was in them.

It was late, just how late the Vorta knew not. Keevan had found himself alone, sitting on a window ledge well out of the view of anyone aboard the station. As he looked out onto the stars before him, he sighed to himself.

"Can't sleep?" came a quiet voice, spoken with enough gentleness so as not to startle him. Keevan's head turned to see you leaning against the framework, smiling down at him. He tutted.

"I was merely enjoying the view."

You laughed at his blunt words, strolling over to him and seating yourself in front of him. He sat upright, you opted for crossed legs as you leaned against the wall to mirror him.

"Please, I can tell you're upset from a quadrant away. What's wrong?" Your sincerity threw him, and it took him a while to answer, as though some part of him was considering it.

"Nothing, I assure you, and if there were, I would never consider telling a total stranger what was lurking in my head."

Keevan turned once more to gaze at the galaxy, you took the time to study him more. He was handsome, that much you knew. Perhaps your want to help came from an attraction to him, of that you were not sure. What you were sure of, however, was that it was more to do with how much sadness you saw in him. Your natural instinct was to help, despite the counter of his nature, which was to refuse. It only made you more determined. Somewhere in him, you saw a man who wanted help, but who couldn't ask for it.

Bringing yourself back to the current moment, you leant forward and placed a hand on his knee. That got his attention, and Keevan glanced down at your hand in minor shock.

"Then don't let me be a stranger. Come on, take my hand. You can trust me, Keevan."

He sat staring at your hand, the foreign feeling of a caring touch refusing to sink in to his brain. Could he let someone in like this? Talk to someone about his feelings, his thoughts. Share his experiences with someone. All this he wondered, before making his decision. The Vorta sat up, straighter than before, and took your hand carefully. He held it in his, relishing the warmth that came from you. Your face cracked into a wholesome smile.

"Thank you." His voice was barely a whisper, and you were sure that had there been any more noise you would not have heard him.

"No, thank you."

From that moment on, you had shown Keevan that not everyone was untrustworthy, that not everyone was out to get him or use him. You taught him that often times, people care for others in ways they can't explain, and that they genuinely do wish to help. You made him realise that he was worth something, more than he could have known. Most of all, you had instilled in him a new emotion, one of true compassion and understanding, and that was something Keevan would never forget.

#star trek #star trek imagine #star trek x reader #star trek deep space nine #star trek ds9 #deep space nine #ds9 #keevan #keevan x reader #keevan imagine #x reader #imagine

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croc-odette · 4 years

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i love ds9 and here are some episode premises that i wish had happened

DND EPISODE: already talked about this but a dungeons and dragons holosuite episode. jake is the overly prepared DM obviously, nog, ziyal, and alexander are players. nog’s player is clearly his idea of sisko, a lawful good paladin; ziyal plays as a cardassian rogue (played by dukat, but clearly based in personality on kira); alexander plays a mage who is kind-of worf kind-of jadzia and keeps switching between them through the game). there’s an NPC version that’s clearly also based on sisko at one point, but from jake’s point of view knowing him as his dad to compare how differently jake and nog, a cadet, see him.

as the game progresses, it becomes clear that the Big Bad is based on a combo of dukat/winn (corrupt government/religious figure). ziyal struggles with the classic DND question of ‘just because i would do this, does that mean my character would?’ except she’s realizing that her dad wouldn’t do any of the selfless things she wants her character to do. alexander keeps trying to solve shit through weird cantrips or puzzle solving instead of fighting and jake is like ‘it’s not deep it’s just a cave bat please roll initiative’. bashir and garak show up as like, the old couple from the princess bride and everyone has to be like ‘jake they’re not dating in real life this rpf shit is kind of inappropriate’ and he’s like ‘wait what? i thought they were dating’. miles is an NPC and dies. nog thinks jake’s-sisko-npc is too silly and disrespectful and jake is like ‘he’s MY dad’ and they have to take a break to argue about it and jake is like ‘your dad is cool too’. nog’s character changes to lawful good paladin rom. actually this whole game is ‘arguing about dads’ time now that i think about it, which jake is not really equipped to jump in on since he has a normal cool dad who he basically just thinks is embarrassing because he’s the ~messiah~ or some goofy bullshit. ends with them calling it a day after the final boss battle and then jake and nog privately talking about whether or not they can trust ziyal if she has to choose between ds9 and dukat, which was an ulterior motive of the game. ziyal is clearly clearly rattled by what the game made her realize and goes to see kira, who she doesn’t tell about the game but who still gives her a hug, and ziyal realizes that kira’s her hero (and like, her mom). alexander tells worf and dax about the game and dax thinks it sounds fun as hell and asks alexander if they can come next time, and worf is like ‘....... only if i can be a blood mage’. nog and jake go home and tell their dads they love them.

shit i blacked out

PRANK WAR EPISODE: escalating series of pranks starting with jadzia putting hair dye in bashir’s shampoo and ending with the space station accidentally going into a meltdown self destruct scenario. garak is torn between helping jadzia and quark, who are clearly the better pranksters, or helping julian and odo, who suck at pranks but are his lunch friends. everyone has to tell garak that he’s way too intense about ‘pranks’ which are actually just really dangerous booby traps he puts in people’s quarters. sisko ends the episode by grounding everyone; no holosuites for a month!! yes even dax

GREAT RACE EPISODE: there’s some kind of macguffin resource on a planet (a klingon escape pod with a survivor with crucial intelligence information?), but they can’t teleport directly to it. a vorta and jem h’dar team and a ds9 team beam down on opposite sides of its location and are both racing to get there first, having to macgyver together vehicles and tools on the way. lots of excellent outdoor on-location settings and comparison of the jem h’dar/vorta dynamic and the ds9 federation dynamic. ends with the jem h’dar almost winning but turning on the vorta at the last few yards, and sisko’s team beams out as the jem h’dar chant victory. no i refuse to think this is same plot as ‘the ship’ or whatever

KASIDY EPISODE: set earlier in kasidy/sisko’s relationship, kasidy agrees to go with jadzia as a third-party observer to negotiations with a nearby bajoran colony over a trade agreement with the federation. jadzia and kasidy bond over gossiping about sisko on the way, but once they get there kasidy disagrees with the starfleet’s contract during negotiations which causes tensions, and recommends that the bajorans reject it. she and jadzia get into an argument about starfleet and its ideals, and why kasidy chose to be an independent captain rather than a starfleet captain, and how that doesn’t make her lesser than starfleet captains. jadzia realizes that kasidy is right and petitions superiors for a new contract, which kasidy approves of. they go home tenser then when they left, but when sisko asks jadzia what she thinks of kasidy, she very seriously says that she has incredible compassion, intelligence, and integrity, and that she doesn’t need or want jadzia’s approval. but has it anyway

MUSICAL EPISODE: someone already outlined a great musical ep where lwaxana comes in with a betazoid cold and it makes everyone burst into song in another text post and like 100% cosigned

SHAKESPEARE EP: holosuite shenanigans; every character is suddenly stuck as someone from a different shakespeare play. garak is an enthusiastically combative beatrice, kira is cordelia, worf is hamlet, jadzia is a very amused katerina, julian is puck, miles is duncan (”i get MURDERED?”), odo is benvolio and kind of bummed he’s not romeo, etc. i actually don’t know any shakespeare play that well but i think it could be neat. julian is the only fucking person on ds9 who actually knows any of it well enough to figure out what’s going on, except for sisko who doesn’t really care for shakespeare but generally knows about the plays (maybe a good opportunity to talk about the racism in most ‘classic Earth’ pop culture that star trek tends to uphold without criticism). i don’t know shit about the 40 plays that shakespeare wrote about british kings but i could see sisko ending up in that kind of intense role and refusing to play into it, as do the rest of the characters who refuse to fulfill their respective roles and instead find another way to end the program.

KLINGON OPERA EPISODE: goodddddddd can we see some klingon opera, mac. i’ve been dying to see some klingon opera. premise is they believe that someone is assassinating ambassadors and so they tag along with a andorian ambassador who loves opera to see if they can figure out who the assassin is, however the andorian plays it down as over-worrying and that they should use it as an excuse to enjoy themselves. worf and jadzia go and have a lovey dovey time, sisko and kasidy go and have a lovey dovey time watching worf and jadzia get super into the opera together. julian is asked to go in case there’s poison used or first aid needed, and miles is like ‘the last time i went undercover i came home with trauma and someone’s cat so no thanks i hate klingon opera’ and after some increasingly overt passive aggressive implications that julian should take HIM, julian asks garak to go with him. bonus points if for some reason they are wearing the stupid tuxedos from doctor bashir i presume. a lot of loud arguing about the opera which almost gets them kicked out. at the end of the first act, one of the actors DOES try to kill the andorian but jadzia jumps in front of the phaser beam (cue worf being very concerned and annoyed that she could have gotten killed, jadzia being very smug and pleased with herself, her head in his lap, in a pose mirroring an earlier couple in the opera). julian feels like he would have noticed if he hadn’t been distracted by garak, and when it turns out the andorian ambassador has sensitive info about cardassia’s civilian government, julian accuses garak of intentionally trying to distract him to make sure the andorian actually died, which turns into a huge argument (ideally in a very opulent klingon opera house bathroom). during the argument, julian realizes that garak was trying to hint to him that something about the assassination attempt was off; he pieces together aloud that the andorian and the actor must have been in league together, to fake the andorian’s assassination so they could not be tried for profiteering by illegally selling weapons to the cardassian central control during bajoran occupation, which they are currently under investigation for. the other ambassador assasinations were planned by the andorian to cover their tracks. the andorian is arrested, as is the actor. at the ballroom afterparty, sisko and kasidy, in a good mood that everything worked out, agree to join in on traditional klingon dancing. worf and jadzia take a peaceful walk through the gardens and worf recites some really lovely klingon poetry about how sometimes it’s NOT a good day to die if someone loves you, that none of us fucking understand without looking it up. julian and garak talk on the balcony, and julian posits that garak is loyal to cardassia, but which part of it? garak answers, very close and meaningfully looking at julian, ‘like most things... it’s complicated.’

i was about to say ‘fake wedding episode’ but literally LITERALLY that was the shotgun wedding lwaxana/odo ep. i love star trek

KEIKO BOTANIST EPISODE: kira accompanies keiko to bajor to help find a medicinal plant that was thought to be wiped out during the occupation but might still exist in a remote mountain region based on local reports. a nice episode where we learn more about bajor and see how bajorans are coping and healing. over a campfire, kira thanks keiko for accepting her into their family. keiko tells kira that she was really intimidated by her when they first met, and then realized she’s one of the most loving people she knows. just a nice episode, maybe some mild nature survival conflict, but ends on a hopeful note of them finding the plant. miles beams down with the kids to have a picnic with keiko and kira, and kira’s happy to see children playing carelessly on bajor again.

JAKE AND ZIYAL EPISODE: everyone thinks jake and ziyal are dating because they’ve been hanging out. julian’s an idiot and mentions to sisko ‘must be hard, huh’ and sisko’s like ‘WHAT must be hard’ and julian’s like oh my god were we not supposed to talk to him about this. jake and ziyal aren’t dating but as soon as sisko tries to talk to jake about it jake is like ‘i’m not but actually maybe i SHOULD ask her out’ and sisko is like fuck. okay no that’s fine. this is more of a B-plot but basically give jake and ziyal age-appropriate love interests they’re both RIGHT there

#i'm really about to write fake screenplays for episodes for a tv show that ended 20 years ago #star trek blogging #THIS GOT OUT OF HAND.

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weerd1 · 5 years

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Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1909.22, Supplemental: Missions Reviewed, “Treachery, Faith, and the Great River,” “Once More Unto the Breach,” “The Siege of AR-558,” “Covenant,” and “It’s Only Paper Moon.” (For Aron.)

“Treachery, Faith, and the Great River” begins with Odo receiving word from a Cardassian informant he thought was executed that they need to meet. He informs Kira (while massaging out her sore muscles after spingball, godamighty) that he’s going alone, and take a Runabout to see if he can find the man. Meanwhile repairs are behind on the station and the Defiant, and Sisko demands O’Brien have them all completed when he gets back from a conference on Bajor. O’Brien is stymied, not having the parts he needs, when Nog offers to get them.

He just needs Chief’s access codes to make the right trades to make it happen. Odo arrives at the rendezvous to find Weyoun, who wants to defect. While they are heading back to DS9, they are hailed from Cardassia by…Weyoun and Damar. Turns out the Weyoun of the last couple of years died in an transporter accident. The Weyoun 6 clone is the defector, and Weyoun 7 wants him hunted down. Damar says they must destroy the ship, but Weyoung 7 knows the Jem’Hadar will never fire on Odo. Damar mentions they don’t have to know he’s on board. Kira calls on O’Brien to explain why the Captain’s desk is missing, and Worf and Martok want to know why their bloodwine is gone. Confronting Nog, the Ferengi explains that the universe is governed by the Great Material Continuum, running like a river from places with too much of a thing to places with not enough of a thing. He is counting on the river to get them their parts, with a little help from Ferengi trade practices. After one Jem’Hadar ship is defeated with Weyoun 6’s command, the Female Changeling confronts Weyoun 7 and Damar about what’s going on. Damar notices that the Changeling doesn’t look right, she looks dried out. As soon as he mentions it, she changes and demands they get Weyoun 6. Six meanwhile, with Odo and cornered by Jem’Hadar reveals that the Founders are sick, all of them. He defected to make sure Odo was ok, and tell him that HE will be the last Founder, and de facto leader of the Dominion if the other die; and opportunity to reconstruct the Dominion as an organization of cooperation and peace. To Weyoun 7 to call off the attack, Six activates a built in suicide pill, and Seven is true to his word. Six asks Odo for his blessing as he dies, and indeed the clone dies in the arms of his God, his faith rewarded.

On DS9, O’Brien expects to be derided when called to Sisko’s office, but Nog is there, as is the captain’s desk, and the repair parts are in the hanger. As they leave ops Worf and Martok appear. Somehow Nog as replaced their bloodwine with vintage 2309, far better quality than what they had before. O’Brien is amazed, but Nog cites the Great Material River, HIS faith rewarded.

The A and B stories here almost get equal time, but there are a lot of great reveals here. The fact the Founders basically uplifted a group of timid tree apes to create the Vorta; the Vorta’s cloning practices; the fact the Founders are ill (there will be some more dire revelations about this later). All those heavy moments balance well with the Nog/O’Brien storyline. Now, I have to tell you. This episode as a toy and nerd collector affected me deeply, and to this day, it is my policy that if someone really takes a shine to something in my collection, I pass it on to them. I like to call it, “casting it into the great material river.” Whenever there is a hole on my shelf, something show up to take its place. I have faith my toys end up in the hands they should.

Kor comes to DS9 to ask Worf to help him go “Once More Unto the Breach.” Kor has been marginalized in the war, and has not been able to seek glorious combat. Worf asks Martok if there is place for Kor, but Martok is incensed. Years before, Martok’s career was almost derailed before it could begin by Kor because the House of Kor was a great one, noble, and Martok was little more than a farm boy. Worf convinces him to allow Kor on as Third Officer in a mission to raid a Cardassian base.

When Martok describes the plan, Kor states it was the same one he and Kang (last seen with Kor in “Blood Oath” way back in season 2, and before that on TOS) against the Federation in the previous century. The crew is overly respectful of Kor, D’Har Master, much to Martok’s chagrin. When the actual fight happens though, Martok and Worf are incapacitated, and Kor takes over, losing himself and thinking he is back in battle against the Federation and Kang is on his way to help. When Worf and Martok retake control, Kor is shamed and abashed, but their small fleet is also being pursued by ten Jem’Hadar ships. Worf devises a plan to stop them, but it will cost a ship. If that ship can stop even a few of the enemy ships, the others might escape. Worf plans to take command, but Kor knocks him out with a hypo, beaming to the bird of prey that will face the Jem’Hadar. Martok monitors the battle, amazed at Worf’s bravery, but Worf appears on the bridge, informing him it is Kor in battle.

They watch amazed, waiting for whatever ships Kor cannot stop to pursue them. None do. Though it cost his life, Kor destroys all ten Jem’Hadar vessels, leaving Martok’s crew—and Martok himself—to drink and sing songs of Kor’s victory, knowing they will see him in Sto-Vo-Kor.

Another great Klingon episode, and a great end for the always entertaining, and slightly mad, Kor. This it turns out was also John Colicos’ final acting role, and what a note to go out on. The heroic battle is pure Klingon here too. The tension between noble houses and minor houses on Qo’noS is interesting, as it will also factor heavily into “Discovery” in its first season, specifically with the House of Kor dealing with Voq, son of none. There are also a few nice moments between Kor and Ezri, who seems to immediately accept Dax as Dax. Perhaps he adapted better having already dealt with the change from Curzon to Jadzia, however even then he was rather quick to accept her. An interesting quirk for someone so adherent to Klingon noble traditions.

“The Siege of AR-558” has the Defiant bringing supplies to a Starfleet outpost in the Chin’Toka system, which has not been easily held. The outpost has captured a Dominion communications array, and hope to crack it, but have been too busy defending it against repeated attacks. On the mission is Quark at the behest of the Nagus who wants a report on the state of the war. It isn’t good. These people have been defending this outpost for five months; two months longer than a tour is supposed to be. They were 150 people, they are now down to about 40. They are constantly falling victim to “Houdini mines,” small floating explosives that hang in subspace and randomly appear and explode, perhaps somewhere you’ve walked a hundred times.

Nog is impressed by the battle hardened humans here, but Quark warns him these are not the cuddly Earthers he knows. “…take away their creature comforts… deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers… put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time… and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people will become as nasty and violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don't believe me? Look at those faces, look at their eyes…" When the Dominion attacks the Defiant, Worf pulls back, leaving Sisko, Bashir, Nog, Dax, and Quark on the surface to help defend the base. Ezri befriends Kellin (played by Lost in Space and Babylon Five’s Bill Mumy) who is trying to crack the mine problem, and they start to work. Sisko sends Nog out on a scouting mission with two of the Soldiers here, and though they get a good look at the Jem’Hadar base, one is killed and Nog loses his leg. Bashir plays Vic Fontaine music as they await the attack, but when Ezri and Kellin get control of the mines, Sisko uses them on the Jem’Hadar, thinning their numbers before the attack. One of the Jem’Hadar makes it to where Nog lies wounded, Quark himself shoots him down.

When all is said and done, Kellin is dead, but reinforcements and engineers arrive, allowing the one survivor of the original group to leave with the Defiant.

A grim and powerful episode that aims to look war right in the face. Quark’s speech I quote here is really fantastic, but comes back to haunt him when he too, put in the corner, is willing to shoot to kill, to protect. Ezri questioning Sisko’s decision to turn the mines they were just condemning on the enemy calls into question what is fair in war, but also leaves you as a viewer to decide if it was the right decision or not. The Starfleet trooper with Jem’Hadar Ketracel White bottles, ripped from his enemies’ bodies, brings to mind the Klingon was saw in “Soldiers of the Empire” with Cardassian neck bones as a necklace. At least it isn’t body parts, but DS9 does not flinch here, and it is a better story for it. Nog losing his leg will come into play again very soon as well. Back on TOS, Kirk would occasionally refer to himself and other Starfleet members as “Soldiers.” Here we see that’s true; makes you wonder if they plan to bring back the Marines we saw in STVI: The Undiscovered Country (the Colonel of course was played by Rene Auberjonois!).

Kira is visited by an old friend, Vedek Fala, in “Convenant.” He gives her a gift which turns out to be a transponder that allows her transport across the sector to the previously abandoned sister station to DS9, Empok Nor. There she finds her Vedek is actually part if the cult of the Pah-Wraits, who feel the Prophets turned their back on Bajor. In charge of the cult, she finds Dukat, who feels since he once housed Kost Amojan that he now has been touched by the Pah-Wraiths, and chosen to lead their people.

Fala shows her the Bajorans here are completely under Dukat’s sway. Indeed there is one pregnant woman, who with her husband have only been allowed to have kids because Dukat has allowed it. Kira is less than convinced, but Fala persists telling her the Prophets have lied about the Pah-Wraits and they are peaceful. Dukat meanwhile tells Kira he has changed, and he loves his people. She points out he has set up some weird simulation of what he lost, commanding a station like Terok Nor, with a horde of Bajorans who love him. This proves startlingly true when the pregnant mother gives birth to a half-Cardassian baby. Dukat claims it is a miracle and a sign, but there are some doubters. He meets with the woman, apologizing for the “weakness” that allowed him to father her child, but when she says no one else knows, he tries to flush her out an airlock.

Kira and Fala come along and save her, but now Dukat must act. He locks Kira in her room and is going to take poison with all of his followers so they can “shed their bodies” to help the Pah-Wraiths enter the Celestial Temple. Kira breaks out and tackles Dukat just as he was going to take the first pill, knocking his from his hand. When Fala hands him just another one out of the box, Dukat won’t take it, and they all realize he was going to let them die and go on. He tells them it was what the Pah-Wraiths wanted, but they aren’t having it, and he has to beam away. Fala meanwhile takes his pill and dies in Kira’s arms, telling her it was because of “faith.”

Dukat going full blown cult-leader is right in line with his arrogance and his ego. It’s just another example to me though that one of the bets DS9 misses is having Kira kill Dukat at the end of the series. Yes, this sets him to as a vessel of the Pah-Wraiths, an Anti-Emissary, but I thing all the personal grudges with Kira deserve a better resolution. And for those who freak out over Scotty building an interplanetary transporter in the Kelvin Timeline, here’s one at work with Dominion tech in 2374, 13 years BEFORE Spock will go back in time and teach KY Scotty how to finish his. For that matter, before the Voyager will show up in just a couple of years with Borg Transwarp tech too. The Kelvin Timeline works if you just look at the details.

Finally, fandom tonight watched “It’s Only a Paper Moon” as a tribute to Aron Eisenberg’s passing, so I made sure I got this far. Nog returns to the station with his new bio-synthetic leg, but it hurts him and he must walk with a cane. All his medical checks show fine though, and he is interested in doing nothing but lying in bed and listening to Vic Fontaine sing “I’ll Be Seeing You,” the song Bashir played in “The Siege of AR-558.” When Jake can’t take more than three days of that song on repeat he confronts Nog, who leaves and goes to the Holosuite to hear Vic sing it. Nog decides to stay and live in the holosuite for a while. Ezri is skeptical, but Vic mentions he will take care of the kid. Indeed, Vic helps wean him off his cane, and gives him something to do by letting him do the casino’s “books.” Nog though seems so comfortable he won’t come out. Ezri asks Vic when he’s going to be done with him, and Vic seems to realize he too has become dependent on Nog; usually, he’s only on for a few hours at a time, but with Nog there 26 hours a day, he is now constant.

Realizing he’s putting his own needs first, Vic shuts down the program himself. Nog tries to get it running again, but can’t, but Vic appears to ask him about it. Nog says he doesn’t want to go back to the real world because he’s afraid, as anything could happen. Vic tells him that’s life, and why you have to seize it when you can, and indeed why he was happy to have Nog there. It’s time though, time for Nog to seize it for real. Nog leaves without his cane, and reunites with his family. Later, back in uniform Nog visits and tells Vic he has a present for him. Nog has made a deal with Quark, and this holosuite will continue to run full time, allowing Vic a life. Nog knows it’s the least he can do since Vic helped him get his own life back.

Bittersweet to watch tonight, but a great episode that takes a long look at the trauma of war and the mental scars that can be far worse than the physical ones. The continued development of Vic Fontaine as a sentient lifeform is interesting, able to control who does and does not use his program. Still self aware though that there are times he is “off.” Aron Eisenberg is of course terrific and this is an important episode for Nog, demonstrating why this was the episode his friends, fans, and family chose to commemorate him.

NEXT VOYAGE: The Orion Syndicate has come back for O’Brien, and somehow the Tigan family is involved. The Tigans are Ezri’s family before she was joined; she comes home in “Prodigal Daughter.”

#Star Trek #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #DS9 Rewatch #aron eisenberg

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blindtolove · 5 years

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lucio needs more luv

it's weak, he knows, but no matter how rich or respected or hated he is, he knows he's clinging on desperately, pathetically, on the complicated feelings of slight affection that they have for him, unlike the cocky and spoiled demeanour he is.

they stay because of their hearts, but lucio knows it's weak, the love's- if that could even be called love- is so fragile, weak enough for them to actually let him go and walk forward without looking back. but everyday he hopes, clings unlike himself, for their affection and care.

nadia, after the incidents, doesn't talk to him much. they're still married by law, but she spends her time over vesuvia and her court. lucio doesn't blame her, but he treasures everytime nadia sends a servant to come in to give him his tea than not at all. if he's lucky, he'll see her slight smile, before looking away.

at this point no one talks to him much except for the servants, and those are forced summons from nadia or him. his place in vesuvia is useless, he is not a count by respect. he hates himself, stays in his room all day with the curtains drawn but the sun shining through the window.

he does get sick most of the time, probably because of the after effects of the curse, and lucio knows everyone thinks he's a burden. but he craves, and he takes greedily, whatever feeling is left for him.

on rare occasion, he goes out to the maze, wandering within. the servants all bow, but it doesn't have the same feeling anymore. they leave him alone in the maze quickly, and he is lost there within the leaves.

lucio spends more and more of his time in the maze after he found the fountain. he sees the apprentice's name carved on a nearby tree, he sees a slither of blue within the branches. this place is not his, and who knew how much it contained. but he spends a lot of time there, just breathing, for hours. the servants don't bother to check on him, and he is alone.

once, julian meets him there, at the fountain, rather accidentally. he stumbles through the last passageway and stops, quite abruptly when he sees him. lucio sees him too. he doesn't know how to react, to see his past doctor- they have too much history. so lucio tries his best to smile at him, however rather tiredly, and julian looks disorientated. lucio leaves the fountain and him, for good. he doesn't want to cause julian anymore trouble.

he wanders the hallways, lavish and sparkling, a cruel and constant reminder of the past and the present both. he lingers in the hallway to his room like a ghost. lucio has trained his footsteps to be as light as possible- he might as well be a real ghost considering no one bothers about his existence. he dwells on the paintings, all new, some old, if not destroyed by the incidents. the big painting hanging in the dining room is still there, the goat's red eyes staring unnervingly at him and making him shudder. lucio wonders, and wonders, and thinks.

he is a ghost, a shadow, a shell of his self. nadia goes on with her life, the apprentice- he heard within the servants' gossip the heroine was called reyna- comes and visits and talks with asra in the hall, on the balcony, sharing laughs with asra and nadia. asra appears at the fountain sometimes, taking lucio aback. he never says much, but lucio senses the pity in his gaze. and he doesn't like it, but clings to it all the same, cause it's the only mark and evidence that someone cared.

he starts talking to the paintings. to himself. to the bare walls in his room, to the water in the fountain. all to keep him alive. lucio visits the library, his makeshift abode. he doesn't go near the mechanism to the dungeon- he just wanders, again. he wanders, and thinks, and talks. he flips through the pages of a book reverently, the magic- magic- aura and the comforting smell from slightly dusty tomes. julian's table is swept clean, so is asra's nest of pillows. lucio thinks he isn't supposed to be here anymore, intruding on a personal memory kept in time. the dust shines through the window and lands on the wood of julian's desk, and lucio knows that nothing belongs to him anymore.

he longs to go outside again, as in outside- the markets of vesuvia and so on. but he knows people don't want him. he is not the ruler they want, however he still is, only thanks to nadia's position. wants to get out from this slightly warped prison. the colors of the jewels getting too bright for him. the silk getting too smooth and taking a dreamy and lucid quality to it. he needs a reminder to his reality.

lucio plans. he takes on a hood, runs out from the other passageway in the maze. he's sure asra saw him, but he doesn't care. he needs reprieve. he sees the people, the different textures brushing across his skin, hears the bustling sounds, and it's so overwhelming from his years in the palace he almost cries on the spot. he walks on, blending in effortlessly. he longs to speak to others, maybe sit down and get something worthwhile to remember this before it fades away in the luxury that he is sick of. but lucio knows he can't be greedy. no, he can't. he has lost, and he has sowed his own fate. so lucio keeps the burning urge tucked in within the fabric of his hood, and goes back to the palace, the same route as before.

lucio does cry. he hates himself even more, cause he knows the previous lucio, the better lucio never cried and succumbed to weakness as this. but he finds himself with tears dripping into the water of the fountain, distorting the moonlight's reflection with ripples. he doesn't cry a lot, but it is more than enough. lucio is weak. lucio is pathetic. he is not what he used to be. he stays there, until dawn comes, and with dried tear stains on his pallid cheeks.

his reflection in the water is so, so different from what he was before the incident, before everything started. his hair is no longer slicked back and healthy- it has lost its sheen and color and resided to a dull blonde, slightly messy but lucio finds himself shocked to say he doesn't care anymore. his eyes almost match julian's, with eyebags, and bloodshot, however not as noticeable. it's not lucio, he thinks. but it is him all the same.

nadia drops in one day. it surprises him so much he almost trips over from getting up from his bed- it disgusts him partially cause the old lucio never ever though of doing that, but again, how is he lucio anymore? his wife gives the faintest of smiles in return as they sit down for tea. he lets nadia call for the servants, while he watches his wife change into something vastly different, and better, from the past. she is civil; lucio soaks in all the care, fake or not- it's the closest thing he'll ever get in forever. he asks about asra, julian, reyna in a soft voice- asks about her too, and vesuvia. it puzzles him as the old lucio never had a 'soft' voice, neither act and trip over heels for someone, much less his wife. nadia talks about the recent affairs, the court, valdemar and vorta, asra and julian getting together, reyna taking in a new apprentice. he muses at the years that passed by.

it ends so fast, lucio thinks, but sees her leave, her posture regal and confident. the servants clear the table, and he is left there again. alone, with himself and his thoughts.

it's been so long since he had someone talk to him. once during his wander, he had knocked into asra promptly. may have fallen down, landed on his ass. who knew the mighty count lucio could fall so ungracefully, or even fall at all. he got up on shaky limbs ( he's really getting sick these days ) flashes a weary smile to the divine magician. he sees asra is glowing, his hair still the same fluffy white and eyes still with a sparkle. how others have flourished and moved on to greater days, leaving him behind.

he's about to turn away but asra speaks up, and it almost shocks him. he's forgotten how asra sounded like, but it brings him back to the past again, before all the incidents. with julian. 'count. i assume you have been well?' and lucio halts, but still faces him.

'shouldn't need to call me count anymore, magician.' he says, almost scoffs at the polite talk. been well? just look at me and say that without lying. 'lucio then, i hope you don't mind. it's different than old days.' taking lucio's nod as a response, the magician continues on.

'i was going to extend an invitation to you, you are welcome in our shop any time, lucio. cause.. well, reyna says you need more company anyway. lucio?' lucio almost screams. his shop, with all the magic in it? how long, how long, since he has stepped out on the streets from the fleeting, blurred memory long ago?

'oh. well, i guess thanks is in order. i hope i won't inconvenience you, or reyna at all.' asra nods, his lips forming to say something, but stops. lucio buries himself deeper into his imaginary hole in the marble floor.

one month later, he finds himself within asra's shop. there's spices and some tits and tats on the shelves, magic incantations carved into the wood, a strong magic aura exuding from the doors. reyna smiles when she sees him, calls to the back of the shop. 'asra! lucio's here.' and she gives him the brightest smile he ever seen within his entire lifetime. lucio feels overwhelmed, he doesn't know how he kept it under control, but he's thankful for not weeping on the spot. asra meets him a few moments later, smiling a little. 'nice to see you, lucio. thought you forgot about my offer.' lucio shrugs, gives a wan smile back. 'i might as well see others before i leave.' 'leave?' reyna questions, but lucio doesn't give an answer. he knows asra probably figured it out already, judging on the sudden purse of his lips. 'queer. nadia didn't tell me anything about a trip.' asra says, but he doesn't pursue the subject further.

asra shuffles the cards in front of him, asks him to pick. lucio is aware his fingers are shaking. it's the same thing that caused his downfall, made him like this, so pathetic and weak. he remembers everything, how it was so tightly knit with the major arcana. why is he doing this?

when they look at the cards he chose, both their eyebrows furrow, asra's and reyna's. lucio doesn't dare look at the cards. it's a mystical thing, a changing and unreliable factor, but determines your fate all the same, he learnt that the hard way.

'lucio...' 'it's okay, asra.' he finds his tongue speaking for him, his legs leaden but he stands up, bows, and leaves. he doesn't recognize tears spilling down his eyes until he reaches the fountain, his abode, and the ripples interrupt the reflection of his face once again.

he will leave. and no one will care anymore, or need to care. he will be a forgotten name, thrown away in the dark recesses of the streets in vesuvia. he's sick, of living like he's dead.

so a few days before he leaves for good, he dons his hood again, and weaves back into the market of vesuvia. he orders something, his voice raspy. it's the pratha, the trademark bread of vesuvia, and he smells it the moment it comes out of the oven. he sits down and eats. watches vesuvia around him. the people. a cat comes and rubs his leg. bells chiming in the distance.

he wishes he could talk to the vendors like those regulars, bit lucio knows it's something he can never attain. so he isn't greedy. he settles for contented, satisfied, something the old lucio never could have felt. he's just a person, sitting and enjoying vesuvia with a whole lot of complicated history behind him.

the day comes. he tidies his bed by himself, parts the curtain, opens the windows. it's like the ritual last time. but for a good cause. he takes one longing look at the room he has resided in, the memories gushing out at him like a broken dam, skimming in his mind. time is such a complex concept, lucio thinks. he heads to find nadia.

he takes his time observing the hall, the paintings, his dogs. the grand hall, the dining room, the balcony. lucio meets nadia there too. she raises a surprised eyebrow at him, but it's good natured. lucio feels light.

'you will lead vesuvia to a better place, as if you haven't yet, nadia.' she thanks him, but doesn't ask why for the sudden comment. he retreats, then runs down to the garden, his fountain. he spends two or more hours there, watching the sky. the clouds, the leaves falling on his face. he even says goodbye to julian, when he emerges out of the passageway looking disgruntled. he watches his reflection.

sunset comes, and lucio is ready to leave. it's a daunting height below him, but lucio is not afraid. he wants to fly. he wants to be free, and wash away his guilt. like the pathetic, weak coward he is.

he watches the sky once more. thinks to himself. talks to the blue snake that slithered out of nowhere. then lucio sighs, but it's content. he's leaving.

just on cue, he hears footsteps. nadia strides up, accompanied by julian and asra. 'lucio! lucio- what in vesuvia you think you're doing-' she screams. asra just looks on, while julian's scowling.

he smiles. 'asra, can you fly?' and plunges down.

he hears nadia screaming, at asra, at him, but all lucio feels is darkness, wind cutting into his skin, and he's happy.

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dommesticpet · 7 years

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Where Does All The Time Go?

I sometimes think a good subhead for this Tumblr may be “it’s never too late.” Waiting or holding out hope for something that inflames your erotic imagination seems like an eternity, and when it comes it can be tough to know exactly what to do - but it helps when someone like @Dommestic takes the wheel, like on Sunday. The crystal on a string made a return appearance, giving what appears to be a valuable insight on the value of time.

Getting time to put in to kinky hypnosis fun can be tough - on most days our window of time not spent eating, sleeping, or otherwise working can be tallied in the dozens of minutes. This means times like Sunday afternoon are a treasure, with the swinging crystal bringing about a perfectly nice induction - which is followed by a trigger to pop awake again and watch the crystal swing again, and repeat. I think there may have been five or even six nested inductions but if they’re working, at one point or another concerns with such minutiae. There were a lot of submission suggestions. And dominant suggestions. I was compelled to do a few things, and like on Saturday she made an afternoon out of what was available to her after I awoke from the trance.

The trance itself was a spectacular experience, mostly because my ability to resist was slowly crushed through repetition and whatever forces conspired to keep me from forming coherent thoughts. If you’ve had experiences like this, I’m sure you know the feeling of being told that you will wake up completely aware and back to normal, and that you’re able to hold out and resist, and that’s exactly what you’re thinking as whatever eye fixation object captures your attention and starts to knock out your thoughts like so many Jenga blocks. The first trip down is more or less up to your willingness to sit through the induction - and if you’ve been primed by years of research and reading, you’re going to go down. The second one tests your resolve, as you’re reminded that you’re supposed to resist, and you can hold out, but it’s going to feel oh so nice once you stop resisting after another minute or two or three. By #4 or #5, it felt like I wasn’t able to give to more than a few seconds, an experience by which I could only be vaguely impressed because really able to hold on to that reaction.

As everybody seems to write on such topics, the benefits of putting some time into this kink can’t be overstated. If you’ve got a few minutes, do what you can. If you’ve got 30 minutes, you can do a lot more and it certainly feels like it pays dividends later. It’s one thing to wake up feeling refreshed and normal. It’s another thing to wake up feeling refreshed and normal, and then barely able to focus on something or someone right in front of you because you’re so used to going right back down again and again and again. It’s fun. You should do that.

Because you didn’t ask...

Right now our D/s situation is mostly confined to the bedroom (that’s where the Nova Pro 100, hypnosis chair, and bed live) and occasionally Dommestic’s car. We’ve done a little bit in my office in our house, but not much. This is probably for the best, because if you’ve ever seen it (and none of you have) it’s more distracting than a screaming clown exploding at a child’s Chuck E. Cheese birthday party.

The point being...

The subject of collars comes up on occasion. Usually when I’m compromised through the manual ministrations of Dommestic. (There hasn’t been any hypno interrogation. Or has there? There probably hasn’t.) On Sunday she brought up her desire to have one for me (gulp) and I realized that while this sounds hot, I needed clarification (and she woke up in the middle of the night while I was writing this).

The goal is to get something functional, safe, and used pretty much exclusively when we’re playing - not something to wear 24/7, not something to wear when nobody is watching, just for us as a physical reminder of the D/s roles we’re about to take on when the collar makes an appearance.

I know of one person with a septum piercing. I hear some people make the most out of Petco. I see people wearing leather wrist cuffs at work-adjacent functions and have been too polite to ask about them. I see that there are custom pieces being sold but I have all the aesthetics of a Vorta. (That’s hilarious if you like Deep Space Nine, trust me.) I rarely wear adornments like watches or jewelry of any kind. Unlike the younger me, I dare to bore you.

I assume we’re going for a neck thing, without fur because supposedly that can get gross. So my question to you folks - collars in and for the bedroom. What’s good?

#dommestic life #hypnosis

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weerd1 · 5 years

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Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1908.18: Missions Reviewed, “The Muse,” “For the Cause,” and “To the Death.”

“The Muse” begins with Jake Sisko watching the people boarding the station and creating backgrounds for them as possible fodder for writing (ah, that’s where I learned that). He sees a mysterious woman, who even seems to make eye contact with him, and later she finds him in the replimat. She says her name is Onaya, and she has always liked artists, even mentioning some recent greats whom she says she helped.

She offers to help Jake if he comes by her quarters later. Meanwhile Odo is faced with a pregnant Lwaxana Troi who is on the run from her Baby Daddy. Apparently that race practices strict gender separation for children, and though her husband told her he would not, because the baby is a boy he will take the child from Lwaxana at birth. She and Odo concoct a plan to marry to get rid of the guy, who sure enough shows up on the station. The plan works and he leaves mother and child alone.

Onaya and Jake meanwhile are hanging out in her groovy quarters, and she gets him to start working on his novel. As he writes, it becomes ever easier for him, but Onaya is feeding off his creative energies, draining him, and landing him in the infirmary. Onaya appears there and sneaks him out, hiding Jake in a storeroom as he writes and she vampires him. Sisko finds them and phasers Onaya, who turns to energy and escapes. Meanwhile, Jake has completed the first draft of the novel “Anslem,” the book that the episode “The Visitor” told us would be his classic work.

This is an episode that doesn’t seem to have a whole lot to do for either of these stories so it can’t work out which is the A story and which is the B. They seem to get even time, and neither of them are especially compelling. Not for lack of trying however. Odo does get some character development as he works out his feelings with Lwaxana, and the mention of “Anslem” does recall the best episode of the series. The guest stars are top notch with 80s SF icon Meg Foster appearing as Onaya, and Michael Ansara—formerly Kang the Klingon—as Lwaxana’s angry husband. The episode never quite gets anywhere for me, though it certainly isn’t “bad.” One more quick aside: the nurse caring for Jake is played by Patricia Tallman, whom I have mentioned before. She was Nana Visitor’s stunt double, and of course the character of Lyta Alexander on that other space station, “Babylon 5.”

“For the Cause” has Odo and Eddington come to Sisko to tell him they think there’s a Maquis smuggler on board; they think it’s the Captain’s lady friend Kassidy Yates. This is in the midst of security tightening as the Federation is about to provide some industrial food replicators to Cardassia to help them with all the Klingon-caused shortages.

Sisko is initially resistant to the idea Kassidy could be involved, but has the Defiant trail her next mission. Sure enough, her ship goes off course, and potentially meets with a Maquis vessel. Meanwhile, Garak keeps running into Tora Ziyal and is curious as to whether Gul Dukat’s daughter wants him dead. When Kira threatens Garak telling her to stay away from the girl, he takes that as a sign Ziyal is legitimately seeking company, and Kira would have no problem seeing Garak dead.

Sisko becomes determined to stop Kassidy Yates personally and captains the Defiant in pursuit. Eddington doesn’t want to be in on arresting the Captain’s girlfriend and asks to stay behind. Kassidy’s ship enters the Badlands like before, but this time seems to just keep circling in a holding pattern. After several hours Sisko has enough, decloaks and boards the Xhosha (Kassidy’s ship). She is caught red handed, but doesn’t know why her Maquis contact hasn’t shown up. Sisko realizes distracting him is the target. The return to DS9 leaving the Xhosha behind, to find that Eddington is in fact Maquis, and has stolen the replicators intended for Cardassia. He says he has joined the Maquis because the Federation has become as insidious as the Borg, now punishing planets for the one unforgivable sin: “wanting to leave paradise.” Kassidy returns to DS9 after dropping off her crew, and turns herself in, knowing she’s on her way to a Federation penal colony. She promises Ben she will be back, because she loves him.

A perfect example of the type of character work that makes DS9 great. The Kassidy Yates relationship has been building for a couple of years now, so when Odo and Eddington accuse her, we think “no way.” Well, “way” and what’s brilliant is her support of the Maquis doesn’t really make her a villain. She sympathizes with their plight, which is indeed a sympathetic cause. She though is set up by the Maquis who IS a villain, and that’s our Commander Eddington, who has played both Kassidy and Sisko. Often just one of those “extra” Starfleet guys, he’s now made himself important, and that’s something that plays well here. Later on he will really try to set himself up as Sisko’s nemesis, but he’s just a guy who betrayed his oath, and Sisko won’t let him forget that. Well executed episode that moves along the Maquis storyline well and sets us up for some future tales.

“To the Death” starts with the Defiant returning to DS9 to find the station has suffered a devastating hit from the Jem’Hadar.

Sisko tracks the ship back into the Gamma quadrant where they find a damaged Jen’Hadar ship that isn’t the one they seek. Beaming over survivors they get a squad of the Dominion’s soldiers and a Vorta named Weyoun. The Jem’Hadar who attacked DS9 have actually gone rogue, and this crew was hunting them down. Weyoun reveals to Sisko that the Company of soldiers they seek have broken off because they have found an Iconian Gateway- a portal that would allow them to transport to any planet in the Galaxy instantaneously, and they plan to use it to free themselves of the Dominion and conquer all they can. Sisko grudgingly teams up with Weyoun and company, knowing they can’t be allowed to have access to the Gateways.

When one of the Jem’Hadar stops following orders and perhaps begins to sympathize with the deserters, the Jem’Hadar “first” Omet’iklan kills him on the spot, and questions why Sisko doesn’t maintain order through lethal punishment. Weyoun wonders if Omet’iklan plans to rebel too. They attack the stronghold and manage to destroy the Gateway. There is a tense moment when it seems the allies will turn on one another when Omet’iklan kills Weyoun and decides to stay with his troops on the planet, hunting down the rest of the traitors. When asked why he killed the Vorta, it was for “questioning my loyalty.”

Some good call outs here back to the second season of TNG with the Iconians, and Worf mentions he was on the mission that found their homeworld (The TNG episode “Contagion”). We get a good look at the inner workings of the Jem’Hadar, finding out they are all test-tube babies, there are no females, and they are lethal within 3 days of birth. Those who live past age 20 are considered “honored elders.”

There is definitely a concerted effort NOT to make the Jem’Hadar sympathetic here. And of course, most importantly, we get Weyoun! Jeffrey Combs returns as the Smarmiest Vorta. According to the Memory Alpha website, Weyoun was intended to be a one-off, and Combs brought so much to it, the writers invented the idea of Vortas being clones just so they could bring him back. Also of note, the Jem’Hadar killed for his insolence is played by Brian Thompson, himself a multi-guest star having played six different characters across several Trek series, including sharing another episode during “Enterprise” with Jeffrey Combs. In that outing Thompson is Romulan Admiral Valdore (for whom the Warbird in Star Trek: Nemesis is named) and Combs as the Andorian Shran, whom I still want to see have his own series.

NEXT VOYAGE: Julian Bashir gets another chance to play frontier doctor while visiting a planet suffering from “The Quickening.”

#Star Trek #star trek: Deep Space Nine #DS9 rewatch

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weerd1 · 5 years

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Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1909.01: Missions Reviewed, “Doctor Bashir, I presume,” “A Simple Investigation,” “Business as Usual,” and “Ties of Blood and Water.”

“Doctor Bashir, I Presume” opens with Rom failing to ask Leeta out…again, much to her chagrin. Meanwhile, Chief and Bashir are playing darts when they are approached by Dr. Zimmerman from Starfleet medical, who plans to use Julian as a template for a new long term medical hologram. Zimmerman is brash, but Julian plays along until he hears Zimmerman will interview his parents.

Bashir earnestly asks Zimmerman not to, prompting him to immediately invite Richard and Amsha Bashir to the station. Julian is not happy, and begs them not to reveal “our secret.” Meanwhile Zimmerman is taken with Leeta, and not only asks her to dinner but arranges for her to take a job on Jupiter Station where she will manage her own café. Rom wishes her well, still to shy to try and stop her. Bashir’s parents find him in the infirmary and apologize, telling him they will never reveal that he was genetically enhanced as a child. After they leave, it turns out to have been the hologram, and both O’Brien and Zimmerman have heard the confession. Bashir laments to his parents how selfish they were that because he was a slow child falling behind that they had to have him illegally enhanced as to avoid embarrassment. Amsha tells him it had nothing to do with shame, and that they loved him too much to watch him suffer due to his disability. Bashir plans to turn himself in, but his father confesses, and trades two years in a penal colony for Bashir continuing his career. As Zimmerman and Leeta plan to leave, Rom catches them at the shuttle door and confesses his love for Leeta, who overjoyed tells him she loves him too.

Bashir and O’Brien play darts, and when Chief wins for the fifth time he suspects maybe the genetically enhanced Bashir is throwing the game. He tells Julian not to hold back. Julian throws three bullseyes. O’Brien decides the Doctor needs to play from a line farther from the dart board.

This episode really brings a lot of earlier inconsistencies together for Bashir- why he threw away a pro tennis career, why he threw away his shot at valedictorian, why he refused to visit or acknowledge his parents back in the episode were Odo offered to check in and he said “there’s no one there I want to see.” Interestingly enough, as much as all of this starts to make sense now, this was an almost last minute decision on the writers’ parts. Even better is how they will play forward. Interesting that Earth brought such a fear of genetic manipulation with them into the Federation after the Eugenics War. Almost four centuries later and they still insist against it. Also nice to see Rom and Leeta finally come together. They are a fun, unexpected couple, and always adorable.

“A Simple Investigation” starts with two thugs vaporizing a man in his quarters and then going to find the woman that man was supposed to meet. Odo actually finds her not knowing she may be involved in anything, and is somewhat taken with her; later she tries to use a cybernetic enhancement to break into his computer.

He questions her and she initially gives him a story about trying to find a missing daughter, but he soon finds she is carrying a data crystal that might belong to a mobster in the Orion Syndicate. He puts her under protection, hiding her in his quarters, and they soon have to admit they have feelings for one another. They share an intimate evening, and she decides to reach out to the vile gangster to return the crystal, making a deal to meet his thugs. When she is on her way, a policeman from her home planet arrives, revealing she too is law enforcement and so far deep cover in the Syndicate they have removed her memories, storing them on the crystal she is about to trade for her life. The thugs of course plant to kill her, but Odo intercedes. When her memories return, she remembers she has a husband, but tells Odo he will always have a place in her heart.

Trek takes on a noir thriller with a femme fatale for Odo in this one, and it’s OK. I’m not sure I buy Odo becoming so enthralled so quickly, but it is fun to see weird little bits of gossip—and perhaps jealousy—from Kira about the newcomer.

Odo choosing to become intimate has a shapeshifter raises questions I’m not sure I really want answers to, but he seems to make it work. The mind boggles.

“Business as Usual” for Quark as he is going broke. He is deep in debt when Cousin Gaila, the arms dealer who once tried to kill Quark, has a proposition. They will sell arms, but none of the real weapons will enter the station. They will use Quark’s high resolution holosuites to demonstrate, but all the sales will happen outside Federation space.

Sisko is furious, but none of it is technically illegal. Particularly when Quark’s main contact, Hagath, turns out to have sold weapons to the Bajoran resistance, and the government owes him a favor. Starfleet, even Dax, begins to shun Quark, who keeps trying to make excuses why it is ok. Quark can’t justify it anymore when one of Hagath’s new customers is specifically looking for weapons to allow him to kill about 28 million people. Quark decides to invite the leader of the other side of that contract to negotiations as well, and when they start shooting, negotiations are over.

Sisko confronts Quark, as now the Regent who wanted the weapons is dead, but Quark mentions that 28 million people won’t miss him. Sisko concedes it may be 28 million and one; he still bills Quark for the damage to the cargo bay.

I am always a sucker for a Quark episode, and finally getting to meet Cousin Gaila, who really is a smarmy sort. Also neat to get a guest appearance here from classic noir actor Lawrence Tierney as the Regent. We last him saw playing true to his film roots in the TNG episode “The Big Goodbye” where he was a fictional mob boss. Certainly more frightening as a genocidal ruler then a holographic gangster. Interesting to see this season play a little more with what holographic technology would be capable of between the holo communicators, an long term holo-doctor, and holographic arms deals as demonstration.

In “Ties of Blood and Water,” Cardassian Legate Ghemor, whom we last saw when Kira was kidnapped and altered to look like his daughter, comes to the station at Kira’s request to act as head of the legitimate Cardassian government in exile while the Dominion “occupation” goes on.

Ghemor is very glad to see Kira, but tells her he is not the right man to lead Cardassia from afar- he has a terminal disease and will be dead soon. When Dukat gets wind of Ghemor being on the station, he calls to demand extradition, but Sisko reminds him that The Dominion has not bothered to negotiate any diplomatic niceties with the Federation or Bajor. Kira agrees as “daughter” to listen to and be with Ghemor as he dies, allowing her to collect a great deal of knowledge about the Cardassian government as it now stands. This experience does remind her of her own father’s death, when he was wounded by Cardassians. She chose to hunt down those who did it rather than stay with her father while he died. Dukat arrives at DS9 to demand Ghemor, and brings with him the Vorta Weyoun, whom Sisko had watched die back in season 4. He reveals the Vorta are a series of clones, and the new Weyoun is just as conniving as the last.

Dukat brings information to Kira revealing that Ghemor was responsible for a massacre of monks during the occupation, after which Kira refuses to see him. Odo, and then Bashir admonish Kira, mentioning that Ghemor would have done this when he was 19, and how he has put himself on a different path to redeem those actions. Kira is forced to acknowledge that as with her father, she was looking for an excuse not to be there when he died, and chooses to return to Ghemor, taking him to the end. When he dies, Dukat wants to take the body back to Cardassia where they will reveal that Ghemor recanted his opposition to the Dominion in his final hours and give him a hero’s burial. Sisko refuses as Kira has already taken Ghemor to Bajor where she buries him with her parents.

A very intense episode for Nana Visitor and Major Kira. There is a certain realism to a character who can meet death on a battlefield every day, but can’t sit with it when it comes for a loved one slowly. Visitor plays the sadness and misplaced aggression perfectly, and really delivers at the end of the episode as she has to put what she has done into perspective. Just a great performance. And of course we get Weyoun back here! Apparently, the Vorta as clones was never a consideration until they decided they just had to get Jeff Combs back as Weyoun despite the character’s death. Good decision, and with hindsight, I am very much looking forward to at least three more Weyoun deaths.

NEXT VOYAGE: Quark and Rom’s mom has a new boyfried…the Grand Nagus? Can you hear “Ferengi Love Songs”?

#star trek #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #DS9 Rewatch

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