#Star Trek ds9

[cucumbermoon]

Garak was late to lunch that day because he was building a bomb to destroy his shop. He was eating Delavian chocolates while he made it. He saw an assassin and knew for whom the bell tolled, but he still ate his chocolates, and he still went to lunch, just a little late. Because he was making a bomb to blow himself up with.

#elim garak #who even are you #I can't with this guy #actually I can please forever #ds9 #star trek #star trek ds9 #garashir #ds9 garak

[assassinbugs]

inspired by this post, more options here. and here for low energy options.

#star trek #star trek polls #star trek tng #star trek tos #star trek snw #star trek disco #star trek discovery #star trek ds9 #polls

[lottiemilfews]

Star Trek DS9: 5x06 Trials and Tribble-ations

bonus:

#trekedit #startrekedit #star trek ds9 #ds9edit #st ds9 #jadzia dax #kira nerys #star trek deep space 9 #star trek #she would get me with this. ive never wanted her more #kicking my legs actually rn....... #every time i see her on my dash im like why havent i giffed jadzia yet . now here we are #my post #*m.gif #this isnt very sharp lol im half asleep

[trekfacility]

watching "the wire" rn yall were Not exaggerating about garashir cuz not a single heterosexual interaction has happened so far,,,..

#julian bashir #elim garak #garashir #garak x bashir #ds9 #star trek #st ds9 #star trek ds9 #deep space nine #star trek deep space nine #garak ds9

[lostyesterday]

Also please tell me your favorite femslash rarepairs in the tags!

#star trek #star trek tos #star trek tng #star trek ds9 #star trek voy #star trek discovery #star trek snw #star trek lower decks #lane posts

[sebastianmercier]

bashir’s internal monologue as he turns garak’s chin to the side to examine his wound: ha! i finally got one over on him. i’m in control now.

garak’s thoughts as he uses every ounce of his self-restraint not to launch himself at bashir: doctor if you aren’t out of my way in two seconds i won’t be responsible for what happens next

#star trek #star trek ds9 #elim garak #julian bashir #garashir #our man bashir

[vaguely-concerned]

garak would never judge julian for having an emotional support teddy bear because when garak was fifteen he had an emotional support pet lizard (which he named after his mum despite it being a boy lizard. still not over that) and talking to it like a crazy person was loadbearing to his sanity. I feel that maybe even more so than anyone else, he'd Get It. and I just think that's beautiful

#just thinking about that part in asit where garak is like 'oh mila the regnar we're really in it now' again. im love him so much?? #star trek #star trek ds9 #ds9 #elim garak #garashir #julian bashir

[best-character-named-x-poll]

have you done your daily click

#best character named x #poll #poll game #julian alfred pankratz #jaskier #dandelion #julian bashir #king julien #julian harker #julian morrow #julian keller #the witcher #star trek ds9 #star trek deep space nine #deep space nine #ds9 #madagascar #bodies #the secret history #x men

[spirk-trek]

you're telling me this guy's name isn't garashir???

#i thought that was his name this whole time #what the fuck do they call the twink doctor #i'm so outta the loop i quit this fandom #star trek #ds9 #star trek ds9 #i have not seen a single second of this show #and yet #i know THEM #except not their names apparently #garashir #garak #bashir #ah #apparently his name is #julian bashir #thank u tumblr tags

[endyillustration]

I loved this sm, thank you @astra-the-dragon !!

#kira nerys #kira ds9 #star trek ds9 #ds9 #deep space 9 #star trek art #star trek fanart #artists on tumblr #commissions open

[paeoniaanomala]

does thw tumblr hivemind ever think about how gorgeous julian bashir/ alexander siddig is ive been scrolling pinterest for like 10 minutes hes the most beautiful man ive ever seen. like i get where andy robinson got his garak inspo from good lord

#ds9 #star trek ds9 #STILL havent seen ds9 #julian bashir #alexander siddig

[assassinbugs]

most of these were suggested in the tags here

#polls #star trek polls #star trek ds9 #star trek tng #star trek disco #star trek discovery #star trek deep space nine #star trek the next generation #star trek tos #star trek the original series #star trek lwd #star trek lower decks #star trek

[self-indulgent-stem-bolts]

space sapphics

#lesbian day of visibility 2024 #ldov #lesbian visibility week #wlw #sapphic #star trek #ds9 #star trek ds9 #jadzia dax #lenara kahn #lenzia #ldov24

[thatonegaytrekfan]

#star trek #star trek characters #ds9 #star trek ds9 #kira nerys #bajoran #anarchy #stolen from reddit

[lt-kaollumn]

another quark. i just like his attitude

#star trek #star trek fanart #star trek ds9 #star trek deep space nine #my art #quark #quark ds9

[nin-carab-nidh-madt]

I have thought on Jadzia Dax from Star Trek Deep Space 9.

I'm currently rewatching the show (midway season 2), probably my 4th watch through over 8 years? My first time with slightly more youtube-essay-driven media analysis skills. I'm enjoying picking up on a lot more things than I used to but there's one thing that bugs me above all else.

Jadzia Dax doesn't really have a strongly defined character that shines through.

I've spent a while thinking about it. Obviously as a science officer its a little harder to tell stories the audience can understand and relate to compared to Odo's murder investigating or Sisko's exasperated diplomacy, but her stories have issues greater than that.

Both the stories centred on Dax, in season 1 where she stands trial for a crime supposedly committed by a former host, and in season 2 where someone tries to steal her symbiont, are about things that happen to Dax. Not the things Dax does. She is neither the perspective character through which we can see the world of Star Trek, with her own unique views and feelings, nor is she the one actively moving the plot forwards. She's either the victim who sacrifices herselr or quite literally refuses to do anything. Unfortunately this is quite a common failing of writing that's easy to fall into, writing about a character instead of the character making decisions that drive the plot. Its one that sci fi writing at the time seemed to do quite often with a lot (but not all) female characters. Ivanova and Talia from Babylon 5 fall victim to this too, especially in early seasons. In contrast, Major Kira, and even Ezri Dax later on have stronger characterisation and are the centre of their own stories.

I doubt this was intentional, its clear through the successes of writing other characters in the show that the writers, actors, and showrunners are trying to make everyone alive and meaningful, so what went wrong?

Looking at Jadzia Dax's character, I think what's clearly missing is a strong drive for her character. No real desires or vulnerabilities. No questions either. To provide constrasting examples:

Odo (who gets almost too much screen time in season 1) is clearly driven by a sense of justice no matter whatever starfleet rules say. He's in constant conflict with Quark, ever vigilant, somewhat isolated from other people. No one ever asks "Why does Odo do what he does?" His motivations are clear, and they even tie it up with an extra motive that's very plot relevant: the mystery of where he comes from. All things a single episode writer can use and explore.

Major Kira has her own conflict with starfleet, her desire to do right by her own people, to get justice for Bajor, and always stand up for the underdog which creates really good stories as she struggles with her own values and constantly has to make choices that affect the story.

Bashir wants acclaim, accomplishment, romance, and also for everyone to like him. Quark wants profit without putting himself at risk. O'Brien wants to just do his job and go home to his family. Sisko wants to hold everything together with the responsibility of peace and reason on his shoulders while singlehandedly raising his son. Jake wants community, friends, and freedom in his life. Funnily enough Ezri Dax has far better drive. Trying to figure out what she wants in life, handling this enormous change and overwhelming personality, and her own lack of confidence that she's useful to anyone sometimes. She grows and changes more over the course of a season than we ever see in early seasons Jadzia.

What does Jadzia Dax want?

I think in attempting to make a wise 300 year old person who's seen everything, they accidentally wrote themselves into a corner. Jadzia has no strong motivations to do much at all. She does fine as a secondary character, and I love how her friendship with Sisko plays out on screen, but beyond being surprisingly enlightened about a lot of things as the result of age and experience there's no drive there.

And so no drive or motivation, and no stories told from her perspective. We have ourselves a problem.

I thought for a while if I could find a solution to the issue rather than just offer criticism. I originally tried writing an outline for an episode. Jadzia would be a fantastic protagonist for any wacky sci fi short story concept that required a scientist to explore, such as time travel paradoxes, simulations, weird space anomolies that do "plot relevant thing" that she would be perfectly posed to actually explore instead of "technobabble and tap console" until the problem is solved.

Then I decided that all we really needed to have a framework any writer could use is to establish a strong character motivation for her. Here's my shot at it.

Jadzia Dax, in harmony with seven lifetimes of experience, is an extremely competent twenty seven year old woman. She can almost certainly do the job of anyone on the station better than they can. Fix a computer? Better than O'Brien can. First aid? She's there and solved the issue before Julian can get there. Solve a murder? A past host was an invesigator of course she can to Odo's chagrin. She has better ideas of what Sisko can do to bring the Bajorans towards the federation. Hell she's the best representative of federation values on that station and could constantly be presenting that of the story.

Dax struggles to hold herself back when she sees her friends failing at what she can solve the problem for them. She tries not to, that's what her training tells her to do. But out here on the edge of Federation space where there's constantly lives on the line? She finds herself interfering in other people's work more and more often. She just doesn't want it do be done wrong. She pushes herself hard to do too many jobs. She doesn't sleep or eat enough while telling everyone else to take care of themselves better. After a while people start relying on her. It turns from her helping to her having those responsibilities. Pilot. Diplomat. Linguist. Researcher. Mechanic. Leader. So much emotional support for her friends because everything they're suffering she's been through herself. It becomes too much for her and you could make the core of one story her just crashing. Learning how to balance her experience with giving room to other to shine through and solve their own problems, which they're very capable of doing. There's plenty more detail to elaborate on but I think this gives a core drive and conflict that lasts a character a couple of seasons at least to explore and grow through.

I happily invite thoughts as to whether my original observations are astute, or wether you think there aren't any problems with how Jadzia's passivity plays out in the show. If you think there are problems, do you think my perscribed solution helps fix them? How would you go about it?

#star trek #star trek ds9 #ds9 #jadzia dax #babylon 5 #writing