Icon by @ThatSpookyAgent. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. The X-Files. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
if you treated every irl political symbol or allusion in deep space nine with the same face-value sincerity, and tried to reconcile those allusions with the in-universe politics 1;1, you’d end up with an incomprehensible soup of postmodern appropriation and disparate gestures (some– if not a good many– of which are genuinely profound). half of the political & historical references in the show are references to literature, pop culture, popular myths about whatever political moment we’re watching people act out in dusty latex masks. no, the cardassian union doesn’t make sense if you view it as an uncomplicated allegory for the third reich, but they’re still the villains of an episode thats based on casablanca (1942) almost beat for beat, voyager still has a really stupid episode about whether or not a sentient hologram replica of cardassian mengele deserves human rights and forgiveness, etc
at the end of the day, ds9 is areally good, dramatically successful, soap opera created with a sharp awareness of its own form, construction, and context and mostly on the fly. sometimes that’s highlighted by an experimental limberness, an ability to improve on itself and make novel connections and illustrate similarities without equations, and sometimes that means tactlessly flinging genocide spaghetti at the wall without doing any fucking research
this is inspired by a specific post, but my intention here isn’t to vagueblog or talk shit because i’ve made my opinions clear on that post itself, i don’t want to pin this entire analysis on any one person or few people, and finally this is also a reflection of how i feel about this show very broadly. i agree that ignoring the obvious panoply of (often explicitly stated by the showrunners) influences and allegories – and the tense postcolonialism that comes with it – sucks and reflects (particularly white and/or western) fans’ myopia and biases. at the same time, i dont think the opposite of that ignorance is “the cardassians aren’t nazis, they’re actually…”. it’s “the cardassians are nazis, and they’re also…”
and you still can write or world build or ship about cardassia however you feel qualified, for whatever meaning you’d like to make, however resonates with you, because it’s a really bizarre signifier and the authors actively resisted making it consistent for exactly that reason
Hello and welcome to Deep Space Nine. We are a space station, not a starship, so you’ll be spending a lot of time with all these delightful side characters like: bisexual fashion lizard. hologram of Frank Sinatra. goblins. goblin comes in 3 varieties: bartender, nephew, and idiot. our doctor is a twink, our commander is antifa and the captain talks to the gods sometimes. our policeman is sometimes a liquid and the science lady is part worm. we have many fine storylines, such as: Goblin Does A Crime, Watch The Irishman Suffer, or The Horrors Of War. As you stroll along our promenade enjoying a raktajino or delicious jumja stick, watch out for our nefarious villains: Pope Karen. clones of Jeffrey Combs. and a horny bastard reptile man who seems convinced this is actually his show. we suspect he may be possessed by demons. Have fun!
Good morning to: people just trying to be a good boss despite the weird ass shit always going down, those who will do anything for those they love, chaotic pansexuals, socially awkward queer geniuses, dads who love their jobs but also just want to get home to their families, failed capitalists turned communists, agender aroace eggs who haven’t figured it out yet, and writers.
Not to intrude on that other post, but I am also here for a Princess Bride version in which Julian is Wesley and Garak is Buttercup
Imagine the power of the “Lies do not become us” line delivered by Julian to Dukat.
Imagine Garak, an absolute class act at pining and suffering, saying, “No matter, my Julian will come for me anyway.”
Also also! Garak going “I died that day! You can die too for all I care.” And then Julian, rolling down the hill like, “As…you….wishhh” And Garak dramatically throwing himself down the hill “Oh my sweet Julian!”
Julian definitely would have been actually taken aboard the Dred Pirate Roberts’ ship. And who is Roberts, you ask? I know it is nontraditional to pull a character from a different series and the timeline doesn’t make sense, but bear with me, okay? It’s Khan, as in the Wrath of. He realizes Julian is an augment and that’s why he doesn’t kill him! And maybe it isn’t even Khan. Khan was the first Roberts and now he’s been retired for years just like the real Roberts in the movie.
Alternatively if you prefer a character from Ds9, Sloan could be Roberts. But I think Khan would be more fun.
Anyway this is my contribution to the ds9 Princess Bride au discussion.
