Was Inspired To Make This Tonight

just wanted to see him on his knees, really. funny how i can just draw anything and nobody can stop me

so i just finished season 2 of DS9 for the first time and i have so many thoughts about quark and his relationships with the crew; specifically ben, kira, jadzia, and odo. throughout the season, we see quark either trying to connect to these four — albeit in his own grating way — or proving his worth to them after a major fuck-up. (this is the case for jadzia specifically; he inadvertently put her on danger in invasive procedures [2x03] risked his own life trying to save her. we see them hanging out in playing god [2x17], so we know they’re cool and that jadzia forgave him. this should go without mentioning jadzia sticking up for the ferengi more than once throughout the season, specifically to kira, and insisting there’s more to them than their money grubbing ways.)

with ben, quark attempts to connection with him over a drink in second sight [2x09], only for ben to turn him down — presumably because he has too much on his mind and quark is quark, but the way the camera lingers on our favourite bartender, we can see how the rejection ate at him. the rejection sensitivity is dialled up even further in shadowplay [2x16] when quark attempts to get playful with kira, only to be told she utterly despises him for collaborating with the cardassians during the occupation — forcing him to realize that their snark isn’t a game and that she legitimately doesn’t like him, to the point where he says (verbatim) that he wishes he hadn’t brought it up. this comes up again in the jem’hadar [2x26] when he mentions to odo that kira specifically doesn’t like him, showing how much he internalized that conversation and ruminates over it even with the passage of time — and that’s still not all!

in the collaborator [2x24], there’s a specific exchange between odo, kira, and quark that’s very relevant to the theme of quark feeling rejected and isolated by the crew. transcribing it doesn’t quite do it justice, so i’ll just link the scene itself:

TL;DR: these two show up and quark immediately gets defensive and nervous. given his interactions with odo on a regular basis + kira’s recent (and completely understandable) anger, he figures them confronting him together probably spells out trouble for him. and unfortunately, in typical odo fashion, he doesn’t exactly make him feel any better:

quark: you want something from me, don’t you?

kira: how’d you guess?

odo: it’s simple. we’ve been here more than a minute, and we haven’t insulted him, threatened him, or arrested him.

quark: exactly. so what is it?

quark values odo’s opinion a lot. and while i’m sure odo was just playing around and being sarcastic, this is the last thing quark needed to hear in that moment and solidifies in his mind that he’s only of any value to the others when he’s useful, which ultimately culminates in this confrontation with ben after they’ve been captured by the jem’hadar:

i’ve seen this clip before, but it was only last night, after having seen season 2 to completion, that i finally had the full context for it — specifically, for quark’s emotions, and why he went on his little tirade. he isn’t angry at ben specifically; he’s angry at the entire DS9 crew for (in his mind) treating him like an annoyance that’s only worth speaking to when he gives them something in return. i believe he brings up his species as a whole rather than Just Himself for two reasons: 1, it gives him a roundabout way to express his outrage without getting too vulnerable, and 2, he is attempting to rationalize why he’s faced with the indifference and the animosity that he is. chalking it down to speciesism helps him rationalize why this is happening, but the alternative is also pretty devastating: that they just don’t like him as an individual.

but here’s the kicker: they DO like quark! ben lets him come along on the camping trip despite his wishes to spend time with jake and only jake. he engages in conversation with him, feeds him, and is pretty damn amiable towards him despite quark’s incessant complaining. he defends quark to eris when she expresses annoyance over him. meanwhile, odo specifically joins the rescue mission to make sure quark gets home safe (in his own words!!!) and even tells kira she’d miss quark if anything were to happen to him — they ALL would — and she agrees!

the tragedy is that all of these things are discussed when quark is out of earshot (no pun intended) or just not paying enough attention. but despite his growing disillusionment with them, quark is willing to resort to violence (something he’d really rather avoid) to protect his friends; first demonstrated in invasive procedures and then coming full circle when he lethally shoots a jem’hadar trying to hurt ben, who returns the favour by making sure quark isn’t left behind despite eris’ insistence. and this time, quark IS around to hear that someone cares about him; not just anyone, but the station’s commander, which certainly gives him the validation he’s been craving all season long.

while i can’t find the clip, i think quark’s little monologue to the gloomy morn at the beginning of the episode describes it best; he isn’t just their bartender, he’s their confidant and their friend — or desperately wants to be. unfortunately, his learned / cultural behaviours, impulsivity, and selfish tendencies (as demonstrated when he abandons morn to scurry after his boytoy, aka odo) drive a wedge between him and the people he’s come to want the approval of so badly… and despite his glaring flaws and their often flippant treatment of him, they manage to like him anyway. big ears just needs to listen better, it seems — or maybe his friends need to make their affections a little more obvious.

i just. man. it’s such a subtle arc, one you probably don’t notice unless you’ve been watching a bunch of episodes consecutively like i have (not to mention my, ahem, keen eye on a certain ferengi…), but it’s so satisfying. they didn’t have to do all that for him and they did. this show and its attention to character detail is incredible and i can’t wait to see what else it has in store for me. 🖤

Before I started watching DS9, I had read several bad things about Keiko, and I wondered what might make her character so disliked. Turns out it was just being a woman in a misogynistic world xddd

If you ask me, the problem with Keiko is we don't get enough Keiko.

When Data learns about a new human custom he's like "wow life is such a rich tapestry I'm so pleased to participate in this social ritual with you and deepen our friendship (◡‿◡✿)", and when Odo learns about a new human custom he's like:

another quark. i just like his attitude

how... does odo see? when changelings morph a form that has eyes, do they create the cellular structure necessary for their function? or can their goo perceive light without ocular structure? maybe each of their cells can function as an eye on its own?

There should have been an episode where Odo gets zapped while shifted into an object and the zap does something to his morphogenic matrix so he's stuck like that and the whole episode is everyone doing their best acting scenes with a mug or perhaps a bag

Odo and Justice (based on early Season 2)

Odo is first introduced as DS9′s Chief of Security, a no-nonsense workaholic who is driven by his commitment to justice and isolated by his status as the only known shapeshifter in existence.

In S2E8 Necessary Evil, we learn that before he served as a detective on DS9 during Cardassian occupation, Bajorans sought him out to solve their small disputes because of his outsider viewpoint. During the early stages of his entrance to society, he was able to rely on this identity for himself. Justice was a way for him to participate in society and find a place where he belongs. It enabled him to gain respect that otherwise could be difficult to come by as a shapeshifter learning to act like a humanoid.

[Image description: A screenshot of Odo saying to Gul Dukat, “I suppose I’m considered a neutral observer.”]

His role as detective and arbiter enables his shapeshifting abilities to be something valuable rather than something that drives him apart from the rest of society. It helps unite the “other” and humanoid parts of him, although it still leaves him on the fringes of society (more on that later).

In S2E12 The Alternate, Odo meets a major challenge to his relationship with justice and, by extension, his identity. When Dr. Mora says that the creature who destroyed the lab and attacked Julian could be him, Odo panics and can’t accept it.

[Image description: A screenshot of Odo saying to Dr. Mora, “I do not commit criminal acts! It is not in my nature!]

If Odo has been unknowingly acting on the wrong side of justice, his entire worldview breaks down. If he is not the fair arbiter he considers himself to be, he loses everything he has built for himself in humanoid society.

This explains why he clings to the concept of justice so desperately. He can understand justice, and he can understand his place in society through justice. He depends on it to guide him, to provide stability and a framework for interaction with others—and a reason for others to need him.

However, this worldview holds him back. To continue being a “neutral observer,” he must continue being an outsider. He can only integrate into society up to a certain point because if he stops being the outcast, he stops being the “neutral observer.”

This may be one of the reasons for his emotional repression and his resistance to accepting appreciation and affection. He relies on maintaining that distance because, from early on, he was not only sensitive about his differences—he needed them. If he admits to himself that he wants something more than his job and justice, wants the acceptance and affection and vulnerability that come with being included in deeper social ties (even when others are happy to give it to him), his outsider status is disrupted. (This also makes his relationship with Kira interesting because he does seem to be willing to have a more emotional connection with her.)

What’s sad about this is that he doesn’t need to keep that distance…

(Basically S2E12 really struck something in me and I needed to get out my thoughts about Odo. Disclaimer that I’m only halfway through Season 2 so there are definitely layers of his character that I haven’t seen yet, but I’m really enjoying his character and am looking forward to more of his development and backstory!)

the religious storylines on ds9 are crazy if you really think about it. imagine being in the mall and seeing the gates of heaven open outside auntie anne's pretzels