meddow

I think it's official that DS9 is one of the fandoms for which I have a creative output now.



Title: Good in my Head
Vidder: meddow
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Music: 'Good in my Head' by Anika Moa
Spoilers: All of DS9
Summary: Faith and anger, things that keep Kira on her way.

Download Links: Large: 50Mb Avi (Xvid) Small: 21Mb Avi (Xvid)

( Embedded version, vidder's notes and lyrics below the cut )

After the last two wonderful episodes, this one was a disappointment. The Power of the Daleks set during the Blitz? Should have been brilliant. It wasn't.

( We are your sol-diers )

So, a bunch of misfits, failures, outcasts and emotionally scarred officers ended up on a rundown space station orbiting a war-torn planet that nobody really cared about. Although it was a less than desirable assignment, that rundown space station through a series of events became the most important piece of real-estate in the galaxy, and the centre point of a massive war against an enemy it took an alliance of the Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulans and the galaxy's most unlikely resistance cell to defeat. And between that group who initially didn't get along all that well, romances and bromances developed and eventually they became one big unconventional family. Together they faced down massive space battles, holosuite antics and multi-episode story arcs that would later be re-used by Battlestar Galactica. And at the end most of them left, some of them stayed, and among their peoples they became leaders, reformists and teachers.

In other words: Best. Trek. Ever.

( To manufactured triumph! )

So I am done. Which means that now with the whole of the canon covered, I can get to acting on those plot bunnies and finish that vid I started.

I know I was disappointed with last week, but this week was AWESOME! (Take that as a warning that there will be capslock and excessive exclamation points in the below review).

( Ashes to Ashes )

In short: It was wonderful!

( The Longer Review )

Good new everyone, the BBC actually went and talked to Armando Iannucci about the future of The Thick of It and he said:

"I've got a storyline that will involve both sides - irrespective of what happens in the election,"

Y'all can go out and vote for whoever you like in the British election now (which of course you were going to do anyway), my favourite characters no longer have their fates quite so tied to it.

Anyway, meme time. I nicked this from alexiscartwheel

1. Choose 12 books that you like. (10 are books I like, 2 are sitting half-read next to my bed).
2. Write down the first sentence or so of each of those books.
3. Let other people try to figure out the titles.
4. Cross off books as they are guessed, let us know the correct answers and who guessed them.

1. “Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians.” - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, jadeddiva
2. “I have just returned from a visit to my landlord – the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.” Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, alexiscartwheel
3. “Mr Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold scanty and embarrassed with discourse; backwards in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow loveable.” The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, erinpuff
4. “It was a nice day.” Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, airie_fairy
5. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, jadeddiva
6. >“Left Munich at 8.35 p.m. On 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6.46, but train was an hour late.” Dracula by Bram Stoker, catslash
7. “There was once a young man who wished to gain his Heart's Desire.” Stardust by Neil Gaiman, erinpuff
8. “The hottest day of the summer was drawing to a close and the drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive.” Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling, airie_fairy
9. “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” 1984 by George Orwell, grenadine
10. “When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.”
11. “We slept in what had once been the gymnasium.” The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, grenadine
12. “The play – for which Briony had designed the posters, programmes and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crepe paper – was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch.” Atonement by Ian McEwan, jadeddiva

1. So it's kind of official that The Thick of It has had eight more episodes commissioned for next year. As you can imagine, I'm ridiculously happy. But next year seems so far away. And I desperately want to know whether the forth series will focus on the election, or just skip it and have the winners in power, or follow Nicola and Malcolm in opposition (And, I suppose there is the outside chance that Labour will actually win the election, and the show can just continue as was).

2. I feel I should be more exited about the new series of Doctor Who than I am, but I just can't find it within me. Still, I'm looking forward to the new episodes and I'm prepared to fall in love with Eleven and Amy.

3. I am really exited about Ashes to Ashes though, but trying to remain spoiler free. Oh, I want Sam to be a bit part of this season. I want Annie to show up. I want Ray to get an awesome storyline (I'm not sure how it happened, but somewhere in season two, Ray became my favourite character). I hope it doesn't disappoint.

4. I've entered Remix...Redux this year. I've never done it before, so this should be fun.

5. Generally though, I feel I'm in a better place with my writing than I was this time last year. I completed two very small pieces of fanfic last year, and I certainly wasn't making up for it with original writing. I had this huge self-doubt block last year and I seem to have moved past it. Still, I have my short attention span to contend with.

I've actually had a huge epiphany regarding my ability to finish things lately. I'm one of those people who like to think they write or creates for themselves. Certainly, I writing things I want to read. But I figured that the dynamics of the fandom I'm writing in motivate me to actually stick with something and finish it. I've had a huge TTOI output lately because it's such a small but enthusiastic fandom, making me really want to contribute. I've got a few DS9 things in the works at the moment, similar situation. Remus/Tonks sub-fandom within Harry Potter was the same, but with the added bonus of that I was railing against the overwhelming Tonks hate and I'm very motivated when I'm railing against something. The majority of the Donna fic I wrote I wrote back in the days when it seemed all of Doctor Who fandom was up in arms about Catherine Tate's casting, so that was me railing again something again. Funny enough, as soon as the majority in DW fandom recognised Donna was awesome, I was less productive. Last year though I was hanging out in BSG fandom, and not to criticise people because the individuals in BSG fandom are wonderful, the fandom as an whole was so bitter and burnt by 4.5, it just wasn't motivating.

So apparently, give me a small fandom, or an unpopular standpoint in a large one, and I'll actually finishing something for once.

So, stuff that happened: Worf! The Klingons go nuts and attack Cardassia and then Deep Space Nine itself. Jake spends a lifetime saving his father, causing me to cry a lot. Bashir pulls rank on O'Brien. Kira talks Dukat have an adventure and messed up UST. Dax falls in love with her ex-wife, and Trek handles its first same-sex kiss with maturity. Quark, Nog and Rom visit Roswell, New Mexico. Worf and Dax go questing. Dr Bashir prefers his drinks shaken, not stirred. Sisko's mentor doesn't know that you can only pull off a successful coup on television if your name is Laura Roslin. Odo is Mr. Brightside. Kira and Dukat go Klingon hunting and have more messed up UST. There's another Klingon episode (oh, my god, am I sick of Klingons). Rom forms a union. Sisko's status a the Emissary is challenged. There's a not all that bad Klingon episode. O'Brien of course, gets tortured. The mirror universe would be tired if it was not still so cracktastic. I wonder if anybody informed Deanna Troi that Odo's her step daddy (surely Worf would tell her). In an episode in which Sisko is forced to send Kassidy to prison, Eddington puts the boot in. Weyoun finally arrives. Bashir's ego is both a deep character flaw and his greatest strength. Kira joins the O'Brien family. And the Founders try Odo.

( A considerable amount of my thoughts on this season are about how much I don't like Klingons )

In terms of favourite episodes, you can all probably gather I loved Indiscretion, Return to Grace and Rejoined. Our Man Bashir is of course fantastic. Starship Down, Little Green Men, Accession and For the Cause also stood out. But of course, The Visitor was part of this season. It's the first time I've seen that episode, and it certainly does deserve its reputation for being one of the (if not the) best episodes of Star Trek ever. It was just perfect.

I know that season five moves away from the Klingon conflict and moves the show towards open conflict with the Dominion. I can't wait.

In this season: our heroes get a cool ship and swiftly have their assess handed to them. Odo discovers his people – angst ensues. Dax suffers from all the Dax-centric episodes being incredibly dull this season. Quark introduces some Klingons to the concept of white collar crime. Kira gets a Cardassian daddy. Odo gets a Jem'Hadar son. Dukat missed his calling as a home security system developer. There's a sex pollen episode. Some heavy-handed moralising lets down an otherwise great time travel episode (there are hippies!). Bashir goes all Dr Frankenstein on Kira's dull boyfriend. In the cutest storyline ever, Nog becomes the first Ferengi to join Starfleet. Odo's hopelessly in love with Kira. O'Brien dies, but nobody cares because they get a new one. My favourite Vulcan shows up briefly in the mirror universe episode. Sisko deals with the fact he may be the Bajorans' Jesus, and if that wasn't BSG enough, Garek tortures Odo (RDM has definitely arrived on the writing staff). Sisko and Jake bond in a gorgeous Flight of the Phoenix episode while Bashir and O'Brien get drunk and sing 'Jerusalem' (badly). While we meet Quark and Rom's mum and Sisko meets his future wife. It's Kira vs The Kai round five, with a Bajoran civil war on the cards. Sisko becomes and captain at last and the season finale is an awesome homage to The Thing.

( Thoughts )

So on to season four in which now with the Romulans and the Cardassian's crippled, the only the Federation and the Klingons stand between the Dominon and conquest of the Alpha Quadrant. And oh, yeah, and the Founders are everywhere, they look human and they have a plan. (In cool stuff found on YouTube, somebody did the DS9 credits BSG style (shot for shot) and it's really impressive).

I mentioned a while back that I'd decide to watch Star Trek Deep Space Nine, and its fantastic! I watched a few episodes last year, when I was doing my big post-XI watching thing, and caught quite a few episodes (notably Far Beyond The Stars, In the Pale Moonlight and the series finale), and they were all brilliant episodes, but I hadn't fallen for the characters yet. Now I have, I love it to bits.

Yes, it is the dark, mature Trek, and no, they don't travel the stars, they're in one spot and the problem of the week comes to them, but both those things are fantastic, because the situation the Federation's in – assisting Bajor which has just regained its independence after 50 years of brutal Cardassian occupation – is the kind of thing that deserves careful attention. Being that they're also right next to a strategically important wormhole which means plenty problems come to them. And I really enjoy the greater focus on the characters.

A OMG the characters. I adore them. Bashir, O'Brien, Quark, Odo and especially Kira. How could I have gotten through so much of my life having not discovered the awesomeness of Major Kira Nerys? The first officer of Deep Space Nine is a former resistance fighter (from the age of thirteen), an unabashed Bajorian nationalist, deeply religious, quick to kick ass (particularly Cardassian ass, she hates them), slow to warm to the Federation and one of the most wonderfully fleshed out characters in Star Trek.

I spent most of the first season trying to pick who Kira reminded me of, and eventually I figured it out, she's a non-villainous Admiral Helena Cain (from BSG). It all there, the childhood marked by war, trauma and loss and the deep hatred of the enemy and both of them ending up as a very successful military officers. But whereas Cain snapped and she became all about seeking vengeance, Kira's arc is the opposite, she's taking inching steps towards overcoming her hatred and trying not to let the violence of her past take over her future.

Odo's also wonderful. He's the most alien of all the regular characters on Star Trek, what with being a shapeshifter whose natural form is a gelatinous mass. Plus he's grumpy and gets the best rants.

Sisko meanwhile makes for an interesting lead character. I'm third of the way into the second season, and he's yet to have a big hero moment (well, there was that time he punched Q). If there's something to be explored, Dax has it covered. If some ass to be kicked, that's Kira. If there's a mystery to be solved, that would be Odo. If there's so big moral dilemma, well, that's Kira again. Since I don't find Sisko all that interesting, that's okay with me, but it's not what I'm used to from the lead character of a Trek series.

To recommend it, here's a link to my favourite scene from the show and possibly the whole of Trek from episode 2x02 The Circle, which is both hilarious with Sorkin-esq rapid dialogue, and heart-warming and also serves as a pretty good intro for the regular characters (bar Sisko and Jake) as well. (In order of appearance: Kira, Odo, Dax, Bashir, O'Brien, Quark and Creepy-Dull-Reoccurring-Monk-Dude-Who-Wants-In-Kira's-Pants).

I'm back off to watch more. There's so much I know comes up that I can't wait to get to: the mirror universe, Worf, the Defiant, the Dominion War, Trials and Tribble-ations, Take Me Out To The Hollosuite.