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romssidewaystooth · 3 years

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I just finished reading The Lives of Dax, so I guess here are my thoughts on each story (contains spoilers):

Ezri - Ezri talks to Vic about the circumstances of her joining, in which a changeling infiltrated the Destiny. An interesting back story for Ezri. Her initial feelings about joining ("sacrificing their individuality to a parasitic race of slugs") are pretty understandable, and only a slightly harsher version of the way I think I'd feel about it (I value the person I am, and don't think I'd particularly desire to be augmented with eight other minds). Nice to get a glimpse of Odo being protective of the symbiont and referring to Dax as a friend. I still don't quite understand how you can get lost in a holosuite, but I've accepted stranger premises.

Lela - As a newly elected and underestimated politician, Lela takes a risk trying to communicate with an unknown ship in orbit, against the wishes of the Trill government. I liked this one, although I don't have much to say about it. The isolationism and fear felt realistic. Because of the Facets episode, I kept picturing Kira/Nana Visitor as Lela, and it kind of fit pretty well.

Tobin - Romulans invade the ship and Tobin has to work with his Vulcan shipmate to stop them from stealing the warp technology and rescue the crew. This one won me over when he pulled out the card trick to throw off the Romulan. The early transporter technology was a fun surprise, and everyone should have a Vulcan BFF to engage in ship-saving shenanigans with. One of my favorites.

Emony - Leonard McCoy meets Emony at a gymnastics competition that his asshole roommate is competing in, and he flubs the date but "redeems" himself by saving a guy's life the next day. Awkward, honestly felt like an inexperienced fanfic author wrote it (notably, one-dimensional characters and the fanfic-typical overuse of character attributes in situations when names or pronouns would have sufficed). I did not particularly like the story, either. My opinion may be colored by the weird and (I felt) contrived transphobic turn it took, although I wasn't digging it before that, anyway. I can elaborate if anyone is interested, but let's just say I did not enjoy this.

Audrid - Audrid explains, in letter format, the circumstances of her husband's death after they encountered a parasitic creature living in a comet. This one was definitely the most engaging so far, I really appreciated it. Creepy, but intentionally so. The sci-fi horror story contained in it could have stood on its own, but the extra layer of framing it through its affect on her relationship with her child was a nice sort of twist, and made sense. Also, Captain Pike and his piercing blue eyes!

Torias - Torias prepares to test-pilot the first shuttle designed for warp 10 (no-salamanders version). Pretty good. He came across as a real person: a guy who loves his wife and wants the best for both of them, but who makes a hasty and dismissive decision. You already know how it's going to end, but the descriptions are still cool to read (and then sad). Also, Saavik!

Joran - Joran plots a series of murders while a joined Detective tries to hunt him down. I don't have much to say about this, I'm not a huge crime story lover. This is one of the few that's actually set on Trill, which is a nice change. The idea of the detective was kind of cool: a long history of investigating the very rare joined murderers (and then covering them up?), but I'm just not that interested in cops. Joran, as expected, was a pretentious prick, but that's fair.

Curzon - Young Benjamin Sisko works with Curzon as they navigate two mysteriously linked diplomatic situations, and also there's a sexualized performer everyone seems to wanna get with. Ok, so, WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT. THE FUCK. It is incredibly obvious that this was written by a misogynistic weaboo furry. BAFFLING line: "Nunneries were often places to drain off the excess female population, a form of birth control." Almost everything about this story was so weirdly unsettling. A recurrent fixation on sex roles and reproduction, references to racial stereotypes in contexts that felt inappropriate, and supposedly "mysterious" situations that the author gave me no sufficient reason to wonder about. Benjamin Sisko deserves better than to have his name associated with this story. The only positive thing I can say about it is that the idea of a living ship is cool, but it's also not the first time I've seen it done.

Jadzia - Jadzia has a mystery to solve when her sister is found with a symbiont and is unable to tell anyone where it came from. This was one of the better ones. Felt like it could have been an episode. A tiny bit hard to follow at times, but I managed to figure it out. I liked the sweet moments between Jadzia and her sister, especially the childhood memories. It almost got a little sappy at a few points, but I can deal with that. I always love me some Jadzia, and this portrayal of Sisko was far superior to the previous story (the bar was VERY LOW). There was a decent balance of dark/scary and sweet/happy. No huge complaints.

Other observations: Lots of Vulcans (ok with me)! Also lots of name-dropping. Most of the stories are heavy on human presence, which, to be fair, is kind of just how Star Trek in general is, but I'd like to see more stuff actually set on Trill. There's so much creative potential!

Favorites: Tobin and Audrid. Least favorite: Curzon.

#idk how to tag this #Star Trek book review?#The Lives of Dax

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jadzia-suggestions · 5 years

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I’ve been tagged by the star of our children’s Mok’bara class, Miss Molly O’Brien!

are you named after someone: I’m not. Jadzia is an unusual name, even on Trill. My parents were looking for something melodious and unique. They went more traditional for my sister, possibly because they got tired of having to spell my name out wherever they went.

when was the last time you cried: I cried on Casperia Prime, actually. One evening we were out on the balcony, watching the sunset, and we fell to talking about the war, and the near misses we’d had. I don’t know how to express my gratitude that both my par’Mach’kai and I survived, and with us so many of our dearest friends and family. Many were not so fortunate.

do you want/have kids: I have indeed had children in most of my past lives, and I would love to have children in this one. For the first time, they wouldn’t be full Trill, and I think that will be an incredible adventure.

do you use sarcasm a lot: You’ll have to ask Benjamin about that. I have no idea.

what is the first thing people notice about you: I’ve been told my height is striking. Though a lot of times I think the first thing people notice is that I’m immediately offering an opinion on the task at hand.

eye colour: Grey-blue.

scary movie or happy ending: There’s a time for each, and they’re certainly not mutually exclusive!

any special talent: Well, now! We’re keeping this suitable for all audiences, since it was Molly’s idea I fill this out. I’m quite accomplished at sleight-of-hand, thanks to Tobin’s hard work!

what was the last thing you dreamt of: Just last night, actually, I had a dream about Vic Fontaine, the Rio Grande, and an Algorian mammoth.

what are your hobbies: Well, there’s the magic. Klingon martial arts. I’ve been known to dabble in cooking. I like imaginative holonovels. And I play traditional chess!

what sport did/do you play: Mok’bara, obviously. I spent a semester on the Academy basketball team, but didn’t really enjoy it. And I have never played Parisses Squares, in any lifetime. That surprises a lot of people, especially those who knew Torias.

how tall are you: I am 182 cm tall. Just about perfect!

what is/was your favourite subject at school: Actually, it was “Shakespeare for the Modern Federation” at the Academy. I never would have wanted to pursue a career in literature, but it was a fantastic class.

dream job: I’m in it! Actually, in most of my lifetimes I’ve been successful in pursuing my dream job. Politician, theoretical physicist, gymnast, doctor, test pilot, muscian, ambassador, science officer/helmsman. Yeah, I’d say Dax is doing fine!

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heroesandvillainsofmbti · 7 years

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ESTP: Jadzia Dax, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

ESTP – the Adventurer, the Dynamo, the Promoter

Jadzia Dax doesn’t suffer as much from the inner angst of her moody friends on DS9. She’s a generally upbeat, adventurous young woman who just happens to carry the wisdom of the ages inside her. Even being over 300 years old, she still has room to grow, in all the ways you’d expect a happy yet impulsive ESTP to grow. Our time with her was too short, but a hell of a lot of fun.

Dominant Function: (Se) Extraverted Sensing, “The Kitchens”

Jadzia starts her mornings with a wrestling match and an alcoholic drink called a black hole. She plays Tongo with Ferengi and fights bat’leth duels with Klingons. She drags her mopey friend Kira into costumed adventures and spa getaways in the holosuites.

She pilots the Defiant, briefly becomes its captain, and goes on any away mission that needs someone smart, alert, and brave. When she’s thrown back in time to 21st-century Earth, she sizes up her situation immediately upon waking and bluffs her way into a comfortable home and resources to find her friends.

She throws a legendary bachelorette party, and won’t let her stuffy fiance or in-laws kill the vibe.

One of Jadzia’s biggest responsibilities as a Trill host is to provide new experiences for the symbiont. Each host should add something unique to the collection of memories and lifetimes they’ll pass on. Looking back is not allowed, and the couple of times Jadzia does—going on a mission of vengeance with old Klingons she knew when she was Curzon, or rekindling a romance with a woman whose previous host was her wife when she was Torias—she gets into trouble.

Which is not to say that Jadzia never uses her past lives to her advantage. Tobias’ engineering skills, Emony’s gymnastic abilities, Curzon’s talent for cultural engagement, and more all make up parts of her arsenal. She shares stories and memories from her previous hosts, but she’s rarely sentimental or nostalgic, or looking back on those experiences to define herself in the present. By contrast, when she’s temporarily taken over by one of the telepathic spheres in “Dramatis Personae,” she turns into a parody of an old man who’s constantly taken out of the moment by rabbit trails of reminiscing.

Even her vengeance quest and rekindled romance are basically impulsive moves based on what she wants to do in the moment. Her friends try to talk sense and caution to her, but Jadzia won’t be stopped. She jumps into a relationship with a man whose planet is about to disappear for 80 years, and decides to resign her commission to go with him. It only doesn’t work because she isn’t correctly in phase with his planet. When Worf joins the crew, she’s immediately smitten, and once she gets his attention, they get to business with destructive enthusiasm.

She’s the one who suggests they get married, seizing the opportunity as they’re about to part ways during a Dominion attack. They’re in the middle of a war, after all. Who knows what will happen next?

Auxiliary Function: (Ti) Introverted Thinking, “The Laboratory”

Jadzia’s a swift problem-solver with a curious mind. She makes the crucial suggestion in the first episode that helps Chief O’Brien move the station from Bajor to the wormhole. Paired up, Dax and O’Brien can fix, solve, and create just about anything—they’re virtually unstoppable once Rom joins them.

Jadzia serves as DS9’s Chief Science Officer (a title not officially held by any other leading character in the franchise except Spock), and her skills are kind of a catch-all of all things science-y. She seems to do fine with astrophysics, biology, anthropology—you name the anomaly or artifact, and she can figure it out. Considering she has seven previous lifetimes behind her, that’s not too surprising, I suppose. Even as an unjoined initiate, Jadzia sounds like she was an intellectual overachiever (and an introvert; I suspect she was IXTP).

Jadzia also wields a biting and clever sarcasm that she uses to deflate many a tense situation or pompous personality. This can annoy her Feeler husband, who wishes she would act more appropriately. Sisko chews her out for it when she gets a little too snippy during their siege within the crashed Jem’Hadar ship.

When her mother-in-law-to-be torments her by making her memorize and recite their Klingon house’s noble history, Jadzia does her research and gleefully reveals the legends to be a pack of lies.

Tertiary Function: (Fe) Extraverted Feeling, “The Garden Fountain”

Jadzia doesn’t care much for ceremony. She resists Worf and his family’s insistence on formal traditions and grueling tests of honor. This almost ruins the wedding, until Sisko advises the “Old Man” that she kind of needs to grow up and be humble for Worf’s sake.

At the same time, Jadzia cares very much for her friends, often to the point of meddling. She loves gossiping with Kira about their love lives and trying to get her to date more exciting specimens. She’s always available to give sage counsel to her old friend Benjamin, whom she mentored in her previous life. She pranks Odo by moving the furniture in his quarters a centimeter this way or that, which is really just her way of getting him to loosen up.

When she gets to meet her previous hosts through her friends’ bodies, Jadzia reveals she’s still insecure about getting dropped from the initiate program the first time around, and needs reassurance from Curzon that she’s still worthy of being a Dax.

Jadzia shows a surprising amount of tolerance for other cultures like the Klingons and Ferengi. She joins Quark and his friends for games and drinks, and fits right in. She encourages the Fi-dom Kira to be less quick to judge, and accept the Ferengi for who they are (she does draw the line, and harshly, when Quark starts selling weapons). She takes the same approach with Klingons, joining their crews and their quests on more than one occassion. She’s pretty much accepted as a Klingon by everyone except Worf’s adoptive mother-in-law. At least, until she apologizes.

Inferior Function: (Ni) Introverted Intuition, “The Labyrinth”

Jadzia acts best on the spur of the moment, and despite her centuries of life experience, has difficulty thinking through the consequences of her impulses. She really shouldn’t be allowed to come back to work after slaughtering people on her Klingon revenge mission, but Sisko gives her a pass with one raised eyebrow. She initiates her marriage with Worf, but would rather leave the planning to him.

Once she’s married to Worf, however, she starts thinking about their future together. They decide to make a baby, and go through medical tests and procedures to make it happen. She even consults a Bajoran Orb for spiritual guidance.

Quark and Bashir sadly reflect that this means the marriage is going to last for a long time.

Unfortunately, they’re wrong, but that’s Dukat’s fault, not theirs. Jadzia’s last words to her love express her certainty that their children would have been beautiful.

#MBTI #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #Jadzia Dax #Terry Farrell #ESTP #cognitive functions #Se-dom #Se #Extraverted Sensing #Ti-aux #Ti #Fe #Extraverted Feeling #Ni #Introverted Intuition

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