Quodo in Every Episode discussion: "Civil Defense"

[chacusha]

Hi everyone! We've now been doing this Quodo in Every Episode project for roughly half a year(!), so to celebrate, I made us a new banner:



Anyway, this week we're discussing... episode 3x07 "Civil Defense"!

Episode synopsis: While cleaning up old Cardassian computer files, Jake and Miles accidentally trigger a security program designed to respond to a potential Bajoran revolt in the ore processing center. Various DS9 officers are trapped in different parts of the station and have to work together to stop the station from self-destructing.

What The Boys are up to in this episode: Quark and Odo have the C plot of this episode where they are trapped in Odo's office together. This plotline consists of various scenes: (1) Quark decides to stick close to Odo for safety, (2) they realize they are trapped inside Odo's office, (3) Quark fears dying when he hasn't made anything of himself, and Odo offers reassurance, (4) despite forcefields coming down on other parts of the station, Odo's office is on a separate system indicating he was not fully trusted by the Cardassian administration and he and Quark are STILL trapped, and (5) the episode ends with Odo and Quark walking congenially out of the security office as the station returns to normal, with Odo teasing Quark by listing Ferengi who are more devious than he is.

One screencap from this episode:


Transcript: http://chakoteya.net/DS9/453.htm

Quodo fics tagged with this episode: None (https://archiveofourown.org/works?work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=revised_at&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=Episode%3A+s03e07+Civil+Defense&work_search%5Bexcluded_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_from%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_to%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_from%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_to%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&commit=Sort+and+Filter&tag_id=Star+Trek%3A+Deep+Space+Nine)

Tell us:
- What did you think about this episode?
- Have you written a fic set during/after this episode?
- Do you know of any other fics set in or that build off this episode that weren't linked above?
- What do you see as the Quodo potential for this episode?

Anonymous comments are on, so feel free to chime in even if you don't have a Dreamwidth account! If you prefer, we are also available on Discord:
https://discord.gg/VaCnMYvKu6 (18+ proship Quodo Discord - there is a dedicated channel for this event)
https://discord.gg/Htz4crCdCt (general Quodo Discord)
Event info & rules
Fic masterlist

Comments

[axolotls]

Ohhh, I love the banner! And omg, that's one of my favourite Quodo episodes (and episodes in general). I just love what they choose to tell each other when they think they're about to die (and then deny afterwards), and Odo comforting Quark. Bless.

[chacusha]

Haha I'm glad you like it! :D And yes, this one is such a good episode, both generally and for the Quodo interactions. They're so weirdly sweet to each other and comfortable and affectionate while also being like "I hate you. ♥" It's so good!

[chacusha]

Random thoughts:

- This episode is great. Dukat and his "Attention Bajoran workers" announcements are just so funny, and I love the little subgroups here. I especially like Kira + Dax + Bashir trying to problem-solve from Ops (Kira's form of problem-solving: shoot the computer). It's also so funny to me that everyone who comes in trying to help just makes things worse. I also like how determined everyone is to survive throughout this, even when their actions make things worse! Also, I love how Quark and Odo have NO contribution to the problem-solving here. Everyone else is plot-relevant; meanwhile Quark and Odo are just chilling in Odo's office as a treat, I guess!

- I love Quark having access to higher level security clearance codes than Odo.

- Love Kira with a gun telling people to move away from computer panels she's about to shoot. XD

- Everyone's reaction when the self-destruct sequence is announced. XD

- Oh snap, a red shirt died! I think of this as a fairly lighthearted episode but... RIP that guy, I guess.

- Dukat is so smug here that I'm glad he gets a comeuppance.

- Love all the explosion and fire effects in this one.

- More Quark family members in this one -- Uncle Frin and Cousin Gaila. I just love Quark's faux-surprise when he's like, "Gaila? The one with the moon? :O" at the end. They're so cute.


Thoughts on Quodo potential:

I... am honestly surprised there isn't a fic for these two set in this episode?? How is that possible? Am I missing some fic that isn't tagged? I do know there's this chapter of cool_ha_ha's ghost!Odo fic where Quark and Odo sleep together for the first time during "Civil Defense" but it probably wouldn't count because the fic as a whole isn't about this episode and I don't think the chapter is standalone.

But yeah, here are some ideas for this episode:

- I mean... Quark and Odo are trapped together in Odo's office while the station is set to explode... This is just asking for a fic where they confess their feelings before they die and/or they bang in the office while no one is paying attention to them.

- I feel like Quark and Odo's dynamic in this episode is wonderfully... ambiguous... It seems like it would be possible to write a fic featuring one of many different reads on their relationship: one where they're enemies, one where they're secretly close friends, one where they're crushing on each other but not in a relationship, one where they're in a new relationship, one where they're an old married couple, one where they're divorced, etc...