Is there an idiot equivalent of drift compatible? Like “we are intelligent and competent individually but together we share one brain cell”?

The DS9 writing staff had a running joke where the character would suffer significant trauma in at least one episode per season. Among these were "Whispers", "Tribunal", "Visionary", "Hard Time" and "The Assignment". (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (pp. 328 & 389)) According to Ira Behr, "Every year in one or two shows we try to make his life miserable, because you empathize with him." Robert Hewitt Wolfe further explains, "If O'Brien went through something torturous and horrible, the audience was going to feel that, in a way they wouldn't feel it with any of the other characters. Because all the other characters were sort of, I wouldn't say larger than life, but nobler than life, but O'Brien was just a guy, trying to live his life and so if you tortured him that was a story." (Crew Dossier: Miles O'Brien, DS9 Season 5 DVD, Special Features)

“DS9 likes torturing Miles O’Brien,” haha funny joke, surely that’s an exaggeration my friend told me. I’m sure it’s not that bad, I said.

4x18: Miles O’Brien is psychologically tortured into believing he spent the past twenty years in alien prison and now has to deal with the lingering trauma and violent flashbacks ARE YOU KIDDING ME

I’m only 11 minutes into this episode and I’m in awe of the number of ways this show has found to torment Miles O’Brien up to now. What did he ever do to deserve this?? What will they come up with next? How much more suffering can one middle-aged Irishman in space take??

lmao I love how deliberate the Miles torture was, but the writers do have a point— O’Brien really is the closest the show has to Just An Ordinary, Nice Dude, and watching him suffer hits different.

btw to everyone h8ing on the poor guy in the notes, this is a Miles O’Brien support blog! God knows he needs it.

everyday miles o brien wakes up and hes like "oh boy maybe ill get to hang out with my side piece julian" but instead he gets convicted of a crime and sent to torture prison

so we recently rewatched Visionary…

[Gif Description: A simplistic red heart locket opening to reveal a picture of Miles O'Brien smiling at the camera on one side with the other side reading "Please". End ID]