#ds9 fic recs

[coinofstone]

I could really use fic recs for Garashir, either post-canon Cardassia or canon compliant/divergent. I've finished these two series that were really immersive and basically got me in a choke hold so I want MOAR!!!

I recently read The Blind Moon 'verse by Syaunei and it ignited a burning desire for more post-canon Cardassia long fics. The complexities of post-canon Cardassia both politically and practically are so delicious I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.

Dangerous Sentiments by pyrrhic_victory is a series of fic set in and around canon episodes wherein Julian and Garak are together, but secretly. The fics kind of fill in the blanks and expand on episodes, with exceptional characterization and the sort of intimacy you only get when only the two involved are aware of their relationship.

[vaguely-concerned]

“Computer, end message,” said the younger Julian Bashir, as flushed with embarrassment as his counterpart had been flushed with arousal. “Computer, belay that order,” said Garak.

Fanart of one of my favorite moments from the amazing fic A Bag Full Of God by @vermin-disciple (The whole series it belongs to is also so so good, please do yourself a favour and check it out if you haven’t already!)

The mental image of a deaged Garak — with his heart full of murder and inadvisable devotion to Tain and Cardassia yet untempered by time and Julian Bashir — still being like ‘no no let’s hear him (you) out we don't know where he's going with this’ as he watches his husband-to-be-in-like-fifty-years perform a loving Space Zoom striptease, while a deaged Julian goes 😳 next to him at the mortifying ordeal of witnessing his future slutty dilf self cheerfully sending nudes… *chef’s kiss* I was laughing so hard that I was wheezing

[idonotbitemythumbatyou]

The Mark by @hellostuffedtiger

Obsidian Order Agent, Garak's, latest assignment: surveil Doctor Julian Bashir, the Federation medical delegation’s lead doctor who’s been living on Cardassia, trying to find a cure for a deadly Cardassian illness. Tain wants damaging intel on Julian and he's counting on Garak to get it. If surveillance doesn’t work, he may always use interrogation.

I always appreciate when writers take the Soviet Union as inspiration for the Cardassian Union, and this one takes that concept and runs with it. Cold war vibes in desert weather. Spies commuting, clocking in, and talking shit. The characters we know are all one step away from how we know them in canon, because this is how they would be if their circumstances were ever so slightly different. I'm particularly fond of Garak's Tain-generation coworker. I based this cover on a few different Le Carré covers.

[gardenvarietyhuman]

Let’s all give thanks to @iowacornfarm for creating this art! It’s so beautiful! ❤️

[thunderandsage]

my comprehensive star trek fic recs

(starting note: a lot of the following works contain heavy and/or uncomfortable themes, which is my preference when reading fanfiction, so just be aware of that. a lot of them are also, uh, rated E, so yea. i have no excuse for that one.)

(contains: mostly AOS with smatterings of SNW, DS9 and TOS)

EPICS/LONGER WORKS:

Don't Stop Believing (Spirk AOS, rated E, finished at 205,901 words, a Spock-character-study slash novel-length-epic, features Spock/Pike heavily near the beginning, explores the loss and pain after y'know losing your mother and your planet, slow-burn Spirk but GOD the slow-burn is so good, not a straightforward story as characters are capable of both advancing and regressing but this complexity makes the story more delicious, includes homoerotic piano duets)

You Don’t Have To (Say Yes) (Spirk AOS, rated M, finished at 192,321 words, HEED THE WARNINGS, starts out as “let’s make Tarsus IV even worse” but evolves into love letter for friendship and chosen family, characters so good you want to start chewing on the metaphorical pages, Kirk as bright-sunshine-character-with-the-horrors-in-his-past who’s messed up but god he’s trying, passages in this fic permanently rewired my brain)

War Games (Spirk AOS, rated E, finished at 108,882 words, necessary to read You’ll Get There In The End first, very sharp and cohesive prose and plot, the romance here is pretty unconventional and “unromantic” almost but it honestly works really well, uhh main warning is that this deals with politics analogous with real-world loss of rights so it’s uncomfortably relatable but if you’re fine with that it’s a really interesting read, intrigue and action, sorta-telepath!Kirk and good Vulcan OCs)

K’diwa: A Steamy Novel of Interspecies Romance, by Jim Kirk (Spirk AOS, rated technically E but it’s more M i feel, finished at 103,984 words, accidental romance writer Jim Kirk, Kirk-was-adopted-by-Vulcans, Academy Era, far on the feel-good and indulgent side of fic if you’re into that)

The Door (Spirk AOS, rated E, finished at 77,118 words, per the description "and alternative STID thing" with one of the most distinctive and sweet/sharp love stories, smut does feature very heavily but so does literature and messy emotions, contains my favorite version of THAT scene from STID, makes you want to annotate passages and look for parallels like in fucking english lit class again)

For the Gladness of You (Spirk AOS, rated E, finished at 51,055 words, non-linear narrative, Spock and Kirk both have Issues(tm), definitely a thornier read where problems don’t have clear solutions and people are messy and don’t always make good decisions, more cynical but still so good)

EPISODIC/SMALLER STORIES:

The 1,000 Hour Sleep (Spirk SNW, rated M, finished at 27,227 words, basically Jim is a secret agent for Starfleet who's treated as expendable by Command but still gets adopted by the SNW crew, good balance of action/angst and romance/pining)

This Trailer Park Is a Shithole But Goddammit, It’s Home (Spirk AOS, rated M, finished at 23,446 words, trailer park AU, Jim Kirk’s dubious adventures in growing weed and trying to avoid the law, the crackiest adaptation of st2009 you’ll ever read)

Something Smart to Do (Spirk AOS, rated M, finished at 21,322 words, how many times will Spock and Kirk get fake-married for missions before they admit they’re in love? the answer is too damn much)

How to Inefficiently Acquire a Human Male in 98.6 Earth Days (Spirk AOS, rated T, finished at 30,391 words, Academy Era, Spock tries to ward off Jim's attempts at friendship but receives advice that does... not do that, romcom vibes, meddling Gaila)

Big Me (But It’s You I Fell Into) (Spirk AOS, rated M, finished at 38,728 words, i am entirely indifferent towards golf but this fic still slaps, feat. an oblivious jim, a low-stress but still very fun read)

knives in the water (McSpirk AOS, rated E, finished at 18,618 words, dark, mafia au, smut and violence, featuring McCoy’s sexual frustration and steadily eroding moral compass)

FEMSLASH:

encrusted gem-stuff / / of the mist (T'pura SNW, rated T, finished at 41,862 words, pon farr but it’s lesbians, beautiful psychedelic and almost surreal writing style that i want to inject into my bloodstream)

Unspoken (T’pura AOS, rated M, finished at 29,201 words, lovely AOS Uhura depiction with lots of linguistics and character depth, the path to true love is convoluted and thorny but they get there, eventually)

i cannot paint / what then i was (Kiradax DS9, rated T, finished at 15,462 words, brief Jadzia/Lenara Kahn, read if you like greek classics references, bi disaster Jadzia and gorgeous lesbian pining)

A Hermeneutics of Ass-Fucking (Christine Chapel/T’pring SNW, rated M, finished at 5,954 words, an enjoyable cocktail of Vulcan intellectualism, crack and lesbian horniness)

Matchmaker of Mars (T’pura TOS, rated T, finished at 2,749 words, T’Pring and Uhura as 1930s scifi writers with a grudge against Campbell)

“BITE-SIZED”:

there's no such thing as a bad idea (Spock & Bones AOS, rated T, finished at 5,114 words, giving "teenage girls talk about their crushes at a sleepover" except it's two emotionally constipated middle-ish-aged men who are drunk)

And Then I Let It Go (Spirk AOS, rated E, finished at 10,632 words, post-Beyond getting together including fake identities and agricultural work)

Any Way You Want It (Spirk AOS, rated T, finished at 12,031 words, Spock gets offered a promotion and Jim wants to be supportive, misunderstanding ensue, slightly cracky)

Watershed Moments (Kirk & Mcoy AOS, rated N/A, finished at 9,455 words, based on that Parks and Rec episode with snake juice but it’s Chekov’s tribble juice here, everyone’s super wasted here and it’s glorious, crack)

Big Damn Heroes (Chekov/Sulu AOS, rated E, finished at 6,821 words, Chekov character study in a "live fast, die young" type of Starfleet life, honestly just read anything by waldorph ever, swashbuckling vibes)

what is love? (no really) (Aromantic Spirk AOS, finished at 7,534 words, read if you like disaster!Kirk and/or have a grudge against Valentine's Day, cracky)

Hallmark Moment (Here in the Morning Remix) (Joanna McCoy AOS, rated G, finished at 3,312 words, bittersweet character study, read if you want to feel a little sad and contemplative)

the five-year mission (Kirk & McCoy AOS, rated M, finished at 11,106 words, dark post-STID that sees what with Starfleet's militarization and colonialist undertones... y'know that's not far from the mirrorverse...)

A Monument to All Your Sins (Spirk AOS, rated T, finished at 9,629 words, post-STID where Kirk is ordered to retake the Kobayashi Maru, soft established relationships and musings about the nature of sacrifice/duty)

UNFINISHED:

K’oh-nar (Spirk TOS, rated T, unfinished at 320,000 words currently, PLEASE heed the "mental breakdown" tag as it centers around severe psychically-inflicted trauma, featuring Spock’s TOS canonical self-loathing, it’s tagged hurt/comfort but the plot’s still on the “hurt,”read if you want to be stabbed by a hundred knives)

Unbody Me and Take Me Home (Spirk AOS, rated N/A, unfinished at 27,416 words but updating, domestic fluff but there's a ghost, slowburn for both the romance and the horror)

[thatwholethingwiththeduck]

ds9 fic recs

Julian This, Julian That 

Five Things That Might Have Happened To Julian Bashir (If Anyone Had Asked)

A Whole New You 

Crossing The Same Bridge Twice

Drinking With a Child 

One Of Those Things

The Man With The (Highly-Suggestive) Gun 

The Strange Glue That Held Us Together 

The Invitation 

Close 

The Inertia Of Empty Spaces 

Bitten

The Habits Of The Common Wallflower 

Uncomplicated 

this is basically just a @nostalgia-tblr appreciation post yes. fangirling like it's 2004 over here.

[justlemmesignin]

my fellow average garak enjoyers, are there any suspensful/thriller fics that you'd recommend?

Not necessary for him and Julian to be together, I'm just craving some tension OTHER than the sexual kind lol

[rogueyami]

Garashir Fic Rec

Hey everyone! Finally I’m posting my garashir fic rec list. This is gonna be a long one so there will be a read more. So happy to share my fav fics because omg there are so many amazing writers in this fandom. Without further ado, here we go:

Why Don't You Run from Me by BlessedAreTheFandoms E, 19k

Set after interment camp 371. Julian is self destructing and he turns to Garak. I love a fic that explores Julian mental and emotional state after camp 371 and this fic really delivers. Mind the tags and grab some tissues!

call me by the old familiar name by simplyprologue M, 40k

This fic really has you on the edge of your seat. This is set quite some time after ds9 ended. Garak is Castellan and Kira is a military minister and they find Julian’s “dead” body delivered to them. Note that there is no major character death tag. You got Julian trying to expose section 31, Garak pining and devastated over Julian’s “death”, and them finally getting together :) I really love Garak and Kira’s friendship here too!

 Worth Waiting For by Syaunei  E, 48k

Orb of Time shenanigans featuring a new Kai! Julian gets thrown 37 years into the past where he runs into Garak when he was an operative of the Obsidian order on a Ferengi station. Love how their dynamic is reversed here where Julian is older than Garak lmao. This fic was such a treat to read!    

Especially the Lies by AlphaCygni M, 23k

We got the classic fake relationship featuring Lwaxana Troi! Julian is trying to get out of “dignitary sitting” by pretending he’s in a relationship with Garak, thinking he’s really going to fool Ambassador Troi lmao. But also it becomes so much more than that when they go to a gala and something seems to be amiss...

Standards of Care by sahiya E, 41k

A medical drama fic where Julian works on a cure for a dominion engineered plague that’s ravaging ds9. He’s working himself to the bone and Garak is there to take care of him through it all while helping in his own way. I really just adore sahiya’s works and recommend checking out their other works as well! 

A Bag Full of God by Vermin_Disciple  E, 35k

Garak and Bashir are married with a kid while living on Cardassia. Of course their peaceful life take a turn when they both get de-aged. They both are around 19 years old and that means that it was the time Garak was at his peak in the Obsidian Order. Super interesting to see this side of Garak where his loyalty lies with the order and Enabran Tain. He’s cunning, manipulative yet unpolished since he’s not the older Garak that we know.

Impact by sfumatosoup E, 40k

A post canon Cardassia story where Julian goes to volunteer as a doctor while also trying to look for Garak. There he meets a Vulcan, Radak, and I just absolutely love his character. A story about people being in love and struggling to let one they love know. it’s very sweet and of course Julian meddles in someone else’s love life before he figures out his own lmao. 

From Andor With Love by hingabee and PunishedPyotr E, 37k     

Julian goes to another medical conference and Garak tags along because Julian’s track record with these conferences is not... great. And yes, you guessed it, shit goes down at this conference too. A fun story where we see people from both Garak and Julian’s past and Kira is there too because she’s on vacation but she doesn’t get to do much relaxing either  

runner-up by meriwethersays E, 59k

Set post Far Beyond the Stars, Julias, a science fiction writer meets Elim Garak, a simple tailor and they soon get involved but of course, as we know with Garak, there is way more to him than meets the eye. Spy shenanigans ensue. Honestly when I started reading this fic I could literally not put it down.  

Outside Chance by wcdarling E, 49k

What if Julian actually got kicked out when Starfleet discovered he was an augment? This fic answers this question and more! We see canon events unfold and the war starts and Julian tries to still help as much as he can from the outside. 

take me closer, take my clothes off by wanderingwriter87 E, 11k 

When I first started watching ds9 and shipping garashir, I thought that Garak would def have Julian for a fitting to subtly feel him up. And lo and behold someone wrote a fic about that exact scenario thank you @wanderingwriter87 for your service!

A Well-Dressed Man by TheCheerfulPornographer  E, 17k

A beautiful story featuring Cardassian folklore, Garak making Julian a suit and of course Julian wearing the suit ;) you can imagine what happens next hehe

A Friend in the Dark by AuroraNova E, 26k

Starfleet finds out that Julian is genetically engineered so they want to court martial him. Julian accepts it and goes along with it but there is something very fishy going on here. Garak, experienced ex spy, tasks himself in rescuing and protecting Julian with the help of his friends. Julian and Garak are on the run, together they try to make the best out of a bad situation and do what they can to help with the war anonymously.

[ectogeo-rebubbles]

Fic Feature Friday: truth-serum-cum 'verse edition!

You Make My Dreams (Cum True) by @cemetrygatess is a Garashir fic written from Garak's POV, where they discover during their first time together that Julian's cum acts like a truth serum on Garak. I always love it when Garak accidentally reveals more of the truth than he wants to, especially due to sexy and silly circumstances! The fic is so intimate and sweet and tender, and I recommend it so so much. <3

Honesty Cums Easy is a Julian POV sequel that I wrote in the same continuity as You Make My Dreams (Cum True), due to me becoming insanely obsessed with the implications of it. It's about Garak and Bashir's continued use of this truth serum cum effect as their relationship progresses. It's about trust and intimacy and kink negotiation and Garak finally getting the chemically-induced plausible deniability to say the things he wanted to say anyway. Anyway, step right into the Garashir truth serum cum 'verse and let me explain to you my hottest take of all: Elim Garak's honesty kink. XD

[various-things]

Fic Feature Friday!

Growth by sapphose

Rated T (but various nsfw discussion and a lot of sexual tension), 45k words, Star Trek: DS9, Julian Bashir/Elim Garak

Author summary: Julian and Garak grapple with their pasts and their feelings for each other at the end of the series.

I've recced this before here and there and I'm gonna rec it here! This is one of my absolute favorite DS9 fics. Set post-canon with Julian and Garak eventually getting together, there are turns of phrase and moments in this fic that stick with me. It's stunningly written and so good.

[vermin-disciple]

Fanbinding: A Private Universe by AuroraNova

My latest mini hardcover is the first book in the Private Universe series by @aurora-nova-fic. This is a fantastic series with a really cool concept behind it - highly recommend checking it out if you haven't read it. I picked up this fabric a while ago and have been looking for a project to use it on, and I thought it suited this one well.

I cut the bookcloth from a precut fat quarter (100% cotton) I picked up at Joann's Fabrics and backed with paper. The cover text, DS9 silhouette and spine are all HTV: Cricut Everyday Iron-On (gold and silver) and Cricut Foil Iron-On (violet). The DS9 silhouette on the back is borrowed from the Niners logo (my edit is available here if you're interested in using it for anything). The fonts on the cover, spine, and title page are DS9 Title and DS9 Credits from st-minutiae.com, and most of the rest of the text is 12 point Sabon.

I'm not sure if or when I'll do the rest of the series, though I did just pick up a bunch of other spacey fabrics on sale, so…

(Cross-posted to AO3)

[gardenvarietyhuman]

“Ah! Looks like it’s finally my turn to have a POV chapter,” said Garak, noticing the latest update to the story.

It sure is, buddy.

[cooking-with-hailstones]

Garashir fic rec

Hello Garashir Nation, I would just like to report that one of my all time favourite series DS9: Sub-Prime has started updating again and it is so freaking good everyone should go read it. (with the usual caveats of heed the tags and warnings!)

I just love this series so much and it deserves so much love.

[trillscienceofficer]

Some time ago I talked about the kind of "Jadzia Lives AU" that I would love to read (ie, one where she survives Dukat's attack but she loses the symbiont, which in turns still gets joined to Ezri), and since then I found out about an amazing ongoing fic that's doing exactly that, and with exactly the kind of approach I look for in a Dax story.

Who We Are by @nebulouscoffee really has everything: incredibly good characterization, lots of angst, really good thoughts & execution on Trill embodiment and trauma, an excellent backstory for Ezri's joining, plus it uses DS9's large cast very wisely and the canon divergence is very effectively employed, both emotionally and to shine a light on details and implications that DS9 was very quick to wave away. It's all I ever wanted for a premise I'm really attached to, and I absolutely recommend reading it!!

[topshelf2112-blog]

You’re really telling me that in “The Search” (part 2) all we get is, “he’s not coming”? I get that there’s the whole hero-of-Starfleet thing to uphold but still…

[smallblueandloud]

i think one of the reasons i've been stuck on the ds9 modern au fic is because i accidentally ended up writing kiradax (which none of us are surprised about cause i love that ship) BUT it is very hard to characterize kiradax because canon sucks ass.

so i took a break from writing to read some kiradax fic and the tldr is that this far beyond the stars-verse fic made me very :') and y'all should read it