#is it obvious that kira and bashir are my favorites...

[magpieandpossum]

I'm already about 110% in love with these rough draft character sprites....

these are all unshaded, and will probably be continued to be edited, but I just wanted to share to get feedback! both garak and quark have alternate outfits as well ^^

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time! last night we watched ds9's "vortex" and "battle lines." mwah. every day i wish tng's pussy could pop like ds9's does.

vortex (ds9):

ANOTHER ODO EPISODE! was i not JUST saying i wish he had more to do

i really really really liked this one...i love that odo has such a strong sense of right and wrong. it would be wrong to take this's guy stone. it would be wrong to release a prisoner he was duty-bound to transport. it would also be wrong to orphan this man's daughter. he has a strict moral code, but it's his own moral code, not starfleet's.

AND it affects the people around him. that guy was totally gonna leave odo for dead and then changed his mind. LOVE that <3

obviously it's sad that this guy is lying, but it's only season 1...AND we got an official species name and a semi-alive stone odo can call "cousin" which is both sad and kind of funny

i liked how when odo wanted answers he went to quark and was threatening and quark was like brushing him off like girl i don't know ANYTHING til he saw odo was serious and then he also got serious. quark isn't always my favorite character bc i dont like the ferengi BUT i DO really like the way he can shift his energy to match the situation instead of remaining rigid - like getting scared when finding out his friends were his game pieces.

some of the alien's digs were sooo mean. my favorite was "THEY (the other changelings) don't keep a humanoid form." really speaks to odo feeling outside of his own community...which means now of course that he's my favoritest specialest little guy. where's that post about star trek characters with autism...he can join the autism gang with spock and data. i think when we get to the end of s1 i'll be ready to do a character rank.

battle lines (ds9):

THIS ONE FUCKED! before getting into the big obvious stuff i actually liked the minor character work it did for bashir - he volunteers to go because "its a slow day 😇" and then proves useful at both flying and repairing the ship, and EVEN got a few rare noncomedic moments in. as much as i love to giggle at this guy i really appreciate they gave him some serious stuff - both wondering if it was ethical to help these people die and then being absolutely disgusted when the folks in question wanted to turn his idea into a weapon for slaughter.

talking to these people is like TALKING TO A WALL. no wonder kira wanted to distance herself from them...and no wonder she recognized herself in them. this whole sitch was practically designed to trigger her ptsd. i love what a great actress she is - she wasn't just crying on cue, she was sobbing with like spit and everything, which is gross, but god damn

more o'brien this episode though imho still not enough. i wanted him to have more stuff to do on ds9. give him something to do!!!

i really really like kai opaka...i'm glad she's not Dead dead but she might as well be. i feel like she's the only kind of person who could get through to those people.

i like where they rolled credits bc it made both of us go DAMN HOLY SHIT aloud but i also wonder what will happen when they go back without the prophet...feels like there'll be hell to pay

TONIGHT, hopefully: tng's "the chase" and ds9's "the storyteller"

[deepspacedukat]

I do really want to know your reasoning on the Cardassians because sometimes I just go ✨PRETTY✨ and have absolutely no other thoughts. It’s a little embarrassing.

But also, if you were stuck somewhere for like a year who would you pick to live with from Trek and why? I’m picking Jadzia, Kira, Dr. Bashir, and Rom. Also Garak because then I could learn how to sew better.

-Horta-in-Charge

Look, honestly, sometimes the ✨pretty✨ reaction is all I have too lol. Okay, so for the placement reasoning:

Fuck: Garak - The man would absolutely know what he was doing, but I feel like because of his Obsidian Order past he wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable with something as traceable as a marriage record revealing that he had a weakness (aka his s/o). The sex though...the sex. Not giving that up! Dukat - I mean, the man would know his way around, if you know what I mean. The guy has multiple children so obviously he knows what he’s doing. Might not be smart to marry a villain, but to be his good little slut...? *nods head sagely* Madred - Look, he’s evil. He tortured Picard. But...also...I would let him rail me till I couldn’t stand. No logic on this one. Just ✨dirty thoughts.✨

Marry: Macet - He doesn’t seem as bad as his cousin, and he’s still got the sexy voice, so um...Yeah. Not really any logic with this one either. Just would absolutely take pretty lizard’s last name. Daro - I mean, this one to me is obvious. He seems like he’d be sweet and protective and just perfect husband material, so...yep. We don’t even have an official first name for him, but I’d take his last name. Damar - Ok, so...no logic for this one either...He’s a big, pretty, square lizard. And I’d go there. Tekeny Ghemor - He’s a widower and he’s a very sweet man. 10/10 would call him daddy in bed and take his last name. He also feels like the type of person who would be v protective of the person he loved and since he’s obviously had a kid, he knows what he’s doing in bed...

Kiss: Telle - Tbh, he wasn’t my favorite Cardassian, but he was still cute and rather square. 100% would give this lizard a smooch. Boheeka - Look. LOOK. This man deserved better than the Order making him disappear for Quark’s requisition code. Add that to his slutty little comment about a Dabo girl almost bankrupting him, and I’d definitely kiss him. Also, he’s pretty, so... Ari - This good boy just wanted to protect Iliana!Kira and for Cardassia to have a better future. HE DESERVED BETTER. 10000/10 would smooch. Entek - Bad Lizard™ but would I let him pin me up against a wall and kiss me like a back alley whore? Yes. No logic. Only ✨pretty✨

Hug: Mavek - He was on Terok Nor during the Dominion’s occupation of said station, and he was sweet enough to bring Major Kira her coffee every morning. Look. Any guy who remembers AWAKE JUICE for somebody EVERY DAY has EARNED a hug. At minimum.

Kill: Evek - Look. I have strong feelings about Cardassians. For some reason, he evokes a very visceral reaction. Also I’m convinced he’s one of the ones who suggested the Central Command try to blame Dukat for the weapon smuggling in “The Maquis” Parts 1&2. R.I.P. Danar - Idk why I have this reaction with him?? So many of Vaughn Armstrong’s characters are calming or just give me a different reaction, but with Danar, I...I don’t know. Confusion lizard. R.I.P.

As for your second question, oooooh, I love that idea! I’ll do 5 people since you chose 5.

If it can be anyone from any Trek series, I’d say... Shran, Julian Bashir, Spock, Malcolm Reed, and Dukat (for chaos and laughs). Would we survive? Probably not. Would it be fun? Yes (for me; I guarantee nobody else’s enjoyment but my own).

If it can only be DS9 characters...Bashir, O’Brien, Martok, Garak, and Dukat (again, for chaos and laughs). 

Are both those sets reverse harem situations in my brain? ...Perhaps...

[el-im]

ok no one cares but i am once again thinking about how andrew j. robinson’s writing in a stitch in time fundamentally changed the the way i’ve come to view garak and how i interpret the “Of all the stories you told me, which ones were true and which ones weren't?” / "My dear Doctor, they're all true." / "Even the lies?" / "Especially the lies.” interaction from the wire (which initially i was very thrown off by). by suggesting that the stories garak fabricates are indicative of how he chooses to define himself, i think the stories from the wire serve specifically to illustrate what garak most covets/coveted in life, and that they contain elements of the circumstances/relationships/motivations/etc. that garak never had, or were beyond his reach. by making up these particular circumstances, garak is juxtaposing his words against the actuality of his life, and by that comparison his lies demonstrate the truth of his relationship with tain, his work in the obsidian order, and his personal convictions...

Story 1: “During the occupation, I was a Gul in the Cardassian Mechanised Infantry. We were stationed just outside the Bajoran Capital. Shortly before the withdrawal, a handful of Bajoran prisoners escaped from my custody. My aide, a man named Elim, tracked them to a Cardassian shuttle about to depart for Terok Nor. Elim got aboard, but the captain refused to let him search the ship, because he claimed he was under strict orders from Gul Dukat to depart immediately. So I had the shuttle destroyed, killing the escapees, Elim, and ninety seven Cardassian civilians... I followed my orders. None of those prisoners escaped off of Bajor alive. Unfortunately as it turned out, one of the passengers on the shuttle was the daughter of a prominent military official. I was stripped of my rank and commission, and exiled from Cardassia.” 

-> what i get from this one is that garak wants a) companionship (in this “aide”, elim), b) authority (in my mind, this is more of a past item of desire. in his youth in the obsidian order, he wanted to emulate tain, and was indoctrinated to think that power should be sought after above all else, and not relinquished), and c) ruthlessness. the crowning jewel of tain’s service as the head of the obsidian order, garak grew up with detachment and brutality being demonstrated as the guiding principle of leadership, command, delegation... the funny thing about all these garak episodes, and which I am glad to see that the fandom so readily picked up on (see one of my favorite posts: “i don’t understand why ds9 fandom casts garak as some sort of suave oscar wilde daddy dom when he’s clearly the kind of older man who gets trashed at a casino at 3pm on thursdays and tips dabo boys extra to hold him while he cries”) is that for all his posturing, for all his discussion about the difference between cardassian principles and “federation dogma”, for all we actually, genuinely learn about what garak did during his time in the obsidian order (for all interested in garak’s life pre-terok nor/ds9, please take this free link and read a stitch in time it’s one of like... two trek novels i’d ever recommend and is so good i promise <3), for all we learn about what he did after (the assassination of senator vreenak “in in the pale moonlight”), garak still doesn’t... come off as hardened, or unfeeling. he repeatedly demonstrates a willingness to put himself in harm's way to save the people he cares about (most notably, bashir/martok during their time in the jem hadar prison, but even once going to cardassia to save kira, who detests/detested him (depending on if you believe their relationship changed over the course of the show) and risking arrest/execution by returning to cardassia during his exile). for all his pretending otherwise (from second skin: GARAK: “I have no intention of sacrificing my life to save yours. If it looks like we're in danger of being captured... if there are any signs of trouble at all... you're on your own. SISKO: Mister Garak, I believe that's the first completely honest thing you've ever said to me.”), Garak isn’t selfish, or at the least isn’t constantly, predictably selfish. He’s self-sacrificial more often that he’s given credit for, he’s occasionally kind. I think the first story he tells in the wire is so indicative of the inner conflict he feels. inside him is a child who was brought up to revel in the glory of violence in the middle of a military occupation of another world. there is a part of him that persists in believing strength is only fortification, obfuscation, invulnerability. and yet there is a part of him now wrestling with the belief that he can only be saved through honesty, by telling bashir about the implant and why it’s there and who he is that warrants it. one of the most remarkable things about this wholly incredible episode is this struggle between these two parts of himself. 

and really, garak isn’t stubborn, or stupid. he knows if he wants to save his life (and for a moment... for some inexplicable reason, he does), he’ll have to give bashir some tipping hint. he has to tell him enough of the truth to give him a way to help him, and that’s what all these stories come down to. he is hinting as best he can. he is explaining as much as possible, so as not to betray the angry little boy inside him who sees this addiction as a weakness, who sees his attachment to bashir, and to his life on the station as a vulnerability, exploited.  then there’s a second layer in which (after discovery that garak is elim) the audience gleans that garak (in his youth) desperately wanted direction, for someone to tell him what do to and how to do it--that he wanted to be excused from his actions on the basis of “following direct orders”... god, but then I think about how garak chooses to kill the figure of elim he paints here. paired with the resignation to his own fate at this point in the episode (garak knows a replacement device can’t be obtained, that his body is too reliant on the implant to function on its own, and that withdrawal without supplement will be deadly... which is to say garak is sure he is going to die), this seems so poignant. does he wish he’d have died years ago? killed in some random shoot out at the orders of someone higher up on the obsidian order’s chain of command? and can you imagine that? tain would bury the report so as to conceal his son’s involvement with the order (sentimentality always coming second to security, of course), letting this “elim garak” be listed as some citizen at the wrong place at the wrong time, a random victim of the violence of the bajoran occupation... garak, in an instant, would be forgotten. brushed aside by his father in favor of obscuring the actual operation undergone. 

in the end i think the most i get from this version of the story is that subtle death wish. if he had been a less important operative, or if he had died then, he wouldn’t be enduring this now (return to the conversation about a lifetime serving cardassia re: “the neverending sacrifice” at the opening of the ep....). part of me believes garak wishes he would have died then, before he could have been exiled, before setting up his shop on the station, before meeting bashir... 

garashir side note: “At first, he just wanted to have sex with him. That's absolutely clear. That's all he wanted from him. ‘Come to my shop, I got some nice clothes for you... but you'll have to change first.’ But then it really got complicated, especially when Garak's addiction and despair began to surface. He needed someone to share it with.” - Andy Robinson, from “What We Left Behind”. / “What we should've done, after The Wire in season two, the episode where Bashir helps him get over his addiction, we should've had Garak come out to Bashir as a gay Cardassian... Garak comes out as gay in season two, we have five seasons to play that Bashir and Garak relationship. Where that would have gone, who the hell knows, but it could've been so cool.” - Ira Steven Behr, from “What We Left Behind”. 

Considering these two quotes from the actor who played Garak and the head writer on DS9, another thing about this episode I’m throwing my two cents in for is the obvious implications for this deepening the relationship between garak and bashir. One of the most frustrating things about this episode is how much it just begs for more, more, more. The casual banter about literature they start up at the beginning of the episode, the refusal on garak’s part of letting bashir take him the the infirmary (hello cardassian stubbornness, the whole scene reeks so much of ‘I do not want you to see me vulnerable, I want you to think me strong and independent and not in danger’. the whole charade reminds me so much of a wounded animal putting on a brave face so as to not be found out. garak does not want bashir (specifically!) to see him sick, to see him needing. he does not want to admit that he needs his help, that he needs him)...

then everything else that follows that, bashir worriedly reaching out to his friends for help and advice: talking to o’brien about his concerns for garak and asking about retrieving the cardassian medical files, then to dax, who tells him flatly “It sounds like you're taking this personally.... It's not like you two are really friends.”. the affront on bashir’s part at hearing that. “It's just that Garak and I have been having lunch together once a week for more than a year now. You'd think he'd come to trust me a little!” he exclaims. then how defeated and angry he is (violently stabbing her plant with mycorrhizae), the strong thread of bitterness humming in his honey-sweet voice, “If he doesn't want my help, that's his prerogative.”

there’s something so magnificent about the timeline here. how long they’ve known each other by now, the fact that bashir is the only person garak really considers his own on the station (“it isn’t bashir who dies, is it? Ira, you’re not going to kill off julian, are you? I mean, where does that leave me? I mean, he’s my only relationship in this show! I don’t have him, I have nothing. I’m hanging out in space with nobody to talk to!” - DS9Doc's Ira Steven Behr pushes for more DS9 in HD!)... it’s so plainly laid out that bashir is the only thing garak has, the only reason he has to be curious about what else life could bring him at this point in his life, so far from home, from his family, from the only job he ever felt he had been suited for. 

which is not even to mention julian’s reaction to this first story.  “So now you know, Doctor. I hope I haven't shattered too many of your illusions.” garak concludes. There is a pregnant pause of still hesitation (in which i imagine garak is reeling--because, at the same time, i think, despite this relay being an attempt to communicate his own misery, these stories are also made to push something in bashir. Garak is at the end of his rope, drifting (almost) untethered into unknown space and he is reaching out in the hope that julian, (despite, despite, despite...) will take his hand. Garak is trying to see just how far Julian will go to save him, to forgive him. He is trying to discover if there is an exception to his “federation dogma”, if there is really truth to that myth of human kindness he’d heard so much about...  in this moment, Garak is playing this horrific, dangerous, loving, desperate game of cat and mouse. “Could you still love me if I...” he seems to say, and believes at some point he’ll be responded to with a “no”, but hopes, against his better judgement, beyond belief, that he wont be.  And then Julian looks up at him, faces close enough for Garak to feel his steady breath on his cheeks as he says, calmly, “Listen to me, Garak. Right now I'm not concerned with what you did in the past. I'm simply not going to walk out of here and let you die. We need to turn that implant off and whatever withdrawal symptoms or side effects you may experience, I promise I'll help you through them. I need to know where that triggering device is. Where is it?” 

And that line is it for me, beyond so much of the other golden ones in this episode. This is the first time that Garak hears that unequivocal acceptance, and it just sends him staggering. In all his life, he’s never been faced with love like that. His father pushed him away, let him believe for years that he wasn’t his son. Mila didn’t, or couldn’t, or wouldn’t put up a fight for him when Tain exiled him... 

this is one moment in ds9 where i am particularly grateful for ds9 being filmed on a 4:3 aspect ratio that forced characters so close together to be in a shot. in this scene, a line from Shauna Barbosa’s “GPS”, Cape Verdean Blues comes back to me, and I look at the pair of them so close on the screen, Julian so open and Garak so agast, and I just think, “You kiss the back of my legs and I want to cry. Only / the sun has come this close, only the sun.”

all is to say: andy robinson himself has said that bashir is the only relationship garak has. assuming garak’s killing of elim in this first story is indicative of his own wish that he might have died during his work with the obsidian order (and thus been spared exile, the torture of life on the station, the gradual dependency he forged on the implant, and the inevitable withdrawal he was going to experience), there necessitates a question of why garak should agree to treatment (thus saving his life) only to continue living on a station he found so hellish in the past* 

*oh... the magnificent (perfectly summative) conversation between Tain and Bashir... “BASHIR: He's dying. TAIN: And you're trying to save him. BASHIR: That's right. TAIN: Strange. I thought you were his friend. BASHIR: I suppose I am. TAIN: Then you should let him die. After all, for Garak, a life in exile is no life at all.”

to me, this question has three answers: 1. he is appeasing an insistent julian (though this begets the suggestion that garak doesn’t have much faith in julian’s treating him--in which case, garak decides that one of his last acts in life will be making julian happy) 2. he is choosing to live because he is... intrigued by julian. because he likes his company and the meals they share and the books they trade... and because he is curious to see where this relationship will go. Julian has made his life bearable (dare I say enjoyable? see: “GARAK: [They] left me to live out my days with nothing to look forward to but having lunch with you. BASHIR: I'm sorry you feel that way. I thought you enjoyed my company. GARAK: I did. And that's the worst part. I can't believe that I actually enjoyed eating mediocre food and staring into at your smug, sanctimonious face. ”) and has thus given him some reason to get up in the morning, even if it is for a frivolous little lunch appointment in another few days or 3. he is choosing to live not for julian, but directly because of him. even if this relationship has a platonic reading, it can’t be denied that julian opened up a new world for garak, and if nothing else was able to stay his boredom/disgust with life on the station

Story 2: GARAK: There was a time, Doctor, oh there was a time when I was a power. The protégé of Enabran Tain himself. Do you have any idea what that means?... Tain was the Obsidian Order. Not even the Central Command dared challenge him. And I was his right hand. My future was limitless until I threw it away. BASHIR: You mean when you had that shuttle shot down to stop those prisoners from escaping? GARAK: Stop them? I only wish that I had stopped them. BASHIR: You didn't? GARAK: No, Doctor, my disgrace was worse than that. Unimaginably worse. BASHIR: What could you have possibly done worse than that? GARAK: I let them go. It was the eve of the Cardassian withdrawal. Elim and I were interrogating five Bajorans. They were children, Doctor. None of them were older than fourteen years old. They knew nothing. They lived in bombed-out rooms, scrounged for food on the streets. They were filthy and they stank. The room was freezing cold, the air was like ice, and suddenly the whole exercise seemed utterly meaningless. All I wanted was a hot bath and a good meal. So I let them go. I gave them whatever latinum I had in my pockets, and opened the door, and flung them back into the street. Elim couldn't believe his eyes. He looked at me as if I were insane.” 

-> from this version of the story there’s a much clearer division between the elim garak (a young agent of the obsidian order baptized in fire) he was in his youth and the elim garak he is now (a disgraced former agent, exiled, alone save for one ambitious, self assured federation doctor). this, i think, seems to show the separation between what this character “elim” (young garak) wanted:  which was uncompromising brutality and dedication to his work, and what present garak wants: peace, a full belly, the ability to be charitable (specifically to young, hungry bajorans)... 

this story to me is one that best places this contemporary incarnation of garak relative to his bajoran counterparts on the station. in the beginning of this episode, when telling bashir why he initially chose to activate the implant, he speaks about how he, as the only cardassian living on ds9, is viewed by the bajorans living there. (“Living on this station is torture for me, Doctor. The temperature is always too cold, the lights always too bright. Every Bajoran on the station looks at me with loathing and contempt.”) In this story, by releasing the children and giving them the latinum he had, he’s trying to repent to Julian, asking to be forgiven for the part he played in the occupation of bajor by showing that he was/is (depending on how you view the timeline of the progression of his attitudes) sympathetic to them, and that he regrets the hand he had in bringing war, famine, and subjugation to them. 

Story 3: “GARAK: Elim wasn't my aide. He was my friend. We grew up together. We were closer than brothers. For some reason, Enabran Tain took a liking to us. Before long, we were both powerful men in the Obsidian Order. They called us the Sons of Tain. Even the Guls feared us. And then there was a scandal. Someone in the Order was accused of letting some Bajoran prisoners escape. There were constant rumours of who was going to be implicated. Fingers were being pointed at me. By then Tain had retired to the Arawath Colony. He couldn't protect me, so I panicked. I did everything in my power to make sure that Elim was accused instead of me. I altered records, planted evidence, only to discover that he'd beaten me to it. BASHIR: He betrayed you first? GARAK: Elim destroyed me. Before I knew what was going on, I was sentenced to exile. And the irony is, I deserved it. Oh, not for the reasons they claimed, but because of what I had tried to do to Elim, my best friend.”

-> whenever I think back to this, my first impression remains that this is one of the stories where Bashir is considered. At this point, Garak’s been transferred from his room to the infirmary. Despite turning the implant off, toxins are continuing to accumulate in his lymphatic systems. He’s been sad (even woke bashir up with his weeping), he’s been angry (destroyed the vase and flipped the desk in his room, attacked bashir...), and now he’s calm, and tired. He thinks this is the end. He refuses to have the implant turned back on, which nurse jabara estimates might give him another week to live. This is the end of the line for him, and he’s accepting it with dignity and grace. He goes to release Bashir from his obligation to him “you’re done enough, Doctor. More than I deserve...” and goes to tell Bashir “the truth”. To me, this is his goodbye. Even if it isn’t a true story, this is the gift he’s giving Bashir. This is what he (spinner of wonderful lies, obfuscating agent of the despicable obsidian order) can give him as a parting gift--it is what he wants him to have. 

in this story, Garak is not friendless, as he is on the station. He has a close relationship with someone (’see, then, doctor?’ he seems to ask playfully, life sputtering out of his eyes. ‘i am capable of it!’)... and yet, there is also betrayal. It reminds me of an assurance, in a way. “Bashir,” he seems to say, the entire weight of all the good doctor’s efforts to save him pressing down on his every word, “look what might have come to you had I allowed you to care for me. There is only danger for you to find in me.” In this, Elim stands in place of Bashir. A steadfast friend who Garak works against for the sake of self preservation. In this moment, Garak is pleading with the man standing above him next to the biobed. He is insisting Bashir be grateful for the shallowness of their relationship (something I Garak ensured deliberately), and telling him that, though he is grateful for him, that if they had been closer, Garak would only have caused him pain. 

The heart of this story is Garak’s appraisal of his own self worth. Regardless of how much he’s changed since his time in the order, he persists in thinking he functions in the world to cause harm, much so that it is the only thing he’s able to do. Garak sees himself as the knife in the backs of others, or the hand raised, dagger in clutch. 

the second thing i see is contained wholly within the line: “By then Tain had retired to the Arawath Colony. He couldn't protect me, so I panicked.” aside from assurances made to bashir, i think the purpose of this speech is to demonstrate (in the fashion of the lies being true) that garak wanted, and still wants safety. he wanted someone (Tain) to come to his defense then. while this extends to the implication that garak wanted tain, as his father, to stand up for him out of pride, or love, or even a perfunctory sense of parental commitment rather than exile him (a recurring desire illustrates/suggested in the show/books), i also think its perfectly suited to the care julian is exhibiting in tending to him in this episode. for all garak’s refusal to acknowledge his pain (a mere headache, as he claimed when they stood outside the replimat), for all his refusal to go to the infirmary when they meet at quark’s later, the care julian is constantly exhibiting through this episode is what garak is most endeared by. it is the thing he wanted most in his youth, and the thing now (because it was denied to him then) he finds so difficult to accept. there are many (many) instances throughout the show of garak and bashir talking about the extension of federation help/kindness, and this being something bashir embodies, btu this is one of the illustrations that sticks with me because of its particular placement. In the story, Garak wanted protection. He was alone, and afraid, and wanted help. As it now stands, he is not alone, he is calm, and has help. That is perhaps the most startling revelation for him of all. 

and last but not least another... intriguing part of all garak’s stories is his repeated separation of himself and elim. the illusion of separation is one of the most intriguing (and heartbreaking) aspects of these story to me. garak has always struck me as the kind of character who sees grief and regret as an impetus for amputation. he believes what is unpleasant or unnecessary about him he can cut off and live through. he believes he can build up a wall between himself and what he doesn’t want to see or experience without repercussion (this being why he activated the implant in the first place). by making elim and himself two separate people he is not only distancing himself from whatever it was he really did, thus taking responsibility for it in part and allowing the other half of himself turn away in disgust and without sympathy, but suggesting that he cannot be culpable entirely for what it was he did.  in each of his stories, the blame is to be shared, divided. the hardest part of all of this to swallow is that even after all this time, he’s begging for someone to spare him of the crushing loneliness of disgrace, begging for someone to understand fully what he’s done, accept him, and shoulder a part of his burden, much so that he creates an entirely new incarnation of himself just to sit with him in hell. 

anyway ive also been fucking around on memory alpha and this was intriguing to me so im putting it here: 

"When I was writing the story," stated Robert Hewitt Wolfe, "the movie Schindler's List had just come out and Ira was saying, 'Maybe he was Schindler; maybe he was the guy who let the prisoners go.' And then it was, 'Maybe he wasn't; maybe he was the Butcher of Budapest.' So we just kept telling all these lies, and I think the truth lies somewhere in there. Maybe he did let people go. Maybe he did shoot down the ship. Who knows?" (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 141))

[kaelio]

okay last ds9 question lol. what would be like, your five least favorite DS9 ships and why? canon or not, but they have to be ones that have at least a small following, not like jadzia/odo or something that has like 5 works on ao3. (feel free to just skip if you don't want the drama or negativity, I just am always ready to go off on like, how angry i am that kira/dukat is a thing in the fandom and that marc alaimo wanted it to become canon!)

most people wanted it to become canon lol it was like the most popular ship among the contemporary audience. anyway.

i'm not sure if there's any ships I really have strong negative feelings about, i just don't read it. as noted in a previous ask, I prefer kira to not be in a relationship so... oh! ok, so:

1. bashir / ezri (for obvious reasons like that it's gross and weird)

2. allpurpose kira shipping just sorta 'eh' on, including kira and dukat i don’t want her with him either of course

3. I absolutely hate keiko/o'brien/kira . hate it. oh my god i hate it lol. it's extremely creepy and gross to me that the show kind of teased kira being reeled into their relationship just because she was roped into being used as a baby brooder. this is actually a no shit (book only?? i haven't seen the show) handmaid's tale a.f. dynamic AUGH it is bad

[itsclydebitches]

So the story goes like this: I’m in London for the month, popping into every used bookstore I find, and while in one I spot Captains' Logs Supplemental: The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages. Though baggage weight limits won’t let me buy it (I have already bought so many books) I did snap pics of the “Past Prologue,” “Cardassians,” and “The Wire” entires. And then transcribed them. Because I thought the other Garak stans might enjoy this info!

Worth the read imo 💜

Episode #3 “Past Prologue” Original Airdate: 1/11/93 Written by Katharyn Powers Directed by Winrich Kolbe Guest Starring: Jeffrey Nordling (Tahna), Andrew Robinson (Garak), Barbara March (Lursa), Vaughn Armstrong (Gul Dunar), Richard Ryder (Bajoran Deputy), Susan Bay (Admiral), Gwynyth Walsh (B’Etor)

“We didn’t want your typical Cardassian in there,” says director Winrich Kolbe of the creation of one of DS9’s break-out characters, the Cardassian spy Garak. “Obviously it would have been hard to put a real Cardassian soldier in a clothing store. Perhaps it would have been terrific, who knows, but what we felt we had to deal with was somebody abnormal—at least as far as the Cardassians were concerned. It was one of those things where I wasn’t quite sure whether Andy Robinson would be the right guy. I had a different idea as to what type of actor I wanted, but Andy Robinson was available and turned out to be terrific. What I wanted, which shows how far off I was, was Sydney Greenstreet. I have to admire an actor who has to come in at three in the morning and stay in that kind of makeup for the rest of the day and still be able to give a performance.”

Comments Michael Piller, “One of the things about ‘Past Prologue’ that bothered me was that Bashir’s performance was in a very broad range—and this was newness. I believe we have strange aliens, strange makeup, spaceships, explosions and wormholes and costumes that are crazy, so that the people within them have to be entirely credible. If those people get too big in their performances, then you go into opera, and it becomes space opera, foolish and unbelievable. Patrick Stewart really led the way with us in Next Generation, which is to underplay. When you think you’re going to go big, you come down, and it has much more power and credibility. You believe there’s a space station or a spaceship like Enterprise. The biggest problem with the early shows is that some of the performances were too big or too restrained. We had to find the even tone for the ensemble to work together. Our voices weren’t quite right, and the performances were uneven. The first episode hurt the character of Bashir because he was so broad in those scenes with Andy Robinson that he looked like the greenest recruit in the history of the Starfleet, and that hurt him for two or three episodes. If we were shooting it today, his performance would be much more credible, and he wouldn’t have the same reaction from the audience that he has now.”

Klingon renegades Lursa and B’Etor, of course, were introduced in the Next Generation two-parter “Redemption,” and were used as part of an attempt to tie Deep Space Nine into existing Trek continuity. The characters eventually perished in battle against the Enterprise in the feature film Star Trek: Generations.

“The creative synergy allows you incredible opportunities,” remarks Piller. “It’s interesting how we used them. Essentially, we had a story and, in the case of Lursa and B’Etor, we said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a real kind of Casablanca spy story and we need someone to really be doing double dealings and bringing money and doing gun exchanges; why don’t we use the Klingons—and use those characters that we love so much? It works out just fine to use those guys because then there’s a connection and an identification. There’s a backstory, there’s a history, and all of these things make for such a richer series.”

Says Ira Behr, “There’s no doubt that people like [TNG characters like] Lwaxana [Troi] and Q and Vash and a bunch of others. They have a certain life to them as characters and an energy that certainly helped The Next Generation and helps us too. The characters that don’t have to be Starfleet and don’t have those strings we have attached so often. A lot of times you have people performing those characters who take a lot of relish in doing them, so they’re fun to have come back.”

Piller doesn’t feel that in exploiting The Next Generation’s voluminous history Deep Space Nine has an unfair advantage, appealing to those already familiar with Trek lore. “You have to look at the shows themselves,” he insists. “There’s no question in my mind that conceptually, each of these shows would work because they’re about the new characters. In ‘Past Prologue,’ there’s a moral dilemma for Major Kira where she has to confront her loyalty to her past life and what her new life is going to be. It’s really about her. It’s illuminating our new characters. As I’ve always said, the guest stars are catalysts. There have been times when I have not been satisfied, more prior to my arrival, that the shows have been about the guest stars, but ultimately the shows that succeed are when the guest stars are serving as catalysts to illuminate our characters.”

Episode #25 “Cardassians” Original Airdate: 10/25/93 Teleplay by James Crocker Story by Gene Wolander and John Wright Directed by Cliff Bole Guest Starring: Rosalind Chao (Keiko O’Brien), Andrew Robinson (Garak), Robert Mandan (Kotan Pa’Dar), Terrence Evans (Proka), Vidal Peterson (Rugal), Dion Anderson (Zolan), Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat)

“I didn’t have a lot of faith in this show at first,” admits Ira Behr. “It was such an issue-oriented show that I thought we would oversimplify a complicated issue, but what got me into the show was when I realized this was not only a chance to bring back Garak but to do this whole weird little number with what’s going on between him and Dukat. To me, that nailed the character and I knew after that happened we were going to see a lot of Andy Robinson, who’s become quite popular on staff. What did not work for me was the kid and O’Brien. I thought that was very obvious stuff compared to the rest of the episode. Sometimes we have a tendency to overload the stories. Ultimately, who cared about this kid? It was weak compared to the rest of the episode.”

“As an actor, when I got the script, I didn’t realize Dukat was being set up to take the blame,” says Marc Alaimo, who portrays Gul Dukat. “But I played him as a man who was being set up. A man who was taking the dive because he had wanted to remove the children but his orders were to leave them. I never really understood that story. It seemed complicated to me, and I never quite understood how he got blamed for it.”

Episode #42 “The Wire” Original Airdate: 5/9/94 Written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe Directed by Kim Friedman Guest Starring: Andrew Robinson (Garak), Jimmie F. Skaggs (Glinn Boheeka), Ann Gillespie (Nurse Jabara), Paul Dooley (Enabran Tain)

“It just so happens some of the best shows are the least expensive, because we’re forced to be concise,” Ira Behr comments. “Our conceptual thinking of two guys in a room who are struggling for survival, or against each other, frequently makes for very good drama. This episode was an opportunity to show Bashir with a real strength that he hasn’t had before.

“[Story editor] Robert Wolfe talked passionately about doing this show, and we had always talked about the fact that Garak might have been George Smiley back in Cardassia and maybe we should explore that. Then I went to the movies and came back and said, ‘He’s Schindler.’ Why don’t we do Schindler and Smiley, and then Michale [Piller] said do all four stories, every one different. Robert came up with the idea that he tells this story about his best friend and it turns out to be him. Then you meet his mentor and best friend, who says, ‘I hope he dies, but tell him I miss him.’ That’s perfect; it’s all great stuff.”

Admittedly, “The Wire” could be perceived as an attempt to repeat the success of first season’s “Duet,” and the staff was aware of the similarities. “‘Duet’ was Kira’s crisis as much as the guy’s crisis, and this was much more Garak’s show,” offers Behr. “I thought that was a little dangerous, and we knew we were doing it, but let’s face it, the Cardassian monologue is great and Cardassians like to talk. They’re also great fun to write.”

Says David Livingston, “It’s a bottle show. It’s basically Andy Robinson in a room, but it’s very compelling because it’s one man intervening. Kurt Cobain needed Siddig. If he had had Sid he might have pulled through, because Sid knocks some sense into Andy’s head and says, ‘You’ve got to get off this stuff.’”

According to director Kim Friedman, “‘The Wire’ was kind of a challenge because most of the episode was two people in a room, Sid and Andy Robinson. It’s very hard to create pacing and energy for a show that is basically set in a room. But ultimately I was very pleased with the whole episode. I think my favorite moment was the implant withdrawal scene, which results in a fight between Bashir and Garak. It was just a very powerful moment.”

Paul Dooley, who played the menacing Enabran Tain, returned in DS9’s third season two-parter “Improbable Cause” and “The Die is Cast.” He is known for his role as Martin Tupper’s gay father in the HBO sitcom Dream On.

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

deep space nine gO

my favorite female character

Kira always and forever.

my favorite male character

I feel like Sisko is the kind of protagonist who isn’t actually anyone’s favorite character, but I like him a lot. I’m in season 2 and he’s really starting to come into focus as a character.

my favorite book/season/etc

Too early to tell.

my favorite episode (if its a tv show)

So far, “Duet”.

my favorite cast member

Avery Brooks, who seems to have done a ton of good in the world even apart from his acting career. Armin Shimerman also seems like a really interesting guy.

my favorite ship

I’m not knowledgeable about any of the ships yet really but I’m enjoying Kira and Dax’s dynamic as well as Quark and Odo’s.

a character I’d die defending

Again, Kira. I got angry when a friend I’m watching the show with remarked that he didn’t have much sympathy for her in-universe politics.

a character I just can’t sympathize with

Gul Dukat is too obvious an answer so I’m going to go with Vedek Bareil, who’s boring to begin with and the start of whose relationship with Kira comes off real bad to a post-2002 understanding of clerical sexuality.

a character I grew to love

I wasn’t expecting to like Bashir nearly as much as I do now, since he’s a pretty grating fuckboy for most of the first season.

my anti otp

Kira/Dukat.

how about we do that thing where you give me a show/movie/fandom and I’ll tell you:

[cyrelia-j]

[Fic] Deuces II: Knights (Garak/Bashir)

Yeah it's a continuation of that story though I completely blame @eilupt for the direction it took with all the tattoo talk. More Pre Garashir but it's definitely there haha (Also, it got long)

Part 1 if you missed it

AU (no Dominion) Garak and his surrogate daughter Ziyal find themselves on Deep Space Nine on a stopover to Bajor. Now having secured a date with the attractive doctor both Garak and Julian find themselves getting ready for the evening with a little help.

“Are you going to tell me what the handsome doctor whispered to you yad’, or am I going to have to audit you?” Ziyal’s works the oil into the scales of his bare shoulders firmly. One of her fingers is already insinuating itself behind a sensitive spot near his shoulder blade making Garak twitch. She knows all of his weaknesses. The “audit” is the euphemism he used to use for his previous occupation’s primary function when she was younger. It strangely grew to mean a nerve rending tickle torture between the two of them to get answers to silly inconsequential questions. Garak looks ahead stoically. He absolutely refuses to break this time. “Though I may owe you a debt of gratitude, my dear I assure you that I will not crack even under the worst torture.” He can feel her making a childish face behind him. It certainly won’t help her case but they both know that there are certain aspects of Garak’s dates and relationships that he prefers to keep private. She in turn, refuses to this day to tell him exactly what had gone on between her and that wild child Rugal behind the back wall of the garden.

Ziyal flicks one of the ridges of his neck. “Fine. But I’m not going to tell you anything that Major Kira and I talk about tonight either.” She absolutely will, but Garak allows her that moment, relaxing as she rubs more warm oil between hers hands and starts carefully working the scales of his back. The oil is a careful blend designed to make ones’ scales shimmer majestically while not ruining the delicate fabric of the underlining of his shirt. Ziyal insisted that he wear the dark red silk with the high neckline. “Better to give him a lot to wonder about, right?” Garak had agreed when he saw it coupled with the dark black pants she suggested. They were a touch immodest but then again with Julian’s incredibly forward invitation modesty is hardly his main priority. 

“I suppose that leaves us at an impasse,” Garak declares dramatically. Ziyal laughs softly behind him. He’s seated on the bed with her kneeling at his back rubbing the oil excitedly like she used to when she was younger. His first date since becoming her adopted father years ago was a mess of nerves and he’d nearly pulled something, causing an awful ruckus trying to reach every spot himself. She’d come in fourteen, snippy, but still such a sweet girl deep down finally offering to help. When she went out with Rugal- a privileged misfit like herself, Garak’s intel had revealed- a short chaperoned time later, Garak had returned the favor. He also learned the proper high fashion styles for pinning up her hair. She learned his as well and even convinced him to let her tint his chufa a daring blue when he was feeling particularly lucky. He’s asked her to do it tonight as well. It’s a ritual that’s been going on more than half her life and Garak thinks sometimes that he’s going to miss it whenever that inevitable end comes.

But he doesn’t allow that melancholy to overtake him. He’s looking forward to an exciting evening, though he has a hunch that Julian may have played some small part in the Bajoran Officer Kira’s sudden invitation to show Ziyal around the station and tell her more about Bajor. Yes, doctor, I’m sure the busy Major Kira would absolutely take a precious free evening to play hostess to a station guest she’s never met before. Garak has learned though, rough lesson that it’s been, not to question good fortune: at least not terribly much. His head lurches forward and he hums contentedly when Ziyal’s hands reach the small of his back. He won’t look tonight, their quarters not having a suitable array of mirrored surfaces, but he can imagine the picture of brilliant color that will display when she finishes.

Ziyal is an artist, though not entirely of sculptures and paintings. She developed a fascination with the permanent Cardassian scale dying or what he’s learned the humans and Bajorans call “tattoo artistry” or some variant. Garak had thought it a bit strange at first, but he saw the beautiful works that she was able to create with pen and ink and when she told him in earnest that she wanted to learn how to put her picture permanently on the body so people could hold the image forever well he just had to go and find an enterprising artist to teach her. Tarn Belor had been hesitant at first to teach such precious cultural tradition given her obvious lineage but Garak could be nothing if not convincing. So she had learned with care, practice, her first serious pieces done both on the insides of her own forearms. Both Garak and Tarn thought she was out of her mind but she insisted that if she could manage it on her own body while under the duress of the small laser injections to permanently alter the scale pigment then she could to it to anyone. She was right.

Garak was her first big project after seeing with wonder the small symbol of Bajor, the Cardassian union, and her mother’s face. He bears one of her most beautiful and intricate pieces on his back: a stunning view of the beach outside their home viewed through a stunning copse of trees. He has several other tattoos that she’s down for him since on his arms and chest as well but that remains his favorite. Dukat had felt- as he could hardly allow his enemies to know that Ziyal was his own daughter- that the last lush rainforests of the Morfan Province were best suited to remind his beloved Tora Naprem of Bajor and give Ziyal a small taste of the other home she might someday know. Garak had supposed if he were already doomed to the stigma of having a Bajoran “wife” and “child” as his cover that the lovely scenery was the least that they could pay him with. Only the three of them and Enabran Tain himself knew her true father and well as far as Garak is concerned-

“I’m going to do your hair now, yad’,” Ziyal informs him crawling off the bed to get the brushes and the hair slick. Garak smiles at her, thinking she looks more excited than he is, but he understands. Charity or no, Major Kira is doing Ziyal an immeasurable favor in indulging all her questions and curiosity for the night. He stands, putting the undershirt on first, then overlaying the red silk already having gotten a feel for the chill temperature of the station. He imagines it must have been far warmer when it was still Terok Nor. Oh but surely, Julian should be warm enough for the both of you. Garak’s smile turns a bit wicked at that thought. Julian’s little tease had played so immediately to the exact sort of fun that Garak is looking to have. And that lovely boy looked more than game for it.

Garak sits back down seeing Ziyal rush out with both the oil and clay, a brow ridge moving at the sight of both. Just how strong a hold does she think his hair is going to need on a first date? She grins at him not quite innocently. “Like you always say, it’s better to be prepared than to find yourself in a group of your enemies without a sharp knife.” He supposes he has said that on more than one occasion and he wonders if he shouldn’t have at least tried for a more traditional upbringing. Well hardly the time to have doubt about it all now, Elim. “Do you really think I’ll need a knife too, Yaya?” he asks, shutting his eyes as her fingers start combing oil through his hair and over his scalp. He can tell even behind him that her nose is making that precious little wrinkle.

“Ah! You win. I don’t need to know everything about your date tonight.” His throat vibrates with a low  rumble of amusement as Ziyal continues to work following that exaggerated exclamation of parental sex picturing disgust. Garak isn’t quite sure what future a half Cardassian tattoo artist and a former Obsidian Order spy turned tailor are going to have on Bajor, but Garak guesses as Ziyal has been saying the adventure lies in the mystery. “Still,” she continues cheerfully and Garak knows that he’s nurtured her curiosity far too well from childhood. “We don’t choose the truth that we’d like to hear but sit as willing ears when it spills from the vessels we nurture.” Such a pretty euphemism for such a cruel profession and she recites it back like one of Tolan’s old Hebetian proverbs. Guls, Julian better watch out if this becomes serious!

“So are you gonna ask him he he wants to give Cindy a kiss?” Miles O’Brien sits lazily on the couch in Julian’s quarters half reading the latest report from Engineering on the PADD. Julian pokes his head out of the bathroom momentarily to answer him. “Absolutely not! Are you mad? It’s a first date, Miles!” “Aw, c’mon Julian, that’s what you ask all the pretty girls isn’t it?” Julian takes a step out having already switched from the light blue button down, to the white linen, to the gray “second skin” and back again. “That was one time!” he protests a bit too loudly. He’s at least settled on the pants; they’re his favorite ultra slim stretch black number that settle low on his hips. In spite of what Miles says he has hips they’re just a bit well... slim.

“First date or not, those Cardies move fast. You and that last fella almost closed the place down, didn’t ya?” Miles makes a sour face at that, having had the misfortune of witnessing a good part of that whole thing. Cindy had made an appearance for that one too. Cindy, being the infamous tattoo that Julian has on the inside of his right thigh. She’s quite lovely, really. He still isn’t quite sure of how the two of them came to form their unlikely partnership. The accounting varies widely depending on which old classmate of his he asks and even then on the occasion and the party the story is being relayed for. One account has a twenty three year old Julian getting the elaborate piece on a bet. Another has him doing it as part of a dare to impress a beautiful Betazoid classmate. Yet a third- and his personal favorite- involves a Klingon rite of passage, blood wine, and two Andorran girls fighting over him. The commonality in all the accounts is that he was completely trashed and woke up the next morning with a burning inner thigh thinking he’d scored something fierce only to come face to face with Cindy.

Julian isn’t sure why “Cindy” and no one has ever been able to fill in that part of the mystery. All he knows is that his right thigh bears a stunning rendition of a young blonde human women with blue eyes and a pretty red pout puckering up for a kiss. As ludicrous as the tattoo is, it’s quite stunning in its detail and Julian decided in the end to keep her as a valuable life lesson. He may have also in his more stupid (read: also drunk) moments tried and kiss her himself, finding in the process that he’s a great deal more flexible that he’d thought. That’s proven useful on some of his more enduring dry spells. He hopes Garak appreciates it. The “last fella” to which Miles refers was an adventurous Cardassian trader named Mekor who absolutely appreciated it and even more so when Julian called him “sir”.

“Yes... well...” Julian turns his head with a scratch of his neck not wanting to revisit that embarrassing night when Captain Sisko had shook his head like he was lecturing Jake and just told him to go sleep it off. “It wasn’t a first date in any case and he had to leave rather abruptly so well... You know how it is when you’re not going to see your partner for awhile.” Julian gives a bit of a tease back. Miles had been unbearable when Keiko was on Bajor, “enjoying the bachelor life” or not, there were some types of single excursions that they couldn’t exactly share. Julian was pretty sure if she’d been gone any longer he’d have started rubbing on the furniture.

“Yeah, and speaking of Keiko, if I wanted to watch someone running around throwing clothes all over I could go back home.” “Don’t you still have to get ready?” Julian asks in complete earnest. Miles draws himself up looking just a touch offended. “And what’s wrong with what I already got on?” Julian looks at him sitting there in his uniform. Miles had initially stopped by to ask Julian if he might be able to look after Molly while the two enjoyed a couples’ evening. Julian had apologized letting him know as he tried to sort through three pairs of shoes that Miles swore all looked the same that he’d love to but he already had plans. Miles had taken one look at him, his quarters and with a dramatic sigh shook his head. When Julian asked him about it he pressed a mock hand to Julian’s forehead and declared that Julian may be the doctor but Miles knew a sure case of “Cardie Fever” when he saw it. Alright, so he wasn’t exactly entirely wrong about that one but still.

“Nothing it’s just well... it’s your uniform,” Julian points out brilliantly. “It’s clean!” “Right yes but it’s ah...” “Jeez!” Miles says throwing his hands up. “You oughta be standing here with my wife instead of me, it’s like talking to a mirror of her tonight!” “You clean up quite nicely,” Julian offers apologetically. Miles grumbles as he swipes down on the PADD. “Yeah, s’too late for flattery. ‘m sure the both of you are in it together. You don’t look so bad yourself,” he says by way of peace offering. Julian looks down not sure if it’s quite the look that he wants to convey. Not with the proposition that he’d made. He doesn’t want to look too young either but he’s hardly trying to project an air of stiff buttoned up doctor so...

“Thank you! So... er... skin or skin tight?” he asks thinking that Jadzia might give a better opinion but then again all the station would know that “Doctor Bashir is on another lizard hunt.” So help him if he ever finds the person who coined that irritating phrase... “You can’t do both?” Miles asks giving what Keiko might call in exasperation an “uncivilized unhelpful” opinion. Maybe Julian should drop in on Keiko. Then again, if she’s in half the dire fashion straits that he is then that would hardly be fair. No, he’s just going to have to trust his instincts on this one. The blue button down- with a few buttons down- it is. “Right, no. I think this will have to work.” Julian isn’t quite certain how far this will go in one night, but he’s an eternal optimist and he needs to get a start on straightening his quarters just in case. Well perhaps an optimist with a touch of schemer thrown in seeing as how he’d promised Kira anything she wanted if she could find it in her heart to keep a lonely half Bajoran girl company and ease some of her fears about seeing home for the first time.

Kira is a saint, Julian decides, and Miles is... taking up space on a sofa that he needs to clean. Perhaps he’ll get the hint if Julian just starts and saves the thing for last. “So ya think he’s some sort of spy?” Miles asks suddenly making Julian stop. “A what? A spy? Oh come on, Miles, he’s just a man taking a trip with his daughter.” “Two Cardies going to Bajor?” he replies skeptically. “A Cardassian man and his half Bajoran daughter,” Julian corrects. He hadn’t ben able to stay and chat much longer before his shift had started, but Ziyal had let him know that her father was a rather talented tailor and he was making a terribly noble sacrifice in uprooting his entire business so that she could see and experience her other home. She said that he wouldn’t dream of just sending her off into the wild and god, that protectiveness was just all sorts of sexy. It was obvious he adored her, obvious he was a man with an eye for detail, for beauty and those hands.

“You got that look, Julian,” Miles notes and he’s not quite sure what “look” that’s supposed to be. “That kinda funny “daydreaming about your date” look”, Miles finishes like he’s just read his mind. Julian clears his throat as he picks up a few more shirts. “Well, I do,” he says with what Keiko calls his “shouganai shrug” (it can’t be helped!). Miles rolls his eyes and actually has the good grace to extricate himself from the sofa and head towards the door. “Yeah yea, I know. Better make myself scarce before you really start going on about him.” “Saving that for after the date right,” Julian answers with a cheeky grin. “Right, make sure you tell me all about it. Every last detail.” Heavy on the sarcasm. Julian laughs and Miles claps him sincerely on the shoulder. “

Have a good time, Julian,” He says making his exits to a few brief goodbyes. Julian supposes that he does perhaps have that far off day dreamy look to him but if Miles had seen those eyes, those hands, that thick body, that strong grip and the way Garak’s eyes darkened so nicely when he called him “daddy”... Okay yeah, he still wouldn’t get it because he’s Miles O’Brien and not Julian Bashir hopeless “daddy lizard queen” as Jadzia calls him between the two of them but that’s neither here nor there.  Julian’s getting goosebumps just thinking about his date and he hurries up with his cleaning. After all, he wouldn’t want Garak to think that he’s not a good boy. At least not yet!

(Link to Part 3 if you want to keep going)

[bearmajors]

I was tagged by @thepavi​ !!! I love you Charlie thanks I’m actually going to do this meme this time

rules: choose any three fandoms (in random order) and answer the questions, then tag 10 people you want to know better

I choose: 

Shock Treatment

Star Trek: DS9

Star Trek: Voyager

these answers are long so continue reading below the cut!

the first character you loved:

LET’S SEE HMMM the first time I watched this movie I really found Bert entertaining I think? that was so long ago it’s hard to remember... I wouldn’t say I loved him though

OH DEFINITELY KIRA the first character I really really really felt strongly towards was Kira !!! and that happened extremely fast.

okay this is actually really funny the first time I watched Voyager was in 2015 believe it or not and I half payed attention to the first three seasons before giving up. and during that time I really liked Tuvok a lot? I was sad he didn’t get much screentime. I liked Harry as well but it wasn’t until my forreal 2017 rewatch that I actually fell in love with him lol

the character you never expected to love so much:

SDJKLAJDFSAD WELL UH I’m sure it’s obvious but BRAD. tbh. he’s my husband I love him with my whole terrible gay heart.

well !..... I honestly never thought I’d become SO attached to another crew besides the original series so like my answer is... everyone? I never expected DS9 to become my favorite show of all time... this crew is my family to be honest ! ! !

HARRY KIM!!! he’s so perfect omfg he’s definitely the highlight of the whole show !

the character you relate to the most:

hmm I guess Brad but it’s weird comparing myself to him because I . love him so much

I’d have to say I relate a lot to Odo but I’m not proud to say that

this is really not looking good for me but. Neelix... BUT NOT. HIS. TERRIBLE QUALITIES I mean later in the show when he’s really caring towards Naomi!!! I felt those scenes were really really really sweet and I really can relate to that ! also the episode Mortal Coil was so relatable that I bawled my eyes out. but anyways yeah I don’t like Neelix but those scenes. wow.

the character you’d slap:

I’d slap Farley hands down. evil man who I hate

Gul Dukat omfg I love when Kira throws that cup at him he deserves it so bad. I just rewatched Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night yesterday and was screeching the entire time. the audacity of it all...

I want to slap the EMH. right now. please just shut up.

three favorite characters (in order of preference):

BRAD MAJORS !!!!!!!!!, Janet, Betty. but seriously I love everyone this is really hard.

SISKO, KIRA, ... EVERYONE ELSE... how am I supposed to pick just three when they’re all my family

Harry Kim, B’Elanna, Janeway

a character you liked at first but don’t anymore:

hmm honestly I have no answer for this one. the only characters I dislike are Farley and Janet’s dad and I never liked them to begin with so : )

this is impossible I love everyone. I could never stop loving them.

I seriously loved EMH during the first. two seasons maybe. and now I resent every second of screentime he has PLEASE LET OTHER CHARACTERS DO THINGS. YOU’RE SO PRETENTIOUS AND RUDE ALL THE TIME.

three otps:

my number one OTP of all time is me/Brad because we’re married irl. Brad/Janet is cute too even if they’re straight. Betty/Oliver is like. funny I don’t ship it though or anything it’s just. a canon thing that’s cute

in general I actually don’t ship things that much at all...? like Bashir/Garak is genuinely canon and I love fanart of that but other than that... I have no ships!

the USS Voyager was not made for good relationships. in my opinion.

THIS WAS SO FUN THANKS FOR TAGGING ME I don’t. know who to tag tbh if you saw this feel free to go ahead and say I tagged you, be sure to @ me in the post I wanna see your answers!!!

[chronotopes]

I'll be the hero and ask it first: DS9

a true hero yes

the character I love: um all of them?? but kira is my #1

the character I hate: see my blog title. also, kai winn. also i used to hate quark but I don’t anymore

the character I would call if I was in trouble: o'brien because he has so much experience getting out of troubling situations . alternatively, sisko because he’s a problem solving CHAMPION and my second-favorite character

the character who I’m in trouble with: probably jadzia because she’s just … that type

the character I would trust to plan my birthday party: not to go for the obvious answer but cLEARLY it’s jadzia

the character I would share fries with: garak honestly even tho i have no clue if he likes fries. if he did tho i would totally share them in a gay/lesbian solidarity kind of way

the character who would be my best friend: allowing for a universe where we’re the same age it would probably be bashir if i’m being honest with myself, considering i’ve got a history of making friends with troubled but witty intellectuals. also if jadzia was WILLING to be my best friend i would go right along with that

the character I would hang out with on a rainy day: jake sisko. we can be Writers together

[plant-dad-sulu]

every odd number for the Star Trek ask meme

oh damn dude okay

1 - top 3 favourite female characters?

janeway, jadzia and uhura (oh fuck but also guinan) (ooh and amanda) (and all the rest of them too) (especially lwaxana)

3 - top 3 least favourite characters?

tom paris, ummmmmmmm wesley? and uh I guess? riker? I don’t actively dislike any characters

5 - Episode plot you wish they had handled differently?

There’s quite a few but the one that comes to mind right now is Profit and Lace for obvious reasons

7 - Who would make up your dream team?

Janeway as captain, Uhura as second in command, Chekov as navigator, McCoy as CMO, Bashir as a trainee, Chapel as a nurse, Sulu as helmsman, Scotty as chief engineer, Harry as communications, and Amanda chilling

9 - Which episode plot do you prefer?

     a. Time traveling to the past or dealing with time travelers from the future?

     b. Going undercover to spy on enemies or going undercover to explore               pre-warp planets?

    c. Holodeck malfunction or space anomaly?

    d. Ship being taken over or being stranded on a planet?

    e. Rapid aging or de-aging?

    f. Diplomatic negotiations or all out battle?

11 - Top 3 OTPs?

Garashir, HarryxPromotion, and Benkaru

13 - A ship you wish had been canon and why?

Janeway and Chakotay because even though I only got halfway through that series they had a lot of chemistry and made each other so happy and had such tender moments and it was just lovely

15 - Top 3 favourite alien crewmembers?

Tuvok, Jadzia and Kira

17 - What role would you have aboard a starship?

I’d want to be a navigator or a xenobotanist

19 - You can undo one plot point, which do you choose?

Most of the premise of the first AOS movie.

21 - What kind of stories do you hope the new series does?

I’m really hoping they address some aspects of racism and sexism, especially considering the uproar by fake fans getting outraged by casting choices. I want them to continue to unabashedly carry the moral and intensely political topics that original trek covered but brought into a new era with a more topical conversation about equality and equal opportunity. That said, I also really hope they don’t make it overly gritty and let some humour into the dialogue. Trek is very political, but it should also be at least a little goofy.

23 - Favourite tropes?

I know it’s not a specific trope, but I adore when they throw the crew into a horribly ridiculous scenario and everyone just goes “yeah okay this is normal”

25 - Favourite villain(s)?

Q is always up there, but also Trelane and Kai Winn. The former because it’s fun and silly, and the latter because she’s genuinely terrifying and distressing.

27 - What do you wish they had handled differently?

Julian’s augment storyline.

29 - Favourite and least favourite episodes?

Favourite: Spectre of the GunLeast favourite: The Gamesters of Triskelion

31 - A crossover with another show/movie/book/ect, that you’d want to see?

Torchwood. I want to see Jack and Kirk meet and I also feel like Ianto would get along with Bones and Spock tremendously.

33 - Whose twitter feed would you most want to follow?

Sulu 

35 - A minor character you wish had become a main character?

M’Benga

37 - Character A and Character B get into a fight, who wins?

yes

39 - You have to relocate to a planet other than Earth, which do you choose?

Risa

41 - Which episode(s) creeped out/scared you the most?

None of them really scared me that i can think of rn, but Gamesters of Triskelion genuinely creeps me out because of the treatment of Uhura. It’s just not fun.

43 - Order of shows from most to least favorite? (I’m only going to list the ones I’ve seen)

DS9, TOS, TNG, AOS, VOY (the last two are very close, but Beyond pulls AOS ahead)

45 - Which alien culture would you most want to live in/would feel most comfortable?

Trill. Whether or not I get a worm in my belly they seem pretty chill.

47 - An unpopular opinion you have?

dunno man

49 - A favorite ST fic?

I don’t actually read much fic, but I remember one specific one that stood out to me. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was an AOS chulu fic where chekov and sulu go to russia and visit chekov’s family and chekov sings in a choir and the two of them go running together and it was all just so well written but I can’t find it WAIT NO IT TOOK ME LIKE 20 MINUTES BUT HERE IT IS it doesn’t seem to have all the chapters, but I think you can find a full version on ff.net 

[magpieandpossum]

What Jellycat Plushies Would Each DS9 Crew Member have?

why? why not? (basically just my headcanons of these)

BASHIR - Now, Bashir is going first because he's really only one of two main officers I can see owning these on their own accord. Bashir would 100% pick the rainbow (for obvious reasons), but also because it's bright and cheerful, and lightens up the DS9 cabins.

DAX - Dax, like Bashir, I can also see loving Jellycats. She'd have quite the collection, and I imagine she'd have a fun time picking them out as gifts. Her favorite would definitely be the dragon, both because it's awesome, as well as obnoxiously large (20 in).

KIRA - Kira would have a ladybug, just because.

SISKO - He'd definitely have the sun, probably because it's space-related but also cheerful. This may be a gift from Dax, and she'd probably get a kick out of his reaction. (He'd roll his eyes, but still love it)

ODO - Odo would have this little clementine fellow. He'd just sorta appear one day, and sits on the edge of Odo's desk (much to Quark's dismay, who resorts to making remarks about how similar they look).

WORF - Now, I was waffling between two potential Worf reactions to the Jellycat situation. 1.) He'd be pleasantly amused by them, likely because Dax is so fond of them, so he has to at least put up with them, too. 2.) He'd be completely unnerved by them, so much so that Dax begins hiding a single plush everywhere that he visits, just to scare him (which works). The civil response (1) is represented by the plum, who Worf would get along with. The fear response (2), is none other than the egg.

MILES - Miles would get a Jellycat as a gift, and not really know what to do with it. Maybe Molly would suggest bringing him to work, but one way or another Miles would grow to love the little guy, and start talking to him about power conduits and the shield generator.

KEIKO - Keiko would just adore Jellycats, especially all the botany ones (Bonsai, Orchid, etc.) I picked the daffodil just because it seemed like what Molly would pick for her, too!

GARAK - A gift from Bashir, because he "has his eyes" <3

QUARK - I imagine Quark would be the one selling all these, so he'd have to have an example of the merchandise, right? (at least, that's what he keeps saying...)

Sorry for my rambling, anyways, hope you can tell I just adore jellycats <3

[writerproblem193]

1, 4, 7, 18, 40

1. Top 3 favorite female characters?

I only get three? Kira, Jadzia, and Janeway.

4. Favorite alien species?

The Trill! Sign me tf up for cool space worms. I want a billion years around to annoy billions of people. And also write everything I can ever think of. Or even just to talk to someone who’s that old! Also, purple oceans. Wicked!

7. Who would make up your crew dream team?

Captain Janeway, First Officer Kira, Science Officer Jadzia Dax, Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres, Doctor Bashir, Counsellor Troi. Basically all of the women and Bashir, who will tragically have to cope.

18. If you had to fight a character who would you choose?

Vic. I’ve seen him in like, two eps, and he’s managed to seriously piss me off already. Mediocre voice, and advocating for busting out of the friend zone? Calling Kira a broad? Hahahahahahahaha fuck off

40. If you got a trek inspired tattoo what would it be?

I adore the idea of tattoos and actually really want a Trek related one, I just don’t have any ideas. I’ve got an oval burn scar I really don’t like on my forearm, maybe something to make that interesting? I considered like a splash of Trill spots even tho that’s not where they go in canon. Something interesting looking, but not super obvious / normal I think!