#Julian Bashir with the morning drive by

[xribcage]

Good morning, sweetcheeks :)

[sigynpenniman]

Julian Bashir Playlist Time!!

Apple Music playlist (if you're a heathen and subscribe to apple music like me) here

I know that there's plenty of people making playlists, but I really feel like this is an under-utilized brand of fan content. Instead of attempting to create a list of songs that Julian would listen to, or a playlist of songs which were all lyrically directly applicable (though there certainly some of those in here) regardless of genre, I tried to create something which captured, above all, his vibes instead, by choosing songs that balance at least somewhat relevant lyrical content with the energy or feel that I associate with the character. What it means matters, but not as much as how it makes you feel. That said, I signed up for apple music and read a TON of those overwrought iTunes store album review descriptions while I was making this, so I have a whole lot to say about all my choices here. In depth explanation of my symbolism and methodology behind each song under the keep reading. (I love tumblr. I want to write 1,000 words of analysis about why I picked songs to represent Julian Bashir and some of you are gonna read it. This is where I get to pretend to be one of those iTunes music writers. I feel joy.)

Good Morning - Two Door Cinema Club TDCC's Gameshow is high on my favorite albums of all time list for nebulous reasons I myself don't really understand. It was this album, though not this song (but one that will pop up later) that actually inspired me to make this playlist to begin with, as for some reason, from the color scheme of the album cover, to the overall vibe, to the ever-present references to illness, injury, surgery and healers in the lyrics, the whole thing feels inescapably Julian to me. And with an opening like I'm a sinner/I'm the victim/I'm an alien when I'm myself/I'm a healer/I'm a fixer/I'm a present danger to my health/I'm so strong/Doing what I'm supposed to do/ There's something wrong/With somebody like me, it's hard NOT to think about Julian when you hear this song, and I can't think of a better way to start this off.

Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood I think there's a joke somewhere about bisexual people all liking Sweater Weather, and yeah, I resemble that remark. Sweater Weather is just good. You'll notice there's a sort of chill-indie-alt-electronic thing going here, and that is very much the vibe I'm sticking with. Sweater Weather slots in beautifully, both sonically and thematically. As the singer looks to warm and protect the person he's with from the cold, you can't help but feel a loving coziness coming off of this one. It always makes me feel cozy, at least, so it's here.

Gooey - Glass Animals I have nothing to analyze here because the artists themselves have said that the lyrics of this song have no meaning, they're just meant to capture a vibe, and capture it they do. Close your eyes and ride the vibes of this one. The energy is right, I love it, it belongs here.

Blue - Mika I could probably write a couple hundred words on Blue alone, in any context. This might be my beloved Mika's magnum Opus. Opening the song with the inherently counterintuitive lyric Blue is a feminine color, Mika manages to pack it ALL into this 3 minute song: questions about gender; concepts of sadness, joy, and their intersections; of the perception of melancholy as a flaw and loving people despite, or maybe because of, those "flaws" and anything else about them; a powerful first person reassurance that made me start weeping in my car the first time I heard it; just the phrase "why are humans cruel to you." And oh boy, ARE there questions of gender. Why is blue NOT considered a feminine color? Is that a good thing, a bad thing? In 3 minutes of artful poetry, Mika manages to wrap up sadness, love, joy, pain, the feminine that exists within the masculine and the masculine that exists within the feminine, in the simple color of blue and then, in one lyric, validates it all. And on a much simpler and more obvious note, this is in fact all a philosophic musing on the symbolic meaning of the color we see Julian wearing almost all the time (when he's not in uniform, almost all his civvies are also shades of blue.) I feel like this is one of those songs that's hard to analyze because it does what music and poetry does best - communicate something that cannot be communicated any other way. With these broad themes of loving others around the things they can't love about themselves, you can decide for yourself if this one is coming FROM Julian or directed AT him, either works. I find myself struggling for exactly the words to explain this one, but listen to it; you'll understand.

Little Dark Age - MGMT Another choice with no obvious lyrical relevance, but the tonal fit was just too good to pass up. The vibes pass.

The City - The 1975 This song is one of several present because it leans on medical symbolism to get its point across, though I would be lying if I said I fully understood what that point was. But the entire second verse, apparently about the song's subject suffering from some kind of illness and reassuring him that the next one's the M.D./You'll be feeling just fine, seems somehow to transmit the discomfort of illness directly to the listener. I don't know how or why, but the effectiveness of the empathy the second half of this song elicits, in me at least, puts it squarely in the "odd medical vibes" category.

Surgery - Two Door Cinema Club THIS is the song that inspired this whole playlist, mostly because of its title and general vibe. Another example (of many) of medical/anatomical references in this album (another of the songs is called Fever, etc), this song just feels like Julian to me.

The Other Side Of Paradise - Glass Animals I really like Glass Animals. That is probably becoming obvious. Aside from its delightfully cohesive vibes, this song opens with what's simultaneously the slyest and most brazen gay lyric I have heard on the radio recently, as the male singer says When I was young and stupid my love left to be a rock and roll star/HE told me... The song seems to be about a man whose male lover left him in pursuit of fame and fortune, and eventually ends up with a woman, leaving the singer behind. It's got simultaneously subtle and obvious gay themes, it's got confused love affairs, it's got so much bisexual energy. I cannot think of anything that could be more Julian.

Sit Next To Me - Foster The People Kind of like Sweater Weather, this whole song is built around a rather cute and sweet "sit next to me," and you can't help but feel a bit warm and cozy when you listen to it. I think it pairs with sweater weather well, and slides in with the rest of the picks very nicely.

Nothing Better - The Postal Service (the original band of the lead singer of Death Cab For Cutie) Another example of heavy surgical symbolism, the very first lyric of this song is Will someone please call a surgeon. This is actually a duet, and the singers speak of their real hearts to represent their emotional ones. Something about Your heart won't heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures always gets me and always will. And it vibes good. It vibes so, so good.

&Run - Sir Sly Sir Sly's &Run is my favorite song for driving too fast. It does an amazing job of musical onomatopoeia, talking about running while making you want to run. It's a song about running out of plans and running as far as you can instead, which is all very "I'm illegal by definition so I went to the farthest possible reaches of space." And like everything else here, it just feels good. It's also one of the only highlights here that I can actually see Julian listening to.

Cosmic Love - Florence and the Machine It's no coincidence that it seems like most of us who are invested in Julian Bashir are some flavor of genderqueer, be it trans, nonbinary, questioning, or something else entirely - the man's got a Gender with a capital G, and there's a whole lot going on in there. Between the words that were written for him on the page, and the words that were actually spoken, and the way he carries himself, Julian always seems caught between the white, western, and frequently toxic masculinity that the writers often seemed to want to imbue him with, and the very different, racially and culturally distinct masculinity Sid actually brought. But there's an undeniable element of the feminine in Julian too, at least by a traditional definition. The presence of this part of him at all, much less the fact that, in-universe, it's the more traditionally "feminine" parts of himself - the caregiving and nurturing aspects - that Julian seems proudest of or to like most about himself, is a large part of what makes his character so interesting, at least to me. So there was no way I was getting out of this without acknowledging that somehow, and I can't think of a better way to acknowledge a complicated relationship with the feminine side of one's own gender than with this world's own Celtic divine feminine, Florence Welch. I can't think of any better artist, at least that I know of, to represent femininity as a nonspecific ethereal goddess-concept. I basically spun the wheel of Florence here, as anything would have worked, but Cosmic Love felt very appropriate for a character who does in fact live in space. There could even be some Garashir in here, I think.

Dream Sweet In Sea Major - ミラクルミュージカル, or Miracle Musical, a sister act made up of members of Tally Hall I also couldn't leave off without acknowledging Julian's affection for classic lounge music, especially since it's the only thing about his taste in music that we actually know. But instead of tacking on some rat pack, instead I'm polishing this off with the incredibly chaotic and somehow also perfectly cohesive and calm Dream Sweet in Sea Major. It's got all of the vibes of a lounge singer but gone completely off the rails, which just seems perfect somehow. And it's also a very nice feeling to be left with, so it seems only right to put it at the end.

and if you've read all of this, I love you. Y'all didn't know I was this into music did you. but I am. oh boy. I AM.

[starshiplamaupin]

Garashir Nightbreed AU

I have to dump this out of my brain or I might just explode.

This morning I had a random thought of “what if the cast of DS9 were in the Nightbreed universe?”

Quickest summary of what Nightbreed is for those that don’t know: It’s body horror X-men

It’s the early 90s in a harbor city, strange things are happening, a war is being waged in the shadows, and young Dr. Bashir is about to be caught in the middle of it.

Dr. Julian Bashir: converted Nightbreed. Born “Natural”, he was changed into a ‘Breed at a young age when his parents took him to a mysterious man who was said to work miracles. The flesh on his hands and arms can pull away in tendrils and form tools, and it seems he might have some mild ESP. While he didn’t get the severe allergy to sunlight, he does get very weak and tired if he spends too much time in the daylight, so he compensates by working the night shift at the city’s emergency hospital.

Elim Garak: Nightbreed. Excommunicated member of the Cult of Cardassia. He lives in an abandoned clothing warehouse. He uses the leftover items to make himself some handsome outfits. When Julian is out walking one night to calm his nerves after almost accidentally revealing his secret nature, he is chased by a mugger into the abandoned warehouse. He is pounced on by the strange lizard-man, scaring away his would-be attacker. Garak can smell that Bashir is ‘Breed, and lets him live. The two form a friendship (and eventually more) over a love of reading, and the comfort of not having to hide their true nature from each other... well, Garak is still hiding plenty.

Benjamin Sisko: Natural? I haven’t decided what kind of position he might have, maybe head of the hospital? Either way, he knows what the Nightbreed are and he’s been helping a few of the locals who told him about a mysterious legend called The Path of the Worm. He’s been receiving prophetic dreams about things hidden in this city, and knows he cannot fight the role he has been cast in by powers beyond his understanding.

Kira Nerys: Nightbreed. A member of a local group of ‘Breed that was preyed upon by the Cult. If she needs to blend in with the Naturals she can put a bandage over her nose. She trusts Ben, but very few other outsiders. I picture her with maybe a few more cat-like features, idk, it just looks cute in my head. Kitty Nerys..

Jadzia Dax: Nightbreed. Her spots shift subtly with her movements, creating a hypnotic effect. I’m not sure how to incorporate the several lifetimes...

Worf: Nightbreed. He drives the group’s van, which he named the Defiant.

O’Brien: Natural. Radiologist? He works at the hospital too, and he is Julian’s best friend and confidant. He doesn’t learn about all this Nightbreed business until much later, to which his only reaction is “jaysus”...

Quark: Natural. Owns the bodega across from the hospital. He knows more than he lets on, but who cares? So long as the local monsters can pay, they can stay.

Rom: Natural. Janitor at the hospital. He has an aptitude for machines and is taking classes in engineering.

Nog: Natural. He was quite the hooligan as a kid, but a little military school changed that. He is now a cadet at the nearby base. When he was running with the other troublemakers he would hear rumors about monsters that roamed the streets at night, and has even seen one of the lizard-men. Now at the base those rumors are ramped up even louder, other cadets talk of seeing strange figures in the woods and dare each other to spend the night in the abandoned cabin out there. He got the nickname “Nog” when he headbutted a guy, and his friends joked “that’s using your noggin!”

Leeta: Natural. Nurse at the same hospital Bashir works at. They had a brief fling, but both knew they were just lonely and keeping each other company. As a nurse she’s seen her fair share of strange things, but nothing tops the time she swears she saw Dr Bashir’s hand “morph”. She struggles to describe it and constantly second-guesses what she saw, after all there has to be a logical explanation for all of this.

Chief Odo: Natural. Chief of Police, and a descent of the city’s original founders. His family has kept up appearances, but he knows their secrets and it eats at him every day. He feels like he’s coming undone along with the order of the city. How can he stay sane, knowing what they are keeping in the vault?

Dukat: Nightbreed. Cult of Cardassia. He has fought to attain his status, to serve Mother Cardassia on an altar of bones and blood. He still has his weakness for pretty women, but sees Naturals as beneath Nightbreed. He seeks to find the corpse of their founder, the serpent Nightbreed that was known as Mother Cardassia, which disappeared over 100 years ago in the early days of this city.

The Cult of Cardassia was formed after the death of Mother Cardassia. She was huge serpent, thought said to possess a beautiful human face as well as that of a snake. She sought to carve out a space for her people, but it lead to a clash with the local Bajoran clan. After her death, her followers preserved her body and worshiped it. It is not certain when it started, but they would attack and raid both the Bajoran clan and the Natural city to make sacrifices of blood to her. Since the disappearance of her corpse, her followers have been occupied with finding it. Several clues keep coming back to The Path of the Worm, and a secret of the founding family.

I think that’s enough for now.

[yourlocalrandombisexual]

I posted 8 times in 2021

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For every post I created, I reblogged 0.1 posts.

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#miles doesn't understand and julian explains he's had garak tagged for years

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

My own little Garashir headcanon

Watching the series again, I've sorta have put together my own timeline thing of how Garak and Julian may have gotten together.

First, I think it's pretty obvious that they spent the first year or two on the station just blatantly flirting with each other and bantering on the Promenade thinking they were fooling everyone but actually fooling no one (I mean Jadzia was making bets with everyone right?).

Then after the events in "The Wire" they (finally) got together. But it wasn't perfect, I think we can see that Julian tends to take cues from Garak and Garak doesn't strike me as the 'staying up all night talking and making love' type. So they have an on and off again relationship for a few years, nothing exclusive, no communicating and eventually shit hits the fan.

Since they were never exclusive (I'm picturing Garak coming to Julian late at night and leaving before morning and stolen kisses in dark corridors) Julian obviously dates other people and he cares about who he's dating and doing this drives Garak up the wall with jealousy. I mean it would be one thing if Julian was playing a game and using these poor women but somehow because he's not it makes it so much worse. I can imagine Garak "dating" a random Dabbo girl or having a very obvious one night stand with a passing visitor to try to make Julian jealous but it never works. Julian just smiles, says he's happy for him, and moves on.

Part of this is Julian knowing what Garak is doing and not wanting to give him the satisfaction and part of it is a very human feeling of hope. Hope that Garak will stop all the games and tell him how he feels.

As time goes on, Julian starts to lose hope, the late night visits become more infrequent, Julian cancels lunches, and after a while they just sort of..end.

Which brings us to Ziyal. I think Julian had always had some sliver of hope and when Ziyal comes to the station and he sees how Garak treats her and looks at her, a (sorta) fellow Cardassian, he gives up all hope and accepts that perhaps it never happened with Garak was because he's human.

So Julian withdraws completely. He spends hours with Miles in the holosuites. He dives into his work and takes on more and more responsibility with Starfleet. In Julian's eyes, it's officially over, Garak has made his choice.

But, of course, Garak never made a choice. He doesn't understand why Julian's avoiding him, why they never have lunch anymore, why his flirting with Ziyal is different then when he was flirting with a Bajorian Dabbo girl. Garak starts to get jealous of Miles, of Starfleet, of everything that is keeping his "Dear Doctor" away from him (Garak may be a smart, former spy, but when it comes to romance and love he's an idiot).

I wish I could say that they reconciled and had a love for the ages but the way I see it, they never really did. Their lives got turned upside down because of the war and what we end up seeing as viewers is an awkward exchanges between ex's who have to still see each other on a regular basis.

TLDR; Garak and Julian had an on and off again romance for many years then because of insecurities and not communicating everything ended and we got a very unsatisfying conclusion to the banter and flirting.

11 notes • Posted 2021-08-31 16:32:16 GMT

#4

Hello, hello. Back on this hellsite after an extended break...blah, blah, blah, been off of social media for the past 8 months...but y'all don't care about that. I've gone down a DS9 rabbit hole lately and Garashir (Garrick/Bashir) has completely taken over my life. Be prepared for some thoughts, headcannon's, and frankly, slutty fics. Can't wait to drag you into this wonderland with me.

14 notes • Posted 2021-08-31 15:52:56 GMT

#3

Can we all just acknowledge that Empok Nor is basically just an entire episode of Garak being jealous of O'Brian and trying to kill him while on drugs?

37 notes • Posted 2021-09-01 00:31:25 GMT

#2

Watching “honor among thieves“ and the difference between Julian‘s relationship with Miles and with Garak is that if Garak was going undercover to the Orion Syndicate Julian would be there with him not bursting into Sisko‘s office politely asking what’s going on.

45 notes • Posted 2021-09-03 18:05:39 GMT

#1

Andrew and Alexander having less and less scenes together because of the obvious gay subtext between their characters has a very similar energy to Neil Gaiman having to write out all of Azriphales “dears” because Michael Sheen looked too in love with David Tennant while filming.

Although in DS9 it was because of a homophobic producer and in Good Omens it was because they couldn’t be THAT gay right off the bat.

in a side note, I’m so excited for Good Omens season two and I really hope the subtext becomes text. I just want to see David Tennant and Michael Sheen making out in a Bentley, is that too much to ask?

59 notes • Posted 2021-08-31 17:39:54 GMT

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[wittywallflower]

When Garak sends Julian his memoirs in a letter, Julian sends his response.

(844 words post-canon Garashir, AO3 link)

-------------

Julian Bashir blinked blearily at the padd in his hand. He'd just finished reading it for a second time around, unable to fully absorb everything his first time through. Now it was nearly 0300 and he was on shift in the infirmary bright and early in the morning. But he couldn't go to sleep. Not yet. Not until he'd sent a few choice words to one Elim Garak.

.

-------------

Garak sat down heavily and sighed away the stress of another long day filled in equal measures with back-breaking labor and mentally exhausting planetary politics. The light of his communicator was blinking at him and he might have ignored it until morning. If he wasn't hoping to hear from Julian. The doctor had certainly received his letter by now and Garak was extremely curious to hear what he had to say.

Garak had expected a letter in return and was very pleasantly surprised to see Bashir had sent a video message instead. Less pleasant was the small file size, a clear indication the message was a very short one. Still, it had been quite some time since he'd gotten to see the doctor's animated face or hear his charming accent. Eager, Garak opened the message immediately, entirely forgetting his empty belly and desire for a wash. The dusk light was getting low but he didn't stop to light a lantern. The screen had its own light source, and there was nothing else on the whole planet he cared to look at right now.

The video loaded on his ancient and only sometimes functional computer. The preview image gave him pause. The doctor's face looked just as it had when they parted ways. The last time Garak had seen Julian. Considering that was a time when both men had been beaten down by the reality of the devastation and destruction on the planet below them, it was not an auspicious look for Bashir to be wearing. Garak gotten used to see dark circles under the man's eyes during the war; what disturbed the poor doctor's sleep these days? The rest of the face looked grim and Garak almost didn't want to play the message.

But of course, he did. Even if he didn't have an insatiable curiosity (and a driving desire to hear the voice of his dear friend again) Elim Garak was no coward. He hit Play.

There was no cheery greeting to begin with. No "hullo, Garak", no fond smile or inquiries after his health.

"Is this some sort of a joke?" the image of Julian Bashir demanded, brandishing a data padd towards the camera. Garak did not need to guess at what its contents could be. "If it is, I'd really like to know what the hell you're playing at."

Garak's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He was glad he lived alone these days, with no one to witness such a lapse in control. A joke? A tendency towards self-deprecating humor aside, why would the other man not think it was sincere? He was sure Bashir had learned his tells over the years, knew when to take Garak seriously and when not to. But how did one perceive such tells over subspace? Of course... the doctor likely didn't believe a word of it. Garak had certainly encouraged Julian to doubt everything he said during their time together.

The doctor heaved a deep breath and shifted his gaze to the padd he held. Garak's eyes followed it off screen as Bashir set it down. Very precisely, and with great care. As if it were precious, or as if he were restraining himself from flinging it against the wall?

On screen Julian sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.

"7 years, Garak. 7 years I sat across that table from you trying to find out what makes you tick. Trying to get to know you better, get closer to you. And you have the audacity, the unmitigated gal, to send me your entire life story when we are light years apart?!  When I can't even establish a real time connection to speak to you to your face!"

Julian's eyes returned to the camera recording him, looking directly into it until Garak felt as if Julian actually could see him, see him right down to the darkest corners of his soul. Foolish thought. But no longer did the doctor's eyes spark with ire and annoyance; now they were filled with a warmth Garak was sure he could feel. While the comforting heat of his homeworld heated Garak's scales, Julian Bashir's kind eyes warmed him from the inside. The human's lips lifted into a smile. Which very slowly grew. And grew. Until he was beaming wide, with an ease of heart and peace of mind Garak had never witnessed in the younger man. Unconsciously Garak mirrored the smile. How he had missed seeing the doctor's face lit up with happiness.

"I'm coming, Elim," Julian said. And there was no bashfulness in it, no insecurity or uncertainty. "I'll be there as soon as I can make the arrangements."

[a-stitch-in-time-and-space]

Grashir for the ship thing? It’s gotta be one of my faves!!!

Sorry for the wait babe, hope this makes up for it!

1. Who’s in your ship and is it monogamous, poly, open, etc?

Okay, so as per usual with my ships I’ve got the version where it’s just the two of them (after about 100 years in which they don’t pull themselves together!) and another version in which they live in the future and I very much hc that by then the way love is discussed looks different to today, so they’re a part of various relationships.

However, I always think they’re like gravity to one another. For better or for worse - (and has anyone done any tragic Garashir fics or are we all just like “the show was tragic enough” - cos I’m wonder about like… the way people can be constantly drawn to each other in a dysfunctional, unhealthy way, but they also just can’t let one another go) - they always get pulled into one another’s orbit more than by anyone else.

2. Is the ship romantic in nature?

They’re a pair of romantic bastards underneath all the posturing and avoidance yes! I imagine once they finally pull themselves together it’s all romance, trying to make up for years of lost time.

3. How often do/can they see each other (due to living on different planets, having stressful jobs, etc)

I wrote a little fic about this yaaay!

Not very often, is the answer, until they’re both hitting old-age and sort of semi-retiring. Then gravity wins and eventually has them together for good.

4. What are their things to do together?

- Arguing! Canon! (I love ships that argue lol).

- Recommending books and art and going to museums and judging paintings. They’d so be a crotchety pair that makes fun of some really pretentious bit of art right in front of them, while someone next to them tries not to giggleand someone else keeps sending them disapproving glares.

- Garak one time sets up an exhibition for Ziyal’s work, in honour of all the young people lost in the war before they could reach their potential.

- Also occasionally getting wrapped up in a plot inside an enigma, within a scheme that neither of them necessarily signed up for, but they’re going to ride out together (sexy spy times, anyone?)

5. How do they say “I love you” without directly saying “I love you”?

- Hey remember the time Elim gave Julian a rationed chocolate bar and then, because he was going on some dangerous mission, Julian gifted it back to him and then Elim made a joke about Julian needing to eat an isolinear rod and then they smiled at each other like they were the most carefree people in the galaxy even though they were in the middle of a dangerous conflict that both of them might not survive? That’s love, bitch

- I think they get dumb gifts for each other a lot for when they see each other again

- also they’re both very competitive, so it’s like “who can get the dumbest gift,” morphs into “who can get the most amazing gift ever,” morphs into “who can write the most flowery, poetic letter,” etcetcetc.

- Admitting the other one won is another expression of love.

6. Who unironically likes old earth movies and who suffers along?

Hmmmmm, so I think. Julian shows Elim more earth culture, which includes movies (he’s semi-canon into Bond) and Elim complains and pretends he doesn’t like them, but then Julian catches him watching the 1995 Pride & Prejudice and mooning over Colin Firth. (He dies when Julian shows him North & South)

7. Are any of them spiritual and any of them decidedly not?

Elim is canonically spiritual post-series (everyone needs to read A Stitch In Time!!!) and Julian never quite understands it. He’s happy that Elim has something for himself that couldn’t be destroyed by his upbringing, but Julian is just relentlessly scientific about everything – it’s not (because this is Star Trek and DS9 literally has Gods in it) that he doesn’t think there are higher powers of some kind, it’s the spiritual side – the praying, the afterlife, the rituals, none of that works for him. Also he sees the “Gods” as aliens.

“And have you proven love then?” asks Garak

“Hmm, I’ll have to run some more tests before I can give you a definitive conclusion,” answers Bashir, before kissing him.

8. Who’s more open about their affection and who’s more taciturn, but shows affection through unconventional means?

I think they’re both quite affectionate actually. They probably both suffer from not feeling good enough around third parties sometimes, especially in the beginning. Not all of the DS9 crew were happy about it at first (although Nerys was ecstatic, as she and Elim had become surprisingly good friends post-Dominion), which is a feeling that lingers in Elim’s heart.

And on Cardassia Elim is considered a bit weird to have gone for an outsider, who – worse – is federation and human. There are many who blame the federation and humans in particular for their trouble, even if they are providing aid now. So Julian tries to make his job easier for him by staying behind the scenes… at first.

So in public they try to be taciturn, discreet, especially once Elim becomes a political figure-head, but then after some time this becomes a game, “secret lovers.” They find ways to sneakily contact the other – letters, gifts, flowers (obnoxiously large bouquets), coded messages and as they become more brazen, they seem to just naturally throw caution to the wind – if people can’t accept it, then they’re not people they want to get to know anyway.

In private they’re absolutely immediately an old married couple, except for with more desperation, because they’re making up for time they don’t get in one another’s company.

9. Who likes space and who prefers a good ol’ planet?

Julian will always be a space-farer at heart, whilst Elim belongs on Cardassia

10. Finally, what are their favourite things about one another?

The more I think about it, the more they’re quite similar – I think what they most love is that the other one drives them to be better. Passion, kindness, learning… they want to make one another proud.

- More simple things though. Elim loves Julian in the midst of a rant or an explanation that’s gone on for 10+ minutes, at his most gesticulative, most intense; it’s sexy as hell. Also Julian when he’s exhausted himself from working so hard, caring so much, when he just flops down and manages to fall asleep immediately. How he ever deserved someone who trusts him enough to be so vulnerable with him, he doesn’t know.

- Julian loves watching Elim in his quiet moments: reading, tailoring, gardening, speaking softly and comfortingly to people who are scared, drowsy in the morning making breakfast. Also he loves seeing Elim turn his oratory skills to politics. He’s not a born leader, he never wanted to be one, but he does it because it matters and he does it well.