#i think odo would have face book

[marxistgnome]

On the one hand i think star trek not really having an internet equivalent is cool cos it shiws we developed an entire new and possibly better system, similar to how holosuites replaced film and tv, and it slso lets me speculate about whether internet connection as we know it works in deep space or 9ver long interstellar distances (idk how the internet works so i get to just imagine). But on the other hand it would be funny if data was a twitch streamer.

[unknownfacelessfanfictions]

Santa Claus

Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Pairing: Constable Odo x gn!Reader Words: 1.3K Summary: Odo knows a lot of people however he never met a certain "Santa Claus". From what he knows, he might be a criminal

Not my gif !!!!

WINTER WRITING PLAN

Odo wasn't sure how exactly he had ended up in this situation, but at the moment he was sitting at a table in Quarks with the Chief, Doctor Bashir and Commander Worf. Actually, he had only intended to make his usual rounds through the establishment, but the Chief and Bashir had successfully talked him down to join them.

From the look on his face, Worf didn't seem to feel any different.

"So, Commander? How are you going to spend the holidays?"

O'Brien glanced over at the Klingon, who looked even a little grimmer than usual. "I'm going to visit my parents on Earth. So far I had been able to avoid that tradition, however, I'm afraid it didn't work out this time." Bashir and O'Brien grinned at each other before the latter took a sip from his tankard.

"But Worf, Christmas is a time for fellowship, family and love. You must be looking forward to seeing your parents again, right?" Bashir grinned at Worf and Odo could see the man's jaw working.

"I never said I wasn't looking forward to it. I merely think the traditions are ridiculous. Santa Claus, the presents. A fairy tale for children, nothing more."

"Don't say that too loud or Molly will hear you," O'Brien returned, sighing. "She's gone insane lately. That's all she talks about, and she's driving me and Keiko right crazy."

Bashir laughed. "So I guess you're going to stay here?" O'Brien nodded and raised his eyebrow. "And you?"

"Also. I promised Garak I'd teach him some traditions this year. He thinks it's absolutely ridiculous, but it's worth a try."

" How about you, Constable?"  Odo looked up at the question and turned towards the doctor.

"Are you going to celebrate the holidays?"

When Odo did not answer, Bashir suddenly blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. You probably don't even know what exactly we are talking about, right?"

O'Brien chocked on his drink and started coughing. "Julian!"

"What?! Odo basically 'grew up' on Bajor. They do not celebrate Christmas here!"

Slowly the three men turned to look at Odo, who grew more uncomfortable with every passing second.

"Of course I know what Christams is. I don't live under a rock" he growled before standing up abruptly. "If you gentlemen would excuse me now? I have a job to do!"

~**~

They couldn't really help but twist their lips into a smile when they heard the familiar hiss of doors announcing the arrival of their partner.

They lifted their head from their book just in time to see the doors close behind the changeling.

"Hey," they smiled and reached out to him. "How was your day?"

Odo came over to them and took their hand in his as he settled down, however he seemed lost in thought. "The usual."

Already used to his short answers, they smiled. "Oh, yeah? Well, you were gone longer today for that. Did you have to fill out any reports that were left behind?"

He snorted lightly. "I don't leave anything undone. My work routine is efficient enough to avoid such things." Slightly he rolled his eyes, however they knew he wasn't serious. "When I did my last round in Quark's bar, I was stopped by Doctor Bashir and Chief O'Brien. I tried to talk my way out of it, but it seemed impossible after they convinced Commander Worf.

"Wow," they said, straightening up so they could turn their body to face him.

"Julian and Miles have accomplished what I had always wanted to accomplish with you."

"Talking to me? We do that a lot."

They laughed. "No. Taking you out for a drink at Quark's."

Odo wrinkled his nose, though they could see the corners of his mouth twitch in a desperate attempt not to give in to a smile.

"Perhaps you'll be reassured to hear that I haven't taken a sip myself."

"You hardly ever drink."

"Then you should begin to realise that your great goal will probably never be fulfilled."

A laugh escaped them and Odo felt deep satisfaction in having made his partner laugh. He leaned back as they turned their backs to lean against him.

For some time they sat side by side in silence. As they went back to their book, Odo was perfectly content to rest his chin on their head and close his eyes.

In his mind, however, a question floated around that he did not want to banish.

"Who is Santa?"

They were mid-sentence when he asked his question, however, they stopped abruptly when Odo's question reached their hearing.

"Huh?"

" Santa Claus." They felt Odo shifting back and forth uncomfortably beneath them.

"Chief O'Brien mentioned in our conversation that Molly would not be happy to hear Worf talk about Santa Claus being a ridiculous children's fairy tale."

They sat up straight so they could look him in the face. For a moment they regarded him and with each passing second they realised that it made Odo incredibly uncomfortable not to have that bit of information and their faces softened.

They knew how discomforting it could be for the changeling not to know certain information, especially when it was natural or taken for granted by everyone else.

But the fact that he had confided in them instead of asking the computer warmed their hearts.

"That's what Santa Claus is, technically. A child's fairy tale, a made-up fantasy figure who is the symbol of Christmas."

"But what is his purpose? His function?"

They put the book aside. Probably they wouldn't get very much reading done in the near future.

"I'm not too familiar with the history behind all of it. Its origins are in Europe, with a man, a saint called Nicholas. St Nicholas, parents told their children, judges children's behaviour over the year and depending on how well they have behaved, on one day , usually the sixth of December, he brings them rewards such as small gifts, sweets or fruit, or a rod with which to punish the 'bad' children."

Odo's eyes widened. "He hurts children?"

"No! No he doesn't," they laughed. "That's what they used to tell the children, and in the very early days the children might have really been beaten, but definitely not today. Today the kids mostly just get little presents and stuff, at least in the regions where they still celebrate." Odo nodded slowly, understanding.

"And Santa Claus..."

"Is the American and, unfortunately, more famous version of him, even outside of America. He's usually depicted as an old man with white hair and a white beard wearing a red coat, red trousers and a red pointed hat, flying around the world in his flying sleigh pulled by reindeer.

Depending on the region, parents tell their children that Santa Claus comes to the house on Christmas Eve or during the night and brings the children presents, which they are allowed to open either on Christmas Eve, the twenty-fourth of December, or the morning after. As a thank you they leave him a glass of milk and biscuits, at least in America.

In England, I think they leave a glass of sherry outside. He then eats and drinks these things in the house. The gifts are probably the reason he is so popular. Although they still say that he judges their behaviour, it is hardly relevant to the number of gifts.

If you walk around anywhere on Earth at Christmas time, you can see him virtually everywhere."

They looked over at Odo, who looked plainly horrified.

"So, just to be clear," he began, looking at them from wide-open eyes. "Parents tell their kids they're being judged and stalked all year by an old man who breaks into their house at the end of the year and leaves stuff there that no one knows what's in it, which is a big security issue by the way. Much more, the children have to make sacrifices to him, in the form of alcohol and the parents make them believe that he drinks this glass of alcohol in every house and then manoeuvres a flying sleigh?"

They frowned. "I never thought about it that way, but you could put it that way, yes."

Odo only looked more disturbed than before and rose to leave with slow steps. A laugh escaped them, so loud that they almost missed him shaking his head and saying "humans".

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

@bigblissandlove1 @akamitrani

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 2x22 The Wire thoughts (I'm re-watching, so there may be future spoilers)

I'm so excited to watch this again!

I guess we don't know that Julian had the choice to "entertain one of his lady friends" the night before, but I certainly choose to believe he did, he wanted to finish Garak's book more :p

Garak's stammering in "Doctor, what do you think you're doing?" :3

"In my expert medical opinion, I'd say it's sick." XD

"Keiko would be proud of you." Hah - the thing is I can imagine the overly-excited Julian telling her about this at some point and her just sweetly saying "well done, I'm impressed" but in her teacher voice she uses for seven year olds

"It's not like you two are really friends." Julian is NOT being subtle here that at the very least he WANTS to be real friends 😅 this man and lying...

Okay and now he's stabbing the plant with the hypospray because he's so frustrated with not being able to help Garak

VERY dramatic entrance, doctor.

😬😂That looked suspiciously like Quark was miming giving Julian oomax while saying "maybe a late night session in a holosuite".

"Try not to yell at any more admirals for a while." "I wasn't yelling. I was just expressing my feelings. Loudly." Gotta love Sisko

Oh, his poor dejected face at the information recurring taking weeks :3

Love how Julian is called to take care of Garak - this isn't Dr Bashir being called, it's not a medical emergency. It's Julian being Garak's only known friend who's requested.

Is it just me or did Julian check Garak or when he said "We'll go to my quarters"?

That drink exchange was VERY smooth of Quark and Julian

"I routinely monitor all of Quark's subspace communications." "Is that legal?" XD

"I see your point"... That's actually the exact same phrase as altered!Julian uses in Dramatis Personae - only this time it's ihm agreeing to do something questionable with Odo, last time it was to do something reasonable with him.

" I hope you don't have one of those little bugs hidden in my quarters." "Should I?" What's the betting Julian's going to be paranoid about this for a few weeks?

Julian's "What?! *sigh*" after being told Garak had left the infirmary. Idk it gave me feels.

I'm here for his Angry Pacing

"Doctor, did anyone ever tell you that you are an infuriating pest" "Chief O'Brien all the time, and I don't pay any attention to him either." That answer came SO quickly, he didn't even have to think about it

"I'm a doctor. You're my patient. That's all I need to know" JULIAN I CANNOT WITH YOU

Ohh, his sad looking downness <3 <3

Endless endless compassion, I love you so much

"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." Is he really not in love with Garak?! Because this is some gay shit Julian Subatoi Bashir. GAY I tell you

"In that case I want to talk to him now. Wake him up." "I'll do no such thing." "Doctor, these are murder cases and Garak may be a suspect." "That may be so, but he's still my patient and I won't have him disturbed." I am WILD about calmly resolute Doctor Bashir

I love a sleepy Julian :3

Garak's manic speech is incredible. WHAT a performance. My word. I couldn't look away.

" I can't believe that I actually enjoyed ... staring into your smug, sanctimonious face." Staring into Julian's face sounds pretty gay to me, Garak. (Who wouldn't enjoy staring at it though?)

Ah yes, wrestling on the floor with your alien crush while he is out of his mind. Definitely never happened before in Trek. No parallels here to be drawn.........

"I don't want to hurt you." And presumably he actually could.

Julian whizzing through all the samples, brining one back having seen it for all of 2 seconds and immediately knowing which one to overlay it with. THAT SEEMS PRETTY GENETICALLY ENGINEERED TO ME. I swear I don't know how that crackpot retcon worked so well, but it DOES

"More than I deserve." Oooh, callback to earlier int he episode when he said "Has it ever occurred to you that I might be getting exactly what I deserve?" .... My HEART

"I've about given up on learning the truth from you, Garak."I The FONDNESS with which he SAYS this!

"We were closer than brothers...."Sons of Train" welp, that's the 'true' bit

Holding handsssss!!!

There's no way Sisko sanctioned this, right? Did Julian just steal the shuttle craft?!

Okay then, just beam into the house of someone you know to be extremely dangerous and start poking around?! Your curiosity, Julian, I swear...

*wide smile* "I always drink Tarkalian! ..." -suddenly realises that this is VERY personal information Tain has on him- "...Tea."

Did he just GIGGLE? *rewatches* Yep, it's definitely there - "Are all the Starfleet Lieutenants as brash as you are?" "I couldn't say - hehe - though I doubt it."

"I thought you were his friend." "I suppose I am." YES HE SAID IT that's the first step

"Information is your business." Julian you are bold as BRASS

"he'll never come home again" oof, knowing the double meaning of home as Cardassia and to Tain

The disappointment in Julian's face at the answer to his "Who was Elim?" question

Ohhh, that last conversation. Julian's so damn fond of him. That smile at the end. They ARE in love.

Well this was delightful. What a good episode. I had forgotten, and wasn't sure if it had just been hyped up. But no. Truly phenomenal. Thanks, DS9!

[slippery-domjot-balls]

I am grateful that Odo and the changelings were limited in their powers on screen, even if it primarily was due to budget limits. If they had full access to the amazing range of their abilities it could have made some other characters redundant or even irrelevant.

In some of the books their powers are ridiculous. Odo fights another changeling in the vacuum of space in Peter David's The Siege. In the same book a murderous changeling flows his form into all points of entry in a Cardassian's face and then rapidly expands his form to kill him.

We know that when a Founder changes form into an object they basically assume some of the properties of the object. Odo states in an episode that if he took the form of a rock a tricorder reading would only find a rock.

However, in that form would that mean on a chemical or molecular level he is a rock? To be clear, he now holds all the exact properties of a rock and is not merely disguised as a rock? He would be a literal rock?

These powers make me think of Metamorpho from DC.

[deepspacewhore]

In honor of my one year tumblr anniversary! <3

An uncharacteristic garashir fic! (you guys are just too influential) - Julian struggles with being rejected by Garak. 

-----

Two hours. That was all it took to throw him off balance again.

All week leading up to the two hours Julian had been thinking about the two hours. Thinking to himself, two hours, that’s it. That’s all I have to get through and then I can go back to Not Seeing Him.

Not Seeing Garak had been good to him. Sure, it hadn’t exactly meant not thinking about him. But it was a much better type of thinking about him than when he had to see him. If he had to see him, his thoughts about their latest interaction would go on and on and on. Scrutinizing and analyzing over and over his words, his replies, his facial expressions, his body language, his perfect dumb face, his stupidly perfect body. Any interaction they had was fodder for near-obsessive thinking about him, which he hated.

But when he was Not Seeing Him there was nothing to analyze (except the past which was so, so behind him). And when he was Not Seeing Him but thinking about him Julian could more selectively control what he thought about him. Very good intelligence officer. Very bad romantic interest. Emotionally fucked up. Little to no self awareness. And Garak had hurt him, really hurt him.

Garak seemed surprised when Julian, a few months ago, first suggested Not Seeing Him except for when they had to for work. Upset, even. “My dear doctor, our lunches have been a staple for over seven years now.” But Julian thought it was kind of fucked up that he was surprised and upset. Julian was also surprised and upset just a few weeks before that when he told Garak that he’d had feelings for him and Garak replied in no uncertain terms that he did not feel the same way. To say Julian was crushed was a fierce understatement. He tried to continue on normally with Garak after that – lunchtime book banter and chatting as they strolled the promenade, but it all became too painful. Finally, Not Seeing Him became the only solution that didn’t involve Julian feeling insane.

And so it was. Very good intelligence officer. Very bad romantic interest. Emotionally fucked up. Little to no self awareness. When he thought about those things, the train of thought could end there. And he could move on with his day.

It all went wrong in the first three minutes.

Julian walked into the command meeting and Garak was holding court, telling a story to a few other senior officers while they waited for Sisko, who was running late.

“And this older Bajoran woman comes in and I ask to see her receipt and she gives me an attitude –” Garak notices Julian walk in. “Why hello doctor, I’m just talking about work today.” He was a tailor.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just going to -” Julian points at his padd and takes a seat around the oval command table. Garak nods and continues. Julian knows Garak wants him to listen, but he doesn’t want to listen.

“She starts giving me an attitude and says, ‘Oh sure like someone who doesn’t shop here is just going to walk in and try to return a dress’ – rife with sarcasm. So I tell her, ‘I know I’m not the most popular tailor in the quadrant but I do have my fair share of customers and I actually don’t remember them all by heart.’ Mind you, I do remember them all by heart and I have never seen this woman in my life,” He rolls his eyes and the other senior officers laugh. Julian does not. He is very concentrated on logging onto his padd.

“And then she’s fishing around in her bag, all theatrics and drama, and she pulls out her receipt – so she did have a receipt, you see – but then – she waves it in my face,” he stands up to demonstrate with Odo, “this close, an inch from my nose. And I start seeing red.” The other officers are all tittering in agreement at the woman’s audacity, at Garak’s righteousness. Julian shakes his head in disapproval so as not to appear rude but doesn’t look up from his padd.

“And it’s of course related to me being a Cardassian but it’s also gendered because a man wouldn’t have tried such a thing, don’t you agree Commander Worf?”

“Because you would’ve countered with violence,” said Worf matter-of-factly.

“Exactly, I would’ve had to respond,” Garak joked. “But, and the point of the story is, I did snap as they say. I said something, I can’t even remember what I said but it was not for polite society. And after I did it I felt...well remorseful, honestly. Mostly for the consequences to myself,” he said cheekily and winked at Dax. “She could’ve reported me to Odo, I could’ve lost my post here with Command, lost more business,” he shook his head, “I’m really realizing I have a short temper.”

At this, Julian couldn’t help it. He snorted. “Really?” he said in a fake-shocked voice. He said it quietly, such an instinct reaction that it wasn’t even really meant for the group to hear. But it was audible enough. The senior officers laughed and Garak turned his attention to Julian.

“Well, yes, but I don’t think you all have actually seen me lose my temper.”

“What do you mean?” Julian asked incredulously. “Like when you punched that guy in the face?”

“I’m saying, doctor, that you’ve heard stories, but you haven’t seen it.”

“I was definitely there when you punched that man in the face. Dulu?”

Garak paused. “Oh yes.” He laughed and turned to Dax and stage-whispered. “I forgot about that.” The officers shook their heads and groan-laughed.

Julian shook his head and returned his focus to his padd. He remembered the day Garak punched Dulu vividly, six years ago. At the time, they were just two friends, living down the hall from each other on the station, still new to Deep Space Nine. Dulu was a visiting dignitary from Bajor. Granted, he was being an absolute prick. He came to Garak’s quarters and screamed at him to turn off his “horrid droning music” because they “didn’t live on Cardassia.” Technically, Garak spit in his face first. That caused Dulu to lunge at Garak and then Garak punched him in the face. Julian had been in Garak’s living room eating pasta when he watched the altercation go down. When they started fighting he shouted and ran to pull Garak off of him and at some point an ensign had heard the yelling and Julian realized she was already in the process of pulling Dulu off of Garak. When they were finally separated, Julian swiftly pressed the button to close the quarter doors and lock them, shutting them out.

“Are you absolutely insane?” Julian said panting. His mind was racing. There was no way Dulu wasn’t going to call security. And Dulu was an esteemed Federation guest. Garak was going to get kicked off of Deep Space Nine. Julian was fuming.

But he looked at Garak, who was standing against the wall with his head in his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He was crying. Julian sighed. He walked over to him and put his arms around his shoulders. “It’s fine. It’s going to be okay.”

Now Julian shook his head as if to clear the memory from his brain’s cache. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that Garak “forgot about that.” It doesn’t matter that a day later Julian had also started crying while he lectured at Garak that their purpose was to do serious things, great things – for the Federation and for Cardassia – and that Garak had to figure out a way to control that temper or they would be in serious trouble and not be able to make anything of their lives. It doesn’t matter that Garak nodded and hugged him and promised that he would do better. It doesn’t matter that Garak probably doesn’t remember any of that at all. It doesn’t matter that now when Garak occasionally tells that story he only ends at the punch and it’s just a funny anecdote and Julian doesn’t know if he is purposefully leaving the rest out or if he truly just remembers it as a funny story. And they’re not even friends anymore so he can’t ask. Not that it matters.

One hour and 57 minutes left.

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

He breezed through the first half of the meeting. It was always easier when the work got started. Sisko informed them of the agenda. Odo gave a briefing. Worf, O’Brien and Julian all gave their reports. There was work to do and plenty of it. They were all on the same page, even when they weren’t. There was a war to win with the Dominion and they were gonna do it or die trying. That was when Julian liked them all best, liked Garak best, liked himself best. If nothing else, there was this.

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

But halfway through hour two, they got into a fight.

They were reviewing their upcoming tactical plan, put together by Garak. It was a beautiful strategy. It was an amalgamation of their collective efforts, yes, but it was largely based on Garak’s intelligence and his leg work and ability to weave it together in the time-frame that he did was undeniable. Sometimes going through Garak’s work he thought to himself in an almost detached way how cool it was to be working with a modern day genius, a contemporary thinker the likes of which were absolutely on par with Spock or Picard. Julian worked with several geniuses actually, but Garak approached war with a vigor and discipline that these days was unmatched by any of them. It inspired him. And if he was being non-detached about it, it turned him on. Which is why he rarely brought it up.

Everyone was giving their feedback on the plan, making adjustments and getting clarification. It was going to be their biggest endeavor yet. Winning over the people of Begalon 6 so their moons could be used as safehavens was a crucial move for the Alpha Quadrant – and there were so many things to think about. Security, negotiations, timing.

Julian had only a few tweaks, but there was one that he felt particularly strongly about. He braced himself and spoke.

“We say here that we will eventually take over the vacant moons there even without consulting Belagonian ruling council,” he said pointing at the map on screen. “I remember that coming up last time as a suggestion but now it’s written in here as if it’s a sure thing. And I don’t know if I agree with it. We haven’t thought it through logistically.”

“I thought you might say that, Doctor,” Garak said. “Which is why I have written here,” he switched the screen, “the reasons why this makes sense to do. Because it doesn’t matter if we have the logistics figured out quite yet if it’s the correct thing to do.”

It was a long note, several paragraphs, giving the importance of these moons’ coordinates, how his view on it was more tactically sound than the Federation view in the context of this war (better to ask for forgiveness than permission) and how it was an essential part of this war to prevent Dominion gaining territory. They all took a few minutes to read it. Julian read it but felt it didn’t answer his question.

“I mean I agree with this all theoretically. But you’re missing my point,” Julian began.

Garak sighed and put his head in his hands. “I’m already just dying to hear what it is now,” he muttered sarcastically.

This made Julian pissed. “Well, that’s excellent because I’m going to tell you,” he said defiantly. The room got quiet. Sisko rubbed his temples. Nobody else ever fought like this.

“I don’t need to think about this logistically like how do we land our shuttlecrafts or how many rations do we bring, I mean we haven’t discussed how it looks in terms of our tactics.”

“This is infuriating,” Garak muttered. His head was still in his hands and he was visibly tensing. “You’re looking at it as part of a written tactical plan. So what is it this time, my lack of caution or lack of morals?”

Julian felt Garak wasn’t even listening. It was making him madder. He started to rap his fists on the table to emphasize his points.

“I’m saying, will the risks of this even be worth it in terms of our overall goals? We won’t be able to defend ourselves if the ruling council doesn’t agree to negotiations. If we do, there would be casualties. We could make a potential enemy. They could turn to the Dominion,” His voice was getting harsher with every sentence. The room was getting uncomfortable. “We haven’t even discussed that, we haven’t agreed on it and I don’t think it’s wrong to want to be clear on these things before it’s included officially! I don’t think that’s wrong -”

“No, that’s not wrong,” Garak finally sighed and cut him off. “You’re not wrong, I’m well aware that it’s a risk, it’s just -” he looked up at the ceiling. “Forgive me. This is making me angry and I have to think about why I’m angry.”

Julian nodded and exhaled. He looked into his lap, trying to regulate his breathing. The other officers waited too.

“For me, and this is just my view, Doctor, but it’s like you think I haven’t thought about these things when I bring them up. I put a lot of careful thought into this. And in the past, you have brought up times where I was...unorthodox in my methods, my time on Cardassia or what have you – and it’s like you think I’m still that Garak. That I haven’t changed or developed, when I have.” He looked hurt. It admittedly pained Julian a little. “It just – it brews in the back of my mind, is all.”

“No, that’s not it,” Julian said clearly. It was true he had brought up those things in the past, questionable decisions Garak had made. In the context of those situations, he had thought Garak was being unprincipled and, yes, in those instances Julian probably was being overly cautious and unfair to him. But this was different.

“Like I wrote out this whole piece for you,” Garak said gestured frustratedly. “To be prepared. Because I knew you’d ask.”

“Well I wrote out my notes for you,” he shot back. “I know you’ve thought about these things but we don’t know all the things you’re thinking. You have so much knowledge in your head and we are not united on all the things in your head, Garak,” he said. Garak nodded reluctant, still annoyed.

“And I feel like sometimes I will ask questions because I’m skeptical or Sisko will and you will just act like we’re trying to call you evil or a rogue or something – but we’re just not united yet.” Garak nodded again.

“I mean I too would like to use the moons for the advancement of the war. I just want to talk things through,” he concluded. He finally leaned his elbows on the chair’s armrests, winded.

“I understand that. I do,” Garak conceded.

They both stared at the screen. At this point Dax jumped in and tried to summarize their debate to come to resolution. Neither of them were fully listening.

Julian felt drained somehow. He looked at Garak and knew he felt the same, he looked slumped. Why had that been so draining? It was barely a fight. They’d had much bigger fights before.

“So with all that being said, can we unite that we want to talk through this point more before we include it in our overall plan?” Dax asked.

“Just keep it in the plan,” Julian waved his hand. He felt defeated even though he technically won the argument. “But make a note that we’ll talk it out later more thoroughly.”

“Okay sounds good,” Dax nodded, added the note to screen. “Garak? We good to move on?”

Garak sighed. “I just don’t like when we fight.” He looked directly at Julian. Julian felt something inside, but he didn’t know what.

Me neither, he thought but didn’t say. It felt too intimate for the room.

Instead he lied. “Yes, well. It’s fine. I mean, I’m fine,” he said lightly. He wanted to make Garak feel better.

“Yes, well. Good for you,” Garak spat. He’d meant it to sound light, but the bitterness seeped out. He sat down in his chair. Julian suddenly wished he hadn’t lied. He also wished he could lean back into his chair and it could absorb him so he wouldn’t be at this meeting anymore.

He looked at his watch. Ten minutes.

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

After the two hours, he lay in his bed, unable to stop replaying the fight. Garak’s words and phrases flew through his head, “I wrote this for you” “you think I’m still that Garak” “I just don’t like when we fight” “I just don’t like when we fight” “I just don’t like when we fight”

Just seeing his hurt face, Julian wanted to crawl up to Garak on his knees, burrow his face in his chest and apologize profusely. “I’m sorry. I know you’ve changed. I think you’re a genius, you know. Do you really not know what I think of you?” But instead he’d brushed the whole thing off. It’s fine. I’m fine.

Then the argument itself. Garak writing in something he knew Julian would question and then writing something in response because he knew Julian would ask. Julian writing a response to something he knew Garak included despite Garak knowing that he would be mad about it and Julian knowing before he brought it up that Garak was going to get mad about him bringing it up.

It was all too much. Was it possible, was it truly possible, that two people could know each other so well and not be in love?

It is possible, a voice in his head answered. Worse, it is true.

“I just don’t like when we fight,” Garak had said. He was talking about Not Seeing Him. Not Seeing Him was the biggest, most silent fight they’d ever been in. But Not Seeing Him was the only way Julian could think of to move on with his life.

So he filed the argument away as “the past” and decided firmly to return to his regularly scheduled programming.

Very good intelligence officer. Very bad romantic interest.

He went to bed.

[manicpoetic]

My fic for the Star Trek Winter Gift Exchange. @startrekwintergiftexchange

It was awkward. He never saw himself as that type of man. Not that there was anything wrong with that type of man. But… Miles sighed. This was, difficult. How do you even bring this question up to someone? But Nerys was. Well. Somehow kind of the mother of Kirayoshi. And good looking. He may be married but he still could see. And well. 

“You’re looking very intently at that book,” Keiko said, mirth bubbling in her voice. Keiko. He loved Keiko. And yet, if he told her then maybe she would think he didn’t. This was difficult. Awkward.

“Just thinkin’,” Miles said with a frown. 

“Anything you’d like to share?” Keiko sat down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and relaxed his shoulder, which he didn’t even realize were tensed. 

“Do you ever think about Nerys—Kira,” His eyes went wide, “I mean Kira.” 

“How so?” Her voice was so sweet. Miles loved that voice. 

“Well, I don’t know.” 

“You like her don’t you?” Keiko’s voice was soft, not jealous, not accusatory. Kind. It was kind. 

“You’re okay with that?” 

“Of course I am, Miles,” Keiko smiled and there was a warm quality to it. “Love isn’t a finite source, you know, loving her won’t take any away from me.” She leaned into him, “And let’s be honest, she is incredibly attractive, you should ask her if she’d like to be apart of us.”

“Really?” 

“Well yeah, but first we’d have to talk about what we want from this relationship, what we need from each other and make sure our boundaries are solid before we add her. But after that I’m more than open to it.” 

“Okay.” 

“So first question, what do you want your relationship to look like with me?” Keiko reached for Miles’ hand and held it in her own, her thumb rubbed against his palm. 

“The same as it’s always been, us loving each other deeply, without hesitation, us as a unit.”

“And you want Kira apart of our unit? Or in a separate relationship with you? Are we all of an equal priority or?”

“I don’t know. I think I would like her to be a part of our unit. Of an equal priority, too.” 

“I see—Wait. Isn’t Kira dating Dax?” Keiko’s face twisted in thought. 

“Oh, yeah, but their relationship is open, last I heard, especially considering that Dax likes Worf.”

“If we get together with Kira it might end with the whole station being interconnected,” Keiko said thoughtfully, “I mean considering that people already think you and Julian are together, and Julian’s with Garak, and didn’t you think that Odo liked Kira and don’t Quark and Odo have a really…” She couldn’t think of the right word.

“Yeah.” Miles said thoughtfully. 

“We’re like a bunch of plants,” Keiko thought aloud, “As soon as you peel back the soil you can clearly see all of our roots interconnected.” 

They sat in silence, Miles contemplating how in just the span of a few short years the station went from a place of tension and distrust to… whatever this was. He could pin point moments of intense feelings, ranging from platonic to romantic, for each of the people on this station. Except Quark. He loathed Quark. But, he supposed, that would be an intense feeling. He remembered the way Sisko and him and been locked in a turbolift for three hours and his anxiety surrounding being stuck got into play and how Sisko had helped him through it. He engaged his mind with mechanical questions, distracting him from his fears until Dax and a repair crew had been able to get them out. He never felt so close to Sisko before that moment, but afterwards, Miles couldn’t describe how comfortable he felt around him. 

And Dax, the hours they’d spent one night trying against everything, against luck itself to find a solution to the ever threatening night where the mirror universe and this universe collided with one another and it was up to the two of them to right their worlds. Dax had been so conscientious that night, bringing Miles a Raktajino before Miles had even noticed that he was thirsty.

And Julian, his closest friend, there wasn’t enough he could say about Julian. 

Worf and Odo had saved his life on countless times, saved him when all hope was lost. 

And Nerys. What couldn’t be said about Nerys? She was deeply, intensely passionate, fiery and caring, loving and spiritual, she was somehow the mother of his child and still not. She was graceful and thoughtful and zealously empathetic. And she was hot. Very, very hot. 

***

Miles sat at a small table with Keiko, Jadzia, and Nerys. It took little work setting this up, it seemed they had all been thinking of this. 

“So,” Jadzia started, “What exactly would the dynamics be?”

“Well,” Keiko said, “Miles and I talked about how we would like Nerys to be an active part of our relationship. If you’re okay with that, Nerys.”

“I’m flattered,” Nerys smiled and then looked to Jadzia, they were already holding hands, but Nerys squeezed Jadzia’s. “I mean, we’ve already talked about opening our relationship before this,” Nerys looked back over to Miles and Keiko, “And I know that I am definitely… I have feelings for both of you as well.” 

Miles smiled and Keiko winked, “Are you comfortable with that, Ha’Dara?” Nerys asked Jadzia. 

“Beyond comfortable,” Jadzia smiled, “I want you to do what will make you happy,” Jadzia brought the back of Nerys’ hand to her mouth and left a kiss there. “My only request is that the level of commitment we have to each other doesn’t change.” Nerys sighed and leaned into Jadzia. They were so in love. It was endearing to Miles to see this, two people just completely in love and comfortable with each other. And here they were talking about how they would integrate their lives together. And in this moment, all of them were completely happy. 

[loisfreakinglane]

has anyone asked disco yet? also ds9 also idk whatever the movies are called i can’t keep track of these things

OOOOOOOOOOH SO MANY TREKS!

disco!

The first character I first fell in love with: 

MICHAEL!!!!!!!!!!! THAT FACE. FOREVER.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

emperor georgiou is so evil and i adore her she is my EVERYTHING

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

no one springs to mind?

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

lorca was just suuuuuch a good character including all the villainy. ALSO I LOVED AIRIAM AND HER DEATH EP HIT ME HARD

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

mmmmmmmm i've just....... gotten really ambivalent about gabrielle

The character I would totally smooch: 

ash, michael, book

The character I’d want to be like: 

JETT RENO, ICON

The character I’d slap: 

lorca?????? LELAND

A pairing that I love:

ASH/MICHAEL. also ash/pike i am what i am

A pairing that I despise: 

hmmmm the fact lorca/michael exists in some universe makes me shudder

DS9!

The first character I first fell in love with: 

it was either benjamin or julian

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

GOD SO MANY PPL THO???? a huuuuuuuuge one is rom. i found him so obnoxiously weak willed at the beginning lol. ALSO O'BRIEN. oh and nog!!!!!!!!!!

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

nobody comes to mind!

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

DO PPL HATE QUARK BC HE'S AN ASSHOLE BUT I FIND HIM SOOOOOOOO ENTERTAINING. also ezri! we never should have lost jadzia but ezri was adorable

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

i used to be way more into odo at the beginning of the show. still love him but i just got less and less interested

The character I would totally smooch: 

bashir is top of the list

The character I’d want to be like: 

can i say lwaxana troi or will u judge me

The character I’d slap: 

dukat obvsly. also quark! bc i love him but he deserves it!

A pairing that I love:

BASHIR/GARAK OTP 5EVERRRRRRRR

A pairing that I despise: 

why did they try to make ezri/bashir happen out of nowhere

star trek chris pine movies i think you're saying??

The first character I first fell in love with: 

KIRK! MY LOVE!

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

i was so mad about sofia's character being a fully painted alien that i didn't expect how much i would ADOOOOOOORE jaylah. BUT I DO. MY BABY.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

nobody??? i can't think of anyone lol

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

I LOVE CAROL MARCUS SHE IS MY SPACE MOM

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

n/a

The character I would totally smooch: 

spock tops the list. then uhura, kirk, sulu, carol, etc lol

The character I’d want to be like: 

SPACE MOMMMMMMM

The character I’d slap: 

fake khan that piece of shit

A pairing that I love:

kirk/spock/uhura are an ot3 of dreams. also i fucking love both spock/uhura and kirk/carol leave me alooooooooone

A pairing that I despise: 

n/a! SO MUCH N/A

[sapphosewrites]

Also you know what it's short enough that I'm just going to put it here as well:

“Frankly, I’m surprised you agreed to this.”

“I did not agree. I was… overruled.”

“You and Constable Odo. He told me this morning he would much rather keep me in the holding cell.”

“You should not have lied.”

“Everything I said was the absolute truth.”

“You do not regret your actions.”

“Of course I do. I regret getting caught before I finished accessing the torpedoes, and I rather regret you hitting me.”

“That is not what I meant.”

“It isn’t my fault that the Federation has such ridiculous notions about 'restorative justice' and 'repairing harm'. Really, I find the whole thing deeply foolish.”

“I am not interested in having you repair anything.”

“It was either make things right with the officer I assaulted, or spend more time as Constable Odo’s guest in Security. Not much of a choice.”

“You talk too much.”

“There’s no reason to be rude. I think you’ll find me a very enjoyable conversation partner if we find the right topic. The doctor and I have some wonderful discussions about literature.”

“I do not want to talk with you about books.”

“There’s some Cardassian novels I think you might appreciate. Have you ever heard of The Chain Unmade ?”

“No, and I do not want to.”

“Oh, but I’d love a Klingon opinion on whether the main character’s actions are honorable. You see, he’s trying to exonerate his disgraced father, who was accused of colluding with the enemy and causing the deaths of innocent civilians. The protagonist discovers that his father was in fact taking the blame for someone else, in order to prevent a civil war, and agrees to go into exile rather than reveal what he knows, because it would undermine the stability of the state if anyone else were to find out.”

“That is not amusing.”

“You're right, it isn't. Sacrifice for the greater good of the state is a pillar of Cardassian society. Of course, the fact that there was a conspiracy at all made the novel rather unpopular in some corners, but I always admired the protagonist. Exile is a terrible thing, and he faced it without fear, for the good of his state.”

“In the Klingon Empire, it is called discommendation, not exile.”

“Call it whatever you like, I don’t imagine the name makes it any less lonely.”

"You have been reading classified files."

"It's only a story."

“And you are wrong about the ending.”

“What do you mean?”

“The civil war was only delayed, not prevented. But when it broke out, he returned from exile to protect his people again, and his honor was restored.”

“That’s the difference between Klingon and Cardassian stories, I’m afraid. In Cardassia, the sentence is always final.”

“Discommendation was… lonely. But even in exile, he was never alone.”

“I suppose that’s another difference between Klingons and Cardassians.”

“I do not read novels. Perhaps we could discuss opera instead.”

“My dear commander, I would be delighted.”

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Elim Garak & Worf Characters: Elim Garak, Worf (Star Trek:TNG/DS9) Additional Tags: Post-Episode: s04e26 Broken Link, Dialogue-Only Summary:

As part of his sentence for assaulting an officer, Garak is supposed to work to repair the relationship. Neither he nor the officer in question are thrilled about the idea, but they find an unexpected common ground.

—

I’ve been wanting to write something post Broken Link poking at how baffled Garak would be if the Federation tried restorative justice rather than carceral punishment, but couldn’t figure out what to do with that idea. Then today it hit me like a bolt of lightning (I literally stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk, which was a bad idea, do not recommend) that Worf had also been exiled during TNG, and this conversation was born.

[cowboyworf]

i think we should have just had a lwaxana bonding episode for every character in ds9.

sisko: a little confused, but very amused. would show her old videos of baseball, she would talk about how great their butts look in uniform.

kira: horrified at first, but then they would find solidarity over being strong women who have faced adversity. episode has very strong gay energy.

jadzia: best friends immediately. gossips constantly. makes worf uncomfortable over how much lwaxana knows how his sex life. tricks julian and garak into a "one bed" situation. wins dabo repeatedly, much to quark's disdain. also gay.

julian: victim of the "one bed" situation, but is definitely also a gossip buddy. is pleasantly surprised at how intelligent lwaxana is and they have lunch often. lwaxana asks about cardassian anatomy with dubious motives, which julian doesn't notice.

garak: he is shocked by her vulgarity. secretly loves it. he treats her with utmost respect and surprises her with handmade gowns. only participates in gossip if he thinks it will be beneficial. also a victim of the "one bed" situation.

quark: he hates how much she wins at the dabo table, but is drawn to her because he loves strong women. she loves his wardrobe and they go shopping together. he falls in love over how she haggles prices on his behalf. discuss goo dick, naturally. she doesn't tell anyone he smuggled tribbles on board for some convoluted money making scheme and that's why ds9 is now infested.

worf: he is extremely uncomfortable around her, but she earns his respect once he realizes what a strong "warrior" she is for overcoming her trauma. she visits him in his quarters when he is definitely not hiding from the tribbles. he will only use her entire title to address her and though he acts indifferent toward her, he brings her a klingon artifact as a gift for when she departs.

rom & leeta: she takes on leeta as another daughter and buys rom a new wardrobe. rom thinks she is wonderful and is completely unphased by how extravagant she is. "moogi would love you." she gets into contact with moogi and they have a life long friendship. also kind of gay.

jake & nog: participates in pranks with them. comes up with most of the prank ideas and they all are directed at odo. secretly funds a book deal for jake and writes letters praising nog to the academy every six months. gives them good life advice. gives them very bad life advice.

ezri: she also takes on ezri as another daughter. is very gentle with her and protective. teaches her that crying is not indicative of weakness and checks in with her every single day. tries to dress her up in extravagant clothing, but gives up.

dukat: spits in his fucking face

[garakcore]

A Guide to My Fics :)

MY PERSONAL FAVORITES

So I Tell Him -  Julian is stricken with amnesia, leaving his husband, Garak, to care for him. Garak/Bashir, ~2K, General Audiences. Extra note: this may be my favorite Garashir fic I’ve written.

Give it Time -  Tora Ziyal comes out as transgender, causing chaos with Gul Dukat. Garak and Kira try to get along for Ziyal -or rather, Zilar's- sake. ~2K, General Audiences

Computer, End Program -  When Quark gets a new holosuite program that allows two people to produce a hologram child, Garak and Julian jump at the chance. Garak/Bashir, ~9K words, Mature 

I Love You Too -  And I say, "I love you." Garak/Bashir, ~500 words, General Audiences.

The Insatiable Hum -  Garak’s implant mysteriously turns on. Garak/Bashir, ~5K words, Teen and up

Tell Tail -  Garak has a problem. Whenever he sees Dr. Bashir, his tail starts to wag uncontrollably. Garak/Bashir, ~2K words, General Audiences

Auld Lang Syne -  On Garak's first New Year back on Cardassia Prime, he receives a letter from Dr. Bashir, along with a recommendation of a song. Garak/Bashir, ~1K, General Audiences

Certain Insecurities - “I wish you would stop calling me beautiful.” Garak/Bashir, ~1K words, Teen and up

Spooning -  Julian just wants to spoon, but Garak thinks it's an anti-Cardassian racial slur. Garak/Bashir, ~500 words, General Audiences

I Can’t Believe You Believe in Me - Garak doesn’t feel like he deserves Julian. Garak/Bashir, ~1K words, Mature

THE BEST OF EXPLICIT

Fascinated - The gay remake of “Fascination” you didn’t know you needed. Garak/Bashir, Kira/Dax, Odo/Quark, ~7K words, Explicit

A Most Enlightening Experience -  When Julian learns that Garak has never touched himself, he offers to teach him how. Garak/Bashir, ~3K words, Explicit

Inside the Fitting Room -  Garak has wanted Julian for a long time now. He hopes that, by inviting Julian in to try on his new suit, something might happen between them. Garak/Bashir, ~3K words, Explicit

Good For You -  Garak has a thing for Julian praising him. Garak/Bashir, ~600 words, Explicit

The Reverie - A Cardassian named Vrell Jad, the suspected author of Garak's least favorite book, arrives on Deep Space Nine. Garak finds himself facing his past in more ways than one, and examining his current relationships. Pre-Garashir, Garak/Original Male Character, ~7K words, Explicit

Way Better Than Ore Processing -  When Julian and Kira are transported to the mirror universe, to Julian's delight, this universe's Garak takes an immediate interest in him. Mirror Garak/Bashir, Garak/Bashir, ~2K words, Explicit

The Most Attractive Word - The most attractive word, Julian thought, is 'yes'. Garak/Bashir, ~700 words, Explicit

Restrained -  Garak has been looking forward to Julian tying him up for a long time. Garak/Bashir, ~1K words, Explicit

A Whole New Kind of Chocolate - A Garashir “If Wishes Were Horses” retelling. Garak/Bashir, ~4K words, Explicit

Disparaging Remarks -  When Julian learns about Cardassian flirting, he decides to try it on Garak. And he gets very into the role. Garak/Bashir, ~1K words, Explicit

You Can Say That Again - Julian has a suggestion. Garak/Bashir, ~1K, Explicit

A Thousand Different Reasons -  Stuck in Mila's basement, Garak and Damar develop feelings for each other. But when they act on those feelings, they both find themselves thinking of someone else... Garak/Damar, Garak/Bashir, Damar/Dukat, ~2K, 

TRANS JULIAN AND/OR TRANS GARAK

Hold it Against You -  Garak and Julian both want to come out to each other as transgender. Garak/Bashir, ~1K, General Audiences

I Wouldn’t Have it Any Other Way - Julian comes out as transgender to Garak. Garak/Bashir, ~1K words, Teen and up

Just Right -  Garak discovers Julian likes being told certain things during sex. Garak/Bashir, ~700 words, EXPLICIT

What You Said You Would Do -  Julian makes a frankly shocking suggestion to Garak, which brings up some feelings. Garak/Bashir, ~900 words, EXPLICIT

NOT GARASHIR

Stars - I think of you when I see the stars. Jadzia/Lenara, ~600 words, General Audiences

The Situation -  Kira and Jadzia have to share a bed under strange circumstances. Kira/Dax, ~400 words, General Audiences

There are more, but this list is getting long, and also, I’m not happy with those.

[pollyna]

Garak arrival at Tarak Nor doesn't go unnoticed but, even if he's in exile, he's still Tain's protege and everyone and their mothers are afraid of him. So he has more free time than ever, his new job is relatively easily once he learns how to do it and trying to kill Gul Dukat is fulfilling for just a couple of hours the first week he's on the station. The man is quiet boring and not important enough to really attempt to his life.

Garak's day is spent sewing, reading, eating food that doesn't taste of much and hoarding secrets, one after another. But, even if he speaks most of the Kardasi's dialect and a good number of other languages, bajoran is almost alien for him. It takes him weeks to really understood a full sentence, during a lunch between two workers, and his life would be a little less miserable if he had, like everybody else, a UT but it doesn't work well with Tain's implant and the implant is more important than is own life.

By the time Tarak Nor becomes Deep Space 9 and Bajor is free, Garak knows how to speak Bajoran and three of it's dialect, Standard, a decent amount of Trill, Japanese and Arabic. For them, for the Federation just as for his fellow cardassians, there's no reason to think he doesn't have the UT and that he actually speaks all that languages.

After all the mess with the implant, doctor Bashir little trip to find Tain and a solution to save him, some adjustment to his quarters, is captain Sisko who asks him about the lack of UT and Garak laughs in his face with the little grace he has left. They don't dispense them for plain, simple tailors captain. Nobody tried to talk about him about it or to talk to him in general.

It's routine goes back to the one he had with the Cardassian's around, sewing, eating food that doesn't taste like much, reading to many books and trying to exercise a little, in the middle of the night when sleep doesn't come and the pain makes him almost blind(*). Odo still checks on him and Quark tries to sell him replicated liquor, that he swears, come directly from the capital of Cardassia Prime. The first smirk is almost disappointed when he doesn't do much else than his work and the second persists until Garak doesn't spend almost an hour straying at him, directly in his eyes, without telling a word. Apparently he hasn't lost his touch when it come to intimidation practice.

Garak is in the middle of a discussion with a Bolian man about the cut of his pants when doctor Bashir enters his store. Garak smiles at him, always polite and compose because he's a client, before turning his attention to the other man. After forty five minutes of discussion they finally find an idea that please both of them, Garak takes a break before his next costumer and he can almost forget about doctor Bashir still being there.

The number of language you can speak is astonishing Garak and oh boy, he really wants to have a conversation, doesn't he? More than enough, doctor he smiles, now, what can I do for you today? New suit or do you need another extravagant costume for your holosuit games?

No, I'm here because I wanted to ask you if you want to have lunch with me? Maybe today? ha asks and he almost seems to stand taller while he speaks.

I have to much work to do, doctor. But thank you the same for the invitation. Why his clients are always late? He has another three and then a bride before closing for the night and doesn't want to take other work to his quarters.

I- Garak, please. I know the last month I've been cancelling our lunches but- believe me when I say it was for a good cause.

I'm sure of it, doctor. That doesn't change I have a half dozen of pants to adjust, two betazoid clients coming in for two new dresses each and a Vulcan bride who's particular picky about the shade of her dress. Maybe next week. And gods be blessed because one the betazoid woman decides to arrive just in that moment and cut off their conversation. He barley notice doctor Bashir leaving the establishment. Or, at least, it what he likes to think.

The Vulcan bride leaves the shop but she doesn't take with her the headache she caused him. Cardassians may speak in circle but Vulcans are no better with their "truth". At the end Garak has to take some work to do in his quarters anyway.

The next morning, waiting for him in front of his shop, is Odo and what it follows is the most strange and peculiar breakfast he has ever had. And he had sat at the same table with the heads of, almost, every secret agency in the Alpha Quadrant.

To that it follows a lunch with commander Dax and a reluctant major Kira, who spends the entire hour alternating between looking at him waiting for a mistake and asking him about a particular fabric for a dress she would like to order from him. And then a breakfast with Quark and Odo, a lunch with Keiko and Molly, filled with pretty drawings, long talks about plants and the promise to help her to create a space for Cardssian's flower and, maybe, to look after Molly a couple of times.

In the next two weeks Garak eats with everyone, even captain Sisko and his son, a boy too tall for his own age. But not with doctor Bashir. After the Vulcan bride problem is solved he decides to go to find the Doctor, maybe to say sorry, think about how much he missed him, and maybe the could grab a bite together if he isn't busy?

What he isn't expecting, when he chimes to Julian's door, is to find the man listening to a recorded lesson of Kardasi, while repeating some of the sentences.

Doctor Bashir? Are you going to leave Deep Space 9 to live on Cardassia?

Garak! Oh god, I was hoping to have a little more time... he answers, looking almost embarrassed.

For what exactly doctor?

When we took care of the implant I realized you didn't have an UT and I asked captain Sisko if we could procure one for you because it could have been simpler for you? Just after I realized you didn't need help because you were speaking everyone's language without problems, but no one was talking yours. And I, sorta?, decided to learn Kardasi but it took me more time that I would ever imagined and a month went by and the others decided to help? I didn't even have to ask, they did all themselves and gave me a little more time to study but I still don't grasp it enough to have a serious conversation...

Oh dear doctor, you didn't have to go and learn kardasi for me! I would have continued to talk your language without any problem!

But I wanted to. And I learned about a little about your culture and about the meaning behind all that arguing at lunch. And I would like to invite you to another one, maybe tomorrow? If you have resolved your Vulcan bridezilla problem, obviously.

Garak doesn't remember the last time his cheeks felt so hot all at once. I would be delighted, my dear. And, perhaps, I could tell you some about my Vulcan bridezilla problem.

I would be perfect, Garak. he answers before kissing him on his forehead.

—

Garak's routine doesn't change much after their first date, he still sewing, eating food that doesn't taste of much, read books but now they're from all over the galaxy and in every language he speaks. He's still learning new languages and existing without a UT. But now he rarely spends a lunch alone sometimes he gets invited to dinner by Keiko or Capitan Sisko. When he doesn't sleep and everything hurts to much there always are a couple of hands shooting his ache and talking him down most of his nightmares.

Deep Space 9 it still to damn cold and distant from what he defines has home but it's something he could learn to live, because now is not alone anymore.

(*) I don't honestly know if there's some equivalent of the Italian sentence "non vederci più dal dolore" but it seemed the most appropriate translation.

[thoughts-i-have-had-in-passing]

“Who’s Kukalaka?” Quark asked. He assumed a nurse or someone that worked closely with Doctor Bashir, because no one else was commiserating with him, and besides, if this Kukalaka fellow was important to the senior staff then Quark was sure he would have heard of him by now.

Bashir looked up at Quark and set his jaw the way humans did when they were about to be defiant about something.

“Kukalaka,” he said defensively, “is a soft toy in the shape of an earth animal known as a bear. I have had him since my first birthday, and he has a great deal of sentimental value to me.”

Quark nodded. “When I was a young Ferengi I had Marauder Mo action figures. The sentimental – ugh – value on them was so high I actually ruined their resale value. Thankfully I’ve since grown up”–he caught the look on Bashir’s face and hurriedly continued– “but I understand how strong these connections can be. Any suspects?”

Bashir’s face darkened. “Elliot Mitoth,” he said bitterly, and drank the rest of his drink.

Another name Quark didn’t know. “Who’s that?”

“He was at the Academy with me. Science track. In the early years the science and medical classes are the same. Elliot was best friends with my assigned roommate, and he used to tease me about pretty much anything he could find.”

“And he found out about Kukalaka?” Quark asked, pouring Bashir another glass.

“Every time he saw me he asked about him, questions like ‘And how’s your other roommate?’ And ‘When’s his birthday, do you think he’d like a little suit?’ He was insufferable.”

Quark watched as Bashir threw back the second drink and immediately pulled the face of someone who should have known to sip. “Insufferable? You thought he was insufferable?”

Bashir gave him a pointed look.

“But why do you think he took Kukalaka?” Quark continued.

“Every year the student union would organise a scavenger hunt,” Bashir said. “Anything could be on it, physical books from the library, an Admiral’s pips, the contents of the ‘students’ bodily extraction box’ at the medical centre.”

“The what?”

“And in our second year Elliot made sure that Kukalaka was the final item on the list.”

“Oh,” Quark said. “But that was years ago.”

“No one won that year. I hid Kukalaka too well, but that wasn’t the point. The entire student body now knew I had a teddy bear, that was the point,” Bashir said. “Although Elliot did vow to win the scavenger hunt if it took him the rest of our careers, I assume so that he could rub it in extra hard.”

“And he’s on the station?” Quark asked. “He must be or you wouldn’t be assuming it was him.”

“He’s here. Got in two days ago on the Argos.”

“So report him? Breaking into private quarters is a class 3 misdemeanor. Then there’s taking property of low financial value, class 6, overriding an encoded lock, class 4, unless he used a transporter, that’s a class 2–”

“Quark. I don’t want to walk into Odo’s office and report a stolen teddy bear,” Bashir said.

Quark leaned in conspiratorially. “You know… breaking into a Starfleet ship is only a class 7 if you don’t cause any damage.”

Round Robin!

Rules: Below will be a section of writing beginning a story. Anyone can reblog and continue the story, and anyone can reblog and continue on from them. Please try to keep your part between one hundred and five hundred words, and (for this go at least) try to keep it rated no higher than T/light M. Any characters or ships may be added, and please no ship or character bashing. No out of universe crossovers (ie non-Star Trek). Please be aware that the story will likely branch into different versions depending on when others see new additions and start writing their own. Respect the other writers in the chain. Most importantly, go into this with a mindset of fun!

~

Bashir sighed and slumped into a stool. His form hunched over the bar in obvious misery, a dark cloud looming overhead.

Quark eyed him and mentally calculated the pros and cons of having such a dreary bar patron seated right smack dab in the middle his establishment. On one hand, it would be easy to keep the drinks flowing from here and to pump Bashir for gossip on whatever had gotten him so down. But on the other hand… well, no one liked drinking next to a Debbie Downer. He might need to shoo him off to go drink in a dark corner instead.

Quark assessed the room. Morn was in his usual spot, chatting up some poor Starfleet ensign who evidently hadn’t realized what they were signing up for when they’d taken the seat next to him. There was a private birthday party on the upper level which would be moving into the holosuites within the next hour. Leeta was explaining the dabo tables to a Vulcan. Odo was not visibly present, but when did that really mean anything? (At least he wasn’t skulking around scaring away the customers for the moment.)

Overall, it wasn’t a bad night. But it really wasn’t so busy that Bashir’s dark cloud would choke out (too many of) the other bar goers. Besides, Quark was in the mood for some conversation.

He picked up a fresh glass from under the bar.

[mylittleredgirl]

trekathon: disco 1x8

in this week’s episode of star trek discovery:

saru gets zapped by a sentient version of the winamp player visualizer and proceeds to terrify the fuck out of me

intrigue! on the ship of the dead

with only a passing knowledge of latin, i assume “si vis pacem, para bellum” means “if you want peace, square the fuck up”

remember that time odo said “the klingons felt menaced by fog?” 

i feel like that’s about to become relevant

we’ve avoided this topic long enough:

so

t’kuvma shining a bright light to draw klingon ships in from around the quadrant

that whole business with the red lights appearing all over the galaxy in season two

detecting klingon ships by sonar

it’s just going to be easier on all of us if we accept that for mysterious space reasons, for a brief period of time about 10 years before captain kirk’s five-year mission, light and sound traveled at infinite speed and then we don’t worry about it anymore

yikes™️:

is there anything creepier than when a character get possessed by aliens and starts attacking their friends

with a calm smile

and it turns out they weren’t possessed after all

i mean i too would go to some lengths to get rid of anxiety but i wouldn’t donkey-kick my colleagues and destroy the federation’s last hope of ending the war!! SARU!!!!

this episode is very stressful

i posted this and then immediately realized i need like three more hours of thought before i can get into it properly, but it feels actually inevitable that saru and michael would get into a physical fight and the “you won’t stop taking!” line just. the way they’re both grieving for georgiou and he’s taking it out on her HURTS.

meanwhile, klingons:

that “scream” scene with l’rell and cornwell? a+++

i don’t remember what l’rell is after and that makes this Very Good TV

but seriously... mary chieffo creating a layered character using none of her actual face or eyes or teeth and in a language she doesn’t speak

i know things are going to go to hell before redbubble would have time to deliver, but i want lorca and cornwell and tyler to have matching “i got tortured by the klingons and lived to tell about it” jackets because that seems to happen a lot

STOP STOP I ALREADY LOVE THEM:

they really really got me with the michael and ash tyler thing, like there’s a deep wailing in my soul when i think about the ship they make me think they are setting up here

“our futures look different” 😭😫😭

i was going to keep these recaps text-only because i love mediocre memes too much to stop once i start, but there’s really no other way to express my love for ash tyler’s pickup line:

AND IT WORKS

i just want them to get on a boat together in peacetime and eat fresh trout!!! discovery!!!!! why are you doing this to me!?!!???

while i’m making vaguely relevant memes:

it’s like gersha phillips looked gene roddenberry’s ghost dead in the eye and designed these field jackets as a personal attack

other characters:

tyler and lorca have now both played the Reveal Trauma card as a diversion technique and people wonder why 100 years later it became standard to put a trained mental health professional on the bridge

in the meantime, we have tilly in the mess hall!

stamets’s mushroom hangover periodically yeets him out of this dimension oops

that definitely seems like a thing you should not keep to yourselves when stamets is the key operating component of your starship engine but ok

i REALLY thought that when saru gave tyler the pahvan harmony crystal it was going to knock loose the klingon brainwashing

i have spent way too much time on this:

i feel like we should talk about captain t’shen kovil of the uss gagarin, human man with a traditionally female vulcan name

i mean obviously?? the first thought is trans human-vulcan hybrid, BUT we know from tng that vulcan/romulan ears remain dominant for at least two generations, and it hasn’t been long enough since enterprise-era for more vulcan generations to pass

so instead, consider: “10,000 names for your baby from 65 Federation worlds!” books

linus! jennifer! t’shen! imagine the federation version of the babynames.com message boards

“i want to give my baby an andorian name but that’s sooo popular right now ugh so i’m thinking i should spell it in rigellian or klingon??”

very sad though that we didn’t get a replay of that “i was told to expect a vulcan” scene with stamets, except it’s t’shen and michael meeting each other

“i assumed you’d be a woman.” “i assumed you’d be a man.” “i also thought you’d be a vulcan.” “i get that a lot.” “....... actually so do i.”

rip dude i thought about you for 75 times longer than you were actually on screen

other moments of delight:

michael’s explanation of starfleet protocol brings peace to my soul

i was going to come at voyager specifically for their tendency to toss everything under the prime directive banner but then it occurred to me that voyager is well over 100 years later, so they probably added some sub-paragraphs

so more specifically, michael’s explanation of starfleet protocol at a simpler time in star trek history brings peace to my soul

“mr. rhys, can i trouble you to FIRE at something!” i.... still really like lorca

“the needs of the one” most romantic line in star trek confirmed

[autisticburnham]

Accession

Julian said Damn, bitch, you live like this?

Molly!

Keiko, sweetie, I love you

Hate that Star Trek is making me think about Miles O'Brien's virility. I do not need to know how many tries it took to get Kirayoshi

Benjamin holding his baseball behind his back while giving a blessing as the Emissary... comfort item

Love seeing the return of lightships

Fake Emissay said what the fuck is the Federation?

Julian looks so fucking bored

Oh wait, I just remembered this guy brings back the caste system

I mean, I love Kira's birds, but maybe reconsider that decision, sir

Kira likes poetry ❤

I would argue they did give you back your life, Ben

"Chief O'Brien is having a baby!" "I thought your females carried your young"

Why does Ferenginar have children's books if it was considered normal for Nog to not be literate at the start of the show?

"Did you hear? Keiko's having another baby!" "Right now?!"

I hate Kira's "sexy" outfit. Bring back her real uniform and her boots

Fake!Emissary: The Prophets want Bajorns to return to the caste system

Bemjamin *John Cena voice*: Are you sure about that?

Deportation? From a planet??

Benjamin, is that a regular coffee cup???

Is this a vision from the Prophets? Doesn't that normally include blurriness?

Nerys... I love you

Oh, I like this little instrument

Molly I love you

Miles, your whole "Being with my family makes me miss Julian" thing is a little homoerotic

I love that Benjamin still has his clock in his office. I wish you could buy replicas of it

Benjamin's so disappointed by Nerys leaving 🥺

Benjamin I love you...

I don't think Miles' b plot is inherently bad, although I don't love the gender politics of it, but fuck, is it tonally dissonant from the a plot

Miles and Julian are acting like exes

Quark's face. He said "Is this what I'm like with Odo?"

Damn, Vedek. What the fuck?

Love that everytime the Prophets interact with linear beings they're just like "Jesus Christ, not this time bullshit again"

Oh, I forgot they send him back. I hate temporal mechanics

Local Woman Desperately Trying to Open Up Her Marriage

Nerys, I love you so much

I love Benjamin's smile

A plot? Fantastic. B plot? Fine. Together? Oh, jeez... 7/10

[uglysockperson]

“quark!” someone shouted behind him, it wasnt hard to figure out who it was as there was a very few who didnt say his name with a drink order following it, or an accusation. and very few who sounded so fond, and if it wasnt rom it had to be him. Theyd been introduced almost a year ago. cardassians loved introducing people, maybe it was showing off how many people they know or their connections but it was almost a nightly occurance one gul or another would introduce quark to visitor of the station, constantly smiling faces and cold hand touches. but he was diffent, his hands snaked up and held ferengi fingers without a sour face. a refreshing change.

“oh glin, how may I be of service this evning” leaning against the bar may be a smooth move in anyone elses book but having to look all the way up to see the person your talking to makes presentation a little rougher. but shuffling to get his little step stool under his feet he feels a cold claw on his chin pulling his face up to meet cold eyes. “I will be needing a holodeck..with company” clearing his throat knowing the cardassian could feel his throat move under his finger “may I assume the same comapany as last night?” “the very same” “well I’m afraid our holodecks are booked for the night but I can arrange private meetings for 2 bars all the same” “its a deal, what time?” “I get out a 0100, but make yourself at home” quark moved off the perch of the grey hand and placed a code card in the hand.

there was hardly a close for quarks, it was more like leaving rom in charge of the few quite hours of the morning, which he excitedly took. quark left him in charge of the count as well as he had an appointment to keep. speed walking to his hall and fixing his collar before entering his own pass code. But down the hall he could feel that all familiar feeling... hed being watched. And if he cant here them it must be odo. but this was hardley anything gto sweat about the constible could hardly arrest him for this. so he presses in his code and enters to see his quarters as they always are but with the addition of a tall lizard lazily sat on his couch reading a padd. “good morning quark” “good morning to you nalin”quark took off his heels and outer coat trying to up his sex appeal before walking over to his guest who had since turned the padd over on the his coffee table. uncrossing his legs as an invitation. theyd been doing somthing like this almost as long as theyve known eachother now there was a familiarity about walking till their knees brushed, a normal event to have a tail tull his thigh until he was sat straddeling a scaled leg. almost a comfort in long claws undoing his shirt before slipping into his waist ban. and equily it was now normal to nibble down a ridged neck and to count scales with his teeth. it was nice to get picked up and tossed on to his own bed. nalin was probrably as kind as they come by cardassian standards but thats hardly saying anything, just because he wasnt outwardly cruel didnt mean he was gentle. he found that out just as quick as they’d started this sort of relationship. But it was better than any holodeck program he money could buy and he was being compensated hansomly for his time.

Now here he was flopped over on this cold blooded lover, who was kindly rubbing his ears. If he could purr he would. “When does your next shift start?” He asks from under quark. “Oh in a while, I need to sleep” “I should leave you to it then” but he doesn’t make a move to remove himself. If quark hard any more energy he’d tease the glib but before he could get to it he had drifted off.

When he woke up he was alone, it surprised him to have not woken up when nalin had left with his sensitive ears he could hear the mans pulse from the bathroom. But either was he saw the hand written note he’d received a handful of times “thank you for the company I will be returning in a few weeks” it was almost a sweet gesture to give him a time estimate. Quark would never be so romantic as to think of it like a promise... but any other goof just might have.

[montagnarde1793]

Ribbons of Scarlet: A predictably terrible novel on the French Revolution (part 1)

Parts 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Q: Why is this post in English? Isn’t this blog usually in French?

 A: Yes, but I can’t bypass the chance, however small, that someone in the book’s target audience might see and benefit from what I’m about to say.

 Q: Why did you even read this book? Don’t you usually avoid bad French Revolution media?

 A: My aunt left the book with me when she came for my defense last November. I could already tell it would be pretty awful and might not have read it except that I needed something that didn’t require too much concentration at the height of the Covid haze and I — like most people who insisted on finishing their doctorate despite the abysmal academic job market — have a problem with the sunk cost fallacy, so once I got started I figured I might as well find out just how bad it got.

 Q: Don’t you have papers to grade?

 A: … Next question.

 Q: Aren’t you stepping out of your lane as an historian by reviewing historical fiction? You understand that it wasn’t intended for you, right?

 A: First of all, this is my blog, such as it is, and I do what I want. Even to the point of self-indulgence. Why else have a blog? Also, I did receive encouragement. XD;

 Second, while a lot of historians I respect consider that anything goes as long as it’s fiction and some even seem to think it’s beneath their dignity to acknowledge its existence, given the influence fiction has on people’s worldview I think they’re mistaken. Besides, this is the internet and no one here has any dignity to lose.

 Finally, this is not so much a review in the classic sense as a case study and a critical analysis of what went wrong here that a specialist is uniquely qualified to make, not because historians are the target audience, but because the target audience might get the impression that it’s not very good without being able to articulate why. To quote an old Lindsay Ellis video, “It’s not bad because it’s wrong, it’s bad because it sucks. But it sucks because it’s wrong.” Or, if you prefer, relying on lazy clichés and adopting or embellishing every lurid anecdote you come across is bound to come across as artificial, amateurish and unconvincing.

 This is especially offensive when you make grandiose claims about your novel’s feminist message and the “time and care” you supposedly put into your research.

 I also admit to having something of a morbid fascination with liberals creating reactionary media without realizing it, which this is also a textbook example of (if someone were to write a textbook on the subject, which they probably should).

 With that out of the way, what even is this book?

 The Basics

 It’s a collaboration between six historical novelists attempting to recount the French Revolution from the point of view of seven of its female participants. One of these novelists is in fact an historian herself, which is a little bit distressing, given that like her co-authors, she seems to consider people like G. Lenotre reliable sources. But then, she’s an Americanist and I’ve seen Americanists publish all kinds of laughable things about the French Revolution in actual serious works of non-fiction without getting called out because their work is only ever reviewed by other Americanists. So.

 Anyway, if you’re familiar with Marge Piercy’s (far superior, though not without its flaws) City of Darkness, City of Light, you might think, “ok, so it’s that with more women.” And you might think that that’s not so bad of an idea; Marge Piercy maybe didn’t go all the way with her feminist concept by making half the point of view characters men (though I’d argue that the way she frames how they view women was part of the point). It’s even conceivable that if Piercy had wanted to make all the protagonists women her publisher would have said no on the grounds of there not being a general audience for that. It was the 1990s, after all.

 Except the conceit this time is they’re all by different authors, we have some counterrevolutionaries in the mix, and instead of the POV chapters interweaving, each character gets her own chunk of the novel, generally about 70-80 pages worth, although there are a couple of notable exceptions. We’ll get to those.

 It’s accordingly divided as follows:

·      Part I. The Philosopher, by Stephanie Dray, from the point of view of salonnière, translator, miniaturist and wife of Condorcet, Sophie de Grouchy, “Spring 1786” to “Spring 1789”; Sophie de Grouchy also gets an epilogue, set in 1804

·      Part II. The Revolutionary, by Heather Webb, from the point of view of Reine Audu, Parisian fruit seller who participated in the march on Versailles and the storming of the Tuileries, 27 June-5 October 1789

·      Part III. The Princess, by Sophie Perinot, from the point of view of Louis XVI’s sister Élisabeth, May 1791-20 June 1792

·      Part IV. The Politician, by Kate Quinn, from the point of view of Manon Roland, wife of the Brissotin Minister of the Interior known for writing her husband’s speeches and for her own memoirs, August 1792-(Fall 1793 — no date is given, but it ends with her still in prison)

·      Part V. The Assassin, by E. Knight, which is split between the POV of Charlotte Corday, the eponymous assassin of Marat, and that of Pauline Léon, chocolate seller and leader of the Société des Républicaines révolutionnaires, 7 July-8 November 1793

·      Part VI. The Beauty, by Laura Kamoie, from the point of view of Émilie de Sainte-Amaranthe, a young aristocrat who ran a gambling den and who got mixed up in the “red shirt” affair and was executed in Prarial Year II, “March 1794”-“17 June 1794”

An *Interesting* Choice of Characters…

 Now, there are some obvious red flags in the line-up. I’m not sure, if you were to ask me to come up with a list of women of the French Revolution I would come up with one where 4/7 of the characters are nobles/royals — a highly underrepresented POV, as I’m sure you’re all aware — but fine. Sophie de Grouchy is an interesting perspective to include and Mme Élisabeth at least makes a change from Antoinette? And though the execution is among the worst (no pun intended) Charlotte Corday’s inclusion makes sense as she is famous for doing one of the only things a lay audience has unfortunately heard of in association with the Revolution.

 Reine Audu is actually an excellent choice, both pertinent and original. Credit where credit is due. Manon Roland and Pauline Léon are not bad choices either in theory, but given the overlap with Marge Piercy’s book, if you’re going to do a worse job, why bother? The inclusion of Sophie de Grouchy, while, again, not a bad choice, also kind of makes this comparison inevitable, as another of Piercy’s POV characters was Condorcet.

 But Émilie de Sainte-Amaranthe? I’m not saying you couldn’t write an historically grounded and plausible text from her point of view, but her inclusion was an early tip-off that this was going to be a book that makes lurid and probably apocryphal anecdotes its bread and butter.

 The absolute worst choice was to make Pauline Léon only exist — at best — as a foil to Charlotte Corday. (It turns out to be worse than that, actually. She’s less of a foil than a faire-valoir.)

Still, why does no one write a novel about Simone and Catherine Évrard (poor Simone is reduced to “Marat’s mistress” here, not just by Charlotte Corday, which is understandable, but also by Pauline Léon) or Louise Kéralio or the Fernig sisters or Nanine Vallain or Rosalie Jullien or Jeanne Odo or hell, why not one of the dozens of less famous women who voted on the constitution of 1793 or joined the army or petitioned the Convention or taught in the new public schools. Many of them aren’t as well-documented, but isn’t that what fiction is for?

Let’s try to be nice for a minute

There are things that work about this book and while the result is pretty bad, I think the authors’ intentions were good. Like, who could object to the dedication, in the abstract?

This novel is dedicated to the women who fight, to the women who stand on principle. It is an homage to the women who refuse to back down even in the face of repression, slander, and death. History is replete with you, even if we are not taught that, and the present moment is full of you—brave, determined, and laudable.

It’s how they go about trying to illustrate it that’s the problem, and we’ll get to that.

For now, let me reiterate that while I’m not a fan of the “all perspectives are equally valid” school of history or fiction — or its variant, “all *women*’s perspectives are equally valid” — and there are other characters I would have chosen first, it absolutely would have been possible to write something good with this cast of characters (minus making Charlotte Corday and Pauline Léon share a section).

The parts where the characters deal with their interpersonal relationships and grapple with misogyny are mostly fine — I say mostly, because as we’ll see, the political slant given to that misogyny is not without its problems. These are the parts that are obviously based on the authors’ personal experience and as such they ring true, if not always to an 18th century mentality, at least to that lived experience.

Finally, there are occasionally notes that are hit just fine from an historical perspective as well. The author of the section on Mme Élisabeth doesn’t shy away from making her a persistent advocate of violently repressing the Revolution. Manon Roland corresponds pretty well to the picture that emerges from her memoirs even if the author of her section does seem to agree with her that she was the voice of reason to the point of giving her “reasonable” opinions she didn’t actually hold.

I should also note that while the literary quality is not great, it’s not trying to be great literature and in any case, on that point at least, I’m not sure I could do better.

Ok, that’s enough being nice. Tune in next time for all the things that don’t work.