Ive Been Told To Add A Disclaimer To This Post That I Have Only Seen The First Two Garak Episodes So

I’m trying to untangle The Problem of Garashir (not the least because, well, I’m writing the pairing) -

and I think honestly one of the biggest… roadblocks? bits of untapped potential in the pairing? is that we never really see their relationship put a strain on their ideological convictions.

Which is to say, “the societal institutions we’re subject to are corrupt, but our love is pure, so we’re going to abandon those institutions for each other” is, whether implicitly or explicitly, a common framing in fanfic featuring them (such as I’ve seen) - and to be fair, it’s a common romance trope in general. But I can’t say it works for me for these characters. And part of that is that imo the show doesn’t sufficiently set that up with its development of the relationship between these two characters, but another part of that is that I simply don’t see a world in which that kind of relationship dynamic/approach would fit with their characterizations.

To address the first point - there are never any situations involving these characters in which their fundamental values or institutional loyalties are challenged as a result of their relationship. At no point does Garak, for example, have to choose between Cardassia and his affection for Bashir. (I’ve seen people read The Wire that way, but I don’t think the reading works - The Wire is a fantastic showcase for Garak’s worldview and value system and the cracks and contradictions therein, but even though Bashir’s unwavering commitment to helping him despite what he’s done is certainly unprecedented and moving to him, his underlying value system hasn’t changed by the end of that episode.) And while Bashir’s faith in Starfleet and the Federation does get rocked quite a bit over the course of the show, it’s never because of his friendship with Garak.

Instead, I’d say that with some exceptions (like The Wire), their friendship in the early seasons is usually framed as a respite from their serious responsibilities or moral dilemmas. This especially true of Garak, who is likely not used to someone simply enjoying his company with no ulterior motives whatsoever, but the narrative maneuvering of the show also does a lot to shield Bashir from the reality of who Garak is. Yes, he gets a taste of that in The Wire, when Garak goes out of his way to impress upon him what the reality of his life as a spy truly was. But that’s still only verbal testimony, and only confined to what Garak has done in the past. Bashir is largely absent from all the shit that Garak pulls during the show!

And I’m not complaining that, say, the events of The Die Is Cast take place between Garak and Odo, because it makes thematic sense for it to be Odo for that arc. (And I love that friendship.) But Garak and Bashir do not get a plot like that, or like In the Pale Moonlight, where Bashir is directly exposed to or complicit in Garak’s immoral behaviour. The closest we get to an actual serious ethical clash between them is in Our Man Bashir, which is a goofy comedy episode. (And it’s worth noting that Bashir calls Garak’s bluff and shoots him in that confrontation! Yeah, he likely missed on purpose, given what we later learn about his magic hand-eye coordination, but he’s still unwilling to compromise on his heroism for Garak’s sake. It’s actually a pretty Cardassian gesture, which is probably part of why Garak loves it so much, but it does say a lot about where their priorities are re: their commitment to their values vs. each other.)

And I think the lack of more serious, plot-relevant ethical conflict between Garak and Bashir is a real loss for the show, because one thing I find really interesting about their relationship is that - in contrast to the examples of Odo and Sisko up there - Bashir is the person in the cast most able to hold Garak accountable. He’s repeatedly established as one of the most firmly moral members of the cast, and his righteous anger at seeing those morals trodden upon is one of his most defining character traits in the later seasons. His unconditional forgiveness of Garak in The Wire is lovely, and it is an important moment in the development of both their relationship and Bashir’s character. But in the long term, once we get into actual serious, consequential war and espionage plots? And if we’re imagining them in a long term committed relationship? It wouldn’t be sustainable, and it doesn’t feel in keeping with Bashir’s character that’d he have endless reservoirs of patience and understanding specifically for Garak. And it’s precisely because Bashir is uniquely able to grant Garak forgiveness that he’d also potentially be uniquely able to chastise him.

(This is why, by the way, my headcanon as to the in-universe reason why they don’t seem as close in the later seasons, paternity deathbed reveals and occasional flirty bantering notwithstanding, is that Bashir was seriously fucking pissed at the stunt Garak pulled in Broken Link, both in terms of the personal betrayal and the destructiveness towards sentient life, and that it created a significant rift between them.)

All of that is to say - my biggest regret with the show’s sidelining of their dynamic isn’t the fact that their relationship never becomes romantic (not a chance of that in the 90s, and also these writers were pretty terrible at writing romance) but that they never get to have an argument. An actual serious, non-flirtatious, two-sided, genuinely-angry-at-each-other-argument. I want to see conflict! (I honestly think that their exchange in What You Leave Behind comes the closest to the kind of conflict I’d like to pick up on in post-canon fic - where they are conciliatory in the moment but still have this really wrenching chasm between them, and unresolved frustration as a result of that chasm.)

So as an extension of these thoughts, I actually really like that we’re not given the basis for a traditional “us against the world” style romance plot. I like that these characters are clearly deeply fond of each other and significant to each others’ development, but have other important connections (Garak especially, since despite being only a recurring character introduced through Bashir, he integrates into the broader cast) and other priorities besides each other.

Furthermore, despite the significant differences in their value systems, one very fundamental thing they have in common is how passionately devoted they are to their respective causes. For Garak, it’s Cardassia. And while his idea of what it means to serve Cardassia, and what Cardassia needs, undergoes a lot of change over the course of the show, I don’t see any version of Garak in which Cardassia is not his first love. For Bashir, it’s altruism and helping people, as well as his intellectual curiosity - aims which are reflected in Starfleet and the Federation for him but ultimately higher ideals.

And I don’t think either Garak or Bashir would admire the other nearly as much if they were willing to let go of everything they hold dear for the sake of romance. They’re both far too committed to being a part of the world. Garak may have some fun with trying to shake Bashir of his optimism, but ultimately Bashir’s goodness, his fierce conviction that no one deserves to suffer, are among the most compelling aspects of his personality. And if Bashir is ever going to actually enter a serious relationship with Garak, he’s got to move beyond flirty intrigue and literary banter and see Garak as someone who’s proactively committed to goals that Bashir can respect. If they’re coming together as a couple, it’s because their aims and beliefs have come into alignment in some way.

And to be fair, a lot of post-canon Cardassia stuff is doing the latter. But I also want more… conflict within that framework, I guess? I don’t want a romantic relationship and the act of getting together to be the endpoint of whatever reconciliation of values they need to work through. And that’s part of what I’m trying to untangle in planning this fic of mine - especially regarding how fraught romantic commitment feels for them. For Bashir, there’s the problem of not only reconciling himself with what Garak has done, but also of choosing to be with someone whose impulses and entire cultural belief system places duty and institutional loyalty above personal feelings. And for Garak, there’s the fact that the most devoted and emotionally intense relationship he’s had in his life thus far has been with Tain, who embodied Cardassia for him - and as a result, I doubt he quite knows what to do with the possibility of a serious relationship with Bashir, who is very emphatically not Cardassia. He’s not used to being divided in his passions!

It’s not that I’m never capable of being moved by post-canon stuff that involves Bashir being charmed by how slippery Garak is, or them generally being quippy and fond of each other (I’m not made of stone here). But I’m never satisfied with just that, because that escapist element never feels like it translates well from the early seasons of the show to post-canon, and because it never engages with what I find the most fascinating about what’s set up with their whole dynamic. (And I especially dislike it when it feels like Bashir’s character is getting shortchanged in terms of his complexity and moral convictions being excised in order for Garak to get everything he wants.)

the religious storylines on ds9 are crazy if you really think about it. imagine being in the mall and seeing the gates of heaven open outside auntie anne's pretzels

shoutout to @daftmooncretin for the inspo

Garak: I have killed again

The various war criminals of DS9: *shock, horror, despair*

……

Garak: I have killed again

Dr Julian Bashir, one of the world’s foremost and most dedicated healers: Lol. Lmao even

o captain my captain

(the pattern is based on that mysterious clock sisko built in s1)

He is a tailor, plain and simple

can this be considered an attempt at seduction? a successful attempt?

на столе стоит бутылка

а в бутылке лилия

что ты смотришь на меня

рожа крокодилия

watching ds9 is great for many reasons, not least because sometimes i set my netflix to subtitles in my language when watching it with my family.

and as ever the translators have fascinating formal pronouns opinions. namely:

bashir and garak use the formal address (with the addendum that julian uses the formal-you directly. and garak of course says doctor a lot, which is extra-formal. interestingly, he doesn't always address him by title only! less diffident than it might have been.)

bashir and o'brien use the formal address (works very well with the development of their friendship + vr funny and tongue in cheek, it's great)

odo and kira use the formal address, up to and including during love declarations (as of season 3)

kira and o'brein do NOT use the formal address. baffling choice ngl. i think it's the only case when the ops team is informal w one another. i think the translator ships it guys.

sisko is formal all the time. except with jake i think. actually i can't remember if jake uses the informal w his dad. i'm pretty sure he does.

quark and rom use the informal!! which is quite interesting in terms of characterization. they are brothers!! it does a lot to set the tone.

quark and odo use the formal form in words but not in spirit, it's hilarious.

odo actually uses the formal with everyone.

dax and bashir use the formal.

even dax and sisko use the formal, including in private. this is the one thing i fully disagree with but it does add an interesting layer to their connection.

kira and dax use the formal. i don't even ship it that much but i will be honest, the formal-you is very gay here, as it can be. if you've been there you've been there.

i think kira and vedek bareil used the formal you! which is a normal thing to do with your boyfriend the religious figure i'm sure.

anyway i am choosing to incorporate all of this into my canon. standard has formal and informal addresses, as per my dodgy netflix translation. will update this post as it becomes funny.

Kay I can't get over "Improbable Cause"/"The Die is Cast" because Garak stabs Odo in the back without a moment's hesitation the second he gets the invite to return to the Obsidian Order/Tain/Cardassia/Whatever, and then he tortures Odo nearly to death looking for info on the Dominion and all he gets out of Odo is that Odo really wants to go home to his people and join the Great Link despite Everything, but when Odo gets the chance to go home, despite how much he wants to, he sticks to his morals and refuses.

So Odo gets stabbed in the back, and tortured into revealing a shameful secret. He should kick Garak out on his ass and never speak to him again, but he doesn't.

So whereas Garak took the chance to go home without hesitation, Odo refused his own chance to go home with equal conviction, so Odo could sit on his moral high horse and judge Garak for giving into temptation, but he doesn't.

Odo might not forgive Garak for what he did, but he understands why he did it enough to stick around and be his friend despite it all. Like, the guy really says "hey you did a really shitty thing to me but I understand, let's get breakfast sometime."

Something about that just hits, you know?

“I am allowed to reference my wife in this context. I enquired whether it would be appropriate, and her response was affirmative. I love and respect Amanda very much. So I said to her, ‘We have been married for many years and have raised several children with varying success.’ And she knew that. I said, ‘Do you mind if I still speak of your emotionalism on stage?’ And Amanda said, ‘Yes, Sarek, you may do this. But just don’t say that I’m a human and that you don’t like me.’ I thought, ‘The qualifications for success are so much lower than I had previously theorized. That is all?’”

“I would never say that. It would be illogical to create such a show. Hello. My wife is human, and I do not like her. No. Go find a support group for insecure Vulcans in crisis, with keynote speakers Sybok and Spock. I would never say that, not even in jest, that my wife is human and I do not like her. That is not true. My wife is human and I find her presence very agreeable. She is a dynamite, five-foot, Jewish human and she is more than adequate. She and I have totally different styles. When Amanda walks down the street in ShiKahr, she does not care what anyone thinks is logical. Amanda is my hero.”

(When you watch “Star Trek” after “Kid Gorgeous” and have a dream that Sarek goes on a Vulcan comedy tour)