Andy Robinson really was like
Well if Garak can’t end up with Bashir, I’ll write him a male Cardassian doctor with all the same ideals and viewpoints and mention how alike this doctor and Bashir are multiple times in the narrative.
This here is what I would ask Andy about if I got the chance. How much of Parmak was intended as a Julian analogue.
My personal version of kelas parmak is that hes not real. Hes garaks fake boyfriend he invented in order to make julian jealous and he writes julian a big long letter about oh im shacked up with this doctor on cardassia now and hes hotter and better at doctoring than you and julian comes like oh my god garak are you okay. Wait i thought you were living with parmak and garaks just like. Parmak wasnt real. Can we have sex now?
#i particularly like this because i could see garak go ‘oh he wasn’t real’ and then two days later parmak turns up #and bashir goes 'what the fuck?’ #because garak is a lying liar who lies all the time #kelas parmak #star trek
@apolesen with brilliance in the tags XD
I can absolutely see this because Garak gets dual pay off of Julian’s shock and confusion and Kelas’ fond disapproval.
from Una McCormack’s “Enigma Tales”
“My dear Doctor—
Let us take a tour of the city. We shall leave your room, which—while pleasant and offering a fine view and designed to be a great balm to you—is ultimately, like any sick room, hardly the most uplifting of environments.
So let us leave your room behind. We are still in my official residence, and I should confess that I am not fond of the place. It is quite new, which has benefits in terms of comfort and convenience, but I am afraid that it is increasingly starting to feel rather like a prison cell. You will recall I have some experience of prison cells, and therefore I am placed to make this comparison, although I admit that it could be considered rather fanciful. Still, the walls, at times, feel very close …
At this point, you would no doubt remind me, as Kelas often does, that I chose this role, and that if I do not like it, I can always give up and go back to reading bad books and pottering around my garden. You would no doubt also remind me that the scrutiny under which I have placed myself is crucial to my successful performance in this role. There are brakes on me, checks and balances, which do not allow me …
Do not allow me to indulge my excesses, as I have done in the past, and so many of our leaders have done in the past. Do not allow me to become cruel. Do not allow me to forget that I am not in this role for self-aggrandizement, but to do what I can to make up for the harm that I have done in the past. I, and those who ran Cardassia for generation after generation, repeated in one long blood-drenched repetitive epic.
I digress.
I wish you could meet Kelas. I think you would like each other. I think you would admire each other. Besides, you both have—had—a habit of lecturing me.
I do not mind. Not much. I deserve it. In some respects, I am touched that someone, somewhere, has my spiritual well-being at heart. It is nice to be loved, for what one is.
I did not mind your lectures. I wish I could hear them again.
Garak
[unsent]”
Reading this excerpt never fails to send a refreshing gale of emotions over me, as it reminds me of the relationship I share with some of my closest friends. I hope it can do the same for you. (btw garak writes a really sweet letter to jullian at the end of every chapter, its super cute and the book is well worth the read if you’re interested)
plus it follows Dr. Pulaski who I always thought was underappreciated.
Andy Robinson really was like
Well if Garak can’t end up with Bashir, I’ll write him a male Cardassian doctor with all the same ideals and viewpoints and mention how alike this doctor and Bashir are multiple times in the narrative.
Una McCormack was like
I second that, I have also written that they have a formal dinner with Dr. Crusher and her husband Picard. Also, it seems like they live together, and Dr. Polaski openly asks other characters if they’re lovers and there is no conclusive voice saying they’re not. Also he refers to Julian as the man that Garak loved.
Quotes from A Stitch in Time by Andrew Robinson, Enigma Tales and The Crimson Shadow by Una McCormack.
Cardassian flirting being traditionally antagonistic, I think what sets Julian and Kelas’ relationship apart is that they tend to agree on most topics. This works for both of them, bc it is a relief to have one person not pushing on you day after day. Also they enjoy teaming up to disagree with Elim.
also to make up for my depressing ask here is a fun ask: what is your favorite kelas parmak Fact?
Lol I just wrote a whole Kelas hc post, but I think one of my favorite facts might be that during a dinner with Garak, Jean-luc Picard, and Beverley Crusher, Kelas, watching Garak out of the corner of their eye, called Meditations on a Crimson Shadow, “A repulsive book, a fantasy of eternal and permanent Cardassian conquest” which Garak considered to be quite unfair.
(quote from The Fall: The Crimson Shadow by Una McCormack)
Fun ask ahoy- what are your Kelas Parmak headcanons? I’d love to hear them 👀
Oh!! Hmm
Well they are amab and non-binary and very fucking queer, so jot that down.
I do think Kelas and Garak were lovers for a while before Kelas got sent off to the labor camp. I think Tain knew, which is why he made Elim do the interrogation. But I also think that’s why Tain had them sent away instead of executed, and why he allowed them to come back and resume practicing medicine. I think that convo Tain and Garak have when Tain brings them up is two-fold: reminding Elim of a time when he successfully tortured a loved one (bc he wants him to torture Odo) and ALSO as extra enticement to follow orders and make his way home. Because Kelas is there.
I subscribe to the fanon that Kelas has long white hair that they wear in a braid, and they wear glasses. I like them with blue eyes and standing a bit taller than Garak. I like both Julian and Kelas being tol and Garak being a smol even tho Julian and Garak are like the same height in canon.
I think Kelas must have come from a family of middle or upper middle class mostly because they managed to become a doctor. I like to think their family was supportive of their gender and their choice of career just bc it would be nice for someone to have decent parents. I do think their parents are dead tho. I think they were older when Kelas was hatched and that Kelas is an only child.
I think Kelas knew Natima Lang, since they are both dissidents it makes sense. I think when Natima saw Garak in Quark’s, she knew exactly who he was and specifically that he was the one who tortured Kelas. She assumed he was still working for the Order and tbh she wasn’t entirely wrong.
I believe Kelas had Elim assigned to their search and rescue team on purpose.
I think between Kelas, Garak, and Julian, Kelas is the one with the braincell. I think they believe strongly in being kind to yourself first. I think they believe strongly in the inherent goodness of people, in the inherent value of lives. I think they see that in Garak when he can’t see it in himself. I think they fall hard and love fiercely. I think they see how Julian is a mirror image of Elim. They see what Julian has to give, and welcome him in with open arms. I think the three of them take turns ganging up on each other to temper their extremes.
I think Kelas is passionate and tends toward excess. I think this sometimes gets them in trouble if they drink too much in public and encounter someone who is a bit too loudly supportive of “the old ways” (before the Fire). I think they are also too trusting which is a very dangerous trait in a Cardassian. They are intelligent but very softhearted and it gets them in trouble, because people try to use them. “Try” being the operative word bc Garak doesn’t let shit happen.
Above all, I believe Kelas Parmak, soft heart with a core of steel, is deeply and profoundly kind.
asslight gaykeep girlballs or whatever
sounds right
Look what I finally finished!! This has been a wip since I finished Crimson Shadow and it finally decided to get finished tonight.
Relationship: Elim Garak/Kelas Parmak
Rating: E (tho it’s maybe only a hard M tbh?)
Summary: When they are finally alone after being reunited, Garak and Kelas reconnect through sex, love, and forgiveness.
Mild Spoilers for Crimson Shadow, I guess. This is unbetaed, bc I couldn’t wait XD