Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
Garak’s the type of bitch that would go on a tirade the first time he sees Kukalaka, full-blast asking every question and balking at every answer and going off on a philosophical spiel about the implications of such a ferocious earth beast being a children’s toy and what it implies about Julian’s psyche that he has kept it all these years - and in such poor physical condition! - all while hugging Kukalaka to his chest. When Julian interrupts him to smugly point this out, Garak just scoffs and walks into another room, still hugging Kukalaka.
The next time Julian even sees the toy is weeks later and it’s mysteriously acquired a full fashionable wardrobe, and when Garak is questioned about it, he just scoffs again and says if it’s going to plague their quarters with its ghastly appearance it may as well be useful and model some of Garak’s new designs. It’s very practical, he’s saving a lot of fabric by doing it this way, you see. And no, that is not a replica of Julian’s favorite shirt. It might appear that way to an untrained eye like the doctor’s, but it is entirely different, actually.
[start id: a digital drawing of Bashir from Star Trek Deep Space Nine. He is drawn leaning down on a table, his arms crossed and he is looking at Kukalaka (his teddy bear), there is a speech bubble over his head that says “I don’t think they like me very much, Kukalaka…” The background is a pink grey colour. /end id]
I’m here to tell you that I’ve posted a 27k fic entitled Kukalaka POV, in which Julian is trying to reconnect with his abandoned Muslim heritage. He’s secretly fasting for Ramadan, and Garak WANTS TO KNOW WHY JULIAN’S SKIPPING THEIR LUNCHES. They then talk about theology and cook for each other. It’s cute and nothing bad happens.
Oh, and the whole thing is from Kukalaka’s perspective. (Pictured above: outer space’s best teddy bear gets a fancy new outfit.)
You don’t need to know a single thing about Islam to read this fic. It’s for everyone!
is that’s not Julian’s teddy bear. It’s Jules’s. Julian stitched up “his first patient” when he was five, well before he got his genetic modifications. And for someone who considers himself unnatural, has trouble reconciling his “realness” with the fact that he was “designed”… that is the most comforting thing in the entire world. Here he’s got tangible proof, real tangible proof, with Jules’ stitching still in the leg and everything, that his love of medicine, his love of what he does, is real.
(that bear’s a talisman. Of course he’s bringing it to DS9)
