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.
idk about you but i’m a sucker for the we just had sex and it’s the morning after and i woke up to an empty bed and how could i be so stupid of course you left me alone but wait you’re in my kitchen cooking me breakfast and i’m so relieved trope
Saw the confounding take ‘Garak never held Julian’s hand or said soft words to him’. We are speaking about GARAK. That’s the issue you have with him??
Mmmm. Yeah, I’ll rant about this. Let’s review.
Fact is, we do not actually have many Garashir episodes. The episodes we do have are densely packed with Stuff, but ultimately, this is a very simple thing to measure. There are two years leading up to The Wire, and it’s during these two years that we know Garak and Julian were Just Lunch Pals. We know Garak wanted to fuck him and use him for political gains. We know Julian thought he was neat. We know this evolved into regular arguments over books and politics, they had become good friends who are attracted to each other, maybe fucked each other, but that’s all we know.
Then The Wire happened and we see Garak properly vulnerable for the first time. We find out he has a fucking drug problem. We find out he’s suicidal. He and Julian fight about it, and Julian is not very gentle during this fight. Neither of them are, but Julian wins. I figure this is the episode they were thinking most of when they voiced this concern, but I’d like to point out how different their roles are in this episode: Julian is a doctor, Garak is his patient. Julian’s actions are ones he would take with anyone, which is kind of the point. Admittedly, this dynamic is complicated by their relationship, but Garak is in withdrawal for most of this episode, so… of course he’s a dick? And this is my own personal take here, but I do think Garak up to this point did think of Julian as young and silly and in need of an education, and this episode is where he really began to understand that Julian isn’t just all talk. He backs his strong opinions with strong actions. This is the episode that reveals Garak actually has a lot to learn from Julian. This is when respect forms, maybe when love develops or is realized, whatever. Their bond changes here. Julian does hold his hand in this episode, but Garak is the one who offers that hand in the first place. And he does it as part of an apology.
But the point I’d really like to make here is that there is a very limited time period where we really get to see uncensored who Garak iswith Julian when there is this mutually understood respect and admiration (and love). This is right after The Wire and directly before the ineffective Un-Gayening, so let’s look at this. After The Wire, their relationship changes significantly. They’re still Lunch Pals, but Garak treats Julian differently. He’s not just playing with him anymore. He comforts him when he’s stressed, tells him aging is a good and powerful thing. He gives him a birthday present with a sparkly Earth bow. He tells him he survived not through dumb luck but because he’s strong and then purposely makes him laugh. His behavior now is such that Julian can have a dream where Garak is spending the whole time guiding him and propping him up, protecting him, and Julian doesn’t even blink. It’s normal. Garak is the guy who gives him chocolates he had to specially source. Garak’s the guy who’s always making an effort to make him laugh. They say goodbye to each other when one of them leaves the station and Garak smiles at him tenderly. He thinks about their literary discussions when they’re apart.
A huge part of why there were concerns about them being too gay is because Garak acted gay towards him. He was sweet, supportive, protective, attentive, and doting - yes, I will call him doting, because he is. After Season 3, we begin to see significantly less of this, because they were too gay, but let’s remember here, Garak is noticeably cut out from Julian’s episodes then. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t there. In fact, it makes no sense for him not to be involved. But we don’t get to see it anymore. Everything fandom-related after a certain period of the show is purely speculatory, based on breadcrumbs and air, and I’m sorry, but I do see most people speculating that they just don’t like each other anymore and that doesn’t line up with anything that we know about their relationship. Speculating that Garak just isn’t sweet towards Julian ever again wouldn’t be consistent with his character. The trajectory they had him on was one where he was increasingly soft and considerate towards Julian, but if they’d shown us that, it wouldn’t have been very No Homo, would it?
Ofc, Julian still got to show Gentleness and Concern towards Garak because these are Hero traits that can be explained away, but the morally ambiguous Garak was played by an actor known for making every piece of dialogue he got with Julian Gay As Fuck. You think they could have given Andy the character motivation “Julian is in distress and you’re concerned” and not ended up with a scene where the two are basically making out onscreen? No, but you’ll still notice there are big chunks of interactions between these two missing from episodes. In the prison camp, Garak realizes Julian has been imprisoned and then… time jump. Uhhh?
Finally, let’s remember Julian’s big Weaknesses episode, Dr. Bashir I Presume, is after the No Homo Clause has taken effect, and Garak’s absence is glaringly conspicuous. Even from a platonic lens, it doesn’t make any sense, it’s narratively nonsensical, and I’m of the (correct) opinion that this is because the only scenes that would have made sense with these together would have involved Garak being very soft and hand-holdy towards Julian. And I know that doesn’t conform with people’s views of Garak as the Big Bad Cardassian Spy, but to be frank, people’s views of Garak don’t conform with what we see in the show. At least where Julian is concerned.
So anyway, that’s my rant. No hate to whoever you were vagueing about, I don’t know what their precise reasoning was, I’m just attacking this one aspect in its lonesome because Garak is a goddamn sweetheart and I’ll defend this hill with my life. K thx.
Jadzia and Seven would be a magnificent couple. Mainly for the fact that they both have knowledge beyond their physical age. Seven has the knowledge of the borg collective and Jadzia has the symbiont. I just feel like they would be so cute together
controversial opinion but top surgery and other trans healthcare shouldnt be trans exclusive. so what if an autistic woman wants top surgery because boobs are a sensory nightmare?? good on her. she isnt “mutilating” herself any more than anyone else who gets cosmetic surgery for anything.
it doesnt have to be exclusively “trans healthcare.” maybe a cis guy just wants boobs or a cis girl wants a dick. who cares. your bodys yours. customize that bitch. the more normalized it is to just do whatever with your body for any reason the easier itll be for the people who need to do it to actually go through with it because they wont be socially pressured as hard or harassed afterwards.
remember when Angelina Jolie got a double mastectomy to avoid dying from cancer and everyone flipped out
It’s been several hours since the original slew of posts about it but like. Bashir and Goran'agar both being genetically engineered but still having something Wrong with them. Goran'agar’s neverending hope for the Jem'Hadar. Bashir’s willingness to give into that hope. The desperation from Goran'agar to save his people and the desperation from Bashir for recognition. Have I mentioned the fact that this is pre-Doctor Bashir I Presume and Julian Bashir, Augment, is searching for recognition that the genetically engineered aren’t all evil and have a chance for redemption. Like they wouldn’t fuck at least once
