#wasn't there one book where like Julian was in a coma?? is that where he's canonically at rn in the betacanon?? in a fucking COMA???

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

Things that I know about A Stitch In Time prior to listening to it:

Garak goes to spy school, which is for spies (for some reason the idea of this is amusing to me. like I get it duh of course the Order must have some sort of training system but also. fanfic ass trope. Spy School! For Spies! it's even a boarding school and everything. DARKEST ACADEMIA)

Garak performs a classic bisexual rite of passage by falling in love with both members of an older(?) married couple (or well textually probably only the wife. I feel like I'd have heard about it if he were Betacanonically Queer (TM) in this book. but here's hoping I'll be astonished while listening!)

I can't remember if I read anything specific about it or not but just based on vibes alone I do not have high hopes for this couple's like. life expectancy.

Based on vibes alone I do not have high hopes for ANY character's life expectancy in this book tbh. If it involves Cardassians in general and Garak in specific I usually just assume everyone involved is doomed. This is going to be a FUN 12 hours and 28 minutes!

There was a post somewhere that mentioned that some supernatural magical stuff happens in this book and I'm SO FUCKING STOKED. HERE'S HOW GARAK ORB EXPERIENCE CAN STILL WIN!!!!

The entire concept of this book is so funny to me. Garak goes 7 years being ohhh so mysterious to Julian about himself or his past and then just spills his whole life story to him in a letter as soon as they're separated. Babygirl is going through Bashir Withdrawal Syndrome.

Most importantly KELAS MY BEST FRIEND KELAS FROM ONE (1) LINE OF CANON!!!!! I have no actual evidence that he ever shows up in this book but like he has to right. right. he's absolutely everywhere on ao3 y'all had to have gotten him from somewhere. I assume.

#forgot to actually post this so I did technically start listening by now but shhhh #anyways it just occurred to me that there's like a trillion ST books and multiple different ones that deal with Cardassians and with Garak #and maybe some of this stuff is actually in some entirely different book for all I know :| #look it's not my FAULT there's no like fuckin CHART of which books I'm supposed to read in what order #I need like. an idiot's guide to the betacanonverse. #starky's original posts #wasn't there one book where like Julian was in a coma?? is that where he's canonically at rn in the betacanon?? in a fucking COMA??? #I know there's also one where Garak Fucking Dies (??!!) #do all these take place in the same universe??????? #WHATEVER. BABY GARAK TIME. LET'S GO. #A Stitch In Time #star trek: deep space 9

[nebulouscoffee]

Any favorite garashir tropes?

Omg, so many! I'll try to limit it to five :)

That thing they do where they start talking about something (often something Very Important) by using an allegory- because that's the only way they can be honest about it (or at least, more honest)- and then get increasingly frustrated by the vagueness of the verbal dance they're doing but neither of them wants to come out and Say It because they're stupid and competitive idiots so they proceed to stretch the metaphor further and further until they're twisting themselves into pretzels trying to stick to it and then at last it snaps. Usually by this point they have begun making out furiously (I love this trope SO much, and my humble contribution was 'Pretenders' chapter 8 lmaoo)

Post-canon letter-writing. I just feel like these two were made for the epistolary format, like they both choose their words (and Lines) so deliberately, they're both always willing to commit to a bit, and also they're both long-winded and witty and cringe (I can't believe it's canon that Julian describes his whole coma dream to Garak over lunch and Garak is actually so interested to hear it? It's just sweet okay!!) More than that, I think what draws me to this ship is the way that they're both storytellers; who've both lived with secrets and lies so long they see themselves more as "characters"/archetypes/roles than people, who both carefully tell truths about the people they are (and were) by spinning self-mythologising narratives (aka, "the lies"). I find this so beautiful because like in some ways their narratives were forcibly spun for them when they were children; so I love how in each other, they find someone that's really willing to listen (regardless of whether they "deserve" it), someone who'll give them the space to maybe learn to spin a new narrative. The idea of them continuing to do so by crafting long letters to each other is very in-character imo, and also romantic in a way that's very them (looking for hidden meanings between the words! Subtext! Wordplay, obfuscation, backtracking, who-will-crack-first, the waitinggggg between responses, all great stuff👌)

Julian's forgiveness of Garak's past being tested- like, personally I think it's OOC for Julian to suddenly start lecturing him about his past, I think it's far more interesting for them to have conflicts over Garak's (often atrocious) present behaviour and opinions- but every now and then, especially if he's living on Cardassia, Julian is going to see stuff that brings home to him in a very real way what Garak used to do for a living. It's such good angst, I love it! Especially when Julian is forced to acknowledge the parallels to Sloan, or that Garak might not actually have moved on from some things

One of them casually does something small that happens to be a Big Deal in the others' culture, but the other can't call them out on it because that would be Acknowledging The Game- and ofc, there's always the possibility that it wasn't deliberate, and isn't it just so much nicer to pretend? Either way, they refuse to directly talk about it, leading to much confusion and hilarity as they try and call the others' bluff by increasingly escalating the stakes and aggressively talking about books till they just end up looking like idiots

They never actually got together during the show. Don't get me wrong, I like reading stories where they get together at the wrong time and mess each other up lol, genuinely I love this pairing for The Range (it is entirely possible that their conversation in the finale ends up being their last!) But I am, at heart, a big sap, so my favourite version of the garashir get-together is them finally figuring it out post-canon. Also, it's genuinely so interesting, like- what do you do when your exiles and secrets and wars are all over & you're finally the person you need to be to make something you always wanted work? (What do you mean, you can just go after it? For real? Like you can actually just ask? Outrageous! Lol) Also, it lends itself so well to other entertaining tropes, like 1. absolutely unhinged levels of UST & long-distance pining, 2. Garak having a funny freakout over some small domestic thing which drives home to him how much ds9 domesticated him, 3. them just like. trying to figure out how to exist as regular people & relaxing into a sort of intimacy and authenticity they've never experienced before, 4. them being huge workaholics who barely see each other during the day but still give each other something nice to come home to, 5. them learning each other's languages & customs, 6. Garak angsting that this is all temporary and Julian is definitely going to leave him, 7. war orphans (I'm not much for kidfic generally but there is something touching about these two characters redefining parenthood and "legitimacy" for themselves; even if not as parents just by helping "unwanted" children in different ways, especially considering what happened with Ziyal), 8. Julian leaving Starfleet & practising more culturally sensitive and less exploitative medicine on a ravaged alien planet which shows how far he's come, and I'm sure there's many more but wow that's already so many! Post-canon garashir endgame my beloved

#gosh darn it I got sappy about Them again didn't I #I admit I also love this ship cuz I can project so much nonwestern cultural musings onto them & their fractured little identities hehehe #thanks for the ask anon! <3 #ask game

[ma-gic-gay]

So this is a new one of these and the other one is probably over so yeah

It's a weird Christmas.

It marks a year since anyone last saw Sonny, a year since Julian's death, and a year full of drama, as one would expect.

Michael and Willow had had another child, a girl this time. Her name was Ophelia and Wiley loved being a big brother to her. The pair had also burned their annulment papers when they'd realized she was pregnant and finally admitted their feelings for each other. Watching them together had probably been the highlight of the year for their family.

Sam had started hooking up with Dante much to the chagrin of, well, everyone. It had started as a few random hookups but changed quickly into an actual relationship, testing several familial bonds.

Luckily, that disaster on wheels had been halted when Lulu had woken up from her coma. Lulu and Dante got back together and fell in love, again.

Sasha and Brando had formed a relationship as well, which was quite a surprise at first glance but made sense after a few weeks.

"Carly? You okay?" Jason asks. Surprisingly enough, she hadn't completely broke down yet, or ran away. The furthest she'd ran was the island and even then, it was only a few hours no one knew where she was, since he couldn't teleport and it took that long to get to the island.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," she responds, faking a smile.

"Tell that to the tears in your eyes and obviously fake smile," he says to her. "What are you thinking about?"

"It's been a year since any of us have heard from Sonny. For all we know, he's dead. Hell, he probably is. I know I should give up and just agree to a funeral, but it feels wrong to do that without a body," Carly sighs, head in her hands in an effort to hide her tears. "It feels wrong for him to not be here. Last Christmas, we were convinced he'd be home by now and now it's like we've all resigned ourselves to him being dead."

"If it doesn't feel right to have a funeral, don't have one. I've known you for a long time, and your instincts are right a lot of the time. Just because Sonny's not confirmed dead doesn't mean he's not," Jason frowns, putting his arm around her and rubbing circles along her back.

Sonny's "death" meant he had to step up in more ways than one. This had marked the year of Jason running the mob, which he'd practically been doing before but was actually doing now. He'd also had to become sort of a surrogate husband to Carly to the point he practically lives there by now. The kids hadn't questioned it; they'd asked a few times if there was anything going on there but after getting a firm no there hadn't been anything else from them in forms of questioning their relationship status. It was what it was and that was the same friendship they'd always had.

There had been times even Danny had questioned why they were at that house so much, to the point he once asked Carly if they were together or not.

You know it's reaching an odd point when a twelve year old is asking if you're in love with your best friend.

Of course, they didn't take into consideration the fact the whole town thought they were together. Again. Everyone had assumed, based off of how much time they'd been spending together- surprisingly more than normal- and the fact that he'd all but moved into the house that they were together.

That was a fun one to realize when he'd gotten shot and everyone had assured her that her boyfriend would be fine.

It just wasn't happening, they were friends. Anything more could complicate it and complicated almost always meant that there would be fights they couldn't go to each other to uncomplicate.

"I know that, but I just don't want to live knowing that there's a chance he could be alive somewhere and he's been kidnapped or forgotten his name or something. It's like I'm stuck in this neverending circle where there's barely any hope but I can't pretend there's none either. Sometimes, I wish that the police would show up with a body and I would have to confirm that yes, he is dead, just so that I could get out of this loop," Carly sobs. "And then I feel terrible for wishing he was dead because I love him, you know, but then at the same time, I can't help but feel like I need closure."

"That's not a bad thing, to need closure. None of us get any closure when it comes to this, Carly. You're not a bad person for wanting some," he reminds her. "You've been grieving for a year a man you don't even know for sure is dead. It doesn't make you bad to want to have something definite."

"But wanting my husband dead? That's dark," she argues with him.

"You want to know if he's dead or alive, something to confirm what's happened to him. I hate to break it to you but you don't qualify as a terrible person," Jason chuckles. "You've never killed someone, never hurt a kid."

"I shot a dude in open court, I almost killed AJ. I've done a lot of questionable things in my life, Jason," Carly fights back.

She's not wrong, persay, but she's not right. "That stuff doesn't make you a bad person. Morally grey? Yes. Bad? No. You do what you think is best and you're impulsive. If something's not going your way, you'll tip the scales. It's just how you are. None of that makes you a bad person. Some people might not like it, but you've never killed someone or hurt a kid, so in my book you're a good person."

Carly's head comes out of her hands for a minute and he smiles, wiping away the tears. "Well you're not a bad person either. You'd never hurt a kid and you only kill in self defense or if the person's really bad and threatening someone you care about. It's not like you wake up and go kill someone for shits and giggles. You mourn the people you kill and feel bad about it. Only a purely horrible person wouldn't feel bad about their murders."

"Neither of us are bad people, let's just agree on that at least."

"Fine," she relents finally. That only took a year. "I miss Sonny. Especially this time of year. Last year, he read Donna and Avery the Grinch and he had the world's worst Grinch voice. I practically begged him to read another book because of how bad it was. But this year, I wish he would be able to read it to them."

"I miss him too," Jason admits. "It's been a hell of a year without him."

"That it has. So much has changed," she agrees with him, shifting her position on the couch so she's lying her head on his lap.

That's probably why the kids thought they were dating.

He plays with her hair as she laughs, remembering some obscure detail about his telling of the Grinch and decorating for Christmas.

Scratch that, this is definitely why everyone thinks they're together.

"Hey Mom, Jason," Joss greets them, coming in from the kitchen. "I'm going to Trina's. Donna's with Ophelia at the Quartermaine's and Avery's with Ava."

"Alright sweetie, have fun," Carly bids her daughter goodbye, sighing. "Why is she so adult now? I mean, I can remember when she was born and it feels like yesterday. Hell, Michael's birth feels like yesterday. And they're both so grown up."

"Time flies when you're having fun," he answers.

"Where'd you get that? A throw pillow or some advice of my mother's?"

"A card someone sent me back when I was in the hospital. Needless to say, that card got tossed in the trash as soon as you'd let me stand up to go to the trash."

"Who the hell sent that to you of all people?"

"No clue. It didn't have a name attached."

"Huh. Well, it's a terrible expression. Too throw pillow. The real answer would be that we're aging, sadly," Carly sighs again, equally as dramatic. "Granted, I still look like I'm 27, but somehow I've aged."

"Age is but a number."

"You sound like a Hallmark card."

"Rude."

"You do!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm aging as well. You're not in this whole getting old thing alone. Provided, of course, that you agree to age," he smirks.

"I don't have anything better to do, sadly, so I suppose I'll agree to getting older. But I refuse to have a gray hair."

"Then go to the salon when you notice one and dye your hair."

"I plan on it," the blonde smiles at him before changing the topic. "Do you think we're weird?"

"That came out of nowhere."

"Answer the question."

"No?"

"That sounded like a question."

"Carly, how am I supposed to answer this one? I don't know, maybe?" Jason says, though most of it comes out as a question.

"Well, I mean, think of it. Sonny's been presumed dead for a year. You've been in charge of the business and been there for all of us in more ways than I can count. Seriously, I think Donna sees you as a father," Carly chuckles. "And you've listened to me crying and losing it. Hell, you spent a month and a half at the island just so I wouldn't be alone."

"Hey, you're family. I was happy to do all of those things. Besides, you wouldn't leave my side when I got shot. Or for a very long month after that," he jokes.

"I know but you didn't have to do that. You didn't have to step up and parent the kids. You already had Danny and Scout and the breakup with Sam to deal with, that's a lot at once. Not to mention, taking over the business and grieving Sonny. And dealing with me. All at the same time," she smiles. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, but you had no obligation to do any of that."

"Carly, do you think I'd be here right now if I didn't want to? You know me better than that. I love you and the kids and want to be there for all of you. So far, I've only gotten shot once and that was unrelated, so I'd consider this a pretty good experience."

The blonde scoffs at him and he chuckles. "Not funny. You could've died."

Rolling his eyes, he reminds her, "I didn't."

"Well you're not allowed to get shot for a long time."

"I'll take getting shot off of my to do list."

"Don't you dare joke about this!"

"Alright. Look at me. I'm not going to die anytime soon. I promise. It takes a lot more than a measly bullet to kill me, after all. Not even Russian madmen could do it," he says seriously.

"Good. Because if you do that to me again, I'll have no choice but to resign myself to a life in either prison or Ferncliff," she says half seriously, getting a laugh out of Jason.

It's not entirely unrealistic she'd end up in one of those positions, especially given that it's already happened. Repeatedly.

Maybe there's a sign she should stop doing dangerous things.

Almost as though she's being told to by something inside her, Carly connects her lips with his.

to be continued

why do i get myself into these things smh