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purplespacekitty · 13 days

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Ramblings on Tora Ziyal

I think it’s well beyond a shame that they killed off Ziyal because I really would have liked to see her Cardassian-Bajoran identity more fleshed out and have her navigate the world beyond her father’s influence. She was starting to do that a bit with Kira and Garak (though I strongly feel that Garak should have been more of a mentor figure than a love interest) and it would have been really cool to see her get to hang out with Jake and Nog and just be a kid for once. It feels way too weird the way they began her character as this traumatized little girl who knew nothing but the brief time of her life she spent with her mother on Bajor and the horrors of the Breen mines and then magically turned her into this saccharine sweet, mostly well-adjusted young woman who loves her tyrant father despite his crimes (and in many ways, is seemingly unaware of them???????). Where was the therapy? Where was the rehabilitation? Where was the jaded child we saw in “Indiscretion”? What if Ziyal had been allowed to channel her anger and pain into learning about Bajor and Cardassia, into healing herself? Her dad basically plucked her out of the Breen mines after years of giving less than a Cardassian vole's asshole about her and then it turns out he originally planned to kill her when he found her? After she prayed for years that he'd come and save her? I'd be pissed.

But also, I wish they'd explored more of why she didn't appear to be all that pissed. We have almost no other context for Ziyal's childhood, certainly not any of what it was like before Dukat sent her and Naprem away. Was it simply exhaustion and desperation that led her to the conclusion that she'd rather die than not be with him once he'd found her? Was there a guise Dukat put up to portray himself as a kind father and mask the tyrant underneath before he sent Naprem and Ziyal away? Or did she even get to see Dukat at all in her early childhood? Did she simply assume he would be a loving father? Is that the image Ziyal clung to for comfort for all those years? Did she cling so tightly she could do little else but believe it?

It feels icky to kind of reduce her existence to Dukat Drama™️ the way the show ultimately did with her death. Why didn’t we get to see her experiencing disillusionment about Dukat, who never actually changed for the better when she was still alive and trying to get him to stop being so horrible? Why didn’t we get any Rugal-level anger from her, the hushed-up child of a Bajoran comfort woman and the genocidal former Prefect of Bajor? Because, obviously, Dukat never actually took his fatherhood to her seriously. She tried to imagine him as someone he was not and he predictably chose to inflate his own ego by encouraging her. She wasn't much more to him than a device to garner some twisted idea of sympathy for himself. Ziyal needed more of a chance to break away from relying on Dukat for unconditional love. Because his love, as we know, was not unconditional. In fact, I hesitate to even call it love at all, given how ready he was to manipulate Ziyal, how ready he was to get rid of her. She had unconditional love from Kira, who immediately went to bat for her before she’d even met her when she found out what Dukat planned to do to his own daughter. And I totally believe Garak’s love for Ziyal could have grown into something unconditional, but they ruined it with some weird, out-of-nowhere romance with an uncomfortable age gap and then had her killed off like some tragic, helpless maiden.

DS9 was sort of the only place Ziyal could experience any sort of semblance of real safety in her life, especially considering both Bajoran and Cardassian attitudes towards biracial children. It would have been interesting to explore an arc with her making DS9 her home as a place that is conducive to the cohabitation of many different species and cultures while also wrestling with isolation and ostracization from those who share in the two most pervasively impactful facets of her identity. Maybe the writers wanted to focus on portraying her girlhood and favored it over exploring the complexities of her Cardassian-Bajoran heritage. But honestly, they failed at both. She never got to have a girlhood and she ultimately became more of a plot device than a fully-fledged character. This franchise started off with its most interesting and beloved main character being both Vulcan and human. I know Ziyal is someone else entirely, but they totally could have done more with her than they did.

I would love, love, LOVE to see her engage with different aspects of both Bajoran and Cardassian culture. I wonder if she would develop any kind of spirituality regarding the Prophets. Since Bajorans are widely a spiritual people, it's possible Naprem shared some of her spiritual practices with her daughter. If she did, does Ziyal observe those practices to feel closer to her mother? Does she seek Kira's help in learning more about Bajoran spirituality? Do they connect over the struggles their faith has gotten them through? Would delving deeper into Bajoran spirituality open a gateway to acceptance from other Bajorans? Or would it make them turn their backs on her even more? How does her Cardassian-Bajoran heritage impact the way she interacts with her own spirituality and beliefs? As far as Cardassian culture goes, Garak certainly has an eye for art and I could see her connecting with Professor Natima Lang, Hogue and Rekelen and learning about Cardassia's resistance movements.

Also, multiple Bajoran and Cardassian drinks, confections and meals are shown throughout the series and especially with respect to its main character, DS9 frequently places food in an important cultural, community-building role. As someone whose strongest connection to their own heritage comes from food, I would have loved to see Ziyal engage with both Bajoran and Cardassian culture through food.

Obviously, we were robbed of heaps and heaps of space station shenanigans:

Nog sharing what he learns from starfleet academy with Ziyal, Ziyal trying tube grubs and actually liking them.

Ziyal illustrating Jake’s stories into comic books or murals and the two of them creating stuff together and maybe some nerdy pop culture history discussions on the side. I feel like Jake, Nog and Ziyal would totally have weekly movie nights.

Odo looking out for her, giving her advice about handling bullies, the two of them bonding over being generally considered the odd ones out and Ziyal making paintings to add to his quarters.

Kira giving her lots of hugs, teaching her to fight, protecting her from bigots and helping her embrace her Bajoran background, teaching her Bajoran culture. Ziyal stealing clothes from Kira's closet occasionally ("You hardly ever wear anything other than your uniform, anyway! And they fit, see?"). Ziyal sneakily tagging along on Kira and Dax's trips to the holosuites, eventually convincing them to just invite her to them regularly, anyway. She knows how to use her cuteness as a force for good, but more importantly, she knows how to use it as a force for capers and hijinks.

Garak making her clothes, teaching her the art of cunning deceit and helping her embrace her Cardassian background, teaching her Cardassian culture. More hangouts in the holosuites basking on steaming rocks. And the two of them giggling in tasteful mirth at Bashir because he finds Cardassian literature boring.

Gossiping with Bashir and Jadzia, learning to treat wounds and carry a bat’leth, never growing tired of Dax’s many tales of woe, romance and adventure.

Sisko teaching her how to cook and inviting her to play baseball with him and Jake.

Quark occasionally letting her have a drink on the house because she can be more devious than him if she wants to be (“Listen, kid, if you’ll get rid of all this root beer for me, you can have as many free glasses as you want”).

Leeta and Rom being the cool aunt and uncle who buy her all the jumja sticks she wants.

Babysitting Molly and Kirayoshi and learning about plants, science and Earth history from Keiko. I wish Keiko had gotten more screen time - in general, but also of her in her element, studying plants and playing music. It's criminal that we never see Keiko play her clarinet in DS9, so I definitely would love to see the two of them playing music together if Ziyal felt so inclined.

Leaving O’Brien in the dust at darts for reasons he simply cannot fathom.

Listening to Klingon opera with Worf over glasses of prune juice.

Becoming an accidental stowaway on Kasidy’s freighter one day and Kasidy taking her with on missions to Bajor. Kasidy, Keiko and Ziyal hanging out together is a trio dynamic that never happened and definitely should have.

Talking stuff out with Ezri, the two of them commiserating over their respective identity crises.

Dressing up for nights at Vic’s.

Learning about Klingon music from that Klingon chef (I believe his name is Kaga) on the Promenade.

Punching each successive version of Weyoun in the fucking face (maybe even Weyoun 6, accidentally or intentionally, doesn't matter, it would just be funny).

Rebel strategies with Damar (I think he’d come around if he didn’t have it out for her and got over Cardassian bureaucracy), Kira and Garak.

Helping around the house whenever she and Garak visit Mila, long talks with Mila about her Obsidian Order days.

Weekly dinners with everybody.

I want to see her making friends and being supported by all the loving, caring people around her who love her (collectively and individually) more than her actual-piece-of-shit dad. I want her to grapple with the fact that certain people hate the mere existence of her enough to want her dead but also decide to go “hell with it” and fucking live for herself. She deserves to be more than the tragedy that made Dukat finally snap and descend into pure insanity. She deserves to laugh and cry and stomp her feet and dance and shout and sing and love and play and paint to her heart’s content. She deserves to be angry. She deserves to have a childhood, an adolescence, an adulthood and an elderhood. She deserves to live. And maybe to be the perpetrator of a few political assassinations as a treat.

So………....................suffice to say, I have a LOT of thoughts about Ziyal. I love her and I wish the show runners had loved her more, too.

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v-e-l-v-e-t-g-o-l-d-m-i-n-e · 9 months

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#Star Trek #DS9 #Deep Space Nine #star trek polls #star trek deep space nine #star trek ds9 #Star Trek: DS9 #Leeta #Tora Ziyal #Winn Adami #Keiko O'Brien #Molly O'Brien #Kai Opaka #MIla Garak #Kimara Cretak #Ishka #Kasidy Yates

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butterfingersgutterball · 1 year

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andromedaexile · 11 months

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Are They a Stoner? DS9 Edition:

Captain Sisko: Being raised in the south means he has most definitely lit up, and I refuse to believe otherwise. However, after his father caught him smoking and he got stuck on clam duty for a month, he learned his lesson.

Jadzia Dax: Let’s be so real, if she played Tongo with a bunch of Ferengi why would she not own a Betazed bong??? She definitely begged Worf to try it but after his experience with Deanna he only fucks with Blood Wine.

Kira Nerys: OH 100% she was a stoner during the occupation. How would you even attempt to relax in that situation WITHOUT weed? Once the occupation ended Kira stopped messing with weed, but Kira would often hangout with Jadzia, who no doubt brought something to share with Nerys on multiple occasions.

Worf: Blood wine and prune juice.

Dr. Bashir: Before knowledge of him being an augment was made public he never touched anything that could potentially make him not in full control of himself (he did drink a little though). After the knowledge was made public Dr. Bashir and O’Brien definitely were lighting up in the holosuites. That’s why they don’t remember the Alamo.

Erzi Dax: She was straight edge through and through before she was joined with Dax. However afterward…Let’s just say Dax would never turn down an edible.

Odo:

Elim Garak: After the wire was removed Garak decided to stay relatively sober. However, for harm reduction reasons, and to help him cope with his headaches Dr. Bashir prescribed him some medical gummies. He eventually waned off of them completely once Erzi started helping him (he still some times smokes and sews which is why sometimes your trousers don’t always fit right).

Miles O’ Brien: He swore off the “devils lettuce” when he first came aboard the Enterprise. But once stationed at DS9 he quickly realized he would need some of Keiko’s supply of Cannabis-infused tea to remain sane.

Quark: Being a bar owner (best bar on the promenade btw) he is not a big supporter of weed because his main source of profit is alcohol. However, Nog explained to him what a cart is and how you can make a profit from selling them to hoo-mans so he is looking into that as a possible new business opportunity.

Rom: You can’t be a leftist and not have at least tried weed. Also an engineer, so yeah.

Leeta: Oh 10000%. In fact, she’s the plug for the other dabo girls. She even bags her “merchandise” in handmade baggies she makes from recycled textile/fabrics from Garak’s (he owes her because she gave him boy advice).

Nog: No. He follows the rules of StarFleet academy to a T.

Jake Sisko: Hes going to school for writing so yeah. Definitely an edibles kinda guy. His dad has yet to find out despite how many times Jake has come home and slammed an entire pot of jambalaya in 10 minutes.

Keiko O’Brien: Who do you think on DS9 is growing it in the first place?

Gul Dukat: No, he is a snitch who hates fun.

Weyoun: Yes, he is a snitch who loves fun.

Kai Winn: She gives me cop vibes more than Odo does so I’m saying she is a snitch who also hates fun. She also unironically calls weed the Pah-Wraiths Herb or something like that.

Kasidy Yates: Yes, but stopped after jail.

Ziyal: Art school attendee/ art school drop-out. You tell me.

Damar: He’s only a fiend for Kanar (someone help that dude).

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polycule-playoff · 8 months

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Star Trek DS9 Polycule

What do the colours mean?

If there are any characters you want to add and/or any other relationship interpretations you'd like to put forward, please let me know.

Preliminary Polls:

Keiko/Kira

Kira/Miles

Jadzia/Quark

Julian/Quark

Ezri/Julian

Odo/Garak

Sisko/Julian

Sisko/Garak

Miles/Julian

Ben/Jadzia

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cowboy-queer · 1 year

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#star trek #ds9 #deep space nine #deep space 9 #lwaxana troi #keiko o'brien #kira nerys #ishka #jennifer sisko #kasidy yates #leeta #kira meru #mila garak #jadzia dax #dax symbiont

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defconprime · 1 year

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Kai Winn, Kasidy Yates, Keiko O'Brien

#keiko o'brien #winn adami #kasidy yates #star trek cards #star trek ds9

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motsimages · 1 year

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I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they played the unexpected pregnancy of Kasidy that way but if they were taking birth control and it wasn't her who forgot, why is she not angrier? She clearly didn't want a child. I mean, I know you can change your mind once the shock has passed but still, she was more worried about the prophets than she was angry about Benjamin forgetting. And she is not a woman who doesn't speak her mind or doesn't get angry at him when he oversteps.

#Star Trek #Star Trek: ds9 #ds9 #Benjamin Sisko #Kasidy Yates #I don't want to say US media is at it again BUT #this really feels the same way every time euthanasia is even suggested #Good thing the season is almost over #Kasidy with a baby is just another Keiko in the making #Support group of mothers with husbands in Starfleet

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trest-a-mess · 1 year

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Miles O'Brien FUCKS

In DS9 Miles was at the center of a station wide polycule among the upper staff. With only 2 couples being exclusive in the upper echelons of the station. By necessity, DS9 spoilers. The reason why I didn’t include Julian is that him being with Ezri is a very late show addition, and she and Julian get together even later. Whereas from very early on Miles is fucking 3 people. Plus, miles has more metamours than Julian.

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cordrazine-official · 10 months

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🔀 Ro Laren/Kasidy Yates, Keiko O'Brien/Garak, Lenara Kahn/Kira Nerys, Jadzia/Worf/Deanna/Riker, Geordi LaForge/Julian Bashir/Ben Sisko, Lwaxana Troi/Senator Cretak, Jil Orra/Ziyal

(send me a 🔀 and a pairing, and i’ll shuffle my playlist and make an AU based on the first song that comes up)

Ro Laren/Kasidy Yates

Okay so I got Like A Prayer by Madonna & my first thought was Dance Movie AU - you know, those 80s dance movies like Footloose or Flashdance or the like. But I’m gonna tweak this concept & go with Dance AU, as in, the story is contained in a dance performance. (I hope this isn’t considered cheating.) I just think it would be really cool to have Ro & Kasidy each stand in a cone of light on an otherwise dark stage, separated by nothing but the darkness between them, during the intro & the first stanza (“Life is a mystery / Everyone must stand alone / I hear you call my name / And it feels like home”); especially on “I hear you call my name”, instead of having them look for each other, it would be an inward search, something they’d hold within themselves. And then, when the music starts, the light changes & so does the mood: they find each other, maybe a little hesitant at first because of what happened before, where they each were, and with each step they find themselves reaching for the other a little more easily. “Let the choir sing” has an obligatory curtain rise to reveal - you guessed it - a choir, but perhaps the choir is dressed in trek civilian clothing instead of uniforms, & perhaps you’ve got Bajorans & Humans & Klingons & other aliens in the choir - & background dancers come in, & it’s one group but for some steps they divide into two groups & assemble behind Ro & Kasidy, & it’s important that there’s always a fluidity between those groups (never the same divide, & even during the divides people move from one to the other). On the second “Life is a mystery / Everyone must stand alone”, everyone IS standing alone but everybody is dancing the same choreography. The choir then joins everybody on stage & merges with the dancers in a giant blending of singing & dancing & alone & together & light & dark (I’m not knowledgeable enough about stage lighting & I’m not fond of stroboscopic lights but I’m sure there’s something to be done here) & then you get a big 80s finale with confetti falling from the ceiling & a literal crowd on stage & Ro & Kasidy in a prominent position finding themselves close to each other but still not quite touching, never quite touching - but that’s not where the connection is made, baby!

Keiko O'Brien/Garak

Smalltown Boy by Orville Peck. Truckers AU. They both spend days on end driving through the country with nothing to do but look at the road, listen to the news & smoke cigarette after cigarette with the windows open. They both like to say that you get used to being your only company but the truth is that they both yearn for someone to distract them from themselves; the only difference being, Keiko wants someone to share this with while Garak isn’t really looking for connection, he just wants a distraction. One night Keiko stops at a lonely truck stop in the middle of nowhere, not because she wants to but because she doesn’t have a choice - it’s too late to keep going & she’s out of food & anyway, she needs to get out of her truck for a while. She sits down at the shitty bar & orders a soda & at first she barely notices the man sitting three stools from her, nursing something that may or may not be a little too strong if he’s planning on driving on tonight.

They’re on the phone often after that, & there’s something about this guy that creeps Keiko out but he’s also kind of pathetic & so she figures that as long as she’s careful there’s no harm in chatting to some old guy while she’s driving - it’s good for her, too. It’s the road that ties them together & they sometimes meet up when they’re in the same area, though they never make any extra effort to. The sex they sometimes have is meh for both but sometimes that’s really just what they need & it’s fine. He (somehow) finds out what her birthday is & gifts her an accessory for her truck, so she gifts him something in return the next time they see each other & tells him that it’s for his birthday, since he must have one too.

After a while they know each other’s coffee order by heart, & what parking space the other likes best, & at what time best to call. They’re not dating, they’re not friends, they’re not fuckbuddies - they’re something else, but they never give it a name. Garak has Keiko’s name saved under “Keiko”. Keiko has Garak’s name saved under “Old Guy From Trucksto”. It’s nice to know there’s someone out there who knows you’re on the road.

Lenara Kahn/Kira Nerys

Sanremo by MIKA - which is complicated by the fact that this is my number one Jadzia/Julian BJ Besties song, so let’s see what I can come up with.

Coastal paddle boat rental owner!Kira/recent divorcee vacationist!Lenara. Kira owns a paddle boat rental shack on a promenade along a big touristy lake & she works ungodly hours during the summer. In comes recent divorcee Lenara, here on a three-week vacation after finally finalising a really bad divorce: she desperately needs to relax & think of something else & she’s renting a small vacation home up in the hills. She has coffee on the promenade every morning & every morning she walks by that little shack that says “rent a paddle boat here 30 minutes 10 euro 1 hour 15 euro” & the neat row of six, sometimes less, paddle boats bobbing up against the wooden dock. One day she spots a lady in cargo shorts & t-shirt walking from boat to boat, checking up on them, & she moves to a cafe closer to the shack. It takes her a week of spying (& she feels bad for doing it but she can’t stop) until she acknowledges to herself that there’s something happening here; a few more days until she decides to rent one of those small boats for a ride. The lady from the rental shed is very nice & soon Lenara is in the middle of the water, waves lapping at her paddle boat, & it’s been a while since she’s felt so light & unburdened. She’s back at the dock five minutes early & she’s happy when it makes the lady smile.

Lenara extends her vacation. Suddenly she’s not interested in the museums & old churches & landmarks anymore: all she wants is that feeling of freedom she tasted on that paddle boat, & she feels silly when she thinks this but who cares? She can do what she wants. She rents a paddle boat every day now, mostly in the afternoon, sometimes in the late morning, once in the morning right when the lady opens the shack (& she wasn’t too happy about that, Lenara could tell & she felt guilty for not thinking of it). She takes her bathing suit & goes for a swim & stays close to the ladder to make sure the boat doesn’t drift off without her; she soaks in the sun afterwards, listening to the seagulls & the laughter the wind sometimes carries out to her.

Her eyes are closed, & so she doesn’t notice that the lady from the boat rental shack looks over to her paddle boat much more often than she does any other.

Jadzia/Worf/Deanna/Riker

Nuit 17 à 52 by Christine & the Queens. Public Transport AU, if that’s a thing - if not, it is now. What I’m seeing is basically the metro in a big city & people together in a packed train, the connections that can be made there, however small. Whoever has had to commute on public transport for an extended period of time remembers some of the people they spoke with, even if it was a short interaction, even if there were no words at all. Jadzia, Worf, Deanna & Riker are all regulars on the same metro line - perhaps one of them is even a train driver, & the other three get on the train at different stops but they all leave the train at the last stop, & they all take the same train in the evening to get home from work. & so it’s already been years that every night, all four of them have unknowingly been in the same place at the same time: that train platform. Maybe Jadzia & Deanna strike up a conversation at some point, or maybe Jadzia slips her number to Worf one day, or maybe Deanna proposes to Riker over the announcement system - somehow connections form between them, & from that train platform rises something that can exist outside of the underground.

Geordi LaForge/Julian Bashir/Ben Sisko

Saddle Up by David Christie, which… I can explain. But not now. Now, we are talking about Tap Dance Class AU. Geordi LaForge, who’s been certified to teach by the American Tap Dance Foundation, teaches a class in the neighbourhood. Ben Sisko, whose son has recently left for college, is looking for a new hobby & figures that giving tap dancing a go won’t hurt (plus he’s always wanted a pair of tap dancing shoes & this is the perfect excuse to invest); Julian Bashir, who has a background in ballet & wants to diversify, signs up as soon as he’s made sure that his work schedule will permit him to attend regularly. He & Ben strike up a conversation before the first lesson, as they’re trying to fit into their new tap shoes - & then they walk into the studio only to be greeted by their handsome new tap dance teacher. Both of them congratulate themselves for choosing this class & proceed to attend every class, despite muscle pains & last-minute work schedule changes; Geordi takes an interest in those two very motivated students. It’s all very chill, there’s no county competitions or anything. Maybe there’s a piano in the studio & Ben starts playing for Geordi & Julian after the class is over…

Lwaxana Troi/Senator Cretak

Losing My Mind by Liza Minnelli - Former Hollywood Star AU. Cretak had a small moment of fame when she was younger but it disappeared as quickly as it came & now she’s living a mostly normal life. Her true love is her motorcycle, which she rides out every weekend sort of aimlessly in the hills on the outskirts of the city. She’s got a job she’s not immensely fond of but it could be worse, & it pays the bills. One night - it’s a Saturday & she’s been driving longer than usual - she ends up in a lesbian bar; it’s early, she’s the only patron & she’s not sure if they’re even really open yet, & she’s kind of pathetically nursing a whiskey coke when suddenly the lights change & music starts, & someone gets up on the stage & starts singing, & Cretak realises that they’re doing soundchecks for the show later tonight. Why the hell did they let her order when it’s still this early? She tries to tune out the singing but halfway into the second stanza she recognises the voice from another life, far in her past: it’s the voice of one Lwaxana Troi, who got her big shot at fame around the time Cretak did & who didn’t make it, either. They’d had a thing, back then, a thing Cretak had tried to forget because she’d been left raw & exposed after it had ended, & why is the room so small & the music so loud? But she can’t leave, she can’t do anything but listen to Lwaxana rehearsing her show & try not to be seen - but if there’s one thing Lwaxana won’t let you do, it’s slip away unnoticed.

Jil Orra/Ziyal

Starry Eyes by Cigarettes After Sex. Neighbours AU - as in, they live next door to each other in crappy flats (as in, mould, mice, insects, etc.). They’re both trying very hard to move out: they’re both taking evening classes & working two jobs to save up for something better. They meet on the corridor & from then on they help each other out (“hi, sorry, do you have some eggs I could borrow”; “hey, could I use your phone charger, mine just broke”) & band together to fend off the mice & insects & landlord. They start cooking for each other, taking meals together (on the roof maybe, & it’s a roof like they have on Gossip Girl) & spending time together in general. Neither of them is very close to their family and they bond over that among other things (after all they do live under the same room, sort of) & one day, after one landlord issue too many, they decide that maybe, if they shared the rent, they might be able to afford a better flat together…

#ro laren #kasidy yates #keiko o'brien #elim garak #lenara kahn #kira nerys #jadzia dax #worf #deanna troi #will riker #geordi la forge #julian bashir my beloved #ben sisko #lwaxana troi #kimara cretak #jil orra #tora ziyal #thanks for asking!

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