1) "Solstice and Equinox" (Garak/Bashir, R so far, rating may increase): Bashir figures out that he wants to court Garak, but he wants to do it just right -- in Cardassian terms. After weeks of undercover research and preparation he finally "pops the question" only to have Garak give the response that means "I'm thinking about it... convince me." There are 87 days between the Cardassia Prime winter solstice (when Bashir proposed) to the spring equinox (when Garak's indicated he'll give his answer), and Bashir has to figure out how best to approach and to win the wary spy.
2) "Ovum" (Garak/Bashir, R so far, rating may increase): Some Cardassian males are evolutionary throwbacks, capable of laying eggs when impregnated through the cavity that normally holds their retracted penis. Bashir finds this out the hard way when Garak turns up with four eggs in the oven. Rating reflects the serious discussions of abortion that take place during the story.
3) "When the Farsei Blooms" (Garak/Bashir, NC-17 in parts): My magnum opus, 140,000+ words and counting. Stranded on a remote Cardassian colony, Bashir and Garak must seek out a transmitter which is their only hope of rescue. In the process they enter a new stage in their relationship, one that is not meant to last.
I like "S&E" because of the slow burn of the story: it's an exploration not only of the G/B dynamic but of their relationship to many other characters on the station, and I love writing Bashir as cunning enough to keep a member of the Obsidian Order in the dark. The trick with it will be to sustain the right pace: not too fast and not too slow. "Ovum" is a nice tense story with flashes of humor, but also plenty of angst and suspense: will Garak be able to carry the eggs to term, much less incubate one in his own body after they're laid? In this case it's a matter of handling the tension in a realistic way and not going too far into comedy. And "When the Farsei Blooms" is an epic, pure and simple, with a vast sweep that encompasses a complex alien culture and (I hope) an enthralling and heartbreaking story of ultimately doomed love. Too many challenges to count on that one, I'm afraid. :)
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Date: Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 21:19 (UTC)1) "Solstice and Equinox" (Garak/Bashir, R so far, rating may increase): Bashir figures out that he wants to court Garak, but he wants to do it just right -- in Cardassian terms. After weeks of undercover research and preparation he finally "pops the question" only to have Garak give the response that means "I'm thinking about it... convince me." There are 87 days between the Cardassia Prime winter solstice (when Bashir proposed) to the spring equinox (when Garak's indicated he'll give his answer), and Bashir has to figure out how best to approach and to win the wary spy.
2) "Ovum" (Garak/Bashir, R so far, rating may increase): Some Cardassian males are evolutionary throwbacks, capable of laying eggs when impregnated through the cavity that normally holds their retracted penis. Bashir finds this out the hard way when Garak turns up with four eggs in the oven. Rating reflects the serious discussions of abortion that take place during the story.
3) "When the Farsei Blooms" (Garak/Bashir, NC-17 in parts): My magnum opus, 140,000+ words and counting. Stranded on a remote Cardassian colony, Bashir and Garak must seek out a transmitter which is their only hope of rescue. In the process they enter a new stage in their relationship, one that is not meant to last.
I like "S&E" because of the slow burn of the story: it's an exploration not only of the G/B dynamic but of their relationship to many other characters on the station, and I love writing Bashir as cunning enough to keep a member of the Obsidian Order in the dark. The trick with it will be to sustain the right pace: not too fast and not too slow. "Ovum" is a nice tense story with flashes of humor, but also plenty of angst and suspense: will Garak be able to carry the eggs to term, much less incubate one in his own body after they're laid? In this case it's a matter of handling the tension in a realistic way and not going too far into comedy. And "When the Farsei Blooms" is an epic, pure and simple, with a vast sweep that encompasses a complex alien culture and (I hope) an enthralling and heartbreaking story of ultimately doomed love. Too many challenges to count on that one, I'm afraid. :)