[ SECRET POST #3181 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3181 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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09. [WARNING for rape]



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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 070 secrets from Secret Submission Post #455.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

OP

[(Anonymous)]

SPOILERS FOR DEEP SPACE NINE.

At this point in the show, the Federation has wound up in a war with a race of shapeshifters, plus the Cardassians (the race that Garak, the alien-looking guy, is from). About half-a-season prior, Bashir had been revealed to be genetically engineered (which is illegal), so he's actually incredibly smart. Most of the cast of the show has just been forced off the station, their home, and are on the run, trying to regroup and form a plan.

In this scene, Garak asks Bashir to use his genetically engineered brain to calculate their odds of survival. When Bashir says something like "32%", Garak gets offended at how quickly he came to that conclusion, how low their odds are, and how blase Bashir is about it, blaming it in part on his genetic engineering.

There was something about the tone of the argument, and especially the way Garak was acting, that came across as a break-up to me, especially the exchange I used in my secret. It was like Bashir was reaching out, and Garak was pushing him away, saying "you've changed too much."

Here's the whole scene; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVQ9Vx7CIMQ. Maybe I just read too much into it, but at least you can judge for yourself.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks, OP! I've only seen a bit of DS9 and didn't remember this episode at all.

Anon you are replying to

[des_pudels_kern]

Aaaaactually, now that I've rewatched the scene, this can very much be interpreted as Garak showing interest.

Remember that episode where that Cardassian engineer developed a crush on O'Brien and we learned that Cardassians flirt by being confrontational? Sure, Garak does seem to be criticizing Bashir for his "new" personality, but if insulting = flirting, then really all he did was engage Bashir in a quabbling discussion just like the ones they used to share over lunch on the station (albeit with a more serious topic to reflect the dire circumstances), make sure to point Bashir's talents and how impressively suited for thriving under these circumstances he is (healer, highly intelligent, very quick to calculate odds and react accordingly, calm and collected even in the face of likely defeat and death).

I like to assume that their friendship started out on Garak's side as motivated by loneliness and the old habit of wanting a convenient in with the people in charge, but that he understandably saw Bashir himself more as an intelligent yet very young and sheltered human who could benefit from a bit of mentoring and having his mind expanded, a low-key protégé to mold but more so to play with, and that his attitude changed slowly as the show progressed and Bashir showed himself to hold determined strength and potential (early key episodes being The Wire, and that one episode where Bashir was stuck in his own mind after being attacked by some alien, his subconsciousness cast Garak as the villain, and Garak ended up being so very pleased with that). Their personalities strongly differed and clashed in regards to sacrifice, with Garak very much putting himself first while Bashir will not hesitate to risk his own life to save others (Our Man Bashir) while they in reverse disagree on The Neverending Sacrifice. By that point in the show, however, Garak had firmly thrown his lot in with Starfleet and the main cast's fight for the Alpha quadrant, and Bashir had seen his fair share of war and shown no problem with putting the lives of his friends second to the greater good of fighting the Dominion.

Really, Bashir not being so boyish anymore should be what makes him a potential partner in Garak's eyes rather than an entertaining and at times useful diversion, their characters are much more compatible at that point, and by Cardassian standards Garak is likely flirting here. Granted, he spent enough time exiled that he might be talking to human Bashir as to a human, insults just being insults, but that interpretation is not as relevant to my interests.

Edit: ...Forgot to anon. Oh well, at least I'll get notified of possible replies.