I’m surviving them acting out this post-canon garashir marriage fanfic by only listening to one earbud and not watching the video, otherwise I am completely dying inside, I spent the first 5 minutes screaming into a pillow
I haven’t even got to see it yet and I’m already screaming into my pillow every time I think about it JUST. GOD. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORLD WE LIVE IN.
Hi! "Little achievements" was revolutionary. I'm so thankful you approached Sid with your ideas. Do you know if there is a recording of the first version? I actually liked that take better.
There is a recording, and I liked it better too because the emotion was so raw and the hearteyes were off the frickin charts. It was better EXCEPT for things director!Elmie had to weigh up only to discover they tipped the scales:
a) the fact that the single best moment from the first one wasn’t captured in speaker view (Andy caught a genuine feel and teared up), and there is only my garbage bootleg game-recording software video file in gallery view of that moment (because my sleepy brain didn’t realise Mel had changed the setting that allowed me to record properly) and it’s no good for official SidCity YouTube.
b) I wanted the costumes changed because otherwise “Little Achievements” would be visually indistinguishable from “Alone Together”.
c) Irena needed to fix her sound and lighting because we wanted her to be able to share the video with acting agencies, and it was kind of sub-par the first time. (Technical difficulties aside, it turned out better the second time.)
d) Sid had glare on his glasses from his laptop that covered his eyes (Thankfully we figured out how to fix that by the second performance.)
e) Andy’s lighting was better the second time because he had daylight and not what I assume was a bendy desk lamp pointed at his face.
I do hope that someday the first performance will also see the light of day! Because I agree it was spectacular. That’s the benefit of seeing it live, really. You were one of the first (and possibly ONLY) 192 people to watch Garashir become semi-canon in the most raw state possible.
For now I suggest you treasure the memory <3
But maybe someday……….
(My garbage bootleg recording has been backed up, though. Just in case.)
Today I was listening to Garashir fanwork Little Achievements ( https://youtu.be/3Tq8zaSObWU) by @almaasi and I don’t know if you heard PERFORMED BY ALEXANDER SIDDIG AND ANDREW ROBINSON. It was SO ROMANTIC AND BEAUTIFUL and gave me all the old married couple vibes and I died but came back with a violent need to draw them as such.
you can’t talk like that to me, i’m a c-list internet celebrity among star trek fans
casual viewer, self-identified fan, themed social media, meme producer, content creator, household name for other tiers, canon creator/show participant
throw “licensed material writer” right under canon creator and we have a solid list
What’s I think is especially wonderful about Siddig and Robinson reading @almaasi‘s “Little Achievements” is that now, Garashir is even more canon than many of the Star Trek novels! After all, it’s the actors who chose to portray Bashir and Garak as romantically interested in each other in the first place and who shaped their characters the most, so I’d consider it a higher level of canonicity than the novels, which had Garak being allowed to love Bashir, but only from a distance and while with another partner who is a kind doctor… who doesn’t even get to be confirmed as his romantic partner… while Bashir is in a relationship with a different spy who’s a woman and then ends up comatose while Garak cries over him.
In basically every episode of DS9, it’s the actors who were struggling against the shooting scripts in order to further a queer reading. I’ve gone into this before, and in addition to the examples in that post, remember that Bashir was originally going to “physically restrain” Garak during a panic attack and Garak was supposed to look “pleased” by Ziyal’s kiss in “By Inferno’s Light.” Because of this, the fact that the actors have now performed this play is a real win for representation. Because it’s not just that Bashir and Garak weren’t allowed to be confirmed queer that was an issue, but that their very healthy romance got basically obliterated as DS9 went on (can you tell how mad I am that we got cheated out of Garak being there for Bashir when Bashir’s parents visited the station?) and now, finally that hurt is being healed!
I cannot wait for this to be posted to YouTube so this news reaches a far greater percentage of the fandom! I think there’s going to be a huge reaction!
I finally mustered the strength to watch the intense sweetness that was “Little Achievements,” written by @almaasi, all the way through! I loved it so much. What follows is an attempt to try and express how I felt about the story! I already made a post describing how I feel about the wonderful acting and queer representation from Siddig and Robinson, so here are my reactions to other aspects:
—I really appreciate that the entire story is about continuing to grow (Garak says as much, he loves poetic garden metaphors here, lol). It caused me to realize that, despite how much trauma characters in DS9 experience, they rarely ever acknowledge or name it. And even though Bashir describes his experience with disability in the show and is a doctor, I don’t think he ever actually says the word, so it was striking to hear in this performance.
—In addition to “Little Achievements” addressing that unaddressed element from the show, it was wonderful to see Garak as the ideal husband, being there for Bashir through his struggle and search for meaning. Obviously Garak has cared deeply for Bashir for a long, long time, but the show cowardly shied away from showing how tender he would certainly be toward him.
—In the same vein, it feels wonderful for Garak to finally be there to help Bashir address the lasting impact of his parents’ abuse. After Bashir supported Garak with Tain, this was the obvious direction for the plot to go in, but of course the Garashir relationship got censored so we never got to see Garak meet the Bashirs in the show… this feels like excellent recompense.
—…On a much lighter note, I completely lost it at Garak’s computer making a “blelele” sound and Bashir’s making a “beedlyboop” one XD Garak must blelele for his husband often! :P
—Garak’s constant usage of human expressions was also hilarious, as was Bashir calling him out on his loving infuriating behavior every step of the way!
—After how long Bashir was written poorly and forced into roles he did not fit, plus all the weird doubt that the crew kept casting on the obvious fact that Bashir knows he and Garak are in love, it felt really good to hear Bashir stop Garak and say that he needs to be the one to say everything he has realized out loud.
—I appreciate that there’s no explanation for why Bashir and Garak have been married for years and why Bashir lives on Cardassia. Not only because these were clearly the natural places for the characters to end up and there shouldn’t have to be an explanation, but also because this way, the fans who have been fans of Garashir for so long can imagine their own version of the courtship!
A 20-minute Garashir play written and directed by me (@almaasi), performed live during the Sid City Social Club in August 2020.
Starring Alexander Siddig as Dr. Julian Bashir, and Andrew Robinson as Elim Garak, reprising their roles 20 years after ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ ended.
Also starring
Irena Komunjer (@syaunei) as Dr. Renna Illa, Randy Roy as Colonel Randy, and Prerna as The Computer.
It’s queer, folks.Everyone involved had a great time and it shows. Enjoy.
“Doctor, had I known this would be the tone of today’s luncheon, I’d have worn a lower collar for the occasion…”
Julian finds the skimpiest skant in Garak’s shop and sneaks it back to his quarters to try on. He then runs out of clean clothes and is forced to wear the skant in public.
In a special corner of DS9 usually reserved for stargazing lovers, Julian and Garak share a jam-and-cream-scone picnic - and Garak finds himself enjoying a view far more enrapturing than the stars, and treats far sweeter than any dessert…
Ahh everything about @almaasi‘s Little Achievements was amazing!!!! Like holy shit. Sid and Andy have such energy and dynamic together! The improv they did about Garak’s tailoring was fabulously done!
And all the guest stars! Randy and Renna and the Computer, their makeup and delivery was fun and flawless, and I can’t wait to go back to see Renna’s part once the youtube version is up!
Some other details I loved:
Garak’s ‘human filter’ over the screen and him refusing to take it off xDD
the ‘Something to do/Like you’ line (saucy!~)
sneaking foot massages in there ;)
If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly suggest watching once the play is up on the Sid City youtube!
