So I saw this video of a lizard tied to a balloon and, naturally, I wrote a Garashir fic about it.

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Balloon Buddies

12k ⋆ G ⋆ Garak/Bashir

Some well-meaning Jake-and-Nog shenanigans leave Garak in an awkward predicament: he transforms into a lizard the size of a watermelon. Naturally, he won’t let anyone care for him but Julian – but then Julian turns into a tiny antelope. Waiting for a remedy to this nonsense, Julian and Garak hunker down in the O’Briens’ quarters, with labelled balloons attached to them so they don’t get lost behind the furniture.

🎈 read on AO3!

Depends if you mean the more recent ones or the older ones. I mean, they’re basically the same, but I used to do more

· · · ★ · · ·

and now I do more

★

because I read a post about how multiple symbols are annoying for screen readers.

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It’s all basic html, either side of a symbol grabbed from https://www.copypastecharacter.com/ (there’s a bunch more stuff under the drop-down menu~)

1. add a line break (<br>) either side of the symbol, so there’s more space around it, which is VISUALLY PLEASING, at least to me. 

2. put in a non-breaking space either side ( & n b s p ; — but without the spaces, tumblr is turning it into an actual non-breaking space), which will make sure the empty space around the symbol STAYS PUT instead of vanishing automatically if there’s a double enter… and ao3 doesn’t like double enters.

3. center it all (<center> before and </center> after)

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So:

<center>& n b s p;<br>★<br>& n b s p;</center>

will magically make it look like this

just a nice lil star doing a good job

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P.S. To use an image as a divider (or embed art):

1. host your image somewhere (I use imgur)

2. copy the direct image url (including the https:// at the start and the .png or .jpg or .gif at the end)

3. do as above with the symbol, but instead of a symbol, put <img src=“”> with the image url between those quotes.

mAKE SURE the quotes are the straight ones and not the curved ones. if you type “” into ao3′s form directly, or into a browser search bar, they become the straight ones. but if you type them into a google doc they stay the curved ones, and they won’t function as html. HOWEVER, in a google doc, if you type “ and then ctrl+z the quotes will turn into a straight set.)

Hope this helped!!

THANK YOU!!!! Knowing that brings me IMMENSE JOY. ♥♥♥

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Here, other people: have links to

All my Garashir fics so far

(As of May 26th 2020.) Listed short to long. All of them are illustrated by me~

• His Sleeping Secrets (3.4k / Julian sleep-talking on an away mission, Garak ordered to cuddle him quiet, secret relationship reveal.)
• Kindness and Kukalaka (4.9k / Garak risks his life to save Julian’s teddy bear. Miles risks his life to save Garak. Julian is delighted.)
• Salt and Pepper Forever (6.4k / 20 years post-canon reunion, neither Julian nor Garak want to part ever again.)
• Give the Cardassian a Cat (6.6k / Julian is cat-sitting for Miles, Garak is jealous until he realises what a cat is; now he loves cats.)
• Space Family Blanket Fort (6.7k / the crew builds a blanket fort in Ops, cute nonsense fluff, found-family bonding, Garak has a tail.)
• The Pick Me Up Party (6.7k / everyone cheers Julian up by picking him up one-by-one; Garak lifts him and spins him around and Julian is a giggly mess.)
• Smouldering Shoulders (8.2k / DS9 overheats; Julian overheats; Garak rescues him and discovers the muscle-shaped padding Julian wears under his clothes.)
• The Doctor’s New Birthday Suit (8.8k / smut; Garak flirts with Julian in the tailor shop and makes him a suit for his birthday gift.)
• Thunder Song (10.7k / accidentally de-aged Julian and Garak; non-verbal autistic pre-augment Julian, lonely Garak, singing to communicate.)
• Bite Hard and Bite Sweet (10.8k / flirting/bickering over chocolates, hurt/comfort over a claustrophobic panic attack; fluff and eventual smut.)
• The Cupid Computer (12.1k / post-canon DS9, Julian plays a dating app game that matches him to his soulmate; Garak shows up and plays too - surprise! it’s a match!)
• Code for Consent (13.3k / smut with feelings; Garak plays the evil villain in Julian’s secret agent program, tying Julian up is an accidental turn-on for them both, consensual non-consent.)
• Viper Viper Vesper Snow (14.4k / drama with smut; Garak locks himself and Julian into a freezing holosuite, Julian keeps him… warm.)
• Tail Over Heels (20.1k / Julian’s mother thinks Julian got married so comes to DS9, fake marriage is a little too convincing; Garak has a tail.)
• Tell Me You Love Me (Or Tell Me a Lie) (20.1k / Garak claims he’s dying (lies) so tells Julian all his secrets, but all his secrets are basically love confessions.)
• Exactly What It Looks Like (24.8k / DS9 has a competition to see who can take the most romantic photo of Julian & Garak; they enter to win; fake relationship with real feelings.)
• Kukalaka POV (27.2k / teddy bear point-of-view; Julian trying to reconnect with Muslim heritage for Ramadan, Garak joins his fasts in solidarity; religious/theological discussion and cooking for each other.)
• Off on the Wrong Foot (31.2k / pining, fluff, and eventual smut; misinterpreted prank becomes a first kiss, followed by Julian & Garak avoiding each other; Keiko, Miles, and Ziyal help straighten things out.)
• Transference (43.5k / hurt/comfort; intersex!Julian is pregnant with Keiko & Miles’ baby, is stressed and needs major cuddles; Garak provides.)

There will be more fics very soon! Subscribe here for email notifications if you’re not already!

(Thank you again, anon! I’ve been meaning to make a post like this and your message provided a perfect excuse~)

Kukalaka POV

A Muslim!Julian Garashir fic by @almaasi

(Kukalaka point-of-view.) Enjoy a teddy bear’s perspective of unfolding romance and evolving psyches.

Recently, Julian has been skipping lunches with Garak. Garak arrives at Julian’s quarters and demands to know why. Turns out, Julian is secretly trying to reconnect with his Muslim heritage for the month of Ramadan, so has been going without food or water during daylight hours, as religious tradition decrees. Well! In that case! If Garak can’t have lunch with his dear doctor, dawn and dusk meals will certainly do. And if he happens to linger afterwards… that’s probably not against the rules.

☪ read on AO3

Eid Mubarak, space friends!

I’m here to tell you that I’ve posted a 27k fic entitled Kukalaka POV, in which Julian is trying to reconnect with his abandoned Muslim heritage. He’s secretly fasting for Ramadan, and Garak WANTS TO KNOW WHY JULIAN’S SKIPPING THEIR LUNCHES. They then talk about theology and cook for each other. It’s cute and nothing bad happens.

Oh, and the whole thing is from Kukalaka’s perspective. (Pictured above: outer space’s best teddy bear gets a fancy new outfit.)

You don’t need to know a single thing about Islam to read this fic. It’s for everyone!

☪ read on AO3