04. favorite character challenge : elim garak
in an attempt to clear my head and avoid nhk for a few hours, I dove into this challenge for fandomverse and cranked this out tonight. originally I wanted to do londo mollari, but londo's a tougher character to write about and so I'll cover him when I can do it properly. and so I give you a glimpse into why I adore elim garak.
&one; words
one of the things I love most about garak is his use of words. his character would be nothing but relegated to the background, unknown, if the writers hadn't given andrew robinson such fantastic prompts. while cardassians in general are a bit wordy, garak's word choice both requires no thought and tremendous thought. he rarely hesitates when before he speaks, but when he does it's as if he'd been ruminating on that exact point for minutes. exiled on ds9, words are the only tool garak has left and there is nary a person on the station that can step toe to toe with him.
the wire, bashir & garak
"of all the stories you told me, which ones were true and which ones weren't?"
"my dear doctor, they're all true."
"even the lies?"
"especially the lies."
distant voices, bashir & garak
"to think, after all this time, all our lunches together you still don't trust me. there's hope for you yet, doctor."
empok nor, o'brien & bashir
"what's the matter?"
"well, it's just that lately I've noticed that everyone seems to trust me. it's quite unnerving, I'm still trying to get used to it. next thing i know people are going to be inviting me to their homes for dinner."
"well, if it makes you feel better, I promise I will never have you over."
"I appreciate that, chief."
&two; expressions
"oh, it's just garak. plain, simple garak." - past prologue
&three; acts
"that's why you came to me, isn't it, captain? because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? well, it worked. and you'll get what you want: a war between the romulans and the dominion. and if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire alpha quadrant. and all it cost was the life of one romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain." - in the pale moonlight
&four; friendship
"the eternal optimist!"
"guilty as charged."
"how sad. I must tell you, I'm disappointed at hearing you mouth the usual platitudes of peace and friendship regarding an implacable foe like the romulans. but, I live in hope that one day, you'll come to see this universe for what it truly is, rather than what you'd wish it to be."
"than I shall endeavor to become more cynical with each passing day. look gift horses squarely in the mouth, and find clouds in every silver lining."
"only if you mean it." - inter arma enim silent leges
&five; honesty
you may think it's strange that honesty would be a reason that I love garak given his penchant for telling, and encouraging bashir to tell, lies. however I believe him to be one of the most forthcoming people on the station. if you know what to look for you can look past the words. bashir figured this out in the end and became a much stronger person himself for it. and much like benjamin was angry that vreenak was killed, he was angrier with himself that garak was right and had been right all along. garak's going to tell you the truth, it just may not be the truth you want to hear.
&one; words
one of the things I love most about garak is his use of words. his character would be nothing but relegated to the background, unknown, if the writers hadn't given andrew robinson such fantastic prompts. while cardassians in general are a bit wordy, garak's word choice both requires no thought and tremendous thought. he rarely hesitates when before he speaks, but when he does it's as if he'd been ruminating on that exact point for minutes. exiled on ds9, words are the only tool garak has left and there is nary a person on the station that can step toe to toe with him.
the wire, bashir & garak
"of all the stories you told me, which ones were true and which ones weren't?"
"my dear doctor, they're all true."
"even the lies?"
"especially the lies."
distant voices, bashir & garak
"to think, after all this time, all our lunches together you still don't trust me. there's hope for you yet, doctor."
empok nor, o'brien & bashir
"what's the matter?"
"well, it's just that lately I've noticed that everyone seems to trust me. it's quite unnerving, I'm still trying to get used to it. next thing i know people are going to be inviting me to their homes for dinner."
"well, if it makes you feel better, I promise I will never have you over."
"I appreciate that, chief."
&two; expressions
"oh, it's just garak. plain, simple garak." - past prologue
&three; acts
"that's why you came to me, isn't it, captain? because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? well, it worked. and you'll get what you want: a war between the romulans and the dominion. and if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire alpha quadrant. and all it cost was the life of one romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain." - in the pale moonlight
&four; friendship
"the eternal optimist!"
"guilty as charged."
"how sad. I must tell you, I'm disappointed at hearing you mouth the usual platitudes of peace and friendship regarding an implacable foe like the romulans. but, I live in hope that one day, you'll come to see this universe for what it truly is, rather than what you'd wish it to be."
"than I shall endeavor to become more cynical with each passing day. look gift horses squarely in the mouth, and find clouds in every silver lining."
"only if you mean it." - inter arma enim silent leges
&five; honesty
you may think it's strange that honesty would be a reason that I love garak given his penchant for telling, and encouraging bashir to tell, lies. however I believe him to be one of the most forthcoming people on the station. if you know what to look for you can look past the words. bashir figured this out in the end and became a much stronger person himself for it. and much like benjamin was angry that vreenak was killed, he was angrier with himself that garak was right and had been right all along. garak's going to tell you the truth, it just may not be the truth you want to hear.