ext_61678 ([identity profile] oceloty.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] crack_van2008-11-26 08:32 pm

Split Personality by Paula Stiles (PG-13)

Fandom: STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
Pairing: Worf/Jadzia Dax, Bashir/Jadzia Dax
Length: 17,000 words
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] thesnowleopard 
Author Website: The Snowleopard's Lair
Why this must be read:

Back in the first season episode "The Passenger," Bashir's body got hijacked by a fugitive consciousness (if you don't know, don't ask), and actor Siddig El Fadil had to do a really terrible Evol accent. The episode was not one of DS9's finest. Quite possibly the opposite. Yet from the lemons of suckitude, Paula Stiles wrote a great little story.

"Split Personality" finds the DS9 crew trying to prevent a mad scientist from unleashing, well, mad science, upon a whole lot of people. The  success of the story lies in Paula's ability to make the crisis and the conflict personal.   "Split Personality" it's the rare story which really captures the complexity of Julian Bashir's character  Bashir's backstory is full of fascinating but often contradictory elements: his genetic engineering, his teddy bear, his penchant for baiting admirals, his stubborn idealism, and his inconvenient habit of getting kidnapped, possessed, or stranded in war zones.  Somehow, Paula weaves all of these layers into a coherent story, and the result is a fascinating and compassionate exploration of a guy who alternates between escaping from Dominion prisons and sleeping with his teddy bear.

I feel obligated to note that you don't need to have seen "The Passenger" to enjoy this story, and Paula's excellent Bashir story Triage was also recommended on crack_van a couple of years ago.

Split Personality