For Lament: 4 and 11. For In the Middle of the Journey: 1. For The Flying Buttress: 15
Read The Lament of a Daughter on AO3
4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?
Oh, this is a little hard. I’d have some candidates for narration, either the scene where B’Elanna is chasing the pipius around the kitchen or
Fuck, am I supposed to say something? Is there a ritual here? Why the hell didn’t Mom warn me?! B’Elanna slowly rose, the combination of the heat, food smells, and panic causing her head to spin. Wiping her sweaty palms on her dress, she took a deep breath and looked up and down the long table at her family. All five of her cousins – along with various mates and children – had assembled in her aunt and uncle’s hall. She noted how everyone was dressed in heavy leather, wool, and fur; a stark contrast to the airy, cream colored dress B’Elanna had donned for the occasion. Just pretend to be a Klingon… a Klingon in a sundress.
But dialogue? I had to go back through the story, and while there isn’t a particular line that stood out to me, I like this exchange:
“Do you see that?” Miral pointed towards a pair of low cliffs, the waves lapping at their base.
“See what?” There was nothing of note on or near the cliffs, other than a shaded bench in an outcrop – although that was hardly a rarity along this shoreline.
B’Elanna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I can see the cliffs. What about them?”
“Do you remember falling into the sea when you were a child?”
“Yeah.” It had been on that first trip to Qo’noS. Miral had taken her to the sea for the day. In the midst of looking at tide pools, B’Elanna tried to jump between two cliffs… “Is this where I fell in?”
B’Elanna pulled her oar out of the water and placed it on her lap. She could hear Miral do the same. The cliffs weren’t nearly as high as she remembered – as an adult, she could imagine herself jumping from them for sport.
“I was watching you play,” Miral began, dredging up the memory. “I knew the moment you jumped that you would not make it to the opposite cliff. However, I was not worried – I thought you would fall in the water and climb back out. But when I went to check on you, I saw you, floating face down.” Miral paused. “That day was the worst of my life.”
B’Elanna turned to face her mother. “Really? But I was fine.”
“In the end. But when I pulled you from the sea, you weren’t breathing.” Miral looked toward the cliff. “I thought I’d lost you.”
B’Elanna didn’t know what to say. Sorry for being an idiot child…? “But you didn’t.”
“I didn’t.” Miral grabbed B’Elanna’s hand. “I know we’ve always fought, but I love you. I never want to lose you.”
What in the world is going on right now? B’Elanna mustered a smile. “I know. I love you, too.”
“Then hear what I say with love, not anger: I’m worried about you.”
B’Elanna’s heart thumped against her chest. “Why?”
“You’re different than when you left for the Academy. Less focused, less determined. You’ve given up everything you fought for.”
“The Academy was hard.” It sounded lame even to B’Elanna’s ears.
Miral took a breath. “I want you to tell me what’s wrong so we can fight it together.”
B’Elanna’s grip tightened on the oar. “Mom…”
“Don’t sit there and tell me ‘nothing’s wrong’. You are my daughter and I know you better than you think.”
11: What do you like best about this fic?
I really like B’Elanna’s interactions with her mother and her grandfather (Ma’Leth) in this story. I wish I had dug a little deeper into Miral and Ma’Leth’s relationship, as that could have been interesting. I like how B’Elanna’s depression comes in waves in this story, and sometimes you think that it will all be okay, but you know it can’t be, because it has to end with Miral and B’Elanna fighting and never speaking again. Maybe I like the feeling of impending doom? Or every good moment, like the one I cited above, the reader is questioning how it will all fall apart.
Read In the Middle of the Journey on AO3
1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?
Hmmm, I’m not exactly sure what is meant by ‘this way.’ I guess maybe why did I chose to tell it from Tom’s POV? Why I killed everyone else off on impact? Why did I keep Tom and B’Elanna alive for just a couple minutes? Well, I think I chose Tom over B’Elanna for the POV because he’s more… emotional? I mean, that under stress, B’Elanna goes into ‘get shit done’ mode, whereas I think Tom’s emotions affect him more. As to why I killed everyone else and just left Tom and B’Elanna… well, I didn’t want anyone getting in the way of Tom and B’Elanna’s last moments. And I wanted them both alive so they could interact, rather than one of them just finding the other dead. I think the interaction makes the story a little… happier? As in, they could say goodbye and bring comfort.
Read The Flying Buttresson AO3
15: What did you learn from writing this fic?
Honestly? That I’m kinda crap at longer narratives. This was the first time I’d tried to write someone over ~5000 words, on my own, and it wasn’t going very well until I made it a series of short scenes, rather than an overarching narrative. I also learned that I have a tendency to use burritos/tacos as a ‘general food that someone wants,’ so much so that it became a joke in that story that Tom is infatuated with a taqueria. But, let’s be real, I’d just eat burritos and tacos all the time, if it were an option…
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