cheile replied to your post â1.16 Star Trek: Voyagerâ
I still rage about the earring thing. I call absolute bullshit on it being a Fleet rule, esp when Worf got away with that damn sash of his. Eugh. Also re: the not much of a season finale, The 37s was supposed to be S1 finale and then they decided to make it the S2 premiere. So yea.
Ah that explains it.
And yeah I winced during that scene so hard. Especially because I really wasnât expecting it. When the Bajoran said "Yeah, yeah I know you want me to take this off.â I expected the response to be something along the lines of âIncorrect, Starfleet dress code does not deny the personâs right for expressions of faith. You will however in the future be arriving with the shoes of your dress uniform polished.â
The fact it wasnât just felt really... out of touch with what Star Trek is all about.
Inspired by the anon who brought up Jamie/Brienne, can I have your top five recommended fics for someone new to reading the ship? (that'd be me lol). Rating and length doesn't matter to me. I trust you to point me towards quality. Thanks, dear đ
Ahh, this is a difficult one for me.  Iâve been reading them on and off inconsistently for so many years. I dug through my AO3 history to do my best for this, but my memory is pretty hazy.
Honourable Intentions (which is older than the AO3 posting would lead you to believe as we were all still on livejournal at the time when she wrote it so thatâs a crosspost/archival date) has always stuck in my mind as the first time someone dared to write a happy ending for them.
new days, new mornings I recall appreciating for exploring that just because people get together doesnât mean our insecurities disappear.
West Eros High I remember being a deeply enjoyable modern high school AU but I donât know how much of it was posted when I was reading it.
Baiting the Beauty for that Regency/Jane Austen feeling
And since @maplefay has also graced the Janeway/Chakotay fandom Iâm sure it wonât surprise you that I loved her venture into Jaime/Brienne:Â Â to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten
And, of course, I have written them more than once.
But one fic I really want to recommend, I cannot seem to find. It was a modern AU in which Brienne was a baker for a cafe owned by Renly and the Lannister familyâs corporate headquarters happened to be nearby so they all came in. There was some high stakes feeling stuff where Jaime suffered an injury similar to in canon, which complicated his role as the face of the company I feel like? If anyone reading this knows the one I am talking about please link it?!
4. name three authors that were influential to your work and tell why
From my VERY early writing on the internet days, @redandpointy, @irony-rocks and @ekjohnston, because I idolized all of their writing so much and learned a great deal from all of them.Â
7. early influences on your writing
Much of my very early stuff is influenced by me being queer and not knowing how to deal with it. I knew I wasnât straight but the couples I usually shipped were straight (it was the early 2000s) and what do you write then? You can make OCs be queer but the mains arenât kind of untouchable.
Then I realized I could have Kathryn/Beverly and my world shifted. (this was BIG for me)Â
10. how do you do your research?
I research pretty in depth when I can. Itâs easier for Trek stuff, because Star Trek has such lovely online resources. So much of Trek is based in science too, so you can get really deep into things. Iâve research viruses, proteins, space travel, space ships, alien races, stars in the sky, star maps...I get VERY into things I donât necessarily really need to know.Â
11. do you listen to music when writing?
I do! Often the same song on repeat for huge parts of a fic, because that REALLY helps me concentrate. If Iâm not in a repeat the same thing (or a fic doesnât have a particular song) then I like classical music or music in languages I donât understand, because that doesnât distract me from trying to make my own words. Â
12. favorite place to write
by a window, in a reasonably comfortable chair. (not too comfortable, I get sleepy). I like having trees to look at (or nature, not people, people are distracting).Â
She had reached out to him and he'd taken her hand in his, their fingers sliding together and intertwining, the warmth of his touch triggering her churning emotions. She had allowed herself the luxury of tears for a brief time, and he had waited patiently until the storm receded.'
I donât expect to write most of them. Voyagerâs Pub would beone. I had a lot of fun the month I wrote that, and it wasnâtsomething in my notebook. It was an idea I jotted down at workbetween customers as I leaned against the bar and avoided polishingglasses. One of those RL moments that you wished could be more exciting (by having Chakotay waltz into oneâs life?). I had a lot of fun shaping the entire tale around myoriginal premise (most of my premises are vague like âSanFrancisco? Irish mob?â) and integrating the regular characters intoan AU situation. I feel like it could be developed into more, but I have so much to do, I doubt Iâll touch it again.
19.any new fics tostart next year
Iâm actively writing one tentatively titled âHe Reminded Her,âa pre-Caretaker AU with a lot of Janeway, Chakotay, Bâelanna, etc. development. Iâm not sure how far Iâm going to takeit though. I could just leave it a pre-Caretaker AU, or just make theentire trip an AU. I donât know whatâs to come this year or thetime Iâll have. I donât even know yet if itâll be gen or J/C, violence or action, or how un-cannon it will get. I have so many other projects sittingin my notebook and follow-up projects (like a sequel to Cats andCanines) on board. Weâll see. I have my wedding comingin a few months, and potentially another change in career. Likewise,Iâm still revising the draft of my novel. At the very least, thelittle one shots Iâve been fond of writing on weekends shouldcontinue.
21.most memorablecomment/review
One of my first comments on AO3 was from @emmikamikatze and it just made my insides all goopey with joy. It still does every time I happen upon it. It was forTantum Tempus:
âOkay,so when I started this a few chapters in I felt really, really badfor not leaving comments for the chapters, but you see, I couldnâtstop reading. I wanted to take a break and tell you how much I enjoythis, but I needed to keep reading. Everything was just flowing sonicely and flawlessly and then I was waiting for the drama ad theangst, and then the angst happened and I was just swept along and Ididnât even stop to look at the chapter numbers anymore.
Iwas just Ohing and Ahing and cringeing and gasping and at some pointseven crying or laughing out loud andâŚgive me a few more reads and Imight be coherent enough to leave chapter comments. But at thispoint, when I have just finished, let me tell you how much I enjoyedthis, how much I love this, how amazingly wonderful this is.
Ilove you for this. This is perfect. Thank you so, so much for writingand sharing this!âAs far as giving comments: Iâm sure Iâve left at least some goofy ones. I read so late at night/early in the morning, that Iâm not sure my brain is all there when I leave reviews. :)
@cheile said: "Can I just ask for something happy because too much angst exists lately? a second moonlight sail on Lake George when they get home perhaps? except with the right results.â
Be warned, this is so fluffy youâll probably choke on it.
2373
He knew he was staring at her, but as hard as he tried, he couldnât stop.
He tried to focus on the ripples across the dark water, the rhythmic creak and whip of the sails, but it was no use. His gaze continued to drift back to her: following the lines of her torso, the jut of her clavicle above the edge of her dress; caressing the slight upturn of her lips; lingering on her hair, caught by the mild breeze and tossed in a cloud around her shoulders.
âYouâll give a girl a complex if you donât cut that out.â
Chakotay jerked his gaze away from the hollow where her neck met her shoulder. âWhat?â he asked sheepishly.
A smile was flirting with her lips, so he relaxed a fraction. âYouâre staring,â she pointed out, and the smile widened into a grin.
âIâm sorry,â he confessed, âitâs just that ââ
âI know.â Her face softened in sympathy, head tilting slightly. âIâm all right, Chakotay. Really.â
A wave of grief hit him unexpectedly in the solar plexus. âI couldnât revive you,â he said thickly, looking down at his hands. âI tried for so long but you werenât breathing. Kathryn, I couldnât âŚâ
A pale hand wound into his and his words tailed off.
âI know,â she said again. âChakotay, if it wasnât for you, the Doctor might not have been able to revive me. Youâre the reason Iâm alive.â
His voice was still raw as he looked up at her. âI guess weâre even, then.â
A crinkle appeared between her brows.
âYouâre the reason Iâm alive, too,â he explained, the words signifying far more than their surface meaning would suggest.
He watched the expressions play out across her face: understanding, compassion, a gentle, sweet sort of affection that changed as he continued to gaze at her into something warmer and altogether more powerful. The rhythm of her breathing faltered, the hand that was entwined with his tightened on his fingers, and her lips parted ever so slightly.
She swayed toward him, the movement infinitesimal, but to him it was everything. And when her other hand crept upward and came to rest against his cheek, Chakotay closed his eyes.
He felt the instant of hesitation as her mouth brushed lightly over his and he kept perfectly still, barely breathing, knowing that this was completely up to her.
But Kathryn was nothing if not decisive, and it appeared she had made up her mind.
At the first proper touch of her lips he couldnât hold back a shuddering exhale. It must have emboldened her, because the hand on his face curved around the back of his neck, fingers winding into his hair as she pulled him close, closer, down with her.
They were really kissing now, tasting the sweetness of previously forbidden lips. He broke away to gasp air and then his mouth was on her throat, his arms stealing around her as she arched against him. He slipped one hand around to her waist and crept it upwards, sliding over the thin cotton of her blouse until he cupped her breast.
She moaned, a sound that sent a thrill down the length of his spine and pushed his hips into hers. He felt her thighs part under him, her legs wrapping around his hips. He began to work at the buttons of her blouse and felt her slip her hands inside the waist of his pants, heard her choked whisper, âChakotayâŚâ
A stray thought crossed his mind: Would they be doing this â would she be allowing them to do this â if she hadnât almost died today?
He tried to brush it away, tried to concentrate on the warmth of her skin and the way she was clutching at him, but the inner voice was insistent.
This is wrong.
It was the hardest thing heâd ever had to do, but Chakotay pulled back and let his hands drift away from her body. Kathrynâs eyes opened on his, dark with want. She blinked, the crinkle returning between her brows.
âWe canât,â he said, regret throbbing in his voice.
--------------------------
2378
Her hair was shorter now, and the light breeze picked it up and threw handfuls of it across her face. Kathryn laughed and tucked it behind her ears. When she turned to face him her eyes were clear and sparkling and he found his lips widening in a grin.
âDo you remember the last time I brought you here, Chakotay?â
Unbidden, a swell of emotion rose in his throat. âHow could I forget?â
Kathryn tilted her head, studying him. âIâm sorry,â she said softly. âI suppose it isnât much of a happy memory for you.â
He shook his head, his smile growing shy. âParts of it are.â
âAh.â She smiled back and he was delighted to note the colour rising in her cheeks. âYes, well, parts of it are for me, too.â
He rose from the deck, where heâd been sprawled across the picnic blanket. She watched him as he approached. He thought she might be holding her breath. He could see her gripping onto the railing behind her.
He moved up close, and closer still, and felt her breath catch as her face tilted up. Her gaze flickered and fixed on his mouth, and her own lips parted.
There was so much to say, so many things they needed to talk about, to reconcile and forgive. But in this moment, none of that mattered.
Chakotay rested his hands on the railing either side of hers, his thumbs stroking her clenched knuckles.
She swayed toward him, and he dipped his head and brushed his mouth over hers. As before, he knew this had to be her decision.
She didnât hesitate to make it. Her hands unclenched from the railing and looped around his neck, her fingers winding into his hair as her lips opened under his. Her mouth tasted as sweet as his memory of it, and her body, when he placed his hands on it, was warm and lush. His hands spanned her ribs, his thumbs brushing the underside of her breasts in the thin cotton shirt, and when he felt her shudder his touch firmed.
Kathryn broke away from his kiss to let her head fall back, and he took her unspoken invitation to move his lips to her throat.
âChakotay,â she gasped as he cupped her breasts, âplease tell me,â she broke off on a moan as his mouth found that spot under her ear, âyouâre not going to stop this timeâŚâ
He raised his head and observed the slight trembling in her body, the heavy-lidded eyes and the way her chest rose and fell with quick breaths. Experimentally he dragged his thumbs across her nipples and watched her body dip and quiver.
It was all the permission he needed. Slipping his hands under her thighs, he lifted her and started moving determinedly toward the hatch that led to the lower deck. But she squeezed her legs around him and said, âWait.â
He halted, trying to control the hammering of his heart. âYouâre changing your mind?â
âNo.â She smiled. âI just want to make love with you here, under the stars.â
He grinned at her, and there must have been a certain wolfishness to it because he watched her eyes widen. She tightened her limbs around him.
âNow, Chakotay,â she ordered, and he laughed, turning to lay her carefully on the blanket.
It had never been like this before for him, not with anyone. She surrounded him, wrapped him up in heat and want and the inimitable scent of her. Neither of them noticed the hardness of the deck beneath them or the gentle roll of the boat. Everything was immaterial â everything but the stroke of hands over skin as they shed their clothes, the heat of lips and tongues, the sensation of bliss as he finally slid inside her.
He couldnât be sure if it lasted forever or a moment, but when they lay still, Kathryn cradled against his chest and his arms holding her close, he realised that this was the moment heâd been waiting for, for seven years. The moment heâd been holding his breath for: the perfect rightness of being with her, with no hesitation and no barriers between them.
âIâm glad you didnât stop this time,â she murmured, her lips moving against his neck.
âAs I recall,â he smiled, turning his head to press his lips to her hair, âyou werenât going to take no for an answer.â
She laughed, propping herself up on her folded arms. âWell, as long as youâre feeling so amenable, can I ask you a question? And I hope youâll say yes.â
His eyes widened. âIf youâre going to ask what I hope you are, then my answer is ââ
Seven and Naomi Wildman AU. good luck staying awake!
Thanks! I have coffee nearby.
Earth AU. Samantha works at Starfleet headquarters and brings Naomi to work, where she meets Seven, that is newly liberated from the collective. Naomi is the same age as Seven was when she was assimilated, so they connect. Playing with and talking with Naomi becomes Sevenâs life line in the hostile and alien place that Earth is for her. In this AU, Naomi is the one that brings Seven out of her isolation and teaches her what it means to be an individual, when grown-ups find Seven strange and hard to understand.
