#protocols unknown au

[tidesofsilence]

Chapter 5 is bullying me.

I sat down this past weekend, thinking “I will just polish a few paragraphs” and instead discovered the chapter has unionized and is refusing to cooperate unless I emotionally suffer first.

All the other chapters: “Hello author, we would like dialogue and perhaps a comforting character moment.”

Chapter 5: “What if we explored dread. What if no one feels better. What if you personally have to sit in the uncertainty with Kathryn.”

It was DONE. I was ready to send it to @bizships for beta reading… and then I got sucker-punched by a torpedo of an idea that ties directly into Chapters 9 and 10. So now, apparently, I live here.

Anyway I will be here negotiating with fictional people and a baby that refuses to move on command. (That might be a spoiler)

Happy Reading!

*Side note... I started not one, no no no, THREE one-shots.*

[tidesofsilence]

Protocols Unknown: A Winter Star ← Link

For Day 25 of @25daysofvoyager 💙

This one is soft, domestic, a little unhinged emotionally, and very dear to me.

Kathryn, Chakotay, and Astrea’s first Christmas together. Pancakes, star charts, quiet conversations, too many feelings, and the kind of joy that only shows up after everything almost goes wrong.

Found family. Healing. Choosing each other.

Also Janeway getting lovingly steamrolled by her own family.

Huge thank you to the organizers for all the work, care, and patience that went into this event, and to everyone who read, shared, screamed in the tags, or just quietly showed up. This was such a good way to come back to writing, and I’m really glad I picked today!

Happy reading, and Merry Christmas 🎄✨

[tidesofsilence]

Protocols Unknown: A Shape of Fate Chapter 5 is up and… yeah.

Huge thank you to @bizships for beta reading another chapter, I appreciate you so much!!!!!!!!!!

Happy reading! <- That is the link.

[tidesofsilence]

How to not constantly skip time in a long chapter fanfic story that is in a series???

Write literally everything. Including the filler and fluff. Make sure to connect the plots across stories as you go.

Okay goodnight 🌕

P.S. Clearly this is my favourite GIF!

[tidesofsilence]

Small writing update!

I have decided to bring in a beta reader specifically for Chakotay for A Shape of Fate.

If you have read A Decision of the Stars, then yes, I am fully aware that I did him dirty there. That was intentional, emotionally motivated, and very much tied to how Endgame intersected with what I was working through at the time. I stand by the choices in ADOTS because they were healing for me, but I also know that Chakotay deserves to be absolutely on point and fully in character going forward.

ASoF asks different things of him, especially concering Astrea. It requires precision, consistency, and a version of Chakotay that holds up under scrutiny, so I am doing the work to make sure that happens.

This is me making sure the story earns what it is asking of its characters. I am fully back on board with the JC ship. I still ship Janeway and Kashyk, just not as hard as JC.

Because of this, Chapter 3 of A Shape of Fate will not be up next week while @bizships catches up on the series. If you know @bizships, then you know they are THE Chakotay fan. (psst... if you are looking for amazing fics for JC please read Biz's work)

As a die hard Janeway fan, I have a stellar feeling about this and I truly believe this will be an incredible elevation for Protocols Unknown as a whole!

[tidesofsilence]

Chapter 3 of Protocols Unknown: A Shape of Fate (that is the link) is now posted!

This chapter continues exactly where the story needs to sit right now, letting the pressure build without rushing the answers.

Huge thank you to @bizships for beta reading and for the thoughtful, incisive feedback that helped sharpen the emotional balance and character beats!

[tidesofsilence]

NEW STORY DROP!

A Shape of Fate 

The first two chapters are up and the next 3 are ready for editing.

If you're new, this one follows A Decision of The Stars (Timeline C) and A Winter Star.

If you’re not new… welcome back, and hold onto something!

Happy Reading!

P.S. A New chapter will be posted every second Friday until this WIP is finished!

P.S.S. A Decision of Time will start right after.

[tidesofsilence]

Almost there!!!!!

Chapters 6 and 7 are off to @bizships tonight, and I have officially entered the final-pass stage. Send snacks and tea please!

I’ve been editing, moving, and changing things for weeks, and finally, miracle of miracles, what’s on the page actually matches what I kept seeing in my head. I had to add a chapter to do it because I did not want to sit here and edit two 7K+ chapters into oblivion, especially after ADOTS, where I took out so many things I wish had stayed. AKA J/C moments!

Anyway. If anyone needs me, I’ll be buried somewhere between line edits, emotional damage, and a full courtroom trial over every comma.

As for Chapter 8… I do apologize for what I did with Resolutions.