I am going to admit right off the bat that I wish I had gotten to know Starry better, but her passing hurts nonetheless.
This is my second time on Tumblr. The first time I was trying to run like hell from Marvel role playing games I was involved in at the time, and I got the bright idea to jump into Star Trek role play because of the Kelvin timeline movies. Not the brightest move on my part because I am not as steeped in that lore as much I would need to be to write even somewhat decent role playing posts here, so I left for a bit. I wandered back when I decided I should try to write MCU fanfic. I only found Starry because of one of @arrthurpendragon’s OC Bingo events. That's how I've met most of the bloggers I interact with here.
I have always been drawn to the character of Leonard McCoy, and Starry’s take on the Kelvin continuity’s country doctor was absolutely amazing. The fact that her OC paired with him was a journalist only made me love Starry's work even more. I may not have a byline anymore because I work the research-end of the business, but I loved the details she put into her character Cara Aguirre’s backstory and her interactions with the Enterprise crew as their embedded reporter.
Starry was kind enough to offer to help me when I asked if anyone had ever done a Last Chance Saloon thread for OCs of all fandoms to pop in and intermingle. I did not have the time due to RL nonsense, but I appreciated her generous offer.
She was also one of the first to read my fanfic, and I will always cherish her kind words. I just wish I had been able to talk to her more about her body of work in the short time I knew her.
In trying to look for the “perfect” Star Trek quote to close this with, I find there is none that seems to fit for someone as loved as Starry was by so many in the OC and Star Trek communities.
Instead, I will look to the Greek Orthodox tradition of my husband for the best words I can find.
May Starry’s memory be eternal, and may Starry’s art live on forever.
It's so hard to choose with such a lovely community of humans. So here's my list:
@arrthurpendragon - you're amazing! The things you do for the OC community are greatly appreciated! And you're a wonderful OC creator yourself! Your stories are so amazing and your OCs so well fleshed out!
@munstysmind - enabler in chief! Always there when I need ya. You're one of my favouritest humans. And your fics are *chefs kiss*. You angst like nobody's business. Now get me my Steve/Reader done, pls.
@darsynia - Amazing fic! And a great friend. Thanks for being there when I needed you!
@starryeyes2000 - What can I even say? A good friend, an amazing writer, and always there when needed :) Thank you for all the help you've given me with my fics.
@residentdormouse - You're the awesomest awesome. A great writer (lol, that 404 line still makes me laugh), loads of the memes. And always reblogging!
@mrsmungus - My Tiva shipper friend! Always look forward to reading your fics! And thank you for the reblogs and lovely comments.
@heresthefanfiction - Thank you so much for your kind words earlier! And right back at you - I love your Jurassic fics, they're so good! And the characters have so much depth!
@loonysama - my newest of friends and my GotG beta. And my enabler of fic exchanges, lol. Thank you! You've been amazing.
Oh, man...who am I forgetting. I know I'm forgetting people....
If I remember who I'm forgetting, I'll send another. I'm sorry! I have soup for brains today and need food. But I love all of my mutuals.
Thanks so much, these are lovely! I'm doing better today, though I did make some decisions while I wasn't fully myself (med refill delay and stress) which may have some clean-up conversations due. I promise that anything I did or said over the past few days wasn't meant as something mean, if it came off that way, I'm very sorry!
I hope all is well with you, after the string of losses you experienced. You're a light and a delight and I'm so pleased to know you through Tumblr 💚
Rules: Pick any ten of your fics, scroll to the midpoint, pick a line (or three or more) then share it. Tag others if you want.
Thank you for the tag @writingpotato07
No pressure tagging @themaradaniels @arrthurpendragon @chickensarentcheap @smurphyse @darknightfrombeyond @wordspin-shares and anyone who would like to participate.
Where's An All Night Pharmacy When You Need It (Teen) AO3 or FFN
My son is born in the middle of a battle, in a dark room, the only illumination from a tiny flashlight.
“Here,” Phil hands the child to Spock. “Wrap him in a blanket and make sure his airway stays clear. We’ll clean him up later.”
My body protests the separation from my child; it starts shaking, my pulse becoming erratic, anxiety expressed in short rapid breaths inching ever closer to hyperventilation.
“Spock talk to her.”
Spock coos to the child in his arms who stares up at the Vulcan and gurgles. “He has thick dark hair. Blue eyes. And Captain Pike's dimples. He is kicking his legs and uncurling his fingers …”
I close my eyes and begin to relax.
“What name have you and the Captain chosen?”
“We haven’t. We couldn’t decide.”
“May I offer a suggestion?” Spock asks with an earnest expression.
“Yes, of course. Please do.”
“Noah. It means, among other things, peace.”
*******
Volte-Face (Teen) AO3 or FFN
Glancing up from his desk in the ready room Pike said, “Number One if you have concerns, if you object, now is the time.”
Una raised an eyebrow. “Object sir? No. And I intend to be in the landing party.” When Pike started to reply, she waved her finger at front of him. “No. Don’t. Do not even think about leaving me behind. I won’t allow you to go unaccompanied to a planet currently at war with its neighbor … I assume you plan on beaming down?”
“Yes. The decisions of how far to push their government, of whether enter the war on the side of Noohra rest with me.”
“Very well. I concede on you joining the landing party … but I am coming with you,” she reiterated firmly. “You are a high value target, and I don’t trust the Aschaski.”
“I imagine Isak will echo your intentions.” Pike rubbed his chin. “This situation could escalate and turn hot at any moment. If so, I want you on Enterprise. Isak can accompany us or send a deputy. His call.”
Una frowned. She thought, A deputy? Not likely. If possible Isak will be even more unhappy about Chris beaming to the planet than I am.
“Isak and I have survived numerous missions together,” Pike said.
“As in the ones where you ran towards the phaser fire?”
“That was the operational objective,” he reminded.
She snorted, “Perhaps you will keep in mind this time that is not the goal … or at least remember to duck.”
******
That Night In The Cave (Teen) AO3 or FFN
But Tilly was already off and running. “Captain Pike was stacking wood one night … must have thought I was asleep … took his shirt off to dry it by the fire … only I wasn’t sleeping … and I watched …”
Detmer rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Wait,” Bonnie held up her hand. “You saw the Captain shirtless?”
Tilly nodded.
“Was he as good … ahem … well-built as we judged … I mean assumed?”
“Better.”
Reno cut in, “Focus please.”
Bonnie couldn’t resist. “We are.”
“On the Captain’s absence not his abs,” Reno responded drily, trying to suppress a grin. This story is much too good to keep from Una. But that was for another time. “Continue Ensign.”
********
The Road Back (Teen) AO3 or FFN
In spite of repeated protests and corrections emphasizing ‘We’re explorers not soldiers,’ Starfleet organized in a tight hierarchical command structure and ran with military precision. Unlike civilian life there were few mechanisms for refusing an assignment and those were rarely invoked.
Another aspect I should have considered before enlisting, Aalin thought.
Has it truly been less than a month since … stop it … don’t go there. It’s over.
Resettling into friendship was hard enough on a crowded ship during a long deep space voyage where much of your life was an open book in the micro village where everyone knew one another and essentially lived in the same house. But hours alone with Chris in small shuttle? That was a dozen steps too far for her bruised heart and minced self-confidence.
If this throws you, how are you going to cope when he moves on to someone else?
Think about that tomorrow.
Despite her dislike of small vessels, Chris’ enthusiasm for the break from routine was contagious. Once spaceborne, he looped the shuttle then flew an intricate pattern in and around Enterprise, a flyby. Aalin found her attention riveted on the man freed for a few hours from command responsibilities playing across a space canvass.
Thirty minutes later he favored her with a sideways glance, “We should get to work before Number One scolds and sends us to our rooms for a time-out.”
In the upbeat atmosphere Aalin didn’t resist a tease, “She runs the ship, doesn’t she.”
His eyes twinkled. “Anyone who says otherwise hasn’t yet faced the force of nature that is Una. She trots me out when authority is required.”
“You don’t get to fly much anymore do you.”
Chris shook his head, there was a twinge of regret in his voice. “Junior officers need to get their required fight hours in. My time is packed with other work. So no.” The audible regret vanished. “When I do have the excuse or opportunity, it’s a treat.”
********
Dating Advice (Teen) AO3 or FFN
Kirk’s trademark grin returned, “ Anything I can clear up for you? You do understand where all the bits go?”
“Anatomy class took care of that,” McCoy said dryly. “And I’ve forgotten more about dating than you will ever know. Those three years at the Academy don’t count. I was recently divorced and on the rebound. As well as a dedicated, studious cadet.”
The door chimed. “Go away,” McCoy hollered.
The doors swished open admitting Spock.
“What part of no escaped your understanding?” the doctor asked in an exasperated tone of voice.
Spock’s eyebrow rose. He contemplated the table set for dinner. “I surmised you likely required assistance in planning and executing a successful … perhaps success is too high a goal … an adequate evening; an evening not reflecting poorly on the ship’s senior command staff. As the only member of this threesome currently in a functioning passionate relationship enduring beyond a long weekend, I surmised my data is 131.567 percent more accurate and applicable than the Captain’s. Therefore I came where I am needed.”
Turning to Kirk McCoy mused, “I’m not certain which one of us got the worst of that one.” Redirecting his focus to Spock he continued, “Jim’s covered the biology bits so I’m good to go.” He shooed the Captain and First Officer in the direction of the door.
Spock remained firmly in place. “Go where?”
“Where he’s rarely gone before,” Kirk chimed in. After a pause he added, “And not for a long, long time.”
“Thanks for the confidence boost,” McCoy growled.
Spock settled on the couch. “Very well. If poise and self-assurance are lacking, clichéd yet truthful obligatory flattery will be offered. You are a handsome man and a skilled physician. A ‘good-catch’ is, I believe, the appropriate human idiom. Nyota agrees.”
*******
I Am Not Sick (Teen) AO3 or FFN
After a few more adjustments, Chris manages to eat the toast despite my clearly inferior skill at making it. Now, he’s ensconced on the sofa, with a blanket, head resting on a pillow in my lap.
“You should feel my head and check for a fever," he says.
I place my hand over his forehead. “You’re a little warm, but no worse than this morning.”
He counters, “I don’t think testing with your palm is accurate, maybe you should check again.”
I lay the back of my hand across his forehead and then against his cheek. “The same, a little warm.”
“My mother always felt the back of my neck. And she is a vet, she probably knows more about how to check than you do.”
I resist the temptation to point out she might also take a dog or cat or horse’s temperature with a thermometer up their ass and curl my hand around the back of his neck. “The same, a little warm.”
*******
Dispatches from Sickbay (Teen) AO3 or FFN
McCoy raised an eyebrow. “Black alert? Seriously? As if red alert isn’t enough to send my heart racing? And what, precisely, is a jump? Please tell me it is not a method of transporting the entire ship and all aboard. I’d prefer not to end up as a bulkhead.”
Tilly replied, her tone a mixture of disbelief and concern. “Oh no, Doctor, the spore drive is a different technology than the transporter. And it's completely safe.”
“Spore drive?” McCoy questioned his tone suspicious. “This ship runs on the reproductive dust of ferns?” He continued wryly, “How very green of you.”
“We use fungi spores not plant spores.” Tilly explained. “It allows the ship to travel via the mycelial network ...”
McCoy interrupted. “Fungi? I see. So you follow a mushroom paved road to a distant, cosmic, and yet still great Oz. Will we be dropping a shuttle on the wicked witch of the east? Is the captain of this illustrious, and I am certain quite pricey, vessel Dorothy? Does he tap his red boots together to initiate the jump?”
Reno, who had quietly entered the room looking for the Captain, piped up, “A point I have been making for weeks now. Maybe your screws aren’t loose after all McCoy, despite your irrational transporter phobia.”
“Heavens to Betsy Pike, what type of ship are you running?” McCoy demanded.
********
That Night and Morning on Discovery (Teen) AO3 or FFN
Aalin caught Reno’s faint smirk as the engineer looked to the Captain, to Aalin, back to the Captain and sized up the situation. The smug look was replaced with a deadpan expression as Reno regarded Pike. Her eyes moved over him slowly and carefully, top to bottom. Casually she said, “I always thought you were a robot designed by Command. You know, as the perfect officer.”
Her gazed raked up and down him again. Combining a mischievous tone with her impassive look she drawled, “But it turns out you are a real boy after all.”
*******
Trust Love One More Time (Teen) AO3 or FFN
The normally smooth lift bounced slightly, dropped a few inches, then halted abruptly tumbling McCoy to his knees and Cara to the floor. He crawled to her and probed for broken bones. “Did you hit your head?” he asked while helping her sit up.
“No. I’m fine. What happened? Is this common?”
Before McCoy could answer the lights dimmed twice and remained off. He mumbled, “For goodness sakes, we’re still in space dock.” While feeling his way to the intercom he instructed, “Stay there.” Unable to read the labeled control panel once at his destination, he punched randomly at the buttons.
“Engineering,” came the reply after a fourth try.
McCoy demanded, “It’s the CMO. What’s going on? We’re stuck in a turbolift somewhere between decks three and eight.”
“Umbilicals to space dock went down in that section sir, cause unknown. We’re rerouting power to the internal grid. Estimated repair time is 45 minutes. There are three stranded lifts in your tube, yours is in the middle. Sit tight. Engineering out.”
“We’re an elevator sandwich he tells me, as if such a statement is reassuring. Sit tight he tells me, as if we had a choice …” McCoy complained. Noticing Cara’s hitched breathing his grumble drifted off. Exasperated officer gave way to engaged doctor. “Are you having pain or pressure in your chest? I’m coming.” He gingerly felt his way to her, following the direction of her voice.
“I’m OK. Not … physical … just nervous.”
He listened carefully to her breathing pattern. “Take smaller, slower breaths; you’re close to hyperventilating.” Reaching out his arm, probing with his hand until finding one of hers, McCoy clasped it. Squatting in front of Cara he coached, “Breathe with me. In … hold … exhale. No, still too fast. With me. In … hold … exhale. That’s better. Again.” He relaxed when her inhaling calmed. “Uncomfortable with enclosed spaces?”
Cara shook her head then remembered he couldn’t see her. “No.”
“If you quote me on this, I’ll deny it. The ship’s solid and safe. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Of course,” was her faint reply.
McCoy lightly squeezed her hand when her breathing became audible and rapid again. “It helps to talk.”
Stop overreacting, Cara admonished herself. She exhaled slowly, counting to five. Inhaled slowly then sighed. “It’s silly, I’m embarrassed to admit it. After all I’m supposed to be a grownup.”
“Maybe … to the proclamation whatever is bothering you is inane, not to the grownup part. Anyway, I can’t rule on the ridiculous factor until you share details.”
His comment elicited a nervous chuckle from Cara. Then a snort followed by a genuine laugh. “You have an interesting bedside manner.”
Darkness prevented her from seeing McCoy sweeping his arm through the air. “Chronological ages aside, I tend to adolescents on an almost daily basis. They require a firm hand. And I can assure you, I’ve heard it all.”
Darkness prevented him from seeing the haunted look in her eyes. Her voice was tiny, almost inaudible. “I’m … I’m afraid of the dark.”
*******
All About You (Explicit version AO3 * Mature version FFN)
Chris takes her teacup and places it on the tray with his own. He stands and holds out his hand. “I should go soon. But before I do, one dance. We missed that at the party.”
Unmoving, hesitant, her own hands now tightly clasped she responds, “Not required on a pretend date, which is fortunate for you. I’m not very good at dancing.”
He untangles her hands and, taking both, gently pulls her up, while murmuring in her ear “I no longer care to think of this as a pretend date.”
“But …”
He shakes his head almost imperceptibly. “I want to feel you in my arms … to hold you … even if it’s just for a few minutes. May I?”
@starryeyes2000 Some of my favorite McCoy stories come this blog! I still giggle every time I read “Dating Advice”. Star Trek fics galore from this blog and I cannot get enough. This blog loves to interact with others it seems and does tag games often! They reblog other creators constantly, which I appreciate! (Thank you for reblogging the Positivity Month posts!) They are very knowledgeable about the characters they write and their OCs are great! Cara is my personal favorite so far with Seren as close second. This is another blog marked as 18+.
Hello. @darsynia recommend your group and I would like to join as a minnow. My Tumblr blog will be two years old in May 2023, I've been writing and posting fanfiction on other sites since 2020. My follower list is small - 200. I currently write for Star Trek and Lord of the Rings (if those categories are accepted on your blog.)
Welcome!!!!! You’re more than welcome to join!!! We’ll just have to add those categories in!!! Dont worry about that!!!
I will put you down as a minnow and will dm you the discord link if you wish to join!!!
Okay feel free to laugh but honestly. I listened to the song like fifty times on a loop and then started thinking about that scene in Deathly Hallows when it played, and how grim and somber it set the tone. And then I was thinking about the lyrics and how they apply so well to the wartimes in HP universe, and the way the song O Children really doesn't have any kind of catharsis to it... it just hurts, because it's singing about war and betrayal and devastation and in the end there's no one who really wins in that environment. It's just pain and sorrow and it's even worse because you know it was avoidable, that things didn't have to go this way — that all these people could have lived a bright happy life if not for the cruel choices of others.
So basically, it started out with dwelling on how dreadfully sad everything that happens in HP is, and then my brain went: now what if I tell you a story that hurts even more— and that's.... basically O Children LOL. 😅
