Date: 08 Jan 2014 01:03 Title: Launch and Separation
Beautiful.
And this is essentially Tesseract without the space battles, conspiracies, Admirals, sickbays, revolutions and counter agendas: Maren and Icheb and the legacy of his Borg past, the impact it has on their lives and their plans to have a future together and yet oddly the reason behind why they love one another and also the context in which they are essentially the two greatest threats to their own happiness and safety.:
“But you’re not Borg,” I protest, and it’s true -- he hasn’t been for nearly three years, much longer than he ever lived within the Collective. Of course, the memories, like the scars, will last a lifetime. He’ll never be whatever he was before the Borg again, either physically or emotionally, and I’ll never get the chance to know that person. Sometimes I wonder what he was like, and whether I would have loved him as much as I love the person he is now.
“Not completely. But I was, and I’ll never be fully free from that.” He’s staring up at the stars, and I wonder what he’s thinking. There’s always so much more he’s thinking. It scares me sometimes how much he thinks ... how much he’s able to think. Sometimes I wish I could climb inside his head and just soak it up, and then I feel guilty, because that’s exactly what the Collective did to him; they invaded his mind and made his thoughts their own. But they didn’t love him. I do.
Author's Response:
Thank you eleventy hundred billion times for understanding these two as well as you do. All the hours I pour into making these two 'real' pays off when I see you write these words that show I pulled it off -- that they are as real to someone else as they are to me. Seriously, your comment brought tears to my eyes. This, THIS is the core of the story -- the massive plot is important to me, too, and matters in their lives, but to me, this has always been the story of a soul created for one thing who evades that fate and becomes many other things before finally deciding whether to embrace his pre-planned destiny or fight it. The relationship between these two is so key to that. Thank you, thank you for this comment.
Date: 02 Jan 2013 21:29 Title: Launch and Separation
Oh, very sweet. I love the interplay between Maren and Icheb; it's very sweet and very much like... being poised on the edge of a cliff, waiting to leap and not being wholly certain you can fly. But willing to try anyway.
Author's Response:
I so love the description. They definitely jumped. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
Date: 02 Jan 2013 16:08 Title: Launch and Separation
Aww, young love, so carefree and innocent that the worst they'll have to worry about is prejudice and overprotective parents. If it could only stay that way for our lovebirds, eh?
Author's Response:
If only! Yeah, things get a little complicated for these two, don't they?
Thanks for reading, CeJay!
Date: 02 Jan 2013 02:58 Title: Launch and Separation
that's quite some story, I fear I'm not too familar with the other stories but I know Icheb from Voyager. This being said the story as a standalone is quite touching in its way. Nice work.
Author's Response:
Thank you, Mac!
Date: 02 Jan 2013 01:50 Title: Launch and Separation
Very enjoyable Icheb-Maren story. Little does she know what's to come. The last sentence pretty much sums it up. The family is just going to have to get used to him.
Author's Response:
Yup, at this point she has no idea what she's in for. She's just a young girl falling in love. Glad you enjoyed the story!
Date: 01 Jan 2013 16:55 Title: Launch and Separation
Echoing trekfan, but Icheb/Maren (borrowing trekfan's term there) is probably the best fan fic romance going around in this site, there's something almost tragic about it when you think of Icheb's eventual fate. Another great additional to the tale of Icheb/Maren!
Author's Response:
Almost tragic? Almost? Hehe. ;-)
Thanks for the kind words, Ln X. I'm so glad you enjoy their story arc.
Date: 01 Jan 2013 00:17 Title: Launch and Separation
I'm only peripherally familiar with Maren and Icheb but I really, really like this.
Yes, sometimes parents try to protect their children out of love--love that thinly disguises prejudice.
And sometimes, parents--if they've raised their children right--need to learn to trust their child's instincts...
Seems to me, from what little I know of them, that this is the case with Maren and Icheb. Hopefully at some point Maren's parents will learn to see the error of their ways.
Author's Response:
Thank you, LBD! Maren's parents raised her right. They'll come around eventually and get past their prejudices ... but they'll always worry about their headstrong youngest daughter and the unique choices she makes.
Date: 30 Dec 2012 00:48 Title: Launch and Separation
Excellent, made even more so by the final line. Spoken by anyone who's ever chosen a mate that parents didn't approve of, and due to unfairness and not some true reason.
Author's Response:
Would you be pleased if a child of yours brought home a (former) drone? It took some getting used to for Maren's parents for sure. Their initial reaction was indeed driven by worry, but he proved himself over time ... of course, he then broke that trust (and Maren's heart), but that's another story. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
Date: 29 Dec 2012 20:48 Title: Launch and Separation
Classic I/M. Team I/M FTW!
Author's Response:
Hahaha. Thanks. Of course, you ship those two so hard that I'm pretty sure I could write them cleaning a bathroom together and you'd call it win, but I'm not going to complain about praise! I love that you love them. :) Thanks for reading!