Date: 25 May 2013 07:12 Title: Starbase 12
Awww. Team I/M approves.
Furthermore, a beautiful piece. Maren's caring nature. Her refusal to let go of Icheb. Her need to always be by his side.
And Icheb needs her as much as she does. The best thing about this? Is how Icheb was so considerate of Maren's engineering. He got a ring that wouldn't mess things up while she was working and I just loved the detail of the Andorian metal (Andorian Metal FTW).
A happy ending. A lovely ending. A joy to read.
Author's Response:
I'm glad you appreciated the ring. He worked hard on that, designed it himself, right down to the engravings. He even secretly took scans of her finger while she was sleeping to ensure a perfect fit. ;-)
Thanks for the sweet review!
Date: 25 May 2013 07:08 Title: Starbase 12
OMG, what does she say?! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE IT LIKE THAT?! I love it. I love how real her worry feels, how deep it goes, and I love how he wakes up, what he says, and I could see the intensity and seriousness over it all in his eyes, and yes. Just, so much yes.
Author's Response:
SPOILER ALERT: She says yes. :)
Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm so very glad you enjoyed it. <3
Date: 24 May 2013 23:01 Title: The Truth Hurts
This is really very well done. There were several gems of lines in here, and the emotions were particularly well-parsed out, without being sappy or overly sentimental.
Author's Response:
Thanks! Sometimes it's hard to find the balance with these two because they feel so hard. I'm glad you think I got it right.
Date: 24 May 2013 21:08 Title: The Truth Hurts
Wow. Just, wow. A perfect continuation and resolution of the previous post, a fantastic glimpse not only into these characters, but into something deeper as well. Just seasoned with enough humour ("Remember the time you tried to kill me?") to lesson the toll. A great addition to these ficlets. Loved it.
Author's Response:
Thank you, CS!
Date: 24 May 2013 15:35 Title: The Truth Hurts
In a lot of ways, this is how I had wanted the monthly challenge to go, e. g. someone has done something horrible, and they are forgiven.
But this isn't exactly that. It is not forgiveness that Maren can give here, for she is not the person who was wronged. It's acceptance.
Author's Response:
Exactly. She can't forgive him. He's never done anything to her that needs forgiving (yet). But her love for him, she realizes in this moment, is pretty much unconditional. She believes in him, believes in his innate goodness. More than anything, here, she's tortured by the realization that his own internal pain is so much worse than she ever imagined.
Thanks for the review. :)
Date: 24 May 2013 07:25 Title: The Truth Hurts
Oh, team I/M is pleased. Maren doesn't have to really debate this at all, she knows in her heart that he and she are exactly right for one another ... that the two are best together, better than they ever were apart.
Poor Icheb here. The dude clearly feels hugely guilty over these past sins and fully expects Maren to say goodbye to him. It's a really sad thing that he feels that she'd go ... that she'd abandon him. It's understandable.
United, the two are clearly happiest. This was a sweet piece and one I will remember fondly as you torture write these two in the future.
Author's Response:
Well, it takes an unusual person to absorb a shock like that and not recoil. I think this is the moment Icheb realizes that Maren is his safe place -- that she is 100% on his team and always will be. That's why her initial rejection of him in the Tesseract series stings so much ... he realizes his safe space is gone, and the only person he can blame is himself.
Date: 24 May 2013 04:38 Title: Confession
Wow! That blew me away and I'm only peripherally familiar with the Borg. I get Icheb's guilt, and Maren's quiet horror at the confession. However, free will or not, they were essentially children, and as Borg drones--albeit immature ones--they were dealing with the situation they were facing the only way they knew how.
Now, I think even more important than Maren's understanding and forgiveness, will be to see if Icheb can find it within himself to forgive himself; to make up for those past transgressions if you will. He was created as a weapon, one used to combat and annihilate a terrifying threat. Can he be blamed for continuing to think and act like a weapon once the threat had been destroyed? That's the question both he and Maren need to ask themselves, and answer...
Author's Response:
Icheb will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for his various imperfections. It's his nature.
Thanks so much for the review!
Date: 24 May 2013 04:24 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother,' Part 3
Nice comeback, Maren! The words any mother wants to hear with regard to her child: "It doesn't matter what other people think. All that matters is what I think; what I feel. And you summed up that sentiment with one word. Outstanding!
Author's Response:
Maren thanks you. ;-)
Date: 24 May 2013 04:17 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother', Part 2
An awkward 'meet the parents' moment, indeed. The sparseness and lack of warmth (save for the picture of the VOY crew) had to be indtimidating for Maren. But it's obvious that both women love Icheb, and you conveyed that subtly, yet beautifully.
Author's Response:
Intimidating, yes, but also not completely unexpected. Icheb's dorm room isn't exactly cluttered with stuffed bunny rabbits and framed photos, either. ;-) Maren's getting used to a different kind of normal.
Yes, they both love him. Thanks for the comment!
Date: 24 May 2013 02:17 Title: Confession
Powerful stuff. Icheb dealing with the horrors of the past. An unwilling apprentice to evil.
Author's Response:
Thank you, Mac!
Date: 23 May 2013 22:46 Title: Confession
My God that must be hard to hear. I've been in the situation before of having to hear a difficult truth from someone you love, and you totally nailed the confused and uncertain feelings. (Obviously I'm not taking on the same level as admitting to mass murder, but still... :) ) I'm not sure if it is planned in this series of stories but I would love to see what happens next!
Author's Response:
Yeah, hard stuff indeed. (I am, however, glad to know that you never fell for a murderer. ;-) ) Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Date: 23 May 2013 20:52 Title: Confession
But Icheb, you were a child, and an assimilated one! You were practically a child soldier! Oi, that poor boy. Maybe they figured out it was wrong, and there's no dismissing that it was horrible, but he sure needs some therapy. To process it and deal with it, and be a bit more fair to himself about it all.
Well done, and quite heartbreaking.
Author's Response:
Therapy would have been helpful, but that wasn't really an option on Voyager. The whole crew of that ship was severely emotionally damaged and there was no one there to help them. It was the blind leading the blind. By this point, Icheb has really internalized and locked down his feelings about the past, and it would be a long slog through therapy ... so instead, he fakes being well-adjusted, and does it very well. It helps that people don't expect much from him emotionally because of his Borg background. There's a lot more going on there than really meets the eye.
Thanks for the review!
Date: 23 May 2013 15:43 Title: Confession
This is the toughest of confessions. Writing a killer, and then writing a serious relationship for that person, inevitably means this sort of talk (unless the paramour is also a killer).
To Maren's credit, she does not freak out, and she lets Icheb finish. Icheb, who was essentially created as a bomb to be detonated in the collective (and he was a successful one at that) and then he went further as they had no other ideas, and felt they had no other options. Good for him for not just saying he was following the First's orders. Hard information all around.
Author's Response:
Thanks for the insightful comment, jes!
Date: 23 May 2013 15:10 Title: Confession
As usual, the interplay between these two is spot on. Maren's need to fix things, the engineers curse, is on display here as well as her clear conflict about what to do. Should she listen to him? Help him? Move towards him, comfort him? She's all a mix of emotions as Icheb, bless his heart, sits there guiltily confessing past sins. It's a tough thing to tell hard truths and I admire Icheb for being willing to do it.
Well done.
Author's Response:
Thanks, TF. Maren was always trying to fix things for Icheb. This, however, is above her pay grade. (Doesn't meant she won't try her hardest, though.)
Date: 23 May 2013 01:37 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother,' Part 3
Damn like trying to crack a Vulcan family or something given how tightly Seven and Icheb appear to hold their emotions. 'Appear' being the operative word. There is always loads going on under the surface and Maren too senses this as she notes the subtle shifts in emotions and minute rectionsof Seven to Icheb. I love how you pack into these scenes lots of emotional dynamics even though the emotions are played out so low key. They are perfectly in keeping with the characters of Icheb and Seven and their background and of course all the words used here are perfect and known irrelevant to telling this story with such deft poise.
Author's Response:
Thank you for the comment, MF! It's hard work trying to convey the depth of emotion these two (Seven and Icheb) feel while maintaining their outward composure, but I'm glad it's coming through, at least for you.
Date: 23 May 2013 00:32 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother,' Part 3
"Irrelevant" Yes! Go Marin! I loved this little scene and Marin dealt with Seven's question in the best possible way. She is and remains one of my favourite characters of yours, a day cemented by what you are doing here. Great job!
Author's Response:
Thanks, CS! Maren says 'thanks,' too. ;-)
Date: 23 May 2013 00:29 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother', Part 2
Great description of Seven's apartment, I can well imagine this is what it would be like. You also continue to describe Marin's feelings both for Icheb and about the situation in a very real way. Look forward to reading more!
Author's Response:
Thank you, CS!
Date: 22 May 2013 22:13 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother,' Part 3
Good for her! And so awesome, again, catching Seven's approval like that.
Author's Response:
Thank you, TS!
Date: 22 May 2013 22:11 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother', Part 2
Wow, that awesome awkward pause when everyone is in the room staring at one another. I love it. Even better is that first awkward moment where you're ALONE with the parents because significant other went to do something else. lol
Also, you have got Seven's voice pretty perfect; it was easy to hear her saying the lines as you described it. So awesome to have that kind of insight, especially with a canon character.
Author's Response:
Thanks, TS! I do stress a little about nailing down the more developed canon characters, so I'm glad you approve of my handling of Seven.
As for the first moment alone with Seven ... *shudder* ;-)
Date: 22 May 2013 22:04 Title: Gifted
Uggh...Math. *shudder* This was pretty neat. I don't know much about your characters, but it's an interesting introduction/early look at her, I'm interested to see who this character is in your fic. And the playground sounded awesome.
Author's Response:
Thanks, TS! Maren's the chief engineer in my post-VOY series, Star Trek: Tesseract.
Date: 22 May 2013 20:03 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother,' Part 3
W00t!
And, again, it's almost a mechanistic/logical/Vulcan type of an answer. Makes one wonder what a Vulcan former drone would be like.
Author's Response:
I think a Vulcan former drone would have it a hell of a lot easier than a human or Brunali former drone, because there's little inherent conflict there. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Emotions are irrelevant. Perhaps Vulcans take issue with the methods of the Borg, but I do believe it would be easier for a Vulcan to rationalize away any immoral actions they may have committed as a drone and to continue on as a more or less 'normal' Vulcan.
Thanks for the comment!
Date: 22 May 2013 07:15 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother,' Part 3
Maren answers this exactly right, in perfect form. And Seven, understandably, is great with that. Her word choice really nailed this and I could sense Seven didn't want to press any further ... she got the answer she wanted. Maren's movements and thoughts were also well written and true to form I felt. She stalled a little but quickly thought out an answer and gave it. It's that quick thinking that will later get her a chief engineering job.
Author's Response:
It's not the last tough question Seven will ever ask Maren, but Maren did pass her first pop quiz, here. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
Date: 22 May 2013 07:08 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother,' Part 3
o/ Go Maren! That really was the perfect word, and the perfectly worded answer. And I am pleased as punch she appears to have won Seven's approval here. This whole little miniarc has been a pleasure to read.
Author's Response:
Thank you, Steff! <3
Date: 22 May 2013 02:40 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother', Part 2
Not quite your average meet the parents judging by the end but it remains quite something and further light, for me, on Icheb et al.
Author's Response:
Ha, yeah, can you even imagine? Bad enough to meet the parents ... worse still when 'Mom' is Seven of Nine.
Thanks for reading and reviewing! :)
Date: 21 May 2013 23:49 Title: How I Met Your 'Mother', Part 2
Bam! And cue the reason to be nervous - not so much just being able to make a good impression on Seven but because she can in one sentence floor a person with her statements or question. She pulls the rug out from under Maren like nobody's business. Just as to be expected from Seven. Perfect.
Likewise perfect is the depiction of love shown between Icheb and Maren because its expressed through engineering theories and praise of her work. So clear he has a truly high opinion of Maren.
And of course, Seven's question though out of the blue is only to be expected and shows her own depth of feeling nad concern for icheb. Very touching and humanising and feels very true to Seven and Icheb and a true gold nugget from VOY was seeing little moments like this and now more gold nuggets as Tess continues that.
Author's Response:
Thanks so much for the review! Seven always did have a way of cutting right to the chase, especially when things matter, as Icheb does, to her.
Maren will have to prove to Seven that they're on the same team -- both of them caring for and wanting the best for Icheb.