Date: 31 May 2013 18:03 Title: Chapter 1
Grief is such that it can just steal up on you and make you melt into a puddle of grief and that is literally just what Odo has done. That was such a striking image and so gut punching and heart wrenching and a very clever piece of writing.
Other clever pieces of writing were the way you introduced this story with some humour and banter in Quarks, with awol holosuites, Quark being threatened by Odo, Chief getting called out by Kira, human phrases being coined and misinterpretated and Elan taking note of Odo and Kira wanting to be toghether and giving them their privacy (even if Odo isn't quite aware of his feelings on the matter yet it seems Elan is).
You established in short order, very effectively without it being shoehorned in or obvious that Elan and Odo have a good working relationship and of course for Odo that means he hold Elan in high esteem. Then it is only natural that he should be affected so by the death - the manner in which you conveyed his initial reaction to the death is very, very well written before the punch to the gut ending there.
And I have to give kudos too for the manner in which you killed her off. Doing so 'off screen' made it have quite the punch and the visual image of her having been spaced after saving the lives of the others was very striking. a very sad and poignant end for a character we did not know very much - stands testament to the way you introduced and wrote her.
Date: 29 Sep 2011 04:43 Title: Chapter 2
When Odo melted into a blob--it was heartbreaking. He turned into one big tear of grief and pain.
And then the investigation shows that there was no big plot, no big sacrifice, but another senseless death and loss. I wonder of Odo's anger was a result of Li's death being so senseless, or another stage of his grief and coming to terms with the loss of her.
I'd expect Worf to come with some name for Odo's action, though, because I don't think he'd just accept a furious murder. It might fit his Klingon nature, but he certainly would inform Odo that Odo had just tried to perform [Klingon name of a ritual here], as he usually does in such situations.
It was an interesting story. It showed that death isn't always heroic and that grief touches even those who might appear they have hearts made of stone.
Date: 19 Mar 2009 03:37 Title: Chapter 2
Awww...I love these two as a couple. :-)
But besides that...I really liked seeing Odo truly get attached to someone (in a non-romantic way). His surprise at being so overcome with grief that he couldn't repress it anymore was just perfectly depicted.
Worf's apparent willingness to guard the door while Odo offed the prisoner was just classic...and I love the ambiguous way you wrote it. In an odd way, it actually reminded me of the way Garak is written (where you never know his motivations). And yet that kind of subtlety WORKED on him. Hard to explain, exactly, but it did. (Maybe it's that Worf has learned more of a human sense of humor and knows how to employ such subtlety?)
Overall, you capture the voices of the characters quite well and I enjoyed reading this! :-)
Author's Response: Thank you very much! I was always fascinated with Odo and Kira as a couple, and these stories are just my way of trying to build up their relationship to the point where they did become lovers. Plus, Odo and Kira are my favorite characters from DS9, so it's fun for me to write them. I always thought Worf was actually better suited to DS9 than he was on Next Gen. DS9's darker, more edgy atmosphere seemed to agree with Worf--even though he had trouble adjusting to it at first. He seemed like a perfect fit with the crew and station. Apologies for taking so long to respond; things have been a bit busy for me lately. But everything's settled down, now. :) I'm really glad you liked the story, and thanks for sharing your thoughts on it with me. I appreciate it.