Date: 04 Jul 2015 18:40 Title: Chapter 7 Perseverance (Violet)
Ah, children, food, and the refusal to eat. Great arm, though. An amusing look at one aspect of an open marriage.
Author's Response:
Aw, thanks - it's Joss who's the real baseball player. But quick reflexes give Tommy the stuff to do what needs to be done in Seven Women.
Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!
Date: 04 Jul 2015 01:52 Title: Chapter 6 Generosity (Indigo)
Asexuality would probably be a plus in this situation. I don't know if you saw "Defying Gravity," the TV show, but they tried to induce asexuality with devices called HALOs to kill the libidos of the crew. Close quarters, long mission ... they thought it would be easier that way.
Author's Response:
It is a big time plus - Chris just sort of watches while everybody else gets more than a little loopy. Haven't seen the show, though (eek, I watch very little TV these days). Thank you for reviewing!
Date: 03 Jul 2015 14:59 Title: Chapter 6 Generosity (Indigo)
LOL. Like that Harris has no worries about himself, but is putting the rest of the crew (male crew) ahead. Got to like a guy who knows who he is; his exchange with Archer is fun.
Author's Response:
He is a good guy - and could easily be overlooked. But he's pivotal during that timeline.
In the Mirror Universe, he's one of the first men who Doug kills, in a boxing match. Doug is rewarded with a better ration card for his efforts. The Mirror's a brutal place.
Thank you!
Date: 03 Jul 2015 14:32 Title: Chapter 5 Distance (Blue)
Yesh. Relational instability combined with lack of confidence. Not pretty, but a place we can all emphathize with; at one point or another there has been a person we've been physically close to, close enough to touch, yet seem unable to communicate with at all.
Well-captured moment of a relationship here.
Author's Response:
Thank you - I hadn't originally meant for Preston to be vain and losing his mojo, but the actor is losing his hair (Billy Zane), so that worked for the prompt. Plus these are people who settled.
Date: 02 Jul 2015 16:55 Title: Chapter 5 Distance (Blue)
Aww. That last line was sad but well-done.
Relationships in a situation like this have got to be difficult. That was one thing I think Voyager didn't do enough to portray -- Janeway's refusal to be with Chakotay, for example, (at least ostensibly) hinged more on command structure than the reality that if it didn't work out, they'd be stuck together on that tiny ship for decades to come ... not just having to work together, but potentially watching each other move on with others who were close as family. That was a tiny ship, and the NX-01 is even smaller. I can see a lot of people saying, "okay, that's it, friends with benefits only, no emotional attachments" just to avoid the potential drama. (Not that it would always work out that way, but I could see them trying.) Starting a relationship under circumstances like this is a really loaded thing. You portray that well here.
Author's Response:
Oh, thank you.
The ratio is ugly and not fun - there are a lot of single (ostensibly) het guys aboard. I ended up 'solving' it partly with the Ikaaran women and partly with having some people open up their marriages. Lili does that anyway (spoiler alert), but others do, too, and so at the end of his life Archer is bringing chocolates to one of his junior tactical officers and flowers to a cartography crewman, and people just sort of shunt aside the worst of their jealousies as they feel they're petty when so many others are hurting. In the prime timeline, I have Malcolm refer to it as 'scraps from her table'.
Date: 01 Jul 2015 21:00 Title: Chapter 4 Melancholy (Green)
Ha, nice reveal! Brought a smile to my face.
Author's Response:
Oh, thank you!
Date: 01 Jul 2015 14:15 Title: Chapter 4 Melancholy (Green)
LMAO. That was well played, with the unisex name and lack of pronouns. It definitely made for an amusing twist.
However, I believe I remember Kelsey's story, and if I remember correctly, he commits suicide, right? I hope he never felt like he needed to do that because of this. I find it hard to believe that anyone on a Federation ship would think of this as a big deal. I mean, man skirts were a sanctioned uniform option by the TNG era.
Regardless, Kelsey seems like a lonely dude, and I feel sorry for him.
Meanwhile, I see Phlox has been busy. ;-)
Author's Response:
Yeah, you remembered right, Kelsey is a suicide. I haven't gotten to why yet. The character hasn't told me. Maybe he will someday. :)
In the meantime, yes, in canon, Phlox and Amanda Cole have 9 kids. Eek.
Thanks for your kind review!
Date: 01 Jul 2015 02:03 Title: Chapter 3 Grace (Yellow)
:( Archer lived a long time and must have presided over a lot of funerals for a lot of friends. I can hear Scott Bakula delivering this and it was beautifully done.
Author's Response:
Oh, thank you - I make him almost the last man standing when it comes to the senior staff. I haven't quite written everyone's endings yet (Hoshi and Trip's are canon), but I'll probably have just T'Pol and Travis outlive him. So he is the anchor for a ton of these.
Date: 30 Jun 2015 17:23 Title: Chapter 3 Grace (Yellow)
This one hurts. A lot. I deal with this theme a lot in my own work, obviously, but lately, I've been dealing with it in real life, too. And ultimately, this is what we all want, deep down -- the kind of love that endures to the end, that fights the good fight alongside you even in the face of certain defeat, the kind that goes down with the ship, and then survives.
Archer's eulogy was beautiful. Well done, Captain -- and well done, author. :)
Author's Response:
Oh, thank you - this came to me (I already had Diana as suffering this way in my storyline) in part because of Jim Obergefell's story. And yes, going down with the ship but surviving. It's just so very hard.
Date: 29 Jun 2015 17:26 Title: Chapter 2 Fairness (Orange)
Ah, "last man on Earth" (or woman on spaceship) syndrome. What an awkward thing. And yet, sometimes attractions develop regardless. Although, I can see that being an ongoing relationship problem in the vein of "do we like each other because we like each other, or because we're slaves to instinct?"
I feel for these two.
Author's Response:
As you'll see, this isn't Diana's true companion (although Preece Ti is a good person). But yeah, that's the thread in the E2 stories I've written. People settle, over and over and over again. Thank you for reading.
Date: 29 Jun 2015 14:04 Title: Chapter 2 Fairness (Orange)
Aw, sweet. I'm glad she doesn't feel forced to make a choice.
Author's Response:
They end up being rather kind people - I wanted to give them more, and more culture, than ENT did in canon. Thanks!
Date: 28 Jun 2015 22:00 Title: Chapter 1 Wisdom (Red)
I bet those two would kill for a nice 24th century replicator right about now. Of course, that would spoil the sweet moment and a fun memory for them. Timely piece!
Author's Response:
Thank you! Once I got the rainbow idea in my head, I could picture them with red arms. :)
Date: 28 Jun 2015 21:58 Title: Chapter 1 Wisdom (Red)
HA! Dyeing things is a mess (and I like how, in completely different ways, you and I were sorta on the same wave length for this prompt -- admittedly, I went with "dying" as opposed to "dyeing" but I like it!)
Love the references here to the real-time events going on in the USA, and the these two are cute. Hope more of this story takes place in this particular timeline, as it's just rife with potential.
Author's Response:
Oh, thank you! Infinite diversity and all - it'll be more or less the timeline but with different folks. I had already had the vague idea of these characters, and the title for the piece, but then yesterday just put it all together.