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mollyencrypted · 6 years

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UFO!Original Series + continuations + reboot

I’ve already covered most of this in the Massive Mega Post (ie that really long chain of self-reblogs that not even I can be arsed to read through) but I’m putting them here in a more coherent and accessible form for my own reference and if anyone else is interested, and with some new material added. This is the one with the most plot in it.

Because all of this began with me watching ‘Survival’ and deciding it needed to be Spirkified, UFO!Kirk is analogous to Col. Foster. Foster was in command of Moonbase frequently and so is Kirk in this AU, but on a slightly more permanent/consistent basis (I think?). They put him up there mainly because they needed to do something with him, and since the highest ranking officer present was a Lieutenant this seemed like a reasonable thing to do. Said Lieutenant is not impressed with this decision. Neither is Kirk. They both agree that she’s better qualified for this job. His first meeting with Spock is pretty much a not-sad version of ‘Survival’. If this goes the way I hope it goes, they fall in love.

UFO!Uhura is the unimpressed Lieutenant mentioned above. She is analogous to Lt. Ellis, who seemed to be in command of Moonbase until Foster showed up to micromanage her and her lady staff. As previously discussed, she and Kirk have an arrangement where they share responsibilities and she’s a very competent and trusted second-in-command. And she doesn’t wear the purple and silver getup because they phased that out. She and Scotty are dating/engaged but she’s also very intrigued by T'Pring, and she ends up in a relationship with both of them. There’s a lot more about her here. (I’ve probably written more stuff about UFO!Uhura than anyone else.)

UFO!Spock is full-Vulcan and, like I said in the Massive Mega Post, is the Random Alien Guy from ‘Survival’, except he doesn’t die at the end. Since the canon motivations from UFO don’t make any sense in this AU (and half the time weren’t terribly clear or consistent in canon either) I’ve created my own based on something I saw on TVTropes and it involves a Vague and Ominous Something that I need to define stat and might actually make a separate post on. Let’s just say mind control is involved? And Spock’s broken that control or been released-presumed-dead or something and he’s currently negotiating and trying to explain this to Uhura and Kirk. Unfortunately they don’t share a common language so they’re making do with mind-melds and a crude sort of pidgin. The only person he’ll meld with is Kirk. The higher-ups are Concerned. He was never bonded to T'Pring in this ‘verse because Plot Reasons. (Seriously, the fact that they can’t be bonded is actually important to the plot and the worldbuilding; it’s not just me being vague and handwavey. It’s to do with the Something.)

UFO!Scotty is the guy who fixes the many, many things that can go horribly wrong on an installation like this. (So much potential for disaster…) He’s very much in love with Uhura, but he’s completely fine with a more open relationship as long as he’s kept informed. It probably takes him a little while to accept that Spock and T'Pring are benign but once he does he’s a really firm ally.

UFO!Bones doesn’t want to be here. At all. He doesn’t want to be living and working on a ball of rock hurtling through an airless void, and he doesn’t want to be involved in any way with blowing up other sentient beings. Unfortunately, SHADO isn’t the sort of organisation you can leave easily. Or, y’know, alive. If Kirk, Uhura and the hobgoblin (he might not want them dead but that doesn’t mean he has to like them) can end this war then he’s not going to complain. He’s pretty much in charge of the medical ward on Moonbase (which isn’t terribly well-equipped), ably assisted by UFO!M'Benga and UFO!Chapel. (Chapel and Uhura used to date, but realised they were probably better as friends. It’s working out alright.)

UFO!Sulu, UFO!Chekov, and UFO!Kevin Riley are Miscellaneous Interceptor Pilots - they might not have that big of a role but they are There and Important. UFO!Yeoman Zahra is also among their number based on one scene from Vulcan’s Vengeance (AOS comics). I’m importing Ben from AOS, but UFO!Demora is either not born yet or is just a baby.

UFO!Janice Rand is Miss Ealand, but she’d probably have greater relevance. And she hates her job. So much. If there’s a version of Holland in this AU it’s UFO!Yeoman Ross. I might dump UFO!Tonia Barrows on the hypothetical Skydiver One night shift.

The UFO versions of Lieutenants Palmer and Lisa are basically Nina Barry and Joan Harrington.

UFO!Carol Marcus is a friend of Chapel’s from college/university and a colleague of Paul Stamets. (This gives both of them a link back to SHADO -small world or big conspiracy? Who knows? Not them!). I’m not sure if also having her as Kirk’s ex like in canon would stretch plausibility or not - let’s put a pin in it. Boop!

UFO!T'Pring holds the rank of Subcommander mainly because everyone who could have been promoted ahead of her is dead. As one of the few people to have broken free of her controller and one of even fewer uncontrolled individuals willing to fight back, she’s hijacked a ship and headed for Earth in an attempt to end the war. Or alternatively, team up with the humans to start a different, better war. She’s not quite sure yet. Her plan is to save her people, be hailed as a great hero, and bond with Stonn (who isn’t great but also isn’t awful and genuinely cares about her and is willing to put up with her offputting personality and thinly-veiled emotionalism). Nyota Uhura throws a wrench into that plan somewhat.

UFO!Sybok is Spock’s full brother and I’m not sure how much of a role he’d actually play in this, but I think he’s probably in the background trying to find a way of opposing the Something.

UFO!Sarek is an astrophysicist. He was bonded to T’Rhea (deceased), and never met Amanda.

UFO!Amanda is an English teacher and pretty much raised Michael by herself.

UFO!M'Ress, UFO!Arex, UFO!Gaila, UFO!Keenser, and UFO!Jaylah all exist but cannot appear due to the setting. I’m not even sure if Saavik’s been conceived yet so her appearance is also unlikely.

I know I said there wouldn’t be a UFO!Edith Keeler making an appearance but I think I’ve found a niche for her after all.

UFO!Nogura is analogous to Straker, and UFO!Komack to Henderson.

UFO!Martha Landon, UFO!Giotto, UFO!Hendorff and UFO!Leslie are security mooks. I am importing Hendorff’s appearance from AOS (and probably also the Cupcake thing).

UFO!Gary Mitchell probably fills the role of Foster’s dead co-pilot. Sorry, Gary. But I could give that role to any number of dead redshirt types and give Gary some plot relevance so this is subject to change.

UFO!Elizabeth Dehner is a psychologist and does Plot Things as a result of the Concerns mentioned previously. She’s an esper. Shh. It’s a secret.

#star trek tos #star trek aos #star trek ufo au #spirk #uhotty #t'pura #scotty x uhura x t'pring #mine #t'puhotty #star trek tas #star trek multiverse #star trek multiseries

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yumi-michiyo · 7 years

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For You I’d Burn the Length and Breadth of Sky [3/4] - with extended author’s notes

Rating: M for strong language, adult themes, sexual content, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, trigger warnings for depression and suicide

Genre: Supernatural/Drama/Romance/Angst/Family/Tragedy/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

Pairings: Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray, some Rachel Berry/Finn Hudson, Rachel Berry/Cassandra July, background other canon pairings

Summary: She already knows Quinn Fabray is more than just a pretty face; she just didn't know it would take a few lifetimes to find out how much more. Post-canon, AU divergence. A oneshot of epic proportions.

Links: FF.net | AO3

On the writing process:

The original draft written on the go was a little over 10k words. I had an entire week of free time, thanks to a nasty viral infection, and decided it wouldn't do. There was still a lot that needed to be reworked, rewritten, edited, rearranged... it was hard, because of the sensitive nature of this chapter. A large bulk of this was written while listening to Lea Michele's album Louder on repeat which seemed appropriate, and inadvertently shaped the nature of Rachel's tribute to Quinn's memory.

I don't profess to know much about life for wheelchair-bound people, and was blessed to know as much as I do thanks to the help of a wheelchair-using beta-reader for one of my Frozen fics. As much as possible, I've tried to stay true to facts.

For those asking why Quinn had to take her own life, all the puzzle pieces are there. Like Rachel, there are many people out there hurting because their loved ones chose to go despite knowing how many hearts they would be breaking. I chose to go with this darker outcome both to express the pain of loss, and let Rachel's darkest fear play out: What if Quinn died and it was all my fault?

But despite losing Quinn, Rachel doesn't completely go to pieces, nor does she bounce back with typical Rachel Berry vigor. She's completely shattered, of course as was Lea Michele after Cory's death but she manages to move on, with the help of her friends and an unexpected new relationship.

I'm pretty sure there are haters out there because I've destroyed the OTP again, but yeah. I like hurting the characters I love.

Also, while I'm guilty of making horrible things happen to characters, this is easily one of the hardest things to write; partly because suicide is such a serious subject, but mostly because the message needed to be delivered. And delivered it is, although I suspect that this story will stay with me for life.

On Rachel Berry:

Rachel is slightly stronger here. She's spent a lifetime living a dream, and she's back to square one under circumstances she only dreamt of before. Of course, she both knows and doesn't know what she should be doing; in terms of things she knows, events that happen, she knows what to anticipate. In terms of Quinn, she's been given a chance to go back and make things right again, but with the goal of being with Quinn. It's successful, in a way, but it doesn't work out because this iteration of Quinn comes with scars that Rachel - even with a lifetime of experience - has no clue how to deal with.

In a sense, Rachel also isn't as affected as she could be. She's lost the love of her life under the worst possible circumstances, but she also knows that she'll wake up in a world where Quinn is alive and well, and the wheelchair was a bad memory.

On Quinn Fabray:

Quinn Fabray is defined by control. She took control of herself and decided that Lucy Fabray was an undesirable personality. She overcame a teenage pregnancy, homelessness, falling off the rails, and Sue Sylvester. But being stuck in a wheelchair is the ultimate loss of control, that is permanent. In this chapter, this Quinn can't handle the dependence on Rachel that her disability places her in.

Arguably, Quinn would never consider suicide. But she already has issues with self-esteem and insecurity, which were made worse by her inadequacy and negative fallout of being with Rachel, all of which I turn into this bad ending. It's not what I want for Quinn. It's not even remotely where I think Quinn will end up. This is just the most depressing, pessimistic outcome for someone with as much trauma as canon!Quinn.

The album Rachel writes about Quinn is supposed to symbolise transformation and transcendence. By taking back Quinn's story into their own hands, Rachel brings the situation under control again Elly's cameo is just a mark of how far Rachel's come.

I do have Quinn's letter written in full, because the original tribute was supposed to be a musical/play, and I had planned a scene that Judy and Rachel talk about in the cafe. Maybe I'll post it, someday.

On Cassandra July:

I'll be the first to admit that I enjoy both alternate pairings, canon and non-canon, and am a happy denizen of rarepair hell. Rachel and Cassie have a ton of sexual tension, thanks to the smouldering efforts of Lea and Kate, and it was fun writing this development. I see Cassie as the jaded, bitter version of who Quinn could have become she'd never bounced back from her punk phase; still challenging Rachel, still forcing her to come to terms with parts of herself that isn't in line with her ideas. So, it made sense to have Cassie as the catalyst to help Rachel move on.

On Santana Lopez:

Santana wasn't a main character in the previous chapter, but her friendship with Rachel is one of the side focuses here. Canon!Rachel and canon!Santana developed a heartening friendship in spite of the actresses hating each other that I imagine Rachel would come to appreciate. After drifting apart from Santana in the previous wish, it makes sense that Rachel would miss her friend.

#meta #glee #fanfic #faberry #quinn fabray #rachel berry #yumi_michiyo #author's notes #extended notes #trigger warnings #trigger: suicide #trigger: major character death #fic: for you i'd burn the length and breadth of sky #fanfiction

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