#pointy ears like you know in stark trek
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It was now Mike’s turn! More screenshots from Best of the Worst
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#fanart#digital art#red letter media#rlm#rlmblr#dick the birthday boy#dick the birthday boy t shirt#rich evans#jay bauman#mike stoklasa#pointy ears like you know in stark trek#best of the worst#half in the bag
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Fics Rec
Below are some of my favorite fanfics of all times. Most of them would probably be from AO3 (Archive of Our Own ) but sometimes I scout for fics outside of AO3 as well, if I find something worth reading I would put it here too.
I do read fanfics from multiple fandoms but I would make sure to include a tag so that you can know if there is any fic about your OTP in my list.
❤️Spirk (Star Trek: Spock x Jim Kirk): my favorite pairing of all times, though I prefer the AOS version to the TOS. I have read these fanfics so long ago that I can’t remember the content (so I apologize for the lack of my own comment/review) but if I bookmarked them they must have been good enough lol
Once Upon a Time (A Fairy-Tale Love Story) (by littlebirdtold): 47,461 words/6 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: In a universe with no Federation, where First COntact never happened, Jim Kirk is your average popular guy. On Christmas Eve, thanks to a series of strange events, Jim finds himself in a parallel universe where the Milky Way is under the control of an alien race and ends up as a servant in the residence of the Royal House of Vulcan. As he starts adapting to his new life, Jim’s curiosity fucks everything up - but hey, Vulcans shouldn’t have told him that he isn’t allowed to enter this wing of the palace; Jim has never been good at following rules. Or, this is the story of how Jim Kirk became a Princess (“Prince Consort, Bones!”) of the United Planets of Vulcan Kingdom.
Honestly, go read every single one of littlebirdtold’s fanfics. He/she/they are incredible and I’m still waiting for his/her/their comeback.
In the Shadows (by scifishipper): 25,202 words/4 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: Accused of treason and stranded on Vulcan, Cadet Jim Kirk is offered a solution to his problems: bond with Ambassador Sarek’s son, someone he has never met. When he finally meets his betrothed at the ceremony, the Vulcan’s face is disfigured by cruel scars. Now, penniless and trapped, Jim finds himself committed to a reclusive stranger with a dark past. Has he sealed his fate forever or is there hope for the two of them to find love?
A sequence that you never learned (by annataylor): 64,624 words/14 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: When Jim gets it in his head to adopt an eight year old Vulcan, Spock presents a logical solution to the issue of Jim’s humanity: marriage to a Vulcan citizen
Logical Erotics (by EntreNous): 63,458 words/12 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Just returned from a difficult space mission and about to begin teaching at Starfleet Academy, Spock chooses a logical way to relieve stress: a sexual encounter with someone he’ll never meet again. But when Spock discovers his partner of one night is Jim Kirk, a promising new cadet at Starfleet he’s torn between his rational decision to avoid intimate relationships and his increasing fascination with Jim. As Spcok’s normally orderly life starts to spin out of control, will his obsession with Jim prove his salvation or his undoing?
The Vulcan Heart (by obsidienne): 110,110 words/15 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Where two halves make a whole...eventually. (Post-STID
I remembered that my friend recommended this fic to me and I was a bit hesitant at that time because I have never read anything this long. But it turned out to be such a great fic that I appreciated his recommendation every day.
Unexpected (by foreverandeveralone): 10,339 words/8 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: Cadet Jim Kirk doesn’t understand why everyone who is not nice to him always has bad consequences. Basically, Jim doesn’t know he is dating the Vulcan version of Sylar, who never forgives anyone who does bad things to his human.
Interesting fic if you love both Star Trek and Heroes.
The Door (by Pouxin): 77,118 words/6 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Spock and Jim both have their doors. Jim wants his to be open. Spock wants his to be closed. An alternative STID things. With more literature. And esoteric faffing. And sex.
Kicked From Inside (by Stella_Notecor): 32,246 words/18 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Drugged by aliens with an aphrodisiac that impregnates males is NOT how Jim Kirk imagined falling into bed with his first mate. That’s exactly how it happens though, and dealing with the consequences - including an angry girlfriend, a pointy-eared baby, and a chief-medical-officer who’s against the whole thing - will force Jim and Spock together, whether they like it or not.
My Golden Sun/Kin-Kur Las’hark T’nash-Veh (by giddytf2): 123,262 words/30 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Mpreg
Summary: When Jim feels thet first gush of slick soaking down the inner seam of his pants, he shuts his eyes and turns his face away from Spock towards the mottled-stone wall of their solitary cell. Spock is staring at him. Spock has no idea what’s just happened, what’s just begun. Spock has no idea that their situation is about to get so much worse. Fuck, Jim thinks, curling up into a ball of bruises and ragged gold, his arms quivering and clutching his bent legs. Fuck my life for being a goddamn Omega.
(Or, a Star Trek: AOS story post-Into Darkness in a universe where both Alpha/Beta/Omega gender dynamics and pon farr exist, with Jim being an Omega going into heat and Spock experiencing his first pon farr while trapped in a cell with Jim. Oh my.
Time of Need (by sunshine (sunshinepiveh)): 33, 669 words/25 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Spock’s pon farr comes early due to the destruction of Vulcan. Nyota is unable to cope with the stark brutality she finds as reality hits home. The captain will have to take necessary actions.
Weekend Lover (by ValiantBarnes (Cimila)): 30,017 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: The one night stand Jim Kirk has with the Vulcan passing through Riverside is a welcome break from the monotony. It’s good, very good, but so fucking weird Jim’s sure he’s never gonna forget it. He’s not quite expecting to run into Spock again in san Francisco. A second one night stand turns into a weekend, turns into a lot of weekends, turns into Bones joking that he’s living half his week at Spock’s apartment. But! But, and this is very important: they’re not dating. What also turns out to be important is Spock’s job, which Jim never bothered getting the details of. Starfleet Academy Instructor and cadet?... Less fine.
❤️HotchReid (Criminal Minds: Aaron Hotchner x Spencer Reid): unpopular pairing but they are definitely in my top 5 pairings for sure
Don’t Ever Look Back (by kadeeleigh): 15,848 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: While on a case in California, Hotch and Reid’s secret angers Morgan
This fic features a nice amount of case investigation content, an extremely protective and slightly irrational Morgan, and a remarkably sexy and confident Dr. Spencer Reid.
Arranged Marriage (by VincentMeoblinn): 18,196 words/6 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: When Reid decides to leave the BAU due to his painful crush on Hotchner, the man proposes an extreme way to avoid him leaving or them breaking the fraternization rules - by proposing
A marriage-before-romance fic. Slightly unconventional plot and relationship development (but it is fiction after all so no big deal) but generally cute.
Convergence (by Chestnut_NOLA): 33,232 words/10 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Dr. Spencer Reid, newest addition to the BAU has been dreaming of art and murder. In denial that his telepathy has returned, Spencer must work with his team and his boss Sentinel Aaron Hotchner to find the Unsub. Will love help Spencer control his gift or will the darkness in his mind destroy not only himself, but Aaron as well?
It is the second and my favorite fic in the Transference series. If you are into the fantasy genre, Sentinel/Guide bond to be specific, I highly recommend this one.
Healing Touch (by Rivermoon 1970): 21,981 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Sexual Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Mpreg
Summary: Spencer has been watching his Alpha for a while and knows something is wrong. When Aaron collapses during a case the whole team worries. What they find out about his marriage to Haley will shock all of them and when Spencer is asked to help Aaron with his recovery how will their friendship change?
The abuse part is rather brief mentioned than thoroughly described, so do not worry too much (I can’t stand extreme angst). Nice relationship development. If you like Omegaverse, give this fic a try.
Take Me Home, Country Road (by wednesdays___child): 8,698 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Aaron gets a call that his mother is not well. She wants her eldest son to bring home the pretty young doctor he’s been dating. The problem is that Aaron has failed to tell his family that the pretty young doctor is a colleague...and male
A fluff fic at its core. Cute happy ending. My to-go fic when I want to read something short and light before bed.
Lightning Only Strikes Once...Maybe Twice (by Dazeventura6): 16,433 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: While on a custodial interview Aaron and Spencer are stuck in a time loop. Can they break it? Or will they be stuck forever?
Set after the Hardwick incident. The content is something that I wish it happened in the series. A much needed fix-it fic.
Mine (by non_andare): 6,115 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Hotch has never noticed Reid before; he’s an inconspicuous Omega who naturally submits and Hotch likes his Omegas to have fire. Then Spencer starts dating another Alpha and all Hotch can think is one word. Mine.
Reid/OC is briefly mentioned but the fic is mainly about Hotch/Reid. Fluff with a bit of angst but eventually happy ending. Jealous Hotch and shy Reid is a nice combo tbh.
Criminal Bonds (by VincentMeoblinn): 26,107 words/13 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Implied/Referenced Character Death, Child Death
Summary: Reid was framed for embezzlement a year ago. Hotchner pleaded guilty to several murders. They meet in prison where reid is regularly abused by the stronger inmates until Hotch takes him under his wing
Alternate Universe where Reid is not a part of the BAU. Prison romance. Slight twist at the end but ultimately a happy ending (in my opinion)
Wolf Moon (by Ahmose_Inarus): 117,736 words/34 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Alpha Werewolf Aaron Hotchner is far from pleased when Spencer Reid joins the team...The presence of the young werewolf is not welcome...but when Hotch learns that Spencer Reid was raised by a human mother after being abandoned by his werewolf father, he takes him under his wing. And perhaps he has found more than a friend in the younger wolf...But there’s an Alpha Female in the territory who is far from please...she’s had her eyes on Aaron Hotchner for a long time, and won’t let anyone stand in her way
An Omegaverse story. A bit long but worth every minute. The relationship between Hotch and Reid is so cute that it can take my frustration (and anger) against the antagonist away.
The Librarian and the Dad (by DarkJediQueen): 9,039 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating; Explicit
Summary: It started out as a little crush. Then it became so much more.
Cute. Cute. Super cute. Part 12 of the A Universe of Meetings series, which include multiple Alternate Universe stories. Check out the whole series if you are into Alternate Universe.
Solace (by Lady Angel (dameange)): 4,701 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: A Hotchner/Reid rewrite of The Angel Maker episode
Again, a fix-it fic I would like to actually happen.
Dr. Reid and Agent Hotchner (by E_Ng714): 21,013 words/14 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: The BAU has hit a rocky patch, and appears to be falling apart. There is something going on with Hotch, but no one can figure it out. Cruz orders all of them to undergo psychiatric evaluation. Dr. Reid’s presence isn’t welcome by Aaron, at least not at first.
Alternate Universe story. They are both slightly out-of-character but not too annoying. Hate to love. A bit of angst but eventually happy ending.
Forgive Me For All I Could Not Become (by DegrassiFanatic): 105,975 words/20 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences (there’s sex scenes though lol)
Summary: In which Reid has always been good at hiding things. He hid his father’s departure and his mother’s illness from social services. He hid his addiction from his team. He hid his sexuality from the world. He hid his inappropriate feelings from his boss. That is until he’s bleeding out in Hotch’s arms, in an abandoned church, in Oklahoma. From there on out, Hotch and Reid learn to make a complete mess out of each other.
Definitely in my top 10 HotchReid fanfics. I didn’t expect much when I started because I usually don’t read over-100k-word-Teen and Up Audiences-fics but this one turned out to be perfect and it literally saved me from a rough week.
A Different Kind of Solitude (by kyrdwyn): 15 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: NC-17/FRAO (For Adults Only)
Summary: When Aaron and Spencer are trapped together by an unsub, things change between them while the team searches for their lost friends.
It is said “trapped by an unsub” but honestly the situation is not that bad. I tend to think in a positive way that this is a chance for HotchReid to get together. Pretty cute and domestic fic actually.
Home you know (by jetplane): 14,030 words/11 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Summary: When Reid is diagnosed with cancer, he finds himself relying on Hotch for care and support. But spending so much time together forces each man to confront the feelings he has for the other, and it’s only a matter of time before their friendship evolves into something more.
Go Home, Omega (by goobzoop)
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, mean Hotch
Summary: Pretty much Hotch is bigoted about Omegas and Reid is let on the team cause he’s a genius, which Hotch hates, but then Reid learns to stand up for himself cause he’s super kickass and sweet and deserves the world
Oneiroi and Hephaestus (by Lady Angel (dameange)): 31,231 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: What if Reid was one of the Yellow-eyed demon’s special children?
If you like both Supernatural and Criminal Minds, this crossover fic is one to go for.
Come Undone (by EloquentDossier): 77,180 words/22 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: When Spencer Reid forgot to take his suppressants two mornings in a row, it really shouldn’t have been a big deal. He had them in his bag at the hotel, and as long as he took one that evening, he’d be fine. What he couldn;t have prepared for, however, was the lab the latest victim worked at going into an at least twenty-four-hour-lockdown while he was in it. When Aaron Hotchner was asked to aid his subordinate through what would otherwise be an agonizing heat, he’d had several reservations, one of which had been the consent issue: Omegas couldn’t legally consent to sex during heat unless it was twenty-four hours in advance. With every concern rebutted logically (because of course the Bureau had an Agent Consent form in case of emergencies), he finally agreed. Of all the possible repercussions, however, neither man expected the one they received.
Or that time no one expected the Alpha to accidentally bond to the Omega while the Omega remained unaffected.
Cursed (by Black_Lotus): 60,254 words/20 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Centuries ago Vasile Stolojan, the bastard son of Vlad the impaler, was cursed to be a Vampire. Many years later he has a new name, Aaron Hotchner, and a curator job at a prestigious museum in America but the pain he feels for his lost love remains, until he meets the new Docent, Spencer Reid, who looks exactly like his lover. Is it possible that after six hundred years the man he loves has been reincarnated?
I LOVE this fic.
Yours (by NimueOfTheNorth): 17,232 words/6 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Spencer knew what he wanted in a relationship, and after years it looked like he found everything he dreamed of in Aaron. Now; if only Aaron’s past experiences and guilt complex wouldn’t get in the way.
❤️Niam (One Direction: Liam Payne x Niall Horan): while everybody is going crazy for Stylinson and Ziam, here I am rooting for Niam lol
Break my fall (by niamcuddles): 147,428 words/15 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: Being a police officer was never an easy job, Liam wouldn’t have imagined that it’d bring someone like Niall into his life and that they could ever grow so close under these circumstances. If they only would’ve known who the guy was that giving them so many sleepless nights.
With Your Love (by brainstorm): 57,448 words/8 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Summary: Liam’s life was nothing like a normal twenty-two year old guy. Raising a kid on his own was probably the hardest thing he’s ever had to face but he wouldn't change his little boy for the world. He never thought he’d find someone that was good for both him and his son, but that changed fast the day he met his son’s new teacher.
Closer (by niamcuddles): 209,765 words/20 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Niall’s pretty sure he doesn’t actually have a real crush on the rick and arrogant guy he’s been attempting to teach how to golf, but there’s something about him that just won’t allow Niall to say no. Not even when he gets made a very unexpected offer.
From the day that I met you (by niamcuddles): 272,394 words/25 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Partying and having a good time are probably two of Niall’s favorite things, he just wouldn’t have thought that a night out would end with him getting to know Liam, or that their paths would cross a lot more often than just this once. But somehow they happen to be more helpful to one another than expected.
Like the angel you are (by niamcuddles): 164,367 words/13 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Summary: To be honest, Niall has already given up on his life ever getting any better, he’s used to being on his own and not being looked after, so maybe not even a way too caring stranger can help change that.
Too Much Too Soon (by brainstorm): 47,353 words/3 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: Niall stands up for himself for the first time ever but things don’t turn out the way he wanted them to and he finds himself struggling between the way he’s always been or the way he wants to be. It’s a matter of time to know who’ll win, his mind or his heart. (sequel to “For You, My Love”)
Like the air I’m breathing (by niamcuddles): 81,307 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Summary: Niall is four years younger than Liam and he is sick of being the little brother, that is until Liam suddenly finds a girlfriend and cuts Niall out of his life completely.
Now we are (by niamcuddles): 143,082 words/15 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: Liam’s kind of keeping a busy schedule right now, his whole life seems to basically only consist of work and studying, so what he really can’t need at this time are friends who constantly want to hang out, but above that, 19 year ole uni students who can’t take no as an answer.
For what it’s worth (by niamcuddles): 120,800 words/10 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: Liam has trouble figuring out his life and what he really can’t stand are loud, talkative and clingy people, but he would’ve never thought that getting rid of Niall could be this hard.
Something I need (by niamcuddles): 87,735 words/5 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Summary: 16 years is a very long time, but Niall still remembers all the things he and Liam have gone through together
❤️Gramander (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Original Percival Graves x Newt Scamander): I honestly don’t remember how I stumbled into this couple fandom but they do have several great fics. For some reason I only bookmark this one though.
Here We Are (by Miss_Lv): 22,177 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Mpreg
Summary: Percival had long given up on the idea that he would find an omega mate, he ver seemed to fit what they were seeking in a husband, always too rough, not gentle enough. But then he meets Newt Scamander and the omega is utterly perfect to him, with his shy smiles and tendency to run headlong into danger. Catching vipers in his hands and keeping nifflers for company, Newt is nothing like the typical demure omega and Percival is lost before he can even think to resist.
❤️Jack O’Neill x Daniel Jackson (Stargate SG-1): Like I don’t even know their ship name for real…
I Walk Alone...No More (by Joy): 17,955 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Daniel finds love in another universe. Quantum Mirror Story.
Even though it was not original Daniel and original Jack ending up together, but in the end it was still Jack and Daniel, and I was happy with the ending.
Pulling Threads (by Joy): 13,241 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Daniel’s place in the world seems to be going nowhere. After what happened with The Others, sending him back, he’s got some thinking to do about what happens next. Does he go to Atlantis, forget about Earth? Or stay at the SGC in a role he’s not entirely sure is his. Then Jack invites him to dinner and his future is changed forever.
Civilians (by LadyRa): 46,557 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: AU ending to Point of View. What if the AU Samantha hadn’t been willing to let go of Jack?
Instinct (by AuroraNova): 27,783 words/10 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Daniel Jackson is an unconventional, career-focused omega. It’s going to take one special alpha to win him over. Jack O’Neill is determined to be that alpha.
Strange Interlude (by ELG): 228,960 words/4 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Daniel discovers that in other universes not only the uniforms are different… Jack and Daniel’s friendship has been under strain for some time but when Daniel is kidnapped by an AU Teal’c very different from our own, it’s up to Jack to save him. An AU Jack, however, complicates the situation considerably.
❤️Chris Evans x Sebastian Stan (I ship Stucky so as a matter of fact, I ship the actors as well)
Sugar Daddy (by orphan_account): 91,139 words/17 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Sebastian is a broke and abandoned college kid trying to scrape up enough money to pay for rent and tuition. When he meets Chris, an accomplished architect who takes him under his wing, he doesn’t understand what his friends keep calling him until he looks it up for himself.
❤️Harringrove (Stranger Things: Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)
Bite Your Tongue And Choke Yourself To Sleep (by trashcangimmick): 21,173 words/5 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Steve is going to grad school in Chicago. Life is comfortable. Life is stable. Steve is doing great and he really wishes everyone would stop asking.
Set the Record Straight (by MischiefManaged97): 35,054 words/14 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Steve was a little nervous about making things right with Billy after their fight. Steve just wants to apologize and relax, but Billy may have other ideas.
You’re the best I’ve ever had; you’re the worst I’ve ever had (and thet keeps fuckin’ with my head) (by determinedlove): 52,697 words/14 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Mpreg, Intersex
Summary: Steve Harrington loved his status in the world and his life. He had great friends and babysat two amazing kids (but don’t tell them he said that). So what if he couldn’t sleep in his room sometimes because the house was just too damn big and the quiet didn’t help keep the nightmares at bay. So what if the new guy at school was everything he had been warned away from? He could play the game just as well as he could. But then Will goes missing. And the new guy proves to be everything people warned him about and so much more when no one else is around.
❤️Namjin (BTS: Kim Namjoon (RM) x Kim Seokjin (Jin)): These two are just so adorable together.
Pack Mentality (by resonae): 9,452 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Namjoon is possessive.
The Professor’s Wife (by EquinoxSolstice): 12,163 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Summary: Everybody knew Professor Kim was already married. It was actually the first thing they asked the man during the first day of classes, with one brave student asking the question out loud for everyone to hear. The older man responded with deep dimples and a raised left hand, letting everyone see the plain, silver band glittering on his ring finger. But, as one Jeon Kungkook found out, they were all completely, terribly wrong. What? The Professor didn’t say he had a wife.
Why Three is Better Than Two (by lulublue1234): 35,298 words/23 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: Seokjin is a bit of a stalker. Smitten with a Father-son duo. Where Yoongi is the most adorable child ever created.
The Shaman and the Exorcist (by metastacia): 145,258 words/20 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: Seokjin doesn’t believe in ghosts. Which would cause a huge uproar if everyone knew since he’s kind of a big deal at his university; he’s a shaman who protects people from evil spirits. He doesn’t remember where he got the idea to do this from, all he knows is that superstitious people pay good money. Namjoon does believe in ghosts. Better yet, he can see them and he can expel them. But there’s a certain honey shaman at his university who’s stealing all his clients in his exorcism business, and he’s not happy about it because haunted people pay good money. So, what do they do? Figure out whose closet is holding all the skeletons, of course.
Fate Led Me To You (Now Let me Love You) (by MinMinnieMin): 58,382 words/15 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Mature
Summary: Seokjin did not believe he’d ever have a happy ending. How many happy endings did you ever hear an unmated Omega with a child have? But fate is a funny thing. What’s meant to be will always find its way. And Kim Namjoon tries his best to get Seokjin to see that. Because of fate, they found each other.
❤️Broyo (Prodigal Son: Gil Arroyo x Malcolm Bright): I seem to have a soft spot for couples with noticeable age difference
To be Normal (by holyfudgemonkeys (erraticallyinspired)): 70,399 words/26 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Mpreg
Summary: Malcolm has a terrible encounter while out trying to be ‘normal’ and get roofied. He doesn’t report it and tries to move on but winds up pregnant. He turns to Gil for support who is there with open arms. As they work through the choices Malcolm has to make and Gil is just there more and more their relationship evolves into something more intimate and romantic than either of them could ever have planned for.
❤️Hannor (Detroit: Become Human: Hank Anderson x Connor): Again, another couple with considerable age difference
Arrival (by coffee666): 83,075 words/7 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Hank just wanted help around the house for Cole. He never expected such a goofy thing that laughed and hummed and protected Cole with all of his being. Connor is not like other androids - but neither of them truly know how deep those differences go.
The Opposite Life (by Speckeh): 38,612 words so far
Status: Incompleted (9/10 chapters)
Rating: Explicit
Summary: 17 years and 9 months ago, Connor decided to start his own family, alone. He falls in love with the voice sample of Donor 55719, as the mysterious man talks about a mundane life. It’s everything he wished for. After 17 years of loving the two minute voice sample that fathered his children, what will Connor do when that voice suddenly appears in his life?
By Default//By Design (by Make_It_Worse): 9,211 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Connor, an overworked clothing designer, who is also a huge brat. Hank, an HK800 android model, who isn’t having any of it.
❤️Hannigram (Hannibal: Hannibal Lecter x Will Graham)
With a Crown of Stars (by thehoyden): 33,536 words/7 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: When the call connects, Will says, “I know what kind of crazy I am, but I’m not this kind of crazy.”
“Will?” Dr. Lecter says.
“Yes, hi, sorry,” Will says. “It’s me. There’s a baby on my porch.”
Taken for Rubies (by emungere): 76,842 words/20 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Crossdressing, Feminization
Summary: Will invites Hannibal over for dinner. Hannibal brings him wine and flowers. A dissection of their pasts and the slow convergence of their domestic lives.
❤️Rinch (Person of Interest: John Reese x Harold Finch)
Pallas’s Rosefinch (by elbowsinsidethedoor): 55,536 words/25 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics
Summary: Harold needs John. John needs Harold. And that’s the way I like it!
Difficult To Name aka Titles Are Difficult (by elbowsinsidethedoor): 51,710 words/17 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: John is a retired pro who comes back for a special client. For those who fear a BDSM themed story, please note that this is a tender love story.
Milk and Cream (by hallulawy): 33,388 words/6 chapters
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Out-of-character
Summary: Story between John (Alpha, 35, general practitioner) and Harold (Omega, 27-ish, entrepreneur, five-month-pregnant). They are not married (yet).
❤️Noah Reid x Dan Levy (They play Patrick and David in Schitt’s Creek if you don’t know)
Fries Before Guys (by wildxwired): 29,065 words/1 chapter
Status: Completed
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Six weeks ago, Home (on a) Plate showed up in front of the MTV building in West Hollywood and started providing the locals with quite possibly the most amazing and inventive variations of grilled cheese sandwiches and cheese fries every Monday and Thursday, between the hours of 12 and 2. It wasn’t just the melt -in-the-mouth gooey goodness that had people clambering around the truck, or the insanely fair prices that were usually nowhere to be found on the rest of the street food in LA, but the fact that this was all served up by some hazel eyed specimen with the forearms of a god probably didn’t hurt either.
#star trek#star trek aos#spirk#spock#jim kirk#hotchreid#Criminal Minds#aaron hotchner#spencer reid#one direction#niam#liam payne#niall horan#gramander#percival graves#newt scamander#stargate sg1#jack o'neill#daniel jackson#broyo#gil arroyo#malcolm bright#bts#namjin#kim namjoon#kim seokjin#harringrove#billy hargrove#steve harrington#chris evans
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Sun Touched Chapter 1: A mage, a warrior, and a dwarf
Alistair watched her out of the corner of his eye as she walked into the ancient stone ruins. No, she didn’t walk – she prowled. Dark eyes shifting constantly, wary, hesitant, not trusting that something didn't lurk in the shadows of the toppled stone. Her leather clad fingers fidgeted nervously, just itching for an excuse to rip her daggers from the sheathes strapped to her back and he was sure there were other blades concealed elsewhere on her body.
Alistair swallowed a little thickly in between his verbal sparring with the mage as she filled up the space next to them. He could feel the tension rolling off her like a tidal wave, but it was no match for his own, as he tried in vain to keep his gaze from flicking to her. He could only pray that she wouldn’t notice his distraction. She didn’t; she was too engrossed with her examination of their surroundings.
A mage, a warrior, and a dwarf walked into an elven ruin – it sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. He shook his head to drown out his inner idiot, playing it off as minor annoyance when the mage exited the conversation in a huff. He was forced to turn his attention to her now. There wasn’t another person to pretend to be engaged with.
Alistair was awkward at the best of times, but around women he was utterly hopeless. He was vaguely aware of saying something stupid about the Blight bringing people together and she frowned deeply, cocking her head slightly in appraisal, sending his stomach plummeting to his feet. Maker, he wished the earth would open up and swallow him.
She was slow to respond, but he didn’t rush her - too mortified of saying something equally ridiculous. Instead he studied her: dark hair braided halfway down her back, the rich brown a match to her fathomless eyes, a trio of geometric tattoos in black stamped across her cheeks and down her left eyelid. But the starkness of the marks on her fair skin were offset by a generous, full mouth that very suddenly pulled into a quick smile. Her eyes flashed with amusement, the gold hoop in her nose glinting with the movement. Alistair’s heart raced at the impish quality that expression lent her face.
Shit, shit, shit.
“You are a very strange human. Not entirely wrong…just strange.” Her gravelly voice washed over him, the raggedness falling from such lovely lips surprising him, yet still alluring in its huskiness. Alistair smirked and tried to keep his tone light.
“You are not the first to tell me that.” She snorted and crossed her arms over her bosom that wasn’t fully contained by the layers under her leathers and he swallowed hard again.
“So…you’re Duncan’s new recruit?”
“Call me Sirra. You are Alistair?” He nodded and held out his hand to shake hers. She leaned back, wary again, and he quirked an eyebrow at her hesitancy. Taking a deep breath, Sirra lowered her arms and cautiously extended her hand to his, but she gripped him higher around the forearm instead of his hand and gave him a single, firm shake before releasing him. Nervously, she tucked a nonexistent strand of hair behind her ear out of habit and refused to meet his eyes.
“Right,” Alistair cleared his throat, trying to ignore the heat on his arm where her gloved fingers recently touched him. “Let’s go meet the rest of the recruits. Duncan has a task for us.” She merely nodded and fell into step with him. He noticed that she fell behind him when they walked down the second ramp depositing them back into the main camp. She was trying valiantly to keep up with his long stride on her shorter legs and he cursed himself mentally for being an ass, immediately reining in his steps so she could keep up.
Sirra was flushed when she reached his side again. He shot her a small smile and muttered an apology, but she dismissed it with a shrug. They reached the center of camp where Duncan and the others awaited them. The Warden-Commander quickly informed them of their task for the evening before the Joining could take place that night and then they were off to scour the Wilds for darkspawn blood and mysterious Warden treaties.
It was Alistair’s first time with any of the recruits in battle and he was nervous how they would work as a team since he didn’t already know their strengths and weaknesses. He knew that Ser Jory was a seasoned warrior and Duncan had raved about Sirra’s prowess with her daggers in his letter, but Daveth was an unknown. Oh, well – he could pick up the slack, if he needed to.
No sooner had they entered the dense forest outside the camp then a pack of starving wolves descended on them and he heard Sirra suck in a shocked gasp, but she kept her wits. A flick of her wrist and one of the hidden blades he suspected she carried flew into a wolf’s eye, taking it down instantly and tripping a couple animals that followed. The four of them made short work of the beasts. Daveth and Sirra used stealth and brutal backstabs in vital organs to debilitate and the warriors finished what they started with massive swings and slamming shield.
Yanking her throwing knife from the first animal, the dwarven woman wiped down her blade and used the time to collect herself. None of the men said anything – afraid of embarrassing her, or worse, making her so angry they found themselves staring at the pointy end of her weapon. Once it was tucked back into place, she finally turned and blew out a shaky breath.
“What. The. Fucking. Ancestors. Were. Those?” It was the first time Alistair heard her break up her words, as she tended to string them together, and they sounded harsh in her low pitch. Her barely concealed fear was obvious.
Daveth barked out a laugh and then stopped when no one joined in and he stared at her in shock. “You’re serious? She’s serious?!” He turned to each of them taking in Ser Jory’s uncomfortable blush and Alistair’s glare as understanding dawned and he looked at Sirra sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I-I thought you were a surface dwarf…”
She shook her head and crossed her arms defensively, nervously swaying from one foot to the other. Ser Jory was the first to find his tongue in the awkward silence. “Wolves, my lady. They roam wild places like this and hunt in packs.”
Sirra frowned. “Wolves.” She rolled the strange word around her mouth and bent down to examine one more closely. “They kinda look like the beasts in camp…same teeth.” The dwarf shivered a bit and stepped back from the sharp canines, as though expecting one to still bite in death.
Alistair shook his head and reassured her. “No, the war hounds only bite enemies. They are loyal and domesticated. These are wild creatures and will attack anything.”
“Okay. Good to know.” She finished wiping down her main daggers and re-sheathed them without making eye contact with her human companions. “Let’s keep going. I don’t want to make us fall behind.”
Alistair studied her closely during their foray into the forest. He realized belatedly, like Daveth, that she would have no concept of life above ground and he wondered what would cause her to leave Orzammar. The surface must be completely alien to her. He watched her jump at the whistle of a bird or howl of a wolf and it opened his eyes to see the world the way she did. Her eyes flicked to the sky and he noticed her nauseated expression which lead to her occasional need to steady herself against a tree trunk. Curiously, she examined the crumbled bits of bark left in her glove after pressing heavily on the loose tree casing. Sometimes she stared into the branches, following stray patterns of light that the sun cast through the leaves into the murky undergrowth with her dark eyes.
Maker, how strange things looked to him now. No wonder she had been so hesitant when she entered the ruins earlier. Everything was foreign and untrustworthy until proven otherwise. It was hard to believe that until two weeks ago, she’d never seen the sun, never felt the wind on her skin, she didn’t have a word for ‘tree,’ much less an understanding of them.
Yet, when it came to combat, she was a whirlwind of flashing blades and grenades – a silent Mistress of Death. The men were careful to stay out of her way to avoid accidently coming too close to the woman’s fighting perimeter, as wolves and darkspawn alike fell under daggers. Alistair spun to help her with the final darkspawn archer on the ridge, but she planted her foot in the creature’s back and shoved it off her blades with a soft grunt. Slipping the vials Duncan provided from her pack, she quickly slit its wrist and filled the three vials with the thick, foul smelling blood. Smiling in approval at her, Sirra couldn’t help returning the grin as she stored the vials and continued their trek. He noticed that she didn’t even put her daggers away now, idly running her gloved fingers along the hilt, waiting for the next band of spawn to attack.
He was curious if she’d fought the creatures before or if they were new, too. Either way, she dashed fearlessly into the next group they came across, warning her companions of the traps that littered the ground. Reaching into a pouch on her belt, she tossed a handful of metal shards, triggering the line of traps across the bridge and disappeared into a cloud of smoke only to reappear behind the darkspawn mage.
Alistair barreled around the clumsy hurlock the others were capable of dispatching and ran to her aid. The emissary roared when her poisoned blades sank under his ribs, but before he could turn his fury on her, Alistair was there. Swinging his shield, he caught the darkspawn’s jaw with the edge of the hammered metal. The move stunned the creature and Sirra peppered it with jabs and cuts, twisting the daggers slightly with each removal so the wounds bled faster while Alistair swung his sword deeply along its front.
Even weak it fought tooth and nail, summoning a magical cage to snare the warrior and squeeze around him, seeking to crush the life from him. Alistair watched fretfully when the mage swung his staff and caught Sirra on the temple, sending her stocky frame skidding along the ground. The corrupted creature chuckled darkly covered in black blood, as his quarry struggled to regain her footing after the hit. She managed to rise and growled something he couldn’t make out. The mage shot a bolt of lightning at her and she was too slow to completely evade it, hissing as it scored her right side and tore through her leathers.
Where were the others? Maker damn it! He couldn’t move, he could barely breathe now, and that emissary was acting far too alive for his liking. A ball of fire erupted in the creature’s palm, but before it was able to lob it at his target, a throwing knife buried in its wrist and it screamed in surprise, fingers unclenching and dropping its staff. Of course, it could still cast, but it would be difficult for it to concentrate through the pain and in that moment the spell holding him broke. Alistair took a deep breath, but didn’t bother to chug a health potion before he rammed the spawn with his shield and knocked it to the ground, toppling with it in his weakened state. He managed to stay on top of it and hold it down, but he was too weak to do anything else.
Before the creature could regain its senses, Sirra was there and the sound of her honed blades whistling through the air sent a shiver down his spine.
“Alistair? Are you okay?”
He stared at her and the blood pooling near her hairline, smeared by her unmarked eye where she’d rubbed it with her hand and wondered why she was wheezing. He opened his mouth to reply and dark blood bubbled over his lips and he realized in some fuzzy part of his brain that he was the one struggling to breathe.
“Fuck! Hang on!”
He wanted to laugh at the way that crass word sounded coming from her pretty mouth, but the world was darkening around the edges of his vision and noises were quieter than before. Someone tilted his head back and forced him to drink something – Maker, it was bitter! Who in the Void distilled that ale? They should be fired – immediately.
His body was gently eased down and he landed on something soft and warm and he was tempted to give in to the darkness, until the warmth of the potion flared in his broken body. His ribs realigned and the puncture in his lung began to knit itself together before suddenly stopping. He coughed when he breathed too deeply and spat another clot of blood as voices (damn, those were loud) demanded another drink. Ugh, no – he wanted to protest, but words failed him and yet again he was forced to drink more bitter plonk.
The heat was back, chasing away the chill he’d been tempted to give in to, and finished repairing the extensive damage caused by the emissary’s cage. Alistair’s hearing attuned first and he could hear the sounds of birds singing in the distance as he slid his hand up to his chest, breathing deeply to make sure there was no pain. He released the breath slowly with a quiet sigh of relief. It took a couple extra heart beats before he realized his head was laying in someone’s lap causing his breath to hitch again.
Nervously, he cracked his eyes open and met Sirra’s concerned gaze. He smiled wanly and tried to sit up, but the world was still wobbly and she gently pressed him back down and shook her head sadly.
“Be still. You may be a warrior, but you aren’t indestructible. By the Stone! You know that you are crazy, don’t you?”
He chuckled weakly and gave a listless shrug. “Couldn’t let you get roasted on your first day.” Her lips quirked at the corners and she glanced away quickly, but she gave his hand a tight squeeze.
“Thank you,” she breathed so quietly he almost missed it. A new kind of warmth suffused him then and sent wriggles of anxiety deep in his gut. From his current angle, he noted her feminine nose and jawline and traced her tattoos with his eyes. A broken ‘s’ on her right cheek, a rectangular bar ending in a sideways ‘g’ on her left cheek, underneath an obelisk pointing into her hairline and extending under her eye, with a small ‘g’ shaped open space over her eyebrow. She had to be tough as shit to sit through that one.
Her beauty was edged with danger with those unconventional markings, but it was there and Maker, he found himself willingly ensnared by her deadly mien. It seemed he was not immune to the allure of danger when it wore a pretty face and fought like a rabid marbari.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered. This time when he sat up the world was only slightly off-kilter and he needed to regain his distance from her soft curves and gentle touch. Once he was standing, he extended a hand to help her rise and caught sight of the dried blood still on her face. It had been shadowed when he was on the ground and in his state, he’d forgotten about her own injury. Now he frowned softly and lightly touched the side of her head with his fingertips. Sirra hissed and jerked her head away from the contact. He shook his head with a quiet ‘tsk’ and passed her one of his own potions. She nodded in thanks and swallowed it quickly, not even grimacing at the taste and tossed the bottle in the bushes.
The others rejoined them now that he had collected his weapons and they continued up the incline to the ruins on the hill where Duncan was sure the Warden treaties were stashed. They all groaned to see the next band of darkspawn milling around the crumbling building, but readied themselves. This time, Alistair issued orders for a plan of attack – the warriors would focus on the alpha and the rogues would concentrate on the closest archers. Once the alpha was down the warriors would join them. Thankfully there wasn’t an emissary in this group, but no one wanted any more surprises.
It worked pretty well. Daveth snuck behind an archer and slit his throat with a single deep slash, freeing him to move onto the next one, so Sirra stole to the archers flanking them while the warriors handled the alpha. Ser Jory was a master of the two-handed sword – his final upswing literally eviscerated the creature and by the time they rejoined the rogues, only two archers remained. In mere minutes the entire band of darkspawn were dead at their feet and they trudged towards the section of the dilapidated outpost marked on Duncan’s map.
They found the area indicated and had to dig the chest out from under some ancient rubble. Alistair sighed in frustration to find that the chest was empty, most likely looted hundreds of years ago. A throaty chuckle bounced around the stone and a raven-haired woman wearing clothes so skimpy they could hardly be called such emerged from the shadows. His templar training sized her up in an instant; a hand carved staff, the formidable surge of her aura pressing on the Veil – an apostate and a powerful one.
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, listening as she honed in on Sirra and they bantered back and forth in a duel of witty words. “Don’t answer. She looks Chasind. That means barbarians could be nearby.”
The apostate scoffed with a sneer, but did not even deign to look at him when she replied. “Ooooo, you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?”
Alistair crossed his arms defiantly. “Yes. Swooping is bad.” Sirra shot him a bemused glance and he flushed slightly, realizing how ridiculous he sounded. Maybe she would blame his injury for addling his brain – he could only hope.
The woman – Morrigan – revealed that her mother was in possession of the scrolls and after some debate it was decided that they would go with her to reclaim them. Her mother seemed like a crazy old bat and he didn’t give her much credence, only remembering to thank her for keeping the treaties safe when she told them the seal wore off a long time ago. The old woman had Morrigan escort them back to the edge of the army’s camp and the four of them re-entered the barricaded site with a shared sigh of relief.
Duncan smiled approvingly when Sirra passed him the vials and Alistair showed him the treaties. The Warden-Commander sent a runner to alert the Circle mages to prepare for the Joining and intoned gravely that it was almost time for them to commence with the ritual that would see them finally become Wardens. Alistair suppressed a shiver and tried to ignore the clenching around his heart – he knew what was coming and he did not relish it for any of them. Sirra bravely told Duncan that she was not afraid and was ready for whatever came next and he swallowed hard, avoiding eye contact with them. With her.
“Alistair, take them to the ritual site.” Alistair only nodded and waved them to follow him. Maker, hear my cry – don’t let her die. Please…for me.
#dragon age#dragon age origins#dragon age fanfiction#original wip#original oc#my writing#alistair theirin#sirra brosca#alistair x warden#alistair x brosca#Alistair x Sirra
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Fictober 2019 - Day 20 with special guests: Day 19, Day 18 and Day 15
From The Fictober 2019 event <3
Prompt 20 : “You could talk about it, you know?”
Prompt 19 : “Yes, I admit it, you were right.”
Prompt 18 : “Secrets? I love secrets.”
Prompt 15 : “That’s what I’m talking about! ”
Fandom : Star Trek: Voyager, Skyrim
Words : 3,551
Warnings : light gore and mention of blood and body horror
Day 20, 19, 18, and 15 - Vorik x Modern!OC
With a loud whoosh the flames from my hands extinguished as the last vampire collapsed in a heap of ashen clothes. The cavern plunged into near-total darkness again save for the flickering torch on the stone floor that Vorik had been carrying until we were ambushed. One fairly short fight later showed them this coven never stood a chance. I shook out my still smoking hands and blew on them. “Damn, that will never get old. It's still so cool!”
“Technically, it would be hot,” my companion said dryly, nudging a set of black robes near the entrance with the toe of his boot. A dagger clinked onto the limestone and he bent to pick it up and inspect it.
I was already heading towards the line of cupboards and bookcases along one roughhewn wall to rummage through them. “‘Cool' is human vernacular, you know, for when things are—”
“Yes, I am familiar with the terminology.” I heard the clatter of metal from behind me. Dagger must not have been up to his standards, I thought with a smile.
“Oh, so you're just being facetious,” I laughed.
Vorik fixed me with a somewhat smug look. “Yes.”
“Jerk,” I said with a smile.
Returning to my grand work pulling out drawers, I had to marvel at the little details that didn’t exist when I would play Skyrim on my computer. Where before I would “Press A to open” things and get a list of goods inside, I now had to work at finding anything worth looking for. I pulled out a rough linen dress from the bottom drawer and shook it out. I was rewarded by a puff of dust and the clatter of lockpicks on the rocks. One thing was for sure. This certainly felt a lot more like stealing now that I had to dig through physical objects to take things.
I grabbed the little coin purse tucked in the corner and turned around to search for the lockpicks I’d inadvertently spilled all over the floor, but my friend was ahead of me.
As Vorik extended his hand to give me the lockpicks, I noticed a streak of dark green on the inside of his arm.
I gasped. “Vorik! Are you bleeding?”
Appearing to notice it for the first time, the Vulcan inspected his forearm, loosening his leather braces so he could pull the shirt back. There, standing out stark against his pale yellow skin, thick dark green blood oozed out of two long jagged claw-like nicks. “Curious,” he murmured. “Are the safeties off?”
“They shouldn't be,” I replied slowly. “Computer? Status of holodeck safety protocols, please.”
An acknowledgment beep sounded in bizarre contrast to our surroundings from somewhere in the depths of the limestone vampire den. Then the robotic voice answered, “Holodeck Safety Protocols are still in effect.”
“Okay, thank you.”
We looked at each other.
“This wound is not real, then.”
“Looks pretty real,” I said doubtfully, reaching out to take his arm. But I stopped short and kept my hands to myself. “Does it feel real?”
Vorik glanced at me through his eyelashes. “Perhaps you should look away.”
“Why?”
“You're squeamish,” he said as though it should have been obvious.
I shrugged. “Whatever. It's not my blood.”
His eyebrow rose but he didn't say anything else before he grabbed his wrist with his other hand and squeezed. More blood seeped from the wounds running in long drips down his arm. A little gush shot into the air.
He was right. I should have turned away.
“What the fu—Oh, gross,” I choked before I clamped my mouth shut and spun around so my lunch wouldn't come up next. Even though on some level, I knew that our bodies acted differently despite looking very similar on the surface, I still wasn’t prepared for that. I don’t think I would ever have been prepared for blood spurts. My stomach churned.
“It does feel real,” I heard him say, his tone completely indifferent, “and it is acting real as well.”
“Well jus—ggkkh. Stop playing with it and just take care of it, will you?”
Unable to stand there without imagining more blood spurting from his arm, I wandered away towards the mouth of the cavern. It opened up into a long, steep passageway that led outside. It would take some time to walk but I knew that’s where it went. So whether the air was actually cooler or better circulated, or I just imagined it was, being at the passage helped clear the dizziness somewhat. I certainly felt less like I would pass out, leaning against the rocky wall.
After a few minutes, Vorik joined me, his mouth turned in that slight secretive sort of smile that always killed me. “I did warn you to look away.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just so you know, we should find an herbalist or an apothecary as soon as we get back into town. You should have a Potion of Cure Disease on hand.” He looked over at me quizzically, so I clarified: “In case you get vampirism.”
This time my companion scoffed. “I cannot contract vampirism. I'm Vulcan.”
“What's that got to do with anything?” I laughed. “You think you're immune? Why? Because your blood is green or because your ears are already pointy? You were nicked with a vampire's claws, which means you can contract vampirism. Those are the rules of Skyrim set down by our lord and savior, Todd Howard.”
I felt more than I saw his eye roll. Together we ventured back into the gloom of the hallway. The torch in Vorik’s hand cast leaping shadows over the jagged limestone walls as we made out ascent.
“I am certain I cannot contract vampirism. This program was not made for my kind, the default avatar setting is human. And vampires can only be human, as they are human legends.”
“Uh-huh. Sure. Sounds an awful lot like more speculation than a logical assumption, my dude. You don’t have to take my advice if you don’t want to, but you’d better stay away from my neck!”
***
“Computer, end program,” Vorik said into the air. No sooner had the acknowledgment sounded than the world shimmered and disappeared around us. My house in Riften was replaced by the reflective metal and crosshatching, bonelike metal bars of the holodeck. Vorik’s armor and most of my own, with the exception of Gilmorrak and my belt, disappeared, replaced by our civilian clothes.
“Hey, how’s your arm, by the way?”
He unbuttoned the clasp at the cuff and rolled up the sleeve of his grey tunic. He twisted his forearm left and right for me to see. There was no trace of any blood now. No evidence that he’d been harmed at all.
“Evidently it was part of the holodeck program.”
I shook my head. “That’s weird though because I’ve been straight up stabbed and shot with arrows until I looked like a pin cushion and I still never bled. It’s got to be a vital part of the programming, dude.”
“It is strange,” he agreed, “but it shouldn’t be of any concern. The wound is gone now. It was likely an oversight on the part of Mr. Kim or Mr. Paris. Perhaps something about translating such an ancient game to the holodeck.”
I ignored his jab at Skyrim and flashed him a smile. “Unless you become a vampire in the next couple of days,” I said.
“I will not become a vampire.”
I shook my head at him and sighed as he led me towards the door. I was always a little sad to leave Skyrim, or any of the holodeck programs, honestly, but my crewmates needed time to play. If I didn’t have that pang of guilt and unfairness hanging over my head, I would be way too content to stay on a holodeck forever. It always astounded me while watching the show: How could these people have this technology and not want to be there all their lives?
“Can a person live in a holodeck program?” I asked as we exited. I recognized the next two eager adventurers as Ensigns from security, so I waved while Vorik nodded to them.
“No, so you should never try it,” Vorik said, catching on easily to my line of thought. He did that a lot. I guess I was just a simple sort of creature. “Most holodeck programs are not equipped for sustained use,” he went on, “You would drain the reactors quickly. And while some holodecks utilize food replicators, like our own, this is not true for each one. Non-starship decks tend to use lower grade protein synthesizers since holographic meals are not meant to be the staple of one’s diet. These would have negligible nutritional value and you would eventually waste away.”
“You’re a spoilsport.”
“And you would kill yourself chasing fantasy as a coping mechanism. Problems, even your emotional ones, should be faced head on. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
I stopped dead in the hallway and gaped at him. Vorik had continued several paces before he realized I was no longer beside him. He looked around expectantly, his hands clasped behind him, but my brain had 404-ed.
“Did you just…?” A smile crept onto my face. “Did you just… quote Albus mcfreakin’ Dumbledore at me?”
Vorik stared at me blankly.
“You did, didn’t you? You thought I wouldn’t catch it, but you did! You read it??”
Vorik’s eyes closed for a half a second longer than normal as he took a deep breath. His gaze cast downward for a moment as if resigning himself before he looked at me again. “Yes, I did—”
I rushed him and grabbed him by the arms, grinning from ear to ear now. “You did? You did! Ohmygosh! You have to tell me what you think. What part are you at? How far have you gotten? Were you planning on reading through all of them or were you just trying out the first one? Are you finished with it? Please—ohmygod—tell me everything!”
Appearing both bemused and like he had just realized he’d made a horrible mistake, my Vulcan friend led me towards the mess hall, succinctly answering my questions as rapidly as I fired them off.
***
“You don’t look too good,” I told Vorik as I set my bowl of spaghetti down at our table in the corner of the mess several days later. It was quiet, halfway between a midshift, and the hall was all but empty save for a handful of people and one Vulcan with his head in his hands.
At my voice, he sat up straight and blinked whatever it was bothering him away. “I am fine.”
“You look pale. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
Fork in hand, he started picking at his food. “I just need to meditate,” he mumbled.
I nodded and spun my own fork in my noodles idly for a few heartbeats. But like so many somewhat intrusive thoughts, I couldn’t keep it in my brain, and I opened my mouth to say conspiratorially, “Unless.”
“Giana,” Vorik warned, closing his eyes.
“Is the vampirism making you peakish?”
“I am not a vampire.”
“Sounds exactly like the sort of thing a vampire would say,” I replied, jutting out my lip in a face of disbelief. “But seriously, you could talk about it, you know. The actual thing that’s bothering you, I mean, not your unfortunate illness.”
Vorik rolled his eyes at me and continued to push his food around his tray. Even that he gave up after a few moments with a sigh and a shake of his head. “I haven’t been able to sleep. Or allocate the proper time to meditate. I keep going over our run-in with mining colony virus. There has to be something else we could have done, without leaving the captain to take care of herself.”
I barely suppressed a shudder at the mention of the nasty bugs that solidified my now-very-rational fear of anything insect-like. Doing what I did best, I covered it with humor. “Are you not sleeping at night because your new lifestyle requires you to sleep during the day?” He opened his mouth like he was going to chastise me, so I quickly added, “Captains are supposed to be able to take care of things themselves, that’s why they’re captains. Besides, there wasn’t anything else you could have done. We all did our best! We didn’t know we were being attacked. I can’t believe I, of all people, have to tell you this, but agonizing over it isn’t logical.”
“Perhaps not. But analyzing a situation where I believe my abilities to have failed me for the purposes of self-reflection and to ensure it does not happen again, is.”
I waved my fork around and shrugged. “If it makes you feel better, I’m mad at myself too for forgetting that stupid episode happened. Must’ve blocked it out. Those things were so nasty. And I bet if we weren’t all so caught off guard maybe we woulda thought of the holodeck trick too. I dunno, just be glad the captain came back when she did and don’t lose your head over it. I don’t want you to spiral out of control with your analysis, my dude.”
“I will not. I am not you.”
“Ouch.”
A new person joined us at the table. Their tray clattered next to mine and I turned to find Harry grinning at me. Instantly, I beamed back. His smile was always so infectious.
“Hey guys. What’s goin’ on over here?”
“Nothing,” Vorik said.
“It’s a secret.” I said over him.
“Secrets?” chimed a new voice, “I love secrets.” Tom sat on Harry’s other side and almost immediately began shoveling his mashed potatoes into his mouth as soon as his tray was down. “Do tell.”
“There is nothing going on,” Vorik repeated, his voice a little tighter. “There are no secrets. Giana is being impossible.”
“Vorik is turning into a vampire!” I said in a rush. Vorik folded his hands in front of his face and fixed me with a Vulcan’s closest approximation to a glare. I smiled and nudged his boot under the table with my own. He didn’t respond.
Harry, however, did. He lowered his spoon from his face, looking stricken, and fixed me with a very serious look. “Giana! We…we don’t say things like that around here…”
What?
My eyes widened as I realized what he was trying to say. “Oh! No! Just ‘cause the- skin and th-the pointy— No, nonononono. We were playing Skyrim together the other day and he was scratched by a vampire’s claws so I’ve been teasing him, that’s all! It’s not—no!”
Finally, Vorik looked satisfied and returned my kick under the table. Then it was my turn to glare at him.
“Oh. Good,” Harry sighed, clearly relieved he was spared a lesson in microaggressions, “I was going to say… I’d be surprised if that’s what it was coming from you.”
I ate my spaghetti in silence, hoping Vorik never thought that’s what I ever meant. Maybe I was laying it on a bit too thick, bringing up his vampire-hood every so often over the last couple of days. I really did just think I was being funny, but now I wasn’t so sure. Maybe I was just being a huge asshole.
“So you were hit by a vampire, huh?” Tom asked, bringing the conversation back. “Harry and I cleared out a den by Morthal for the Thaneship not too long ago. Harry wants to build the house.”
“I just think it’ll be better than all the pre-built ones!”
“Anyway, he had to chug two Potions of Cure Disease. He caught vampirism one right after the other.” Tom laughed and wolfed down the last of his steamed vegetables. “You end up bleeding?”
Vorik arched an eyebrow and glanced at me before warily answering, “Yes.”
Tom pulled an apologetic face. “Mmm, yup. You’re a vampire now.”
“Yes! I knew it!”
“But I am Vulcan,” Vorik said over me, “How can I become a vampire from Human folklore?”
Tom shrugged. “It’s all in the coding. It’s not that you’ll become human or anything, it’s just that the aspects of vampirism will be overlaid onto your Skyrim avatar and all the buffs and debuffs will apply. Think of it like a…a filter. A vampire filter.”
“See, no that’s what I was talking about; it had a purpose. Tom had to reinterpret the original game. Making you appear to bleed was probably just the indication that you caught something, otherwise, you’d never know because we don’t really have a convenient way to check our status. And you said it was probably nothing. Everything has a reason.”
Tom nodded.
I slurped the rest of my spagetti from the bowl and pushed it aside. “You ready to go back and get cured?” I asked Vorik. I wanted to get him alone again, maybe to keep talking to him about the virus or maybe make sure he didn’t think I was being rude. But I couldn’t keep one more from coming out. “The sooner you’re cured, the sooner the UV lights will stop burning your skin.”
“Will your vampire jokes cease when I am cured?”
I smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, probably.”
“Then absolutely.”
***
The holodeck hummed to life and the blank room started being filled with materializing objects. Vorik fidgeted with his sleeve and sure enough, once the front room of our Riften house came into focus, the bandage seeping dark green blood reappeared as well. Hopefully taking care of the vampirism would take care of the uncanny wound that was not really a wound as well.
“First thing’s first. Let’s find an apothecar—eee!” As soon as he looked at me, I recoiled back. “Vorik…your eyes…”
He barely looked like himself in the torchlight. His face was sunken and shadowed and his dark eyes had been nearly swallowed by blackness from the irises out through the whites of his eyes. Black vein-like lines spread from his sunken sockets like a sickness, reaching towards his cheekbones in a spiderweb of tendrils. I could see now how vampires could be considered completely terrifying.
“Holy shit, dude.” I reached up and grazed the side of his face with fingertips, still looking in wonder at the vampiric effects that Tom and Harry had engineered. With a horrified realization it hit me that, yes, this is what a monstrous vampire should look like to an everyday person and I understood all the horror stories.
Vorik stiffened slightly as the pads of my fingers swept his temple and with a jolt in my stomach, I realized what I was doing and pulled my hand away.
“Do… Do you feel different? You look way different. How did I not notice this before??”
“It was dark the last time we played,” Vorik answered. He strode to the washbasin and peered into the spotted mirror above it. He prodded his skin and turned his head from side to side, admiring the reflection. “The detail is rather astounding, and the effect is…unsettling.”
“You can say that again. I very suddenly don’t want to be a vampire anymore myself.”
“I do not feel different,” Vorik continued as though he were observing the results of a particularly interesting experiment. “Perhaps because the sickness hasn’t been given time to spread?”
“Or just because you aren’t in the sun yet.”
“Fascinating.”
‘Fascinating’ though it might have been, I really wanted to get him taken care of. Though I didn’t remember Skyrim vampires looking like this (so maybe the blackness around his eyes wouldn’t stay) he was starting to creep me out just being in the same room. The effect it had on me when it wasn’t just pixels, when it was suddenly someone I knew, didn’t sit right in my brain. Not to mention that I would probably be really disturbed if I had to watch him feed off NPCs to keep his powers up.
Speaking of, I wondered if this meant that joining The Companions was out of the question for me now. If vampires looked this strange, imagine what if would feel like to be a werewolf. I shivered at the thought of my skin splitting and actually sprouting hair all over my body.
Nasty.
“Sooo…” I began in a nonchalant voice, wandering to the table and picking up an apple from a wooden bowl. “Is there something you wanna say to me, maybe?”
Vorik turned the full force of his unnerving face on me and I had to physically stop myself from recoiling by clutching the back of a chair.
He sighed. “Yes, yes. I admit it. You were right. I am a vampire.”
For the first time, I noticed as he spoke that the teeth that would have been his canines if he were a primate were far longer and sharper than they had been before. “Oh shit, you’re growing fangs too, dog. Yeah, let’s get you fixed up before you start thirsting for my blood.”
His expression as I darted out the door told me that, at this moment, he didn’t need to thirst after my blood in order to want to rip my head off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If anyone actually made it all the way down here, gosh, I love you and you’re great and I appreciate you and I hope you enjoyed my nonsense.
#fictober19#Star Trek: Voyager#Skyrim#Ensign Vorik#Vorik#Harry Kim#Tom Paris#Giana Moreno#OTP: Two Worlds Collided#Star Trek#Voy#Vorik x Giana#what can I say? just friends being friends#and I really wanted the vampires to be scarier so#idk#I'm also still not convinced this isn't garbage but whatever#I HOPE YOU ENJOYED ANYWAY#IF YOU READ IT THAT IS#Fiend writes
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trish and daphne
IF THEY HAD A KID MEME.
STATUS: NOPE.
Name: dakota kluger (yes, trish is very gladly taking daphne’s last name)
Gender: cis male
General Appearance: relatively short for his age, auburn hair waved long down his back into a ponytail he prefers to have braided, pale and thin. eyes are a very clear shade of almost translucent green. charmingly childish in expression, silently wide-eyed, leans toward ringer tees and oversized tees of every possible kinds. tends to lean toward blue and yellow, which often means favored yellow hi-tops, blue shirts of all kinds, the soft white-and-blue of faded jeans.
Personality: quiet but exuberant when addressed kindly or spoken to directly, dakota’s the kind of kid who gets along with the other children remarkably well for a natural sort of charisma he carries about him and an easy smile in spite of his childhood. he’s very prone to silliness and can be a little hyperactive when allowed, the sort who only really shines when faced with those he’s most comfortable around. an introvert at heart, however, he’d prefer to spend all day reading books and doodling. the sort of boy who gets invited to all the class birthdays, enthusiast of bowties and bright colors, perhaps too prone to coloring on the walls in bouts of excitement, art shared, need to confine it to the refrigerator. intelligent though not tremendously well-spoken, his vocabulary’s moderately impaired and he has an ear for making up words. genuinely surprisingly happy, he has a tendency to be shy in spite of himself when meeting new people, though shakes it off fairly quickly. educationally far behind other kids his age, this is supplemented with personal tutoring and painstaking attention from both parents that eventually allows him to catch up. trish learns his social situation, thankfully, is so beneficial because he was, at least, surrounded by other children. he has no shortage of fascination for people.
Special Talents: an excellent little artist with a talent for colors and a penchant for shapes, he does very well expressing words through images, a human game of pictionary. he’s very good at getting his points across expressively. he can also do a handstand, which he is tremendously proud of. a very patient listener though an active fidgeter, he can parrot back most anything said to him, and he’s always very very locked onto what’s being told to him. a very meticulous follower of instruction once he’s informed. can touch the tip of his nose with his tongue.
Who they like better: there is no such thing in the kluger household, no one or the other. daphne and trish have mostly equivalent understanding, as though dakota’s young, he’s not so young that it’s impossible for trish to understand. daphne is the less stern parent, though more likely to be a bit sterner when he’s out of hand at first, and trish, though good at deflecting, is regimented and a little tighter where scheduling is concerned. daphne is much beloved for being the one willing to follow just about any flight of fancy– the boy loves, loves, loves her and this indulgence is something so rewarding, the attention so lovely, that she returns it in spades. his favorite thing to do with daph, who is mommy, happens to be piano lessons, since daph knows loosely how to play fairly decently, and honestly he likes trying to make up melodious sounds. with trish, who is mama, he likes getting to finish drawings– she’ll sketch a line and he’ll complete it, and then she’ll do the next one, and on and on, until it makes a tangible shape or something like it. he has no preference– he knows only that these are his moms, and even if he misbehaves, even if he’s scolded for something, the important thing is he knows how loved he is.
Who they take after more: his charisma and willingness to speak, charm glowingly welcome, is all daphne, as are larger portions of his personality. he’s let her take point in most conversations, and learned from her how to inflect tone in ways that most would likely consider dramatic, mimicry of his more outgoing parent. while he’s definitely more like daphne in a social setting, his penchant for quiet alone time has been mostly learned– yes, learned– from trish. she reinforces the idea of being alone with yourself and it being okay, and as a result he has a very, very developed playroom that’s more or less filled with every activity imaginable. he likes reading best, and he’s a few grades above his level. he’s more than frequently found sneak-reading with a flashlight under the covers of his gratuitous spaceship bed, something both his parents let go for… at least twenty minutes.
Personal Head canon: one dark, dark, dark evening hellcat had headed down into the very forbidden sewers of the city (how many times had daph said she wouldn’t put up with a kitten trekking around in the refuse of new york) after hearing about an underground drug smuggling operation whispered above on the streets, courtesy of contacts and some very special super-hearing. she’d trekked through and through and through the labyrinth, and things had gotten stranger the further she went. it had started to look deliberate, labyrinthine. it had started to look like a place people were.
by the time she found this ludicrous structure of wooden boards and tin roofs, she’d skulked around, discovered a very small populace squatting down, down, down in the dark sewers with the biggest meth lab operation she’d ever seen, and by then? she’d certainly seen a lot. cowl radio had only half worked to drop a contact location to a police in, one acquired and shared with younger brother spidey, not so little anymore. a legal operation would arrive, but she’d wanted to get a head-start, case out the possibility of what was happening, the diversity of the operation.
it had turned out it was a village of sorts, of people trying to make a living off the mass production and the distribution of their product. a village filled with people, children, even, living lives far below the pay-grade of any child. trish had known that all too well all on her own, corralled the cluster of children, the small group, and begun to lead them outside as carefully as possible. the ruckus could wait– this was more important, and it seemed all the ‘grownups’ were busy doing what it was they did. she couldn’t fathom the understanding for why this operation had happened down there, though she was sure eventually she would find out.
the police raided the underground situation way deep down beneath the city itself, the underbelly of the place, and dragged out droves of people, adults tried for accounts of child endangerment, neglect, drug trafficking, the list went on.
and then the mighty hellcat went about contacting one alana stark, trying to be absolutely sure all these kids would have safe places to go. a sharp tug had accidentally sent the great cat toppling, tumbling over when she took two steps forward against the sudden force of her own step. dangercat not alert, not a thread, but a little boy, long hair and eyes a green not too unlike hers. he’d smiled at her warmly and then squeezed his arms around his middle shyly, asked in a small voice, h-e-double-hockey-sticks-cat? and the hero had turned over, not even gotten up, just rolled with a mouth full of bright, pointy fangs. h-e-double-hockey-sticks-cat the hero had said back, brightening the child’s smile.
throughout the overseeing process the little boy hadn’t let go of a clawed glove, small hand tightly squeezed in a palm. (she would learn from his time then with a child psychiatrist that he’d known about her, mythical cat hero over the aboveground, drawn outrageous little pictures, images, like she’d been the hero without ever knowing.) she’d watched alana make as many arrangements as possible– iron man, anyway. and once everything had been set, the boy’s smile dropped, and he’d looked down, maybe, maybe, maybe beginning to tear up. she’d knelt, pressed her hands into his, asked lightly, you okay, little man? his head shook. does something owch? another head shake.
big kitty.
she’d watched the other kids talk, seen them in little throngs and groups, watched how none had spoken to him, not really, but he’d stuck to her like glue the entire evening. logical, of course. spooked, new, though they hadn’t seemed mournful to be out.
so the cat had asked, soft and a little hopeful, do you maybe want to come have pancakes with me? for a little while. a wife to ask about it, of course, pancakes could not yet become home with. couldn’t just make such a decision without important input.
outside a manhattan diner, the cat watched the boy shred apart soft pancakes with his hands, tearing with little fingers into strips and dunking into syrup slathered all over a plate. he couldn’t be more than five years old, though she didn’t know for sure– not with that kind of malnutrition or deprivation to light. kept her eyes on him through the thin glass, still assured to pay attention.
i think he might’ve been the one who didn’t have anybody. i think he has a hard time with the other kids– i don’t know how it worked. it was fucked up. i think he hoped one day i would help, somehow. he knew who i was.
a beat in the silence and then daphne’s voice, why don’t you bring him home, hero?
Face Claim:
jacob tremblay!
#v: main: hero unburdened ❂ atlas self made#diamonds are forever. trish&daphne.#criminallyfamous#[THANKS FOR INDULGING ME RACHEL.]#worldsfinestspy
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Literature Spotlight Peering Into an Alien Mirror
Literature Spotlight: Peering Into an Alien Mirror
Literature Spotlight: Peering Into an Alien Mirror
Science fiction is one of my favorite genres. I love it (and I suspect many of its readers love it) because despite its trappings of the future, good science fiction is very much a reflection of the time period in which it is written. One of Sci-Fi's major draws for me is that it can highlight and discuss social issues that might be touchy to talk about in the present day. Through the skillful use of spaceships, aliens, utopian planet colonies, and other 'flight-of-fancy' scenarios, a science fiction author can hold a mirror up to the way our current society deals with an issue by showing how their fictional society does. By reading sci-fi from previous eras, then, we can catch a glimpse of what people of that era were thinking about – and what was considered an acceptable 'flight of fancy.'
The Skylark of Space, written by E. E. 'Doc' Smith in the 1920's, included an equal ratio of women to men on the spaceship – surprising for such an early entry into the genre. However, what is not so surprising is that the women involved are cast in incredibly traditionally 'female' roles – they are the wives of the scientists who invent the spaceship, and play a very motherly role on the ship. In particular, one comedic scene shows the women in the kitchen, trying in vain to make sandwiches in zero gravity. It plays out like a Jules Verne-esque slapstick routine, with the ham and cheese floating all over the room. Tellingly for the time it was written, the only thing the women seem to feel like they can take the initiative to do is fix lunch for the menfolk.
Contrast that with the Original Series of Star Trek, first aired in the 1960's. Star Trek depicts a world where gender no longer matters – a black woman has an important bridge position as the Communications Officer, and even if her lines are mostly comprised of “Hailing frequencies open, sir,” still, nobody bats an eye at a woman doing more than just fixing lunch. Further contrast that with the Expanse series by James S. A. Corey, which began with the novel Leviathan Wakes in 2011. The second book in the series, Caliban's War, contains not one but two female main characters, a Martian space marine and an Earth diplomat. Both are in positions where they are well-respected (though they receive pushback throughout the book, but it's plot-related, not related to simply being female). Both radiate power in different ways and both are treated equally in terms of gender.
Original series Star Trek also dealt with racial tensions. Lieutenant Uhura may have been a well-respected and equally-treated bridge crew member within the context of the show, but the show's writers still received pushback from the network about her place in the story. In the 1968 episode “Plato's Stepchildren,” there is a scene where Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols) and Captain Kirk (played by William Shatner) share a kiss, widely cited as the first example of a scripted inter-racial kiss on US television. The network wanted them to film the scene both with and without the kiss, so that they could decide later whether to air it. The actors chose to intentionally flubb every take without the kiss so that the network would be forced to air it. The story of that episode serves as a reminder that Original series Star Trek, like most good science fiction, prodded at the boundaries of what was considered an acceptable social construct at the time.
While Star Trek's society treats all races and genders equally where Earth humans are concerned, it does still get a chance to display ideas of racial tensions and play with the theme of racial equality – through the clever use of aliens. Mister Spock is a great example of this – here is an alien as First Officer of an Earth Federation starship, who frequently gets mocked and insulted by the other crewmembers for his pointy ears, his green blood, and his unusual customs. Uhura may have been indicative of what race relations could be, but Spock depicted race relations as they were. Certain episodes also dealt more pointedly with the idea of race prejudice, most notably the episode “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” which dealt with the last two survivors of a war-torn planet still hell-bent on destroying each other. This is the famous episode with the 'black-and-white' aliens – their feud was based on which half of their body was black and which one white. While a bit heavy-handed, it does still speak volumes about the sometimes silly things that drive us to war and the dangers of prejudice.
Caliban's War displays racial tensions as well, but in a different way – by highlighting the fact that they are all humans. When I mentioned the two female leads up there, you probably thought of them as different species – perhaps the Martian space marine was an 'alien' and the Earth diplomat was a 'human.' Well, in actuality, they are both human. In fact, the three-way war between the Outer Planets Alliance, Earth, and Mars is essentially an entirely human war – there are no aliens to speak of in the whole book (with one exception – no spoilers!). But the stark differences in lifestyle, outlook, and even physical appearance between someone born on Mars and someone born 'down the well' on Earth leads to them treating each other as aliens. You can easily see, through the diplomat's eyes, how different humans can become in different circumstances, and how these differences could lead them to fail to understand each other on a primal level.
Race and gender are not the only social issues that can be depicted in science fiction. Plenty of other issues are presented, all depending on the time period in which the work is written and the aspect of society that the author wants to explore. Caliban's War includes a scene that will stick with me for months, where the female space marine visits Earth for the first time and chats with a young barista. The barista talks about the Earth policy of having young people work for a few years after high school to make sure they like working before the government spends money sending them to college. The planet has become so over-populated that not everyone needs to work, so those who don't like working can simply go on basic support and devote themselves to leisure. For the space marine, who grew up in a colony where everyone has a place and a job to do, this concept is foreign, almost incomprehensible. By contrasting these two personalities, Corey allows us to consider the ideas of single-payer systems like free university education and healthcare from multiple perspectives, and draw our own conclusions.
This is precisely why one of my favorite recent sci-fi works is Larry Niven's The Draco Tavern. This collection of super-short stories centers around Rick Schumann, the bartender at an alien bar called the Draco Tavern. The stories are between 5 and 10 pages long on average, generally taking the form of a conversation Rick has with one or several of his alien patrons. The stories present little vignettes that bring up a question and then end, leaving the reader to think about their answer. The Draco Tavern's questions range from 'What if you could choose when you died?' to 'If a human kills an alien, should he be subjected to the alien form of punishment?' to 'Should I feel weird knowing that this alien race took samples of my DNA and are using it to lab-grow meat for their own consumption?' The beauty of The Draco Tavern is that it doesn't attempt to answer any of these questions, just present them and leave the reader to chew on them for a bit.
Science fiction may seem fanciful, with all those aliens running around on starships firing photon torpedoes at each other. But in reality, a skilled science fiction author can often tell you more about your own beliefs and opinions by comparing them to those of his aliens than you might ever get from sharing them with a therapist. I've only scratched the surface here, but this deeply personal self-searching that arises from peering into an alien mirror is one of the many things that keeps me coming back to science fiction, time and time again.
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