All things Voyager

Common Faux-Archaic Word Swaps

Pronouns & Address

you → thou / thee (singular, informal)

your → thy / thine

yours → thine

yourself → thyself

my → mine (before vowels: mine eyes)

sir / ma’am → my lord / my lady

friend → good sir / good woman

Tip: Overusing thou can feel forced. Many modern fantasy stories skip it entirely.

Verbs & Actions

are → art

is → be

have → hast / hath

do → dost

did → didst

will → shall

can → may

must → must needs

go → depart

come → approach

leave → take one’s leave

stay → remain

die → perish

kill → slay

help → aid

stop → cease

begin → commence

Common Descriptors

before → ere

after → henceforth

now → presently

soon → anon

always → ever

never → ne’er

maybe → mayhap

nothing → naught

anything → aught

angry → wroth

afraid → afeard

tired → weary

quiet → hushed

dark → gloomed / shadowed

Faux-Archaic Phrases (Very Usable)

“I would have words with you.”

“So it shall be.”

“You speak boldly.”

“This matter is settled.”

“I will hear no more of this.”

“Mark my words.”

“Gods be good.”

“By my honor.”

“It is not my place.”

“Let it be known.”

“You overstep.”

“Enough of this.”

“On my life.”

“Say it plain.”

Dialogue Tone Shifts (Modern → Faux-Archaic)

“What do you want?” → “Speak your purpose.”

“I don’t trust you.” → “I place no faith in you.”

“You lied to me.” → “You spoke false.”

“We’re out of time.” → “Time runs thin.”

“This is dangerous.” → “This path is perilous.”

“I’ll handle it.” → “I shall see to it.”

Syntax Tricks (This Is the Secret Sauce)

Instead of archaic words, shift sentence structure:

Put emphasis first → “Never have I seen such folly.”

Drop contractions → “I will not” instead of I won’t

Slightly formal word order → “Gone are the days of mercy.”

Replace casual filler → “Well…” → “So…” / “Then…”

Writing Tip:

Good faux-archaic prose is about restraint, not accuracy.

that depends entirely on who betas your works. it’s neither “a necessity” nor “does no help”. like, if you and your beta reader just happen to ‘click’ in terms of communication, ideas and such, where your beta reader can help point out things that can improve your works, things you fail to see, and you agree with their ideas/help (or maybe not ideas or what/how to write, maybe they’re just pointing out typos, grammatical errors and such), then that’s extremely great and helpful. but if you and your beta reader just simply have too many differences, and you feel like they’re not really helping, then maybe you’re better off without one.

I prefer working alone without a beta reader because that’s just my personal preference and I believe I work better if anything and everything I write is 100% by me for me. I know what I want to write for myself, hence there’s no need for a beta reader. again, this is my personal preference.

I know several other amazing writers who have their own beta readers, and their works are just amazing.

(And tell us why you've chosen those!)

Thank you for asking, @curator-on-ao3 <3

Not sure this is in any particular order, but here goes: five fics I've written that don't make me want to chop off my face.

The Uncharted Sea (T, Major Character Death, a second-love story that I think is one of my more mature pieces of writing)

Infinite Spirals (T, a Kashyk-centric piece in which all is not as it seems. I didn't know how this one was going to end until the words ended up on the page, but I like it)

The Bitter End (M, Major Character Death (canonical), Rape/Non-Con, Violence. My take on what happened in the original Endgame timeline, and how the captain became the Admiral Janeway we saw in that episode. Brutal. You've been warned)

Fragile Things (E, a multiverse-tripping adventure in which Janeway and Chakotay find themselves in worlds where things could have been very different. Titled before Neil Gaiman was widely shown to be awful)

Explosive (G, Major Character Death (all of them actually), a ficlet in which Voyager runs into some very unfriendly DQ aliens and it doesn't end well. Lots of technobabble. Also an amazing companion fic written by A Modern Girl.)

Desperate to escape her Illyrian colony and see the stars, Una answers a help-wanted ad and takes a piloting job on board the Enterprise. It’s the perfect opportunity to escape, and the job so easy that she is surprised that no one has taken the job already. When she arrives, she is told that she is allowed to go anywhere on the ship except for the captain’s quarters, which remain locked and he never answers her chimes. However, she soon finds that the Enterprise might not be all that it seems. For one, she is the only life form on board besides her enigmatic boss who communicates only through written messages. Coordinates are always delivered straight to the helm, food is synthesized, and somehow the warp core is always in peak condition. Curious, she vows to figure out the mystery of the ship.

After a devastating accident leaves Christopher Pike bound to a life-support chair and unable to speak except in Morse code, he is shunned by society. Depressed and bitter, all he wants is to escape to the stars on his beloved Enterprise. His chair is integrated with the ship’s computer so he can give orders via text message, deploy the DOT bots to make repairs, and view the security feeds. The one thing he cannot do, however, is pilot the ship. Hoping to hire a skilled pilot, he posts a help wanted ad but word of the Enterprise’s captain has spread and no one wants to take a job working for a monster. He is about to give up hope until one day his ad is answered by the beautiful, smart, and far too curious Una Chin-Riley. They quickly become friends. Una is an excellent pilot and easy to talk to, and she has never heard of Christopher Pike or his accident. Chris finds himself falling for her, but he knows that she would run screaming if she ever saw the real him.

Ooooh, I sure do!

So, first of all it was for the wonderful Potluck-challenge, so food was obv integral.

And I was very much in a Vance/Rillak-phase (I do have another fic for them, might have to just edit and get it out there) so I wanted to write well, them.

And then well... I come from a job that is a bit weird socially and I often incorporate our dynamics in my fics - and then ramp it up and twist it to suit my fic-writing plans ;)

As 2024 was turning towards fall I knew that a very important work relationship was coming to an end. Initially I was supposed to have already left for my next position and instead it was him who was moving forward (me going a few months later).

The job we had done, the world we had built and the people we had met, recruited or fought against (and sometimes if lucky fought with ) - it was all to be left to those now taking over our positions and move towards a new change, a new reality that we had hopefully prepared everyone for. And we had not solved that just by working 9-5, but in hours of talking while I made dinner for my kids and he tended to his home life; strategizing, planning and running in all directions at once. I have also had similar experiences before, but this was very much going on at that time.

So I had been reflecting a lot on these things, and it followed me into that story. For Rillak and Vance, their world is changing. It's supposed to be good, but it's also difficult.

I also wanted to show those kind of relationships that are forged through shared work and weird experiences. Would they have been friends had they not been in their respective careers? Do they even share a life outside of work? Meet up as friends? I'm not sure.

But what they have is their shared routine and created normal. In all the hard work they have had to do, and all they have endured - they have created routines and rituals. Ways to check in with each other. She assumes he will come by and share a meal with her. They reflect back on all the times it has happened before.

And I ship them, so I wanted to explore that part - a little. They still have work to do and their relationship isn't one that could be "let's retire and buy a house". Vance has a family, she has a partner. This wasn't a fic of big emotions and grande gestures - but of that small moment that still grounds them. Just as everything is about to change around them.

Oh, what a year.

For me, 2025 started with a fanfic sabbatical that was actually going pretty well (20K in on an original novel). Then Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM album came out and I heard “Blade of Grass.” That gorgeous ballad was the undoing of my fanfic sabbatical. The year ended as my most prolific by varied fandoms, and I learned to let go of some worries that used to hold me back.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though.

Below, in order of posting and with some commentary by me, are my 2025 posted fics plus one I posted so late in 2024 that I missed it for that year’s wrap up:

Keep on Loving Me and I’ll Keep on Loving You

For All Mankind

A one-shot about life, death, and love in the context of the JSC bombing, this story was the first in the Karen Baldwin & Molly Cobb tag, and is still the only story in the Karen Baldwin & Shane Baldwin tag—though there’s plenty of wonderful company in the Molly Cobb/Wayne Cobb tag. I love Molly, and I felt her death was actually handled well, while I feel Karen’s death was more because the writers didn’t know what to do with her (and hadn’t since season one). For these two women to pass away due to the same event, with one leaving behind life and love in the form of Wayne (my beloved), and for the other to join Shane in whatever may or may not happen next … it begged for exploration.

When the Shield Falls

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A double drabble about a way forward through Klingon War PTSD for Erica Ortegas and Christine Chapel, I posted this mini-fic toward the end of chapter-by-chapter posting of a longer work (so this shorter work appears to have been posted earlier even though it was written months later). The past-present becomes meta, though, for this story in which I wanted to give these women who went through so much in canon a gentle exhale of love, healing, and togetherness.

Ain’t No One but You

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: The Original Series

The multi-chap that Lady Gaga’s “Blade of Grass” brought into my mind whole cloth, wrenching me out of my fanfic sabbatical with tap-tap typing on my phone in the middle of the night. This story is a Pikeuna Western AU, but instead of researching Westerns, I researched life on the U.S. frontier in the late 1800s. I learned quite a bit, and I’m deeply proud of the historic and future-canon parallels, as well as the many, many characters that became essential for this story: Joseph M’Benga, Spock, La’an Noonien-Singh, Phil Boyce, Hikaru Sulu, and, eventually, James T. Kirk. I’m also pleased with the importance of Nyota Uhura and Leonard McCoy, plus key appearances from Rukiya M’Benga and Peter Kirk. Please trust me when I say this story from my heart is both of its time and timeless, and if my novel had to become derailed by anything, I’m glad it was this tale of love, bravery, overcoming earned fear, community, and kindness.

Something to Hold Onto

The Pitt

Yep, I got bitten by the Jack/Robby bug and caught a terminal case of Rabbot. So, for treatment, I wrote these two after the day we saw in canon, talking (of course) and eventually snuggling in bed, an established relationship (long ago married by a minister and a rabbi) in which Jack and Robby find what peace they can with each other.

Q&A (Gratitude Edition)

Superman 2025

That scene in the movie with Clark and his dad on the glider? I loved it, along with so much else about this iteration of Superman. So I had to put Lois and Clark on the glider, Lois asking questions and Clark eventually sharing why breakfast for dinner is important to him.

In Arms

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

I had lots and lots of character notes for the Christopher Pike in Ain’t No One but You. The onetime leader of a regiment in the U.S. Civil War, Chris talked in the other story about the importance of his best friend, Phil Boyce, and the effect Phil’s wartime death had on Chris. I couldn’t let that Chris or that Phil go, so I turned my notes into this “prequel if you want it to be” tale of two soldiers in love.

Comfort Food Temporal Snacktime (Prison Edition)

Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Three tagged relationships and this fic is the only one for any of them: Number One | Una Chin-Riley & Tom Paris, Tom Paris & Q , and Number One | Una Chin-Riley & Q. For me, the canon commonalities between Una and Tom … both imprisoned, both needing to accept help from their captains, both suffused with care for their crews and complex relationships toward Starfleet … all could do with a little help from Q to allow these onetime pilots a chance to talk, eat, and set their lives on the correct course. This was a fic that banged around my head for a long time before I wrote it, and I’m glad I finally did.

The Soul Seeks an Anchor

Star Trek: Voyager

In this one-shot return to my J/P roots, Janeway mulls Tom’s statement from The 37s: “Captain, I think I should tell you I've never actually landed a starship before.” And from that line of canon dialogue flowed a story with no standalone dialogue, just thoughts, feelings, an unsurprising discovery, and the recognition of a depth of care that brings Janeway and Tom together.

Two People in Love

Superman 2025

I still had Lois and Clark in my system, so I wrote this pre-canon (for the 2025 movie) getting-together fic for the two of them. I had an absolute blast, especially since Lois knew Clark was Superman but Clark didn’t know that Lois knew, leading Clark to be unsure with whom Lois wanted to go out on a date (Clark or Superman), which led to Lois’ inner monologue: “How the hell did Lois end up in a love triangle that was a straight line?” I chortled when I wrote that and with every edit. Lois Lane and Clark Kent usurped Pikeuna this year as the oldest ship I’ve ever written, and I could feel the kinship with other fic writers through the ages.

Tell Me and I’ll Know

Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Picard

B7 (B’Elanna Torres/Seven of Nine) is one of those pairings I’d meant to write for ages and finally did. It was a joy to set their love as existing on Voyager but truly unfurling in the canon in-between place of early days with the Fenris Rangers. I was delighted to give Seven more agency for her speech pattern changes from Voyager to Picard, with B’Elanna’s appropriate concern giving way to understanding.

Five to the Power of Two

For All Mankind

When I posted my first fic for For All Mankind, I had not yet joined the fandom (or finished watching the series). But let me tell you, the kindness and support in this small-but-mighty fandom was so wonderful, so lovely, so delightful … I remain thoroughly impressed and grateful. If not for the welcoming nature of this fandom, I wouldn’t have written these five, five-sentence mini-fics for the fandom’s focus ship: Margo Madison/Sergei Nikulov. I had so much fun (even when I made myself cry), and I am quite pleased with my place on the outskirts of this fantastic fandom.

Saviors

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

I promised myself that I wouldn’t write any Prime Universe Pikeuna this year (and, with the exception of a five-sentence friendship fic posted to Tumblr, I kept my promise). Which made this Mirror Universe one-shot all the more fun. Playing with the nature and nurture implications of the Mirrorverse can be delightful, and I enjoyed writing a Mirror twist on everything from Chris and Una’s Prime Universe canon first meeting to the Mirror canon “assassination” Kirk carried out against Pike to the surprise cameo at the end of the story.

After All This Time, a Beginning, Real and True

Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The only Christopher Pike/Lwaxana Troi story on AO3, yet I’ve shipped this pairing since I was a little girl. I enjoyed delving into their pasts and positioning some clear characterization for the future, and my hope is that readers might have a new vantage point on why Lwaxana becomes the person she does … and why Deanna is such a fan of the Ancient West. Also, I must again appreciate community, as the very first commenter on this exceedingly rare pair made sure to tell me that she had recced the story on Dreamwidth, a platform I’m not even on, and my guess is that kindness (from someone who in other posts mentioned having been a book editor!) helped this very niche story find a wider audience.

Three Sandwiches for the Price of Two

Only Murders in the Building

Watching this show, I was so happy not to be tempted to fic any of it. Until the season 5 finale when a quick exchange between Vince and Uma got me shipping them—and, in a trend for the year, writing this sole story in the Vince Fish/Uma Heller tag. (Vince is such a sweet guy and Uma is … Uma, but she’s believable and I like her despite … herself.)

Forget-Me-Nots

Star Trek: Voyager

The first time I read Janeway/Chakotay fanfiction was on a CRT monitor when the show was still in production. Even after all these years (including decades away from fandom), I still return to J/C every so often. This one-shot is based on “Shattered,” an episode I believe is a great take on the old “clip show” staple—and an appropriately timey-wimey inspiration for the end of the year. Voyager always feels like home, and for that I’m deeply grateful (though Kathryn Janeway sure doesn’t seem as old as she used to …).

It was a year of old ships and new ships, new-to-me fandoms and alternate universes for my established fandoms, and, most of all, writing whatever the heck I wanted to write. So, with thanks to Lady Gaga and immense gratitude to everyone who kudosed, commented, recced, asked, and was generally awesome this year (it’s not too late! please join!), I’m satisfied with my fanfic 2025, and am looking forward to finishing a couple of WIPs, then attempting another fic sabbatical.

But in all of this, I wanna take a second to speculate about his mother.

There’s only two real mentions of his mother that I can recall.

In episode 1x11 blood hungry Aaron mentions that his mother is from Manassass, and went to Mary Baldwin.

And in 2x19 ashes and dust Aaron mentions that everyone knew about his father’s affairs, “even his mother.”

I think both of these episodes are incredibly telling if you read between the lines, but I’ll focus in 1x11.

From the second the Sheriff tells Aaron who Mary Gwathmey Mays is, introducing her as part of one of the oldest families in Tennessee, Aaron is immediately keyed into her. When she’s crying in the initial interview Aaron stares at her almost impassive as he reads her behavior, but he saves his questions long enough to get her to sign the consent forms for them to give her son the antipsychotic. When the anti psychotic doesnt get them any more information on where the missing boy is being held, he interviews her again, and he doesnt get much out of her, but he immediately comes out of the room and says “shes lying. I dont know about what, but she’s lying.”

All of this can be explained by him being a profiler, recognizing the tells that are in front of him. But when they’re in the car leading her towards the spot they saw on her GPS, thats when it gets personal. Right after mentioning his own Mother, he starts asking about Mary’s name “Gwathmey” being an old tidewater name, then says “old south, old money. A lot of tradition there. A lot of reputation to protect.”

This line sticks out to me every time i watch it. Not only the fact that he says this after bringing up his mother in connection to Mary, but the contempt in his voice when he says it, the accusation he makes immediately afterwards saying “I dont think you were protecting your son, I think you were protecting yourself.”

This accusation is reiterated again when they find the missing boy theyre looking for. Aaron can hardly even look at Mary, leaving a local deputy to come cuff her, but she calls Aaron back before he can leave. This entire conversation is one hit after another.

He says “sometimes the things we don’t do are as important as the things we do.”

He says “i understand that your son was drowning and you made no effort to save him.”

But the one I think about the most.

Mary says “what else was I supposed to do?” And Aaron replies, with near disgust on his face, “Almost anything would have been better.”

If we combine all of this with the theory that his father was heavily abusive, my theory is this.

I think Aaron’s mother was a vulnerable narcissist. I think she was a victim of her husbands wrath as well, but I think she made no effort to save Aaron when that wrath was turned on him instead. Because everything was about her; her pain, her suffering, how stressful it is for her to try to maintain the perfect house and the perfect family that she deserves when Aaron’s causing so many problems all the damn time.

I think she spent Aaron’s entire childhood turning her cheek to her husbands abuse, only ever looking at Aaron to put concealer on the bruises before church on Sundays. I think she’d keep him home from school when the injuries were too visible, and I think she’d be furious if CPS or the police were to ever show up on her doorstep, because how dare he draw negative attention from the neighbors, she’ll have to spend weeks dispelling rumors. Any time Aaron tried to run away she’d call him selfish for trying to leave his family behind, call him ungrateful. Doesn’t he know how hard it is to be his mother?

When Aaron’s father dies and he starts to genuinely act out without provocation for the first time, she sends him to boarding school. At least that way he wont be able to embarass their family any further.

I think Aaron wants to hate his Mother, but he can’t, not really. She was just as much a victim of his Father as he was.

He resents her for never saving him, and he resents himself for never being strong enough to protect her.

Really? Why put shit on adults who had no way of finding fanfiction when they were kids (pre-internet, anyone?) or, god forbids, didn't even know about fanfiction until weel into their adult years. And absolutely loved what they found. And created space for fanfiction, like AO3 for example.

Oh, me too, anon!

Pre-relationship was surprisingly tricky — there is a ton of established relationship Hotch whump that almost fits your ask, where an inciting incident leads to a new development in their relationship (e.g. finally exchanging 'I love you's) — but I think I found a good crop for you!

First up is one of my all time favorite fics, Scars (M) by microwavebubbles. Implied sexual content toward the end, so disregard if that's not your thing.

It was kindness. Freely given kindness with no expectation, and it had knocked him flat. There had been no hint of pity in her when she touched him. Nothing but want to help him. It made something grow wings in his stomach, flutter meekly as she laughed at Reid with a paper aeroplane stuck in his hair. He shook it off as ridiculous before he let it take root.

Next is something of the sky in us (T) by @ssaemilyhotchner, in which Emily cares for Hotch after the explosion in New York, culminating in their first kiss:

He’s fairly certain he’s talking, but he can’t hear the words, can only feel his mouth moving in the corresponding shapes: I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay. Four times, like it’s the only thing he trusts himself to say, especially as his skin burns where she touches him. He’s still thinking of her—how she lingered, unafraid to let the others see her concern—when he knocks on her door that evening.

Fast forward a few seasons and we get these hands had to let it go free and this love came back to me (G) by @em-prentiss, a Hotchniss reimagining of 9x5, Route 66:

He’s her best friend, her favorite person. She knows that and yet, her emotions have taken her by surprise. Any ability to compartmentalize immediately shattered at the thought of him being hurt. Deep down, Emily knows it’s because she doesn’t love him simply as a best friend should. She’s in love with him, and has been for years.  She had always tamped down the feeling, the timing never right for her to tell him (even if it was she probably would’ve let the opportunity slip right through her fingers). But now, the urge to tell him is overwhelming. It was too close of a call this time, and she was so far away. 

And last but certainly not least, The One You Reached For (G) by @sequinsmile-x, really earning that 'idiots in love' tag:

Derek had pulled her away from Aaron when he arrived at the same time as the paramedics, his grip firm, something she couldn’t escape from no matter how much she fought him, as he hauled her up off of the floor. One of the paramedics had taken pity on her, allowing her to travel in the ambulance with Aaron based on an assumption she was his girlfriend. It was only when they were halfway to the hospital, her eyes fixed on Aaron’s pale face, that she realised she hadn’t corrected him.

If I may, I'd like to add my fic, And all my armor falling down in a pile at my feet (T) by Caladenia.

AO3 WAS CREATED BY FANS, FOR FANS

AO3 IS RUN BY FANS (VOLUNTEERS, NO LESS)

AO3 IS PART OF THE NON-PROFIT, ORGANIZATION FOR TRANSFORMATIVE WORKS

AO3 IS NOT OWNED BY ANY COMPANIES AND DOES NOT EARN REVENUE

AO3 OPERATES ON DONATIONS FROM FANS

again:

The short answer? Because I enjoy it. I love writing them, I’m not any less in love with writing them than I was 4.5 years ago when I started. And the very crux of fanfic is enjoying what you’re writing.

And I wouldn’t say the fandom is dying. I have more followers now than I did then - a lot more - and fics etc over on ao3 still get the same amount of interaction as they always have.

And there are still plenty of amazing writers who write hotchniss - just not necessarily the same ones from a few years ago. And that isn’t a bad thing.