#terrha: before i go

[maybeamultiverse]

I just posted an update to Terrha: Before I Go, which is available here. I know it's taken me foreeveerrrrrr. Literally a year and four days. So sorry!

[new-ds9-ao3]

by maybeamultiverse

The year is 2022. Yhea, a Romulan geologist tasked with a covert survey of a planet known as 'Terrha' for potential colonization and mining activities, experiences a suspicious engine malfunction, finding himself stranded on this alien world while his ship undergoes automized repairs. Sophia, a recent college dropout, likes arts and crafts, having lunch with her parents, and spending time alone in her room. When their paths cross after she hits the scientist with her family's SUV, he decides that no one is better suited to be his guide in this alien landscape.

Words: 8543, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Star Trek, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M

Characters: Original Characters, Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Mestral (Star Trek), Maggie (Star Trek), Original Female Character(s) of Color

Relationships: Original Human Character(s)/Original Romulan Character(s)

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Alien Cultural Differences, Star Trek References, 21st Century, Romulans, Romulan Language (Star Trek), Self-Discovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Cultural Differences, References to Depression, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Vulcan, Vulcan Culture, Episode: s02e02 Carbon Creek (Star Trek Enterprise), Small Towns, Autumn

[maybeamultiverse]

Thanks for the tag @bigblissandlove1 :)

Favorite color: purple and green

Reading: Tomorrow's China by Anna Louise Strong, Shadowplay by Jo Clayton, and slowly re-reading The Romulan General's Woman (one of my all-time favorite fan fics).

Last song: 梦中人 ("Dreams") by Faye Wong, from the end credits of Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express.

Last movie: I saw Barbenheimer (Barbie and Oppenheimer) with a friend two days ago!

Sweet/Savory/Salty: This is controversial and weird, but I don't like solid foods or flavors-- I am addicted to the most flavorless Soylent I can procure, so probably none of the above? But I guess 'Spicy' is another answer I would provide in a less weird mood.

Currently working on: My total rewrite of Minshara (lmfao), Terrha: Before I Go chapter 3, Sakonna and the Spy chapter 4, and the second chapter of War Birds: The Prophet's Tears. My friend from high school also asked me to revise a paper he wrote on fascism? So, yeah, trying to do that too, but idk what's going on, to be honest. I also write long letters to local inmates, as per my daily routine.

Tagging @coco-little-rose, @solarisone, @the-qalankhais-sweetheart, and anyone else who is interested! (I get so self-conscious tagging people, so there is no pressure to do this tag, ofc!).

tag 9 people you want to get to know better

tagged by @buckitup (as @mattoidmeerkat) 😍

favorite color: green

currently reading: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

last song: Brave by Sara Bareilles

last series: rewatching 911 and The Good Place (looking forward to the new season of Futurama)

last movie: Meet the Browns (2008), slowly watching my way through Angela Bassett's filmography with my best friend 😅

sweet/savory/spicy: all of the above

currently working on: preparing for my first international business trip in years (exciting and terrifying) and adding screenshots to my 911 locations map (glacial pace)

no pressure tagging: @mellaithwen, @zahlibeth, @lesbiankarolinanovotney, @taffee23, @lavoixhumaine, @themccord, @starrybouquet, @lucydonato, @moghraidhs

[vaebnjuvek]

Name: Merik i-Terrha tr'Juvek

D.O.B.: January 19, 2381

Place of Birth: London, Earth, Terran Empire

Species: Romulan

Marital Status: Single

Height: 1.87 m (6'2")

Weight: 91 kg (200 lbs)

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Black

Grandparents: Ariennye i-Mhiessan t'Juvek (artist), Vaebn e-Dharvanek tr'Juvek (Admiral, I.S.S. Lhorakis)

Parents: Aidoann i-Ra'tleihfi t'Juvek (deceased), Galan e-Radaik tr'Juvek (deceased)

Uncle: Taev e-Juvek tr'Rllaillieu (Captain, I.S.S. Kleist)

Aunt: Sienae i-Ra'tleihfi t'Juvek (deceased)

Rank: Commander (Imperial Starfleet)

Academy Time: 2403-2407, 2408-2411

Academy Specialization: Technical Security Specialist/Systems Security/Command (Much like Kerwin, he specialized in computer security, encryption, forcefields, surveillance devices, and explosives before he went back to Command School).

Medical Notes: Merik shows signs of photophobia. Merik is Mirror Romulan, not Terran, and this photophobia is almost certainly psychosomatic, brought on by having lived all of his life in places with lighting suitable for Terrans. Merik's left eye is fake, glass, and is usually covered by an eyepatch. There is a deep, ugly scar around his left eye. Merik claims the injury happened when he was a child, caused by unpredictable behavior by his grandfather. He has a strong aversion to medical care and has thus far refused treatment.

Biography: Born in the Mirror Universe on Earth in 2381, Merik was raised by his maternal grandparents after his parents and aunt were executed for aiding enemies of the Terran Empire. Currently the commander of the I.S.S. Invictus, a heavily-modified Defiant-class vessel, Merik has been sent on a dangerous mission by someone who doesn't expect him to return...

Merik's grandfather, Vaebn tr'Juvek, defected to the Terran Resistance circa 2372 and brought his entire family to live on Earth once the Terran Empire was reestablished. Already possessing a reputation as a ruthless commander, Vaebn rose through the ranks quickly. His flagship, the I.S.S. Lhorakis, is painted in sinister black and red. It's the last thing many of his enemies see.

Merik was eight when his parents and his aunt were killed by his grandfather for aiding enemies of the Terran Empire. He was taken by his grandparents and raised aboard the Lhorakis, one of very few children on the Terran warbird. He witnessed the ruthlessness of his grandfather enough times to learn to fear him.

When he was old enough, he eagerly joined the Imperial Starfleet. Majoring as a Technical Security Specialist, it didn't take long for his command potential to be seen, and he was sent back to the Academy to complete Command School. His rise through the Terran military can be attributed to both his intelligence and his ruthlessness. Merik is well-known among his former crews for being altogether more friendly and likable at first impression than the typical Terran captain. The friendly demeanor hides a ruthless streak a mile wide and a willingness to both literally and figuratively stab enemies in the back.

Merik has served in various roles, many of them clandestine in nature. His most recent role was as an Inquisitor aboard the Lafayette-class recon ship, the I.S.S. Erebus. Under Admiral Juvek's orders, Merik is taking control of the I.S.S. Invictus and finishing her mission. To avoid a mutiny on board, he's going to have to track down the Invictus's missing captain...

Personality Profile: [Access restricted to Inquisitors or Command Level Personnel] Merik was born in the heart of the Terran Empire, but he was raised bNy Romulans. He comes off at first glance as someone with a quick smile and a joke at the ready, hardly command material in the Terran Empire. What his easy-going exterior hides is a very Romulan philosophy about interpersonal relations. Appearances are everything, and Merik likes to project both power and approachability. He's shown a distinct tendency towards holding grudges, sometimes for years, for slights that would have been considered minor by his Terran colleagues. He does not handle uses of threats or Terran discipline like Agonizers well, though he is more than happy to use them on others. Instead, he responds better to bribes or offers of power. Typical successful interactions with him are ones in which both parties have gained something of use from the other with minimal threats or discipline necessary. Junior officers who require a more hands-on approach to performing their duties without betraying him are likely to find their duty under Juvek to be brief. He dislikes having to repeat himself and is likely to reach for a phaser instead of an Agonizer if pushed. Officers senior to Juvek who prefer a more discipline-oriented style of leadership would be advised to pay attention to the fates of several of his former commanders, all of whom found themselves in various compromising situations that ended their careers. Though Juvek himself was never implicated in their downfall, a reason why he still serves in the Imperial Starfleet, the coincidence is hard to ignore.

Note: The Vulcan doctor, T'Rya, served aboard the ISS Lhorakis when Juvek was living there as a child. Juvek was one of her pet projects, an attempt to teach a Romulan Vulcan mental disciplines. It was arguably successful. Juvek can and does resort to Vulcan methods of clearing his mind when he's upset, and he is able to read feelings and some strong thoughts with a touch. The ability made him an asset as an Inquisitor. His history with T'Rya and her other work for Juvek's grandfather, however, is the likely source of Juvek's strong aversion to medical care.

Note about Mirror Romulans: (From Assignment: Investigate State of Romulan Empire in Mirror Universe)

Success: The Romulans in the Mirror Universe have remained extremely isolated. Large groups of them have become organized as miners, supplying rare materials from the remnants of their own destroyed homeworld.

Critical Take!: Your team successfully made contact with a Romulan mining camp. The destruction of Romulus left the Romulans in disarray and much of their territory as easy prey for the Terrans. Sadly, the Romulans of the Mirror Universe are a hollow shadow of their former glory, with no dream of a Republic to rise from the ashes.

[maybeamultiverse]

Just updated the third chapter of 'Terrha: Before I Go,' my newer fic about a stranded Romulan in the 21st century, featuring a brief appearance from a very new and very intriguing character introduced quite recently in SNW.... hmmmmm I wonder who that isssss 👀👀👀

SUMMARY: Yhea's vessel is discovered, Maria deals with Mestral, Sophia endures a heated family reunion, Rania accidentally shows an alien man her hair, and a certain Canadian-based Romulan spy concocts a plan.

Read the new chapter here.

[maybeamultiverse]

Here's a little sneak peek for the update of Terrha: Before I Go... Mestral has a chat with Sophia in this chapter, among many other things that happen. This little snippet actually made me lol so I really wanted to share it hehe.

Mestral took a deep breath, turning his body slightly away from her and tightly closing his eyes. “My people come from a desert planet. The land is almost inhospitable. Survival played a crucial part in our unique evolutionary history. Water was scarce, and our people were tribal. We are, well, touch telepaths,” he began. Sophia recalled the strange feeling she had felt in his presence, like an itch deep within the caverns of her skull, tucked between the folds of her brain, culminating in an unusual, itching sensation deep within the back of her head. “Telepathy is everything in our world. We need to bond with others. We… well��� once every seven years… we have to… we have to find someone… to help us…”

“To do what?”

“To mate with.”

Sophia felt her cheeks flush as she instinctively glanced down at her bare feet, slightly bloodied from hiking in the woods in Mary Jane’s with Yhea all morning.

“Oh.” She was not sure what else would be appropriate to say. 

“I am aware this all must sound far-fetched. You must promise not to tell anyone, Sophia. Please, do not tell your sister, the automobile repair technician, or the potential Rihansu mercenary soldier you are hiding in your bedroom.”

... this story is actually soooo funnyyyyy hahaha. I just had to write a meet-cute but like, where the girl hits the guy with her car. So romantic.

Sophia in this one scene tho:

[maybeamultiverse]

Terrha: Before I Go, chapter 2 posted here.

"Yhea and Sophia find a way to communicate, and Sophia learns that a family intervention is underway back home. Meanwhile, Mestral continues his pursuit."

[maybeamultiverse]

My next personal writing task is to update Terrha: Before I Go and then the Gale x Tav fic. Both chapters are kind of sort of finished. The original idea for Terrha was composed in 2022; however, long before any of the current political developments... if you've read the fic, can read between the lines and are aware of international news, you may know what I'm talking about. I am aware it's all just fan fiction and not meant to be taken too seriously, but I've just been struggling to find a way to respect the characters and their political circumstances in a way that's deserved and respectful.

[maybeamultiverse]

A little writing and life update---

So, I have like several writing works in progress, but I really can't say that I'll be able to post any new stuff until 2024 for certain. Maybe.

Maaaaybbeee, I'll be able to update a fic during this complicated time (currently, I have drafts of the next updates for Halovaya, Sakonna and the Spy, War Birds: The Prophet's Tears, Terrha: Before I Go, and a new BG3 Tav/Gale Dekarios fic already partially completed), but it's looking rather unlikely, folks.

I'm currently in the trenches of completing a transfer process for my university, am in a play, have a new part-time job, am continuing my thesis and other graduate work, and other personal issues, all offline.

None of these works are abandoned! I just really don't think I can prioritize anything creative right now. It's really pedal to the medal in terms of IRL commitments. It's just life.

I will still be here and post and reblog Star Trek and other stuff or share screenshots from BG3 playthroughs (playing after work and school helps me unwind without too much mental effort, lol).

I just wanted to let people know that you probably won't expect any new writing content from my AO3, and I don't want to keep people waiting or upset anyone.

Thanks <3 - amira

[maybeamultiverse]

I've had two partially written chapters for Terrha: Before I Go and War Birds: The Prophet's Tears just sitting on my desktop since like July... and idk man... idk when I'm gonna get the gumption to work on these baddies.

[maybeamultiverse]

I'm halfway done with the 2nd chapter of Terrha: Before I Go, Halovaya chapter 15, AND the 8th chapter of War Birds. Like, literally halfway with every update I have planned. Let's goooooooooooooooo

[maybeamultiverse]

I'm a very small writer with an extremely small collection of people who read what I write... but I'm so surprised that people seem to really like Terrha: Before I Go! Like omg <3

I hope to update it before my last semester at my current university before transferring to another school happens. I'll be in hell then, and def not be able to write for quite a few months.