t h e   c h a k o t a y / s e v e n   f a q
 

[   chakotay/seven?  please explain...  ]
It goes like this.  I was originally a J/Cer, so serious about the relationship that I wouldn't contemplate any alternatives.  But then my attitude began to change.  I'm not sure whether it was through boredom, or simply the need for variety, but I started exploring other relationships, usually involving Janeway.

I'd suggested as far back as the fourth season that Chakotay/Seven might make an interesting relationship, simply because of their mutual connections with the Borg Collective and Janeway.  But it was speculation only -- they rarely had scenes together, rarely interacted at all.  I didn't go very far with my thinking, as Seven was becoming overused and irritating, and Chakotay was becoming underused and irritating.

Last year, I began to consider the possibility of Chakotay/Seven again.  I read several excellent Chakotay/Seven fanfics by Suz, Nanda and various other authors, and -- almost by accident -- wrote one myself.  I've completed a few others in the last few months, and have even more unfinished drafts on my hard drive.

I must admit, I like the idea of playing devil's advocate to everyone who says that C/7 wouldn't work.  I'm not sure if Beltran and Ryan have great chemistry, but then, sometimes I wonder whether Beltran has any chemistry with *anyone*, including Kate Mulgrew.  It's fanfiction -- I can play if I want to.
 

[  how can you construct a relationship between two people who have very few scenes together?  ]
With a certain amount of imagination and mental juggling.  We rarely see them interact onscreen, but realistically, Chakotay and Seven would have to work together fairly often.  Realism and Star Trek -- Voyager in particular, some would say -- are strange bedfellows, but it does serve its purpose occasionally *g*.

As for constructing a relationship, almost anything can be turned to 'ship purposes, and J/Cers have had a lot of practice at interpreting eye contact (it's a rare art).  There have certainly been moments throughout post-4th season Voyager -- standing *very* close together in "Night", some cute dialogue in "Demon" -- the only cute dialogue in that episode, most of "One Small Step".  And, of course, "Human Error".
 

[  so obviously, you'd be pretty happy about the whole "human interaction" thing  ]
Well, kind of.  I certainly wasn't dismissing the episode out of hand, but it seems awfully odd to create this relationship *now*, with less than ten episodes left of Voyager.  It's particularly strange coming on the back of the apparent resurrection of the J/C relationship in "Unimatrix 0 part 1", "Shattered" and "Workforce".  It's as though TPTB are building up to a punchline, and I have the horrible suspicion that the joke's on the J/Cers.

I haven't see "Human Error" yet, so I probably shouldn't judge it.  The advertising was tacky and exploitative, but the same could be said of many Voyager episodes, including the remarkable "Counterpoint".  It's certainly revived my interest in Seven of Nine and Chakotay, which isn't a bad thing.  The spoilers for "Natural Law" sound cliched, although it's probably too soon to judge.  I'm not getting upset about C/7 suddenly appearing in canon, but I'm not overly excited, either.   I just can't figure out why they would begin this relationship so late in the piece.
 

[  will you be continuing with the fanfic?  ]
It looks that way.  Right at this absolute second, I have little time for fanfic, but that's almost certain to change.  I have trouble predicting what I'll write next, but I don't think that I'm finished with C/7.
 

[  why go to all the trouble of building a webpage?  ]
I felt like it.  I wanted to use a couple of design ideas.  And I wanted to put all my C/7 fanfic in one place, because sooner or later, I'm going to write something which can't be hidden in my J/C fanfic.
 

[  so, did you lose the shift key on your keyboard?  what the hell happened to capital letters?  ]
(Actually, I don't anticipate anyone asking this, but I've thought it many times when visiting other sites)
It's just my attempt to go for a simple, stylish design.  I draw the line at abandoning punctuation, though.