Zoosemiotics by AstroGirl (G)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: astrogirl2
Author Website: Betty Ragan's Home Page, but Betty's on-line B7 stories are in the Hermit Library
Why this must be read:

Hi there, I'm driving the van for Blake's 7 for February; sorry I took so long to get it started.

I thought I'd rec LJ fiction this month. First up is this thoughtful and moving story written for the B7 crackficathon. It isn't crackfic at all however, with its insight into Cally and her isolation among aliens which hits her hard when her moondisc dies.

She wondered what had killed it. Perhaps conditions on the ship simply weren't suited to sustain it in the long term, though she had sensed no discomfort from it, even at the end. Perhaps it had simply reached the end of its allotted span. Or perhaps it had never been meant to live without the touch of others of its kind and had faded away because there was nothing left to keep it alive.

She carefully fed the remains into the recycler, emptied the sandbox, packed away the lamp. Then she sat down on the bed, staring at nothing until the nothing become blurred with moisture.

How odd, she thought, after all the deaths she'd seen, to finally cry over a plant.

When the crew realise how much the loss has affected her, they decide to help. Each tries to do so in their own way and with little real understanding of Cally herself. In fact, as kalypso_v says in a comment, they offer themselves in a way, so this poignant and lovely story tells us something of them too.

Zoosemiotics

Comments

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Aw, shucks! I was never actually very sure how well that story came out, to be honest. So it really is good to know it's considered worth not just reading, but reccing. :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It is! It's a such good take on Cally's isolation and the others' misdirected affection for her. :-)

[lady-smith.livejournal.com]

Astro, this thing is so recable, I now have to find a new rec for my turn next month.

Fortunately, you've written a lot of damn good stories in this fandom. :)

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Aww. *blush*