jespah

Shuttlepod pilot, fan fiction writer, sentient marsupial canid.

May

2016

Review – Preparations

Preparations works as a kind of ‘curtain going up’ story. When I first wrote it, it was one of the only Times of the HG Wells prequel stories.

Background

As a prelude to understanding Rick’s first seduction (Lucretia Crossman), and as a way to showcase Crystal and her talents, I decided to show a little bit about how Richard would get ready to go to Penn’s Woods.

Furthermore, the prompt was about non-officer characters. Crystal fit the bill rather neatly as she is a civilian when the story takes place. But even after her hiring, she really isn’t even an Ensign. She represents one of my ultimate outsider characters. And the truth is, Lili is one, too. I love the idea of this sort of a fish out of water being a part of Starfleet or at least the Star Trek universe. Yet that makes sense, as I would certainly be just as much of an outsider if, somehow, I were suddenly a part of the canon. Furthermore, I think most of us would be.

Plot

Clockworks

So in early 3101, Temporal Agent Richard Daniels is prepared for his 1699 Penn’s Woods trip by Crystal Sherwood.

This is before Crystal gets a job with the Temporal Integrity Commission. Therefore, it was a good opportunity to demonstrate why he would recommend, in A Long, Long Time Ago, that she be hired for the open Quartermaster position. Crystal has talent, and it shows.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

I love Crystal and I enjoyed showcasing her in her element, particularly as she pushes Rick around a little.

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May

2016

Portrait of a Character – Victoria Dietrich

Victoria Dietrich serves several purposes.

Origins

During the E² timeline, I wanted to showcase a bad marriage, where the husband would be cuckolded and it would not be discovered until the birth of what he thinks would be his child. But instead, the child would be of a different race. At the same time, I also needed a teacher character to handle the children. And so Victoria was born.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Victoria Dietrich

Rooney Mara as Victoria Dietrich (image is for educational purposes only)

Vicki is played by actress Rooney Mara.

I like a chameleon-like actress, and Mara certainly fits the bill.

Personality

A bit gossipy and maybe a little haughty, Vicki seems like a standard crew member. Until she gets caught up in the drama of the Slaters’ divorce.

Relationships

Walter Woods

During The Three of Us, they start going out. All seems well, until Mara Brodsky’s baby is found out to be Walter’s and not her husband, Robert Slater’s. Humiliated, Vicki kicks Walter out.

Robert Slater

After the divorce, the two of them find mutual comfort, although the captain warns them against rebound relationships. In Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Robert and Vicki get together and she bypasses Walter in her affections completely. They both lose their lives in an Insectoid-Imvari raid on the ship.

Mirror Universe

There are no impediments to Victoria existing in the Mirror.

Rooney Mara as Mirror Victoria (image is for educational purposes only)

However, with Empress Hoshi having Aidan hire Susan, there is no need for Vicki for teaching. Hence she would remain in Tactical, most likely, and might not be plain or competent enough for Hoshi to not consider her a threat and/or want her around. Perhaps she would serve on a different ship entirely.

Quote

“But it was possible. And you just figured you wouldn’t tell me that you had slept with a married woman?”

Upshot

I think this character could be rather striking in the Mirror. Perhaps I’ll revisit her, and write that someday.

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May

2016

Review – Briefing

Briefing is a quickie.

Background

Since I had wanted to write a quick drabble, I pulled Rick Daniels into the Temporal Integrity Commission. However I also, potentially, wanted to attract another group of readers. Unfortunately, this did not really work. Hence I did not get the new readers I wanted.

Plot

Clockworks

In 3096, Richard Daniels joins the Temporal Integrity Commission as a Temporal Agent.

But in order to get him ready, he gets a bit of a background on his mission. And so the story introduces the commission. As a result, I included a smidgen of world building. The temporal agent gets a support team.

After all, who would have watched Enterprise and thought he wouldn’t have one? Consider the scene where Daniels and Jonathan Archer see a ruined deep future skyscraper? Daniels says he ate lunch in there. An enormous building, by definition, means there would have been people in it. And those people – at least some of them, at any rate – should have been supporting the temporal agent. Otherwise, how could he accomplish his missions, or even select them?

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

So the story is understandably short. But I feel that it is fair to middling. Since it’s not bad, but not great, either. And certainly more time could have and should have been spent on this particular event. Perhaps, at some point, I will write more about this and will flesh out the details better. But for now, it feels like more of a snack than a meal.

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May

2016

Portrait of a Character – Rex Ryan

Rex Ryan plays the guitar.

Origins

The character is canon, although he did not have a first name. I’m not even so sure this was a speaking part. I named the character, as yet another reference to actor Steven Culp, after the Desperate Housewives character he played, Rex Van de Camp. Rex is not named after the coach of the New York Jets.

Portrayal

Jason Collins as R. Ryan (Rex Ryan) (image is for educational purposes)

As in canon, Rex is played by actor Jason Collins. I do not know too much about the actor. It appears that he has gotten some work since the show went off the air. Good for him.

Personality

Shy and reserved, Rex is not the kind of guy who will ever be a leader or really promoted, although I can see him as getting commendations. I don’t send him on the failed missions, either.

Relationships

Meredith Porter

As The Three of Us opens, Rex is one of the men who, it seems, is going to be left out of the gene pool. But he gets an idea, and hauls out his guitar, once he learns that Meredith can sing. She is older than him, but that doesn’t matter. They also marry during Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.

Do they get together outside of the kicks back in time? It is certainly possible, as they look at each other during the reception at the end of Everybody Knows. I like to think that, just as with Frank and Dave, the strange experience gives them the kind of mental permission they need to go ahead.

Theme Music

Rex’s first number with Meredith is Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land.

Mirror Universe

While the character does not appear in the canon Mirror Universe episodes, there is no reason why he can’t exist there.

Jason Collins as Mirror (sort of) Rex (image is for educational purposes)

There is even the possibility that he could get together with Meredith. After all, Empress Hoshi doesn’t like competition from the female members of her crew, but she might be all right with the older engineer, and might not see Porter as a threat.

Quote

“Look, I’m gonna bring my guitar to the Observation Lounge every day this week. And you can listen or sing along or just give me the stink eye, whatever you want. Or you can get up and leave the room. And except for you up and leaving, I figure, it’ll be a positive sign. I’ll play, and you’ll do whatever you’re gonna do. And, well, please don’t go.”

Upshot

I like the idea of a shy, reserved tough guy who gets the girl in the end. I think Meredith and Rex will both be back at some point.

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Apr

2016

Progress Report – April 2016

Posted Works

April 2016 ended up being another fairly quiet month as I was busy with wrapping up schoolwork in preparation for my capstone project, working on preparing the first stages of the capstone, blogging and podcasting with the G & T Show, doing family things, working at the wedding blog, and reporting (in my capacity as both a Star Trek fan and a retired attorney) on the legalistic debacle going on. This left little time for creating new works.

On Wattpad, I posted a big chunk of Flight of the Bluebird. My story, If I Had to Do Over Again (it appears within The Three of Us) appeared in a Wattpad ‘magazine’, Tevan Krus, The Fanfic Spectacular!

On the G & T Show forums, I added to In Between Days by posting A Kind of Blue, Gainful, The Tribe, Brown, Friday Visit, Barely Tolerable, Pacing, The Gift, and Voice of the Common Man. Interest has really picked up there recently, and I am grateful! 🙂

On Fanfiction.net, I finished posting Ohio and started in on You Mixed-Up Siciliano.

In response to a prompt about having to start over, I posted a short story about Kevin O’Connor‘s second wedding, I Do Again.

Milestones

See the Stats page for individual read and review counts.

WIP Corner

I spent some time on this year’s NaNoWriMo novel, The Real Hub of the Universe. The characters feel real and a lot of the scenes are truly vivid.

But then there’s the matter of the plot holes you could drive a truck through. Or, in that story line’s case, a horse and buggy. I will have to work on it later.

Prep Work

For the second annual Alzheimer’s charity anthology (The Longest Night Watch), I wrote a wholly original short story, Cynthia.

This Month’s Productivity Killers

You name it. School. Work. Podcasting. Family. About the only thing that didn’t stop me from writing was a swarm of locusts. So I guess I’ll be expecting one in May.

Life is busy and it is not about to let up any time soon. Ah, well.

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Apr

2016

Portrait of a Character – Linda Orenstein Shapiro

Linda Orenstein Shapiro shows up in two rather different stories.

Origins

As I wrote The Light, I wanted Ethan Shapiro to contact his mother as a part of discussing his Aunt Rachel’s death. Rachel is also Linda’s aunt. Linda is named after two of my aunts.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Linda Orenstein Shapiro

Valerie Harper as Linda Orenstein Shapiro

Linda is played by actress Valerie Harper. I like the idea of a semi-wisecracking woman in this role. She is a fairly clichéd role, so to my mind that makes some sense.

Funny, though, the actress is actually not Jewish. But I still see her in the role.

Personality

A bit of a worrier, and deeply religious, Linda is seen only twice. Once is in the context of Rachel’s death. The other time is in a fevered coma dream during Entanglements. Ethan asks if he will ever fall in love. Linda responds, “I think that will happen. Just be patient, Ethan. And remember – she might not look like what you think she should. But that doesn’t matter. Look with your heart, and see with your soul.”

Relationships

Linda’s only known relationship is with Ethan’s father, who I don’t believe I have ever actually named.

Mirror Universe

It is possible that Linda exists in the Mirror Universe.

Valerie Harper as Mirror Linda (image is provided for educational purposes)

Ethan (at least, the Ethan who is her son) does not. But that does not preclude her own existence there.

Women in the Mirror Universe need to remain attractive longer (at least, as I write them), so she would possibly have surgery or at least be a serious user of makeup.

Quote

“It’s a shonda, so few Jews on board. Andrew; you’ll call your mother for Chanukah, right?”

Upshot

I particularly loved bringing Linda back for another round, to comfort a comatose Ethan and give him some hope for the future. In a way, much like Ian does for Lili, Linda predicts the future for Ethan, and shows him that the path might be somewhat crooked, but it will all work out in the end.

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Apr

2016

Review – The Honky Tonk Angel

Who is the Honky Tonk Angel? The answer might surprise you.

Background

For a prompt about vices, I decided that the vices would, perhaps, be small ones. It would be the kinds of things that you might talk about on a first date. And so I thought of my favorite odd couple. Their first date had been mentioned but not shown; this proved to be a good opportunity to rectify that.

Plot

Clockworks

Kevin O’Connor and Jhasi Tantharis go on their first date, on December 21, 3088.

They go to a baseball game, and he has to help her get a cap that will fit. However, she accidentally grabs one for the wrong team. But that is more than forgivable.

After all, she’s blind.

But that hardly matters, as they have a lovely time of it. Then Kevin messes up, and calls her Josie. But Jhasi is okay with this, and finds it amusing. She then confesses that she does not always keep in touch with her family like she should, and gives up on things too soon. Kevin, to his credit, seizes the opportunity and asks her to not give up on the two of them.

Josie, of course, does not.

Music

The music is, of course, the Kitty Wells song, It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

I really enjoyed putting together this first glimpse into one of my favorite love stories.

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Apr

2016

Portrait of a Character – Michael Rostov

Michael Rostov is canon but also fan fiction.

Origins

Portrait of a Character – Michael Rostov

Joseph Will as Michael Rostov, with Linda Park as Hoshi Sato (image is for educational purposes)

The character is canon, first on screen during the Vox Sola episode.

He also shows up two more times, in Two Days and Two Nights, and The Crossing. However, it’s only in Vox Sola where he is shown with J. Kelly, who calls him by his first name. So in canon, they clearly know each other well.

Portrayal

As in canon, Michael is played by actor Joseph Will. I like this big lug of a guy, who also seems to have a good sense of humor.

Personality

Kind and competent, Mike is not necessarily going to ever become a leader. But he truly loves Judy, and is a particularly good father to their daughter in the first E² kick back in time, Valleri.

Relationships

Judy Kelly

During both kicks back in time, Michael and Judy marry. In fact, in the first iteration, they are the first to wed. So they essentially kick off the romances. Their wedding ends Reflections Down a Corridor.

Mirror Universe

So there do not seem to be any impediments to Michael existing in the Mirror Universe.

Joseph Will as Mirror Michael Rostov

While he is not shown in the two canon MU episodes, that does not mean that he does not exist there.

Because Mirror personalities are often different, he might be less shy, and even a ruthless businessman.

Quote

“I don’t wanna just be friends. I, I know it’s early. Maybe you wanna see if you have, uh, other prospects.”

Upshot

I was glad to be able to give this canon character a little more substance. I hope I did right by him.

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Apr

2016

Focus – Irumodic Syndrome

Focus on Irumodic Syndrome

Irumodic Syndrome is a canon disease much like Alzheimer’s.

Focus

A focus (unlike a spotlight) is an in-depth look at a Star Trek fanfiction canon item and my twist(s) on it.

Of course, all of fan fiction is like that, but the idea here is to provide a window into how a single canon concept can be used in fan fiction.

Background

Comparison of character suffering Irumodic Syndrome, versus reality for actor. Image is provided for educational purposes only.

The canon equivalent of Alzheimer’s Disease makes for a fascinating detail to any plot. It is really only mentioned in The Next Generation, where Captain Jean-Luc Picard gets it as a part of the series finale, All Good Things ….

Just like Alzheimer’s is today, Irumodic Syndrome is devastating, heartbreaking, and incurable.

Occurrences

Diana Jones

For Diana, her Irumodic Syndrome wreaks havoc with the life of her wife, Rabbi Leah Benson. In Bread, Diana has clearly been suffering for a long time. Leah feels she should quit her job and focus on Diana and the time they have left. But, sadly, Diana is beginning to forget everyone. Leah knows that, eventually, she’ll be next.

Melissa Madden

For Melissa, who suffers tremendously, suicide seems like the most logical solution. She even plans it in Fortune, as a kind of confirmation of her behavior during the alternate timeline in Temper. Adding the forgetting insult to injury for Norri is that Melissa often calls her Belinda. So Norri is not only reminded of Melissa’s decline, but also of her own mother’s death.

Upshot

The Star Trek future sometimes seems to be far too achingly perfect. Nothing ever seems to go wrong, or at least the bad times don’t stick around. This disease cuts right through that and adds a sobering note of reality to all that it touches.

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Apr

2016

Review – Recruitment

Recruitment is just plain weird.

Background

It is perhaps one of the odder stories I have ever written for Star Trek fanfiction. It is about the recruitment of a new Section 31 agent. Because it was written for Andorian Week, the main character is an Andorian.

Plot

Clockworks

In 3087, Section 31 puts a potential agent through her paces.

However, in a scene reminiscent of Men in Black, an Andorian is thrown into an utterly unfamiliar situation. And she is expected to solve a puzzle. Complicating matters is the fact that it’s hard to tell who is competing against her, or even if anyone is. And perhaps they aren’t.

At the time, I was in the middle of helping out with Multiverse II. And I was also writing about Daniel Beauchaine‘s betrayal of the Temporal Integrity Commission. Hence I combined those ideas a bit. Furthermore, I added a holodeck simulation of Duluth, destroyed by nuclear war (an event also commemorated in The Three of Us). At the time, Rick Daniels was the only deep future branch of Malcolm‘s family (along with Eleanor and their father, Steven). Hence I added a pale fellow (a shout out to ancestor Lili O’Day), who the main character only refers to as ‘Sven’, as he seems to look Swedish.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

Since the story is strange, it suffers from some odd dreamlike qualities. Some of it was quite literally was taken from a dream. That included a strange, almost living, elevator. Therefore, it is an offshoot. It’s a kind of spur on the highway right now. I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to it. Although Steven Reed might be revisited a little in the Barnstorming series.

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Review – Preparations

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Victoria Dietrich

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Walter Woods

Robert Slater

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – Briefing

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Rex Ryan

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Meredith Porter

Theme Music

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Progress Report – April 2016

Posted Works

Milestones

WIP Corner

Prep Work

This Month’s Productivity Killers

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Portrait of a Character – Linda Orenstein Shapiro

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – The Honky Tonk Angel

Background

Plot

Music

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Michael Rostov

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Judy Kelly

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Focus on Irumodic Syndrome

Focus