Barking up the Muse Tree

Apr

2016

Portrait of a Character – Karyn Archer

Karyn Archer marries canon and fan fiction.

Origins

During the run of Star Trek: Enterprise, there is an episode where the ship meets its own descendants. It is through an odd time travel trope. E² has led me to four books and also two kicks back in time. Karyn is in the second one, and she is seen in Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.

I decided that Karyn, who in canon is Jonathan Archer‘s descendant, would also be a descendant to Lili and José. Hence she adds the captain, in a way, to the O’Day-Reed-Hayes-Digiorno-Madden family line.

Portrayal

Tess Lina as Karyn Archer (image is for educational purposes)

As in canon, Karyn is played by actress Tess Lina.

Personality

Friendly and generally upbeat, Karyn is a big part of why the older NX-01 holds together at all. She is vital to its existence.

Relationships

I don’t have a relationship for Karyn. People sometimes ‘ship her and Lorian, but I have him taking two separate human wives, and only having children with the first one. Karyn, unfortunately, is left out of the genetics sweepstakes.

Mirror Universe

Karyn, by definition, cannot exist in the Mirror Universe, as she is the product of a kick back in time. And in a way, I think that’s okay, because she gets a measure of goodness. Much like Dr. Hugh Culber in Star Trek Discovery, she does not have a dark side to her.

Quote

“Sir, they are going to want to know about the Xindi weapon, and why we did not stop it.”

Upshot

For a character with not a lot of screen time, Karyn is already pretty memorable. I hope I have done her some justice.

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Apr

2016

Review – Desperation

Desperation comes in an odd place in this story. But parents will know this feeling all too, uncomfortably, well.

Background

For a prompt of the same name, I decided to go with one of life’s little desperations. While others might have concentrated on a damaged ship or a damaged relationship, I zigged instead of zagged. Therefore, I wrote the merry mix-ups that occur when you are trying to toilet train your recalcitrant mixed-species toddler.

Yes, I went there.

Plot

Clockworks

Future Temporal Integrity Commission employee Otra D’Angelo experiences a small milestone in her young life. Takes place in 3069.

However, her parents are getting a bit impatient. But she doesn’t care. And so little Otra D’Angelo will not become toilet trained for love or money or any amount of coaxing.

So her father, Marco, is driven to broken English, mixed with Italian. And her mother, Chefra, wants to go back to work and is tired of this nonsense already.

But, like countless little children before her, Otra knows that she’s in control. So she takes full advantage of that. While Marco tears his hair out in frustration, and Chefra tries to sweet talk her, Otra has her own ideas.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

Star Trek is rather famous for not showing family life. But this is not only a mixed-species family, it is also a family where four separate languages are spoken! However, I think it’s a fairly decent introduction to Otra, the woman with an odd gift for seeing alternate timelines.

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Apr

2016

Portrait of a Character – Lucas Donnelly

Lucas Donnelly is an LGBTQ character.

Origins

I wanted Doug‘s first kill in the Mirror Universe to be kind of a lark, just to see if he could do it. Then, later, when I was writing more diverse characters, I wanted another gay male character. Enter Luke.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Lucas Donnelly

Eric Stoltz as Lucas Donnelly (image is for educational purposes only)

Luke is played by actor Eric Stolz. I really love how he has science fiction chops – he had a recurring role on Caprica.

I like this actor, who seemed effortlessly handsome when younger, and now looks like he’s got a few miles on him. That’s okay; that’s reality.

Personality

Aloof, a little bored, and also overly artistic, Luke considers making a play for Dave Constantine, in A Perfect Note. But he is discouraged when he learns that Constantine is going to Movie Night with Preston Jennings. But he writes his poem to Dave anyway, although he never sends it. Instead, he reveals to Lili that he wants to write tactical problems for cadets. He ends up sending his poem and a letter to a friend of his, a guy named Kobayashi Maru.

Relationships

Preston Jennings

During the E² kick backs in time, they end up together. The situation is not the best for either of them. In fact, prior to that, Preston had been approached by Diana as a kind of beard, and Ingrid also approached Luke. She didn’t know he was gay.

Mirror Universe

In the Mirror Universe, Luke has the dubious distinction of being Doug’s first kill.

Mirror Luke (Eric Stoltz. Image is for educational purposes only)

In Fortune, Doug reveals that Luke was the Barracks Chief and also, therefore, was his superior officer. In a fit of rage, and in order to move up in rank, Doug strangles the man with his bare hands, only to find that being in charge of the barracks was not all it had been cracked up to be.

Quote

“Yanno, I just want a damned perfect note. Something that, that takes care of everything. And if I couldn’t get one, dammit, I wanted to at least send one.”

Upshot

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Mar

2016

Progress Report – March 2016

So March 2016 proved to be another quiet month as school, work, and the G & T Show podcast took up a lot of my time. As a result, there was no new fan fiction created during this calendar month. However, a lot of my older works were distributed to wider and wider audiences. I am grateful for the recognition I have been getting for some of these pieces.

Posted Works

On Wattpad, I continued to add to Later Days, and therefore I posted Some Assembly Required; The Facts; Linfep Linfep Linfep; Consider the Lilies of the Field; In Memory of Kelsey Haber; If I Could See; Colleagues; The Pivot Point; About Nine Months; Debate; and Half.

In addition, on Fanfiction.net, I continued to post Ohio.

On the G & T Show forums, I finished posting Reversal. I then started with a new compilation, In Between Days, and added An Announcement, Dear Captain, Apple, and Local Flavor.

Milestones

See the Stats page for individual read and review counts.

WIP Corner

I worked even more closely with beta readers on The Enigman Cave, getting it more polished and ready for querying. The story is almost there and I hope it does well.

Prep Work

So I continued to work on the upcoming 2016 NaNoWriMo wholly original story, The Real Hub of the Universe, getting to know my main characters better and fleshing out the secondary characters a lot more. As a result, the project is looking really good and I am happy to be getting ready to write it.

This Month’s Productivity Killers

Work, school, the podcast, family stuff, you name it! I was busy or tired for much of the time, and often both. Hence, there was little new stuff to add.

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Mar

2016

Portrait of a Character – Trea Hoshi

Origins

First just seen as an embryo, barely a few hours old, Trea Hoshi is the embodiment of the hopes of the Arisian people. As the first female conceived since the elimination of women on that world, she is meant to begin a new era where the population again becomes regularly two-gendered. Her title, which is the title of the other girls (who are identical to her), means ‘Mother of the World’. Her very existence is owed, in There’s Something About Hoshi, to the female hormones of Hoshi Sato.

Portrayal

Ziyi Zhang as Trea Hoshi (image is presented for educational purposes only)

Trea Hoshi is played by actress Zhang Ziyi. I really loved the idea of using the same actress for Trea Hoshi as I had for Takara Masterson Sato Tucker, as the characters are similar in some ways. I have barely described the Arisians; they are essentially ‘forehead aliens’, with a pattern to their foreheads but otherwise little to distinguish them from humans.

Personality

Originally, I had not intended to write a sequel, called There’s Something Else About Hoshi. The opportunity presented itself when I was prompted to write to set a scene. But then there was the matter of an almost-grown Trea Hoshi herself.

She is somewhat schoolgirlish, and perhaps a bit overwhelmed by all of the attention that is continually showered on her and the other cloned girls.

Relationships

Her relationship is utterly unknown. At the end of There’s Something Else …, it’s Milit’s engagement to Trea Aquili that is announced. But there is, of course, someone for Trea Hoshi. Perhaps I’ll write that story one of these days.

Mirror Universe

I cannot see her as existing in the Mirror Universe, as her origins are dependent upon Hoshi Sato. I just do not see the Empress as having the time or interest or the sympathy for such things.

Quote

“Trea Aqili and Trea Mirana and I often speak of such things. The governmental ministers are most interested. They bring gifts, much like you have been provided with today.”

Upshot

As one of many clones, Trea Hoshi isn’t meant to be easy to know or distinguish from the other clones. The storyline might need to continue; it could say a lot about sexism, I imagine.

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Mar

2016

Review – Seven Women

Seven Women in memory, love, and loss.

Background

In Fortune, I established that Tommy Digiorno-Madden dies in the service of his captain. In Seven Women, I show exactly how that happens.

Plot

Seven Women

The story (which was written as a one a day ficlet challenge) opens with Tommy making it clear that there is a fireball coming, and it’s got his name on it.

The fire door is closed, he’s trapped, and there is no getting out of this one. Except he says this with no fear, no regrets, and no sorrow. It is just a simple fact. Since he sees his fate, he knows he is about to die.

In order to pass what little time he has left, he has visions. But he does not see his life pass before his eyes. Rather, he sees seven influential women from his life.

Melissa Madden

The first woman he remembers, naturally, is his mother, Melissa Madden. As he talks about her in the initial chapter, and he mentions her descent into Irumodic Syndrome dementia, he mentions Doug Beckett, too. While he recognizes that his half-brother, Joss, looks the most like Doug, it is he, Tommy, who is the most like their shared father. Because Tommy is a soldier.

Leonora Digiorno

The second woman he recalls is Norri, who he reveals he had a crush on. He remembers her teaching him to read and that, at her death, she said she saw a bridge and the doomed Kevin. And then he reveals that he’s seeing Kevin, too, and feels the brother who never had a chance is somehow there for him and is acting as a kind of spirit guide.

Cindy Morgan

His next memory is of Cindy Morgan, who he reveals (this was my own first inkling of this) was his first girlfriend. Unlike Joss and Jia, they did not work out.

Takara Masterson Sato

Fourth on his list is Takara Masterson Sato Tucker. In Fortune, I established that they made dream contact as children, but didn’t know if they had pursued it after that. However, the character spoke to me, and so dreaming with Takara became something that Tommy had done for his entire life.

Lili O’Day

Then his next revelation is about Lili O’Day, and he remembers her not only as Doug’s wife, but also her singing Arroz con Leche to him (a scene from Temper) and making empanadas, a detail that is also from Temper.

Erika Hernandez

The sixth woman is his old boss, Erika Hernandez. While Tommy is too young for Flight of the Bluebird, he is definitely there with Erika during later voyages, and is probably a part of patrolling the Neutral Zone.

The Last Woman

I won’t reveal the seventh woman. So you’ll just have to see for yourself.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K.

Upshot

I really loved giving Tommy some dimension, as he really didn’t have much beforehand. Joss and Neil and Empy and Dec (and even Kevin) seemed to have had more screen time.

But it’s Tommy who ends up becoming the most important person, ever, to the new timeline. And no one but the reader knows.

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Mar

2016

Portrait of a Character – Walter Woods

Origins

As I was writing the E² stories, one thing I wanted to have happen was for some of the relationships to not work out. One, in particular, would be a cuckolding, not found out until the birth of a child. Making matters more interesting, the child would be mixed race.

With canon character W. Woods (I gave him the first name of Walter), a rather dark-skinned man, the premise proved to be irresistible, a kind of secondary ‘three of us’, but a far from positive one.

Portrayal

Ricky Lomax as W. Woods (image is courtesy of Memory Alpha)

As in canon, Walter is played by background actor Ricky Lomax. I don’t believe he uttered a line in the entire series (although he was seen in the background of a lot of episodes in the series).

Personality

Lonely and caught up in the moment, but ultimately decent, Walter never means to hurt Victoria.

Relationships

Diana Jones

Before he asks out any of the other women, Walter first goes after Diana, who informs him that she is a lesbian. She points him in the direction of Vicki.

Victoria Dietrich

When Walter and Vicki are dating, in The Three of Us, he expresses his joy about their relationship. However, all is not quite right, although he technically never cheats on her. Once she hears about Mara, she kicks him to the curb and ends up with Mara’s ex, Robert Slater.

Mara Brodsky

Just before beginning to date Victoria, Walter is Mara‘s affair partner while she is married to Robert. In denial, she insists, and he agrees, that she is pregnant with Robert’s child. But once the baby is born, the jig is up.

They raise Jeffrey together, and end up together. They also have a daughter, Tanya.

Mirror Universe

Walter exists in the Mirror Universe, in canon. As is the case with every even halfway decent-looking man on the ISS Defiant, Empress Hoshi sleeps with him.

Ricky Lomax as Mirror W. Woods (image is courtesy of Memory Alpha)

But he isn’t high enough in the ranks for her to have his child.

I don’t have him challenging the status quo, and probably won’t write anything like that.

Quote

“I, I, Gods. I just got caught up. The, uh, the last time, it was less than a week before Victoria and I got together for the first time. And I, yanno, I was happy. So I just kinda swept it under the rug. And I figured, well, she couldn’t be pregnant by me. It had to be your kid. Had to!”

Upshot

This character, much like Patti Socorro, has been kicked around a lot. I don’t see him in a leading role but I do like him as a kind of background character, much like the actor really has been.

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Mar

2016

Spotlight on an Original Species, the Varg-i-yeh

Background

As almost a Mirror Universe version of Branch Borodin, I wanted to create an ultimate villain species which would be a race of shapeshifters who would use time to their advantage and as a means of crossing long spatial distances and, perhaps, attempting to live forever.

They would also be utterly ruthless, not caring at all about whoever got in their way.

As a counterpart to Keanu Reeves (who plays Branch), I wanted someone female who would also be able to do blank expressions, and hit upon the idea of Kristen Stewart.

Spotlight on an Original Species, the Varg-i-yeh

Kristen Stewart (image is presented for educational purposes only)

Being a shapeshifting race, the Varg-i-yeh can be nearly anything. Stewart is really more of a placeholder than anything else.

Upshot

I like that they were evil, but the truth is, I was tired of writing the series by then, and probably had them defeated a little too quickly. I could have done better by them, I know.
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Mar

2016

Review – The Decision

A decision changes Norri, Neil, and Declan’s lives the most.

Background

In May of 2206, the family gathers on Lafa II to make an important decision about Norri and Melissa‘s future.

Plot

There’s been an accident. An elderly Leonora Digiorno has fallen, and broken her hip. Her lover, Melissa Madden, has her own issues with Irumodic Syndrome. It’s becoming obvious that Norri can no longer care for Melissa on her own. What to do?

The story opens with a crack, as Marie Patrice Beckett slaps an Andorian model across the face and then fires the blue woman. Why does this happen? It’s because the model has the nerve to point out (and this is a fact, by the way) that, “It’s not like either of them are related to you.”

For Empy, who is an often selfish and flighty character, the slap is a confirmation that, when the chips are down, she will do right and will stand with her family.

The family gathers, from various postings, including Tommy, who is with Starfleet. In order to dovetail with Fortune, Declan Reed assumes the burden of caring for the two aging lesbians. He does so voluntarily, even before anyone else can suggest it. This story takes place before he meets Rebecca Shapiro again, and so he is free and has little else going on in his life. He’s divorced from Louise Schiller and is an artist in residence at Oxford University. But this is the future. He doesn’t have to physically be present in England in order for them to call him an artist in residence.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K.

Upshot

Much like Empy’s slap, Declan volunteering evokes the ironclad bond that the family has. Everyone steps up. Everyone agrees to do something. No one is left out, and no one wants to be. At the same time, no one tries to weasel out of their responsibilities, either. May we all be cared for that way in the future.

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Mar

2016

Portrait of a Character – Tina April

Origins

To play up just how much of a rat Rick Daniels is at the beginning of the Times of the HG Wells series, he had to have a girlfriend, who he would be cheating on. Enter Tina, who is named for the girlfriend in Quantum Leap and for canon starship captain Robert April (in fact, her father is named Bob).

Portrayal

Amy Smart as Tina April (image is provided for educational purposes only)

Tina is played by actress Amy Smart.

I wanted a lovely, younger actress who would be a bit out of Rick’s league.

Personality

This intelligent and sophisticated schoolteacher is not above using tears to try to get her way (she doesn’t succeed).

Relationships

Rick Daniels

Tina and Rick meet when Eleanor introduces her friend to her brother. It’s one of the initial drivers of Temper and is part of how the deep future part of that storyline gets kicked off. The relationship is mainly sexual; Rick breaks them up when she starts to insist on knowing where he is going and that she wants him to meet her father.

Troy Scott

During Spring Thaw, they start dating. Tina pushes for things to become serious a lot more quickly than Troy does.

Mirror Universe

There is no reason why Tina can’t be in the Mirror Universe.

Amy Smart as the Mirror Universe Tina (image is presented for educational purposes only)

She would have to be sexier and tougher. Since I have already established the role of ship’s teacher, Tina could be a much later version of Susan Cheshire, but without the alcoholism.

Quote

“You’ve got an implanted communicator. You’re quiet about what you do – and don’t think I haven’t noticed when you’ve oh so artfully changed the subject whenever I’ve asked you anything. I know more about what you think of Plato’s Republic than I do about what you’ll do or where you’ll go when you leave this apartment.”

Upshot

This initially throwaway character provides some grounding to Rick, at least in the beginning, and a person for Eleanor to confide in. But I don’t know if she’ll be back.

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Portrait of a Character – Karyn Archer

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – Desperation

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Lucas Donnelly

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Preston Jennings

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Progress Report – March 2016

Posted Works

Milestones

WIP Corner

Prep Work

This Month’s Productivity Killers

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Portrait of a Character – Trea Hoshi

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – Seven Women

Background

Plot

Melissa Madden

Leonora Digiorno

Cindy Morgan

Takara Masterson Sato

Lili O’Day

Erika Hernandez

The Last Woman

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Walter Woods

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Diana Jones

Victoria Dietrich

Mara Brodsky

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Spotlight on an Original Species, the Varg-i-yeh

Background

Upshot

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