Gorn

Review – Truth

Review – Truth

Truth, of course, matters.

Background

So once again, the prompt is the same as the name of the story. However, I did not realize how the plot would turn out until I was writing it. Bron suddenly spoke to me, and I just took dictation. And that is the most fun when you write.

Plot

Barking up the muse tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | The truth about Bron

The truth about Bron

So a year after Bron and Sophra start going out, he meets her parents. As they fret a bit about the relationship and he gets even more nervous, he suddenly blurts out the truth. And he absolutely did not plan to do that.

Poor Bron! Always so sensitive and sweet. Sophra’s parents are skeptical, and her father in particular is unsure of things. Bron doesn’t even tell or ask Sophra first. Instead, as her father asks for his intentions, Bron blurts out that his intention is marriage. Yet this surprises everyone – in particular, Sophra herself. While she had to have known she was a serious individual, she might have considered that their relationship would have moved a little more slowly. However, she accepts his sudden proposal gladly.

Initially appalled, Sophra’s parents come around when Bron tells them he will have a good engineering job and they will likely adopt children as the chance of having their own probably isn’t there. A little grudgingly, perhaps, they accept him.  I like to think they can look beyond his clearly rather alien appearance.

Story Postings

Rating

This story is rated K.

Upshot

So as is always the case with Bron, a little bit of haplessness creeps in. But he’s kind, smart, and committed, and I think you just can’t help but to root for him. I think those two crazy kids might just make it after all.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Mixing It Up Collection, Review, 2 comments

Review – Transported

Review – Transported

Transported makes use of a double meaning.

Background

Hence for a prompt of the same name, I wanted to cover a rather different type of transporting. Instead, it would be the kind which happens when you are overly engrossed in something. In addition, that certain something would be not so safe for work or for children.

Plot

Barking up the muse tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | The truth about Bron | Transported

Transported

Skrol and Tr’Dorna misbehave during a class field trip. The premise is rather simple and has very little description. In fact, the entire story is little more than a sketch.

It is late and the class at Picard High School is heading back from a field trip to … somewhere. Yet it doesn’t matter where.

Because all that matters is that it’s crowded and hot and dark, and Tr’Dorna is wearing a skirt, as she and Skrol have sex in the transport, not ten feet away from their teacher. Because of the nature of this little story, keep children far, far away. I mean it!

Story Postings

Rating

This story has an M rating.

Upshot

I liked the idea of a couple getting it on in such a public and dangerous manner. The only other couple I have had, so far, to do such a thing, are Jay Hayes and Susan Cheshire. However, you never see them in the act; the reference is just one of Jay’s memories of her. Although, does anyone see Skrol and Tr’Dorna? I honestly don’t know. Also, I have no idea if any could see Jay and Susan. However, I feel that adds some mystique. If the real answer is unknown, then you can think whatever you like.

Here, the act and its leadup are covered pretty nicely, I feel.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Mixing It Up Collection, Review, 0 comments

Review – Losin’ It

Review – Losin’ It

Losin (Losin’) It? So, what does that mean? Of course, it has to do with sex. However, it also has a lot to do with innocence.  So this means truth and it means lies. And while I can’t recall whether this story came before Truth or the other way around, it does serve as a tidy bookend to the other short tale. For Bron, clearly, it’s all about the truth. And for Skrol, equally as clearly, it is more about the exaggeration.

Background

The prompt for a monthly challenge was, if I recall correctly, about lying. And who better to lie than the semi-silver-tongued reptilian devil himself, Skrol?

Losin the Plot

Barking up the muse tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Losin' It

Losin’ It

Oh, what has Skrol done now?

Like teenagers from time immemorial, Tr’Dorna, Skrol, Etrina, Bron, and Sophra are all a little obsessed with each others’ lives. So this includes the inevitable question of, are you still a virgin? Because by that time, not everyone is.

Skrol hatches a plan to get Tr’Dorna to flip her tail for him (essentially, for them to have sex or at least get close to that) by lying to her and saying that not only is he a virgin, but that she is the first female he has ever kissed.

Bron calls him out on it and he threatens to tell Tr’Dorna. As a result, Skrol is forced to confess.

Story Postings

Rating

This story is rated T.

Upshot

The story is okay; it’s not great and I would not put it up there with my better work. It’s just a little teenaged humor story more than anything else. However, it told me more about Skrol, and that’s always a good thing, to know the characters even better.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Mixing It Up Collection, Review, 1 comment

Review – Insecurity

Review – Insecurity

Insecurity can happen to any of us. So who better to illustrate that than my favorite Gorn?

Background

Therefore, in response to a prompt of the same name, I decided to revisit one of my favorite non-human interspecies couples. For these mixed-alien lovers, who also just so happen to be teenagers, a short separation is a cause for concern. And like so many teens throughout history, it hurts to be apart. Even someone who is not jealous can wonder just what is going on. And slow or missing communications make that even worse.

Plot

Barking up the muse tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | The truth about Bron | Insecurity

Insecurity

A few weeks after Bron and Sophra start going out, they are separated due to the school’s vacation schedule.

Bron, as always, is the somewhat nerdy and very shy and perhaps overly sensitive. Hence it’s a somewhat banal thing, for a teenaged couple to be separated for some reason or another, and for one of them to be freaking out.

And of all the people to come to Bron’s rescue, it’s Tr’Dorna who tells him to hang in there, and that it’s all going to be okay. Bron even gets in an aside to Skrol, telling him that Tr’Dorna is a good person and he should better appreciate her. As a result, this story also represents me getting to know and better appreciate Tr’Dorna! And when she becomes Bron’s comforter (and, in a way, something of a confessor for him), she suddenly had a dimension and a character. She had not had those before.

Story Postings

Rating

This story is rated K.

Upshot

I love my poor little sensitive New Aged-Gorn. And – spoiler alert – it will be okay.  Because Sophra understands. Long live Bron!

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Mixing It Up Collection, Review, 1 comment

Review – Candy

Review – Candy

Candy came about because of a short throwaway line about Jhasi’s wedding dress having a stripe.

Background

In response to a prompt about rituals, I decided to go with a renewal of wedding vows. I had already established that this event had happened, but I had not yet shown it.  However, for Kevin O’Connor and Jhasi Tantharis O’Connor, the occasion is bittersweet, for she is dying.

Plot

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Clockworks | Candy

Clockworks

Kevin and Josie prepare for May 4, 3108, a special day on Tandar Prime.

Because Piaris Syndrome is killing her, and it is going to be sooner, rather than later. So Kevin knows this and, while he is not exactly keeping the truth from Josie, he is also not in a rush to tell her, either. But Josie would have to be either a fool or too far gone to not know her fate. Furthermore, she would have to know time was running low. Very, painfully, low.

And so they perform the initial and familiar rituals of caregiver and patient, as he cleans her up and dresses her. Eventually, she asks why, and he tells her. Finally, the last moment of the story consists of of him picking her up to carry her.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

While I like to think that I don’t write tearjerkers, this one just might qualify  as one. I hope that the push and pull of Josie and Kevin feels real and not forced or manipulated. Furthermore, it is a hard story to read, at times, for this, or something like it, might be the fate of us all.

And may we all be blessed with someone as devoted as Kevin.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Review, Times of the HG Wells series, 0 comments

Review – The Honky Tonk Angel

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

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Clockworks | The Honk Tonk Angel

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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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Review, Times of the HG Wells series, 0 comments

Portrait of a Character – Skrol

Portrait of a Character – Skrol

Origins

Portrait of a Character – Skrol

Slar, a canon Gorn

How do you make Gorn likable, or at least relatable? After all, they’re reptiles, and have always and only been shown in Star Trek canon as hissing, over the top villains.

Portrayal

Skrol is played by actor James Franco.

Portrait of a Character – Skrol

James Franco at the premiere of Spiderman 3 in Queens, New York. This is a cropped version of File:James Franco by David Shankbone.jpg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I like the idea of getting a good-looking guy into a big rubber suit and having an actor (and the audience) rely on voice and physical presence, rather than looks or basic makeup.

Personality

Skrol is like about half or so of all teenaged boys I knew from High School. He’s a horndog.

But he’s also funny and kind when he wants to be. He and Bron are extremely good friends, and he does care about Tr’Dorna in his own way, although he also really, really wants her to flip her tail for him.

He also, sometimes, is a rat. In Losin’ It, he lies to Tr’Dorna and the others in order to try to get her to flip tail.

Relationships

Tr’Dorna

Will they stay together? It’s hard to say. It’s a High School romance and, as such, the odds are not great. Plus he has not always been straight with her. As for him being true, that might be due more to a lack of appropriate opportunities than any sense of loyalty. After all, Etrina and Tr’Dorna are the only Xindi Reptilian girls at Picard High School, and they’re roommates. Even a potential player like Skrol would be hard-pressed to justify going after both of them.

Mirror Universe

Portrait of a Character – Skrol

Actor James Franco attends “Shorts #1 – GSA Shorts” screening on October 9, 2010 at United Artists Theater in East Hampton, New York. (Photo © Nick Stepowyj) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t suppose there’s any reason why Skrol can’t exist in the Mirror Universe.

A lot of people write the Mirror as being the complete opposite of our universe, and so they would write sneering villains as angels and vice versa. I’m not so sure what would happen although I see that entire universe as being tougher. Even as a teenager, Skrol would have to be. He’d probably be pushed into a military school, much like Doug is at that age.

Quote

“Listen, the warmies don’t have tails. At least, not the kinds I know about. And lemme tell ya, there is nothing like a scaly tail.”

Upshot

I like writing the fun, silly teenaged reptiles. They’ll be back at some point.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Mixing It Up Collection, Portrait, 3 comments

Portrait of a Character – Sophra

Portrait of a Character – Sophra

Origins

For The Reptile Speaks, I wanted a Gorn to be reciting poetry to a Cardassian girl. As a result, Sophra was created.

Portrayal

Sophra is played by actress Selena Gomez.

Portrait of a Character – Sophra

Selena Gomez as Sophra

I really like the idea of the character being cute and not desperate, that she and Bron would enjoy each other’s company and it would not be her settling.

Personality

Sweet and caring, Sophra is more mature than most of the other girls in school, who care more for parties and field trips than the heavy lifting of serious relationships.

Relationships

Bron

They meet at Picard High School, and he falls for her, hard. But his roommate, Skrol, tells him that it is impossible, and he should court a Xindi Reptilian girl, like he is with Tr’Dorna. The Sadie Hawkins Day dance is an occasion when Bron can impress, and he does. They begin to date. Bron is certainly more smitten with Sophra than the other way around, at least to start. But she cares and even stands up for him when he meets her parents for the first time and it looks as if he’s blown it.

Mirror Universe

Portrait of a Character – Sophra

Selena Gomez as Mirror Sophra

There are no impediments to Sophra existing in the Mirror Universe.

However, like any other cute girl of any species, she would likely be sexualized rather early. As for a relationship with Bron’s counterpart, it would likely be impossible.

Quote

“Don’t you like the middle of the day? When the sun is high up and shadows are close to people? I know that’s the time that I like the best. When the shadow is right there, touching.”

Upshot

I would love to be able to give Sophra more of a personality. As she currently exists, she is more of a sweet girlfriend and then fiancée than anything else. I would like for this character to have more of an independent existence at some point. Otherwise, she ends up being kind of bland.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Mixing It Up Collection, Portrait, 3 comments

Portrait of a Character – Victor Brown

Portrait of a Character – Victor Brown

Victor Brown has a less than honorable time of it in my stories.

Origins

This character is canon, although he was rarely on screen and only had a first initial.

What is always interesting and challenging for me is to try to put some flesh and blood onto bare bones canon characters.

This character is without a doubt one of those.

Portrayal

As in canon, Victor is played by stunt performer Yoshio Iizuka.

Personality

Portrait of a Character – Victor Brown

Yoshio Iizuka as Victor Brown

In the E2 timeline, Victor is one of the men who behaves rather badly. However, when he’s backed into a corner, he ultimately does the right thing, mainly to repair his marriage.  When accused, he (and Neil Kemper) confess to Captain Archer, they get lighter sentences than the others, in the matter of the attack on Patti Socorro.

Relationships

Cassandra Lester

Cassie is even less defined and I have very little on her, except that she is a Navigational Crewman.  They do not have children in either iteration/kick back in time.

Mirror Universe

Portrait of a Character – Victor Brown

Mirror MACO Victor Brown

This character exists in the Mirror Universe.

There is very little about him in the Mirror, although he is injured in the attempt to capture Slar (a Gorn), an attempt that causes Ian Reed to lose an eye. As for what happens to Victor afterwards, it’s anybody’s guess.

However, given the horrific medical care that I write for the Mirror Universe, and the fact that he is a lower level crew member, he would likely be patched up quickly in order to fight another day, but with few niceties. Would Empress Hoshi have him on her ship?

Only if he could prove loyalty to her, and no loyalty to Reed. And even then, maybe not. Far as she’s concerned, he’s cannon fodder and nothing more.

Quote

“Chang is saying that it’s not going to matter what we do or say, but I think it does matter. And even if it does nothing to my sentence or whatever the captain has in mind, it may make a difference with Cassie. And that’s all I really care about. I gotta repair my marriage. I am gonna break this code of silence.”

Upshot

There are a ton of these extra performers who had few lines. It is often a fascinating challenge to give them some depth. I hope I’ve done Victor some justice.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, In Between Days series, Interphases series, Portrait, 0 comments

Best Genre Treatment 2

Best Genre Treatment 2

For the best genre treatment 2, let’s take a look at my best stories in four more genres. Hence these are what are (to me) my best Star Trek fan fiction stories in particular writing genres.

Historical

There can only be one for the Best Genre Treatment 2.

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Concord | Best Genre Treatment 2

Concord

While I also love Crackerjack, and all of the HG Wells stories, I believe that, by far, my best historical fiction story is Concord.

I have never, ever worked so hard to get a story right, than I did with Concord.

From its cover (that’s the bridge leading from Lexington to Concord and, yes, there was an engagement on it), to determining whether men would tip their hats to women (yes), to figuring out Colonial Era market prices, to even deciding the name of one of the cows, Concord is an absolute labor of love.

The premise of the story is an interphase: Malcolm is transported to April 1775 Lexington, Massachusetts, and takes the place of an ancestor, just as a future time traveler, during the time of the Genesis Project, takes the place of his own ancestor, who is fighting alongside Malcolm’s ancestor. Injured in the fighting, Malcolm and the time traveler, Robert Lennox, are quartered in a home, where they meet, among other people, Benjamin Warren.

IDIC

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Future Matches | Best Genre Treatment 2

Future Matches

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations brings to mind LGBTQ story lines. In this genre, my favorite (which is also a reader favorite) is Detached Curiosity & Idle Speculation.

Working as both a prequel to There’s Something About Hoshi and a sequel to the E2 stories, Detached tells the story of how Dave Constantine and Frank Todd started dating.

With what is almost 20/20 hindsight, the men know that they were together and that their relationship worked out. But it’s still tentative and a little strange. But when they kiss, you want to cheer.

Romance

This was easily the most difficult decision, to figure out which was the best of these many stories.  Three stories get an honorable mention here. First is The Reptile Speaks, which is a Gorn romancing a Cardassian.  I loved the idea of putting together a rather different couple, and how someone who looks so menacing could, at bottom, be a truly good person.

Reversal has to be mentioned, as it is not only the love of the dark stranger for the light, but it’s also an amazing kick-off story. A ton of roads lead straight to Reversal.

The Honky Tonk Angel also deserves mention, as it’s another odd couple type of story, as Kevin O’Connor and Jhasi Tantharis go on their first date.

But the winner, the best one (and I might change my mind tomorrow) is The Three of Us .

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | The Three of Us

The Three of Us

All of the E2 stories were labors of love, but Three is really the big one. That is also due to, in part, its size.

Characters move from misbehaving and acting childishly, to acting criminally, to eventually maturing. Kindness, friendship, and togetherness, lead to more.

As you might expect from such a title, the relationship is an unconventional one.

But the parties persevere, and grow, as time pulls them along and they experience not just romantic love, but also brotherhood, fellowship, parenthood, and, ultimately, tragedy.

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | The Sparrow and the Blue Jay

The Sparrow and the Blue Jay

This image becomes particularly important, and is a part of one of the story’s many high points.

I love this story, from its tentative, scared, damaged people, to its criminals, to its hopefulness, to its sorrow. As Lili O’Day says in Fortune, “There is something there.”

Tragedy

Nothing really comes close to Seven Women, when it comes to tragedy.  From the very start, I tell the reader that Tommy Digiono-Madden is going to die. A fireball is coming, the fire door is shut, and he cannot outrun any of it. He knows this is it. But instead of having his life flash before his eyes, Tommy instead thinks of seven pivotal women in his life. They range from the three women he called mother, to his first girlfriend, and more.

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Seven Women

Seven Women

This was a character I had only written little snippets of, and very few as an adult.  As readers got to know Tommy, so did I. The best decision I made in that story was to not bow to internal pressure to give him a happy ending.

Spoiler alert: he doesn’t get one.

Upshot

The best romance story was easily the hardest of these decisions to make. Tune in; I may do this again next year.

Posted by jespah in Meta, Review, 6 comments