Otter's Rock

So, school has started, and since I'm taking classes for grades this semester instead of pass/fail, my schoolwork is taking more time than it has in the past. (My seminary is not geared towards academics, it's geared towards people who want to be in parish ministry their whole careers, I'd say more people take their classes pass/fail than for grades. Not that I ever used the pass/fail thing as an excuse to slack off; but I wasn't obsessive, you know?) Anyway, my writing time is much curtailed.

I'm still excited about in_the_beginning but I'm definitely only going to be writing one of the two prompts I claimed. Moses and his identity issues will have to wait; Miriam and Deborah and the Word of God need to be finished ASAP so they can get sent off to beta.

sg_rarepairings is going to be run on a prompt-claim basis this year, which is both slightly disappointing and slightly relieving. I'm looking forward to it. And to the knowledge that I definitely won't be writing Sarah Gardner/Daniel Jackson this year, having written that two years running due to being assigned to the same person. But given its timing, it will be overlapping with yuletide, and both of course overlap with the end of the semester and the Christmas rush, and gah. It'll all work itself out, right? Right?

Meanwhile, I've got a Reboot Spock/Uhura piece dealing with some harsh Vulcan realities that's almost certainly going to have one of those completely open-ended 'endings' that I like because they're realistic and other people don't like because they don't give closure sitting on my harddrive. It needs a scene and a half, some tweaking, and a betaing, but between classes and my in_the_beginning fic, it's not going anywhere soon. (Okay, okay, I only like the open endings in my own fic, it drives me crazy in other peoples', and part of it is sheer laziness: I don't want to have to write the years of relationship and career exploration they're going to have on the Enterprise's mission that will have a huge effect on what choices the two of them make together and separately about where they're going and how they're going to live the rest of their lives taking into account Spock's biology and the pressure to repopulate the Vulcan species.)

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Title: Out of the Depths
Author: beatrice_otter 
Fandom: Star Trek
Rating: PG
Characters: Spock!Prime
Word Count: 2,417
Betaed by: ljc 
Summary: Though much is taken, some things remain.
Prompt: treknovelfest 57--The Pandora Principle, Spock Prime & Saavik. Spock!Prime goes to rescue everyone a decade or so early.
Note: Pthak’sahaisau means “cast out fear” (thank you, Vulcan Language Dictionary) and refers to Surak’s writings: “Here is the first part of the secret: Cast out fear. There is no room for anything else until you cast out fear.” (Spock’s World, p. 312)

( Spock surveyed the cavern, the largest chamber on Thieurrull, which in Standard was Hellguard. ) This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/146765.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

... scientists claim to have created transparent aluminum!  Is that not cool?  Star Trek is just around the corner!
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GO. READ THIS. RIGHT NOW.

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I was working on my treknovelfest story tonight, just adding a few lines before going to bed. (I got distracted yesterday, and stopped writing in the middle of a sentence, and I wanted to finish that paragrah, basically.) And all of a sudden my short little Reboot twist on The Pandora Principle took a left turn at Albuquerque. And that scene is going to be the end of the story, and the scene I had all plotted out that I thought was going to be the heart of the piece isn't even going to be written, and now the story's got a theme and everything that I now have to go back and make sure is actually present throughout, and possibly re-watch an episode of Babylon 5 to pick out a quote to use as a title. (Hint: see icon)

Also, my remixredux09 beta has reappeared, and that's taken care of. I can't wait for the reveal, and I hope that this year everyone gets their stories done by the date the archive is supposed to open.

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Title: Unwilling Oracle
Author: beatrice_otter
Fandoms: Farscape/Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Characters: John Crichton, Kira Nerys
Word Count: 1869
Written For: Multiverse 2009 (multiverse5000), June 25
Summary: John Crichton has wormholes in his head. On Bajor, this makes him an oracle whether he wants it or not.
AN: I don't think I really did this prompt justice, not least because I had problems writing Crichton's voice. I would love to see what someone else could do with it.

( She’d worked with the Emissary for seven years; she could handle this. )

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So, I've been saying since the movie came out that if you want to understand Vulcans, you need to read Spock's World. And people have been replying that the books aren't canon, and I've been replying that Spock's World may not be technically canon but it's been influential for generations of fans and showrunners, but I lost the link to the main article (for reboot purposes) that mentions that, but it was sent to me again. Kurtzman and Orci consider the novels to be canon, particularly Spock's World and Best Destiny, both of which were very influential on them.

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The treknovelfest is now taking prompts.  Do you love the Star Trek novels?  Ever want to know what happened to your favorite OC's?  Want to know what happened after the adventure is over?  Want to know what happened differently in the Reboot universe?  Now's your chance!  They're currently taking prompts.  You do not need to volunteer to write a story to submit a prompt.

Looking at what's already been suggested, I'm really excited!

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Title: No Place Like Home
Author: beatrice_otter
Fandoms: DCUniverse/Star Trek.
Word Count: 2,346
Written For: Multiverse 2009 multiverse5000, June 11
Prompt: Kal-El, Amanda Rogers—Stop me if you've heard this before: an alien child with superpowers turns up in Kansas as an orphan, and is raised by humans until learning of their true nature as an adolescent...
AN: In the course of writing this, I realized that another DC/Star Trek crossover that absolutely cries out to be made is Q and Mr. Mxyzptlk. Please tell me that this has been done somewhere.

( The first time Clark Kent met Amanda Rogers, he didn’t pay much attention. )

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Check out treknovelfest modded by nestra and ellen_fremedon!  There are so many great characters and plots in the novels, and they simply don't get enough fannish attention.  I'm really looking forward to it.

If you want to participate but don't have a DWJ, fear not--registering an OpenID at DW will allow you to not only comment, but use that OpenID to post to the community.  Or if you want a DW of your very own you could try and get an invite code (try googling) or pay the $3 for one month of paid DW time, and let it lapse to a free account after the first month.
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There's been a lot of really great Star Trek fic written recently.  There has been a lot of discussion about Vulcans.  There have been a lot of people going back and re-watching the original series and re-reading the major books.

The Word for World Is -- by laurajv is the absolute best of it.  She writes about what it looks like for Vulcans to grieve, and to rebuild.  She writes Vulcans who are truly themselves, and not just humans with pointy ears.  They have a depth and realism and vitality that is breathtaking.  She also writes a Spock and Jim Kirk who are a little out of their depth, trying to feel their way in the new reality with the new insight they have into what they can become to one another.  The writing is spare, lyrical, and perfectly fits the story.  You really, really need to read it now.

( An excerpt: )

My absolute main kink, whether fanfic or profic or movies or tv shows, is for solid worldbuilding.  I want to know about culture, government, history, religion, ethnology, psychology--all the soft-science background details.  So, for instance, for the new Star Trek timeline/AR, I have all kinds of ideas about how I think the surviving Vulcans will react.  My impressions of Vulcan culture are taken from all the tv shows and movies, combined with the classic Star Trek books from the 80's/90's (e.g. Spock's World, the Vulcan Academy Murders, Sarek, the Pandora Principle, Dwellers in the Crucible, Strangers from the Sky, etc.  Note that Kurtzman and Orci consider Spock's World to be canon, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Here is a summary of Vulcan history interludes from that book.)

( So, here's Vulcan culture as I have interpreted it. )

( How will this affect the rebuilding of Vulcan culture? )

( So, if I were Spock Prime, going off to help rebuild Vulcan society, here's what I would suggest. )
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Interesting discussion of Uhura's role in the film: Warning: unpopular fannish opinions ahead.

Also, for humor, Shatner comments on the new Star Trek trailer:

There are those who complain about the romantic relationship in the new movie, saying it's not true to the original series. I present here a clip from TOS to the contrary:

( Spoilers for new movie! )

Basically, while they weren't in a relationship in TOS there was definitely chemistry ... and I can look at these scenes and believe they have a history.

Just saw the new Star Trek movie with jedibuttercup. One word: AWESOME! They managed to make it cool and hip and new while still hitting every single mark that an old school Trekkie will be looking for. And the casting was awesome. Two thumbs up!

(And I forsee much Spock/Uhura and Kirk/everyone (particularly green alien women) fic. For classic old school S/U fic, check out Wildcat's wonderful Spock/Uhura series.)

Title: Congratulations, Counselor, it's a Boy
Word Count: 100
Fandom: BtVS/Star Trek: The Next Generation
Challenge: #72: Forgotten and Remembered
Notes: ends during the TNG episode The Child, in which an alien energy being impregnates Counselor Troi.



All mortals, including Dawn Summers, die eventually. The Key is not mortal.

When its shell dies, the Key wanders the universe, reconnecting with others of its own kind. The Key remembers the joys of life spent dancing among stars, galaxies, universes, the fabric of existence laid out before it.

The Key forgets demons and hellgods, vampires and slayers, faces of loved ones. Flesh does not matter to energy.

But at last, it stumbles across a metal container full of air called Enterprise, full of mortals. It remembers a thing called “home” and thinks, perhaps I’ll be a boy, this time.