October Challenge--ST: VOY "Suture"

[Goliath]

CeJay said:
Wow what great story.

Thanks!

I probably said it before but I say it again. You would have been right at home as a staff writer for Voyager.

What? Why, you dirty son of a ...

After all you pull off a story with plenty of (mild) cliches which still remains original and interesting enough to be completely entertaining.

Oh, wait--you meant that as a compliment. Sorry.

You have a firm graps on these characters and an understanding of poking fun of the show without letting it become mean spirited.

Very well done.

Thanks again.

btw, I like the term 'continuity porn'. I've never heard it before but come to think of it, fan fic writers love to employ it. I'll be much more conscious of it in the future. Thanks :sarcasm:

I wish I could take credit for it, but I can't.

My most recent discovery is "continuity porn," and this one is going to take a moment or two to explain. On fan sites like TV Without Pity, some forum discussants praise shows that include references to earlier episodes for having "continuity." Shows do this all the time--for instance, soap operas have continuing storylines that span weeks, months, even years. But the fans have something more specific in mind: small details that demand that the viewer be attentive enough to remember related details from earlier episodes.

Source: here.

 

[captcalhoun]

it's also known as 'fan wank' and more politely as 'fan service'.

 

[Goliath]

Then consider me an enthusiastic service-industry worker.

 

[K-Star]

captcalBOO!n said:
it's also known as 'fan wank' and more politely as 'fan service'.

I thought those terms applied to when the writer included scenes or whatever that they really wish would happen, but not necessarily anyone else wants to see. Most of those are also self-insertion stories. (I'm guilty of writing a few like that, but those end up being written for my own private enjoyment).

 

[captcalhoun]

no. "In a Mirror Darkly" was fanwank, because it featured a TOS-style ship complete with TOS sound effects, food cubes, props etc and tied into "Mirror, Mirror".

it also had continuity porn to it because it had references to "The Tholian Web" and FC.

the terms overlap, but aren't entirely synonmous(sp).

 

[Kegek]

Fan service can even refer to executing popular romantic pairings. For example, if in 'Engdame' Janeway and Chakotay had been linked, as well as the Doctor and Seven, that would be 'fan service.'

So there's a kind of crossover in meaning between obscure continuity references (to please the fans) and just doing things fans want (to please the fans). Whatever the means, the ends remain the same.

 

[Gibraltar]

I know you set out to write a cliché-ridden story, but alas, you write Voyager too well. Again, these are characters I spent seven years growing angrier at because of their spoiled potential.

You’ve made them interesting, in spite of the clichés and over-used enemies.

Is it too late to ask you to re-write Voyager and do justice to those characters I once had such high hopes for?

 

[Goliath]

Gibraltar said:
I know you set out to write a cliché-ridden story, but alas, you write Voyager too well.

Sorry.

Again, these are characters I spent seven years growing angrier at because of their spoiled potential.

You’ve made them interesting, in spite of the clichés and over-used enemies.

Thanks. And I understand your anger.

I'm not sure why, when I write canon fanfic, it always turns out to be VOY. VOY is close to the bottom on my list of favourite series: DS9 is at the top--it's the only series I have on DVD. But, with the exception of that Supermax story where I had some of its characters visit Sundancer, I never have any ideas for DS9 stories.

And this has been true right from the start. My very first fanfic was a sappy D+7 romance story. How far I've come.

Is it too late to ask you to re-write Voyager and do justice to those characters I once had such high hopes for?

It's never too late. Plot a course for a gravitational slingshot around the Sun, Mr. Gibraltar!

But seriously...

All I can suggest is that you do what I do: remember the good episodes, forget the rest, and allow the series to fulfill its true potential in your fanfic.