Fianna Ai

This book has become our collective source material for this thread, methinks. It was a very good book though, and one of the few that's generally considered canonical that gives us any insight into this era when Discovery is set. I've always found it somewhat difficult to know where to draw the line of canon with most of the books... but aside from Dax, few primary characters could have been considered relevant during that era. I was very sad, however, when I learned that Discovery would be in the earlier era. I appreciate each series distinctly, but I think that this time frame is best suited to a retelling that highlights the "frontiersy" sort of feel that was so appreciated during the airing of TOS. I don't really trust modern TV trends to be able to capture it effectively. Additionally, I think there is still a lot of untapped potential going forward, and I would like to see that. I feel as though I might be the only fan who would actually welcome a series centered on Time Travel - a la "Relativity" (VOY)

I'm afraid that I'm not as conversant with the timeline of the Klingon War in particular - I thought that it had gone on for quite some time... is it not possible that it would be before Emony was joined? Tobin was probably so eccentric as an old man

I just want to take a moment to give some love to Janeway/Mulgrew. It's hard to play a competent female leader without getting some unpleasant terms slung at you - case in point, this last election. But I didn't like her when I was younger... I think that may have been partially because, unlike Kira Nerys, Seven of Nine, or even B'Elanna Torres, she was already all grown up, and thus less relatable to me that age. While she did undergo character growth, she didn't finish her adolescence on screen with us. Also, I am happy that some of the gay/lesbian content that didn't quite make it out of the books will finally be on the screen! I will cry if it is terrible, I've waited so long for new Trek... (P.S. @Hunter Thomson - Tobin Dax would make a high-larious guest character, at least!!)

Wot's all dis, den?

Returning after a long hiatus - I just wanted to reintroduce myself! It's been quite a while since I was here, but I appreciate that folks are still reading what I posted so long ago. I'd love to be able to connect with everyone here! I hope you'll welcome me back and help me get used to any changes! Here's to a great 2017! Cheers, Fianna

Aw, I missed it too ;( Happy late one, Sharon, hope it was lovely!

Thanks for making me cry DX That was an interesting rendition. Thanks for suggesting it to me.

I ran out of plus marks to give, but in these first two chapters I love seeing Kismet as a level-headed and maybe I'd even say "gutsy" type. I wonder at the fact that he sprang into action without pausing, though. It doesn't feel wrong for his character, however. He seems to have a lot of contrast to Amberly and I like that. The meaning of his name makes me "lol" though, given the context. ^^ Sorry this review is just about Kismet, but so far we've been in his head a lot this book.

I just read straight through the first two books until here. (sorry, this is the first review I've written. I didn't want to put it down.) There are some really good points I'd like to mention, such as the complexity of the family relationships and the foresight put into the plot events. I liked Puck as a character in story one, and I like Anarix even better. I like that some of the details of the human lifestyle are implied through the text rather than being told pedantically to the reader. In Book 2, I enjoyed the chance to see from the non-human perspective, and to experience their rituals and their intrigue. The portions involving their rituals were among the most focusing for me, and the pacing of those scenes was good as well. I was afraid at first that we wouldn't get the chance to see that, and so I was excited when I realized we would. To be honest, in both books, but moreso in this one, there were several instances where I found the narrative to make very little sense. It was a hiccup and I was able to get back on track, but entire paragraphs would lose their meaning for reasons I am unable to determine, but could easily be corrected grammatically. After going back and re-reading, or skimming ahead for context, I was able to get what was going on, but with a narrative this direct it's too noticeable. More often than not these are the scenes involving the females. Is it because females in this species are frequently regarded as their husbands' chattel, and don't think the same way the males do? (Was it user error?) I didn't have the same problem with the independent sister, or any of the except Torzet. Even for these more incomprehensible characters, their motivations seemed obvious enough, which is good because it makes them easy to relate to. By the end of the book, for example, I was able to see that Rix was putting on a charade without being explicitly told. I like the secondary characters so far - the brothers aren't being allowed to fall into the background, which is great (I already saw that Kis is next ) I like what I see so far and I really want to see the resolution, which is a great feeling. Good job, Lugh.

I admire your compassion, Nephylim, and I agree with the sentiments you're expressing. Ideally, we wouldn't view material gains, HD or otherwise, as a necessary factor, and I'm not commenting on it now. At the same time, Dannsar has some relevant points, no matter how repugnant the reality may be. Pragmatically speaking, no one reading this (and probably no one you know either) got up this morning and said, "Well! Nothing to do today! Let's go throw a molotov at the Police Station." (and if you did, then wtf?) No one gets that angry over nothing - environmental pressures build up, and ticked off people feed off of each other and get pissed. There's been a lot going on over there right now, good and bad - Royal Weddings, massive journalistic scandals, including hacking and privacy issues, and some of the same economic downturn that's affecting everyone else. A lot of psychological issues occur when people are out of work for whatever reason. Studies have proven that young men in particular are seen to react especially badly to long periods of forced inactivity or to feelings of emasculation when they fail to provide for themselves and their families - self-anger is just as easily used to feed the blaze. Does that make it right? No. No one is saying that. No one is really in the right here - I honestly wonder how much of the issue is really even about what's right and what's wrong. Plenty of people who feel it's wrong aren't rioting - don't forget about them. (If even a slight majority of people felt that it was right, the story would be a lot more drastic than it is right now.) I would like to be able to say that I wouldn't resort to violence except to protect my household, because that fits my definition of moral integrity; but honestly, there are some things we don't know about ourselves until we're faced with them, and I'm fortunate enough not to have been. As for the people who are rioting, like everyone else, many of them have their own personal reasons for it, don't you think? Reblogged by Laughterkey on Tumblr Maybe that means we should be focusing our question how easily we turn to violence, and of course on what environmental pressures led to this feeling of desperation or entrapment that made this seem like a good idea to those people; or maybe it means we should continue investigating journalistic practices that don't come around until things turn bloody, thereby validating that young man's point of view. Maybe Dannsar has a point that we should investigate what we're teaching our young adults - many around my age across the pond feel that they are entitled to HD goodness regardless of the quality of their work ethic, and it doesn't always work that way. Personally, there are days when I wish a few more people thought the way Nephylim does. Back to the main topic; live streaming coverage is available on bbc.co.uk, and my fiancee told me police have just been authorized to use rubber bullets on rioters. If you follow a deity and haven't spoken a few words of peace yet, now isn't a bad time.

That was my experience exactly. Then again, I was younger at the time. I just hid things from them and was lucky enough that they didn't go out of their way to find much of anything of mine. It was a waiting game until I could legally get out of the house. I'm an adult now and my fiancee and I have a relationship based on full disclosure. Not that it was a problem - we shared interests from the time we met, anyway. As a matter of fact, I have to give her infinite props; almost everything I put in writing goes by her first. None of my stuff would be nearly as rich or detailed without having had the chance to discuss it with her first. She plays devil's advocate and general encyclopedia of biology and science, and she makes sure that my world features a realistic range of characters. I would never have considered writing seriously or even semi-seriously without her unswerving support. (Zenzen kitto daijoubu, Pitchan! I hope you get the same opportunity!)

A favorite of mine: scru·ti·nize   [skroot-n-ahyz] verb, -nized, -niz·ing.verb (used with object) 1. to examine in detail with careful or critical attention. 2. to conduct a scrutiny.(used without object) scrutinization, n; scrutinzer, n; scrutinizingly, adv; rescrutinize, v; self-scrutinized, adj Synonyms: analyze, consider, contemplate, dissect, explore, inspect, investigate, peruse, scan, search, study, survey source: Dictionary.com, LLC © 2011

There are a lot of great tips and points on here. Thanks a ton, everyone, for sharing your experiences. Of course I wanted to share a little too. ^^; I've never been really big on the aforementioned one-to-five chapter smut stories - struggling through genuine character development and growing awareness of attraction or sexuality, on the other hand, is something I've found extremely rewarding. It's true that one must absolutely adapt their telling of the intimate scenes to the atmosphere of the overall story, especially in a short story; but don't forget that your characters have mood swings too. One of my favorite characters gets the opportunity to develop with the course of a longer plot. There's a big difference in the way he approaches his own, solitary sexuality at age 17 from age 25 - embarrassed teen who doesn't understand the vitality or necessity of intimate relationships to mature adult who learns to cherish even the denial of his desire as a signifier of his own livelihood. Therefore within that text even the same character has incidents that swing from the very mechanical - "Ugh, how inconvenient; let's just get it over with," to the extreme opposite; "I've watched him for years without ever thinking I'd get my hands on him - I've romanticized him so much I barely know where I want to start." As Graeme mentioned earlier, he's not terribly likely, in this example, to spend a lot of thought and emotional attachment to the person or thing utilized in the former situation, as it is a tool; whereas in the second, the development of the story has brought a lot of different factors into play - the characters have a lot of attachment and a working knowledge of each other's quirks - even inside jokes. Even the mechanical details, at that point, would be seen as a means to an end - in this case, getting closer to one another. A good way to tie in the atmosphere in this instance may be to directly link each [mechanical]action to a[n atmosphere-related] reaction. Also, since Dark's links up above were so useful (I really enjoyed reading them, thank you,) I thought maybe I'd link the Song of Solomon directly here as one of the articles recommends it and, having read it for the first time, I thought it was somewhat lovely.

As a narrative, it's very strong and consistent. I've seen published paperback works with less consistency. They are pretty sappy at times, though. ^^; On the other hand, it's nice to see such a functional relationship.

Thanks. ::bares inner elbow for Nephylim:: ^^;;; All the veins are visible; you shouldn't have a problem.

B'AWWWW! ::cries:: ::wiping eyes:: T^T I just finished it... ::goes to look for tissue:: <3

While I only skimmed this thread (eek spoilers! I'm only up to the end of book three!) I have to say I'm so excited to read the rest of this series! As much as I love (love, love, love) Darien, and Elias (my roommate doesn't even read it, but fell in love with him listening to the drama) and Kitty[Katz], and Kyr etc, I was genuinely surprised to find that I've been enjoying Lauren's growth as a character thus far. Female characters tend to get marginalized in both sci-fi and in gay fiction, but I have a genuine enjoyment for her level-headed qualities, and how she can be a capable officer and also be fun while still being feminine. That's a big deal for someone who grew up with female characters in token roles in TV and movies. Now all I need to do is sell a kidney so I can have money to go buy the books. I'll send my fiancee out for ice and a cooler first thing in the morning. :v

Hello everyone. ^^ I registered for this forum last night and I'm here today to make good on it. I found this site randomly while surfing and became addicted to "The Falcon Banner". <3 I even downloaded the Darker Projects radio drama. ^^; I hope to get the chance to fall in love with many more stories. I decided to sign up because I'm looking for a supportive community for my writing. I'd like to say thanks the ones who went out of their way to greet me already; Nephylim, CassieQ, Contest4jen, and Audi. (I tried to reply to all of them, but the messenger thingy thought I was spamming and cut me off. T 3T) I'm not accustomed to big forums, so forgive me if I get confused easily about process. I'm reading the FAQs as we speak, promise! @_@ Thank you~