Date: 12 Dec 2013 22:47 Title: The Road Less Traveled
Well LBD you might be putting McCoy through the dryer here but we all getting to enjoy your excellent stories, as always I can hear the character voice pitch perfect and you managed to paint the scene so well.
I can feel and empathies with McCoy rebellion, how he want to be a proper father figure, and it the simply twist of fate that means despite doing his best for Jackson, he can do enough, as he can’t treat the poor man internal injuries. The line where McCoy can hear the sirens but know they’ll arrive to late for the unfortunate soul and McCoy feeling for the man’s daughter is true sign that a doctor/surgeon are not just in his blood but also in his soul.
Bravo Madam.
Date: 30 May 2012 16:05 Title: The Road Less Traveled
What a poignant look into the doctor's history. It's hard to imagine him doing anything else--"doctorness" is such a part of his identity, but I think it's important to call attention to his life of quiet sacrifice. Thank you for this look.
Author's Response:
Thank you very much. Of late, I've been trying to look into McCoy's back story; find out just what it was in his history that turned such a gentle, compassionate soul into the curmudgeonly person we see him hiding behind in TOS. Frankly, I don't think Spock's the only one who's afraid to let his true self peek out...
Date: 27 Jan 2012 22:44 Title: The Road Less Traveled
Wow. You know what totally surprised me - I thought you had already written McCoy's path to becoming a doctor before. You're the McCoy girl - the Spock and Kirk girl too - after all. What I love is that we get the real McCoy when you write him. Nuanced southern charm and doctorly passion but also more to him than that - even when he realises that that is his calling and destiny and his very best offering.
I love how you twisted things by having him doubting and reassessing his path to becoming a doctor for the sake of love. In the end, we know that being a medical doctor is his mistress and it is what drives away his family. So it is a foreshadowing of events later in his life that he questions at this youthful age. So wise before his years - but then tragedy did indeed make him wise before his years anyway. And it served to make him question the sacrifices he would have to make and the saves he could not make. Great window into McCoy's life and the important path to his becoming a doctor.
Author's Response:
Nope. McCoy's childhood is something I've only touched on briefly before, with the exception of 'Aftermath.' It might warrant a revisit, and further fleshing out of those areas where I've only skimmed the surface.
I really didn't want his path to becoming a doctor to be an easy one; it just seemed to fit more with his crotchety personality to have it be a tumultuous choice, involving some serious soul-searching and personal introspection and reflection. I get the impression from the man we see in TOS that his childhood was anything but easy and carefree.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read and review - it's greatly appreciated. :D
[Report This]Date: 26 Jan 2012 18:39 Title: The Road Less Traveled
As said it reads well and flows smoothly taking us through how McCoy became inspired to become a doctor. Jocelyn is certainly sharpened here, fleshed out beyond a name and like with most Trek characters it seems to take a nasty incident to get a footing in life.
Author's Response:
Thanks, Mack. I tend to paint Jocelyn with a very dark paintbrush...
Glad it worked for you. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing.
[Report This]Date: 24 Jan 2012 03:14 Title: The Road Less Traveled
Wow, too bad it took a man dying in his arms to truly realized his calling. To be willing to balance family and work in that profession is certainly a laudable goal. Who doesn't want that. Too bad such a goal wasn't realized and that even in the utopian Star Trek universe, divorce is still high among medical doctors.
The whole backstory after this defining incident is nice nod into speculation that McCoy became a medical doctor before joining Starfleet. And its far better than that bogus explanation in ST XI for the nickname "Bones".
Author's Response:
Thanks, E1981. MA puts him in med school from about 2249-53, with Joanna born in 2249. Just connected the dots and fleshed it out with my own take on things.
I'm glad it seemed to fit well into his rather sketchy to non-existent back story. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review.
PS I will check out that updated story of yours when time allows. Looking forward to reading it. :D
Date: 19 Jan 2012 14:31 Title: The Road Less Traveled
Beautifully told, as always, and fits into the challenge rather well.
For Leonard, it's not only about healing, but also about how the best laid plans of mice and men don't always work out, for Jocelyn isn't going to stay, and he isn't going to stay on Earth. And, it seems, medicine is going to be his sole constant.
The story also dovetails well into McCoy's personality - in canon, he has a curmudgeonliness that can border on misanthropy, and I think you'll captured its seeds rather well.
I also appreciate the focus on McCoy, who is often the odd man out in the Big Three. Back story for Leonard! Hurrah!
Author's Response:
Thanks, jespah. I've always maintained that there's much more to McCoy's crotchetiness than just his divorce. Deep down he's really a sweet, compassionate guy. Something must have happened to thrust that aspect of his personality into the background.
Not so sure if my focus on McCoy of late is good or bad; I've certainly been putting the poor man through his paces...