Reviewer: TemplarSora Signed [Report This]
Date: 30 Sep 2013 14:13 Title: Chapter 1

Love it!

First off, sucks for Mayweather. He was Hoshi's first "follower," the one that helped her rise to power...and since that day he's been nothing but trampled over and held back and constantly reminded of the fact that he isn't good enough. What a way to build up resentment, as well as pin a bullseye to the guy's back. It's no wonder Morgan would even consider approaching Mayweather with his scheme. After the years of being denied and being kicked down by her, it would make perfect sense for him to turn like this.

I like how you don't make this an easy decision for him. For a few moments, he really does seem like he's tempted by the idea. We see him consider the cons, mostly, of his promotion though. The Bodyguards could be nice, but even then, it requires him to have people near him, something that makes his position both safer and in jeopardy. In a universe where friendships are few and far between, I can see how trusting someone with your life would be difficult. The sex, the power are great, too, but they require him to be vulnerable, and too many people would be trying for his throne then.

And then, I love the realization that it was never his idea to begin with. I wonder if that epiphany came with a second thought; that Morgan would go for him next, since it had been his plan from the start. I know I'd probably question his position, too.

But it was the end, where he decided to tell Morgan no, and his reasoning, that I loved. Because there really isn't anything better than being a dad (speaking from experience, of course). And he's realistic; he knows he probably would never live to hear Izo say the word. But he'd have a child, someone to help raise and care for and provide for. Even in a dark place like the MU, love wins the day. Glad to see it isn't all backstabbing and power plays here. Well done.

Author's Response:

I thank you!

MU people (at least as I write them) are very, very committed to their children. This also helps to explain why there's an MU society at all, as such a nasty place would more likely be where everyone would be backstabbing. If people are super-committed parents, there's a chance for cooperation, even if it's just to assure the line continues.

And you're definitely right about Morgan.  Hoshi has followers and she has some loyalty, and she treats Mayweather as her own personal human shield. If she's gone, he has no such shielding, and most of the staff dismisses him out of hand. If he rises to a level of tyranny then, yes, either Morgan offs him and takes power or, more likely, remains in the back as a blackmailer and possibly the power behind the throne. Travis is easier to manipulate than Hoshi is. Morgan comes out of it smelling like a rose and with no one gunning for his position. A nice, safe spot for a greedy old fellow in the MU.

Reviewer: Miranda Fave Signed [Report This]
Date: 12 Feb 2012 23:13 Title: Chapter 1

The best MU tales are those that aren't fiendish pantomime cartoon figures aping it in black leather. Instead, they're the dark, twisty ones that have some horrible moral choices to make in a rather bleak and hopeless universe and where a choice of good can be your downfall rather any act of redemption or salvation.

Travis here makes such a call. His interest is purely in his son when there was a chance he could have tried to grab for power in a risky gambit. But rather than chase such ambitions he settled on the only ambition that mattered to him - that to be called Dad.

This is something I rather liked about this tale. It wasn't just a scheme for advancement, taking out the person who was a threat or a hinderance to career advancement. Instead, it was the tale of a father looking to protect his son. Quite frankly, and I've said something like this in another review of your MU, it is hard to imagine or should that be credit the MU as existing if it were all self-engrossed, murderous persons filling the universe. There has to be what you say in response to Ln X some decency in the universe for it to be able to survive. Yes, there are still some thoroughly evil persons inhabitating it, but there are a greater number of fearful, put upon persons, just struggling to survive and managing to hold on to some semblence of humanity.

The best MU tales also 'mirror' the Prime Universe characters some fashion, showing us aspects of their being not normally seen. With your tale you show more to Travis than we ever got in TV and it played on Prime Travis' own family storylines as they appeared in canon - there too family was important.

Strangely it seems in the MU he chose family - his son - over ambition, whereas in the Prime he left the family ship to join Starfleet and pursue his own path. Great stuff Jespah.

Author's Response:

Travis was so underwritten, I just had to go there. And to create a motivation for him, a reason to take it, made sense to me. In wolf packs (as you probably know), there is dominance and submission. In Caligula's Rome, there was him, but there were also countless toadies, but also scared subjects, people who couldn't do much, but might have quietly rebelled or at least been a tad subversive. I wanted Travis to be someone biding his time and seeing if he couldn't get something out of all of the sitting back and taking it that he had been doing. Izo's existence gives his life a shape and a purpose and a meaning that he didn't have before.

More to come on the MU, of course. Some day I will gather it all up, right now the working title is Hall of Mirrors.