Date: 27 May 2014 15:16 Title: Chapter 1
Excellent piece of TOS fiction could indeed be a DVD extra cut-scene.
If JJ only did TOS that well, we would all be happy about AOS.
First off I felt that you had a clever idea about Spock being kept away by his guilt and worry for Jim and the way you choose to express it, feel true to the character and the setting.
I did think the idea of the 4am meeting with Jim on the quiet observation point is a bit of an over-use trope but you manage to make the setting and scene feel very fresh.
You use both Spock observations of Jim word, actions or lack of actions to good effect and you go part of the way to explain why Spock tolerates some of McCoy worst outburst.
I think that your use of Jim promise and order to sleep to be very in keeping with TOS cannon.
That was a wonderful story and a pleasure to read.
Author's Response:
Thank you, FalseBill--your reviews are always so thoughtful! I love to write scenes that might could be outtakes--and sometimes they can help tie together episodes that didnt' really get tied together in canon. I appreciate your reading and reviewing!
Date: 10 Mar 2014 19:03 Title: Chapter 1
Well done, as always. I hope you continue to write Trek.
Author's Response:
Thank you very much! I plan to write much more Trek, probably mostly TOS, now that my master's degree is finally done! I really appreciate your review!
Date: 17 Apr 2013 02:39 Title: Chapter 1
I just realized I haven't reviewed this. You and I discussed it while it was in the works and somehow that translated to me that I'd already commented on it. *flushes with embarrassment* So here goes:
A wonderful piece that shows the quiet, complex and at times utterly incomprehensible relationship between these two men. Only Jim could use the logic on Spock that the Vulcan needs to take care of himself so he can be there to take care of Jim, and Spock would accept that bit of logic from no one else. But that's what they do - each is willing to sacrifice everything if it will guarantee the continued survival of the other. I think that's why The Empath is one of my favorite episodes - it showcases this tendency not only between the two, but between the three, and you've managed to capture that here, and weave it into beautiful prose. Bravo madam.
Author's Response:
I think you're right...only Jim could pull that argument on Spock and get away with it. But I think Spock has long since discerned that his primary function in life is to have Jim's back, no matter what, and I think Spock would be very hard on himself if he failed. WHEN he failed, because every now and then he does. Of course, Jim, being extrememly savvy about human emotions, knows exactly how to manipulate Spock's. And he wouldn't hesitate to resort to it for Spock's own good. Thank you for all your help with this story, and thank you for reviewing! You didn't have to, since we'd already talked about it, but it means a lot!
Date: 12 Apr 2013 01:36 Title: Chapter 1
“He does tend to express such emotions freely, Captain,” Spock said evenly. LOL to that So very true.
Anyway, I finish this and can only imagine and indeed hope that Spock does indeed sleep for two and a half hours exactly. No more and no less just to do as his captain said, to give him and McCoy no satisfaction either way by sleeping less or sleeping more.
I love pieces like this that delve into the canon epsiodes and develop things further and have a sense of being DVD extras, cutting room extras that didn't quite get fitted into the original episode.
It seems fitting that Spock is plagued by the fact he feels he caused the captain harm and although well used to McCoy's words and rash outbursts, Spock in his own trying to be more Vulcan that the other Vlcans ways still is hurt by the charge and by the fact he feels guilt about bringing harm to Kirk. As always, that trio give each other their biggest headaches and I love stumbling across another author of the ilk of Lil black dog who writes the characters with style and depth.
Author's Response:
"...another author the ilk of Lil black dog..." WOW...that is the best compliment I have ever received! I also love stories (like LBD's) where you know there had to be more to the episode--I like how you put it, "DVD extras." That fascinates me to no end, and I tend to end up writing the ones I really want to read (I guess we all do that!). And I think you're right, this trio gives each other the biggest headaches, but only because each cares so much about the others. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, and thank you for the compliment--I'll try to live up to it!
Date: 01 Dec 2012 23:32 Title: Chapter 1
This was a well written piece, beginning to end. Spock and his internal struggles on display in ways we don't really see in TOS and the Kirk/Spock dynamic at its best. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Thanks :)
Author's Response:
Thank you so much, trekfan! It's hard to write the emotional struggles of someone who refuses to acknowledge his emotions, but i think Spock has some tells--and Jim knows them. Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Date: 01 Dec 2012 23:01 Title: Chapter 1
Sleeping at order - well, hey, if it works.
For Spock, in some ways, I believe he feels that his own needs are not just secondary, but they should more or less come in last place, unless the ship is in peril or the captain is incapacitated (and only then if Spock's own personal life gets in the way).
I kinda see Amok Time that way, e. g. that Spock only went through with it all because the ship was threatened (and, by extension, Kirk) by the Vulcan's imbalance. But if he had not been so imbalanced (which is the case during the remainder of the series, both before and afterwards), then T'Pring and the fight for her are forgotten. He never mentions her, never feels for her, never regrets anything, never feels even the slightest bit of sexual jealousy or envy for Stonn.
Well-done. As always, you capture these characters - their words and their mannerisms in particular - extremely skillfully.
Author's Response:
Yeah, I don't think he cared too much about losing T'Pring--I think the lasting issue for him was being the means of harm to Jim. I see that emotion returning now, in the context of the 3rd season and this story, because he feels he was nearly the means of harm to Jim again. That relationship means far more to him than any relationship with a woman could--after all, he gave up Leila and Zarabeth expicitly in order to return to Jim's side, and he had actual feelings for them, unlike T'Pring. I SO appreciate your thoughtful words--coming from an author I admire so much, they mean a great deal. Thank you!