Trekfic update

[wiseheart]

My selfless beta, Birgid, actually managed to squeeze in the next chapter of Alternate Caretaker into her very tight RL schedule. So, see Tom having lunch with the Benzite chief engineer, learn fascinating things about Benzite physiology, face the horrors of Mpreg and learn a little more about Tom's past. (No, Tom is not the one who gets pregnant, so don't worry!)

If you want to read the new chapter, it's here:
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1422824&chapter=7

Edit:I got problems with formatting, and at the moment the midsection of the chapter is a little scrambled. At the fourth replacement it looked okay on preview, so maybe I'll have to wait the usual 24 hours for the changes to appear.

If you want to see what a Benzite looks like, go there:

The good chief engineer

It's a German site, but that was the best Benzite picture I could find.

Comments

Re:

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I had great fun with this Benzite character - he gave me the legal reason to get away with Mpreg, which I couldn't do canonically in most of my other fandoms. I think the only fandom where Mpreg - or at least the fetus being carried by the male - is canonical would be Alien Nation. I loved that series!

Re:

[jilba.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remember Alien Nation, but not the MPreg bit. I can see you had fun with that chapter, but that's what fanfiction is suposed to be, fun.

The Benzites remind me a bit of intelligent seahorses!

Re:

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remember Alien Nation, but not the MPreg bit.

Basically, the Tenctons (the aliens) had three genders. The Binnaums prepared the female for pregnancy, then the male impregnated her. She carried the fetus to a certain grade of maturity, then it got transferred into the pouch of the father where it developed fully to birth. I think the creators were inspired by sea horses, too.

The Benzites remind me a bit of intelligent seahorses!

Which they are, in a sense. At least in my little corner of the Trekkieverse. We never actually learnt much about them, save the thing with the breathing tubes, but they look so fishy that I wanted to give them a different way of procreation. There'll be more funny little bits about their physiology and culture later.

I can see you had fun with that chapter, but that's what fanfiction is suposed to be, fun.

Oh, I totally agree! Sci-fi fandoms are especially great fun, since you can create new and fascinating aliens without going against canon and get away with almost everything, as long as you respect basic canon facts.

The thing that irritates me most in the Tolkien fandom is the hostility and intolerance that different authors often have when dealing with each other. I mean, there are great inconsistencies in the canon itself, as the Professor kept changing his mind about almost everything, why can't we all chose which part of canon we keep and which part we would bend a little to make our story work?

I stopped visiting the GAFF-board lately, because of the absolutely intolerant "Tolkien's Elves wouldn't do that" attitude that seems to win the overhand whenever Tolkien badfic is being discussed. Declared ex cathedra by someone who thought that Legolas lived in Lórien. And these people call themselves experts. Mixing up basic facts is okay, but Elves possibly having sex outside of marriage is not.

Sorry for the rant. I've been a little irritated lately.

Re:

[jilba.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, now I remember the Tenctons having three genders. Fascinating show, but like Star Trek, I don't think we ever got it all down under.

Benzites, yep, I loved how you wrote that chapter, and I'm looking forward to more. i agree totally that's what great about Sci-Fi, that you can fill in the blanks, and you did it so well that I thought I must have missed something from the series. Well done, you made a little known alien race come alive, and left me wanting to know more.

Oh no, not the dreaded no-alls who haven't read the books! I hate them, and why they can't just let us pick which of Tolkien's versions to follow is beyond me. Too difficult for their little brains to remember, maybe?

I can understand the rant, as I believe L&C was a document written by scholars, showing how elves are supposed to live in an ideal society. Because they want mortals to think them perfect, lapses of same were never told to mortals. I bet people like Tuor and Aragorn who grew up in elven communities could tell some interesting tales!

Re:

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, now I remember the Tenctons having three genders. Fascinating show, but like Star Trek, I don't think we ever got it all down under.

It only lasted one season. They ended with a cliffhanger and didn't get to solve that until the first movie, years later. And yes, it was a great show - with all those little cultural details and stuff.

Re: Benzites - you'll se a lot more of them, I promise. Indeed, in all Trek series, we only got to see three of them. And the DS- makers even forgot to give the female one a breathing tube! I'll have to find a way to "explain" that fact, as she actually is the wife of our resident (and very pregnant) Benzite male.

But what's the most fun in writing this AU is to get all those TNG extras into the story, in various roles. It needs an obsessed Trekkie to get all the hints, of course, but it's like a puzzle, even for me. And the fandom is actually rather tolerant - save some ff.net readers. Obviously, in other archives practically everything goes. I'm thinking of posting this AU in the general section of the Tom Paris dorm. There's enough Paris in it to match the site, I guess.

I find it funny what your wrote about L&C. Especially the Tuor and Aragorn part. *g*

Re:

[jilba.livejournal.com]

I don't think we ever got the Alien Nation movie, either, buggar. Oh well, the perils of living down under!

Eh? No breathing tube for the female? I wish you luck in solving that one belivably. You are one writer that I think can do it, and please let me know when you have as I'd be delighted to read it. :)

You don't mean to tell me the Star Trek fans are tolerant? My God, what is wrong with of the Tolkien people then? I hope you get a wide readership with this excellent story.

As for L&C that's what I think. And I do believe Tuor and Aragorn could tell some very interesting stories! You'd probably need to get em drunk, but one day I might invite them over for a beer and see what comes out.