Uneasy Dancers Review with Spoilers
Jungle Kitty
Re: Uneasy Dancers Review with Spoilers
Date:
Sun, 24 Jan 1999 13:33:54 +0000
From:
Jungle Kitty <jki...@accesscom.com>
Organization:
SPOK (Society for the Preservation Of Kirkology)
To:
Mary Ellen Curtin <mecu...@alumni.Princeton.EDU>, ascem
<as...@earthlink.net>
References:
1
My dog breathes a sigh of relief. :-D
Thanks for lots of interesting stuff to mull over. More later.
JK
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
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Mary Ellen Curtin
Date:
From:
"Mary Ellen Curtin" <mecu...@alumni.Princeton.EDU>
To:
<as...@earthlink.net>
CC:
"Jungle Kitty" <jki...@accesscom.com>
This incredibly long-winded review contains unending
spoilers for Jungle Kitty's "Uneasy Dancers". Don't say
I didn't warn you.
"Uneasy Dancers" is the most important piece of TOS fanfiction
posted in the last 6 months at least. It is long, complex, structured,
not just well-written but crafted, and emotionally devastating. Read
it with several boxes of tissues handy -- I ran out and ended up
wandering around the house in the middle of the night, quietly
sobbing and looking for more nose-wipes.
But tears or not, it is stories like "Dancers" that make ASC/EM
worth being more than a passing fancy. It's a work of art, showcasing
what can be done better in fan fiction than anywhere: exploration
of character and emotion (see that, John Ordover? Hi John!). The
fact that it involves an original, non-canonical character who
might at one time have been accused of Mary Suehood just shows
Jungle Kitty's great skill and talent.
Back in the summer JK and I were corresponding as she was
starting work on "Dancers," and I said to her:
>I found myself starting to cry.
>Why? Because, I said to myself, she's going to break
>my darling's [that is, Spock's] heart. Or at least make him
>settle for being second best.
>Now if you have some massively clever plan that does
not break my darling's heart, I will be leading the standing
ovation when All Is Revealed. But as the stories are developing,
>that's what I see coming, logically. Not in the sense that you're
deliberately setting things up that way (out of some deep-seated
love of angst or exasperation with gloopy K/S), but that looks
>to me to be the scenario that is most truthful.
>And I will fly all the way out to California to kick your dog if
>you don't respect your own artistic integrity. I'm warning
>you, no T'Millie as a solution. Make me happy if you can, make
>me cry if you must, but don't make me go "Eeugh!"
The great triumph of "Dancers" is that JK *did* respect
her own artistic integrity, and the integrity of the characters,
and not just for fear I'd kick her dog. I must also give great
credit to Wildcat, Judith, and Greywolf who really did "beta
for blood," but it was JK's willingness to go through that
process that made it work.
Does that mean the story is perfect? Hah! I was the Science
Officer for this work, and even so Jungle "Bat Scientist"
Kitty managed to slip one past me, in the first sentence, no
less.
>The Enterprise is en route to the Beta Choreatricis system,
located along the
>furthest arm of the galaxy.
"furthest arm" must mean at least 20,000 light years away, so
presumably at least, oh, 40 years travel at c.2270 technology.
Sigh. I'm going to make T'Pat teach Remedial Astronomy this
semester, and attendance will be mandatory for anyone trying
to write extra-canonical adventures. Even if they're Full Professors
and have sexy Chairs and everything.
But you've gotta give JK credit, at least she's trying to mix an
original plot into her Treksmut. I'm not entirely sure that it works
for me, but I haven't thought about that aspect of the story
enough yet. Certainly I would like to see her thinking more
about the structure & politics of Starfleet and the Federation,
and where Kirk and Brandt fit into it. This is an area that Sydvick
and Judith are exploring but which could use more work
from the rest of us.
There's one aspect of the plot that is problematic for me. Having
Kirk & Brandt share something like a Vulcan bond and having
them experience a Vulcan-style sexual meld smacks to me of
cheating. That is, Kirk's choice between Spock & Brandt should
also be between Vulcan & human types of love. To let him have
Vulcan love with Brandt is to stack the deck; it's almost like
stealing from Spock. If this Kirk rejects Spock, he should do so
knowing that he is also rejecting the intimacy of a Vulcan bond,
to settle for one that is -- merely human.
Now we come to the guts of the story: the characterizations. JK
has said repeatedly that the characters, and especially my boy
Spock, got away from her in this story, and started saying &
doing what they wanted, not what she had planned. I don't know
if there's a technical lit-crit term for this, but it is a sure sign
that literature is taking place.
It's very difficult, but when I talk here about problems with
the characters, I'm not (mostly) going to be saying that
you, Jungle Kitty, should have written them differently. I
think the characters, as people, have done some bad
things, but they are not by that token badly written. I may
want them to be different, but only in the sense that I
may want someone to change: I think they actually are,
for the most part, the way you have presented them.
"Uneasy Dancers" was very painful for me to read because I
identify so strongly (perhaps too strongly) with Spock, and in
this story he is hurt very badly. I gather that a number of
readers felt that when Spock pinches Kirk & Brandt out and
walks away he is being self-sacrificing, but I don't. I think
that is the first thing Spock does for himself: exercise what
a popular song of the day (one that fits this story exactly)
calls "The Power of Goodbye."
JK has stated that she created Brandt because she was
sick of Kirk never having a solid relationship with a woman.
Brandt's Kirk, then, is solidly heterosexual, and Spock's
love for Kirk is not sexually requited. It is very difficult to
imagine that Spock would not feel sexually devalued in
that situation, and we all know that it's difficult for Spock
to accept and value his sexuality at the best of times. This
Kirk (and Brandt), though, go further in rejecting Spock
sexually. Because when Kirk thinks back to how he &
Spock have related,
>For nearly five years, he had treated Spock--his closest friend--just
as he
would a lovesick ensign whom he would barely recognize in the
corridor. As long
>as it wasn't a problem, he didn't say anything. And it wasn't a
problem, not for
>James T. Kirk. In fact, it was an asset that he had selfishly
manipulated. He
had relied on Spock, pushing him past all endurance, knowing that the
Vulcan
>would never abandon him, no matter what the cost.
If these characters are ever going to reach any sort of happy
equilibrium, it's now necessary for both Kirk and Brandt to look
in the Bitter Glass. This Kirk has abused Spock: he has
used Spock's sexuality as a tool, a way to bind the Vulcan to him,
without having enough respect for Spock to respond in turn.
I'm not saying that you can't respect someone you don't desire. But
it is at minimum a lack of respect to flirt with someone who is
seriously in love with you when you don't plan to reciprocate. And
I don't believe for one second that Kirk doesn't know how Spock
feels. Or if he doesn't know, it's willful ignorance of a sort he
would
despise in another commander, and rightly so.
I wonder, in fact, if Kirk won't become very angry with Spock. I
mean, he was angry with Brandt at the end of Blood Claim
because she took fifteen lashes for him. How is he going to feel
when he really thinks about how Spock took emotional lashes
for him for more than four years? And when he realizes that
*he* was the one holding the whip?
As for Brandt: at the end of the story she is absolutely determined
to eventually get Spock to come back. But we never see her thinking
about what's in it for Spock:
>She thought of Jim commanding the Enterprise without the staunch
presence of one who
>valued Jim's life above his own.
But she never thinks of Spock, of how he has been hurt and what
either she or Kirk might do to ease it. In essence, she's thinking
that Spock should come back to be Kirk's bodyguard, to die in
Kirk's place. It's rather chilling when you consider the events of
Wrath of Khan.
There's plenty of room for JK to investigate Brandt's character
further. For instance, Kirk thinks of Spock & Brandt:
>The one thing they have in
>common is a deep sense of honor.
Frankly, I don't believe it. Brandt is in Special Ops, and unless
human nature changes drastically in the next couple of centuries,
deeply honorable people don't work for Special Ops. At least,
not more than once. "It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it"
is another way of saying: it's job that dirties you. We've never
really seen what Brandt does, so we don't know exactly how she's
been dirtied, but given that in our reality "Special Ops" is code
for assassination, bribery, corruption, lying, drug-dealing, and
creative accounting, the dirt is certainly there.
For both Kirk and Brandt, I think their moral problems are
connected with Command. They are both commanders, leaders,
or, as both JK and Sydvick say, warriors. And part of Command
is not taking account of other people's feelings. You can't be
decisive if you think things over too much; you can't be self-
confident if you aren't also rather self-centered; you can't give
orders if you think a lot about what the other person would
rather be doing.
Looking ahead to ST:TMP, I can see three sets of scenarios
for why & how Spock comes back from Vulcan:
(a) his sexuality is directed at someone other than Kirk and/or
Brandt. This is the ever-risky (at least, risky to Jungle Kitty's
dog) T'Millie solution. There's also the question: does Kirk
really, truly want Spock not to be in love with him?
(b) Kirk and/or Brandt accept him sexually. I notice, for instance,
that when Spock calls his feelings for Jim "inappropriate", Kirk
does *not* do the generous thing and say, "love is not inappropriate,
I'm just sorry I can't return all your feelings." JK and I have found
that, as she says, we do not have the same prescription in our
eyeglasses when we look at TOS episodes. So I see Kirk making
lots of seductive moves & eye contact at Spock, and she sees
little. But even JK admits there are some times when it looks as
though a K/S liplock is imminent. I find it extremely difficult to
imagine that Kirk doesn't have some sexy feelings toward Spock
(well, *lots* actually), and I'd like to see JK exploring what the
hell
she thinks is going on there.
I'll also put in here that having what is rather coyly referred to as
"the act that would break the link" -- i.e. sex between Spock & Kirk
-- be anal penetration of Kirk seems rather narrow-minded for
such sexually sophisticated people. They should at least consider
a little of the old Non-Penetrative Nookie (hi Laura!), or NPN as
I've started calling it. Dragging up memories of Kirk's rape by d'Lain
strikes me as a bit, er, forced. But that's partly because I never
really bought the central premise of "Blood Claim": I just don't
believe James T. Kirk can be degraded by sex. The Kirk I know
would have turned the tables on d'Lain, electroshock collar or no.
(c) Spock strangles his own sexuality. He finds some way around
Pon Farr (even though he fails at achieving Kolinahr) and he remains
celibate. Or he is at least celibate and to the best of his ability
asexual, outside of PF. I don't want you-all to think that I think
celibacy is a bad thing, necessarily. But it does have a history of
being connected to a devaluation of sexuality, and I can certainly
see Spock wanting to go that way. It would be very difficult for him
to accept himself as a sexual person and yet be celibate. And I
don't know if it would be possible for Spock to accept his sexuality
if Jim does not accept it, too.
IMO option (c) is a terrible one for Spock, because it devalues
part of him. I *hate* it when that happens. BUT I think it is the
option that is easiest to support in canon, and it may be the
one that follows most truthfully from the characters as they
have been developed here.
There's a great deal more I could say about "Uneasy
Dancers." The story has made me think a lot about topics
such as marriage, work relationships, what it is we do in
fanfic, and The Essential Rightness of K/S. <vbg and a big
kiss at you, JK> I'll spare you all that for the moment.
On the bottom line, I don't think "Dancers" has either the
lyricism or the structural strength of "Golden Boy," which is
still IMO Jungle Kitty's best work to date. But it is nonetheless
a shining example of what we can do here when we're willing
to shed blood, sweat, and tears.
Mary Ellen
Doctor Science, MA
- - - - - - - - -
Good Book of the Day:
"Aristoi," by Walter Jon Williams
Judygran
Re: Uneasy Dancers Review with Spoilers
Date:
25 Jan 1999 07:57:43 GMT
From:
judy...@aol.com (Judygran)
Organization:
AOL http://www.aol.com
To:
as...@earthlink.net
Newsgroups:
alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated
References:
1
Fabulous review. No time to write now--trial starts tomorrow in Messier v.
Southbury and continues for the foreseeable future--but I'll try to comment
when I can.
Love,
Judith
Ned Fox
Re: [ASCEML] Uneasy Dancers Review with Spoilers
Date:
Mon, 25 Jan 1999 19:25:49 -0000
From:
"Ned Fox" <n...@blimpht.com>
To:
<as...@earthlink.net>
Doc Mary Ellen wrote:
>
> This incredibly long-winded review...
Would we accept anything less? ;-)
I wrote privately to the Kitty about this story some days ago, but
I'm quite happy to share if we're going to talk about my New Fave
Trek Story. IMO, which bears echoes of Doc's summary, it's the
best TrekSmut I've ever read. It doesn't just read like an episode,
it reads like an ep *should* read if it were a really good ep and
went where we wanted it to go.
> Does that mean the story is perfect? Hah! I was the Science
> Officer for this work, and even so Jungle "Bat Scientist"
> Kitty managed to slip one past me, in the first sentence, no
> less.
Oh damn. Never mind; I'm sure JK will agree that room for
improvement is always a good thing...
> There's one aspect of the plot that is problematic for me...
which was the Vulcan love/human love thing, I believe. My feeling
is that the plot thread that was attacked in this piece is not yet
completed, and that an attempt to sew up (excuse mixed metaphors)
that idea in this one story, already bursting with components,
would have been a mistake. I'd like to see JK approach this again;
I'd love to see how she would bring the whole Brandt saga full
circle by adding more and more K/S -- I'm not saying I think she's
going to, mind!
As for characterization, I generally agree with the Doc. I think
that Brandt continued in good form, that Spock was woefully treated
but admirably written in the context of the story, and that Kirk
was easily the best JK has written him. There's something at Gol
that comes closest to summarizing the JTK attitude as I feel I'm
ever going to read. I did feel that we could have had more from
the walk-on parts, Ludovic in particular, but there is clearly a
fine line between long-windedness and over-succinctity that the
author has trodden successfully.
> On the bottom line, I don't think "Dancers" has either the
> lyricism or the structural strength of "Golden Boy,"
If alternative opinions are desired, I liked "Life that Lies
Before" more than "Golden Boy" (personal preference only) and
thought that, on balance, "Uneasy Dancers" surpassed both that and
its alleged prequel, "Blood Claim", which also boasts structural
integrity that even Scotty would be proud of.
Ned
*************** ASCEM(L) - HOME OF TREKSMUT ***************
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Robin Lawrie
"Robin Lawrie" <rob...@s054.aone.net.au>
To:
<as...@earthlink.net>
Subject:
Re: Uneasy Dancers Review with Spoilers
Date:
Tue, 26 Jan 1999 22:52:21 +1100
You know what? When Mary Ellen comes out with stuff like this, it
makes
me
want to go into a hermit-like state for six months, with only my puter
for
company, and try my fucking guts out to write something as equally
marvelous as Uneasy Dancers. Unfortunately I have neither the
opportunity,
nor the temprament to write such a piece. Thanks Mary Ellen for such
an
in
depth look at a great story. <nods, sly high fives on the side>. Good
one.
Robin
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Sydvick
Re: Uneasy Dancers Review with Spoilers
Date:
From:
syd...@aol.com (Sydvick)
Organization:
AOL http://www.aol.com
To:
as...@earthlink.net
Newsgroups:
alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated
References:
1
>You know what? When Mary Ellen comes out with stuff like this, it
>makes
>me
>want to go into a hermit-like state for six months, with only my puter
>for
>company, and try my fucking guts out to write something as equally
>marvelous as Uneasy Dancers. Unfortunately I have neither the
>opportunity,
>nor the temprament to write such a piece. Thanks Mary Ellen for such
>an
>in
>depth look at a great story. <nods, sly high fives on the side>. Good
>one.
>
>Robin
>
>
Don't feel bad, I offered to commit ritual sepuka, even though I cheated early
on, went to JK's Website, downloaded the story and almost spoiled it for
everyone, when I raved about it on the NG. It just was sooo good, it made me
ache for them all. But, I mean, damn, it is so hard to write that well. JK
deserves all the praise in the world, and I'll keep my knife dull for now. Who
knows, maybe this will drive us all to greater heights?!!!
My heart is single and cannot be divided
And it is fastened on a single hope;
Oh you, who might be the moon
Until I die, I shall not give up lovesongs.
Oh God, forgive me my shortcomings
SOMALI LOVESONG
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Interested in the ASCEM(L) Round Robin? There's still time!
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Mary Ellen Curtin
Re: Uneasy Dancers Review with Spoilers
Date:
Robin enticingly wrote:
>You know what? When Mary Ellen comes out with stuff like this, it
>makes me want to go into a hermit-like state for six months, with
only
>my puter for company, and try my fucking guts out to write something
>as equally marvelous as Uneasy Dancers.
Oooh, what can I offer as a bribe? Lessee, I already sent
Elephants, Apes & Peacocks . . .<rummage rummage> . . .
The Captain's Staff Has a Knob on the End?
Spock's Evil Twin Goes to the Maul, er, Mall?
Visiting Scholar?
or should I just promise to get my dainty derriere in gear and
finish some of "Release from Bondage" . . . that's probably
it. Sigh.
In an event, Robs, you have my full authorization or something
to write something long & gut-wrenching. We know you can
do it.
Love,
Mary Ellen
Doctor Science, MA
- - - - - - - - -
Good Book of the Day:
"Crowds and Power," by Elias Canetti
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Interested in the ASCEM(L) Round Robin? There's still time!
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