From ereshkgl@cyberg8t.com Fri Aug 22 15:58:03 1997 Path: Supernews69!SupernewsFH!newsfeed.direct.ca!news.he.net!news.cyberg8t.com!not-for-mail From: ereshkgl@cyberg8t.com (Ruth Gifford) Newsgroups: alt.fan.q,alt.startrek.creative Subject: REVIEW: Truth or Q by Mercutio Date: 22 Aug 1997 22:58:03 GMT Organization: GiffStein Lines: 100 Message-ID: <5tl5hr$e57$1@nntp.cyberg8t.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: host22.riv.cyberg8t.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset=US-ASCII X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.99.8 (x86 32bit) Xref: Supernews69 alt.fan.q:6359 alt.startrek.creative:62297 I did this for ASCEM (your spam free home for TrekSmut), but Mercutio suggested crossposting to afq, and I thought I complete the appointed rounds of ngs. Title: Truth or Q Author: Mercutio Series: TNG Content Codes, Picard/f, Worf/Q, Q/f -- parody -- mild d/s Location: The ASCEM Archives (http://aviary.share.net/~alara/index9.html) or Mercutio's Q Site (http://www.europa.com/~mercutio/Q.html) Ranking (using the Ruth System, on a scale of "partially read then abandoned while still on-line" to "*trying* not to nag my wife to write more"): "While reading it on-line, it made me laugh *and* think; saved to disk in order to re-read and refer to many times." Well, the minute you read the pairing codes you knew it was a parody, right? This is, however, no mere parody; it's by Mercutio, which means that it's both funny and good. Would I lie to you? "Truth or Q" is one of Mercutio's Deshanya stories, a series of non-TrekSmut stories (except this one, of course) about Q's interaction with Enterprise crewmember Lt. Elaine Deshayna. While it helps to have read the other stories before reading this one, it isn't absolutely necessary, as the relationship between Deshayna and Q becomes apparent early in the story. Like many good TrekSmut premises, this one is simple; Q and Deshayna get involved in a contest of sexual dares. Q ends up daring Deshayna first, and instead of giving her what she really wants (sex with himself) he dares her to seduce the Captain. This leads to a wonderful scene as she attempts to explain to Picard why he has to have sex with her. When he finally agrees, the scene is both funny and sexy, something that not every author can pull off. If you don't laugh at the line about mouse ears, you might want to think about taking your sense of humor to the shop. Annoyed with Q for embarrassing the Captain, Deshayna comes up with the proverbial fate worse than death for Q: sex with Worf. In a serious story, the fact that Worf readily agrees would be a major character flaw, but this is parody, so it's OK. Unlike the scene with Deshayna and Picard, this scene is not particularly light, as one can imagine given the participants. In fact, it could be seen as a weak point because it changes the silly tone of the story almost too abruptly and completely. Finally, of course, Q and Deshayna end up together. Inventing Q-sex is often irresistible for a Q writer and you'll be glad Mercutio gives into temptation. The result is not only interesting, but also reveals many things about the Q and Q himself. When the sex comes down to the Human, or semi-Human (as Q still uses his powers to great advantage) level, Mercutio delivers an encounter that is enjoyable, not only for Q and Deshayna, but for the reader as well. If the sex and the laughs were all there was to "Truth or Q," it would be a fun little story. What makes it more is that throughout the various encounters, we learn a fair amount about the participants. Despite the fact that this is not a P/Q story, Mercutio examines that dynamic thoroughly. While Deshayna propositions Picard, Q shows up to interfere, letting Picard know that Q is well aware of the darker fantasies buried underneath Picard's collected demeanor. Likewise, Q's encounter with Worf involves a revealing look at just what Q might want (were he willing to admit it) from Picard. Deshayna and Q's encounter reveals a great deal about sex and power and how the two are combined for the Q. In fact the whole story is a look at the shifting power dynamics that frequently accompany sex, even non-kinky sex, whether it's mortal sex or Q sex. The very things that make the story more than mere parody, also make it frustrating. As I read "Truth or Q," I couldn't help wishing that Mercutio hadn't sat on the fence between parody and serious story with this one, but had come down on the side of serious story. The parody does allow her to bypass any requirement to keep the characters (mostly Worf) in character, as well as get some very funny lines in. However, it makes the many serious and revelatory moments seem disjointed and abrupt. Having said that, I still *highly* recommend it to anyone who wants a good laugh and/or an interesting glimpse of Q by a writer who is deservedly well known for her Q fiction. But don't take my word for it . . . Ruth -- *************************************************** * Ruth | Visit GiffStein Productions * * Gifford | http://www.cyberg8t.com/ereshkgl/ * *-------------------------------------------------* * Better living thru TrekSmut--See for Yourself! * * http://www.capital.net/users/rjs1/asce * *************************************************** "You didn't think that pissing off a god was, just maybe, a bad idea?" Lily Sloane to Jean-Luc Picard "Until the End of the World" -- Atara Stein