TTCoBS:
Dominion War
Date: 08/23/2001
From: Brand_S
The True Confessions of Brand_SDominion War
One day somewhere between 1999 and 2000 I received a none-too-kind e-mail from hakavonn. Basically, s/he went on for a very long time about how terrible a person I am because of the way I choose to talk, that is, the relatively large amounts of swearing that I use.
I've taken 18 college classes so far. Out of all of them, I've only gotten anything below a 4.0 three times. Once, a 3.6; the other two times, a 3.9. I worked for a full college year as a math tutor because my strong math skills impressed people, not to mention the English tutoring I did for free (or my concurrent part-time job). My current plan is to double major in math and Japanese... although I've demonstrated strengths in political science, programming, world history, psychology, English composition, and philosophy. I've also expressed interest in theology, linguistics, music theory, and international business. I've studied Japanese for 4 years (including one on my own time), and I am currently translating a Japanese video game in my spare time. I'm also capable of playing two instruments. AND I read classical literature for fun.
And yet people decry swearing, saying it shows a patent lack of intelligence.
To that I say, "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on."
I talk the way I do because I CHOOSE to. I swear because I like having those words integrated into my vocabulary. I can prove that I'm no idiot (as much as I would like to have more friends than I do now, get laid, and smoke weed). If you have to waste my time telling me I'm stupid because I use words like "fuck," "shit," "ass," and "bitch," then go hit the books and let me do my own thing, motherfucker.
But for the sake of politeness, I watched my language? Why did I stop? Why, I needed to use them again for the sake of dramatic effect. Where would I do such a thing?
The Dominion War.
If you ever wonder why MSR has made one of the most hugely interconnected pieces of fiction I have ever seen, why SpaceTime has developed an admittedly self-indulgent style involving applying the TYPING and the LOVIN to create the Fanfic of the GODS, why HunterD_Raven even bothered starting Stoker2k, a fanfic he will NEVER finish, I provided the catalyst that started all of this...
The Dominion War.
If you wonder why I take it so personally that I get so few responses to my writings, why I'm popular at all here, or why anyone ever thought I was on par with TemporalFlux, again...
The Dominion War.
I remembered HunterD_Raven's pitch for a story that he called "S5L vs S5H," to wit, people who like "Sliders" season 5, versus those who do not. I would end up dubbing the former, L-People (for "love/like"). The latter, H-People (for "hate"). I thought HunterD_Raven's idea was an interesting one, so just for fun I decided to whip up a story based on it.
But my favorite kinds of stories are the interconnected ones: "Pulp Fiction," "The Usual Suspects," "The Stand," "X-Men 2099," "Seinfeld," "Live A Live," and especially "Les Misérables." The more characters doing the more seemingly unrelated things that have indirect effects on each other that end up tying the story together into one huge shocker, the better. It's like a pool shot that sinks half the table right away. Poetry in motion. Seemingly small actions making a huge one. It's incredible to watch, even more incredible (and unfortunately, rare in the extreme) to pull off. My dream in life is to write a story that adheres so strongly to this that up until the end even the plot and dramatis personae are completely fluid and constantly changing.
I wanted "The Dominion War" to be the next "Pulp Fiction," at least in its own limited scope. This meant extensive planning. I had every part of the story planned out in advance. (The original plan was for 12 parts, with Executive's death bisecting it, but I reduced it to 10 because I was afraid I couldn't keep up the speed.) But what I really wanted was approval. The more of my blood, sweat, and tears I poured into this story, the more afraid I became of rejection. I did not think this pithy 10-parter was any good. After all, I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing. I just started writing and let my mind finish it for me. Yeontoo was my main beta reader, and her reassurance was constant, because she knew that was the only way I'd find it in me to post it (so you all can give Yeontoo credit for it being posted in the first place). So, on her urging, I posted the story. I mentioned to her how afraid I was that it would be "ill-received." I didn't want rejection. I wanted approval.
Oh, I got approval.
I've never had so many replies to anything. Hell, other than the debates and petitions and flame wars and crap like that, I'd never seen so many replies to anything here. It was really amazing. I also became established as the Dominion War's #1 humorist. In my opinion, this was a blessing and a curse. I mean, it's always great to know that someone thinks you're good at something like making them laugh. But at the same time, I was typecast, and in addition, even now when I talk to someone, there's an implication that I keep them humorously entertained from start to finish. That's a big part of why I'm so terrible about e-mailing people.
I liked the Dominion War. It's a pretty funny story. But let's be honest... The only reason it was so popular was because all the people there wanted to see themselves in the story and the way they acted. I still can't believe I was able to maintain consistency in the intelligence, character, and punctuation minutiae of so many characters. I just remembered TemporalFlux's penchant for *asterisk emphasis* and invariably spelling "alot" instead of "a lot." SpaceTime's anality regarding spelling was easy to duplicate; I'm the same way. Fish_Bone always uses "you're" instead of "your," Yeontoo says "Sur" instead of "Sir," the Huneter has a fetetish for the lettere e, and so on...
Moreover, although the only reason my story was so popular was because those motherfuckers only liked me for my ability to glorify them, my popularity did skyrocket nonetheless. After all, I was the first person here to write with impunity about my friends and my enemies alike living AND dying in a piece of fiction. To paraphrase Stoker_chick, I redefined what "fan fiction" is! I mean, it inspired hundreds of different projects here: the Legion of Booze, B vs. E, Stoker2k, Group X, BBoard Sliding Adventures, the Fucka series, and Boardnapped, to name a few.
· Missing Slider Ryan
Out of all the people here, I probably owe her more than anybody else. She continues to read my stuff, and when she posts something, I keep saying to myself that I'm going to read it, but by the time I have time to do it, it's buried and I can't find it. I'm just glad she's nice and magnanimous enough not to mind too much (read: MSR, please, DON'T KILL ME!).It's just too bad I was never able to pull that shit off again.
Come
to think of it...
Date: 08/23/2001
From: MissingSliderRyan
THANKS, S FOR GIVING ME THE IDEA OF GROUP X AND IT ALL STARTED FROM THE DOMINION WAR!Just wanted to make sure you saw that part. :-D
>>> If you ever wonder why MSR has made one of the most hugely interconnected pieces of fiction I have ever seen...
Yes, it started from the Dominion War ran through Beret War II, SlidersSurvivor, TOP and The Group X saga I'm writing and probably a hundred (humor me it might be more) posts and fics that I've referred back to it.
THANKS, S FOR GIVING ME THE IDEA OF GROUP X AND IT ALL STARTED FROM THE DOMINION WAR!See you think my replies are empty when I post <end> or <n/t> but they aren't. Many contain short pieces of fiction. Hehehehe
For those perceptive or caught the original run of Group X: Sub Rosa, it was my open ended storyline ender for TOP with a few deletions and additions. Yes, I recycle stories and dredge up past posts for inspiration. :-D
S, here's the snippet your character is in from Group X: Sub Rosa near the bottom of the page.Yes, I'm writing more of it. Shesh just cause I miss the deadlines by more than a few months.... :-p
http://www.geocities.com/missingsliderryan/subrosa.html
Ivory Towers Hotel
West Side
13th floor
9:04 PM
Brand S, the sniper rifle over his back, ran down another hallway. Several people got out of the way as he raced by like a bat out of hell. He smiled when he saw an intersection coming within seconds.Hmm… I’ll take right this time. They aren’t going to catch me. They’re so incompetent. Probably catch them with their pants down at their ankles. Idi...
TM tackled S right before he turned the corner. The next thing S realized was being pinned against the wall with a gun at his head and staring at both TM and SQ21.
“Shit! I just had surgery. Take it easy!” S blurted out.
“We got him,” SQ21 said into his mic.
“Shut up everyone! What did he just say?” ordered Recall’s voice over all the comm traffic.
“He said he had surgery,” TM said smoothly, shoving the barrel deeper into S’ forehead.
“Awww... shi... Get him down here now! Where’s that... ” Recall’s voice trailed off.
“I hate this job.” S sighed.
[THANKS, S FOR GIVING ME THE IDEA OF GROUP X AND IT ALL STARTED FROM THE DOMINION WAR!]The Limo
9:05 PM
“Tex, why are we coming back here? You’re hurt!” SweetOne exclaimed as she put more pressure on Tex’s right shoulder, her white jacket now red. “We got to get you to a hospital before you bleed to death.”
Blinker looked at his rearview mirror and saw that Tex was getting paler by the second. “Tex, she’s right. You’re losing too much. We got to…”
Tex sat straight up. “Dammit, you two! Don’t you see it’s a trap!”
“Tex, calm down!” begged SweetOne as she pushed him back against the seat.
“Five minutes. No more or I’ll shoot you myself,” Blinker threatened as the stoplight turned green.
“How much further?” SweetOne asked.
“Less than a block,” Blinker answered.
Just as the limo turned the corner, the westside part of the Ivory Towers Hotel came crashing down.
Recall’s voice came over the comm. “My God, what have they done?”
TO BE CONTINUED
>>>>(read: MSR, please, DON'T KILL ME!).
Read that above snippet again and again. :-p
MSR
Queen of the unfinished fic ;-)
P.S.
I still deny that my character died in the Dominion War. Loophole, baby, loophole. :-D It has something to do with that revised BWII post I keep mentioning about but haven't written.
P.S
Trivia about my writing
I called it Group X because I couldn't think of a name on short notice for BWII. It's my homage to USA network's La Femme Nikita.
P.S.S.
Fucka: LA Tour Part 2 will be written sometime. Sue me there's no way in hell I could make Part 2 funnier than the first part. Jiggle me, baby!http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/2326/25140
Blinker replied contemptuously, “I’ve tried futilely to get around the rule stating that I have to have 55% of the merchandise related to Maggie or Kari. No can do. The UPC is strong here and they won’t bend that rule.” An idea popped up Blinker’s mind. “Perhaps this fiendish jiggling is a result of Kari's day job as a CRACK ho. Unfortunately, all the CRACK goes straight to her hyperactive bosom. It hasn't stopped vibrating at speeds that would rival a power drill since…” Blinker stopped when he saw dellyone retrieve her headset and put it on. He wondered if this was a social call.
Props to Blinker for the line starting with "Perhaps this..." :-D
P.S.S.S.
I'll continue the NTSS Poems when I have the time and inspiration to write them. I have three on tap and they're going to be hard to figure out. You can thank Blinker, Recall317 and SL4ever for them. :-DLikewise, I'll post the answers to the past ones on my page too. Follow the link to Tex's Ezboard and find the names of the poems. The answers are at the end of the threads.
P.S.S.S.S.
What's my take on what happened to Ryan after Luck of the Draw? Well, it's a three story crossover still stuck in my mind.
P.S.S.S.S.S.
What did I tell you my replies contain pieces of fiction too? LOL
THANKS, S FOR GIVING ME THE IDEA OF GROUP X AND IT ALL STARTED FROM THE DOMINION WAR!
Brand_S,
YOU are God.
Date: 08/23/2001
From: Vance454
Seriously. I'm not even done reading half of this post (i've read all others before this one) and i'm mildly shouting (at work, in my cubical): GOOD MAN! GO S!" I have to say that I agree with most everything that you are and what you've said. I, too have had a lot of the previous experiences you have had! From the befriendment of Yeontoo to the ignorement of almost every single post I have posted! I too, joined around the end of season four. The similarities are uncanny.Ok, let me stop creaming in my pants and finish reading TTCoBS. It's like reading an autobiography for free!
Vance454
vance454 on aol im
Mine
Eyes Have Seen the Glorification
Date: 08/23/2001
From: Blinker
> The only reason it was so popular was because
> all the people there wanted to see themselves
> ... those motherfuckers only liked me for my
> ability to glorify them...Yep.
Well, actually that's half-true. The Dominion War being populated by the people of this board not only provided free ego stroking to its readers, but also gave them an instant understanding of the characters and their relationships... and a reason to care about them.
Most spin-offs, like that of stuslide (the least-replied-to legitimate fanfic writer on the board... heck, even DORKY gets a reply on occasion), are *impossible* to market around here because no one's willing to invest the time and attention into characters they've never heard of before.
(Side note: My "Othergates" posts actually fared extremely well for a spin-off, probably because Earth 374 had experimental fanfic and replies to it at an all-time high. That series got dropped when I started Earth 69 and realized it was so much more rewarding to be *deliberately* ridiculous. Rest assured; it will be back, its Season-Four-on-peyote flavour only INTENSIFIED.)
Now, the Dominion War was the absolute opposite. It was based on personalities that *everyone* recognized from the get-go. And these weren't just fictional constructs LIKE AN ATTEMPT TO DENY THE INTELLECT OF A MENSA MEMBER (sorry... had to get that in there), but people we conversed with on a daily basis.
Those who followed your saga were interested not only in seeing themselves painted as heroes, but in seeing the board they knew so well rendered as something larger than life. They wanted to hear what you had to say about Tf, Exec and everyone in between. They *hungered* to learn what fates would be dished out to sliderfanone, rdwebster and the other trolls. The fic's general coolness and all-around entertainment factor were just the icing on the meat and potatoes... if you will.
Now right off the bat, "The Gopher" had one huge strike against it in terms of potential repliage. Despite being both Sliders-related AND hilarious, it focused on all-new characters of your own invention. I can tell you right now that a lot of people probably browsed the first chapter and thought, "'Joey'?? Why should I CARE?! This is a SLIDERS board!!!! Pfft, fuck this!," and walked away.
The "Green Ranger" pilot, of course, was in for even worse trouble. No Sliders/board connection at all. Most of those unfamiliar with your writings probably skipped over the thing with neither guilt nor a second thought and have no intention ever to read it (unlike myself! Hey, gimme a chance here!).
Yeah, it's sad. Okay, it blows. But I've come to accept that the more comfortable you make it for the greatest number of people to instantly get into your story, the better-received it will be. Maybe now that the rule's been put into print, we can get to work on changing it.
- Blinker 7:-I
http://slidersweb.net/blinker
One
other thought...
Date: 08/23/2001
From: Blinker
> To paraphrase Stoker_chick, I
> redefined what "fan fiction" is!Actually, S, you *weren't* the first to write a hugely popular, multi-part epic adventure starring the people of this board.
As far as I know, that honour goes to the author of "Scavenger Hunt" and its follow-up "Western World Mystery": Mychand.
- Blinker 7:-/
http://slidersweb.net/blinker
Replying
again
Date: 08/23/2001
From: HunterD_Raven
Well first to something you posted earlier.
The reason I didn't reply a lot to your posts in the "rants' and "heated debates' is, as I recall, I agreed most of the time.
if I agree with what someone says I'll usually not make a big deal out of it.
Most of the time I more or less focus on what I dislike about what someone says and, well, admittedly beat them over the head with it.
To me NOT bashing your points means I probably agree with them.
--
But onto this thread, the Dominion war.
I am SO glad I posted that SIY submission, yeah I didn't get a cool freaking script, NO I didn't win money or get to meet any cast members..Hell the idiot judges just ignored it and I didn't even go to the 2nd round!
BUT, I get to take a modicum of credit for the creation of The Dominion War...and all in all, that's BETTER than a script, and far BETTER than meeting the cast (after all, if I had met Jerry in that period, odds are I'd be in jail for assult & battery right now)and a BIIIIG thanks to yeontoo if she reads this for telling him to post it.
The idea that such a good fic came from one of my basic ideas, well it really did up my self-esteem.
Even if I had absolutely NOTHING to do with it other than "Season 5 fans vs Season 5 haters in a war"As for Stoker 2K...well....maybe if when I posted it I got HALF or even one THIRD the reaction you got I wouldn't stop so often.
it's annoying as hell to type out something and not hear a freaking word on it.
You didn't want to be rejected for Dominion war, but I'd take the rejection!
The NOTHING is more annoying than the "GOD THIS SUCKS"
(Ok, so NOW I understand why my not responding to your posts annoyed you)Anyway, I will finish it someday, hopefully.
I'm mostly done with it, the major problem is I am a MAJOR perfectionist with my writings.
I want it to be the best it can be, and then I get stuck on some small trivial little thing and I won't write till I can solve it.
And you see how freaking long that can be!!!
I'm too anal-retentive to have deadlines.
I will make all of you a deal though, if I ever do get one of the sagas I've written (and yes, some ARE finished) published.
I promise all of you that Stoker 2K will be on my official webpage....and odds are "Thank Yous" to the 2 fanfic writers to got me to actually work some more on my writings will be in every book
"The Man called S" & Jenni W.
--
D
How
could I forget?
Date: 08/24/2001
From: MissingSliderRyan
TOFGAL? Jeez... yes I do have GX in there too in the Fatal Fourway.Well, S, it's buried treasure. All you need is the map and I'll give it to you when you want it. It may be a map with convoluted instructions, but it's all there. ;-)
MSR
Touching.
Uplifting. Poignant. True.
Date: 08/24/2001
From: Twizzler
...and everything else that Blinker's reply is not.Blinker:
> Yeah, it's sad. Okay, it blows.
Brand_S:
> After all, I was the first person here to write
> with impunity about my friends and my enemies alike
> living AND dying in a piece of fiction. To
> paraphrase Stoker_chick, I redefined what "fan
> fiction" is!Blinker:
> Actually, S, you *weren't* the first to write a
> hugely popular, multi-part epic adventure starring
> the people of this board.> As far as I know, that honour goes to the author
> of "Scavenger Hunt" and its follow-up "Western
> World Mystery": Mychand.Twizzler:
> BRAND_S DIDNT SAY HE WROTE THE FIRST POPULAR BBOARD
> FICTION. HE SAID HE STARTED THE TREND OF WRITING WITH
> IMPUNITY ABOUT FRIEND AND FOE ALIKE.> AS FOR MYCHANDS STORIES. YEAH, WE ALL THINK OF THOSE
> WHEN WE LOOK AT THE GENESIS OF BOARD HUMOR.> SEMANTICS DO NOT EQUAL OPINION. BRAND_S REDEFINED
> FAN FICTION. HE DID NOT LIE NOR DID HE STATE WHAT
> YOU SOUGHT TO REFUTE.> WAY TO TRY AND SHOOT HIM DOWN THO. THATS ONE WAY
> TO KEEP THE COMMUNITY ALIVE. HOWEVER, SOME OF
> THE BOARDS INHABITANTS REFUSE TO GIVE UP HOPE.- Twizzler >:D
http://www.jeffmargulis.com
Original URL http://bboard.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/545/26589
Nominated by Joey_Starr
