Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Challenge FDK: Chi, Beta (you can read my post here first, if you want)

Paul

I'm sorry that I'm so late here.
This is absolutely fabulous.

Tricia

hey, don't apologize for being late. it's never too late for comments. besides, this is great! every time i think that's it, someone else drops by! this folder is the gift that keeps on giving.

thanks, tricia! i'm really glad to hear you enjoyed it so much.

Paul

Hi Paul!
Just found time to finish this.

I admit that, at times, it was difficult for me to follow what exactly was happening (sorry, I was really sleepy... not because of your story, of course!!), but I still liked it very much.

I especially loved Beta's comments. Her (?) first appearance had me ROTFLOLling, thinking 'how inspired!! Definitely something Paul would do'.

Beautiful story. Keep writing
See ya,
AnnaBtG.

Hi Paul,

Thoroughly enjoyed this! I loved the way that Beta 'fixed' the epiosde, and all the Beta's comments were spot on. Your story had me , so thank you very much. The Mary Sue realisation at the end was perfect!

Loriel

wow. i decided to hold off for a couple of days before responding to anna, just in case someone else dropped by. was just thinking last night that it had gotten a bit longer than i'd meant and that i should post, but i was kinda tired, so i left it for today. so, i was just coming over to do that, and here's a new post from loriel. cool! good timing.

anyway, thanks for posting anna and lauriel. i'm really glad to hear you both enjoyed the story so much.

as for the question of beta's gender, i dunno. i kinda thought of beta as female, probably because most, if not all, of the betas i've worked with have been female. still, i made sure to leave it ambiguous. there are male betas out there. heck, i've been one myself. so, even tho i'm leaning towards "female," i prefer to stay neutral.

in any case, while i'm writing, i'll mention that i still haven't gotten around to editing this one for the archive. since i'm planning to hold it for a jan upload anyway, i'm not too concerned. i am planning to get to it soon-ish, tho. we'll see how it goes. i'll be in florida for the next couple weeks, so i'm not sure how much i'll really be at the keys (no pun intended, for once).

thanks again for posting! i've said it before, and i'll say it again: this thread is the gift that keeps on giving. all for a story i wasn't too sure about in the first place, too.

Paul

Paul, I'm so glad this comments thread got pushed to the top. It reminded me that I hadn't had a chance to read this yet.

Oh my...

If you're not uploading to the Archives until January, does that mean you won't be making it eligible for this year's Kerths?

Terrific job.

Kathy

hi kathy. thanks for posting! i'm glad you caught up with the story, and that you enjoyed it so much. always great to hear.

as for your question about the kerths... no, it won't be eligible this year. a january upload will make it eligible for next year. thanks for asking, though.

in case you're wondering why, it's because of archive upload rate.

there's usually a flood of submissions at the end of the year. for one thing, it seems like more stories are written in the late fall... weather getting colder, people staying inside, kids back at school, whatever other factors i'm not coming up with. there are also usually a bunch of xmas stories. add in the last-minute submissions of older stories (writers taking stock at the end of the year and realizing they haven't sent in a story or two as well as writers rushing for the kerth deadline). so, things are just busy. the GEs have to deal with the flood of stories, and the readers have to try to keep up with all the new stories on the boards plus the flood hitting the archives each week.

by january, however, things generally taper off. there's xmas/new year's break, so writing slows down, and all the xmas stories and last-minute submissions have been taken care of. january archive uploads can be kind of sparse, sometimes only 2 or 3 stories a week.

they tend to pick up again in feb, with valentine's day and whatever stories were finished in january after the break.

so, when i write a story late in the year, i usually hold it for january. it means a little less work for the busy GEs in dec, a little more on the page for the readers during the january lull, and a little more attention for the story itself since it has fewer stories being uploaded with it. as for the kerths, last year was the first time i was even nominated. besides, it'll be eligible for the following year. if it's good enough, hopefully it'll still stand out in your memory when you look through the eligibles list a year later (and hopefully you'll take the time to refresh your memory before you nominate).

so, there's my long-winded answer to a question you didn't really ask. oh well. :rolleyes:

anyway, i should get going. i have to leave early tomorrow morning, and i still haven't packed... <sigh>
thanks again for posting, kathy!

Paul

Paul,

I am in awe of the way your brain works. How did you ever come up with this title? I love these types of plays on words, and you really are a master at it. Very well done.

The story itself is hilarious, and wickedly clever.



Well, I liked it right from the beginning, but I do have to admit the ending is pretty good. All together a fun story to read.

- Vicki

hi vicki. thanks for posting!

i'm glad you enjoyed the title. you're the first to comment on it. getting a triple pun (my first, i think) was a happy accident, but i'm rather proud of it, none the less. i'm not sure where it came from. it just kinda popped to mind and seemed perfect.

(for those of you wondering, the title can be read either as an introduction of the character "beta" to the episode "chi of steel" or as a notation that this is the "beta" version of that episode. also, by serendipitous happenstance, "chi" and "beta" are both greek letters, although "chi" is pronounced differently.)

thanks also for your comments on the story in general. the reactions to this story have been so much better than i expected, and it's so great to still be getting comments on it.

oh, btw, the story is currently being GEd, so look for it soon at an archive near you.

Paul