Mirrorverse like you've never known it
You know what bugs me most about Mirrorverse the way it is portrayed in most fics? It’s shallow. People use it as an outlet for every bit of sexual deviancy that can’t be quite pictured in the ‘normal’-verse. I’m serious, look at the load of Mirrorverse fics in this fandom. No matter what characters or pairing is under the spotlight, they all look like two-dimensional -- oh, forget it, one-dimensional -- sex maniacs with no other shade to them. It’s a whole other universe to explore, and yet, there is no other color for it than obsessive sex exploits. I’m not even kidding.
There were precious little real Mirrorverse fics in TOS, too, and yet, attempts were made to explore it - really explore it, and give it depth, and colors, and reason. I am here tonight to be boring, I am here tonight to lecture you, and I am here to introduce you to writing that will blow your mind away and change your perception of Trek writing forever - if you trust me.
The Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace series focuses on Montgomery Scott’s counterpart in the Mirrorverse, but you don’t have to be a Scotty fan to enjoy it. Although, enjoy might not be the word. Savor it. Drown in it. Be sucked into it fully and completely. I’m not a Scotty fan. I have never been a Scotty fan. I read this series, and it changed me, in ways that I’m still only trying to count and comprehend. You can consider it a master class. You can consider it a slow poison. Whatever you think of it though, the truth is simply that you can’t turn away from this mirror, no matter how much you want to, because it’s real.
This series and side stories offer exceptional character studies of not only Scott, but Pike, George Kirk, Jim Kirk, Leonard McCoy, David McCoy, Spock, and others. The moment it first ‘clicked’ for me, about chapter 3 or 4 I think, I said, ‘Oh dear,’ and knew that I was lost. I can never write like that. I have never met another person who can write like that. If not for your favorite characters, read this to know that writing like this exists in this fandom.
And if you are not convinced, read One Minute.
There was a time when I used all the words in my poor vocabulary to describe this story and failed. I always fail. It’s the thornbird song of writing, and I can never come to terms with what it makes me feel. It shatters my world every time I read it, using surgical precision instead of fancy words, and the impact is so much stronger for it.
Every. Damn. Time.
I don’t know if you check it out or let it slide because of ‘not my pairing - not my character’ excuse. I don’t care if you turn a few pages and shrug. People shrug at Mona Lisa everyday, after all. I’m sharing this, because I’m tired of the single shade I’m seeing in Mirroverse fiction with precious few exceptions. Every time I encounter one of those, my mind turns back to ESPG immediately, and I’m despairing thinking that this treasure lives unnoticed and unappreciated. It’s written with the blood of the soul, and you can feel it in every line.
Besides, it’s just damn good writing.