Orfeo

Star Trek DS9 Fanfiction
Title:	Orfeo
Author(s):	Macedon and J
Date(s):	1996
Length:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
External Links:	at AO3
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Orfeo is an Star Trek: DS9 story by Macedon and his wife, J.

It was posted at alt.startrek.creative and won an ASC Award.

Comments by Macedon

When J and I sat down to write "Eye of the Storm" part of why she wanted me involved (aside from getting Jake's voice out of me and making the language sound marginally like "Orfeo") was to try to bridge the gap between the "tone" of slash and the "tone" of gay fiction. She hadn't read any Trek slash before she wrote it, but she was familiar enough with published "slash" and was intrigued by the whole phenomena.

Part of a Series

The Jeu-Parti series deals with a number of sensitive topics from masculinity and male/male relationships, to living with depression, to constructions of family. It also explores Vulcan culture.

The stories, which focus on Jake Sisko's relationship with a Vulcan castrato, Salene, are:

• Orfeo (written c. 1996) - When Bajor hosts an interstellar music festival, to which a very unusual star singer is invited, Jake must face questions about friendship, manhood and culture, as well as freedoms of belief.

• The Eye of the Storm (1997) - This story is a sequel to the DS9 episode, "Nor the Battle to the Strong," as well as to "Orfeo." It is rated [R] for some sexual material. Persons under 18, or those who have trouble with gay fiction, should read no further.

• Anslem (1997) - The final story in the DS9 novel, JEU-PARTI, sequel to "Orfeo" and "Eye of the Storm." Eleven years after his abrupt, late-night departure, Salene reappears in Jake's life. He finds a twenty-nine-year-old Jake whose writing career is beginning to blossom even while his private life is falling apart.

Reactions and Reviews

I'm rec'cing a story about a minor character and an OMC, for a show I never watched, in a fandom I never read. All I can say is, it's one heck of a story. ... it worked on many levels for me: as sociological SF, as a coming of age story, as (natch) slash." (Sandy Herrold)

[Orfeo]: "acedon cleverly uses an unusual OC to probe the prejudices of the denizens of DS9 in this fandom classic. The two sequels in the Jeu-Parti series worked less well for me." (Espresso Addict)

This story is quite possibly the most polished piece of fan fiction I've ever read. This story is told in the viewpoint of Jake Sisko and offers an in-depth portrayal of his character. Macedon does a beautiful job developing a relationship between Jake and the young Vulcan. The plot, the characters, the imagery, the word choices drew me in--I had to know the ending before returning to the *real* world. If you are looking for a good drama and not afraid to shed a tear, you must check this story out!"

This is a truly haunting story for me -- I sang my first church solo over thirty years ago, and Macedon captures the feeling of the performance, the thrill of the music, the rafters ringing, and dead silence when the final note fades ... What an intriguing character to come up with on a dare! We ought to see that he's suitably dared more often! <BWG>"

Let me second or third or nth the vote for "Orfeo." This was probably the first story I'd seen that tried to get into Jake's head, to show him as a person in his own right rather than just someone who is there to add emotional subtext to Sisko's life. And Salene is a perfect foil: he combines the life experience that Jake lacks with the _atarakia_ (or the rather drastic means by which he attemps to attain a portion of it <g>) that clashes with the fledgling writer's need to explore emotionality; they make a terrific pair, and their friendship here sets a solid groundwork for the more involved relationship we see in the sequel, "Eye of the Storm." The lapsed musician (formerly devout, now nonpracticing) in me was delighted at the believable portrayal of a singer--and the med student also in me found little to gripe about in the details of the consequences of Salene's "attack by ducks :) ." Terrific story; EOS is also highly recommended."

An absolutely lovely story. I love the character of Salene and the way he is depicted here. As another reader mentioned, and along the same lines as my comment earlier on "Basilisk", Macedon does a wonderful job with Salene's "vulcan-ness". He is alien, but we can relate to him. Macedon has also done a wonderful job with Jake. Until recently, the series has not done too much in the way of developing Jake as a character. "Orfeo" fits nicely with what we've seen on the series, while still managing to give Jake a new aspect and new depth. This is one of the few stories I keep permanently on my hard drive, so I can pull it out every few months and re-read it. If you haven't read it, *run*, don't walk, to the archive and get it. It's beautiful." Terrific story; EOS is also highly recommended."

Perhaps one of the most stunning and intriguing stories posted to ASC since I began reading the newsgroup six or seven months ago, "Orfeo" has a unique plot and solidly portrayed characters. Salene is an excellently written, well-rounded "guest star" and is a wonderful compliment to Jake. It's rare to find a story which can combine the awkwardness of coming into adulthood with the poignancy of forging a rather mature friendship. Salene and Jake's relationship is a wonderful contrast to Nog and Jake's (which is further explored in the must-read sequel, "Eye of the Storm"). Macedon also is careful about keeping an alien "alien" and highlighting the contrasts between cultures. Well done, Macedon!"

This story belonged as an episode, not here on lowly Usenet. This is the best and finest example of IDIC values and truth in storytelling that Trek is known for. From the well-drawn character of Jake, to the compelling new character of Salene, their believably written friendship, the problems when faced with Bajoran religious hypocrisy and the nice little twist provided by Benjamin, their Emissary to get around the problem (and I won't give away the secret, but I loved it!), this story was a joy to read."

I really didn't care for Jake Sisko all that much - he just seemed a bit... bland. I was just totally unenthused by him. Macedon and J's 'Orfeo' trilogy made me see Jake in a whole new light. I only read it because I loved the TS/C stories - but this one enthralled me all on its own.