FE Contest Voting/Free Knight Love

[mark_asphodel]

 Day-um, fe_contest .

I mean, there was a bunch of good stuff this time.  There was good stuff last time, too, but it just keeps getting better.  This is really cool.  As samuraiter  said over on his journal, the community-support aspect of this is really great.  I wouldn't have finished my story for months if myaru  hadn't egged me on, some of us turned up the pressure on myaru  to get hers out, and shimizu_hitomi joined the fray after seeing what the rest of us were doing.

Oh, yeah-- FOUR Archanea-verse entries.  Sa-weet!

Anyway, now that Michalis has been laid to rest (for now), it's back to the WIP-pile.  "Another Piece of Blue" is inching closer to completion, and I've finished a little thing called "A Dark Adapted-Eye" that chronicles one of the misadventures of the Free Knights.  [That's the post-war team of George, Astram, Midia, Gordin, and Castor, who are doing the Super Friends thing in the city of Pales].  Dunno when I'll post it, though.  For one, it covers some of the same ground as Chapter Five of "Another Piece of Blue" wrt street gossip, rumors, political dissidents, and other NICE topics.  Is it more fun to see this stuff from Cain's lofty perspective in the corridors of power, or Castor's cynical perspective from the gutter?  I can't really say.  They certainly have 180-degree reactions to what they see/hear, plus Castor has the rest of his gang to serve as a foil, whereas Cain keeps going off to angst alone as the shoes drop around him.       

Anyway, the Free Knights are a fun bunch.  I've said this before, but they are so totally the stereotypical superhero team.  George is the smart and cool one, Astram is the guy who looks like a leader but is less clever than his buddies, Gordin is the upright and honest one, Castor is the sneaky and underhanded one, and Midia is The Chick.  Throw in a little romantic tension with Astram/Midia and Gordin->George and you're in business.  Why the hell do fans find characters like Navarre so irresistible, again?  Brooding loners are BORING.  They brood!  They're alone!  What's the point?

[If you're gonna write Navarre, at least give him Fina to interact with.]

OK.  I need to finish making dinner.

Comments

[samuraiter.livejournal.com]

Hmm! Looks like another story of yours to add to my list of things to read. :-) Seeing as to how Marvel Comics is one of my major fandoms. (You had to use the term 'superhero'! I love observing how team dynamics function, particularly if everybody involved in the team has a strong personality.) I apologize for the delay concerning Chapter 3 of APOB, but I will most likely get to it tomorrow after devouring all of the contest entries.

As for the appeal of characters like Navarre, I do not see the appeal of him personally, but ... Karel? He has the back story to support (pun possibly intended) his apartness, and his homicidal nature makes for intriguing character dynamics (IMO).

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

love observing how team dynamics function, particularly if everybody involved in the team has a strong personality.

Yeah, I used to write Real Person Fiction about rock bands-- not so much for the sex appeal as for the group dynamics and archetypes and stuff. I was the major source of Pink Floyd fanfiction for a while... this was before the great ffnet purge. Two strong personalities set against two "weak" ones made for a good character study or three.

I apologize for the delay concerning Chapter 3 of APOB, but I will most likely get to it tomorrow after devouring all of the contest entries.

Oh, hey. I'm just pleased you're following it. :)

but ... Karel? He has the back story to support (pun possibly intended) his apartness, and his homicidal nature makes for intriguing character dynamics (IMO).

As with many FE7 characters, I feel FE6 and its context lends him real appeal. We know where Karel ends up, which makes the (very) rough road tolerable.

[samuraiter.livejournal.com]

RPF? I promise not to tell anybody. ;-) But, as coincidence has it, Pink Floyd is my favorite band. Of all time. (I can listen to Wish You Were Here over and over, and it is most likely my favorite song for writing.)

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

I met my future (and current) spouse on a Pink Floyd Usenet group more than a decade ago. Last night, we finally broke down and picked up the Wish You Were Here/Animals set of pint glasses from the local record shop. I once paid a British girl the equivalent of two-hundred-and-fifty dollars to knit me a custom set of Pink Floyd dolls after I saw her featured in some British music mag (Q, I think). The RPF was just the tip of the iceberg. I think I still have one of the largest libraries of PF-related books (though not magazines) in the US.

Funny thing was, I've always thought The Who are a "better" band. But PF has a special place in my heart.

[penandpaper71.livejournal.com]

I clearly need to drop by fe_contest. I briefly debated trying to write something, but then chickened out. I'm not anywhere good enough to submit anything I write there. I love reading the stuff that shows up there though. All the writers there are so talented.

Something on the Free Knights sounds interesting actually, even if I've never cared much for most of those characters (Gordin being the exception).

Why the hell do fans find characters like Navarre so irresistible, again? Brooding loners are BORING. They brood! They're alone! What's the point?

I'm pretty sure it's the "dark and mysterious stranger" thing, although that's only a guess. I actually agree with you though, although Feena/Navarre can be rather cute. Their dynamic amuses me. Also, the Ogma-Navarre friendship is kind of interesting. But, of course, the things I find appealing with him involve Navarre interacting with someone, so yeah... what you said. :P

I hope that you don't mind that I added you as a friend at my livejournal account. If it's not okay though, just let me know and I'll remove you. I've just decided that if I'm going to have the account, I might as well try actually using it.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

But, of course, the things I find appealing with him involve Navarre interacting with someone, so yeah... what you said. :P

Heh. He needs a foil. He needs contrast.

I hope that you don't mind that I added you as a friend at my livejournal account.

Oh, not a bit.

[myaru.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Having written mainly from the corridors of power in other canons, so to speak... well, I prefer lofty settings, but it sounds like fic about the Free Knights would be fun. Maybe less political, but more flavorful, if that makes any sense? I personally left Shadow Dragon without much of a feel for the world - Pales would be great to see "in person" from a POV other than Nyna or Marth.

I've really neglected reading for this canon. Lately FE fic hasn't appealed to me, but I really do want to go read... pretty much everything you've written.

Why the hell do fans find characters like Navarre so irresistible, again? Brooding loners are BORING. They brood! They're alone! What's the point?

He doesn't do much, does he? Five or ten years ago I would've liked him just for his pretty face. Now... Camus is hotter, and Michalis is hotter than that. :P No room here for Navarre!

Honestly, though, I don't know what's so interesting about him. Joshua didn't appeal to me much either, and he's basically the same stereotype. Same for Rutger, Karel, the Tellius swordmasters... there's nothing to them.

I guess Tellius has the up side of switching gender on us.

(Actually, I take it back about Rutger - he had a good reason to angst, but it still doesn't make him super-fascinating.)

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Maybe less political, but more flavorful, if that makes any sense?

Yeah, it does. And I think it's true.

Lately FE fic hasn't appealed to me, but I really do want to go read... pretty much everything you've written.

XD

He doesn't do much, does he? Five or ten years ago I would've liked him just for his pretty face. Now... Camus is hotter, and Michalis is hotter than that.

He's smokin' hot in FE11. Ooh la la. I understand the visceral appeal for sure. But all these kiddies writing 'fic giving him a prominent role... guys, there's not enough there, especially not if all you're working with is FE11. Which is why some of these 'fics BLATANTLY borrow material from Karel!

[And I suspect Marth would rather hang out with just about anybody in the army (except for Athena) over spending free time with Navarre. Why fans feel the need to make Navarre some kind of mentoring figure... no sense making.]

I guess Tellius has the up side of switching gender on us.

Well, FE8 has Marisa. Who is missing a few marbles.

Actually, I take it back about Rutger - he had a good reason to angst, but it still doesn't make him super-fascinating

Most FE characters have a reason to angst, though.

[myaru.livejournal.com]

some of these 'fics BLATANTLY borrow material from Karel

Not the most inspiring of figures, from my POV, but whatever floats their boats, I guess. He and Navarre seem to have very little in common, but I'll be the first to admit I ignored Karel and don't see much to him either.

And I suspect Marth would rather hang out with just about anybody in the army

Like, Cain, Abel, Jeigan, Caeda (:P), or hey, pretty much anybody he knows beyond a "hi, I joined your army" conversation?

... nah. Marth and Navarre are best buddies, obviously.

FE8 has Marisa. Who is missing a few marbles

They continued that trend with Mia in FE9, although Marisa's brand of sanity is... interesting. She's the happy medium between the brooding loners of the old school games and the batshit happy variety you get later.

No, maybe "cocky" is a better term for the Tellius swordmasters. I think "batshit" kind of fits, though.

Most FE characters have a reason to angst, though.

Considering how many heroes have lost family, villages, and so on to big bad villains, it's surprising there's anybody left to start a war.

[shimizu-hitomi.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, I am soooo over brooding loners. Honestly, the only likable swordmaster of the bunch is Shanan (Joshua is ok because he's not emo, but he doesn't particularly interest me, and Rutger and Karel are justified but Karel bores me and I'm torn between wanting to kick Rutger and patting his head sometimes)... and that's because Shanan's *not* a loner even though he broods (and the brooding/mysteriousness isn't EVERYTHING about him unlike the other cases). I think I've said that before. XD

FE7 has an awfully high proportion of emo/unemotional loners though. Gawd. Obviously love the game, but at least Archanea only has Navarre.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

I like Joshua-- in no small measure because he's NOT emo-- but he's not a real favorite character. I have no desire to try to get into his head or under his skin.

Karel and Rutger have their reasons, BUT-- looky, the majority of characters in these games have a Twagic Past or Messed-Up Past. Most of 'em don't turn into brooding loners, emo types, or cold-blooded killers. In fact... the games themselves (that I've played) don't accept that as an excuse for bad behavior (uh.... Zephiel?), so fandom's rush to embrace that sort of attitude is perverse. A shitty and miserable backstory isn't a license to ill in canon-- just imagine the way the games would have gone if that were the case. @_@

But I'm haranguing the choir, here....