Mary Sues and Such (fe_contest wibbles)

[mark_asphodel]

 It's easy to write a Mary Sue without trying to.  To try and write Mary Sue, and have it come out readable?  Geez.  I think I'd have better luck composing a fake translation of a fake epic poem, or a myth cycle, or something really pretentious.

Still, Fire Emblem offers no shortage of characters who can be easily warped into Canon Sues.  Imagine Lute with polished social skills and more men than just Artur, Ross, and Kyle after her (hey, that's pretty good picks for a bookworm).  Like, Lute scoring with Ephraim.  Or Innes.  Or maybe joining up with Lyon to take over the world.  Hey, pursuit of pure knowledge can take you to some bad places.  I also thought about a Crossover Sue-- dumping some over-the-top character like Serra or L'Arachel into one of the other game universes and totally warping it.  

Then I remembered an idea I'd entertained and discarded because it couldn't be anything else but a Sue.

Some months ago, I laid out the idea in this post.  Basically, when I was researching Eirika and Saleh for info on Valega, I came across that reference to Nada Kuya and her sword-- the "narrow sword made by a fang gifted to her from the dragonkin."  That sword doesn't appear to pop up anywhere else-- as far as I can tell it's not either of the sacred twin swords (Sieglinde, Audhulma).  So why this gratuitous reference to a dragon-fang sword?  It's not one of the special monster-killing weapons that you can only get with a code.  

Also, there is the creepy resemblance of Eirika and Saleh's daughter to "the legendary Nada Kuya" -- not that we know what Nada Kuya looks like.  

So, we have one "special kid" (the daughter of the game heroine, no less) plus one ancient (and lost?) legendary weapon.  A weapon that sounds one hell of a lot like this legendary weapon.  I don't recall any of the other legendary swords in any of the games coming with that particular origin story.  And then there's the whole nagging matter of the five sacred stones and whatever the heck they were to begin with.

Oh yes, it's time to break out the Mary Sue, because there's a very old mystery to solve in Magvel.  This is bound to be overlong and overly serious but it's the best idea I have right now for the challenge.  And deep down, I kind of did want to write it.

Comments

[samuraiter.livejournal.com]

Magvel is tempting, but I sense a return to Elibe if I am going to jump into the pool.

[myaru.livejournal.com]

This is a good idea - and probably a better angle than coming up with an OC. I can think of a Tellius character that would fit this description-- kind of. Easily enough to manipulate into a Mary Sue, anyway.

[shimizu-hitomi.livejournal.com]

Hehe. I totally want to see what you come up with for this.

(Nada Kuya's sword has pinged me before, but the matter of the five sacred stones -- for some reason that totally never occurred to me. But with the five orbs fresh on my mind from the playthrough now...)

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

I did think about a Serra!Sue in Archanea. But Serra invading another land is something that somebody else could theoretically write. Eirika/Saleh-spawn!Sue is far less likely to come from anyone's keyboard but mine.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Which one?

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

I totally want to see what you come up with for this.

Thanks! I'm so glad there's no deadline. The idea is sketched out, but writing it is another thing altogether...

but the matter of the five sacred stones -- for some reason that totally never occurred to me

Oh, really? To me that's like exhibit A. Oh, there are five holy jewels that keep the world safe and if they're broken Bad Things happen? And you need to hunt them all down? Wow, wherever have I seen that one before? The dragon-fang sword was like the cherry on top. I mean, seriously! I wonder if the Japanese audience took it as a joke, or what....

[myaru.livejournal.com]

Altina, one of the three heroes that fought Ashera's war 800 years before the game. She founded the Begnion Empire, and her descendants still rule in the present day - she was also a dual-sword wielding, pegasus-riding hottie who got a heron for a husband, and everyone knows herons are sweet and beautiful and perfect, sooooo. I've written her before, actually, but this would be a completely different focus.

A more obvious choice would be Micaiah, but that's spoilery in the extreme. One could argue I've turned Sanaki into a sue, but I object.