From Cardboard to Diamonds

[mark_asphodel]

 "You take characters who have been given free reign to be cardboard and mold them into diamonds through pressure and adversity and exposure to new paradigms. I don't think I could write Loyal-Servant-Kent-Devotional-Story #9001; I have to put a unique twist on most of the stuff I write or else I'll get bored with it."

So says writerawakened over on the ffnet fora, where we've been debating the essence of the Cain'n'Abel FE archetype.  While I don't plan anything as drastic as the "new paradigms" WA alluded to in that thread (like sending Sain to the dungeons for weeks), that's pretty much one point of the whole Unified Kingdom project.  Part of what got me started on it, beyond a desire to see how a "positive" ending to FE3 might play out long-term, was the character ending for Cain in FE3.  Cain, for those of you who don't know, becomes a trusted advisor to Marth after Jeigan kicks the bucket.  The most trusted advisor, in fact.  It's a natural progression of what is already shown in the game, given that Cain is the guy put in charge of Altea while Marth runs down on his ill-fated expedition to Grunia at the outset of Book II.  It also posed a challenge to me as a writer and obsessed fan of the Archanea-verse.

See, the qualities essential to be a great knight aren't exactly the qualities needed in a great advisor.  Some of them are diametrically opposed, in fact.  A knight is expected to carry out his lord's orders-- even when those orders are sloppy, suicidal, or contrary to the knight's own conscience.  A trustworthy advisor, on the other hand, has to be willing to speak his mind and his conscience, to tell the lord things he doesn't particularly want to hear, and to call his lord out when the occasion requires it.  Sir Cain of the Temple Knights is going to need a new skill set in his new job as Cain, Steward of the Realm.  Not necessarily a foreign skill set, as Cain would be developing these skills already in his leadership position among the Altean knights, but definitely Cain is going to have to broaden his horizons.

So, in the three Cain-centric 'fics of the Unified Kingdom series, that evolution is going to be captured. "Song for a Fallen Kingdom" features Cain as shown in the FEDS Prologue-- a young knight with a rigid sense of how the world ought to work who gets a terrible lesson on how the world really functions.  "Another Piece of Blue" features Cain in transition, going through that paradigm shift and taking stock of what it means to be a loyal servant in post-war Archanea.  "Interregnum" will feature the final phase of that evolution, wherein Cain leaves behind the old conceits of knighthood and becomes fully the advisor.  Cain's foil through this progression is Catria, who inhabits the role of Loyal-and-Devoted-Knight that Cain is leaving behind.  Catria has her own paradigm shift in "Interregnum" as she tangles with her new sovereign, the young crown prince of the Unified Kingdom.  

I don't know that the end results are "diamonds," exactly, but this sure is fun.

Comments

[hooves.livejournal.com]

Very interesting, though most stewards were also knights, so I wondered how that played out in the Real World. From what I've read, stewards worked their asses off.

But re: this: "You take characters who have been given free reign to be cardboard and mold them into diamonds through pressure and adversity and exposure to new paradigms. I don't think I could write Loyal-Servant-Kent-Devotional-Story #9001; I have to put a unique twist on most of the stuff I write or else I'll get bored with it."

Not because I've written Loyal-Servant-Kent-Devotional-Stories #1 through #9000 (AHHH, IT'S OVER NINE THOUSSSAAAANNNDDDD!), but because this is truly how I feel about throwing characters into situations they're not used to...

A person has to be careful about what they do with the characters they write. This isn't as true in original fiction as it is in fanfiction, but in 'fic, your characters have a personality that you have to hold on to. You can throw Sain into a dungeon for weeks, but there'd best be a damned good reason why he's there. And the reason can't go against his characterization. Weeks doesn't mean anything, anyway. Maybe months would do more. Or years, like in The Count of Monte Cristo. (But I get picky on realistic details.)

Kent could be forced to be a rebel-- but wait, he kind of already was. The only reasons he would become one would be if he had no other choice. (Which he kind of did when Lundgren tried to beat out Hausen. You could see how much it bothered him to be considered a traitor by Caelin itself/having that rumor spread about him.)

Again, if the reasoning behind the situation is sound, there is no problem with throwing a character into a unique situation that they most likely wouldn't be in in-game. But if you think really hard, you'll notice that they're actually in a lot of different situations in-game anyway, seeing death and destruction and then a desert, et cetera. They see and hear and experience a lot.

I personally do like seeing characters thrown out of their element...when it's prudent. But if that's the only reason to write, that's not...well, I don't like it. Kent is a loyal and devoted servant. If you can't write about Kent in his element, why write about him at all? (And who says you're (general "you") writing about him correctly in a new situation if you can't write him properly in a normal scenario?)

But writerawakened and I agree on very little when it comes to writing fanfiction, so...

What you're writing, though, makes perfect sense, so I'm not aiming any of this at you. You're transitioning characters naturally into natural, normal situations that make sense with not only their surroundings, but with their own personal mindset. (At least, in my opinion, and from what you've said.)

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm trying to keep within the boundaries of whatever shreds of a mindset I can deduce from fragments of canon. One 'fic in which I've really screwed with the characters is the WIP "Catria In Gaiden-land," wherein the "canon" Catria ends up interacting with an army composed of the Gaiden characters and generic recruits from FEDS, and the "paradigm shift" involved is quite unsettling. I actually like that 'fic quite a bit and hope to finish it some day, but it's pretty out-there; even the characters Catria knows from her real timeline (like Marth) are considerably different from how they "ought" to be because well, most of the people they've cared about are dead and their battles have been won at such a horrible cost. FEDS positively invites this kind of speculation because the gameplay mechanics are sick (let's deliberately kill Tiki so we can score some more weapons, yay!).

There is something to be said for writing off the deep end, though. One of the best Gundam Wing 'fics I ever read was an AU in which the five pilots were kids with psychic powers who were kept in an psychiatric ward by the "doctors" (the guys who designed the Gundams in canon). Despite an utterly bizarre premise, it somehow was truer to the characters than 90% of 'fics featuring the boys blasting up colonies in their mecha, and it was a darned good piece of writing too. There was another fantastic one that I never saw completed that featured the characters set in the Christian kingdoms at the time of the Second Crusade (IIRC)-- exquisitely researched, beautifully in-character, and totally WTF. "AU for the hell of it" can, at its best, be an eye-opening experience.

It's always a tightrope walk. I have been severely tempted to try an FE3 Western AU based off the Bob Dylan song "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts," but I have so many things in the air that it'll just have to wait its turn. Part of the challenge of AU is repurposing the characters so they're true to themselves and to the demands of their new setting. Heroes often turn into supporting characters and vice-versa. :)

[hooves.livejournal.com]

Wow, the Gundam Wing 'fic you described sounds interesting. I used to love the WHOA off-the-deep-end AU 'fics. The sad thing is, I remember in the InuYasha fandom...I did see a lot of crazy AU 'fics that had better characterization of the characters than canon-based 'fics. It's pretty sad, I guess. I totally love AU 'fics, and AU-JUST-BECAUSE-I-CAN 'fics make me happy. :D

FE3 Western AU would be AWESOME. I'd probably have to play the games just to read it. I was going to write an FE7 Western AU once, years ago. I never did, but then aviatrix8 did one that was pretty good...and left unfinished, sadly. (It followed a loose outline of the plot, and was amusing to boot.)

I think AU stories bring a lot to the table, really. I mean, depending on the setting and all, you can have a really amazing story that's fun to read and...different. That might sound a little mean, because I'm not saying that canon-based 'fic gets old, per se, but sometimes it is hard to go the FE 'fic page on FFN and see...the same generic things over and over.

And I swear, one more of those..."RANDOM GURL IN THE FE WURLD" 'fics... Ugh. I can't stand those. That's not original or interesting or...even good. Sob.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I remember at least one splendid and forever-unfinished Inu-Yasha AU that was deeply moving... moreso than it had any right to be!

I once saw the opening chapter to an FE7 noir that looked quite promising... but it languishes untouched by its author. Yeah, FE3 as Western would feature Emperor Hardin as Coyote, the town boss (flanked by his two silent bodyguards, El Lupo and Zagaro), and Nina would be his distant trophy wife, and Camus is of course the mysterious stranger (the titular Jack of Hearts). The hot chicks of FE3 are the showgirls at the cabaret (Peg Sister dance routines!), and I think Arran will be the chronically-drunk "hanging judge," because I've always pictured him as a closet drunk. Oh... and Marth is just the backstage manager at the cabaret who knows something weird is going on but never pieces it together. So hah! And Julian, Rickard, and Castor are the guys planning to loot the town. It follows the plot of the song, so much as the song has a linear plot.

What bores me worse than "random gurl" stories are the OC stories that might as well be random gurlz. Like the "new species of rare laguz!" or "Branded twin sisters!" (FE9/10 seems awfully prone to this kind of gunk) stories. Just reading the summaries makes me sore inside. Also, anything involving Nino and Jaffar with "Angel" in the title. IT'S BEEN DONE.

[writerawakened.livejournal.com]

Wow, even on someone else's journal I can't escape my opinions being criticized and analyzed. XD

But anyway, I haven't played FE1 or 3, so I couldn't comment anything on Cain's characterization (beyond that which we already know from archetypes, or from what you explained), but you seem to have an over-arcing plan for Cain's development. Cool :D It's good to see that, even if a character doesn't get much or any "development" in the game, that there are people to give that development in fanfiction. The way I see it, the developers gave us a framework, and fans then can take that framework and build it up like a castle in whatever way they want.

And hey, as long as you're having fun, it's ALL GOOD. :D :D Even if I ultimately get into writing professionally, I'd want to enjoy my job. When writing becomes a chore, it loses its luster, you know? That's why I tend to write about things that interest me.

[hooves.livejournal.com]

Wow, even on someone else's journal I can't escape my opinions being criticized and analyzed. XD

HAHAHA, just saw this. BUT I wanted to say that everyone has a talent, and criticizing you seems to be mine. For the time being. ;P (You know who this is, anyway, even if you don't realize that you know.)

But I'm really commenting to reply to this:

Even if I ultimately get into writing professionally, I'd want to enjoy my job. When writing becomes a chore, it loses its luster, you know? That's why I tend to write about things that interest me.

That's really what's important. Especially in original fiction, you don't want to feel like what you're doing is a chore, because it not only loses its luster, but your writing itself will suffer. They actually say that some of the best writing is done by people who also work doing something else...because free time spent writing makes writing fun, whereas if writing is your only job, you're less likely to enjoy doing it. (Which is sad, but it makes sense. I know that if I get time off of work, I'm less likely to write than if I just write before or after work, in my few hours of spare time.)