The easiest way around this trap? Think of a plot. And think it through. Create a real villian to be your foil and flesh them out. Create a real scenario that your characters have to deal with that involves more than marriage proposals, receptions, and wangsting about the past. Give everyone bigger problems to deal with.
Oh HELL YES. Honestly, I think that is the biggest weakness of a lot of post game fics. People don't seem to understand that angsting and worrying and reflecting on the past is all well and good, but it needs some present action and some forward momentum to make things interesting. Why is Revan's past as a former Dark Lord interesting? Because of the way it impacts his/her future, the way s/he deals with new conflicts, and the future of those people around her.
In the typical post game story, everyone just stands around and discusses Carth and Revan's personal life in great detail, for chapter after chapter after chapter (as if Jolee, Canderous, Bastila & Co. don't have anything better to do - actually that's another pet peeve of mine) and nothing even remotely significant happens. I have no idea why this is though... I mean, with a character as interesting as Revan can be, there are tons of places that stories can go... but people don't seem interested in going there. Personally, I find most of the “reception” kinds of stories terminally boring - no matter how good the author is.
Dustil's biggest trauma being his Dad loving someone other than Morgana
Again, agreed. I figure that Dustil has got some real self loathing issues and guilt issues on account of all of the very bad things he probably did on Korriban. And while the Revan issue is a big one, Dustil definitely has a lot of other mental baggage that seems to get ignored a lot.
Okay sure, he seems dumb in the game...but how dumb can you be and successfully outwit Revan and the Republic?
Agreed. Stupid Malak gets on my nerves as well. What I find really interesting is that people assume that since Malak made some stupid tactical moves in the game that makes him a stupid man. But here is the thing: most people would make terrible military tacticians (including most writers of kotor fanfic) but that doesn’t make them stupid people. And agreed… how stupid can he be if he managed to take control of the Sith from Revan and rule it without her for a significant period of time?
I really haven’t seen the Juhani/Bastila gay trauma thing pop up… although I admit, I’m really not a slash fan, so I tend to not try out the slash stories.
Think of something interesting for Revan to do with an infinite fleet and an exmpire. And please don't add insult to injury by rationalizing later like TSL tries to with the "greater threat" and "Ancient Sith."
That’s why the only dark side story that I read is deej_pete’s Shadow’s Kiss (http://kotorfanmedia.com/story/delerius_jedi/103/), which not only features evil!Bastila & Revan (who do some wonderfully nasty things), but it’s also got an interesting plot too.
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Re: My list
Date: 2005-07-02 07:45 pm (UTC)Oh HELL YES. Honestly, I think that is the biggest weakness of a lot of post game fics. People don't seem to understand that angsting and worrying and reflecting on the past is all well and good, but it needs some present action and some forward momentum to make things interesting. Why is Revan's past as a former Dark Lord interesting? Because of the way it impacts his/her future, the way s/he deals with new conflicts, and the future of those people around her.
In the typical post game story, everyone just stands around and discusses Carth and Revan's personal life in great detail, for chapter after chapter after chapter (as if Jolee, Canderous, Bastila & Co. don't have anything better to do - actually that's another pet peeve of mine) and nothing even remotely significant happens. I have no idea why this is though... I mean, with a character as interesting as Revan can be, there are tons of places that stories can go... but people don't seem interested in going there. Personally, I find most of the “reception” kinds of stories terminally boring - no matter how good the author is.
Dustil's biggest trauma being his Dad loving someone other than Morgana
Again, agreed. I figure that Dustil has got some real self loathing issues and guilt issues on account of all of the very bad things he probably did on Korriban. And while the Revan issue is a big one, Dustil definitely has a lot of other mental baggage that seems to get ignored a lot.
Okay sure, he seems dumb in the game...but how dumb can you be and successfully outwit Revan and the Republic?
Agreed. Stupid Malak gets on my nerves as well. What I find really interesting is that people assume that since Malak made some stupid tactical moves in the game that makes him a stupid man. But here is the thing: most people would make terrible military tacticians (including most writers of kotor fanfic) but that doesn’t make them stupid people. And agreed… how stupid can he be if he managed to take control of the Sith from Revan and rule it without her for a significant period of time?
I really haven’t seen the Juhani/Bastila gay trauma thing pop up… although I admit, I’m really not a slash fan, so I tend to not try out the slash stories.
Think of something interesting for Revan to do with an infinite fleet and an exmpire. And please don't add insult to injury by rationalizing later like TSL tries to with the "greater threat" and "Ancient Sith."
That’s why the only dark side story that I read is