I need the sense I'm not reading an interminable soap opera in which nothing much is ever going to happen or change, and I could skip ten chapters ahead without missing anything significant.
Oh yes. I absolutely agree. There are actually stories where I've done almost exactly that (skiped head ten chapters to see if anything happens), and then dropped out of sheer frustration that nothing is happening and the author is writing in circles.
General blandification of the cast
Ohh, now that's a good one. One of the reasons I think this happens (especially to characters that aren't love interests is because authors are so focused on the romances of the lead characters that they don't want to take the time to explore the other characters in depth since it would take time away from their Revan or Exile and his or her issues.
The game strongly indicates that his relationships with Morgana and Dustil weren't perfect, and personally I find it makes him that much more interesting if he's allowed to have screwed up here through his own genuine failings as a husband and father.
Oh hell yes. In fact, I figure that as well intentioned as Carth was in leaving the two of them, he really wasn't all that good of a husband and father - if for no other reason than the fact that he consistently put the Republic over his family. And while that's noble in the grand scheme of saving the galaxy and everything, that's really, really hard for his wife and son to live with. To me, Dustil's got a complete legitimate gripe about this one - which is probably why I find him a rather sympathetic character actually. And for me, that's one of the reasons why I find Carth so interesting, because without a flaw like this, he'd be far, far too perfect and heroic to be an interesting human being.
And his self-imposed exile in the Shadowlands when the Jedi refused to punish him over his wife's death - I think there's a genuine argument here that the Jedi Council were much more in the right here than he was, and he was in fact behaving like a petulant, self-indulgent ass.
Heh. Yup, agreed again. While it is understandable for Jolee to be not quite rational in that case, going of and being a hermit for forty years and hiding from the world is amazingly self indulgent. The way that a lot of authors use him as the fountain of all knowledge and wisdom that is greater than the entire Jedi Council is rather annoying, really.
Whether the relationship between Revan and Carth/Bastila works out is likely to of prime concern to precisely two people in the galaxy. Themselves. Some of the rest of the crew are likely to care about the happiness of their friends, but not to to a degree that it completely overrides their own concerns and issues.
It drives me up the wall when I see this. It's as though authors think that grown adults (that are Jedi no less) have nothing better to do than wring their hands and worry about whether Carth and Revan or Revan and Bastila end up together in the end.
In fact, whether their relationship works may well not be the most important concern to Carth, Bastila or Revan either.
Yes, yes, yes to all of this. There are things that these particular characters would value over a romantic relationship. I agree especially with the Dustil one - because a lot of authors who are interested in creating a one true love match between Revan and Carth, simply refuse to recognize this fact and it drives me crazy.
I suppose this next comes more under things I'd like to see rather than what I wouldn't, and should be on an entirely different topic, but just occasionally I'd like to see more stories where the relationship between Carth/Revan or Bastila/Revan genuinely does fail irretrievably.
Heh. I would too… and I realize that this makes me a bit hypocritical, since deep down I’m a big sap, and I’m not sure that I have it in me to go there in my own story. Btw… if this happens in your story between Tamar & Yuthura, I’ll probably start cussing you out mentally and yelling at my computer… ;)
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Date: 2005-07-08 12:54 pm (UTC)Oh yes. I absolutely agree. There are actually stories where I've done almost exactly that (skiped head ten chapters to see if anything happens), and then dropped out of sheer frustration that nothing is happening and the author is writing in circles.
General blandification of the cast
Ohh, now that's a good one. One of the reasons I think this happens (especially to characters that aren't love interests is because authors are so focused on the romances of the lead characters that they don't want to take the time to explore the other characters in depth since it would take time away from their Revan or Exile and his or her issues.
The game strongly indicates that his relationships with Morgana and Dustil weren't perfect, and personally I find it makes him that much more interesting if he's allowed to have screwed up here through his own genuine failings as a husband and father.
Oh hell yes. In fact, I figure that as well intentioned as Carth was in leaving the two of them, he really wasn't all that good of a husband and father - if for no other reason than the fact that he consistently put the Republic over his family. And while that's noble in the grand scheme of saving the galaxy and everything, that's really, really hard for his wife and son to live with. To me, Dustil's got a complete legitimate gripe about this one - which is probably why I find him a rather sympathetic character actually. And for me, that's one of the reasons why I find Carth so interesting, because without a flaw like this, he'd be far, far too perfect and heroic to be an interesting human being.
And his self-imposed exile in the Shadowlands when the Jedi refused to punish him over his wife's death - I think there's a genuine argument here that the Jedi Council were much more in the right here than he was, and he was in fact behaving like a petulant, self-indulgent ass.
Heh. Yup, agreed again. While it is understandable for Jolee to be not quite rational in that case, going of and being a hermit for forty years and hiding from the world is amazingly self indulgent. The way that a lot of authors use him as the fountain of all knowledge and wisdom that is greater than the entire Jedi Council is rather annoying, really.
Whether the relationship between Revan and Carth/Bastila works out is likely to of prime concern to precisely two people in the galaxy. Themselves. Some of the rest of the crew are likely to care about the happiness of their friends, but not to to a degree that it completely overrides their own concerns and issues.
It drives me up the wall when I see this. It's as though authors think that grown adults (that are Jedi no less) have nothing better to do than wring their hands and worry about whether Carth and Revan or Revan and Bastila end up together in the end.
In fact, whether their relationship works may well not be the most important concern to Carth, Bastila or Revan either.
Yes, yes, yes to all of this. There are things that these particular characters would value over a romantic relationship. I agree especially with the Dustil one - because a lot of authors who are interested in creating a one true love match between Revan and Carth, simply refuse to recognize this fact and it drives me crazy.
I suppose this next comes more under things I'd like to see rather than what I wouldn't, and should be on an entirely different topic, but just occasionally I'd like to see more stories where the relationship between Carth/Revan or Bastila/Revan genuinely does fail irretrievably.
Heh. I would too… and I realize that this makes me a bit hypocritical, since deep down I’m a big sap, and I’m not sure that I have it in me to go there in my own story. Btw… if this happens in your story between Tamar & Yuthura, I’ll probably start cussing you out mentally and yelling at my computer… ;)