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This rant has been brewing in the back of my mind for awhile. I suppose it applies to both Revan and the Exile, actually, although I really haven't read that many kotor 2 fics.
This rant is bound to piss a few people off, so please, take what I say with the grain of salt. As always, this is my opinion and I can only speak for myself, and if you disagree, by all means tell me because hey, I might be wrong, and I'm always open to discussion. However, if you have a thin skin, or are offended by my reviews, turning back now might be a good plan.
The kotor fandom has, at its heart, a special problem built directly into the canon of the story, mainly that there are two Sues (Revan and the Exile) that are right into the center of the plot. Unlike other fandoms, where people make up OC Sues and somehow force them into the plot, they don't have to do that in kotor stories, because they already have Revan or the Exile who, except for a very few things, can be entirely the creation of the writer.
This, I suspect, is a product of good game design. I mean, who wants to play a game where your character isn't important or the center of everything (okay, me... but that's another subject entirely)? But what made a fantastic gaming experience doesn’t necessarily make good fodder for a story, and I think that's one of the reasons why a lot of versions of the Exile and Revan fall so amazingly flat.
Finding a decent version of Revan is rare. A lot of the times what happens is that I like what the author has done with the rest of the characters, but their version of Revan is a sue, or is just flat out bland. So I've compiled a list (because lists are fun) of the common Revan problems that I see in fics, and some ways that an author can work around it and come up with something a bit more balanced and interesting.
1. Perfect Revan
I have read a lot of kotor fanfiction, and I have to say that after awhile, Revans just begin to bleed together into one indistinguishable bland mass of boring perfectness. It's like they come out of the same cookie cutter mold, and they've got all the flavor of wonderbread. They are feisty, determined, smart, beautiful, super kind, super forgiving, completely altruistic, rebel at authority, have a heart of gold, and always know the right thing to say. Everyone on the Ebon Hawk loves and respects and admires Revan. They all come to Revan for advice on their life, and nod and consider Revan's wise words carefully that lead to life changing decisions.
Some of this is because of what happens in the game. Everyone does come to Revan for them to solve their problems and the player as Revan ends up redeeming or obliterating (or both) an enormous number of people. But come on guys... even though that happens in the game, that doesn't mean that Revan is completely perfect. Perfect Revans are completely and utterly boring - and there are so many of them out there. Do everyone a favor and do the extra bit of work to make Revan into an actual human being.
I guess what I'm getting at here is that Revan needs a flaws to make him/her into an interesting character and so that the reader can actually sympathize with the character. And when I say flaws... I mean honest-to-god flaws that have actual consequences that have an effect (usually bad) on other people, not a good trait that is disguised as a flaw.
One of the flaws that I see authors try to give Revan is the common Sue characteristic "caring too much about people." An example of this is that Revan helps every single beggar in the game, is always putting herself in jeopardy while performing random acts of kindness for complete strangers. Everyone rolls their eyes and says something like "oh look at Revan, helping everyone all the time" while they admire her kindness even though it's inconvenient for them.
Just once, I'd like this to be blown into a real flaw that creates a huge problem, where Revan gives all of the crew's money to some random person in need and the crew is stranded for three weeks while Malak ends up conquering the galaxy because the crew couldn't get the money to refuel their ship and couldn't leave Manaan. Or maybe one of the EH crew members gets seriously injured in a fight to help rescue a beggar from some thugs and loses a limb or an eye. Or maybe Revan is a complete doormat of a person, who is incapable of saying no to anyone, and ends up getting someone killed or hurt on some trivial adventure and Carth and Bastila cuss Revan out for putting the mission in jeopardy.
I guess my point is that if you are going to give someone a flaw, follow out the logical consequences of that flaw, instead of sugarcoating it into a positive trait.
And come on guys, this is REVAN - a person who once fell to the darkside and tried to conquer the galaxy. There are all kinds of personality flaws that Revan could have: arrogance, overconfidence, lack of empathy, vanity, elitism, self centeredness, etc... Pick a few and toss them in to spice up Revan a bit and turn him/her into a real, living, breathing human being.
2. Superpowerful, Supereffective Revan
I know that canonically Revan and the Exile are super powerful and super effective, and I really don’t have a problem with Revan the asskicker in stories. However, Revan is not a god, and nobody is good at everything all the time, so it’s kind of annoying to see how many fics turn Revan into some kind of uber Jedi. I’ve seen stories where Revan is the best at everything: lightsabers, force powers, tactics, building droids, picking locks and is super charismatic and charming not to mention more intelligent than anyone else. Not only is this boring, but it’s unrealistic.
There is a very simple way around this. Pick a few things that Revan is completely bad at, and then throw her/him into a situation where s/he has to deal with it. Let other characters be better at something than Revan is. Let Mission be better at sneaking and picking locks, or let Juhani and Bastila be a better with lightsabers, or let Jolee be craftier and smarter, or Canderous be tougher. It gives them something to do, showcases their abilities and gives them a purpose in your plot.
Even better, have Revan make an error in judgment or a mistake that costs the crew dearly. Have Revan get into an argument with Bastila or Carth or Jolee or Canderous and be *gasp* wrong about something major.
3. Revan as the center of all creation.
Don’t get me wrong. Revan done well can be an extremely interesting character, but Revan is not the only character out there. While the games revolve almost entirely around Revan and the Exile, that doesn’t mean that stories should. I’ve read story after story where all the crew of the Ebon Hawk does is sit around and angst and worry about Revan’s love life.
Come on. Everything does not have to revolve around Revan. In fact, it’s far more interesting if it doesn’t.
These are grown adults. On top of that they are Jedi. Surely they would have more important things to do with their time than listen to Revan emote and wangst about his or her romantic relationships. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure as Revan’s friends that they would worry a bit and care whether or not their friend is happy, it’s just that I’d like to see more stories where they do more than that. Where they have their own problems and worries and concerns that don’t necessarily have anything to do with what Revan is doing. Give them their own place in the plot and something to do that is only tangentially related to Revan and let their characters shine and grow and change.
4. Taking the interestingness out of Revan.
This happens a lot, where writers refuse to acknowledge that Revan was once a very bad person. They try to gloss it over by sugarcoating what Revan was doing (btw… thanks a lot Obsidian for encouraging this), or they ignore it completely.
This never fails to make my mind boggle. I mean to me, the reason Revan is so appealing and interesting is because s/he did such terrible and evil things. It’s the whole idea of atonement and redemption (for something that can never really be atoned for) that makes Revan so interesting (at least to me). So why the hell do so many stories ignore this, especially when there is such wonderful story fodder here?
It’s probably a completely personal quirk of mine, but if I read a story that ignores this, were Revan just goes on her/his merry way without even thinking about what s/he has done… I completely tune out.
Anyway, that’s my rant. I realize that with most of you I’m probably preaching to the choir, but hey, sometimes it’s just therapeutic to rant. Agree? Disagree? Any Revan pet peeves or trends in stories that drive you crazy?
This rant is bound to piss a few people off, so please, take what I say with the grain of salt. As always, this is my opinion and I can only speak for myself, and if you disagree, by all means tell me because hey, I might be wrong, and I'm always open to discussion. However, if you have a thin skin, or are offended by my reviews, turning back now might be a good plan.
The kotor fandom has, at its heart, a special problem built directly into the canon of the story, mainly that there are two Sues (Revan and the Exile) that are right into the center of the plot. Unlike other fandoms, where people make up OC Sues and somehow force them into the plot, they don't have to do that in kotor stories, because they already have Revan or the Exile who, except for a very few things, can be entirely the creation of the writer.
This, I suspect, is a product of good game design. I mean, who wants to play a game where your character isn't important or the center of everything (okay, me... but that's another subject entirely)? But what made a fantastic gaming experience doesn’t necessarily make good fodder for a story, and I think that's one of the reasons why a lot of versions of the Exile and Revan fall so amazingly flat.
Finding a decent version of Revan is rare. A lot of the times what happens is that I like what the author has done with the rest of the characters, but their version of Revan is a sue, or is just flat out bland. So I've compiled a list (because lists are fun) of the common Revan problems that I see in fics, and some ways that an author can work around it and come up with something a bit more balanced and interesting.
1. Perfect Revan
I have read a lot of kotor fanfiction, and I have to say that after awhile, Revans just begin to bleed together into one indistinguishable bland mass of boring perfectness. It's like they come out of the same cookie cutter mold, and they've got all the flavor of wonderbread. They are feisty, determined, smart, beautiful, super kind, super forgiving, completely altruistic, rebel at authority, have a heart of gold, and always know the right thing to say. Everyone on the Ebon Hawk loves and respects and admires Revan. They all come to Revan for advice on their life, and nod and consider Revan's wise words carefully that lead to life changing decisions.
Some of this is because of what happens in the game. Everyone does come to Revan for them to solve their problems and the player as Revan ends up redeeming or obliterating (or both) an enormous number of people. But come on guys... even though that happens in the game, that doesn't mean that Revan is completely perfect. Perfect Revans are completely and utterly boring - and there are so many of them out there. Do everyone a favor and do the extra bit of work to make Revan into an actual human being.
I guess what I'm getting at here is that Revan needs a flaws to make him/her into an interesting character and so that the reader can actually sympathize with the character. And when I say flaws... I mean honest-to-god flaws that have actual consequences that have an effect (usually bad) on other people, not a good trait that is disguised as a flaw.
One of the flaws that I see authors try to give Revan is the common Sue characteristic "caring too much about people." An example of this is that Revan helps every single beggar in the game, is always putting herself in jeopardy while performing random acts of kindness for complete strangers. Everyone rolls their eyes and says something like "oh look at Revan, helping everyone all the time" while they admire her kindness even though it's inconvenient for them.
Just once, I'd like this to be blown into a real flaw that creates a huge problem, where Revan gives all of the crew's money to some random person in need and the crew is stranded for three weeks while Malak ends up conquering the galaxy because the crew couldn't get the money to refuel their ship and couldn't leave Manaan. Or maybe one of the EH crew members gets seriously injured in a fight to help rescue a beggar from some thugs and loses a limb or an eye. Or maybe Revan is a complete doormat of a person, who is incapable of saying no to anyone, and ends up getting someone killed or hurt on some trivial adventure and Carth and Bastila cuss Revan out for putting the mission in jeopardy.
I guess my point is that if you are going to give someone a flaw, follow out the logical consequences of that flaw, instead of sugarcoating it into a positive trait.
And come on guys, this is REVAN - a person who once fell to the darkside and tried to conquer the galaxy. There are all kinds of personality flaws that Revan could have: arrogance, overconfidence, lack of empathy, vanity, elitism, self centeredness, etc... Pick a few and toss them in to spice up Revan a bit and turn him/her into a real, living, breathing human being.
2. Superpowerful, Supereffective Revan
I know that canonically Revan and the Exile are super powerful and super effective, and I really don’t have a problem with Revan the asskicker in stories. However, Revan is not a god, and nobody is good at everything all the time, so it’s kind of annoying to see how many fics turn Revan into some kind of uber Jedi. I’ve seen stories where Revan is the best at everything: lightsabers, force powers, tactics, building droids, picking locks and is super charismatic and charming not to mention more intelligent than anyone else. Not only is this boring, but it’s unrealistic.
There is a very simple way around this. Pick a few things that Revan is completely bad at, and then throw her/him into a situation where s/he has to deal with it. Let other characters be better at something than Revan is. Let Mission be better at sneaking and picking locks, or let Juhani and Bastila be a better with lightsabers, or let Jolee be craftier and smarter, or Canderous be tougher. It gives them something to do, showcases their abilities and gives them a purpose in your plot.
Even better, have Revan make an error in judgment or a mistake that costs the crew dearly. Have Revan get into an argument with Bastila or Carth or Jolee or Canderous and be *gasp* wrong about something major.
3. Revan as the center of all creation.
Don’t get me wrong. Revan done well can be an extremely interesting character, but Revan is not the only character out there. While the games revolve almost entirely around Revan and the Exile, that doesn’t mean that stories should. I’ve read story after story where all the crew of the Ebon Hawk does is sit around and angst and worry about Revan’s love life.
Come on. Everything does not have to revolve around Revan. In fact, it’s far more interesting if it doesn’t.
These are grown adults. On top of that they are Jedi. Surely they would have more important things to do with their time than listen to Revan emote and wangst about his or her romantic relationships. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure as Revan’s friends that they would worry a bit and care whether or not their friend is happy, it’s just that I’d like to see more stories where they do more than that. Where they have their own problems and worries and concerns that don’t necessarily have anything to do with what Revan is doing. Give them their own place in the plot and something to do that is only tangentially related to Revan and let their characters shine and grow and change.
4. Taking the interestingness out of Revan.
This happens a lot, where writers refuse to acknowledge that Revan was once a very bad person. They try to gloss it over by sugarcoating what Revan was doing (btw… thanks a lot Obsidian for encouraging this), or they ignore it completely.
This never fails to make my mind boggle. I mean to me, the reason Revan is so appealing and interesting is because s/he did such terrible and evil things. It’s the whole idea of atonement and redemption (for something that can never really be atoned for) that makes Revan so interesting (at least to me). So why the hell do so many stories ignore this, especially when there is such wonderful story fodder here?
It’s probably a completely personal quirk of mine, but if I read a story that ignores this, were Revan just goes on her/his merry way without even thinking about what s/he has done… I completely tune out.
Anyway, that’s my rant. I realize that with most of you I’m probably preaching to the choir, but hey, sometimes it’s just therapeutic to rant. Agree? Disagree? Any Revan pet peeves or trends in stories that drive you crazy?
From:
no subject
Well said, and straight to the core of the matter, as usual. You're spot on about characters needing doubts and flaws, nothing is worse than Picture Perfect stories, blech.
From:
no subject
So, thought I'd add to the list:
Revan the virgin, which was covered in an earlier rant of yours, especially virgin!Revan who is healed/sexed up through hawt Carth twu wuv sex.
Teen!Revan, who apparently whipped the Mandalorians' asses while still in diapers.
Revan who completely denies she was Revan (really just an OC with the name of Revan, and gets Carth/Bastila), which might be covered in one of your above points.
From:
no subject
Ooh yes, that's a good one. That just bugs the hell out of me. Like the Republic fleet is going to let a 16 year old kid take the helm. Even in Star Wars, where people seem to be thrust into positions of power at a young age, that's a bit difficult to swallow.