"As both regent an' duke in this kingdom, I hae the power o' high an' low justice, an' authority tae hear evidence an' render judgment. I charge you, Manfred MacInnis, Earl o' Culdi, an' you, Rhun o' Horthness, Earl o' Sheele, with high treason an' sacrilegious murder—"
"I don't recognize your authority to try me!" Manfred said contemptuously.
"I further find ye guilty o' these crimes an' declare yer lives forfeit," Graham continued. "Throw doon yer arms. Ye cannae escape. An' I wouldnae profane this holy place with yer blood—though 'twould be a fittin' end, here before the tomb o' the king whose sacred blood ye spilled."
"Several kings," Sighere added softly. "King Javan also died beneath the blades o' traitors."
Not a soul dared to move. Into the taut, expectant silence that settled after Sighere's words, not a sound intruded save the harsh breathing of the cornered men, Owain's muted protests as he struggled again in Lior's arms, and a single, stifled sob from Michaela. Then, to everyone's surprise, Rhun contemptuously tossed his sword to the floor, where its clangor reverberated through the stone chamber. He reached next to the dagger at his belt.
"Rhun, what are you doing?" Manfred demanded, gaping at him in astonishment, his sword slowly sinking at his side.
Even as he asked it, Rhun spun to plunge his dagger into Manfred's chest, ripping upward as he wrenched it out. Blood gushed from Manfred's mouth even as Michaela screamed and one of the Valoret knights started forward, but Rhun roughly seized the queen by one arm and drew her back along the vaulted chambers of the crypt.
At the same time, a wild-eyed Tammaron elbowed his way through the line of Custodes monks, driving his sword through Lior when the Acting Vicar General tried to flee.
Michaela screamed in horror as the sword plunged through the Custodes and into her son.
"Tammaron, are you mad?" Hubert gasped, backed up against one of the tombs, the china blue eyes wide and horrified. "You just killed the young king!"
Nodding, wild-eyed, Tammaron backed away from Sighere and Graham's swords. "The lad was no true prince and therefore no true king— unless a MacInnis dynasty is to replace the Haldane one. Hubert, did your brother ever tell you about that?"
"Wha' d'ye mean?" Graham demanded, as Hubert's jaw gaped.
"Ask the queen," Tammaron replied, hysteria in his voice. "What was the threat we made to the king after his coronation, your Highness, to ensure that you and he started producing Haldane heirs?'
"Sweet Jesu, no," she whispered, for she knew full well to what he was referring and that it could not possibly be true.
"It was only known among the Five," Tammaron confided, "that if he did not do his duty, there were ample volunteers to deputize for him."
"No!" she sobbed, only Rhun's arm holding her upright.
"But the king was stubborn, and Manfred must have gotten tired of waiting. He would have drugged the wine one night. I trust I can leave further details to your imagination?"
"It isn't true!" Michaela sobbed. Rhys dead, Owain dead...
"She isn't to blame," Tammaron went on. "She never knew. None of us knew until Manfred came back with the king's body. But why else do you think he let the king be killed, when he knew the codicil existed? Because he knew, that the king's death would put his own bastard on the throne! It's Owain MacInnis that I just killed!"
Blackness took the queen and the last thing she heard was a cry of desperate denial. For some reason she thought the voice was that of Rhun the Ruthless.
Hubert MacInnis stared at Rhun as the pair of them stood by Tammaron - Kheldour blades pointed at them in open menace - and watched as an unfamiliar priest, the mysterious Father Donatus who'd heard Rhys Haldane's last confession, struggled to save the life of the queen.
Something was not right about this scene, not right about how Rhun had been acting. Manfred and Rhun had been close friends, despite their difference over whether to kill the late king. What happened in the crypt had been totally out of character. And it was not the first time, though it was the most blatant. The old Rhun would have had no qualms about having Rhys Haldane bled to death, if it would further his power as a regent—but Rhun had tried to prevent it.
Hubert's keen mind flashed back years to the last months of Rhys' brother's reign and he thought he understood. Javan, possessed of the subtle and dangerous magics of the Deryni, had planted false memories in the archbishop's mind to make himself seem more malleable to the great lords. That discovery had sparked the final decision to rid themselves of the energetic and increasingly enigmatic young king. "What was it the king ordered you to do? Did he tell you to kill the other regents when you got the chance?"
Rhun looked at him sharply, bewilderment suddenly in his eyes.
"I—killed Manfred. I didn't want to, but—I had to."
The archbishop looked at Michaela Haldane and had to restrain himself from any expression of satisfaction when Donatus sat back on his heels.
"The queen will live," he said with his voice greatly saddened. "I could not save the babe."
No Haldane king with their accursed magic to sit upon the throne. It meant civil war. It meant Hubert's death, most likely here in the crypt for with he, Tammaron and Rhun alive they were still the majority of the Royal Council, something the Kheldour lords couldn't permit to continue. But somehow the Archbishop of Valoret wondered if it might be for the best in the long run.
"It's o'er," Sighere said grimly. He turned an angry face towards the three remaining regents. "A' you happy now? Rhys Haldane was a braw king and could ha' been a great king, so could his brother. An' ye destroyed them both. For what?"
"To keep Gwynedd free of the tyranny Deryni kings have brought it." Tammaron held his head up. "We didn't overthrow the Festils to replace them with Haldanes no better."
"Ye never overthrew the Festils," Graham told him in disgust. "Cinhil Haldane did that - wi' help from the Michaelines an' my grandfather. Ye just oozed out of the earth t' steal away the spoils. Ye murdered Javan, Rhys an' now Owain. Who knows if Alroy might have lived without yer poisons."
Rhun exhaled slowly. "With no Haldane heir there's nothing to stop Marek of Festil returning. Unless there's a strong king in place on the throne."
"No chance o' that now."
"There is one." The Earl of Sheele stared at Sighere. "I'll offer you a bargain, you and your nephew."
"You don't have much to bargain with."
"I've a last codicil to his will. A verbal one perhaps but one that might spare Gwynedd a civil war."
Ailin MacGregor folded his arms. "And what would you want in exchange? Your life?"
"You'll need me long enough to testify to the codicil. But beyond that... I'm not a fool. No attainder. Your word that our sons - mine, Tammaron's, Iver, even Richard Murdoch - that they succeed to our lands and titles. Let your revenge end with us here."
"An' in return?" asked Graham of Claibourne.
Rhun's mind flicked back the days to the day he'd learned that Rhys Haldane had outflanked them all with an addition to his will.
"If I die before an heir of mine comes of age, the Duke of Claibourne and the Earl of Marley are irrevocably appointed as regents, regardless of whoever else you ramrod through the council. And before you even have a chance to kill them, they'll have appointed their own successors—and their successors will appoint successors. Kheldour will have a say in the next regency."
"Kheldour will be running the kingdom," Rhun said testily, "and the next thing you know, Kheldour will be providing the next king."
"I don't think so," Rhys Michael replied. "And if they did, they couldn't do much worse than your lot have done. You never gave Alroy a chance to be a real king, and you killed Javan when it looked as if he might be one. And you've only been keeping me alive until you were sure you had an heir and a spare to mold in exactly the image you wanted. If it isn't to be a free Haldane king on the throne of Gwynedd, Rhun, I think I might prefer one from Kheldour. The Duke of Claibourne would make an excellent king. Or maybe Kheldour can give my sons a free crown."
"I told him he was a fool. I told him you'd be running the kingdom, that you'd supplant his sons," Rhun said with brutal honesty. "He told me if there next king wasn't a Haldane, that he'd prefer one from Kheldour."
Hubert cried out in dismay. "You can't be serious!"
The Kheldour lords turned to Donatus who spread his hands. "I know nothing of this."
"Call in Drummond." Rhun grinned thinly. "He was there."
Tammaron turned his head to Rhun. "Truly?"
"Don't thank me, you bloody fool. Even a blind man would have known there was no MacInnis blood in Owain Haldane."
Tammaron's face went white.
"Aye. You're the man that ended the Haldane line. A fine legacy for the FitzArthurs."
Nothing was as it should be.
The King of Gwynedd accepted the fealty of Tambert Quinnell - for the ten year old Duke of Cassan had forsaken his grandfather's family name. His father Fane was discreetly absent from the coronation but Tambert's mother and uncle stood by him for Fulk FitzArthur's loyalty had been attested to and he would inherit Tammaron's other titles and lands over his less trusted brothers.
As the Cassan party moved aside, Cathan braced himself and took Michaela's hand, guiding her to stand before the great lion throne and the man in the crimson mantle worked with golden lions and silver saltires. He felt her trembling as they dropped to their knees before Graham.
Rather than extending his hands for theirs, the king leant forwards to Michaela. "I would much rather 'twas I who knelt t' your son as I did t' his father," he murmured.
She sobbed in agreement.
"Michaela, Countess of Rhendall, I am prepared t' hear your oath."
Her hand left Cathan's and she placed them between the royal hand's. "I, Michaela, Countess of Rhendall, do become your vassal of life and limb, and do homage for all the lands of Rhendall, held of your granting and before then of your son Hrorik. Faith and truth will I bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of folk, so help me God."
"This I do hear, Michaela of Rhendall, an' I, for my part, pledge the protection of Gwynedd to you and all your people, to defend you from every creature with all my power, giving loyalty for loyalty and justice for honor. This is the word of Graham Donal Angus MacEwan, King of Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd, Lord of Meara and Mooryn and the Purple March, and Overlord of Eastmarch. So help me God."
King and Countess both laid their hands on the Gospel held by Ailin MacGregor, the new Archbishop of Valoret, and kissed the cover of the good book.
Michaela rose and stepped aside into the company of Anne of Cassan, while the royal eyes now turned to Cathan, who by private agreement would be the new dynasty's strong - and Deryni - hand in the north of Gwynedd.
"Cathan, Duke of Claibourne, I am prepared t'hear your oath."
Nothing was as it should be.
Really interesting. Can't help wondering if Graham might not have made a better king than in Canon... Is this a stand alone or are there more treats in store
Nothing was as I expected - well done!
I hope there is more of this.
You have been a really busy lad lately. I like that about you! ;D Please write more!
BTW, in addition to enjoying your AU take on this story, I think I'm in love with your use of the "Horizontal Rule" button for your scene breaks. I always wondered what that icon in the edit screen was for, and now I know. :D
It's a one-shot for now. I was mugged by inspiration this morning.
Most of the first half is just a joggling around of parts of TBP.
I suppose there may be some scope for sequels.
Quote from: drakensis on January 06, 2015, 01:47:46 PM
It's a one-shot for now. I was mugged by inspiration this morning.
May you get mugged more often, then! ;D
Never knew mugging was so creative and I am seriously impressed at the speed of your writing. It takes me for ever. Diffi This was a lovely treat
Drakensis, Impressive indeed. However, I have to place this in the Nightmare Category, at least I hope it is a Nightmare. :o If it is not than, dear, oh dear, what will happen to Gwynedd after that coup. Saint Camber will be rising from the grave as will Joram, Rhys, and Evaine.
Wait! If this is 928 or earlier, Joram is still very much alive! Oh, heads are going to roll! And not in the normal fashion.
Joram: Maybe I can bind my soul to my corpse and never enter heaven.
Queron: What!? Why would you do that!?
Joram: To avoid having to explain to father that I let the Haldanes get wiped out.
Queron: ...maybe we could mutually sacrifice our lives to tie each other to our respective corpses?
Ironically this could potentially leave Gwynedd's eastern borders quite secure: the semi-independent Corwyn remains under Deryni rule in the south and the Drummonds could form another line of Deryni dukes in the south. This assumes, of course, that the two lines remain loyal to to the MacEwans but that's a long-term concern. Fortunately Arion of Torenth isn't likely to authorise more Festillic adventurism for the next few years.
The problem area for the immediate future would be the north-west: Cassan under the regency of Fane Fitz-Arthur, Kierney and Culdi under Iver MacInnis. And let's not forget Richard Murdoch in Carthane, whose father was mortally wounded by Graham's uncle.
Lol Joram and Queron. Not that that would keep them safe from Camber! Personally I think Joram more or less gives up on the Haldanes after Javan is killed.
Now if Graham eventually married Michaels, that would tie in the Drummond loyalty and might there be enough.. deryni inheritance to activate something like the Haldane potential...
I wonder too if Marion could be persuaded to support Marek against a king of Gwynedd who wasn't a hated Haldane
Interesting speculation
The Haldanes being wiped out would provide an opportunity for Mearan separatists.
Re my last post I must apologize for the unnoticed spell check attack. I really am not intending a crossover involving Robin Hood. Arion [i]not[/i] Marion :<(
The trouble is I'm being lazy and using my tablet which is convinced it knows what I really meant to say
- it's put Marion in again twice but I'm onto it now!
Whew! Thanks for the clarification, revanne. I can stop trying to figure out why Sister Marian from the Codex would want to support a Festillic invasion in spite of being a contemporary of Rothana. :D
Time travel inter world travel take your pick or blame the spell check. I swear it changed after I posted
Hmmm, Revanne I'm not sure I agree that Joram "gives up on the Haldanes" after Javan. He DOES help Rhys Michael get the Haldane powers, and puts himself and Tieg at risk to do so. I would also hope that he has contact with Michaela, Owain and Uthyr through the good offices of his nieces Rhysel/Liesel and Jerusha after the events of The Bastard Prince. He might not have quite the same emotional investment in them that he did in Javan, but after all his family sacrificed to bring the Haldane Restoration about, I don't think it's in Joram's nature to abandon the next generation of Haldanes.
Melissa
Methinks we need for KK to write the 948 story. I re-checked the entry in the Codex, and Prince Marek I's invasion sounds just as deadly as Killingford. Since Joram and much of his family died along with King Owain, it appears they continued their support of the Haldanes. I'd like to know what happened (as I have for years.)
Quote from: revanne on January 07, 2015, 06:43:53 AMNow if Graham eventually married Michaels, that would tie in the Drummond loyalty and might there be enough.. deryni inheritance to activate something like the Haldane potential...
Graham MacEwan married in 922 so he'd already have a wife unless she died before Michaela was past child-bearing age. And he had a son by his canonical wife, probably before this point - Michaela received Rhendall which had previously belonged to the Claibourne heir.
Quote from: Elkhound on January 07, 2015, 07:25:17 AMThe Haldanes being wiped out would provide an opportunity for Mearan separatists.
Meara itself was independent at this date and would be for another century or so. They might try to recover Cassan and other lost lands though.
Shiral, I think I was making too sweeping a statement and I'm sure you're right that Joram would not have given up -especially not on Michaela Owain and Uthyr. However I do feel that he is reluctant to help Rhys Michael - it's Rhysel who pushes that forward, although Joram allows himself to be persuaded. I think that the long gap between the death of Javan and the beginning of TBP with no recognisable contact made with Rhys Michael suggests some hesitation on Joram's part.
Quote from: Jerusha on January 07, 2015, 12:20:21 PM
Methinks we need for KK to write the 948 story. I re-checked the entry in the Codex, and Prince Marek I's invasion sounds just as deadly as Killingford. Since Joram and much of his family died along with King Owain, it appears they continued their support of the Haldanes. I'd like to know what happened (as I have for years.)
Indeed, indeed
Fascinating take, drakensis. Looking forward more of your contributions.
Though I do wonder, doesn't posting AU violate the non-canonical rule for fanfic? Not I am complaining, mind you, since this was an enjoyable piece and provides much food for thought. I certainly don't want it removed or anything. Just curious.
Quote from: revanne on January 07, 2015, 11:03:37 AM
Time travel inter world travel take your pick or blame the spell check. I swear it changed after I posted
LOL, My new computer has auto spell check, and always wants to change revanne to "revenue." Go figure. And the prediction on my cell phone over Labor Day weekend kept wanting to insert the word "hamburger" into every text i wrote. Didn't know that my smart phone could actually smell lunch on the grill...
AU is okay, as long as the characters don't do anything KK herself wouldn't have them do in the same circumstances. If I kicked off every AU story, I'd have to kick off a good bit of Evie's work since she created a fair few original characters and significantly fleshed out some minor canonical ones. :) My own story, should I ever get the darn thing finished, is somewhat AU since it is a time period (mid-1300s) that KK hasn't touched and I'm doing some interesting things with the church, too. :D
Here are the original rules as set out by Bynw:
Quote
The fanfic rules are simple.
1) No erotica
2) Do not use Katherine's characters in a manner that she has not used them.
3) Have fun.
So there's nothing at all specified about Alternate Universe stories. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've read elsewhere that, although KK graciously allows us to use her characters in fanfic, her actual preference is for fanfic writers to create stories with original characters that are set in her Eleven Kingdoms universe, with her canonical characters playing only a minor role, if any. So any such stories would be "AU" by definition, since they are dealing with characters, situations, and possibly places that KK herself didn't create within her canonical universe. (Technically speaking, ALL fanfic is "AU" because the author herself didn't write it, therefore it's not canonical. But I know that's not what most people mean when they are referring to AU fanfic.)
The sorts of stories that the rules are designed to prevent are erotic or pornographic stories set in KK's world (not just because this forum is for fans of any age, although that's a big consideration, but doing so risks offending KK herself and also violates Rule 2), or stories in which anything too flagrantly silly and/or out-of-character happens, such as Alaric riding though 11th Century Gwynedd dressed as a hula dancer and singing "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts" at the top of his lungs while being chased by flying unicorns. ;D Keeping stories true to the original spirit of KK's books is what the rules are all about. Can we write about violent events? KK certainly does, but she is only graphic with the details up to a certain point, so feel free to depict violence in your own fanfic stories, but only to the same level that KK would. Are there sexual situations in your story? Again, that's fine, but just as KK alludes to sexual situations without providing us with a moment by moment description of them, take your cue from her canonical works to see what you can get away with describing and when you might need to stop the camera at the bedroom door, so to speak. Are the canonical characters acting in character (in other words, how we'd expect them to act if KK was writing the story), or are they doing things their canonical counterparts would never do? For instance, if Duncan McLain had a Transfer Portal accident and ended up in my 21st Century bedroom, he's not going to engage in a wild fling with me (alas! ;) ) because that would be very much out of character for him, and if KK were writing that story, she would never write him that way. (And it would be out of character for me too, but that's beside the point. :D )
Quote from: DesertRose on January 08, 2015, 02:38:52 PM
AU is okay, as long as the characters don't do anything KK herself wouldn't have them do in the same circumstances. If I kicked off every AU story, I'd have to kick off a good bit of Evie's work since she created a fair few original characters and significantly fleshed out some minor canonical ones. :) My own story, should I ever get the darn thing finished, is somewhat AU since it is a time period (mid-1300s) that KK hasn't touched and I'm doing some interesting things with the church, too. :D
Ah, but the main difference here is that drakensis has proposed a completely different direction from what KK wrote, essentially ending the Haldane line, such that the Kelson series would not have been able to happen. Evie, on the other hand, did not meddle with the original stories, just expanded/speculated on what might have happened to existing characters, or created some in such a way that it presumably would not have affected canonical events.
I have yet to read all the fanfic on this site, but before this contribution, I hadn't come across anything here that seriously diverged from canon. Again, I don't have a problem with it, just trying to define the parameters. Could someone actually post a fanfic where Rhys didn't die from his injuries, Javan didn't get killed, or Charissa defeated Kelson? Speculative pieces such as these would be interesting, if done well, but I had assumed they were taboo.
Quote from: Aerlys on January 08, 2015, 03:52:51 PM
Could someone actually post a fanfic where Rhys didn't die from his injuries, Javan didn't get killed, or Charissa defeated Kelson? Speculative pieces such as these would be interesting, if done well, but I had assumed they were taboo.
Absolutely, as long as such canonical characters as you use behave in the ways KK has already established. I don't see a problem with any of those premises as long as it stays clean (which I'd worry about with Jemler but probably not you, Aerlys, LOL) and as long as the canonical characters behave the way KK says they do.
I'd like to see one where Rhys didn't die, because that scene made me throw the book for the only time in my life. (I generally do not mistreat my books, but that scene made me so upset that I broke one of my own rules.)
TL;DR, speculative stories are fine.
I'm glad speculative stories are fine, since I'm happily working away on one that's set in 21st Century Gwynedd (and involves a few descendants of canonical characters), and have another one started (might never get around to finishing and posting it, but it's started) that has me involved in a freak accident that lands me in the middle of the Basilica courtyard just a year or two after KKB, and wondering how the heck I'm going to get back home. And that second one is chock full of canonical characters, though all of them are happily adhering to Rules 1 and 2. Even Duncan. Darn. ;) And I assure you that keeping Rule 3 is Not A Problem. ;D
Quote
The fanfic rules are simple.
1) No erotica
2) Do not use Katherine's characters in a manner that she has not used them.
3) Have fun.
It's Rule #2 that snagged my attention, because,
technically, in this instance, darkness
did use characters in a way KK has not used them by changing the canonical storyline.. Graham MacEwan was decidedly never declared king.
But heck, if I misinterpreted Rule #2, all I can say is, "Can open. Worms everywhere!" ;D
*scurries off to unbury some old AU fanfic...*
I see your point, Aerlys, but drakensis marked this as an AU story, and I think that covers his tuchus. None of the characters behaved in a way that KK wouldn't have had them behave under the circumstances, so this story is fine.
And if you have some AU stuff that conforms to the guidelines, please do post it. As long as it's not off-color and the characters behave the way KK would have them behave, you're good.
I'm still laughing about "drakensis" getting autocorrected to "darkness" in Aerlys' last post. That's my new name for you from now on, "Darkness," at least if your next story has the same high death count as your last two! ;D
Evie Wrote: Alaric riding though 11th Century Gwynedd dressed as a hula dancer and singing "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts" at the top of his lungs while being chased by flying unicorns. Oh, so I can't use this? Great, just great. There goes the WHOLE premise of my next fanfic..... ;D
Melissa
QuoteI'd like to see one where Rhys didn't die, because that scene made me throw the book for the only time in my life. (I generally do not mistreat my books, but that scene made me so upset that I broke one of my own rules.)
You Too! I thought I was the only one sickeningly in love with Rhys. Yes, I threw that particular series back on the shelf unfinished, pretending that it Never!!!! Never!!!! happened. I only picked up the Bastard Prince in November, a decade after the time that it came into my possession and I still have not finished it. Sorry, Rhys Micheal but you just are not the same man as your name sake. Rhys Thuryn... Don't Die!
QuoteEvie Wrote: Alaric riding though 11th Century Gwynedd dressed as a hula dancer and singing "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts" at the top of his lungs while being chased by flying unicorns. Oh, so I can't use this? Great, just great. There goes the WHOLE premise of my next fanfic..... ;D
Melissa
;D LOL I was thinking this would make a perfect nightmare for Richenda to have trouble waking up from. ;D Not that she would know what a hula dancer was or even coconuts for that matter, but a Byzantyun dancer singing about figs just might do the trick. And of course flying unicorns would find Alaric an excellent guardian if they were seeking protection from say... a monstrous dragon named Oliver de Nore. Or... oh dear... that makes this Alaric's nightmare as well. The duke and duchess may have trouble waking from this bad dream :o
DR, Evie, Aerlys, Shiral, Revanne,
Darkness opps... Drakensis ;D Write on, write on, write on!
There used to be a radio show in the UK that had a group of panelists debating "what ifs" in history. "What if Hitler had succeeded as an artist and stayed in Vienna", "What if JFK had not been assassinated". It seems to me that this story is a "what if" and clearly marked as such. Great fun but not effecting what really happened in history or canon.
I sympathize with the auto correct and suggest a new challenge. The best story or filk from auto corrects. So far "'darkness engulfs Marion...
"and have another one started (might never get around to finishing and posting it, but it's started) that has me involved in a freak accident that lands me in the middle of the Basilica courtyard just a year or two after KKB, and wondering how the heck I'm going to get back home." - Evie
Can I suggest that given some of the things you have put your littles through you ask Aerlys to teach you the latin act of contrition very, very quickly ;D
Quote from: revanne on January 09, 2015, 10:34:47 AM
"and have another one started (might never get around to finishing and posting it, but it's started) that has me involved in a freak accident that lands me in the middle of the Basilica courtyard just a year or two after KKB, and wondering how the heck I'm going to get back home." - Evie
Can I suggest that given some of the things you have put your littles through you ask Aerlys to teach you the latin act of contrition very, very quickly ;D
I would need to be properly penitent first, though, wouldn't I? *smirk!* ;D
Quote from: revanne on January 09, 2015, 03:32:44 AM
I sympathize with the auto correct and suggest a new challenge. The best story or filk from auto corrects. So far "'darkness engulfs Marion...
If we do that, then my vote is for Laurna to write us a story about poor Sister Disarray. And Annie would need to write her thrilling tale of King Brion and his nicely trimmed bears. ;D
Quote from: Evie on January 09, 2015, 10:55:58 AM
I would need to be properly penitent first, though, wouldn't I? *smirk!* ;D
In that case, you should probably just settle for, "Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa..."
Quote from: Aerlys on January 09, 2015, 11:42:27 AM
Quote from: Evie on January 09, 2015, 10:55:58 AM
I would need to be properly penitent first, though, wouldn't I? *smirk!* ;D
In that case, you should probably just settle for, "Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa..."
ROFL! Yes, that fits.
Quote from: Evie on January 09, 2015, 10:59:06 AM
Quote from: revanne on January 09, 2015, 03:32:44 AM
I sympathize with the auto correct and suggest a new challenge. The best story or filk from auto corrects. So far "'darkness engulfs Marion...
If we do that, then my vote is for Laurna to write us a story about poor Sister Disarray. And Annie would need to write her thrilling tale of King Brion and his nicely trimmed bears. ;D
I could throw in a heard of horses to be chased by King Brion's nicely trimmed bears. :)
Sister Disarray sings a ditty about Darkness over powering Marion, and heards of horses trampling across the field toward King Brion's nicely trimmed bears.
All while Editor Evie defends the scene single handily with her steady pen. (or is that magic keyboard). ;D
It's definitely a magic keyboard, because no one would be able to read my spell work if I did my magic with a pen! ;D
Dropping oneself into the story---too easy for that to turn into a Mary Sue!
Well, since different people mean different things by that term, then if one simply means a story in which the author herself plays a starring role, then yes, it certainly is one. If, however, one means a story in which the author creates an overly idealized version of herself (or creates her "dream character") who is astonishingly beautiful; speaks ten different languages; plays rock guitar, flute, and nose harp while plucking a dulcimer with her toes; can instantaneously learn magic spells and teach them as the head instructor at Saint Camber's Schola even though she just learned she was Deryni (and a Healer, no less) last Thursday, and has every hero in the series desperately in love with her, then no. LOL! By that definition, I think I'm turning out to be more of an anti-MarySue in this story. ;D
Oh, btw, Elkhound, you're actually responsible for putting the story idea in my head. Some time back, I think you said something in a comment about having seen stories (or maybe just Jerusha's story?) in which a Deryni came to our time, but wondering about what would happen if someone from our time ended up in the Eleven Kingdoms of our characters ' time. And my mind just grabbed that ball and ran with it. :)
Quote from: Evie on January 08, 2015, 05:25:41 PMI'm still laughing about "drakensis" getting autocorrected to "darkness" in Aerlys' last post. That's my new name for you from now on, "Darkness," at least if your next story has the same high death count as your last two! ;D
I see I'm going to have to live this down somehow.
I'm something of a fan of alternate history and I've got a couple of volumes of 'What If' scenarios (although alternatehistory.com provides quite amicably in easier reading and much more variety). It's left me with that question firmly embedded in my psyche: what if...?
I do have ideas for another 'nothing as it should be' moment. It's not quite gelled yet, but probably from the perspective of Duncan. (Fear not Evie, I'm not planning to kill him). So maybe that's how this would work as a series. Not a single continuity but short stories illustrating various points the series could have taken a turn.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue
http://www.merrycoz.org/papers/MARYSUE.HTM
These may be of interest.
QuoteNot a single continuity but short stories illustrating various points the series could have taken a turn.
Drakensis, I think you are on to something here. Short stories of
what if could send our minds into the
twilight zone without actually rewriting all the future consequences. It sounds compelling to leave the consequences to the imagination thereby not completely destroying our favorite cannon while at the same time provoking
things aren't what the should be feeling. I'm intrigued, write on. Although, please don't mind if I tell you, I will shy away from wholesale mass murder. If you could keep the death count down, then I am reading on.
Elkhound, I see nothing wrong with a little bit of MarySue. Face it, we ladies want romance in our lives. The written word can be very powerful. No one should ever be ashamed of expressing what you want and how you feel, so long as it stays within the decorum of our culture and our moralities.
So what would it be called if a man wrote himself in the story, a JohnBoy? Surely women aren't the only ones who do it.
Quote from: Laurna on January 10, 2015, 12:13:07 PM
So what would it be called if a man wrote himself in the story, a JohnBoy? Surely women aren't the only ones who do it.
Of course they do, Laurna, but most of it couldn't be posted on this forum. ;D
Some "what ifs" are not worth pursuing, though. I always wondered how it would have been if Kevin and Bronwyn had lived, only to realize that Kevin would probably have been hung beside his father in HD.
Can you imagine Duncan and Morgan's rage at that?!!?
The name given to the male of the over-perfect self-insertion is Gary Stu. And they're not at all uncommon. Alas.
I think 'Mary Sue' stems from a particularly notable early example of a Star Trek fic.
QuoteDrakensis, I think you are on to something here. Short stories of what if could send our minds into the twilight zone without actually rewriting all the future consequences. It sounds compelling to leave the consequences to the imagination thereby not completely destroying our favorite cannon while at the same time provoking things aren't what the should be feeling. I'm intrigued, write on. Although, please don't mind if I tell you, I will shy away from wholesale mass murder. If you could keep the death count down, then I am reading on.
I'll give it a little more thought. The scenario I'm thinking off isn't quite coming together yet. However, another possible scenario does present itself.
Quote from: Jerusha on January 10, 2015, 04:25:53 PM
Some "what ifs" are not worth pursuing, though. I always wondered how it would have been if Kevin and Bronwyn had lived, only to realize that Kevin would probably have been hung beside his father in HD.
Can you imagine Duncan and Morgan's rage at that?!!?
Well at least poor Bronwyn would have survived. And they might have a niece or nephew.
Quote from: Laurna on January 10, 2015, 12:13:07 PM
So what would it be called if a man wrote himself in the story, a JohnBoy? Surely women aren't the only ones who do it.
A "GaryStu." Or sometimes a "Wesley" after Wesley Crusher who was based on Gene Roddenberry's conception of his teenaged self.
Someone once put it, "Mary Sue isn't the most important person in the story--but she THINKS she is!"
When a MarySue/GaryStu is done well, it can be fun. If done ineptly it can be highly annoying.