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B5 story thoughts... how about it?
I've been thinking about writing my own version of the events after Londo became emperor; basically what Peter David did in his Legions of Fire trilogy, but, well, different. Shorter, for one, but hopefully more satisfying to me emotionally. It's not an original thought, I know. I'm sure everyone who read Peter David's trilogy and found it sadly lacking in, erm, many things (by which I don't mean I can't believe anyone read it and didn't find it lacking, just that I know I'm not the only one who was disappointed by it) must have had that same thought. But up till now, for me, it was just a wild idea. At first I didn't feel confident enough to write that type of story, and then afterwards my enthusiasm over the show flagged a little and it was inspiration I missed. But this year's Yuletide, along with the recent B5 revival on tumblr, seems to have rekindled my love for the show, and if there's one story I'd still like to write in this fandom it has to be that one, so...
I was on vacation in Austria last week, and I actually started plotting a very vague outline. I even wrote what might pass for the first few paragraphs, and thought about how to resolve the storyline about the Drakh occupation of Centauri Prime. (TL; DR: I think it's a pity that Peter David constructed this whole convoluted storyline involving technomages ans love potions and conspiracies and then neglected to tie it in with the simple fact of Londo asking Delenn and Sheridan for help in War Without End. Because that was a huge leap of faith for him, and one which I've always wanted to see the repercussions of. Up until that point, I think Londo had always been convinced he was in this thing alone: he'd seen his fate in dreams, it was his punishment for the evil he'd done, it was his burden to bear, and so on. That, and of course his pride. If he'd asked for help sooner, maybe the Drakh's hold over his people would have been broken long ago. But Instead he waited for Vir to succeed him, like the lady Morella predicted – either because he felt he had no choice, or because he had more faith in Vir's capacity for goodness than in his own. And of course Vir, not having the kind of stubborn pride that Londo had, wouldn't hesitate to ask for help when needed. Which is interesting, because it would have made Vir far less suited to the Drakh's purpose than Londo ever was. After all, the Drakh thrive on secrecy. Such juicy material for a story, all of that, and so sadly underused in the novels!) So, all things considered, I'd say I'm closer to writing this thing than I've ever been. And I have no other fannish commitments, so I could spend all the time on it that I need, which is good too.
That said, resolving to write this thing would still be a commitment – it's not likely to turn into a 100k epic because that would take me ages knowing the rate at which I write, but still, even 10 to 20k might take me a while to finish. So I'd very much like to know before I throw myself into it: would anyone out there be interested in reading this story?
I'll be fair – at this point I have no idea what the story will turn into. I can tell you some things it won't be, though. It won't be a fix-it. It won't be an epic Londo/G'Kar love story (there might be hints of Londo/G'Kar, but there'd be Londo/Timov as well, and in any case it would be a gen story at heart). It won't be an AU, so it won't have a happier ending than canon does. It also won't be nearly as long or epic as Peter David's Centauri trilogy. But it would be an attempt to do some of the same characters more justice than I feel was the case in the trilogy. One of the main reasons why I was disappointed with the novels was that I felt not a single one of the main characters – Vir, Londo, Timov, G'Kar, Mariel – came out of it with their dignity intact. In terms of characterization, Londo probably fared better than the rest, but then most of his sections had the issue of devolving into a whumpfest that would put some of the more intense whumpfests in, say, SGA fandom to shame. (No, I do not need to read about a character I love soiling himself during a torture session with the Drakh; I don't mind angst, but there's angst and then there's whump, mister David, and you don't appear to know the difference). So one of the things I'd do is focus on those characters – Londo, Vir, G'Kar and Timov, definitely, maybe Mariel, Delenn, David Sheridan, possibly Lennier – and try to give them some space to shine within the boundaries of the story.
Realistically, I'd have to make this a WIP to pull this off. That in itself may deter people from reading, I know. But I don't see myself writing something of this scale in one go. I have never posted a WIP before, but if it helps, I have never started any story that I didn't finish eventually (though I have been known to take a *long* time to finish :) ). So I might try to write and post this at a rate of, say, one new section of the story every one or two weeks. How does that sound?
There it is, you guys. What do you think? I was thinking maybe this could use a poll, because everything is better with tickyboxes, but it seems I can't do polls anymore since I let my paid LJ account expire. :( Still, poll or no, please tell me if you have any thoughts!
I was on vacation in Austria last week, and I actually started plotting a very vague outline. I even wrote what might pass for the first few paragraphs, and thought about how to resolve the storyline about the Drakh occupation of Centauri Prime. (TL; DR: I think it's a pity that Peter David constructed this whole convoluted storyline involving technomages ans love potions and conspiracies and then neglected to tie it in with the simple fact of Londo asking Delenn and Sheridan for help in War Without End. Because that was a huge leap of faith for him, and one which I've always wanted to see the repercussions of. Up until that point, I think Londo had always been convinced he was in this thing alone: he'd seen his fate in dreams, it was his punishment for the evil he'd done, it was his burden to bear, and so on. That, and of course his pride. If he'd asked for help sooner, maybe the Drakh's hold over his people would have been broken long ago. But Instead he waited for Vir to succeed him, like the lady Morella predicted – either because he felt he had no choice, or because he had more faith in Vir's capacity for goodness than in his own. And of course Vir, not having the kind of stubborn pride that Londo had, wouldn't hesitate to ask for help when needed. Which is interesting, because it would have made Vir far less suited to the Drakh's purpose than Londo ever was. After all, the Drakh thrive on secrecy. Such juicy material for a story, all of that, and so sadly underused in the novels!) So, all things considered, I'd say I'm closer to writing this thing than I've ever been. And I have no other fannish commitments, so I could spend all the time on it that I need, which is good too.
That said, resolving to write this thing would still be a commitment – it's not likely to turn into a 100k epic because that would take me ages knowing the rate at which I write, but still, even 10 to 20k might take me a while to finish. So I'd very much like to know before I throw myself into it: would anyone out there be interested in reading this story?
I'll be fair – at this point I have no idea what the story will turn into. I can tell you some things it won't be, though. It won't be a fix-it. It won't be an epic Londo/G'Kar love story (there might be hints of Londo/G'Kar, but there'd be Londo/Timov as well, and in any case it would be a gen story at heart). It won't be an AU, so it won't have a happier ending than canon does. It also won't be nearly as long or epic as Peter David's Centauri trilogy. But it would be an attempt to do some of the same characters more justice than I feel was the case in the trilogy. One of the main reasons why I was disappointed with the novels was that I felt not a single one of the main characters – Vir, Londo, Timov, G'Kar, Mariel – came out of it with their dignity intact. In terms of characterization, Londo probably fared better than the rest, but then most of his sections had the issue of devolving into a whumpfest that would put some of the more intense whumpfests in, say, SGA fandom to shame. (No, I do not need to read about a character I love soiling himself during a torture session with the Drakh; I don't mind angst, but there's angst and then there's whump, mister David, and you don't appear to know the difference). So one of the things I'd do is focus on those characters – Londo, Vir, G'Kar and Timov, definitely, maybe Mariel, Delenn, David Sheridan, possibly Lennier – and try to give them some space to shine within the boundaries of the story.
Realistically, I'd have to make this a WIP to pull this off. That in itself may deter people from reading, I know. But I don't see myself writing something of this scale in one go. I have never posted a WIP before, but if it helps, I have never started any story that I didn't finish eventually (though I have been known to take a *long* time to finish :) ). So I might try to write and post this at a rate of, say, one new section of the story every one or two weeks. How does that sound?
There it is, you guys. What do you think? I was thinking maybe this could use a poll, because everything is better with tickyboxes, but it seems I can't do polls anymore since I let my paid LJ account expire. :( Still, poll or no, please tell me if you have any thoughts!
no subject
This reminds me too of a story I want to write one day, of all the ten minute conversations that Londo has with his prisoner G'Kar when he can get just drunk enough to put the Drakh to sleep without passing out himself.
no subject
This reminds me too of a story I want to write one day, of all the ten minute conversations that Londo has with his prisoner G'Kar when he can get just drunk enough to put the Drakh to sleep without passing out himself.
Oh, God, I need that story. *makes strangled noise of yearning* Funnily enough, I was joking with someone last Yuletide over how there needs to be a story about all the times Londo talks about G'Kar in his sleep and how much I want to write that one day.