Re: Fan Fiction :: "Scheherazade" by Luc Court
Hey, guys! I read fan fiction today! It's not something I do often, and when I do, I seldom enjoy it. However, there is this amazing writer, Luc Court, whose works I fully intend to read more of in the future.
What I love most about Luc Court's writing is that his characterization goes so far beyond canon without stepping outside the boundaries of what is plausible for the character. Every detail stems from something mentioned in the original story. I admit I have only read "Pastoral Symphony in Blue Minor" and "Scheherazade," both Kingdom Hearts fan fics, but they blew me away. I do think that Xemnas is a bit too kind and fluffy and Luxord slightly cliché in "Scheherazade," the one I read today, but it captures Xemnas' grandiosity, Vexen's excitability, Marluxia's rabidness, and the original six's history as scientists, while working in details from the Ansem Reports to make them well-developed individuals in only a few thousand words between the thirteen of them (not so much Roxas, but Namine takes his place). Mind-blowing yet totally credible. There is one scene in which the Organization (sans Roxas, plus Namine) sit around a dinner table, and it struck me then how sad it is that characters as diverse and vibrant as these should live their half-lives wearing identical black cloaks.
I am a very grateful reader, and as such, I will tell all this to Luc Court one day. I may simply give him an edited version of my "review" above, but may want him to have these notes I took while reading the fic, too. I don't feel like making them very organized or articulate right now, but I'll go back to them one day. (I always do.)
-I want to write like this but with not as distant a tone. I do write a bit like this but not as magical.
-"I have a lingering sympathy for amnesiatic orphans." There are a few adjectives derived from "amnesia" used to describe those with amnesia, and none of them are "amnesiatic," but I like the quote by Xemnas anyway because it gives, in so few words, Xemnas' reason for watching over Namine and references Xehanort's past in one fell swoop.
-This would be even better if this statement were ironic: "I don't think you [Namine] ever have to worry about something like [meeting a king who wants to kill you]." ipsius suggested that it was ironic in reference to the king marrying Namine, that Namine would never have to worry about being loved because nobody loves a Nobody, but in that case, both Namine and Demyx's dialogue is directed a bit strangely.
-I want to know the story of Mr. Blood Vessel and the Jolly Little Platelet, made even more amusing by my mental image of Vexen's complete lack of enthusiasm.
-I find it hard to believe that Xemnas has a yellow umbrella (or that he even has an umbrella, really), but I like the bit about Zexion and Xigbar stealing it, especially since they're both in the original six and probably see Xemnas as less of a Superior than the younger members do.
-"The Superior is in a universe all his own, staring into his soup bowl and seeing miracles." I was hoping Xemnas' grandiosity would make an appearance. It's a brief reference, but it makes me happy because most fan fiction writers seem to forget that about him and simply make him an intimidating figurehead of all that is dark and Organized.
Well, that became considerably more articulate as I was typing it. If I still like my comments later, I'll definitely give the fic a review. (It does, however, already have 69, while "Pastoral Symphony in Blue Minor" has only 6, so I feel like I ought to re-read that and do the same. So little appreciation for such a good fic.)
edit: I've just read the first chapter of Luc Court's 15-chapter "A Sorrow of Magpies." The yellow umbrella in "Scheherazade" appears here. Luc Court did mention that the two were related, so I suppose the umbrella in "Scheherazade" has a reason to be strange, perhaps along with some of the other oddities of the story.
What I love most about Luc Court's writing is that his characterization goes so far beyond canon without stepping outside the boundaries of what is plausible for the character. Every detail stems from something mentioned in the original story. I admit I have only read "Pastoral Symphony in Blue Minor" and "Scheherazade," both Kingdom Hearts fan fics, but they blew me away. I do think that Xemnas is a bit too kind and fluffy and Luxord slightly cliché in "Scheherazade," the one I read today, but it captures Xemnas' grandiosity, Vexen's excitability, Marluxia's rabidness, and the original six's history as scientists, while working in details from the Ansem Reports to make them well-developed individuals in only a few thousand words between the thirteen of them (not so much Roxas, but Namine takes his place). Mind-blowing yet totally credible. There is one scene in which the Organization (sans Roxas, plus Namine) sit around a dinner table, and it struck me then how sad it is that characters as diverse and vibrant as these should live their half-lives wearing identical black cloaks.
I am a very grateful reader, and as such, I will tell all this to Luc Court one day. I may simply give him an edited version of my "review" above, but may want him to have these notes I took while reading the fic, too. I don't feel like making them very organized or articulate right now, but I'll go back to them one day. (I always do.)
-I want to write like this but with not as distant a tone. I do write a bit like this but not as magical.
-"I have a lingering sympathy for amnesiatic orphans." There are a few adjectives derived from "amnesia" used to describe those with amnesia, and none of them are "amnesiatic," but I like the quote by Xemnas anyway because it gives, in so few words, Xemnas' reason for watching over Namine and references Xehanort's past in one fell swoop.
-This would be even better if this statement were ironic: "I don't think you [Namine] ever have to worry about something like [meeting a king who wants to kill you]." ipsius suggested that it was ironic in reference to the king marrying Namine, that Namine would never have to worry about being loved because nobody loves a Nobody, but in that case, both Namine and Demyx's dialogue is directed a bit strangely.
-I want to know the story of Mr. Blood Vessel and the Jolly Little Platelet, made even more amusing by my mental image of Vexen's complete lack of enthusiasm.
-I find it hard to believe that Xemnas has a yellow umbrella (or that he even has an umbrella, really), but I like the bit about Zexion and Xigbar stealing it, especially since they're both in the original six and probably see Xemnas as less of a Superior than the younger members do.
-"The Superior is in a universe all his own, staring into his soup bowl and seeing miracles." I was hoping Xemnas' grandiosity would make an appearance. It's a brief reference, but it makes me happy because most fan fiction writers seem to forget that about him and simply make him an intimidating figurehead of all that is dark and Organized.
Well, that became considerably more articulate as I was typing it. If I still like my comments later, I'll definitely give the fic a review. (It does, however, already have 69, while "Pastoral Symphony in Blue Minor" has only 6, so I feel like I ought to re-read that and do the same. So little appreciation for such a good fic.)
edit: I've just read the first chapter of Luc Court's 15-chapter "A Sorrow of Magpies." The yellow umbrella in "Scheherazade" appears here. Luc Court did mention that the two were related, so I suppose the umbrella in "Scheherazade" has a reason to be strange, perhaps along with some of the other oddities of the story.