At 06:31 PM 9/17/98 -0600, Christopher Angel wrote:

Oooh ooh ooh! Someone talking about SIs!!!  Must respond!

You know, it's not true that SIs are "usually godlike".  At this point
there are plenty of SIs about ordinary goofs who for some reason become
instant friends with the heros of the series and get to date Nabiki or
become the fifth Knight Saber...

I beg to differ.  As much as it tries to achieve that, it doesn't quite
succeed.  Of the major SI's I've seen, it's rarely if ever that the SI
character is ordinary.  Look at Hopelessly Lost and BGZone: Gryphon,
Megazone, and Bert all end up being (somewhat) brilliant hardsuit designers.

The simple truth is that ordinary goofs are usually cannon fodder.

They can be cannon fodder. The easiest way to enhance their survivability
would be to make them more powerful-- easy, but fraught with its own
dangers and pitfalls....
One doesn't need to be able to survive tons of damage or be able to blast
holes in walls or survive in space to prosper, all you need is attitude!
How many people actually attack Kodachi, from Ranma 1/2 for instance? Right!
They're usually too busy avoiding her or getting scared by her to try to do
anything to her!
	Attitude is all you need to survive! Plus, attitude is what makes you
interesting....
	(for a discussion on SI fics and characters, I'd like to refer you to
El Hazard-- The World of Too Many Authors. It's also a pretty good example
of them being basically themselves [well, sorta, some tweaking up was done,
as well as some toning down of some of them] without becoming godlike in any
way, shape or fashion)
	(More than just an absolutely shameless plug, there really is a relevant
section there, and I think it does hold up as an example as non-godlike SI's)

<Hey! What'd you do with that axe, and why are you looking at me that way?>

You know, this is the one thing that irritates me, and that I've tried to
address in God's Toy.  SI's are more fun if your SI is just as clueless as
the rest of the cast, is just a character in the mix.  (But then, that's my
opinion.)

I dunno. There's something to be said for an SI who DOES know, but just
doesn't
care, and kind of runs rampage through the series/fic, or at least tries
to....
After all, nothing ever happens the way we plan it, eh?

<Hack! Ptui! (sorry, some text got caught in my throat)>

Further, all too often, the Self Inserter simply is
not a good character in his own right, perhaps because he's basicly
dull, or because the Self Inserter isn't prepared to reveal his
character in sufficient depth to make himself a good character.

There's a good reason for this: it's REALLY hard to reveal the things about
yourself that gives your character more depth.  It involves bringing things
to light that you'd rather forget, or rather not have people know.  This is
often overcome by coming up with (possibly) false angst.  Bah.  Make it
real, people.  Your SI is YOU, he/she should have your regrets and neuroses.
Bring those in, and your character really comes to life.

o/~ Regrets, I've had a few o/~
(Sorry, sorry, absolutely necessary)
Hard to reveal things about yourself? Why write and post the SI then? Why not
just call it a new character, and rename it "Binky the wonder clown" or
something, instead (why did I have to get stuck with the name "Matthew" I
always wanted to be Binky, dammit!)
	Actually, there are times when it really isn't necessary to show
regrets or neuroses or angst-- kinda depends on the series/genre you're
writing in. How many characters in the series go through those kinds of
moments of soul-searching? Do you see Happousai asking himself if it's
right or wrong to steal women's underwear, for instance? Does he ever
think of why he does it? Does anyone else (beyond "he's a dirty old man")?
No. He is, he does. That suffices.
	The important thing is (unless you're somewhat like me, and given to
outbursts of this nature) to play up to what makes you interesting and fun
and an all around great guy/gal. When it comes down to it, why should I (the
reader) read about you, instead of about some other character, or even better,
about myself? Something one has to address in every fic (why should others
read it?) but I think it's especially true for SI fics.

	Myself? I'm not normally a fan of SI fics, although I've read some which
I quite liked. Gaffney's Crystal Tokyo for one which, viewed one way is kinda
strange since I'm not really an SM fan, yet I really enjoyed this fic (which
is why you should always give a new fic a chance!). 
	(as a slight aside, I maintain a better name for the radio station
woulda been Radio Free Albemuth. Philip K. Dick fans should probably get the
reference. Just for the reference though, just for the reference....)

I'm rambling (more than usual) and probably not making too much sense
(also more than usual), so I think I'll shut up and go night-night or
something..... :)


Matthew "Maybeso" Lewis is:
That guy with "Maybe" and/or "Definitely" in his name on IRC
See him on FFIRC! [bachman.newberry.edu fanfic]
Sojiro_Seta on Kawaiimuck
	maybeso@ican.net
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"The world, however, is not for Fun," Khattam-Shud replied. "The
world is for Controlling."
	"Which world?" Haroun made himself ask.
	"Your world, my world, all worlds," came the reply. "They
are meant to be Ruled. And inside every single story, inside 
every Stream of the Ocean, there lies a world, a storyworld, that
I cannot Rule at all. And that is the reason why."
		--from Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman
		  Rushdie (p.161)
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