KJ

After I answer this question, only one more remains. Any other requests?

Today's question (well, actually yesterday's, but who's counting?) comes from stealth_noodle, who wanted my thoughts on characterizing customizable video game protagonists in fic. I've been thinking about this question off and on ever since it was asked, because I think it's a pretty fascinating one. It's definitely an issue that comes up in Dragon Age fandom quite a bit (and I imagine Mass Effect fandom as well). How much flexibility is there for a fanfic writer when characterizing a Warden, or a Hawke, or a Shepard? Are there defined lines that we need to play within? Or is the protagonist essentially an original character, giving us total freedom to make them whoever we want?

Of course, there are some fic writers who feel free to say "Canon? Pffft, I do want I want" and take any character in the direction they like, not just customizable protagonist characters. And there's certainly nothing wrong with that approach, but that's not the kind of fic writer I am. For me, the interesting thing about fanfic is finding new and interesting things to do with characters and story within the structure that the canon provides. Even when I write a story with an AU premise, I try to keep events and characterization as close to canon as possible. Then again, can one even say that there is such a thing as "canon" for the Warden, or for Hawke?* As a general rule, I would say yes, but it's such a broad space of possible canons that there's a lot of room for flexibility. (More so for the Warden than for Hawke -- the Warden has a set backstory, different for each Origin, but personality-wise, they are essentially a tabula rasa. Hawke, on the other hand, does have an in-game personality, although the player has a hand in creating it.)

When it comes to writing the protagonist characters into my own work, I'm almost always writing about a particular Warden or Hawke -- one that I created myself, usually through the course of playing a full game. If I write about Sereda Aeducan, for example, she's not a generic female dwarf noble. She's the Warden I spent over a hundred hours with, playing through DA: Origins, Awakening, Golems, and Witch Hunt. The story is her story, set within her canon and reflecting the choices she made and the outcomes she discovered, or an AU with a purposeful divergence. When I decided to write Justify the Means, an AU about a very different kind of female Aeducan, I actually created a new character and played through her origin. This is why I don't write fic about Tabris, or Amell, or male Cousland, etc.: I've never played a Warden of that background, so I don't know who they are, or how to tell their stories properly. There've been a very few exceptions, mostly when writing to prompts or plot bunnies that don't suit any of my current Wardens, but writing a specific Warden whom I already know is much more within my comfort zone.

I can have a little more flexibility with a Hawke, as long as the Hawke isn't central to the story. For example, I wrote a few stories featuring a male Hawke before I ever played through my Garrett's canon, so I had to come up with a generic Garrett Hawke to fill that role. But as with the Wardens, I'm much happier if I have a known Hawke to work with (diplomatic rogue Marian, aggressive mage Marissa, snarky warrior Garrett) and am unlikely to put a generic Hawke into a starring role.

Although there are exceptions, from what I've seen, I think most fic writers who work with the protagonist characters in these kinds of canons do something similar. They aren't writing stories about A Warden or A Hawke or A Shepard, they're writing about their Warden/Hawke/Shepard. Some feel more bound to follow the canonical background and events of the games than others, but it's still where the seed of the character arises. In my case, as you might expect, I do use canon as my foundation -- I am very unlikely to create headcanons for my player characters that directly contradict the events of the game, although sometimes I'll fudge things a little for the sake of storytelling.

So in a way, it's not really that different for me than writing other characters. The main difference is that I had a part in creating the original canon, and that is most definitely part of the fun.

*There's also a larger question about what "canon" even means in a universe as flexible as that of Dragon Age, where outcomes and characterizations change based on player choices, and even more options open up when modding gets involved, but that's another conversation for another day.

(I'm also behind a question, from yesterday, but it's taking longer to answer than I anticipated. Sorry, spindizzy! Tomorrow I have free, so I'll post yesterday's answer tomorrow and today's answer today. Clear as mud?)

So, today's question: iamleaper asked "If you could have any animal, real or fictional, as a pet, what would you choose and what would you name it?"

If you know me at all, you probably know that I love cats, like, a lot. I could probably answer this question by saying "A cat" and it would be entirely truthful. From both an emotional and practical standpoint, cats are about the perfect pet for me: they're affectionate without being super needy, relatively easy to care for, soft and snuggleable, can live entirely indoors but you don't have to worry about a cage (for some reason that seems like way more trouble than a litterbox to me), and so on.

But that's pretty boring, so I won't actually give that as my answer. ;) Assuming I can leave aside practical issues like not having enough water or a place for it to run around, I think I have to pick a river otter. They're rather cat-like, in their own way, with the playfulness and the cuteness, but even more so, they always seem like they're really enjoying life. Also I expect they are just as pettable, once you get them to slow down!

As for a name, I can't really choose a name for a pet I don't yet have. I have to meet them and get to know them a little bit first, and the process can take varying amounts of time -- I knew that my first cat was named Nadia within a few hours, but it took us almost a week to decide that Tori's name was going to stick. So I'm sure my theoretical future otter will tell me her or his name, in good time.

Today's prompt is from spindizzy: "Do you have any thoughts on Nooj and/or Paine that you want to share? (I'm particularly interested in your thoughts on him being a deathseeker, if I'm honest.)"

( Spoilers and references to suicide behind the cut. )

Today's question, from iamleaper: "If you yourself had to go on an epic fantasy video game-style adventure and you could pick 7 fictional video game people as your companions, who would you choose and why?"

Although this list includes many of my favorites, I also thought quite a bit about creating a balanced party that could deal with many different types of situations, and also about who might work well together.

1. Chell, from the Portal series. For her competence and quiet strength. Plus, I don't care what kind of adventure I'm going on, a portal gun is almost certain to come in handy.

2. Paine, from Final Fantasy X-2. For her sword, and more quiet strength, and her total loyalty. If she has some dresspheres, even better: flexibility is good.

3. Alistair, from Dragon Age: Origins, because, well, do I even really need to justify it? ;) No, okay, but he's also a really fantastic tank, which I need because I am squishy.

4. Is it cheating to say Commander Shepard? Because talk about competence. Also, my Shep is an Infiltrator (distance shooting plus tech use), and I need a good ranged type. If it is cheating, then I'll bring Garrus instead -- his skill set is quite similar, and he's just about as good.

5. Ashe, from FFXII. I typically spec her as a paladin-type -- white magic and a sword -- and we could use a healer here for sure. There might be some issues of who takes charge between her and Shepard, but I suspect once they work them out, they could make a fearsome team.

6. Vivi, from FFIX, because this team needs an offensive mage, and how much fun would it be to travel with Vivi? He's powerful, adorable, and very sweet.

7. Varric, from Dragon Age 2. Because someone needs to write up the epic tale of our adventure when we get back, and who better? Also, I need a rogue type, and he's one of the best.

So, that's my list, as chosen today anyway. ;) Who would you all pick?

Quick note: with this question answered, I only have two remaining for the entire month. Anyone else?

Today's question is from radish: "Talk about being a librarian. Just general, but also were there any defining moments throughout your education that pushed you toward librarianship as a career?"

I can point to three events in my educational history that help nudge me on my path to becoming a librarian.

The first was during my senior year of high school, after a particularly annoying and contentious English class where we were arguing with a substitute teacher -- who happened to be a former lawyer -- about the picayune details of some text or another. After class that day, it hit me that I had no desire to follow through on my future plans, which up to that point had been to major in English, and then become a lawyer.

The second was during my junior year of college, after I'd finished up my year-long architecture studio course, and I realized that, at some point during the year, I'd realized that I really didn't want to be an architect, either.

The third event actually happened earlier, at the start of sophomore year, when I signed up to work two shifts a week in the Reserve Room at the main campus library. At the time, I was looking to get out of my food service job (all first-year students were required to work for Dining Services; I got lucky and snagged a job at the Campus Center Cafe rather than one of the cafeterias, but the library was far preferable), and the Reserve Room was in truth not the most exciting position I'd ever taken. But to round out my hours, I also signed up for a few hours per week of shelving duty, and I discovered that I really enjoyed doing it. The next semester, some hours opened up at the Circulation Desk, and that was much better: more stuff going on there than in the Reserves, and I got to know the Circulation Manager, a wonderful lady (and sister alumna) with whom I am still in touch. I kept my Circulation Desk and shelving jobs through graduation, and added on a few hours in the Cataloging Department a couple of semesters.

Although my library job wasn't technically part of my Bryn Mawr degree, I still consider it a key component of my Bryn Mawr education. Not only because I learned so many library skills there, but because a year or so after graduation, when I was working as a secretary at an architectural firm (having decided not to become an architect, I'd wondered if maybe I'd be interested in the business side of architecture, and the answer was definitely NO) and wondering what I might like better, I thought back to my previous work experience and realized that the library job was by far the one I'd enjoyed most. So I applied to library school, got in, and pretty much never looked back.

Is it odd that none of these formative experiences occurred during library school? Probably not, since the only reason I went to library school was to become an academic librarian. Although I certainly learned things in library school that I use in my library work, as far as I was concerned, the degree was the price of admission, the piece of paper I needed before anyone would even look at my resume.

So, now I am a librarian -- and I still say I'm a librarian even though I'm not working as one, because "librarian" is part of my identity even if I'm not employed by a library. As a former co-worker once told me (during her interview, and no wonder I hired her), librarianship is as much a calling as it is a profession. Maybe not for a librarians, but it's certainly true for me. Which is why I continue to apply almost exclusively to librarian jobs, even though after over a year of unemployment I probably ought to be branching out more. I'm not done being a librarian yet. So even if it takes me a while to get back there, I hope to keep trying. Being in a library, surrounded by the books and the knowledge and the people seeking same, is the place I belong.

pete_thomas asked about my musical tastes, a bit more about the group I sing with, and what got me into music.

We'll start with the last question. I've always enjoyed music of all sorts, although my exposure to it as a kid was somewhat limited, because neither of my parents listen to popular music. They're both musical, though -- my dad sings and my mom plays piano and guitar, and I have many other family members who play instruments, sing, or both. I started playing the flute in fourth grade and the piano in fifth, and then in eighth grade, when we moved to California, I joined choirs at both school and church. When I started high school, I had to choose between band and singing, and because the music teacher had a better reputation as a choir director, that's what I did. I'm still sometimes a little sad that I gave up the flute (and that I quit playing piano a couple of years earlier), but high school was when I got really into singing, and it's been an important part of my life ever since.

The chorus I sing with now is based out of Stanford University. The conductor is a faculty member, and many of the singers are students, faculty, and staff, but it's also open to anyone in the community who wants to take part. It's a large group, usually well over 100 singers, and we perform with various local orchestras. I joined when I moved back to the Bay Area after college, and (with a quarter off here and there), I've been a member ever since. In a typical year, we have three performance seasons (Fall, Winter, and Spring) with two concerts each. Mostly we perform large-scale classical works, although sometimes we'll do smaller, more modern and/or avant guard pieces. This quarter is Verdi's Requiem, which I've done once before -- it's a challenge, but I like the music a lot. I enjoy singing with this group, and I've made a number of friends there, but the main thing that brings me back is the conductor, who is fabulous. He's on sabbatical this year, which makes me appreciate him even more.

As for my musical tastes, they're pretty eclectic. I do like classical, both choral and orchestral, but if you scrolled through my iTunes, you'd find quite a lot of alternative rock and pop (especially from the 80s and 90s), movie and game soundtracks, folk and folk-rock, and mellow electronica. I like music I can sing along with, and I like music I can write to (two categories that are almost but not quite mutually exclusive). Since I almost never listen to music radio these days, finding new music is a challenge. Recommendations, Pandora, and fanmixes are good sources, but I'm always on the lookout for more.

Today's question comes from lassarina: "What one evolution in RPG gameplay in the last x years (you can define X) do you most enjoy, and what one evolution do you most dislike?"

As it happens, I'm not that broadly versed in RPGs. Probably 80% of the RPG games I've played since I started seriously gaming in 2001 are Final Fantasy games, and most of the rest are BioWare. So it's not like I have a large basis for comparison. (Aside from these two series/publishers, I play mostly puzzle, platform, and casual games.) And the FF games and BioWare games are quite different from each other, which makes it difficult to compare them. But a couple of thoughts.

Probably the evolution in RPGs I am enjoying the most is the move toward voiced protagonists. I generally connect more with the Final Fantasies that include full voice acting, and in Dragon Age 2, I found that Hawke having a voice added many more dimensions to the character. It makes their interactions with party members and NPCs feel more natural. And I'm sure I wouldn't have enjoyed the Mass Effect series nearly as much without the fantastic voice acting of Jennifer Hale as Commander Shepard. I'm sure it's a matter of taste -- I know some people prefer a near-tabula rasa protagonist, like the Warden -- but I find I prefer my player character to be a character, or at least the outline of one.

If that doesn't count as gameplay ;) then I vote for the emergence of casual mode. Sometimes, I just don't want to be stuck on the same boss battle for five million years. I want to hack and slash and move on with the story. So the ability to turn the game down to Casual, then bump it back up to Normal when I'm ready, is a lifesaver.

As for evolutions I don't like? That's harder to pick. Sometimes I miss the turn-based battles of Final Fantasy X -- the ability to move through battles at my own pace was so important to me as a gaming newbie. But everyone is moving away from that, including the FF series. This isn't a 100% dislike, though, because I also really enjoy some aspects of more modern system (I loooooved Gambits in FFXII). So I guess I can't really pick on any general trends I don't care for -- it really depends on the game, and on how things are specifically implemented.

green_maia asked me about my favorite book when I was ten. The funny thing is, my favorite book when I was ten (I think -- I can't remember exactly when I read it, but 10 seems about right, or possibly a little younger) remains among the pantheon of my favorite books today, and that book is The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin.

I do remember the first time I read it. It was a red paperback on the spinning rack of the kids section in the library, with puzzle pieces and an intriguing back cover. So I brought it home, and was transported into the world of Sunset Towers, and the Westing heirs, and the mystery of Sam Westing's will. There were not one but two awesome female characters I fell in love with -- the bratty and brilliant Turtle Wexler, and the solid, smart Judge J.J. Ford. The twists and turns kept me guessing, and the resolution made me cheer. I read it again and again, checking it out from the library many times, all the way through elementary school, junior high, high school. And then I let it aside for a few years, until grad school, when I was buying some textbooks from Amazon (my first ever Amazon purchase), and somehow the hardcover found its way into my shopping cart. I re-read it once a year or so, and every time I crack it open it's like spending some time with an old friend.

There are other books from my childhood I love almost as much -- The Time Trilogy by Madeline L'Engle, the Narnia series, the Oz books. But none of them quite touch my continuing affection for The Westing Game. If any of you out there haven't read it, you totally should.

From the January Prompts meme (On DW / On LJ). Many more slots open, especially in the latter half of the month!