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chopper-writing-stuff · 2 years ago

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Looking Back

29.04.2019, Sand Island

Trigger entered the bright, spacious office silently, much like anything he did. He walked up to the desk and, seeing the person behind it was still staring into the screen, put a little more effort than necessary into his last step.

“I’ll get to you in a minute”. This sentence was clearly meant for him, but the speaker, Brigadier General Samantha Mead, was still motionless, studying something on her computer. “You really are a very silent person, Trigger”, she added in that same monotone voice, like she was talking to herself.

Although that statement was true, Trigger himself didn’t feel silent at all. His breath was whistling in his nose, playing a complicated polyrhythm with his heartbeat. This thumping music was struggling to cover up the ringing in his ears, desperately calling for aid chattering of his teeth. Even the sweat forming on his hands seemed to make a whispering sound.

Warwolf, or, as everyone was calling it - “The new Wardog Squadron”, was still freshly formed, and thus closely oversighted by the OMDF command. It wasn’t uncommon for the Brigadier General of the 5th Fighter Wing to supervise its exercises or check on its pilots. But over the 6 months of Trigger’s time in here, he never got as much as a friendly look from her.

Granted, he never really got that from anyone. His flight lead, or squadron leader, any of the other pilots. Warwolf 3, the most persistent of them, stopped trying to talk with him after about two weeks. Trigger was impressed how long they were trying. And ashamed he never mustered the strength to answer.

“Last week I asked your squadron to fill in some evaluation forms” Samantha Mead was done with the screen and now her eyes were drilling through Trigger, “and I’d like to talk about them with you.” He evaded this pressure by looking down and found the forms in question on Brigadier General’s desk. He was struck by a feeling that he completely misunderstood the questions, but after a second he realized his form wasn’t there. These sheets were filled in by his teammates, all flipped to the page with questions about other squadron members. Trigger’s heart rate doubled.

He couldn’t look down anymore, and to avoid Brigadier General’s sight he focused on a photograph, hanging on a wall behind her. It showed a middle aged pilot standing in front of an F-5 fighter jet, with one hand still holding on to a yellow ladder, the other around his helmet. Right above his head Trigger could read the name off the canopy - Simon “Drag Race” Mead. The photo wasn’t in greyscale, but its corner was marked with black tape.

“Can I tell you a story about my brother?” Samantha asked suddenly. Trigger, confused, looked her straight in the eyes. She seemed nicer than just a minute ago. He cleared his throat from the corpse of “yes” he was about to say, and let its soul out as a whisper. He then nodded to clarify.

“During the Circum-Pacific War, Simon was a leader of a squadron tasked with covering the retreats of Osean bomber escorts, coming back from Yuktobania. After guarding the bombers on their way home, the escort fighters were returning low on fuel, still under fire. It was his job to defend them. And he was good at it.” Brigadier General turned her armchair to face the picture. Trigger sighed, relieved of the eye contact. “But that’s how he treated it. As a job,” Samantha continued. “The moment his feet touched the ground, he was unreachable. No chatting with squadron members, no eating together. He would disappear in his office and reemerge right for the briefing.” Trigger felt the hair on his arm rise again. The Brigadier General wasn’t talking about her brother just to share a story with a nugget.

“One time he refused to sortie.” Samantha Mead turned back to face Trigger. It took all his strength not to take a step back. “It was a cold, calculated decision.” She was still somewhat calm saying this. “On that run the bombers were hit hard, the escort squadron to cover was down to 10%. He reckoned anyone in his squadron would say the same thing. He was sure everyone felt the same.” Samantha sighed.

“The next sortie, Simon wanted to atone. He dove right into the fight, not looking back, not even waiting for his wingman. He single handedly kept the Yuke squadron away from friendlies. The escorts even called him a Demon.” There was a genuine pride in Brigadier General’s eyes when she said that. Then they quickly narrowed and a wrinkle appeared between her brows. “But it came time for him to retreat. The escort squadron was at a safe distance and Simon’s plane sustained a few hits. After a few minutes of fighting he was barely holding up. And his squadron?” Samantha looked deep into Trigger’s eyes. “They said it wasn’t worth risking their lives. And you know what?” she paused. “It wasn’t.”

“He wasn’t a leader of a squadron. He was commanding numbers on a spreadsheet. Simon didn’t know his squadmates. He didn’t trust them, they didn’t trust him, and innocent pilots suffered for it because they were supposed to be protected by a squadron that wasn’t a team.”

Trigger took a step back.

Brigadier General turned her computer screen so Trigger could see it. It showed a squadron file. Its blue and orange emblem and name - “Mage”, was placed next to IUN-PKF’s blue leaf. The squadron had only one member listed - TAC name “Clown”.

“My old acquaintance called me recently asking if I could spare any pilots so he could keep his squadron alive. I said yes. Go be someone else’s problem. Dismissed.”

10.08.2019, New Arrows Air Base

Trigger entered a small but cozy office whispering “Hello?” too quietly to be heard by the person sitting behind a computer screen.

“Ah, Trigger! Come on in.” Wiseman gestured towards a free chair in front of his desk and sat back into his own armchair. “Congratulations on your first mission as Strider, you really helped us out there.”

Trigger sat down at the edge of his chair and deeply nodded for the compliment. Wiseman waited for a moment, probably for him to say something, but before Strider 1 could think of anything, the company commander continued.

“Actually, I asked you to come to talk about something I’ve noticed during that mission.”

Trigger’s heart jumped. So Wiseman was aware. Trigger knew he wasn’t a good leader but he had hope it wasn’t that obvious. Tabloid was keeping formation with him and, even though blind following wasn’t a great tactic, it was what pilots fresh out of academy were taught to do, and Trigger felt that with time he could get comfortable with his squad enough to openly talk. Granted, he knew them relatively long, and he didn’t make as much progress as with, say, Brownie, but now that they really were stuck together Trigger was sure he would finally break the ice. But if Wiseman kicks them out of LRSSG who knows what will happen to them, where and if they will ever see eachother? Is he ever going to get good at social-

“You’ve met Mr. X before, haven't you?”

“...”

Wiseman leaned towards Trigger’s blank face concealing a quietly derailing train of thoughts.

“You said he might attack from below,” Wiseman’s eyes pierced deeper into Trigger’s paler face. “Where did you see him use that tactic?”

Trigger took a deep, hopefully silent breath to calm his voice. It didn’t come out without cracks, but he managed to say clearly “Yinshi Valley. Sir.”

12.07.2019, Yinshi Valley

<<New bogey! Champ, below you!>> Bandog had to come back to work less than ten seconds after deeming the job done. Before this transmission ended the Spare Squadron could hear a loud thump of his feet falling from the console to the floor.

<<Got it. This one’s all mine!>> Spare 8 quickly dodged a stream of bullets and positioned his craft to catch the hostile on the descent. That was all Trigger could see through a thin cloud between the fight and his Starfighter, so he gently pushed the throttle. Meanwhile Champ was getting more enthusiastic.

<<Oh, you’re going where I want you!>>

<<Not so fast, you won’t keep up with- ugh- THIS>>

<<Why no firing? Low on ammo? Spent it all for the paintjob?>>

That last comment echoed in Trigger’s head a bit longer. He leaned a little closer to the canopy and pushed the throttle all the way. He was almost around the cloud, behind which there were two aircraft engaged in a deadly dance. One black dot leading another black dot through the wind and thunderstorm. A MiG-29 followed closely by… an Su-30.

Trigger broke hard and went straight towards the fighters. Champ finally got to where he wanted and, screaming enthusiastically, performed a cobra maneuver. He was so excited he didn’t notice the flanker smoothly getting out of his way. Seamlessly the hostile slowed down and masterfully rotated their aircraft. A single missile went back towards the Fulcrum. Champ had maybe half a second to notice it after the nose of his aircraft dropped low enough. He was still cheering when the radio cut off. The flanker pulled up, away from the explosion. After ascending above the canyon level the sunlight bounced off of the orange wingtips of the aircraft.

<<He shot down Champ!>>

<<Who is this guy?>>

The Spare Squadron was speechless but Trigger knew exactly who this guy was. And how to make him pay back.

High power AA missile went off the Starfighter’s rail before Bandog ordered Trigger to engage the enemy. Turning back after overshooting he could hear Tabloid spotting two more Flankers but they could have a whole squadron for all he cared. He fought off the g-force and saw “Mr. X” on his nose once again. Two more shots, two more misses. The Flanker made a pirouette through the smoke trails and released it’s own missiles. They went for the flairs but Trigger couldn’t rely on that trick forever. Another turn got him facing Mr. X head on again. This time he landed a gun series on him for the cost of a few bullet holes in his own fuselage.

“This can’t go on” he thought and decided to extend, playing more into F-104’s speed.

This didn’t work as planned. Even though it had to turn back, the black Su-30 was catching up. “Damn fossil” pressed through Trigger’s gritted teeth as he broke through the clouds, into the valley. To his surprise Mr. X was there already. Second High power missile went after the speeding Flanker and followed it around a rock pillar. Trigger couldn’t confirm a hit. The enemy took him on a ride through the valley, making tight turns and tricking missiles to smash into the rocks. Trigger didn’t want to get too close, lest the Flanker performs another deadly acrobatic, but falling behind in this labyrinth could prove as much risky. Finally the Su-30 shot up vertically into the clouds and Trigger punched the throttle to catch up. Only when he saw a blurry silhouette of the Flanker performing a tail slip above the clouds did he realize where he wound up.

Mr. X started descending in a spiral, as if he was following a thread. And Trigger was the one being screwed. Any moment now Mr. X will do a post stall maneuver and put a missile straight through Trigger’s jet.

He’s been studying this maneuver in his head for over a month now. Thinking how to counter it. Now he had less than ten seconds to prove his theory, in this brick of an aircraft.

He tailslipped himself. Still below Mr. X’s craft. Any other pilot would call it crazy. Trigger would tell them to wait with that for the next part.

He saw the missile illuminated by lightning in a rear view mirror. It was going straight for his tail. He gritted his teeth and pulled on the stick. The shock of the explosion and roar of thunder merged into one sky-shattering boom.

It was followed by a cacophony of warnings piercing Trigger’s ears. Missing a stone pillar by centimeters he pulled the fire extinguisher lever. Scraping treetops with its fuselage the Starfighter was regaining altitude. Trigger looked out for another missile but it didn’t come. Emerging from an orchestra of beeps and pings was Bandog’s voice announcing the retreat of enemy aircraft.

A few hours later The beat up F-104 touched down on the 444th Air Base runway with a fountain of sparks. Trigger didn’t even bother with extending the air brakes or lowering the landing gear. One was half torn off, the other fell out a few minutes earlier. After a good minute of bouncing on the concrete the airframe finally came to a screeching halt in the middle of the runway. With no emergency vehicle in sight Trigger climbed out of the cockpit and crawled under one of the trees growing by the airstrip. He leaned on the trunk and watched the remains of the plane catching fire.

“All areas critical my ass…” he mumbled, closing his eyes.

“Yes, I know that.” Wiseman still had wrinkles on his forehead, but at least Cyclops 1's face stopped getting closer. Trigger hoped he wasn’t leaning in his chair too much.

“I’ve read Colonel McKinsey’s report on that mission,” continued Wiseman. “After my squadron left, three unknown Su-30s showed up, shooting down one and engaging with two Spare aircraft. I doubted two convicts could hold their own against Mr. X but the aircraft’s color checked out, and now I see that with your skills it wasn’t that far fetched,” Wiseman ended with a smile. But after a moment he was serious again.

“But that’s a single encounter. You’re not a dumb person, Trigger. You would know not to assume that’s his whole thing after fighting him once. I’ll ask again, where did you see him?”

This time Trigger had more time to prepare what to say.

“Chopingburg rainforest, sir. Operation Dual Wielder.”

30.05.2019, Chopinburg

<<All aircraft watch out, another salvo!>> Shouted Sky Keeper, as the last three AAM ports on the Arsenal Bird erupted with missiles.

<<Skeleton 3 break!>>

New smoke ribbons weaved in between the previous ones.

<<Lost control! Ej-...>>

The sky around the airborne carrier was filled with fighters carrying pilots on the edge of consciousness, tireless drones chasing them and bouquets of missiles to anyone from everyone.

<<How many are left!?>>

<<AAM port destroyed! Two remaining!>> Brownie announced another kill for Trigger without a blink. The silent pilot thanked her in his mind.

<<Fox 2! Fox 2!>> Golem 2 fired herself and in spite of one MQ-101 sacrificing itself to intercept a threat, the second missile exploded right into another missile launcher.

<<Big bird is losing its talons. Just one more and you can safely retreat. Trigger, Brownie, you can do it!>> Encouraged AWACS.

<<Hold on. What’s that thing?>> Asked Clown.

A pale blue halo started materializing above the center section of the Arsenal Bird. It was slowly filling with color. Trigger fired at the last AAM launcher but a propeller was in the way and the target remained intact. The pilot dodged another missile and as he was checking his surroundings he felt a sudden change, like a gust of warm wind. The drones were still following Osean pilots as they were, keeping up the pressure but they started to… avoid the Arsenal Bird? He was trying to find the right words to describe it but it seemed crazy. He pushed the radio button two times, two times he said nothing fearing his allies would deem it nonsense.

<<Sky Keeper, what’s happening?>>

<<Keep up the attack. That’s the order.>> There was a hint of confusion in AWACS’ voice but he kept an authoritative tone.

<<The drones…>> Trigger finally exhaled a whisper.

<<HQ, what’s happening?>>

<<I repeat, disarm the Arsenal Bird ASAP>> While the drone’s halo grew larger Sky Keeper started discussing with HQ.

<<Sky Keeper, give us a report!>> Knocker was getting frustrated. Taking advantage of the drones now clearly keeping their distance, more pilots were taking their shots at the carrier.

<<Back off…?>> Trigger suggested.

The ring was deep blue.

<<Follow the orders>> Sky Keeper stated.

The ring was pulsing.

<<Evading!>>

<<Fox 2>>

The ring blinked red.

<<Keep attacking.>>

<<Almost got it!>>

<<I’ve a clear sh- >>

The halo’s edge rushed outward expanding into a sphere of blue light engulfing the Arsenal Bird. A flash of light blinded the pilots and static filled their ears. It all lasted a second. Those caught by the surface of the sphere exploded into fireballs.

<<What The Hell!?>> Sky Keeper loudly broke the silence.

<<Skeleton 1 status report!>> He yelled. <<Skeleton 2! 3!>>

<<Skeleton Squadron is down.>> Knocker reported with an ice cold voice.

After a few seconds AWACS came back.

<<Arsenal Bird deployed a microwave shield. Nothing can pass its surface in or out. Gargoyle Squadron, retreat. Golem and Mage, provide support.>>

<<Microwave shield? I don’t remember that from the briefing,>> snarked Clown.

<<Escort Gargoyle Squadron Mage 1.>>

<<Why weren’t we informed!?>>

<<Save your chatter for the debriefing, Golem 1>> Sky Keeper sighed. <<You’re safe from Arsenal Bird’s missiles. Return to base.>>

Gargoyle Squadron was the quickest to abandon the previous objective and their Tomcats were already miles away. The drones, unable to return to their mothership, pursued the Oseans.

<<Let’s go, Trigger. HQ orders.>> Clown’s afterburner almost turned yellow from the salt in that sentence.

<<...co>> mustered Trigger, before putting his embarrassment into firing missiles.

Fort Gray’s fighters spread out and went after individual Gargoyles, taking out drones as they got closer. Mage 1 focused solely on fighting the machines. He would approach them at high speeds, to overshoot and get their attention. Slowing down while turning and rolling, he would wait for the drone’s AI to jump the shark and turn too tightly; then it was time for him to pull the stick and land a gun series while the missile reached for its target. Overshoot. Turn. Kill. Repeat. One of these duels ended up inside a large cloud and Trigger’s missile lost the drone right as it was about to hit. He was pushing the throttle to extend and reengage when another missile emerged out of the fog and exploded on the target.

<<Splash Five!>> Announced Brownie, leveling her Hornet next to Trigger’s Viper.

<<Thanks>> said Trigger.

<<Can’t let you have too much fun.>> Golem 2 rocked her wings and turned towards the last MQ-101 chasing Gargoyle 1.

<<You’re…>>

<<I lost Knocker in the clouds. But it looks like they’re doing fine back there, and now, you can learn something from me,>> teased him Brownie. Trigger instinctively looked at her but he obviously didn’t see her expression from 20 meters and through the canopy. But he did notice something else below Golem 2’s aircraft.

<<Bandit, 10 o’ clock, low!>>

Brownie broke towards the new threat and repeated the warning on the main channel. Trigger followed his friend, intensely staring at the jet skimming treetops above the jungle. The aircraft type was hard to tell but the jet itself was easily visible thanks to bright orange wingtips. When it noticed its opponents, it climbed in a gentle curve, losing minimal speed. The black silhouette against white clouds was clearly a Flanker.

<<Hostile, bearing 020, engaging Mage 2 and Golem 2,>> announced Sky Keeper.

<<Get ‘em, Trigger>>

<<Brownie, keep focus!>>

<<Understood, sir!>>

<< -ox 3!>>

Trigger opened with a SASM shot as soon as the Flanker got into range. He followed with a gun series and rushed forward to merge while the hostile did a barrel roll and effortlessly evaded both attacks. The G force opened Trigger’s mouth as he tracked the target through a turn. Brownie defaulted to defending, hiding behind an array of flares but the Flanker didn’t fire a single missile. It slowed down right behind Golem 2 and started following her through evasive maneuvers.

<<I can’t lose him! Why is he not firing!?>>

<<Golem 2 lead the hostile to Trigger,>> advised Sky Keeper

Trigger was already trying to get an angle on the fighter. Even though it was copying Brownie’s maneuvers the enemy pilot was altering them enough to avoid his attacks.

Trigger decided to stop flanking the enemy and approached it from behind but the moment he knew he had a clear shot the Flanker suddenly grew in his field of vision. It exposed its entire back to him but it was so close Trigger had to dive to avoid colliding with it.

Trigger’s head exploded with pain as every blood cell in his body rushed upwards and Mage 2 barely managed to stay conscious. He frantically searched his mirrors for the orange-winged Flanker behind him but couldn’t find it. He saw it only when he pulled back up. but instead of chasing him, it was still focused on Brownie. After pulling off the cobra maneuver it must’ve gone straight up vertically, because it was way above Golem 2, coming down on her in a spiral.

<<Mine, I’ve got him!>> Brownie couldn’t hide excitement.

Trigger was staring at the fight trying to get to it. Indeed, Brownie was in a better position and the Flanker was flying in a predictable way. It almost felt wrong, how an obviously experienced pilot like this would pull that move. Trigger was intensely focusing on the enemy trying to figure him out, as the jets got closer. Brownie flying upward in a tight spiral inside the Flanker’s path, never changing like an eagle circling its prey…

<<Brownie look out!>>

She must’ve felt it too, because as soon as the enemy’s nose pitched towards the center of the spiral, Hornet’s canopy blew away. Flanker’s missiles and Brownie’s ejection seat ignited at the same moment. Black jet with orange wingtips performed a flat spin around the fireball and smoothly regained control, leveling its flight.

Trigger held his breath as he fixed his eyes on two black dots flying away from the explosion. Brownie and her WSO managed to eject before the missile hit and their parachutes should open soon… any moment… now…

Two canopies of white fabric against the white clouds. Two canopies riddled with blue patches against the blue sky. Plummeting towards the ground. Then one after the other, the lines snapped and the sheets of fabric went away, carried by the wind.

Trigger didn’t see them hit the ground. He didn’t watch. All his focus was on the enemy, flying towards him. A missile, burst of tracers. Dodged. Turn around, more missiles. Flares. Enemy on his six. Allies were shouting over the radio but he couldn’t hear what. He fired another missile and dodged the Flanker’s attack. More speed.

They were both descending, fighting like two birds of prey. The ground was closing but Trigger didn’t think of pulling away. 5 thousand feet. 3. 1.

The enemy finally pulled up and sped away, knocking down leaves and treetop fruits with his downwash. Trigger was lucky to end up above the river instead of the forest, almost skimming the surface after leveling his aircraft. Now, at the edge of consciousness he had no chance of catching up to the Flanker. But even after touching down at Fort Gray’s, in his mind, the fight wasn’t over.

It took longer to find the file than to read it, but Wiseman was finally satisfied.

“Well, isn’t that a story to tell.” He leaned back in his armchair. “Do you have kids?” Wiseman added unexpectedly, and laughed when Trigger’s eyes doubled in size.

“Ah, you haven’t heard him say it.” He waved his hand and went back to reading the report. “A few more sorties and you’ll know. And I know you’ll be here long enough. A pilot like you can live through anything. I’m glad we have you here, Trigger.”

6.06.2019, Selatapura

<<I’m glad we have you here, Trigger>> Sky Keeper wasn’t hiding the awe in his voice. Mother Goose 1’s tail was clear again, but not for long.

<<Yeah, but even with him we won’t hold much longer, they’re swarming!>> Knocker brought the AWACS down to earth and decommissioned another pair of MQ-101s.

<<That’s why you have to- FOLLOW! his example>> Clown grunted as if he was fighting the drones bare-handed.

All this talk would’ve gotten to Mage 2’s head hours ago if there was any blood there to think clearly. Mr. Harling’s rescue was looking more desperate by the minute and they weren’t even in the range of Arsenal Bird’s missiles yet.

Trigger did a corkscrew around another drone and almost stalled trying to get a missile lock. The UAV almost rotated in place at the last moment and left the pilot to regain control falling through a cloud.

<<It’s like they’re completely different machines!>> Clown voiced Trigger’s complaint perfectly.

Mage 2 abandoned that drone and circled back to Mother Goose 1. The Osprey found a new tail and Colonel Johnson’s best attempts to lose it were doomed to fail. Trigger downed one drone and scared another off with missiles. The third was left with a clear shot and… it broke off and went straight towards the Space Elevator. Trigger’s eyes followed it and the pilot saw a garland of missile trails pointing at the structure. And then, in familiar fashion the UAVs scrambled to intercept the weapons. From the entire salvo only one managed to get through. Trigger held his breath when it exploded into the windbreak but the structure withstood the attack.

<<Gargoyle, Sky Keeper, what the hell!?>>

<<Gargoyle squadron did their job, you do yours Golem 1,>> The AWACS sighed.

<<You’re leaving us in the dark again,>> admonished Knocker.

<<IUN can’t coordinate, business as usual. Get over it. At least we have less of these gremlins to wor- >>

Before Clown could finish one of the drones managed to strife Mother Goose 1 with its gun. The Osprey swung to one side and returned to level flight but after a quick inspection Clown revealed the bullets went straight into the cockpit.

<<Mother Goose 1, respond! Colonel Johnson!>>

After a five-second eternity Sky Keeper’s call was answered.

<<.................>>

<<Mother Goose 1!>>

<<It’s just static.>>

<<It’s the wind through broken windshield. Someone’s still there.>>

<<.................-ead. S-...........................................Na-........................-orry.>>

This time a voice came through the deafening wind.

<<I know this voice! It’s Mr. Harling!>> Sky Keeper shouted with excitement. <<All aircraft continue providing support for Mother Goose 1. We’ll get you home safely sir!>>

<<.........................>>

With newfound motivation Trigger went into a dance with another drone. While he was still firing his gun he sent a missile for another UAV. Mr. Harling had a clear path to fly…

<<Mother Goose 1 is turning around!>>

Trigger once again looked back only to see the Space Elevator still under attack from Gargoyle, and the Osprey was flying straight towards it, into the swarm of UAVs.

<<Mr. Harling! Turn around now and exit the combat zone!>> Cried Sky Keeper. <<Trigger! Get those drones off Mother Goose 1’s tail!>>

Trigger turned his aircraft dutifully. His ammo was low but he saved a few special weapons for an emergency. Three 4AAM missiles. Three drones. Lock, good tone. With a tired hand he fired a salvo.

And saw four smoke trails.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Major.” A too familiar voice snapped Trigger back to reality.

“Brigadier General! I was just-”

“You were just feeding the ego of a murderer, Major.” Samantha Mead fully materialized inside Wiseman’s office. Trigger didn’t remember hearing the door open but there was no denying, the person who sat next to him was real.

“I was interrogating Trigger about an enemy ace. I believe his skills are going to be an asset in the counteroffensive.” Wiseman replied in a cold tone.

“Yes, but I urge you not to rely on them too much. They’ll still be there after the counteroffensive.” She glared at Trigger and made him a few inches shorter. “I’ll be taking charge of the LRSSG from now on. You are not Strider 1 anymore. Get back to your cell. Dismissed.”

Note: I'm finally back on my bullshit! Initially this fic was meant to be a full story rewrite but after getting stuck writing the first chapters I noticed I could just carry on from the Scrap Queen oneshot I posted, so that's what I did. Unfortunately by doing that I skipped over some stuff I wanted to establish, so I'm doing some of it now! With this time save it might take 5 years instead of 10 but I AM going to finish this fic. I've got headcanons and dataminer finds to incorporate into this story and I'm going to do it. eventually.

#fanfic #ace combat #ace combat 7

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chopper-writing-stuff · 2 years ago

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Tips on character voices when writing fic

This is written in mind for people writing fic in MCYT/QSMP/DSMP/Life series/etc kind of fandoms. But if anyone finds it useful for anything else, well then, hell yeah.

Character voice is big in all, uh, fiction, and mimicking it in any fanwork is big. But I think it’s especially big in these fandoms where the voices are so distinct – it’s usually how a Real Person Somewhere (the streamer) talks, versus something very scripted that you’d see in a TV show or novel. And it can be a big difference in your character sounding generic versus really feeling true to the original.

Listen to a bunch of your subject talking. If you want to write a character well, watch vods from their point of view, or episodes where they show up a bunch. Take note of what they say and how.

2. If you don’t know how to start doing that: try literally writing down what they say. Transcribe an actual exchange in fic-format. You probably won’t want to publish a literal exchange from canon, but it will give you a sense of how to physically write what they say.

3. If you do this (or just pay attention to how they talk), you will get a lot of: Stumbling, pauses, repeating words, filler words, weird sentence constructions, fragments, etc. I love em! Here’s something that comes through in improv much more than in novels or movies: Most people, even very charismatic people, are not very eloquent when they speak. Writing out conversations or sentences will give you a sense of the unique and delightful way in which your subject is not eloquent. vvvvv way more under cut vvvvv

(People use a LOT of filler/etc when they speak. It’s reasonable to cut back on this if it’s interfering with a nice-looking or readable result. I believe this is the eternal struggle of people who write transcripts – you want the transcript to be accurate, but there are also a lot of things you can obviously simplify and not lose the meaning. So you’ll end up falling somewhere on this spectrum either way. But I do think a lot of mediocre/generic fic dialogue is very stylized – it doesn’t sound like your guy because your guy literally wouldn’t say that. They would say it worse and more confusingly.)

(I’m serious, if you’ve never sat down with a short non-completely-scripted clip or real conversation or whatever and just written out exactly what was said, do it. It will make you better at writing.)

4. Wonda-cat made a really incredible list [link] of characterizing speech patterns for the Dream SMP members. But you can also do your own reconnaissance and come up with your own patterns, common phrases, etc.

5. You do not have to get EVERYTHING right. You’re not going to, like, get so deep into the speaker’s brain that you can produce “exactly what they would have said if they were somehow in your fic.” That is impossible. You’re just trying to evoke a character, and if you get a few turns of phrase to ring true, you’re doing great.

6. A lot of these people are popular because they are hilarious. Include jokes. Yes, even if your thing is angsty or serious. A lot of the most serious lore I can think of from, e.g., the Dream SMP or 3rd Life or the QSMP - the really story-defining, life-and-death moments - were absolutely hysterical. If you’re writing characters who are usually funny, then add some humor. It can heighten angst via contrast and a sense of realism. Ask yourself what a funny streamer would make jokes about if they were possessing a character in this situation.

7. Some people have the mystical ability to “hear” character voices in their head, and read things in their voice. If you can, do this with all of your dialogue during the editing process. This won’t always get you there, but sometimes it can catch things that sound wrong by invoking "that's really hard to imagine them saying". If you don’t have this power, try recruiting a friend who does.

8. So there’s dialogue and then there’s narration that’s still from a character’s point of view. I’ve mostly given you tips about dialogue, but a lot of this is also true for narration. IMO, narration is less about phrasing things the way the subject would, and more about recreating the way they think. I don’t have concrete rules on how to do this, but here is my wisdom:

You can get eloquent again - narration is more of an abstract and artistic process than dialogue.

Spend time with your subject’s source material.

Pay attention to what they notice and care about. How do you think they think?

Don’t be afraid to get weird with it.

That last one also applies to all art ever.

9. MCYT tends to give you a great boon you don’t see in other media: what the speaker says to their chat/audience when nobody else is listening. This can be incredibly characterizing even if you’re writing a story where people don’t have chats. It’s your person talking about their thought processes and feelings! Mine that shit.

10. Some questions that might help guide both characterizing narration and dialogue (that you’d get from dialogue):

How open are they about their feelings?

How often do they lie? What do they lie about?

What kind of metaphors do they use, if any?

How quickly does their mood change?

How can you tell when they’re in different moods?

What kind of things do they pay attention to?

How formal is their speech?

11. Finally, this is a little odd, but I find it’s much, much easier to write a character that sounds good if I, the author, like them and am rooting for them at least a little bit. If a character needs to be there who you don’t love, try to love them. Or at least get a sense of what other people love about them. It just makes everything else easier. I swear to god.

Happy writing out there!

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