The Gate Revived

It's been quite some time since I updated this page. I've written several fics since the 20/10/2015, (has it really been that long?) though I've yet to upload them which are now uploaded. It would be fair to say that I am 'semi-activate'. As ever, Baldur's Gate is still my primary stomping ground. I should probably add that I only write AUs and I will not write Enhanced Edition content (for reasons I will not get into). That said, BG:EE is a great deal of fun and if you haven't played it, you're missing out.

As before, I welcome all con-crit reviews, or even a friendly hello. If you're interested in chatting, you're more than welcome to shoot me a PM.

Have fun and happy reading & writing!

-LttP. 28/11/18

Oh, and if it wasn't already obvious, all rights belong to respective owners, etc, OCs belong to me.

Additionally, I have recently going through my old files and I found a number of old fics that I never posted, including the first fic I ever wrote way back in 2008. It was actually the fifth of November, so it could even have been a NaNoWriMo; alas, I did not know of such things back then. Despite it being incomplete, I may someday finish it, although it is actually a little difficult for me to return to it since my writing style has shifted so much between then and now. Still, I have a soft spot for it. Strangely, I never actually gave it a name but it holds many preliminary concepts I later explored. It is something of a template, a proto-fic, from which almost all my fics can be traced, and my first venture into AUs. For that reason alone, I feel it deserves to be here.

I also discovered another complete fic, this time written in the first person, a rarity for me, so that's going up too. The other fics are in various stages of completion, so it's doubtful I'll ever get to finishing them. I may cut them down so they serve as snapshots rather than whole novelisations. We will see!

-LttP. 11/12/18

A Little About Me

Despite the little flag (which I have since disabled as I find it a tad misleading), I am British though I am currently residing in the USA. As such, I use the vernacular of my homeland as well as its date formats.

Baldur's Gate

You might have noticed that there are a number of pieces penned by me based upon the Baldur's Gate series. I have asked the question of why to myself recently: what is it about this particular premise that draws me so strongly?
If I was to summarise it, I think it comes down to how layered the first game is:
— There is an internal conflict that manifests itself externally, and the internal is greater than the monsters along the way.
— There is both humour and incredibly dark undertones: the game can be read/played on many levels and one can choose to focus on different aspects.
— There is a great deal of lore scattered across the series but it is offered scantly which allows for a huge amount of interpretation. There is also choice - and this is especially important: because of the very nature of a 'role play game', a player is able to insert their viewpoint and adopt a role, thus allowing the story to be viewed through a huge scope. There is room for differing outlooks and the game offers paths that are equally valid. There is enough room in the character's origin to account for multiple styles of play and backgrounds while still offering a common point of origin.
— One of the primary focuses of the game is exploration. Exploration of physical space, but also internal: indeed, it opens with that very question. The game also doesn't take itself too seriously and is able to laugh at itself; some of the villainy is sheer melodrama and it works. The music and art are also sublime. Additionally, there is a wide array of characters, supporting, background, and antagonistic. One character in particular is incredibly layered with a fantastic backstory. All of this comes together beautifully.

In conclusion

Because of all of this, (in my opinion) the game lends itself to a massive amount of AUs (Alternate Universe) and 'what ifs' are something I am drawn to. For whatever reason, Baldur's Gate hits all the right notes with me in terms of fanfiction writing. (Which isn't to say it's perfect because there are places where it is far from perfect but is there any work of media that is perfect?).

-LttP.27-09-19

Ficlet Series' Verses

In regards to my ficlet series, of which there are now two, those being the 'Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda series' and the other being 'Rippleverse' (Although split into three parts, I do not consider 'Left Behind' to be a series verse due to its a linear narrative). Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda and Rippleverse are each part of an interconnected whole, although Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda is episodic in nature with a questionable continuity at best. Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda are all marked as being part of the same series.

Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda

This series explores the notion of taking a specific situation (usually one where Charname is either unable to act and/or forced down a certain route) and redressing it. Obviously, if each event were to play out there would be a chain reaction and drastically alter Charname's journey and render later moments down the road obsolete, which would defeat the purpose of the series.

Currently, there are six episodes (which were written at a rate of one a night between the 22nd and the 27th of September). I consider this series to be complete - or at the very least 'season 1' to be finished. If I do return to it, it will no doubt be as a second season. But feel free to PM me ideas if you would like to see 'season 2'.

'Season 1' (In chronological order):

— Hand Over Your Ward – (Stop talking over me)
— Chąŕnǟmë and the Djinn
— Never Let a Friend Down
— You Again
— FAFHRD off
— Poetic Injustice

Note: 'Debunking the Cost - The Power of a Name' almost made it into the 'Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda' but didn't on account of its tone: it could be considered a proto-fic for the series in so far as it sparked the Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda series that followed.

[Minor Spoilers]

Rippleverse

Rippleverse is a little less direct: the fics are linked through the 'pools' found within a certain chamber within a certain pocket plane and are based off the idea of viewing different possibilities - AUs in-game, as it were, a concept drawn directly from the source material.

The following are included within the Rippleverse:

In chronological order:

— A Different Destiny†
— One Girl's Journey
— The Cult
— The Plan
— Aliana’s Spawn‡

— Golem Wars

Outside of the chronological order:

— Champion of the Solar*
— Saga of Toop
— Memories of a Dream
— Caged with the Enemy
— Sisters of Light and Dark

Outside of the Rippleverse Canon:

— I’m CHARNAME
— The Solar’s Multiverse

†Three more trails await
‡ Two more trails await

*Champion of the Solar chapter 162 describes Solaris viewing: (in order): Memories of a Dream, Caged with the Enemy, Aliana’s Assassin, A Different Destiny, Sisters of Light and Dark, {Mirror-of-Reality Charname}. 'Champion of the Solar: Ripples of the Pool: Mirror's Edge, The Prize' shows: The Saga of Toop.

So there you have it. Happy reading!

-LttP. 27-09-19

A Brief Bio

“Party Management” is the first ficlet I put up here and it sort of took off from there. “I’m CHARNAME” and the ‘mid-length’ series followed, and I can honestly say I’m pleased with how they turned out overall. They could still use a few tweaks, but what piece couldn’t?

“Chiphead” and “Champion” were written as exercises in ‘journal’ format, which is something I’ve not done before. “Loot, Shopping & Harlots” was just for fun, purely as a different take on the game. “Legend of Fyrak” was written in (pseudo)verse form completely on a spur-of-the-moment whim(like most of my ficlets) and entirely for my own amusement.

Every ficlet I’ve written is based off a simple premise: ‘What if…?’ While none of them are perfect, I try to capture a sense of sketching the world without using too many brushstrokes; I don’t always succeed but I hope that little to no prior knowledge of the setting/fandom is needed. If anyone can pick any one of these up and read them as they are, I’ve succeeded; if they’re enjoyable, then my job is done.

Each ficlet explores various themes: some of these cross over, some not so much, but in all of them my goal is to make the characters feel real (as much as any fictional character can). My protagonists are usually OCs(Original Characters for those not versed in fic-speak), and I have a tendency to try to keep them nameless – a name caps a character; the right name seals it, the wrong name changes everything. That in mind, every fic is essentially a writing exercise which involves me playing with possibilities in a variety of styles and prose (though my preference is third-person). Branching out and trying new things is always a challenge, but the aim of any writer is to improve – and some things one can only improve with practice. I make no claim to have actually improved, but one lives in hope…

I’m still relatively new to the site, and while I’m still settling in, I want to thank you for taking the time to look at this page. Please feel free to PM me; I’d love to hear from you; comments, feedback and criticisms(constructive!) are always, always welcome, no matter how great or small. And please, if you have any requests do send them my way (no promises though!).

Finally, all my ficlets are first draft – as much as I’d like to spend hours polishing them to the best possible standard I can achieve, I sadly lack the time – indeed, pretty much every piece is hot off the keyboard. If you spot any typos, do point them out to me – I’ll probably kick myself mentally and feel stupid, but that goes with the first-draft territory. As far as updating goes, I tend to write in bursts and spurts: five fics may appear and then nothing for a few weeks, then another ten chapters out of nowhere. I prefer to post complete fics. Sisters of Light and Dark, and Loot, Shopping & Harlots are the exception.

– LttP. 27-07-12

A few words about “Sunlight Through the Night”. This particular ficlet is a writing exercise brought on, in part, by the ‘what if’ of someone returning to a homeland they never knew. Another feature is the style of writing: a narrative in an archaic yet not too old-fashioned tone. Finally, the characters are trapped in an almost absurd situation: they cannot escape, yet they cannot wage open war, but must walk, live and breathe with their foes: thus, they engage in a ‘cold war’. I find the situation intriguing.

– LttP. 29-09-12

A note on Baldur’s Gate ‘headcanon’ – [minor spoilers]
There are few things that are actually consistent between the various fics I write, but there is one: that is, Bhaal had three avatars, the Slayer, the Ravager, and Kazgoroth. The last of these was a shape-shifter. Given how the game states that Bhaal took women from different races, and given that there appears to be no common physical features between Bhaalspawn, I take this to mean that Bhaal took the form of Kazgoroth, and shapeshifted to match each race he bred with. Therefore, there is no DNA connection between Bhaalspawn, only a shared divine heritage. In effect, Charname is a perfect clone of Aliana.
This is something that I seem to have written into all my Baldur’s Gate fics before I fully arrived at this notion, so unless otherwise stated, this headcanon can be considered active across my fics. In most cases, this has little to no bearing, but it does emphasise the alien relation between the various Bhaalspawn.

Another favourite headcanon, although this is exceptional rather than the norm, for me is to place Aliana as the protagonist in the first Icewind Dale game, and to have the protagonist of Neverwinter Nights as Charname, and the protagonist of Neverwinter Nights 2 as Charname’s offspring. One day, I will finish this. One day. [/minor spoilers]

– LttP. 09-12-18

A note on Baldur’s Gate II ‘headcanon’ – [minor spoilers]

A certain masked figure who shall remain nameless - my thoughts are that this person takes the strongest candidate after the climax of Baldur's Gate. If certain events were to disrupt this, the strongest would be taken. A second who is taken is there as... convenience as a certain companion of this masked figure is of questionable importance (given the reaction or therefore its lack upon the occurrence of certain events involving the masked figure's companion and the masked figure).

– LttP. 11-09-19

Also - while I would love to read through every fic on this site, the truth is, 'I haven't the time for this!'. Therefore, any similarities are purely coincidental and unintended (chances are, if the same idea is used I didn't read the other author's fic). We are all drawing from the same limited pool of source material! And as I exhaust more and more ideas in Baldur's Gate especially, the chances of overlap increase. So here it is: apologies if the same idea gets used!

In addition, I do have a couple (three to be precise) of crossover fics lurking around - an IWD-BG saga-NWN1&2 attempts. These are all WIP and honestly, trying write for NWN2 (especially with MotB) is a convoluted mess, and time is something of a precious commodity so I doubt that I'll ever finish them, but never say never, you know? The tri/quad crossover is a notion I've been fascinated with for over a decade now(has it really been that long?) but one I've never quite managed to get right but we'll see.
– LttP. 22-09-19