Chrono Trigger Fanfic Question

[Jasson Knight]

Forgive me if this isn't the right place to post this, I just joined a moment ago.  I'm looking for someone to bounce an idea off from that's suddenly making me nervous about including.

I'm working CT fanfic, which is already posted here as "Legacies of the Fallen" by Jinx and Jedi.   For characters, I'm bringing in a new cast of characters.  All but one of them has little relation to any of the original cast from the original games. But of all the characters I could choose to have a character with a close tie to, I would have to choose Magus.

The idea? In the Dark Ages shortly after the events in Chrono Trigger, I have Magus coming across a little boy who turns out to be the son of an alternative version of himself. He later uncovers where the little guy is from and that the dimension was basically destroyed, al la the Dead Sea in Chrono Cross. The kid somehow ended up in the "real" dimension where he was discovered.

The third chapter, which we only have a teaser of up right now, is where the kid - who's now an adult - makes his first appearance. His history is mentioned in a nutshell, but I was planning on exploring it in more detail later.

At first I thought it would be safe making the young man not truly related to "our" Magus, but rather related to a version of him that remained in the Kingdom of Zeal until adulthood.

And this is why I'm suddenly so nervous.  Magus is one of the most popular characters in the game and I'm worried about taking him too out of character in order to do this.

Does this sound like a good idea?

Thanks!

[ZeaLitY]

I'd say generally, if he's connected to Magus in some relative way, the effect can only be positive. Guile is revered in Chrono Cross on the basic fact that he looks like Magus and was once, in development, intended to be Magus. This alone secures him much support; its additionally interesting to see different versions of characters, as this is what the Chrono series is often about. Having another version of Magus or relative of his could only be a positive, engaging step, especially since one might wonder which traits he inherited from his father, and which he develops on his own.

Welcome to the forums, also.

[Symmetry]

I love kicking around fanfic ideas. I've yet to read yours yet, but I plan on digging through the Compendium's fanfiction over the holidays. If you ever want to yak at someone, catch me on AIM.

Everyone - and I mean everyone - has taken a shot at writing Magus, so don't stress over "getting him right". There's a number of ways to interpret his behaviour, so I think the best you can do is just be consistent with his actions and speech. It would be odd for Magus to show up as some romantic, lovey-dovey ladies man, but if you want to take aspects of his personality and highlight them stronger than the game does, I think that's plenty believable within in confines of a fanfiction. In fact, I think it would be more interesting if you would give him your own twist seeing as how he comes from a different timeline than the Magus we're familiar with - just don't make him so different that the only way we'd recognize him is because that they bear the same name.

Hope you find that helpful, and good luck.

[Jasson Knight]

Thank you, ZeaLitY and Symmetry.  I'm happy to be here! =)

That's a big relief right there.  With some of the negative feedback I've received regarding this idea on other sites (general anime and gaming), I was genuinely nervous.  But hearing that is a very big relief.

I might have to take you up on your offer, Symmetry.  It's been a long time since I've spoken with anyone who even knew about Chrono Trigger, much less anything about it - aside from my sister/writing partner.  

Thank you so much again!

[V_Translanka]

Yeah, don't worry so much about it...It's pretty much a solid fact that no matter what you write about Magus, you're doing 85% better than every other fanfic writer out there (95% of them write about Magus if you didn't know...scientific fact, I'm sure).

I say just have fun and write what you feel is right and makes sense to the characters as you see them and the situations they face as you place them. Oh, and check out my Magus fanfic "Magness" too...*heh heh*...I like to think he's the main character, but not the sole character...I dunno...I had fun (am constantly wishing I could continue writing...serious withdrawls here people...).

[Leebot]

Yeah, don't worry so much about it...It's pretty much a solid fact that no matter what you write about Magus, you're doing 85% better than every other fanfic writer out there (95% of them write about Magus if you didn't know...scientific fact, I'm sure).

90% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

[Jasson Knight]

Thanks =)  I'll keep that in mind, V_Translanka!  (I also just finished reading Magness - see my PM for details    I wish you could continue writing too!)  Hearing this here and then on another Chrono MB has really taken the stress out of my writing again.

Thanks again! =)