Dragons and Steampunk: Too Gimmicky?

Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by malaupp, Apr 24, 2017.

  1. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    YUS to Paleolithic werewolves. That would actually work really well.
     
  2. QueenOfPlants

    QueenOfPlants Definitely a hominid

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    Werewolves are never as scary as when you live in a grass hut or leather tent and have to figure out who the next sacrifice to the wolf-spirit will be.

    Oh! I know about werewolves in the Scottish Highlands: The Parasol Protectorates, Book II!
    Plays in the 1800s, though. Not in the 1200s or whatever you might have thought of.
     
  3. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Seven?
     
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  4. Elven Candy

    Elven Candy Pay no attention to the foot in my mouth Contributor

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    This actually sounds like a really interesting story! I hope you write it so I can read it. ;)

    Funny, for me it's the reverse:
    Victorian dragons alone: "Oh."
    Victorian steampunk: "Meh."
    Victorian dragons plus steampunk: "Ooh."
     
  5. NoGoodNobu

    NoGoodNobu Contributor Contributor

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    I understand that seeker's seemed to disappear with the dragons, only legends remain. But Asian culture thrives off traditions based on legends.

    I mean, in Japan, there is the tradition of yamayaki or burning a mountain performed to this very day—and there are disputed reasons/legends for why you set the all brush of the mountain on fire. But there are legends and so we sure as hell follow through on our practices.

    9C17FA0A-E043-4C6D-841C-A0B8D56041B9-460-0000003E554C4DCF.jpeg
    (Wakakusa Yamayaki)

    So in a culture that greatly reveres dragons like the Chinese, even with nothing but legends to go off of, the villagers should have a reverence for the legends.

    However, maybe you can explain how the stories got warped over time, either innocently like a game of generational "telephone" or maliciously by certain peoples/parties for their societal or monetary benefit (priests, nobility, whoever—priests want the respect of the people, nobles/emperor fears the popularity of dragon seeker's undermines or puts their power at risk, the mob/people are furious or in turmoil at the loss of dragons & a scapegoat is needed to satiate them, et cetera). And so the warped stories—whatever it is they now say—changes the position of dragon seeker as a revered position to something of blame or danger.

    You can very likely come up with a brilliant reason for the villagers to act the way you do.

    It's just instinctively I can't see a people who revere dragons so religiously to naturally attack or be a threat to a dragon seeker of legend. I just need a little something to grasp onto, that explains the reaction to me
     
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  6. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    Wait, seriously? Damn, I have to read that. xD

    That could work. The people born with the mark went from being considered friends of the dragons to like dragon killers or something. Nobles are annoyed with all the power and respect seekers have, so they take their revenge after the fact and turn them into the villains of the story. That makes sense.
     
  7. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    What about this kind of dragon? It would still be Steampunk. :)
    Steampunk Dragon1.jpg
     
  8. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    I'm not gonna lie, I really do want to have a steam machine dragon. That sounds so awesome.

    I'm trying to hold off starting this story till the end of the semester, but goddamn. All the ideas here make me want to get going. :D
     
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  9. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Yep. Go write. Chop chop...
     
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  10. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    I would, but I have two major papers to write for grad school first. xD
     
  11. QueenOfPlants

    QueenOfPlants Definitely a hominid

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    I think you might enjoy the entire series. It is in a victorian setting with steampunk elements, although the emphasis is on supernatural beings.
    The first book has a strong romance aspect, but in general the series has the feel of a "supernatural detective" story. The female hero has to solve all kinds of mysterious ongoings.

    That does indeed work.

    Another possible approach: The Seeker does not leave her village because the people are hostile to her, but because she wants to seek dragons and hopes they have survived in other parts of the world. The Whitheys are her ticket to go somewhere else and do her job.
    Thus the character gets an agenda of herself and although she could still face lots of racial prejudice by the English, it is not "justified" within the book by "superstitious orientals".

    Maybe she has heard of the "Welsh Dragon" and wants to find it. :D
    I mean - going to England for that is a sensible first step.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2017
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  12. JE Loddon

    JE Loddon Active Member

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    There's no too much of anything, as long as you keep control of it. Treat it like a normal part of your world, rather than constantly ramming it into the reader's face shouting 'This is steampunk!'
     
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  13. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    To me, the main cliche is not the steampunk, nor the dragons, but the fact it's a chosen one narrative.
     
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  14. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    Well the character is like 3 or 4 when she leaves the country, so she didn't have too much of a choice. xD
     
  15. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    Oh, so not everyone can be wearing brass goggles? Damn. xD
     
  16. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    Admittedly, yes. But I am trying to mitigate the chosen aspects. She'll be a teenager when the pull starts (mostly so it can happen during her debut into society) but it will still be a case of a "she's only a teenager" mentality of other adult characters, including her adoptive father. She'll be the one leading them to the dragons, but she's not deciding what happens afterward. She'll act as translator between the warring sides, but she won't be making the big political or societal changes. Her abilities are more of a way to move the plot forward than the resolution to all the problems, as with most chosen one narratives.
     
  17. Elven Candy

    Elven Candy Pay no attention to the foot in my mouth Contributor

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    Not to sound annoying or anything, but what makes her the main character if all she does is translate? Aren't main characters supposed to move the plot forward in a book? How does a translator who has no other role do that?

    ETA: I meant to say proactively move the plot forward--that's why they're called protagonists. Simply moving the plot forward isn't enough if the MC isn't proactive, y'know? That sort of makes them feel like side characters, like they're pulled along with the plot rather than making the plot. I've read a couple of books like that and they were very frustrating because I wanted the MC to do something.
     
  18. rktho

    rktho Contributor Contributor

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    Like how the MC of Sherlock Holmes isn't Watson?
     
  19. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    I'm not the biggest fan of single-MC stories, where one character does all the work and everyone else is just along for the ride or supporting them. She will be doing things to move the plot along, but so will other characters. She'll be fighting the same fight as others, but there will be others along as well. And her work is invaluable, as no one else can do it.
     
  20. Elven Candy

    Elven Candy Pay no attention to the foot in my mouth Contributor

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    I've never read Sherlock Holmes, so I have no idea how it compares to what I said, sorry!

    Oh ok, I was thinking you said the only thing she actually does is translate between the two people. The correction to my assumption makes your story sound much more interesting. ;)
     
  21. rktho

    rktho Contributor Contributor

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    Good, you'll like mine. There's a definite lead protagonist, but these other characters get significant arcs and sometimes branch off into their own subplots.
     
  22. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    It's fairly common for the narrator to not be the MC in classic literature. Great Gatsby is similar.

    Yeah, she's a part of a bigger team, along with an adoptive father, uncle and other members of a secret dragon-friendly organization. She's a key part, but she's not the one actually discussing political decisions with the prime minister or anything.
     
  23. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    It does sound like something I'd like. It's much more reflective of real life than the usual "chosen one and side kicks" set up. Admittedly, that's one of the few things TV show writing can often do better than books.
     
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  24. rktho

    rktho Contributor Contributor

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    And my protagonist is the chosen one, but that's not apparent right away. He has special powers where he dreams of the past and sometimes present, but that's about it in the first book. And when he is revealed as the chosen one, it's not specifically to defeat the dark lord or anything. It's probably the most important position in my universe, but nowhere in that job description does it say, "is prophesied/must/has capability to defeat the antagonist and/or restore balance to the world/universe." That task is completely separate and he's not doing it alone.
     
  25. malaupp

    malaupp Active Member

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    Lately I've gotten into the habit of going from "destiny" to "potential". I'm working on a time travel series (got the first manuscript edited and ready to send out as soon as I get the courage up and the second written, but not edited) where the three "sisters" of time give people with "potential" the capability of easily traveling through time. The emphasis is that you could be good at it. But there's also mention of a guy recruited in the 1800s that totally fucked it up and died at the hands of Genghis Khan.

    I find that I like the "potential over destiny" approach because it A) is more realistic and B) makes their success/triumph much more worthwhile.
     
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