The Gunblade Saga: Book Two Commentary and Remarks (and stupid random rambling crap no one cares about)

Origins of the Epic (or rather, where this crack-brained idea came from and how its progressed)

Well now, people, welcome back. In my original version of Gunblade (before I panicked and removed it due to weird site errors) I had a short little commentary at the end of the first book that covered random comments and questions about the series. Well, its back, and in earnest. This time, I respond to reviews and make general commentary on the second book and the series as a whole.

Its been one long, wild ride. The Gunblade Saga first percolated in my mind several years ago, back when I had finished FFVIII and was looking for info on it, wherein I discovered the joy of fanficcery. I read for a while, enjoyed it immensely, and began writing a fanfics, which was an FFVII/FFVIII crossover. Very action-packed, but lacked the emotional or similar content that I had seen in some other fanfics. I finished it, and actually felt kind of disappointed, because the fic seemed to have been below my standards, despite the fact that everyone who read it loved it. (for anyone who may be interested in seeing how my first fic turned out, its on a site called Check the fanfics section and look at crossovers. You'll find it there. Its titled "Resurrection") It was back then that I first thought of an FFVIII novelization, but discarded the idea at the time in favor of writing my next big thing, Foreshadow, an epic FFVIII fic that, after about a year of kicking around in my head, flopped bad. Maybe I wasn't ready for it. And on another note, it was back then that I first came up with the title "The Gunblade Saga" though I was going to use it for a series of fanfics as opposed to one single story.

Anyway, it was a little after that fic was completed that I found a site called that had a huge epic FFVIII prequel, with links to other fanfics sites, including our beloved as well as Both libraries really made me fall in love with fanficcery all over again, and exposed me to some truly incredible writers, among them Ashbear. It was also, of course, here that I found a group of FFVIII writers who were writing novelizations. They're a familiar bunch by now, Nique and Prodigy among them. I read their works and enjoyed them, though felt a little dissatisfied; Nique's was good but lacked the action of what I liked to read, and Prodigy's had a Squall characterization that irked me. I guess you could say that my dissatisfaction with their works made me want to write my own. Thus it was that, in June of '03, work began, almost on a whim, really. I considered some titles for the series, but couldn't think of anything really good, until I remembered the title I had come up with a year ago.

Thus was The Gunblade Saga born.

Its been a constant in my life over the last year and a half. I've changed dramatically since I began writing it. I've changed jobs, computers, internet providers, majors, universities, even future career paths (less than three weeks ago I changed from training to be a Marine officer to a Navy officer, in fact) but through it all, Gunblade has been there. Now that I look back at it, it seems kind of silly to have spent so long writing this thing. I started it up on a whim, and, well, look at it. We're a year and a half later and two-thirds of the way through, with maybe twelve or so more chapters remaining. I never thought that this point in the story would really come, but now that its here, I'm amazed at what I've written. Forty-three chapters. Two hundred and fifteen current reviews (and another two hundred or so in the original version) Two hundred seventy-three thousand, five hundred and seventy-one words. Nearly a year and a half of work. Its almost staggering. No, correction, it is staggering. I'm amazed I could even write this much, and develop the characters so much. I've hit a point where I really can't imagine FFVIII not existing like it does in The Gunblade Saga (this has carried over into Synthesis, if you'll notice)

So, I discussed the past of the series. Now, what of the future?

There isn't a tremendous amount left. We're on the third book and the third disc of the series, and its winding down, beginning the final chapters covering the realization of the love story between Squall and Rinoa and the final conflicts. Its not as epic or action-packed as the last two books, but the tremendous character development in the final chapters of the game are enough to move people to tears. Squall carrying Rinoa on his back, the sequences in space, the Ragnorok, the Memorial rescue, and Squall's ultimate promise, not to mention the final two dreams of Laguna and their ultimate meeting . . . They're huge parts of the game that don't feature tremendous amounts of action. Of course, there will be some bloody battles before the end (Galbadian invasion of Esthar, assault on Pandora, the Propagators, the final Seifer duel, and the battle in Ultimecia's castle) but the level of action and violence drops off in this upcoming book, taking a backseat to the development of the characters. And I'm fine with that. My desire to write war and death in this story was sated in the last few chapters. I'm ready to write for the characters and not for the action now.

Chapter-by-Chapter Commentary (also known as Peptuck's pretentious self-important ramblings about minor stuff)

-Interlude: Fragments of Memories

I was kind of sad that this was the only Laguna interlude in this book, and it was relatively short. I did enjoy writing the Laguna/Ellone interaction. Laguna is a lot like myself: goofy, naive, kind of childish, and very idealistic and loyal. Of course, you saw a lot of myself in the second Laguna interlude when he tried talking with Julia. Nonetheless, I love the goofy lunk of a soldier. The banter between him and Kiros was fun to write as well.

As I reread the chapter, I'm thinking that maybe I should have put more into Raine? After all, this is the only point where we'll even get to see her, and she is a very important character, even if she's very minor over the course of the storyline.

And as a side note, I know that in the game, Laguna's room in in the building beside Raine's pub. It just made more sense for Laguna and Kiros to rest in Raine's house instead.

-Behind Bars

I like to refer to this as my "Metal Gear" chapter, especially the interrogation sequence. Much of what happened to Squall was reflected from Metal Gear Solid, especially the lack of shirt and the occasional MG line thrown in there. I also liked writing Squall's futile fight against Seifer. I was planning to include some bits in the story where Squall has to fight like an ordinary human, without junctions. As a side note, it seems to me that Zell gets abused a lot in my fics. The guard beat down (both here and in Synthesis) Edea tossing him around like a rag doll, the fight with the Gerogero, etc. I dunno why I do that. XD

Oh, and the Moomba introduction. I liked that too. I always approached the Moombas as being known by a lot of people around the world, and I modified that bit about the characters knowing nothing about the Shumi or the Moombas.

-Prison Shooting Spree

What can I say? it's a culmination of every action flick involving guns I've seen in recent memory. Irvine's moment to really shine and show off his arsenal! I also included a bit of annoyed FPS stuff as well (opening the lock, taking the long way, etc.) Stuff you see in some first-person shooters that gets annoying. XD

There's not much else to comment on in this chapter . . . I was toying with the idea of having Irvine junctioned, but opted not to, both for character development and to make him seem cooler. He doesn't need junctions, he's got guns!

-Diverging Paths

This chapter was really just a bridge between the prison and the missile base arcs. I did a lot of tying up loose ends and setting up for the future. There was plenty of fun writing the battle sequences (my editor got mad at me because I kept having Zell use soccer kicks instead of stomps. XD) and showing off the Brothers in all their twin GF mace-bashing glory. Selphie with a grenade launcher was also a fun little bit to write.

And one thing that surprised me that no one called me down on: The Brothers' names were switched by accident. The big one is Sacred, the little one is Minotaur, but I've been getting it backwards! Why didn't anyone point it out? XD

-Tactical Espionage Action

Finally, a chance to show off the heroes' skills at infiltration! I enjoyed writing the infiltration and the methods by which the heroes evaded and interacted with guards. Selphie's cute-yet-lethal nature especially came out in this chapter. Irvine, also, was instrumental in this part, especially because being a Galbadian, he could talk easily with the other Galbadian soldiers. I also liked covering the Galbadian technology. The final battle with the Iron Clad kicked ass to write.

I was considering having Irvine outright kissing Selphie at the very end, but decided to save it, as it would make things a bit . . . Weird for the heroes later on. I'm probably going to have some Irvine/Selphie development in the next book, however.

-Unfriendly Fire

With the exception of the Seifer duels, this is the only real chance we get to see Squall take on cadets or others with junctions. Even so, the battles themselves are relatively short ones, in which I wanted to show how Squall was leaps and bounds over the cadets in terms of skill. Otherwise it was more or less just a straight run through Garden to a few key points, followed by the meeting with Xu and the Headmaster. I was planning on throwing a T-Rexaur into the mix, but opted not to.

Writing the sequence in the MD level was tough, but I liked how it turned out. I'm not a fan of "traveling" sequences, where the characters are shown moving through a dangerous area or dealing with terrain. I don't know why I am that way, but . . . . Whatever.

-Proprietor

This chapter was a challenge, actually, and a bit short for my tastes. Well, at least in the NORG conversation. I had some fun screwing around with NORG's "language". Writing the bit where Squall was custom-making Lionheart was pretty fun too. I like talking about futuristic technology and stuff. Little details like that are fun for me.

Making the Faculty Shumi was a decision influenced by Sowing the SeeDs. It was in that fic, and made a lot of sense, so I went ahead and did it here, too. I'd been planning it for a long time (you'll notice the elongated fingers from way back at the beginning)

-The White SeeD

NORG gets owned. XD

I'm surprised no one commented on the conversation between Squall and Kadowaki in this chapter. I put that in as blatantly foreshadowing the relationship between Squall and Rinoa.

Trent and the White SeeD return here, and I like writing the conversation between Squall and Ellone. The Cid and Squall talk was also cool to write too.

-Over the Horizon

I figured the expanded battle would surprise some people. I loved covering the battle between the SeeDs and the Galbadian destroyer, and also Squall's Solid Snake/Sam Fisher exploits. The Leviathan summon was something I was itching to write, too, along with a description of FH.

Squall's angst at the beginning, however, was what really shone in this chapter, at least for me. That scene practically wrote itself, flowing out from my screwy mind and into the keyboard and onto the screen in a long, beautiful series of angst paragraphs. I impressed myself writing that bit.

One part I didn't enjoy and blazed right through was the meeting with Dobe. I didn't like the rude way he treated Squall, especially after the battle. Ungrateful hippie bastard. XD

-Burdens of a Hero

There were some fun conversations in this chapter, especially the ones between Squall and Rinoa and Squall and Irvine. Some angst here too, nothing major, and not quite as free-flowing as the last chapter's.

The various characters and their instruments were also fun to write. I was originally going to have Irvine use the violin (reference to the party scene in the middle of Starship Troopers) but the saxophone seemed to fit more in line with him. Still, I may have him know how to play a few different instruments. Zell and the bass guitar seemed natural, and Selphie and the electric guitar was a throwback to the opening credits sequence, showing her with one in hand. I always figured that would be the best instrument for her.

My editor commented that Squall's semi-formal outfit he was wearing to the concert made him look like Hellsing's Alucard. I gotta agree after he said that. On a side note, I liked writing each of the character's alternate outfits: Irvine's white suit, Zell's Mike Shinoda-style outfit, ('nother LP reference XD) and Quistis in her uniform.

-Under Siege

This chapter really began the war between Garden and Galbadia. The bits on Garden's organization were intended to cover the behind-the-scenes layout of the armies so when the battle began it would have an underlying order. Updating the info on the Garden's troops each chapter was an important part that I made sure to include.

The Balamb siege was a fun bit of the game, but was hard to write. I didn't want to have the heroes wandering all over town to find one stupid officer, and I thought that the inclusion of the heroes in Galbadian uniforms would obviously make sense.

The Squall/Seifer confrontation was a spur-of-the-moment idea that hit me last chapter, and I liked writing it in. I sort of makes sense, doesn't it? There were a bunch of Hellsing lines thrown into their dialogue, too.

-The Art of War

I had this idea for an original chapter for a long time, and only just now began to implement it. I wanted to show more behind-the-scenes stuff. Writing Irvine's pirate raids, prepping the army, etc. were big things I enjoyed. Showing some more development of the Squall/Rinoa and Irvine/Selphie relationships was also a big objective here. I liked adding a bit more to Irvine's mentality, especially his Han Solo-style approach to magic.

Rinoa and her father's reconciliation was a very emotional part for me. I was tearing up as I wrote it, actually. The way I always imagined it was that Caraway may have been responsible for the car wreck that killed Julia, and that may have been part of the reason why he and Rinoa had their falling-out.

The notion of including Dollet troops started back about three or so chapters before this one. My editor commented that there weren't a huge number of troops, and I thought about it, including where they could get more men. Well, who else is Galbadia's enemy? Dollet. Thus, I began laying out plans for the Dollet troops' joining Garden.

-Forgotten Innocence

This chapter was enjoyable, but I went through it rather easily, not really pushing myself, and saved my energy for the big battle in the next few chapters. The Trabia sequence was a bit of a tear-jerker, and I tried to make it that way, especially with Selphie in the graveyard, and Irvine comforting her. My editor made some crude jokes about it, too. XD

Including Colonel Randolph was kind of fun. I based him off the Marine Gunnery Sergeant at my ROTC unit, who is one hardcore mo-fo.

The "reunion" was interesting to write, and I had fun there, even if I screwed up a couple of lines. I opted to avoid doing the mental flashbacks to the original orphanage, as they were kind of weird and made no sense to me.

-Raise Thy Sword

This chapter was, beyond a doubt, tremendous fun to write. Every paragraph was a labor of love. I enjoyed writing the first few pages, which created tension, especially for you guys who knew what was coming. Added in some foreshadowing of the entry of Esthar into the story, too.

Zell's speech was a tremendous amount of fun to write. Straight from Halo, baby!

The actual battle itself was heavily inspired by Lord of the Rings, especially the Helm's Deep charge and Aragorn standing on the wall in front of the enemy army. Seifer's line as the battle began was direct from King Theoden.

I'm actually surprised with the length that the opening barrage covered. The description there was very intense and I had loads of fun writing it.

Commenting on the individual segments of the battle is about impossible. I just wrote up whatever I could think at each engagement, throwing myself into every paragraph. The orgasmic war action you see in this chapter was the result. My ultimate goal was to surpass Daz Shier's huge battle toward the end of "Omega" and I think I succeeded.

-Only a Plank Between One and Perdition

My editor kept bugging me about the chapter title, and I finally gave in and switched. XD

I began this chapter thinking "How am I going to beat what I did last chapter?" I still don't know how I did it, but I did. I wrote stuff out as it hit me in the head, and followed the general progression of the battle, adding in all these awesome fights and battle sequences. They seemed to flow from my fingers. Ever get that feeling? That's when you know you've started writing something great when you don't even think, you just let the story tell itself through you. Its an amazing experience.

And yeah, Selphie used some of Halo's almighty "Spankers." XD Every character had their role in this story, and I think they covered them beautifully. It really makes me happy to hear someone say that Randolph was badass and that they liked him. I tried making him just as important as the heroes, at least in this arc.

The ending to the chapter was heavily inspired by Daz's work and the battle he wrote. It was beautiful and intense and the ending, speaking of how history would never forget that day, sent goosebumps up my spine.

-Endgame

When I wrote Endgame, I set out to surpass both battles with Seifer and Edea from Scars of Circumstance. I envisioned the fight between squall and Seifer to be less about acrobatics and dialogue and much more on the nitty-gritty close-quarters side of the battle. A lot of punches and body blows and throws and kicks and the like were hurled and hit, but not very many hits with the weapons. With the exception of a few minor cuts exchanged, the only real injury was Seifer's hand. On that note, I had envisioned Seifer's hand getting lopped off a long time ago, right about when I was writing the first duel in Scars of Circumstance. He will get better, though, don't worry. Its only a flesh wound.

The bit where Squall and Seifer charge at the end was obviously intended to be cinematic and dramatic, but it was also based on old Japanese movies about samurai warriors and how they would face off one-on-one and charge at each other with lightning-fast slashes. I tried replicating it here.

The battle with Edea was over the top, and that was precisely what I was aiming for. Lots of variations on magic, too. As a raw source of magical energy, Edea (and any other Sorceress) would just hurl energy in whatever shape she wants. And she has telekinetic powers, obviously (not actually based off the Force, despite what some people are saying. XD) and that shield. If anyone was wondering, the shield can be broken with enough physical damage, but can be recharged. Essentially, every attack was draining her shield, but in the brief period between each attack Edea recharged it to full power.

Okay, now that that crap is done, what else is left? Oh, wait, yeah, my little happy thing I like to do. Shout-outs! -cracks knuckles- this is probably going to be random selection and such of reviewers because of the way is spazzing on reviews and how I've got to cover two separate chapters' worth. Ugh. X.x

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: I'm sorry I hurt Xu. XD

-Rusty Knights Productions: Thanks. As I've said before, one of my goals is to improve wherever I can on the game. And yep, the weapon Selphie uses is a Spanker.

-Squall's Number One Fan: I noticed while I was going back over the story that Squall's wardrobe gets pretty heavily abused. I wonder why I do that to him? XD

-Chris Ganale: Oy. I amaze myself sometimes, though I don't think the almighty Master chief would bow down to my measly chapters. MC rocks the box, dammit. And no, Esthar will not have blasters. I've already got too many damn Star Wars references in here already! XD

The, uh, charge you mentioned wasn't based off the charge in Solo Command, though. XD Was kinda surprised you thought it was.

The one about the fist coming from miles away was actually a reference to the first Doom novel, where the Doom guy punches his commander with a fist that starts miles away, though I get why you thought it was a reference to Adumar.

Blame my editor for the Smith/Neo lines. Revolutions rocked.

Edea's telekinetic weren't based on the force, actually, just random metal tossing people around. I guess it could be interpreted as the Force, though . . . .

Don't worry about lots of chapters of ass-dragging. I fully intend for there to be gunfights and beatdowns within a couple of chapters after the next book starts.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Ah, yes, Alexander. We are sad to see him go. He will be missed and ever recalled fondly for his Holy MOAB. XD But I didn't have Alexander get Drawn for the same reason why they didn't Draw Carbuncle. No time to even bother searching. That and Edea don't need no stinking GF.

-Akira Stridder: You really think so? Thanks!

-Solarious: Who? Huh? Wha? Oh, you. I remember you. Sort of.

I agree that I've been getting better. You can see between the first chapter and the latest one how I've evolved as a writer. In my personal opinion, I really took off around Ascension.

Wow, that's the first time I've heard someone tell me I write too much. XD Making breaks and interludes really doesn't fit my style. It seems to steal the immersion from what I'm writing, somehow.

-OniRazz: Happy (belated) birthday, dude! And yeah, Randolph does kick ass, but then, he is based of my Gunny, so he can't not be.

-Spikestrife: Wow, man. Have fun rereading it! Its so long even I can't go back over it and reread the whole thing!

It pissed m e off how the fight with Seifer was three-on-one later on. I always wanted to have Squall take it to Seifer mano-a-mano.

-Xephon: Bahamut will likely be in, and Griever can't be in without ruining the storyline.

-Dragoon Swordsman: The idea for bit where Selphie and Irvine took out Galbadia Garden's cockpit snuck up on me like a ninja and suddenly hit me without warning. XD

Seifer's hand will be lost for good, but he will get the problem fixed.

-Shootski: I probably will have Bahamut in here, if I can figure out a way to make his capture work without ruining the storyline.

-Angelo di desiderio: I didn't actually change that part. It was more or less direct from the game. I view cut scenes as gospel, after all. XD

-Sherif: AHAHAHAHAAAA! Oh, man, I can't believe Falsehead actually put me in her guide! I'm quite shocked, yet satisfied. I sent that email to her, like, two years ago. XD

-LordPanther14: Thing about me is, I hardly ever get a game or movie or whatever unless I feel that the story is both action-packed and very good. That's why I love things like Halo, Hellsing, etc. because they have amazing stories behind them. Which explains my obvious love for FFVIII.

Wolf of Light: Long time no see, dude! Yeah, Seifer was pretty hardcore here, using a fire spell to cauterize his own wounds. XD

-Virulent Enmity: I got a thing for knowing weapons and combat. I've considered Squall and Seifer's blades and fighting styles. Seifer fights like Yunsung the sword-dancer and Raphael the fencer in Soul Caliber II, while Squall weirdly enough, uses lots of slashes and cleaves, like Mitsirugi, the samurai. In fact, it seems that squall does fight a lot like a samurai warrior, doesn't he? I mean, yeah, he uses a bastard sword-styled gunblade, but he focuses on a lot of wide arcing slashes with his feet spread apart, almost samurai style. I guess he's a mix of Aragorn and a samurai warrior, at least in my mind.

-Rikke Lionheart:I liked writing that little talk between them about the ring.

The Squall-Seifer duel was intended to be detailed and technical. It's the anti-thesis of the way Squall slashes through hordes of Galbadian soldiers, taking a long time and showing how skilled both warriors are. Detailed, technical duels like that are one thing that I love more than anything else.

-Chloe: Poor Seifer. But yeah, he'll get something to fix up his wound. I'm not going to badly injure a character like that without some form of means to make him all better! Seifer's one of my favorite characters in FFVIII, after all.

-Kaiser-kun: whoa. Best in your whole life? I'm . . . very, very flattered. I am quite proud of what I've written, and there are some points where I'll simply stop and gape at what I have done thus far and simply shake my head and think "I wrote that? Me?"

I wish I could say I put my heart into everything I write. There are some points where I just have to stop and sit back, and do nothing, because I'm not in the mood. Like now. I'd be writing the next chapter, but I'm at a bit where I can't think of anything to do. I tend to write in spurts, though some are longer than others. The last three chapters, for example, were a nonstop labor. I have some methods of getting my groove back and putting my heart into the next chapter or paragraph or whatever. For example, when I can't think of anything else, I look ahead to what lies beyond, and that gives me inspiration to continue. Other times I simply fall back to something completely separate and work on it. That's part of the reason why I write Synthesis: its something different from what I've been writing, and switching off from the standard rut helps jog my ability to write. That's why I'm also doing a Metal Gear novelization and am considering a novelization of Halo 2 as well. I may never get them published online, but I still have them.

The next arc is creeping along slowly but steadily. Its been a labor to recover my inspiration ( I mean, the last few chapters REALLY took it out of me) but I'm moving along as best I can. I do what I can to honor this greatest of RPGs.

Is that everyone? Wow. Phew. Okay, that's enough from everyone's favorite schizophrenic Dr. Pepper-chugging, unshaven and unshowered military novelization writer. I'm gonna go play Halo and then sit my ass back down here at my computer and write some more.

Oh, and before I go, I'm planning on establishing one of these C2 thingies for FF-based fanfiction. Let me know if you're interested in joining the staff.

Till the next chapter . . . .