Sabledrake Magazine
February, 2004
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Interview with Shannon Muir, author of CTF2187 fiction
Copyright © 2004 Lesley Muir
Shannon Muir has written fiction based on CTF2187 (a play-by-mail game from Advanced Gaming Enterprises which features teams of Battle Bots that fight against each other in arenas) for both PAPER MAYHEM and SABLEDRAKE. I had the opportunity to talk to Shannon, and we discussed CTF2187, her stories that revolve around the game, and the dramatic events and relationships that shape her characters.
1. How long have you been playing CTF2187?
I started playing CTF2187 in the summer of 1990, so a little over thirteen years as of the time of this interview.
2. How did you discover CTF2187?
Truthfully, my father discovered the game first. I caught him filling out the setup form in his office and saw the rule book with the Battle Bot on the cover. As a fan of anime like VOLTRON and ROBOTECH, and liking Play-By-Mail though I'd had trouble finding a game that kept my interest, I was instantly hooked.
It turned out the team my father joined still needed bodies, so I whipped up H.A.L. Mayne in a hurry and started out on my first Arena.
3. What made you decide to start the SISTERS OF SILICON team?
At the time I started, it wasn't clear whether you wanted to role play male or female characters. The Gamemasters at Advanced Gaming Enterprises would usually guess at gender when chronicling Arena events for the newsletters, usually assuming a character was male. The SISTERS OF SILICON's initial intent was to provide a team where characters could be assumed female simply by virtue of membership. Within a year, a Gender option was added to the game, thereby rendering the original purpose of the SISTERS OF SILICON obsolete.
However, many of the characters I -- and others -- played already built successful reputations as part of the team. Also, nothing changed the fact that SISTERS OF SILICON historically remained the first all-female team.
There have been two official subteams and one unofficial one since then. The LADIES OF METAL originally consisted of a slate of female characters with names that were plays on metal rock bands (such as Alyson Chaynes and Ann Thrax), and the more recent WOMEN OF WEAPONRY consisted of characters I picked up that were abandoned by other players but had won CP or Bot Kill commendations. It also was in part to give some leadership authority to Lauraic Vileslayer, who has had a very successful character career. The unofficial subteam is known as the RIOT GRLLS, which is my Dad throwing together some of his favorite female Bot pilots from the main team and subteams together in a regularly appearing unit.
4. What motivated you to begin writing your CTF2187 fiction stories?
To be honest, I have to struggle to remember a little bit. It was the time when DRAGONLANCE (TM) and similar first came out, and I became fascinated with the idea of seeing if I could apply the same to a combat game like CTF2187. Also, the writer in me couldn't shake contemplating how the events of a game (if they happened to real people) would form those people as individuals.
5. How much do the actual events that happen in the games influence your stories?
A lot. Generally I wait until games conclude and then back up and figure out how pilots would have reacted, the choices they would make, to get to those positions. When pilots die in games, which is always a tough choice as well. Not only on how to restructure and rewrite arcs I might have been considering for character subplots, but on how it affects and changes the remaining characters.
The one major exception to this so far is the story "Spectres of Darkness." This story, which appeared in SABLEDRAKE, involved the now-deceased E.C. Vileslayer watching the holo-diary of her deceased sister known as Alias. That story actually began by discovering an unfinished story from when I was writing stories for PAPER MAYHEM (long out of print) on an old floppy disc. I knew that I had set up a relationship between Alias and E.C., who both strove to find each other after being separated young. Several major characters in the draft I found, such as Alias and Dorian Blackheart, were long since deceased and I'd picked up the SABLEDRAKE stories at what I felt was a more natural starting point for new readers that came some time later.
I also realized that some questions had been left unanswered, such as who had vandalized Lazer's. There really hadn't been any thought in my mind as to what person had been responsible originally, I just had it happen as a plot point. "Spectres of Darkness" provided the chance to give some insight into the short-lived E.C., spend more time with Alias and Dorian, and resolve some loose ends.
6. Are there any events that have happened in the games that you wish hadn’t occurred (such as a death of a pilot)?
Pilot deaths would be the big one. It's been just as disheartening for me to watch my fellow players lose pilots as for myself. As to my own losses, I think the biggest shock was the relatively recent demise of E.C. Vileslayer during her first game. I honestly thought I'd be able to eject in time from that Arena. From a writing perspective, it cut my ability to explore her and her family to the extent I would have liked. That said, it's not natural to bring in yet another relative to try and do that; the book on the Cartwright family is closed.
However, in the same vein, the Pilot loss I was happiest with was that of Alias, who in the fiction is E.C.'s long lost older sister. Vienna Cartwright wasn't originally written to become Alias, she was just there as an information source. However, when I acquired Alias, I needed to find a character to fit her. Vienna had the motivation to do something rash after her father died, and the logical motivation to use a pilot handle that in no way resembled a real name. I made the match solely on that basis, but I never really knew where I would have gone with her if things had continued. As it is, she provided the catalyst for several major events that resulted in some writing I really like later. Also, without her, I would not have created E.C. whose death I think has added tragic dimension to Ragin' John Blaze.
There's also a death coming up in the next story that saddened me too... the character just started growing on me, starting out as one of my orphan acquisitions so she came with a past history. There's so many places I could have taken her. Now I have to figure out where her death will take others.
7. There has been quite a story arc surrounding Femme Fatale and Rus. Can you give some background as to how the characters and story ideas came about?
Femme Fatale was the second character I created, H.A.L. Mayne actually came first though the Sisters didn't exist then. I got the idea for the team while H.A.L. was in the midst of an Arena and I couldn't have her lead the team. So I created Femme Fatale solely to lead the Sisters, initially (which, by the way, would be a no-no today; team leaders must be a minimum of Lieutenant).
Racubus Sterling I acquired as an orphan pilot -- meaning someone else created and abandoned him. He ended up last place in a championship tournament, which was also the character's first contest. He quickly came to be called Rus for short. Since he and Femme came on the scene about the same time in my game history, that's why I chose to bring them together. Also, it was easier to come up with more logical reasons why the two of them had gotten later starts in the Arenas than H.A.L. even though they are all roughly the same age.
Femme and Rus are my two characters in most need of growth in the trio, and that's what binds them. Other than the fact she's now married to the man who nearly killed her, H.A.L. doesn't have many flaws. She started as brash and overconfident and now carries her own as a General. Femme got started late because she cautiously wanted to study to be a good leader before going into combat, but to be honest doesn't have the best track record. Neither does Rus.
One of the things I realized was that I'd rushed to marry them too fast in the stories that ran in PAPER MAYHEM, they needed some character growth to really know how much they valued each other. That's why, for a time, they were paired off with other characters (Rus with Alias, Femme with Dr. Lawrence Wright). Alias died and Dr. Wright -- while necessary as I.M. Shirley Wright's ex and K.S. 'Speedy' Wright's father -- never really took off as a character otherwise. Despite my best efforts to keep them apart as a writer, Rus and Femme kept wanting to be back together -- and their game performance ultimately provided the catalyst for growth and change to support it.
8. Are there any personal experiences that influence the love struggles between Femme Fatale and Rus?
No, my love life hasn't quite been like theirs. I suppose in the sense that I know love and loss. But I've never had the feeling separated from my lost love issue. In truth, I'm really glad for that. My few prior relationships haven't lasted, but the one I'm in now I've been in for seven years... practically since the day I set foot in Los Angeles.
My significant other is Kevin Paul Shaw Broden, a writer, artist, and more recently a bit of a CTF2187 player himself. We work together on a webcomic called FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY at http://www.flying-glory.com and also co-wrote several episodes for the animated series MIDNIGHT HORROR SCHOOL currently airing in Japan, which you can find out more about at http://www.midnighthorrorschool.net. Kevin and I totally relate on a lot of issues, have common strengths on which we can support each other, and both recognize our weaknesses and support each other through them. In that sense, I guess we are a lot like Femme and Rus.
Though, as an aside... Damian and Dorian Blackheart, Richard Shadowhand, Alias, and Sinister were all originally owned by my ex-fiance' whom I met at the wedding of another former CTF2187 player. At the time we were on opposite sides of an Arena. He dropped out of CTF2187 with standing Arena commitments and I decided to see them through.
9. Do you have any definite plans for Femme Fatale and Rus’ storylines? If so, would you be willing to share any hints about where the storyline may be headed?
As I mentioned above, Dr. Wright did not work out as I envisioned. Having grown a lot as characters, they likely will remarry barring either of them dying in the arenas before I reach that point. I'm just not sure when. Also there are other issues to confront, like wanting to start a family while both being pilots. The only pilots with children have grown children, such as I.M. Shirley Wright. This is likely the direction I would go in.
10. Earlier you mentioned that you realized you had Femme Fatale and Rus marry too early in your earlier stories. Looking back at your other earlier stories that appeared in PAPER MAYHEM, is there anything else you would have done differently if you had written them today?
Other than the famous typo of accidentally putting H.A.L. in the wrong kind of Bot at one point in my first story (she shows up in a Cyclops instead of a Ravager, I can't remember why I did that other than she may have been in that Bot type in an actual game while I was writing the story), from a story arc perspective I wouldn't really do anything different. H.A.L.'s character evolution in those stories goes at the right pace, Derrick Deathex has just left his team; in fact, overall, I've been very happy at how slow these two came together. The only other thing that didn't work out in hindsight due to the changing nature of the game is that my last PAPER MAYHEM story was written from the viewpoint of Dorian Blackheart, starting and ending with a journal entry format. While the body of the story introduces her, her brother Damian, and Richard by telling one of their Academy-days stories, Dorian's journal entry promised that she herself would reveal how Team Blackdeath ultimately fell apart. Between my several years hiatus between PAPER MAYHEM (I just couldn't find the time to write, and then the magazine folded with editor David Webber's death) and SABLEDRAKE, and the fact the character of Dorian Blackheart didn't last much longer, I would have had difficulty picking up exactly where I left off. While the journal style itself wasn't bad, the fact I hinted at future commitments that I could not guarantee is something I would not do again.
11. Do you have any favorite characters or storylines in your CTF2187 stories?
I like many of them for different reasons. Femme, Rus, and H.A.L. are dearest to my heart because they've been with me since practically the beginning. Derrick I also have an affinity for because he's still got this dark side H.A.L. isn't aware of and I don't know where he'll go. Damian Blackheart and Lauraic Vileslayer have charm and appeal in their broodiness. Ragin' John Blaze is newer as a character but I feel has potential if the right situations arise. Richard Shadowhand I've always been endeared to, and something major just happened to alter how I envisioned his arc. It takes place in the next upcoming story, and involves Kibitz, who grew on me from the outset from the moment I acquired her. I'm also slowly developing an affection for Lela. The others are fun as player pieces, but are not growing as much on the written page... at least not yet. Anything could happen.
As to storylines, the Femme and Rus arc is my favorite. I'm curious to see in particular where Richard Shadowhand and Ragin' John Blaze go as characters. I also like watching the character evolution of Derrick Deathex.
The two characters I'd most like to have that I don't currently control, in order to make some headway on character storylines, would be Mirk Deathex (Derrick's brother) and Ignatius Darkstar (Damian's friend turned traitor). However, the people who last played these characters haven't written in to relinquish them. Even though they haven't been played in years, I refuse to write deep character stories about characters I don't control.
I've taken on acquiring more orphan characters versus creating new ones in order to mine their history and play on it (past Arenas, Kills, Awards) to strengthen the universe. I try my best to research old Command Posts to stay true to how the character was portrayed by prior owners, if at all possible. Petruchio, an orphan I acquired whom I made leader of the Lion's Maw, is the best example; I had to look at not only what posts his player put in the newsletter, but those by the leader of his prior team to get a feel of what the team environment would be like and how this would shape Petruchio's motivations to leave that team and form the Lion's Maw.
Now having said all that, I will write characters in as pivotal story players that I don't control... provided I have the consent of the owner. This has happened with several of my Dad's pilots (Sledge Hammer in particular) who are the only logical conduits to forward story action. In those cases, he and I discuss what I want to do and we see if a fit can be made. In most cases, it does work. I can only think of one instance where I've been shot down, and that was a scenario in which I wanted to use Hip Hoppin' Jeffrey (an orphan Dad acquired with a long Arena history); it just turned out he wasn't appropriate in Dad's estimation for what I was considering. Instead, this subplot has evolved into something that hasn't yet played out on the page.
12. In your opinion, do you believe your stories may have had any kind of impact on the game?
This is tough to say. I know creating the SISTERS OF SILICON had an impact on the game. Based on some of the submission I've seen to the COMMAND POST game newsletter, it does seem to have encouraged some players to be more creative in their roleplaying outside of the standard scope of the game. However, my biggest worry is that I've gotten so prolific with my storylines that they've created a false expectation of what to expect in the game and could ultimately backfire in interesting new players. I'm not always a hard-facts person, I'm a characters-first person. I hate to confess that as much as I enjoy reading military SF -- my particular favorites are the Honor Harrington novels by David Weber (not to be confused with late PAPER MAYHEM editor David Webber) and the Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold -- that at times I skim over the technical stuff to get to the next bit of character story. So I really struggle to bring this to my writing.
The other thing is that my view of the universe isn't the only way it can be perceived. While I have the Gamemasters' blessing, the stories aren't necessarily canon.
In case you were wondering, there are notes for a final story. I have a general idea, barring the demise of a couple central pilots, how the story ends if the game ever has to or for some reason I have to stop writing the stories for good. I've started planting seeds in some of the current stories just to make sure the groundwork is there. So if there are things that seem unresolved for a while, they will pay off in the end.
In 2003, I also received back full rights (outside of those held by Advanced Gaming Enterprises) to republish the PAPER MAYHEM stories any way I see fit. I got my hands on QuarkXPress for a project in Fall of 2003 and am exploring to see if I can create an e-book containing those earlier stories. I've alluded to enough things in the other stories that you can pick up at the start of the SABLEDRAKE stories and not miss anything crucial, but some people might find it interesting reading to see how my writing style evolves.
13. Do you hope to still be writing the CTF2187 fiction in the future?
Definitely. I am a professional writer but CTF2187 stories are the only things I still am willing to do for free on a regular basis, outside of FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY (which Kevin and I hope to sell as our own property). The Gamemasters compensate me in no way save letting me continue. I honestly would miss these if I had to stop, I know I did the few years between publishing them in PAPER MAYHEM and SABLEDRAKE.
However, CTF2187 hasn't made the leap to being playable by email or Internet yet in a day when everyone wants that convenience. My understanding is that Advanced Gaming Enterprises is working towards that, and I definitely plan to stick with the game -- and the stories based on the game -- as long as I can.
14. What would you like readers to take away from these stories, whether or not they are or become game players?
While I would like to see more interest in CTF2187 as a result of the stories, my primary hope is that people see that human strengths and flaws exist in any time in history, be in those times of the past or the possible future that lies ahead. I think some of the greatest assets of the human race are faith and perseverance, qualities Rus and Femme ultimately exemplify even if they do get discouraged sometimes as they want to do their best in a flawed world where they themselves are fairly flawed too.