Help with Guardian Angels

[RAE]

I think some of you are familiar with my old WIP Guardian Angels. 

For those who need it, and those who have no idea what Guardian Angels even was, I’ll give a quick recap:

Guardian Angels  follows the main character Nahim, and his best friend (who often steals the show and reader’s hearts as the favorite character by accident) Mandin, as Nahim struggles with depression, some PTSD, and coming back to God after his parent’s and clans brutal elimination.

The story isn’t a salvation story, but it’s more a ‘coming back’ story as I call it. Nahim is a Christian, but his faith has seriously wavered as blow after blow hits his life. The story started out as just a trauma character finding healing, but over the years, I have basically used Nahim as a silent cry for help as I struggled with depression and faith. Needless to say, the story is very near and dear to my heart.

If you read that, you probably noticed I mentioned nothing about plot, and nothing about the genre.

That’s where my problem comes in. I wrote the first draft of Guardian Angels when I knew nothing about writing and plot. I’ve tried to fix the plot again and again before I eventually laid the project aside sometime last year. I almost gave up, but I wish to return to my heart story again.

The genre was sci-fi, but I’m thinking of swapping genres to fantasy. Here is my reasoning:

• Since I have started reading more into the genre I originally chose, I’ve found that the classics often explore philosophical ideas, and make points about the current state of things through the goggles of the future and space. Even Star Wars was partially meant by George Lucas to show how a democracy can be so easily lost. Yes, some sci-fi stories don’t explore these ideas, but I don’t find those enjoyable at all personally to read. Guardian Angels isn’t a philosophical book, nor one that points at flaws in our nations or people in the present. It’s an emotional story with a character arc about gluing the broken pieces of glass back together.
• Certain elements of Guardian Angels makes more sense in a fantasy setting. For instance, Nahim is a skilled swordsman, and his skill is part of the book in that King Vorgan (the antagonist) loves to fight him because of his skill. Also, in earlier versions of the story, Nahim despises guns because he can’t use them well. I have thought of putting this up in a later revision as Nahim carries his mother’s and father’s blades to remember them by, and they are simply ceremonial blades, but in a fantasy setting, the entire sword thing would make much more sense.
• King Vorgan is a humanoid spider creature. In the sci-fi version he is the leader of a hivemind type of bug-alien race called the Nanians who are at war with my Realn. However, everyone does hiveminds (as I have learned) in sci-fi. Plus, the Nanians are originally only strength in numbers against my Realn who are strength in skill. the Nanians aren’t intimidating enough as they are, and it’s been bothering me. But if I changed it to fantasy, I could make the Nanians into slyiads.

• Slyiads are a creature I have already established in Wond, and they are shapeshifters whose original form is a spider humanoid. They’re smart, cunning, cruel, and they have both energy and elemental abilities. They’re an intimidating foe who can turn into your very own friend and stab you. Plus, it’s already in Realn history that they fought these creatures.

While this sounds perfect and I should just turn my story into fantasy right now, I have a few things that make me pause to ponder.

• Nahim looses one of his arms in a duel with Vorgan. In his original story, I give him a metal arm, and it frustrates him that he’s missing part of himself. He hates the constant numbness and phantom pain, feeling like while he can still function like normal, he doesn’t feel normal.
  • However, I could omit this from the story if I wanted to. But at this point, it feels like a dear part of Nahim, just like his love for nebulae and flying in space.
• I have some history of Nahim’ descendants, one of them the famously grumpy and unstable clone Alpha. Good cloning technology didn’t exist until after the Realn went to space.
  • I could say that Grathmere (the one who created Alpha) kept a part of Nahim since he became a well-known and famous warrior (also Grathmere liked his naturally red eyes) until cloning technology existed in a stable form. Which might create an interesting story for Alpha to be honest.
• Time period. I don’t want to place fantasy Nahim in a time period where guns don’t exist yet, but at the same time, I want his swords to be somewhat relevant.
  • Also, in the original, Nahim has a love for flying spaceships. In the fantasy version, i could say they have invented aircraft, but then his swords would be obsolete by that time.

As you can tell, I’m just cycling through ideas now. I have no idea if this is a good idea or not. Also, to anybody to read this entire rant, thank you so much. You’re special.

So yeah, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I do have a question about a possible title change, but I’ll spare you all that for now.

Tags I guess @loopylin @keilah-h @ellette-giselle @whalekeeper @whoever. Idk, it’s really late as usual and I can’t sleep.

 

Confuzzled, RAE
(PS. Pfp by SelkieSeal on Unvale. My dear Chase ❤️?)

[Loopy]

@rae

Yes, some sci-fi stories don’t explore these ideas, but I don’t find those enjoyable at all personally to read.

Oof. I see how it is. (Just kidding lol)

 

In my mind, there isn’t really much of a difference between fantasy and sci-fi, but I get why you’re struggling to decide between them.

The one suggestion I can think of right now is to keep it sci-fi, and maybe give Nahim’s swords some kind of tech upgrade, maybe. (Not lightsabers. Something else idk) You could also maybe give him some advanced bulletproof armor that would give him an advantage if he was fighting someone with a gun. The author of Dune does a similar thing in his book. The characters in it wear a kind of force field armor that deflects anything that comes at it too fast, so the only thing that can get past it is a slower moving knife. (Actually I’m not sure if I’m remembering that correctly from the book, but it’s still a good example.) Even if you keep the swords traditional, there’s still plenty of weaknesses that guns have that swords don’t. They can jam up or run out of ammo. And they can be harder to use in close quarters, especially if it’s a longer barrel.

Another really great example of a sci-fi/ fantasy that uses both guns and swords and has a ton of flying machines, is the movie Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind. There are a few fight scenes in there that are really cool and use both kinds of weapons in a way that makes sense. It makes a world where advanced technology like flying machines and robots mixes really well with more medieval things like swords and kings and ancient prophecies.

Anyways, I hope some of that hopefully helps. Or at least you get a good movie recommendation out of it. I’m glad you’re bringing this story back. I’ve always found the world of Realn really interesting. Good luck, and I hope you figure stuff out. <3

⭐️World's Slowest Writer⭐️

[Loopy]

King Vorgan is a humanoid spider creature. In the sci-fi version he is the leader of a hivemind type of bug-alien race called the Nanians who are at war with my Realn. However, everyone does hiveminds (as I have learned) in sci-fi. Plus, the Nanians are originally only strength in numbers against my Realn who are strength in skill. the Nanians aren’t intimidating enough as they are, and it’s been bothering me. But if I changed it to fantasy, I could make the Nanians into slyiads.

Also maybe you could make these guys super venomous or something to be more scary? Or make them really hard to kill like cockroaches. They just keep getting back up. That is, if you didn’t want to make them slyiads. I know some people might think the hive mind trope is overdone, but I still like the idea.

⭐️World's Slowest Writer⭐️

[Loopy]

Also, also, there’s a character in Nausicaa named Master Yupa, who’s famous and respected throughout the land for being a master swordsman, and he is so cool. This movie is actually like my all time favorite. It is taking so much self control to not keep rambling about it right now.

⭐️World's Slowest Writer⭐️

[Loopy]

Ok wait. There’s no robots in Nausicaa. But there is genetic engineering kinda? That part’s vague. There is also a character with a mechanical prosthetic arm.

ok im going to bed now

⭐️World's Slowest Writer⭐️

[Ellette Giselle]

@rae

 

Why don’t you just mix them. Take what you like from fantasy and take what you like from Sci-fi and do a sci-fi fantasy. You could even set it in a sci-fi type world, yet have fantasy creatures, (like the Slyiads, which I personally like as the villians because they really do seem to fit the bill.) It does feel like it needs to be sci-fi, but you can still take things from fantasy. There was a book I read once. (edit: read part of) and I won’t even say the name because it went down hill like a bobsled. BUT, there was a cool element that they had where they had an order of “knights” basically, who fought with swords, and were so skilled that they could deflect bullets with the blades. (they had special sword blades that wouldn’t shatter by being shot with a bullet) and it was actually a cool idea, and those who were among these knight warriors (forget their names) trained since childhood to get the speed and skill required. They also despised guns as primitive weapons that were cluncky and unpredictable compared to their swords.

So yeah, how about that?

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music

[Ellette Giselle]

@rae

also, glad you are going back into this. I liked it a lot.

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music

[RAE]

@loopylin

Oof. I see how it is. (Just kidding lol)

Wait, is your WIP sci-fi? I thought it was fantasy for whatever reason. Btw, when I said that, I was specifically thinking of Chuck Black’s Nova. I never got past the first chapter.

Interesting you mention bulletproof armor, as the Realn famously wear bulletproof armor. The Nanians don’t, but I could change that.

Also, I have heard that about Dune, the problem is, I have considered something similar, but my greatest fear is people reading it and thinking I’m ripping off another sci-fi story. I’ve read fantasy novels that sounded like a rip-off of Pilgrim’s Progress, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings all smooshed into one, and I hated it. I really really don’t want my story to sound like one of those, so I’ve been trying to think of something alike enough to work but different.

Thank you for the reply, it was very helpful!

@ellette-giselle

Interesting. Both you and Loopy have suggested things that are already extremely similar to traits of my Realn.

Thank you! That was very helpful!

Confuzzled, RAE
(PS. Pfp by SelkieSeal on Unvale. My dear Chase ❤️?)

[whaley]

@rae

Nice to see a post from you!

The genre was sci-fi, but I’m thinking of swapping genres to fantasy.

Hmmm.

I like it when people give me opinionated answers, so that’s what I’ll do here. I don’t think you should change it to fantasy unless you really, really want to. You’ve only brought up two (maybe three?) reasons to change it, and they’re all things that can be fixed in sci-fi.

I understand Guardian Angels isn’t philosophical or political like Star Wars/other stories are. But I think you’re unnecessarily tying yourself down with this definition of what belongs in a sci-fi and what doesn’t. If you want to write a story about Nahim’s inner character musings, and you want it to take place in a futuristic space setting, why not? Genuinely, why not?

This is your story. You should choose whatever genre and setting best serve your vision. It’s all about utilization – using genres and tropes as tools instead of bars to jump over. Write something that is totally your own without forcing genre expectations on yourself.

Idk if that’s the rant you need. ? Ignore everything I said if your heart desires to write a fantasy. If that’s what you want, go for it! From what you’re saying, the story seems to be in a flexible stage. It’s all up to you and what you want.

I’m going to give advice for how to handle everything in a sci-fi fashion. Unless you decide fantasy, which then I will be happy to switch.

If you’re struggling to explain the swords in a space setting, come up with both a practical and a cultural reason. Perhaps Nahim’s home culture lacks technology because of isolation, similar to the history of Japan. I remember reading your first chapters and wondering if Nahim’s people were too idealistic from other planets’ perspectives and this indirectly attributed to their doom. Perhaps they have a “pure” way of life that promotes their world’s original weapons. On top of that, building on the isolation idea, they’ve only recently joined the intergalactic world and they’re simply less technological than other planets. (Having planets in different stages of development is a fun idea imo.)

Or if you want them to have technology, maybe their swords have the ability to deflect certain attacks. This sounds ridiculous but maybe the swords repel other metals. Idk. There are lots of online discussions about this you can explore.

As for the hive mind trope, you can do it if you want to. So what if it’s cliche? If it serves a purpose and it’s fun, no need to change it. I’ve read/watched Starship Troopers, Ender’s Game, and Edge of Tomorrow – and all three of those stories include a hive mind enemy. Doesn’t mean they’re all the same story; they’re very different from each other.

Or if you want to find a different horror element for these monsters, write down all the things that frighten you. Seriously. You never know what might work. Most of my monsters fall under the body horror genre because spiders/snakes/creepy creature don’t scare me as much as open wounds. Dig into what makes the fear tick and turn it into a special ability these monsters have.

Off topic… What’s this? A title change?

I am out of signature ideas

[Keilah H.]

@rae Actually, Star Wars is a fantasy. Just set in space. The line between fantasy and science fiction is very, very blurred.

I like your original ideas for Guardian Angels better. But if you really want it to be fantasy-type and there be no sci-fi whatsoever, go ahead and do that, it’s your story.

 

Also, you really don’t need to have philosophical or political themes in your story, even if the genre usually has it. Remember my fanfic? I made it the way it is cause I thought the idea was cool and I wanted to have a bunch of interesting creatures in it. From what I know there’s no real deep discussions in it besides those which existed in the original work. At least not those kinds of discussions. More like the topics of family and letting go of wrongs and that kinda thing.

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[RAE]

@whalekeeper

Opiniated answers was what I was looking for, thx!

Thank you so much, I enjoyed your reply, and it definitely helped straighten my mind out. Now I’m working on fixing the plot, still set in sci-fi but with some of the fantasy elements that I liked, and advice from others.

On the scary part, the thing that terrifies me to the core is when there’s no safe place to go. I think changing the Nanians to Slyiads would definitely play into that fear, as they can disguise themselves as Realn as long as they have a suit of armor to use, so a slyiad could literally just assassinate someone in the street.

Off topic… What’s this? A title change?

Yeah…I’m debating it. I originally named it Guardian Angels because of a frankly embarrassing part of the story where I had Nahim divinely rescued wayyyy back in Try no. 1. I kept the title after that just because I liked it and I was gonna spin it into the story as something like while Nahim feels like God isn’t watching or caring for him anymore, in reality, Nahim gets out of many, many sticky wickets and that’s God’s hand still guiding and protecting him.

This is a weird thing, but I felt like the title didn’t fit the story anymore because while the point was still valid, it felt like I was stressing it solely to keep the title.

Literally last night I decided the point and title were a good one, and the title will remain for now.

 

@keilah-h

I seriously forgot your fanfic was sci-fi *facepalm*

*sigh* Genres are so confuzzling.

Thank you for your input! Wow, it seems like everyone here wants it to remain sci-fi.

And I agree with them now.

Confuzzled, RAE
(PS. Pfp by SelkieSeal on Unvale. My dear Chase ❤️?)

[Keilah H.]

@rae lol yep, it is! At least that’s the closest genre I can think of to refer to it by.

 

and yeah, story genres are very confusing and have lots and lots of overlap.

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

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