Pupu's Saga Foreword

By Jeremy Chapter

“I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro’
Gleams that untravell’d world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.”

-Tennyson, Alfred Lord
“Ulysses” 18

 

Dramatis Persona Hominis

Laguna
Raine
Kiros
Ward
Ellone

Cid
Edea

Quistis
Zell
Irvine
Selphie
Squall
Rinoa

Match
Mina Charleston
Merali
Pearl
Sujie
Jay, Sergeant
Zen, Ph. D. & J. D.

Seifer
Fuujin
Raijin

Jeremy Chapter
Rishi
Lily Furgle
Cary Kay
Darby LeBard
Arienne
Eris
Faeyre

Caraway, General
Dr. Odine
Dr. Kadowaki
Julia

 

Author's Extended Foreword:

“I think they love not Art
Who break the crystal of a poet’s heart
That small and sickly eyes may glare or gloat.”

 -Wilde, Oscar
De Profundis 

 

Disclaimer to save my own ass: Every element belongs to Squaresoft, Inc., not to me, unless I made it up.  The trademark for the name Jeremy Chapter as well as other original character names and locations, and the copyright for the literary work PuPu’s Saga : “Un homme et une jeune fille sur une plage” belong to me.  No part or whole of this work belonging to me may be reproduced for commercial purposes without my explicit documented permission.  Squaresoft, Inc. neither endorses nor sponsors me or this work.

 

       If you would like to put PuPu’s Saga : “Un homme et une jeune fille sur une plage” up on your website, feel free to copy and paste from whatever url you are engaging this story.  Please inform me prior to taking the story so that I may give you my written consent to use it and that I may be mindful to notify you of postings of new installment chapters as I finish them.

       This fanfiction picks up right where the game ends.  If it interferes chronologically with any other fanfic, just treat the celebration at the beginning of the story as some other party that Balamb Garden throws after Squall goes through Time Compression again to kill some other sorceress named Ultimecia during which Rinoa kisses Squall one more time because they both see another shooting star, and during which Laguna, Ward, Kiros, and Ellone all just happen to be in Winhill visiting Raine's grave a second time.  If you know already who Laguna’s son is, then Setting 2 is not essential to the plot and can be skipped.  This fanfic has many allusions to Final Fantasy VIII and IX, some of which are pretty profound.  Those who have not explored the world of Final Fantasy VIII as thoroughly as others might miss some subtle clues while those who have explored the world too thoroughly can guess half the plot out right.  Stuff that I made up wasn’t meant to be corny, corny as they may be.  The reading may be slow until the tempo picks up in Setting 11 or so.  Skipping straightway to Setting 11 would pass over many of the hints about the game or foreshadowing elements about plot twists to come.  Sometimes I get caught up with grandiloquence and neglect the beauty of terseness.  Please bear with me through Settings 13 and 18 in particular.  Volume I (or “Division 1”) closes with Setting 26.  By the time you’ve gotten to Volumes II and III, the story will have picked up so much momentum that the rest of the story (up to Setting 65) will fly by.

      

       I have never and still don’t promise the perfect story, but I’m warning you how big a commitment you have to make to finish this perdurable behemoth.  Maybe I’m talking to myself here.  The story focuses mainly on Squall, his regular groups (minus Rinoa), and some new characters like Mina, Merali, and Match.  I tried to keep the number of Settings focused on characters from the older generation to a minimum.  Dante, Jay, Lily Furgle, Jeremy (supra), Pearl, Sujie, “Shawl’s Stone”, and “Garden of Good-byes” are other additions I’ve taken the liberty to make.  As much I wanted to exclude Seifer and his posse altogether, I could not possibly.  He has so much to offer as a character.

       My saga is a prequel to Raine Ishida’s “Hope” (nanaki_17@hotmail.com) and though people cannot copyright ideas these days, only expressions, I have no problem with respectfully attributing even un-copyrightable intellectual property to their rightful owners.  Here are my current acknowledgments and to the best of my knowledge, their current email addresses: The idea of Mina belongs to the aforementioned Raine Ishida.  The idea of Titanus belongs to Dark Horse (duke_macbeth@juno.com).  The idea of Stella, Laura, and Shojora belong to Kate Lorraine (lorraine_kate@hotmail.com).  The idea of Lunar belongs to Barrett Machain (b_machain@hotmail.com).  The idea of Eris belongs to Blackrose (lenoirrose@softhome.net).

          I realized that the length of this 3-Volume, 65-Setting, 520-plus-single-spaced-page epic novel would deter most fans from picking it up, and strain from that small number even fewer who would ever finish reading it.  In order to boost the interest and preserve the incentive to keep reading, I’ve begged the assistance of some very talented artists to whom I shall give due and grateful credit for their pieces for each chapter.  The fanart is posted at my homepage .  I’ve also tried to infuse a little humor into each Setting through the characters.  Please excuse me if what they say is not what you would have liked to hear.  I had read all the stories of Seifer being a menace to society or Seifer’s sudden change of heart that I could bear.  I couldn’t accept straight off any over maudlin, too-perfect romances between Squall and Rinoa.  I was horrified by the possibility that Cid was capable of domineering over Squall after he had just saved the world.  I hadn’t seen too many people use GFs as more than just weapons of war in their stories (the exception being Kate Lorraine’s “The Claiming of Shiva” in which she incorporates lines like, “Oh, [Shiva] wanted this one. This one, she had to make her own.”).  I never did find Rinoa’s new sorceress powers all that entertaining.  I thought Ultimecia’s return or the repeat of the Lunar Cry were exhausted and unoriginal.  I felt Squaresoft left a lot of things ambiguous and in want of explanation.  I was mad at all the fanfics that are left incomplete and leave the reader hanging.  I hope not to fix all of this, but to present before you something new, if you give me the chance.  The four years of my life I planned on sacrificing to complete this saga is the price of evading hypocrisy.  It’s not about the fame.  It’s not about the glory.  And it’s definitely not about the glamour of fanfiction writing – there is no such glamour in empty coffee pots, disheveled hair, and burning the midnight oil as far as I’m aware.  It’s about truth.

      

       Be warned that my writing does not exude the elegance or delectability of Kate Lorraine's.  My style has neither the refinement nor delicacy of DJ Johnston's; neither the magnitude nor the endurance of Marcus’; neither the sentimentality nor the poignancy of Arian's; neither the temerity nor the intrepidity of Darren Shier's; neither the gravity nor flourish of Larathia's; neither the maturity nor efficiency of Malice Shaw's.  I do not elevate the language as the epic tradition behooves like XmagicalX does.  Instead, I elevate the voice.  The prose I promise is whimsical and sprightly.  I plan to give you an exploration of the people and their interaction with each other and the world of Final Fantasy VIII.  I have intended for you not to get caught up in the plot as much as to be swept away by the drama and pathos.  Most of the plot movement occurs through dialogue or internal monologue because the story is character-centric, not action-centric.

       The creativity I offer, I'm afraid, extends only as far as the bounds of my eccentricity and the reader's willingness to be led.  The saddest part is when you have to leave this dream world that I've constructed.  Yes, I am here to wield the mad power of molding worlds as I see fit, and I can proudly say that I do it in a way unadulterated by external opinions because it is my story and I planned it out before all the input began to pour in.  I think I am thoughtlessly undertaking the emendation, extension, and (Hyne-willing) the establishment of canon.  Ut sint unus auctor et una veritas sed multae recitationes.

       Now, for my final word of caution: I abuse the usage of participles and adverbs, and I am shameless in experimenting with narrative presence, distance, and time (though nowhere near as adept or fanatical as Woolf or Joyce).  I have in store for you my finest stock of gentle satire, gentile lampoon, bittersweet humor, and every last wicked intention.  If the story happens to bore, bewilder, annoy, offend, or disgust you in any way, then it is a pity.  Caveat emptor, take product as is.  If you want another story, or a sequel perhaps, drop a line with any fictitious character names you would like to see incorporated in it, or any fresh ideas.  So now, without further delay, I shall make my invocation and send you off into my own little microcosm of Final Fantasy VIII:

 

 "Be with me, Muse of all Desire, Erato,
While I call up kings, the early times…
A greater history opens before my eyes,
A greater task awaits me."

-Vergil
Aeneid VII


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