Jane Austen Fight Club: Discussions

OK, as the inaugural Sandbox game, I'm going out on a limb and assuming that JANE AUSTEN FIGHT CLUB WOULD BE A KICK-ARSE GAME!!!

That said, here it is for those who don't know what it is:

http://vimeo.com/19084266

The cool thing about Jane Austen fight club is that, unlike most of the Jane Austen fan writing that is out there, it is still social commentary and satire (obviously also tinged with humor and romance). Instead of using fight club to rebel against modern society, they are rebelling against British society and its Classical ideals in a world of increasing modernization thanks to the French Revolution.

I think we should play characters from any of the books, and pretend that they all exist in the same town and time period. They have a fight club, and hatch plots against the totalitarian regime when they aren't having tea with the Middletons or evading the attentions of Mr. Collins or hitting on George Wickham or snarking it up with Frank Churchill....I'm pretty sure that anyone who's read Austen OR Fight Club will see that there are lots of things we could do with this.

And, you know, if it gets awesome and we don't want it to end, it can become a serial. What do you think?? Who would be interested?

*I'm* interested.

Jane Austen characters rebelling against British society? I'm definitely interested! That sounds just hilarious...

Cool! I'll see if I can get Brink in on it!

Appearance : About 5' 4" with dark mahogany hair and spirited brown eyes that do not hesitate to hold another's gaze.

Skills : plays the piano and sings. She enjoys music in itself but relishes the opportunity to entertain others with her musical abilities. She thinks quickly on her feet and will use her resources in an unconventional manner. Her spontaneous yet impulsive nature leads her to take risks that rely heavily on luck for successful outcomes. Relies on distraction when fighting. When pushed, her frustration fuels her to extremes but clouds her (already limited) ability to strategize.

Personality : Marianne is a creature of extremes. Depending on present company, her manner fluctuates between cold disinterest and enlivened eagerness that would make a proper Brit uncomfortable. She is quick to judge acquaintances and does not bother to mask these thoughts behind expressions of false propriety. However, her demeanor is warm (perhaps overly familiar) around those whom she believes to have merit. Most events and interactions have a personal impact on her, regardless of origin or intension.

Background : She was born into a wealthy family and raised as a child of high society. After her father's passing, her brother James received the entirety of the inheritance and (prompted by his greedy wife) sent Marianne, her sister Elinor, and their mother to live in a small cottage in a small English town. Despite their current situation, Marianne's state of mind remains unaltered, and her emotional attachments to people and places overshadow the opportunity for monetary concerns. Her past relations with the opposite gender have been insignificant and (despite consuming much mental attention) have not yielded any return. She is serially monogamous, declaring each new interest is "the one," whether or not he realizes it.

Played by Hattie Morahan

Appearance: Chestnut brown hair (at some point she will dye it blonde), quite thin and not curvy at all--pretty tall, 5' 8" (which gets her some weird looks now and then). Eyes are gray blue. She is quite pale with a pink nose and bags under her eyes. Thus she is a somewhat unconventional beauty.

Skills: very good at drawing and painting, thus she is very observant. Her light frame makes her more likely to excel at ranged weapons and at using the terrain to her advantage. She is very strategic.

Personality: Quiet, thoughtful, observant. Objective, somewhat uncomfortable with her feelings (especially with letting other people know them). She has the typical British problem of being unable to address her emotions. While often considered a doormat, fight club increases her innate determination. Believes (sometimes erroneously) that her logical conclusions are right--though she also struggles with an optimistic streak that tells her everything will work out for hte best. This becomes extremely problematic when something bad happens, because she tries to justify everything logically. She is obsessed with rules and adheres to propriety (at least she tries to).

Background: Elinor is originally from a wealthy family. However, since her father died, the money which she, her sister Marianne and her mother lived on went to the youngest son, John. John, being easily manipulated by his greedy wife, turned out the ladies with only a small income to live in a cottage in a small English town. While they can mingle in moderately-sized society, they are reduced drastically in circumstance and thus in the possiblity of making a good marriage. Before she left her wealthy life, however, she made the acquaintence of Edward Ferrars, and they have an extremely awkward relationship. More to come on him later. She finds that it is difficult for a middle class woman to make money without seeming improper. She wants to sell her paintings, but wonders if it would be proper to do so.

So! Brink and I came up with this, let us know if it works for you, Miss Austen!

So....

the story starts right as the Dashwoods arrive in town (Miss A it might be nice for you to have already been there?) Anyway, we're thinking the idea for fight club comes out of Marianne needing an outlet and Elinor supporting her need for an outlet as damage control. Elinor can be the one that comes up with the rules and makes it official so it isn't just girls beating each other up randomly.

The main plot this (first?) story will deal with is just how the characters react to fight club (FC). This will involve dealing with keeping FC a secret, and dealing with it as a part of life.

A possibility is that they are found out, one of them is captured, and the others rescue her. Overall, the people in the group were originally antagonistic of each other, using fight club to take out petty agressions and as a destructive outlet. However after they rescue the one who gets captured, they form solidarity and use fight club to improve their lives collectively and to grow.

Character Arcs:

I want Elinor to have some internal conflict about the whole thing (she likes it and yet is repulsed by it?) She will go through some changes, including dying her hair and painting crazy paintings. I also want her to take the lead in her relationship with Ferrars, since he's going to be kind of a wuss, I think it'd be funny.

Brink is thinking that Marianne will kind of take away the opposite lesson from FC, in that she matures and becomes disciplined because of it. Because of the outlet it allows her she goes to the extreme and goes too far, breaking some of the FC rules. This leads to a moment of self-realization and helps her learn self-control and focuses her strengths!

(Let us know what you would like for your character arc, Miss A!)

I'll probably start the first post on: December 23rd, depending on when Miss A gets her character on. Then we'll go!

Hooray!

Played by Keira Knightley

Appearances: 5’ 7’’, rather skinny, auburn brown, long, wavy hair (prefers to wear it open, but sometimes it’s impractical). Brown eyes with a hint of amber.

Skills: She reads a lot and is very smart. Her wit might be a skill but isn’t always gladly seen in her society. Although she looks fragile she is relatively strong and a fast runner. She’s brilliant in arguing and debating (but yet again, not everybody appreciates that ‘skill’).

Personality: Lizzie is witty, lively and confident. She doesn’t really care what others think of her. She values personal independence and doesn’t like to rely on others. In contrast to other Brits who tend to repress their emotions she doesn’t hide them and bluntly tells what she thinks about a person or how she feels about certain things. She refuses to pretend to be someone she’s not just to fit into society. Lizzie is very sarcastic and would never let on if someone hurt her feelings. She tends to act too rash, and she has a hard time trusting people. However, when she finally manages to let someone into her heart she cares for that person deeply.

Background: Lizzie is the second daughter of five, growing up in the countryside of Hertfordshire, near London. She is very close to her older sister Jane and her father, but has a harder time connecting with her overbearing and slightly hysterical mother whose main concern is to find suitable husbands for her five daughters. Lizzie does not like the idea of being married without love, and refuses to marry someone for money only. After a wealthy young bachelor, Charles Bingley, moves close to the Bennets, Lizzie meets Mr Darcy, a rather reserved and disdainful man, and she cannot help but have prejudices against him. At the same time she had caught the interest of an officer who is stationed near the Bennets’ home, Mr Wickham. Lizzie is torn between her feelings but would never show it.

eeeeeeewwwwwww! Kiera Knightley is not MY Elizabeth Bennet!!

Haha, that's okay! It's not like you have to marry her or anything! I just love the Mr Darcy guy that comes with Keira Knightley!

haha true that, Matthew McFayden is quite smokin, and he also looks so emo

To make it easier, let's say that the Dashwoods moved to Hartfordshire. Miss A, maybe you and Brink meet and come up with the Fight Club idea at a party? That could be the first scene, where we are all at a party.

Also, as far as characters are concerned, assume that everyone you want to be there is there.

Unfortunately he got quite old! (Haha, and that's The Kid next to him)!
I think it's a good idea that Brink's and my character meet and come up with the idea, they both seem rather 'impulsive' characters while Elinor is more quiet. They could meet at a tea party or lunch or something like that.

hahahaha I've never seen him so beardy hahaha

((This is a public service announcement.))

I have a strong feeling you all need a theme song.

And that that theme song should be this:



Or, alternatively, this:



But the male singer might ruin the whole girl-power angle. Or make it ironic. Either way.

((This concludes the public service announcement. Have a nice day.))

MissAusten wrote: I just love the Mr Darcy guy that comes with Keira Knightley!

Also, Miss A, fair enough!

I like the boy singer idea (its very James Bondy). But honestly I live "Blow" better. Also, we will probably at some point have a token boy in fight club (it wasn't just girls who had limitations in the early 1800s. Most guys had to pretend to be sick all the time like John Keats to be popular.)

Okay, my thoughts on Lizzie’s character are following (beeayy already knows but reminded me to post it here). Since both Dashwood sisters go through certain changes while being in the FC, I thought Lizzie’s personality would change a bit as well. So in the beginning she starts off being rather blunt and confident, but later she might get a bit more sensitive and more considerate than she used to be. I also thought Lizzie and Marianne could know each other from before since they both seem to have a few similarities when it comes to their characters. They both tend to judge people rather quickly… Marianne could introduce Elinor to Lizzie, and the three kind of ‘hit it off’ or something like that. They could discover how similar their views are on society etc. Oh, and Lizzie already met Mr. Darcy (*grin*) but she’s not yet particularly fond of him, so she will complain about him and his quizzical brow.

Thanks Miss A! Elinor will join in the eyebrow-bashing.

I'll try to post tonight or tomorrow-I'll set it up so that Marianne can introduce Lizzie to me.

I also came up with some more ideas for general plot:

*FC should take place in an abandoned barn or shed. Eventually the barn becomes too small for the amount of people that come. They have to upgrade! But where?--how about the dance hall! They take it over one night, which is what gets them caught

*This brings me to my next idea: Emma is the one that gets "captured" after FC gets broken up. Knightley takes her away. However, when the others come to rescue her, she's already got him where she wants him (depending on how racy we make it, hur hur hur). It made me laugh thinking of it anyway.

Haha, that badass Mr Knightley... Hilarious thought! I'm all for it!

OK, my next post:

In my next post I plan on saying something along the lines of "Marianne's told me so much about you, Liz," and then mention EB and MD had something they wanted me to know about, and we ditch the party, then MD and EB start beating each other up for fun, but its not a really regulated thing yet.

We could also hang out at the party a bit more before this, and show how lame and restrictive Brit society is.

Wha'd'ya think? Should I do something else?

Yepp, sounds like a good plan to me! Haha, fine ladies in elegant dresses beating each other up...too bad nobody came up with that 200 years ago!

As eager as I am to get to the fighting, I feel like we need a strong emotional buildup. Either it is a pre-existing situation or we have to come up with one. Hmm....

An easy one would be to say Marianne has already met Willoughby and is under the impression he is soon returning to her from business in XZY (which explains her cheery disposition, though I do imagine she'd be more distraught- overly dramatic and swooning and the like). If Elinor spots Willoughby, she and Lizzie could try to save face by taking Marianne outside. Perhaps Elinor tries talking sense into her but turns her back for a moment and Lizzie tries *knocking* some sense into Marianne (slap!). From there it could turn into a full fledged fight...?

That's what first comes to my mind. Lizzie would have to be somewhat distraught/tense as well for her to fight back, don't you think? Maybe some more teasing and/or build up is in order. What do you guys think?

Hey Brink,
your idea sounds really good. I think it makes sense when Lizzie literally tries to knock some sense into Marianne who is obviously more than lovesick... And poor Elinor is probably more than appalled!

awesome! This sounds good! I'll post today!

so! I left our options open for more build-up to occur.

Miss A, in your next post, do you want to "jump in" before Brink and I get into a fight? You two can fight, and we can see how you know how to fight and we could get the idea for the fight club in that manner.