Oh, no, no, no! I'm not talking about *Fritz* being unsubtle! I'm talking about *me* being unsubtle. Doylistic problems, not Watsonian problems.
In 1729/1730, Fritz didn't *know* he and Katte were going to be reprising tragedies from antiquity. So while he might have chosen a nickname for Katte signaling "bestest and most loyal friend ever," he might also have chosen any number of other nicknames. And if I, as author, choose one that foreshadows Katte's death and Fritz's reaction to it so blatantly, that's just a little heavy-handed, and I would raise an eyebrow if another fanfic author did it.
Now, granted, this sort of thing happened in real life, just because Achilles and Patroclus were so popular as role models: see also, Alexander and Hephaestion. (And yes, Fritz also used Hephaestion as a nickname.)
But, as they say, the difference between fiction and real life is that real life doesn't have to be plausible. And I would like my fiction to be a little more subtle than "over-the-top foreshadowing."
Now, if the nickname is first applied *after* 1730, then, sure, Fritz would have gone for the most obvious possible candidate, and there are several, including my list of P---'s. But I was thinking, and you couldn't know this, of my one canon-compliant fic, where I want some foreshadowing but not too much.
That said, there are also multiple independent AUs in progress, so if we say that Fritz hasn't nicknamed him before 1730, Pythias would work *really* well for the AU where FW chooses not to order Katte's execution. (Huh, apparently Schiller did a take on Damon & Pythias. Is there an opera? Does it have Keenlyside? :P)
In the successful escape attempt AU, well, if I were Fritz, I would wait until FW is dead of natural causes before nicknaming my friend Pylades, but then again Fritz has his reckless side, so why not. :P
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Re: Fredersdorf
Date: 2019-09-09 07:51 pm (UTC)In 1729/1730, Fritz didn't *know* he and Katte were going to be reprising tragedies from antiquity. So while he might have chosen a nickname for Katte signaling "bestest and most loyal friend ever," he might also have chosen any number of other nicknames. And if I, as author, choose one that foreshadows Katte's death and Fritz's reaction to it so blatantly, that's just a little heavy-handed, and I would raise an eyebrow if another fanfic author did it.
Now, granted, this sort of thing happened in real life, just because Achilles and Patroclus were so popular as role models: see also, Alexander and Hephaestion. (And yes, Fritz also used Hephaestion as a nickname.)
But, as they say, the difference between fiction and real life is that real life doesn't have to be plausible. And I would like my fiction to be a little more subtle than "over-the-top foreshadowing."
Now, if the nickname is first applied *after* 1730, then, sure, Fritz would have gone for the most obvious possible candidate, and there are several, including my list of P---'s. But I was thinking, and you couldn't know this, of my one canon-compliant fic, where I want some foreshadowing but not too much.
That said, there are also multiple independent AUs in progress, so if we say that Fritz hasn't nicknamed him before 1730, Pythias would work *really* well for the AU where FW chooses not to order Katte's execution. (Huh, apparently Schiller did a take on Damon & Pythias. Is there an opera? Does it have Keenlyside? :P)
In the successful escape attempt AU, well, if I were Fritz, I would wait until FW is dead of natural causes before nicknaming my friend Pylades, but then again Fritz has his reckless side, so why not. :P