Graham Kemp wrote:
From: The Wanderer <thewanderer@crosslink.net>
To: FFML <ffml@anifics.com>
Subject: [FFML] Ideas galore
Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2001 23:03:21 -0400
First, an explanation.
I'm not an author, and haven't got a prayer of becoming one; I'm only
occasionally even barely competent as a rewriter or an editor. But since
getting hooked on fanfiction, I've been coming up with ideas every now and
then, and writing them down. Some of them are story ideas, some of them are
story-element ideas, some of them are minor things of almost no
significance.
You're kidding, right? Having ideas is a very important first step
towards becoming an author. Of course, the second step is finding
time to put them down on paper (or disk), which is is a mite bit
harder.
No, I'm not kidding. I can't write up to my standards; admittedly, not
exceptionally many people can. More importantly, I can't *plot* worth a
damn; I can, at various times, do beginnings, overviews, or individual
scenes, but I can't do much else, and I can neither link them together
nor go from one to another in a way that produces an actual story rather
than a poorly-done make-everything-perfect sequence that even I don't
find believable. So I don't write at all.
I know that having ideas is, as you put it, a very important first step
towards becoming an author, or rather an essential element of being one;
but since the chances that these ideas will ever be turned into stories
if I just keep them in my miscellaneous file are extraordinarily slim
(what most people would call nonexistent), and I would like to see them
used if there's any merit in them, I wanted to put them out and make
them available. If it happens that I suddenly do find myself able to go
farther than I have on one of these, then the fact that the idea is out
there, and possibly has been used already, won't prevent me from using
it myself.
And now the file has gotten large enough that I think it's worth the time
to post them and see a) what people think and b) if
anyone wants to use any of them. Anyone who wants to can use any of my
ideas, though I'd appreciate being informed of it.
That said, here goes, in the order I've got them down:
It is a tradition that the villains in Sailor Moon are named after
minerals, metals, jewels, and so forth; this results in many names
ending in -ite. In a takeoff on that tradition, I'd like to see a
villain (presumably in a silly fic; now that I think of it, Nuke 'Em
Till They Glow might be ideal) named Catamite.
How about Vegemite?
Another good one!
Here's one that I've got *no* idea how to do; all I have is the title.
It's a fusion of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and Robert Heinlein's
"Starship Troopers" (preferably based on the book, not the movie):
Starship Senshi. Again, I have *no* idea how that might be pulled off,
but the idea came to me so here it is.
True, the senshi would not fit into the military/navy/marine
system of Heinlein's book, but it might be interesting to see
how they handle a Bug invasion.
Yeah...it really wouldn't be a proper fusion without that system,
though.
How's about a variant in which by the time the Senshi are called, the
world has 'progressed' to the state described in Heinlein's novel, and
so things start from there rather than 'modern Japan'?
This one's a bit more complicated. You have two canon universes, one
with the Sailor Senshi, the other with the Sailor Scouts, with all (or
at least most) of the differences that implies. The story happens when
one or more of them gets swapped with her counterpart in the other
universe.
Variations on this have been done, more or less. Often featuring
the Zocite's gender switch between universes.
Haven't seen any, but would like to read some if they're well enough
done; titles?
This one is complicated enough that, rather than try to rephrase it at
the outset, I'll paste in my original overview from my ideas file, like
so:
....!
This was a synopsis! If you can write that, and call it an idea,
you've got to try your hand a writing an actual fic!
I can do fairly well in the general, once I get started; the trouble
arises when I try to go to the specific. Not to mention that although I
can *describe* a sequence of events (large-scale, as with that overview,
or small-scale, as with an individual scene) fairly well at times,
writing it in either first or third person in such a way as to read well
as fiction is (at this point, at any rate) far beyond me.
I'd also note that the overview given is of a beginning and part of a
middle; I don't really know where to go for the rest of the middle
(though I might be able to come up with something; I just didn't want to
constrain any author who might want to use the idea by my having already
gotten too specific and thus limiting) or for the end.
A beginning for any Ranma-crew-in-another-universe crossover:
Nice idea.
I liked it. Would be hard to write, because the pre-story would have to
be nearly a full fic of its own, even though it wouldn't need to have
any of the real weight of the story on it; but it might be worth it.
Would also provide a chance to begin to develop the characters of the
characters in whatever directions you're wanting to take them, or
perhaps to simply make clear the place any such development would be
starting from once it does get going.
If only because of the name, a crossover between Slayers and Buffy the
Vampire Slayer - probably done best by dropping Buffy (and possibly Co.)
into the Slayers universe. The trouble lies in how to handle the
ridiculously out-of-sync power levels of the two canons; one possible
solution would be to have the power level of the Slayer be proportionate to
the power levels of whatever universe she's in at the time.
Buffy the Dragon Slayer?
That would be more of a fusion. Could be done, but wasn't what I was
thinking of.
Actually the power level difference isn't that great. Willow
is one wizdang Witch and Buffy's a physical adept that could
rumble with Gabriev without breaking a sweat.
Yeah, but how would either of them stack up with a dragon or a Mazoku?
And Willow's form of magic might run into problems out of her/its home
universe. It might be worth noting that the various types of magic in
the Slayers universe draw, for the most part (there may be one
exception, but I don't recall clearly), on sources outside the caster
for their power; but magic in the Buffyverse, barring certain types of
ritual magic, apparently draws on the caster hirself for their power,
which sets a much sharper limit on things.
An AMS/Ranma crossover in which Keiichi ends up with a Nyanniichuan
curse (how is left to the discretion of the author). The twist is that
when in female form, for whatever reason (probably something complicated
and cosmic, involving interesting bits of history of the gods), he's a
goddess, despite being perfectly normal-human (in a metaphysical sense) in
male form. This is *not* involving a 'spring of drowned goddess' (which
would be something of a ridiculous concept); it's the same Nyanniichuan
that Ranma fell in. The difference is something to do with Keiichi.
... or with Urd and Skuld trying to cure him and crosslinking his
file on the Yggdrassil system, registering his as a goddess.
'Tis a way it could be done; not one I'd thought of, but probably at
least as good.
I place my vote for this one. I always though that the Miss Keichi
plot line was underplayed.
I actually haven't seen AMS yet; missed a chance to see OMG some years
ago, and haven't had another one since, though there may be one coming
up within a few months with any luck. So I had never heard of 'Miss
Keiichi'; but any day you learn something isn't a total waste. Thanks!
A story of some sort involving a BTVS-style Slayer who drowned at
Jusenkyo (what would *that* spring be called?), and someone who falls
into her spring.
Possibly another same-old-Ranma-story twist (though it's important to
note that the person who gets so cursed does *not* have to be Ranma, or
any associate); it might provide an interesting explanation for why he's so
much better at fighting than most other people (though that should
technically only affect his female form...), but one would probably also
have to deal with the responsibilities/duties of the Slayer.
Nah. I never liked the idea of explaining away Ranma's ability
due to some hidden heritage. Besides, all indications are that
he was gifted at the art long before Jusenkyo.
Yeah, I know; that's part of why I said "might". I'm not fond of that
idea either, but since it could be run that way I felt I might as well
mention it just for completism's sake.
On the other hand, if he received a significant boost to his
fighting skills while female, how would he handle that - given
his ussual sexist attitude.
Yep - that one's definitely part of the idea.
A nice tie-in bit to allow a canon-up-to-a-point Ranma story to branch
off into this would do with the Slayer's ability, little used in BTVS
canon outside of the movie (and early first season), to 'sense' vampires -
possibly tell when one is near (not sure about that), but definitely tell
when a given person is a vampire rather than a normal human. I think it has
something to do with the presence or absence of a soul.
Related to the ability to sence ki/power levels?
Don't think so; because people who aren't the Slayer can sense those,
while to the best of my knowledge only the Slayer has the innate ability
to sense vampires. (Though that might actually not be accurate, now that
I think about it, or at least the ability might be able to be gained by
someone who doesn't innately have it. Various characters, primarily in
"Angel", have recognized someone as a vampire immediately upon seeing
them; the first that I recall was a nun, and most of the others have
been demons.)
A Kasumi who's actually perceptive rather than oblivious would be
formidable.
Hmmm.... There are fanfics which play on the idea that Kasumi
is far more perceptive, and manipulative, than she lets on.
Yes, but my point (or part of it) is that she wouldn't necessarily need
to be manipulative, just more pro-active rather than simply maintaining
some variation on the status quo.
--
The Wanderer
I feel I should warn you I'm slightly mad.
Warning: Simply because I argue an issue does not mean I agree with any
side of it.
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