#Danny gets summoned in a regular basis | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

geekgirles · 3 years ago

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Your Heart

Chapter 3 -- Introductions

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Word Count: 8831

Sleep. Ah, blissful sleep. The Holy Grail Danny had spent his entire high school life looking for, and that still eluded him from time to time. That wonderful feeling when he just collided on his bed after a long day of balancing his secret identity and his civilian one, of ruling over a race whose reputation had earned him the contempt of many, of fighting rebellious spirits...To just let the tiredness wash over and slumber take him was pure bliss.

Could there be anything more amazing?

At this point Danny’s perfect day had evolved from the amazing activities normal people looked forward to ーgoing to the beach with friends, binge-watching an entire season-worth of episodes in a day, ice skating…ーto the simple joys in life, such as getting a full night’s sleep (maybe even sleeping in, if he was lucky), going to the Nasty Burger with Tucker, and just having a normal day.

But, as an aggravating sound would remind him, those days were far and in between.

Twisting around in bed, eyes tightly shut and his face forming a grimace in annoyance, the halfa did everything in his power to ignore that damned noise. Trying hard as he might, there was no turning off the volume of that obnoxious beeping. Giving up, he reached out a hand from under his covers to tap the snooze button.The fucking alarm clock; his worst enemy after Plasmius. And the second most annoyingーthat title belonged to the Box Ghost.

Stifling a yawn with his hand, he got out of bed. Half-heartedly rummaging through his closet, he picked the first thing he could find and went inside his bathroom, having no choice but to start a new day. Once inside, he locked the door and took one look at himself in the mirror, well, as good as a look through sleepy, half-lidded eyes could be. He was greeted by the sight of his ghost form’s nuclear white hair and glowing green eyes. Seeing his reflection, Danny jumped back in surprise, until he remembered the previous day’s events.

After officially meeting the Witch Queen he decided to crash in his lair in the Ghost Zone, too exhausted to return home.

He attributed not realising it sooner to his chambers’ appearance. Soon after he became the Ghost King, he was instructed to create a lair of his own; to cement his current position as ruler among his subjects, and to have a place where they could go in case they needed his help that wasn’t Fenton Works. Clockwork helpfully pointed out that keeping his secret identity from his parents and the citizens of Amity Park would be considerably more difficult if the ghosts had to look for him around town whenever they needed him.

It was also Clockwork who gave him the idea of designing his lair taking himself as inspiration. “Try creating something both familiar and completely foreign; such as your own condition.” the Ghost of Time advised wisely, “Combine things that remind you of your human halfーtry not to make it very obvious, while you’re at itー with the sort of elements typical of the Ghost Zone.”

And hence, he created his lair.

On the outside it looked like a house belonging to the neighbourhoods he and Tucker grew up in, but on the inside he drew inspiration from Pariah Dark’s castle. Only it wasn’t nearly as frightening, just lavish enough to give the impression that someone powerful resided there. But his favourite room was, without a doubt, his own. An almost exact replica of the one at FentonWorksーthe main difference being that this one had its own bathroom and a few large one-way windows he used to oversee his realmー Danny could feel at ease. And, again, it explained why he hadn’t noticed he wasn’t back on Earth. That, and the sleepiness, of course.

Shrugging, he summoned the twin circles of light to surround his body, the familiar, chilly sensation running down his spine. Once he was Danny Fenton again, he stripped off the clothes he’d worn the previous day, got into the shower, and got the water running.

As he showered, his mind raced back to the previous day. In particular, to his meeting with the Queen of the Witches of Amity Park. She was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Even with his alter egos, both of his identities were fairly well-known in the public eye. Danny Fenton was the son of Amity Park’s most notorious ghosthunters, not necessarily for their skill or captured ghosts, but his parents had certainly always been very present around town. With their ghost conferences and pep talks, their field trips searching for ghosts around town, that one time they felt like dressing up like back in the 80’s and embarrassed him and Jazz in the middle of the Nasty Burger just because he’d forgotten his wallet…

Between his parents, puberty, and his new-found ghost powers, his teenage years sure were a blast...

And speaking of ghost powers, there was Danny Phantom. The ghost boy that one day appeared out of the blue, first seen fighting a giant meat monster. The public menace who once attacked the mayor. The spectral intruder who trashed Axion Labs, got one of its employees fired, and was responsible for the rise of the Red Huntress...who also happened to be his sorta-kinda-maybe-it-was-complicated ex-girlfriend. The young hero who valiantly fought against the terrifying, tyrannical Ghost King and defeated him, saving both worlds in the process...only to be then crowned King of the Ghost Zone himself and ignite the ire and distrust of the town whose respect he had just won not even a week prior.

The very same Ghost King who was still doing his best, day after day, to protect everyone from the most malicious ghosts who still challenged his rule. But did anyone care? Well, aside from a, thankfully, ever-growing fan club, if the burn he’d received the other day courtesy of none other than Valerie Gray was any indication...Nope.

Summing up, Danny was fairly well-known.

But the Witch Queen, on the other hand… The only reason he even knew of her existence or where to find her was because he’d found a few pages of Sojourn’s legendary journal flying around the Ghost Zone while he investigated the cause for the numerous portals opening. According to the wandering ghost’s notes, although there were several covens scattered throughout the globe, one in particular had settled in Amity Park after years of travelling around the colonies, fleeing from an event they called ‘The Great Burning’. Although Danny had no idea what that was, even if it did sound bad, what caught his attention was both their abilities, therefore his idea to ask them for help, and the last place Sojourn saw them before continuing on with his own search. He remembered his own eyes widening at the location. A location he knew from personal experience.

The fact that his messenger actually delivered the letter was pure luck, though. For all the halfa knew, the witches could’ve left Amity Park in the centuries between Sojourn’s disappearance and his accident.

Reaching his hand to the faucet, he turned off the water. He grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it around his lower half while he used a smaller one to dry his hair off. Then he grabbed his clothes from the floor where he put them and got dressed. Combing his unruly hair with a hand, since he had long given up on doing anything with it, he stared at his, now, fully-dressed human reflection.

He looked the same as his fourteen-year-old self, except for the more defined physique that came with daily ghost fights. At least there were some perks to getting your ass handed to you on a regular basis. The only other thing that changed was his wardrobe. It was still casual, he wasn’t going to start wearing Giorgio Armani suits anytime soon (it’d make him look like Vlad), but more grown-up, too. In his sleep-induced blindness he managed to pick up some decent clothing: a baby blue shirt over a long-sleeved, white undershirt, dark blue jeans, and beat-up red sneakers. Not bad.

He left the bathroom after brushing his teeth in the sink. Walking down the corridors on his way to the kitchen, his mind went back to his encounter with Lady Arcana. When he became king, Frostbite served as a tutor of sorts. The leader of the Far Frozen made sure he knew everything he would need about the Ghost Zone and its history to be an effective leader. It was because of his lessons that he even knew who Sojourn was! But, most importantly, it was thanks to them that he learned of the existence of witches.

And what he’d learned about them and what they’d done...it was so horrifying he couldn’t blame the ghosts for having a grudge against them that kept them apart for centuries. Thanks to what he’d read and was told about them, Danny knew what to expect from the spellbinding group of women.

Witches were scheming, often fooling people into making a deal with the devil (figuratively speaking, that is) in exchange for things their clients would never be able to afford. They were selfish: the Witch Queen herself only cared about what happened to her people, never mind two entire dimensions! Much like Vlad, they only showed interest in a confrontation or making a deal if they had the upper hand.

Frostbite had every right to be wary of his decision to ask them for help. After all, not only were the witches malicious, they were dangerous. Even if they lacked the standard ghost abilities such as flight, invisibility, and intangibility; their knowledge of magic was enough to give any ghost a hard time. And it was said that the Queen was the most dangerous of them all…

Danny could definitely attest to that. Although he hadn't seen her in action per se, he could feel an inner strength radiating from her the moment they locked eyes. And the way she fiercely fought for her people's safety only proved that. Even if he really found it selfish that she only cared for her people’s sake, Danny had to admit, it made sense, it even made her a good ruler. The only reason he cared about both worlds was because he lived in both worlds. Had he been fully human or fully ghost, deep down he’d only have cared about whatever dimension he belonged to.

Despite all the red flags and warning signs, there was this part of him who truly believed Lady Arcana (what an odd name) was his only hope. He just hoped that part of him had some kind of clairvoyance and wasn’t just indigestion or something.

“Your Majesty, you’re awake!” A high-pitched voice broke him out of his musings. Looking around, he realised he was in the kitchen and the voice belonged to Dora, his maid. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like to eat, so I made everything I could think of.”

When his eyes landed on the food served on the table, he almost had to do a double-take. She sure went all out… Before him lay a carton of milk, eggs cooked in all ways imaginable (fried, scrambled, boiled, Benedict eggs…), over a dozen toasts, a few jars of different jams, bacon, pancakes, around three boxes of cereal, and an arrangement of fruit and juice.

Mouth watering and eyes as big as the saucers set down on the table, he turned to the ghost maiden, “When did you have time to do all this? Did you even sleep?”

The green-skinned spirit raised a hand to politely cover her mouth, chuckling in amusement. “My Lord, you forget we ghosts don’t sleep. So of course I had time to do this.” She smiled at his flushing face, embarrassment for having forgotten about that apparent on his features. “But, please, don’t trouble yourself with such things, your Majesty. Just sit down and eat.”

He did as he was told before reaching out for a few toasts and strawberry jam. He actually hated toast, but then again, that was probably because the Fenton Toaster always made them way too dry. As Dora poured some coffee on his glass, he spoke up, ignoring he was speaking with his mouth full. “I thought I told you to just call me ‘Danny’”, he swallowed, “We’re friends, Dora, remember? You are under no obligation to treat me as anything but that.”

Princess Dorothea, or Dora, was a ghost he met back in freshman year of high school. The first time they met her magical amulet got him in trouble, since it transformed his former crush into a dragon whenever she got angry. The next time they met, though, was when her asshole of a brother was looking for a bride but, being too out of the loop to try online dating, he forced her to organise a beauty pageant with him as the judge. When he defeated Aragon and freed his kingdom, he also freed Dora, who swore to be his ally after that. And the moment he rose as king, she offered to be his maid.

“I know, but what can I say? My brother kept our kingdom in the Dark Ages for 1600 years. Old habits die hard, I suppose.” She defended.

“But you have no trouble keeping up with the current time’s peech pattern.” He pointed out.

Dorothea just shrugged in response.

They stayed in silence for a while after that. While Danny ate his breakfast, Dora cleaned the kitchen. It was usually like that when he stayed in the Ghost Zone long enough to need the kitchen running. Looking at his cellphone, Danny almost spat his food. In an instant, Dora was by his side, making sure he didn’t choke. “Shit! I’m gonna be late!”

With that, he quickly finished his plate with a quick “See ya!” thrown at Dora and transformed, flying around the Ghost Zone until he could make out the Fenton Ghost Portal in the distance. It was still a little early for his parents to be up and running around the lab, so he didn’t have to turn invisible once he reached the lab. Phasing through the ceiling, he was about to make it to the door when the sound of footsteps startled him.

“Danny? Is that you?” came his mother’s voice.

Panicking slightly, he dropped the transformation. By the time his parents came down the stairs, he was nervously waiting for them at the door, fully human. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.” He waved at them with a nervous smile. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Son.” Jack patted his son, who almost reached his 6’1 height, being 5’9 now, on the back. “Did you sleep well?”

“Um, yeah. Fully rested. And you guys?”

“Oh, you bet, Danno!” the Fenton patriarch exclaimed as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “I dreamed I had that putrid, ectoplasmic apparition of a monarch right where I wanted him; with an ecto-blaster aimed right at his forehead!” Jack boasted, completely ignoring how his son suddenly lost some colour in his face.

Sipping at her own mug of coffee, Maddie chimed in, “We didn’t hear you last night. Did you come too late from college, sweetie? Did you need anything?”

Danny rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Although he’d got much better at lying to his parents over the years (a fact he hated), that didn’t mean he felt comfortable doing it. “Yeah, sorry. It was late when I was done studying at the university’s library, but before I could get into my dorm I realised I didn’t have the keys with me.” He explained, hating the way the lie naturally rolled off his tongue. “I came here thinking I must’ve forgotten them the last time I came to visit, but no such luck. Anyway, it was too late to return so I decided to crash. Hope that’s okay with you guys.”

His mother went over to place a kiss on his forehead, mug still in hand. “Don’t be silly, honey. This is your home! You’ll always be welcomed here.”

Jack came to stand beside his wife, a hand resting on her shoulder. “That’s right, Son. We were just a little confused. We didn't hear you coming in, that’s all.”

“Care for some toast?” Maddie offered.

“No, thanks. I already ate, besides, I’m gonna be late for class.”

“Then don’t let us keep you! See you later, Danno!” Jack said with a wave of his hand at the same time as Maddie said, “Bye, sweetie! Come back soon!” After closing the door behind him, he swiftly hid behind a nearby car to transform before leaping into the air and speeding up towards APU (Amity Park University). He wasn’t lying when he said he was going to be late.

Besides, he’d promised Tucker he would meet up with him and someone he was dying to introduce him to today.

...............................

When her alarm clock blared, Sam lazily reached a hand out from her covers to hit the snooze bottom. As the weariness wore off, she arched her back in an attempt to stretch and barely managed to cover her mouth as a yawn came to her. Yanking her red comforter aside, she got up from bed and walked towards her vanity, getting ready to start a new day.

Flopping down her chair, she hazardly opened her eyes to stare at her reflection. An over-sized Humpty Dumpty t-shirt she used to sleep hanging low from one of her shoulders; her disheveled black hair sticking out in disarray; a clammy, pale face contrasting greatly with the dark circles under her eyes… “Aren’t you a sex symbol, Sam.” She drawled sarcastically.

Well, things could only get better from there. Walking over her closet, she picked out the clothes she’d be wearing for the day and then got into the shower. Once she was out and dry, she sat back down her vanity chair and picked up her brush. People always said handling straight hair was easier, but they were wrong. Oh, they were so wrong. Untangling her onix mane was a challenge fit of Hercules himself, with all the tugging it required; case on point, whenever Paulina or Star had to work on her hair, they always marveled she wasn’t already bald.

With her hair taken care of, Sam slipped on her favourite tank top, a black one with a purple circle in its centre. Then came her pants; a pair of black shorts that were ripped at the sides she complemented with a white belt sporting a skull-shaped belt buckle. After that she slipped on a pair of thigh-length purple socks and her favourite steel toe combat boots; black with a row of three buckles on each side. When it came to accessorizing, Sam opted for her trademark black choker and bracelets and a purple opera glove on her left arm; Star recommended it, saying, “there’s just something so fashionable about asymmetry.”

Last but not least would be her make-up. Sam went for her usual style; not too over-the-top, but not too bland either. And so, she carefully applied a heavy coat of eyeliner and mascara on her eyelids and lashes, respectively; and her trademark violet lipstick. Now, the only thing left to do was the spell.

After listening intently and making sure no one was coming, Sam conjured in hushed tones, “Mutatio speciei.” With that, a swirly mist enveloped her head and, where once were her back-length inky locks framing her face, was now a different hairstyle. While the right side of her face remained the same, her left side was shaved with purple undertones, a tiny green ponytail in a purple scrunchie sticking out. Her lavender eyes had been replaced by a pair of hazel ones, and due to her hairdo, the two orbital piercings decorating her lower lobe were visible.

Satisfied with her look, she stood up from her chair, closed the door behind her, and descended the stairs to her kitchen. Yes, her kitchen. Not the one at the clan’s manor. While the large mansion located at 917 Maple Street, which the citizens of Amity Park believed to be an abandoned townsend place that could be rented for Halloween (they had to get funds from somewhere), served as her coven’s headquarters, training grounds, and shelter, the relatively lavish home in the upper class part of town was when she was raised.

In fact, every single witch had a house outside of the manor, for it was crucial to keep their identities hidden. Since having purple eyes and ebony hair was a huge giveaway of her real identity, Sam had to perform that one simple shapeshifting spell to make sure nobody ever recognised her. And now that Danny Phantom had seen her face, even if he didn’t know her real identity, all the more reason to be careful.

After her talk with the king of the Ghost Zone, Sam was almost tempted to think he was someone she could trust. Almost. Even with the explanation of their worlds depending on each other to exist, the Witch Queen still didn’t cross out the possibility of having been lied to. Phantom was known for being capable of anything if it saved the day. And lying to the leader of a tribe of magic users was sure to be nothing for him.

Even if he’d seen a lot less arrogant than he gave the impression of whenever he battled a rogue ghost, with all those puns and the constant taunting, he acted rather...humble towards her. He didn’t even show signs of animosity until she tested the waters and sneered at his kind. But that didn’t mean she was going to let her guard down around him anytime soon. If there was one thing dating that lying, good-for-nothing, Hungarian wannabe had taught her, it was that when something seemed too good to be true, it usually was.

After setting a carton of soy milk, a bowl with cereal and an apple down on the kitchen table, she sat down on her chair. Her dad, Jeremy Manson, read the newspaper with a steaming mug of black coffee beside him. Registering movement from the corner of his eyes, he lowered the paper. “Good morning, Sammy. Did you sleep well?”

Sam sent her dad a small smile. “Yes, Dad. How ‘bout you?”

Jeremy lifted a shoulder up, a nonchalant expression on his face. “Oh, you know… Same all, same all. It’s a bit harder to sleep when your mother’s away, planning events. But that’s how it is, isn’t it? While I oversee the company, she takes care of the social gatherings. We’re a great team like that.” He stated proudly.

“Yeah. You sure are…” Sam commented despondently. She didn’t have the heart to see what being married to a witch meant for her dad. Even though Jeremy was a true Manson, being Ida’s only child, the fact that he was a man meant he had little to no affinity to magic, and therefore, he could never be a part of their clan. The closest he got was marrying Pamela, a witch from a lesser family he somehow fell in love with. Neither Sam nor her Grandma put it past her that she’d been purposely hunting him down, since not only was he the Queen’s son, but Ida’s own father had been a successful and wealthy inventor.

Her Grandma often told her the main reason she accepted her mother was because she, somehow, made her dad happy and she’d given her the most wonderful granddaughter anyone could ask for.

Grandma Ida, on her part, always did her best to show her son how much she loved him, but their circumstances made it very difficult for them to spend time together; especially because Jeremy didn’t even know his mother was a witch. And neither did any other man involved with a woman from their clan, for that matter.

Being part of a secret, women-only tradition made it very difficult for them to have normal lives. It was imperative that the coven never died, which meant they needed children. There were only two ways of doing so: either a witch went downtown in search of a one-night-stand during her fertile days, or she used her civilian identity to start a family. The latter alternative also meant she’d have to protect herself and her children from a possible betrayal, hence, there was a special spell designed to keep their husbands in the dark when it came to their wives and daughters’ activities. In the worst case scenario, that is to say, that they’d been caught doing something suspicious or even performing magic, their partner was bound to forget all about it.

That was the reason why her dad thought Pamela was out planning social events for the sake of the company when, half of the time, she was actually in the manor. It was also the reason why he never commented on the way his daughter’s appearance would constantly change in ways it shouldn’t.

“I like what you’ve done to your hair.” He suddenly said, before taking a gulp of his coffee. “Did you use that new eco-friendly shampoo you wanted to try?”

Sam couldn’t help but smile at the way his father, who was incapable of remembering or realising certain things due to a spell, never failed to realise others. Especially if it concerned her. “Yeah. It’s got passion fruit, blackberries, and I don’t know what else.”

“Well, I like it!”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“I’ve been thinking,” Jeremy started, giving his daughter his full attention with a soft smile on his face, “since your mother said she’d be busy next Saturday, what do you say we go check out that new vegetarian restaurant you wanted to try out, um?”

Sam’s entire face lit up at that. “Are you serious?”

The blond man chuckled at his daughter’s child-like excitement; it’d been too long since the last time he saw it, “Yes, why not? I’m free that day and you’re always saying how much you want to go. So, what do you say? Do you have any extracurricular activities planned?”

‘Extracurricular activities.’ That was what she and her mother said whenever they talked about her role as the Witch Queen around the house. “I think I’m free, too. Sounds great, Dad.” The young woman smiled at her father warmly.

It was ironic, she couldn’t help but think. Due to all her responsibilities now and growing up, Sam never got to spend much time with her father; she was always near Pamela or her grandma. And yet, she was much closer to him, who actually made an effort to understand and encourage her interests ーespecially if Pamela wasn’t aroundー, than her mother. Then again, perhaps it was precisely because they weren’t together often that she was closer to him. Maybe she’d feel as suffocated around him otherwise.

After all, wasn’t that what people always said? ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder’?

“Got any plans for today, Sammy?”

“Oh, you know, same as always. Go to class, pay attention in class, go to the library, my...extracurricular activities,” she coughed nervously at that, “come back home, and repeat.” Taking a bite of her apple, her eyes suddenly widened as she remembered something important. “Shit, I almost forgot! Today I agreed to meet up with a friend and someone he wants to introduce me to!”

Sam facepalmed herself. How could she have forgotten about that?!

“First of all, language.” Jeremy admonished her lightly. “And second, then I guess your day won’t be the ‘same as always’ after all.”

The raven-haired girl snorted at her dad’s sense of humour. Dad jokes. They weren’t her cup of tea, preferring witty remarks and dark humour, but they did the trick. Sometimes. “I guess not, Dad.”

“And who’re you meeting up with, kiddo?”

“Oh, my friend Tucker. I don’t think you know him because we mostly hang out at campus. Last week he came to me to ask me for a favour.”

“What sort of favour?” The blond middle-aged man raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

“He wants to introduce me to a friend of his. Apparently, he’s writing a paper on a subject I know quite a lot of.” She was just surprised there were classes teaching her subject of expertise that she wasn’t already a member of.

“His friend’s writing a paper on environmental law? Then you probably know them already!” Jeremy stated, setting his newspaper down.

“Dad, I’m in college, not high school, remember?” She sent him an amused look. “Even in regular classes there’s tons of people I don’t even know the names of.” Sam was tempted to tell him Tucker’s friend was probably not writing about environmental law, either, but she held her tongue. Better play along.

“Well, have a nice day anyway, honey.” He pointed at the clock hanging from the wall with a knowing smirk. “You should hurry up, too.”

Following the direction his thumb pointed at, Sam barely held herself back from cursing again. Eating the remaining food in a couple of large bites, she lunged herself out of the house the moment she grabbed her purple, spider-shaped backpack from a nearby chair. Once outside, she slid her arms through the straps before adjusting them. And with that, she ran to the nearest bus stop.

She couldn’t be late.

...................

“Did you have fun last night?”

The bespectacled young man watched as his best friend all but threw himself face-first at his bed on the other side of their room. A groan was all he received as a response. With a sigh, he set his tablet down on the table, directing his full attention to the exhausted half-ghost in front of him. “Could you please repeat that? My Groan-ish is a bit rusty.”

With great effort, Danny rose his head from his pillow, shooting a tired glare at Tucker. “Not in the mood, Tuck.”

“I’m gonna take that as a ‘no’”. He said before getting up from his chair to grab a mug and pour Danny some coffee. An intense espresso with no milk or sugar. Just like the dolt was addicted to.

Their room was an average one. Two beds, each on either side of the room; a kitchenette as you opened the door to step inside whose only appliances they used were the fridge and the microwave, both college students being way too dangerous to be trusted with their daily food. Each of them had a little, wooden desk on their respective side to work on projects and study, and in the middle of the room was a modest table where they ate.

When they first stepped foot in, he and Danny knew the room would undergo some major changesーor as big as the campus’ rules would allow. As time went by, though, only Tucker’s side looked almost identical to his own room back home. But since Danny often ended up crashing in his lair in the Ghost Zone or back at Fenton Works, that was to be expected. Case on point, while Tucker’s side was filled to the brim with screens, computer parts, wires, and the occasional top secret ghost-hunting project; Danny’s only way of telling there’d been some kind of change since they first got the room were his clothes in his drawers, and the occasional space and rock band poster on the wall. Other than that, it couldn’t be any more impersonal.

When he offered the mug to him, Danny snatched it from his hands like a dehydrated man in the middle of the desert would snatch a water bottle. “Correction: I’m gonna take that as ‘rough night doesn’t even begin to cover it.’”

“You have no idea…” Danny said in between gulps of caffeinated goodness. “Remind me again why I thought organising a meeting with the Witch Queen on a Sunday, knowing full well I had several killer classes the next day, was a good idea?”

“Probably because the rest of your week was booked anyway.” Tucker replied offhandedly as he grabbed his chair and got it closer to Danny’s bed. Spinning it around so its back was facing his best friend, he flopped down, a smirk on his face. “Speaking of, how was it? Was the Witch Queen as much of an old troll as we suspected?”

Turning around on his back, Danny rolled his eyes. “I’d wiー” he stopped himself short; one never knew when Desiree was lurking. Clearing his throat, he went on, “I mean, if only. That would’ve made talking to her easier. But, no! She had to be a purple-eyed, hottie brunette!”

Tucker perked up at that. “Wait, she was hot?” A nod from Danny. “Dude, that’s awesome! Wait a minute. Are we talking about Paulina-from-high-school hot, or regular hot?”

“Believe me, there was nothing regular about her.”

“So she was Paulina-from-high-school hot.”

“No, they’re completely different. Lady Arcana ーyeah, that’s her name. Don’t give me that look; I’m not the one who came up with it!ー has the kind of looks that come with a warning sign: ‘you can look, but if you so much as lay a finger on me, you’re dead.’”

“Okay,” Tucker drawled, “So, again, she’s basically Paulina-from-high-school hot.”

Danny shook his head. Tucker wasn’t there, so of course he wouldn’t get it. “No. If you got on her bad side, Paulina would throw the football team at you. Lady Arcana looked like she could kill you with her bare hands.”

The technophiliac tapped his finger against his chin pensively, registering the new information. “I see, so she was drop-dead gorgeous, but in a literal sense.”

“Are her looks all you’re going to fixate on?” Danny asked flatly, before conceding, “But yes, that is a more accurate way to describe her.”

Seeing as his friend was having none of it, Tucker limited himself to raising his palms up in a placating manner. “Sorry, dude. Just trying to dissipate some of the tension coming off of you. Serious talk, now, though. How did it go?”

The blue-eyed young man ran a hand through his jet-black hair, groaning. “Fine, I guess?”

The techno geek frowned. “Fine, you guess? What’s that supposed to mean? Did she or did she not agree to help you?”

“She did.” Danny nodded, but the uneasy expression didn’t leave his face.

Now it was Tucker who wasn’t having none of it. “So? Come on, man! Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?”

“I don’t know. Frostbite has warned me several times now that asking the witches for help might bite me in the ass...Not with those exact words, of course, but you get the idea.” He elaborated as he repositioned himself on the bed until he was seated on it and facing Tucker.

“So you’re afraid that might happen now.” Tucker guessed.

Danny nodded. “But that’s not all. I have the feeling I might have brought this on myself.” Before Tucker could get a word in, the halfa stopped him with a raise of his hand. “I mean, I already knew I’d be risking a potential betrayal the moment I sent that letter butー.”

“Letters,” Tucker scoffed in disbelief. “In the 21st century. Only for that I already have a feeling I would never get along with one of them.” When he noticed Danny’s withering glare directed at him for interrupting him, the teal-eyed young man smiled sheepishly at him. “Uh, sorry.”

With a roll of his eyes, Danny went on. “As I was saying, I already knew what was on the line when I wrote to her, but I had a plan, you know? If she refused, I’d just have to look for an alternative. But if she didn’t, then I would keep my guard up. But something happened.”

He took Tucker’s silence and his raised eyebrows as a sign to continue. “She agreed to come to the Ghost Zone, she and two other witches came to the Ghost Zoneー.”

“Only two?”

“That’s what I said. Anyways, as I was trying to explain the problem, she basically made it clear that the issue with the portals was none of her business and made her way to the door.”

“None of her business?” Tucker echoed in disbelief. “But of course it’s her business. If there’s a problem in the Ghost Zone, that means the Earth’s next! How could she act like she wants nothing to do with the matter?”

“But that’s just the thing!” Danny pressed. “At first glance, it looked like she didn’t know. After I explained things to her, she seemed far more willing to associate herself with me, albeit very reluctantly.”

What was it with his best friend and never making sense? “Okay, so she accepted. She’s going to help you out. Care to enlighten me in regards to what the problem seems to be?” The techno geek crossed his arms, not following.

“I was getting there!” Danny defended. “The problem is that I was supposed to go on with my life if she said no. Well, she said no, and I practically begged her to help us!”

Okay, that sounded more serious, and not only because it must’ve been a huge blow to Danny’s ego. “Why’d you do that, dude? She’d just given you your ticket out of your,” he paused, thinking better of what he was going to say, “of your second death sentence.”

The halfa just shook his head, groaning. “I don’t know, Tuck. It’s just...One second she was making her leave, and the next there was this voice in my head that panicked. There was this...this...feeling that only she could be of help. So, against all common sense, I stopped her and tried reasoning with her. And now I’m stuck working with a woman who will not hesitate to stab me in the back with her magic wand.”

“Whoa. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was fate and you two are destined to be together.” At Danny’s murderous glare, Tucker burst out laughing. “I..I’m sorry...m-man! It...it’s j-just...t-too good!” He said in between wheezes.

Danny huffed. “As if! Lady Arcana might be pretty, but she is so not my type. Too brooding, with too many trust issues, and far too willing to kill me for real. The less I have to interact with her, the better.”

Sometime during his rant, he closed his eyes as he folded his arms over his chest as he leaned back on his wall, maybe to drive the point home. When he opened them, though, he found Tucker’s smirking face. The sight unnerved him; that was not what he was expecting to see. “What?”

“Are you sure she’s not your type?” The bespectacled young man asked in a teasing tone. “‘Cause you just described Valerie, and, unless my memory fails me, she was so your type back in high school.”

His smirk only widened at his blue-eyed best friend’s dark scowl. “Shut up, Tuck.”

Tucker threw his arms up in surrender, the teasing grin never leaving his face. “I’m just saying, man. Valerie has been hellbent on vaporising you with her ecto-guns for years and that didn’t stop you from crushing on her and giving her lovesick puppy looks even after she ‘broke up’ with you for the remainder of high school.”

Danny rolled his eyes at the reminder. “Trust me, Tuck. Falling for the Queen of the Witches of Amity Park would be like falling for Vlad.”

They both shuddered at the thought.

Finally, Tucker decided to let the issue go with a shrug of his shoulders. “Whatever you say. Just don’t forget we’re meeting up with Sam in an hour.”

That took Danny aback. “With whom?”

Exasperated, Tucker rolled his eyes. “Sam.” He repeated. “You know, that friend of mine I met last year in the library? When you told me you might be working with witches to solve the portal problem I arranged for us to hang out together.”

“Okay, now I remember. What I don’t remember, though, is how this ‘Sam’ is going to be of any help.”

“Dude! Sam knows a helluva lot of stuff about the occult! Probably because she’s a Goth…” He added then, as an afterthought. “Trust me, if there’s someone who can help you take whatever the Witch Queen throws at you, that’s her.”

Danny sighed in defeat. It wouldn’t hurt to try. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to be on time for once, would it?”

“No, what would hurt is making Sam wait.”

Suddenly, Danny wasn’t so sure this was a good idea.

..........................

The You Mocha Me Crazy was one of Amity Park University’s hidden treasures. While most people gathered at the several Starbucks Coffee establishments spread throughout campus, only a few students knew of the Mocha’s existence or gave the quaint café the time of day.

A small store in the outskirts of campus, near the Law building, the café had more than enough to be the perfect place to relax, or hang out with friends. On the right corner of the store was the counter where people asked for their coffees, with a stand dedicated to displaying the day’s assortment of cakes, sweets, and sandwiches. On the left corner, in contrast, lay a small stage, surrounded by several tables and chairs, that was usually used for the café’s weekly Open Mic nights every Friday. On Open Mic night customers could do basically anything; read their poetry aloud, organise gigs for their bands, try some stand-up comedy… Anything, really. There weren’t organised events for each different artistic approach because the shop was well aware of its obscure status; they didn’t want to attract too much attention.

Summing up, the You Mocha Me Crazy screamed individuality and integrity, which was why Sam was hopelessly in love with the place. The fact that it also had a varied, high quality vegan menu didn’t hurt, either.

“Hi, Sam! Same as usual?” Robert, the barista that was usually manning the counter when Sam went to the café, asked her once it was her turn to order.

“Actually, I’ll start with just a macchiato with soy milk. I’m actually introducing this place to someone and I wouldn’t like to have already ordered without them here.” Sam corrected gently, smiling at him.

“You’re meeting up with someone?” The barista’s eyebrows raised in surprise as he hit the code into the cashier. “Have you found yourself a boyfriend this past week I haven’t seen you around?” He teased her goodnaturedly.

The hazel-eyed witch shook her head slowly with a small smile on her face. “Nah, I’ve been way too busy.” That wasn’t a lie. “Besides, you already know dating is the last thing on my mind at the moment.” That wasn’t a lie, either. “A friend of a friend of mine needs help writing a paper, so we’re going to meet up.”

“Yeah, that makes more sense. I mean, you made it pretty clear that you weren’t looking for a boyfriend when you turned me down.” Robert pouted. For a moment, Sam was worried he might still be hurt over it, but his teasing wink soon put her mind at ease.

She felt comfortable enough to joke around a bit herself. “Oh, please! You say the craziest things, Robert. As if I could ever choose somebody else over you; where would I get free coffee then?”

With an amused expression, the young man set her order down on the counter. “Here you go, Sam. Enjoy!”

Taking her drink, she threw him a quick, “I will, thanks!” and a generous tip as she made her way to a three chair table. Sitting down, she brought her laptop out of her backpack to work on her latest assignment to kill some time as she waited for Tucker and his friend to arrive, taking gulps of her drink now and then.

Her friendship with Tucker was an odd one. And by odd she meant they couldn’t be more different, they couldn’t have met in any weirder circumstances, and they couldn’t get along any better.

Sam met Tucker the previous year, during finals. She was busy studying at the library for her Law and Policy of Climate Change exam when this guy approached her.

He was an African American man around her age. Though he wasn’t what most people would identify as an Adonis, he wasn’t hard on the eyes, either, just...not necessarily Sam’s type. He wore thick-framed glasses, a white dress shirt under a mustard vest, fern green pants, black dress shoes, and a worn-off, red beret.

What truly was odd about their first meeting was that Tucker had tried to hit on her, and Sam didn’t even try to break his arm! When she told Paulina and Star about it the next day, the Latina was crying tears of joy while her blonde counterpart made sure their queen didn’t have a fever.

She had to stop him in his tracks the moment he tried setting up a date with her in a nearby grill. At the mere mention of her being ultra-recyclo-vegetarian, he immediately lost all interest. Despite everything, though, they started talking and, even if they couldn’t be more different ーTucker was majoring in engineering with a minor in computer science, Sam studied environmental law; Tucker was a bigger carnivore than a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Sam didn’t eat anything with a face; Tucker believed in progress through technology, Sam was all about an ecological agenda…ーthey hit it off just fine. After that day, they often texted each other or hung out around campus.

Today, however, was the first time she’d be meeting his famous best friend and roommate; Danny.

Sam was woken up from her reverie by the chime of the door’s bell. Looking up, she noticed Tucker, who happened to be wearing the very same outfit from the day they met, and a guy who happened to tower over him. Oh, great! She was going to be surrounded by giants!

Once they stepped foot inside the café Sam had told him to go to, which had to be on the edge separating Earth from the Ghost Zone, judging by how far from the dorms it was; Tucker looked around until he spotted a purple, gloved hand waving at him. There she was. Nudging at Danny with his shoulder, he pointed at the table where Sam was at before waving at her himself and making their way over.

Taking a good look at who she guessed was Danny, Sam had to admit, he looked kinda cute. With his unkempt jet-black hair that was either natural or a product of countless hours styling it in front of the mirror; the defined lines of his body, the awkwards yet somewhat assured way he carried himself…

The moment they made it to her table she got up. “Took you guys long enough. Did you have trouble finding the place?” She said as she pulled Tucker in for a hug. Normally she wasn’t one for physical affection, but she hadn’t seen him in over a month, so it wouldn’t kill her to be a bit more affectionate for once.

“Well, we would’ve arrived sooner if you’d told us this place exists in its own place of existence.” Tucker rolled his eyes as he broke the hug, his hands resting on her forearms. “I think coming here should qualify as physical exercise; my high school gym teacher would be so proud!” He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye in mock nostalgia.

While Sam rolled her eyes with a knowing smile on her face, she noticed Tucker’s friend chuckling beside him. “Please, Tuck...Knowing Tetslaff, she wouldn’t be proud unless you came here riding a monocycle at the same time as you juggle snakes.”

“Sad but true.”

“You must be Danny,” Sam addressed him for the first time since they entered the café. She held out her hand for him to shake, “Tucker has told me a lot about you.”

“Should I be worried?” Danny joked with a small grin as he took her hand.

The moment their hands touched, however, a familiar sensation ran through their spines. There was something familiar about the, seemingly, natural cold radiating from Danny’s body; and an unexplainable wave of heat coursed through his body the moment he touched Sam’s skin.

Now that he took a closer look, there was something familiar about her as a whole. As if they’d already met. Which was strange, because he was sure he’d never be able to forget a girl with a look as unique as Sam’s.

Before he could ask her, however, Sam beat him to it. “Have I met you before? ‘Cause you look really familiar…”

Somehow, that made more sense. With an uneasy smile, Danny tried to will the embarrassed blush creeping up on his face in line. “My name’s Danny Fenton. The Fentons, the ghost-hunters, are my parents. They...appear on TV often.” Although, in their case, it’s never something to brag about, he thought to himself.

Understanding seemed to dawn on her, for she exclaimed. “Oh, that must be it! Well, Danny, I’m Sam. Sam Manson.”

“As in Samantha?” Danny was immediately confused when Sam’s lazy grin morphed itself into a nasty frown.

“Yes. But call me anything other than Sam and I will bury you six feet under.” Something about the way she said it made him understand she would keep good on her threat. Why was he only meeting dangerous girls lately?

Looking down at their still intertwined hands, an impish grin on his face, Tucker thought it was the perfect time to intervene. “If you guys are done memorising each other’s footprints through physical contact, I’m starving.” He turned to wait in line. “Come on, Sam. You promised this place had food that’s not necessarily green and leafy.”

Looking down themselves and realising they were still shaking hands, the two young adults snatched them away, as if they’d been burned, muttering awkward apologies to each other.

“Yeah, come on...Let me show you what they have.”

As the three waited in line, Danny cleared his throat to get Sam’s attention in an effort to alleviate the sudden tension Tucker’s comment had caused. “Just so you know, I’m not here because I wanted Tucker’s help at picking up girls; I really need your help writing this paper. The topic is a bit hard to find in a school library and Tucker said you really know your stuff, so…”

Sam could only snort at his awkwardness. There was something endearing about his dorkiness, not like she’d ever admit it, though. She meant it when she said she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. Besides, cute dork or not, Danny was too...normal, for her taste. “Oh, relax. I know that already. I wasn’t suspecting you of having ulterior motives; don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I mean, do you seriously expect me to believe anyone would ask Tucker for help when it comes to picking up girls?” Putting a hand on her hip, she couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. “Please, I’m more popular with the ladies than he is.”

“You don’t say.” A devilish grin made its way to Danny’s face, who was looking at Tucker with what could only be described as endless mischief.

Having heard Sam’s uncalled for comment and sensing Danny’s unforgiving eyes burning a hole on his head, Tucker huffed, crossing his arms indignantly. “Okay, okay! That one cute girl did give you her number instead of me. But I’m not going to complain about not being dating material to a cute lesbian; that’s pitiful.”

“Actually...she was bi.” Sam corrected him, almost doubling over in laughter at the sight of Tucker’s eyes comically snapping open. By her side, Danny was doing a poor job trying to stifle his own snickers. “She just wasn’t into you.”

Under Tucker’s withering glare, Danny cleared his throat in an attempt to appear nonchalant. Once he got his laughter under control, he turned to Sam. “Oh, you’re comfortable enough to make jokes at Tucker’s expense! Either you two are good friends...or you two literally just met.”

Turning away from them in an indignant huff, Tucker muttered. “Introducing you two to each other has been a terrible mistake.”

Neither could help bursting out laughing at their friend’s comment. Sharing mischievous smiles, eyes twinkling in amusement, Danny and Sam stared at each other. Maybe they weren’t each other’s first choice for company, but something told them something good would come out of that coffee date, even if it wasn’t really a coffee date since, well, they weren’t looking for a partner in each other. But, hey, they both could use a new friend.

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eljackinton · 4 years ago

Text

So Here's how I'd pitch a new Star Wars

Star Wars isn't going anywhere. That much is fundamentally clear. When will the franchise grace the silver screen again? That is somewhat unclear. At least outside of stand-alone spin-off films anyway. While originally having plans to have a Star Wars film come out annually, the planned new 'trilogies' fell by the wayside, and a more sporadic schedule starts with Rogue Squadron in 2023

Disney originally figured that if people could eat up the multiple superhero epics served up on a regular basis, that they'd be just as eager for seconds with the galaxy far, far away. However, after the split opinion over The Last Jedi, muted enthusiasm for Solo and all round universal disappointment of Rise of Skywalker, such a proposition now seems little more than a pipe dream.

While the various spin-offs in the world of TV and Video Games seem to assure us that new content will continue to tick over, it's unclear if Star Wars' future will ever return to blazing a trail into new territory, new worlds, new ideas and concepts, or if it will only ever dip back into the well of familiar faces and settings in perpetuity.

Is it just going to be Mandalorians and Tie Fighters all the way down?

I can't see the future, but what I can do is ask "What would I do if it was my call?" So, I got to thinking about how, if given the opportunity, I would bring Star Wars back to the screen in a brand new adventure. This isn't a side story or shifted point of view. This isn't something dumped into the cracks between films. This would be, for all intents and purposes, new Star Wars in every way those words imply.

So with that overlong pre-amble over, let's begin.

First up, here's my statement of intent. My idea of what a new Star Wars should be and how it would aim to achieve that.

To me, a new Star Wars should need to meet the following criteria:

- This film should be as welcoming to new viewers as it is to existing fans.

- It should be as brand new a story as it can be. New characters, new conflicts, new worlds.

- It should still feel like a Star Wars film. No matter what, it should still be recognisably Star Wars.

- The story should feel significant. An important chapter in the setting's history, not a small secondary side story.

So with these three criteria I reasoned I should give myself several specific limitations:

- No returning characters. No cameos and as few explicit references to the wider setting as possible.

- No relying on old visual designs. This is a new setting. No Rebellion or Empire. No Stormtroopers, Tie Fighters or Death Stars.

- This is a story must be set after all previous Star Wars stories. This will not be a prequel.

- The first film must be as self-contained as possible. Room will be left for a trilogy but it shouldn't be riddled with mysteries and loose ends.

So, in conclusion, we want a film that feels fundamentally Star Wars without relying on the crutch of nostalgia. We want a film that can fill that gap that only Star Wars can, without feeling as though we're revisiting beats and concepts from earlier stories. We want a film that can live up to the title, in their big neon yellow, but also feel like new, untrodden ground.

No small task.

So, to introduce you to what I've come up with, cue fanfare, start opening scroll...

STAR WARS

THE KYBER CONFLICT

It is a time of unbroken peace. Overseen by the ruling ARISTOCRACY

miners in the system of Windar have discovered vast deposits of

valuable KYBER CRYSTALS buried within it's moon.

Long known as the power source for their ancient lightsabres

the JEDI ORDER dispatches two of it's

representatives to negotiate a trade.

However, in the wake of their discovery there is rumblings

of descent in the MINER'S UNION. Perused by agents from the the

INCOM CORPORATION, the workers have taken possession of

an override chip that they hope they can use to change their fortunes.

So, quickly we establish the state of the universe. We're a couple generations after the sequel trilogy. The Republic and the Jedi are back, though not unchanged. They could use the 'Order of Skywalker' moniker to leave the suggestion that Luke and Rey's legacy has passed into legend, but I'm easy on that. We're in a new, fresh part of the galaxy that is outside of the Republic's influence.

PROLOGUE

The film begins. The camera drops down onto two large bodies in space. A planet and it's moon, which appear to be linked via a massive, tube-like, space elevator. Whizzing along the exterior of the elevator from the planet to the moon are two ships. The smaller of the two is a bashed up, industrial ship, where the larger in pursuit is a sleek red interceptor that looks more like a yacht.

Cut to the interior of the industrial ship. Our film is beginning in much the same way A New Hope did. Jostled in the explosion are our first two characters. TIBBITS and BR-NDA. Tibbits is a short blue engineer probably played by Danny DeVito, and BR-NDA is a horse-sized Gonk droid. These two play as a sort of inverse C3-P0 / R2-D2 dynamic. Tibbits is a confident and often flippantly negligent engineer, where BR-NDA, through beeps and borps, constantly tries to disprove with how relaxed he is.

As Tibbits and BR-NDA talk, they debate how much longer the ship will hold up against the state-of-the-art firepower from their INCOM attackers. Incom did make the X-Wings, after all. Soon enough they are summoned by SORLOV, who is head of the MINER'S UNION, a Duros who is sort of a rugged hard nosed general type. Also, he wears a wig, and this goes unremarked upon. I just like the idea of hairless aliens wearing wigs as a fashion statement.

Through dialogue the stakes of the situation are established. The miners have recently stole something called an 'override chip' from Incom HQ, which has gotten them into trouble. They don't have much time, and need to make their escape.

Again mirroring A New Hope, miners armed with blasters run to repel borders. Sorlov however, chooses to fight with them, and tells Tibbits and BR-NDA to hit the escape pods. Stormtrooper-like, red-armoured Incom security troops board the ship, a fight ensues, forcing a bunch of them into retreat.

Just as Darth Vader did in A New Hope, a menacing figure now enters. This figure, however, wears a rugged-looking cream coloured trench coat, a tall collar covering his face and a cowboy-like hat. This is ROAKE, and he is essentially a union busting space-Pinkerton. The officers tell Roake that they got everyone, but Roake belittles them, knowing better.

Roake manages to find a hidden passage to the cargo bays, and caches Sorlov and his men trying to get to the escape pods. With duel pistols Roake quickly dispatches all but Sorlov, who he needs alive to find out where, 'the chip' is. Almost in a Mexican stand off the two reach for their guns, before BR-NDA deploys a smoke screen and facilitates their escape. Falling towards the moon, Tibbits laments that it's finally over, but Sorlov states "The change coming to Windar is only beginning."

ACT 1

Cut to another ship descending towards Windar's green and pleasant surface. Within are two Jedi Knights on a diplomatic mission, harking back to The Phantom Menace. The master, KARIS, and the apprentice RISTIN, both discuss their mission and essentially set the scene for the viewers.

Windar part of the DEMAR PROVINCES, a collection of planets overseen by the aristocratic DUKE WILHELM DEMAR and his two sons LOUIS and LUCIAN. Recently mining operations on Windar's moon discovered a mother-lode of KYBER CRYSTALS. This has drawn the attention of the UNITED REPUBLIC, who covet the scarce crystals to both facilitate the manufacture of Jedi lightsabres, but also to keep it out of the hands of those who would use them to build Death Star-scale planet destroying weapons.

KARIS and RISTIN have been sent to negotiate with the brothers DeMar for access to the moon's mines, and in return offer the provinces exclusive membership into the Union.

Cut to two lightsabres, one red, one gold, colliding with each other with a mighty crack. We pull back to see the two men wielding them. Two smartly dressed but foppish looking men. These are the brothers mentioned earlier. Louis is the older of the two, handsome but somewhat boyish. His younger brother Lucian is likewise dashing, but has a sinister look to him.

The brothers continue to fight with the lightsabres. They do not wield them like swords, or katanas, however, but fence with them. This fight is a gentleman's friendly. As they thrust their blades back and forth, they throw out the occasional jibe, and reiterate the situation from their perspective. Louis is pleased that they have the chance to join the wider galaxy in the Republic, but Lucian is less convinced, and doesn't want to consider the agreement until he knows "how much they'll pay," for the Kyber crystals. Both mention that undue pressure is upon them from their father.

As the fencing match concludes, the Jedi arrive, and are shocked and surprised to see the two men wielding lightsabres. The brothers explain that they were found on Windar's moon, amongst ruins of a possibly, pre-schism Jedi temple. The Jedi are somewhat miffed that the brothers are treating the relics as playthings, but don't want to cause unnecessary conflict. Louis offer to show the Jedi the mining operation on the moon, while Lucian covertly conceals the two sabres in his belt.

The two groups negotiate as they travel from Windar's palace, a beautiful Versailles-style building built upon green and verdant mountains. The space elevator which they travel to, is a blight on the landscape, and the first sign that all of not well with the mining that has been brought to Windar.

The conversation between the two groups continue as they enter the elevator and begin to ascend to the moon. Lucian boasts that it was built by the Incom corporation "You know, the people that built the X-Wings!" and that it's presence symbolises a new beginning for the DeMar provinces.

As they arrive on the moon, they board a mining transport and head out across the rocky landscape. As it moves, Louis looks down at a gaggle of miners, who glare back at him. Our perspective now shifts to the young miners SHANI and buff Twi'lek T'SALA. They talk about Sorlov's recent escapade, that they have 'the chip' and that a strike can begin any day now. T'sala is enthusiastic, but Shani is unsure they are ready. T'sala reassures her that "We have it in us to make this world anew."

Back with the brothers and the Jedi, Lucian has led them out above a deep cavern that is set out to be their next big mining operation, and massive veins of Kyber can be seen in the rocks below. He presses Master Karis to give him a definitive answer as to how much the Republic is going to pay them for the crystals.

As diplomatically as she can, Karis explains that their payment is membership into the Republic, and that no money is on the table. Once in the union they will be entitled to the privileges therein but are obligated to turn over the crystals gratis. Lucian flies into a fit of rage at this, pulling out his lightsabre and taking Ristin by surprise, killing the apprentice. Louis tries to stop him but gets an elbow to the face and falls back behind a rock.

Karis draws her own sabre and battles Lucian. Quickly it begins to show he is no match for her, but just as it looks like she has him almost disarmed, we see Roake slink onto an overhanging rock, aim a sniper rifle, and fire. Anticipating this, Karis turns, freezing the bolt in place, but in the seconds that she does, Lucian swings his blade into her side, and then cuts off her arm. Now having the upper hand, he makes ready to kill her.

However, having now righted himself, Louis pleads with his brother to stop. When he gets no response, Louis reaches for the other sabre in Lucian's belt, and through a miraculous use of the force, pulls it to his hand. He dives forward, blocking Lucian's blade and saving Karis' life, just as Roake throws down a thermal detonator. The blast knocks Louis and the Jedi master falling into the cavern, and soon darkness envelops the screen.

ACT 2

The darkness fades in to a blurry POV shot. We can see what looks like a rough medical clinic put together in a cavernous room. Sounds of frantic talking and muffled explosions can be heard. Louis is lying in a bed hooked up to a life support machine. Standing over him is Shani and T'sala, arguing. Shani is arguing that their attackers have almost broken through the door, and they don't have time to move Louis in his condition. T'sala argues that she doesn't like the idea of lugging Louis around either, but Sorlov has given them those orders.

The argument is resolved when Louis pulls himself out of bed, frantically demanding to know where he is. The two women can only explain that they have little time, however, as a nearby door is blown down, and Incom troopers enter the room blasting at them. Louis is shocked that Incom, the corporation that "built the X-Wings!" would be responsible for something like this.

Being sure to grab his coat and lightsabre on the way out, Louis follows the miners into a loading bay, where Tibbits and BR-NDA are working on the mechanics of a massive mine cart, attached to a track. Shani demands that they get it ready to go now, but Tibbits insists that it's in no fit state to run the whole route. As the troops start shooting, he concludes they'll have to figure it out on the way.

What follows is a frantic mine cart chase between the protagonists and groups of Incom troopers, led by Roake. As the chase progresses, Louis bickers with Shani and T'sala, who in turn bicker with Tibbit's and BR-NDA, who are constantly tinkering to keep the cart together in one piece.

Roake closes the distance and fires at a loose piece of rock ahead of them, causing it to fall towards our protagonists. Louis cowers, while Shani pulls the sabre from his belt and splits the rock in half, sending the pieces spinning away from them. Further parts of the cave collapse, finalising their escape from Roake.

We then cut to Lucian back in the palace, who is sitting on a fancy chair and trying to move an apple from a fruit bowl with the force. He can't do it. Suddenly, a palace guard enters the room and reports that Lucian has holo-calls from two people waiting. Incom CEO ARCADY LAURANT and his father Wilhelm DeMar.

Lucian talks to Arcady first, who wants to know why his delivery of Kyber crystals is taking so long. Lucian tries to pin the blame on the 'worker problem' but Arcady says that the troops he loaned Lucian and Roake should be more than enough to resolve the matter, and doesn't want to take things into his own hands. Lucian then switches to his father, who is furious that Lucian has installed himself as a de-facto dictator. Lucian tries to lie his way out of things, but his father insists that he will be travelling to Windar post haste to resolve the issue himself.

Lucian is then contacted by Roake, who has no good news for him, and confirms his brother is alive. Lucian then concludes that he is going to need to escalate things if he wants to succeed.

We then follow our protagonist's mine cart arriving at a roughshod headquarters built into what appears to be an old, underground Jedi temple. They lead Louis to Sorlov, who is happy to see him alive, but hardly cordial.

Sorlov fills in what Louis has missed. Lucian, unhappy with the offer from the Republic, has set himself up as de-facto leader of the planet and signed a contract with the Incom corporation "You know, the folks who built the X-Wings." Lucian planned to use the money he made to essentially outmanoeuvre his father, but things didn't go exactly to plan.

You see, quality of life for the miners had been pretty poor for years, and as such a strike had been brewing for a long time. Sorlov had infiltrated Incom HQ and stole an override chip for the space elevator, which they planned to shut down until they had bargained for better worker protections. Louis is stunned by all of this, and naively thought that the workers were all well compensated.

When Lucian initiated his coup, however, things went from bad to worse, but with the organisation already in place for the strike, Sorlov and the workers initiated a full blown rebellion, and they've been fighting Lucian and Incom with repurposed mining equipment ever since. Louis, however, wants to know where he fits in.

Sorlov explains that they plan to ransom him back to Wilhelm in exchange for deposing Lucian and getting worker independence. Louis explains, however, that it won't work, and that Lucian is probably already planning moves against his father. Sorlov won't hear it, however, and plans to go through with the ransom anyway.

They are interrupted then by the crippled and weak Master Karis. She suggests a different plan. Louis learns the way of the force, returns to Windar and defeats his brother, takes his rightful place and heir to the house and brings an end to the conflict. Sorlov, rightfully, does not trust putting this in the hands of an aristocrat, but Karis insists that the force is strong with him.

Sorlov concedes on one condition. One of the miners themselves is to be trained in the ways of the Jedi too. Louis then offers that it should be Shani, as she distinguished herself with his sabre earlier. She is surprised that he thought so highly of her, but agrees. Karis then reveals she has little time left, as the wounds Lucian gave her were fatal. She will use the rest of what time she has to train them both.

We then proceed to have a training montage amongst the ruins of the old temple, where both characters are seen meditating, practising levitating objects and so forth. We see Shani assembling a lightsaber. Several days are implied to have taken place and through body language we can see Shani and Louis grow a respect for one another.

We then return to the palace, where a gleaming transport is setting down on a rainy landing pad. Out steps Wilhelm with a contingent of armed guards, and Lucian walks out to meet him with his own Incom troopers in tow. Wilhelm berates Lucian about what a disappointment he is, and in turn, Lucian ignites his lightsaber. Wilhelm laughs off the threat, pulling out a vibro-blade of his own, and stating "I taught you everything you know about fencing," The two ask their guards to stand aside, and battle each other one on one.

Wilhelm, despite being equipped with the weaker weapon, easily trounces Lucian and disarms him. He picks up the sabre, and states there will be "no more silliness." Lying in the water, a furious Lucian turns and reaches out his hand, shooting out force lightning and killing Wilhelm with a single blast. Back on his feet, Wilhelm's guards look to each other nervously, before one declares, 'All hail the new Duke!"

We return to the Jedi temple where Shani and Louis stand beside a dying Karis. She is lying in a makeshift bed, finally succumbing to the wounds she suffered fighting Lucian. She states that she had told them all they need to know, and from now on, life would be their teacher. As she fades away, Louis looks on, before being summoned to see Sorlov, who has news.

They arrive at his makeshift command centre and reveal Karis has passed away. Sorlov is shocked, and now apologetic, as he reveals to Louis more bad news, that his father is dead. Already reeling from Karis' death, he flies into a rage, knocking over equipment and smashing computer screens. Shani tries to calm him, but in response he pulls out his lightsaber, swinging it at her, and she she barely has enough time to block it with her own.

Realising what he has done, he puts the weapon away and apologises. Sorlov exclaims that they have no time to grieve, however, as they will need to act quickly. Lucian had no further obstacles, and will quickly consolidate his power. They need to get Louis back to the palace to declare himself legitimate heir and end the conflict.

Sorlov explains his plan. They still have the command chip for the space-elevator, which they can use to bypass it's security and take Louis all the way back to the surface of Windar. With that in mind, he proposes that he, Shani, Tibbits and BR-NDA travel to the moon side of the elevator while T'sala pilots The Morlock, a hybrid starcraft/mining vehicle that looks like a cross between the Millennium Falcon and the Mole from Thunderbirds.

They are to travel underground to the elevator, infiltrate it, and use the chip to bypass it's security. Once Louis is on Windar, they will stage an attack on the surface using repurposed mining ships, led by the Morlock, to give him time and cover to get where he needs to be.

With that the group decide to depart.

ACT 3

We have a short sequence where the group enjoys their downtime during the journey. We have some goofing around as Tibbits and BR-NDA do some maintenance on the ship, and we get to see more of their 'almost like a married couple' routine. T'sala establishes her credentials as a pilot, being somewhat protective of the Morlock.

Louis and Shani discuss their respective upbringings, and we sort of establish each character's philosophical outlook. She believes that no establishment lasts forever and repeats "We have it in us to make this world anew." Louis, by contrast, can't see beyond his privilege, and clumsily insults her by saying she would make a good aristocrat. She walks off while he tries to fumble an apology, before heading to the helm to speak to T'sala. He and asks her if she had any desire to be trained in the ways of the Jedi. T'sala laughs off such an idea, saying "Jedi don't have a good track record with happy endings."

Tibbits runs in to alert them that they're coming to the end of their underground route, and they'll be exposed once they're out in the air. True enough, as the Morlock bursts through the side of a cliff face, they are immediately ambushed by Incom interceptors, which look similar to X-Wings.

What follows is a short dogfight in the vein of the Death Star escape in a New Hope or the battle through the ruins in Force Awakens. We get some good rapport between the characters, they prevail, and as the entrance to the space elevator comes into view, Roake is seen on a cliff edge watching the Morlock glide by.

He messages Lucian, saying that he has located Louis, and that they are headed for the space-elevator. Lucian confidently states that he is already two steps ahead, as the camera pans forward to show us a factory floor, with massive pieces of Kyber crystal being assembled into... something.

T'sala lands the Morlock not far from the entrance. She says her goodbyes, as she needs to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet to make ready for the attack. She takes Shani to one side, telling her she has a bad feeling about Louis, and not to trust him.

T'sala departs and the remaining group head towards the entrance. They ambush an Incom patrol to steal their armour. In disguise, they approach guards at the entrance, saying that they are escorting a maintenance droid as part of a routine safety inspection.

One of the guards states that he didn't know that Windar used droids since 'the emancipation act' and Tibbits responds that 'she's here of her own volition.' The guards ask "which unit are you from again?" and struggling for an answer Tibbits blows their cover. A battle starts, but Shani and Louis use their Jedi training to prevail. Louis then asks how they're going to get inside the elevator, while Tibbits answers "oh that's easy."

One of BR-NDA's panels drops to reveal a massive mining laser, and she blasts their way through the bulkhead door. The characters then fight their way past the elevator's garrison, on to the main platform. Tibbits and BR-NDA made for the control room and begin to hack the console, while Shani and Louis take cover from repeated blaster shots. More troopers arrive to attack, and they bicker with Tibbits to hurry up.

Eventually they trigger the elevator and begin to ascend. Shani sends a message to T'sala, to let the fleet know they are on their way. T'sala, still in the cockpit of the Morlock, confirms they are ready to go, and Sorlov, in his own fighter, rallies the fleet. A rag tag collection of mining ships and scout craft take off from a makeshift base out in the moon's canyons.

However, as the fleet takes flight, we see that Roake is also ascending in a smaller sub-elevator on the side of the shaft, and he signals Lucian to let him know the fleet is attacking. Back on Windar, Lucian confirms that he is already finalizing his plan. Windar's own fleet, backed by Incom fighters, take off, while a transport picks up what appears to be a massive bomb built from Kyber crystals, and starts to escort it to the elevator.

An awesome space battle begins, as the elevator reaches it's main security gate. This is the gate the override chip is needed to bypass. Tibbits enters the chip into the security system, but at first it doesn't seem to respond. "These things take time," he says. An explosion heard on the exterior proves they don't have much time. BR-NDA leans forward, and extends a small robotic arm, taking the chip out, turning it around and putting it back in. "Easy mistake," Tibbits says.

The gate opens and as they approach the surface of Windar they can see from the viewing port that the massive bomb is waiting for them. In turn, Lucian begins a broadcast to the forces and workers of Windar. Manically, he rants about how he could have been the best leader they ever had, but they were too ungrateful. All he wanted was to be paid a good price, but now if he can't get paid, nobody can. A countdown timer begins on the bomb.

The group signal Sorlov for advice, who states that if the bomb goes off it'll start a chain reaction through the elevator that will detonate the moon and take half of Windar with it. Whatever happens the bomb must be diffused. Tibbits and BR-NDA say they can handle it, but someone will need to cover them. Shani agrees to stay and defend them. Louis must face his brother alone.

Louis makes for the palace, but is met with overwhelming resistance. T'sala flies down in the Morlock to cover him, shooting down the troopers that bar his way. With a little finesse with his lightsabre, he manages to fight his way onto the grounds.

Meanwhile back at the bomb, Roake has now caught up, and faces off against Shani while Tibbits and BR-NDA struggle with the bomb. The two do battle, and while Shani is adept with her lightsaber, Roake is fast and nimble with his blasters. This fight should be very reminiscent of the one between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones. All the while Roake is berating Shani and her fellow miners, saying that they should have been happy in servitude and 'known their place.'

At the palace, Louis finally faces off against Lucian in the very same room they were fencing at the beginning. Louis tries to talk him down, but Lucian is too far gone. He says that the force is compelling him. "The dark side?" Louis asks. Lucian says their are no sides, only one force. They continue to do battle, Lucian viscously swatting at him, no holding back.

At the bomb, Roake appears to have the upper hand, wounding Shani with a shot to the arm. She drops her sabre and falls to her hands and knees. No longer seeing her as a threat. Roake holsters one of his pistols and turns to Tibbits and BR-NDA. It is then that the ghost of Karis appears to Shani, encouraging her on. Fighting through the pain, Shani reaches out, using the force to pull Roake's pistol from his holster. He turns to fire back at her, but before he can, BR-NDA shoots a shock cable at him, electrocuting him, and causing him to fall to the floor, stunned.

Back at the palace, Louis and Lucian's duel has grown out of control. Furniture and decor is being smashed up. Louis kicks Lucian through a glass window out onto a balcony that overlooks a waterfall. They fight some more, but Louis ultimately prevails, disarming Lucian and knocking him to the ground. Lucian then tells Louis that he can't kill him, because he's signed a contract that upon his death Incom will take possession of all the DeMar Provinces. Louis says he has no intention of killing him, and like his father before him, turns his back to pick up Lucian's lightsaber.

Lucian reaches forward and fires a blast of force lightning at Louis, but his brother is too quick, and with both sabres ignited he blocks the lightning, deflecting it back at his brother, the power of which knocks him back over the balcony, causing him to fall to his death. Sorlov then calls in, and announces that the bomb has been diffused and Incom forces are routing, victory is in their hands. Louis, however, has a sombre look on his face as he looks down over where Lucian fell. Shani arrives, and gives him a hug to raise his spirits, telling him "We have it in us to make this world anew."

We then jump forward to Louis, standing outside a gleaming and repaired palace, addressing an assembled crowd of both miners and palace guards. He gives a rousing speech, about how he will be a responsible duke, and a leader to everyone equally. He also emphasises that the battle has not yet been won, and the Incom corporation's ownership over their territories still needs to be overcome, but a new age is upon them, and "We have it in us to make this world anew."

From the sidelines Shani give him a smile, but next to her T'sala looks on suspiciously.

The End

So there you have it. I wanted a relatively self-contained story, which has an opening for sequels, but with no cliffhangers, no stingers, no unresolved mysteries, and no dang mystery boxes. A definitive ending. If sequels were never made, the film would still need to be strong enough to stand on it's own, like the original Star Wars.

As for where the story goes from there, I have concrete ideas.

The second film would be a heist movie that involves the group trying to bankrupt Incom. It would be a more seedy, cyberpunk-type film, with CEO Arcady Laurant as the main villain. There would be stuff about the droid emancipation act, that Incom would be revealed to have ignored, T'sala would get a pole dancing girlfriend from Nar Shaddar and Roake would return in a massive Incom built exosuit.

Most critically of all, the second film would begin with the seeds of a relationship between Louis and Shani, only for this to go sour, as over the course of experiencing a more darker and corrupt version of the galaxy, Louis would conclude that the harsh class divide the aristocracy facilitates is a necessary part of THE galactic order. He'd kill Sorlov and double-cross the miners, setting himself up as the villain for film three.

The third film would have Louis ruling a harsh regime from his family home in the medieval-like planet of Gothrinstone. The plot would involve a full blown civic uprising, as Shani and company rise up the working class to do battle with the aristocracy's elite forces, who Louis has armed with lightsaber type polearms. Shani in turn would be training a new generation of Jedi to face them, and the final battle would be a massive siege against Louis' castle.

In the final battle, Shani would best Louis and ask him to stand down. Louis would try to pull the same trick against her as Lucian did with Karis, but T'sala manages to disarm the sniper first. Shani pleads for him to surrender, but Louis refuses to face the idea of giving up his privileged life, and throws himself from the battlements instead. The trilogy would end with Shani as the de-facto representative of the system, and the final scene would have her being met by a fresh delegation of Jedi, and an offer to join the republic, which she refuses, wanting to go her own way.

So that gives you an outline of the kind of thing I want to do. I hope my writing makes it clear that these films would be completely their own thing, and as such the story is free to go in its own direction. I think Star Wars can tell more stories than just rebels vs an evil empire, as well as not be so dependant on a 'light side/dark side binary.' So bringing in a more messy dynamic, between a ruling aristocracy, striking workers and a greedy corporation, is an interesting new scenario.

If you liked my ideas, or not, let me know what you think. I plan on following this up at some point with a more detailed outline on how I'd picture the rest of the trilogy going, and I might even write a script and upload it to AO3. Who knows.

In the meantime, may the force be with you or whatever.

#star wars #my writing #my art

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broken-clover · 4 years ago

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AU-gust Day 1- Fantasy

With the new announcement, I nearly forgot about this! I didn’t get a response form anyone on if I should post these here or not, so I’m gonna do it because this is my blog and I do what I want.

I guess this ended up being more low-fantasy than high-fantasy, I will freely admit I mostly just wanted an AU based on those cute halloween charms from last year. What can I say, demon Axl is adorable.

Small warning for a bit of sexual humor, I can totally understand that it isn’t some people’s kind of thing

He’s not sure why he hadn’t cleaned up the chalk outline earlier. A few of the lines had already been smudged by feet walking across it- though he knew the damage had already been done. Maybe using chalk for a summoning circle had been a bad idea in the first place. There were so many little details that needed to be drawn in for it to work properly. At the very least, it made it easy to clean up. A damp sponge did a perfectly good job in his basement-

“Chiieeeeef, we’re out of booze!”

Sol dropped the bucket with an irritated grumble, splashing more water onto the stone. “There’s a six-pack on the top shelf, I just bought it yesterday.”

He reached for the sponge, only to be immediately interrupted again. “But I can’t find iiit!”

“Y’ve got fucking wings, fly up if you can’t reach it!”

“I tried! I still can’t find it!”

“Can you just- !” Sol cut himself off, resigning himself to the idea that he’d have to finish later. Rolling his eyes, he abandoned the cleaning supplies and trudged back towards the rickety stairs. He found a hand drifting to one of the bandages on his arm to tug on the exposed tail of it. He’d noticed it was a stress habit he had picked up recently, but he just knew that there was going to be another headache waiting for him. Knowing him, his roommate hadn’t looked at all, and was just too lazy to do it himself.

Sure enough, Axl wasn’t even in the kitchen, instead draped across the couch like a lazy housecat. He arched his back upon seeing Sol, stretching out and letting his little batlike wings flap.

“‘Ello, chief! Took you forever, thought you wouldn’t come!”

Sol didn’t respond, even as he watched the man roll over into a deliberately seductive pose on his side that just-so-happened to involve his arrow-tipped tail pointing conveniently at his ass. He’d dealt with Axl enough times that he knew the best option was to just walk away and ignore him.

“Chiiiiief-!”

When he entered the kitchen, he found another annoyance waiting for him. “Ah! Just the man I did not want to see!” The frustrated tone was accompanied by a fluffy blue tail that swished back and forth. “How can you waltz in here so shamelessly!?”

“And hello to you too, wolfy.” Sol proceeded to ignore the dog-eared man as well, pulling the fridge door open. “We got any beer still?”

“For the last time, my name is Ky, you slovenly oaf!” In his frustration, he dropped the forks he’d been carrying onto the counter, along with what had to be most of the contents of his silverware drawer. “I don’t understand how anyone can live in these conditions!”

Sol rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll bite, what the hell did I do wrong this time?”

“These aren’t even organized!” Ky sounded appalled at the mere concept. “You have an organizer, but you still manage to have your forks and spoons and knives all mixed together! It’s absolute chaos! How do you know where anything is?!”

“I pull what I need out of the pile.” Even after pushing everything around, Sol couldn’t find any sight of the beer. “Where’s the Pilsner I just bought?”

The wolf-man scoffed in disgust. “The incubus drank it all last night, don’t you remember? Neither of you bothered to fold up the packaging and put it in the proper recycling bin, either!”

He let the door swing shut, and banged his head against it. This was going to drive him absolutely batshit. How did they both manage to be so insufferable in their own special ways? Ky wandered around the place constantly, criticizing how he cleaned and organized things as he attempted to make them more ‘palatable’ with his large clumsy paws. Axl, on the other hand, was an absolute good-for-nothing- well, he was good for a couple of things. Like making a godawful mess and drinking all his beer. It was just like having roommates, except they didn’t pay rent, and no matter what he did they wouldn’t fucking leave.

“Chiii-iief, did you find it?” The faint flap of wings came from the doorway, where Axl was hovering, horns nearly scraping the ceiling.

Sol felt his anger bubbling up. “Fuckin- how did you drink it all already?!”

Axl looked nonchalant. “I was thirsty.”

“So you decided to quench it with alcohol!?” Though Ky looked equally infuriated, the man found it more irritating than reassuring. “Demon or not, we need to have manners! Set an example!”

“Pfff. Settin’ an example?” In the blink of an eye, Axl had flapped over to hang off of Ky, and let his hands rest on the flesh exposed by his low-cut uniform. “Gonna tell me how the skintight leather and hooker boots are ‘classy,’ pretty-boy?”

“-eep!” The man squeaked as he was touched. His ears flattened against his head. “Get your hands off of me!”

“Both of you need to shut the fuck up.” Sol grabbed Axl by the tail and yanked him to the ground. “Well, now we gotta go to the store again and get more alcohol. And Axl, I swear to fuck if I have to go out again tomorrow, I’m sending you back to hell with my bare hands.”

He couldn’t, and they both knew it. If he had some way to banish them, he would have done it already.

Still, Axl threw his hands up in defeat. “Okay, okay, yeesh. I’ll be good.”

“Sure you will.”

“I can only do so much!” He insisted. “Two of us haven’t finished your contract yet. Until we finish what you summoned us for, we haven’t paid off the debt, so we can’t fuck around too much. Literally and metaphorically.”

Sol pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the tense muscles begin to unravel his bandages again. “Not for lack of trying.”

“Must you two be so crude?!” Protested Ky. “Perhaps I shouldn’t expect much from an incubus, but Sol, you- !” He cut off. “Um...actually, what are you? You’ve obviously not a demon like us, but…”

“He’s a hom- homon- homo- one a’ those artificial humans!” Offered Axl. He pointed to Sol’s arm, where the bandages had unraveled to reveal zigzagging stitches. “See! Never heard of ‘em drinking so much, though.”

He immediately bristled. “I’m human.” The man snarled, ignorant of how his eyes began to glow. “No matter what That Man did to me, I’m still human.”

Maybe he’d been drinking too much lately anyway, but he needed to keep his mind off of things. If he had a clearer head, it probably would have been easier to find Asuka and smash his head in for turning him into this…thing, but his mind was still reeling back from the fact that it had happened in the first place. It was the main reason why he’d ended up trying that reckless summon, when the now-permanent stitches in his skin itched and the sight of his own patchwork body made him want to puke, having a demon summoned to help him seemed like a good idea, even if it was only a lesser summon, with a few drops of blood cast onto the circle. If all lesser demons were like these two, he was definitely never trying it again. But first, he had to get rid of the ones he already had.

Sol didn’t realize he’d startled Ky, who skittered off under the nearest counter. Beastman demons still had some animal instincts, so his anger must have registered him as a predator. Hiding under the counter wasn’t the best strategy for safety, but since he’d summoned them himself, he had to deal with the soul thread tied between the three of them. Even if they didn’t cling to him like needy puppies on a regular basis, they couldn’t be more than fifty feet from each other.

“Aw geez…” When he turned in the other direction, he found that Axl had also slipped away, cramming his body into the space between the top shelf and the ceiling, all the while cradling his tail. “Some demons you two are…”

Well, now he really needed a drink. However, he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to get any further than the living room before he slammed into an invisible wall. So if he wanted to get anywhere anytime soon, it seemed like he had to play nice for now.

Sol reluctantly sighed, and managed a halfhearted smile. He approached Ky’s counter and knelt down. “C’mon. I know you like the sun. It’s good for all of us. Why don’t we go for a walk?”

His large ears were still lowered in submission. “Now you’re patronizing me.”

The smile strained into a thin line. The man tried to remain calm. “I don’t mean it like that. I’m just saying we could use a bit of exercise, and I know you like going out.”

Ky didn’t say anything, but Sol could see the way his ears twitched, trying to decide on how to position themselves. Sol tried to help him decide by placing a warm hand on his head and itching the base of his ears.

He caught the demon looking at him a moment before his expression melted into bliss, tail wagging back and forth. For all his noble composure, Ky had no trouble letting out a contented whine as he was pet. “So are we gonna go for a walk?”

“Alright, I suppose I can forgive you- ahh, right there-”

At least Ky was the difficult one when it came to compromising. The incubus tended to be much easier to deal with.

“Get down, Axl. Can’t get booze with you sulking.”

That alone already won him over, though Axl tried to look serious and unflappable as he peered down. “Y’know, I’d be less sulky with some Danny Missiles…”

Sol grit his teeth behind his smile. “Sure. Why not. I didn’t want to cook anyway.”

“Aww, I knew you loved me, chief!” In one smooth motion, Axl was already snuggling his torso affectionately, although not at all subtle about the way he mashed his face into Sol’s chest. “Promise I won’t drink everything again!”

He doubted that, but Sol could let it slide just this once. At least everyone was getting along. That was a nice feeling. He could get used to-

“Axl!” Ky shouted. “Get your filthy hand off my butt!”

...aaaaand there it went.

#writing #AU-gust #guilty gear #sol badguy #Axl Low #Ky Kiske

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ao3feed-mcdanno · 7 years ago

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Treshold

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2IOjarK

by writingcreature

Fighting demons and other supernatural creatures is an ungrateful job but someone’s got to do it. It is one of their worst battles ever. And though they succeed Steve pays the ultimate price for their victory. But Danny is not willing to give up on his friend and decides to call in a favor. He has no idea what he is getting himself into when he summons a female demon who owes him her life. Because of the circumstances, there is no other way and she decides to possess Steve’s body. While Danny pictures Steve enduring unbearable torture, he is also desperately trying to cope with a Steve that has a few female attitudes too much and gets high on coke (the drink not the drug). At the same time, Steve awakes in a strange place where fighting for his life is like taking part in a gigantic video game and obviously huge fun. As he is already dead, what could he lose? More than he thinks…

The plot is going to be a fun ride. As the story is already finished I will post on a regular basis and hope many of you join me for a great read.

Words: 3511, Chapters: 2/7, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Demonic Adventures

Fandoms: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Steve McGarrett, Danny "Danno" Williams, some other creatures and humans

Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, mcdanno, McDanno AU, Alternate Universe - Demons, Demons, Banter, Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Friendship/Love, Blood Magic, Angst and Humor

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2IOjarK

#mcdanno #Hawaii Five 0 #IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #H50

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daresplaining · 8 years ago

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Iron Fist Countdown: 4 Days

K’un-Lun, the Immortal Weapons, and the Capital Cities of Heaven

Heart of the dragon! With only a few short days left before the show, we’re doing a deep dive into the details of the Iron Fist mythos and the eternal city of K’un-Lun!

K’un-Lun, the Shining City

Occasionally, early Iron Fist comics will refer to K’un-Lun as a city hidden deep in the Himalayas-- but that doesn’t come close to describing its remoteness. Technically, it only exists in the same physical space as the Himalayas for a single day, once every ten years. The rest of the time, K’un-Lun is located in an alternate dimension, on an alien planet called H’ylthri. Not much is known about the actual rest of the planet (the citizens of K’un-Lun don’t tend to venture far from the city), but we do know that it is inhabited by a race of maneating sentient plants, also called H’ylthri, and that the valley surrounding the city is infested with extremely aggressive, possibly crazed wolves.

[Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #75 by Mary Jo Duffy, Kerry Gammill, and Christie Scheele]

The ten years rule is really more of a guideline than anything, and since practically the moment it was introduced, writers have been scrambling to find ways around it. The city is only accessible in the normal way once every ten years, yes-- but any number of portals and magical forms of travel can get you there. Lei Kung the Thunderer (who we’ll talk about in a moment) once ripped through the fabric of spacetime(!) to make a temporary entrance into the city. Inventor Phineas Randall, the father of former Iron Fist Orson Randall, built a steampunk-style gateway that allowed for passage between the worlds. And Danny once linked the city to his heartbeat to pull it onto the earthly plane permanently-- which worked out about as well as you might expect.

[Iron Fist/Wolverine #1 by Jay Faerber and Jamal Igle]

Referred to as paradise by its inhabitants (and the “City of the Damned” by the H’ylthri, who are kind of bitter about its presence on their planet), K’un-Lun is an ancient civilization, laced in magic and long-held traditions. The people who live there are functionally immortal-- that is, they can be killed in combat, but will otherwise live forever. Those not born in the city can be gifted with immortality, if they are deemed worthy of it, and those who break serious enough laws can have their immortality revoked.

[Iron Fist vol. 4 #4 by James Mullaney, Kevin Lau, and Omar Dogan]

K’un-Lun is ruled by a hereditary monarch called the August Personage in Jade (or Yu-Ti, if you’re nasty). He is advised by a council of Dragon Kings, who occasionally turn into actual dragons. While functionally immortal like the rest of the citizenry, there is a reasonably regular turnover of the line of succession, because kings always have short lifespans-- particularly in militaristic societies like K’un-Lun’s. Nu-An, the most recent long-serving Yu-Ti, is a particularly bad egg, engaging in everything from corrupt business dealings on Earth to alliances with malevolent gods. He also indirectly killed Wendell (his adopted brother) and Heather Rand, so Danny isn’t a huge fan.

The city faces many threats-- from the H’ylthri (who can get pretty violent, for plants), from the other Capital Cities (we’ll get to those in a minute), from internal unrest, and even occasionally from Earth-based forces. The responsibility of maintaining K’un-Lun’s national security falls partly on the city’s war-master, the Thunderer. This position has been held for the past few hundred years by a super cool guy named Lei Kung.

[Immortal Iron Fist #8 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and Roy Allan Martinez]

Lei Kung is a fascinating character, and someone who we’re hoping will get his live action due in the Netflix show. He is often the voice of reason in the midst of K’un-Lun’s internal conflicts. He is respectful of tradition, yet able to see when and where laws need to be broken for the betterment of the city. And he is a strict-yet-caring teacher, responsible for training all of the young fighters in both physical combat and moral fortitude. Plus, as those for whom he has played father figure over the years would probably attest, he has a soft spot for misfits. (He’s not a great father to his biological son, but that’s another story...)

[Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #3 by Kaare Andrews]

When we talk about formal martial arts training in K’un-Lun, of course, we’re talking about men. The city upholds a strict occupational gender divide: Boys are trained in the martial arts, women are taught academics, and the two life paths are kept rigidly separate. (So yes, for anyone who may have been wondering-- Danny probably still has a fourth grade education level when he returns to Earth). Teaching a woman martial arts results in very serious punishment for everyone involved, and hitting a woman can get a man kicked out of the city.

[Marvel Premiere #24 by Chris Claremont, Pat Broderick, and Phil Rache]

For this reason, Danny is initially thrown off-balance by the fact that the first two friends he makes upon returning to New York, Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, both kick serious butt-- in public!-- on a daily basis.

However, this is one rule that has been undermined for probably centuries. There is a long history of women illegally learning martial arts, and most of the K’un-Lun women who show up in the comics know how to fight. This recently became an organized movement, with Lei Kung helping to train an entire army of women in secret.

[Immortal Iron Fist #14 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and Tonci Zonjic]

K’un-Lun is currently in a bit of a mess, but it’s very likely that when it is restored to its former glory, this rule is one that will be consigned to the garbage heap of history.

No word on whether men will get to study academics, though.

K’un-Lun Slang

Listen. If they can make “Sweet Christmas” work in the context of the MCU, they can give us some of this hip K’un-Lun slang too, right?

The Iron Fist Legacy and the Ch’i-Lin

Bei Ming-Tian: “I am the Iron Fist. I stand before the unstoppable hordes... and I hold them back. That’s what I do. What I’ve always done.”

[Immortal Iron Fist #1 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and Travel Foreman]

The rest of the responsibility for defending K’un-Lun falls, of course, on the Immortal Iron Fist. Sixty-six of these dragon-powered warriors have protected the city over the span of nearly a thousand years, and more will continue to do so far, far into the future. The Iron Fist legacy began partly by chance, born out of a period of great darkness in K’un-Lun’s history. According to the most recent version of continuity, a creature called Changming summoned a horde of monsters to terrorize the city. One of them was a dragon with the snappy name of Shou-Lao the Undying.

Immortal Iron Fist #23 by Duane Swierczynski, Tonci Zonjic, et al.]

Shou-Lao found a home in a cave just outside the city and settled in for a long stay. It was thought to be unkillable (note the “Undying” epithet) because its heart was outside of its body, hidden deep inside the cave. To kill the dragon you had to get to the heart-- and obviously, Shou-Lao felt pretty strongly about not letting that happen. The dragon continued to terrorize the citizens of K’un-Lun, until a young man named either Bei Ming-Tian or Quan Yaozu (depending on which writer you ask) had an idea. He ventured out to the cave and fought the dragon. When the opportunity presented itself, he grabbed Shou-Lao around the middle and used his body to block the hole in the dragon’s chest through which its heart had been removed. This cut off the flow of chi between Shou-Lao and the heart, causing the body to die. Having survived this, the young man went over to Shou-Lao’s still-beating heart and plunged his hands into it (because why not?), absorbing the dragon’s chi and becoming the very first Iron Fist. And that’s how it’s been done ever since.

[Immortal Iron Fist #7 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Leandro Fernandez, et al.]

Thus began a sustainable source of magical warriors for the city-- because Shou-Lao always comes back. A certain period of time after dying, an egg appears in the cave, which eventually hatches and grows into another Shou-Lao, ready to be killed by another future Iron Fist. While the procedure for winning the dragon chi has remained the same since the beginning, a certain amount of ritual has been added since. Having acquired the chi of Shou-Lao, Iron Fists are now forced to test their new powers in the Challenge of the Many and the One, in front of the entire population of K’un-Lun.

[Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #5 by Kaare Andrews]

During the periods of time between the death of one Iron Fist and the rise of another, the graduating classes from Lei Kung’s school will annually fight to win the right to face the reborn dragon. It’s not an easy feat, and most of those who try to kill Shou-Lao end up dead, so there can be long periods between one Iron Fist and the next. When there is an Iron Fist, anyone else who thinks they have what it takes can, seemingly, challenge the current champion to a formal duel and try to take their chi.

[Iron Fist vol. 2 #2 by James Felder, Robert Brown, and Mike Thomas]

But as it stands, most Iron Fists don’t last long. As warriors and adventurers, they lead dangerous lives anyway, and nearly all them have died at the age of thirty-three at the hands of a creature called the Ch’i-Lin.

[Immortal Iron Fist #18 by Duane Swierczynski, Russ Heath, and Matt Milla]

This creature eats Shou-Lao’s eggs-- and to do so, it hunts down Iron Fists by tracking their chi. It travels around in a human host who uses the name Zhou Cheng (remember that name.) This chi awareness makes the Ch’i-Lin almost impossible to fight. It can predict any move that the Iron Fist it is hunting might make, and the chi of Shou-Lao has no effect on it. Having beaten the Iron Fist into submission, the Ch’i-Lin will rip out their heart and use it as a gateway to K’un-Lun. Once there, the K’un-Lun army will try and prevent it from getting to Shou-Lao’s egg. If the egg is eaten, the city will lose its chance of having any future Iron Fists-- so this is kind of a big deal. Only two Iron Fists have managed to survive their encounters with the Ch’i-Lin: Orson Randall, who drugged himself up on opium to the degree that the creature could no longer detect his chi; and Danny Rand, who had the advantage of teaming up with the other Immortal Weapons.

The Immortal Weapons

K’un-Lun is not alone in the cosmology of magical, dimension-shifting cities. It is part of a collective referred to as the Capital Cities of Heaven. Officially, there are seven cities, each cycling through spacetime at a different rate, and all intersecting with Earth at various points. Each city has its own champion, with their own chi-based powers, who operates along the same lines as the Iron Fist. These superpowered badasses are collectively known as the Immortal Weapons:

[Immortal Iron Fist #8 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth]

The traditions surrounding each of these champions vary, as do their powers and methods of acquiring them. As Weapons, they are intended to be “wielded” to best serve their city’s interests. All interactions between Weapons can thus be seen as diplomatic in nature. The capital cities maintain a delicate power balance, and past aggressions between Weapons have been enough to create long-held animosity between their corresponding homelands. One of the most important job requirements for the Immortal Weapons is to battle each other every 88 years, during the rare period when all seven cities intersect. The outcome of this pan-dimensional tournament determines the celestial cycling for the next 88 years, and how frequently each city will have access to Earth.

[Immortal Iron Fist #9 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth]

Because as far as the Iron Fist mythos is concerned, when you get past the complex worldbuilding and endless minutiae, it all comes down to cool kung fu fights. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.

We are extremely eager (and just a little bit nervous) to see how all of this will be adapted into the relatively grounded world of the Netflix shows. We really hope they go all out with it. After all, this is Iron Fist. They knew what they were getting into when they picked the character.

Certain minor details in the trailers have suggested to us that K’un-Lun may exist in an alternate dimension in the MCU. We really hope this is the case, because that’s a detail they could have easily not used. If so, they may at least have changed the interval at which it intersects with Earth from ten years to fifteen, since that’s how long Danny is gone in this universe. Unless it takes him five years to find his way back to New York-- which isn’t out of the question.

There have been only a few suggestions of what form K’un-Lun will take in the show. While ideally, we’d love to see the ancient, complex, drama-filled city of immortals fully explored in live action, it seems likely that it will be downsized for the sake of storytelling convenience. Since so much of this season will be taking place in New York (as it should-- this is Danny’s origin story, after all) it probably won’t have the time to delve deeply into all of the details of K’un-Lun, or to develop it on the scale at which it exists in the comics. The biggest piece of information we have so far on the subject is from the recent Empire Magazine article, in which it is referred to as an “all-male monastery”. We’re not sold on this idea, but of course, we’re going to reserve judgement until we see how it is handled. Danny has also been referred to as a monk in some of the promotional material, which suggests a level of spirituality in his training that is absent in the comics. No one would ever call 616 Danny a monk-- even in DnD terms. He is a warrior all the way.

The actual role of the Iron Fist will be pretty much the same: serve and protect K’un-Lun. Since the Hand have been tied into all of this in this universe, the Iron Fist’s tasks will also include directly battling them. We know that-- like in the comics-- MCU Danny will have to juggle his duties and identity as the Iron Fist with his responsibilities on Earth, which will be a lot of fun to watch. Furthermore, we know that the Ch’i-Lin (or at least, Zhou Cheng) will be making an appearance-- but it’s anyone’s guess what form he might take.

We also know that the concept of the Immortal Weapons is alive and well in the MCU. Apart from Danny, the only other Weapon that’s definitely been confirmed so far is Bride of Nine Spiders.

But if there are two, there have got to be more, right?

Only four more days (well... three days and a few hours) until we find out!

#Whooo... this was a fun one #Iron Fist #K'un Lun #Immortal Weapons #Lei Kung the Thunderer #Shou Lao the Undying #Commentary #IF Countdown

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