Stories I've Never Written, Pt. 2

[jedibuttercup]

Here are the rest of the results from Friday's plotting practice meme-- the descriptions of several stories I have not written based on titles and fandoms supplied by my flist.

(NOT ACCEPTING ANY MORE PROMPTS THIS ROUND).

Link to Part 1 (#1 - 5)

6. "Batteries Not Included" for brendanm720 (B:tVS/HP, towel, doorknob, brass key)

If I were to write this story, ten-to-one it would end up as part of my Polaris series (Wes survives NFA, returns to England, tutors Teddy Lupin). In this entry, the new Watcher's Council is finally getting its stuff together and decides to make contact with various other magical entities; since a certain percentage of Watchers have always been squibs or other exiles from the wizarding world, the British Ministry of Magic is one of the first places they get in touch with. Harry Potter, heir apparent to the Head Auror title and aware of (for a currently unspecified reason) the Watcher's Council entity that usually gets filed under non-standard magic in the Department of Mysteries, is the one nominated to go deal with them. Aware of Wesley's connections there, he drags the ex-Watcher along with him.

Talks go well enough; not instantly trusting, but not hateful, either. In a break in the negotiations, being hospitable, one of the Council (probably Dawn!) decides to show them the dioramas and scale models the research division has been playing with in an effort to better educate and engage those new Slayers who have zero previous training and aren't wild about the books. While in that area of the facility, they stumble upon one of Andrew's projects: the "Chosen One" display. Jokes are made about Buffy not being allowed to see it lest she kill them, but it gives the newbies something to "ooh" over, and about how Andrew only gave it so grand a title because he really, really wanted to include Anakin Skywalker (the others voted him down, of course). As-is, it contains relics or mock-ups thereof from the lives of the Council's main heroes, such as Buffy, Faith, (insert a couple more), and...

They try to usher him out before he gets to the Harry Potter section, but too late. Harry, in a kind of mute horror, picks the things up, one by one: the doorknob (handle) from his cupboard, carefully labelled; small replicas of things he encountered whilst defeating Quirrell, the basilisk, the Tournament, etc., such as an ornate key (mutters, "it was silver, not brass, actually"); random other items both actual and copies thereof, one of which is a torch minus its batteries "Andrew took them out for some other project", etc. Finally... a towel? Harry picks it up, and stares at his hosts in query-- "Oh; that one was submitted by one of our Mundane-born contacts with the wizarding world, name of Creepy? Something like that? Said his brother snagged it from the Quidditch training rooms after (event)..."

Wesley is hysterically amused to see his older-and-wiser-than-his-years heroic cousin suddenly transmogrified back into a blushing, embarrased, tweenager, however temporarily. Eventually talks resume, on a more light-hearted note than before. The story ends after the boys get back "home" to Andromeda, and Wesley starts telling Teddy, "You're never going to believe what your godfather..." *grin*

7. "Do Electric Sheep Dream of Androids?" for beatrice_otter

The first thing I thought of when I saw this prompt was, "Oh, that's a Matrix fic, of course." So I went looking at your fic-list again to see if you've done anything with that fandom. Didn't find any, but saw the Terminator 3 fic at the bottom, and suddenly I knew that the original Matrix was created by the Machines when they finally conquered the last of the human race. In that iteration of the timeline-- totally swiss-cheesed away from movie/tv-verse after so much meddling time travel-- John Connor became a different sort of hero: the first One who set up the beginnings of the Zion resistance movement.

...But that's not this fic. This fic is an AU building on the possibilities that the second Matrix movie introduced (instead of brutally destroying them like the third one did). Neo starts wondering what'll happen to the non-Agent independent electronic entities living in the 'net if he should ever "win" and shut the Matrix down for good. Contains detours into the nature of sentience, being, soul, etc.; but the main thrust of the story is talking to, then working with, a single one of those entities to find some kind of body for them to inhabit outside-- and ending with that one (Oracle, perhaps? I can picture her expressions clearly) waking and reacting to the "real" world.

...And one last tag: Agent Smith, observing.

8. "Quis ut Deus" (One Like God) for avamclean

This is such a Dresden prompt, it isn't even funny. Especially after Book 10; Michael Carpenter is seriously under-ficced for so fascinating a character. His outsider's (Christian, Knight of the Cross, fighter of evil) perspective on the very grey central character, wizard Harry Dresden, would be fascinating to capture after all they've gone through together. But I don't recall you being a Dresden fan. So...

The next person to come to mind is Daniel, of course. The Catholic Encyclopedia lists four offices traditionally ascribed to the Archangel Michael, whose name means the same as "Quis ut Deus": (a) To fight against Satan. (b) To rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death. (c) To be the champion of God's people. (d) To call away from earth and bring men's souls to judgment. Of the lot, Daniel touched on the first three when he attacked Anubis over Abydos; Oma approximated the fourth for him after she stopped him mid-fight.

I think a much more powerful storyline for him would have been if he'd been allowed to fight that fight. If he'd won then, but the backlash from the fight destroyed Abydos anyway; so he did the Ascending of them himself, and then descended on his own when he realized what he'd done. From there, the plot thread could go many different directions.

But the one I'd write-- I think Daniel would keep the memories, the better to not repeat history and to preserve the memories of those he'd lost, but decide to forego the power, with the examples of Anubis and his step-son's teaching dreams before him. ("Quis ut Deus?" from the other side: he would not set himself to face that challenge). He would also seriously need someone to talk to who could understand what he was feeling, and I think a Buffy immediately post-Chosen (or other similar character from fandom of author's choice) would be perfect for that, though I'm not sure how to plausibly meet them up. After venting on/healing each other for about as long as it took SG-1 to find him in canon, Daniel would go back to the SGC, either remaining in contact with the other character or bringing her with him. Then, when the Ori finally made contact a couple of years later-- oh yes, things from that point would go differently, indeed. *broods over plotline*

9. "Sometimes the Mobster is Right" for polgara_5 (Dresden Files)

The further the Dresden Files books develop, the fonder and more fascinated I am of Gentleman Johnny Marcone, and the more hollow Harry's protestations of hating the guy ring. So. The two of them get caught up in an adventure, in part because Marcone makes Harry another offer or request that is this time not a life-and-death matter, and Harry tries to reassert his anti-Marcone stance, and it all goes wrong.

For preference, would include a crossover with a fandom like Boondock Saints or Constantine, another one of those faith and/or magic based gritty urban worlds, and the latest adventure is due to their crossing paths in a misunderstanding situation with the protagonists of that world. No dying, no telling all; but a truce between the different fandoms' protagonists at the end, and a détente for Harry and Marcone.

10. "Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" for kerravonsen (Grissom, CSI/fantasy cross)

*refreshes memory on Tom O'Bedlam's song* Oh, interesting. What a mood that would set for a story; just about any urban fantasy would make an interesting fusion. But I'd break my heart trying to write him as the Dresdenverse Winter Knight, I'd break my brain trying to write him among the elves and bards in the series Mercedes Lackey co-wrote, the Buffyverse is the wrong mood, and I don't know many other urban fantasy 'verses well. So.

There's a book series by Charlaine Harris called the Harper Connelly series. The title character lives in a world full of minor magics; hers is that she can sense the final location of a person who's passed (good at finding/recovering dead bodies) and share their final moment (know how they died). It has negative side-effects (pain, exhaustion, etc.) and she's not the most social person in the world. Write a Grissom as secretly having those abilities and sparingly using them in his CSI work rather than trading them for money as Harper does, and enough of his crew in the know to cover for him: voila. Winning justice for those who can no longer do it for themselves.

The story itself... any of the notable deaths in the TV series would work for a plot centerpiece, but the one at the end of the most recent season would be the one I'd pick, I think; deep emotional reactions, undercurrents from Sara still being out in San Francisco instead of with him, knowing who the killer was due to his ability but having almighty difficulties proving it.... lots of material there for a wrenching storyline and personal and professional dangers but high probability of an emotionally satisfying (and AU) conclusion.

11. "Recovering the Lost Library" for trinfaneb (Leary-Mundy 'verse)

Ooo. I'd have fun researching just what was to go into that lost Library. But as for the story itself: as far as I've read, four books in, they've more than once noticed interesting archaeological anomalies on various planets that seem to show a human presence on them much older than the first spaceflight on Earth. So, while doing RCN business on one backworld or another, they stumble across a remnant of a pre-Hiatus culture there that includes a few preserved works that haven't been seen intact in ages-- and are stamped as coming from a particular early colony that prized itself on preservation of culture and hasn't been heard from (or even found) since the Hiatus ended. Among them is a reference work mentioning obliquely things early Earth explorers found that echo Leary and Mundy's discoveries, but which are not mentioned in any modern books. Curiosity piqued, and hoping for more, they do a bit of research; and as schedule and orders permit, keep poking into it over the coming months.

Eventually, they do find it, in circumstances that happen to have the Alliance right there waiting to claim the discovery away from them; and as the nature of the information could possibly change humanity's entire understanding of the universe they live in....

Resolution of their dilemma, mixed with battle, fuels the story's conclusion.

12. "Indiana Jones and the Pyramid of Peril" for maevebran (SG-1/Indiana Jones)

Uh. Go to the theaters to see "Crystal Skull" again? Because the title you just listed could equally well apply...

*ahem* Seriously? So: the Stargate was active at least once in the sixties that we know of, right? Despite the "official" story that it was never opened? And the other official story that that one time in the fifties that Ernest Littlefield went through was the only mission attempted before the thing was packed up in mothballs? Let's say Indiana Jones manages to stumble across it during one unauthorized attempt at activating it by some shady governmental agency or other whilst in pursuit of some other artefact, and whoosh! Lost offworld.

As it's set not long after the latest movie (though in an AU where he didn't age after drinking from the Grail) the agents know that duh, this is a highly decorated WWII colonel they just lost, aside from the entire other baggage of his archaeological reputation, and pack the thing up and amscray without sending anyone else through in an effort to get rid of any evidence of what happened. The intrepid Dr. Jones is left on a very Abydos-like world on the other side, in a pyramid with a native culture nearby; and it doesn't take long to figure out that the pyramid is a place of Peril! He spends the next thirty to forty years figuring out how to get off-world and then evading Goa'uld through the 'gate network until Goa'uld start dropping like flies and he hears rumors of the Tau'ri, which he tracks from world to world while geeking out archaeologically in all the ways that Daniel is never allowed to do on their first-contact missions. He eventually makes it back to that original world-- the one with the Pyramid of the title-- just in time to finally run across an SG-1 mission, convince them he's an Earthling too, and gate home at last.

What happens afterward, and the fallout from his debriefing... well, that's another story.

13. "Living, Dead, and Otherwise" for wolf_j (BtvS/AtS, Dresden Files books)

The NeverNever goes everywhere. Even to other realities not very like the one inhabited by one Harry Dresden. And one day, a resident of one of those worlds stumbles through an unanticipated tear in the fabric of reality and ends up in a part of the NeverNever quite close to Harry's reality, where she gets caught up in some action he's involved in and brought through to his Chicago. (Author's choice whether it's Buffy from the Hell incident in Season 3, the tower jump in Season 5, or the Hellmouth collapse of Season 7).

If I were to write it, Season 7 would be likeliest. The transfer would be a shock to her, and she'd miss her family-- but the things she'd encounter there? She knows from insanely powerful magic users, vampires, werewolves, etc., and if the mechanics are maybe a little different, she can deal; there are a lot fewer types of demons hanging around, after all. Harry is a lot more thrown, especially when the White Council investigators listen to the things she describes as having fought, classify them as beings from beyond the Outer Gates, and quite predictably freak out and point fingers.

After much adventure in a plot back on the Vampire themes (after all the sidhe and Denarian ones lately!) in which Buffy proves to be literally worth her weight in gold, and the Council finally backs off, Harry quite abruptly realizes he's acquired a second assistant, much more badly behaved than his actual apprentice; and who appears to have settled in for the long run "until" he can get her home, which will pretty much be the twelfth of never after all the dust the Council kicked up. End on a light scene where Harry's attempting to argue with both Molly and Buffy at the same time and realizing that he is utterly screwed.

Bonus Marcone included, because he always makes things better; also because he'd first be amused by Buffy, and then would want to acquire her skills for his organization, and both attitudes would raise Harry's hackles something fierce.

~

Comments

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

10. "Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" for [info]kerravonsen (Grissom, CSI/fantasy cross)

Write a Grissom as secretly having those abilities and sparingly using them in his CSI work rather than trading them for money as Harper does, and enough of his crew in the know to cover for him: voila.

Oh. Oh, dude. *crumbles beneath the awesome* I would love to read this; in fact, I'm sad I don't have more time for ficwriting at the moment, because I wouldn't mind writing such a thing, either. *imagines Grissom hiding this ability as he did his hearing loss* *flails*

[cubby-t-bear.livejournal.com]

Regarding 10 -- have you read Neverwhere? For some reason, that just came to mind immediately. London Below could certainly have just such a knight.

[kerravonsen]

You're writing spec scripts, remember? 8-)

imagines Grissom hiding this ability as he did his hearing loss

Oh yes, he would, wouldn't he?

[kerravonsen]

"Do Electric Sheep Dream of Androids?"
Yes... I was never really satisfied with the ending of the Matrix trilogy. The fundamental problems were never really resolved.

"Quis ut Deus"
This makes more emotional sense than what actually happened.

"Knight of Ghosts and Shadows"
Oh cool!

"Indiana Jones and the Pyramid of Peril"
The thought of Indy wandering the universe being an archaeolgy geek on the run from the goa'uld, oh boy, that's fun.

[beatrice_otter]

Okay, the Grissom thing sounds cool. But I would really love to see the Indiana Jones/Stargate cross!

[maevebran.livejournal.com]

I just love the SG1/Jones cross. I join the ranks of those wishing this fic existed.=)

The others sound fun too.

[brendanm720.livejournal.com]

#6: Excellent. [does Mister Burns impression]

#7: Nice.

#12: [snerk]
He spends the next thirty to forty years figuring out how to get off-world and then evading Goa'uld through the 'gate network until Goa'uld start dropping like flies and he hears rumors of the Tau'ri, which he tracks from world to world while geeking out archaeologically in all the ways that Daniel is never allowed to do on their first-contact missions.

Love this bit.

What happens afterward, and the fallout from his debriefing... well, that's another story.

...And then there was pudding, O'Neill.

[polgara-5.livejournal.com]

*dances about* I love all of the Dresden ones. I'm such a fan of all of the characters in the books. Gentleman Johnny - you really do want to hate him because of what he does, but then, he's just so darn likeable. And I just adore Michael....

*giggles* I can just see Molly and Buffy torturing Harry now...

[vegmb.livejournal.com]

I love the way your mind works and the way you can blend things together so that they make sense. (#7 in particular, but all the ideas are good.)

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

Wow, these are some awesome ideas! Bravo!

[avamclean.livejournal.com]

Ooohhh! So shiny! *pets #8*

I'm not sure I could do that plotline justice but it is tempting indeed. *ponders*