The Kitten, the Witches and the Bad Wardrobe - Willow & Tara Forever

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 4:52 am 
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14. Lesbo Street Cred
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I remember reading a similar fic, Tara was performing a purifying spell on herself to get rid of the demon, only there is no demon inside her and the spell latched onto VW, who just happened to be there, I think her intentions toward Tara wasn't exactly pure. Yep, I found it, it's Alternate Alternatives by Kirk Baldridge.

This doesn't mean you should not develop your idea further. Having a VW who isn't souled yet not entirly evil incarnate is full of possibilities. She could have gotten in the way of a demon banishing spell; it could be love for Tara that tempers the demon; it could even be a practical demon who knows that if she wants to survive in a White Hat Sunnydale she had better wise up ... lots of possibilities. I have a hilarious image of the 2 devils sitting either side of VW's leather covered shoulders and she is making the frowniest, scowlest face. :lol
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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 2:37 pm 
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SithLordWiccan- A lot of writers use music as their inspiration. Some even write something called SongFic where they basically take the lyrics and put them in to tell large parts of the story. I personally don't like those as well because I think too often the lyrics are used in place of writing out character emotion, but I've often seen lyrics start off a chapter so that the reader sees where the inspiration for the update came from. There are also some stories out there where the writer has linked to an mp3 of the song and you can listen to it as you read the update. Can you give us some specifics? What kind of story are you thinking about here? W&T getting together for the first time, a Scooby adventure, something AU? Flesh it out a little more for us if you can.

eletricblu- Sounds interesting, especially if you try it from a slightly more commical point of view. I think it could be really entertaining.

As to your beta question, my motto is this: The Right Beta Makes Everything Better.:wink

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 5:32 pm 
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SithLordWiccan wrote:
(I listen to the radio a lot, and found that a lot of songs I listen to remind me of W/T) and use them as the basis for writing either original W/T action or action from W/T scenes from Buffy.


I do that too... I like music very much and even before going to sleep I had the earphones in my ears. I always choose a certain song that fits to the chapter that I'm gonna write, most of the time it works for me. Coz I tend to "emote" whenever I listen to music and it helps me get into the right mood. However, you should try to consider what Trom just mentioned too.

Trom DeGrey wrote:
I personally don't like those as well because I think too often the lyrics are used in place of writing out character emotion


I'm guilty about that . It ruins (and disturbs) sometimes the flow of emotions and the flow of your writing. I have done this so many times, and Trom would catch those mistakes asking me what I meant about that and I'd wonder, "how did she found out?" although she doesn't know (I hope) that its some lines from a song.

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Last edited by ambercissism on Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:47 am 
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Quote:
I have done this so many times, and Trom would catch those mistakes asking me what I meant about that and I'd wonder, "how did she found out?" although she doesn't know (I hope) that its some lines from a song.


:eyebrow :lol Actually, no, I've never realized you were using a song lyric. Sneaky girl. That wasn't what I meant by SongFic exactly though. SongFic has entire song lyrics posted within it sometimes in place of writing emotional scenes between characters. Lots of people use lyrics here and there throughout their stories. There's certainly nothing inherently wrong or bad about SongFics. I just don't personally like them as well. I've seen them in several different types of fanfic and I'm sure many of them are very well written, it's just a thing with me.

I'm hoping to hear more about the overall idea.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 3:24 pm 
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Trom DeGrey wrote:
That wasn't what I meant by SongFic exactly though.



oopppsssi Guess I still have lots of things to learn about the world of fanfic. It just shows that I'm already (so much) left behind of reading those fabulous WT fics... Forgive me for my ignorance

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"I think you are such a sweetheart even though you got that twisted mind that is almost sadistic." - A friend, after reading REAL LOVE


Last edited by ambercissism on Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 11:21 am 
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Trom DeGrey wrote:
SithLordWiccan- A lot of writers use music as their inspiration. Some even write something called SongFic where they basically take the lyrics and put them in to tell large parts of the story.


That's basically what I had in mind, yeah.

Trom DeGrey wrote:
I personally don't like those as well because I think too often the lyrics are used in place of writing out character emotion, but I've often seen lyrics start off a chapter so that the reader sees where the inspiration for the update came from. There are also some stories out there where the writer has linked to an mp3 of the song and you can listen to it as you read the update. Can you give us some specifics? What kind of story are you thinking about here? W&T getting together for the first time, a Scooby adventure, something AU? Flesh it out a little more for us if you can.


There were two potential stories I'm bouncing around right now. One happens during "Hush" shortly after the Wicca meeting involving Tara's thoughts about Willow, set to James Blunt's "You're Beautiful". The other was a fic about what happened after Tara blew out the candle in "New Moon Rising", set to Bif Naked's cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters".

I know this is only a very basic concept, but I happen to have a talent for making fics that don't make sense work, so I'm sure that I could pull it off.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:38 pm 
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Hi, I'm quirked_out and I'm kinda needing help for this fic idea I have. It was semi-inspired by the Rainbow Writers, don't ask how it makes sense in my very non-linear mind.

Kay, so this will be my first I'm commited type fic. I want to have Willow go missing directly after Wrecked, the Scoobies obviously want to find her but keep hitting dead ends. Eventually they begin to assume she left on her own.

Two months later they find out Tara is pregnant. I'm still working out the kinks as to the how (advice is greatly appreciated). Willow returns two weeks after Tara finds out she's pregnant, coincedentaly there's some hugely bad Big Bad on the loose. As to where she's been, Willow was kidnapped by the Watchers Council for an experiment that resulted in her dimension hopping for three years.

I wanted to give Willow a body-gaurd, give her some Celtic name and have her be the Slayer from her dimension, which was destroyed. I want her to come from a very 'fight for the right to live' type of dimension. She'll be extremely loyal to Willow and very awkward in the world she finds herself in. She'll probably be 17ish.

Willow has to be a little tougher. I'm playing with the idea of having the Council tamper with her so that she had a chance to survive the dimensions. I don't want her to come off as 'I'm a bad ass and nothing can hurt me' but I want her to be realistic in a 'I'm harder and older now' way. She has to be powerful and she and Tara have to still be drawn together by their love (and coming child). I want Willow's Slayer to be like her daughter/sister. Therefore she'll do anything for Willow, her mate, and their daughter.

If anyone is willing to help me it would be greatly appreciated.

-quirked_out

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 5:42 pm 
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Hey there, quirked_out! This idea of yours sounds interesting if a bit complicated. I've never written such mystically inclined fics (most of mine tend to have lots of technology, but no magic of the witchy kind). As such, my input will be based on my knowledge of the show plus tons of comics and sci-fi novels I've read over the years, so bear with me.

Firstly, about the situation Willow goes missing. Do you have any idea about how that's going to happen? It involves the Watchers Council, so I'm thinking something along the lines of they watching (no pun intended) Willow for some time. Say, they were trying to find out how a girl that - to their knowledge - had little magical talent becoming so powerful in such a short time. Then, for the sake of the story, let's assume the black magic Rack fed her affected her differently then it normally would. Their curiosity is picked and they decide to investigate further. Thus the kidnapping thing.

The thing about the Scoobies giving up on the searching doesn't really make sense. They're goofy, but awfully loyal to their friends. Maybe the Watchers could forge a letter, making them think Willow went away to deal with the dark magic thing? Or just ran away?

The pregnant part.... How would that work? A spell? Accidental or deliberate? Magic or soulmate thing? And how would Tara react to that? Be happy or fall into depression because of Willow's absence? Draw strength from her baby and wait for her love? Give up totally? Naw, I don't think that last one would happen, soulmates, eternal love and all...

I found the dimension hopping thing really cool, kinda like Stargate? Oooh, maybe the Watchers wanted to test how Willow's magic would react in a different dimension? What if they discover her magic is similar to a kind only found in a certain dimension and want to test it? Did they do any kind of experiment that affected Willow physically? Enhanced her somehow?

The bodyguard idea is nice, but you would have to construct a whole background on her for it to make sense. Perhaps her POV on how she and Willow met? That would be interesting. And just how different is her dimension? And how did they form this sisterly bond? Hm, maybe a life-saving thing? Or something deeper? Perhaps a life or death situation that made they exchange blood, creating some kind of link between them? I can go on and on with the possibilities. Also, why would Willow want or need a bodyguard? And who made her so? Or is it a self-imposed duty of the girl?

A tougher Willow would be difficult to write without going overboard. You have to draw a line between her being a little harder and the point were she goes super badass on us. Tone down the babble (or cut it out completely at first at least), get something haunting happen to her, a few nightmares maybe... It would be nice if at first Willow felt uncomfortable with the Scoobies (and Tara too), and they slowly worked it out. The bodyguard girl help with that. The child too. What would be Willow's reaction? Are you looking to write a drama with wondering about the 'father'? Or maybe having Willow know, perhaps 'sense' right away that the child is hers? Willow could develop a protective streak because of that, endearing her to Tara, drawing them even closer. *having a vision of Willow growling 'no touchee my Tara'* er, right.

What kind of changes Willow went through because of the dimension hopping? Any obvious physical change? Magical and emotional is obvious, but a little more detail on that would be good. Did she gain any new knowledge? Something that will help with this new big bad?

Speaking of the big bad, what is it going to be? Something already in SunnyD when Willow comes back or something that 'followed' her? A demon, a vampire, an evil spirit? Is it going to have a major part in the story or just fodder?

I think I talk too much, eh? Let me know if you like my suggestions. :glasses

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 8:51 pm 
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Hey nerdbert,

Thanks with many huggles for the advice. You made me think more about how I want to do things. You were completely right about the Scoobies, Willow may have done some very naughty things by that point but I don't think they'd just give up. I guess I'll have to work on that. (Your wonderful opinion is most welcome)

As for Tara I think her emotions , as is common with most pregnant women (I'm speaking from terrifying experience with my older sister) her emotions will be a wee bit scattered. Through research they'll find out the baby is Willow's (through magic, otherwise I was really doing some hard-core napping in bio) and considering Willow is no where to be found she's bound to be depressed, but this is Tara we're talking about so she'll be at least looking forward to the birth.

My plan was to have the Watchers play with things 'far beyond the mortal realm of understanding.' I wanted them to mess with Willow in a "little spirit melding, a little white-magic pumping, and some aura tampering" way (because they're giant butt wads). Their reason being to see if a being of obvious mysterious magical ability can survive what no other human can.

Now, in concern's to Willow's guardian; she who shall hence forth be known as Freyjakanskit of the Order of the Goddess Maehaoun, or Frey for short, is honor bound because Willow saved her life from evil sacraficing hell-bent despot guy that brought about that apocolypse. I want her world to be kind of Viking/Celtic/Arthurianish.

New Willow definitely has to have nightmares that even Frey only sometimes understands considering she met WIllow in the middle of her journey. The Scoobies can't really understand, not even Buffy, or 'wahh I was in heaven girl' as I came to know her in season six. You can bet your bunny I'm going to shift her out of that nonsense. Where Buffy doesn't see the point in living, that's all Willow has known for three years, the drive to live through even hell dimensions. Willow's take is sort of "You fight to live because Death is only too eager to take you, and that bastard isn't gonna get any favors outta me."

Willow will be very protective of Tara, no matter their intial estrangement. I do like the "no touchie" but I thought it would be more along the lines of, "You touch her and we'll see how much fun you're having when I send you screaming into the void of agony, set you on fire, spit on your ashes, and do a happy Irish jig on them ."

The big bad will be a follower, haven't worked that out yet.

Any more advice will be warmly recieved, maybe you would consider being my beta?

Thanks with oodles of appreciation.

-quirked_out

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 7:12 am 
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Quote:
Thanks with many huggles for the advice. You made me think more about how I want to do things.


Glad I could help you, quirked_out. :-D That was my objective. A fresh set of eyes sometimes helps you review your ideas and come up with new ones.

I understand what you mean about pregnant women's emotions. I have three sisters who all have children. *shudder* Made my respect for my brothers-in-law raise several notches. Tara, I imagine, will be no different. Of course, you will have to find a way to balance the effects of the shock of Willow's 'departure' and the joy of having a child. That, along with Tara's usual serenity, should prove to be a nice challenge.

Quote:
My plan was to have the Watchers play with things 'far beyond the mortal realm of understanding.' I wanted them to mess with Willow in a "little spirit melding, a little white-magic pumping, and some aura tampering" way (because they're giant butt wads). Their reason being to see if a being of obvious mysterious magical ability can survive what no other human can.


Yikes, that reminded me of what was done to Logan in X-Men. Scientists playing God. Now I'm curious as to what you meant with "little spirit melding, a little white-magic pumping, and some aura tampering", how does that work?

Say, where did you get Frey's name? That's a mouthful alright. So her world will be of the swords, knights and kings type? :hmm Interesting. What about magically-wise? Will magic be common knowledge there? What about monsters and such? Demons, dragons, etc? I'll bet she'll be wicked confused by the technology of 21st century then.

Quote:
Scoobies can't really understand, not even Buffy, or 'wahh I was in heaven girl' as I came to know her in season six. You can bet your bunny I'm going to shift her out of that nonsense.


:lol That's a very accurate title for the Buffster. I say, that girl is in a serious need of a whack to the head. It was frustrating to watch, not to mention very selfish.

Quote:
"You fight to live because Death is only too eager to take you, and that bastard isn't gonna get any favors outta me."


Oh, God, please tell me you will get Willow to say that to her! :pray

Quote:
Willow will be very protective of Tara, no matter their intial estrangement. I do like the "no touchie" but I thought it would be more along the lines of, "You touch her and we'll see how much fun you're having when I send you screaming into the void of agony, set you on fire, spit on your ashes, and do a happy Irish jig on them ."


A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend. :grin

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Any more advice will be warmly recieved, maybe you would consider being my beta?


Really? :blush I'd love to! Do you have anything written yet? My e-mail is nerdbert@postmaster.co.uk Feel free to send anything or if you want help with your ideas. Or we can use PM if you prefer. :-D

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 4:14 pm 
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While I don't necessarily have anything constructive to add (nerdbert's comments are really good, and I agree a lot), I just had to say in regards to this
Quote:
when I send you screaming into the void of agony, set you on fire, spit on your ashes, and do a happy Irish jig on them
that I heartily support any fic in which Willow does a happy Irish jig, for any reason whatsoever.

Sounds like you've got an interesting story, a beta who's already running with it, and some very nice built-in tension between characters. This is a great start.

-Sass


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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:22 pm 
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I had an idea last night about doing a Willow/Tara fic that would be a crossover with the Star Wars universe (an "uber", if you will). The basic idea would be that I would have Willow and Tara act in much the same way that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan did during "Phantom Meance". I was thinking that I could parallel Star Wars canon by having Willow and Tara have a "professional" relationship through the events of Phantom, then get "closer" during the events of Clones, and then do the inevitable duel in Sith.

I have a pretty good idea about how I would want to proceed, but I'd like to get the opinions of others and see if this is a fic people would like to see before I do.

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 Post subject: Murder case
PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 11:18 am 
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Sorry, SithLordWiccan, but I'm afraid I can't help you there. I absolutely detest Star Wars and all of its sequels, prequels or whatevers. Star Trek, now, that's one heck of a piece of science fiction. Voyager being my favorite, of course. Who can resist Seven of Nine? :-D

Now, my geeky tastes aside, I'm here because of this idea I had. I wanted to write something long and elaborated. So, after watching several mystery/detective movies and reading my many Agatha Christie and Sherlok Holmes novels, I decided to write something that incorporated a little bit of everything. Of course, for that I'm creating an Alternate Universe quite different from the Buffyverse.

The basic plot is this:

A serial killer has been murdering women in Sunnydale, taking body parts as souvenirs and leaving them in very public places. When 'The Collector', as the killer has been dubbed by the local police, brutally murders the Mayor's daughter, a FBI team is called in to help with the investigation.

This story features four main characters:

- A pathologist, who is performing the autopsies of the case's victims.
- A FBI agent, who is a specialist in criminal profiling.
- A local Detective, who is working on the case.
- A reporter, who writes about each murder.

These four characters are to be "played" by my favorite BtVS gals: Willow, Tara, Buffy and Faith. I still haven't decided who is going to be which, but it's probable that Will and Tara be the profiler and the pathologist, in this order. Anyone care to voice an opinion on this matter?

Also, there will be several minor characters with varied 'functions'. I'm thinking of putting Xander, Anya, Giles, Glory and a few others. Ah, and some Original Characters too, can't do without them, I'm afraid.

I know very little about profiling, pathology, FBI procedures and the Police Force organization, so I'm doing lots of research for this little project. Some help here would be greatly appreciated.

My biggest inspiration for this story are the Hannibal movies: Red Dragon, Silence of The Lambs and Hannibal - and eagerly waiting for the fourth movie. Doctor Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter is, in my humble opinion, the best villain ever. And that he is played by the great Anthony Hopkins doesn't hurt any. :grin I'm planning on buying the novels, so I can get some interesting descriptions. You better be prepared for a little bit of... gore. :wink

So, how does this sound? I'd like a few opinions and, if possible, a little help on the research part. :pray

Huh, I need a title too, any ideas? :blush

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:31 pm 
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G'day all. Right then, first post to this section of the board, and hoo-boy, I'm predicting it's gonna be a big one.

SithLordWiccan - Okay, with a screen name like mine, is it any surprise that I love the idea of a Star Wars crossover? So you can mark down one tick in the 'would like to read' column.

Moving on to the idea you've mentioned for the actual plot, I do have a few comments. I can't speak for how useful they might be, but here they are anyhow.

Now, are you just paralleling the relationship with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, or replacing them with Willow and Tara? I suppose you could do the character swap thing, but that seems a touch ripe with problems to me. I won't go into them now, in case that wasn't what you meant.

If you are talking about using Willow and Tara as separate characters to those in Star Wars cannon, it sounds good. I don't know precisely what you've got in mind plot wise, but I would suggest it might be an idea to keep them, at most, on the periphery of the story shown in the movies. That will allow you greater flexibility to take the story in whatever direction you want to, while still allowing the set course of cannon history play out in the background.

I do have plenty of other comments to make, if you're interested in hearing them. Just let me know, or if you prefer, just ignore me completely. :-D

----------

nerdbert - Okay, even if you do detest Star Wars, I'll forgive you. :-D

But beside that, a serial killer story with W/T? I'm there! I'm a sucker for that kind of story, which might not say too much for my mental stability. Pfft! Sanity is for boring people! :-D

Seriously though, I also don't know that much about the mechanics of a criminal investigation, and the only deranged mind I've ever delved into is my own, but I have read a lot of freaky stuff over the years. So here's my two cents.

Okay, about your main cast, I can see Willow and Tara in either of the two roles you suggested. Tara could make a good profiler since she is so empathic, though if you did go that way, I would suggest making her more than a little bit troubled by what she has to do to get into a killer's head. Willow, being the learn-o gal that she is, could be either, though I would expect her to take a more scientific approach to either field rather than the instinctive path I see Tara using.

Faith, I think would have to be the local detective, because I can't see her as a reporter really. It could work, especially if she was one of the really combative types, maybe? Buffy could probably be either.

One comment I do have to make is that I doubt a reporter would be an official part of a homicide investigation, unless she's a witness or attempted victim. They might use her for misinformation purposes, or to try and draw out the killer, but we know how that turned out in Red Dragon, don't we?

Using the rest of the cast to fill out the dramatis personae is a good idea, and there certainly are plenty of them to use. I always like OC's; they give you more room to play with when you're writing.

Right, on to the plot itself.

Okay, so is your killer working Sunnydale exclusively? I think that's a pretty small stalking ground for a serial killer, since SunnyD isn't really that big. I think it could work though, because I believe it's more likely that the local PD would be left in charge of such an investigation. If the killer were crossing state lines, I think it would end up the purview of the FBI's Behavior-something unit. With such a small area, it would be more likely that a couple of FBI specialists would get farmed out as a loaner. This all has to be taken with a grain of salt of course, because I could be talking out of my arse.

The Collector works as a suitably dramatic name for your killer, though I would suggest that it would be media that comes up with it. From what I understand, the police tend to discourage such things. (I think because it kind of makes them a celebrity)

You said that your killer is harvesting body parts as trophy's. Is it the same body part each time, or is he taking a different part ala Buffalo Bill?

There are a couple of things that serial killers seem to have in common. There should be a common Modus Operandi (though not always) or something that indicates that each murder is the work of the same perp. There has to be a common link between the victims, besides that they are all women. There has to be something that makes the killer select them.

You should have a firm grasp of the killer's motive too. Is he just a random loony, because they don't tend to be as engaging. Does your killer do so because they want to, or because they feel compelled to? Is he actually mentally ill, or is his motivation revenge of some kind?

On the the style in which you plan to write. Do you plan to make the killer's identity know to the reader, or keep it hidden. If you reveal it, the story is more focused on how they catch the perp, as opposed to a whodunit story.

I've got other suggestions, but I'll hold off before I accidentally overwhelm you. Basically, it sounds like a good idea. If you want to bounce some ideas off me, feel free.

Cheers,
Paul.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:50 pm 
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Darth Pacula wrote:
Now, are you just paralleling the relationship with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, or replacing them with Willow and Tara? I suppose you could do the character swap thing, but that seems a touch ripe with problems to me. I won't go into them now, in case that wasn't what you meant.


I'm not talking about doing character replacement. I'm planning on having them there at the same time that the events of the movies are going down. Of course, since the movies are going on at the same time, there will be times when the two mesh over. (I should also note that I've got definite plans to do adaptations of the three prequels, along with a couple of short stories set between AOTC and ROTS that will flesh things out a bit.)

Darth Pacula wrote:
I don't know precisely what you've got in mind plot wise, but I would suggest it might be an idea to keep them, at most, on the periphery of the story shown in the movies. That will allow you greater flexibility to take the story in whatever direction you want to, while still allowing the set course of cannon history play out in the background.


That's the plan, although I will need to cross over with the movies at certain times. I'll try to keep it to a minimum, but I can't guarantee anything.

Darth Pacula wrote:
I do have plenty of other comments to make, if you're interested in hearing them.


Well, let me just say this. My target audience, at the moment, is rather small. Frankly, it's just two people. So I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that anything that can help make me feel that I'm not writing this thing for three people would be VERY appreciated.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:16 pm 
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G'day, SithLordWiccan.

Just a short message I'm afraid. I have to go to work shortly (even if it is only a half day). I just wanted to ask how you would like to receive my other comments. I can whack them in here, PM you or via email. Your choice.

Also, just as an aside, I think you'd get more than three readers. Just look at the size of the Star Wars thread in GMP. It's just that maybe not that many Star Wars fans go into the Beta section of the board much.

Cheers,
Paul.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 12:33 pm 
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Darth Pacula wrote:
Just a short message I'm afraid. I have to go to work shortly (even if it is only a half day). I just wanted to ask how you would like to receive my other comments. I can whack them in here, PM you or via email. Your choice.


Either e-mail or PM's fine with me.

Darth Pacula wrote:
Also, just as an aside, I think you'd get more than three readers. Just look at the size of the Star Wars thread in GMP. It's just that maybe not that many Star Wars fans go into the Beta section of the board much.


I guess you're right. After all, I had these same feelings when I began my Buffy/TF: Armada crossover. And...well, time makes fools of us all, I guess.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:32 pm 
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I got an odd bit of inspiration tonight and I'm hoping fellow Kittens will brainstorm with me. This won't see the light of day for quite a while since I'm finishing the rough draft of a contemporary piece right now, but I'd like to flesh this out as much as possible and make it my next project. It's a fantasy piece, which is a bit daunting for me since I've never written fantasy before. It would get one of the standard plot points: Our heroine (Willow) is sent on a quest to complete a prophecy. She's reluctant and is completely unprepared for the task but must find a way. Tara is some sort of oracle/seer, but she is in the court of the enemy (evil king, whatever) that will be destroyed if Willow succeeds. I'm bouncing around ideas about the specifics of the quest and prophecy. I'm also wondering how to bring W&T together quickly in the story. Through dreams or visions? Also kicking around what T is doing with the enemy in the first place and why help W? Feel free to mix in whatever thoughts or ideas you might have about it. All would be greatly appreciated.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 1:47 am 
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G'day, Trom.

Ah, fantasy! Now, that's my cup of tea, or it would be if I drank the stuff. So, I'm perfectly happy to brainstorm with you. Just bear in mind, there's always the chance that I might be chock full of complete and utter bullshit. :-D

Quests and prophecies are a stock staple of the genre, so that works fine. If you want ideas for the specific details of the quest itself, there's plenty of ideas to take inspiration from in mythology. If you want a series of task, you can look at such things as the twelve tasks of Heracles (or Hercules if you prefer the Roman spelling) or, say the grail quests of the Arthurian knights. It all depends on what you want to do.

A frequent reason for such a prophecy fulfilling quest would be to secure some sort of item that is the bane of your villain. Whether that means stealing the source of his power, or stealing something that's his ultimate weakness, well that's up to you. Either way, it's always strongly guarded, and or hidden.

Having Tara be on the opposite team is an interesting dynamic, especially if by completing her mission Willow may somehow destroy Tara as well. Which, of course, can't happen, but it would give you some drama and angst to mine if were of a mind to do so.

As to why Tara would be with the bad guys in the first place, I've got a few ideas. A simple one would be to make her a slave, one treasured for her abilities, but a slave nonetheless. Or, you could have her under some sort of spell, compulsion or geas, and forced to serve the bad guy. Then there is always the possibility that the villain may be related to her, and she's compelled to be a part of the villain's court by familial duty.

Why would she help Willow? Well, my first thought is that Tara has become sickened by what she's been forced to do, and wants to end it, no matter what the cost. Or, here's another thought, perhaps she is seeking revenge of some sort, and has placed herself in the villain's court to try and achieve that. Sort of a 'keep your friends close, and your enemies closer' situation.

As for how to bring them together, well the first thought I had was that perhaps, Tara (as an oracle/seer) would be using her powers to watch over Willow's progress. Perhaps she falls in love with her as Willow progresses through her inevitable trials, and begins to try and guide her. This could be through some kind of dream communication, telepathy or maybe some kind of astral projection. Or Tara could just leg it from the bad guys and do all of that in person.

Hopefully there's a nugget of something useful in all of that dross. :-D

Cheers,
Paul.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 7:42 am 
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Paul,

Thanks for all your wonderful ideas! I must admit that I was a bit :blush at not thinking of looking into mythology for ideas. I've been brainstorming with a few people via email and with a roomie that reads a lot of fantasy and have a great mix of ideas. I especially liked your thought of Tara being in the enemy's court for purposes of revenge. It lead to a rather brutal detail that I will use. Thanks again for brainstorming with me!


If anyone else has any ideas they'd like to throw out there, I'd love to hear them!

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 7:24 pm 
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I'm super sorry nerdbert for being MIA for so long, but I had a whole mess of tests and now I've got a spring project due in two weeks that's worth 500 points. But I do have good news, neglecting the really awesome world of fanfiction produced a solid 3.7 GPA for my first semester. I hate school, thank God for my girlfriend, she made me sit down and study. She threatened not to feed me, it was unsurpisingly effective given how great a cook she is. :-D I'm soooo lucky.

So I must put my second greatest love on hold. :ashamed My classes are way hard this semester.

-quirked_out

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 1:56 am 
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i'm sooo excited about this idea but it's a way big project if i were to ever start it. so i'm hoping there's some manga enthusiast out there who can discuss this with me.

an uber based on CLAMP's X/1999 (or just plain X for other regions).

i'll wait to see if any's interested.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 2:07 pm 
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Inlerf: I'm afraid I've never heard of X. Do you have any links to sites where it would be possible to read up on the subject?

***

I'm planning a story based on the Silent Hill games. If you've played the games then story wise it will be closest to the second game. So it'll deal with just a random group of people entering SH and getting caught up in the wackyness there, rather than have any direct connection to Alessa or the cult.

There's just five characters in the story

Willow: Willow's a student at MIT. She always used to go to Silent Hill with her parents for their family holidays (before it became infested with monsters) and on the eve of her parents' death she decides to return there in order to reconnect with them. Like Laura in SH2, Willow's innocence means she doesn't see any of the monsters in SH

Tara: Tara's working as parapsycologist. As in cannon Tara's father has convinced her that she's part demon. She's been researching the paranormal in an attempt to find some way to either cure herself or render her demon harmless. After hearing some stories about SH Tara goes there hoping to find some answers.

I'm thinking that Tara's father may have tried to kill her, forcing her to kill him in self defence. Either way all the monsters she sees are personifications of either her fears about becoming a demon, or her family. There's one monster, which has long whip-like arms, that represents her father.

The troika: After a botched bank robbery Warren, Jonathan and Andrew decide a deserted ghost town like Silent Hill would be the perfect place to hide out a while. The fools :kdevil

That's the storyline so far. All comments are welcome

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:08 pm 
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G'day, Justin.

I'll be the first to admit that I know next to nothing of Silent Hill, but I like freaky, scary stuff, so I'm all for it.

Willow: That's an interesting concept, having Willow be unable to see the creatures menacing her. You could have real fun with that.

Tara: Nice nod to canon to have Tara thinking she's a demon, and I like the inclusion of a parapsychologist (even if I'm not sure what that means exactly :grin). Having had Tara's father try to kill her, and her killing him in self defence is a good idea. It should fit in well with the general tone of such a story, and having her struggle with her inevitable guilt should provide some good grist for the angst mill.

The Troika: Having these tossers as inept bank robbers? :lol Oh, that's just too approriate. One can imagine that at least one of these wankers will meet a sticky end?

Since I don't know too much about Silent Hill, the monsters interest me. Are they physically real? Or are they something like psychic manifestations? Either way, you'd have full reign to come up with some freaky beasties from what I've seen.

Cheers,
Paul.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:47 pm 
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Summary of X:

Dragons of Heaven - group of 7 who wish to protect humanity because they have something/one they want to protect. one has to have a real desire to protect that whatever, else you can't create a kekkai (barrier/seal).

Dragons of Earth - group of 7 who wish to "cleanse" the Earth (i.e. wipe out all humans including themselves, later) as people have been harming it (all the pollution and stuff), or they just wanna kill people for the fun of it, or they have nothing to care about on this Earth.

plot: protagonist's mom just got killed, and upon her dying breath, told him to go to Tokyo to fulfill his destiny - choose to be a Seal (DoH) or Angel (DoE). after much deliberation, he decides to be a Seal; he wants to protect the two people he loves most - childhood friend (lets 'call him) B and his sister. Alas, as fate has it, whichever role he chooses, his counterpart will take the other position. So B became an Angel.

The manga has been on hold since god knows when (argh!) and is at book 17, with 2 Seal/Angel dead (one a very beloved near-main character :( ), and two others having switched sides.

links for an idea of X:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X/1999
http://www.oldcrows.net/~rabi/X/

although, the thing is, X has tons of info sites can't fully provide...

(i'm not using the movie as i heard from very reliable sources it sucks, and am borrowing only a little from the anime based on wiki's info)

ideas i have linked together somewhat:

-readers need not know about X for this story.
-Tokyo will be substituted by Sunnydale as the place which, when fallen, Earth dies.
-Jap terms subbed with English ones (easier for both of us).
-will be using both BtVS and Angel, playing with ~18 chars (omg) with who's gonna be what and why kinda decided.
-major, major character deaths so I don't think this board will allow postage of story...

still need to work on details like how they meet, histories, their real wishes (as B can "see/know" what someone's real wish is and "grant" them. eg. if you really want your head be chopped off, he'll do it for you) and r/s. basically everything else. ;/

Seals:
    Willow
    Buffy
    Xander
    Anya
    Wesley (BtVS'; not the dark, can fight one from Angel)
    Lorne
    Cordelia

Angels:
    Tara
    Angelus
    Faith
    Giles (Ripper)
    Spike (evil Spike; on the vamp without soul/chip)
    Fred
    Gunn


Supporting chars: Drusilla, Dawn, Harmony, Darla. (may be others)

Chars' roles are assigned based on the thinking: "if there's no Hellmouth etc" and likely reasons why they'll join that particular side. Swaps (and deaths) will occur.

And I need serious help on characterisation... esp Angel chars (as I stopped watching it at start of S3. it got too boring... guess I'll have to rent it :/).

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 10:52 am 
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DarthPacula: I'm glad you find the idea interesting. :)

Regarding the monsters, that's something the games don't make clear, leaving it up to the player to decide. Though there is some evidence that they are just psychic projections. For instance some people can't see them and people who do see them, see them differently. So that's the line I'm taking in the story. Though they are very much real to the person seeing them.

Inlerf: That looks like an interesting concept to base the story on.


Quote:
major, major character deaths so I don't think this board will allow postage of story...


I'm not sure about that. As long as both Willow and Tara survive and end up together then you should be able to post it here. There have been other stories involving major character death, for instance The Island of Death by Tarawhipped.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:14 am 
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My sick and twisted brain has done it once again, folks.

Inspired by the success of WTTV (though I should point out I had the idea rattling around in my head before WTTV was posted), I've decided to write a single post fic putting the Buffy cast in a TV show.

My chosen show: the original G.I. Joe cartoon.

I'm not terribly sure how many Kittens are aware of the cartoon, so here's a couple of helpful websites.

*The G.I. Joe Comics Homepage.

*G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Toyline on Wikipedia.

*G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Cartoon on Wikipedia.

My idea for this fic is to take some of the Buffy cast and make them new recruits for the Joes. Obviously, this would mean that they are/were all in the military. Right now, I have ideas to make Buffy, Dawn, Spike (William), Riley and Tara be the new recruits.

As for Willow, she's the only Buffy character who will actually be a Joe at the start. But keeping with tradition, she's not overly large with the buch. Instead, she serves mostly as their computer expert. Of course, I would have her notice Tara and encourage her along as she goes through the training required to be a Joe.

And in a departure from how I usually want to handle Tara in my other fics, I'm not going to portray her as the shy wallflower that needs to keep things bottled up. Instead, inspired by the Star Wars fics of Useful_Oxymoron, I'm planning to portray Tara as a sassy tomboy-ish "girl-in-every-port" kind of gal. Of course, she'll get tongue tied when it comes to Willow, but that's expected.

I'm planning to work on this fic in between updates of my other two major fics, as I won't be doing this "chapter" style.

I know from WTTV that the idea of Willow and Tara in TV shows is something that people enjoy seeing. I just hope that this follows that trend.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:58 pm 
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justin,
yes, i know. hence i don't think this board will allow my story. *cough*

SithLordWiccan,
seems promising.

i always thought G.I. Joe was one person only. 0.o

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 8:03 am 
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inlerf wrote:
i always thought G.I. Joe was one person only. 0.o


It was. Then Hasbro revived it in the early 80's, and now when people say G.I. Joe, that's what most people think about.

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 Post subject: Re: Initial Ideas
PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:26 pm 
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And knowing is half the battle.

G.I. Joe!!!!

Cheers
DW

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