AUs and Day 27 of Writing Meme

[fay_e]

To make me happy, please give me prompts for the next meme!

The Hypothetical AU Meme: Take any one of the fandoms you know I write in, and give me a type of AU (space opera AU, pirate AU, superhero AU, Ancient Rome, Regency England, circus AU, Lovecraft, etc). Edit: More suggestions of AUs from au_bingo! I will then explain what story from your chosen fandom I would write for your chosen type of AU.

Bleach
Teen Titans
Justice League (sometimes JLU)
Avatar the Last Airbender
Harry Potter
Transformers (movie, G1, animated)
Star Trek (2009 movie)
Iron Man
Inception
Card Captor Sakura
Supernatural
Pushing Daisies
Lord of the Rings
The Matrix
Last Exile
Witch Hunter Robin
Weiss Kreuz
Sailor Moon
His Dark Materials (aka The Golden Compass and the like)

Edit 2: Because Ten pointed out I wrote STARK Trek instead of Star Trek, and I forgot Iron Man

And now for the writing meme:

1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you've worked with and why
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you're writing about fictional places)?
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol' pen and paper?
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
8. What's your favorite genre to write? To read?
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Everything from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!
11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?
12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of worldbuilding? Any side-notes on it you'd like to share?
13. What's your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?
15. Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!
16. Do you write romantic relationships? How do you do with those, and how “far” are you willing to go in your writing? ;)
17. Favorite protagonist and why!
18. Favorite antagonist and why!
19. Favorite minor that decided to shove himself into the spotlight and why!
20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?
21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?
22. Tell us about one scene between your characters that you've never written or told anyone about before! Serious or not.
23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
24. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What's the most interesting way you've killed someone?
25. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
26. Let's talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!

27. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.

Oh yes. The advantage of being in a manga/anime fandom is that there's a glut of fanart, so I usually don't have to draw anything myself. I have a hyoooooooge fanart folder that I sometimes refer to when I want an image of a character in say, plain clothes. And well, I'm a mental fashion designer so I'm always on the look out for clothes my characters can wear. The appearances are usually again, plot-driven, though I try to have a formal dance scene as far as possible, because I love gowns. =) Having said that, the toughest clothes for me to think up of are always men's clothes though - until now, I still do not understand the subtleties of formal wear for men. I know that the cutting makes a difference, and I know that certain types of shoes are much better than others, but I really really can't grasp it.

Casual wear I get though. I do sneaker shopping and there are some trousers/jeans cuts that make the looker go mmmmmmmmmm. Also I have a weakness for T-shirts with words.

Rest of the Questions:
28. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there's nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.
29. How often do you think about writing? Ever come across something IRL that reminds you of your story/characters?
30. Final question! Tag someone! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!

Comments

[tenebris]

MWA HA HA HA what, it totally seems to be needed at times like this.

All right, so let's take on some of these:

Bleach, Gothic Horror with a dash of Lovecraft--sorta like the manga Rukia is reading in early chapters

Supernatural, wuxia

Inception, RedAR setting (it's not drugs, it's real dreamwalking)

Because I'd like to see your take on it: Bleach, sci-fi or space opera

Card Captor Sakura, film noir

And, last for now (or however you do this entry): Transformers, movie verse, Regency/Steampunk

:D :D :D

Bleach - Gothic Horror

[fay_e]

7 years after his mother's death, Kurosaki Ichigo is back in Karakura Town that his family fled after his mother's death. But as it was then, the dead are walking in Karakura again - Ichigo meets one of them, a girl named Rukia, with a fondness for switchblades and snow. She helps him chase a deadly poltergeist out of his house, but then refuses to leave herself, and Ichigo can't bring himself to abandon his ghostly saviour.

But Rukia hides a deep secret in herself - the reason why the dead are walking. And Karakura hides a few secrets of its own - like Ichigo's dead mother.


The most startling thing about Rukia's appearance was not her pale white skin, or her equally white muslin dress, but the red ribbon she wore around her neck. Compared to her muted colours, it was garish and bright, like a gash. Ichigo had considered questioning her about it, but the thought of her quick sharp temper and her quick sharp blade quickly put a sharp end to the idea of voicing those thoughts.

Instead Ichigo asked Rukia about how the town had changed. Sometimes she spoke about things that were before Ichigo's time, but otherwise she knew the same places and people that he did. The old schoolhouse where Ichigo had studied now admitted both boys and girls. Rukia sometimes procued the frocks from the school store, and took to prancing around in them. She also had a strange fondness for the Inoue girl, who was not aware that she was dead and talked to her like an old friend. The Inoue girl still talked to her dead brother too, Rukia confided in Ichigo, but Inoue Sora remained peacefully resting beneath the earth, quite unaffected by whatever had disturbed Rukia from her own repose. Ichigo hoped for Inoue’s sake that that would remain the case, even though Rukia seemed adamant that Inoue would take it as well, if not better, than Ichigo had. Ichigo, in a rare show of wisdom, chose not to state his belief that the dead should remain as they were, and not talking to innocent girls who did not know better. (255 words)

Supernatural Wuxia

[fay_e]

(Book 1)
Shan Mu is to take his final set of imperial exams - should he pass these, he will be able to take up a position as a minor official under the head official of the province, who also happens to be the father of Shan Mu's betrothed, Jie Si. But when De An comes with news that their father has gone missing, filial duty obliges Shan Mu to abandon his books and follow De An back to his old life - that of a demon hunter.

Unfortunately, demons have long memories, and Shan Mu's return leads to the demons discovering and destroying Jie Si's family. With his dreams shattered, Shan Mu sets himself this mission - to find the famed sabre of Koh that can kill demons with a single strike and slay the Snake Demon that destroyed his family and adopted family.


(Book 2)
With both his father and brother slain by demons, Shan Mu vows to take revenge on all demons. But the sages have long warned against revenge, and Cas the holy man likewise warns Shan Mu of his dangerous motivations.

But when Cas assists in breaking De An out of the Courts of Hell, Shan Mu begins to suspect that Cas is no ordinary holy man. But with deities choosing to involve themselves in the fights of De An and Shan Mu, will Shan Mu discover the true nature of Cas? Or will the heavenly battles between the spirits be the last fight that De An and Shan Mu witness?


I can't think of a snippet because it comes out of my head in Chinese, but should it make the language divide I will certainly let you know. Also from the limited folktales I know there has never been a doomsday scenario for the Chinese, so no apocalypse in book 2, just epic heavenly battles. =)

Card Captor Sakura, film noir

[fay_e]

Doing this one first, because the image just hit me:

Li Syaoran has been in the detective business for a long time. A touch of the Sight has always helped him with his cases, but he hasn't had to use actual magic - until now. Heirness Daidouji Tomoyo has been sponsoring her long time friend and playmate Sakura in her magic performances, but lately Sakura's performances have been a bit too magical. Tomoyo would be happy with her friend finding true magic, if it weren't for signs that Sakura was having trouble controlling this magic - a bruise here, an injury there. Tomoyo wants Syaoran to find out the source of Sakura's improvements in her magic, and protect her from it at all costs.

Syaoran soon finds himself in the middle of a magic world that he'd thought he had left behind, full of mysterious dark haired wizards and magic sources that he had believed to be myths. But far more dangerous of all is that Syaoran is falling under Sakura's spell - and love is the most dangerous magic of all.


Syaoran burst into the room, gun at the ready, and had to check himself. Sakura was kneeling alone in the dreary room, but she was surrounded by a whirlwind of cards, magic keeping the individual cards afloat.

"What the - " Syaoran began, and bit his tongue to stop himself from swearing in polite company. But Sakura heard him, head snapping up to face him. Her green eyes held his for a long breath, two.

Syaoran lowered the gun. "My apologies, Miss Kinomoto - " he began. It was a good thing he had put his gun away, because in the next moment he had an armful of very happy Sakura. How she had escaped the whirlwind of cards he had no idea, but the feel of her was too real to be an illusion. "Miss Kinomoto," he said awkwardly.

She let him go long enough to beam happily at him, cheeks flushed. Syaoran felt his own flushing at how attractice the glow made her. "You can see them?"

It took Syaoran a while to twig onto what Sakura was saying. "You mean the cards ma'am?"

"You can!" Sakura hugged him again. "Oh I wanted to tell everyone so so much, but no one else could see them, not even Tomoyo, and I didn't want them to think I was crazy! But you can see them and I don't have to be so alone anymore." Finally realising the compromsing position they were in, she leapt back, blushing. It was only then that Syaoran noticed that the cards had fallen into a neat pack on the scuffed wooden floor of the dance studio. "What are these?"

"Clow cards," said Sakura, as if it were a term one bandied about every day. (290 words)

Inception, RedAR

[fay_e]

In a world where gods and goddesses roam the earth through their avatars, men who can manipulate dreams are both feared and highly regarded because dreams are the domain of deities.

Cobb is feared, both for what he does and because he is cursed by the patron goddess of missions conducted under the cover of darkness. For his dead wife Mal was to be the avatar of this goddess, and the goddess still holds Cobb responsible for the death of his wife.

Saito, however, offers Cobb one last recourse of redemption - to train Ariadne, the avatar of the patron goddess for pathseekers. Afeared that he would lead Ariadne astray as he did Mal, Cobb seeks the assistance of his old friends, Arthur the anchor and Eames the forger. But when Saito's offer turns out to be less for the benefit of the goddess and more for his own earthly reasons, will Ariadne, Cobb and the team be able to survive?


"What are you doing?"

Cobb closes his eyes, counts to ten slowly and turns. It is indeed Ariadne, although she has stripped off her trappings of her office and looks only like a young girl she truly is. But it is with the daring of an avatar that she steps closer to Cobb and repeats her question, "What are you doing?"

"It is not something you need to know," says Cobb, turning away. But Ariadne knocks the braiser out of its hold, spilling sweet smelling herbs across the floor.

"Do not think you can hide in dreams," she threatens, eyes glinting with both emotion and power. "When were you going to tell us about Saito's offer?"

Cobb lowers the tongs, now emptied of their burden. "It is not for the lady to know, since it will not impact your training."

"When I'm about to lose my trainer? I suppose you would trust Arthur or Eames to my education. But I will not, and I forbid you from taking that mission. Saito was wrong to ask that of you."

"Saito is doing this for your benefit too," Cobb argues. "What do you think would happen if the funding of your temple was transferred from Saito to Fischer?"

Ariadne frowns. "I suppose I would see less of Saito. He doesn't deserve to oversee my temple if he dares to intrude on other's dreams."

"But Fischer has ties to the Royal Family. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life divining the future of the nation?"

The crackle of Ariadne's power lessens as she considers that thought, but she still scowls at Cobb. "I will have a say over who I wish to assist."

"That is if the guards even let you see them in the first place."

"You place too much power in the hands of men," said Ariadne. "Assuming what you say is true, why would Fischer release my sponsorship after a dream?"

"Not a dream," says Cobb. He knows he should be more frightened of admitting such blasephemy to an avatar, but after Mal he finds he is afraid of very little. "A vision from the deities." (360 words)

Bleach sci-fi/Space opera

[fay_e]

Verse is here

In the mornings, Ichigo goes to school. Rukia doesn't go with him - there is nothing that the humans can teach her with their outdated technology. Instead Rukia sinks into the white world of her programming. She doesn't touch the codes for the pilot array or the transformation sequences or the weapondry - those are fine. Instead she goes to the memory matrix, the core of what makes Shirayuki Shirayuki. There is nothing she can do for the lost memory - how does one recreate the experiences of an AI? - but she can teach Shirayuki how to communicate. Shirayuki repeats each word carefully after Rukia, showing no trace of personality as she does so.

Duty. Honor. Loyalty. Devotion. Friendship.

Her sessions usually ends with the buzz of the human communication device against her leg. Ichigo makes sure to remind her to eat when she had forgotten to do so for a whole day. Having been disrupted, she sneaks back into the clinic and takes the food that Ichigo has set aside for her in the fridge. Rukia eats quickly to avoid detection, and then sneaks back out again. She does not go back to Shirayuki immediately - Ichigo ends school around 3pm, and there is no point in coding when she will be interrupted again. Instead she will practise shooting, or walk around the place that Ichigo calls home.

Sometimes she goes to his school just as the students are leaving, and he'll meet her with a scowl and a complaint. But he will still follow her back to Shirayuki. Other times he meets her there. However they arrive, Ichigo's reaction is always the same upon seeing Shirayuki - he gets quieter, more focused, and if Rukia knew human emotions possibly happier as well.

But Rukia does not know human emotions, only the ways of Sou Sosaiti. She teaches him how to maintain and mod a Zan unit, how to use the pilot array, how to transform a Zan unit, how to use the aiming system. She even lets him into the white world of her programming and shows him how to change the code for his purposes.

She does not teach him about the memory core, or what a Zan unit is, or Sou Sosaiti norms.

Together they mould Shirayuki into something Ichigo can use, and Rukia mods Ichigo into a pilot that the Academy would have been happy to produce, if he were not human. But Ichigo is human, and by Earth's nightfall he is stretching tired muscles and preparing to go home. They always leave together. Sometimes Ichigo goes straight home, other times he makes excuses to go out for dinner. Rukia follows. In that manner, she meets his family and friends, and sees more of Earth than from her own walks around the city.

They eventually end up in Ichigo's room, Ichigo doing homework while Rukia sorts through the mods that Urahara has provided, trying to figure out which one matches Ichigo's current skill set the best based on his performance earlier in the day. Sometimes she draws. When they are both done they sit together at his table, and she teaches him how to manipulate the nanotech to give him the parts he needs. Ichigo's finished work is always different from what she pictures in her mind, and she does not picture how the mods will look like on Shirayuki at all.

This is not always the routine. Sometimes Shirayuki's sensors will ping Rukia's own comm, and Ichigo will have to go running from school or whereever he is to deal with the Haro. Sometimes Ichigo wants to go out with his own family or friends, or Rukia feels a need to sync with Shirayuki. They never communicate this calmly - there is always much yelling and slamming of various objects.

But this is the routine they fall back on the most. No matter how heated the argument, by 3pm Ichigo and Rukia will be headed back to Shirayuki together, where they will spend the quietest afternoons that Rukia has had in a while.

Rukia does not admit that she could get used to this.
(691 words)