Sunday, 21 October 2018

SW Fanfiction: Episode 9--Secret of the Kyber Crystals



Well, last time I was on here, I told you I would be doing a post that would NOT be just a fun picture or video. It would be something original, something where I actually talk about fandoms. Something more than just “oh, look at that, isn’t THAT awesome!” I’m Clara Murphy, Queen of Fan Theories, and today, I’m going to do exactly what I promised. 

Okay, but before I do that, HAPPY BACK TO THE FUTURE DAY!! 



I couldn’t resist. This is just such a cool video! Gremgem did such a good job, and she has a BEAUTIFUL voice. I kind of love acapella music, and this is at the top of my list.


But once you’re done watching and listening to this lovely video, I do in fact have a fan theory. Or… well, maybe not a theory. Sort of like a HISHE (or How It Should Have Ended) But since it hasn’t ended yet, I guess it’s not that either. How It Should End, maybe.


What “it” am I talking about?




See the source image

 

Yes, “it” is Star Wars!


And I know, today is supposed to be Back to the Future Day (a tradition started by Grace on Time Traveller’s Daughter). But I have my reasons for posting this on Back to the Future Day. You'll see those soon enough.


Anyway, as you may have deduced, this post will deal with the new Star Wars trilogy, specifically Episodes VIII and IX. It’s my idea of what they might do in Episode IX. To be honest, they might have to do something like this just to follow up Last Jedi.



Last Jedi.


 



 

It stinks. I can’t believe Kathleen Kennedy worked on both Back to the Future AND this.


There’s just so much wrong with this movie, I don’t even know where to begin! And I don’t know how THEY’LL know where to begin, with the next one, or where to go with it. There’s pretty much nothing left.


Of course, that’s why I’m writing this “How It Should End”! I don’t know what they’ll do for real, but this is one possibility. And I think it’s rather a neat one. I’ll call it…


EPISODE IX
  

SECRET OF THE KYBER CRYSTALS
 

The Resistance is dying. With forces spread thin, and the First Order burning cities and assassinating old heroes, it seems little hope is left.
 

However, after an SOS from famed hero Lando Calrissian, a team is dispatched by Resistance Leader Rey to meet him on the planet Telcontar, and bring him and his crew to safety.
 

However, the leaders of both sides are nowhere to be seen. Supreme Leader Ren gives orders from his throne room, seeing no one. And Jedi Rey, putting General Dameron in command, has left on a mysterious mission of her own…. 

 

***



All right, so it’s not a genius title crawl. But now you know what’s going on, so it does the job. Now I can go on and describe the plot of the film without any confusion.

 





Finn and Rose meet up with Lando on the planet. And Lando is not impressed with them or the state of the Resistance. However, he teaches Finn a few things, as a sort of mentor I guess, while they’re trying to get back to their hidden transport.


They also run into DJ on the planet (that’s the guy who betrayed them in TLJ), and one or other of them chews him out. Rose seems more unstable, so probably her. They might even meet Phasma on the planet—badly scarred, and they don’t realize who she is until she tells them, but still alive. If so, she’s probably following them, bent on revenge.


Meanwhile, Rey is on some other planet with R2. She’s looking for things—really strange, mystical-seeming things. She confides in R2 that in the Jedi Books, she found out there was a way to travel through time.


 




 

 

Yeah, NOW you see how this ties in to Back to the Future Day!



Well, Rey read about it in the Jedi Books. The Jedi thought it was too dangerous, so they hid the instructions on how to do it in several different places. Scattered them across several books. Part was in one of the Jedi Books they have, and part was in other books. Those books are hidden somewhere on this planet.



Oh, and the Jedi Books she already has also say that time travel is the reason they used Kyber crystals for their lightsabers, rather than something else. Kyber crystals act as time shields, protecting the Jedi’s minds, memories, and bodies from being affected by changes in the past. (More details on ‘time shields’ here) If some Sith were to get hold of the information and went back in time, the Jedi would be unaffected by whatever he changed. ‘Kyber crystals remember’ is probably an old saying.

So, Rey wants to travel back in time to see who her real parents were. Maybe she thinks she can even bring back Luke, I don’t know. But when R2 hears that she’s trying to time travel, he gets really excited, beeping and whistling and all. She can’t figure out why. But they try to find things to do with time travel—like how Doc needed plutonium and the Flux Capacitor for his time machine—and the other Jedi books.

 
 

Meanwhile, the Resistance and First Order are doing things too. Poe is in charge when they witness the destruction of one of the old places, and the death of some old heroes, at the hands of the First Order. Poe realizes they can’t keep hiding like this. They have to take action. But with so few men, what can they do?
 
 
As that’s going on with them, Hux is starting to have doubts. Kylo isn’t having them go after military targets, but historical targets. Burning the past, you see. He’s staying in his room, comming his instructions to the leaders, and rarely even showing his face then. And when he does… Well, Hux is beginning to think Kylo is crazy, and maybe even dangerous to the First Order. In the past, the Empire has always had a Sith Lord as its leader. Perhaps, he thinks, it’s time to burn down that particular tradition of the past.
 
 
What ends up happening is that Hux finds the Resistance, and comes to them, alone (or maybe with two troopers) to meet with Poe. He wants the Resistance to kill Kylo Ren. If they do so, they’ll all get a pardon for their past crimes. And he’s in earnest, too—he’s not trying to trick them. They’re both kind of wary of each other, but they agree to work together.
 
 
It comes to a bit of a head on one planet. Finn, Rose, Lando, and that group escape to the planet, pursued by a group of First Order Troopers. (I think they lost Phasma somewhere along the line). Rey, having found clues to the location of the final book, goes to the planet to find it. Hux and Poe bring their forces to the planet to take down Kylo. They all sort of run into each other there. To be honest, they probably would have all worked together to take down Kylo Ren.
 
 
But things don’t go so well. Rey wanders off to find the last Jedi book, and accidentally alerts their presence to… certain parties. When the Resistance tries to take down Kylo, they aren’t very successful—it’s like he gained all these powers he never had before. Then Hux and his troopers join in and try to help them. But then the troopers that had been chasing Lando show up, and Kylo tells them Hux is a traitor, and they start fighting. And it gets worse. When Hux sees the Sith Lord, he realizes—that’s not Kylo Ren. This golden-eyed Sith, even though he looks like Kylo, is in fact Snoke. He’s possessing Kylo.

 


  
So yeah, things aren’t going so well.
 
 
The other heroes show up, though. Lando leads them, I think, and there’s a big battle. He and Finn do the best. Rose is kind of impressed. But Snoke-as-Kylo wasn’t alone on the planet, because the Knights of Ren come on the scene. Those are the Jedi students he corrupted way back when, the ones mentioned in Force Awakens. They’re powerful and dangerous, and turn the tables on them.
 
 
Things go from worse to horrible. Even the Resistance, Hux’s First Order troops, AND the other heroes, all combined, are no match for their enemies, and badly outnumbered. Lando gets shot down (which is particularly hard on Finn). It’s like that Alamo thing in America. No way of escape, surrounded, outnumbered. The soldiers of both Poe and Hux are fighting and dying side by side.
 
 
But that’s when Rey and R2 show back up. She shows Finn what she’s found. If it works, they can stop this battle from happening, they can save Luke Skywalker, they can stop Snoke-as-Kylo. They can fix this.
 
 
Now, here’s how I think the way to time travel is. You hold up the lightsabre, unignited, and you channel the Force and focus on the crystal inside the lightsabre. And it’ll ignite on its own, in a strange, different way. The ‘light’ of the lightsabre looks different somehow. And you whirl the lightsabre around in a specific way, and it sort of cuts open a time travel portal. Rey explains it to Finn.
 
 
Of course, right as Rey is doing this, Snoke-as-Kylo shows up. He tries to stop them from time travelling, and there’s a bit of a fight. Even R2 does something. But then, just as Rey gets a time portal opened, there’s a sort of explosion—a wayward grenade or something—and all four of them get knocked into Rey’s time portal.




 

 


They find themselves in… well, what you might call an Inbetween. Not in the normal world, not in eternity. And they can actually physically see the Force, both the Light Side and the Dark Side (though they probably can’t use the Force there, now I think about it). And they can physically see Time as well. They’re in the Force-Time Continuum, you could say.


Now, I’m not entirely sure how Time and the Force look, how they tell the difference. Or how they can tell which parts are past and which parts are future. Because I’m sure they can do that.


But since they can in fact see the Force, and can in fact see Time, they also see that something isn’t right. The Dark Side is grown bigger than the Light Side, especially in the not-too-distant future. And Time… well, they can all tell somehow that something’s not right. That something hasn’t been right all this time.


Well, the four of them end up in the future—oh, we’ll say about a decade or two—and are separated. Rey and Finn are together, but they don’t know where Snoke or R2 are. But then they see what this future is like. Snoke, still in Kylo Ren’s body, is in complete control of the galaxy. His Knights of Ren control the people’s minds. He reigns supreme with his Sith Queen, known as Averna, who never shows her face. All opposition is gone. In this future, Snoke’s plan has succeeded.
  


Something is very wrong here...

 

It’s at this point that R2 finds them again. And he’s more excited than ever, beeping and whistling all over the place. They don’t know what it is. R2 plays them a message, recorded in his data banks. But it’s not the one we’re familiar with, the one where Leia asks Obi-Wan Kenobi for help. It’s a message recorded by Luke.


And it’s not the Luke of the Original Trilogy, but an older Luke. He is dressed in Jedi robes. He says that Snoke is attacking the Jedi Library to capture the books about time travel. If the worst comes to the worst, and he succeeds… well, that’s why he’s recording this message. 
 

You see, he’s installed, in R2, a Kyber crystal. R2 is protected from the time waves, and will remember what really happened, if the past is ever changed. Luke gave him instructions to find someone who would be able to stop Snoke, and show them this message.


(Side note: I think he also explains about the map. It’s actually a locator, activated by the piece Lor San Tekka gave Poe Dameron in the first movie. It locates Luke’s Force presence by using the Kyber crystal or something. It’s very experimental tech, though, so it might shut R2 down until the activator is plugged in. I don’t know. But what that means is that Luke wants to rejoin the fight, no matter what is changed in his past, and gives them a means to get to him.)
 
Well, he tells them Snoke’s plan was to change the past and get rid of all opposition, so he can successfully take over the present. That’s the plan that succeeded and resulted in the future the heroes are currently in, and that’s what was wrong in the Force-Time Continuum.

  
Luke starts to mention something further, an ultimate weapon Snoke created. But just then, Han comes in and tells him they’re gonna have company real soon. Luke draws his lightsaber, then ends the message by admonishing the heroes. They have to go back in time and stop Snoke from changing the past, and restore the galaxy. They’re the only hope they have left. Then the message cuts off.


 



Well, the trio heads off to fix the timeline, but they are followed by the Snoke-as-Kylo from their time, as well as Queen Averna. There’s a chase scene through the Continuum as they find their way into each of these different places in time. It’s easy enough to find them, since they can physically see things that are wrong in time. There’s chases and fights, and they change stuff back. Sometimes, they’re stopped from fixing things—oh, and sometimes, Rey sees someone changing things, someone who looks like Queen Averna (but not the one chasing them).

 
So they keep changing things, but then they see that the messed-up parts of Time keep popping back up. Something keeps changing things back. And it’s not Snoke-as-Kylo, because he’s right there, and it doesn’t appear to be Averna. So the heroes go to the mess-up that goes back the farthest. The place is a Sith Temple, somewhere in the wilderness.

 
But there’s a fight between the two heroes and the two villains. And during the fight, Averna’s face is revealed, and that’s when they get a huge shock. Because it’s the face of REY. They don’t understand what’s going on. But as they fight and hide, Snoke-as-Kylo explains.

 
Turns out Darth Plagueis really could manipulate midichlorians, and at this one special Sith place (and I think it’s the last one the Jedi didn’t destroy), he created a Sith being that could be the greatest Force-user ever. But Darth Sidious, afraid that this being would make him obsolete, decided to sabotage this plan, and kidnapped the being before her Sith genes could be activated, sending her forward in time.

 
Of course, he didn’t know that Plagueis had made a clone of himself, just in case. The clone found out Sidious’ plan, and went to find the Sith. The clone went through many times trying to find her, and got scarred up pretty bad. (About here, they realize the clone was Snoke.)

 
Well, Snoke found out she was in this time, but didn’t know where. So he decided to use it to his advantage, and took Kylo Ren under his wing, setting up the First Order with resources stolen from other times. Turned out she was the perfect age to begin the mission, so Snoke also stopped Kylo’s search for Luke after Rey got there.
 


Why? Because Rey is the Sith being. Their plan to change time to their advantage is imprinted on her genes. She carries it out without even trying or knowing what she’s doing.
 

 

All Snoke needs is to activate her innate Sith nature, and she will become unstoppable. I guess Averna (Future Sith Rey) went back in time after she became a Sith and changed things to be really bad.

 
At the end of this explanation, Snoke-as-Kylo finds Rey. He tries to activate those Sith genes, and red lightning dances around her, and actually hurts her. But every time he tries to do that surge of Dark energy, it dies back down. Something is stopping it. Is it the Light Side? No, there would be blue lightning if it was. They don’t know what it is.
 
 
But Finn and R2 rescue Rey. They get split up when they run off, but they manage to hide. They also realize that the Sith Temple they're near is the place where Plagueis is about to "create" Rey. In fact, Plagueis is on his way there right then. Finn is the one who realizes this, and looks for the others so he can tell them. He spots Rey and R2, and it appears as though she just finished recording something, like a message. He comes over to them.

Rey says that it’s literally imprinted on her genes to mess up their future. They can’t unravel her being and reorganize her DNA—that would take a Force-user the likes of which the world has never seen (except in Darth Plagueis, and he’s clearly not going to cooperate). The only way to change things back to the way they should be is if she never existed. So they come up with a plan to stop this.

 
Rey, lightsabre in hand, steps out in sight of Snoke-as-Kylo and Averna. She says she knows why his Force surge isn’t working, but she’ll only tell him if he lets Finn and R2 go free. He agrees, because Finn is stupid (he thinks). She tells him that there can’t be two Sith versions of her in the same time—it would cause a paradoxical imbalance in the Force, so the Force compensates by preventing the creation of another Sith Rey. She read about it in the Jedi Books. It makes sense to Snoke, so he orders Averna to return to her own time.

 
Finally, facing Snoke alone, Rey throws away the lightsabre. Snoke comes up and does his Force surge again—at the same time that Plagueis is creating Rey out of midichlorians. She’s currently not ‘she’, but a swirling mass of red and black lightning.

 
So Snoke-as-Kylo is turning Rey into Averna, but he forgot about Finn. And Finn takes the lightsabre that Rey dropped and stabs it into the Sith-storm that Plagueis is manipulating. That destroys it. Rey vanishes. Then there’s a huge explosion when he gets rid of the Sith-storm, and it destroys the place.

 
What happens then? Does Snoke vanish forever? Is he kicked out of Kylo, because his mind is reverting to normal? I think so. Kylo is returning to normal, because he doesn’t have his lightsabre, I guess—his mind is being restored to the natural, good future version, the one where Snoke isn’t in his mind. So Snoke’s evil Sith spirit goes out before he can be destroyed and goes into the Force-Time Continuum. He can’t do any harm there. He probably becomes one with the Dark Side or whatever.

 
Kylo, upon Snoke’s exit, falls over, unconscious. Finn gets him, and uses the lightsabre and the technique Rey showed him to send him, R2, and Kylo back to the future.



 
(And yes, he is able to do that, even though it’s a very difficult Force thing. You see, after he destroyed Plagueis’ Sith-storm, and everything was going back to normal, he felt a surge of energy, as if the power of the Force just suddenly flowed into him. He wasn’t sure why at the time.)

 
Kylo wakes up in that time, still remembering what happened. Finn tells him it was just a bad dream. And he believes it.

 
But now they look around at the present, and see how it’s changed. Kylo remembers it—or, I should say, Ben. He woke up with all his memories of this time. But Finn doesn’t remember this present. Not at first. But the longer he stays, and the more people he meets, the more new memories appear in his head of what his present self is like.

 

 
To start with, Han and Luke are alive and well, and they’re happy. Luke is the teacher of many young Jedi, and the Jedi are thriving. Han and Leia are happily married with several children (of whom Ben is only the second). In fact, the oldest of these is actually Poe, who had in the alternate timeline been taken away from them early on.
 
The galaxy is at peace. Those who had been in the First Order—Phasma and Hux specifically—are no longer enemies. They’re probably in the Senate or something, as is Holdo. Finn recognizes Phasma, his old commander, but she doesn’t recognize him. She’s very different.
 
But what about Finn himself? For one thing, I think Rose is his girlfriend—his pretty, feisty, but above all, stable girlfriend. She’s actually got a consistent personality. But for another thing, Finn himself is a Jedi now. His family (yes, family) put him into training with Luke, and he’s one of his best students. Might even be a classmate of Ben. He’s still friends with Poe, too. But he’s now one of the top new Jedi.
 
That night, at the end of the movie, he calls them all together. He plays for them a message from Rey, recorded on R2 (so it survived the time change). Nobody there knows who she is, except for Finn and R2. They say that she’s a friend, and a hero.
 
But she knew nobody would know her. She knew what was going to have to be done. So she recorded this message. She says that even though she wasn’t meant to, she’s learned a lot from those she knows to be heroes, and considers her friends. She's learned that they should honour the past, and never let it burn or be forgotten. That they should take what time they have now, and use it to work hard for peace, and fight for it if needs be, always staying true to each other. That if they do, they will build a future of strength, of light, of hope.
 
And at the very end of her message, she actually changes her expression, and smiles.
 
Trumpet flourish! Roll credits! Everything is right in the galaxy once again!

 
Well, I certainly hope that you all were able to stick with me throughout that whole thing, because it was long.


But that’s my idea of Episode XI of Star Wars (coming out... what is it, next year?). Not too bad, I think. Of course, they probably won’t do anything like it. But since we don’t know anything about it yet, who knows? Even if they don’t, it’ll always be here.


Either way, I hope you enjoyed this little How It Should End—the first—no, I'm wrong, second fanfiction I've posted on my blog! If you include the Summer Holiday Tag. Anyway, let me know what you thought of it down in the comments!


Happy Back to the Future Day, everyone!
 

Saturday, 22 September 2018

Happy Hobbit Day!



Well, well, I think birthday greetings are in order. Not mine, of course. I mean birthday greetings for two of "the famousest" hobbits that ever lived: Bilbo and Frodo Baggins!

So, here for you today, I've decided to put up a cool picture I found:




Isn't that cool? And we can see clearly: he did come back, and he was not the same.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are some of my favourite books. I just had to put something up for this special day.

Hopefully, soon I'll be posting something more than just a cool picture or video, like I've been doing (though those are fun!) Wonder what it'll be when I do. Theorizing? Fanfiction? Something else completely? Who knows!

Anyway, happy Hobbit Day to you all--and happy birthday to Bilbo and Frodo--from Clara Murphy, Queen of Fandoms!


Saturday, 18 August 2018

Awesome DuckTales News AND Animatic (by irestuff)!



Well, it's been a while since I last posted. Close to a month, actually. Kind of embarrassing. But today, I have TWO things for you. Hopefully that'll make up for such a long break. This is Clara Murphy, Queen of Fandoms, and today we're going to talk about DuckTales! WOO-OO!

First, as you can deduce from the title of the post, I have a bit of news for you all. And it is rather exciting news indeed.

This very day, the final episode of Season 1 of DuckTales aired.

THE FINAL EPISODE.

*fangirl squeal*

I will say, I haven't seen the episode myself, or several of the episodes preceding it, but I CANNOT WAIT to catch up. Especially after seeing the clips pop up on my YouTube Recommended "Hey You Should Watch This" section.

This is going to be epic. It is going to be SO EPIC.

Second, in commemoration of the events of the day, I've decided to show you all a video I found. It's by a person on YouTube called irestuff, who did another animatic combining DuckTales and the theme song of Gravity Falls. But this one is, I think, way cooler. Take a look.




That is kind of scary.

I mean, this kind of thing in general is scary. The kind of thing where you have this character who you really like, but then he is taken over by the main villain of the entire story and is turned against his friends, and then the remaining heroes have to go fight him... yeah, THAT is scary, in an 'oh my gosh no this cannot be happening please NO' kind of way.

I'm beginning to think maybe 'scary' isn't quite the right word. But 'dramatic' doesn't have quite the weight needed to describe how it feels when that kind of thing happens in a story.

It makes for a dramatic story, of course, but it also makes me want to just about strangle them... as soon as they tell me what happens to these characters... though that might save them, depending on how things end up.

Sorry, that went off on a bit of a tangent. Anyway, about the video itself.

The song I think was from some TV spinoff of the Tangled movie. I've never seen the show, but I've seen this, and also one or possibly two other videos with the same song. Yeah, two, including a video of just the song from the original episode. This one's the first one I saw, and the best one. REALLY AWESOME!  :D

This was pretty well made too, visually. It actually looks like the characters from the show, which makes it just a bit more dramatic. One of the other videos I saw was done in this anime style, and didn't really look like the original show it was from. It was okay, but it wasn't as... well, scary, I guess.

This sort of thing was actually what I was afraid was going to happen in the finale of Gravity Falls. And maybe it did. Or maybe it didn't. But that was what I initially expected.

I don't THINK this is what will happen in the season finale of DuckTales. But you never know. I mean, MAGICA. *shudders at the creepiness/evilness* 
BUT ANYWAY, that is my post! Go watch the season finale of DuckTales! I know I'M ready to watch it--ready as I'll ever be.  ;)

Saturday, 21 July 2018

Summer Holiday With My Characters!



Well, it's been a month since last I posted on my blog. And that is because I've been working on something. Working on getting five people to agree to go on holiday together. And I finally sent them off yesterday! I'm Clara Murphy, Queen of Fandoms, and this is Summer Vacation With My Characters!

You may remember my last post: Grace from Time Traveller's Daughter created a tag, and tagged me with it. I've been working on it for a while, and it's finally done.


Anyway, the rules are:

1.     Pick 3 to 5 characters from your writings. These can be from any of your works—long or short, work-in-progress or finished, in any form—and the characters can be of any kind, but they must be your own characters.
2.     Each answer must be written as if you are interviewing all of the characters together, in real life. (See my own example later in the post). They don't have to be very elaborate, and can in fact be as simple as each character just saying his answer—in his own voice, of course. But remember, they are all together in the same place.
3.     You must link back to the person who tagged you.
4.     You must tag at least one other person to do the tag.


This is such a fun tag. I suppose this will honestly be my first bit of fanfic. That I've actually written and posted, that is.

Now, just as a forewarning, I may be cheating just a little bit. The thing calls for original characters. And some of them are in fact completely original to me, even if I've attached them to someone else's story world. But some of them are sort of pre-existing. You'll probably be able to tell who. But I think they're original enough for this. At least I hope so.


Besides, that's what you get for tagging someone whose only known writing is about fandoms.  XD   Just saying!

Either way, this will be interesting. Hope you enjoy!

 
---

Introduce your characters (or rather, let them introduce themselves)!

*four people are sitting on a couch and armchairs in my living room when I enter with a camera; instantly, a woman dressed in purple, with mostly-brown hair, jumps up with a bright smile*

(A) *in British accent* Hello there! My name is Atlas Fletcher. *curtsies a little* I’m the captain of the A.S. Hildegarde.

*a middle-aged man, sitting in an armchair, laughs with a sneer*

(B) *in American accent* You? Captain of a sea-faring vessel?

(A) Well, not exactly…

(B) I knew it!

(A) …I suppose it’s really more of a sky-faring vessel. An airship, if you will!

(B) *blinks in surprise* Uh—wai—what?

(A) Oh! And I’m from the year 1875, by the way. Since you all look rather, er, modern, I thought I should make that clear.

*a boy with dark-brown, rather messy hair sits forward with interest*

(S) *in American accent* You’re a time traveller and an airship captain? Huh. Looks like this will be a worthwhile trip after all.

*a man, wearing a teal coat and brown fedora, who had been sitting straight and quiet, now leans forward a little*

(P) *in a slight Australian accent* Name’s Perry. Perry Flynn. *tips his fedora*

(S) Hold on, wasn’t it Peregrine Flynn?

(A) He told me it was Percival.

(P) Uh, well, it’s both, actually. Peregrine Percival Flynn. But Perry’s shorter.

(S) Then why not just say ‘Perry’ to all of us?

(P) *slight pause, shrugs*

(S) *suspicious* Uh-huh. Well, I’m gonna be straightforward with my name. It’s Shermie. Shermie Pines. I’m from Glass Shard Beach.

(A) That’s a rather interesting name. Where is that?

(S) New Jersey. But it’s kind of boring. Just like the rest of my life.

(A) Boring? Now, how could your whole life be boring?

(S) Well, not all of us are skyship captains.

(A) Yes, but haven’t you got brothers and sisters?

(S) One brother. Stanford. But he’s like fifteen years older than me, and he lives way out in some little town in Oregon. *takes on mock realization* Of course, what was I thinking, that’s a total riot right there! How could anything be boring around him when I haven’t even seen him in years?

(A) You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?

(B) UGH, you all take too long! I’m—

*he is interrupted by a door opening, and a teenaged girl—who looks strangely like Liv Tyler and is carrying a book—bursting through said door; he groans*

(G) *in American accent* Sorry I’m late! I just got a little caught up in my reading, and—did I miss it?

(A) Not at all, dear girl! We were just introducing ourselves to this small black box with a monacle lens on it.

(B) *snickers*

(A) Though I’m not really sure why.

(G) Oh, okay, then. *clears throat and looks at the camera* I’m Gwen Walker. I’m seventeen years old. And… well, I guess that’s the basics. I don’t have to say where I’m from, do I? No? Okay. *sits next to Shermie*

(B) *arms crossed* My name’s Biff, as if anybody cares. From Danville.

*Perry’s eyebrows rise, but he says nothing*


Who drives on the trip?


(A) Ooh! Can I try?

(B) *a little incredulous* You just said you’re from 1875! What do ya wanna do, kill us?

(A) *a bit embarrassed* Oh. So sorry. I just was wondering what it’d be like to drive a car—have been since I first saw one.

(S) I don’t blame her. I can’t wait to get my driver’s license either.

(A) What about our Miss Walker, here?

(G) No thanks. I want to get in some reading. *taps the book on her lap twice*

(B) Good, cause I want to drive.

(P) I don’t think so.

(B) What, you think I forged my driver’s license or something?

(P) Let’s just say I think we’d all be a bit safer if I was the one driving.

(B) And what’s that supposed to mean?

*Perry says nothing*

(B) Fine. I need some relaxation anyway.


What is your most essential item to bring on the trip?


(G) Definitely my Tolkien books. Which I already have in my bags, except for Silmarillion. *holds up her book* This, I’m going to read. I’m going to try to get at least to Beren and Luthien, but after that—

(B) *snort-laughs* Seriously, you made those words up, didn’t you?

(G) Wha—no! Haven’t you ever heard of Tolkien?

(B) Nope. All that silly fantasy stuff is… is silly!

(G) *annoyed* Well, then, I’d like to know just what you think is essential.

(B) Well— *pause, thinking* uh…

*Gwen raises her eyebrows*

(B) Okay! I’ve already got it on, alright? I think I’ve got the most essential thing on me right now.

(G) And that is…?

(B) *thumbs toward his face and grins*

(G) *rolls eyes*

(A) Well, I’m sure that is very essential for you. But for me, it’s this! *holds up a tarnished grey pocketwatch*

(S) Why? Is it some kind of time machine?

(A) No—

(S) Maybe the key to operating your airship?

(A) No, no, nothing like that. It’s just something I was given a long time ago by a very dear friend of mine. I’d never part with it. *smiles fondly in memory*

(B) UGH, sentimental mush. Next! Flynn?

(P) *fingering something small on a chain around his neck* No comment.

(G) How about you, Shermie?

(S) *shrugs* Ehh, I don’t have one.

(G) You don’t?

(S) Nope. I got all I really need *taps his own head twice* up here.


Pick one song for your playlist.


(A) Oh yes! Dakota told me about these! Let me see, what was that title? *thinks just a moment* ‘You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart’.

(P) Hm. Really?

(A) Well, it was the best one he played for me. A lot better than that silly woodcutter song, though it wasn’t—

(B) Okay, hold it a second. Hold it. Did you say Dakota? As in the time traveller?

(A) Yes. Why?

(B) *throws up hands and groans* Of course! Out of all the people I could’ve gotten stuck with on this trip, it had to be a friend of that little—

(A) Mind your words, sir! Now what do you have against him?

(B) That twerp? *humourless laugh* Everything. The whole reason I even agreed to this trip was to get away from the Dakotas for a while!

(A) I don’t understand! Why would he—

(B) *holds up finger as he speaks* Heavy metal.

(A) *confused* What?

(B) Anything heavy metal. That’s what kind of music I want to listen to in the car.

*Atlas still seems confused, but is interrupted before she can say anything further*

(S) I don’t really care what kind of music we listen to. I’m not into all that stuff.

(P) Same.

(G) If I had to pick just one song, I might pick ‘The Greatest Adventure’, from the Rankin-Bass Hobbit movie. Though all the songs in that are really good. I practically grew up with that cartoon.

(A) *slowly* What’s a cartoon?


What movie would you watch in the car?


(B) Any Western. See, those are why you people are so amusing.

(S) Us people?

(B) You know what I mean.

(S) *suspiciously* I think I’m starting to.

(P) I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ll have much time to watch anything. But I do like spy movies. James Bond, Mission Impossible, things like that.

(G) The Rankin-Bass version of The Hobbit is my thought.

(A) You really like those hobbit-stories and all, don’t you?

(G) Yes. But I don’t think they’ve made very many adaptations of them, especially not that you can watch—

(P) Well, aren’t you forgetting the Lord of the Rings movies?

(G) *kind of not wanting to talk about it* Well, the first animated version, the Bashki one, is kind of—

(B) Hello? *knocking on the top of her head—she annoyedly whacks at his fist a bit* Hello, anybody home? Think, girly! He’s talking about the live-action ones, not the cartoons!

(G) *eyes widen* There are live-action movies? Of Lord of the Rings?

(P) *nods*

(G) *pauses, thinking; draws breath through teeth as she hesitates* Can we bring them all?

(S) Wow, you are really into those stories. I personally like science-fiction movies. Particularly older ones, just because they’re fun, but I like it more when they try to go into how the science-fiction works. I like proving them wrong.

(G) Wait, what?

(S) To be more specific, proving their science wrong. Most of these things, if they’re possible at all, usually wouldn’t work even theoretically by their physics.

(G) Right. Well, I’ll just trust you to know what you’re talking about.

(A) Whether they’re accurate or not, I’ve heard about a lot of time travel films from your day and age. I’d like to try some of them.

(B) *sarcastic* Sure, time travel! I wonder why you’d think of that!

(A) Well, you know, some of my best friends are time travellers—even Cav is one of them!

(B) “Cav”? Who’s “Cav”?

(A) My friend. The one who gave me the pocketwatch. At least, that’s his nickname: Cav. It’s short for—

(B) UGH, please, don’t say it. Please don’t tell me you’re talking about Doc Cavendish.

(A) I didn’t know he was a doctor too!


What snacks would you bring?


(A) Well, I think pistachios might be—

(B) Nope!

(A) What?

(B) That one is ruled out. Pick something else, or skip your answer.

(A) *frowning* Goodness, you are rude. But either way, I would rather like to stop at one of these swift-meal places.

(S) You mean fast food?

(A) Yes, that was it!

(G) I’m bringing apples. We’ve always got them back home, and they’re very good.

(A) Yes, I’ve always got some on my ship. Though I don’t need as many, it’s still a good idea to bring them along.

(S) Toffee peanuts, for sure. They’re my favourite snack.

*everyone looks at him blankly*

(S) Why does everyone give me a weird look when I say that? It’s not like nobody’s heard of them before!


What is your destination?


(S) Anywhere interesting. My parents keep trying to get me to go visit my brother out in Oregon for a summer. But come on. A small town like where he lives? Way too boring for me.

(A) Could we go someplace modern? I’ve only seen this time once, and that was very brief. I’d like to find out more about it.

(B) I don’t really care, as long as there’s a lot of people there.

(P) Why’s that?

(B) Just my personal preference. You got a different preference, Flynn?

(P) Actually, no. Not really.

(G) Ooh, I’ve got some preferences! My first pick would definitely be Middle Earth. There’s so many places there we could go! Rivendell, the Shire, Rohan, Minas Tirith…

(B) *sing-song-y voice* You’re making up words again…

(G) *sing-song-y voice* No, I’m no-ot!

(A) Those sound interesting, actually. I might agree to go there.

(G) Thank you, Miss Fletcher! But if that one doesn’t end up being agreed on, by *looks at Biff* certain parties, my second choice might be the North Pole.

(B) That’s silly. There’s no such thing.

(S) Huh! Now who’s being silly? Of course there’s such a thing. There’s just not a Santa Claus or elves or anything like that up there.

(G) There is— *realizes she just let those words out of her mouth; quietly:* too.

(B) Great. Now we’ve got two crazy females on the trip. Hey, why don’t I call Libby and round out the trio?

(A) Oh, don’t be rude. Gwen means the ones in the stories, right?

(S) Are we allowed to go to places that aren’t real, though?

(P) I’m pretty sure it’s allowed. Seems like it’d have to be.


How long will the vacation last?


(A) A month!

(P/B) NO!

(G) Well, it should at least be a couple of weeks. If we are going to Middle Earth, we’re going to have a lot to do.

(B) That much is true: we will have a lot to do. Plenty.

(P) *growls*

(A) Well, Mr. Flynn! That was an amazing imitation of a platypus’ growl. Where did you learn to do it?

(P) *sort of stammers* Uh—well—I guess it just comes natural.

(S) *whispers to Gwen* I’m kind of hoping it’ll be a longer trip, too.

(G) *whispers back* Why’s that?

(S) I want to observe our, uh, road-mates. Especially the men. They’ve been acting very suspicious, and I think they’ve got something to hide.

(G) Fill me in when you find out something new?

(S) Sure. At least you’re not part of the Danville Debate Club over there.

*Gwen scrunches her eyebrows*

(S) *as if it should be obvious* Come on. Biff said he’s from Danville. Atlas knows some of the same people he knows.

(G) And Mr. Flynn?

(S) I noticed how he looked when Biff said he was from Danville. Gotta be. Besides—well—they all look kind of… weird. Weird in the same ways. I don’t really know how else to describe it.

(G) Don't worry. I get it. *to self* To be honest, you all looked cartoon-y, but—

(S) What was that?

(G) Nothing.


How would you pass the time along the way (aside from the things already mentioned)?


(A) By doing everything I possibly can! It’s been so long since I’ve been on a road trip, with other people! I don’t think I’ll have any trouble passing time.

(S) Wait, you haven’t been on a road trip with other people?

(A) No, I have! It’s just… been a while. *pause* A long while.

(B) Why was I not told about this question? Did you come up with this one at the last minute, bec—

(S) Why? Don’t want to talk about what you’re gonna do on the way?

(B) No, I hadn’t THOUGHT about what I’m gonna do on the way.

(P) I’ll be driving, of course. And keeping an eye on some of our… passengers. *whispering to the camera* Between you and me, this trip is a time bomb waiting to go off.

(B) *to Shermie* What are you looking at, nuthead?

(S) Just you. Your face. The way you’re holding yourself. Things like that.

(B) *shouting, voice squeaking just a little* Look, can somebody tell the kid to stop studying me? I’m getting weirded out here!

(P) *to camera* Hold on. *goes back into the group* Now, gents, let’s not lose the plot, here.

(B) Wha—?

(G) You’re exactly right, Mr. Flynn. We need to stay focused on the questions.

*the others generally agree*

(G) As for me, I’ll probably be mostly reading. That and listening to Shermie’s theories.

(B) Listening to that little twerp? Ha, shouldn’t be surprised. You’re not one of the fun females. Just another nerd. Just like that stupid Cavendish and Dakota.

(S) You’re saying nerd like it’s a bad thing.

(A) *crossing arms* Well, I should certainly hope it’s not a bad thing. *glares at Biff*

(B) Eh, at least this one’s got guts. And she’s the most annoying one, always yapping about her ‘dear old friends’. But she’s sure got guts.

(A) *eyes narrow* You’d best watch your words about my friends.

(B) *leans forward* You’d best watch your back.

(P) *steps in* Enough! Now, can we try not to kill each other before we leave the driveway?

*the two stand, still glaring, for a tense, brief moment, before their stances relax*

(A) *sigh* Mr. Flynn, you’re completely right. This sort of fighting won’t do any good. *holds out hand, still half-glaring* Shall we make it pax, for the time being, Mister…

(B) I told you, my name’s Biff. *walks away, sits back down in the armchair*

(S) *to Gwen* See? Danville Debate Club. I think what I find from studying them is gonna make this the most interesting summer of my life.

(G) Yeah. *sighs* Let’s hope this actually works.

(A) Now, to the automobile! Let’s be off!

(B) I think some of us already are.

*I push the button on the camera, and the video cuts off*


---


Well, that went well, didn't it? Yeah, I seriously doubt that this trip will go without incident.  XD

But anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you found it (and especially the characters) interesting, because we'll hopefully be seeing a bit more of them around here. Once they get back from holiday, that is. Let me know what you thought down in the comments!  :)

Once again, I do apologize if one or two of the characters don't seem quite original (*cough*Biff*cough*). There is in fact a reason why I think those characters are original, but I don't want to spoil it.  ;)   It'll make sense once the story's up.

Oh, right! Tagging! I tag...

Deborah - deborahocarroll.wordpress.com
          Because I want to know more about her characters (especially Siren and the Skyship characters!  :D  )

Victoria - storitorigrace.blogspot.com
          Because her posts are really helpful, especially the So Your Character is From... posts (helped me out with Perry!) And also I'm kind of curious about her characters.

Plus, anybody who wants to do this fun tag!  :)


And now the rules:


1.     Pick 3 to 5 characters from your writings. These can be from any of your works—long or short, work-in-progress or finished, in any form—and the characters can be of any kind, but they must be your own characters.
2.     Each answer must be written as if you are interviewing all of the characters together, in real life. (See my own example later in the post). They don't have to be very elaborate, and can in fact be as simple as each character just saying his answer—in his own voice, of course. But remember, they are all together in the same place.
3.     You must link back to the person who tagged you.
4.     You must tag at least one other person to do the tag.

And the questions:

Introduce your characters (or rather, let them introduce themselves)!Who drives on the trip?
What is your most essential item to bring on the trip?
Pick one song for your playlist.
What movie would you watch in the car?
What snacks would you bring?
What is your destination?
How long will the vacation last?
How would you pass the time along the way (aside from the things already mentioned)?


And I suppose there's not much more to say in this post. So goodbye for now, and once again, happy summer!