I wrote a chapter of it today! =D *is proud*
So anyway.
Starfall. Here we go.
It's kind of a sci-fi/fantasy thing, in that it's about planets and stars but has a very fantasy sort of feel, in that none of it makes sense. ^__^ It kind of ... affectionately mocks things. Maybe. Actually, I have no idea what's going to happen, and am sort of surprised that I've come up with this much already. And kind of worried.
Starfall: timidly going where probably quite a few stories have gone before! =D
StarfallThe Pathfinder Academy is very strict. It teaches navigation, but not just navigation. If one of the Kind (because the Academy accepts only the best, and the Kind are the best) has graduated the Academy, you'll know that they can navigate their way through literally anywhere. They know every planet, every continent, every country. They know to leave the planet Verdigris before dusk, and to leave the planet Cornflower before dawn. Their blood pulses in time to the magnetic poles. In the darkest night, they can set their sights on a star, and lead you to where you want to go. Pathfinders are the best; they don't know the
meaning of fear. If you meet a Pathfinder, you know that they're the best of the best.
But what do you know if you meet a Pathfinder who was dishonourably discharged?
Seren was a Pathfinder.
Was. Now, she's a nothing. Life is nothing, because her profession was everything. How can you find excitement, when you were a Pathfinder? How can you live with being normal when you were the best? Pathfinders don't know the meaning of fear, and where's the thrill of excitement without the fear that goes with it?
Seren gambles, and drinks a lot, and looks for excitement wherever she can find it. But even a former Pathfinder is better than someone who's never set foot inside the Academy, and when she meets some people who need a guide, how can she resist?
Things get ... complicated. Quickly.
Is this the best thing that's ever happened to her, or the worst?
Either way, hold on tight. This is going to be one helluva ride.
... And yes, I do find a Crayola colour list quite helpful in thinking of the planet names. xD
Dramatis PersonaeSeren (Serendipity Avalon Corissca Duamine) - A former Pathfinder from the Kind world. Tallish, slenderish, quite pretty, with dark hair and creamy skin. Semi-permanently slightly drunk, so much so that you can't tell whether she's been drinking or not; it's kind of her permanent state. Carries a huge mechanical sword that is also a spaceship. And maybe a solar sailer. And shoots lasers. Or something.
Reynard - The Trickster God, and a constellation. (Also a fox, for some reason.) Ragged, with red hair and very bright green eyes. Somehow he manages to look both ageless and young. His star is small, but bright, and he's worshipped throughout Little Squid.
Lady Luck - Reynard's sister. Pretends to be human sometimes. Isn't very good at it.
Ferre - One of the Nightkind. Lots of foamy white hair, and narrow white tattoos (like the veins you get in some stones). Had a sword, but lost it; fights with a bow. The Nightkind Tyrant's ... best friend's ... cousin's ... nephew. Ahem.
Mule (Samuel) Beckett - An artist and sculptor, with Durant's Syndrome, which slowly kills the heart. Sandy hair, quite tousled. Tallish, handsomeish, and paleish, a bit. And bonus points if you get the reference! =D And it's a reference to an oldish sci-fi show, not the Irish writer. In case you were wondering.
Ada Beckett - Mule's wife. Used to have red hair, but dyed it silver at the first grey hair she saw. Which says a lot about her personality, really. Very determined.
Midas Beckett - The Supreme Overlord of the Navy Navy, and Mule's big brother. (The title was
not his idea.) Short-cropped hair, square features, slightly crooked nose. Dutiful to a fault.
Jak - A young half-breed sparky (one of the Jurrfolk, that is; from Ochre) with a passion for spatio-zoology.
Georgette - Wants to save the world. The fact that she has no idea how to go about it is minor, right? Young.
Rosenbach - A bony, spindly man, who is somewhat formidable despite the fact that he lives most of his lives in dreams. Perhaps
because of it.
Babel - a clone. Of Mule, actually. Muscular, but tall enough that he doesn't seem stocky. Sandy hair. Of course. Has a black scar down part of the right side of his face, cutting through his eyebrow.
The Prince of Thieves - Of average height, though most of that's in his extremely impressive boots. Like his dashing hair, dashing cloak, pointed beard and clever eyes, his heart is
almost black. But not quite. Something of a kleptomaniac. Grew up on Rose.
Letchford Achilles - Captain of the good ship
Grace Note, formerly of the
Dragonfly. A rumrunner; does whatever he can to get cash to keep his Applied Phlebotinium drive running. Has a grudge against the Navy, and a very ordered mind.
Mood - Pronounced 'Mud'. One of the Squidfolk. Inclined to be gloomy. The pilot.
Boheme - Round-faced. Inclined to be cheerful. The cook.
Miscellaneous armies, Wolves Most Dire, ghostly spectres, dragons and dwarfs - Gotta have these, or at least some equivalent; can't have a quest story without some opposition.
... And that'll do. For now. =D
DaresI don't know much about this story yet. But I know I'm going to do this.
I came up with some moar:
Dare 7: Total destruction of a planet.
-
Bonus Points: If it is destroyed by a mass of asteroids, and someone comments on "why did nobody shoot those down!?"
Because, really. How could I not? And actually I think I was planning to do that
anyway ...
And maybe this:
Depends on what our Unknown Starship Captain turns out to be like that. =D I'm pretty sure he's a practical man (or woman? Or squid?) who accidentally acquired an entirely unpractical ship - a ship designed by Mule Beckett, which sings in the stellar winds and makes artists weep (in a good way) when they look at it, and which is far better suited to sit in a gallery somewhere than to escape from the Navy at speed. (Epic equipment: please do not use.)
Dare: Include a scene in a bar, where everyone suddenly ups and sings a rousing rendition of "Henry the VIII I am."
Dare: Include as many cringe-worthy puns in your story, as humanly possible. (And I'll let you guys determine what the definition of "cringe-worthy" is)
... Definitely that second one, and maybe the first, if I can manage it. xD I intend to have it kinda start in a bar, so ...
Dare: Create a glaring plot hole and have your characters address it directly, but shrug it off.
Dare: Put in a scene where one of the characters does a dance number with a lampshade covering their head.
Bonus: If the said character is a normally serious character and is not drunk or under any influences.
Maybe. But fun, whether I do so or not.
