The Fan-fic Ideas and Advice Thread.

[Princess Awinita]

Not entirely no, but I am using something like it in my project yes.

I have defined most of it now and all I need is the cure for it. This is the gist

Type: Norovirus
Name: Deltatox
Effects: Mental regression of subject into a primal violent state which results in death to anyone within reach of the affected. Depending on dosage effects last from an hour to a day and general end in death of all involved included affected
Cures: At this moment a caffiene shot {exactly 32mL raw liquid caffiene} has been proven to jerk the affected back to reality after jump starting their heart

So; offical name of the virus is Deltatox, the strain key is Y1M3, and the science-babble is Psyisodegredation. I just need a more permament cure for it as the caffiene also has side effects of addiction {Basically at least one or more Coke or Pepsi or Mt Dew per day}

[plumber]

Side effects can make things interesting.

I'd like to know:

1) How contagious is it? It's a Pandemic, or just someone playing with a syringe or darts?
2) Are there immunes? People who react differently? Aftereffects?

It can be a fascinating "villain", or a handy smokescreen, or just "scenery".... The details could propel you to the opening scene you need.

[BruTak]

2A) If there are immunes, can the immunity be transferred to non immunes?
3) Could a character be a carrier of the virus, but still appear totally healthy?

[Princess Awinita]

Indeed Side Effects can make things more fun, {side effects of reading this post include laughing, spit takes, and ninjas in the koolaid}

To answer all points in order of asked!

1} The latter right now, its also a norovirus as most cruise lines are prone to them. The virus itself was created 31 years before the time of the story but was used to kill the 4 of the main characters parents. It acts pretty much identical to Night Howlers in Zootopia so at this moment its darts or pellets.

2} Not until after the caffiene shot is in the affected victim. The caffiene shot though temporary, effectively kills the virus and then makes the affected virus free and for a day, immune to any further effects {Side effects include addiction to Pepsi or mt Dew and really dangerous stunts}

2A} No, at least not on the outset

3} Possibly, but I havent planned that far ahead, like I mentioned Im working on a proper permament cure {which will have side effects of some form}

[plumber]

I see. The virus is just a fancy means of triggering the interesting thing, the attacks. So, no World War Z, then, though that could be a future threat. And nothing happened for 30+ years? Might be the kind of backstory that frames the tale and needs to be told upfront, Blade-Runner-style.

More details that could be important:
1) Can the caffeine "cure" be stumbled upon by chance? I'm guessing yeah.
2) Are there other things that could be tried with only partial success, like, say, alcohol, or sleep pills, or aspirin?
3) If a victim is somehow subdued, rendered unconscious thru the careful application of a baseball bat to the head, tied down, whatever... but not "cured". What happens when they wake up, hours later? Are they still "primal"? Do they still die?

Much depends on the exact relationship between the caffeine, the virus, and the "rage".

[Princess Awinita]

Yeah, no WWZ worries, thats not my plan, I want to try and get out of Zombies like stuff. and Zootopia inspired me greatly so, yeah.

1: this is the plan yes; a caffiene shot is used on the inital affected victim as am eans to calm her down, as due to body structure of the character sleeping darts and the like wont work on her. a caffiene shot wakes her up, and 12 hours later the energy crash knocks her out for 12 hours. The caffiene shot is a jerkback to proper thinking patterns.
2: since this a realitivly new norovirus on the outset, the partial success is from the alcohol, but too much and side effects include additional violence of the affected
3: if a victim is subdued and properly tied down {IE knocked out while affected} the virus will wear off in a 12 hour to 24 hour period UNLESS they're killed by other means. The virus mentally regresses the affected to a violent primal state to the point wherein anyone unable to defend themselves end up dead or in ICU. If the affected is properly subdued and tied down with proper guards they'll live yes. But they cannot pass on the virus.

At this moment, Deltatox is in the hands of a very evil third party who killed the siblings parents by infecting one, then having the affected kill their spouse before getting slain by the guards in the room. The last will and testament is for the 4 siblings to go on a 2 week Caribbean Cruise aboard the ship their parents designed.

The caffiene will briefly stop the affected's heartbeat before jumpstarting it back up to normal. thusly the jerkback to reality. In as much the caffiene will actually effectively quell the rage.

The actual end all cure for Deltatox I think will be Dreamweed, raw

[plumber]

Looks like a sci-fi / spy / murder / mystery thriller in the making.

But, a last will and testament? Wouldn't it be easier to just uncover some compelling proof that someone onboard the cruiseship is involved in either the use or the creation of the ragevirus?

[Princess Awinita]

Well, the four siblings have no idea who is behind their parents death. Nor do they know what the killer looks like. So the last will and testament from their parents in the event of their death has the 4 siblings and three of their friends take a two week cruise to uncover their parents killer, stop a world domination plot, destroy a signal jammer, find romance {maybe} and somehow stay sane through it all

By the time I get two thirds of the way through a story, I hate my characters and pretty much am tortuing them

[plumber]

I see. Well, the pros say adversity helps with character growth, plot and all.

[BruTak]

How do you guys feel about Tuckerization? The practice of naming a character after a real person?

I do it a lot, but I always ask the person for permission first.

[Princess Awinita]

I myself am guilty of such thing, I do it all the time and try to get permission before using the name, I almost always make up a last name though.

For an example up made up last name, Jusat. a typo of Just, somehow I hit the a same time as the S for it to come up as Jusat, it stuck so I kept it

[DarkenLycht]

How do you guys feel about Tuckerization? The practice of naming a character after a real person?

I do it a lot, but I always ask the person for permission first.

I'm tending to mostly only use the first names of existing people for my oc, sometimes as they are but usually I change the spelling e.g. changing the name Gabriel into Gabryel.
What I also do is looking into other languages, picking words that fit to the characters as their names

[Princess Awinita]

Another thought

Location location location

When writing do you use real world locations, and then take liberties to embellish dsaid locations, or do you make up locaitons and citieis ?

Me, I personally try to use real world locations as much as possible. For example in one story I used washington DC directly, as well as a very wonderful little town called Ashton which is in Maryland.

Lately though I've been using Sacremento California, Oslo & Gilja Norway, and also further still London England, and Alexandria and Cairo Egypt to name a few locations

Though recently I made up a town I put in Ohio, called Kawas

What about you folks ?

[BruTak]

I try to use real world locations as much as possible.

For example, I've a friend who works in a big hotel in Glasgow, and I've set a story there.

My characters go to interrogate a defector from the Lucian Alliance, who are making inroads into organised crime on Earth. However the Alliance have hired an assassin to dispose of said defector, and anyone else who happens to be in the way.

There'll be some serious property damage to the hotel, and I'm thinking about a "French Connection" style foot chase through the streets of central Glasgow.

My friend was telling his boss about what I had planned for the hotel.
The boss's response? "Cool!"

[BruTak]

How do we feel about glossaries of military terms, acronyms, slang etc.?