DIABOLICAL SCHEMES
A handful of my more fleshed-out ideas can be found here. Genders, when specified, are arbitrary and can be changed. Feel free to suggest any other modifications you'd like. For plots where I have a role preference, I've bolded my preferred role of the two in brackets. That means no bolding = no preference.
NATURE VS. A GUN TO THE BACK
(modfant, allies) [ifrit & new agent]
You know what they say about making a deal with the devil. Is devilspawn really a different story?
Not long into the grueling, decades-long process generally considered to be the end of the world, the Centralized Agency for the Containment of the Occult -- the nascent federal bureau specializing in the supernatural -- has begun dabbling in the prospect of fighting fire with fire, starting with a highly classified and controversial move: acquiring a young ifrit hatching to raise as a bioweapon-soldier of their own.
Many years down the line, as the ifrit is maturing into a capable ally, more and more top agents are being promoted into a close position of responsibility over him, keeping him contained and compliant through the combined force of a team, closely monitoring him on every mission, and filing reports on his development as an asset. Some members of the team even feel a paternal fondness for this creature they've raised. As his power grows, however, so do the fears that this so-called demon will prove too much of a liability for the agency to handle.
That's why the most recent hire to the team has been given specific instructors to determine the long-term stability of Project Red, as it is known -- essentially, to advise the higher-ups on whether they should put the thing down before it can turn on them. The team already knows the exact capabilities of the being, physically; what's in question now is how thoroughly the team's efforts can influence a demon's nature and secure his loyalty. In other words, it's time for this new agent to put his psychology degree to the test.
Meanwhile, the nature of the ifrit's assignments are changing. Once solely deployed to take out other supernatural threats, he now receives occasional orders that contradict his previous understanding of his training -- stand down where he would have expected to fight, and fight where he would have expected to stand down. He knows what's at stake in proving his obedience -- knows it far better than they think he does -- and he's always been led to believe that he's been "rescued" and has been working for the forces of "good." But more and more, as he overhears the speculation that a demon's destructive, chaotic nature runs too deep to change, and as his orders are chafing at his impulses and his own internal sense of morals, he's beginning to wonder more and more whether those whispers will inevitably be proven right.
Not long into the grueling, decades-long process generally considered to be the end of the world, the Centralized Agency for the Containment of the Occult -- the nascent federal bureau specializing in the supernatural -- has begun dabbling in the prospect of fighting fire with fire, starting with a highly classified and controversial move: acquiring a young ifrit hatching to raise as a bioweapon-soldier of their own.
Many years down the line, as the ifrit is maturing into a capable ally, more and more top agents are being promoted into a close position of responsibility over him, keeping him contained and compliant through the combined force of a team, closely monitoring him on every mission, and filing reports on his development as an asset. Some members of the team even feel a paternal fondness for this creature they've raised. As his power grows, however, so do the fears that this so-called demon will prove too much of a liability for the agency to handle.
That's why the most recent hire to the team has been given specific instructors to determine the long-term stability of Project Red, as it is known -- essentially, to advise the higher-ups on whether they should put the thing down before it can turn on them. The team already knows the exact capabilities of the being, physically; what's in question now is how thoroughly the team's efforts can influence a demon's nature and secure his loyalty. In other words, it's time for this new agent to put his psychology degree to the test.
Meanwhile, the nature of the ifrit's assignments are changing. Once solely deployed to take out other supernatural threats, he now receives occasional orders that contradict his previous understanding of his training -- stand down where he would have expected to fight, and fight where he would have expected to stand down. He knows what's at stake in proving his obedience -- knows it far better than they think he does -- and he's always been led to believe that he's been "rescued" and has been working for the forces of "good." But more and more, as he overhears the speculation that a demon's destructive, chaotic nature runs too deep to change, and as his orders are chafing at his impulses and his own internal sense of morals, he's beginning to wonder more and more whether those whispers will inevitably be proven right.
DEATH ON A LEASH
(modfant, enemies) [vampire & hunter]
(variant of vampires employed: killed by wooden stakes to the heart, beheading, and immolation; burned by sunlight and silver; made nauseous by garlic; supernatural strength, night vision + hypersensitivity to light)
It started small, a few individuals here and there, isolated incidents making headlines. Those incidents don't seem so isolated anymore. In the past twenty years, the plague has spread quickly since its inception, and the vampire population has grown to undeniable levels. Society has had no choice but to adapt.
Blood drives and hospitals have to up their security. The price of garlic more than triples. A market for vampire hunters emerges.
Abandoned buildings don't stay abandoned. Every shaded nook and cranny left unattended for too long becomes potential shelter for vampires.
That's how it comes to pass that an unlucky bioengineering company discovers that a group of vampires has taken up residence in one of its "secure" storage vaults. The vault is sealed from the inside and all but impenetrable, except for methods that would risk damage to the equipment inside. The only way to get in is to be voluntarily let in.
So when the company hires a freelance vampire hunter to clear out the nest, they know she'll need help. To enable her to complete the job, they're supplying her with one of their experimental "assets": a captured vampire, sporting a neurological implant that's supposed to keep him under control.
The plan is for her to pose as a helpless snack that her "partner" is supposedly offering to trade in exchange for entry. But in order for this plan to work, she'll need his cooperation as they put on their act, and he's not joining her on this assignment voluntarily.
It started small, a few individuals here and there, isolated incidents making headlines. Those incidents don't seem so isolated anymore. In the past twenty years, the plague has spread quickly since its inception, and the vampire population has grown to undeniable levels. Society has had no choice but to adapt.
Blood drives and hospitals have to up their security. The price of garlic more than triples. A market for vampire hunters emerges.
Abandoned buildings don't stay abandoned. Every shaded nook and cranny left unattended for too long becomes potential shelter for vampires.
That's how it comes to pass that an unlucky bioengineering company discovers that a group of vampires has taken up residence in one of its "secure" storage vaults. The vault is sealed from the inside and all but impenetrable, except for methods that would risk damage to the equipment inside. The only way to get in is to be voluntarily let in.
So when the company hires a freelance vampire hunter to clear out the nest, they know she'll need help. To enable her to complete the job, they're supplying her with one of their experimental "assets": a captured vampire, sporting a neurological implant that's supposed to keep him under control.
The plan is for her to pose as a helpless snack that her "partner" is supposedly offering to trade in exchange for entry. But in order for this plan to work, she'll need his cooperation as they put on their act, and he's not joining her on this assignment voluntarily.
WHAT WE ARE IN THE DARK
(medfant, enemies) [new werewolf & experienced werewolf]
He's no fool. He's read up on his lore, and when a stranger comes to the village, he can tell she's not entirely human. The curse of the werewolf is upon her, and seeking to protect the innocent, he begins preparing the necessary means to rid her from this earth forever. However, she too is no fool, and when she discovers that someone is a little wiser than they should be about her affairs, she attacks him in the night. He is prepared enough to survive the attack, but just barely. In the morning, he finds that he is no longer able to touch silver without burning himself, and he realizes that the curse has been passed along to him as well.
He knows all about monsters from a human perspective, but he doesn't know a thing about being one. Afraid what will happen on the next full moon, he swallows his pride and turns to her for help and guidance. She has much that she can teach him -- how to control his transformations and make them less painful and retain his sentience in his other form -- and he is desperate for a teacher, as much as he scorns her. She hates the man and his pretensions of piety, but it'd be much harder to kill him now that he is like her, and she has to keep a watchful eye on him if she wants to keep their secret from getting out. He's still committed to protecting his people, even to his own detriment, and this tendency could pose a threat to her if she lets him get out of hand.
How long can she prevent him from confessing to the villagers and getting them both killed? How long can he stomach the indignity of listening to this shameless monster? And what will he do when he finds out she's planning to attack more humans and create her own marauding werewolf pack?
He knows all about monsters from a human perspective, but he doesn't know a thing about being one. Afraid what will happen on the next full moon, he swallows his pride and turns to her for help and guidance. She has much that she can teach him -- how to control his transformations and make them less painful and retain his sentience in his other form -- and he is desperate for a teacher, as much as he scorns her. She hates the man and his pretensions of piety, but it'd be much harder to kill him now that he is like her, and she has to keep a watchful eye on him if she wants to keep their secret from getting out. He's still committed to protecting his people, even to his own detriment, and this tendency could pose a threat to her if she lets him get out of hand.
How long can she prevent him from confessing to the villagers and getting them both killed? How long can he stomach the indignity of listening to this shameless monster? And what will he do when he finds out she's planning to attack more humans and create her own marauding werewolf pack?
DESPERADOS IN SPACE
(sci fi, spaceship crew) [old crewmates & new recruits]
The House of Umbra was once a mighty civilization spanning three terrestrial planets and several gas planet colonies, but since then, many things have changed. As expenses grew, the government began incurring heavy debts, and in order to settle them and maintain economic solvency, one of the lesser planets was ceded to...
the House of Cepheid, a growing interplanetary power whose steady march of expansion soon absorbed the Umbran territories in entirety. The current government allows those of Umbran lineage to remain on the planets that it controls, but they are not allowed to settle, and their rights to citizenship are still a matter of debate. Interior strife and uprisings are the primary area of concern for the decade, far more so than their tranquil neighbors...
the House of Syzgy. Occupying a small frontier planet, the hirsute Syzgese people have reigned their modest patch of resources in relative peace with little interest in international affairs for quite some time now, their reputation for cowardice and apathy no more undeserved than the respect they receive for not making trouble. The majority of the Syzgese prefer not to meddle in the affairs of others, which is more than can be said of...
the House of Parallax, and any foreigners who stray toward the gravitational pull of either of the Parallacian planets should beware, for kidnappings are frequent and the slave trade is rife. Groups of Parallacian who travel to other planets for business or pleasure are notorious for intervening to stop crime just as much as they are for instigating it. Perhaps that's why the House of Parallax is suspected to be funding the illegal operations of one of the largest Umbran resistance groups:
the nexus of shadows. As an ethnic minority struggling for rights on the Cepheid planets, Umbran separatists and terrorists appeal to the idea of an ancestral homeland as they attempt to carve out a makeshift territory for a stateless nation. There are many who are unhappy with the status of Umbran lives under Cepheid rule, but of those who protest, the nexus of shadows is the loudest and the most infamous, resorting to all manner of sordid means to provoke the government's attention, thwart their plans, and retake their land through whatever means necessary. For those governing the modern House of Cepheid, the official stance is that the terrorists must be stopped, but little is really done to hunt them down. The rebel's acts of vandalism and sabotage do enough to damage public opinion of the Umbras' cause and provide a valuable scapegoat, virtually writing the speeches for fear-mongering politicians.
Even so, recruitment efforts on behalf of the nexus still manage to find willing lost souls to devote to the cause, and with the scant progress they've made, they're in no position to turn anyone away. So when a grounded nexus ship is forced make repairs in the recesses of a dusty canyon, the few friendly faces who offer their time and money to the objectives of vandalism and annihilation are welcomed aboard. From the bored and reckless Syzgese prince looking for excitement to the sleazy Parallacian businessmen seeking to get something in exchange for their donations, this newest batch of allies will present an unprecedented set of challenges to the ship's weary and jaded captain and the tight-knit, ragtag crew.
the House of Cepheid, a growing interplanetary power whose steady march of expansion soon absorbed the Umbran territories in entirety. The current government allows those of Umbran lineage to remain on the planets that it controls, but they are not allowed to settle, and their rights to citizenship are still a matter of debate. Interior strife and uprisings are the primary area of concern for the decade, far more so than their tranquil neighbors...
the House of Syzgy. Occupying a small frontier planet, the hirsute Syzgese people have reigned their modest patch of resources in relative peace with little interest in international affairs for quite some time now, their reputation for cowardice and apathy no more undeserved than the respect they receive for not making trouble. The majority of the Syzgese prefer not to meddle in the affairs of others, which is more than can be said of...
the House of Parallax, and any foreigners who stray toward the gravitational pull of either of the Parallacian planets should beware, for kidnappings are frequent and the slave trade is rife. Groups of Parallacian who travel to other planets for business or pleasure are notorious for intervening to stop crime just as much as they are for instigating it. Perhaps that's why the House of Parallax is suspected to be funding the illegal operations of one of the largest Umbran resistance groups:
the nexus of shadows. As an ethnic minority struggling for rights on the Cepheid planets, Umbran separatists and terrorists appeal to the idea of an ancestral homeland as they attempt to carve out a makeshift territory for a stateless nation. There are many who are unhappy with the status of Umbran lives under Cepheid rule, but of those who protest, the nexus of shadows is the loudest and the most infamous, resorting to all manner of sordid means to provoke the government's attention, thwart their plans, and retake their land through whatever means necessary. For those governing the modern House of Cepheid, the official stance is that the terrorists must be stopped, but little is really done to hunt them down. The rebel's acts of vandalism and sabotage do enough to damage public opinion of the Umbras' cause and provide a valuable scapegoat, virtually writing the speeches for fear-mongering politicians.
Even so, recruitment efforts on behalf of the nexus still manage to find willing lost souls to devote to the cause, and with the scant progress they've made, they're in no position to turn anyone away. So when a grounded nexus ship is forced make repairs in the recesses of a dusty canyon, the few friendly faces who offer their time and money to the objectives of vandalism and annihilation are welcomed aboard. From the bored and reckless Syzgese prince looking for excitement to the sleazy Parallacian businessmen seeking to get something in exchange for their donations, this newest batch of allies will present an unprecedented set of challenges to the ship's weary and jaded captain and the tight-knit, ragtag crew.