Well, since I’m going to discontinue updating this site soon, I figured I’d tie up some loose ends. This specific post will deal with Detectives, seeing as I most likely won’t continue the series. Before I go into what I had planned to take the stories through, let me explain my reason for not writing more. For one I’m not much a fan of self-insert fiction, the main problem however is the fact that I don’t see or interact with most the real people whom I based the characters on often enough to write a clear interpretation of them. I had planned quite a few more stories that never really panned out in the end.
After I wrote “A Gentle Thief” last summer, I originally planned a story for that October. A spin off tale in a way, it wasn’t going to be considered “in the canon” or in other words in the main plot. The idea was to transport the five back to the time of the 1920′s, specifically into the fictional town of Arkham from H.P. Lovecraft’s brilliant horror short stories. What would follow would have been a more horror driven tale dealing with the rising of a Cthulhu cult and several strange happenings in Connecticut (the location of Arkham). The climax would have had the Detective basically sacrificing himself by looking into the vast knowledge man was not meant to know in order to seal Cthulhu from entering our world. The end would have had him in Arkham asylum (sound familiar now?) in a catatonic state with the other five returning to the present time. I had drawings of the five in period clothing for it and several other notes, but the idea never panned out due to school taking up most my focus at the time.
Beyond that, I had planned each character to get their own story told from their point of view (with the exception of the Detective) to give a deeper look into their character. The Tiger was going to be first with a plot focusing on his meeting with a villain of equal caliber to T’s heroics. The villain would have been Card Shark, a card-based character with the same flair for style as T but villainous instead of heroic. I planned a late night showdown between the two being interrupted by a group of petty criminals who happen to run into them. The two would apprehend the criminals (“Villainy is an art, these chumps are an embarrassment”) with Card Shark disappearing soon after, leaving the Tiger to return to his room at the head quarters. The idea was to shed more light on what T does at night when the others are asleep.
The Gunman’s story was next. I had in mind a gritty police drama for him, starting with a tour with the NYPD and the reappearance of Inspector Lari (who is also loosely based on someone, take a guess if you like). The main plot would deal with an old enemy of his, the cause of that “incident” he mentioned back in the prologue. With cooperation from the inspector (who you would have seen actually in action here), the Gunman would have been on the case of the enemy (who I hadn’t thought up yet, I probably would have made an original character for it). He would go it without the help of the other four “Sometimes, you have to finish what you start.” And that’s about all I had figured for his story I assume a shootout of some kind would happen and it would end with a stand off. The Gunman would have been injured at the climax, but the enemy would have been apprehended in the end.
Taking place at the same time as the Gunman’s story, the Man would have a reminiscing plot detailing how exactly he got to the position he was now and the other trials he had gone through. Out of the four individual stories, this one was the least thought out. In truth, I didn’t have much plans set for this besides the very basic idea. So yeah….
The story for S was the second least thought out, coming last of the four. I imagined a more fantastical story focusing on the exact origin of her abilities and beginning with a standard case for the five but told through her point of view. The plot would then branch off to a discovery oriented tale about her finding the exact origin of her ability. Unlike the other three, this one would have had a much more direct interaction from the other four characters. I have no idea what I exactly intended in the end, but it would be the lead up to a finale that I can’t remember whether I thought of or not.
The last story I had planned was a epilogue of sorts set a few years after the finale story. It would have shown exactly what happened to the group after they disbanded. The Tiger would be doing more of what he had always done, but would now have a student as hot blooded as he was in his youth. In this future, vigilantes have started appearing more often mostly thanks to the Tiger’s adventures in the past. In terms of abilities, he’d still have that strength from his past, but wouldn’t be as swift as he used to be. The Gunman would have been given his old post again and would be living a more or less quiet life. The Man would also be in a similar position as earlier, missing his old adventures but having to focus more on his mega corp. The Skeptic would be a now widely known writer with writing based on her old adventures with the five, from her point of view. The plot would have focused on finding the now missing Detective and would have included many characters from the short stories, specifically Kay who would join up with the group as an unofficial sixth member for the duration of the story. I don’t remember how I intended the ending, which is a shame because I like the idea of showing where the characters went at the end of the series.
The story I was working on last (and by working on last, I mean a few months ago) was based on a case happening in a casino and would have had a fast-paced air to it. The group would have also been introduced to Card Shark, which would have led into T’s focus story.
Next Time on “Loose Ends” I go into how my stories exist on a time line and how they all connect. Yes, they did in fact connect, even Dreams of the Haibane.
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