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In Need of Intellectual Discussion
For fanfic purposes, I'm trying to puzzle out a post-apocalyptic BtVS/AtS world.
A few hypothetical discussion questions:
* What would the world look like in 20 years if The First got what it wanted? The First wanted to take over, to make the world... what, exactly? What did The First actually want? Control? Anarchy? Worshippers? Everyone as its puppets with the sublimation of free will, Sleeper-like zombies, Andrew-like betrayers? What? We assume the world would be full of evil and populated with a Hellmouth quotient of Cro-Mag vampires. But what does The First get out of it? With all of its yak-yak-yak, what kind of world would The First be intent on creating 20 years down the road? The First would probably be more defined by magic/supernatural, I guess. What would the world in the The First's image be?
* Another question. What would the world look like 20 years after Not Fade Away if Wolfram and Hart and the Circle got what they wanted? A world controlled by corrupt lawyers, what would that be? A different sort of apocalypse from most, I would guess. They are corporate evil and a Demon Mafia. What would that world look like? What would that apocalypse boil down to? I tend to assume that the bad guys really don't want the destruction of the world so much as to take the world over and exploit its resources to... uh... what? (I'd fail at evil overlord school). But what would the world look like in 20 years if Wolfram & Hart had won?
* If both The First and W&H/Circle are at work, would they share similar goals or would the two be at odds with one another (bullies can have personality conflicts with one another, after all). Could these folks work together? Is it a fragile truce, dividing the world into their own provinces, or two enemies united by a common goal? If The First and W&H were at war, what would that mean? Is it chaotic evil vs. ordered evil? If they were in concert, would that mean something else?
* In a First vs. W&H Battle Royale, who would win? Or would they never go against each other? Could they be provoked into going against each other because they have fundamentally different goals, or is it simply We're Evil. Evil Rawks. So... yay?
* What's left of humanity in all of this? What about lower innocuous demon orders such as Lorne and Clem? Vampires (not the ones with souls)?
I guess I'm trying to do a Sims game exercise, mentally building a world, or actually theorize about several, try them on for size and see which is most intriguing. It feels that a post-apocalyptic world should be based on the desires of the villain in question (although it could be augmented by human self-destruction -- global warming, religious wars, etc).
So what would the world be if The First could construct it in its desired image? What about a W&H based world? Any thoughts? Ideas? Theories? ...Wild speculation?
Help
A few hypothetical discussion questions:
* What would the world look like in 20 years if The First got what it wanted? The First wanted to take over, to make the world... what, exactly? What did The First actually want? Control? Anarchy? Worshippers? Everyone as its puppets with the sublimation of free will, Sleeper-like zombies, Andrew-like betrayers? What? We assume the world would be full of evil and populated with a Hellmouth quotient of Cro-Mag vampires. But what does The First get out of it? With all of its yak-yak-yak, what kind of world would The First be intent on creating 20 years down the road? The First would probably be more defined by magic/supernatural, I guess. What would the world in the The First's image be?
* Another question. What would the world look like 20 years after Not Fade Away if Wolfram and Hart and the Circle got what they wanted? A world controlled by corrupt lawyers, what would that be? A different sort of apocalypse from most, I would guess. They are corporate evil and a Demon Mafia. What would that world look like? What would that apocalypse boil down to? I tend to assume that the bad guys really don't want the destruction of the world so much as to take the world over and exploit its resources to... uh... what? (I'd fail at evil overlord school). But what would the world look like in 20 years if Wolfram & Hart had won?
* If both The First and W&H/Circle are at work, would they share similar goals or would the two be at odds with one another (bullies can have personality conflicts with one another, after all). Could these folks work together? Is it a fragile truce, dividing the world into their own provinces, or two enemies united by a common goal? If The First and W&H were at war, what would that mean? Is it chaotic evil vs. ordered evil? If they were in concert, would that mean something else?
* In a First vs. W&H Battle Royale, who would win? Or would they never go against each other? Could they be provoked into going against each other because they have fundamentally different goals, or is it simply We're Evil. Evil Rawks. So... yay?
* What's left of humanity in all of this? What about lower innocuous demon orders such as Lorne and Clem? Vampires (not the ones with souls)?
I guess I'm trying to do a Sims game exercise, mentally building a world, or actually theorize about several, try them on for size and see which is most intriguing. It feels that a post-apocalyptic world should be based on the desires of the villain in question (although it could be augmented by human self-destruction -- global warming, religious wars, etc).
So what would the world be if The First could construct it in its desired image? What about a W&H based world? Any thoughts? Ideas? Theories? ...Wild speculation?
Help
no subject
I can't decide whether I think W&H wouldn't go for the First's plans. I think they could make it work for their advantage, since they're just as happy to deal with demons as with humans. Though I think they'd be less into the mindless killing machines of the Turok Han. Maybe they'd quite like their world to still be ordered when it turned into hell. They might like the amenities - their offices are always so plush, after all. I suppose if you were going to be an overlord of a dimension it would be nice if it could actually function... and humans are particularly resourceful, so if they survived and were ultimately turned over to hell then they could possibly invent things to make the Senior Partners' existences more enjoyable.
I could see there being a war between them, but I'm not sure it would come about in twenty years. They'd step in when the First went too far, but until then I don't think they'd care. (Ultimately, in the pecking order of evil, I think the Senior Partners fall above the First.) I think the army of demons at the end of NFA was more to get rid of Angel than anything, since it seemed to be contained to LA. I think they'd probably try to cut a deal with the First the moment it started replacing humans en masse with the Turok Han etc. The First wouldn't agree, so then they'd try to destroy the First.
OK, so following my chain, that wouldn't happen on Earth, which is a problem. Perhaps if the First didn't need so much evil to manifest, then it could already have done so, in which case W&H would be out to destroy it in manifested form, where you'd end up with two great armies and humans stuck in the middle, along with anyone who didn't take a side. W&H would try to recruit anyone they could, willing to enter into a temporary 'truce' with the good guys to take out the First (though, obviously, trying to corrupt them along the way), whereas the First would be almost physically unable to do so. Ultimately W&H would win because, in the end, they're a greater force than the First.
That has got to be the biggest load of tl;dr shite that I've ever written... oh well.
no subject
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Story-wise, I think for practical purposes, I'm going to need W&H to be against The First manifesting in physical terms. They're willing to humor it with its need to torment and corrupt. They have nothing against that, but let it get too much power, and its damage could actually hurt business, and they really don't want that. For one thing, they do want to be the Big Bad on the block and the first has 'worshippers' and crap like that... and they really could do without superstitious claptrap or a 'destroying the world' thing (because to quote someone somewhere -- the world is where they keep their stuff!)
no subject
That would be especially true considering
Although they do have other worlds as well - they had a presence, at least, in Pylea. Would that affect things?