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[RFC][Plotbunny] ATTACK OF THE FLYING KILLER PSYCHO PLOT... Tiger? *Ker-tackle!*
06-06-2010, 02:13 AM
Okay, thanks to SilverFang's rec on a magnificent Calvin and Hobbes one-shot and the fact I've been up fro 24+ hours now, I got me a plot-tigger. No, this guy's too fiesty to be a wascally wabbit, he's a tigger.
Initial Kicker: Calvin and Susie realize they have a LOT more in common when Hobbes 'comes to life' in the presence of both of them. No, you may not examine this too closely. This is Bill's sandbox I'm playing in, and the fact that Susie and Calvin can see Hobbes at the same time is bending the rules as it is.
Conflict: The two still go at it like the British and the French in the Napoleonic period. Lovely, eh?
Complications: During a class trip to the local National Parks/Wildlife Preserves (one of those really rare ones that involves an overnight campout), Calvin and Susie somehow get lost and seperated from their group. I'm thinking a river should be involved.
Other Factors: Because it was an overnight trip and involving the great outdoors, Calvin brought Hobbes along. Also, taking Calvin's interest in everything wild and outdoors into consideration, his parents got him a survivalist guide - not one of the boring ones, but the kind that is fully illustrated for kids with ADHD. Calvin treated it like gospel. Finally, Susie's a Girlscout. She can pull her own weight, but knows that there is safety in numbers. Plus, it helps that you got a tiger along to help, right?
Thoughts?
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Susie thinks Hobbes is the cuddliest thing EVAR. Much to Calvin's annoyance. 
--Sam
"Snow goons are bad news."
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But of course! More fuel for the fire. It'll bug Calvin to no end when he finally realizes that he's actually jealous.
Of course, that won't happen until he's old enough to realize it in the first place. 
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Quote:Susie thinks Hobbes is the cuddliest thing EVAR. Much to Calvin's annoyance.
And Hobbes basks in the attention, occasionally sticking his tongue out at Calvin over Susie's shoulder. Which just furthers Calvin's annoyance.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
A few things come to mind... first is that Calvin really doesn't actually spend time with anyone, but Hobbes and his mom. Sure he goes to school and occasionally is seen interacting with Moe and Susie in the wild... but he spends most of his time alone with Hobbes. Actually, all the long term interaction between the two is done in either water balloon or snowball fights . The only one who spends near as much time with Hobbes is Calvin's mom... and if you watch her, every once in a while she'll stop dead and just look at Hobbes. Many of those times she looks kind of spooked. I think the most egregious moments is during one of my pivotal moments in the series. The Robbery arc.
This arc is all about Calvin and family on vacation and Calvin leaves Hobbes behind... Calvin just about has a nervous break down so they cut the vacation short and drive home. Once there they discover they've been almost robbed. Almost. The scene has stuff gathered and it looks like the robbers freaked and ran. Like dumped their inventory and bolted ran. In the end nothing actually left the house and Hobbes claimed to have run them off or alluded to having eaten them (claiming they were horrible tasting, though that may have been from elsewhere)... Its been a while since I've read it. Hobbes is in the room on the TV or a high shelf (either way Calvin couldn't have gotten him up there) in the same room. Again this part may be time distorting memory, but I remember Hobbes was last seen in Calvin's room. I do remember checking that. Always thought that it would make a good one shot to have the cops humor Calvin and ask for a description of the guys, the description matches a pair of career criminals... only to either find them terrified and scared straight or just plain disappear. I can't remember any follow up on this, which always bugged me.
The main theory is that Calvin's active imagination is animating Hobbes in his head... only the only time I can remember Hobbes actually being present during those hallucinations are if Calvin in narrating and trying to avoid eating something gross or if the transmogrifier is involved. There is one arc about Calvin getting turned into something and getting stuck... and panicking. His mom basically blew it off (he looked physically normal to her)... but he was really concerned. I also remember a Star-Bellied Sneetches moment with the gun where Calvin and Hobbes shot each other until the have no clue who was who.
So at least some of the time Calvin is stuck in in a hallucination or illusion of some type. Which would explain what was happening here... only there is that Robbery Arc. This kind of power could explain why the robbers freaked out... only that means Calvin isn't doing it. He was at least dozens of miles away, so it has to be Hobbes doing it. Then we get to iconic feature of the series, one mentioned in the tread title. Calvin barely gets the door open... and is flying tackled before he can get in the house at all. Try working out the physics of that. He doesn't just fall over either... he ends up a dozen feet or so away. Across a paved/stone path.... by doing multiple somersaults using the tiger as part of the movement. Hobbes doesn't end up torn up and Calvin is dirty, not road rashed.... so how does he manage to do that? Stuffed animals just aren't stiff or reactive enough to compensate for that.
This brings up one of the constant things that bugs Calvin's mom about Hobbes... he keeps ending up in different rooms. Not just the Robbery arc, but on day to day. she leave Hobbes in Calvin's room or in the laundry room and Hobbes is still there at the front door... on the opposite side of the house. So Hobbes is apparently self mobile in situations that can't be written off as Calvin hallucinating. Which means Hobbes can actually manipulate objects besides himself. He has helped Calvin move stuff before.
One more thing on this section... Hobbes is repeatedly referenced to eat. Tuna, random stuff. Calvin is always getting him food, which is eaten. Which is traditionally the way to appease helpful spirits and such. Even Hobbes scarf can be viewed as a gift to him. Lets see watches the kids, guards house, eats stuff. Hobbes and Calvin are both aware of his body being that of a stuffed animal. Its washed in the machine and repaired with sowing. This section is largely to establish what Hobbes can actually do as an entity.
---
That out of the way, lets move onto Susie. First, the major changes when she can see Hobbes as Calvin does is that she can see/feel what Calvin is rambling about when she has teased him doing this in the past. This should actually be covered.... whether as her making the connection out loud or doing it as an aside in her head is writers choice. The first is going to lead to have Calvin doing a "Why did you think I kept reacting like that?' moment and the latter is good for setting herself up teasing him later and then explaining things later on.
The second is how old are they? This is important for many reasons. Too old and Calvin is going to get lots of flack for the stuffed tiger. I'd suggest this being the year after the comics. leaving them around 8 and in second grade. The older they are the more likely they can justify fire. Which will both please Hobbes and leave a smoke trail so they can be found in the morning.
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Interesting... So your idea would be to make Hobbes out as some sort of daemon? Spirit? Magical construct?
Actually, it would be kinda fun if we could cross this baby over with Diane Duane's Young Wizards universe. Calvin and Suzie are both at the perfect age, and Hobbes is a perfect familiar for the both of them. (Really, I wonder if anyone's ever thought of this before. I'll check ff.net later.)
Age... uncertain. I'm pretty certain that they would have enough adults around to stand a proper fire watch. That, and keep an eye out for any restless ones that get up in the middle of the night. For things like this they usually have at least a few parents along, and I can definitely see Calvin's folks getting sucked into the trip - especially his dad, being so big on roughing it and 'character building.'
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Necratoid Wrote:So at least some of the time Calvin is stuck in in a hallucination or illusion of some type. Which would explain what was happening here... only there is that Robbery Arc. This kind of power could explain why the robbers freaked out... only that means Calvin isn't doing it. He was at least dozens of miles away, so it has to be Hobbes doing it. Just because Calvin wasn't there, it doesn't mean that he wasn't doing it. The fact that Calvin was so worried may indicate subconcious clairvoyance warning him of the robbery. If Calvin can sense his home clearly enough to worry, he presumably had enough of a link to exercise other powers.
In RPG terms, Calvin could have a variety of psychic powers (most likely including Telekinesis, Clairvoyance and Telepathy) and a lot of psychological limitations on his use of those powers. He has very little control over those powers and so exercises them through an imaginary friend.
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blackaeronaut Wrote:Actually, it would be kinda fun if we could cross this baby over with Diane Duane's Young Wizards universe. Calvin and Suzie are both at the perfect age, and Hobbes is a perfect familiar for the both of them. (Really, I wonder if anyone's ever thought of this before. I'll check ff.net later.) Oh, that would be awesome. o.O;
Not daemon, spirit, etc., but a tenth-life wizard. Or a cat-wizard, in any case. (Maybe one of the parents is allergic to cat hair and Hobbes could make himself hypoallergenic but didn't think he could get away with posing as hairless?)
Another point where it's difficult to believe that things are only happening in Calvin's imagination concerns the Duplicator. There's a point where multiple Calvins are interacting with Mom in a way that's hard to otherwise credit (likewise with the "good" Calvin duplicate later).
Also? The Snow Goons. Especially the one that shows up at the door.
--Sam
"I like maxims that don't encourage behavior modification."
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Evil Midnight Lurker Wrote:blackaeronaut Wrote:Actually, it would be kinda fun if we could cross this baby over with Diane Duane's Young Wizards universe. Calvin and Suzie are both at the perfect age, and Hobbes is a perfect familiar for the both of them. (Really, I wonder if anyone's ever thought of this before. I'll check ff.net later.) Oh, that would be awesome. o.O;
Not daemon, spirit, etc., but a tenth-life wizard. Or a cat-wizard, in any case. (Maybe one of the parents is allergic to cat hair and Hobbes could make himself hypoallergenic but didn't think he could get away with posing as hairless?)
Another point where it's difficult to believe that things are only happening in Calvin's imagination concerns the Duplicator. There's a point where multiple Calvins are interacting with Mom in a way that's hard to otherwise credit (likewise with the "good" Calvin duplicate later).
Also? The Snow Goons. Especially the one that shows up at the door. Like I said, I'm shocked that no one seems to have thought of this before! The two are practically made for each other. On the one side, you have Bill Waterson's exaggerated wild childhood memories and hijinks - the power of being a kid and everything... and on the other side, how youthful innocence, dreams, and daring to believe in the impossible gives you the greatest power to fight back the darkness and the heat-death of the Universe.
Ooohhhhhh yes indeedy, this is gonna be awesome!
And I can see Hobbes as a feline wizard - definitely a Tenth-lifer. It would actually explain a helluva lot about him and his oddities, not to mention the way that few things ever raise his hair. He simply has all the nonchalance that only a feline wizard on his Tenth-Life could have.
This also ties in beautifully with how 'powerful' Calvin actually is. Magic simply happens around him by his sheer force-of-will alone. The whole 'Stupendous Man' shtick doesn't help matters any. The Powers are worried enough that they stuck Hobbes there to keep an eye on him. And Susie Derkins would be the perfect partner as she would be the brains to back-up his brawn. Hobbes is there as a reality check. *Snrt!*
As for why Hobbes, despite his all-knowing wisdom and experience, kept Calvin ignorant and carefree for so long? Well, if your charge was so friggin' powerful that the Lone Power was gonna come a-knockin' sooner or later and whether you were ready or not, and you had half a heart... well, you'd want the kid to have a blast too, right? Before he had to suddenly grow up, anyways.
Alright... This calls for a different plot line. And MOAR CHARACTERS! Because if this is a Young Wizards story, it's gonna be all about the crazy-cool characters. (^_^)
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Well, the most obvious question to ask is how Calvin wound up taking the Wizard's Oath.
Or, perhaps, whether he has taken it at all, and if not, wtf'ing f?!
--Sam
"Do you believe in the Devil? You know, a supreme evil
being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?"
"I'm not sure man needs the help."
"You just can't talk to animals about these things."
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Necratoid Wrote:This arc is all about Calvin and family on vacation and Calvin leaves Hobbes behind... Calvin just about has a nervous break down so they cut the vacation short and drive home. Once there they discover they've been almost robbed. Almost. The scene has stuff gathered and it looks like the robbers freaked and ran. Like dumped their inventory and bolted ran. In the end nothing actually left the house and Hobbes claimed to have run them off or alluded to having eaten them (claiming they were horrible tasting, though that may have been from elsewhere)... Its been a while since I've read it. Hobbes is in the room on the TV or a high shelf (either way Calvin couldn't have gotten him up there) in the same room. Again this part may be time distorting memory, but I remember Hobbes was last seen in Calvin's room. I do remember checking that. Always thought that it would make a good one shot to have the cops humor Calvin and ask for a description of the guys, the description matches a pair of career criminals... only to either find them terrified and scared straight or just plain disappear. I can't remember any follow up on this, which always bugged me. I've got the complete collection and, while interesting, that isn't what happened in the comic. They were robbed and Mum and Dad were really upset by that. Calvin was more worried about Hobbes and stopped worrying when he found he was OK.
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Quote:Evil Midnight Lurker wrote:
Well, the most obvious question to ask is how Calvin wound up taking the Wizard's Oath.
Or, perhaps, whether he has taken it at all, and if not, wtf'ing f?!
Here's the funny thing about Wizardry: half the work is in talking to the things around you and getting them to do what you want. And sometimes, if they really like you, they'll do what you want whether you're a Wizard or not. Behold that one mechanic who knows exactly what is wrong with your car just by listening to it. Or the person that knows horses really well. Or even the humble house-wife gardner that has the most beautiful garden in town and knows exactly what's going on there.
This was spot-lighted at one point in the books.
And children are especially susceptable to this. In fact, Liused, the Rowan tree in Nita's yard from which she gets her Rowan wands from, told her about how the trees always love the little human children that come to play in their branches because it reminds them of how people used to live in them... and how happy they are when one of their children comes back to them as a wizard.
Now, wizardry does not live in the unwilling heart. This is part of why the wizards don't usually have to cover up what they do - if someone sees something, their 'rational mind' does the work for them by coming up with a 'rational explaination.' Yes, even some of the more wild stuff like the events at the end of So You Want to Be a Wizard, where the Lone Power came chasing Nita and Kit back to their home dimension with an army of nasties behind him, turned off the sun, and made of mess of everything in general.
So, Snow Goons would pound on front doors, tins of tuna disapear, multiple Calvins run amuck, and his parents chalk it all up to having a hyperactive kid with a particularly wild imagination. Oh, and why was Hobbes so freaked out by the Snow Goons? Well, A) Wouldn't you? and B) Early attempt by the Lone Power to do something about a potential pain-in-the-ass. Not the first time he's done it, either, IIRC.
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Another point regarding the multiple Calvins, wasn't one of him at school while the others were doing stuff around the house?
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RE: [RFC][Plotbunny] ATTACK OF THE FLYING KILLER PSYCHO PLOT... Tiger? *Ker-tackle!*
08-02-2018, 02:02 AM
Okay, thanks to Bob rounding up all my stuffs once again!
Now I'd like to see about resurrecting this sucker. It has potential.
Not RIGHT AWAY, of course. I've got the whole Garrick Grimm Project, as well as DSKS and There's Nothing Better. And at some point I really want to get back into The Final Dream.
(Seriously, just to have all the girls wigging out over how ADORABLE Little Ben and Hotaru-chan are together...)
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