While the one act of giving his life is symbolic of renouncing the path of the Sith, I'm not so sure a person can 180 a life of such extreme behaviour in a single instant. Vader had to die in that scene, because he couldn't continue as a Sith but couldn't stop being one either.

I see him as continuing as a kind of heretic Sith, rather than a reformed Jedi.

He regrets his choices, but that doesn't mean he disbelieves all the philosophy and teachings of the Sith.

This may not mesh with the idea of turning to light/dark as a binary toggle which shows up from time to time in SW fanon and canon alike, but I think it makes for a more compelling Vader story than redemption, angst, and regret.

 

I think I failed to adequately explain my point. It's not that Vader would wake up and immediately try to be the prefect Jedi while angsting forever. That's just one-dimensional and boring characterization.

It's that Vader spent the last thirty years being tormented, physically, mentally, and emotionally, and when given the opportunity to go back and do things over again, he's not going to immediately go back to the same pattern of behavior.

I'd be shocked if Peggy sue Anakin remained in the Jedi Order, there's just too much he fundamentally disagrees with. But I just can't see him setting about to conquer the galaxy.

If anything, I'd expect him to leave the order and dedicate himself to Padme, first to wooing her again then doing his best to create the ideal family, as a weird kind of penance and repayment to Luke.

Edit:
Of course, there are several factors in play that would want nothing more than to fully disrupt such plans, which is where the conflict and fun parts of the story come from.

 

That's fair. I see this more as him trying to save the galaxy than conquer it, though - he's just been moulded into thinking a certain way, so even when attempting to do good and fight for freedom, the distorted way in which he's going about it causes the safe and secure future he creates to inadvertently resemble the other thing rather more than he intended.

 

So I've brought up Red coming down from Mount Silver before, but I've never considered him sticking around and reclaiming his position as Champion before this.

In essence, after capturing Mewtwo and realizing that this thing is a ticking time-bomb around civilian populations(see, the catastrophic rage vented next to Cerulean City in the destruction of the Cerulean Caverns), Red abdicated his newly won position to go take shelter in the most isolated domain in Kanto and Johto, Mount Silver, where he spent the next few years teaching Mewtwo how to behave. Hardly ideal, but he got the job done in the end, and Mewtwo went off on its own to find true peace or something.

But now what? It's been three long years since he's seen another human up-close-- the occasional break to stand up on the mountain top and look down over the lands he gave up for their own protection hardly counts. He hasn't really worked his team beside the occasional sparring match with the legendary, so while there is some amount of growth and they are still in the upper echelons overall, they are no longer championship-material.

He's heard there's a new League in town. Lance has taken over as Champion. Blue's retired to a Gym Leader position. The old excitement starts to boil his blood. He wants this. He can do this. He was the best there ever was, once. Can he still say that is true? Time to find out.

Now, I could see this going a couple of ways depending on how long this should be and I guess what the overarching theme is;

1. He hits up Blue for some one-on-one sparring to get the team back into shape before going straight after the Indigo Plateau.
2. He decides to make this authentic and go thrash the Kanto(or Johto, or both) Gym Leaders(/again). For the sake of narration, let's say that all of the Gym Leaders have competitive teams that can keep up-- they didn't get to be in their positions by being scrubs, though of course they have more than just six pokemon that they swap out to match a challenger's general skill level. They have to bring out their best for Red.

It's less a matter of earning(/re-earning) the Badges as it is to run the gamut of skilled trainers and sharpen himself and his pokemon before he goes after the Indigo Plateau and Lance.

Of course, the goal would be to see Red declared the Champion again. And I guess at that point to see what he does with the title and responsibilities now that he can actually stick around to see them through. Would he change anything in how the regions are run? Would he get sick of it after a time and leave again to test himself against other Leagues and regions now that he's proven himself the best in Kanto and Johto?

 

@Zenzao would this be before or after he's beaten by Gold?

 

At the time of posting, I was going with before. Likely prior to Gold/Lyra even wrapping up their own gym challenge, so for the sake of the story, they probably wouldn't even pass his radar.

With that said however I could see that defeat being what motivates him to come down from Mount Silver-- he used to be the best, but now this new challenger has come along and defeated him. That's not something he can just ignore. It gives him more motivation to go back through the gym challenge and, assuming Gold/Lyra has not yet taken up the role so much as earned the title and left Lance in charge, Red would still face Lance as the acting Champion of the Indigo League.

That would then lead to a final confrontation with Gold/Lyra post-Lance to prove he had returned to the top. I mean, they would just be a kid, I don't see their persona(s) being geared toward running two regions, unlike Lance, who had been taking care of things just fine for all of this time.

 

Star Wars SI where the main character becomes a politician instead of a Jedi or Sith, though he would be involved with the Force.

I would put him at the end of Republic, but with a decade or more for him to actually get into the Galactic Senate by the time of the Prequels. One of his main goals is to diversity organisations that have the Force users, but that makes him a political adversary to the Order and their number one suspect after Maul makes an appearance.

Palpatine usually sides with the Jedi in their arguments, making it hard to convince them he's not to be trusted without giving them some kind of proof and the old Sith is very good at hiding his nature.

And to top it off, the main character realizes that a young senator who he took under his wing, Padme Amidala, starts to have strong feelings for him. This complicates his interactions with Jedi Anakin Skywalker who he wanted to recruit to his planned new organisation for the Force users where emotions aren't things to be denied.

 

Fandom: Pokemon
Title: King of the Clouds
Concept: Every pokemon protagonist from generation two onward is sent back into the past by Dialga at the peak of their strength with a single mission: Kill the trainers known as Red and Blue.

They arrive the day that Red and Blue leave Pallet Town to begin their journey through Kanto, and it's immediately a race for each of them to make it to Kanto and hunt the kids down. Throughout their POV scenes, the voice of God advises them, warning them of certain tactics Red and Blue may use and urging them towards certain strategies. Most of all, it reminds them constantly that all the world relies upon their success.

Red and Blue are accosted by championship trainers out of time, their lives threatened every step of the way. They, of course, have no idea what's going on. But that doesn't mean they're not up to the challenge. The first few attempts from each champion very nearly kill them, but through sheer guts and wile they manage to slip away each time.

They prioritize evasion and subterfuge in their teams' skillsets, until finally they don't need to hide at all. After securing his seventh badge and acquiring his sixth and final pokemon, a larvitar he found in the center of a desolated mountain range, Trainer Blue turns and fights the next time when Pearl finds him. Pearl escapes with his life, but his Infernape doesn't.

Red catches a Snorlax and never runs away again.

Team Rocket is effected by these time travelers in its own way. Gold is naturally drawn to them, memories of their skeleton team a constant thorn in his mind. The voice of God urges him to ignore them, but he is who he is. Gold rails against Giovanni and his team with the same urgency he hunts Red and Blue. In doing so, he makes the greatest mistake of all the time travelers.

He puts Giovanni and Trainer Red on the same side.

Faced with the common enemy of Gold and the rest of the temporally displaced champions, Red and Giovanni, and by extension, Blue, find a temporary truce in resisting God's spite. The battle is all but lost from there.

Red and Blue burn through the gym circuit and cast out into the wider world of Kanto and beyond, hunting down the legendary pokemon with legendary zeal and the full backing and resources of Giovanni's Team Rocket. They find them, one by one. And one by one, they reach up to heaven and lay them low.

The great Kanto birds. The Johto dogs. Lugia, Ho-Oh, Kyogre and Groudon, even the great Rayquaza. They tear through the mythology of every nation each with only a team of six Kanto pokemon trained beyond the boundaries of reason or even real possibility. Until, in the end, there are only four left. From the region of Sinnoh.

Dialga. Palkia. Giratina.

Arceus.

The temporally displaced champions fight them every step of the way, cooperating with each other and with the legendaries being hunted in increasing desperation. It isn't enough. Dialga, the one that sent them back, is taken. Palkia, the one that brought them to this doomed timeline from their own golden realities, is cast out. Giratina submits.

And finally, Arceus falls. The voice of God vanishes from their minds. The champions know defeat.

Red and Blue return to the Indigo League and burn through it in record time, but when Lance falls and the curtain rises, it isn't an empty throne that awaits them.

It's themselves. Older, and yet the same.

Older Blue explains to them that in their future, they conquered every region systematically, without rest, and brought all the legendary gods to heel. Then, in their hubris and boredom, they used the legendaries to seek greater challenges- Dialga and Celebi to cast them back and forth in time, Palkia to send them to alternate realities, Arceus to alter their bodies and identities as they saw fit. They lived a hundred lifetimes in every region of the world, in every historical time of strife, and emerged the victors every single time.

Eventually, they grew bored. Challenges ran dry. And Arceus appealed to their hubris. It spoke to them, challenged them as deceivers, and promised that if they had not had time to grow and spread, like a sickness, through time and space, they would never have reached their current heights. It promised them that it could squash them both like bugs.

It offered them the greatest challenge of all- a stacked deck completely against them, at their weakest. Of course they agreed.

And now, with all the champions and gods in despair, they had come to collect on this little gambit. Arceus had his plans, but they had never really mattered. All that had mattered was one last fight, against the only challengers that mattered.

Themselves. If they wanted the crown, they'd have to take it in a tag team battle.

Red and Blue face off against Red and Blue and rock the clouds out of the sky.

 

Pokemon / A Song of Ice and Fire fusion crossover.

Basically in addition to animals on Planetos there are also Pokemon.

Now, Pokeballs can't exist in a pre-industrial society, so people simply walk around with their Pokemon on foot. Most people only have one or two Pokemon as companions in their entire lives, but then there are those above the norm who have six.

Of course, no pokeballs means they aren't called "Pocket Monsters" but just magic beasts.

Sigils of known Houses have of course Pokemon instead of animals on them. Say the deer-like Sawsbuck as the sigil of House Baratheon or Pyroar the sigil of House Lannister.

The Old and New Gods refers to different Legendary Pokemon, for example the Iron-Born could be worshipping Kyogre. The Lord of Light is simply Reshiram.

Dragon-type Pokemon are thought to be extinct until Daenerys Targaryen hatches three from the eggs, a Dratini, a Bagon and an Axew.

The Others are still the Others, beings of ice and death. Except in their armies are ice and ghost pokemon now.

Not all Pokemon can be tamed by humans. You'll never see someone ordering an Alakazam around, or a Tyranitar. There's no Mewtwo since there's no technology to clone Mew.

Now, for the plot itself.

The story follows Jon Snow as he decides against going to the Wall after he finds a small Rockruff.

Rockruff and their evolved form Lycanroc (sigil of House Stark) were thought to be absent south of the Wall.

Jon bonds with the wolf, trains it to be his companion and later decides to go on a journey across all the Seven Kingdoms.

Each Kingdom has an official arena for Beast Trainers to challenge. After defeating the Master of each arena, a trainer can receive an official badge and the glory associated with it.

Having just one badge elevates one's status above the common folk. There are some trainers who have two badges and there was one who even had three.

Jon Snow intends to be the first to win all Seven Badges.

 

Zelda Twilight Princess spinoff.

The Era of Eternal Gloom.

A hundred years ago, a Hero and an Imp failed to defeat the Demon King. The Hero was killed, and his courage vanished from the realm. The Imp was imprisoned in shadow. The Princess fell, and her wisdom was stolen from her. Seven Sages stirred from slumber and marched to banish the Demon King anew; but his cunning denied their desperate gambit. Magic spread across the kingdom, magic and shadow and terror.

For long years, the worlds of light and shadow poured across into one another. The air grew polluted, tainted, changing any who breathed it for long into wicked and mindless beasts.

Today, the peoples of Hyrule live deep underground, traveling to the surface only when they must, and never for long. The Demon King yet lives, though few have ever seen him, and fewer still dare to try. Rarer is his fury unleashed.

A young Hylian Thief has gathered an infamous reputation for claiming the relics of the older days for eager, often unscrupulous clients. He does not appear to suffer the same calamitous effects that others do when he ventures into the dangerous land above, though he keeps that secret close to his chest. Nor does the mysterious, fey man who trained him, explosively irate one moment, dangerously collected and cool the next.

A new request arrives. An ancient sword, shattered long ago, its pieces scattered far and wide. Daunting. No doubt deadly. But the request resonates with the Thief in a way that only a few others have. He agrees.

So sets forth the unwitting Hero of Gloom. Along the way, can he unearth the courage he has largely lost? Can he put an end to this horrible Era?

...

Okay, so flavor text aside, Link and Zelda died and Ganondorf tainted the Sacred Realm and Hyrule again, but this time with added Twilight influence. Midna was either sealed away or killed, depending on if I want her to have any lasting influence in the current era. The Sages tried to pull a Link to the Past(shove him into the Sacred Realm and block it off) or Mirror of Twilight(shove him back into the Twilight Realm and break the mirror again) and were either killed in the process or sent their themselves.

With the main threats to his rule removed, Ganondorf found himself largely bored as the decades waxed on with no real challenge. Maybe he grew wiser and more wistful. Regardless, he's still largely in his prime after a century and utterly sick of the world, so he isn't much of an active threat any longer, more his subjects/generals etc who police Hyrule and I guess the Twilight Realm in his stead.

Hylians, Gorons, Zora, all retreated from the miasma the Twilight Realm emits and eke out a meager survival. Link is reborn in one of the underground slums somewhere around Hyrule Castle Town. I'm considering his mentor being Zant, who was likely reborn with a grudge, remembering bits and pieces of his past life, hence why he recognizes Link for who he can really be and also kind of low-key hates the kid, even though Link is still the best shot at killing Ganondorf. Zant would have escaped the Twilight Realm and done what most people have done, taken shelter as he figures out what to do.

The quest at the start would be to find the shards of the Master Sword. Take them back to the ruins of the Temple of Time, stir the sword spirit within to guide him, slay the monstrous things lurking inside the Temple, and reforge the blade, proving he has what it takes to step onto the right path, though he still has a long way to go before he is an actual hero.

The rest would be collecting the other artifacts and gear throughout the Dark World-esque Hyrule. Beat down Ganondorf's generals or, being a Thief, just slip by them to avoid alerting the King of Darkness. Though if Link did defeat them(largely by the skin of his teeth, maxing out every resource he has each time), that would bring a fire back into Ganondorf's cold heart and get the Gerudo's attention.

Whether or not Ganondorf would being to actively produce more monsters or warriors or whatever or even to try and confront Link now is in the air. I picture Zant begrudgingly stepping in and distracting Ganondorf so that Link can get away in time should Ganondorf make a move against him too soon.

But word would certainly spread that Ganondorf was interested in the thief, and that would dry up Link's opportunities for sticking around the underground world very much. He'd be more or less railroaded into taking up the heroic reins because he cannot trust anyone but Zant not to sell him out.

Eventually, having grown strong enough, acquired enough loot, developed enough combat prowess, Link accepts that he has to face Ganondorf. And this time around... does he win? Do they even properly fight to the death, or does this older, maybe more mature Ganondorf look at Link as a potential ally to corrupt? A successor of sorts? Bend the younger thief to his way of thinking. Kind of Sith-like if I had to liken it to a relationship type.

Of course, assuming it goes in that direction, where next? Ganondorf won't live forever, even if he does make it to two hundred+. Do they conquer any surrounding lands? Does it inevitably drift toward true confrontation one day? Once Ganondorf goes, the Dark World kind of goes with him I would think, as would the Twilight Realm, and civilization might begin to pick back up.

Or the Goddesses decide Hyrule is truly a lost cause and flood everybody now that Link is working with Ganondorf.

 

Here's something more obscure.

A crossover between Zax: The Alien Hunter and Naruto.

For the ALL of you who don't know what Zax: The Alien Hunter is, it's an isometric shooter video game released in 2001. The plot is about an alien named Zax who crash-lands on an alien planet during his search for rare metals and minerals across the galaxy.

He discovers that the planet is inhabited by intelligent, but somewhat primitive Korbo who are currently being enslaved by an army of robots from another planet. These robots use the Korbo to mine for minerals (the same ones Zax is searching for) and punish those who disobey by implanting cybernetics into them, making them literal drones. While initially Zax only cares about collecting minerals, he comes to care for the Korbo and decides to save them from the "metal demons" that oppress them.

Zax's biggest advantage is that on his ship he has a machine which can turn the minerals and metals he finds into weapons. Basically a matter replicator. Also, his ship is operated by a sexy, female AI named Zelon. Sweet.

All in all a pretty nice and good adventure.

Right, so let's ruin it.

Instead of crashing on the planet of the Korbo, Zax instead crashes in the Elemental Nations, several kilometers from Konoha. This takes place on the day Team 7 begins their Chuunin Exam.

As originally, Zax only cares about collecting minerals and metals, not seeing a reason to interfere in the affairs of local species.

While his space-age weapons, matter replicator and energy shields are a big asset for him in case of trouble, he's still just a normal alien guy. No supernatural powers or chakra.

Eventually of course the Konoha Shinobi are going to notice him and attempt to communicate. Thanks to his space-age translator he's able to talk with them. They're going to be really freaked out by him not being human and not having chakra at all.

He still needs those resources though. Especially since he needs to repair his ship.

In this world of walking gods with crazy powers and a lot of them being psychopaths he has his work cut out for him.

 

Excuse me the Ironborn clearly worship Bidoof.

Aside from that, cool idea. I'd suggest maybe apricorns for low-tech pokeballs, but magic creatures permanently outside is a novel take I like as well.

 

Also, what if shadowbinders like Melisandre actually can summon ghost pokemon. Now that's cool.

 

(posting here too for higher visibility)

Dragon Master in the Making (Pokemon, Lance pov timeloop)

Taking place in roughly the same setting for Blackthorn City(and pokemon on the whole) as my In Gold we Trust Quest, Kairyu Wataru, the next heir to the prominent Wataru Clan, does his best to live up to the reputation; he spends his days rearing the Dratini hatchlings, searching for one that has the same inherent spark as he does.

He studies their enemies, their neighbors, the Higana, Shirona, Opelucid, and Dracaena Clans.

He learns from his grandfather, the current Blackthorn City Gym Leader, of the secrets within the laws that govern their disparate people since the era of the dragon mortal combat, the Shitouryuu, two hundred years ago. He follows all of the footsteps he has been guided through, bearing the weight of his entire clan upon his shoulders, eventually succeeding his grandfather and becoming the next Voice of Law for all of Blackthorn, the man who holds final say over disputes between the clans.

But his power is not all that it could be.

His Dratini's never evolve beyond Dragonair's, for they, like he is, are stifled by the conditions in the city. The constant scrutiny by the Wataru Elders, reminding Kairyu of how he could have done better, elevated their people higher, diminished the other clans that much more, grind him down with each passing year. The constant machinations of the other Elders to make him slip, make him say more than he should and less than he ought to.

He faces the challengers coming to seek glory for the Indigo League, as the old laws dictate he must. He and his team find some small respite from it all in the battles, but it is short lived, and not enough to spur his stunted dragons onward toward Dragonites. He is viewed as a failure for that and treated as such as the years sweep by.

Eventually, unable to bear the shame and the failure and the never ending, never relenting pressure, Kairyu dies a bent and broken man in his forties.

He awakens as a boy, his grandfather the Blackthorn City Gym Leader, himself still the next heir to the Wataru Clan.

He cannot believe it. But it is true. He has been granted a second chance. He thinks, 'I can do better this time'.

He uses his knowledge to his advantage. He rises rapidly through the ranks of his fellow tamers. He dominates in the honorary battle tournaments. He knows the laws better than any but for his grandfather. He inherits the role years sooner.

He rules harder.

The Wataru gain greater status over the other clans. The Wataru Elders come to him with praise for his efforts, by and large, while the complaints of the other Elders do not faze him. Let their own replacement for the role of Gym Leader do what they will when he has retired, this is the return to the glory days of old for those who founded this city, this ancient village, not the intruders who arrived with jealous fury long after.

There comes a day when he is awoken to rebellion. Putting their differences aside, Shirona and Dracaena and even the usually aloof Opelucid reignite the days of the Shitouryuu. Death and destruction envelops the valley, and Kairyu cannot stop them alone, nor even with the backing of his surviving clan members. His Dragonairs have still yet to evolve into Dragonites. He dies, bleeding on the raging battlegrounds.

He awakens in cold sweat as a boy.

How? Why? What had he done wrong? What has he been lacking? Had he... could he have overstepped his bounds? So be it. He will step into the role with a mind more open to fairness for all, akin to his first life, but he must find some sort of balance between them. He must study their ways even more, delve deeper into their histories, find the ways forward to turn them to his side, his advantage.

The years sweep by. The Wataru are not pleased, but neither are they the constant voice at his ear as before. The others tolerate his rule with minimal begrudging. But it is a life that is unfulfilling. He cannot understand what is lacking. What has he missed? How can he do better than this? Why won't his dragons evolve?!

He awakens as a boy. He despairs of the futility. In his wandering of the valley, he encounters Master Onondo of the Opelucid Clan, teaching an older teen named Drayden. While Drayden is openly hostile toward the next heir of the Wataru, Onondo is too old to indulge in the inter-clan politics and strife, and simply sees Kairyu as a boy shackled into an unpleasant fate.

For the first time in four lives, Kairyu and Onondo chat. And Kairyu's eyes are opened to the wretched duties he would have once again willingly bound himself to in this life, had he not seen a different perspective, after spending so long trying to understand the other clans already. He understands that his dragons will never evolve if they remain bound to Blackthorn City.

He wants out. His grandfather is the only one with the authority to allow him leave of the city, if only for a short time. Kairyu's request is denied. 'What foolishness is this, to think that their heir would abandon their ways? How could he have come to such unruly thoughts? No more shall he speak with the dreadful Opelucid, who have ever been a thorn in the Wataru's side'.

He is kept under much stricter watch. He does not flourish. His team never evolves beyond Dratini. His refusal to accept the Gym Leader position means that he remains only another disappointment of the clan. Out of all the people, one of the Opelucid, Drayden, rises to the role of Gym Leader from the inter-clan vote. Drayden has no love for Kairyu, who he views as responsible for Master Onondo's quicker demise. Kairyu dies young in despair.

In his fifth life, he has to change this. He has to get away! But how? He seeks an audience with Master Onondo again, and from their quiet talks he learns that Drayden, too, would depart if given the chance. This is an opportunity to gather some favor with them if he can see Drayden allowed to leave as well. But for that, he must ensure that the next Gym Leader is one favorable to the matter.

He spends his fifth and sixth lives seeking a replacement, trying to bring the clans together, to ease the constant tension between them all.

It is only in his seventh life that he realizes there is just one choice for who can be trusted to replace his grandfather and grant both himself and Drayden leave. His younger cousin, Ibuki, who would be the next in line as heir to the Wataru should anything happen to Kairyu himself. He spends his time teaching her all that he has learned, preparing her in advance.

By the time that it becomes clear that he has no intention of becoming the Voice of Law, Ibuki is well-versed, and his grandfather begrudgingly accepts the matter. Though just a girl of fifteen, Ibuki Wataru succeeds the old man, and with Kairyu's guidance, being her outlet when the scrutiny of the Elders threatens to break her, she comes to trust and rely upon him.

Too late, he realizes that he has become too valuable for her to ever allow to go. The least that he can do, then, is ensure that Drayden is allowed the freedom that he has been denied, but he languishes there, and does not live long.

In his eighth life, Kairyu begins training Ibuki at once. But he does not do everything himself; he ensures that she is taught, and taught well, by those who would have assisted him had he needed them to(as in his first life). In essence, Ibuki remains aloof, receiving only the occasional instruction directly from Kairyu, and what spare advice as he gives her is in ways to bridge the gap between the clans, which he himself attempts to solidify over the years as well.

By the time that Ibuki becomes the Gym Leader, she has retained her sense of self, and enough inner strength to endure the weight she must bear. A few choice allies from the Opelucid help her shoulder that burden, hardly so close as to call friends as outsiders would, but close enough. Drayden is granted permission to depart. Kairyu bides his time, and then, at last, he too seeks her leave.

He is granted permission. At the age of twenty, Kairyu and his Dragonairs depart from Blackthorn City.

His first taste of the outside world is glorious. He tours the edges of Johto nearest, traveling through Ice Path in the footsteps of Drayden.

Partway through, close to the Mahogany Town entrance, he encounters an odd pair of trainers, an older man with his Piloswine, and a younger man about Kairyu's own age with a Rhydon. Their heated argument draws him closer. '... under the heel of the legendaries since time immemorial, Pryce. Do what you will with Johto, but do not forget who I am.'

'An ungrateful brat eager to spoil twenty years of research for his own selfish ambitions. So be it. I entrust what remains of your mother's lifework to you, Sakaki-san. Consider our division autonomous henceforth... though I would suggest uniting a little longer to address the mole in our midst.'

Kairyu's ninth life begins all too soon after barely tasting freedom.

When all is said and done, he cannot shake the knowledge of those strangers. But as he evidently saw, he was no match for their combined might. When he finally escapes from Blackthorn again, a year earlier at nineteen, he steers clear of Ice Path, hoping that Drayden took his advice to beware of strangers ahead, not so long ago.

He reaches Cherrygrove City in the south and branches out.

From there, Kairyu lives and dies exploring the wonders and more mundane aspects of both Johto and Kanto.

Along the way, he runs into the other man, Sakaki, who goes by the formal name Giovanni. They cross paths on numerous occasions, eventually developing a grudging respect for one another on successive meetings in the same life. It is Giovanni who refers to Kairyu by 'Lance', after the dragon tamer's occasional moral muddying. It is meant as a mocking name, as he is 'no Lancelot'.

He learns that Giovanni intends to 'return mankind to the top of the food-chain', and for that, Giovanni has established influence with several prominent figures in the Kanto power structure. Some are Gym Leaders. Others are within the Elite Four. Some in remote islands. His network is vast. Lance spends more than one life in opposition to Giovanni's dangerous ambitions as it becomes clear just what Giovanni has been doing for decades-- the fulfillment of the Mew clone project in Mewtwo.

In other lives, Lance understands the threat poised by Giovanni's former ally, Pryce, too. The two are clearly running separate organizations united only under a common name, Team Rocket. Their agendas do not overlap at all. Defeating Giovanni and ensuring that Mewtwo never awakens does not stop Pryce from eventually claiming the legendaries scattered across Johto, and vise-versa.

After enough lifetimes, Lance realizes the way forward, balancing interference with glory. The most boring lives are those where he out and out kills both men as soon as he is able to, and systematically hunts down and destroys their operatives. While there is peace, by and large, the lack of strife is not enough. Only through proper combat can his team mature into its potential.

So he takes chances. He lets Team Rocket develop in both regions, only opposing where he knows the outcome will forestall certain actions. It is not until he has risen to the top of the Indigo League as the next Champion that he comes into possession of five very valuable allies, the guardians of Lugia, Ecruteak City's kimono girls, headed by a gifted psychic, Naoko.

And in time, Lance lives long enough to see the Kanto division of Team Rocket dismantled by two rising stars, Red and Blue-- though he has had to observe them and nudge the path of history once or twice to ensure Giovanni does not come into possession of Mewtwo early, before the two can confront Giovanni for good at the Viridian City Gym.

He loses to them at the Indigo League. It is never long that they rule, however. Blue's time is short lived before Red overthrows him, and Red vanishes toward Mount Silver with Mewtwo in tow. After a time, Blue retires to get the Viridian City Gym in operation again, and successfully heads it as the eighth Kanto Gym Leader.

Lance tries, once or twice, to see what life is like with the defeat of Red and Blue at the Indigo League, though his victory is more through sabotaging their progress a step or two along the way. In one life, Red dies teaching Mewtwo how to contain its power without the shelter of Mount Silver, and Blue falls hard with his dream shattered and his rival dead, amounting to nothing but a shadow of his former self. In another, they live, through it is at Lance's own coercing that Red surrenders Mewtwo 'to the rightful Champion', and he in turn struggles to no avail to becalm the infuriated psychic menace before awakening yet again back in Blackthorn City.

After that, he never wins against them again-- without his early impediment, they rise to the challenge as they were always meant to do.

Lance soon reclaims his place, and with Naoko's aid and his knowledge of what lies ahead, Lance keeps Pryce, now operating under the pseudonym of 'Mask of Ice', from usurping the kimono girls' control over Lugia and gaining mastery over Ho-Oh. With further time and practice, he guides another pair of trainers, either Ethan Gold or Lyra Elm, to address the Johto division of Team Rocket and the last threads of the Kanto Division.

With Team Rocket destroyed in its entirety, Lance is dethroned by one or the other of the newcomers.



Not really sure what more to do from there. Maybe the timeloop concludes. Maybe it has a bookends kind of finale, where Lance wakes up one more time as a boy and sets off to do whatever. He might have tried to end the clan system all together at some point, though it wouldn't have panned out very well.

 

Followup to Pocket Monsters: Ramen Edition. After being left behind on the shores of Tanoby Beach, Champion Blue decides to make good on his word and go after Ho-Oh. But when he arrives in Ecruteak City on the tail of a rumor, Blue finds that, as with most matters surrounding the legendaries, it is rarely so simple as tracking one down and beating it into submission with the best team in the region.


What I'd like to do with this is a moderate character piece on Blue. How he's adjusted since falling from the championship position, taking up life running Giovanni's old gym and converting it to represent his own ideals, and how his world was turned upside down by Red's sudden contact again after three years of largely radio silence, asking for a meeting in the farthest flung of the Sevii Islands.

He's just seen the only man he ever respected enough to call a rival whip out Lugia and ride off into the storm to face the calamitous unknown. He's torn between expecting to never see Red again and wanting the bastard to actually pull it off and come back home to Pallet Town more burnt out than he already had been from Mount Silver and Mewtwo.

Blue's already acquired Articuno, so he knows something of how to approach legendaries. He doesn't use it much, and largely lets it chill, either back at the Seafoam Islands, or stored online out of his hair. He'd arrive in Ecruteak City following the rumors and run into some trouble with the local monks who oversee Ho-Oh's surviving tower and the shrine at its base. The phoenix hasn't returned to Ecruteak for over a century, however, and they aren't eager to ask for his help in bringing it back.

He'd probably end up working with Morty, who in this setting I have as the head of their order. I can go further in depth on his character and personal motivations and such, but in the end, he does help Blue out, since he also wants to see Ho-Oh roost again atop the tower as a sort of redemption for his ancestor's efforts.

In the end, Blue might still face Ho-Oh in battle, but he opts not to capture it. He doesn't need to. He's gained a sort of peace with himself, and earned its respect, akin to what Red did with Mewtwo after three years.

Blue departs on the magnet train again musing on how the old him from his League Challenge would have captured Ho-Oh anyway, and reflects that he probably still would have up until a few (days/weeks/months) ago. Close it out with him stepping off the train in Saffron and making his way back around toward Viridian on the back of his Pidgeot.

 

This got away from me, but I had to put them down.

Star Wars Plot bunnies:

Anakin Skywalker:

When he comes to Mace Windu with information about Palpatine, Windu immediately calls him “Master Skywalker,” and effectively states that by coming to them with the information he’s proven that he has the core of a Jedi, no matter his past indiscretions. He then asks what Palpatine offered him, and ferrets out the Padme secret.

He immediately offers Anakin the full use of the Temple medcenter, staff, and the resources of their archives. He also sends Anakin to get Padme with support.

As soon as she’s brought to the Temple, they go to confront the chancellor. On the way, Anakin reaches out to his clone squad and presses them to acknowledge Order 65, even though he’s not part of the Senate or the Security Counsel. They go to back the Jedi, and the Chancellor initiates Order 66 to the others during/after the confrontation.

Not sure if I’d have Anakin there or not. I’d have Windu escape, have Palpatine escape.

The way things would snowball is that you’d have more Jedi and all that covers. You would have a small cell of clones that won’t be following Order 66, but Order 65.

More importantly, you’d have a living Anakin Skywalker as a member of the Rebellion. There’s still be a Galactic Empire, but there would be much stronger of a rebellion. Not sure how far I’d take this, and don’t know much about the Clone Wars show, so this would be low priority.



-=-=-



Luke Skywalker:

Rebellion, post Battle of Yavin.

Luke’s been processing still being able to hear Kenobi, but not sure what to do about the Jedi training. He confides in R2. Butterfly in this is that Kenobi provided a holocron to R2 to give to Luke, and Luke then takes the time to start learning.

The primary story to tell would be Luke exploring how he can learn to be a Jedi, while the rebellion is alternating with people that don’t really know what the implications of a Jedi are (“Buncha simple tricks.” “You are all that is left of their religion.” “Your sorcerer’s ways don’t frighten me.”) to those that are aware of what the lightsaber is, and are quietly praying that he’s more than just the farm boy that he still shows himself to be.

You’d have people like Mon Mothma and Leia in private sessions talking about him and the difference between Luke and the Jedi, but also “He has a lightsaber!” And slowly watching him grow and change as a person to become more like what a Jedi should be.

You’d have the regular folks who haven’t even really heard stories about the Jedi because of how strongly the Empire crushed their information, but will gradually grow to see look doing amazing things in his X-Wing to downright impossible thing. They’ll see him with reflexes and senses befitting a Jedi, and eventually will see him doing more.

He’ll gradually develop with the lightsaber, and learn to block multiple remotes firing at the same time, learn to do many physically impossible feats, but will be just one person. He’ll be on the lookout for another person to teach what he can as well, maybe begin training another Jedi.

He’ll have encouraged Han to pay off Jabba, but also to come back.

One day he’ll be out on a mission, and get flagged. With a bounty like the emperor and Darth Vader have placed, everyone is gunning for him, and an Imperial Raider goes ahead and manages to ground him and his X-Wing. It has a crew of 29, and they all unload to bring him in. Luke kills them and captures the ship, storing his X-Wing in the cargo hold. He and R2-D2 fly it back and the Rebellion loses an X-Wing pilot but gains the intel that the ship brings, and a mobile Luke Skywalker.

Luke proceeds to search wherever he can for force-sensitive individuals, and if he believes they can be trained, he’ll take them on. He still works for the rebellion but begins to shift his focus.

There’d be some conflict at some point. He wants to focus more on restoring the Jedi, they on restoring the Republic. He’s looking for more free agency, they’re looking for tangible help, and not to lose one of their more promising individuals.

Unsure how I’d handle it- maybe have a situation where the Jedi were handled as a separate entity (Like the Trade Federation?) that could be a part of the Senate. They’d be part of the republic? Or maybe someone like Leia would suggest that. Madine might suggest that they become a part of Alliance Military/Spy/Special forces. Luke might see it more as an individual thing- each Jedi (of whom there are very few at the moment) should be entitled to work where they see fit, but ultimately recommends they work with the Alliance because if they go to the Empire they’ll die.

Eventually, build up through the different things that happen in the timeline- Hoth is discovered, Second Death Star is built, Luke meets Yoda, gains some additional wisdom/training from him before his death.

Would need to build through the Alliance eventually finding a way to kill the Emperor?


-=-=-


Imperial Skywalker:

A different Kenobi trains Luke from an early age. He knows how to train a Skywalker better now, and focuses on moving meditation, the Living Force, and practical things that will guide Luke to learning the ‘boring’ things. All the while, building discipline, strengthening his core character.

When Luke reaches (14?) he feels led by the force to enlist with Biggs (who is now 18?) They go to Academy, 2 years. Biggs and Lue find they’re in different career paths- Biggs is a natural at fighters, however, while Luke is amazing at fighters, he scored such that they have him on a command track. End of the second year, Biggs is approached by Rebels. (Two years early, but he enlisted early as well.) Luke never finds out.

Luke finds motivation first through the force, but then through seeing Imperial goals (Manifesto? But also outlining a goal to “expand equally in all directions, establish order and break down inequality.” He’s inspired to free the slaves on Tatooine, but to also see the Outer Rim as benefitted as the Mid Rim and Core. He also wants to eliminate the Hutt Cartels and everything that goes along with them.

He’s kept careful control of his force abilities and has been missed by Inquisitors three times, even though he’s been scanned by them. He performs too well for a normal human.


—

Unknown to Inquisitors, Luke and other factions, the Emperor is aware of him and is curious. He had a “Skywalker Protocol” that would monitor all reports for Anakin “Skywalker” and ever since he became Darth Vader he’s seen copycats pop up. He usually reads the reports to laugh at how far they all fall from his Sith, but Luke from Tatooine catches his eye. He realizes it’s the same (blood tests reveal the heritage) but he has it kept quiet. He watches Luke’s career with interest, and wonders at the possibility of a Tame Imperial Jedi.

Over time he grows to like this idea- a Jedi (for he’s sure Luke will end up as one if he isn’t already) but one who is loyal to the Empire, and the Emperor. He’s had biometrics and other readings done to verify and it appears the child is the genuine article.

—


In Luke’s final test he faces something similar to the kobayashi maru, where it appears there is no way to defeat the simulation. He ends up able to do so, using little known facts about the asteroid fields they’re in, and the Force.

His success ends up placing him on a faster track than usual. Instead of a standard 4-year tour when he’d receive command of a minor capital ship, he’s placed on a 2-year track that puts him as Second in command of an Imperial Star Destroyer.

Here he’s coached by the captain of the ship in several things: shipboard duties, details, management and governing, internal Empire Politics, and something unexpected.


—

Due to the significant increase of available kyber crystals, the empire used anything they could find in the DS-1 project. However, there were a good number of smaller fractured gems that were found the project was unable to find a solution for. A group of older workers began to fashion them into a series of lightfoils, and sell them to Imperial officers.

With only minor crystals, many fractured or damaged, and without the attainment that a Jedi provided, these were no true lightsaber, and while they could damage a being, they could not effectively cut through the same strength of durasteel or other similar materials. A black market quickly grew among ship captains and senior officers, and it became a mark of distinction to have and be skilled in the use of a lightfoil.

While Darth Vader initially disapproved of the practice, the Emperor, found great delight in what was once a Jedi practice and weapon being so diminished and then dispersed among his men. To him, it was simply another mockery of the Jedi.

—


Luke’s work with the Star Destroyer was going smoothly till one day they were planetoid boring to quell an insurgency. They were attacked by a Jedi Padawan. Through a series of events, Luke manages to knock out/subdue the Jedi and confiscate the lightsaber.

When Vader comes to take possession of the Jedi and the lightsaber he’s stuck by something simple about Luke. He quickly puts two and two together and realizes that his master must know about Luke. They discuss what the Emperor’s plans for Luke would be. Luke doesn’t have any idea of his relation to Darth Vader but later is gifted with the lightsaber that’s decommissioned. He’s informed that the original is on display in the Emperor’s gallery with his name on it.

As Luke continues to work building reputation in the empire the DS-1 project comes out fully armed and operational.

Shortly after Alderaan is destroyed, there’s a sudden uptick in activity. Luke encounters another Jedi, this time in a Sith tomb. He kills the Jedi using a Sith Lanvarok, and ensures the remainder of the artifacts are preserved. Darth Vader shows up again and advises Luke that he has the emperor’s attention and ensures Luke keeps both the Lanvarok and a few smaller idols as the beginning of a collection. He also complements Luke on following the Empire’s edicts. Privately he informs Luke that he’s aware of his force abilities, as is the Emperor, but as long as he continues serving the emperor and killing any of the Jedi that would stand against the empire, he’ll not be in any trouble.

In time I have several goals:

1. Luke meets the Emperor, realizes that he’s effectively immortal.
2. Luke finds a new Jedi- one loyal to the empire like him. She’s trained with a holocron to be a healer and he brings her to the Emperor as well. Emperor lets her live for the same reason- it makes him laugh that there are Jedi in service to the Sith Emperor, and are happy about it.
3. Luke confides in his father about wanting to free the slaves and establish order in the outer rim. Vaders till doesn’t tell Luke their relation but begins to help Luke behind the scenes.
4. Luke still follows Jedi code, shunning Sith practices.
5. Luke moves in through Imperial politics, gaining allies and associates and friends from Kuat, various core worlds, Anaxes, and various Mid Rim worlds, eventually leveraging much of this into becoming the Youngest Rear Admiral.
6. He abuses his position and bends several rules in many places and takes time to use the force to look forward and determine which systems will be free of attacks, and where there are Pirate/Hutt fleets, and where Rebels are massing.
7. He forces several commanders and captains to bring their ships to readiness and to go on an extended training exercise.
8. He then leads one of the bloodiest campaigns in recent history, devastating the shipyards of Nar Shadda and Nal Hutta, and tearing through both Hutt Space and rebel-occupied territory. At the end of this time, he sends the fleets home with commendations and forwards the evidence of corruption governors to Imperial Center.
9. Further forward, Luke works to fight to bring the outer rim into line with what he sees the Imperial vision to be. The ultimate goal is for Luke to bend the core worlds to his will and twist them to WANT to help the outer rim through manipulation and various political maneuvers.

---

And yeah, I'm not even sure most of this is coherent with as late as It is an as little sleep as I've had lately, but it's out there now. Thought about quests for all these, had one started a while back on the last one too. Haven't touched it in 3 years so I'd just start it from scratch if I ever did it.

 

These all have varying degrees of my interest, and I think they've got merit, but I'm curious that if Kenobi was involved in Luke's life with the Imperial storyline then what happened to his involvement after Luke went to the academy? Did Kenobi just up and abandon Luke for fear of discovery? Was he killed at some point? What even happened to him here, since surely Vader/Palpatine would be curious to learn where Luke had acquired his talents to that point? Or do they just assume it was natural skill inherited via Anakin and the general environment?

 

I was basically going to have it that Kenobi disappeared after Luke went to Academy. Maybe he’d return to his home when Luke graduates, just to see if he’s been outed, but there’s a part of me that wants to let him have a family (that Luke doesn’t know about) and down the road when the Emperor finds out who trained Luke, he’s so tickled that Kenobi provided him with two trained Skywalkers, he’s willing to leave him on the dust ball to suffer.

I may have Vader show up at Kenobi’s hermit house, only to find it abandoned.

I’m not tied to that idea though. Could have him escape the planet, join the rebellion, etc. Could have him join Yoda, or confront Vader.

 

Resident Evil Dead

The T-Virus is a scientific impossibility. It doesn't exist.

In their pursuit of creating the perfect bio-weapon, the Umbrella Corporation has looked into many areas previously not considered by the wider research community.

Eventually they have discovered multiple reports of human corpses seemingly forced to walk again and attack the living. This was not only backed up by historical records by multiple witness accounts in modern times.

Further investigation yielded results when in early 1980s a team of researchers accompanied by armed mercenaries have discovered a remote cabin in the woods near Morristown, Tennessee belonging to an archaeologist Professor Raymond Knowby.

Inside the cabin the team has found the Professor's notes on the Castle Kandar, a tape recorder with further notes, and most importantly they have found Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, the book of the dead.

One of the researchers has turned on the tape recorder and listened to Professor Knowby's translation of the Necronomicon, which led to a disastrous event later code-named The Summoning.

Out of the five researchers and 15 armed guards only three people remained alive. The rest was either possessed by Kandarian Demons or killed by the possessed.

After reinforcements arrived and rescued the survivors, the notes and the Necronomicon were transferred to the Umbrella Corporation's research facility in Arklay Mountains, near Racoon City. The book of the dead would be experimented upon for many years, leading to many different tragedies and deaths of test subjects.

By 1996 however, Umbrella researchers have reached such proficiency with using the book that they could easily use it to summon Kandarian Demons without being attacked by them. Furthermore, any victims killed by the demons would later be possessed by new demons arriving in their bodies. And not only humans could be possessed, dogs and other larger animals as well.

Umbrella's eventual plan was to test the possession-chain in Racoon City itself. First however they focused on a small mansion in the mountains...