Sci-Fi Tech Noir Idea; MxF Pairing

Started by Zahard, November 20, 2017, 11:48:32 PM

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Zahard

Hello! I'm Zahard. As a quick aside, you may want to review my Ons and Offs Thread before you dive in.

Still here? Awesome. I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a few days, I've finally decided to write it out. Below you'll find the idea, a writing sample based on the idea (doesn't have to have anything to do with the plot we settle on), and a break down of my expectations and some themes I want to incorporate. As I have no preference between which role I play, I'll be marking the two primary protagonists as Character A, and Character B. Obviously, when the plot gets going, I won't be coloring the names.

The Plot

Sample

Max sat at a counter of Sera's Diner, warming his frozen hands with the boling-hot cup of coffee he had been served.

I love hole-in-the-walls, Max thought idly. Cheap food. Cheap drinks.

He heard the door chime chirp obnoxiously loud off to his right. He cast a side-long glance to confirm it was the person he expected. Little dumps like this also really annoy people like her.

She was exactly what he expected. Frida Lewellyn, Executive Assistant to Willem Horton. If you worked for the VP of Technology of one of the biggest corporations in the world, you needed to look like her: beautiful long hair, done up tastefully in a bun. Somehow, Max's imaginings of her wardrobe were accurate even beyond her looks. Dark conservative colors beneath a clean almost-white dresscoat. She wore mittens, but took them off to stuff them into the tiny purse she wore at her hip. Was she wearing black lingerie too? Max pinned the VP for a guy that liked that kind of stuff, just like he was the kind of guy to hire an executive assistant that looked like Frida.

She cast a look of thinly-veiled disgust around the diner, then they locked eyes from across the room and Max gave a nod. She took the stool next to him, and there was a small pause before she spoke. "Max Cassinger?"

"Frida Lewellyn?"

She opened her purse, and pushed aside the mittens she had stuffed in to pull out a small card holder. She pulled out a business card and slid it over to him as she spoke. "Yes. I'm here on behalf of Mr. Horton. You have experience with data forensics, correct?"

"That was the focus of my Masters, yes."

"But you do private investigations now?"

"I think it's more fulfilling."

Frida paused again. She was someone who measured her words before she started to speak. Max didn't wait for her to figure out how to ask whatever question she had next.

"I'm sure you've already looked into who I am. If you want, I can show you my resume on a tablet -- it'll be faster than you asking me questions while my coffee grows cold. You asked to meet with me discretely, and here we are." Max gestured around. "Please don't waste my time."

Frida looked offended, and Max didn't blame her. He wanted to offend her. He disliked women like her: two faced corporate dolls. He wasn't going to waste energy trying to be charming or pleasant to her.

After a moment, she gathered herself to ask the question he knew was coming: "Mr. Horton has a job offer, Mr. Cassinger. But you need to be discrete."

"His wife cheating on him?"

"No. It's --"

Sera, the owner of the diner herself, walked up, interrupting Frida. Frida asked for a coffee, and only when Sera had walked away did she finish. "There has been a breach of security, and some sensitive data has been exposed."

Character A is a man who knows his way around computers. Despite his technical affinity (or perhaps because of it) he has an affinity for puzzles, and mysteries. It leads him to become a private investigator -- a detective that has the necessary skills for the modern world. His skillset and his reputation lead him from city to city, finding new clients and new mysteries to solve. Most of the time, it's inane things: Who cheated on who? Is X doing drugs again? Find Y stolen item. Sometimes it's not a job to just to get through the day-to-day, but a real job. One that pays well.

This one pays very well. Character B approaches Character A with a proposition, on behalf of their corporation. It has to be discrete, and it has to be done before it's too late: a mole has stolen a corporate secret, one that can either be sold or expose sensitive information about the corporation. It's also dangerous -- whoever the mole is, they've killed someone to protect their identity.

What follows is natural to any noir story: a story that explores the darker portions of the world, with turns, twists, betrayals, and seduction, all challenging the values of the protagonists in various ways.


The Story Expectations

I'm pretty flexible on how we do world-building, and the exact plot we can hammer out together, but there are a couple of elements I strongly wish to involve:


  • Noir
This isn't a happy world, and there's going to be friction between the World and our Characters. There are criminals, there are people who hold up a mask to hide their true natures, there is betrayal and twists as the mystery goes along.
  • Sci-Fi/Modern Setting
Leaning heavily toward Sci-Fi. For as long as I've been playing with the idea in my head, this theme of dealing with impersonal technology contrasting with very human drama is appealing. It also helps me to be a bit more creative/free with the technology aspects, given that I have a pretty strong background in tech.
  • Femme Fatale
Ideally the female protagonist is a Femme Fatale -- bonus points if she doesn't initially appear to be one.
  • Cold technology vs Human Warmth
As a conflict/theme; also, AKA Evil Technology vs Good Humanity. The essential idea of the conflict would be that technology is cold, uncaring, and unfulfilling, and in many ways can harm you, but you can find warmth in humanity/another living being. This is a theme that's pretty clear to me, but honestly I feel like I'm having a difficult time expressing it.
  • Corporatism vs Individualism
As a conflict/theme; In the sense that corporatism wipes away individual humanity in favor a larger "unfeeling" construct -- this should accent the above theme, rather than take center stage.
[/list]

For the conflicts/themes, I'm far more flexible than the Noir elements and the Sci-Fi or Modern setting. They're supposed to be discussed a little bit.

Anyhow, if you're interested, please send me a PM, and mention which role you'd prefer to play -- Character A or B. It will be a Male x Female pairing, but which character is which gender isn't so important. Also mention if you don't necessarily want B to be the person with the job offer -- perhaps the two are partners? Etc.

Zahard

Looking for one more; in planning phase for the other, but it will be running slowly. We put in some significant differences that I wouldn't mind running another in parallel.