Dear Apocalyptathon Writer....
...greetings and obliterations! Now that you're here, let's eviscerate the Earth!
For starters, I have three favorite apocalypses:
Technopocalypse (my term for the collapse of industrial technology). There's a plethora of potential causes. Though my favorite is S.M. Stirling's Change, feel free to employ your own favorite.
Zombie Apocalypse. Who doesn't love zombies? There are probably even more variations on the zombie mythos than on the Technopocalypse, a veritable cornucopia in fact! Some of them are arguably overdone and others rarely used.
Ragnarok. The Norse Armageddon and who doesn't love the Norse? While there's a glimmer of hope in it, Ragnarok is very much a rocks fall and everyone...well, almost everyone...dies sort of thing.
Okay, now for a little general stuff:
I'm an OTP kind of person, so if you decide to split any of the couples, do it by killing someone--hey, it's an apocalypse and people die in those things, right?
I'm not keen on slash, unless the character(s) being slashed actually swing that way in canon. Underage and non-con make me twitch, too (Okay, I've written one story with both of these, but that's atypical of me.).
Otherwise, pretty much anything else goes. Blood, guts, mass destruction, sex (I've even written some inter-species sex, so go for it.), and so on.
I do, however, prefer characters to be in-character and for odd situations to be plausible in-universe. And since this whole challenge is more or less alternate universe, feel free to run with that, too!
And the nitty-gritty...
Big Bang Theory:
I'd like to see either of three scenarios, each of which could be hilarious given the kookiness of the cast:
The Technopocalypse (my term ) happens. How does the gang deal with it? How long does Sheldon spend in denial before one of the gang smacks him out of it? Are they in the city when it happens, or out in the country--watching a meteor shower or somesuch? There could be lots of humor from Sheldon's neuroses in particular, also the gang's technology withdrawals--no more Halo Night, Vintage Games Night now involves, say, Monopoly or Uno--that sort of thing...but at least there's still Mystical Warlords of Ka'a. I see some of their nerd lore evolving into something else over the years--e.g. the stage production of "Star Wars" as done in "Reign of Fire." Extra points for putting at least one of them in full Medieval armor. Additional points for gratuitous Conan the Barbarian, LOTR, and Mad Max jokes. Even more points if Amy takes Sheldon't virginity. The story could be set when the incident occurs, or some time--days, weeks, months, maybe years--afterward. If years, maybe their children are a part of the story.
A Zombie Apocalypse breaks out. How does the gang deal with it? Are any of them bitten? Are they the only survivors in all of the LA area? Is Comic Con Ground-Zero? (Sure, we all know everyone there knows how to deal with zombies, but I think it's plausible everyone thinks the zombies are wearing awesome costumes...until it's too late! Feel free to draw on works such as "Night of the Living Trekkies" if you decide to go this route.)
Ragnarok erupts. If you decide to write on this arc, it could be any part of it. While the Norse envisioned Ragnarok in the context of their own time and place, this one would be in the modern era. How might it go? You need not borrow--or outright steal, really--from Marvel's vision of the Nine Realms and the Aesir (While that would be cool, it would be equally cool sticking closer to Norse tradition.).
Castle:
There was an episode in which Castle is bitten by a "zombie." In that episode, it turned out to be some form of rabies, he received treatment, and all's good. But what if it really WAS a zombie virus? This means Castle has to die and then be re-animated as a zombie. But if you just can't bring yourself to kill him, feel free to draw upon one of the many other variations of the zombie contagion, maybe one in which something of the host survives--or maybe like in "Zombie Anonymous" in which he's still himself, just undead, craving the flesh of the living, and having to deal with his body slowly going literally to pieces. If you go that way, the story could carry a potentially tongue-in-cheek tone, which would certainly reflect certain elements of the show. Naturally, everything dissolves into chaos as Castle and Beckett...well, mainly Kate, really, since Richard's succumbing to the zombie virus...wrestle with everything that's crumbling around them--because, well, Zombie Apocalypse!
Jurassic Park (Movies):
Nature finds a way and dinosaurs once again rule the world, or parts of it anyway. I see this happening as part of the fallout of a Technopocalypse (JP crossed with the Emberverse sounds like a lot of fun to me! If you do that, then where are all the characters when the Change happens in March of 1998--five years after JP--and how do they end up crossing paths with dinosaurs later? Or maybe they don't and we're just following the human characters at this point.). It might take some time for the dinosaur populations to reach significant numbers, so this story could easily be set well in the future--even decades after the event. How far do the dinosaurs spread, assuming they escape from Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna, and how quickly does this occur? Do humans figure out how to domesticate some of them and use them as beasts of burden and warfare in a world in which technology has died? Are any of the JP characters involved in the story? Maybe their children or grandchildren? Do Alexis,' Tim's, and Kelly's experiences with dinosaurs give them an edge? What about Ian, Ellie, and Alan?
For starters, I have three favorite apocalypses:
Technopocalypse (my term for the collapse of industrial technology). There's a plethora of potential causes. Though my favorite is S.M. Stirling's Change, feel free to employ your own favorite.
Zombie Apocalypse. Who doesn't love zombies? There are probably even more variations on the zombie mythos than on the Technopocalypse, a veritable cornucopia in fact! Some of them are arguably overdone and others rarely used.
Ragnarok. The Norse Armageddon and who doesn't love the Norse? While there's a glimmer of hope in it, Ragnarok is very much a rocks fall and everyone...well, almost everyone...dies sort of thing.
Okay, now for a little general stuff:
I'm an OTP kind of person, so if you decide to split any of the couples, do it by killing someone--hey, it's an apocalypse and people die in those things, right?
I'm not keen on slash, unless the character(s) being slashed actually swing that way in canon. Underage and non-con make me twitch, too (Okay, I've written one story with both of these, but that's atypical of me.).
Otherwise, pretty much anything else goes. Blood, guts, mass destruction, sex (I've even written some inter-species sex, so go for it.), and so on.
I do, however, prefer characters to be in-character and for odd situations to be plausible in-universe. And since this whole challenge is more or less alternate universe, feel free to run with that, too!
And the nitty-gritty...
Big Bang Theory:
I'd like to see either of three scenarios, each of which could be hilarious given the kookiness of the cast:
The Technopocalypse (my term ) happens. How does the gang deal with it? How long does Sheldon spend in denial before one of the gang smacks him out of it? Are they in the city when it happens, or out in the country--watching a meteor shower or somesuch? There could be lots of humor from Sheldon's neuroses in particular, also the gang's technology withdrawals--no more Halo Night, Vintage Games Night now involves, say, Monopoly or Uno--that sort of thing...but at least there's still Mystical Warlords of Ka'a. I see some of their nerd lore evolving into something else over the years--e.g. the stage production of "Star Wars" as done in "Reign of Fire." Extra points for putting at least one of them in full Medieval armor. Additional points for gratuitous Conan the Barbarian, LOTR, and Mad Max jokes. Even more points if Amy takes Sheldon't virginity. The story could be set when the incident occurs, or some time--days, weeks, months, maybe years--afterward. If years, maybe their children are a part of the story.
A Zombie Apocalypse breaks out. How does the gang deal with it? Are any of them bitten? Are they the only survivors in all of the LA area? Is Comic Con Ground-Zero? (Sure, we all know everyone there knows how to deal with zombies, but I think it's plausible everyone thinks the zombies are wearing awesome costumes...until it's too late! Feel free to draw on works such as "Night of the Living Trekkies" if you decide to go this route.)
Ragnarok erupts. If you decide to write on this arc, it could be any part of it. While the Norse envisioned Ragnarok in the context of their own time and place, this one would be in the modern era. How might it go? You need not borrow--or outright steal, really--from Marvel's vision of the Nine Realms and the Aesir (While that would be cool, it would be equally cool sticking closer to Norse tradition.).
Castle:
There was an episode in which Castle is bitten by a "zombie." In that episode, it turned out to be some form of rabies, he received treatment, and all's good. But what if it really WAS a zombie virus? This means Castle has to die and then be re-animated as a zombie. But if you just can't bring yourself to kill him, feel free to draw upon one of the many other variations of the zombie contagion, maybe one in which something of the host survives--or maybe like in "Zombie Anonymous" in which he's still himself, just undead, craving the flesh of the living, and having to deal with his body slowly going literally to pieces. If you go that way, the story could carry a potentially tongue-in-cheek tone, which would certainly reflect certain elements of the show. Naturally, everything dissolves into chaos as Castle and Beckett...well, mainly Kate, really, since Richard's succumbing to the zombie virus...wrestle with everything that's crumbling around them--because, well, Zombie Apocalypse!
Jurassic Park (Movies):
Nature finds a way and dinosaurs once again rule the world, or parts of it anyway. I see this happening as part of the fallout of a Technopocalypse (JP crossed with the Emberverse sounds like a lot of fun to me! If you do that, then where are all the characters when the Change happens in March of 1998--five years after JP--and how do they end up crossing paths with dinosaurs later? Or maybe they don't and we're just following the human characters at this point.). It might take some time for the dinosaur populations to reach significant numbers, so this story could easily be set well in the future--even decades after the event. How far do the dinosaurs spread, assuming they escape from Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna, and how quickly does this occur? Do humans figure out how to domesticate some of them and use them as beasts of burden and warfare in a world in which technology has died? Are any of the JP characters involved in the story? Maybe their children or grandchildren? Do Alexis,' Tim's, and Kelly's experiences with dinosaurs give them an edge? What about Ian, Ellie, and Alan?