Post by Kinola on Apr 28, 2014 15:32:24 GMT -6
Hi, there. I'm Kinola from FanFiction.net, and I'm here to talk about an MI plot bunny I had brewing in my head for a while. It's called Parallel, and it is going to be a duology, meaning it'll be two stories.
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About: Parallel is a story meant for the Monster's Inc. fandom, and is set some months after the events of aforementioned movie. Originally, it was going to be one big story, but decided to make things neater by splitting them into two separate stories.
Summary: We all know the story of Mike and Sulley, how they became friends at MU, how they managed to become the greatest scaring team around, and how they managed to stop an evil plot that could have endangered thousands of children and change their factory's methods of gaining energy. But what if all that never happened?
In an alternate universe, there are two different monsters named Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan. The only thing they believe they have in common is that they both went to Monsters University together. It was after being kicked out of the scaring program during finals that their lives began to spiral out of control. Wazowski attempts to get back in the program by entering an underdog fraternity in the Scare Games, only to lose in the very first event. As per a bet he made with Dean Hardscrabble, Wazowski is forced to leave MU and attend a community college that’s closer to his home. As for Sullivan, who hates the scream can design class he now has to attend, doesn’t do anything about his already low grades, and it gets to the point where he is forced to drop out. He is disowned and disgraced by his family as a result.
Years go by, and though the two monsters manage to find work at Monsters, Inc., their lives don’t improve one bit. After spending a number of years working odd jobs to support himself, Sullivan finds work in the factory’s scream refinery, where he lets himself be bullied and belittled by a bigger and meaner coworker named Paul.
Meanwhile, Wazowski has gotten off a little better. He becomes a scaring assistant, much like his original counterpart, but is now working for Randall Boggs, his old roommate. For him, Boggs is the last monster in the world that he can trust (regardless of what happened between them in college) , and clings to him with every fiber in his being (and this, of course, is annoying to Randall). Everything he had gone though at MU has left Wazowski a bitter, cynical shell of his former self, and his “new” self is overall unpleasant to be around. He doesn’t talk to anyone at work, makes no attempt to act friendly or polite, and has long ago ruined his chance at romance; Celia Mae, the company’s receptionist, had already been dating a financial advisor at the time Wazowski started working there, and he had been upset to find that she only wanted to be friends with him. Now she was married with a child of her own, and though recently her marriage with the advisor had been on the rocks as of late, Wazowski leaves her to whatever fate has planned for her, deciding that he isn't worthy of her affections anymore.
Wazowski and Sullivan are able to stay out of the other’s way until one day in lunch, when they both come across flyers for scaring tryouts the company was holding. Though he had long ago given up his dreams of becoming a scarer, Wazowski can’t help but wonder if he had a chance to achieve his dream, and wants nothing more than to be admired and respected again. Sullivan doesn’t care about becoming a scarer anymore and decides that the tryouts were a waste of time. His remark leads Wazowski to retaliate, and it isn’t long before the two begin blaming each other for how their lives have turned out and start a fight. Workers are able to break them up and send them home early to cool off.
Wazowski returns to his one-bedroom apartment in a bad area of Monstropolis, now discouraged from ever thinking of going to the tryouts. After mulling over his so-called life, Wazowski makes plans to quit his job and leave the city as soon as possible. He falls asleep in bed, feeling miserable and wishing his life could be better.
But the next morning, Wazowski awakens to find something different: he is in a bigger apartment in a nice side of Monstropolis, there is more food than he could eat in the refrigerator, and it seems his neighbors know him and treat him nicely. This is a nice thing to happen to him...well, it would have been nice if Sullivan hadn’t been sharing the apartment with him, or being treated with respect by their new neighbors.
And that’s not all that’s changed; the underdog fraternity Wazowski had tried and failed to coach have been friends with him and Sullivan for years. Celia is now dating him. Randall Boggs has been banished to the human world, and when he returns, he is furious with both him and Sullivan. Any of the memories Wazowski has of all of them have been rebuked by all around them. The worst part is that everyone now thinks and he and Sullivan have been best friends for years.
It turns out that Wazowski and Sullivan have been magically and mysteriously transported to the "canon" universe by an unknown being. And what about our Mike and Sulley? Well, they've ended up in Wazowski and Sullivan's universe, and don't have a clue as to why everyone is acting funny towards them, or why everything they have worked for has become obsolete due to their alternate halves' relation with each other. They decide to try and recreate the events of the movie to get this universe back on the right track. This, of course, is going to lead to disaster.
Inspiration: This came about after watching the deleted scenes for Monster's Inc., and then comparing the characterizations of Mike, Sulley, and Randall (called "Switt" or "Switch" or something like that) to how they were in the prequel, and wondered if the deleted scene versions of them were how they would have been if things in the prequel occurred differently. The notable thing was how Deleted Scenes!Mike was quite cold and sarcastic towards Deleted Scenes!Sulley. Normally I don't do AU fics, but this one kept gnawing at my mind until I gave in.
How It Will be Done: The story about Wazowski and Sullivan will be written first, with Mike and Sulley's adventures in their world coming after. The first will have more drama than the second one, with Sullivan and Wazowski struggling to deal with each other and their new world, and with mostly everyone thinking they're suffering from a sudden case of amnesia.
Characters: The characters from both movies will appear, along with original characters made for this fic. Among those original characters are Paul, Sullivan's compassionless coworker, Glenn Gunkerson, the husband of the Alternate!Celia, Glenn and Alternate!Celia's daughter Hannah, and a human girl named Jane (who is based on Boo's original concept, where she is older and has several brothers).
I would like to hear ideas and feedback on this idea, please and thank you. I hope I can get somewhere with your help on this.
Meanwhile, Wazowski has gotten off a little better. He becomes a scaring assistant, much like his original counterpart, but is now working for Randall Boggs, his old roommate. For him, Boggs is the last monster in the world that he can trust (regardless of what happened between them in college) , and clings to him with every fiber in his being (and this, of course, is annoying to Randall). Everything he had gone though at MU has left Wazowski a bitter, cynical shell of his former self, and his “new” self is overall unpleasant to be around. He doesn’t talk to anyone at work, makes no attempt to act friendly or polite, and has long ago ruined his chance at romance; Celia Mae, the company’s receptionist, had already been dating a financial advisor at the time Wazowski started working there, and he had been upset to find that she only wanted to be friends with him. Now she was married with a child of her own, and though recently her marriage with the advisor had been on the rocks as of late, Wazowski leaves her to whatever fate has planned for her, deciding that he isn't worthy of her affections anymore.
Wazowski and Sullivan are able to stay out of the other’s way until one day in lunch, when they both come across flyers for scaring tryouts the company was holding. Though he had long ago given up his dreams of becoming a scarer, Wazowski can’t help but wonder if he had a chance to achieve his dream, and wants nothing more than to be admired and respected again. Sullivan doesn’t care about becoming a scarer anymore and decides that the tryouts were a waste of time. His remark leads Wazowski to retaliate, and it isn’t long before the two begin blaming each other for how their lives have turned out and start a fight. Workers are able to break them up and send them home early to cool off.
Wazowski returns to his one-bedroom apartment in a bad area of Monstropolis, now discouraged from ever thinking of going to the tryouts. After mulling over his so-called life, Wazowski makes plans to quit his job and leave the city as soon as possible. He falls asleep in bed, feeling miserable and wishing his life could be better.
But the next morning, Wazowski awakens to find something different: he is in a bigger apartment in a nice side of Monstropolis, there is more food than he could eat in the refrigerator, and it seems his neighbors know him and treat him nicely. This is a nice thing to happen to him...well, it would have been nice if Sullivan hadn’t been sharing the apartment with him, or being treated with respect by their new neighbors.
And that’s not all that’s changed; the underdog fraternity Wazowski had tried and failed to coach have been friends with him and Sullivan for years. Celia is now dating him. Randall Boggs has been banished to the human world, and when he returns, he is furious with both him and Sullivan. Any of the memories Wazowski has of all of them have been rebuked by all around them. The worst part is that everyone now thinks and he and Sullivan have been best friends for years.
It turns out that Wazowski and Sullivan have been magically and mysteriously transported to the "canon" universe by an unknown being. And what about our Mike and Sulley? Well, they've ended up in Wazowski and Sullivan's universe, and don't have a clue as to why everyone is acting funny towards them, or why everything they have worked for has become obsolete due to their alternate halves' relation with each other. They decide to try and recreate the events of the movie to get this universe back on the right track. This, of course, is going to lead to disaster.
Inspiration: This came about after watching the deleted scenes for Monster's Inc., and then comparing the characterizations of Mike, Sulley, and Randall (called "Switt" or "Switch" or something like that) to how they were in the prequel, and wondered if the deleted scene versions of them were how they would have been if things in the prequel occurred differently. The notable thing was how Deleted Scenes!Mike was quite cold and sarcastic towards Deleted Scenes!Sulley. Normally I don't do AU fics, but this one kept gnawing at my mind until I gave in.
How It Will be Done: The story about Wazowski and Sullivan will be written first, with Mike and Sulley's adventures in their world coming after. The first will have more drama than the second one, with Sullivan and Wazowski struggling to deal with each other and their new world, and with mostly everyone thinking they're suffering from a sudden case of amnesia.
Characters: The characters from both movies will appear, along with original characters made for this fic. Among those original characters are Paul, Sullivan's compassionless coworker, Glenn Gunkerson, the husband of the Alternate!Celia, Glenn and Alternate!Celia's daughter Hannah, and a human girl named Jane (who is based on Boo's original concept, where she is older and has several brothers).
I would like to hear ideas and feedback on this idea, please and thank you. I hope I can get somewhere with your help on this.