And as such, I currantly have no actual story yet for these characters; but, as I have said before, I'll certainly take suggestions!
Actualy, unlike previous attempts here at this sort of thing, I am attempting to leave any ongoing concepts open, so as to encourage others to write stories with these characters.
In the meantime, please feel free to comment on what you see here; I live for feedback!
And so, without further ado, I give you-
Kitten Magic: Tales of The Witch and The Thief!
It is the end of WWII, VE day, and all of Paris is celebrating; not since Bastille has the city been this joyous, this exhubriant.
Everywhere, parades and music, flowers and fireworks, smiles and tears.
Into this mix comes a young American newswire reporter, one of so many here to cover the festivities.
And like so many, he comes for that ONE story, that unique angle that will make him a name for himself, that will elevate his story above all else; even if it is expressively *not* the one his newsservice sent him here for.
It is at a small, quaint nieghborhood bakery where he makes the aquaintence of two adorable old charmers, grandmotherly types with bright eyes and brighter smiles, and strikes up a conversation about heroisim, that he finds that story.
The young reporter's name is Joss Whedon.
The sweet dear's names are Willow and Tara.
And this is the story they tell:
ONE:
The time: the decade charmingly known as the "Gay Nineties", the turn of the century before last.
The place: Paris, France, the city of lights, and romance.
It is the where and when that two great heroes will meet, and a love for the ages will blossom.
To the people she is known only as Tara, simply Tara, the sweet but mysterious chantuese whose lilting voice and earthy beauty has captured the hearts of all Europe.
She has performed in grand opera houses and smokey nightclubs alike, and
has sung before the very Crowned Heads themselves.
She makes her home in the (in)famous Mount Parnasse district of the Left Bank, the great bohemian haven of artists and thinkers of the day, sequestered in a a set of palacial suites, secretly located in a once-grand hotel.
Her revue of choice is the fabulous Cirque Du Seraphim, night club and dance hall, said to rival none other but the Moulin Rouge itself, in both opulence and decadence.
But Tara hides a secret, both great and terrible:
In the deep of night, beniegth a yellow Parisian moon, away from the revelry and glamour, she becomes a dark angel of mercy, a mystical knight errant, protector of the innocent and downtrodden, an avenger of great power, and passion.
She is Madam Tarot, Mistress of The Craft.
Aided by both her faithful manservant and chief assistant, Alexandre Harris,
and the flamboyant owner of the Cirque, Monsuier Absenthe (Lorne to his friends- "The Green Fairy" to those less generous), they are the only ones to share the secret of Tara's double life.
But even they do not know of Tara's past, that she is in actuality Tara Maclay, runaway daughter the cruel chief of the vast scots highlander clan.
Outcast for practicing the earth majiks taught and inherited by her late mother, she fled Scotland at an early age, and forged a new identity, a new life, in the only place on earth at the time that would let her do so on her own terms.
TWO:
The time: the decade charmingly known as the "Gay Nineties", the mid eighteen-nineties to be exact, on the cusp of a new century.
The place: London, England, city of mist-shrouded mystery.
Her name is Willow Rosenberg, but she would'nt want that out- at least, to anyone who knew how she spent her spare time.
Born to wealthy industrialist parents on the southside of London, she has it all; money, clothes, would-be suitors a mile long- everything, but the attention of her family, and the freedom to be herself.
Trapped in the role of Hieress, she is constrained to both the duties of representitive to her high-profile family, and the expectations of society.
But inside her timid, prim and proper guise lurks the heart of of a champagne mad-cap, a wild adventuress, and a philanthropist of neverending virtue.
Little does her family or the public at large know, that she herself and the Scurge of Scotland Yard, the Robin Hood of The Rooftops, the shadowy Master Thief and folk hero, The Kitten, are one and the same.
A veritable master of disguise, she lives out her life through various aliases, being and doing everything that Willow Rosenberg cannot.
She is also something of a puzzle to those who would pursue her (namely, the police): she is a master thief who steals only the finest jewels and objects de art, exchanging said goods on the black market for thousands, sometimes millions of pounds, only to anonamously give the entire untraceable proceeds to orphanages, youth hostels, and other charities.
Sometimes she makes a game of it, challenging both the intended target and the police to do their best, foiling them brilliantly, then actualy returning the prize to it's owner.
Hot on her trail is the famous Chief Inspector Rupert Giles, and his assistant, Lt. Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, of Scotland Yard.
No bumbler he, Insp. Giles was the one to "out" The Kitten as a female, and has near-succesfully profiled her as a criminal "hobbyist".
He knows she does'nt need the money: she needs the attention.
And lately, he's been getting a little too close for Willow's comfort.
One hears that the weather in Paris is quite nice this time of year..
Well, there is'nt much more for me to tell, actualy; The Kitten and The Witch meet, like what they see, and throw in with each other- and, when they are paying the least bit of attention, BAM! True Love (tm) hits them right between the eyes! ^_^
I'd leave the circumstances of their first meeting and it's immediate consequences up to the reader's imagination (although I would *love* for someone like mariacomet or Wiccachica to write at least their first story!).
Obviously, SuperSlueth Giles will eventually pick up on the fact that his quarry is now loose in Paris, and will come a-callin'.
Nothing much else but a couple of loose ends, which I will take care of here-
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS:
1.Dawn Summers:
Narrowly escaping a life of forced prostitution, Dawn was rescued from Mdme. Drusilla's Bordello at the tender age of 14 by Tara (in her Madam Tarot guise) when our hero caught wind of the fact that Drusilla was using blackmail to indenture servitude, as well as dabbling in white slavery and child prostitution, and had to be brought low.
Poor Dawn herself has never known her birth parents, and was recently orphaned when her older sister, Elisabete, died of consumption.
Since then Tara has done everything in her power to be the family that she herself, as well as her adopted ward, never had, showering Dawn with love, guidence, and respect.
Imbueing her ward with a love for the arts, the two often attend plays, gallery showings, operettas, and -Dawn's favorite- the ballet.
Dawn attends the prestegious Sarah Bernhardt School for Young Ladies, and excels at well, nearly everything, and with an attending enthusiasim. A blossoming beauty, Tara has noted that her ward is starting to gain the attention of the opposet sex, and silently dreds the inevitable questions about boys and romance-
both items Tara feels she herself knows little about!
As for Dawn, she loves Tara absolutely, and looks up to her as her own personal hero (and would still, even if she did'nt also know of her surrogate mother's secret double life- a knowladge she keeps from Tara and shares with no-one else; how she found out is indeed a story unto itself).
2.The Merry Widowmakers:
The star dancing girls at the Cirque Du Seraphim, Anyanka, Darla, Glory, and Harmony were also once under the yolk of Mdme. Drusilla, and were liberated by Madame Tarot, who, through her connections with the great Tara (wink, wink) won them their jobs at Monseiur Absenthe's showcase.
Not bad with the disguise themselves, they act as Madam Tarot's field-agents and informants (also with attending enthusiasim).
If I were to impose any hard and fast rules, I would probably put forth that this universe has no Slayer, and that both Buffy (Elisabete) and Angel do not currantly exsist and are dead, dead, dead. Forever. Period.
Everyone else is fair game.
Next (and lastly): Willow and Tara's costume designs (in which I will attempt to make them both practical *and* droolworthy)!
[This message has been edited by JustSomeGuy (edited March 01, 2002).]