G.I. Joe Head Canon & Fanfic Filecards

[docsilence]

I fell behind on these. Great stuff as always. Really liked Wild Bill having 'one more in the tank.' I'd love to see what that one more ride really looks like for a six-shooting cowboy with an attack helicopter.

Zarana is really good. Character I don't care about at all that, once again, I am now invested in. And I can't decide if I want her to just fade away to go live her life or get sucked back in by some stupid Lewis decision and end up fully on the warpath against Cobra. Maybe alongside Mainframe....

IGs automatically get more interesting here just by the political intrigue involved in this storyline. The bodyguard-type roles just get immediately deeper and more layered in this setting.

I love the bit with Scrap Iron where it's like "yeah he seems content.." "TOOOOO CONTENT! Look at this fucking psycho, no way he's fucking content, we're all gonna fucking die!" Perfect. Also, the way he's written as this driven, meticulous guy really makes me interested in how the 'I strap rocket launchers all over my body' guy is gonna turn out.

And I now have an immediate affinity with Monkeywrench of all fucking characters.

I feel like Bill needs a cowboy ending if anyone gets one. Like I have a perfect image of what that last ride looks like.

Y'know, Mainframe is out there risking his neck undercover and if Zarana were to find out her babygirl was n trouble...

Writing the generic guys is way more fun than I expected. The IG card is more about how they relate to everyone else but I kinda want to write a story arc titled "the Crimson Guard / Iron Grenadier War"

Scrap Iron was weirdly cathartic to write. He reminds me of what I liked about ANAH Karnak when Marvel gave him his own title. He's an angry piece of shit because all he sees is what's wrong.

I didn't even plan on writing Monkeywrench but I looked up his card today when Ru posted about Zanzibar in the other thread and was like Oh. He might actually be cool?

 

[Damien]

but I kinda want to write a story arc titled "the Crimson Guard / Iron Grenadier War"

Well, if you ever get tired of the filecards you can start writing scraps of semi-redacted documents detailing different events and character interactions. Like a mix of old classified/top secret files that have leaked and bits of current results of the Lewis Admin surveillance. You could even have different things. Hear me out:

G.I. Joe SitRep: Actual full or pieces of classified situation reports on ongoing conflicts, interactions, etc.
G.I. Joe Debriefed: The same stuff as above, but the officially de-classified and heavily redacted stuff that hints at all kinds of things but gives no real useful details because of the redactions.
G.I. Joe Comm-Static: Snippets of reports, audio, and footage taken during surveillance operations of G.I. Joe members (or surveillance of the Lewis admin by Joes, or surveillance of both by Destro...)

Not like... telling you what to do. Just some ideas if you wanted to get out of the filecard bubble but wanted to stick with tight -pieces- of story instead of trying to write a top down full story. Good way to expand on the world building or deal with things that don't fit into the filecards but are still picking at your brain.

 

[Ru1977]

Really liked Wild Bill having 'one more in the tank.' I'd love to see what that one more ride really looks like for a six-shooting cowboy with an attack helicopter.

Yes, perfectly put.

the way he's written as this driven, meticulous guy really makes me interested in how the 'I strap rocket launchers all over my body' guy is gonna turn out.

Haw, good point. He's one I am not enthusiastic about but hopefully Doc gets to him before his sale on Amazon ends, heh heh.

And I now have an immediate affinity with Monkeywrench of all fucking characters.

RIGHT?! God damn.

I feel like Bill needs a cowboy ending if anyone gets one. Like I have a perfect image of what that last ride looks like.

Oh man I can't wait.

Y'know, Mainframe is out there risking his neck undercover and if Zarana were to find out her babygirl was n trouble...

This is so awesome. We all have that scary ex who will fuck people up over us no matter how much time has past.

"the Crimson Guard / Iron Grenadier War"

I didn't even plan on writing Monkeywrench but I looked up his card today when Ru posted about Zanzibar in the other thread and was like Oh. He might actually be cool?

So I brought it on myself. No, seriously, I'm glad because you really made him awesome.

Well, if you ever get tired of the filecards you can start writing scraps of semi-redacted documents detailing different events and character interactions.

Yes!

Like a mix of old classified/top secret files that have leaked and bits of current results of the Lewis Admin surveillance. You could even have different things.

Yes!!! That could be awesome. If it were me, and I know Doc is a very different writer from me... but if it were me, I'd kinda want to get all the cards out of my system before moving to stage 2, BUT... I dunno. Maybe he can juggle 'em. But it's funny you bring this up because I actually got to where I am enjoying the story as presented in these cards and letting my imagination fill in the next steps for some of these. BUT... I know he's thinking about this stuff, so giving him options on the delivery system is good. I was saying news papers or sites or something, but keeping this theme is probably better.

 

[docsilence]

Well, if you ever get tired of the filecards you can start writing scraps of semi-redacted documents detailing different events and character interactions. Like a mix of old classified/top secret files that have leaked and bits of current results of the Lewis Admin surveillance. You could even have different things. Hear me out:

G.I. Joe SitRep: Actual full or pieces of classified situation reports on ongoing conflicts, interactions, etc.
G.I. Joe Debriefed: The same stuff as above, but the officially de-classified and heavily redacted stuff that hints at all kinds of things but gives no real useful details because of the redactions.
G.I. Joe Comm-Static: Snippets of reports, audio, and footage taken during surveillance operations of G.I. Joe members (or surveillance of the Lewis admin by Joes, or surveillance of both by Destro...)

Not like... telling you what to do. Just some ideas if you wanted to get out of the filecard bubble but wanted to stick with tight -pieces- of story instead of trying to write a top down full story. Good way to expand on the world building or deal with things that don't fit into the filecards but are still picking at your brain.

Field reports would be a great break once I get the cards sorted.
- inter-faction fights
- covert actions by Joe cells
- reports on what Firefly etc. are doing
- the prison break for Duke
- what the snow serpents found

And so on. I also want to write a sit-down interview with Hector Ramirez and someone on the run.

 

[docsilence]

Haw, good point. He's one I am not enthusiastic about but hopefully Doc gets to him before his sale on Amazon ends, heh heh.

I will consider that a formal request and write him up tonight.

This is so awesome. We all have that scary ex who will fuck people up over us no matter how much time has past.

We do. My scary ex who will fuck someone up for me almost won Survivor and then came back for their Heroes and Villains season. AS A VILLAIN.

Yes!!! That could be awesome. If it were me, and I know Doc is a very different writer from me... but if it were me, I'd kinda want to get all the cards out of my system before moving to stage 2, BUT... I dunno. Maybe he can juggle 'em. But it's funny you bring this up because I actually got to where I am enjoying the story as presented in these cards and letting my imagination fill in the next steps for some of these. BUT... I know he's thinking about this stuff, so giving him options on the delivery system is good. I was saying news papers or sites or something, but keeping this theme is probably better.

Honestly, this is where I'm at. I want to get all the file cards, or at lest the cards I understand the characters enough to write, finished first, and then I'd shift over to plot.

But also I realized why I love the file cards but don't necessarily need to do full on stories - the thing we loved about these figures WERE that they gave us just enough story that we could fill in the rest. Or at least the toy line did. The cartoon and comic obviously gave us so much more, but if you only bought the toys, those cards gave you just enough to go on to spark your own imagination and I'm really trying to accomplish that here.

 

[Damien]

But also I realized why I love the file cards but don't necessarily need to do full on stories - the thing we loved about these figures WERE that they gave us just enough story that we could fill in the rest. Or at least the toy line did. The cartoon and comic obviously gave us so much more, but if you only bought the toys, those cards gave you just enough to go on to spark your own imagination and I'm really trying to accomplish that here.

That's why I like the idea of snippets of surveillance. If it comes across as leaked information that the other side has tapped, you can easily explain basically starting mid-sentence and ending in roughly file-card length. Not full stories or even complete thoughts, but pieces of things that can tantalize in the same way the filecards do.

 

[docsilence]

Apparently the trick is "if you guys mention a character, my brain immediately builds out his story":

Code Name: Metal-Head
File Name: Finlay, Stuart A.
Primary Military Specialty: Tank Destruction
Secondary Military Specialty: Hockey Fight Analysis
Birthplace: Annapolis, Maryland
Rank: N/A

The Lewis administration was of two minds with what to do with Finlay after the election. On the one hand, he is clearly an unwell man. On the other hand, he is a highly skilled tactician and one of the true experts in a field that is not particularly vast. In the end, Lewis determined that Finlay should be kept on a generous retainer for future services if only to ensure that his expertise remained available to the administration. This retainer comes with a non-compete intended to prevent Finlay from offering his services elsewhere - primarily, of course, to other nations, but the real reason Lewis insisted on the non-compete was to poach him from MARS and remove a chess piece from Destro's arsenal in the hopes of limiting what ambitions the arms dealer may have in the future. He is currently semi-retired, freelancing as an analyst for the NHL (the work he does for the league does not overlap with his non-compete with the government).

"Quite possibly the most unhinged man I have ever met, and I say that after years of working with the circus sideshow that is Cobra. But madman or not, his talent is undeniable and that is why we keep him on a generous retainer with MARS. His non-compete? Do you think a man who straps ballistic missiles onto his own thighs cares about a non-compete? He laughed when he renewed his contract with us, telling our lawyers all about how Lewis thinks he can tell him who he can work for. He's an open book and honestly it's refreshing - I'm sure he's using the research he does for us to build weapons for the U.S. government and vice versa, but this is not an arms race that will be won by firepower. This is simply a matter of keeping the scales balanced and our options open. It's not as though Metal-Head cares who wins. If he weren't working for us or them he'd be building heat-seeking missiles he could launch via his own crotch in a double-wide trailer in Arizona by now. We're just making sure we know which way his targeting lasers are pointed."

 

[docsilence]

That's why I like the idea of snippets of surveillance. If it comes across as leaked information that the other side has tapped, you can easily explain basically starting mid-sentence and ending in roughly file-card length. Not full stories or even complete thoughts, but pieces of things that can tantalize in the same way the filecards do.

I'm hoping there's some old snippets of reports in the original comics I can take some inspiration from. I feel like Larry HAD to have written some field reports I could mimic the style of. I've done the newspaper thing so I know I can do that. Also might be fun to write the reports with specific voices. It was entertaining doing the twins' voice the other day for one of the cards.

 

[Damien]

Yesssssssssssss.... that Metal-Head is PERFECT. One of those times where you didn't really surprise me much, but where I love that it's exactly what I expected.

 

[docsilence]

Yesssssssssssss.... that Metal-Head is PERFECT. One of those times where you didn't really surprise me much, but where I love that it's exactly what I expected.

He feels like a very simple guy and the simple guys are actually the hardest ones to put a spin on, but "would definitely create a crotch rocket" isn't a terrible starting point.

 

[Ru1977]

Field reports would be a great break once I get the cards sorted.

Well... would you see the cards as something you could come back to, or once you've moved to these other reports would that be it? If the latter, I would say we should make a list of who you see are the necessary characters. Is it everyone up to 88 or something? If the former, then maybe you still set a cut-off then come back to them as more Classified figures come out?

- inter-faction fights
- covert actions by Joe cells
- reports on what Firefly etc. are doing
- the prison break for Duke
- what the snow serpents found

Yeah, all this sounds crucial. And there are incidents and skirmishes mentioned or hinted at in some cards that may be worth fleshing out some.

And so on. I also want to write a sit-down interview with Hector Ramirez and someone on the run.

Ah Christ. I mean... that could be its own series! Hector 'always camera ready' Ramirez, who will absolutely let you blindfold him and a cameraman to be driven to an undisclosed location, but absolutely no full hoods unless you also bring his hair person along.

I will consider that a formal request and write him up tonight.

Bastard. But yeah, it was fantastic. Especially the commentary. I appreciate someone with a severe fuckit attitude.

We do. My scary ex who will fuck someone up for me almost won Survivor and then came back for their Heroes and Villains season. AS A VILLAIN.

Honestly, this is where I'm at. I want to get all the file cards, or at lest the cards I understand the characters enough to write, finished first, and then I'd shift over to plot.

Makes perfect sense to me...

But also I realized why I love the file cards but don't necessarily need to do full on stories - the thing we loved about these figures WERE that they gave us just enough story that we could fill in the rest. Or at least the toy line did. The cartoon and comic obviously gave us so much more, but if you only bought the toys, those cards gave you just enough to go on to spark your own imagination and I'm really trying to accomplish that here.

Right, so I really do see both sides of it. I totally get just doing the setup, and that's definitely what you've been doing really well so far. So... guess it's up to you how far you feel like taking this.

That's why I like the idea of snippets of surveillance. If it comes across as leaked information that the other side has tapped, you can easily explain basically starting mid-sentence and ending in roughly file-card length. Not full stories or even complete thoughts, but pieces of things that can tantalize in the same way the filecards do.

I love that idea, yeah!

I'm hoping there's some old snippets of reports in the original comics I can take some inspiration from. I feel like Larry HAD to have written some field reports I could mimic the style of. I've done the newspaper thing so I know I can do that. Also might be fun to write the reports with specific voices. It was entertaining doing the twins' voice the other day for one of the cards.

Yeah, that could be a lot of fun. Almost like an expanded version of the commentaries, but with a specific focus on a mission or even, but still capturing that character's voice and views.

 

[docsilence]

I should cut myself off but we're so close to breaking 100 - I believe this is #95. Inspired by *waves hand* all of this world

Code Name: SAW Viper
File Name: Various, Classified
Primary Military Specialty: Squad Automatic Weapons
Secondary Military Specialty: Heavy Machine Gunners
Birthplace: Various
Rank: Viper Mark 2 (Specialist)

The official stance of this administration is that former members of the Cobra paramilitary organization known as SAW Vipers are not and will never be employed by the U.S. government. We believe the Cobra organization still utilizes these specialized fighters but they are not allowed on U.S. soil. Unofficially, several squads of SAW Vipers are currently active as high-impact, shock-and-awe teams sent in when maximum fear and no regard for civilian safety or property damage is required. They are considered special agents of Homeland Security and act at the direct orders of Lewis or his cabinet. Their identities are classified and given their aggressive and violent tactics, are used only in situations that cannot be traced back to the administration.

"Take everything you hate about anyone who enlists with Cobra, distill it into a guy with the build and personality of a spark plug, hand him state of the art automatic weapons, remove all conscience or morals, and send them out into the field to be killers. That's who you're dealing with when the SAW Vipers are called in. The Alley Vipers are scary, but they're essentially stormtroopers - they go in publicly, they make a lot of noise, they show off for the press. SAW Vipers should never have been allowed to operate in the U.S. These are hit squads, plain and simple. Gangsters in stupid purple costumes, strutting around like they think they're the predator. Ask any one of them to show you his face or take off that armor and they're nothing more than a scumbag on a power trip. I've gone toe to toe with a lot of Vipers in my time, and nothing makes me happier than putting one of these guys in the ground."

 

[Damien]

Yup. I knew SAW Vipers would be a little icky given the comic reputation that precedes them. But this one gives me the full-body yuck in that very 'I know exactly who these guys are' kind of way.

The official stance of this administration is that the rumors that former members of the Cobra paramilitary organization known as SAW Vipers are not and will never be employed by the U.S. government.

Fairly sure, unless I'm just really tired, that this sentence doesn't actually make sense. I imagine it should either say the rumors they are being used are false, or take out the rumors and the official stance is they're not being used? I'm guessing the two ideas got a little conflated in the writing.
Also... shock-and-awe.
(I feel like an asshole making any comments/corrections like this, but I also know that it'll probably drive you crazy if you go back and notice them a month from now and no one said anything.)

 

[docsilence]

Nah, I’m writing these so fast I appreciate the edits. And like I keep saying, I can’t see shit anymore. There are nights I can barely see the red lines under misspellings in Word.

But yeah, I hate these guys. And I wanted set them apart from other vipers, so why not make them the worst vipers, officially.

 

[docsilence]

Code Name: Range Viper
File Name: Various, Classified
Primary Military Specialty: Long-Range Recon
Secondary Military Specialty: Survivalist
Birthplace: Various
Rank: Viper Mark 2 (Specialist)

Publicly, the Lewis administration has no need for Cobra's Range Vipers. It is our honor and privilege to rely upon the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces for the safety and security of the United States both here and abroad. To bring on board this type of specialist in a mercenary capacity would be antithetical to what makes this nation great. Unofficially, Lewis has deployed small squads of Range Vipers in strategic places across the world, maintaining a low profile until called upon. Notoriously capable survivalists, they are on retainer should the president need swift, decisive action outside the purview of Congress. Teams of Range Vipers currently reside in areas of interest in South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Northern Europe.

"Range Vipers are scary. Scary enough they tend to creep out the rank and file Cobra troops. Most Cobra soldiers are in it for the money. Sometimes they're in it because they're disaffected and looking to lash out at the world. Range Vipers are in it just because they LIKE it. So no, we're not surprised Lewis airdropped troops of these trained killers into countries that are ostensibly allies of the U.S. in case he ever needs to hold a proverbial knife to their throats. A six-man squad of range vipers could lay in wait for months in the jungle and then take out an airbase in the dead of night without ever raising an alarm. We've got eyes on them, but the truth is, we won't know what they're up to until there's already blood on the ground."