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123: Redoing my Life, A Pitch for Wonder Woman
🕑 Added 2024-10-08 10:38:14 +0000 UTCPart of the last chapter of The Spear of Destiny
As Lyra entered the city, her heart clenched. She hadn't expected a grand welcome, but the sight of so many senior knights filled her with unease. She barely had time to process her thoughts before one of them—a knight—stepped forward, blocking her path.
“Lyra Aramore?” he asked, his voice formal.
Lyra nodded. “Yes.”
“You are to come with us. By the order of Godwyn the Golden,” he said.
Lyra's heart skipped a beat. Godwyn?
“What... why?” Lyra stammered, her weariness giving way to a wave of uncertainty.
“No questions,” the knight said. “You have served the Golden Order well. Now you are to be recognized.”
Lyra swallowed her doubt and nodded, following the knights as they escorted her through the city. She could feel the eyes of the townspeople on her as they passed, their curious and wary stares piercing her armor like needles. They led her up to the citadel, the fortress that loomed over Aldris.
They passed through the heavy wooden gates and up the winding stone stairs until they arrived at the great hall. The chamber was imposing, lit by rows of torches that flickered in the dim light of dawn. At the far end, seated on a throne-like chair, was Godwyn the Golden.
He was magnificent, his long golden hair cascading over his shoulders, his armor adorned with intricate carvings that seemed to shimmer in the torchlight. Despite his grandeur, there was an undeniable sense of warmth about him—a kindness in his eyes that set him apart from the other demigods she had heard of.
“Lyra Aramore,” Godwyn said, his voice resonant, echoing across the great hall. “Step forward.”
Lyra approached, her heart pounding in her chest. She knelt before him, her gaze fixed on the polished stone floor.
“Rise, Lyra,” Godwyn said. “You have done a great service to the Golden Order. You have captured those who sought to defile the Lands Between with their heresies. For that, you have my gratitude.”
Lyra stood, her head still bowed in respect. “Thank you, my lord.”
“But,” Godwyn continued, and Lyra's heart sank as his tone shifted, becoming more somber, “your work is not done. The cult you captured was searching for something—something of great value to us. They may have been stopped, but they were not acting alone.”
Lyra frowned, looking up at Godwyn in confusion. “Something of value?”
Godwyn nodded gravely. “The object they sought was taken from them before they could make use of it. Taken by one who traveled with you.”
Lyra's breath caught in her throat. Her mind immediately went to Caelan—the Tarnished who had helped her, however reluctantly. She felt a strange mixture of anger and disbelief. He had stolen from the cult? Had he used her the whole time?
Godwyn seemed to read the confusion in her eyes. “The one you know as Caelan,” he said, his voice calm, “has stolen an item of great importance—an item that we cannot allow to fall into the wrong hands. You are to track him down, find him, and retrieve what he has taken.”
Lyra's eyes widened, her hands clenching at her sides. “What did he take?”
Godwyn's gaze hardened, his eyes locking onto hers. “A tool created by my sister, Ranni—a powerful artifact that could prove disastrous in the wrong hands.”
Lyra's world seemed to spin. Caelan had taken the Claw? But why? What could he possibly hope to achieve?
Godwyn leaned forward, his expression softening slightly. “There is more, Lyra. He is not the only one you must seek. The situation has grown more dire. The one who must truly be found—the one who we believe Caelan is now searching for—is my father, Godfrey.”
Lyra's eyes widened even further, shock washing over her. “Godfrey... the first Elden Lord?”
Godwyn nodded solemnly. “He is out there, somewhere in the distant lands, waging endless war.”
He paused, his golden eyes locking onto hers. “Your companion, Caelan, has gone searching for him. We cannot allow him to find my father without us knowing his intentions.”
Godwyn stood, his presence radiating authority and power. “I know you are weary, Lyra. But you are the only one we can trust with this quest. Will you do this, in service to the Golden Order?”
Lyra swallowed hard, her mind reeling from everything she had just learned. She thought of Caelan—of the times they had fought, and the strange bond that had begun to form between them. She thought of the Golden Order, and her loyalty to it. And she thought of the Lands Between.
She bowed her head, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside her. “Yes, my lord. I will find them.”
Godwyn nodded, a small, weary smile crossing his face. “Good. Go now, Lyra Aramore. The fate of the Lands Between rests in your hands.”
===
I sat in my office, staring at my editors as we finished reviewing the final chapter of the Elden Ring-based novel I was writing. The room was quiet, the only sound being the rustling of paper as Michel, one of my editors, put down the manuscript and adjusted his glasses.
"Alright, let’s get into it then," Michel said, his voice professional but tinged with a hint of concern. "There’s a lot to love here. The pacing is solid, and the stakes are clear, especially with the new reveal about Godfrey. But I think we need to delve more into Lyra’s emotional state. This is a huge moment for her—she’s being tasked with finding an artifact by Godwyn the Golden himself, who you've established as this great demigod throughout the story."
I nodded, tapping my fingers on the armrest of my chair. Michel always had a good eye for these things, and he wasn’t wrong. "Yeah, I see what you mean. I’ll add more reflection moments for Lyra—maybe something internal as she walks up to the citadel."
Jessica chimed in next, leaning forward in her seat. "And the romance subplot—I think you’re on the right track. Lyra and Caelan have this push-pull dynamic that’s really going to resonate, especially with teen readers. It’s not too heavy-handed, which is great, but maybe give us one more hint of what’s underneath Caelan’s motives. Even just a small detail about why Lyra feels like she could trust him, despite everything."
I sighed, a small smile tugging at my lips. "You know, you guys make this sound so easy," I said, rubbing my temples. "Alright, I’ll work on those tweaks. Nothing too mushy, but something that will hook them."
"What do you think of the mature themes?" I asked, watching their reactions closely.
Michel pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, giving me a contemplative look. "It’s a good balance right now. Nothing like Game of Thrones, but still gritty enough. I think you’re toeing that line well, Daniel."
Jessica nodded in agreement. "The mature themes are handled tactfully. It’s not indulgent—it’s not shocking for the sake of being shocking, but it’s definitely raw enough to pull readers in."
"Great," I replied, leaning back in my chair. "I’ll take your notes and make the changes by next week."
I stood as the meeting wrapped up, and the editors gathered their notes. Jessica gave me a quick wave as she left the room, while Michel moved toward the door. Just before he exited, I called out to him.
"Hey, Michel, hang back for a second," I said, a grin forming on my face. He paused, turning back toward me with a wary look.
"What is it, Daniel?" he asked, his tone already edged with a bit of suspicion.
I leaned back against the desk, folding my arms. "Are you seeing Lucy later?"
Michel’s brows furrowed, but he nodded. "Yeah… why?"
"Tell her that we might need to push the release date for the sequel to Game of Thrones a bit. Just by a few weeks, maybe a month," I said, trying to keep my tone as casual as possible.
Michel’s eyes widened, and he groaned. "Why me? She’s been in a bad mood the past few days, Daniel. Do you have any idea what you’re asking me to do?"
"Come on, Michel, it’ll be better coming from you," I said, trying to soften him up. "She’ll take it easier if it’s her boyfriend giving her the news. I’m swamped right now, and I’m behind on writing it. I really don’t want to deal with her temper."
Michel let out a dramatic sigh, shaking his head. "Daniel, you really owe me for this one. You know how she gets when deadlines are involved."
"Yeah, yeah," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "What’s the worst that could happen? You’re her boyfriend, Michel."
Michel shot me a glare as he turned to leave. "You’re really underestimating what you’re asking here," he muttered under his breath.
"Good luck!" I called after him, still chuckling as he disappeared from the room.
As the door clicked shut, I walked over to my desk, and as I sat down, I felt my phone buzz with a text. I looked at the screen to see a message from Felicia Rykker, the head of Stardust Animations.
Felicia: Hey Daniel, just a heads-up about tomorrow's Netflix meeting. Everything is ready on our part.
We were going to finalize the deal for the Percy Jackson animated series tomorrow. Hastings was very adamant about getting this done quickly. The man was hungry for content, and they must have also seen the interest online after I leaked the info to gauge interest.
Great, this is just a formality. The deal's in the bag. I texted back.
Felicia: Well, still… we have some concept art, preliminary animation tests, and an initial storyboard ready.
Wow, you guys really went all out. I typed and sent.
Felicia: Chris told us to get the best deal possible from them.
I think we can negotiate a fair amount.
Felicia: It has to impress the board, Daniel.
Damn, they’re interested in this now? I typed and sent, annoyed.
Felicia: Yeah, they also heard you are going to be on the Netflix board as well—that you're using this as a bargaining chip to get votes to join.
Well, the board can go fuck themselves. I'll see you tomorrow, Felicia.
I sighed. Did the board think I was going to give Netflix a discount or something? I swear, some of them are allergic to money.
As I was about to get up the door opened, and Julie entered.
"Hey Jules, what's up?" I asked with a smile.
"Your three o'clock appointment is here," she said.
'Right, Scott and Gail,' I thought. "Great, send them in," I said.
Julie nodded and left. I stood up and walked towards the set of couches, waiting for Scott to show up.
I had asked Scott to get started on the Wonder Woman script months ago. I had told him my idea for the story, which was the same as the movie from my previous life. It was a safe plot, and I thought it would be best. But at the beginning of the year, Scott had asked me if he could collaborate with another writer, as he had an idea for the movie other than the one we talked about.
I was intrigued when he said the writer was Gail Simone. Given Gail's background as a comic book writer and someone who had a deep understanding of the character of Wonder Woman, I was intrigued to hear their pitch. I also loved the movie she wrote back in my old world.
Moments later, the door opened again, and Julie let in Scott. Gail Simone was right behind him, her expression warm but curious as she took in the room.
"Scott, Ms. Simone," I said, extending my hand to each of them in turn. "Good to see you both. Thanks for coming in."
Scott gave a smile as we shook hands. "Thank you for hearing us out, Daniel."
"Yes, thank you," Gail said.
I gestured for them to sit on the couches. We took our seats, with them sitting opposite me.
"So, Scott, Ms. Simone," I began.
"Please, call me Gail," she said.
"Scott, Gail," I repeated. "What is this idea you guys have?" I asked.
"First," Gail said, "I loved Invincible, especially the last one that came out. You and Matt Gates are the breath of fresh air we needed," she said, praising me and Matt.
I smiled. "Thank you, Gail."
"But I won’t waste your time, Mr. Adler. Scott told me he was working on a script for the Wonder Woman movie that DC Studios announced last year."
"He was the one available at the time. We are only going to get started on it next month," I said.
"Well," Gail said, "I hope you consider us, as we have a great idea for the movie."
"I told Gail about the story we came up with, and we had another idea which we think would be better," Scott said.
I nodded.
"If you agree with it, I want Gail to work on it for the most part because I want to continue working on Superman with you," Scott added.
"Alright, let’s hear it. What’s the pitch?" I asked.
"While your and Scott's idea of a movie set in World War I, with Diana meeting Steve and coming to man's world, is good, we thought of one that focused more on the Amazonians than the fish-out-of-water scenario you and Scott came up with," Gail began.
"Well, that’s interesting," I said, intrigued. "Go on."
"It would focus more on the Amazons, starting with showing Themyscira first and delving into Greek mythology."
"So more focus on the mythology aspect?" I asked.
Gail nodded.
"The villain will be Circe," Scott added.
Gail nodded. "Yes. The peace of Themyscira is shattered by the arrival of Circe, as you know she is the sorceress banished by the gods, seeking revenge against them and mankind alike. Circe believes that the Amazons—who were also abandoned by the gods—will join her cause to punish both Olympus and humanity. However, Hippolyta refuses."
I nodded thoughtfully. "Good so far. I assume Doom’s Doorway will play a large part in it?" I asked, remembering it from the comics. It was hidden on Themyscira and it held back terrifying creatures from the world’s earliest myths—monsters and horrors long forgotten by the world.
Gail nodded. "Yes. Circe opens Doom’s Doorway hoping to control the monsters inside."
"And this must be how Diana leaves Themyscira," I said, seeing where the story was headed.
Gail and Scott nodded in agreement. "Yes, that would be the driving force of the movie," Gail said. "But this is just an idea. If you agree, we can work on developing it further."
"Well, the final decision will not be made by me alone," I said, leaning back. "But I do agree this is a strong direction. The studio is looking for others as well," I said.
Taking a moment to think, I finally decided on moving forward with this idea. If the script was great, then they could do this. There would be other options as well, so I wasn't worried.
"Let’s move forward and start working on the script. I can't promise anything, but I think you have a hell of a story."
Gail smiled, visibly pleased. "We will try our best, Mr. Adler," she said.
I stood up and shook her hand.
"I’m looking forward to working with DC again. I hope the new management is better than before I left," Gail said with amusement in her tone.
I laughed. "Don't worry. Things have improved under Stardust," I said with a grin.
