Pluto! The Dwarf Planet! As A Cop!

(This is an idea I've had for a good while, and I'm trying to make something out of it. I'm having a bit of trouble getting it working, so I figured I'd make this and see what happens.)

The setting is a universe where planets are sentient. They can take a humanoid form and fly around space, and have developed a civilization of their own, headed by a government called the Empyrean. They make buildings and objects made out of space dust, and can use their moons to form weapons, machines, and modify their bodies by combining with them. (Like say, they could use them to make armor that makes them a lot bigger.) I'm also toying with the idea of making the constellations sentient, though I imagine they would end up rather Lovecraftian due to the sheer scale. The local police force for our solar system is the Asteroid Belt (with a few planets on the payroll), with Ceres as Police Commisioner. The main character is Pluto, who serves as a detective on the force. He's an ex-con, and once worked as part of a "Bonnie and Clyde" couple with Eris. (She's a kind of ditzy thief with lightning powers, and can fly through space on a lightning-bolt-shaped BFS. Yes, I realize lightning isn't in space, but I thought it was cool. Also, she had a serious interest in Pluto, but he didn't feel that way about her.)

Anyway, Pluto and Eris were going along with their criminal lives, when Pluto had a change of heart, due to a combination of an unintended consequence of a heist (I realize this is very vague, but I haven't figured this part out), and because he fell in love with Earth, the most badass cop on the force. He starts working with Earth, using his knowledge of the underworld to act as an informant, and eventually he quits the trade altogether and becomes a detective. Unfortunetly for him, Earth decides to retire (she just found out she can support life and is interested to try it, and her weapon of choice is continents, which would make things uncomfortable for us) and forms an idle orbit around the sun. Due to gravity, Pluto can't dare approach her as she is because that would likely kill all life on Earth.

So Pluto's a cop now. He's a bit angry about this choice (because being with Earth is impossible until all life on her surface dies, which he refueses to let happen since his newfound conscience won't let him), and rather snarky and cowboy-like (he's used to working against the law after all), but his heart's in the right place and he's just badass enough to be good at the new job. With Ceres as his boss (she's willing to take him to task, which happens a lot, but she's kind enough to give him some leeway if his old friends in the criminal underworld are involved,) he's ready to take on the universe.

Oh yeah, and he has a small rogues gallery. As it stands, it's got Eris (who's become a sandiego and is a little pissed at him for leaving her) Mars (a grizzled bounty hunter with a bezerker rage and a past with Earth) Jupiter (a nigh untouchable mob boss, due to his excellent PR and his sheer size, likes to speak in the third person) The Gallileans (Jupiter's top enforcers, made up of Io, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa) and Mimas (you know, that one moon of Saturn's that looks like the Death Star. He's a sniper that acts like a cowboy.)

I really love the idea, since I've never heard of anything quite like it. But I've had some trouble deciding who I want the characters (specifically Pluto, Earth, Ceres, and Eris) to be, which is bad when they're some of the most important. I keep changing my mind, and what's decribed above is just the idea I have now. Also, the details for the origin story are pretty vague, but I'm working around that by having what I'm working on now focus on Pluto as a detective and not his past.

If anyone has any suggestions (or anything to say at all, for that matter), I'd love to hear it.

This is the finest thing in the history of history.

The Sun should be the head of the law, Mercury and Venus being his top men. I also like the idea of Uranus being a psychopatic Cloud Cuckoo Lander out of his gourd and with a habit of cracking dumb jokes.

edited 6th Nov '10 7:44:08 PM by heartlessmushroom

Don't forget to include Gliese, that new planet that probably has life on it.

He should have a Napoleon Complex, too. Poor Pluto is definitely the Woobie planet.

I've looked at this a couple of times, and each time I've thought that there's something really weird about the premise of this, and I couldn't figure out what it was. But now I've got it.

Saturn isn't mentioned.

This is a really fun idea, you can just spen all day asigning celestial bodies personalites. But what kind of crimes happen in space?

Also, beware of making a Black Hole Sue.

... *is shot*

edited 8th Nov '10 6:27:40 PM by CyganAngel

^Kidnappings, robberies, murders, blackmail...that sort of thing. I admit my humanity is showing, but I think that's acceptable if the story is good enough.

I had ideas for a kidnapping of Haley's Comet, or Pluto trying to track down the missing space probe New Horizons, hoping to use it's video footage as evidence against Jupiter.

EDIT: Oh hey, this has reached 9 posts! You know, like Pluto used to be the 9th planet in the Solar System! *canned laughter*

Maybe that could be an Arc Number.

edited 8th Nov '10 6:52:49 PM by TheOtherSteve

That's totally acceptable. I was just a ittle worried such a awesome premise would fall apart because there's not much going on in space. But it looks like you know what your doin.

But I see how this could be a challenge. You want pepole to relate to the characters so it's totally understandable to make the planets act like humans. But at the same time you wanna play up to the planetarey angle so it dosen't feel like you could swap out the story with a differnt setting. But it's also a story about a crime-fighting planet so Rule of Funny is gonna get ya real far.

Instead of mosquitoes, have little buzzing spaceships.

I like thsi idea that when a planet can support life it basically means 'it's pregnant'. XD

For some reason that amuses me, hmm...

Also, is the Moon, like, Earths younger sibling?

^ I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do with the moon. I might make it a defense drone or something, maybe a character in it's own right.

(Moons tend to be either an Empathic Weapon or a person in their own right, as it stands right now.)

Saturn's rings should look like a retainer!

...

Sorry.

Maybe use some stuff from Greek and Roman mythology, as the planets were named after them? And to the planets believe in any sort of God (wait, they would have been there...)

Uranus should be the Butt-Monkey (Sorry again) who is always made fun of but eventually proves his worth. What about Pluto's little moon?

Sorry, I like the personification of planets... how humanoid are we talking?

Oh, the Sun is the governor of the solar system, like someone else said. But would he have to submit to, say, a council of stars throughout the milky way galaxy?

I don't really like the idea of having sentient constellations. You should prolly just go with sentient stars.

I really like this idea, PLEASE continue to develop it! I have some ideas (e.g.: Charon as Pluto’s son) but I think it would be better for this to be completely your baby.

It does remind me of one of my old, more-or-less abandoned ideas which was a sort of supernatural Victorian parlor drama involving Expys of the Greek pantheon travelling on a floating island.

This actually reminds me of a picture book series I wrote as a child. XD Back when Pluto was a planet. (He sat there and shivered)