Drunkard's Walk
From Fan Fiction
Drunkard's Walk is an extremely ambitious "universe-hopping fan fiction series" by Bob Schroeck, best known professionally as a writer for Steve Jackson Games, starring Douglas Sangnoir, a character designed for the Warrior's World setting, on which Schroeck's own sourcebook International Super Teams was based. The title comes from a mathematical concept in which an individual takes discrete steps in a plane, in a random selection of the four cardinal directions, including the one from which it came. In such a scenario, it has been mathematically proven that, given sufficient time, the individual will reach its goal. Likewise, Sangnoir travels more or less randomly from universe to universe, hoping to eventually return home.
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[edit] Douglas Sangnoir
Douglas Sangnoir, also known as "Looney Toons" (a name Schroeck has used himself on such sites as TV Tropes), is a superhero with a number of powers, most notably an improbability field and a broken "magegift" which causes uncontrollable magical effects as a result of listening to songs. A small subset of these songs can open portals to other universes; however, he has no way of knowing what lies on the other side.
[edit] Steps
Currently, fourteen "steps" are planned or written for the Drunkard's Walk.
- Velgarth (on indefinite hiatus due to author's stance on fan fiction)
- Bubblegum Crisis
- Kodocha (Kodomo no Omocha)
- The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
- Oh! My Goddess!/In Nomine (fanfic crossover)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Revolutionary Girl Utena
- Harry Potter
- The Borribles
- Zeiram (multi-fanfic crossover: Legion's Quest, Sailor Moon Expanded)
- Sister Princess
- Sakura Taisen
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer
In addition, an unnumbered Sailor Moon step is planned, taking place "at some unspecified point between Steps V and X."
[edit] Drunkard's Walk II
Currently the only complete step, DW2 comprises fifteen chapters, not counting prologue and epilogues, and was written over the course of five and a half years. If this is taken as an average length, then the totality of the Walk, were it to be completed, would take 77 years to write. It is set in the world of the popular anime series Bubblegum Crisis, following the end of the final OVA.
[edit] Drunkard's Walk V
This step, currently in development, is presented as a sequel to the fanfic Oh! My Brother!, and is co-written with its author, Christopher Angel. The first chapter was released 15 October 2004, and the most recent one 26 September 2008. The next chapter is reported to be the final one.
At the beginning of this step, Douglas finds himself in a most unpleasant situation: he strongly dislikes and distrusts nearly all gods, and he has come face-to-face with four of them. Not only that, but three of them are avatars of the three Fates, who he has particular reason to distrust. In addition, through a combination of curiosity and pettiness, one of them, the Child aspect named Skuld, has disassembled his prize motorcycle, and weeks of work will be required to reassemble it. In the meantime, he must cope with being the houseguest of a group of Celestials, his own diminishing hope of ever returning home, and a demon named Mara who has gained an interest in the new arrival.
[edit] Crossovers
Drunkard's Walk, in addition to being a mega-crossover by design, also features a number of crossovers with other fanfics. Chief among these are steps five and ten, detailed above. In general, it has crossed over (and will again) with Ed Becerra's Legion's Quest, establishing it as sharing the same "meta-continuity," which also includes Twisted Path and Sailor Moon Expanded. See the Transfictional Continuum page for more details.
[edit] Reaction
Drunkard's Walk has been featured on at least one list of the Internet's best fan fiction. In addition, it has spawned a popular discussion forum and a set of its own fanfics.
