From the same LJ meme as John Elliott: > Give me a story of mine and an alternate set of characters: > protagonists, antagonists, or bit-players. I'll give you at least a > hundred words of a scene that could have turned out differently. John asked for "The Meeting" rewritten so the newcomers were Amelia's parents: Double Meeting "Good to see you, Mr and Mrs Pond." said the teacher when they arrived. "Some of the others have arrived already." Augustus looked round the room. "Hello," he said. "We're Amelia's parents." "Delighted to make your aquaintance," replied a tall, silver-haired man, kissing Mrs Pond's hand. "Lord de Souza, at your service." "Chermed, E'm sure," said Tabetha, her cut-glass Edinburgh accent getting just a touch posher. De Souza introduced them to the rest. Pete and Jackie Tyler, Sylvia Noble, Francine Jones, and many others. "And finally," he concluded, "Augustus and Tabetha, meet Amelia Pond's parents, Augustus and Tabetha Pond." "Eh?" said Mr Pond, as he stared at his exact duplicate. "Look, it's perfectly simple. You're the parents of the Amelia who's actually seven years old. They're the parents of the Newman Primary version of the adult Amy." "Eh?" said Mr Pond again. -- Dave It's all about the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism.