Deal With The Devil - Bridge - P. A. Nolte

1/ Caucasian male.  Mid-30's.  Bearded.  Looking over his shoulder nervously.  It is dark, and he is wearing a heavy jacket.

2/ From below, he tosses a large duffle bag, bursting at the seams, off a secluded bridge.

3/ Looking over his shoulder, it hits the water below and begins to sink below the active current.

SFX: Sploosh

4/ The man crosses over in front of his parked, running car.  The outline of someone sitting in the backseat can be made out, but not much else about the interior.

5/ Now in the driver's seat, the man grips the steering wheel.  The figure behind him, a literal devil, leans forward and grins.

Devil: Now.  About your reward...

Deal With The Devil: "2016 US Presidential Election"--David Press.

Sorry to infect this place with the baloney that is the primary race, but when this prompt came up this was the first thing that popped into my head so I just ran with it. Fortunately, it's short.

2.1:Cutting away to TED CRUZ. I love these things screenwriter Craig Mazin, Cruz’s freshman year roommate at Princeton, has been saying about Cruz. [http://theslot.jezebel.com/fuckin-craig-mazin-an-appreciation-of-ted-cruzs-colleg-1746278435]. This is to give you an idea of the tone that I’m going with here. So Cruz here is standing on top of a tractor in front of a white Baptist Church. He’s wearing a Jean Tuxedo (jeans, jean-shirt, jean jacket), and shouting into a microphone like he’s a heavy metal lead singer, but he’s not—he’s a twat.

CRUZ:                And Iiiiii promise you, North Texas- that Pro-lifers will burn in Hell.

CROWD

[Unattached]:        CRUZ CRUZ CRUZ!

2.2: Cut to: the interior of a dorm room at PRINCETON. Craig Mazin sits at his desk, typing on a typewriter while younger TED CRUZ stands on his bed, carrying on in a similar manner to the previous panel.

CAPTION:             Princeton University.

CRUZ:                    Ah tell ya, Craig, folks are going to hear from me. I’m gonna change politics!

CRAIG [Thought Balloon]:  I tell you, I’m going to get famous off this blowhard.

2.3: Sitting in an office, young Ted Cruz shakes the hand of a LAWYER who is radiating heat. Like waves of heat off this shady character’s backdraft.

CAPTION:             The Law offices of Karuthers and Pittant, LLC.

LAWYER:              Well that’s a fine deal, Ted. We’ll make you president, and protect your…rampages.

CRUZ:                    That’s all I want, Mr. Karuthers. Nobody is going to vote for the Zodiac Killer.

--END-- 

Deal With the Devil – Card Shark – MK Stangeland Jr.

(1 Panel)

Panel 1: DEVIL is standing at a casino-style dealers table. He’s stylized to be mostly human, and wearing a highly impressive suit, though his skin is red and he has a pair of horns on his head. His face sports about the most sinister-looking shades you can imagine, and his haircut is as sleek as can be.

On the other side of the table are a number of individuals who have stepped up to play whatever card game has been set up, and the DEVIL is presently dealing out their cards.

TEXT: After losing a golden fiddle in George, the Devil thought he might find more success in Las Vegas.

(END PAGE)

Deal with the Devil - Curse of Desperation - Perry Kent

 

Panel 1

Interior, night, tent. George sweeps several Egyptian artifacts off a table inside of his field tent. He is the only person in the tent. Several candle lamps light the tent.

1. CAPTION: Egypt, 1922

2. GEORGE: This expedition has been a waste. Is this fitting a Carnarvon? No. This is…

3. GEORGE: BOLLOCKS!

Panel 2

George stands away from a dark, slick stranger with a concerned expression.

4. STRANGER: What if I offered you the chance to write history?

Panel 3

The stranger holds out a rolled up piece of paper.

5. GEORGE: I don't know who the hell you are.

6. STRANGER: I'm the one offering you a deal to save this expedition. To leave your mark on history.

7. STRANGER: All I need is a little quid pro quo.

Panel 4

George signs a piece of paper as a stranger stands by the table.

8. GEORGE: Fine. I get your game. But you better delivery, though I doubt you can.

Panel 5

The Stranger rolls up the piece of paper while wearing an evil grin.

9. STRANGER: Oh, I can. Have you heard of “Tutankhamun”?

-END-

Why a Deal with the Devil?

A deal with the devil.

A common enough trope that we should all be familiar with. You make a deal for something you want, but you give up something vital. And what almost always turns out to be too much.

At some point you'll be offered a deal. A deal that will blind you to everything else. A deal so rich in upside that it goes right to your head. But you can't have an up without a down. We have to keep in mind that all deals have consequences. And we need to think of whether we can handle those consequences before we've shook the hand and signed the paper.

This week I chose “deal with the devil” as a cautionary message. Don't run so fast toward what you want that you forget to look where your feet will land.