Subject: Ah, okay.
Author:
Posted on: 2015-02-08 01:23:00 UTC
Never really played Pathfinder before, though I'd like to try. I got into D&D in fourth edition (and have a fifth edition campaign going on). The only time I played PF was at a con, and while I had fun, it was too short a session to make much of an impact.
I know I said I wanted to do a WoW mission next, but this one... it called to me. I just couldn't resist! I promise the WoW mission is next in line.
Yeah, this one's shorter than usual, but to be fair, the badfic was only four chapters to begin with, and the last chapter was just a copy/paste of part of the third.
I'm rambling. Enjoy!
I'll take care of updating the Wiki tomorrow, promise.
The Canon Library was dark - of course it was. That was the way the Canon Librarian preferred it, and since he had managed to obtain absolute authority in his own domain, no-one was prepared to argue.
Admittedly, that was because they figured he'd threatened, intimidated, or blackmailed the Flowers into letting him run the place his own way. If people knew that he'd actually just sulked at them until they gave in, he probably wouldn't be quite so respected.
But it was dark - the kind of darkness that comes from spending your life in a perpetual inner gloom, and then having that magnified by certain supernatural events the Canon Librarian preferred not to think about. The sole denizen of the Library sat, peacefully reading, in what was halfway between a den and a nest. And then someone opened the door, and electric light burned in.
The Canon Librarian dropped his book in shock. Not at the fact that someone was intruding on his peaceful domain - that happened often enough - but at the twin facts that the agent was some sort of lion thing with sparks of electricity flying off its fur - and that it wasn't waiting at the door, but coming straight inside.
The Canon Librarian's usual technique was to snap, 'What?', but that didn't seem enough this time. Getting to his feet, he growled out, "What exactly do you think you're doing?"
Or rather, he tried to growl; it came out as more of a squeak. Regardless, the creature looked into the shadows, blinked, and said, "Uh, reading?"
"Reading." The Canon Librarian managed to get his voice under control. "And what, exactly, makes you think that this is a place to read? Does this look like a library to you?"
"Uh..."
"... shut up. Just. Shut up."
Luxray have really good eyesight, not to mention the ability to see through walls. So wouldn't Zeb be able to see the Canon Librarian?
...unless the library is shrouded in magic darkness, and in that case, never mind.
Well, Dafydd can't see through it, and neither can Selene; it's definitely magical. But neither of them can see through walls... it's possible Zeb could see him. Are there canon Dark-type attacks which block sight? I can't think of one, but that might give a hint.
I'unno. If you decide you want to bring it up in-fic, and want him to have been able to see the Canon Librarian, I can provide you with a visual description for him.
hS
Ehh... I dunno, I always thought the Canon Librarian's actual appearance was to remain forever a mystery. I will definitely ask if I need it, though.
(My headcanon was something like Slenderman, but that's just me.)
I have a Plan for him, which won't be affected either way by someone getting a brief look at him (bear in mind he was still huddled up in a pile of books, I'm not sure Zeb would've seen more than a glimpse).
hS needs to stop making plans
I sorta see him as one of these: http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Seeker
A servant of Herma Mora (and no, that is not a mini) who found his way into the PPC's library. He now cares for their library like he used to for the books of Apocrypha.
Also, just further headcanon, but I think that Apocrypha is the L-Space. Just because most find their way in through Black Books, does not mean you have to. Besides, adds an element of danger to traveling through L-Space, does it not?
... that so many people think he's so terrifying.
Flattered - and a little bit scared himself.
hS
He definitely makes himself seem eldrich, even if he is just some dude.
...Wait a minute! I know who he is! He's Casper!
Hermaeus-Mora/Herma Mora would know about the PPC! After all isn't he Keeper of Secret Knowledge and Things-That-Should-Not-Be-Known? Ya'now, would be kind of his job to know.
And you know Sheogorath has warped some agents minds. Probably because somebody summoned him, for some reason.
Really, if people are stupid enough to summon Daedra in HQ, they deserve what's coming to them.
Probably also Akatosh, the Aedra of Time and the Chief of all of them; would know, after all as a god of Time, he guards the timeline, and WILL know when someone messes with it, and as Auri-El, he's also the God of Sun, and he can see EVERYTHING.
Every couple of years, someone starts down this line of thinking, and pretty quickly ends up deciding that every deity, powered being, and generally likable character in their fandoms would know about the PPC, and probably also be OOC resistant and and and.
And then someone (not usually me, which clearly indicates there's something wrong with the universe) comes along and points out that 1/ that'll make for really boring missions, 2/ that'll require every writer to be aware of that, 3/ that'll cause calamity if/when they decide to visit HQ, 4/ shouldn't that be kept for really special characters, and 5/... well, there's probably a 5, and maybe more than that, too.
Personally, I'm convinced by reason 1 alone: every mission in that continuum would be either rendered unnecessary (Character X knows about the badfic, and being nice, will deal with it) or ridiculously hazardous (Character Y knows about the badfic, and being nasty, will aid it). But throw in on top of that the fact that the canon doesn't notice badfic effects - otherwise every mission would consist of every single canon fighting against the effect, and running off the moment they're out of the plot. Which they don't. They accept the intrusion as 'part of the world' - because at the time, it is.
So yeah, Character Z may well be able to see everything ever - but since she'll register Mary-Sue Z-Prime as being supposed to be there, that doesn't help any, and since she'll be subject to the same canon-cloaking as every other canon character, she won't notice the agents, either.
And then the badfic will be dealt with, and everything will revert, as it always has. ^_^
hS
(My favourite take on this, for the record, is the idea that Sherlock Holmes independently deduces the existence of the PPC... every single time he encounters it. Because of course he does)
However, there is a slight difference here. In the case of Shaeogorath and Hermaeus Mora, they are Daedra. Basically demons. They either would not care about the presence of badfic, or actively try to aid it. Well, who knows with Shaeogorath. He is the Prince of Madness, after all. Luckily, he tends not to do much if not summoned. So, no fear of boring missions in that continuum. Expecially if Shaeogorath gets interested.
Now, in the case of the Aedra, it does not matter if they can sense badfic or not. Elder Scrolls gods have very limited power, due to it being spent keeping the world from being dissolved into Oblivion. They can grant blessings to mortals, but short of that... Not much. So, if they could sense the badfic, the most they could do is grant agents minor blessings. I agree that the Aedra probably should not be able to sense Mary Sues and badfic, but even if they could, it would not affect the mission all that much.
I insinuated that Hermaeus Mora may actually get involved in the badfic. The thing with Mora is, he does not care about much of anything, except the acquisition of knowledge, spending his time looking through his books and finding particularly talented individuals with new knowledge. He just would not bother with badfics, even if they directly involve him. He has many aspects, one of them will handle it.
I am sure the PPC has made some sort of deal with him. Perhaps giving him various amounts of canon knowledge, so he would not be interested in harvesting the minds of agents while on mission. If he were interested in the study of Mary Sues and other Suevian characters, he would have killed one and observed it long ago. You have nothing to fear from Herma Mora. Well, unless you summon him... But then you know what you are signing up for.
And then poor Zeb was so traumatized by the experience that he never went back again.
... it summons the same mini into the world, instead of making new copies of the type of mini? I learn something new today. Also, "well, duh?" to knowing that Remus is a werewolf? I thought she may try to seduce or harm him or something.
I got the idea from Boromire the mini-Balrog, actually. I recall at least one spinoff where some agents found him and sent him back to Acacia.
... for a current PPC writer's mini to show up in a mission, and be noticed by the agents. Actually, these days, Thanduril is probably getting a lot of attention... Dafydd will be furious. (For that matter, since Thanduril is mine, I'm pretty ticked off myself)
(And yes, there's only one 'copy' of each mini, getting dragged around by the whims of badfic. I wonder if there's a counselling centre for them...)
hS
I'd kind of love to find one where the mini dragged in has been adopted by the agent whose mission it is, though. That could be hilarious, and a nice way of doing some mini and agent character development.
~DF
But I don't think I've found any yet. If I have, I totally missed it.
I’m overworked reading so much in such a short time, but I cannot not read your missions, they are too good.
Anyway, the usual nitpicking:
The Sue use her fire powers to heat up some sausage for Ron,
Tense shift.
and the scene swirled, dumping Zeb in the middle of the first head girls' dormitory.
You probably meant "first year girls’ dormitory", or "first-year girls’ dormitory" (JKR writes “first-years” with a hyphen) or maybe "first-year-girls’ dormitory" (I’m not sure whether JKR ever used something similar to the latter).
Also, beginning three consecutive sentences with "He" (starting with "He opened the bag ...") is a bit repetitive.
Seven years in three chapters? What did this chick think?
HG
And thanks for pointing those out. Fixed!
I was tempted to continue to the last chapter, where the Sue gets the 'dagger of Roweena Ravenclaw' from Dumbledore's will. Also, Lupin gives her a diamond tiara for her seventeenth birthday. All I can say is this: 
I mean, I have no life, and I'm still working on my first mission. Excellent work, by the way.
I really just have a lot of free time on my hands, that's all.
The title said it all: WhatThe indeed.
A few questions:
1) How is Zeb human in the beginning of the story? Disguise Generator? D.O.R.K.S.? You might want to consider adding a line or two to explain what happened. And by the way, does Zeb have to be human in order to read? I'd think that a Pokemon that is able to see through walls would have no problem reading a book.
2)Zeb tilted his head. "Say, Rina, if the Sue's supposed to be Harry's age, how old would Tonks—?"
"Seven," Rina replied curtly. "Sues are always making Remus an inadvertent pedophile, it's disgusting."
Being that I'm not that well-versed in Potterverse lore, could you please explain the math? According to the Harry Potter Wiki, Tonks was born in 1973. If the Sue was born at the same time as Harry, then wouldn't Tonks have been in her late teens, if not in her twenties, at the time of Harry's birth?
3) "You know, I think Luna can almost see through SEP fields as well," she continued. "My second mission, I could have sworn she could see me and Randa."
Do you have an MLP mission in the works? Or am I barking up the wrong fandom?
3)This one's an actual error:
"All that happens is Sue helps Harry and Hermione save Sirius, she visits daddy, Harry gets the 'firebolt'—" she nudged the mini through a portal. "and there's a stupid sock-puppet author's note. I can do without that."
The first letter of the parenthetical should be capitalized, and you should use another em-dash to re-introduce the narrative, since you cut her off with an em-dash:
"Harry gets the 'firebolt'—"
She nudged the mini through a portal.
"—and there's a stupid sock-puppet author's note."
1) Disguise Generator. I probably ought to add a line there.
2) Yes, Tonks was born in 1973 (She and Lupin are 13 years apart; he was born March 10, 1960. Before you ask, yes, I have no life.). But Harry was born in 1980. Which would make Tonks seven at the time of his birth. *shudders*
3) Luna Lovegood. :P
3... a?) Okay, thank you! Fixing now!
And how did I miss my numbering error?! I change one number to accomodate an extra entry, and I forget to change the number after it. *facepalm*
Nope. Not at all.
Hey, at least I'm doing that co-write mission in MLP! I have an excuse!
Speaking of which, I have done a little on it, but not a huge amount. I will do more when I have a little more time. Uni is kicking my butt right now, but nothing I cannot handle if I focus. I am tempted to let you write most of it until a major battle scene, then I come in and change things up. Also, I have an idea for a side-character, but it is up to you to see if it stays.
And I totally understand about the college thing, even if I can't say I've had firsthand experience.
Here, a single-use taser batarang for Agent Rina Davies, use it wisely. Don't ask how I got it, is better for thy sanity to not ask. *disappers into the shadows*
Is she related to Roger Davies, captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team? :P
*takes the batarang anyway*
The Time Lord, with long tied dark brown hair and dressed with a green suit and a red tie; was checking the instruments in one of the Central Console’s panels, when he saw a small humanoid figure running under the Central Console. “Hmm...” he mused and scowled slightly, then reached under the Console to grab the small figure. Once he managed to grab it, he raised the tiny human, pinching her clothes between his fingers, while the 2-inch tall girl with short unruly brown hair, who constantly swung a crowbar scaled to her size, shouting “Let me go,” with a high pitched voice, fitting her size.
The Time Lord narrowed his eyes “Who or what are...” He started to ask, and then realization hit him, “Wait! You’re a mini!” His eyes opened at full. “Wait... Why I’m a Time Lord for that matter?” He shrugged “Eh, whatever. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.” He carefully placed the mini on the Console, and started moving controls and pushing buttons seemingly at random on the panels. Once he finished, and returned to the starting panel, grabbed a lever and looked at the mini, “So, Tiny One, ready for a ride?” he said and then pushed the lever with a “Yeehah!”
Meanwhile Iximax was [insert action here] in [insert place here], when a large wooden box with a weird antenna flashing with red lights, materialized with a violet glow. Then the weird-looking guy above described, opened a door and stepped out of the box. He looked at Iximax, took her hand and carefully placed the mini on her hand. “Here is the mini-Agent ‘Rina Davies’. Since that due to her size she is not able to use the batarang, I got to ask you that you should give said gadget to the Agent Sabrina Elizabeth ‘Rina’ Dives.” He clasped his hands at his back, “So, without any further adieu, I have other matters to attend to.” He turned around and went back into the TARDIS, which then de-materialized with a violet glow, while Boarder and mini watched with a [insert reaction here] gaze.
It's okay, it's not like she also stole my PG hat or anything. :P
And I'm The Doctor. *gets in the TARDIS, which then de-materializes*
That was a satisfying read :) *gives Zeb some Berries*
Do you have any pecha berries? Those are my favorites.
And yes, my author does seem to work fast. It's because she has nothing better to do in her free time, or so I am told. She really does seem to do nothing else. I suspect it's actually because she ignores all real-world commitments in favor of writing, but what do I know?
In that case, you coud have sent it to the Forgotten Realms or Golarion, let the local adventurers take care of it.
Regardless, this was a very silly mission.
PS: I like Inheritance knowing it's not that good. My favorite character is Rhünon. I really hope that didn't make a mini-Urgal.
I've only read maybe one or two Forgotten Realms books and don't know Golarion, so neither of those occurred to me. :P
My favorite character now is Galbatorix. He defeated the last dragon rider with a groin attack, which I just find hysterical.
I play PF every other week, and in our gaming group I'm the world expert.
Never really played Pathfinder before, though I'd like to try. I got into D&D in fourth edition (and have a fifth edition campaign going on). The only time I played PF was at a con, and while I had fun, it was too short a session to make much of an impact.
Do you mind sharing your email? You seem like someone I'd get along with.
(good lord I do hope I'm not being creepy)
It's artemis(dot)hunt(at)att(dot)net, but I won't be able to get back to you until tomorrow. It's waaay past my bedtime now. :P
The books are worth the hefty price tag.
I was playing a tiefling gunslinger last night, and he fell eleven stories.
He lived to tell the tale. He's retiring from adventure, but he's always going to wear a Ring of Feather Falling from now on.
I really, really like Zeb. Nonhuman agents are always fun, especially ones whose differences are played up a bit. Great stuff! =]
I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
I was laughing so hard I woke my mom. Oops.
Anyway, swell mission, but you might want to run a quick punctuation check - I think I spotted a couple double spaces in the text.
Unfortunately, that will have to wait until tomorrow. But thank you. :)