Hmmm...

Subject: Hmmm...
Author: JulyFlame
Posted on: 2015-09-09 06:50:00 UTC

Okay. To start off with:

This is a whole lotta what, but not much who. Those are traits, not a personality. This doesn't really tell us much about your would-be character and what they are like.

You give Lucky a pretty dire entry into the PPC. It's also very similar to the entry another Pokemon agent was given. And why the random Gallifreyan? We've got a number of them at HQ (some of whom will probably be exasperated by another one showing up).

The Ironic Overpower loves chewing on everyone.

That said, the keeping of mind of litmus strips is clever. However! No one gets to go inside the Canon Library, so the parenthetical note, cute as it is, is actually against PPC canon.

And as for the Universal Translator collar: Why are you choosing to have it be perpetually broken? While the idea might seem funny, in actuality it'll be annoying and distracting to read; Google Translate is quite rubbish for translations, and having to deal with gibberish and generally bad grammar from an agent character kind of goes against the point of things.

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Agent creation? by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 06:29:00 UTC Reply

I know I just introduced myself- in the last thread, even- but I wanted to go ahead and run my first Agent by you guys for what you thought of him.

Agent Lucky M. Foot
Home Continuum: Pokemon
Home Fic: "Pokemon Omega Ruby Wonderlocke: The Spirit of Discord"
Species: Lv. 21 Eevee
Traits: Severe karmic debt, can be clumsy, quick to panic
Department: Floaters

Backstory: Lucky started life as an unnamed Eevee was born to an IV breeding competitive trainer in a World One copy of Pokemon Alpha Sapphire. He was rejected and Wonder-traded away to a copy of Omega Ruby used as the actual-playthrough-of-Pokemon counterpart of a regularly-updated comic. The trainer got quite attached to him, treating the Eevee's comic counterpart- named "Dirtcheap" as a dig on his previous trainer possibly thinking him worthless- as practically a second protagonist.

Then, the Eevee in the actual copy of Omega Ruby died to a unexpected, critical-hit Drill Peck while grinding. Unable to both deal with the grief and think up how a simple training accident killing off such an important character to the plot of his story, the author instead ended the comic abruptly with little more than a hasty apology, blaming unrelated issues to his choice to not continue the comic.

To the comic's Dirtcheap, this amounted to the Drill Peck drilling a plothole straight into his chest, sucking him in as his Word World collapsed around him. After drifting through a void for five minutes in stunned silence, he landed in the halls of the PPC, right on top of a rather shocked Gallifreyan. About then is when his chest finally started bleeding.

And badly.

Luckily he was about five minutes from Medical. After patching him up, fitting him with a Universal Translator collar, and a rather long stay in FicPsych to deal with the mental scarring of not just the near-death experience but also the Wonderlocke story itself (losing friends left and right, one by one, after implied neglect and abandonment by a trainer, is not healthy to any brain), "Dirtcheap"- renamed Lucky- joined the Department of Floaters, and was assigned to an RA with its walls... an eye-assaulting shade of blello.

Current Situation: Like other recruits that were supposed to die in their home fic, Karma is not on his side due to his absolutely huge karmic debt. This is pretty well reflected in his name, reflecting the old "Lucky the Dog" urban legend- of that one stray dog hanging around that lost an eye, a leg, his nuts, an ear, his tail, et cetera, but still has his life. As such, he's very, VERY shiny to the Ironic Overpower, who absolutely loves to treat him as a brand new chew toy.

As such, Lucky opts not to use high-tech equipment in favor of equipment that can take the inevitable beating it will receive at the hands of bad luck and bad-luck-induced clumsiness. He leaves the C-CAD and RA with his partner, in favor of litmus strips, and carries around a Rorschach Book- a book that can take the appearance and contents of any text the user deems to be needed, Room of Requirement-style. (Unfortunately said "user" can include Sues in passing and "texts" can include badfic, making it almost useless for exorcism. This is why practically every other agent uses the Canon Library, which Lucky is banned from due to a mishap with a set of Harry Potter books and a passing janitor's bucket of water.)

However, Lucky does have one rather important piece of technology with him- his Universal Translator, which is almost always on the fritz. As such, he can seem to be hard of hearing and can sometimes spout off what seems to be non-sequiturs but are in fact mistranslations. Other times it might simply sound like what he says was put through Google Translate twenty times, a symptom that he probably has with his hearing if his occasional confused looks are anything to go by. He may even be forced to slip into another language entirely, especially with curse words.

Try numero two. by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 14:47:00 UTC Reply

Agent Poppy Seed
Home Continuum: Pokemon
Home Fic: "Pokemon Omega Ruby Wonderlocke: The Spirit of Discord"
Species: Lv. 21 Eevee
Gender: Female
Nature: Timid
Department: Floaters
Notes: Quite a bit clumsy.

Backstory: Poppy started life as an unnamed Eevee that was born to an IV breeding competitive trainer in a World One copy of Pokemon Alpha Sapphire. She was rejected and Wonder-traded away to a copy of Omega Ruby used as the actual-playthrough-of-Pokemon counterpart of a regularly-updated comic. The trainer got quite attached to her, treating the Eevee's comic counterpart- named "Dirtcheap" as a dig on his previous trainer possibly thinking her worthless- as practically a second protagonist.

Then, the trainer's starter in the actual copy of Omega Ruby died to a unexpected, critical-hit Drill Peck while grinding. Unable to both deal with the grief and think up how to handle a simple training accident killing off such an important character to the plot of his story, the author instead ended the comic abruptly with little more than a hasty apology, blaming unrelated issues to his choice to not continue the comic.

To the comic's Dirtcheap, this amounted to the Drill Peck drilling a plothole straight into the poor Slowpoke's chest, sucking her in as her Word World collapsed around him. After drifting through a void for five minutes in stunned, confused silence, he landed in the halls of the PPC, right on top of a rather shocked ~~Gallifreyan~~ Klingon.

After a stay in FicPsych, she was deemed at least sane enough to report for the Duty, and after a rename, she was recruited into the Department of Floaters.

Personality and Mental State: As her Timid nature indicates, Poppy is rather... er, let's call her exciteable. At the drop of a hat, she can be reduced to stunned, shivering silence behind or underneath a convenient nearby object by... pretty much anything, from a rather bloody scene to her own partner yelling in frustration. That's not to say she doesn't care for the Duty, of course- she can get pretty passionate about it, in fact. This usually ends up being what brings her out from under Generic Object Number Fourteen when on the job.

When not hiding behind or under random objects, Poppy is actually pretty caring. She's pretty protective of Minis, to the point of bordering on motherly. In fact, her Berserk Button turns out to be "hurting any Mini in front of her."

Most of her current mental state probably stems from her rather traumatic exit from her world- being sucked into a small hole in the chest of a dead friend didn't go over well, plothole or not. It didn't help that said world had her friends die left, right, and center, as is usual in any Nuzlocke variant.
Hmmm... by JulyFlame on 2015-09-09 06:50:00 UTC Reply

Okay. To start off with:

This is a whole lotta what, but not much who. Those are traits, not a personality. This doesn't really tell us much about your would-be character and what they are like.

You give Lucky a pretty dire entry into the PPC. It's also very similar to the entry another Pokemon agent was given. And why the random Gallifreyan? We've got a number of them at HQ (some of whom will probably be exasperated by another one showing up).

The Ironic Overpower loves chewing on everyone.

That said, the keeping of mind of litmus strips is clever. However! No one gets to go inside the Canon Library, so the parenthetical note, cute as it is, is actually against PPC canon.

And as for the Universal Translator collar: Why are you choosing to have it be perpetually broken? While the idea might seem funny, in actuality it'll be annoying and distracting to read; Google Translate is quite rubbish for translations, and having to deal with gibberish and generally bad grammar from an agent character kind of goes against the point of things.

Not a PG, but agreeing re: Gallifreyans by Ekyl on 2015-09-09 07:28:00 UTC Reply

To be mildly blunt about it, I am completely sick of seeing them in the PPC nowadays. :P

re:re:Gallifreyans by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 07:39:00 UTC Reply

Again, it doesn't have to be a Gallifreyan. If that detail is too much of a sore point, I'll make it something else.

Now excuse me while I try to tackle the elephant in the room: I finished the "what" but I still haven't made the "who" exactly concrete, even in my own head.

I saw, no worries. by Ekyl on 2015-09-09 07:40:00 UTC Reply

It was more me going "Yay, someone else thinks similarly!" at July, you're fine. I do suggest just for variety's sake going for something else though; there's an entire multiverse out there, don't be afraid to stretch your legs.

Shifting target by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 07:48:00 UTC Reply

Yeah... you're right. This kind of concept (dodge death = bad luck) was sorta copied from another PPC agent anyways, and I solidified so much of the "what" that there's simply not enough room for me to work with when figuring out the "who".

Still like the idea of an Eevee agent, though, but definitely with a different backstory and current situation. The wonderlocke word-world fizzling part is definitely staying, as I like the idea too much, but the Eevee isn't the character that died. The current situation bit honestly made more negative natures like Lonely or Timid a bit too wangsty, and I honestly like the idea of a Timid nature the more I think about it... hm. An agent that's scared of his/her own partner (and everything else) to the point of hiding behind something when he/she yells, there's something to be had there...

Hi, Lunamann? by Iximaz on 2015-09-09 13:36:00 UTC Reply

Writer for Zeb and Gabrielle here, the agents whose backstories you seem to have compiled to make Lucky's (one a Nuzlocke death, one abused by drill seargent!trainer). While borrowing ideas is nice, copying... is slightly less nice. ~~let's ignore the hypocrisy here, I gave Tawaki the credit~~

If you'd like to discuss agent stuff, I'd be willing to help with that. Just shoot me an email at iximaz(at)gmail(dot)com, and we can discuss stuff like actual characterization to boot. :P
I have a slightly different objection by Scapegrace on 2015-09-09 12:19:00 UTC Reply

Cutemon being kicked in by a combination of fate and an Abusive Drill Sergeant of a Trainer? We've already got one. Her name is Gabrielle and I enjoy writing for her very much.

A Gabrielle-centric mission can be found here, and an exploration of her backstory (TW: ABUSE REFS, DEPRESSION REFS, WHY WOULD ANYONE DO THIS TO A FLUFFY FLUFFSOME FLAREON REFS) here. I'm all for agents having similarities with one another, like Tawaki and Rina Dives, but I think this is a little too similar. Your comments about elements of your charrie having been "sorta copied from another PPC agent anyways" does not fill my heart with confidence either.

I have a question. by Huinesoron on 2015-09-09 13:45:00 UTC Reply

Do you (and Iximaz) have another source of information on Lunamann's ideas that the rest of us haven't seen? Because 'was bred, traded, and loved by his trainer' doesn't sound a whole lot like 'Abusive Drill Sergeant' to me.

hS

Re: I have a question. by Iximaz on 2015-09-09 13:50:00 UTC Reply

Backstory: Lucky started life as an unnamed Eevee was born to an IV breeding competitive trainer in a World One copy of Pokemon Alpha Sapphire. He was rejected and Wonder-traded away to a copy of Omega Ruby used as the actual-playthrough-of-Pokemon counterpart of a regularly-updated comic. The trainer got quite attached to him, treating the Eevee's comic counterpart- named "Dirtcheap" as a dig on his previous trainer possibly thinking him worthless- as practically a second protagonist.

Seems a bit unlikely you'd name something after a possibility, but that's what it read like to me.

Uh, yes... by Huinesoron on 2015-09-09 13:55:00 UTC Reply

... because Lucky started life as an unnamed Eevee was born to an IV breeding competitive trainer in a World One copy of Pokemon Alpha Sapphire. He was rejected and Wonder-traded away...

My understanding is that breeding for Pokemon is usually to try and get the natures, abilities and whatever that you want. You can see those as soon as they come out of the egg; then you just trade away the ones that come out with the wrong combinations.

He was 'worthless' to the competitive trainer, because he didn't match what was needed. That doesn't mean he was ruthlessly abused or whatever - just shoved straight in a ball and sold on for pennies.

No?

hS

Also, a note on Wonder-Trading and Wonderlockes by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 14:08:00 UTC Reply

Wonder-Trading is a new mechanic for Pokemon X & Y and Pokemon ORAS that allows you to trade a Pokemon with any other Pokemon from around the world- that's completely random. You don't know what you're going to get, from Magikarp to competitive-ready Legendaries, until the Wonder-Trade is complete.

A lot of competitive IV breeders will just pawn off rejects to Wonder-Trading.

On the flip side, a Wonderlocke is essentially just Wonder-Trading slapped onto a Nuzlocke (catch first pokemon of route, wonder-trade that, and THAT'S your catch for the route... or starter), adding "being thrown away by previous trainer" to the traumatic experiences the Pokemon face.

You ever try a Wedlocke before? by Iximaz on 2015-09-09 15:19:00 UTC Reply

I've done one run before, in White.

Never again.

Here are the rules.

Honestly, I've heard of it, but I'm not going to try it. by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 15:35:00 UTC Reply

I haven't won a standard Nuzlocke before...

Heh, I know the feeling. by Iximaz on 2015-09-09 15:38:00 UTC Reply

I have won exactly four Nuzlockes before: One LeafGreen, where I lost my entire team but one to the Champion fight; one White run, where I lost everyone but my Stoutland to Ghetsis' ~~demonic~~ Hydregion; one X run, where I managed to beat the Champion and lose only my Nidoqueen; and one AS run, that is still my only clean run with no deaths.

But hey, the challenge is what makes it fun! If I didn't Nuzlocke, I'd have too easy of a time otherwise. ^^;

My apologies; I misconstrued that entirely. by Scapegrace on 2015-09-09 14:06:00 UTC Reply

Consider my objections withdrawn.
Blah, my bad. by Iximaz on 2015-09-09 14:01:00 UTC Reply

Can I blame it on lack of sleep and coffee? No?

*sheepish* Sorry about that, I'll be more careful in the future.

So yeah, the new Eevee should remove the "copied" bit. by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 14:10:00 UTC Reply

I deeply apoligise about that happening in the first place, however...

That'd be the one. (nm) by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 14:00:00 UTC Reply

Personality and other issues by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 07:05:00 UTC Reply

I honestly hadn't thought much about his personality, but it's definitely going to be based around his Nature. Not sure which one to give him yet, however.

I honestly didn't realize another Pokemon had a similar intro to the PPC, and thought I was being original. I do however want to play around with the whole "Dodged death = very very unlucky" bit. Also random Gallifreyan could easily be replaced with a Klingon or human or elf or... well, pretty much anything that there's a number of at HQ. It was just for the sake of detail.

The point of the Ironic Overpower bit is that it's unnaturally fond of toying with Lucky. Looking back on it, probably should remove that bit and just keep it with Karma/bad luck.

I should probably have gone with "banned from checking out anything from" instead of simply "banned from", as that was my intent. He can't get anything from the Canon Library, no matter how nicely he asks the librarian.

As for the Universal Translator collar bit, it's not always on "Google Translate 20 times over". Do notice that I said "sometimes it's this, sometimes it's that, sometimes it's something completely different". I'm never going to have him use bad grammar for the sake of bad grammar, nor am I always going to have him spout out non-sequiturs 24/7 instead of talk normally. He's going to be pretty normal, but every once in a while he'll say something and clap his paw over his mouth as it's not what he meant to say, or look confusedly at his partner because the translator ...ed up on his end.

I see. by JulyFlame on 2015-09-09 07:09:00 UTC Reply

Personally, I would suggest holding off on agent development or even anything to do with the obtainment of Permission?

Read more spin-offs. Read around the wiki. Get more familiar with our canon. Settle into the community. See who's done what, and how. It'll give you a much better idea of everything we do, how, and (occasionally) why.

By default, we tend to not give Permission within a month of joining; it actually tends to be on the longer side, especially with the people who've ended up sticking around for longer.

-July, wearing a very dusty and slightly squashed PG hat

Heheheh... by FZN on 2015-09-09 06:59:00 UTC Reply

I assume that the collar being broken all the time is to prevent falling under the "talking animal" category, which was, last I heard, a bad thing.

Just a thought.

Nope. by Lunamann on 2015-09-09 07:10:00 UTC Reply

Collar being broken is simply my reaction to the Universal Collar otherwise going against his entire reasoning for taking litmus strips and the Rorschach book to a fic instead of a C-CAD and a laptop.
Wait a moment... (nm) by JulyFlame on 2015-09-09 07:04:00 UTC Reply
:| (nm) by JulyFlame on 2015-09-09 07:04:00 UTC Reply
Except we have other agents who use similar. by JulyFlame on 2015-09-09 07:03:00 UTC Reply

Do you have anything on the rest of the points I made?

No. But... by FZN on 2015-09-09 07:21:00 UTC Reply

I was just trying to get my bearings on things again, and the only thing that actually sticks out to me as really odd is the fact that the character refuses to use most tech, but then again I'm not the kind of person who would be able to make too much of a judgement... But I'm suspecting a really tech-savvy agent to offset things as a secondary character would probably make that stand out less.

Again, just thinking out loud, sorry if this sounds a bit harsh.