Subject: Depends!
Author:
Posted on: 2012-10-19 01:58:00 UTC
If you think it can be done well, then probably, yeah! I'd recommend a really excellent beta, though, and a lot of careful discussion when doing it. I suspect it's one of those concepts that either goes really well, or really, really badly.
If there was a mission in a fandom where a character could cannonically break the 4th wall, would that character be able to see agents? My main example of such a character is Deadpool from Marvel Comics. He breaks the 4th wall to the point where he knows the names of his writers. Would someone like that be able to perceive an agent?
...because I have some theoretical questions too. I've searched the wiki but I haven't gotten conclusive answers.
1)How is a Sue "reformed"? Some sort of de-glitterfication process? Therapy? Medications?
2)On a related note, how is a Sued agent de-Sued?
3)Can a character be recruited if they are inhabiting a crash dummy?
1) To "reform", a Sue has basically one big thing to do: develop a personality and stop warping everything around him/her. The PPC has also support groups and medications to help the process (Logicillin and Anti-Lustin come to mind)
Deglitterification process don't exist, as ex-Sues tend to stop producing glitter (and they weren't extremely glittery to begin with.)
2) That's fairly simple - remove from main Sue influence and administer Logicillin and/or Anti-Lustin accordingly.
If it wasn't the fault of a Sue suefluencing an Agent... Well, that isn't supposed to happen.
3) Interesting question. In this case, you can do basically what you want - Medical may create a body for the character to inhabit, DoSAT may create some sort of cyborg body... or maybe the character is particularly unlucky and is trapped into a inflatable rubber body for the rest of his/her life.
As long as you write it well, you can choose whatever you want.
Breaking the SEP Field
The SEP field will cloak an Agent from being detected by characters in a fic, unless:
The person observing them is not a canon character for their continuum (Mary Sues and OCs)
A canon character becomes so OOC that he suffers a character replacement
A Sue notices the agent, and draws the canon character's attention to him
The Agent draws attention to himself somehow. Talking won't do it, but a loud noise might, and interacting with the canon characters definitely will.
The character in question knows of the PPC's existence, or else is omniscient in some form
In Ellipsis Flood and my mission, Jace Beleren(M:TG) could see through the field because he has skill with illusions. In other missions, Jack Harkness(Torchwood) could see through the field because he has experience with perception fields.
Meaning, then, that if I ever happen to get my Blog!Series "The Chronicles of Zeyr" turned into an actual book and then bad-ficced, the Immortal Eldraec and their Champions would spot an agent in less than three seconds?
Well.
Then I'm never publishing The Chronicles of Zeyr anywhere but on my blog.
Before it was established that there was an SEP field, it was established that the canon itself helped to cloak the agents. That's partly why a canonical disguise that would believably kill a "good" character such as an elf or a member of the Fellowship was so important: it helped the canon help the agents.
So, it's not just the SEP field. There are other powers at work. (Doesn't that sound nice and portentous?)
And the PPC IS trying to remain hidden. Knowledge of them is not in any way canonical, so even if a character can break through all the protections and notice the agents, that doesn't mean they should necessarily be allowed to keep that knowledge if they can be neuralyzed or whatever.
... Unless it's really funny, as in the case of Gaspode. No one's gonna listen to him anyway.
~Neshomeh, PPC Ancient Historian.
IIRC, in an MLP:FiM mission, Pinkie Pie looks straight at the agents but doesn't do anything. It's probably dependant on the level of possession, but Deadpool almost certainly would.
If you think it can be done well, then probably, yeah! I'd recommend a really excellent beta, though, and a lot of careful discussion when doing it. I suspect it's one of those concepts that either goes really well, or really, really badly.
Well, the first example off the top of my head is Pinkie Pie from MLP:FiM, who speaks to the audience at least once every few episodes or so. But she doesn't know about the PPC, as far as I've seen, so... I'unno.
There actually is a Deadpool Fanfic where he:
1. Realizes he's in a fanfic
2. Finds a Mary-Sue
3. Kills her
4. Battles Twilight
It's really pretty well done.
It was called Deadpool's Awesome Fanfiction! or something. He even deduces that he's in a fanfic from his 'loquaciousness' (his words.) I always was sad it never went much further than that.