But I thought most (or at least many) permissions pieces were essentially a short bit to introduce the agents. I know mine is...

One reason for that recommendation is that, well, we're here to read about PPC Agents: fitting someone into that slot without writing missions about them is a tricky thing to do. I've actually got several stories with no missions in them - and heaps of characters who've never had documented missions - but that's because I'm very clever (or something like that). The 'Wandering around HQ lookin' at the stuff' type of story has been done a lot (usually as interludes), and you need something special to make it work - which, again, usually means your agents go on missions beforehand.

That said, a prelude with their meetup is a common thing to do (my page is full of them - Narto and Lou have one, and Dafydd and Selene used to have two!) - and from what I've seen, it often serves as a Permission writing sample. It lets people (PGs, really) see your agents, your writing style, and your understanding of the PPC all in one swell foop - and, as you say, it introduces them for readers of your entire catalogue, too.

But be careful. "Hey, I'm your partner, and we have IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES which oh, hey, you like the same music as me and we are now chums forever" has been done a lot (going back to Agent Jay Thorntree, actually), and while most people won't remember them all, it's always best to create something unique...

hS

If it were me doing the character introductions, I would write out from a point like, "I just got placed in my department, and the Flower up front told me I have a partner waiting to be assigned," and then see if I could branch off from there.

Now there's an idea.

Actually, in my comedy story (read: blatant ignoring of all probabilities and physical capabilities for the sake of humor while blaming it all on a wormhole or something) about a space-faring band of mercenaries, one of the smarter crew members is a Guinea pig testing a prototype lightsaber/katana hybrid out. Its downside is that due to an enormous energy draw to keep the magnetically-charged laser blade stabilized, it overheats within a matter of five hours, and its battery only holds charge for about a day.

So, in a sense, I'm kind of already employing this option - just in the most outlandish method possible.

Good advice!

Thanks for the protip, man. That helps a bunch.

As for the katana bit - I admit to being a sword nut of sorts, but I've never really been all that into katanas. Is that REALLY the only reason people say they're cool? I sure hope not...

It's not that I'm trying to destroy the quality and truth behind the tropes - I'm just trying to write them in a realistic manner is all.

But I understand what you mean. I still have a character (so far) that prefers a katana over other weaponry, and is quite fluent with it.

Another hard point for me is always managing cast members. My ongoing blog story, Travels of a Wandering Adventurer, follows the life of young Ethan Brynn and the friends he meets along the way, but already I'm starting to see several Sue traits coming out in the characters of Ethan, Kraig Lescarr, and the aged Samuel Brynn. Since there are so many characters that I will be focusing on in the future, how do I prevent from the cast becoming an army of Sues by mistake?