Subject: Addendum: Department
Author:
Posted on: 2012-07-15 15:25:00 UTC
I would probably place them in the Department of Floaters, although the Department of Mary Sues and the Department of Technical Errors would suit them as well.
I have been making plans for agents for about four weeks now by my calculation, so I thought I would put my ideas for a duo here for your perusal. Here they are:
Eagrus Khan - he is a bit character who was rescued from a Lord of the Rings badfic and subsequently recruited. He has a great dislike of bad spelling due to the fact that he is an Esterling (rather than an Easterling, being a victim of bad spelling himself). He looks much like an Easterling, but an odd smell of fruit tends to follow him around. He is a trained swordsman by background but being from a fantasy continuum is still struggling to get to grips with technology.
Cyba Zero - she was initially from World One but ended up in HQ when a pair of agents temporarily mistook her for an escaped Shapeshifter!Sue. The real Sue was caught and Cyba decided to join the battle against the Sues. During training she suffered a mishap with an old and malfunctioning disguise generator, leaving her with the body of a Borg drone. Fortunately her mind was untouched and she did not mind the physical change too much (after recovering from the shock). Having never been linked to the hive mind, however, she is still trying to learn how to use her implants - with much hilarity along the way. The change also left her irresistibly drawn to the colour red, leaving her extremely vulnerable to distraction. Being in disguise, while removing all species-specific abilities of her new natural form, does not stop the red issue. As such, Eagrus has to remain vigilant whenever the colour is around and keep Cyba focused.
I am presuming she is supposed to basically be you, yes?
How was Cyba mistaken for a Sue in the first place? What was she doing that led to them believing she was the Sue? Agents have the ability to test for this. Were they not doing their job properly? Or was she acting Sueish enough that they felt they did't need to check? And if it was the second, why would they allow her to go with?
Why is your Agent Cyba Borged? You say that it was due to a disguise generator accident, but that's a 'how'. I'd like to know why you decided to go with this route.
What advantages does this give her over your average human/humanoid agent? You say she can't control the implants, but I would presume that she does gain control over time, and there is also the fact that some of it is innate- like the phaser fire immunity and the strength.
Does she get any disadvantages?
Why are you deciding to have this set up beforehand, rather than in the progress of your spinoff? This is the sort of thing that makes up a character's progression and a storyline. This is interesting stuff, so why have it happen before and then remove all of the most interesting aspects of it from your spinoff completely?
Another thing I want to ask you to consider: Why do you want your agent insert of yourself (presuming she is intended to be you) to be a Borg and thus have the advantages Borgs get? If it's to make her unique or to give her something to make her other than 'normal human' you should reconsider it.
Normal humans (or humanoids with no special abilities) should be the majority of PPC agents; Jay and Acacia were normal humans and did their jobs swimmingly. Trojie's a normal human. Miah's a normal human (or was, last time I checked). Constance was, and was utterly terrifying regardless.
I can make a long, long list of agents that have no special abilities or advantages that do a bangup job without them.
The Sue in question was a particularly nasty Shapeshifter!Sue. Cyba and her doppelganger were proving difficult to catch, so the agent pair used their spare Remote Activator to open a portal in front of where Cyba and the Sue were running. This portal went to a spot just in front of a wall in HQ, meaning that Cyba and the Sue both ran into it and knocked themselves out. It was at that point that the agents managed to use their CADs and tell the difference.
Of course, this could be changed.
In answer to the why question:
1. Firstly, Borg was my nickname at university for being a perfectionist, so it seemed appropriate.
2. I can lever a lot of humour with her weaknesses. The transformation was not without its errors (the generator was faulty after all). She gets helplessly distracted by anything red, which is a major weakness. Some of the mission challenge lies in Eagrus keeping her focused rather than wandering off following something red. She won't attack it or anything like that, but following behind in a trance could very well get her noticed by non-canons if her partner is not vigilant.
3. Having some strengths that actually do not necessarily do much good thanks to the associated weaknesses has a lot of humour potential.
4.I intend to take the normally accepted mechanics and turn them about for comedy. For instance, think of picking up a glass of water when you do not know your own strength - you are probably going to get wet. I also cannot imagine sleeping standing up is very easy... Cyba is NOT going to get an easy time of it. She will probably learn control eventually, but it does not have to be quick or without its slip-ups.
5. Remember Eagrus is not exactly well versed with technology. Having a partner who is part technology is going to get...interesting - in the amusing sense of course.
6. I admit that I like cyborgs. However, that means I know how to make humour out of them. I intend to keep the reigns tight on any levels of power. For a start, Eagrus would NOT be happy without his fair share of bad spelling busting!
Her advantages are non-existent outside HQ - disguise generators are very handy in that regard.
Disadvantages: the red issue, as per above. This does NOT go away when in disguise. Also, her learning curve: trying to get used to a new natural form is bad enough without changing forms through being in disguise. Expect some clumsiness on missions!
As for why to do it beforehand, a lot of my humour ideas revolve around the effects of the transformation. I guess some of it is also my eagerness; it could be saved until later if necessary.
Thanks for the cross-checking. I hope that answers your questions.
Thinking about it further, the accident could wait a little while. After all, a faulty disguise generator could cause other, smaller problems before blowing completely - such as giving a mostly correct disguise with a slight glitch etc. That way I could work up to things. Thank you JulyFlame for provoking that line of thought...the internal ideas generator is off again with even more laughs promised. Goody this is going to be fun!
I still need to decide what to write as a writing sample though... I was thinking maybe a quick comedy sketch or something; would that work? How important is length? I read the Wiki, but I just want to clarify further to be sure.
But I really like them. Eagrus sounds like he has great potential and Cyba sounds freakin' hilarious.
"By my calculations- RED RED RED RED RED"
"Cyba... focus..."
"RED RED RED RED RED"
Sorry about the late reply - I've been somewhat distracted by recent events.
However, I did want to say: thanks for the compliment!
I would probably place them in the Department of Floaters, although the Department of Mary Sues and the Department of Technical Errors would suit them as well.