Subject: Re: Minis and other stuff
Author:
Posted on: 2012-06-10 12:33:00 UTC
As someone who read Sabriel but not any of the other books in the series, I think that Mini-Paperwings are a good idea, mainly because of the reasons you listed.
There are a couple of things I wanted to check before I get too far in writing the mission up:
Firstly, it’d be nice if my agents could have an RC of their very own. I’ve read up on the Wiki which says to post on the linked LiveJournal page, but it looks like it wants me to make an LJ account before I can add a comment. I don’t particularly need another online ID for me to forget the password to, so I wondered if could take care of this through the Board (or if someone with an LJ account could forward it on for me)? Also, I'm not completely sure if the LJ thing is being kept up to date, as apparently the last update was on 2/6/11, which just seems like a little while for no one to have had new agents.
Anyway, if it can be done through the Board at all, I would like to request RC 1984 for Agents Skeet and Amelia (DMS/Freelance). If not, let me know and I’ll sign up to LJ.
I was also wondering what peoples’ thoughts were on an Abhorsen mini? Of the three missions listed for this continuum, none of them seemed to feature any minis, and there doesn’t appear to be an OFU.
I was planning on thinking about this later, but then noticed that the first mini comes from the very first A/N, with the second one appearing in the first sentence of the fic, and... it sort of goes downhill from there. I think I’ve identified about 40 minis so far (virtually every character name and location mentioned gets misspelled, often in multiple different ways).
I'm currently thinking mini-Moggets, so they’d take the form of cats in various colours (possibly looking more kitten-like in their proportions, seeing as they are minis), with a miniature version of one of the seven Bells on the collar around their neck.
Opinions, thoughts and alternative suggestions welcome.
Just throwing around some alternate mini ideas for discussion.
Greater Dead
It's been too long since I've read the books to recall any Greater Dead by name, but I suspect you're more familiar with the canon since you're planning a mission in it. I think there were at least a couple varieties named in the series? They wouldn't exactly be the first zombies to appear as minis, but the Greater Dead struck me as quite a bit more monstrous than the average zombie.
Orannis the Destroyer
Orannis is definitely the biggest baddie of the series, but . . . it's also a giant ball of metal. So a mini-Orannis would just be a small ball of metal. Not too impressive, but it might be fun if they could speak and constantly rage against everything that exists and have no power to do anything about it?
Free Magic Elementals
mini-Free Magic Elemental doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it? This series isn't the only one with elementals, either, so there's the same potential for unoriginality as with the Greater Dead.
The Bells
Even though they aren't a monster, the Bells are a major enough part of the series that I think they warrant consideration as a mini. Perhaps they could even assist in an exorcism after they get rescued! Plus, lessened effects of the Bells screwing with agents' off-time has humor potential. Of course, the writer would have to decide what Bell was created by what misspellings; perhaps a mini-Remembrancer's pipe would work better?
Paperwing
If you want to go the really quirky route, mini-Paperwings flying around like regular paper airplanes could work. The paperwing is definitely unique to the series, as well. On the downside, it's not really a monster, and maybe isn't terribly memorable when taking the series as a whole.
But! Remember the final decision goes to the mini's discoverer--you--so don't let my opinion sway you! You go for what you think is the best representative of the series/most potentially humorous option. I just put this post forward to get your imagination going, and maybe get a bit of a discussion going among Sabriel fans.
I'd already thought of some of those, but there are a few I hadn't considered. Getting a bit of a discussion going doesn't sound like a bad idea to me, of potential mini types or just Sabriel and the rest in general. In fact, I think I remember a conversation just a bit further down this Board where people were saying it’d be nice to have these sorts of discussions.
I'm currently in the process of re-reading the books while I make notes about the fic, so I'm familiar with some bits, and doing the rest from memory for the moment.
As for the minis:
Greater Dead
My understanding is that ‘Greater Dead’ is just a term applied to anything which is able to return from beyond one of the further Gates under its own power (rather than following in the wake of something more powerful) is considered to be in this category. I think that Chlorr of the Mask and Hedge are both Greater Dead (although Hedge may just be a powerful Free Magic sorcerer and necromancer), and Kerrigor, obviously, but he takes a form of his own choosing after leaving physical body, and then ends up trapped in a form similar to the one Mogget uses most often. I think there is also at least one that Sabriel encounters in Death, described as a cross between a snake and a warthog or something like that? Although I don’t recall that actually being given a name, just how some aspect of it was indicative of it coming from deeper within Death.
I haven’t actually read about any zombie-minis so far, although I am aware that there are loads of missions I haven’t got to yet. I wasn’t sure about using anything Dead, despite it being a big part of the setting, because I thought one of the defining characteristics of minis was being ‘Cute but Dangerous’. Anything with... y’know, actual rotting flesh, is going to struggle to be in any way ‘cute’ (in my opinion).
Orannis
As you say, while definitely a very powerful adversary from the books, it is still just a sphere of metal. Could be used for a bit of humour as you’ve suggested, although unless they get given extra powers/abilities (which doesn’t seem like a good idea) it would be difficult to see them helping out keep order at an OFU. I’m not actually planning on writing an Abhorsen OFU myself, but I figure if someone else is going to be stuck with my choice, I should try and make it a good one for them.
Free Magic Elementals
Yeah, that’s a bit of a mouthful for a name. There are various types mentioned, so a specific free magic elemental could be used, although I think some of them are just named in passing rather than being given full descriptions. The only ones I can recall fully are the Stilken that Lireal encounters in the Clayr’s Library, and the Hrule that Nick encounters in the short story collection (although I’m not completely sure about the classification of that creature).
The Bells
The Bells are definitely important enough to be considered, although they suffer from some of the same potential problems as a mini-Orannis in that they are inanimate objects. Most of the staff of an OFU for this continuum would also probably have access to their own Bells, so having a bunch of independently willed ones floating around might be a bit pointless. It also might be hard to tell apart a mini-Bell from one of the Bells taken as loot (as I would imagine that a large portion of OCs are going to be either necromancers or Abhorsens, and their Bells would make for very shiny trophies).
Paperwing
This is one that I hadn’t thought of at all, but it seems like it could be really fun. They’re a good choice because it’s nice and distinctive, and they are described as having at least a limited intelligence. I also like the idea of a horde of screaming fangirls being dive-bombed by a… I don’t actually know what the collective term would be, a flock? A squadron? Anyway, a horde of screaming fangirls being dive-bombed a bunch of mini-Paperwings, to keep them away from their LOs. And the minis don’t necessarily have to come from monsters, as evidenced by the mini-LEOs from NCIS (although admittedly this may be due in part to the relative lack of actual monsters from that continuum).
Mordicant
The mordicant is another good choice, as it is one of the few recurring threats. A lot of the other weird and wonderful creatures normally only get a scene or two. Although again, I'm not sure it’s correctly placed on the Cute vs. Dangerous scale.
Necromancer
Another key adversary from the series, although mini-necromancer is quite generic sounding. There are plenty of other settings that involve necromancy. And while the Abhorsenverse necromancers will look very distinctive due to their Bells, by the time they’ve been shrunk down to mini size (about 2 feet tall I believe for most humanoid minis?), that distinguishing feature is going to be difficult to pick out unless they’re actually using them at the time.
Charter Sending
One that I’ve just thought of actually, but could be doable. There are various different types that have been mentioned, so they’d definitely be able to help out the teaching staff on an OFU if there ever is one, and they have been shown to have good combat skills, so there’d be no problems keeping the fangirls in check. It just seems... I dunno, a bit boring?
Mogget
Or mini-Bound Bright Shiners (which is far too much of a mouthful for me). Wasn’t sure about using an actual character name for the mini, although I guess there is a precedent for it with Harry Potter having mini-Aragogs rather than mini-Acromantulas. What with them having one of the Bells around their necks, mini-Moggets would have the same humour potential for mucking around with agents as was suggested for the Bells themselves. In fact, if the kittenish aspects get played up, they could even rival mini-Discords for mischievousness.
I think at the minute I'm torn between mini-Moggets and mini-Paperwings for this.
As for the series in general, the things that I like best about it are the unique (and detailed) magic systems, and the fact that while everyone is clearly on the side of Good or Evil, the good guys never come off as preachy or holier-than-thou annoying to make me want to root for the bad guys out of spite.
Obviously there’s more to it than that, but I’ve already turned this into a bit of a monster of a post, so I'm going to shut up now.
I had forgotten about Mordicants. Or confused them with Greater Dead or something. Maybe I still am? I don't know. But yeah, that would definitely fit the big bad monster role for a mini. I wouldn't worry too much about the cuteness factor; I'd say that rule's been broken muchly by now.
I agree that a mini-necromancer would be very generic, since every fantasy continuum ever seems to have some variety. Even with the Bells setting them apart. The Bells themselves would make better Old Kingdom minis, if we were only looking at these two.
Charter Sendings! Hadn't thought of this at all, but I actually think it's pretty great. Very unique to the series, and figures heavily in every book (haven't read the new one yet, but I'm assuming). They do tend to have a variety of shapes, though, which could get tricky for each PPCer to remember what each particular mini looked like. This also makes me think of mini-Charter Marks, which have rough;y the same advantages and weaknesses as mini-Charter Sendings, I think.
The mini-Moggets idea has kind of grown on me, although I generally don't like minis modeled after a specific character. Kittens are just too cute, though. With the bells present to set them apart from other feline minis (and to give the mini-Moggets a way to screw with their owners), I think they would make a good choice, too. Plus, we ought to have a mini-feline for the mini-Mr. Muggles and mini-Hounds of the Baskervilles to chase around HQ, and cause disproportionate damage as a result!
(Note about zombie minis: I know, at the very least, the video game Left 4 Dead has a kind of zombie known as a Tank as its mini. There might be others too.)
Mordicants are an awkward one to try and categorise. they're described as 'a thing that could pass at will through Life and Death, its body of bog-clay and human blood moulded and infused with Free Magic by a necromancer, and a Dead spirit placed as its guide force.'
Wikipedia classes them as 'The strongest of the lesser Dead', although the fan-made Abhorsen Wiki classes them as 'a very powerful Greater Dead being'.
I would guess that, seeing as it is created and a specific Dead spirit is used by the necromancer, they can be either Lesser or Greater Dead depending on the spirit used.
And yes, the thought of a mini-Mogget meeting a mini-Hound or similar is quite entertaining. Ah, the havoc they could get up to!
Been a while since I've read Abhorsen as well, but why not some 'Mini', sentient bells? That way they could also help to remove a Possession!Sue and even help smack some Sues around themselves.
But I'm just not sure about using inanimate objects as minis. I know it's been done before, such as the mini-telescreens from 1984, but I'd prefer to use an animal/creature.
On the subject of bells, remember the bells are each named after an entity. Some of the entities lost their forms, but recall that Kibeth still took the form of a dog in Lirael.
If you were going the bell route, this might be an option.
However, I do like the idea of mini-Moggets. I agree that would give a lot of opportunity for laughs.
As someone who read Sabriel but not any of the other books in the series, I think that Mini-Paperwings are a good idea, mainly because of the reasons you listed.
Well, I don't know about the minis, but I do know that you can just edit the page on the wiki here: http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/ListofRCs
Also, 1984 is not taken, so that should be fine.
I guess when reading the top bit of that page I got as far as 'To add an agent to the list, please visit the previously linked LiveJournal post' and then just stopped reading, missing the text in bold (which you'd think would catch my attention) just after it which says 'You may add your RC to this list, but only after you have received Permission'.
Will try to do my research slightly more thoroughly next time.