Just keep a leash on it

Subject: Just keep a leash on it
Author: Sedri
Posted on: 2010-07-04 08:19:00 UTC

You don't want to get too creative. It was just an off-the-cuff idea I had since I didn't want to dash your creativity entirely. I doubt she'd ever have a sensible conversation with any canon character at an OFU unless it involved a lot of repetitions of "ow!" and "yes, I understand; no, I won't do it again".

Also, bear in mind that some people start writing agents with little to no backstory at all, and it develops as you go. You don't have to have all this detail - you don't even have to specify which OFU she went to. Just keep it plausible and avoid speshulness at all costs.

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Permission by Elemarth on 2010-07-03 18:42:00 UTC Reply

I'm still not going to actually write for a while, but it's been a month (30 days and 35 minutes, to be exact), so it would be nice to get permission so I can feel more comfortable planning things.

My agents are in Improbable AU. I'm going to claim RC 808 for them.

Name: Kath

Species: Half elf, half human

Home continuum: Star Wars

Bio: Kath was a Mary Sue (based on one of my old characters, though you won’t find the story written down anywhere) in a story by an eleven-year-old (semi-fic blip). She somehow got from Earth to the midst of Episodes V/VI and messed a bit with canon, mostly by rescuing Luke, though there was no actual romance involved. She was recruited and had some basic retraining.

Powers/abilities/weapons: Weak Force power, some pyrotechnic abilities, very good fighter for no reason (her author said she taught herself), moderately good lightsaber user (despite having had no training, but to be fair, Luke had a ridiculously small amount), still has her lightsaber from her story.

Personality/preferences/quirks: Is annoyingly cheerful, will laugh at anything, is permanently energetic despite being an insomniac, is very extroverted, hates spiders, is claustrophobic, has a terror of being a Mary Sue, is a slight pyromaniac. Is fairly ignorant about the Real World because knowledge of it was not written into her fic and retraining didn’t cover it.

Name: Elena

Species: Human

Home continuum: Real World

Bio: Elena wrote relatively good Star Wars and Young Wizards fanfiction for a while, then forayed into Lord of the Rings and got dragged to the OFUM. She was kicked out of OFUM for coming up with a semi-plausible reason for ten walkers. (I was really annoyed to see that it was used in a fic PPCed in the original series. I knew I wasn’t the only one with this idea, but I didn’t know it had showed up in a fic, definitely not badfic. Anyway, it’s explained terribly there, so I think I can still use it.) The OFUM staff sent her to the Star Wars Fanfiction Academy because they were VERY angry at her but realized she hadn't done it maliciously enough to deserve something worse. She somehow managed to graduate and receive a mini-Rancor named Anikin. She went into PPCing Improbable AUs for Young Wizards. Most of her job was getting rid of AU romance stories and original fiction and other miscellanea that was labeled as Young Wizards fanfiction by ignorant authors. (The latter more or less had to be entirely destroyed to keep them from trying to push their way into the YW continuum.) Since there have been fewer erroneously labeled fics lately, she was reassigned to Star Wars.

Powers/abilities/weapons: Can speak and understand the Speech of Wizards to a small extent. Uses a blaster and various explosives.

Personality/preferences/quirks: Talks a lot, regularly drops TV tropes into everyday conversation, enjoys blowing stuff up. Loathes movie adaptions of books.

My writing sample:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3209952/1/TheLastLaugh
Though anything I posted there will do besides the Wizard's Manual, which you wouldn't like. (I'm considering PPCing it for being a wild and crazy crossover.)

Since I'm not ready yet, I don't know what my first mission will be, but I have a few ideas, including
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6008826/1/FarFromHome AU. Kiya Kenobi, the daughter of a parallel demension of Obi-Wan Kenobi falls into a different time and place and meets Ben, Luke, Han and Chewie. Will her presence change destiny? How will she return home? UPDATE CHAPTER 20
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6032717/1/thebookofthejedi mace windu finds a book containing ultimate power unheard of by the jedi (This is among the worst stories I've read ever, but I always tried to avoid reading badfic before this.)

Thanks!

P.S. Am I to assume that the wiki is up-to-date and what is there concerning Improbable AU is all we have ever heard of the department?

This may sound a little petty... by Wide Eyed Idealist on 2010-07-04 03:35:00 UTC Reply

But I just created an agent with a terror of regressing to Suedom. I'm probably being really silly about this, but it made me twitch enough to want to make sure that it's only a case of accidental telepathy and you thought of that independently. Right?

You might be interested... by Calista on 2010-07-04 05:40:00 UTC Reply

...in the Sue Support Group.

If both of you are going to be writing reformed Sues who are terrified of reverting to actual Sues, you could easily co-write an interlude with a meeting of the aforementioned support group. It could be really funny. :)
Um... by Elemarth on 2010-07-04 03:41:00 UTC Reply

I really hope so. Because I don't remember knowing you, and it would be very, very odd to be connected to someone I've never even met online. Did you post on my welcome thread? Did I post on yours? Did you ask for permission recently? When did you actually come up with the idea? I started creating my agents right away, so a month ago. Of course, it seems like a logical thing for a reformed Sue to do, so I think we can assume it was entirely independently.

So what fandom are you doing? If we never meet up otherwise, we could have some party together where they can commiserate.

Okay, great. by Wide Eyed Idealist on 2010-07-04 04:11:00 UTC Reply

I apologize for assuming. I came up with her when I first joined the Board, which was at least a couple of months ago, but I didn't ask for permission until the 24th of June. So I didn't just come up with her, technically, but I did just unleash her upon the world.

They don't specialize in a particular canon, but I've laid claim to several bad Kingdom Hearts fics, one Ender's Game story, that Final Fantasy XIII trainwreck, and I want to get some other book missions in at some point. Oh, and if anyone finds badfic for The Book Thief , there will be keyboardsmashing, capslock of rage, and a very violent mission.

Ditto on The Book Thief. by Eclectus on 2010-07-04 13:58:00 UTC Reply

I loved that book. If there is badfic... -growl- maybe our Agents could cooperate?

I guess so. by Wide Eyed Idealist on 2010-07-04 14:16:00 UTC Reply

Although our agents might end up in a tug-of-war over the Sue.

Can I ask who was your favorite character?

If I said I liked them all... by Eclectus on 2010-07-04 18:02:00 UTC Reply

would that be terribly lame?

But really, they're all wonderful characters. It's like the opposite of Eragon, although comparing the two is almost blasphemy--all the characters are wonderfully deep and three-dimensional and real. I can't really choose a personal favorite, because they're all my favorite.

Jeez, I sound like a kindergarten teacher who's been asked which of her students is her favorite. But it's all true--who cares if it sounds lame?

That would be an entirely fair reaction. by Wide Eyed Idealist on 2010-07-05 22:45:00 UTC Reply

My favorite character was Death (...the things we say), with Liesel and Rudy close behind, but I understand where you're coming from.

Agents by Elemarth on 2010-07-04 04:50:00 UTC Reply

I should have read that, then. I'll go back and check. Ah, I did not because it was buried in a thread. Well, your agent deals with it differently from mine, who just panics whenever she thinks she's becoming Mary Sueish, angsts a bit about being a former Mary Sue, then realizes that angsting...

Vicious cycle, huh? by Wide Eyed Idealist on 2010-07-04 14:13:00 UTC Reply

That must be fun to work with. Think we should try that Sue Support Group idea sometime?

Yeah, about that plausible Tenth Walker... by Neshomeh on 2010-07-04 02:04:00 UTC Reply

I confess myself extremely dubious and would like to hear what this theory actually is and how it addresses the loss of the symbolism of Nine Walkers to oppose the Nine Riders.

Either way, like Calista says, I don't think OFUM would kick anybody out whether it works or not. Either it doesn't work and the writer would be subjected to Remedial Numerology with a very annoyed Elrond, or it works and they get their fanfiction license at the end of the year.

How does a Star Wars character, even a Sue, come up with half-elven lineage? Some kind of bizarre, sperm- and/or egg-sized plothole? O.o

Also, everyone can understand the Speech, that's kind of the point, but I doubt if the bits and pieces in the books constitute even a small working knowledge of it... unless you're going for "she picked it up in the course of missions to YW."

~Neshomeh

Okay by Elemarth on 2010-07-04 03:00:00 UTC Reply

It really was to be funny. So I will take it out. Not difficult. I did want her to get to the SW OFU by some roundabout way, because just "she wrote Star Wars badfic" is boring (and nothing I wrote or ever will write in SW will be badfic, or not in the typical way), but I can't think of another... unless we decide that there isn't an OFU for Young Wizards for whatever reason (the characters are, literally, eternally too busy? No, doesn't make sense in the OFU universe, does it? Maybe not enough people write?) and they wanted her to go to some OFU and sent her to the next best.

She was from Earth, didn't I say that? Though how she could possibly be half-elven and in present day time, I don't think even the author (me at age 11-12) figured out. She's a MARY SUE. Logic?!

The point is she speaks it a bit. (Actually, it seems like a lot of humans don't understand it, but that's another discussion.) She likely found an agent from that continuum who knew it. Um, isn't that allowed? Or can we only have as much of a language as was given in the books? But if that were true, an agent who had previously spoken it would find that he/she/it couldn't upon coming to HQ, and that doesn't make sense.

Oh. And I didn't consider whether people/creatures/objects from another continuum could understand it. *ponders* Or if that would be equivalent to using a noncanonical weapon (even if it's not as a weapon). *winces* But she could still say something to an object from the PPC, and I don't think she's quite done with PPCing Young Wizards yet.

I agree with Neshomeh by Sedri on 2010-07-04 04:21:00 UTC Reply

Even though just "she wrote Star Wars badfic" is boring, it's also normal - and the last thing we want to do is have our agents become speshul by having implausibly unusual backstories. If you want her to have an interesting background, why not think of some funny and (for her) embarrassing things that could have happened to her at the OFU? Trying desperately to stop Elrond long enough to just explain her Tenth Walker theory is one that jumps to mind.

Well... by Elemarth on 2010-07-04 05:02:00 UTC Reply

As I said, I also don't like having her do something with the fandoms I'm positive I wouldn't do. I mean, my Star Wars OC is a bit powerful, but I really don't think I'd get sent to the OFU for her. I could imagine doing Young Wizards badfic, though, and LotR badfic would be easy.

Of course I'd rather it not be truly implausible. We know what that would make her.

That would save her from having to have a good theory. She could also do something to really annoy the fangirls and get chased out by them. What could that be? She does have a lust object - Glorfindel - so it couldn't just be not lusting. She's not a trickster, either, so it can't be that.

She could have a sensible conversation with Legolas about something, which would make half the other students madly jealous. Better if she (accidentally, of course) managed to make it Legolas and Aragorn. And Elrond. But I'm not sure how that would happen. They wouldn't politely listen to some theories she has about canon or ten walkers. The idea of her trying to convince Legolas she's not a luster and actually wants to talk to him about something is even better than her trying to talk to Elrond, but I'd need a logical topic.

You know, I really should have her be truly traumatized there so, more than just being embarrassed about what happened, she can actually be afraid of Lord of the Rings. And that would make her relationship with her half-elf partner (already strained because she's a former Sue) even more difficult. She was pretty unhappy at the Star Wars OFU, but if I could make the OFUM even worse... *evil grin* I will sleep on this and try to come up with some psychologically terrible or incredibly embarrassing things that could happen to her.

P.S. How do you get italics here?

Just keep a leash on it by Sedri on 2010-07-04 08:19:00 UTC Reply

You don't want to get too creative. It was just an off-the-cuff idea I had since I didn't want to dash your creativity entirely. I doubt she'd ever have a sensible conversation with any canon character at an OFU unless it involved a lot of repetitions of "ow!" and "yes, I understand; no, I won't do it again".

Also, bear in mind that some people start writing agents with little to no backstory at all, and it develops as you go. You don't have to have all this detail - you don't even have to specify which OFU she went to. Just keep it plausible and avoid speshulness at all costs.

I agree by Elemarth on 2010-07-04 16:23:00 UTC Reply

It would be really hard for her to pull that off. Since I can't think of a reason why OFUM would be so awful for her (though it would be funny if she found her partner's elvishness disturbing), I'll give up on that.

But I did think of this: she could have written a SW-YW crossover. It's stated in one of the YW books that SW was real, but I don't think the author tried to think of how that would work. It wouldn't without messing with both canons. That would be a way to get her to the SW OFU with it being something I would definitely do (I've thought about this in detail before), and still make it more interesting than usual without making her speshul. It would also connect her better to YW.

I have to know which OFU she went to because she has to have a mini.

Re: I agree by Sedri on 2010-07-05 01:04:00 UTC Reply

That will work perfectly :)

Although, strictly speaking, she could have adopted a mini from the Adoption Centre after joining the PPC but before getting a partner.

Either way, it looks like you've got it sorted.

It's been a week by Elemarth on 2010-07-12 00:40:00 UTC Reply

Nobody has any other objections as far as I can tell. Does that mean that I have permission or that everyone's forgotten about me?

html code by IndeMaat on 2010-07-04 07:38:00 UTC Reply

<i>Text in italics</i>

Not a PG; random comments by Calista on 2010-07-03 22:25:00 UTC Reply

You're on your own with Improbable AU. There's not much at all and I've never seen a mission published in that department (though they may exist and be lost). If you want to write in that department, you'll be doing a lot of defining on your own.

Personally, I'd be in favor of moving the Department of Improbable AUs and turning it into a Division of the Department of Improbabilities (which does have missions in it), still headed by the Antigravity Apple as usual, and handling AUs as a specialty. (I'd consolidate the DoWTF into the same department as a division thereof, if I had my way about it; but of course I haven't got any good reason to do it, so there it stays; and who said the PPC had to be logical?)

You are of course aware that your reformed Sue won't be able to use her lightsaber on most missions, unless she's in the Star Wars continuum or at least in a continuum where lightsaber-like swords exist.

I'm a little worried about Elena's having come up with a Tenth Walker idea that actually made sense; more specifically, for having been expelled for it. I'm not entirely sure that OFUM would do something like that; there are, in fact, Tenth Walker stories that do make sense, with the most probable tenth walkers being Arwen, Faramir, and possibly Bilbo (though the author who did that to the poor hobbit would probably have to be some kind of sadist).

At the most, I think OFUM would say, "Okay. Write that story, and if it's crap, there are a lot of interesting ways to punish you..." And if it got uncomfortable because the story was indeed decent and Elrond ended up using the Death Glare more often because people started thinking that this meant Tenth Walker stories were just fine (instead of "treading on dangerous territory and requiring a lot of skill to ever pull off"), your agent might have put in for a transfer to a different OFUM just because she had learned enough to love LotR canon and didn't like the idea of the proliferating Suefics that might result.

Not a PG, sorry, but good luck.

Looked it up by Elemarth on 2010-07-03 23:12:00 UTC Reply

Sorry, I thought you meant the D. of Improbabilities was headed by the Antigravity Apple.
It could get strange with two divisions. It would have to be dept of improbabilities, AU division, Star Wars division.
Considering the number of departments we have, it seems like this should not be high on the list of consolidation needed.
Besides, crossover is its own department. I realize that's a bit different because it's multiple continua, but still.
I'd kind of like to get to basically create a department, but I'm still a newbie, so I don't want to push it.
Just out of curiosity... by Eclectus on 2010-07-03 22:59:00 UTC Reply

Would Eragon count as a continuum with lightsaber-like swords, considering they're almost exactly the same concept? (Special colors, made especially for the Rider, can cut through almost anything, etc.)

Yes. by Calista on 2010-07-04 03:06:00 UTC Reply

They're basically stolen from Star Wars. Like just about everything that isn't stolen from somewhere else.

But you really wanna PPC Eragon badfic? I mean, it's like the canon itself is badfic!

It does almost deserve that. (nm) by Eclectus on 2010-07-04 03:31:00 UTC Reply

response to comments by Elemarth on 2010-07-03 22:54:00 UTC Reply

Oh. If they're both headed by the same person, then why are they different departments?

They're doing Star Wars.

It was more of a joke than anything. I wanted her to somehow get to the Star Wars Academy through a strange route. Can I invoke the Rule of Funny?

Though I did think mostly they wanted to avoid other students getting excited, and I know she didn't get along with the other fangirls. So would you prefer if I said that they suggested she go somewhere else and she agreed?

I was probably unclear. by Calista on 2010-07-04 03:11:00 UTC Reply

Currently, the Department of Improbabilities is headed by the Reannual and the Department of Improbable AUs is headed by the Antigravity Apple. They're separate departments.

What I was talking about was re-organizing them so that Department of Improbable AUs, became the Division of Improbable AUs, still headed by the Antigravity Apple, but moved into the Department of Improbabilities, headed by the Reannual.

See above. by Elemarth on 2010-07-04 03:32:00 UTC Reply

I figured it out already. The responses appear in reverse order of a logical flow.