Well, technical stuff I can help with...

Humbly requesting Permission by Helen of Pylos on 2009-01-23 20:41:00 UTC Reply

After skulking about here for six and half months or so, occasionally talking with folks I have finally acquired enough nerve ask for Permission (I kidnapped someone and stole their nerve).

My agents:

Jane Shackleton
Age: early thirties
Appearance: impeccable, but not particularly attractive. Dark hair and eyes, pale skin. She has a normal sized body, but she wears a corset, so her waist is immpossibly small.
Jane is a product of an ill-defined story set, due to the author's scanty knowledge of history, somewhere between the Regency and Victorian Eras. She has an obsession with manners and propriety, a penchant for pretty looking guns and lethal fans (the kind used too cool oneself, not the rabid kind), as well as a horror of technology. She refuses to even touch the consul. Jane is also a somewhat competent witch and has a secret desire to be a Jane Austen heroine, though she is more inclined towards a woman like Miss Bingley.

Oliver Shackleton
Age: late twenties
Appearance: medium height, stocky with dark unruly hair. He has glasses and is blind as a bat without them.
Oliver entirely under the thumb of his elder sister. His argues with her constantly, but always acquiesces to her requests. He used to swear like a sailor, but, due to a spell of his sister's, can't swear any longer and has to use substitutes, which infuriates him greatly. Under the influence of fellow PPCers, Oliver has become more modern, in both language and behavior, much to his sister's distress. He is also hopeless with technology, but since his sister refuses to deal with it, he has to.

Moren Armstrong Crewe III
Age: eighteen
Appearance: pale, lanky and entirely nondescript, usefuly for blending into the background which he would do admirably if he weren't so clumsy.
Moren stumbled upon the PPC while being chased by bullies from his private school. He is timid and clumsy. Violence makes him sick and he is currently unaware of how the Department of Mary Sues disposes of said Sues. Apparently, Marquis de Sod did not think to inform him.

I presume sibling teams would be frowned upon at the PPC. Upstairs has enough insanity to deal with, without that. But Jane and Oliver come as a pair. You can't get one without the other.

My writing sample is here:

http://helenofpylos.livejournal.com/

And feedback is always appreciated.

Helen

Re: Humbly requesting Permission by Pads on 2009-01-24 03:09:00 UTC Reply

What sort of witch is Jane? And can we have more info on this spell? What 'verse is it?

Oliver's more modern, to his sister's distress, but he has to do the technology because she won't?

Permission granted, so alright, but I still have to smile and nod and have a few questions about your agents.

Happy to answer questions by Helen of Pylos on 2009-01-25 01:18:00 UTC Reply

The type of witch she is, has to do with her past, and I haven't really gone into that yet, but mostly her power extends to keeping her hair in place when combating a Sue. A clearer explanation of the spell itself will come out as Moren becomes comfortable enough to ask.

I'm not quite certain what you're asking with your second question, but if it's what I think, then Jane is being contradictory. But she'd say that as long as Oliver doesn't /enjoy/ working with technology, she's happy, well not happy per se, but somewhat satisfied, anyway.

I hope that answers your questions, but if not, feel free to ask more.
But questions are good. by Huinesoron on 2009-01-24 10:01:00 UTC Reply

Not everything has to be revealed straight off, right? It means the answers can be revealed or discovered later.

hS

Just a couple technical points... by Techno-Dann on 2009-01-23 22:32:00 UTC Reply

A "consul" is an overseas diplomatic position which is often part of an embassy. The term "console" (the part of a pipe organ where the organist sits) is old enough that Jane would be familiar with it. I'd believe that she could mis-hear "you'll get your assignment from the console" as "...from the consul" the first time at least, but it shouldn't be a totally new term.

..or maybe I'm overanalyzing a typo.

Also, I'm pretty sure the Marquis de Sod needs the "the" at the front of his name - Marquis is a title, after all, rather than a first name.

Permission is granted, but I would suggest getting a beta who is at least somewhat familiar with the PPC.

Thank you by Helen of Pylos on 2009-01-23 22:47:00 UTC Reply

That was much less painless than I expected.

Not a PG, just a friendly comment... by Sedri on 2009-01-23 20:58:00 UTC Reply

I like the sound of Jane. :) All of them, actually, but Jane in particular. Very creative.

I'd like to point out a spelling error: It's "console", not "consul".

Also, if you're going to be posting regularly on livejournal, I suggest you start using LJ-cuts - it makes it easier. You can find how on the FAQ (and feel free to ask me if it's confusing). That said, may I friend you?

Re: Not a PG, just a friendly comment... by Helen of Pylos on 2009-01-23 22:44:00 UTC Reply

The consul thing got me, sorry. And here I was thinking I'd paid such close attention. Ah well, mistakes are meant to be learning experiences.

Of course, you may friend me on livejournal. Technical savy I do not possess, sadly, and any help you can give me would be much appreciated. I won't tell you how long it took me to figure out how to transfer the document from my computer to the computer with internet access, because it's way too embarrassing.

Well, technical stuff I can help with... by Sedri on 2009-01-24 05:56:00 UTC Reply

For the LJ-cut, if you're using Rich Text Editor, there'll be a little symbol with says "Lj-cut" when you hover over it; what you need to do is highlight the text that will be hidden and click it, and a pop-up box will appear asking you for cut text, which is what the link reads so people can click on it - in this case you'd put the title of the mission.

If you're using html (which I recommend, as LJ's rich text is EVIL), you need to put:

at the beginning of your hidden text, and end it with:

Remove the spaces in both cases, and change the caps text to the mission title.

Feel free to PM me on LJ if you still have trouble. :)