A caution about insanity.

Three important and philosophical questions... by Bausiren on 2013-04-10 02:03:00 UTC Reply

So, while trawling around the wiki, snatching up shiny things left and right, I suddenly found I had three questions that needed answering.

Question the First: Is it acceptable to add to the list of Things I Will Not Do In The PPC? And if so, may I?

Question the Second: How far does the average agent's sanity stretch before it snaps completely?

Question the Third: What is the difference between SHINY things and just plain shiny things?

As you can see, these are very important and philosophical questions.

Lily's answers seem solid. by Karen on 2013-04-10 03:43:00 UTC Reply

I would just like to establish that the third question is the most important of all.

Solid is so drab. I prefer vague. by Huinesoron on 2013-04-10 09:22:00 UTC Reply

1/ Well, you see, there are a multitude of factors affecting this, which all need to be taken into consideration. Of course, we have to balance the competing demands of the different viewpoints before we make a firm statement about the outcome.

2/ Opinions, naturally, vary, not only as to the answer to your question, but as to the very viability of the question itself. Is this a question which can truly be asked? Would an answer in fact be an answer - or simply another question?

3/ The key to understanding this question is the context. One cannot simply ask questions in isolation without considering the surrounding circumstances, the effect of the observer on the situation - and perhaps most importantly of all, the effect of the question on the one who asks it.

(Thanks to our answering panel:

1/ Senator O'Politician
2/ Greeknameos the Philosopher
3/ ... Dirk Gently)

hS :P

Hmmmm... by Bausiren on 2013-04-11 05:16:00 UTC Reply

Without meaning any disrespect to your hSship, I would like to infer that you perhaps answered my questions without answering them...;p
/Chuckles by Lily Winterwood on 2013-04-10 15:04:00 UTC Reply

And that's why I'd be a horrible politician, right there. I dislike being vague (unless mum's asking the question).
Okay, this ^ (nm) by Karen on 2013-04-10 14:42:00 UTC Reply

Some answers... by Lily Winterwood on 2013-04-10 03:12:00 UTC Reply

1) Whenever Tawaki comes around with the thread again, you can.

2) Honestly it depends on their ability to roll with the punches. And meta-wise it depends on your interest in them as a character. If you get bored, making your agent insane is an option.

3) SHINIES are usually more dangerous than shinies. In my experience Agents like their SHINIES dangerous and shiny.

Answers to answers by Bausiren on 2013-04-11 05:13:00 UTC Reply

1) Ah.
2) Insane agents sound like fun.;p

3)Dangerous and shiny... sounds like a good combo.

A caution about insanity. by Neshomeh on 2013-04-11 15:55:00 UTC Reply

(Not that you personally need to be told this, Bausiren, but it's been an issue in the past, so I think it bears saying. {= ) )

There is sometimes a tendency to confuse the mostly harmless combination of idiosyncratic nuttiness, defense mechanisms, and survival tactics that most agents possess with either actual insanity—the kind that gets people arrested and/or committed—or what Phobos and I refer to as "Chaotic Stupid," which is what you get when someone goes "well, my character is Chaotic, so they have to do random crazy things that make no sense! It's in character." Substitute "insane" for "Chaotic," and it's the same bad excuse for choosing randomness and stupidity over actual characterization.

Being insane in the PPC does not mean being a sadistic psychopath, and equally it does not mean throwing all reason and consistency to the wind. Rather, the phrase "there's a method to her madness" applies. People tend to have reasons for doing things, even if the things they do wouldn't make sense by "normal" standards. That's PPC-crazy: the weird, quirky things agents do to keep it (mostly) together from mission to mission.

Make sense?

~Neshomeh

An Addendum. by VixenMage on 2013-04-12 08:54:00 UTC Reply

In addition to the concerns Neshomeh raised, I'd add that it would be very good if, in the course of agent-making, you decide to make them legitimately mentally ill, in a not-psychotic way - for example, bipolar, or schizophrenia, or multiple personality disorder, it would be greatly appreciated by myself, and moooost likely PPCers in general who may have mental illnesses, if you research said illness very carefully, ask people who have it if you have questions/concerns, and treat the character respectfully, rather than an excuse to make silly/zany jokes.

Also not because anyone specifically needed to be told, but it does come up every so often.

Yes, agreed. by Neshomeh on 2013-04-12 18:47:00 UTC Reply

I've known a fair variety of people with mental disorders, and it is pretty annoying when other people get the disorders mixed up.

(Also I think MPD is called "dissociative identity disorder" now? Not sure, though.)

~Neshomeh

Yes, it is. by Data Junkie on 2013-04-12 19:40:00 UTC Reply

And, unless you have actual experience with DID, I would heavily recommend against writing it, if only to avoid offending people.

(Including a character with DID is the quickest way to get me to side-eye your work, and poorly written DID is the quickest way to get me to throw it across the room.)

Agree with this. by Huinesoron on 2013-04-12 11:18:00 UTC Reply

And to highlight two of my own agents:

-Lou has said (very early on) that she was 'pentapolar', which is like bipolar only with, uh, more poles. My opinion is that this is actually a lie. Wait, did I say 'lie'? I meant... no, I meant lie.

{It's not a lie if it makes for more interesting storytelling} Um, a) yes it is, and b) it didn't. {It's not a lie if shut up} ...

-Secondly, Kayleigh. Kayleigh has been consistantly described as ADHD, which was a somewhat misused label at one point in time (about eight years ago, when every child who misbehaved was immediately labelled ADHD. That seems to have worn off these days, thank the stars). She's also based heavily on a real person (of the 'I'm ADHD and the pills make me boring so I don't take them' variety), so I know she's accurate to at least one ADHD person...

Of course, she's also PPC-Crazy, and may be putting at least some of it on (I don't know; she won't tell me). Which of those three covers (for instance) constantly narrating her actions so Salamander (who's blind) can tell what she's doing? I haven't the faintest idea. At the end of the day, Kayleigh is Kayleigh - completely doolalley, and immensely fun to write.

hS

Nods by Bausiren on 2013-04-12 02:46:00 UTC Reply

Oh. No, I get that. Reading one too many LoTR bad parodies kind of dulls one's enthusiasm for writing Chaotic Stupid characters. Or wanting to read about them. Same goes for sadistic psychopaths-occasionally, they add spice, but as permanent instalments, they rather lose their flavor.
Hope I got the point! :P

Yep, I think you did. {= ) (nm) by Neshomeh on 2013-04-12 18:49:00 UTC Reply

*insert joke about meta, insanity, and Agent Dawn* by DawnFire on 2013-04-10 10:14:00 UTC Reply

The funny thing is, she just turned out that way (insane, that is). I wasn't bored, exactly...I think I just wanted her to quote everything, and it snowballed. And then I found out that she knew she was more or less fictional, and I got an explanation for at least part of her insanity. Quite fun.

~DF