Re: Short Answers

Agent Polling by [EvilAI]UBEROverlord on 2015-06-02 07:32:00 UTC Reply

So I have been playing around with a few different Agent ideas for a while now and I have two pairs currently in the works, one pair, I do not think has anything inherently wrong with them though, if you disagree let me know. The first prospective team is a Pureblood Sith Apprentice from Star Wars: The Old Republic. The other is a currently low ranked Bleach Soul Reaper. I understand that this might get a bit too powerful, but I think I can make it work.

It is really the other pairing that is giving me concerns and that is why I figured I would poll the community to see what they think. One of them is Cipher-7 which I have introduced a few times previously, but basically an Imperial Agent from SWTOR. Nothing wrong I really see with her. The other one is the question. I was thinking of maybe running with a Pokémon Agent, and what eventually came to mind was a Mewtwo. And that's the question. What do you all think? Can a Mewtwo Agent work? Or is it, by its own nature in its canon, too powerful to be an effective agent? If it makes any of you feel better, I do have a fairly in depth arc in the works for a Mewtwo Agent.

Just wondering what your thoughts are.

It depends on its backstory by Tira on 2015-06-02 12:25:00 UTC Reply

If you're talking about a version from the video games, then Mewtwo is just a powerful Pokemon. There's no specific indication that it necessarily has any powers beyond that. In the anime, however, it's an incredibly powerful psychic, and having a Mewtwo agent would be a little questionable. But power levels aren't really all that important.

The main issue I see with that is its in-universe backstory, though. Where did this Mewtwo come from? Technically it's a unique Pokemon; there isn't really "a" Mewtwo in canon so much as "the" Mewtwo. It's not like a Pikachu or something where the character could theoretically be a "canon bit." So it would have to be a Character Replacement. This can be a good backstory, and also a way to tone down its abilities.

Overall, I guess what I'm wondering is why you want to write these characters. I've seen you talk a lot about their power levels - and they're all pretty powerful - but I feel like you haven't said much about their personalities. While I understand that you don't want to spoil things for us, it'd be nice to have a sense of what drew you to these characters in the first place. Otherwise, it comes off a little like you're only picking them because they're powerful.

Short Answers by [EvilAI]UBEROverlord on 2015-06-02 16:12:00 UTC Reply
1. Imperial Agent: Main reason, was I felt like the agent would be able to be plugged in well into the PPC and could have interesting interactions.
  
  2. Mewtwo: Came from a discussion some time ago about Pokémon Agents. The question was posed about how/what would cause a Pokémon to willingly go against humans, since the main premise of the canon is humans and Pokémon working together in concert. I thought that at least the backstory of the Mewtwo from the Anime would work well for that. Now while not necessarily a bit character the anime seems to indicate that there are at least two separate Mewtwos in existence, namely the one from the First Movie and then the one from the Genesect film. Both act slightly differently, the latter also has a female voice, and possessed no memory of Ash and Co., thus leading me to believe that it is probably a different Mewtwo. Further there are at least 9 Mewtwos from the games, so I was more so thinking along the lines of a game Mewtwo whose cartridge was reset.
  
  And I was thinking that an interesting story would come from the originally hating humans (or at least its trainer, think max power frustration), to eventually working together in harmony with them, essentially meeting the initial tone of the Pokémon Series. Mewtwo also happens to be probably my favorite Legendary Pokémon and third favorite overall. And seeing that there is already a Lucario in the PPC, in order to have some degree of uniqueness, and considering a Charizard would be slightly more difficult to explain, I thought Mewtwo might be a decent choice. Further, I think a Mewtwo can have a lot of interesting side-stories. Because for me, those seem a lot more interesting to write rather than missions.
  
  3. Sith Warrior: The main impetus for this character comes from the mailbox RP a little while ago. I found the condescension from the majority of Time Lords very entertaining. And I was thinking, "What might clash well with the entire race?" So I thought about for a while and came up with a race from my own personal favorite canon, Star Wars. Sith Purebloods, basically think anyone who is not a Sith Pureblood is trash, especially if they cannot manipulate the Force. And as seen in SWTOR even if one does have the ability to manipulate the Force there is still a good chance they will still think of non-Purebloods as inferior. So I thought that a Sith Pureblood would be a very nice foil to the majority of the PPC's Time Lord Agents.
  
  Further, I like to challenge myself when I write, and I have not previously ever written a character who does things for the Evulz. And so I wanted to give myself a challenge, so a Sith seemed like a good way to do it. I also think that he will work well as a foil to my final agent.
  
  4. Soul Reaper: Originally I had decided that if I was going to write a character like the Sith, I would need an agent who can stand up to him, restrain his worst instincts and the like. A Jedi is the obvious choice, but that's why I decided against it. Too obvious, and frankly, if they were working together by the end of it, one would almost certainly end up killing the other. So I wanted to think of something else, and I figured that a Soul Reaper could work. See the way I see it, since the Zanpakuto is an extension/manifestation of the Soul Reaper's Soul, it is pretty hardy, and as such based around the kind of things that a Zanpakuto can take before breaking, I think it is within reason to suggest that it can resist a Lightsaber in combat if need be.
  
  That allows the Soul Reaper to intervene if the Sith tries to attack someone. Further, I see a lot of interesting stories that I can write about this Soul Reaper. Namely I see a whole section where he finally will achieve Bankai. Further since I see him entering the PPC some ponit prior to at least the 1000 Year Blood War Arc, he will have a lot of interesting reactions once he discovers the weekly releases of Bleach and more importantly once he learns about things that happen during that arc.
  
  Does that help? I only mention power levels in the OP like I did because that is what I am concerned about. It seems to me that for all intents and purposes, that once a character hits a certain power level, they essentially become per-se invalid. And I am just trying to ensure my prospective agents do not hit that level. But suffice it to say, I have interesting story arcs already vaguely sketched for each one.

Re: Short Answers by Tira on 2015-06-02 17:03:00 UTC Reply

With regards to the Mewtwo, I think you make a good point, but I'm still a little dubious about using such a rare Pokémon. I'll confess that part of my motivation is my interest in Pokémon mythology, under which Mewtwo could qualify as semi-divine. What about an Alakazam or something? Then you would have the same feel of a highly powerful and intelligent Psychic-type, but without bordering on being Speshul. I can see lots of reasons for a Pokémon to not be fond of humans; abusive trainers aren't unheard-of, after all. Or maybe it was close to its trainer, who then released it after being pressured to by Team Plasma? Or if it's from a game cartridge that was reset, there's no reason a non-Mewtwo Pokémon wouldn't feel bitter about that.

Honestly, as for the Sith Warrior, I'm not sure an agent who can only be stopped from killing people by their partner is the best choice. An arrogant, evil agent is fine, even a potentially murderous one. But if they can't restrain themselves then frankly they start to fall into the Stupid Evil trap. I'm not saying it can't be done well, but without seeing it in action I'm a little dubious.

Sorry if this comes off as overly bossy. I'm not a Permission Giver, so it's not like you have to take my advice or anything. Those are just some issues I see with the concepts.

On a side note, if you're still looking for betas when you're ready to submit your Permission Request, I'd be more than willing to help out with that.

I am oversimplifying it a bit by [EvilAI]UBEROverlord on 2015-06-02 17:49:00 UTC Reply

As for Mewtwo, it really comes down to more or less which Pokémon I like and do not. It was never really about power per-se, it was that as I said, Mewtwo is one of my favorite Pokémon. As I said Lucario has been done, Charizard does not seem like it would fit quite as well, Gyarados would need to be in a human disguise almost exclusively, Gallade is a possibility, though there is a Gardevoir already in the PPC. Haxorus might be possible. But see, I am also looking for something that can communicate without the need for a translator with at least its partner, i.e., either in English naturally or through telepathic communications. And the Pokémon that can do that are heavily limited. But ultimately it is irrelevant for now, because I'm focusing on the second pair for now.

As to the Sith Warrior, I oversimplified it. What I am really going for is someone who is basically a true Sith. His anger and hatred are all very near the surface, and it does not take much to set him off, hence the need for a "control" partner, one who can stand in and take the brunt of the Sith's rage, preventing it from spilling out. But in most cases he really does not attack most things on sight, for much the same reason most people do not crush a stray ant. Does that clear it up a bit better?