Tales of the Parodyverse - Re: The old order changeth

Post By

In Reply To

Al B. Harper

Subj: Re: The old order changeth
Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 at 07:56:43 pm EST (Viewed 8 times)

Reply Subj: The old order changeth
Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 at 06:58:31 pm EST (Viewed 10 times)

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Unfortunately it's proving to be the most difficult thing I've had to write for quite a while and it's not short. I'm going to take a break now before tackling Lara and Co's exploits in the next scene.

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I hope the break works because I really do enjoy reading your LL stories.

I intend to have another go at it tomorrow. I reckon I'm 60% done.

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*tries to think of someone real obscure*

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Madam Magica. Ten points for whoever can recall where she appeared.

Rhiannon's away this weekend but I'll ask her when she gets back.

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Previously I've maintained that each poster gets only one character ever in the Legion, with the exception that if that character permanently dies or departs then another can join. This makes good sense when there's a lot of posters about and it helps to keep the team numbers down to something that's writeable. However, at the moment I'm struggling to field an interesting varied roster using that method.

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It has worked well, but if you feel like changing or amending it to help the story then go ahead. Anyway, sticking to the standard rule we'd have (characters):

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Visionary

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Yuki Shiro

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Hooded Hood

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CSFB!

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Wait. Did someone say put the Hood on the roster? Now there's an idea....

Not without Mumphrey shooting him. It'd literally be over his dead body.

Actually I'm against the idea of archvillains joining hero teams, as with Magneto in the X-Men. An aantagonist designed to be powerful and dangerous enough to threaten an entire team has to be seriously watered down to fit with the group they previously menaced. And then you just need another archvillain.

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Why not add Killer Shrike while we're at it. heh heh. If poster KS isn't going to let us have Glory or Epitome then he should suffer.

Shrike would be good on some kind of Suicode Squad deal, bu he'd have to have some serious coercion to tag along on LL missions.

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All lead by the Carnifex.

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Or maybe not.

Maybe not.

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Of course it's not just up to me anyhow; but at the moment I'm the only person really writing the Lair Legion regularly and I'd really like a roster I'm comfortable with to encourage me.

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What do you feel is missing from the current choice selection? Aside from just because they're missing posters (eg: Dancer), what particular character traits or powers do you feel the current selection is failing at providing? (eg: we only have Yuki as one female, so it would be good to bring back...Dancer (or whoever))?

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Maybe if we can pin down some of the things that are lacking it will help deciding on who should fill the gap.

In personality terms we're missing someone to make bitchy/snarky comments, we're missing someone to be dark and brooding, and we're missing a young romantic male lead that's unattached. In team combat dynamics we're short of the one-useful-power types like G-Eyed, Cressida, Exile, DBS. The team's also short on in-your-face brawlers right now; only Yuki fills that niche in the absence of Epitome, Hatman, Donar, and Finny.

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Before we get to your survey though (yay a membership survey!) I think you/we should also just consider using whomever we have from the 'vaults' to add where adding them will give a kick @$$ story. I know you said in the reply below that you're worried about using DBS or Silicone Sally because of the worry they will be reinvented for the LL and not be the posters character any more. But shared continuity works both ways and there is nothing to stop another poster coming back and writing about a character in the direction they want. The fluidity of the PV allows for these stretches too. If you have a great idea for Character X then go for it.

I have two worries. The first is that sometimes posters have felt they can't write their own characters after I've worked extensivey on them. The second is that if characters get "donated" to me (or to the board in general) it becomes very self-indulgent to use them all the time since I'm effectively populating the team with characters I now control.

For example, I could write a real fun team with a line up of Mumph with DBS, thuddy, Kerry, Danny, Vinnie, FA, Gaz, Ham-Boy, and Anvil Man, with associates Champagne, Night Nurse, and Tom Black. I'm not sure it would be much fun for everybody else once the novelty worse off.

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Now we really need a character called "Character X" but anyway onto the survey...

Proeed.

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So, without any guarantees that I'll actually use this, I'd like folks to comment on the following possible candidates for Legionnaires (grouped by poster)

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Visionary

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Hallie

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Fleabot

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They're all members or close enough associates to be thought of as essential members already in my eyes. And really, if you're going to stretch the one member per poster rule for anyone it may as well be for the V-man.

I once considered allowing an extra member for every 200 stories the poster did. I reckon that qualifies Vizh, Jason, KS, AG, and me. Actually I get four characters by that rule.

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Hatman

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Hatty is a great Legionnaire but I too wish poster Hatty was around more these days to enjoy his presence more.

I'd like to keep both poster and character Hatty around, but he's had a fair run as LL leader now so I'm wondering if there are ways of moving him sideways.

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Did I just contradict myself? Ah well, thems the breaks.

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Rabid Wolf

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Gamma Ray Gary

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I'd like to see them hang around a bit more before they become members. Rabid Wolf has only just appeared again and GRG is who knows where, but...well I suppose if everyone else is dead from some horrid Carnifex inflicted death then sure.

Plus it's weird writing a Zdenka/Jay romance when poster-Jay's married. It's the same problem I had with the Jay/Whitney romance when Whit got hitched.

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CrazySugarFreakBoy!

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Pelopia

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Glitch

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I think it's time for the SugarFreak! to become the team leader of the LL. Particulary if Hatman is now lost. I mean, the Agent of Chaos as leader, it's bound to end in tears, but I think it would make for great drama.

My problem with this - and Kirk certainly deserves it - is that CSFB! could be a lot less fun in a leadership role. Once you've had the joy of him outraging the establishment, pantsing Garrick etc., he's still the guy who has to call DBS to order for seducing Samantha or something, and that's just not him.

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Of the others I can see Glitch, but not with Yuki (and maybe Anna) on the same team. Too much overlap.

We do have a wealth of robotic women.

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Mr Epitome

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Glory

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Alcheman

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Silver Aegis

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All of these are worthy choices. *Bashes KS over the head with a large trout until he says yes*

Aussie diplomacy.

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I've always liked Alcheman's quiet achiever-ness that would work well around some of the more colourful characters (especially if Hatman is lost). And Silver Aegis had some good story happening a while back that make me think he'd be a good candidate. Actually I'd like it a lot for him to join.

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I think Shrike tries for a very specific silver age feel for Aegis' stories. He's been unhappy before when I've put SA into situations which are grittier and grimmer. LL members realy have to be able to survive any kind of story from very silly to full-on tragic.

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Al B. Harper

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Cho Cho Futago (Butterfly Twins)

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Night Nurse

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Ha ha you just added them so I didn't feel left out. Anyway, the Futago girls are rather blank slates (aside from being tee-hee'ing manga girls) so they could be taken whichever direction you want.

I'm considering them for the new Juniors line-up; assuming there is a Juniors.

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And Grace is a board-wide character anyway so wouldn't be breaking any rules. Not sure she fits in the LL per se though.

It would be a shame to take her from ER but she's a fun protagonist too.

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Yuki Shiro

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Lara Night

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Liu Xi Xian

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Anna

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Yuki for sure!

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Liu Xi - I can see it. She's often around enough anyway.

I think with the line-up we can either go for an "all star" team and pull in former members even though theirnposters are rare - drag back Donar, G-Eyed, Messy, thud, Troia, Ziles, Yo - or we could do a "Cap's kooky quartet" and dump almost the entire current membership for newbies like Liu Xi. I'm having trouble imagining how to reconcile the two approaches.

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Lara....not too fond of (joining the LL that is) for reasons stated already in this thread.

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Anna...could work. But I'd prefer Liu Xi as the next Jason character to join.

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He's a prolific enough writer here that bending the one character rule would be justified.

Noted.

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The Manga Shoggoth

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Dancer

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Speak now posters or forever be bannished!

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Well not forever, just until you show up again....

The Shoggoth's around.

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Kerry Shepherdson

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Danny Lyle

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I'm not as into these two as everyone else.

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But joining works. For Kerry especially.

I don't see Danny joining.

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The Librarian

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Ham-Boy

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Semi-Transparent Lad

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Heh, what happened to STL anyway?

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I think in terms of rules of characters, having at least one character for current people who posts is nice, so would say keep the Librarian on board.

I think his poster is fairly bored with him. He keeps threatening to kill him off.

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Ham Boy would work for me if you bring Fashion Accessory with him please.

They're just good friends. Well, friends. Well, they know each other.

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spiffy

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ManMan & Knifey

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dull thud & Cressida

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thud and Cressida have the most appeal of these three to me. But all have been fine Legionnaires before and could be again.

Indeed. thud showed up on the board a year of so back and we corresponded. At that point he wanted to do more with thud away from the LL before bringing him back to the fold.

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Icy

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A pity his poster isn't around.

I don't know what's happened to Jack. I was hoping he'd continue to participate and then I could just slip Icy into the roster - pun intended.

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Sir Mumphrey Wilton

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Fashion Accessory

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Vinnie De Soth

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Tom Black

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You know already I like reading about Sir Mumphrey. I'd settle for more WWII Mumph stories if nothing else. I'm still waiting to find out what happened with the tale of Sir Mumphry and the Khoi-Lar Ruby guest starring Edwina Mountbatten.

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*ahem*

I guess you must have missed the ending to that one being posted.

I quite liked Mumph in the LL but it felt very self-indulgent and Mary-Sueish.

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Anyway, FA would be fun as I already mentioned.

that's the rumour, yes.

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And as Vinnie is the new Sorcerer Supreme we need to read more about him so being in the LL can't hurt.

Xander wouldn't approve though.

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Donar

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Nats

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Messenger

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They've all been great Legionnaires before and could be again.

Indeed.

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Harlagaz

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Sure if Donar isn't.

Gaz has the advantage of being a bit more green than Donar and therefore prone to mistakes. That said, Donar has the advantage of being Donar.

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Baroness Zemo

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Silicone Sally

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I think Sally needs to join.

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Particularly now that she is in the banner.

I'd do it if JJJ was around.

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Lisa Waltz

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Again, has been good before, but can you keep the old Legionnaries fresh or would we just be going over old ground?

* insert Lisa joke here *

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Champagne

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The inconvievable Yurt

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Anvil Man

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It's high time we had Anvil Man join!

He's a career mercenary villain but he's fun to write. He's a real blue-collar baddie.

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And of course write-in votes are most welcome. Apologies to anybody whose characters I've omitted.

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OK, here is my team suggestion. In the manner of Lee and Kirby.

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Leader: CSFB!

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Field Leader: Yuki

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Fashion Accessory

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Kerry Shepherdson (she really needs a code name. Pyro Mania?)

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Denial

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Anvil Man

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Hallie

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Silicone Sally

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Al B. Harper

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Silver Ageis

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Associates:

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Librarian

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Visionary

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Vinnie De Soth

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Or for something really radical the new team should be:

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Leader: Hooded Hood

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Rabid Wolf

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Alcheman

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Liu Xi Xian

Noted.