Mar 2013 Archive, part c

I've been on here a little longer than a day or two (almost a month, actually) but I've spent most of that time finishing the Original Series, doing my homework on the PPC, and figuring out editing. I DO occasionally read the Board, but I've only gotten up the courage to start posting-well, a day or two ago.

I'll take a look when you write it.

I'll read it, if you want

Maybe I've missed something, but as far as I'm aware, you've only just started posting here in the last day or two. Even if you actually introduced yourself at some point when I wasn't paying attention, I still can't remember seeing you around until today. We like to have a chance to get to know people for more than a couple of weeks before handing out Permission, so focusing on preparing for a request in early April might be jumping the gun a bit. It's generally best to just hang out without worrying about it for a while. {= )

~Neshomeh

I may not be the BEST Beta, or the most experienced, but I'll gladly go over your piece for you. SeraphWeasel@gmail.com

The fact is, apart for greeting a couple of newbyes you didn't post basically anything.

As other Boarders pointed out in your previous request, "reading some threads" here is nowhere near enough. You have to post too, discuss in the threads, and even make one yourself if you have something interesting to discuss. (Or even something random. We encourage both serious and silly conversations here. It's even in our Constitution!) The "one month" rule is basically there to let the wide-eyed newbyes to get themselves known.

I don't want to be rude, but before giving you Permission, we need to know who you are. If you don't partecipate on the board, how are we supposed to get to know you, and so trust you with Permission?

I don't like peanut butter very much, but it might be because I'm used to a completely different cuisine.

I did try American-style chocolate chip cookies, and they're really good.

I really like peanut butter, but I'm going for the chocolate chip!

Yummmmm...aw, man, I hope I have some chocolate somewhere with me, 'cause now I really want some.

(For preference: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Awesome. My dad and I used to make them; they'd never last more than a couple of days. I should really see about us making more...I think we tried, at some point, but we just ended up eating the chocolate chips before we found time to actually make the cookies.)

~DF

But I'm prone to either one.

Still going with chocolate chip. Good ones melt in your mouth, and I've never seen a peanut butter cookie that manages to do that the same way.

Peanut butter cookie with chocolate chips.

I hate peanut butter cookies. They're too dry.

But it has to be a certain kind of chocolate chip cookie. When they're too stale, they're no good to eat. They have to be fresh and soft.

Sugar cookies are probably my absolute favorite.

I like chocolate and dislike peanuts. Easy as pie.

Although, I don't think I've ever tried a peanut butter cookie. Still, chocolate is chocolate.

*Ducks in anticipation of a barrage of insults, mouldy vegetables, disbelief, etc.*

I mean, come on.

Look at those beauties. Don't lie, you're salivating right now, wanting some of those chocolate chip cookies. Best darn cookies on the planet right here.

Sob with me, Lizzie Bennet Diaries fans.

It's my favorite. :D

Peanut butter with chocolate chips in it. :)

Peanut butter with chocolate chips in it. :)

Butterscotch, I would say if I had my own choice. But no; you have limited it. Bad Karen.
Hmmmm... chocolate chip. All de way.

Definitely chocolate chip. *hops on the chocolate chip wagon* Cookies are just better with bits of chocolate in them!

Is no question at all! IT IS DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CHIP I MUST NOM NOM NOM IT!!!! /craziness :-)

I have decided on chocolate chip. Because chocolate.

Chocolate all the way. Accept no substitutes.

The author can have it.

No touchie my Electronic/Dubstep! *rage*

There are Deadmau5 Sues now?
She dies. She dies, she dies, she dies. *hugs CD*

I didn't even read that far, but...ouch. Also, wow. Thanks for sharing.

(Who's Deadmau5, by the way?)

I tend to stay clear of most RPF, and tend to have fairly good luck with the ones I do read, so I'm afraid I don't actually have anything to share...but wow. Just wow.

Ok, enough badfic for today. I can't take it.

~DawnFire

Surprising as it may be, I've known the Pit to have a small amount of good anime, if you know where to find it. Mainly the stuff that was written five years ago... when Pitters actually cared about quality... *sighs*. Most of it is archived away in communities and such, but it's there, at least. Other than that, I would suggest Google.

Can't say as I've watched more than a few episodes of Card Captor, more due to availability than actual desire not to continue.

I would recommend reading Tsubasa, although the anime kinda leaves things hanging. And I loved Magic Knights Rayearth (my first CLAMP), it ends a little weird, but oh well, and the second season of the anime went way overboard on filler/extraneous stuff, the manga is great though. Clover and RG Veda are good ones too.

Oooh, I loved it when I was a kid! I need to brush up on it, that was a great series! Have you watched xxxHolic and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles? Or read the mangas?

Nominating this for badfic status for deplorable grammar, a VERY OC Hermione (good God.....), choppy pacing, even shorter chapters and a lack of elaborations. Pretty sure 'Mione isn't in any way canon by the way.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8994675/1/My-Diary

First, I want to thank the good people behind Fan/fic/ Theater 3000 for providing a wonderful list of awful fanfiction. You can find their lists on the main hub page here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uJ8FqW1zBIzsYZoe4M1ILS9H8wgk2zjEEGQqmgNsfIg/edit

However, My Brave Pony by Mykan (just read the MST on the page, it's better for your sanity) and Pinkamena: The pink shadow:www.fimfiction.net/story/46056/pinkamena-the-pink-shadow are two of the worst fanfictions I have ever read EVER. Just... just read them.

Yes, Marvin and Printworthy are unfortunate enough to be going into them, and somebody special is going to make their appearance in Pinkamena: The pink shadow, but a collaboration for My Brave Pony would be open and appreciated. The reason is that the fic is simply too darned massive, I cannot handle it myself. Well, not without a huge amount of work that is, and I would have to find some way to make sure my agents don't take some nukes from Fallout Equestria and carpet bomb the entire land of Unicornocopia too soon. Yes that is the name of the country. The citizens are anthropomorphic alicorn Sues that call themselves unicorns, despite their wings, and use the magic of believing. Believing in what, we never learn, just believing. And the Celestia counterpart is an alicorn with three golden horns that can cast a spell called the Uni-force... Yeah, it's going down in flames, just as soon as I find out how.

Well, it claims to be Family/Romance, but the spelling and grammar ...

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9104473/1/lost-and-found
Title: lost and found
Summery: the daughter of percy and artemis has been found at camp,how will the couple deal with a child the dont know even existed first fanfic,flames welcome !

Compared to the rest of the fic this is eloquent. Also, Artemis is a virgin goddess, when will people realize that the only guy she even considered was the great hunter Orion and Apollo was so jealous he caused Orion's death? (Or at least that's one version.)

As a bonus, have the first sentence:
Hunter ran , the trees ripping into her skin but she still carried on her long black hair was twisted an knotted down her back and her jeans were splattered with mud and leaves from the forest.

I made it through the first page before something died inside of me. This reminds me of a fic I read a while back... but you don't want to hear about it. Trust me.

With this fic's gradually increasing length and exponentially increasing stupidity and bad SPaG, it seems to me like it could be a candidate for Legendary Badfic status, or at least Bleepfic status. Quoting for both pages on the wiki:

"Legendary Badfic is a collective name for the worst badfic encountered by the PPC, specifically those 'fics which most of the community have heard of and (in many cases) been traumatized by."

"Bleepfics, also known as worsefics, AUGHfics, Glaurunging Badfics and several other terms, are those badfics as painful and terrible to read as any Legendary Badfic, but not well-known enough by the community to be considered truly legendary."

So, should it be on at least one of these lists?

(Also, here's some good advice from Pinkie Pie on how to deal with badfic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrPte1uijDw)

If this thing gets much bigger, you might have to call in backup.

Oh, I feel so sorry for poor Icheb. Then again, at least he'll have plenty of guards at OFAS.

I also feel sorry for the Borg, who, being about the most dangerous recurring threat to Starfleet, seem to get the receiving end of Suvian bad-guy hunts nearly all the time. You NEED a class at OFAS to dissuade fanbrats from their 'lets go hunt and defeat easily the biggest big bad we can find' attitude. (Oh, and preferably make it a practical class...)

Oh, and when you spork this, please please PLEASE explain to the 'Sue that there is a very big difference between beings of supernatural evil and a technological hive mind seeking perfection.

Don't even get me started on nanites and water. Clearly this 'Sue doesn't know there is a certain amount of water in blood, and throughout the body (which is necessary to keep the correct concentration gradients of various ions and other substances). Sparing you a lengthy Biology lecture, it is pretty safe to say that if nanites stopping working in water, the Borg would not exactly have got very far, now would they?

(While I am guilty of the occasional joke about defeating Borg drones with water-pistols, I'm sure such an advanced species would already have thought of that and fixed the problem.)

Oh, and the source of the water... summon the Department of Temporal Offences, please. I'm pretty sure Voyager technology does not involve pipes like that.

Now, please excuse me: I need to raid the Bleepolate stash in the cupboard before I go completely crazy.

I gave up two sentences in. So bad it's truly impressive.

Seriously though, what the crap did I just read?

At first, when I was reading this abomination(curse my morbid curiosity!), all of the rampant spelling errors in the first sentence and the lack of premise made me think "This has got to be a troll." Then I realized that I was on the twelfth chapter. When I went back and looked at the first few chapters, that statement turned into a sanity-preservation mantra.
I skimmed the fic for minis, having a hunch that this would break the mini-collection record that was until recently hoisted begrudgingly by the mission for "Rainbowdash goes to the Mushroom Kinkdom". It did, and it did so by a lot. There are THIRTY-NINE MINIS HERE. Even not counting the two mini-Sues and the minis of Trekverse technology (I'm not sure if misspellings that aren't places or characters get their own minis), this blows the old record out of the water.
I have to focus only on the abuse of spelling and grammar rather than the other flaws. One flaw above all others. If I do not, and I realize the full immensity of this fic's stupidity at once, I will go completely rathive maggots for hours.
This has got to be a troll. This has got to be a troll. This has got to be a troll.

Oh, wait... (digs out newbie gifts) I know I had Bleeprin candy in here somewhere. AH! THE AMBROSIA OF LETHE ITSELF! (consumes several "Bleep'n'ms")
Hoooo... I'm fine now. All I can remember now is the sheer number of minis that Suethor made of Icheb. Thanks, Khaosity, for temporarily staving off the encroach of my madness!

Seriously, though, it's actually a good thing you're waiting a while to spork this one. Your agents should probably get a buffer of slightly less awful missions beforehand. This is not a first mission. This is the sort of mission that the Sequoia(or Rain, as I've heard she likes to be called) would give her agents when they've been bad.

And after reading the first sentence even I know that's bad...

I don't think we get to see enough of these taken out.

I read the summary and went "LOL NOPE."

I've been without an net-connected laptop for some time, so I can't speak to the seaworthiness of the channel, but if it's the 'Board link that's glitching, there are ways around it. I recommend going to http://chat.mibbit.com/ and typing in irc.sorcery.net for server, and #PPC for channel. That's how I almost always log in.

Hello! Nice to meet a fellow AF fan. Have a sparkly thing. It throw good.
Imaginary cat... hmmm... yep, reminds me of my imaginary dragon, post-Eragon...Trainwreck syndrome... got it! Got it! The fics I've read... and flamed... and learned what concrit is... oh, yes. Spelling Nazi good.
Welcome to the mildly insane Board!

Yay, a Tamora Pierce fan. Have some griffin fletched arrows. Hit whatever you aim at and force people to tell the truth.

Velcome, velcome! Have a box of matches and a super-size bottle of Bleeprin.

And though the Inheritance Cycle is terrible, I know quite a lot of bizarre trivia on it nevertheless.

Oh, god. Welcome to the club. It's terrible, but I know the canon inside and out and I could, technically, do a mission in it. But most of said mission would be my agents muttering "I must not charge the canons with being Sues..." over and over again.

Here, have some chocolate rainbow cake and a conical hat! (it's made of tin foil and duct tape!)

Additionally, have some newbie links!

This is the PPC Constitution! I know it's linked at the top of the Board, but it really is very important that you read it, so here it is just to make sure!
Here we have PPC: The Original Series! This is the other bit of required reading. Again, just to make sure!
And over here is the newbie FAQ! If you haven't read it already, it is a very Good Thing to do so. It's really quite helpful.
Just in case you're interested in writing your very own PPC spin-off some day, you'll find the Permission FAQ here. Please note that it is in no way essential to get Permission. We're primarily here for the social, and getting Permission is not really needed to fit in. But! If you want to write a spin-off, by all means, apply when you feel you're ready!
Finally, this is the PPC chat. While it can get slow at times, it's usually a pretty fun place. If you ever have any questions, or are just feeling bored, feel free to pop in! We're all pretty welcoming. Just... don't feed the Lielac. We think she might have rabies.

Welcome to the board! An Astérix fan, eh? I'm tempted to call you Polyglotix or something... Aha! I dub thee... Eccentrix!

You seem like a really fun person to be with. Nice to meet you!
Please have some of my rock-hard muffins (projectiles, don't eat), a box full of Japanese Manga, and some really yummy chocolates!

You sound like the perfect kind of crazy for around here! Welcome aboard! (pun always intended) Have a big, shiny umbrella! Comes in patterns of polka-dot Sue colors.

Hi, Aelin, and welcome to the Board! Your "eccentric tendencies" will serve you well here.
Please have this one (1) Fluffy Wambler! Although it's native to the Dwarf Fortress continuum, it's ridiculously adorable anywhere.
It looks like you have a wide range of fandoms to contribute to the PPC. I'm always glad to see more Whofans, and the rest look wonderful as well. I wonder if there's been a Shakespeare mission? That could produce some staggeringly awful badfic.
Anyway, see you around the Board!

Hi and welcome to the PPC. It looks like you've already left your sanity at the door, so you'll fit in quite well! I wonder what kind of missions you will be writing once you get Permission. DTE? DF? The good old DMS?

Oh yeah, your gift!
*rummages through Pokemon-Trainer-issue bag of holding*
*holds Poke Ball* Aha!
(SFX: Poke Ball opening)
Meet Ditto. But it's not just any Ditto: It's a Pokemon Adventures-verse Ditto, able to Transform into anything that it has seen, not just anything in front of it. (If you've read the manga, you know that this is what Green's Ditto can do.) Perfect for such a multi-fandom Boarder like yourself!

Welcome to the Board, Aelin! I'm KittyNoodles, and as a welcome gift I have placed one box of bleepnerds and an Odd Container in your inventory!


Odd Container
Item Level 1
Chance on Opening: Receive one huggle or one spray of confetti - your choice
[This container is perfectly spherical and appears to have been crafted from glite-painted wood. Its weight shifts at odd intervals, and you can't shake the feeling that opening it may prove hazardous to your health if you aren't cautious.]

...Ignore that last bit, the flavor text hates me...

In continuation of my tradition of giving newbies dangerous presents, I present to you three kunai, an RPG-7, a zweihänder, and a crate of No. 76 incendiary grenades. Try not to have too much fun! (Pff yeah right)

I can match you on Doctor Who, Tammy Pierce, Graceling, Narnia, LoTR, and Monty Python. Glad to 'ave you aboard!

(And please please please keep the RPG and phosphorous grenades away from the Flowers. Explosives and incendiaries make them nervous.)

You need a cookie. Have one.

Also you speak languages! Neat!

Howdy, howdy, how...dy! *tries to mimic inflection with which this phrase is always said by my father*

Welcome, welcome, I see we share several fandoms. Artemis Fowl, Chronicles of Narnia, Doctor Who (to a small extent, it's awesome, but I haven't seen much), Lord of the Rings, and Pokémon! Although I am a wee bit intimidated by your language proficiency. ^_^; I suppose that just means I should get off my bum and fix that is all. XD Are you into manga in general, or just Astérix and the Phoenix, which is unfamilar to me.

I am a little curious how your imaginary cat would get along with my invisible guinea pig? Think they would be friends? It is a rather large guinea pig after all. Now on to gifts, you must have gifts to welcome you! I'd like to present you with a mysterious pokéball, rumored to contain a shiny little Skitty and a jar containing a will 'o the wisp flame. And my invisible guinea pig insists I throw in a pack of limited edition Alantian sponge capsules he just picked up on his last visit home. Just add water and you get an instant full sized sponge city with architectural design style(s) of your whim!

All of us are slightly insane, and most of us suffer from train-wreck syndrome. You'll fit right in.

A fellow Sherlock fan, violinist, and tribble-lover. Wonderful! Do you tend to play first or second violin? I don't really have a preference. And I have just the perfect newbie gift for you...your very own tribble! (I run the Star Trek fanfiction university, so I pretend that gives me access to anything I want in the Trekverse.)

Anyway, welcome!

Have some Bleep'n'ms as a welcome gift! Also, have an Unspecified Plushie (turns into your favorite character)! I like Narnia and Watership Down, too, but I decided that it would be in the best interests of my childhood not to read any fanfic in those categories. Monty Python is, of course, amazing, and I tend to randomly sing songs from Sweeney Todd when I'm bored. Sometimes even in public :-) We most definitely share the Lord of the Rings fandom! Do you read Silmarillion fanfic, too? (Excuse my enthusiasm, I've been reading almost nothing but Silmfic for the last week...)

I'll be watching you...

Greetings, new friend! Have an unwritten book.

Another animal fan! I work in a petting zoo, where I get to care for fourteen Japanese silkies. We must throw a chicken party!

*throws a chicken party*

Hi! Another newbie....I'm still fresh on the board as well! Anyway, it's nice to see you.
As for your gift, try some Bleepolate Ice Cream, with extra chocolate. Hopefully this will help you with your train-wreck syndrome!

Goodness, did you breathe through any of that?

LA, huh? If I'm right, Modesto is near to the LA area (3-ish hours?), and I am currently living in Modesto...

So, outside of my sister and I think one other boarder, you're the closest boarder I know. Huh.

Gah, I'm getting off topic. Newbie gets gift from teh Specs:

A suit of armor!

Comes with full or half plate, chain mail hauburgeon, leather leggings, steel-plate greaves, steel-plate gauntlets, steel-plate pauldrons, and a headpiece of your choice.

Is somewhat heavy, mind.

Hi there! With that description, it looks to me like you'll fit right in! I'm going to be the guy who posts the link to the Wiki, assuming that someone else doesn't get to it already before this post goes up. There's the Board Constitution there, the PPC history, most of the missions, and other things you'll generally want to read.

Oh, and if you've gone onto the Board before, you'll know that we enjoy giving the new arrivals gifts! Let's look through your fandoms for a bit.. ooh, Pern and LotR; the admins will love you. Ah, we share the Doctor Who fandom! That's good, because I've a got an adorable little Cybermat here that I've been wanting to give someone for a while now. Don't worry about the teeth; he's domesticated. He might go after a neighborhood dog or too, but that's only because they don't have any robot parts. It's a perfectly logical reaction.

Favorite Costumes?
-Captain Proton. It's goofy but I absolutely LOVED seeing a character from Star Trek playing in the Holodeck, even something as silly as Captain Proton, and not caring how cheesy it was. More people need to have fun in the holodeck.

-The Various ones from 'The Killing Game'. I love the Hirogen, not only for being a Predator-lite species, but that they're so different from other run-of-the-mill encounters, and they appear enough to be recurring, a valid threat, and memorable. All the different costumes used by the crew for the simulations were great to see.

-Any episode with the Viidians (or however you spell it). The idea of a race hat was once thriving, and is not left with no options but stealing organs in a desperate attempt to survive was something that drew me emotionally in like few TV shows have done.

For individual Species, The Hirogen, Vidians, an the Tak Tak (Though they were a one-off species).

That was awesome. Everything else in Captain Proton, but that is the best. In a purely girly-fashion way, Seven's dress in "Someone to Watch Over Me" was pretty. The crew also looked pretty amazing in "The Killing Game" - again, also a fan of Seven's outfit there.

As for alien designs, the Borg are always awesome, and the Vidiians are cool in a creepy way. And there's a reason the macroviruses, despite having only one episode, were included in the PPC-verse.

That should be a start. Post the link to your blog when you have it up!

This sounds cool, I would definitely want to read this once you get material for it. I loved Voyager, sadly though it's been years since I've watched any of it, and I've watched so many other sci-fi shows in the interim, I can't be of much specific help.

To start you off vaguely though, I do love Neelix's design, and all of the historical holodeck program costumes. As well as whenever Tom and Harry are in "The Adventures of Captain Proton" holo-adventures. :)

I don't know much about Voyager, but this blog intrigues me. Le link?

Fanfic.net

The Blog

And of course (though I haven't mentioned this yet), reviews are always welcome...

hS

Though, I suppose three chapters isn't enough of a sample size to base that sort of assumption on, and I am almost certain that the word "prolific" is not intended to be used that way. Still, three chapters in under a week says "prolific" to me, and no thesaurus website that I could find gave up a more accurate word to use, so prolific it is!
Ridcully was especially brilliant in this one. Seeing how each of the main characters will react to their first fangirls is going to be priceless. Something tells me Imp y Celyn is going to be this University's equivalent to Legolas once the students get a good look at him, which is going to provide a sizable problem for the Death Series staff, but what's an OFU without a good stampeding scene or four?

With a new mini-Luggage added to the List, too!

hS

Here or here.

hS

How fun! {= D The intro is awesome. Perfectly, beautifully Discworldian. ^_^

Hm, I didn't happen to sign up eight years ago, did I? *crosses fingers*

~Neshomeh

So, the Mini page on the wiki currently lists one of insanegrrl's missions as the source for mini-Luggages, possibly because the OFUDisc was unavailable at the time. Was your OFU the real originator? Because if so, I can change the link to the original OFUDisc chapters instead.

—doctorlit, who is still slowly but surely working on the mini project despite working seven days a week thanks to spring break-induced busy season at the zoo

...adopt San Vimes? Please? :-)

DISCWORLD OFU.

YES.

I'M GOING TO READ THIS NOW.

Can't wait to see more! And my sympathies for the old one being taken down. Bloody Pit, always ruining our fun... *grumbles*

I am delighted to see this back. :D I shall watch with great interest. :3

I'll be looking forward to reading more.
Are the first chapters from way back available somewhere or will we just have to imagine them?

(Also, a big HI! to the newbies. I've kinda dropped off the radar, since I've been busy moving and stuff, but I still lurk on the board.)

I was never certain on what the OFU policy was for finding minis. Do we just report whichever minis we found in badfics, or would there have to have been a mission to that continuum where they were picked up? Because if it's the former, I have Sam Vines, Ventinari, Vetinar, and Granny Wetherwax to donate to the Discworld's foremost center for fanbrat reconditioning.

Also, the two minis from the one known mini-finding PPC mission to the Disc, Ms. Cakes and Carrrot, are not in the master list. Carrrot is in the possession of one of DawnFire's agents, but Ms. Cakes is still unsupervised.

Anyway, when is the mini-Luggage adoption page going to be ready?

Being completely unacquainted with this continuum, I can offer no other commentary than "Well that looks interesting." Sorry.

But really, it does look interesting.

But I can Definitely Beta for you. SeraphWeasel@gmail.com

Shoot it to me, if you like.

tolkienfan1993@gmail.com

I'll beta!

I see no tagged email, but I'll help out.

I have read most of the Dresden Files, just not in order.
E-mail is singingthethunder1@gmail.com

Hey, thanks for popping in! Glad to have you around. Fell free to go on ahead and introduce yourself on our main board and join the discussions over there!

As to your mission proposal, the link doesn't lead to any sort of PDF. Is it available elsewhere? Is this a writing prompt or just a simple question? If it is the latter, Huinesoron used to have the Department of Internal Operations chase after Sued Agents. They never really did any sorties that we know of, so I guess that's kinda why it's been quietly disbanded.

We usually don't interfere with other Sue-hunting organisations, so I don't think we've ever sporked those kinds of stories (though admittedly, I've read an ACMSES story that had me scratching my head for a minute).

High fantasy, high fantasy, low fantasy, high fantasy, rabbits ...

Tad Williams is brilliant, he does some sci fi as well, though its sort of mixed in. Like the War of the Flowers which has fairies living in skyscrapers.

Joe Abercombie is a good author if you like the realism mixed with fantasy of things like A Song of Ice and Fire (which I also highly recommend).

James Barclay is a mixed bag, some stuff is good, but he's also one of the few authors who I've had to give up on a book by due to annoyance at pacing and plot.

Trudi Canavan is always good, plus it works for any age from teen up.

Neil Gaiman is of course a wonderful writer, I particularly suggest American Gods.

J. V. Jones isn't that well know, but I like her stuff for the political and action elements.

Katherine Kerr writes epic, not quite Celtic, stuff. It takes a bit of time to get all the reincarnations straight and there's about a million really fat books, but I love it.

Jasper Fforde mixes a love of books with a great sense of humour, as well as being an awesome guy to fans. (or at least from the couple of times he's dome signings near where I live.)

Steven Erikson writes well, as long as you don't mind having a billion and two characters and settings to figure out and that's before the reincarnation really sets in.

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files is a good example of supernatural elements in a World One like setting. I can't speak for any of his other works.

Hope this is helpful MAX.

I'll echo those before me who recommended Tolkien, Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy, Discworld, Neil Gaiman, Hunger Games, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy, Artemis Fowl, Chronicles of Narnia, The Giver, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Michael Crichton (especially Jurassic Park and the Lost World), The Dresden Files and the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke.

I would also go on to suggest The Thief Lord also by Cornelia Funke. I would say The Princess Bride is a fun read, probably even more so for fans of the movie. If you're into dinosaurs my favorite book is Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker. It's a look at the prehistoric world through the eyes of a Utahraptor. If you're looking for fantasy Angie Sage's Magyk/Septimus Heap series is a good read as well as the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede, the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue which is about changelings, and is written from both perspectives (the changeling and the changed for child) and if you don't shy away from Christian themes the Dragons in our Midst, Oracles of Fire and Children of the Bard series by Bryan Davis are very good.

Frank Peretti is also a very good Christian author, I particularly enjoy The Oath and the pair This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. Angela Elwell Hunt has several very good semi-romance historical fiction series, also written from a Christian perspective. Her Heirs of Cahira O’Connor series follows an Irish family through several hundred years of history highlighting females who have broken traditional roles, the first book is set in the 1400's and is about a female knight, the second in the 1600's and follows a female artist aboard a ship, the third is set in the Civil War and the fourth switches between modern day and during the Norman invasion of Ireland. She also wrote a series about the early days of the colonies starting with Roanoke. And a trilogy about Joseph's dreams and his time in Egypt, as well as a book about the women in Moses' life (his Egyptian mother, his sister and his wife) that was really interesting.

I also enjoyed Dan Brown's books about the Da Vinci/church conspiracies I guess you'd call it, and his other two stand alone books, Digital Fortress and Deception Point, I've not had the chance to read The Lost Symbol or Inferno by him yet though. Tamar Myers is another good author if you like murder mysteries. She has two series, one set in Amish country Pennsylvania at a bed and breakfast and the other in Charleston South Carolina at an antique shop, which amuse me vastly because all the titles are puns. Also you get some good/fun recipes from her Penn Dutch series! I doubt you'd call it superb literature, however another one I read recently, Carpe Demon, about a suburban mom demon hunter did really well with plot twists. I had it figured out several times, and the author kept throwing me for a loop. It was kind of a pleasant change to being able to figure the thing out. XD

Anyway, hope I didn't add to badly to the overwhemance of literature suggestions. :)

If you're looking for something that's paced particularly well for good writing examples, 'Great Gatsby' and 'Fahrenheit 451' are really great in my opinion.
Not sure if you'll enjoy them, though. The writing's great, but 'Great Gatsby' is basically 'Desperate Housewives' from the 1920's and Fahrenheit is confusing as ----.
Books that are truly classics in my mind? 'The Giver' (or any book in that series) and 'Marley and Me'. I've read both at least ten times and every time they make me cry. They are beautiful pieces of writing, greatly paced, and they are so thought provoking. Especially if you have a pet.
Are you on goodreads? If you join a book group on there, they might have some pretty good recommendations, too. Or even looking at lists or what friends are reading.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, LOTR, Discworld, His Dark Materials... trying to think of something that hasn't been mentioned already... Kate DiCamillo's stuff is good. As is the Graceling trilogy, which deserves to be known far better than it is. A Wrinkle in Time (really anything by Madeleine L'Engle) is also a must-read.
I second Rick Riordan's books and the Hunger Games, although the second and third weren't really my cup of tea. Neil Gaiman is great (I loved The Graveyard Book), Tamora Pierce.. and John Green. Everything by John Green. Gorgeous stuff.
I'm not sure if I'd call the Dragonriders of Pern series great in terms of writing, but it's complex and interesting and makes for a good read. The writing in Redwall is not always great, and it abounds with Canon Sues, but I seem to have an absurd fondness for it anyway. Maybe it's just because I like cute fluffy animals.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, LOTR, Series of Unfortunate Events, and His Dark Materials (I need to reread these...). I also recommend the Hunger Games, and any of Rick Riordan's mythology based books: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, and the Kane Chronicles. The first two are connected, and you have to read Percy Jackson first. Those are Greek and Roman mythology while Kane Chronicles is Egyptian. Both are hysterical. Also, the 39 Clues and spinoff Cahills vs. Vespers. Not sure how to describe it, but very good. All of these are YA, but that certainly doesn't mean that they are low quality or not entertaining, as evidenced by my next recommendation - the Oz books. Yes, they are children's books, but they are so fun and well-written. Not great for continuity, though.

I read way too much, so forgive me if the list gets out of hand.
For just plain wonderful writing, I'd suggest anything by Holly Black (I love Holly Black. I love her so much I am going to cry) and certain books by Jerry Spinelli. The Young Wizards series by Diane Duane is also simply amazing (and mixes in Biblical symbolism without going over-the-top, if you're into that kind of thing). Then there's the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, anything by Neil Gaiman (I particularly enjoyed American Gods, but that might just be because I have a huge soft spot for mythology in general), and every single thing John Green has ever written. Also, Holes by Louis Sachar is a really great book that you should definitely read, no matter what. Oh, and I'd also suggest A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (the dark comedy in this series is astoundingly amazing), most books by Tamora Pierce, and Flora Segunda by Ysabeu S. Wilce (not quite as made of pure amazingness as the other ones on this list, but it definitely needs more recognition in the world). Also, I know you didn't ask for comics, but even so I'd suggest Castle Waiting by Linda Medley. The plot is clever and fun, and it reads more like a fairy tale which just happens to be in comic format, rather than a pure comic.
Oh, and I'd also suggest that you check out The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy! The tone of it reminds me quite a bit of the PPC...

As has been said, LotR, Discworld and Neil Gaiman stuff, definitely. I'd also recommend the Recluce series and the Spellsong Cycle, both by L.E. Modesitt jr, for good magic systems. (Manipulating the "order" and "chaos" that make up everything in the former, and song-magic in the latter, with plausible-sounding explanations how it works.)

If you want to learn how to write good descriptions, symbolism, and foreshadowing (as well as simply beautiful prose), read anything by Thomas Hardy. Far from the Madding Crowd is a good one to start with. So is Tess of the d'Urbervilles, but it will break your heart.
Not the same kind of thing as everyone else is recommending, or anything that has a "fandom," exactly, but I promise it will help your writing.

Seconding all the standard PPCer fare: LotR, Discworld, Neil Gaiman, etc. Also the Pern books, though looking at them now I don't know if I'd hold Anne McCaffrey's writing up as really great; for world-building, though, she indisputably rocks.

To throw in some new names, I recommend anything by Greg Bear for science fiction, Charles de Lint for urban fantasy, and Sherri S. Tepper for... uh... I guess science fiction is the closest? Mostly sci-fi, with elements of fantasy/the supernatural, religious myth, and feminism/gender issues in various degrees depending on the book. Anyway, they're all awesome at what they do and will give you a great ride with lots to think about.

~Neshomeh

Discworld - all of the Discworld. Along with the Dresden Files recommendations, I'd add Codex Alera, also by Jim Butcher. Anything by Neil Gaiman is good, but I especially recommend his short stories (Fragile Things in particular). They're good if you don't have a lot of time on hand, but still want to read something brilliant. Guy Kay's stuff is good: Tigana, The Last Light of the Sun, Lions of Al-Rassan... The Fionavar Tapestry gets good reviews, but I'm not personally a fan. If you haven't read The Chronicles of Narnia and A Series of Unfortunate Events, those are also great. You might like Animorpgs, too - some of this is YA, but it's good stuff.

Good luck, Max!

Discworld - all of the Discworld. Along with the Dresden Files recommendations, I'd add Codex Alera, also by Jim Butcher. Anything by Neil Gaiman is good, but I especially recommend his short stories (Fragile Things in particular). They're good if you don't have a lot of time on hand, but still want to read something brilliant. Guy Kay's stuff is good: Tigana, The Last Light of the Sun, Lions of Al-Rassan... The Fionavar Tapestry gets good reviews, but I'm not personally a fan. If you haven't read The Chronicles of Narnia and A Series of Unfortunate Events, those are also great. You might like Animorpgs, too - some of this is YA, but it's good stuff.

Good luck, Max!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Buy yourself a towel for maximum immersion.

The Redwall series by Brian Jacques is also a worthy read.

I second Des' suggestion of the Dune series. It's nothing short of fantastic!

If you're in the mood for fantasy, the Gentleman Bastards sequence is fantastic. The first book is Lies of Locke Lamora, and it's an absurdly fun read.

Seconding Lord of the Rings and Snow Crash. I also recommend, from the top of my head:
Iain M. Banks' The Culture series;
The Bartimaeus Trilogy;
Dune;
Dragonriders of Pern;
The Tawny Man Trilogy;
and Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

anything written by William Shakespeare

any short stories by Stephen King (novels are good too, but his short stories are boss)

Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Well, Lord of the Rings, if you haven't already read that, definitely throw in some Phantastes (George MacDonald), Jurassic Park (some discretion might be advised depending on your age)- and to mention some of my personal favorites (I find them well written, but I may be prejudiced) anything by Lois Lowry, especially 'Autumn Street', Artemis Fowl, The Keys To the Kingdom (Garth Nix), anything by Garth Nix, and for those wonderful explanations of scientifically impossible things, Michael Crichton (discretion, again). Hope this helped!

For starters, everything by Corey Doctorow.

And then, I have a little list:
The Dresden Files
Jack Campbell's stuff
The Mars Trilogy
Snow Crash

Have a snowglobe of Unseen University from Discworld. It may or may not turn into a shopping trolley at some point in the future.

Welcome back to the PPC! We love newbies, so leave your shoes at the door and come on in!

Greetings!

It doesn't look like we share many major fandoms, I do like Doctor Who when I can get it though, and I do love to read! :)

You must have gifts nao! I would like to present you with a TARDIS bookshelf, it takes up a very reasonable amount of space, and it's the only one you'll ever need due to inside dimensions! Sadly it doesn't really go anywhere though, but hey unlimited book and whatever else storage! :D Being a Supernatural fan I'm sure you've already seen it, but I'd also like to present you with the best rendition of "Eye of the Tiger" ever! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb3G5Qj_Lo8

Have a cookie! Your views on Superwholock?

Welcome to the PPC! I'm KittyNoodles, and as a welcome gift I have placed a box of bleepnerds and one Odd Container in your inventory!


Odd Container
Item Level 1
Chance on Opening: Receive one spray of confetti or one huggle - your choice.
[This container is perfectly spherical and appears to have been crafted from glite-painted wood. Its weight changes at odd intervals, and you can't shake the feeling that opening it may prove hazardous to your health if you are unwary.]

...Ignore that last bit, the flavor text hates me...

Greetings, new friend! Have an upside-down pastry down. It still makes food, but only upside down kinds.

And, not to worry! We've got plenty of beta-readers around here to get you out of that nasty posting-without-proofreading habit.

Hello! Welcome to the board! Hope to see you around sometime, honestly I'm pretty recently joined as well (erm....that didn't make sense, did it?)
Please accept my gift of some Bleepolate ice cream with extra chocolate, for any badfics you come across during your time as a Boarder.

Welcome, welcome, welcome, a fine welcome to you!
It seems we are of close age...very close indeed. You are also a human. I would like to think most of us are, but sometimes I wonder. Here, have a box of tissues and a soft blanket. Just what you need for re-watching all the emotional episodes of your favorite TV shows. (Available in many unnatural colors that don't exist.)

Wow, quite an extensive list of fandoms. Nothing there that I am really a fan of, but the PPC is quite large; there is someone who shares at least one of each of your fandoms. But as for your gift...
*rummages through bag of holding*
Here is a snowglobe of Hogwarts!

Welcome, welcome. I'm Aelin, another newbie on the Board- nice to see you!
Looks to me like you'll fit right in. Assuming you haven't seen it already, take a look at the PPC Wiki. Most of the history's there, along with all the fiction and other stuff you might want to read.
Don't worry about the length - check out my introduction if you want to see how long these things can get. On second thought, don't. It will most likely bore you.
As for your newbie gift, have this toaster! It's available in the Sue color of your choice and fires pastries at high velocity! Also, have a supersize bottle of Bleeprin. You'll most likely need it during your tenure here.

Here are sparkly things. Use them well. Great to meet you!<br>And remember- with great sparkly things comes great responsibility.

Hey! Hi! Fellow newbie says hi! Be excited! You have been given sparkly things!*pulls out of lurkdom*

Aw, yes, another Homestuck fan! H1GH F1V3! And don't worry about the length, some newbies put a lot more than that on their first posts. Making long posts is perfectly fine and acceptable here. I know I do it.
Now, let me try and find a newbie gift for you... let's see... ah! Have a transforming lipstick-chainsaw! Kanaya's formerly-signature weapon provides wanton destruction in a small and easy-to-transport package! It would probably be extra-effective at decapitating the typical Mary Sue, given their vanity, slow-wittedness, and love of makeup! Just make sure to clean it every once in a while if you do that, or all of the glittery blood will ruin the color.

Have you read the Constitution and the Original Series? Also, have some Bleep'n'ms (helps combat Badfic effects) and an Unspecified Plushie (turns into your favorite character) as welcome gifts! I'm sorry to say I don't share in your current major fandoms, but there are several people here who will. Glad to have you anyway :-) Just one question, though: why would you exterminate cake? Cake is awesome! ^.^

*runs off to read* Oh that was great! I love that fanbrats always think minis are so easily defeated. XD Can't wait to see the defenses and afternoon classes!

This is everything I ever wanted and didn't know I needed.

They've been there half a day and they're already plotting to enter the staff section. I bet their faces will be a picture when they discover what the defenses are (*snickers*). And they have to eat Neelix' cooking, haha.

I can't wait for the afternoon classes...

Sorry for not greeting you sooner! Have some Bleep'n'ms and an Unspecified Plushie...

Hello, boarder! Nice to meet you.
For your gift, please accept some bleepolate ice cream. I make it myself from an old recipe.
Just make sure to keep it in the fridge! It doesn't work otherwise...

Have some cake, real cake, that does cake like things. The cake is true.*


*May or may not be true.

Greetings, new friend! Help yourself to the sack of venomous arthropods. Don't worry; they don't bite!

Great to have you! Have a sparkly thing!

Welcome! I know that it's been asked already, but have you read the Original Series? Also, how did you run across the PPC?

Now as for your gift:
*rummages through bag of holding*
Aha! Have a Doctor Stiles action figure, which is able to say lines from the series! Comes complete with a miniature surgery kit!

Welcome to the PPC! We love newbies here, so leave your shoes at the door and join in on the insanity!

As a welcome gift, I'll give you some music by one Conlon Nancarrow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFz2lCEkjFk

To the Board! Wait that didn't seem to fit... Nah!
Anyways, have some of my rock-hard cupcakes that is seemed used for throwing rather than eating, and some chocolates! I would also like to give you a hug but I don't know if it is ddeemed appropriate or not.

Welcome welcome!

I've played the first Portal, but haven't gotten to more than a couple levels of the second at a friend's house, however I do like what I've seen of the series. :)

*digs in bag 'o fun things* Let's see what I can find for you. Ah here we go, to welcome you to the board I have a cube of the vacuum of space and since I'm watching the Food Network at the moment, you need your very own basket of mystery ingredients taken from the Room of Requirement. Whatever you need, that's what will be in there, remember though, only four choices at a time or who knows what it will come up with!

Welcome to the PPC! I'm KittyNoodles, and as a welcome gift I have placed a box of bleepnerds and one Odd Container in your inventory!


Odd Container
Item Level 1
Chance on Opening: Receive one spray of confetti or one huggle - your choice.
[This container is perfectly spherical and appears to have been crafted from glite-painted wood. Its weight changes at odd intervals, and you can't shake the feeling that opening it may prove hazardous to your health if you are unwary.]

...Ignore that last bit, the flavor text hates me...

Have a cookie! Have a dozen!

Your fandom list seems quite sparse. Would you like any recommendations?

Wait, was that you in the PDF? Was it a fanfiction about people who use anime-style screennames, or were there actual anime characters? Both? I am confused, mainly because the ratio of anime that exists compared to anime that I have watched is very low. Either way, you're more than welcome to link to the Challenge on the other Board somewhere in this topic. That way, people can be redirected to it, and you don't have to make duplicate topics. You should probably explain what the challenge entails, though, for the benefit of people like me who had no idea what was going onin that story.
I'm going to be the one who posts the link to the PPC Constitution, which is tradition when welcoming newbies. Since it's on the PPC wiki, you can read some missions while you're there! Though, if you have been around for over a year, you've probably at least read the Original Series already.
Part Two of newbie-welcoming tradition! Gifts! Take a scaled-down kaiju! All of the fun of owning your very own city-destroying monster, but without the high food costs and with a significantly smaller risk of destroying your house!
Part Three is puns, usually puns based on the words "new" and "Board", but I'm very bad at those, so it'll be better if I allow those more gifted in wordplay to cover that.

And did I mention that I shall brand these into the deepest membranes of my brain? (Yeek!)

I shall do the sensible thing, and just paint them on the walls of my Room at the Board...where they shall serve as a testament of the Knowledge of Neshomeh and the Rules of Wiki-editing and Radagast on a bunny sled, I feel like a Narnia character with all this capitalization. Only, I suppose I've just mixed canons, and that should have been 'Jadis in a block of ice'...

(er, upon rereading that first sentence, I feel I should clarify that I did not mean that the painting on the walls would serve as a testament to Radagast on a bunny sled, although now that I've said that, anything's possible. And yes, of course writing this note ((on a Kindle Touch)) was easier and simpler than just adding a comma after 'Wiki-editing', why do you ask?)

~DF

I shall brand these guidelines into my brain with a hot iron.
(Ow.)

Or, well, I'll make a note and put it somewhere I'll see it often. Needles are scary.

As a newbie, I thank you for informing me!

I have a character who is from the Shadowrun universe, and brought all of his gear into the PPC with him (Most of which, aside from maybe the armored jacket and the rather obvious cybernetic arm, will likely never see real use, especially not in a mission), as well as knowledge of his particular version of the future.

For those not aware, Shadowrun is basically Earth, roughly 60 years in the future, and with corporations ruling almost everything. Well, plus magic. So, for example, for him something like Harry Potter is classic children's fantasy, much the way the Chronicles of Narnia are for us. His knowledge of videogames is largely incorrect, because most of today's games are either part of history which no one really touches outside of maybe a "history of gaming" class at some university, or they're part of a series that's still ongoing, like say Zelda or Sonic, but most of the canon he knows for those is stuff that hasn't happened yet, and may never happen. Legend of Zelda: Lamentations of the Flame Princess may never happen, for example. (In fact, I'd be surprised if it did, since that's currently the title of a D&D adventure module, minus the "Legend of Zelda" bit.) He knows a lot about film history and "classic" comics, but he thinks about movie and comics from today much like we would think of stuff from the 60s.

As for fics based on RPGs, almost any RPG will have canon characters. Games popular enough, like D&D and Shadowrun and World of Darkness, tend to also have novels based on the game settings, which give you an idea of what the canon characters are like. Even if there are no canon characters in the story, if you know the world well enough, you should still be able to spot traits that are Sueish, or non-canonical. Elves in Shadowrun? Sure! Immortal Elves in Shadowrun? I'm side-eyeing you pretty hard unless they're an established canon character. Elves of any stripe in World of Darkness? No sir, not on my watch. Similarly, demons in D&D or World of Darkness? Sure! Real demons in Shadowrun? Uh, no, not likely. Guns in Shadowrun or World of Darkness? Absolutely, it'd be odd not to see guns in fact. Guns in D&D? It better be like a blunderbuss, and even then they're extremely rare.

We have at least one PPC Agent from a D&D-verse - the same as Drizzt Do'Urden, in fact, the Forgotten Realms. He is Mazarun Zothyrr, a drow from Menzoberranzan and quite possibly a contemporary of Drizzt. He belongs to Rilwen Shadowflame (the Boarder, not the Agent). He's not overpowered by any stretch of the imagination; he's partly trained as a wizard, but mostly a fighter, so he's limited to spells like Ray of Clumsiness and Endure Elements - nothing remotely superpowerful, but enough to give the edge in a fight. It certainly hasn't left him blasting through missions so easily they've become boring.

Regarding gear from RPGs, I'm pretty sure more than one Agent has got themselves some Bags of Holding, to carry loot if nothing else. I'd figure that as long as it's not an easy "I win" button, any gear's fine.

And sporking badfics... it sort of depends how well you know the RPG in question. If it allows for crazy feats of endurance/combat/magic etc., you can't really use those as a reason to spork. You'd have to go more on whether or not the fics are keeping people in character. For example, say it's a fic about Drizzt set during the earlier books, where his surfacer friends are alive. You could have Drizzt being the extremely talented and superpowered (and Sue-y) warrior he is, but if he's getting fluffywuffy with an OC and not even stopping to think about Catti-brie, or otherwise angsting about the evils of sex (legitimately, given one of his early sights of it was a ten-foot-tall demon and a drow priestess getting funky in the middle of an orgy) then he's Out Of Character and the canon needs resetting at once.

And I've given you way more info than you probably needed. ^^;; My fingers run away with me when I get to talk about D&D. Hope this helps though!

Well... there's no more to learn! The four stories here, and the Pistons of the Plot Continuum collection, are everything that has so far been written about the TCDA/Steampunk PPC. So the only way to learn more about it is for someone to write more...

hS

Agent Unger is from a D&D-based continuum.

I'm pretty sure I've seen minor magic items, like the Bag of Holding, floating around HQ as well. Some D&D items and spells may be quite interesting if added to a mission.

One caution, though: D&D quickly becomes a very high-powered universe--Drizzt, for example, is not even a particularly powerful character if he's statted up, and everything he does in even the flashiest battle scenes is totally possible for a D&D character of mid-level.

So, despite the allure of being able to put up a Prismatic Wall or decapitate a Sue with a +2 Vorpal weapon, it is probably best to stick to minor items and low-level magic, the sort which adds story possibilities and strategic options instead of sheer power. A simple "Grease" spell or a Hand of the Mage would be interesting things for agents to have, and a Hat of Disguise would be a good makeshift replacement for some functions of the DORKS.

Most role-playing games have some sort of canon which can spark badfic and deserve protection.

As far as I'm concerned, I think it'd be cool to see some more D&D stuff in the PPC. There's some interesting potential there. Just grab your D&D books and flip through them, see what jumps out at you.

Not sure what the rule is, but one of my agents - Veralyn - is from the World of Warcraft continuum, so pretty much all of her gear that isn't related to the PPC is from her home continuum.

Also her partner may or may not have stolen the first set of armor she had from another blood elf, so there's that, too.

on a growth spurt. Which means I tend to eat when I'm hungry, what I want to eat (which when I'm reading is mostly either cheese or berries).

So it seems most people munch on things while reading...

Are there any particular foods when it comes to reading genres? I find fruits in general help me along during late-night readings of horror, and candy (gumballs, all of the time) for romance or fantasy.

I've munched everything from Cheez-its to pasta dishes in front of this darn computer. Needless to say, I've become quite good at multitasking.

In front of a book, though, I normally won't. There's something about need more physical effort to turn a page than to click something that keeps me from eating when I have a book in my lap. (Well, that, and the fact that sometimes my fingers can get a bit dirty...)

Since I'll read books in pretty much any setting...no, I have no real reading-snacks.

when I have something to read it with. If I could breakfast, lunch or dinner with something to read, that makes me a very happy Dark Lord. But I rarely snack while reading hard copies. You need both hands for that. I just drink coffee or tea, and maybe dip some biscuits in it to eat.

Oranges! Oranges are good. My parents actually hide them from me sometimes... *wanders off in search of oranges*

I tend to drink tea while reading or browsing the Interwebz. Sometimes I eat fruit - apples are a particular favourite of mine,

In my house breakfast and lunch especially are not really family affairs, and I hate having to eat without something to read, whether it's online or an actual book, unless everyone is eating together. XD

It always takes a dozen tries to get the chat to load, and then it randomly stops displaying text. It's very annoying.

That happened to me, Kitty. Try going through the website homepage (if you scroll down, I asked the same question and It'll tell you how to get there). That should work, then you should be able to access through the link again.

Usually, I just exit the page and re-enter it, and it'll log me on just fine. But yeah, it's annoying whenever it does that...

Sometimes it's the link on the 'Board malfunctioning, sometimes it's Sorcery.net being odd, sometimes it's connection - but I recommend trying a different chat client if it's the link on the 'Board that isn't working. (chat.mibbit.com is my preference, with irc.sorcery.net as the server and #PPC as the channel.)

I just close the tab, wait a few minutes, and then open it back up again when I have that problem. It usually works then.

Are you having problems with getting it to open the chat page, or to log in at all?

So, from what I've been reading so far, it seems that I'm not the only one to think that Ash has some Stuish tendencies, with the main argument otherwise is that this is a kids' show and the protagonist must never fail.

With the Unova region, I did notice somewhat of an improvement in the series: Team Rocket finally looked like the evil organization that they were originally supposed to be (as opposed to the bumbling buffoons that we were treated to on a daily basis in Sinnoh), and there was more of a subplot as opposed to "Ash solves the Problem of the Week" every episode. If the creators could just figure out how to make compelling battles without Stuifying Ash and his Pokemon, then the problem of going over children's heads would not be much of a problem. However, I must admit that with all the plot contrivances that have been invoked over the years, it looks like Ash is a borderline Canon Stu.

Back when I actually watched the show, I thought he was learning and had a bit of luck toward the beginning. I saw his complete and utter disregard for what was coming out of his mouth as his flaw. Plus, Pikiachu would be at a fairly high level right now....as long as Ash wasn't battling a ground, would it matter? I can't remember...
Maybe he's a Stu, but I see it as more of a trying to keep kids interested thing. What I notice is as soon as his companions change (besides Brock), his entire character development is wiped and he goes back to being ignorant, yet still winning matches because technically those things still happened and he still has high level pokemon.
So, erm....I guess the short answer is I don't know.

I stopped following Pokémon a while ago, mostly because the show just got eh. He's not a good trainer, and friendship can only get you that far. And yet, despite that, he's shown as the awesome problem-solver of all. I'm trying to think of an episode where it wasn't him who solved the problem of the week, but I can't.

And to Nue Houjuu: Just because it's a kids show, that doesn't mean that he should be the way he is. I'm not saying that the show should adhere strictly to the game mechanics, though, since they're just that: gameplay. I still wish he was a more balanced protagonist.

Well, it is is a children's franchise, isn't it?

If the shows were to be realistic, Ash would most definitely be losing left and right, because once he learns the best way to tackle and opponent (and mostly because the Type efficiencies in Pokemon are in a scissors-paper-stone system) the battles are going to get predictable. Very predictable. And we all know what happens when a kids' cartoon gets predictable - the company loses money because no one wants to watch it anymore! The horror!

Unevolved Pokemon are usually there for the cute factor. I think in the first generation of the anime he carried around at least one fully-evolved Pokemon, but in the subsequent generations his Pokemon hardly seemed to evolve. Granted, Pikachu refused to evolve, but the rest who technically should have evolved via leveling hardly do either.

Actually, about Liepard... I find that it's attacks in-game (referring to BW 1 and 2) are pretty weak, so a Krookodile should be able to withstand some hits. Given that both are Dark-type as well, Type resistances should come into play. I think if anyone else were to do this they would most certainly change their active Pokemon instead of just waiting out the potentially long battle. Normal attacks against Rock, Dark attacks against Dark. Whooo, yeah. I think I'm going to just mash the 'A' key while doing the dishes.

Having a different protagonist for each region won't have the same effect as having the same protagonist everywhere, and you do need said protagonist to somehow get around regions after exploring them more or less thoroughly. The formula here would be quite the same as the game: Enter region, beat Gym Leaders, Beat Team Whatever at Whatever they're doing, Meet a Legendary (Okay, so this mostly happens outside of anime now, in the movies instead), crush a few League people, then set sail for the next region. Like in the game itself, but do you see it getting old?

So, verdict. Yes, he is a bordeline Stu, but as I said above, this is a kids' show about a video game. If Ash really were to play as an experienced Trainer, it would get pretty boring quickly, so yeah.

Bleh. Anyway, high five, fellow PokeFan.

http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Official_Fanfiction_University_of_Middle-earth

Remember the wiki is your friend and as it says up above always try it as your first port of call.