Jan 2014 Archive, part c

I've never actually played a Crash game, but I did play one of the PS1 Spyro games. I don't remember which one. Might have been the first one.

I didn't have a PS1 at the time, so I had a limited time to run around in the game, but I do remember enjoying the game.

The friend that lent them to me and I had a bit of a falling out and I still have a small pile of his games. I just might pop that into my PS2 again... now, if I can track down my PS1 memory cards.

I have played some of the other Spyro games though, I think they were for the GBC and GBA, not 100% sure though, it was more my sisters kind of game. I was more into Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, which had one hell of a confusing game on the PS1 if I remember correctly, can't remember what is was called but it was really hard to work out the controls and everything.

I have every Crash game ever made and I love pretty much all of them. I do find Spyro the cuter protagonist, though. Maybe it's because I had a plushie version of him in my youth that I definitely do not cuddle now when sad and/or drunk why would you even think that?

Out of interest, when you say the 'original games' do you mean the actual first ones that were released, or just the series in general from the Playstation era?

I started playing with Crash Bandicoot 2, although I did play a little of 1. I have vague memories of 1 being really difficult for some reason, like the save points being spaced really far apart or something...?

They were both very good series of games - I played more Crash just because I owned them, but my sister had the Spyro games so I played them a fair bit too. Another game that I remember from around the same time (I think) was Abe's Odyssey - did you ever play that?

You are the second person today that I've seen, just today, who was being nostalgic for Crash Bandicoot. Well...I think the other person was being nostalgic. They were actually offering to buy it off of anyone who might have it, so I assume they wanted to play it.

Anyway, I've played many of the Crash and Spyro games. Crash is more my speed, though. I like the cartoony way he moves and spins. I also really love Cortex. He's an amazing villain. All in all, it is a wonderfully goofy game.

-Phobos

Most of my friends had PS1s, so every so often I would get the chance to play Crash Bandicoot and/or Spyro. Crash Bandicoot, from what little I played of it, was pretty awesome. I wasn't so much a fan of Spyro 'cause I could never figure out where to go.

But yeah, I've had some exposure to them. Makes me wonder if Crash Bandicoot is gonna get a reboot in the near future, 'cause Crash had one hell of an awesome character design.

This is the perfect place to discuss fandoms and other stuff we like. No worries there! {= )

The first three Spyro games are among the few video games I've actually played through to the end. I'm not a big gamer, but I love everything about the first one: the design, the music, the sounds, the way Spyro moves, the dragon names... everything. I don't like the second and third games quite as well, but they're okay. They're a little less magical and quirky, a little more wacky/goofy. Or something like that. I dunno; I just wasn't enchanted by the side characters and critters in the various worlds.

On a tangential note, another game I've played through is The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time for PC. Heard of it?

~Neshomeh

Somebody submitted "The Stargate of Alagaesia" to me via my website, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. It appears to be a megacrossover, and I'm not too strong on any of the fandoms mentioned so far (Stargate Atlantis, Inheritance Cycle, Star Trek: Voyager, H2O: Just Add Water, and Maximum Ride). At a glance, I don't see any glaring mechanical errors or other badfic early-warning signs, but maybe there's more going on than meets the eye?

~Neshomeh

About the only time Agent Wobbles gets really angry is when people twist children's media into something like, well, this. The Notary just hates humans as degenerate scumlords anyway, so she's not about to dissuade her harlequin roomie from the path of ultraviolence. =]

--parp

I think I just died a little bit... I can see why you had the NSFB warning. My curiosity is going to be the cause of my demise...

I hope that's okay!

1. What would happen if an agent tried to read the words inside of HQ?
2. I don't swear very often, but I have still picked up the habit of using leaf and frond when I do. Is that something I should worry about or simply a healthy dose of insanity?
3. Could it be that the position as head of finance has similar effects on one's wellbeing as the position of defense against the dark arts-teacher at Hogwarts?
4. Is it possible to sign up at an OFU on a free-will basis? As stated in my introduction post I have a history as a badfic author and want to better myself.

Thanks in advance for answering!

If you really want to write a story about a Pokémon trainer, why don't you just, well, write a story about a Pokémon trainer? If you leave the PPC out of it, you can just do it without having to worry about getting Permission and making it work with our canon. Also, if you still want to use your trainer as an agent later, you'll have that character and their backstory fully developed already, plus a complete writing sample about them to show the PGs. It seems to me that trying to force PPC mission and Pokémon fanfic to cohabit one story/series is making things a lot more complicated than they need to be.

~Neshomeh

I do have a Tumblr, though right now I'm still working on it and working on...works.
Feel free to say hi or have a chat, I'm kittyofthekatties.

I'll occasionally post PPC-related things there (which includes an RP Lily and I did a while ago), but for the most part it's fandoms+important things+the occasional mildly personal things. Oh, and a ton of planning for SBEI (Avengers OFU), which mainly goes, 'DAWN, CAN WE DO THE THING' 'YES, KAREN, LET'S DO THE THING AAAAH' (seriously, I have an SBEI tag, and I'm fairly sure that's most of what's in there.) Come say hi if you like, I'm dawnfire360.

~DF

I'm quill-of-thoth. My blog is about 25% science, 25% fandom, 50% everything else. :D

I'm evil-bones-mccoy on there, and live-long-and-bite-me is my Spock rp blog.

I hardly ever use it though, and when I do it's mostly to cyberstalk my LO.

Hey Rina! (And Randa, if you're reading)
Welcome to the Board!
Since you've already got a Potato Cannon (lucky) I'll give you wilver-color potatoes! Best in the kind, just don't look at them.

@Antigone: Fudge? Fudge! *noms* Wait... Did you say one was for Randa? *guilty* Haha, don't worry, I'll give hers to her today! ;)
@Kittythekatty: Mom actually confiscated the potato cannon last night after I accidentally broke a window. Oops. Other than that, it's awesome! And oh gods, YES, Hous of Hades was AWESOME! I'm assuming you've read it, too?
@Sevenswans: Bleepka? Man, I wish I had some of this while slogging through My Immortal and Imma wiserd. *shudders* This'll be a big help; Randa would say thanks if she were here. I'll say it for both of us. :D

Hi, have some fudge! Two plates, so you can hand one to Randa next time you see her.

I see you are enjoying the potato cannon.
Have you read the House of Hades?

Here, have toast! A suspicious-looking sponge! A bottle of bleepka, and a purple paracord! You will need all these things and more to tackle badfic in the Harry Potter universe... and the Percy Jackson fics. I've dipped my toe into those waters before...

Oh, look, another pony fan! Yay! You guys are in luck, as my first mission with Marvin and Printworthy in the All Purpose: MLP Division should be coming very soon. As soon as sonofheaven and Herr Wozzeck are finished beta-reading and some minor editing, it will finally, finally be uploaded! Finally, after almost a year, it's-

...Um. Sorry, enough about me. This is about you! Two... Eh, whatever, it works.

So, now I should give you two gifts. As a fellow (and rather hardcore) brony, I shall give you an MLP related gift. Or, uh, gifts. Huh...

I have a huge amount of enchanted crystal pony statues (completely unrelated to the crystal ponies) that radiate particular emotions based off of the character you chose. Just name the pony you two want, and I'll describe the enchantment on it. Yes, you can each have one, don't worry.

It's always nice to see new faces! Here, have two hoverboards, and a Portal-themed cake!

If you've got the time and inclination, however, you're welcome to use any of my agents as models. They consist of:
-- Danny Richardson, DoP
-- Laura Dukes and James Pittman, DMS
-- Gremlin and Xericka, DBS
-- Cornelius and Rachel Calendar, DIAU

Okay, um... I dunno. I think I'll go ahead and ask for a scene of my DIC agents. I'm thinkin' of something slightly on the sappier side, maybe.

Hm... Eusabius and Zerenze, sitting on the couch, cuddling, perhaps? Oh, and with Florestan just casually playing a video game right next to them and Wave Crest glancing between Florestan and Eusabius.

So for references, have the following:

Eusabius: http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Eusabius (Note that he's also a shorter, stockier guy.)
Zerenze: I actually don't have any other art, but... well, you can read this post with a bunch of references: http://disc.yourwebapps.com/discussion.cgi?disc=199610;article=250616;title=PPC%20Posting%20Board He's only wearing a shirt and pants.
Florestan: http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Florestan (Note that he's tall and built like a stick.)
Wave Crest: http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Wave_Crest (And, camera angle permitting, would you please add a cutie mark in the shape of a breaking wave, pretty please?)

If that's too crowded, you can just put Eusabius and Zerenze there and leave Florestan and Wave Crest out of the image.

Are you only looking to draw PPC Agents, or will any character do? Because I have a character in a fanfic of mine, and I would like to see if the new wardrobe I'm planning will actually work.

Agent!Sergio Turbo, Nikki CHerryflower and Corolla.

Unfortunately with the loss of my old laptop and thereby pretty much all my word files etc. I only have the Agent Profiles from my Permission Request, linked here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AAYf-BKJ7VCCsA7krwUWqsM7YZp7atu7AMMKvrXkX0A/edit?usp=sharing

I'm a glutton for fanart. ^^; I also have a large number of characters to choose from:

- Nume and Ilraen (DIC)

- Derik and <a href="http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/GallBonecrusher">Gall (DMS)

- Jenni Robinson (FicPsych) and her son Henry

- Various FicPsych nurses

Take your pick!

~Neshomeh

Feel free to draw my two - the Fisherman and Evie. I'll leave it up to you what the scene is, I'm sure it'll be great!

Wiki pages:
Evie
The Fisherman

Since my first mission is coming soon, how about a picture of Marvin and Printworthy? I don't care what they do, just them interacting is fine.

I'll link you to their wiki pages. Just one moment... Ah, here we are:
http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Marvin_Jones
http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Printworthy

Again, they can do whatever. If you want to do something pertaining to the upcoming mission, just let me know and I'll give you a scene for inspiration. If not, whatever, I'll be happy.

The first actually isn't one of mine, but comes from a published book. However, I read it just after reading the Workshop post, and it seemed to be a little masterclass in how to give characters distinctive voices, so I figured it was worth sharing.

This extract come from Starfighters of Adumar, book 9 in the 'X-wing series', written by Aaron Allston.
* * *

Wedge said, “This is Red Leader. Understood. We launch at arrival plus five seconds. Red Flight, are you good to go?”

“Red Two, ready.” That was Tycho, as economical of words as he was of motion.

“Red Three, four lit and ready to burn.” Janson’s inimitable voice and enthusiasm were evident even across the standard X-wing comm distortion.

“Red Four, nothing’s gone wrong yet.” There was almost a hopeful note to Hobbie’s dour tone.
* * *

It's not perfect - sometimes Tycho simply has a lot to say, and Janson tends to get more serious and brief when they're in combat, but you can usually take a good guess at who is speaking, without having to rely on their names/callsigns. And you can pretty much always tell whenever Hobbie is speaking.

The next one is just a random piece of mine. I've had the Captain's first words in my head for quite some time now, as an intro / establishing character moment, and just built the scene around that. I don't have a story for this character yet, but when I do, some variation of this scene will probably play out pretty early on.
* * *

The corporate headquarters of Zanex rarely hosted such unrefined guests, but when the need arose one of the smaller and less well furnished meeting rooms was used.

Five corporate employees, their suits perfectly tailored and spotlessly clean, sat opposite the two men in rough spacers’ clothes. Five was far more than would be needed for the negotiation, in fact, the senior policy maker had the authority to handle the matter himself. But he could hardly be expected to talk with people of such low status. The suited men to his immediate left and right were mid-level executives; it was they that would take care of the actual communication. The final two were junior executives, present merely to observe the proceedings.

At a gesture from the policymaker, the man on his right began speaking. “Welcome, Captain Ivaken, Master Jacus, to our prosperous business. It is our hope that together, we can work…”

Jacus wished that he could share a look with his captain, to see if he had started to tune out the man’s obsequious speech, but to do so risked insulting their prospective client. Instead, he waited patiently, nodding occasionally at the man’s words to give the impression of attentiveness.

The voice faded into the background, droning on for long enough that Jacus’ thoughts drifted further than he’d intended. With a start, he suddenly realised that the room was silent, and that expectant faces were watching him from across the table. Either the Captain wanted him to take the lead, or he’d been bored enough to lose concentration altogether.

Jacus stepped forward, till he was level with the Captain in his seat. “Thank you for the welcome, and for the opportunity of doing business with you.”

The central suit whispered something into the ear of the speaker, and Jacus inwardly braced himself for the next monologue.

“Forgive me for asking but, while we have dealt with Drenai before, and you come highly recommended by him, your ship and crew are an unknown quantity for us. How do we know that we can trust you?”

Sweet merciful gods, he’s actually being brief. “A perfectly reasonable concern. Please allow us to offer you some reassurances-”

The sound of snapping fingers, reverberating in the small room thanks to its lack of soft furnishings, cut him off exactly where he expected it to. He stepped back, resuming his place just behind and to the right of his Captain.

“My loyalty is a commodity like any other – it’s available to the highest bidder. If you’re not the highest bidder in these parts, then you probably don’t want to be doing business with me. And I certainly don’t want to be doing business with you.”

“You mean that you’d break our agreement if someone offered you more money?”

“Of course not.” The tone of the words carried an unspoken ‘don’t be an idiot’. “If one of your rivals were to try and buy me out while I was carrying your cargo, I would immediately contact you, so that you’d have the opportunity to put in a counteroffer.”

“And how do we know that you won’t say you have received such an offer from one of our rivals, even if no such offer were actually made, in order to drive your price up?”

“You get what you pay for, and I’m very good at what I do. My price structure reflects that. I think you’ll find that they’re high enough already.”

This time there was a whole whispered discussion, rather than just simple instructions being passed down.

“And what would your price be for this job?”

“Five hundred thousand.”

“What!? We could buy our own ship for that!” The executive’s calm demeanour had been shattered, and his face flushed with embarrassment. The harsh whispers directed at him carried a hint of reprimand.

“Yeah, you could buy a ship. But not my ship. And Zanex can count several ships on its roster, all of which cost more, and none of which are suitable. If they were, you wouldn’t have asked us here.”

There was silence for a while, as the suits digested the fact that their guests were not the simple-minded space-juicers they’d expected them to be.

The quiet was finally broken by the second executive. “The price that you have quoted still seems high for a simple transit of cargo, even for transport through potentially hostile territory. Perhaps we could see a cost breakdown? How did you come up with that figure?”

“You think the galactic banks issue insurance to people in my line of work? If my ship gets damaged doing your job, I gotta pay for that outta my own pocket, twice. Once for the repair costs, and once for the time it wastes where I can’t work. My fee includes shipping and handling, fuel costs, the bribes I’ll have to pay, plus a risk factor to cover any damages.”

“It sounds as if at least some of your fee is based on variables that you can’t properly determine at this time. What if we were to negotiate a lower initial fee, but with higher charges for any actual damage sustained in your endeavours on our behalf?”

His words were met with silence from both parties, and the young executive began to wonder if he’d made a mistake. Maybe the smuggler was insulted by the talk of a lower price, maybe his own superior was offended that he’d offered a deal with consulting with him…

“Finally there’s a businessman among you!” Ivaken pointed a finger at the suddenly relived exec. “You, I can make a deal with.” His finger shifted to point at the former speaker. “Get him outta here.”

* * *

My final piece features a couple of PPC Agents, including DIA Officer Shacklemore, whose first and only other appearance was in PoorCynic's previous Workshop.

* * *

Officer Theodore Shacklemore calmly finished writing up the latest transcription, then looked at the DMS Agent across the table from him. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that that last remark was close to an act of insubordination.”

Skeet leaned forward, his wrists settling on the table with a metallic jangle. “Technically speaking, wouldn't I have to be your subordinate in order to act insubordinate? Last time I checked, that’s not how they run this place.”

“As you well know, Assassin, insubordination refers to any act of disobedience or rebellion. And given your current status, disobedience is hardly going to be helpful to you.”

“Hey, I have a name, Shacklemore, and I know you know it – it’s in my file, along with rest of my details. I don’t call you ‘Officer’.”

“Have you considered doing so? It would be a show of respect. You gain nothing from this defiant act-”

“I have no intention of performing an act of defiance. An act of violence, on the other hand…”

“Would gain you even less.”

“Yeah? Well we’ll see if you feel the same way after I bounce your head off this table.”

“A task that will not be aided by your restraints.”

“What, these old things?” Skeet held his manacled wrists up. “A holdout blaster, a decent knife… hell, I could get out of these with a toothpick!”

“That sounds like quite a feat. I’d be very interested in seeing you do that.”

“Oh, errr… I-I don’t actually have a… toothpick on me… at the moment.”

Shacklemore made another note on the tablet in front of him, then reached up into his breast pocket and pulled out a pack of toothpicks. He selected one, and proceeded to work it into the gap between his incisor and canine, then put it down on the table. He then selected a fresh one and offered it across the table.

Skeet leaned back from the proffered pick, slouching in his chair and running his hands through his hair as if to straighten his ponytail, a movement that was slightly hampered by the cuffs. By the time he brought his hands back into view again, he’d somehow acquired a vibroknife.

The weapon made short work of the steel restraints.

“You were searched for weapons before being brought here.”

“Yes. Yes I was.”
* * *
So I've tried to do something a little different to normal here and focus exclusively on the dialogue, only including the other narration when it was absolutely necessary to show what was happening in the scene. If I do end up using this scene in the actual storyline, I'll probably 'fill in the blanks' a little, actually give some descriptions and a few more speech tags, etc. For now, I'm just wondering how well I did characterising these guys just through their words.

I believe some context is needed before people read it however...
This is based upon a game I play called Spiral Knights, it's my first time trying to write anything from that universe as well. And yeah, Storme Hawk will be becoming an Agent soon. More stuff about Spiral Knights can be found on the Wiki, although just for quick reference, Soldiers are fairly low ranked Spiral Knights, Storme Hawk is a Defender, a reasonably high ranked Spiral Knight but he's only recently been inducted to that rank, Vanguards are the highest rank possible and is only available after completing every ranked mission in the game.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J3v4I3w0Z5iCUYDTE-Vy3O1KojM3z79UbCG-DfkzBaM/edit?usp=sharing

Okay, I definitely wrote something much longer than you were looking for, compared to the other stories so far. I also flagrantly disregarded your advice of not using a foreign language I'm unfamiliar with, but after a family of tourists from New Caledonia came through my zoo a couple of weeks ago, it struck me as strange that the PPC doesn't have more New Caledonian characters, so . . . yeah. Fixed that a bit.

http://doctorlit.dreamwidth.org/3452.html

So, yeah. If anyone finds a mistake in my French, feel free to yell at me for it. Any other mistakes, too, as this is unbeta'd (fun fact: rough draft was written during a single day shift at the stingray touch tank). Sorry about that, but I have no time to do much of anything any more!

I know you said to use dialects sparingly, but I had a scene that absolutely needed to be written, and it just happens to involve several distinct dialects. It may be too much, but it is important.

So, I give you the first meeting of "Da Society For Da Equal Treatment'A Trolls, But Not Dose Trolls, Ya Know Da Trolls I Mean" or DSFDETATBNDTYKDTIM for short.

Trolling For The Cause

-Phobos

Rina kicked her feet up on the console, being careful to keep her clunky boots away from any buttons. She yawned and raked her fingers through her short hair.
"You know," her partner, Randa, said from the floor, "When you asked me to join the PPC, I didn't think it would be so... boring."
Rina made a face. "Just give it some time, okay? Why don't you go play Solitaire or something?"
"I don't know how to play Solitaire."
"What about War? That always takes forever; I'd be willing to play..."
Randa shrugged and rolled over so she was lying on her back. "I can't believe they didn't give us any beds," she muttered.
"They?"
"The freaky talking plants."
Rina stifled a snort. "Well, you can't really blame them, can you? It's not like the S.O. needs a bed." She paused. "Although, considering the majority of agents use beds, you'd think we'd get at least cots or something." She looked around their RC, but the only things to see were the Generic Material of the walls and floor and the weapons rack.
Rina yawned again, vaguely thinking about taking a nap. Of course, the Universal Laws of Narrative Irony decided to manifest.
[BEEEEEP]
"Ack!" Rina sat bolt upright and swung her feet off the console. "Hey, Randa! We've got our first mission!"
"Really? Awesome! What is it?" Randa peered at the screen, not noticing her partner's mouth fall open. Randa somehow managed to groan and giggle at the same time. "Seriously? This one hatched from a dragon egg?"
"Bwah?" Rina could only gape at the readout.
Randa glanced at Rina, a frown creasing her forehead. "What's wrong?"
"They're screwing with me. It's the only explanation," Rina muttered, rubbing her eyes and double-checking that she hadn't been seeing things. She glared at the ceiling. "This isn't funny!" She yelled.
"Rina, you're not making any sense," Randa said irritably. "What is going on?"
Rina gestured at the screen. "I- I- I wrote this! When I was ten!" she said miserably. "Jade Leanna Dragonheart, hatched from a Hungarian Horntail's egg, has a dragon tail and wings and is immune to fire. She can breathe it, too." She groaned and sank back in the chair, wondering how difficult it would be to smash the console.
A burst of laughter made her look up. "Stop laughing!" she snapped.
"Sorry," Randa said, gasping for air. "Just- you wrote- dragon tail-!" Randa was positively howling with laughter at that point.
Rina snarled several choice expletives as she stood and stomped to the weapons rack. Randa's laughter was cut off when Rina thrust an axe into her arms. "We're going to kill this abomination as soon as possible, and we will make it painful. Torture's unfortunately out of the question, so we'll have to be... creative." She slung a quiver over her shoulder and grabbed a recurve bow. "And stop laughing!"
Randa bit the inside of her mouth, her shoulder shaking with silent guffaws as Rina opened a portal and stormed through.

(Unfortunately, yes, I did in fact write this Sue. Thank god I only ever wrote one chapter, but it was a doozy. Ugh.)

Knock, knock.

“Come in!” called Androia, putting down her book and looking for something to use for a bookmark..

“Expletive not translated,” muttered a deep voice from the direction of the door. Androia let the book go and turned to gaze at the stocky male human in the open doorway. The human gazed back with wide eyes.

“I beg your pardon,” said Androia, “I could not hear you clearly. What did you say?”

“Uhm, wrong language,” explained the human, distorting his face into an awkward grin.“I meant to say good morning, or whatever time it may be in this corner of Headquarters.” As far as Androia could determine through all the facial hair, the movement of his lips did not match the sound of his words, but she was used to this; very view agents spoke her native language.

“Good morning, sir,” answerded Androia with a little frown, “it is short after breakfast time for me, and incidentally this is also the announced arrival time for my new partner. So, may I assume – no, you are not possibly a field agent?”

“Well, this sodden plant gave me a potted cactus flash patch and told me to go to this arr zee,” growled the man, “so what would you think? Having second thoughts about my age? It’s the grey beard, right?”.

“Come in then, and forgive me if I were unpolite. I should not have jumped to conclusions. I do not know whether you are what I assume you are, and this colour my not have any significance.”

Surprisingly, Androia could watch the man’s face colour change to match the natural colour of her skin, just before he turned to close the door. “Expletive girl, expletive, human enough,” he murmured. “You didn’t need to step on the other toe. Okay, I’ll calm down, it’s forgiven, you couldn’t know.” When he turned back to face Androia, his skin had paled and the awkward grin was on his face again. “May we start this all over again?” he offered.

“Welcome to response centre one thousand nine hundred fifty three,” replied Androia, not eager to push one of his berserk buttons again. “My name is Androia Avatar. I am a nigth elf from World of Warcraft. Is it usual to shake hands in your culture?”

The human stepped forward to grip Androia’s outstretched hand, and then held it a bit firmer and longer than would have been appropriate. “I’m glad to meet you,” he sang out, “and I’m sure we will be a good team.”

“This is still to be seen,” responded the night elf. “What, did you say, is your name?” Her mysterious new partner let go off her hand and shrank back.

“Uh, there’s a little problem with this,” he stated. “If you don’t mind, I would like to be anonymous.”

“Anonymous? That would be ridiculous,” retorted Androia.

“No, not ridiculous, the name would be Anonymous.”

“I refuse to work with an anonymous partner!”

“Ah, well then, if you insist on misspelling my name,” the male gave in, “you may call me Hieronymus. That’s what the Marquis registered anyway.”

“Agent Hieronymus,” declared Androia, “we need to come to an agreement immediately. If we will be partners, we need to be honest to each other. You have already lied to me at least once.”

“When did I lie to you?”

“There is no wrong language for a Universal Translator. You clearly did not say good morning when you entered this room. I will not insist on a translation, nor will I ask why you want to hide your real name. But you have to explain what you meant when you said you were human enough. When we are in a badfic together, I need to know your abilities and limits.”

Androia had to take breath, and Hieronymus used this pause to interject “I didn’t ask what your abilities and limits are.”

“You may look me up in the World of Warcraft Wiki; I am a level ten druid, specializing in Healing. Now, what are you?”

“Okay, I will tell, but it’s a long story.”

“Then you should start soon.”

“Well, the essence is that I lived in the PPC archives for some time, until one of DoSAT’s Hollywood Hackers tracked me down and they got me out. They say I’m a digital clone of my original self, and I cannot go home to world one, because there is another me at OFUA, and when Miss Kitty sends her students home at the end of the year, there will be two of us.”

“That is a bad fate,” empathized Androia, “but how did you get into the archives?”

“They also threatened me that I might not be able to survive in a world were narrative laws don’t precede scientific laws,” continued Hieronymus, ignoring the question as well as the implications that mentioning his enrolment at the Official Fanfiction University of Azeroth had given away. “Oh, and the DIA tried to neuralize me before they realized that they cannot send me home, so I actually don’t remember my real name.”

“This is – “ started Androia, but she never ended the sentence, because this was the moment the console went BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

________________________________________________________________________

Author’s notes:
The provisional claim of RC 1953 is pending Permission.

Agent Hieronymus would speak English, but swear in German, if there were no Universal Translators. I imagine that Androia hears everything he says in her native language, so she wouldn’t know the difference.

In a scene written from Hieronymus’ POV, he would obviously know which language he is using. But trying to speak English and only swear in German would make no sense when he knows that everything is translated for the audience’s convenience, and it would probably break the fourth wall, because the only conceivable reason to do so anyway would be Hieronymus’ attempt to keep his story K-rated for the readers. But then he is wall-breaking anyway?

So here is a question: Are Universal Translators smart enough to know that, when a person says some words in a language that is not their working language, this should not be translated? Which, in accord with the general mischief of PPC-technology, means that, if Hieronymus swears too much, the UT would no longer realize that Hieronymus native language is not his working language, and would start to translate?

“<a href="http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/UniversalTranslator">Of course, they sort of take the fun out of swearing in foreign languages (though some Translators appear to be governed by the Laws of Narrative Comedy in this regard).” Yes, works for me.

I like dialogue. Of all the elements of storytelling, it's always come the most naturally for me. I can just about hear my characters' voices when I'm writing them, and it's fun sounding out particular word choices.

I've got a piece of prequel that I think fits the bill. It was already written, but I've tidied it up a little. The rest of the story will be even more dialogue-heavy, once all the necessary descriptions are in place, but I'm not going to be able to write it in time to post here. So, here's the beginning.

---

Late 2003

The young twenty-something standing at the counter of the nurses' station was tall—quite a bit taller than Head Nurse Suzine. She had to tilt her head back to look him in the face. It made his thin, slanting eyebrows seem even more arched than they already were, and in her professional opinion, they were approaching Elven Eyebrow o' Doom levels.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but we just don't take agents. It's the Department of Fictional Psychology for a reason, you know. Why don't you try Medical?"

"Because that's not what I need," said the young man. He had a clipped way of speaking, as though each word were a cut-out from a different magazine. The fingers of his left hand drummed an erratic sequence into his thigh. "My body is fine. They don't want to see me. They have more important things to do."

Suzine was not a fan of the disdain with which he spoke the last sentence. "Look, if you think you can stand there and insult our line of work while you insist we make an exception for you, you've got—"

"Hey, what's up?"

Suzine turned around to see who had entered the station. "Oh, it's you, Robinson." The intern, a brown-haired, green-eyed woman a little older than the young man, was a pain in Suzine's neck. "What do you need? Make it quick."

"Nurse Dewstan sent me to tell you they were able to release Mulder, but we've got a Spike and Angel situation over in 204 and Legolas is back again." She sounded bored, and immediately broke eye contact with Suzine to peer at the young man. "Who's this?"

That was her problem: she never knew when to mind her own business. "Just an agent who thinks he's somehow more deserving of our time than everyone else in the multiverse. It's not your concern, Robinson. Tell Nathon—"

"But maybe I can help," said the insufferable woman. "Come on—you don't trust me with the canons, so let me handle this kid. What does he want?"

"I'm right here, you know." The young man folded his arms.

"He declined to say," Suzine said archly.

"I don't want to talk to anyone who's not going to help me," said the young man.

"Suzine, it isn't as though you'd be taking me away from anything important," said Robinson. "They don't need me."

Suzine breathed heavily through her nose, counting to five. Then she threw up her hands. "Fine! Robinson, you can see him in your office. Just stay out of my way, both of you."

"Great!" She beamed and practically skipped out the side door to the station. She tried to take the young man's hand, but he jerked it away. "Well, this way, then," she said, spirits somewhat dampened.

"I want a complete workup, Robinson," Suzine called, leaning out the front window. "No shirking, no funny business!"

"No problem!" Entirely too flippant for Suzine's liking, the girl waved over her shoulder as she led the young man away to C-14.

---

~Neshomeh

It sounds interesting... what's it like?

I'll dispense with the usual messages for once and just give you a cup of Mao Feng tea. Just don't let the leaves eat you.

Man, I thought you were never going to show up! Here! *holds out plate of fudge and a potato cannon and a shiny orb* These are some of the things I promised to pass along. Oh, and whatever you do, don't try to make that orb thingy touch the ground. *casually kicks rug over scorch mark on the floor*
And yeah, when she came in to school this morning, she was smiling like the Cheshire Cat. So yeah, it WAS a big smile. Hehehe.

You can have a left sock knitted for a giant, two snickers bars, and an interesting rock!

I think this mission was a success. The major point that dawned on me as I read was that it "fit" so well into the LMPverse. Aside from the one unavoidable badfic scene where Shining Armor got stabbed, all the scenes felt appropriate for a cartoon aimed at children. One example of this was the relationship between Marvin and Printworthy; their friendship read very naturally to me, very simply buddy-buddy. Even the more serious ones were handled properly so that they didn't fly in the face of the canon's values. You did this by either toning down violence and aggression (like in the final fight scene), or adding a bit of little silliness when the badfic inflicted overwrought emotion on us (as when Cadence started acting insane--love that "Neighcronomicon" joke, by the way). At the same time, you still allowed the characters to express emotions appropriate to what was happening around them, which helped the mission get across the damage the continuum was suffering from the badfic. The absolute epitome of this was the ending scene between Cadence and Shining Armor. I like that, after the removal of the sparkle specters, the characters still felt the consequences of what they (thought they) had done, and own up to it. I like it when we show a bit of the canon characters back to normal after a mission; it's something I need to get better at, myself. All in all, this mission did an excellent job of involving both the agents (and mini!) and the canon characters in the solution to the badfic problem, even including the Changelings.

Other things I enjoyed include your excellent use of cartoon physics (another example of making the mission feel in the MLPverse); some of the actions the agents make feel like they belong in the flash cartoon-style MLP. Your interpretation of the rather unique time distortion's effects was good as well. You went beyond stating the agents felt sick from it, and used their speech to demonstrate what was happening to them in a more concrete form for the reader. Rartiy's characterization was also excellent, and you made good use involving it in the finale, especially since you had it act through aspects of Discord's personality. It was a perfect way to show off the more negative aspects of a mini-Discord's personality while still keeping the mini allied to the agents and canon. I also liked that the agents used their foreknowledge of the title to realize what was coming and modify their plans as a result. It's something that a person reading the badfic would have done, and helps link the reader to the characters.

There were a couple of very unique things you tried, which I don't see in missions very frequently, but which you accomplished quite well. First, you used one of the badfic's own events (resurrecting Shining Armor) against it. This doesn't really make sense when you think about it, but canon is stronger than fic, after all, so I can interpret this as the canon words seeing an opportunity to regain some influence and seizing it. It wasn't just a standalone event for convenience's sake, either, but a clue to the agents as to the nature of the wraiths present in the other canons. The second, and especially interesting thing, was providing a "rewrite" of Shining Armor's death scene. This made stronger the assertion that the death had been neglected by the single paragraph in-fic, and also made it easier for the reader to understand why Marvin got so upset over that, simply by showing (not telling) a very obvious contrast between the two different portrayals of a single scene. It does contradict our typical reporting (whatever the fic says is what happens, and if the fic says it stupidly, it happens stupidly), but you made this scene do so much work that I personally find that a negligible problem.

One thing that confused me was the "manes and tails on sticks" thing. I'm sure it's the result of something in the words, but I can't quite see the connection between what was written in the badfic and what resulted from those words, based on what you show us in the mission right now. Also, at a couple of points you refer to the MLP characters speaking English. I doubt the Ponies speak the same languages as appear on Earth, but I know this gets confusing between universal translators and such.

And now, your first exposure to doctorlit's really quite obnoxious listing of minor errors he found (I read the mission yesterday and wrote this comment today, so I apologize if you already fixed any of these):

"Rather, happiness is a sign to those in the Legal Departments that the agents are getting too comfortable, and need to be reminded of the nature of their work." Pretty sure we only have one Legal Department. I think. Have I missed anything, guys?

"Shining Armor and Cadence magically appeared in the middle of the room and, by the sound of it, an argument."
I think a verb "had" is missing in front of "an argument." Unless you're saying that the argument appeared along with the characters, but if so, that sounds a little clunky.

" . . . said Printworthy. I know how important grooming is for pegasi . . ." A missing open quotation.

"Printworthy stared, baffled at his surly insane partner . . ." I think you meant "surely" instead of "surly" here.

"With a final whistle from the Agent, the Wraith flew out of Cadence’s body . . ." That should be a lowercase "a," so as to avoid kidnapping Lily Winterwood's Time Lord character.

"'I will open the portal to the Medical department.'" A capital "D."

Finally, the alrights. "Alright" is not a word; the phrase is "all right." I won't list them all; just use the search function for that.

Congratulations on your first mission!

This one was a real treat to read: your characterization, description, and PPC humour are spot-on. I especially loved the banter between your agents.

I'll be looking forward to seeing these two again...

I wish I could write battle scenes like this. And Cadence showing Marvin her grief, and – well, essentially everything others already said.

Unfortunately, I had to maintain my own charge list:

Marvin gave his full attention to the console, applying the most accurate and sophisticated manner he knew to get to console to behave as he wanted.
Should be get the console

Printworthy walked over to the case Marvin pointed towards, and began searching though the assorted titles.
Should be searching through

What you see here is an extra space in front of a backslash: a griffon \changeling hybrid
What is seen in the badfic, supposed you quoted it correctly, is an extra space at the back of a slash.

There is a word, probably at, missing in “Evidently,” he said, still looking the Words?

swinging and stabbing at the enemy, forcing most of them back. Shouldn’t this be enemies?

their victory having came at last (Tense shift?) Shouldn’t this be having come at last?

Shining Armor’s corpse laid on his back, My Dictionary says that lay would be the past tense of to lie, while laid is the past tense of to lay.

Each bend he turned, the louder the sounds became. This sounds weird. I would expect another phrase following the louder the sounds became. You probably meant Each bend he turned, the sounds became louder.

The swarm began back down their original path. Is there something missing?

He had to remember to go the inverse direction he went before. I’m not sure, but something may be missing here as well.

At some point though the reading Should be through the reading?

Please catch this mini-agent: Mavin looked into Cadence’s eyes.

And there is a minor continuity issue: Last time we saw Shining Armor in the battle, his mouth had been bound shut with multi-colored rope by Rartiy. When we see him again, he is outside, resting from his regeneration and subsequent fighting for his new life and he can smile and speak without difficulty. A lot has happened meanwhile, but I still wonder who removed the rope.

But I enjoyed it anyway, it’s a fantastic first mission.

HG

OK, so, it seems like everybody loves the scene where Cadence exorcises Twilight. If one of the artists in the PPC could draw that scene, I would be so happy and eternally grateful and everything. Please?

This was AWESOME.

I did notice a few misspellings- unfortunately, the only one that comes to mind is 'faithfull' and that's already been pointed out- but aside from a very small number of those, this was flawless.

I really loved your characterization of Marvin and Printworthy, and how you didn't give Marvin an easy time during his transformation into a pony. Hopefully, he'll get the hang of it soon!

But to be honest... I think what really made my day with this were Rartiy (How in the hoof do you pronounce that? Rare-tee-ye?) as your first mini, and Cadence finishing the exorcism. I really loved that. :3

Good luck with your next mission! Now that you have one mission under your belt, maybe the next one won't take as long to write. ;)

Couple of minor things, though: faithful is spelled thus and occasionally you call the wraiths Sparkle Spectres rather than Shimmer Spectres. Other than that, it's a great fic. Marvin and Printworthy have a lot of chemistry.

Also, I'd like to claim one of the wigs; Wobblevision will shortly start airing MLP:FIM and Wobbles will need to make plushies for the kids. =]

--parp

I know literally nothing about MLP, and I still loved this mission so very much. The bits from the perspectives of inanimate objects, especially the RC who just wants peace and quiet, were my favourite parts, I think, because they were both funny and, in the case of the second RC POV, oddly, unexpectedly, poignant. And original. Very original.

The action climax was unexpected but well-executed, and Cadence doing an exorcism was wonderful. All in all, great job, and I wish you luck in future projects.

-Aila

I really liked the way this one started. Most first missions either aren't really an Agent's first excursion into the Word Worlds, personal chrononology-wise, or have the supposedly fresh-from-recruitment Agents jump right in, taking to the experience in a strangely natural way. It was nice to see Printworthy being somewhat anxious about his first mission and see Marvin have no idea how to work the console. It felt very genuine.

There seems to have been a consistent name misspelling here. In every official work I've seen, the alicorn known here as "Princess Cadence" was spelled as "Princess Cadance". I noticed the "Cadence" spelling in both the badfic quotes and in the Agents' dialogue; while the instances of the former would simply cause the team's first mini-Discord to fly around and pester people far before Rartiy shows up, the instances of the latter should be fixed, unless the "Cadence" spelling is supported by another official source that I'm just unaware of. Actually, since every time Princess Cadance should appear in the original badfic, the misspelled name is shown instead, under normal circumstances the mini-Discord would either take her place in the story, which is beyond suggestion at this point since it would require too much rewriting and take out some of the mission's best scenes, or follow her around, copying her actions and speech, which isn't used very often in the PPC, but it would stave off the potential problem of rewriting a load of descriptions and would also be funny to watch.

"Printworthy’s quill stopped as he slowly raised his head, watching the once proud Captain of the Royal Guard get reduced into having the vocal capabilities of a foal who had just learned how to speak, only with far less enduringness, and much more mental pain." Is it Printworthy who is experiencing mental pain here, or Shining Armor? The way the sentence is phrased now, it seems to say that Shining Armor is speaking with more mental pain than usual, but that doesn't make a lot of sense for Printworthy to recount, unless he's telepathic. It would make sense if Printworthy's mind was hurting as he watches Shining Armor act in such an undignified manner, but the sentence doesn't imply that. Also, something about the word "enduringness" is rubbing me the wrong way. It's a real word, at least according to Google, but it seems out of place somehow. It might be connected to the same confusion involving the owner of the aforementioned mental pain.

"intently, waiting for the three to use it, waiting to see how the spell works." The tense switches to present from past at the end of the sentence there. It should probably say "would work" instead of "works".

"At some point though the reading, they said nothing slightly different, but whatever it was, it was clearly the right way" I'm just confused on what's being said here. Judging by the sentence directly before it, "The mares began to read once more, silence echoing though the room, building in strength", I think it might have denoted that all of a sudden, the two ponies began to be silent correctly, but that's just odd to me. Is there a wrong way to be silent? As long as no noise is emitted, silence is only affected by the context it exists in, right? I think that's how it works. Is that line paraphrased from a badfic quote? I liked most of your paraphrasings, since they translated the original badfic's ungrammatical mush into coherent actions and descriptions. However, if this was one of them, it might be best to leave it in its original form, because it wouldn't be beyond a badfic to make vaguely baffling claims on the correctness of a silence, so the section would make more sense, in a roundabout way at least.

That climax was awesome, by the way. My favorite parts were the scenes where Cadance was exorcizing Twilight and when the changelings turned against the Hybrids. I liked both scenes for entirely different reasons, and since you put a couple of great tonal shifts in there so that the story cuts between and captures the Agents' attitudes, the emotional responses of the ponies, and the simple, pragmatic malice of the changelings, it doesn't feel like anything was out of place, even though there was so much going on. I'm really looking forward to seeing more from these two!

Having worked on that mission, I think I deserve one of those, don't you think?

As for the story itself, you did quite a good job. I like the way that you've dealt with the suggestions that I made, especially the introduction of the term "Shimmer Specter." And congratulate your brother on a job well done; the formatting is just as it should be—with the exception of one word. He missed "definetly"; that should be italicized.

Overall, a very good mission, and I like the A/N that you put at the end. BTW, I believe you meant to say wasted potential, not waited potential.

Hopefully the next mission will not take another year to type. If so, I might have the entirety of Lost Luster up by then!

PS..: A few errors that you might want to fix:
"The Pegasus blinked for a few moments, processing the unicorn’s strange explanation."
"Pegasus" should have a lowercase P there. Microsoft Word AutoCorrects "pegasus" to "Pegasus," so please keep an eye on that in future missions.

"Oh! I see what you did there! Shimmer Specters, that’s an interesting name for them."
"Shimmer Specters" should be enclosed in single quotes.

“No, really, wrap it up! The Changelings are-!”
That should be an em dash at the end there, not a hyphen. If your keyboard has a number pad, the command to input an em dash is ALT + 0151. Otherwise (assuming that you are typing in Microsoft Word), you can use two hyphens. Word will AutoCorrect the two hyphens into an em dash after you finish typing the next word.

...so far this has been my favorite first mission from anyone in the PPC. Only this time, it's so much better with the new action climax. It was exactly as chaotic as I imagined such a situation to be, and it was incredible. Of note is the stuff with Marvin and Cadence, which was done beautifully. More of that, please!

But yeah, great first mission! Here's hoping your next one doesn't take a year to publish!

(Also, don't forget to add the mission to the Wiki!)

It seems like all the formatting disappeared. I distinctly remember some italics and boldface being in the mission.

Welcome to the PPC!
Your not alone in liking the Inheritance Cycle, I really liked the Books as well.
As for your newbie Gift, have this PPC mug of infinite [insert your favorite drink here]!

Do you have X or Y yet? If so, what did you think about the ending theme? Brought tears to your eyes, didn't it?

*ahem*

Either way, welcome to the PPC! You already got a starter, so I won't give that. Hmmm...
*rummages through Trainer-issue bag of holding*
Here; you can have either a Dratini or a Deino!

Here, have this Bleeprin-laced custard pie and collapsible unicycle. =]

Also, don't feel bad about enjoying what you enjoy. Your tastes are your own and we're not here to judge them.

--parp

Have an urple pencil to write things with... so long as you can write without looking at what you're doing that is.

Anyway. Woah, we share a lot of fandoms, Harry Potter, Pokemon, Halo, Mass Effect, Warhammer 40k... OK maybe not a lot but still, several.

Oh and you RP, High Five!

Storme Hawk
the guy who's usually not this excitable

Hello and welcome, one and all!

This post is dedicated to all the newbies I have failed to welcome in the past week, along with Mikelus, so I gave to you all lined Infinite Notebooks, complete with urple covers and wilver binding. Avert your eyes for fear of blinding yourself, and use them carefully!

-Aila

Sweet, dude! That's awesome! Now me and PoorCynic aren't the only Mass Effect guys around here!

Anyway, welcome to the PPC, dude! We love newbies here, so take your shoes off, leave your sanity at the door, and come on in!

As a welcome gift, I'm going to gift you some music by György Ligeti: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIcO8fPspP0

[You've received a Newbie Pack from Spotty!]
Opening...

-1 hoverboard
-15 Ton-Tongue Toffee
-1 leather-bound notebook with quill

Anyhoo, nice to meet you! What's up?

Awesome! Another Potterhead AND Pokemon fan? Here you go! A (mostly) house trained copy of The Monster Book of Monsters and your very own starter Pokemon of your choice!

Don't feel bad about the Inheritance Cycle thing. I used to be a fan, and while I still enjoy reading it, it's more of a guilty pleasure than anything. And besides, some fandoms (Yeesh, my computer tried to autocorrect that to randoms like five times) are really short-staffed.

Gaming? Do you play Dungeons and Dragons, by any chance?

Welcome to the Board!

Here's the fossilized remains of said attempt. I was working in 3.5.

In the process, I actually came to the conclusion that D&D isn't the best system for a PPC RPG, which, IMO, should ideally be driven by character traits, not a block of stats. In my experience, D&D tends to skew itself toward combat—this is where the rules most reward the PCs with XP and treasure—and that's usually the last thing any PPC agent wants. Something like Shadowrun or World of Darkness might be a little easier to work with.

~Neshomeh

My PPC Card Game is a thing that exists, and while nothing like D&D, is still in the same general area (the roleplaying is not explicit, but really - can you not mentally write stories to go with your actions?). It's always looking for people to play(test) it, too, since I keep on changing the rules...

(And yes, Generation Six is vaguely in the works)

hS

I'm not one of those D&D players you mentioned, but this idea has potential. I support it.

-Aila

It might not be the easiest task, but it sounds like a lot of fun.

There could be different versions of Sues (Godmode Sues as the toughest, Possession Sues as the least difficult) and one of the various hazards could be plot holes that the characters would sometimes accidentally fall into...

Funnily enough, 'Assassin' is a legitimate class in Dungeons and Dragons.

I read a fic in D-Gray Man fandom that I'll never forget. Actually the pairing that it listed was one of those juggernaut "hawt" yaoi pairings that fangirls shit their pants over. That said I was half expecting (okay...completely expecting) to find the usual half-arsed attempts at proper grammar, no appreciation for the cannon context, gross woobification of male characters yada yada yada.

It's been five years since I've read that fic and I'm still wiping off the leftover pieces of egg off my face because holly shit was I wrong...

Back when I read Inheritance Cycle fanfic (yes, you all can laugh at me now), someone wrote their version of book four. It turned out to be rather good, and in my opinion was better than canon.

I just wish I could remember what happened in it. Anyways, the author wrote too much for one book and split it into two. Unfortunately, they gave up half way through the sequel. Here's a link.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4585314/1/

It may not be as good as I remember, but hopefully won't be too much worse.

I don't know about actually written Twilight reduces, but someone I know was planning a completely ridiculous one. I don't know if she's still planning on doing it, so I'll ask her.

If you want Twilight to be smarter, and heaven knows how you'd make it dumber, then Luminosity, by Alicorn may just be for you. I certainly enjoyed it, and my views on Twilight are more commonly possessed by the characters of Fahrenheit 451.

Hope that was helpful! =]

--parp

I like sci-fi TV shows. Including Sanctuary, Haven (my current fad), Warehouse 13, and Stargate (okay, so not tiny, but getting to be a while since it was on the air). I am sure there are more that I am not thinking of at the moment

The Ukiah Oregon series of books by Wen Spencer are some of my favorites. Definitely worth a read-through.

How obscure is the series Quantum Leap? Most sci fi fans have forgotten this great series. Its very good though.

Might not be as obscure as the others, but it's good

I'm a huge fan of the BBC series Hyperdrive. It's kind of a spiritual successor to Red Dwarf, it's got Nick Frost (of "starring Simon Pegg and" fame) at the conn, it mercilessly takes the mickey out of TOS-era Trek... what's not to like?

I really love the Brainship series by Anne McCaffery. I think that was the first actual sci-fi series I got into.

I'm a fan of Neal Stephenson's work, especially Anathem (I actually have an Anathem-verse agent kicking around, whose first mission is nowhere near done). I'm also a fan of C. J. Cherryh's Chanur Saga, which is quite obscure.

The Retief short stories are fun.

The Lensman series, though I don't know if those really count as "obscure".

I'm most of the way through the Pelbar Cycle -- a postapoc series, seven novels long and I've read the first six.

I always recommend Iain M. Banks' The Culture series, which is so obscure it only has two 'fics in the Pit (both are meh crossovers, by the way). It's an awesome series and the books are surprisingly deep for sci-fi, though some of them are really depressing. Oh, and the last one's pretty bad.
Other than that... I read an obscure sci-fi novel called The Forge of Mars by one Bruce Balfour some years ago and quite enjoyed it.

I've heard of Bolo, but haven't got around to checking it out yet. What's it like? Other than involving giant sentient tanks, which sounds pretty damn cool to me.

On the subject of the more obscure stuff that I have read:

Joe Haldeman's The Forever War.

James Blish's Cities in Flight.

Fred Saberhagen's Berserker series.

Chris Bunch's Star Risk series.

Chris Bunch and Alan Cole's Sten series.

The JAG in space, Lost Stars and Stark's War series by Jack Campbell.

Pretty much anything by Robert A. Heinlein, although Starship Troopers is a personal favourite.

And finally, David Weber's awesome Honor Harrignton series, which I think is probably the widest known of this bunch, presumably making it either the most mainstream obscure series I read, or the most obscure mainstream series.

How do those rate on your obscure-o-meter?

Well, I really like a series by Piers Anthony... I don't think the series itself has an official name; I just call it the Xanth Chronicles. I know it used to be fairly popular a few decades ago, but it's pretty much faded out, which is sad. The pun overloads are the best.

Retief, The Instrumentality of Man... I collect old sci-fi magazines.

Because that would be me over here. I'm a vague part of so many random tiny fandoms I can't list them all.

-Aila

Hi, sorry I'm late. Have some fudge!

I don't recognize H2G2, is that an abbreviation?

Welcome to the PPC. You've answered two of my usual questions (How did you hear about the PPC? What are your fandoms?), so I'll ask the remaining ones: Have you read the Constitution and the Original Series? The links are at the top of the Board webpage.

As for your newbie gift...
*rummages through bag of holding*
Here, have a wilver lightsaber!

Nice to meet you! Please accept my gifts of a potato cannon, a basket of potatoes, and and Official Fanfiction University of Doctor Who sweatshirt.

Hey, hi, hello! Always nice to see a new face- so to speak. I've only been on for a few days, but it sure feels like forever!

It's dangerous to go alone. Take this. *offers a sterling silver spork*

I love how so many people on here are Potterheads! It's the best! Some of the most memorable badfics spawned from the fandom, too. You say you've read My Immortal? If you think that's funny, you should try imma wiserd. Be warned, though- there is some pretty bad racism stuff in there.

Welcome to the Board!

Hello and welcome!

I hereby give to you a lined Infinite Notebook, featuring urple covers and wilver binding. Don't look at it straight on.

-Aila

I've read my fair share of nasty fic (including My Immortal, which actually reads more like a bad science experiment gone wrong than an actual piece of fiction)but from the way you guys are talking, it sounds traumatic.

...I know I shouldn't but now I'm kinda curious.

You poor, poor thing. You don't have to do that. You could easily haze yourself by reading The Eye of Argon or My Immortal or any other legendary but moderately safe for brain badfic...

http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Legendary_Badfic

From the wiki:
"Newbies be warned: Reading any Legendary Badfic that was linked to you by another Boarder in your introduction post, especially "Celebrian," is Bad. Do not do it, because they should not have provided it to you in the first place. This is possibly your only warning. Also, reading the plot summary on its wiki page likely counts. Don't do it."

*Gives NM&NMs*

The only thing that might be considered a rite of passage around here would be reading the Original Series.

A few chapters in now. Honestly, for a legendary badfic, the main difficulty I'm having with it is a rather acute sense of boredom. It's terrible, but I've read worse.

Nevermind. This fic was sporked, right? Because it needs one.

Do not read it. Really. Just don't. It's a legendary badfic for a reason.

If you're really intent on it, pack some bleeprin if you can get your hands on it. Lots of it. If you can't, brain bleach and Aspirin will help.

And good luck if you really are reading it. You'll need it.

Which is use both. I mean I originally came up with Apollo (who is an OC from a scrapped version of my original writing/story thing), then came up with Kelly to support him. I also had at that point the idea for an Agent from a lesser-played video game called Spiral Knights, and was struggling to work out which one to use. As it is I'm using Kelly, but Storme (the Spiral Knight) will probably be appearing in a couple of months time once I've finished tweaking his partners backstory.

Basically I'd say work on the whole character for each one, work out which would work best with Linda and Dean, and go from there, then a small while down the line one of the trio could always get transferred to work with a newbie, who is the other idea. If you get what I mean

hope that may help
Storme Hawk

It's not unheard of for original characters coming from actual unpublished fiction to unexpectedly drop in the PPC and hang around-- Agent Miah Arthur is an example of this. Besides, a plothole dragging an OC into HQ doesn't need to be explained: that is the very nature of plotholes themselves.

The SNK agent sounds cool, but I'd recommend to drop the shifter idea if she's going to kill badfic. That's getting dangerously close to Speshul, because it's both a rare power (we still don't understand how Shifters work) and a complete game breaker for PPC missions. Besides, where are you going to use those powers? Most 'verses don't have people randomly shift into Titans.

Or you could have her go into External Security... Things get pretty hairy when defending HQ from extradimensional threats, so I'd love to see how that plays out...


Another great tool you can use to help guide yourself is Huinesoron's Permission Self-Check. It's useful for asking yourself the right questions when designing an agent. No need to submit your answers at the very end of the exercise.

I'll draw this.