Subject: Hullo!
Author:
Posted on: 2013-01-13 20:08:00 UTC
Have some lemming repellent; you may need it if you ever forage into the wastes of the Circle of Lemmings.
And oh man, there has been an increase. I took a tally of the types of fics that appeared on the first page of the Hobbit section a couple weeks post-movie release and got more than a quarter Suefics (or possible Suefics). The rest is Thorin/Bilbo, apparently.
Hi guys :) Nice to meet you. I go by DawnFire, and I'm new-ish around here.
What I mean by 'new-ish' is that I've never posted on this board before, and haven't really followed it, either, but I've known about the PPC for...wow, about 4 or 5 years now, and have read quite a lot of the missions and other more-or-less related stuff like OFUM and HFA. Anyway, I thought I'd say hi, and mention how happy I am to discover that the PPC community is still going strong! Especially since I'm starting to get this sinking feeling that there's going to be an increase in Mary-Sue fic in the wake of the new Hobbit movie...
I think that's about it :) Mae govannen, everyone.
~DawnFire
Here, have some bubble wrap.
Ooh, bubble wrap! Wonderful! Thank you very much :)
Hm. To pop or not to pop, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer--oh, wait, this isn't an exercise in adapting Shakespeare's words to fit the situation? Pity.
Thanks again,
~DF
Sorry about the late hello and general absence, but Real Life has decided that I should have no time to do anything fun that requires more than five minutes of my time. Thus I've been regretfully neglecting to welcome people. But I'm here now! Yay, party! Have some bleepolate, fellow person who is never able to finish anything!
Ooh, bleepolate! Thank you very much!
RL has an unfortunate tendency to do that. I had that unfortunate experience last year, around exam time. It wasn't fun. Welcome back! Here, have some celebratory miruvor to help you regain your strength! (Also, a party hat :) )
May your unfinished things grow closer to being finished,
~DawnFire
Sorry for the belated greeting - I'm KittyNoodles. Welcome to the Board and have some bleepnerds as a welcome gift! :D
Nice to meet you! Also, thanks! *is accumulating a stash of bleepnerds* Yum...wait, what were you saying?
:) ~DF
Sorry for the late welcome. Real Life tends to get in the way.
Anyhoo! Welcome to the Board. Have some of my world-famous hydrophobic water to commemorate the event. Un-quench your thirst, just like that!
No problem, I completely understand :)
Thanks! Ooh, hydrophobic water, cool! Thanks very much :)
*goes off to contemplate the possible meanings and ramifications of hydrophobic water*
So many newbies. (myself included)
Here, have a potted purple artichoke.
Mae govannen!
Newbies are fun :) What I love best about being a newbie is that I'm only half a newbie--new boarder, old PPC-er...I guess? Old PPC reader, anyway. I think I'm just confusing myself now. At any rate, newbies unite! :D
Thank you very much for the artichoke, it shall now be placed on my windowsill where it will thrive and be purple :)
~DF
Take this Wonderball. I's a hollow chocolate ball with pieces of random candy goodness! (I think I'm going to be giving out a lot of these.)
I meant "It's a hollow chocolate ball with pieces of random candy goodness". Wow, I've been leaving out more words and letters lately...
Yum! That sounds delicious :) Thank you very much!
Ah, don't worry about it. The number of misspellings I've had to catch myself from making today, both in comments and stories...a bit embarrassing, really. I'm working on backstory for agents, and I think I've now seen possibly every available misspelling for the name 'Brenda' (no idea why that's her name, it just...came into my head. I swear, these agents and their backstory came out of nowhere. And it's not even done being created yet!) I also managed to catch 'porribly' several sentences ago, and Google Chrome's lovely spell-check just caught 'Thank you very muh!' so I'll fix that :) Seriously, don't worry about it; you're not alone, and it will pass. I, for one, believe that I need more sleep. :)
So, you said you're a fellow newbie? Hi, nice to meet you! Let's be friends :)
~DF
Welcome to the board! Please enjoy this perfectly harmless, mutated adjective! This Awake is a lovely addition to any home, as long as it is fed espresso daily.
Thanks! And thanks again! I'll see about getting my hands on some espresso...I do hope, however, that this Awake will not bother me while I'm sleeping? (also, does it have a physical form? I assume so, since it eats...)
Thanks again,
~DF
It will keep you awake from time to time, but should be easily sated if given an extra shot of caffiene. These little buggers are created when your and you're are confused. Aren't they adorable?
Ah, I shall take to keeping such shots ready to be heated up by my bedside.
They are indeed! I believe I have seen the birthplaces of rather a lot of them, though, as they run rampant through badfic and somewhat less rampant through goodfic...in fact, I think I saw one created yesterday!
*cuddles the Awake* *...er, assuming that's possible*
Have some lemming repellent; you may need it if you ever forage into the wastes of the Circle of Lemmings.
And oh man, there has been an increase. I took a tally of the types of fics that appeared on the first page of the Hobbit section a couple weeks post-movie release and got more than a quarter Suefics (or possible Suefics). The rest is Thorin/Bilbo, apparently.
Thank you! Er...what (or rather, where) are the wastes of the Circle of Lemmings? Or what are they from?
I'm not even looking in the Hobbit section much, because I don't want spoilers (a little silly, perhaps, seeing as I have read the book and thus know what happens), and I *still* managed to notice. Mainly because I had a sudden hankering to read some LotR fanfic and checked on AO3, where a bunch of Hobbit stories end up in LotR because they're marked for both fandoms. It's kind of annoying. And so I noticed the increase of fics pairing Bilbo with various dwarves. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I don't think it was quite as popular before Martin Freeman (and a large number of costars playing dwarves) came on the scene. Of course, that's equally true for a lot of the LotR ships--I doubt they were quite as popular and widespread before the movies came out. Don't get me wrong, I adore the movies and all the hard work that was put into them--but they do tend to catch the attention of Suethors, among other people.
What gets me more than the increase of Suefics in general is the probably-a-Suefic that I checked out because it's basically the rewrite (without permission) of a LotR story, only set in the Hobbit, told in first person instead of third, and sounding a whole lot more like a Suefic. The problem is, the original story (The Awkward Adventures of Meghan Whimblesby) is a serious take/parody on the overdone 'girl falls into M-e' theme, which managed (is still managing, actually) to live up to the note in its summary of being 'a crazy spin on a Mary-Sue fic'. When you retell it with a girl named--I kid you not--Alexandria Millicent Fournier (who goes by Millie because it sounds more feminine, or something like that), using first person, and having her turn into a dwarf without a beard (the a/n at the bottom says she's going by the movie. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I googled some pictures, and as far as I can see, female dwarves DO have beards, they're just very, very thin ones. Is that accurate?), as well as being invited almost immediately to join the dwarves' quest by Gandalf (who she sends at least only about halfway out of character)--hold on, I think I've started making a charge list. I *think* that wasn't my intention...I mean, I'm not really sure this is even bad enough to PPC (although it's definitely heading there), I was just trying to make the point that when you rewrite a sort of Mary-Sue parody like this, you kind of get the Suefic it was parodying...and then, of course, we add plagiarism to the mix, under the banner of 'inspired by' the original story...Ugh. Sorry about the rant/ramble.
(As for post-movie phenomena--I took a quick look, and I think the fandom--or at least, Tumblr--has become obsessed with Kili. Whose hairstyle kind of resembles Aragorn's...just saying :) )
Ah well. New movies have always meant an increase in work for PPCers. I hope it doesn't get too bad with the release of two more Hobbit movies...
Thanks again for the lemming repellent :)
~DF
I have had one of my fics plagiarised, and believe me it is not a pretty sight. All the stuff and words that I'd worked hard on twisted to some other author's purpose. Eurgh.
Incidentally did you see my LotR/Sherlock fic on AO3?
The circle of lemmings is the site known as Quotev, and it is a veritable Suvian cesspool. I have yet to find a fic on there that isn't another reiteration of another Suefic.
I've been fortunate enough not have been plagiarized, but it doesn't sound at all fun, and I'm very sorry to hear that it's happened to you.
That's a distinct possibility...although perhaps you'd better provide me with a link, just to be sure ;)
Huh, I can't say that I've heard of that one. I'll be sure to arm myself quite thoroughly with lemming repellent should I ever get the urge to check it out.
(Out of curiosity, how exactly did this naming system start? For instance, why the Pit of Voles? It's been puzzling me for, quite literally, years)
I can tell you it's the All that is Gold Does Not Glitter series, with "A Study in Mithril", "Many Meetings", and the WIP "The Blind Elvenking".
The naming system as far as I'm concerned is done by majority vote? Well, I believe Sevenswans was the one who first proposed the name "Circle of Lemmings", and we took a vote and passed it. Circle of Lemmings is actually extremely appropriate given the lemming-like nature of the Suethors that inabit its depths.
Huh, I think I actually saw the summary recently while skimming through the list of fanfics in the LotR section. Funny, that. Well, I'll give the series a try now :)
Ok, I've given it a try. I also wrote down some of my impressions, but it was getting long, so I moved it to a review on the actual story and added a bit of post-story reflection. I will tell you here that I really, really enjoyed it, can see you put a LOT of work into it, and am very glad you asked if I'd read it.
Huh. So, logically, FFN has a lot of vole-like Suethors? *looks up an image* Umm...voles are kind of cute. But also small and rat-like. I guess it depends on the vole...and I don't think I'd like to be dropped in a pit of them, especially as I'd then have to deal with squished voles...hm. Yes, perhaps it's appropriate. Now for lemmings...
Oh, wow, lemmings are so cute! Seriously, they're adorable! But also rodents. And still very cute. Perhaps I'm looking at this naming system from the wrong angle? Or maybe it's just me finding small, furry creatures cute? No wonder I like tribbles so much.
Well, I'll take the naming system in the spirit it was meant, but, well...real voles and lemmings are still pretty cute.
(Also: by 'lemming-like nature', do you mean that they're small, furry rodents with a tendency to be multicolored?)
And sorry it took me a while to reply, I wanted to read the story first :)
~DF
Not sure about voles, but lemmings... They have a tendency to follow each other and copy each other, possibly to their own detriment. The Suethors of the circle are often extreme copycats.
Thank you for the review! I'll go read it now.
I see.
I attempted to enter the Circle of Lemmings (armed quite well with lemming repellent, and shaking nonetheless in dread), but Google Chrome refused to load it. Fascinating, no?
Enjoy :) It's the longest one I've written in a while, I think because I got so excited about the idea.
~DF
*Noses down the posts for information about DawnFire's fandoms* Hmmm, I see you like Tamora Pierce ... Tortall or Circle? I've read all of both with the exception of the Beka Cooper books.
Anyway, have some Stormwing feathers, I probably don't need to mention they're sharp, but I will anyway. They're sharp.
Both, actually. I've even read the Beka Cooper books, though not that recently. I've been a fan for...good lord, 9 years. My first fanfic ever was a Tortall one, not that I knew what a fanfic was back then. Wow. Times sure do change.
Stormwing feathers! Very useful, I thank you *takes them very, very carefully* I get the feeling I'll have some very happy (and well-supplied) agents, once they actually exist properly...so thanks on their behalf as well.
Hm...don't the raka turn them into knives in the Trickster books? And use them for arrow fletching? It sounds like a good idea to me...
And then, of course, the question arises: can you take arrows fletched with Stormwing feathers into LotR canon? The answer, I'm pretty sure, is unfortunately, no. Pity. Maybe I'll come across a Tortall Sue someday...
Anyway, ignore the rambling (unless you like reading rambling, in which case, don't), and thanks again :)
~DF
Welcome to the PPC! I know exactly what it's like to have half a dozen project running and then grab new ones *looks anxiously at backlog of badfics and half-written missions*
Have a Chitauri laser-blaster, one of the cool ones that have a blade on the end that Black Widow steals in the last half hour of the movie!
Hey!
Thanks! It's gotten to the point where I don't even count how many stories are still in progress. I also try not to compare them to the number of finished stories, because, well...it's a bit...depressing, really. Good luck with your unfinished works...
Really? Wow! I'm getting such amazing presents! Thank you! That's a pretty awesome weapon, I've got to say. I'll give it to one of my agents, once I have agents :) I'm sure she'll be very happy to use it...or even just daydream about using it...again, thanks!
~DF
Greetings, new friend!
Have an extra Hobbit-meal! Don't worry, the extra weight will go straight to your sword arm!
Thanks! Greetings to you as well!
Hobbit-meal! Very good, I thank you. It should go well with the pretzels I've been munching on.
~DawnFire
I would say welcome to the PPC, but you have been around for a few years now, even if you werequietly observing from the shadows.
(So THAT'S the reason I felt like I was being watched. I thought it was Pinkamina, waiting for the right moment to strike. Now I know it was DawnFire waiting for the right moment to post!)
Now Jumper, be nice.
(What did I do?)
Anyway, as you know, there are a few questions that must be answered.
1. What are your fandoms?
2. Have you read the constitution and TOS? (I asume so, but to be safe...)
3. How did you find us? (Think back, way back.)
4. Do you want to write missions? If so, what department do you want to work under?
5. Do you like bananas?
Answer those, and we will get along just fine. Have a nice continued stay at the PPC. While here, enjoy our complementary bleepren tablets.
Ok. Upon rechecking the Constitution, I can tell you that I've read it recently and now remember what it is--in more detail, I did remember the rules, I just didn't remember if they fell under the heading of 'Constitution' (which is ridiculous, because I took a Law class last year and know very well what a constitution *is*).
Also, my brain is now trying to create agents. It doesn't have much yet--mostly just a general air of 'happyhappyhappysporktheficskillthesuesppcagentsyay!' I would back away slowly if I didn't agree (and if it wasn't kind of hard to back away from your own brain without some sort of telepathic abilities).
Thanks? I think?
~DawnFire
Wow, you guys are fast! Two replies already! I think I'll like it here :)
Thanks :) Don't worry about me striking--unless it's with an unexpected poke or hug. Or maybe chocolate. Not sure. I promise not to poke anyone undeservedly with a crochet hook or knitting needle, though.
Questions, questions...well, this should be fun. And interesting, too.
In answer:
1. Good heavens. Well, Tolkien, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Avengers, Supernatural...I think that's everything I read fanfiction of, although I might be missing something--oh, Buffy, though I haven't seen all of it. Oh wow, I managed to leave out Doctor Who (New Who, I'm afraid) as well. Also, Torchwood (new season? Please? No? Ok. I'll keep waiting), and Sherlock (of course...), and I really hope that's it, because otherwise this is going to keep going forever. I also have other favorite authors and book series (Tamora Pierce, Gerald Morris, Lloyd Alexander, and recently Agatha Christie), but...again, this could easily go on forever, and there are more questions, so I'll leave it there for the moment.
2. I've read PPC:TOS (as opposed to Star Trek: TOS, although I've watched almost all of that and read some comics and books as well) more times than I've bothered to count over the past 4 or 5 years (I would love to pick one number and stick to it, but I'm not really sure which one's correct), and most recently read it...two days ago, I think--I didn't have internet in my building, so I went and opened it all and then came back and read it :) It was very fun. That's possibly more detailed than you needed or wanted, but being exact is often fun :) I've read the constitution pretty recently too, and I'm sure I've read it before, although not quite as often. I'll probably check it out again soon, since I can't quite remember what was on it now...
3. Oh dear. I think I ran into OFUM on FFN, and then followed that to Miss Cam's website, and found the PPC from there? That sounds possible...logical, too. It's also possible that I found a PPC story on FFN and got involved from there, but I think that just followed as a result...Yes, let's go with the OFUM route. That makes sense. Actually, that makes so much sense that I think I'm starting to remember it.
4. Do I want to write missions? Good question. I wouldn't mind, certainly, and would like to at some point, but I also know that I happen to write a LOT of stories (both original and fan), and have a tendency to start a lot of projects at once and not really finish anything quickly. It would be fun, though...I suppose we'll see. If I suddenly get the urge to make up a pair of agents and find some badfic, I'll let you know :) As for department, it would probably be the Mary-Sue one--I know it best, and know the most about Sues in general. (I like writing parodies. They're fun.)
Actually (as a side point), one of the reasons I decided to say hello is because of a parody I'm writing--I wanted to see if I could, at some point, get permission to write an outtake where some PPC agents come in and fix everything. I suppose if I eventually start writing missions, those agents could be the ones I write...It's not really important right now, since the parody story is neither finished nor posted anywhere, but since it's related to the question, I thought I'd mention it.
Hm. On second thought (or possibly third or fourth), yes, I think I would like to write missions. I'm just not sure about how quickly I could do it, considering time constraints and other projects, but I think it would be fun to try. I have to hang around for a while before asking for permission, though, right?
5. Bananas. I suppose as a Doctor Who fan I should love them, but the truth is that I have a love-hate relationship with bananas. In Doctor Who canon, I'm all for them. In Real Life...I go through phases. (I think the term I'm looking for is actually 'on again, off again'...) At the moment, I'm pretty sure we're off. I'd probably still eat them in cereal, though. Do you like bananas? Better yet, do you like salt and vinegar potato chips?
...wait, so no matter what I answered to those questions, we'll still get along just fine? I'm a little confused. Or maybe you're just very accepting.
Thanks :) I think I'm going to enjoy myself. Thank you very much for the bleeprin, I'm sure it will come in handy at some point (hopefully not too soon!)
~DawnFire
It seems we share some fandoms--Tolkien, Harry Potter (*points to username*), Star Trek (*points again*), and Sherlock. Plus, you like chocolate. Therefore, you are my friend. :)
So...Trek. I notice you mentioned TOS, are you familiar with any of the other series? My favorites are TNG and Voyager.
Since you're a Trek fan, have a tribble for a welcome present!
You gave me a tribble! *happy dance* Tribble, tribble, tribble! I love tribbles! You have given me a tribble! We will forever be friends :D (it may or may not be 2 am where I am. That may or may not be contributing to my silliness) In other words, thank you very, very much for the tribble! I do hope I don't have to be too careful about what I feed it...? I don't want to find myself overrun...
(Question: what happens if a tribble eats Bleeprin? Also, what am I going to name the tribble? I have a ball of fluff! It's so cute! It even purrs...)
Somewhat more seriously...it's always fun to share fandoms. And a love of chocolate, of course. Also: you're writing OFAS, which I just found out about and read today (from the message board), and absolutely love! I think you're doing a great job with it. It's entertaining and quite amusing to read, and I'm now looking forward to more of it.
As for ST series...I'm most familiar with AOS and TOS, as well as the earlier movies (I think I've seen four of them so far? Something like that. As for TOS, I'm just finishing season 3, but I'm very much in the fandom). After that, I'm most familiar with TNG, but I've only seen a handful of episodes, and out of order, at that. When I started out watching, I decided I wanted to watch in order, though I cheated a little with TNG, because I was curious (and there are Moriarty episodes, which are amazing). About Voyager, DS9, and Enterprise, I just know whatever I've picked up from fanfic and conversations, though they sound intriguing. TOS and AOS would have to be my favorites, although I'm starting to grow rather fond of the TNG characters, too...so it's possible that I just like all ST series, and just don't know them all yet :) I'm in favor of everything Star Trek, though. Especially tribbles :) And now, of course, I want to rewatch the TNG episode where they go back in time to the "Trouble With Tribbles" episode...mainly because I remember it being amusing and don't remember why they had to go back, not to mention that I want another look at how they pulled it off...
Anyway. I shall go and eat chocolate and cuddle with my tribble and sleep, and in my sleep I shall dream of crossovers.
Bonne nuit (/soir/matin/euh...afternoon), mon nouvelle amie (I'm assuming you're female, since you're not harry of vulcan? If not, my apologies for the mistake),
~DawnFire
Increase? What increase? I never heard of the inevitable explosion of Hobbit fics when the movie hit theaters, oh no.
No, no bastardization of Hobbits and Dwarves and Maiar and Elves ever... ever happened.
Sigh.
Welcome, and have some BleepNerds. The tangy flavor mixed with the brain bleach will relieve your worst brain hemorrhoids.
That's a nice dream you've got there. I was sharing in it until the author of one of the fics I follow posted a note about how someone else was imitating her story and I checked it out--and it turned out to be Hobbit-based. *sigh* I guess it can't be helped...Peter Jackson just turns out such shiny movies.
Thanks for the BleepNerds! I haven't run across those before, but they sound good. Do you know if anyone's invented BleepChocolate, or something along those lines? If not, I may have to invent agents and take on some badfic so it can be created.
~DF
BleepChocolate is usually known as Bleepolate. My agents have used it on occasion, but it's been around for longer than that. There's a whole list of Blee-products here: http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Bleeprin
In fact, I think my agents have a some Bleepolate left lying around their RC... here you go!
Oh, and welcome aboard, of course!
Bleepolate, huh? Fun :) I'm not surprised it's been around for a while, I know for a fact that I can't possibly be the only chocolate-lover around here. Thanks for the list.
Really? CHOCOLATE! Er, BLEEPOLATE! Yay! Thanks so much :) I think I'll get along quite well with you and your agents.
Thanks!