Subject: Also
Author:
Posted on: 2016-03-05 17:46:00 UTC
I remember someone writing about how the canon was shielding an agent because it wanted them to fix the badfic. If the canon isn't hurting, it would have no reason to shield an interloper.
Trying something new moderately inspired by Huinesoron's Wednesday plugs, here's a throwback to some older spin-offs.
Architeuthis' spin-off was one of the earlier spin-offs from waaaay back when TOS was going on, and still holds up awesomely today. Unlike most spin-offs and missions, hers is set in one of the supporting departments- Intelligence!
They're fun to read, give more background to the PPC, and definitely stand out even now because of a stronger focus on what makes a fic PPC-worthy, which makes sense, considering that the Department of Intelligence decides what fics get sent to the Action Departments in the first place.
That said, the one I'm linking features Architeuthis investigating a fic that turns out against the usual expectations.
This is still one of my favorites, and I've read quite a few missions.
I'm still looking for next week's Throwback Thursday Plug, so if you have any suggestions for a mission to feature, write up a similar blurb and email it over!
That said, a few limitations: The spin-off the mission is from shouldn't be newer than 2013, and the writer shouldn't be someone who's currently active on the board! If it's someone who checks in every blue moon or you still know off the board, it's fine, but it shouldn't be someone who's still around, even if they haven't written for a long time.
-July
I mean, yes, it's interesting to see an Intelligence operative on a mission to a fic that's not quite bad enough to send in the ol' jackbooted legions of fangirl oppression, but other than that? There's not much to say. It's a fanfic review framed as someone bimbling around Hobbiton and following the action of the object of review.
Then again, that's basically what every PPC mission is, if you want to be unpleasantly sarcastic about it. =]
Still, it was an interesting diversion and didn't outstay its welcome. I think that's about it. =]
I know I read through Architeuthis' spinoff at some point in the past, but unfortunately it escaped my memory. Thank you for bringing it to my attention once again. My reading list expands once again!
I'm seconding Huinesoron on both the world-building and Architeuthis' way of worming into the world. Having to build a cover and integrate yourself really helps distinguish spies as being their own beasts, and not just slightly sneakier and less violent DMS agents. I also wanted to bring up the use of first-person perspective. I so rarely see it in the PPC, and it works really well here (especially with the overall lack of agent interaction once the story makes it to the fic).
That's why I occasionally write Intelligence reports myself - I love the format she came up with, and it's very different to what we usually see.
This mission in particular is a good one to reread for its worldbuilding. So Alice is telepathic because of nanobots? And she's a 'floater' (remember, this was way before the Department of Floaters was concieved)? I knew none of this!
One thing I particularly like is that Architeuthis doesn't just wander around spying on things. She has to give herself a cover, and slot into a world that can actually still see her. I'm not sure how to square that with the PPC standard of canon-cloaking, but it makes for an interesting read (even if she doesn't mention it very much).
hS
Like the fact that Intelligence goes about things slightly differently- since they're observing and aren't going after Sues or wraiths or what have you, they don't really need that cloaking, and they shouldn't- they're there to investigate the fic, which sometimes requires them to poke into and interact with things that action agents wouldn't need to do, to get a better idea of what's going on.
-July, musing