So, okay, questions:

Congratulations, y'all... by twistedwindowpane on 2018-04-09 00:28:00 UTC Reply

...you've managed to survive me for one whole year!
Or one year and four days, as my first post was on April 4th, 2017.

So far, it's been a pretty good year. I had a rocky start, but once I managed to get a hang of it, I got to enjoy many things that make this place awesome. I got to make some good online friends, I have a recruit pending from Scratch, and I'm beginning work on my Permission Attempt.

Hence, I'm looking forward to another great year!

-Twistey

P.S. Speaking of Permission, only one set of prompts and it's for your main partnership, right? Do I have to put in the bio of every agent I've come up with? (Likely yes and yes, but just for clarification.)

Happy Boardiversary!! (nm) by Maxewell on 2018-04-09 06:30:00 UTC Reply
congratulations! (nm) by 61516 on 2018-04-09 01:56:00 UTC Reply
Happy Boardaversary! by Tomash on 2018-04-09 00:41:00 UTC Reply

Now, to answer your question, we want one set of prompt fills featuring an agent team you're planning to write with and the bios for those agents.

The idea is to demonstrate that you can write in the universe, not to give us a complete sense of your grand plan (if you have one).

- Tomash

When you say one set... by Iximaz on 2018-04-09 00:43:00 UTC Reply

You mean the control prompt and the random prompt, right? Because the way you phrased it makes it sound like it's just one prompt total.

Query: Does the article need updating? by Huinesoron on 2018-04-09 13:27:00 UTC Reply

As it stands, the Permission article assumes that you will start out in the classic way: by writing a pair of PPC agents going off on missions. But more and more, I feel like people are going in with large numbers of agents, and being bewildered by the implicit 'one team' notion.

Question for the PGs, then: does the article (or - Valar forbid - the Permission process) need altering, and if so, how?

hS

I don't think so by Tomash on 2018-04-10 06:37:00 UTC Reply

I remember "a whole pile of agent concepts and/or grand plans" being a thing years back to the point that there's advice about scaling down your ambitions in FAQs (or that might have been regarding overly-powerful/unusual agents, but still). I think generally sticking to the "one agent team, branch out when you need to" idea is something we should stick with.

Now, that being said, we could use an FAQ question of the form "I have a lot of ideas for potential agents, how do I pick which to start with or whittle them down?" because that is a non-trivial question (which applies to far more than the PPC) and we could spend some time answering it.

- Tomash

Agreed. by Neshomeh on 2018-04-11 03:21:00 UTC Reply

Personally, I feel about having a bajillion characters more or less how Granny Weatherwax feels about having magic wands and a bunch of rings and pentacles and sequins and other occult what-have-you: I Can't Be Having With That Sort Of Thing. {; P

Either way, all we need for the Permission request is one (or two) good character ideas. So, the answer to the question is to pick the one(s) you feel are the strongest/best developed/most entertaining. Which should be the ones you plan to actually use in a story first, because why would you lead with anything but the best idea you have?

~Neshomeh

So, okay, questions: by twistedwindowpane on 2018-04-14 01:06:00 UTC Reply

...what does a badfic sporkable by DOGA look like? Because I have a couple agent ideas that I feel are really good, who I put in that department, but on the other hand, from what I've seen, it doesn't look like there'll be much in DOGA stuff, and I have some equally decent agent ideas in the Department of Floaters.

Also, what would happen to an agent in the DBS as a consequence for making an attempt on their partner's life? I'm trying to double-check the backstory of another agent idea, thinking she'll be moved to another department (which?), but it might be otherwise.

-Twistey

A short answer and a good answer. by Neshomeh on 2018-04-15 03:18:00 UTC Reply

Re. DOGA, the short answer is that a DOGA-sporkable fic has bad geography in it. The more of it and the worse it is, the better. It also has to be bad generally, of course.

The good answer is, here is an index of DOGA spin-offs (mostly hS's work). Read them and see what's worked before, and you'll have a much better idea of what will work now, plus how the department works in general.

Re. attempted murder... it's attempted murder. It doesn't matter what department they're in. What matters is whether it's comedic attempted murder or dramatic attempted murder (not recommended in this setting, please). We've got options ranging from the silly (e.g. literal chill pills) to the serious (being arrested, possibly remanded to the authorities in their home continuum or closest equivalent). But be cautious: if you try to write comedic attempted murder and it's not funny, then it may end up being trivialized attempted murder, which will not go over well at all.

~Neshomeh

Alrighty, here's what I'm thinking. by twistedwindowpane on 2018-04-16 01:44:00 UTC Reply
1. Alright, I'm going to read that. *holds in a joke about how I pronounce DOGA and how that pronunciation rhymes with toga*
  
  2. In this case, it's not really all comedic or all dramatic. It's meant to be as part of either character development or a face-heel turn, depending on where this agent goes. What would likely happen in that case?
  
  -Twistey

Can't really answer that for you. by Neshomeh on 2018-04-16 02:33:00 UTC Reply

You'll have to see what fits when you decide how you're handling it. Just bear in mind what you know of the PPC universe (the more you read, the better) and be sure it fits. And also listen to your eventual betas if they have concerns.

(DOGA is totally pronounced like "toga" and I will not be persuaded otherwise. *g*)

~Neshomeh

[Blinks] Of course it is. by Huinesoron on 2018-04-16 06:44:00 UTC Reply

How /else/ would you pronounce it? 'Dogger'? 'Dee-oh-gee-ay'? Don't be ludicrous.

hS

"Professional Dogger Agent" sounds absolutely filthy. >=] (nm) by Scapegrace on 2018-04-16 12:17:00 UTC Reply

It also sounds like "doggo agent" by Thoth on 2018-04-17 16:58:00 UTC Reply

Everyone, quick! swap out DOGA flashpatches for pictures of cute dogs!

Don't worry, the agents will love it.

Okay then. I changed the idea, by the way, just to be safe. by twistedwindowpane on 2018-04-21 00:38:00 UTC Reply

I'm revamping a Semi-Fic Blip to make this agent, and I'd forgotten that I'd given her the ability to mess with people's dreams, so I figured it would be more fitting and less severe to have her just make her partner dream they're dying horribly, which would be a lesser offense and more of just an "abuse of powers" thing. That fits the consequences a lot better.

Anyway, I don't know which fics to click on on hS's page, can you guide me on that?

-Twistey

Oh my. Hey, hS? by Neshomeh on 2018-04-21 18:03:00 UTC Reply

Your Agents page (and I'm guessing lots of your site) has been severely borked by Photobucket's BS. Like, I think they've made it even worse than it was before. Is fixing that on your agenda? {= (

Meanwhile, Twistey, start with Dafydd Illian's mission reports as indexed on his wiki page. That's DOGA's foundational spin-off.

~Neshomeh

Repairs are ongoing. by Huinesoron on 2018-04-21 20:53:00 UTC Reply

Well, that's not strictly true. Rather, an entirely new site is about 90% done, featuring modern concepts like 'working on mobiles'. Unfortunately most of the remaining 10% is graphics, which has been slowing me up a lot. I'll get there.

hS

Alright, thank you. (nm) by twistedwindowpane on 2018-04-23 01:24:00 UTC Reply

Yep. A control and a random prompt. by Tomash on 2018-04-09 01:20:00 UTC Reply

Could you expand on how it might've sounded like only one prompt? I'm not seeing the ambiguity.

- Tomash

Just the 'one set' bit. by Iximaz on 2018-04-09 01:53:00 UTC Reply

Iunno, I'm tired, but it looked like it could've been mistaken.

In case you were asking me, yes. (nm) by twistedwindowpane on 2018-04-09 00:45:00 UTC Reply