Subject: /Standing Ovation. Just. Standing Ovation/ (nm)
Author:
Posted on: 2018-01-09 19:49:00 UTC
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Mission: Agony in Pink (Complete) by
on 2018-01-09 04:46:00 UTC
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Members of the PPC, it is finished. The Legendary Badfic "Agony in Pink" has been sporked. Let the history books note this triumph!
Ahem. Anyway, here you are:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Aftermath
Author's Note
Any comments shall be passed on to JulyFlame, the author of the piece. Please enjoy, and share your thoughts.
PC -
*Tumultuous applause* by
on 2018-01-22 18:33:00 UTC
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I was going to respond to this sooner, but real life had other ideas, and apparently everyone else has said what I wanted to say already. I know that the circumstances behind July's departure were unbelievably disgusting, and I was very worried that her leaving would mean that this mission would never be completed, but I'm glad that it wasn't the case after all and that her closure has been on a very high note, especially given the slaying of such a notorious badfic as this one.
Farewell, July, wherever you are. May you live long and prosper no matter where the four winds take you in the future and beyond. *salutes* -
I didnÂ’t believe that this abomination can be PPCed. by
on 2018-01-22 10:27:00 UTC
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But this is great. Bravo!
I may have spotted a tiny error in Part One:
I think I might have accidentally on purposely sold myself to the US military...
I guess this should either read "accidentally on purpose" or "accidentally or purposely", but I’m not sure whether this is the sleep deprivation or the caffeine talking, or an actual typo.
HG -
Much-delayed review (spoilers) by
on 2018-01-18 18:50:00 UTC
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Spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad spoiler pad
Reactions while reading:
- I like the rather vague opening
- The bit set on th ship does a good job of giving me the feeling of the place and what it's like there
- "Paint chip in both my eyes." is an excuse I haven't heard before. (and getting called on it made it rather funny)
- Cal and July missing each other is touching
- Guess-the-fic was a nice unusual thing that could happen because of the framing ... and now I want to know about the one with Colonel Sanders
- The Flowers using "not the actual trunk of the matter" and such makes sense and is a nice touch
- The "I want to get paid for this" moment was really funny for some reason
- July has evidently not quite learned to never again volunteer herself
- From what little I know about Power Rangers, they're in teams of six, right? Which is why having four more people makes sense
- I wonder what July got in DoSAT (if anything). If there was something, I suspect it'll be quite plot-relevant later
- Silas is right to be concerned, given how Legendaries go
- At least he was smart enough to stay out of it
- You'd better give Ilraen his partner back in one piece
- Nume hiding in the cafeteria makes sense
- Did the narration just do a doge meme?
- Why's July picking fights in the cafeteria? (or is she?)
- The veteran agents leaving to find better seating makes sense
- Ah, sneaking in during the chaos
- ... trafficking Luxury onto a Navy ship. Heh. If that succeeded, I suspect productivity would grind to a halt within hours. Maybe minutes.
- "Frell U" sounds like a coffee mug Nume would have
- Ok, so the backup is going to DoSAT to get ready to do something
- There's no way that box isn't plot-relevant later
- And I do wonder who the surprise cameos are
- The fic giving off a general sense of wrongness makes sense
- I'm not following the trousers/dress bit too well
- That was a fast CAD melt
- The fic wrapping itself around the canon so tightly you can't see the Words much is something I haven't seen before, and gives a good reason to not actually show us much of it
- "very serious military environment" yeah right
- Riffing the author's note gives me a sense of what's there without showing it and ... did this fic seriously get banned in Australia?
- chuckles at pronouncing the slash in "and/or"
- July, please stop trying to summon the Department of Redundancy Department (although I'm getting the sense they have a standing invitation to said powerpoints)
- "Isn't that piracy?" "Arr" was a good line
- I hope the fic doesn't know the agents are here either, and now hat it got pointed out ...
- Corny jokes are probably a better approach than trying to comprehend the horror of it all
- I wonder if they'll be able to make it to the youth center
- Standard mission-y pointing out bad stuff goes here, without showing much of the fic.
- I'm with July. That Tortura thing is bad and also that was a really freaky scene change
- That narration about the Pink Ranger is pretty creepy
- Well, now that the plan hasn't been spelled out on screen, it'll work ... I hope
- Ok, wait, it is specified. That's a good plan, which will inevitably go horribly wrong now that I, the reader, know what it is.
- Welp. The weird torturer thing was immune to bullets. At least they got through the portal and ... there's still two parts left. Oh dear.
- Ok, so part 3, well, that was a very gripping fight scene so I was too busy reading it to go back and react. The flashbacks worked well. And the Dark Ranger was really creepy. I also liked the "you're a hero" speech the Pink Ranger got near the end
- The departure bits were nice
- The meeting in part four is a nice thing, and I'm liking the details about the minor effects that happened, like Daffyd keeping his Zoid and Trojie stealing a bunch of Disc stuff
- That was a nice twist on July getting paid, and it's a shame she's not getting any medals
- The "moving on" conversation was good
- Heh. Books in the over. Nice call-back to the earlier domesticity conversation.
- It's nice that July and Cal will have some sort of relationship going despite going their own ways
- I wasn't expecting another person on the ship to be ex-PPC. Or for there to be plotholes in the ocean.
- Navigating a ship out of a plothole without anyone noticing does sound tough.
- The various scenarios the ship could've gotten in to were a nice touch.
- Now I do want to know who that navigator is.
General review: I really liked this. One of my favorite parts was how Checkov's gun was loaded a good few times in ways that left me expecting that something would get pulled out later, but without much of an idea of what is was. This made all the appearances (Zoidz, Daffyd, etc.) surprising but in a way that didn't feel like they'd been pulled out of nowhere.
I also think that was a nice, unusual way to take down the fic, and from what I can tell it was canon-appropriate. You had me really worried at the end of part 2 that "no casualties" wouldn't happen (that is, good job building up the tension).
The whole mission also had plenty of silly moments, which is appropriate for the setting.
One complaint is that not much of the mission was spent on actually sporking the fic, but I don't think there were many viable ways to do that with a straight-up piece of torture porn.
- Tomash -
*applause* (nm) by
on 2018-01-16 00:02:00 UTC
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Re: Part 1 (spoilers) by
on 2018-01-12 10:01:00 UTC
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So I just finished reading Part 1, and I'm so glad I finally got the chance to do it.
(spoiler block goes here there and everywhere spoiler block goes here there and everywherespoiler block goes here there and everywherespoiler block goes here there and everywherespoiler block goes here there and everywherespoiler block goes here there and everywherespoiler block goes here there and everywherespoiler block goes here there and everywherespoiler block goes here there and everywherespoiler block goes here there and everywherespoiler block goes here there and everywhere)
Right, that's probably more than enough.
Anyway, yeah, I'm really enjoying this so far.
Favorite part: July stepping back into the PPC. That was amazing.
Favorite line: "I quit the PPC. It doesn't mean I quit her." Seriously, I love that line. It's wonderful.
And nice hook at the end with Library! We don't know who she convinced, and we don't know what's in the white box July gave her, and...well, it's a good hook for wanting to read on.
All in all: enjoyed it a lot, both writing style and content (and Ilraen's cameo!) Looking forward to reading more.
~Z -
Re: mission (spoilers) by
on 2018-01-11 12:48:00 UTC
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A GOOD MISSION THE BEST MISSION
Ahem.
I've gotten peeks at this at various stages of its writing process. It really is a beautiful thing, seeing it all put together and fancy now. In no particular order:
The treatment of the original fic-as-legendary is unigue, but subtle; the pall of off-ness in the surroundings in part two gets across the idea that something is wrong with everything without being overly dramatic or giving air time to actual torture porn itself.
The choices of color and creature for the PPC Zords are so spot-on and wonderful, and I love that the mission essentially follows the format of a Mighty Morphin' episode. But I love that bringing giant robots into the mission wasn't enough on its own—that the agents needed a canon character, especially the one the fic was trying to attack, to put in the really decisive victory. Kimberley's speech against the dark ranger is perfect and wonderful, and I feel like the character deserved to give such a speech, both in this fic and in general. And I loved that Bulk and Skull got a cameo at the end, not only for the fun of it, but because the characters who were always the silliest part of the show make an excellent counter to the serious, angsty subject matter of "Agony in Pink." (And their theme song played in my head of its own volition.)
The cameos from veterans of legendary missions past are excellent. It makes for a great love letter to July's history with the PPC, and the teamwork aspect stands as a thematic contrast to the singling-out selfish wish fulfillment in the original badfic.
The goodbyes at the end, especially the one between Agent!July and Library feel so sad for me, but at the same time, July kept a note of hope in there, too. The parallel is clear: that the friendships between us are bigger than the PPC, and can continue even as people drift away from the community. Same goes for seaman!July using her PPC knowledge in her future career; I don't think any of us ever truly stop being PPC, and the knowledge and wisdom we gain in this community stick with us as we move forward and grow.
This mission is beautiful. This is the PPC, both in-universe, and the community. Thank you, July, for giving us this brilliant piece!
Go, go, Plot Protectors!
—doctorlit -
... Whoa. by
on 2018-01-10 21:44:00 UTC
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I have nothing else to say. Just... Wow. This is amazing.
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That. Was. Awesome. by
on 2018-01-10 08:35:00 UTC
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I don't know how much weigth it can carry, but I sincerly regret July's departure from PPC. For the really messy way it went, for not trying to discuss more with her and many people leving here, both for the interactions and the writing advices, and, well for the excellent missions like this one was. I really hope she gets to keep on the writing beyond the PPC, making this one the last hurrah would just be a damn shame. But, like she said, moving backwards wouldn't do.
Here are spoilers. Here are spoilers. Here are spoilers.
Here are spoilers. Here are spoilers. Here are spoilers.
Here are spoilers. Here are spoilers. Here are spoilers.
Here are spoilers. Here are spoilers. Here are spoilers.
As far as telling new things about how awesome that mission was for me, there was something darkly meta with the Dark Ranger babbling about making Kimberly 'legendary'. The fact she was the one to make the win possible is also something really cool, and I guess meta too, since that's canon literally fighting back and winning.
I also chuckled with the last jab from the Flowers for the salary, and liked the reference to past agents. And, I'm now really curious about this Navigator. I just can't help it, mysteries like Huinesoron mentionned only leave me hungry for more.
Also a very last thing. We can't have a Power Rangers sporking without an appropriate theme running on for the final. Come on, if you didn't think about it, you never heard it before. And it's just perfect to listen to during Act 3. Dragonforce too, that said. -
OIIIIIIII! by
on 2018-01-10 07:01:00 UTC
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I love this! I've wanted to see this PPC'd for a long time!
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Bravo! Bravo! (Semi spoilery) by
on 2018-01-09 21:36:00 UTC
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I've heard of this fic, but was never brave enough to take a look... as a Power Rangers fan, it's great to see someone finally take it down!
And it was nice to see the returning Agents helping out with this. And the giant Zord battle was pretty awesome too! -
/Standing Ovation. Just. Standing Ovation/ (nm) by
on 2018-01-09 19:49:00 UTC
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I love this mission (non-spoiler review). by
on 2018-01-09 11:36:00 UTC
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As July says, I beta'd it, so I've been watching Part 3 in particular for a long time, but it's been ages since I went back and read the whole thing end to end. And... I love it. Part One showcases everything that is best about the world of the PPC, and starts building up the anticipation for the denument. Part Two builds the tension up to spectacular levels - and Part Three delivers. Oh, how it delivers. This is the most creative finale to a PPC mission that I remember reading, and I've been here since '03, so that's saying a lot.
Read this mission. Read it unspoiled. You are missing out if you don't.
hS -
I've only read Part 1 so far... by
on 2018-01-09 16:43:00 UTC
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But all the yes.
The tone and the setup is just... fun.
This is a mission that reminded me why I was drawn here to begin with. -
Having finished... EEEEEEEEEEEEEE! (Spoilers) by
on 2018-01-09 23:16:00 UTC
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I've been around the PPC since... Jeez. A while now. Not on the board, not in the community, but reading missions at the very least.
As I said back after reading Part 1, this took me back. Back to the just straight-up FUN of some of the earliest missions I read. About half-bored, half-insane agents rocking out to heavy metal to distract themselves from agonizing fics as they tried to keep what was left of their sanity. This isn't a grim mission, or a bleak mission. It brought back both nostalgia and a genuine sense of joy at just how silly it was. It felt like the mission was enjoying itself, and I couldn't help but join in the fun.
The fact that it features Trojie and Dafydd (two of my all-time favorite agents) as well as a collection of other PPC legends really doesn't hurt either. -
Seconding every bit of this. by
on 2018-01-09 16:36:00 UTC
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And the spoilery one, too.
July makes PPCing a godawful NSFW Legendary fun. I can think of no higher praise than that. It was a pleasure to help bring this along, and I'm proud to have been a part of it.
~Neshomeh -
And now the spoilery version. by
on 2018-01-09 11:37:00 UTC
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This review contains spoilers. You should not read it, or even click on it, without reading the mission first. Seriously. It's an amazing mission, and you shouldn't spoil it for yourself by reading my ramblings before you get to it.
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Part One is a wonderful exploration both of July's return to HQ and the Flowers' dealings with Agony in Pink (and Legendaries as a whole), then turns into the glorious Cafeteria romp. The whole section is stuffed with foreshadowing for Part Three, which definitely rewards rereading once you know what's coming.
Part Two does a marvellous job of gradually establishing just how tough the fic is going to be to kill, but is also a quality mission. I've always preferred reports that don't linger on the NSFW parts of badfics - my Clbr__n mission is the same - and although it's short, it didn't need to be longer. It establishes what's bad about the fic, shows us enough that we feel it, introduces the players for Part Three - and then isn't afraid to move on.
As for Part Three... in the original outline (I said I'd been watching this for a long time), July introduced this section with the line And then... Go Go Canon Rangers!. It grabbed me by the fannishness and has never let go. I love the escalation over the course of the fight; I have to particularly highlight "I think we're about to find out what happens when a badfic fights back," which stands as a mission statement for the mission that is spectacularly fulfilled.
Reading over this, and Dafydd's interactions, takes me back to the process of writing it. I tweaked a lot of what he says and does, but the core of it is straight from July. (Though I will claim Ambalenar Atsordë! all for my own - ambale-nar is Quenya for 'fiery yellowhammer', while atsordë is a phonetic Quenyification of 'Zord').
The Dark Ranger is a perfect payoff to the setup in Part Two, and July was absolutely right to let Kimberly fight it. Some demons, you have to fight by yourself.
The Aftermath is a perfect ending: bittersweet levied with humour. I still have no idea who the Navigator is, but I guess some mysteries don't need to be answered.
I love this mission. It is a perfect farewell, one of the best I have ever read, and the only one that inspired me to create fanart:
Thank you, July, and safe voyaging.
hS