Subject: Well, you could
Author:
Posted on: 2012-10-18 04:46:00 UTC
I wouldn't try applying for some time yet, but when you do apply, copying and pasting it to Google Docs, or your own blog/journal/whatever would work. You could also write something completely new for the application! Just about anything long enough to showcase your writing style is welcome.
Hi guys. You can call me Manzo! I've been a fan of PPC stories for a while now, and I'd like to eventually write one of my own. A friend of mine and I tried to write one a few years ago, but we don't have much contact anymore so the project was permanently shelved. I was wondering, since most stories involve teams of two agents, would want to partner up with me? It's either that, or developing a split personality...
Have some choc-chip cookies. Or do you like choc covered cookies better? Or how about just a big block of choc shaped like a cookie?
Anyways, what are your preferred fandoms?
Welcome to the PPC, Manzo! Please make sure you deposit your sanity in the correctly marked bin, as you won't be needing it much here.
It's always good to see a fan/follower/stalker, especially someone who's known about us for a while. I'm relatively new here, as I only joined in May, but I feel I'm senior enough to give you a handshake and a tour. I'll also give these Generic Glasses, which morph to suit your need. Just don't use them as actual glasses, or you'll be needing corrective surgery.
Have an awake! Feed it lots of caffeine and it will love you forever.
Hi Manzo, have some fudge!
D&D, eh? Which version? I've played up to 3.5, but to be honest I prefer Hero System to any version of D&D.
I used to play 3.5, but now I've moved onto Pathfinder. I could never really get into 4th edition. I'm also getting into a game called Spirit of the Century that involves more role play and less numbers. It takes place in the roaring 20's!
I threw some cash at the "Race to Adventure!" board game Kickstarter and got the RPG (in .pdf form) as part of my pledge level. I've only skimmed it, but it looks like it has potential.
I don't want to give it a detailed reading right now; I'm already fighting versionitis from editing a 4th edition Hero manuscript into 6th edition when my Sunday game group is still playing 5th edition. But that's on my list for whenever I get the editing done.
I did a little of that at university: 3.5, Pathfinder and 4. I did like my Tiefling Warlock, but that campaign sadly caved after a while.
I still have the memories of one of my fellow players' characters: a wizard who, if he were a PPC agent, would be in DoGA for sure. It got to the point that the DM had to specify settlements made of stone, because he kept setting fire to everything with his spells.
I also played a short Cthulu campaign and DMed a short Trekverse campaign in the final weeks before I left.
I'm curently in several games being played online - play-by-post, which means they're a lot slower-moving than the games played over a tabletop, but still awesome fun.
Ugh. I've played one game of 3.5, but then the guy refused to DM any more. We've since tried to play a game of Mutants and Masterminds, which he even agreed to, but he then refused to, since apparently it can't be done over Skype. Even though we keep telling him to JUST FREAKING DO IT ONCE!
And then I got my friend the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying game, which I played at a con several times (and loved), and asked him to DM it because I knew it could be set up quickly. And then he refused to do it because he didn't like a DIFFERENT Marvel game, and when I pointed that out, I thought we would be able to play. And then an hour later he said we couldn't play it, again because he thought it was a different RPG.
Anyways, this was all a reeaally roundabout way of saying "Hey, should we figure out a way to play an RPG like one these?"
My Sunday afternoon gaming group tried bringing in one player via Skype. We had a lot of trouble maintaining a connection, and never figured out a good way to show him the battlemat. I'm certain there are webcams out there that can zoom in, but we didn't have one.
It didn't help that he was trying to take advantage of no one being able to see his dice rolls. If you're going to try play-by-Skype, it has to be with players you can trust.
I've played 3.5 (heavily houseruled), 3.5 (minorly houseruled), vanilla Pathfinder, 4th edition, and of all of them I think I love 3.5 with minor houserules the best. It may be a bit of a broken system, but given I play most of my games online there is still massive opportunity for getting into character in the course of the story (that you don't have to shout down your fellow players for :P ), and one of my favourite things about it is getting into character.
(I'm really not fond of 4e, though, so I can join with you on that front.)
But hey, the main thing about the game is having fun, and as long as that's happening it's all good. :D
*Hands over a bottle of Bleepka.* You'll need this soon enough.
Welcome aboard! Also, have a set of scratch-proof chitin armour, perfect for deflecting marshmallow bombardments!
I'unno about split personalities, plenty of professional authors write multiple characters just fine and no one implies they're crazy. Well. Not because of being able to write multiple characters.
Anywave. Official PPC missions are only allowable after getting Permission, which requires sticking around long enough that the Permission Givers know you (generally simplified to 'a month') and then making a post requesting it. See the wiki page on it for details. And I think there's at least one Request on the front page of the Board right now if you want examples of how to eventually go about it.
Have a figurine of Nasuverse Joan of Arc!
Welcome to the party Manzo, hope you survive the experience. Have a plastic NYPD badge and a six pack of empty coke cans.
Welcome to the Board! Have some of my hydrophobic water to commemorate the event. Used to calibrate perpetual motion machines!
Good to see an old fan becoming a member! It means you can join in the fun more directly. :D
Have a bag of pebbles and a Random Shiny Object.
Also, what are your fandoms? I think I saw mention of your playing D&D?
Sure I play D&D, but I don't think I could bring myself to ever read a D&D fanfic. I just don't want to ruin the game for myself.
As for fandoms, there are a lot that I know a lot about: Fire Emblem, Avatar: Last Airbender (Go Toph!), Samurai Champloo, Deadpool... If I do end up writing stories, do they all have to be about one fandom? Most of the stories I've read involve agents returning to the same fandom, so I was just wondering.
There are fanfics about the various settings, in particular the Forgotten Realms, but i'm not sure I've ever heard of any about the game itself. Still, welcome,fellow friend of the d20!
As for fandoms, as Lielac said, no, you don't have to stick to any one fandom; we just tend to stick to those we know and specialise in, but that can still be a wide spread. For example, I have about eight or nine different fandoms I know well enough to work in without needing to consult others for major details. Other people may well have a lot more.
If I do end up writing stories, do they all have to be about one fandom?
Pffhahaha-- Hardly! Agents go everywhere and everywhen. It's just that we writers tend to have specialties, so we send our agents into the fandoms we know best. Like me and Bionicle, which also tends to be bad for my blood pressure but meh.
Welcome, welcome!
It's not hard to write two characters. I write two OFUs, both of which have two course coordinators. In fact, really a lot of my things come in pairs!
Good to have you on board; have a graduated cylinder!
Here, have an extra version of Ragnell I've got lying around!
Welcome to the PPC! Have a bleepolate-chip cookie as a welcome gift!
Whoops, forgot the standard welcome gift.
Here, have a Made In Japan Brand Laser Sword.
Mind the edge - out cuts to the atomic level.
Hi, and welcome. First thing, you need to read the Constitution (link on top of the page). The Wiki, as well as The Original Series, are also recommended readings. You can reach the wiki via the link below the one to the Constitution; you can find TOS there easily enough. Below the link to the wiki there's a link to the IRC, and you're more than welcome to pop by and say hi.
Since you seem to be interested in writing PPC stories, please read the article about Permission; it's important!
To answer your question, most people have a duo of agents, though some write more, and there are certainly instances of co-writes.
Last but not least, have a cup of tea. Just don't let the weird taste (tea, coffee and bacon) weird you out. Letting the leaves eat you isn't a good idea, either.
You know, creating an account isn't that hard. You don't have to sign in as "Anonymous", and I'm certain the user handle "Manzo" is not taken.
And, uh... I do hope you had permission to write this PPC thing, or that you called it something else, because there is a copyright in place.
I'm not being mean here - just concerned.
As for agents working in teams, it can go to more if you Co-write with other authors. You can own two characters called "Agents" yourself, otherwise.
Wow, that was easy. My friend who I was writing with was actually did get permission before we started. She used to be a member of this message board, but I don't know if she still is. Who knows, does anyone here go by Oracle?
Me, too! I used to RP with her, Blayze, and Hawkelf. That was ages ago, though. I don't think she's been here in years, though Blayze and Hawky dropped in a while back.
Would I have heard of your agent at the time you guys were writing, by any chance?
(Also, welcome and all that!)
~Neshomeh
That's awesome! Oracle and I used to be in a D&D group together. I don't know if you ever heard of my previous agent, Skid, though. I just found the makings of our old story while looking through my PC's backups and figured I'd try it again.
Or, if she did mention him, I forgot. (My memory is pretty terrible.)
Anyway, it's cool that you finally got around to joining the Board. {= D Feel free to shoot me any questions you might have. My e-mail address and other contact info is all on my wiki profile, here.
~Neshomeh
I haven't seen an Oracle here yet.
But I'm still fairly new here myself, so I don't know nearly everybody on the board.
Only a few people.
There might be an Oracle around here; try the IRC. You might find them there.
Well, first off, you don't have to create an account. Most of us never have! Just type "Manzo" (or whatever name you're going to use) into the "Author" field. Sometimes this gets overlooked, which is no big deal, but it's actually much easier to just type it in every time - the login function is notoriously broken.
Secondly, the PPC, last I checked, isn't actually copyrighted? If anyone does own a copyright, it would be Jay and Acacia. What we have in place is a fairly informal system where anyone can write with permission - but the reason for that is simple, not a legalistic thing; we just want to make sure people are representing us in good faith and with reasonable English skill.
(Getting permission is remarkably easy! Just hang out and be friendly around here for a while - reading the Constitution is a good start, and there's a lot of the community who hangs out on the IRC channel - and then, after you feel like you've gotten to know the community pretty well and vice versa, apply! This requires just a regular topic with a sample of your writing, a brief bio page for your agents, and a link to whatever badfic you want to spork.)
Anyway, welcome to the PPC, Manzo! Do we still poke newbies? If so, *poke!*
Where do I send the sample of my writing and the bio? I mean I've done a lot of writing in a RP forum, but it's an invite-only forum, so I can't give a link. Should I just copy and paste it on this message board?
I wouldn't try applying for some time yet, but when you do apply, copying and pasting it to Google Docs, or your own blog/journal/whatever would work. You could also write something completely new for the application! Just about anything long enough to showcase your writing style is welcome.
I do sometimes forget to reign myself in; and it's clear my fears were not as grounded as I was worried they were, which is also nice.
On that note, I apologize to Manzo for the rough greeting.
Think nothing of it. I'm kinda expecting some kind of hazing ritual or something.
Rookie hazing rituals? Now this sounds interesting. I vote feeding the rookies to Luxury! Or maybe see how long they survive playing knock down ginger in the PPC halls.
...to ask about the Warriors continuum by Erin Hunter. Is it a banned continuum to PPC, since it follows the adventures of cats that - aside from living in Clans and having cat-to-human translated speech - are identical to Real World cats? Because there's a Warriors badfic I'd like to have Gilbert and Fiona spork, only there's absolutely NOTHING on the wiki about the continuum, which concerns me. Help?
Speaking as an inveterate cat-lover, I fully approve of and commend you for your concern about killing cats, sentient or otherwise.
Speaking as a PPCer, though, just remember this: the cat!Sue is no more a real cat than human!Sues are real men or women. So there's that.
... Not that it necessarily helps. Tungsten Monk and I made up a whole new class of Sue-wraith to avoid killing something that looked like a three-year-old Harry Potter-thing. >.>;
So, uh, this post was probably entirely unhelpful, wasn't it?
~Neshomeh
Being a cat-lover m'self is part of the reason I was concerned - they're cats! They hunt rodents and rub on your legs and lick your hand and they're just. So. Cute!
Although, true about the Sues - and doubly so for this 'Sterlingtail', who seems to know sommat about human eating utensils, if her name's any indicator. Hmm...
Either way, the story's literally days old and may yet update even after I spork it. I just hope none of the kittens go Sue-y on me, because even exorcising one may be...interesting.
Just looked at the reviews for the fic... I don't know who Wrath Flamesoul is, but s/he appears to be trying to push the author in a better direction with the fic.
Which resulted in a 'chapter' wherein the author did nothing but address Wrath's concerns bit by bit. Gilbert and Fiona might never want to do another Warriors baddie again after this...
It's just, yanno, cats. Unless Erin Hunter's banned fanfic about Warriors, it should be as fair game as anything else. There are plenty of canons without wiki pages.
Ostensibly (oh, how I love that word), any Sues would be cats. Or one of the other furry or feathered creatures shown to have the level of intelligence the Clan cats are given (for added speshul, just add cat-loving foxes!) My concern is that, as this would require any agents involved in a sporking from this 'verse to kill an animal, some people may find Warriors-verse sporkings to be...off-putting.
Which seems silly because of the MLP sporkings, but makes sense to me because of the fact that these animals are perfectly capable of popping up in World One and some canons are based on real cats.
Although, no, the Hunter gals (four of 'em!) have not forbidden fanfictions of the meta-series. And I think the fact that these canons wage war with each other on a series-to-series basis may negate the don't-hurt-real-animals worry a bit...
I'm worrying too much again, aren't I?
I'd go with acknowledging your concerns about killing fluffy animals, then finding relatively bloodless ways to kill the Sues. Because yeah, you are worrying a little bit much. :P Just get creative! (Portals from a great height and not describing the aftermath overmuch cure so many ills, I'm telling ya...)
I b'lieve it's a lack of self-confidence. Could be wrong, though.
Actually, in this one the whole of ShadowClan gets dumped into a plothole... Can't imagine they're any of them too happy about that, no sir. And IceClan is dreadfully small...
Except kittens. Hmm... This is going to be interesting.
Ooh, I know that. Always asking questions because you second-guess yourself and can't trust your gut, that kinda thing?
Hmmm. Pos'bly.... :D
Ehe. Yes. Quite possibly. Killing the childers could always be interesting. Recruit them to the Nursery? Dump 'em in a lake?
More like I know how it feels to not have my feelings considered, asks therefore take the potential feelings of others more seriously than is probably healthy. Although I do second-guess myself at odd intervals.
Hee, ShadowClan is of course the feeblest, most cowardly Clan of the four, though... /bone-crushingly heavy sarcasm
I AM NOT DUMPING THE KITTENS INTO THE LAKE. (Although again, they're essentially normal cats whose meows have been transla-- wait, no, Clans, spirituality, the ability to intelligently mend wounds, treat illnesses, choose and follow leaders...) Maaaaybe Nursery. Although so far the whole Clan (minus Sterlingtail) are bits...
I may have another idea. Maybe.
Aaaaah. Another variety of overthinking it, which I am also somewhat familiar with. Join the club, I say considering other people's thoughts ain't a bad thing.
Oh, yes, I'm sure. /facetious as hell
Why not Nursery? If you don't wanna kill them, and you can't integrate them into canon (which you might be able to manage, maybe, with a clever application of Mass Neuralyzer and appropriate commands during the suggestible period after neuralyzation [but I don't know the canon so I'unno how you'd manage it]), then why not dump a horde of otherwise recruitable kittehs on HQ? Kittehs are adorable!
Eh, I get it from worrying about what people think of me - it evolved, so to speak. At least the club has cookies! ...Right?
Bahaha.
Ah, the timeline for this fic is somewhere between book four of the third series and book six of the fourth, so between that, the missing ShadowClan, and the territory swap, canon integration may be too much for the canon to handle. Hmm...pets, ye say? /is totally not grinning like the bleeding Cheshire Cat
Agent!Caroline does like kitties, as do Fiona and Gilly-Gins. I'm sure there are other agents who share the sentiment. Bahaha.
On a side note, there don't seem to be any minis for this 'verse. I'm torn between mini-monsters (what the cats call cars) and mini versions of whichever character has been misspelled. Hmm...
And muffins! Muuuuffiiiiiiins...
:3
Ahh. Well then. Mebbe not pets seeing as what I recall points to human-level intelligence, I say agents. Or future agents, anyway, seeing as they're kittens. An army of kitty agents! /not grinning either
Like Maggie! And Tanya, who's shooting a glare at anyone who comments on the fact that she's got a kitten on her head and two curled up on her shoulders.
I say mini-monsters. Li'l cars sounds awesome.
Yesh. Or at the very least sidekicks like Firebrand. Depends.
Not all of them are kittens, mind ye. Most are adult cats. The two elders Im'ma probably portal to a nice, quiet country home with people that love cats. Or sommat.
Hey, I wasn't going to say a thing! (Mini-cars, huh? We don't already have those for the Cars-verse, do we?)
You have final decision, it's your mish!
Aaaah. Well. The adult cats are slightly less freaky-outy to kill, methinks. Slightly. If you have to. I do approve of your plan for the elder cats.
Mini. "Monsters". :P Sounds /awesome/, dammit. (And no, we don't. Not according to the Wiki page.)
Not in front of the newbie, you.
Nah, you might get pelted with marshmallows, but not much worse.
Expect interesting gifts - like that sword I gave you.
(MIND. THE EDGE.)
Well, your worries were understandable, but the facts behind them were a bit off. Kismet happens.