Regarding this mission by
Aurora Morningstar
on 2019-10-09 14:33:00 UTC
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Thanks for directing me to this; I know I read this earlier, I checked the entire front page in mid-September, but I must have forgotten or mentally filed this under 'old missions'.
Actual comments now!
The section with the rapid scene changes seems done pretty well, although it seems to make more sense if the original is read; maybe make it more explicit what happens here?
Something you might want to say; I noticed that the four Sues are all described as 'nieces' (including when it makes no sense). It seems like the author heard 'no children/grandchildren of canon characters' and applied it literally.
Might you try to get some form of charges out of chapters 5-7? The attempt to write 'dark' events is so badly overdone it's almost comical, and I feel like this section was skimmed over, although I suppose the formatting might justify the pacing. Also, I don't know if you did anything with this, but the author misspells 'wreak' as 'reak' in chapter 7, which is an archaic word meaning "prank" - might be usable.
I would say you were being a bit harsh with the Sues, but Rebecca has no distinguishing characteristics of any sort and Alexia's nearly as bad.
Overall, a pretty good mission, although its connection to DOGA as such is a bit tenuous.
!!! by
Thoth
on 2019-10-09 00:52:00 UTC
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Okay, I'll admit, I haven't actually finished reading the mission yet. But this is about to slide off the face of the board and the board is about to slide off the internet so I figured I'd best speak now or forever hold my piece.
What I will say is that this feels like a 2004 mission so far. That's not a bad thing! It means that it's lighthearted, for one. Sometimes it feels like the PPC has lost a bit of its whimsy of late...
Necessarily, that does have some cost, but on the whole it's a balance I haven't seen in a while. Because... well, I haven't seen a mission like this in aaaages.
It filled a desire I didn't know I had, is what I'm saying. Well, I guess I kinda knew. But I'd forgotten.
-Thoth, hopefully going to finish the mission now but possibly not because he has a poor track record on finishing things
Re: mission (spoilers) by
doctorlit
on 2019-09-08 20:02:00 UTC
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Oh, I very much like getting new episodes from the past! I especially like the opening, with the Courtyard being nearly unknown to most of HQ (and being much smaller than it is today, at least as I see your description?), as well as the Elm foreshadowing its later role by already starting to spy on agents. I also liked the acknowledgement of the PPC's rapid staff explosion, and the distrust of the color pink making Vemi's dress unique enough for Dafydd to comment on; I suspect there's a bit more color variety in HQ nowadays, such that heads wouldn't turn at seeing pink quite so much.
I was amused at Dafydd's complete lack of understanding in the Potterverse. Even knowing how Tolkien-focused were the earliest days of the PPC—both in-universe and out-—it's still funny to think there was a point in time when Harry Potter was such a tiny, fledgling fandom that one of the PPC's poster-boy agents was entirely unaware of it. It's interesting how attitudes and common cultural knowledge change over time in a society!
The moment that most amused me was the REBECCA gag. It's interesting to see Suvians so devoid of personality that derailing the fic makes one blue-screen and the other just have the same reaction to danger over and over and over . . . I'm insterested to see what shenanigans Jenae is going to get up to in the future. (Unless that's already been published, and I don't remember?)
The only typo I saw is a mini-Aragog:
"'Crucio! Confringio! Colovaria? No? Nothing?'"
It's actually "Confringo" with one "i," though I admit I had to look it up to double-check . . .
—"REBECCA! doctorlit is leaving a review on the Board!"
Thoughts (contains some spoilers) by
Tomash
on 2019-09-07 22:00:00 UTC
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The opening was really well done.
I liked the bad cowrite and the "she's not bad" bit about Selene.
The whole bit with Daffyd not knowing much about Harry Potter was a quite nice gag.
I also wonder why Vemi thinks truth potions are crude.
I also now recognize this fic - it was one of the ones Nesh linked a few months back I think? It was quite terrible.
The "SLAM" bit is a good way of showing what's presumably a rapidly switching pair of scenes.
"Hi, we're here to kill you, so if you give us a moment we'll be right over." is just a funny line and it's nice to see what's become the formula these days (which is usually much sneakier) get not used.
The "REBECCA" thing and her being a paper cut-out are fun.
The butchered Unforgivable and the magic ring was interesting.
"Do we have to de-wolfy him?" Daffyd, leave Wolfy McWolfface alone!!1!!
"Yer a wizard, Vemi." - well, I wasn't expecting that.
Or maybe Vemi isn't a wizard? Since she's needing to make with the stabbing.
Well, the bit about the partnership not going through makes sense.
... that's a concerning author's note.
Overall, you've done quite a good job, especially on the having funny bits part of a PPC mission and the having good character interactions bit. The goings-on were funny, and there was some nice plot development in there for Daffyd and Vemi (though I do want to know if she's a wizard or not).
It's nice to see a slightly different flavor of assassination scene that usually happens these days, and more people should try that ... I should try that, really. Though I need to actually find a fic for Mission 2.
And from what I can tell, the badfic was bad more in plot than in SPaG, so having it mostly told, not shown, is likely fine.
- Tomash
First things first: Vemi is an absolute doll. by
S.M.F.
on 2019-09-06 16:28:00 UTC
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(And I do mean that in the strictest-complimentary sense; I know I don't want her yelling at me! XD)
*That elm was definitely laughing, I can tell.
*That is a clever use of "I Resemble That Remark" - Vemi's use, not "Wormtail"'s.
*Saved by the chapter drop! Clever.
*Those sentence clippings when Wormtail kidnaps Harry were almost physically painful to read; well done.
*"Vemi yelped as a whole collection of characters appeared in the room, several of them screaming. Harry Potter landed right where she had been standing, where she would have been impossible for Voldemort to miss. "Nope, I take it back," she hissed. "You totally saved my life." She grabbed the Pyro's arm and dragged him in for a hug."
I'm not sure 'hissed' is the right word, here? Though I'm not sure how you'd best convey 'quietly yelped.' XD
*... Were there two Dumbledore Sues? Ye gods.
*Hell of a charge list, to be sure. ... Someone should adopt that surviving Sue, give her some real meaning in life.
Bit by bit thought-vomit response by
Iximaz
on 2019-09-06 15:48:00 UTC
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"It makes us sound like a bad cowrite" made me chuckle.
(Obligatory "and Sirius wouldn't have come back as a ghost, anyway, since he wanted to move on".)
Dafydd calling Harry Potter an anime... goodness.
*rubs eyes* Hufflepuff Sues? That's got to be a first, wow.
Jenae—Jenae— *splutters* Dumbledore?
"How come someone as bloodthirsty as you isn't an Assassin, anyway?" Dafydd, your Maglor is showing.
Vemi ran her nails over the floorboards, feeling the splinters snag under them[. . .] I know you meant the wood sort of just caught briefly but I was struck with the very unpleasant mental image of splinters being shoved under my fingernails.
Carrying on... everyone is dead now? What? What?

"Gasp!" shouted Shawna[. . .] *snickers*
And the entire assassination scene was just pure gold, especially with the agents just going nuts with their made-up spells.
That was a fun mission and I enjoyed reading it!
