I'm intrigued by the mention of MUSM at the end.

PPC+20: "Suedom Chapter 3: It Gets a Lot More Complicated" by [Andy & Saphie] on 2022-12-12 15:42:46 UTC Reply

Yes, the very approximate Suedom dates continue (which is great, because it means I can't actually be late!). Via the archive page...

Suedom 3: It Gets a Lot More Complicated, by Andy and Saphie

There is an earlier version linked at the bottom of the chapter, but by this point I think Future Andy & Saphie were restricting themselves mostly to tweaks, not major changes like we saw in chapter 1.

re: It Gets a Lot More Complicated + 20 by doctorlit on 2022-12-19 20:07:40 UTC Reply

Feels weird for Acacia to be "forgetting" the rules about reading charges, but the revelation about the recurring ripples through canon give it enough context to make it understandable. And the merger of so many fics at once is some memorable imagery, for sure. It helps explain why Jay and Acacia fired on Kate and Kira on sight, as well. I can understand the reaction, but I hope they figure out what's happening quickly enough that they don't hurt too many writers . . .

Jay's conversation about souls is interesting. I liked her first drawing the parallel between canon characters and Suvians as both being fictional, and then between Ranger and Suvians as both fanmade characters, and finally bringing up Mary Sue, who we of course know was "real" in the same sense as Jay and Acacia, and who they perhaps never realized wasn't a character at all. Come to think of it, Mary Sue's plight actually seems linked with/caused by the Bridge; it's a shame the agents don't seem to have believed her about being from World One to begin with, or they might have realized what was happening in Suedom earlier! I kind of wish the cnoversation had carried on a bit more, too . . .

—doctorlit likes finding accidental continuity
PPC+20: "Intelligence Briefs for the PPC" 5 by [Architeuthis] on 2022-12-16 13:13:07 UTC Reply

For the last time, one of the founding voices of the PPC speaks:

Intelligence Briefs for the PPC: Possessed, by Architeuthis

Language warning, apparently.

I'm trying to remember if I actually knew Architeuthis... can't remember. But I always loved her stories.

hS

re: possessed + 20 by doctorlit on 2022-12-21 12:30:49 UTC Reply

It's funny that the title of this fic fits so well with the PPC, since we would say Boromir is possessed by a wraith here. It's probably actually referring to the One Ring's influence, as Architeuthis speculated.

Since we don't touch religious fics anymore, it was kind of Architeuthis to handle it offscreen for us! And Joe Bob and Zaneth give a pretty decent charge list-style run-down, too, so we didn\t even miss much! That scene definitely has some uncomfortable vibes, though, the way they talk about authors, and "there ought to be a LAW against writing" certain things . . . Yuck.

—doctorlit took a bite on the leg yesterday, but thanks to the healing wonders of sleep, his hobbling speed has nearly doubled since last night!
I'm intrigued by the mention of MUSM at the end. by Neshomeh on 2022-12-16 21:47:30 UTC Reply

We don't seem to have a firm publication date for that, but clearly it was before this story. Miss Cam says in the author's notes on AO3 that MUSM was started around the release of the Two Towers movie, and the prologue suggests it was written before the movie came out. Since the general US release was December 18, that all tracks.

But I still can't tell how long before the movie (and this story). Chapter 13 is a Christmas special, so I'm guessing, like, a little while? Could it have been September, when a normal school year would start? I'unno. On a quick scan, I can't find a mention in the story of TTT actually being released. Further investigation needed.

~Neshomeh
Okay, weird tangent... by Linstar on 2022-12-16 20:34:10 UTC Reply

At the beginning of this fic, Architeuthis’ coworkers share some of the worst fics they’ve seen. One mentions Harry Potter turns to the Lord, a pointless religious fic where a guy named David converts Harry to Christianity after he has nightmares. The description is kinda author-bash-y—and obviously we would not do a religious fic anymore. Just one weird thing—not only is it a real fic, it’s from 2009. The summary matches up, but the author’s name is different.

Did this fic inspire a trollfic?

—Ls

It's probably a re-upload for posterity. It's been done with other fics. (nm) by Neshomeh on 2022-12-16 21:44:21 UTC Reply

Honestly, I'd believe that, if it was already infamous. Or, like, turned any any hits before by Linstar on 2022-12-16 23:30:34 UTC Edited Reply

...2009. Which it doesn't. So while that is possible, it seems quite odd to repost an unknown badfic and claim it as your own.

--Ls

Lack of Google hits doesn't mean much. by Neshomeh on 2022-12-17 00:53:27 UTC Reply

Google isn't omniscient, y'know. The algorithm is selective. Some content is hidden. Old websites go down. Whole swathes of fan content and discussion were lost in the shutdown of GeoCities, just to name a major one that happened to die in 2009.

I think the fact that there's a PPC mission discussing the thing from 2002 is sufficiently clear evidence that it existed and was discussed in 2002. Which is before 2009. In case that needed pointing out. {= P

~Neshomeh

Very interesting... by Linstar on 2022-12-12 21:16:56 UTC Reply

It seems J & A were much more cavalier about letting others write their characters than we tend to be today.

One note, though: Why did they refer to “Sean and Lux”? I’d think that by this point, Lux was solo?

Anyway, good chapter as ever.

—Ls

I think they were indeed split up by this point . . . by doctorlit on 2022-12-19 20:10:33 UTC Reply

. . . but since this chapter of Suedom references a lot of pre-existing characters, Sean may have been included as an additional reference. Plus, it's not too unlikely that Sean and Lux would be tasked with retrieving Jay and Acacia, since both pairs knew each other.

—doctorlit, speculating

Turns out not! by Neshomeh on 2022-12-24 21:35:43 UTC Reply

The development of Sean and Lux being broken up comes in TOS 23, which wasn't published for quite some time yet. In fact, it was published out of timeline order, since Jay and Acacia struggled with it. (It's the pedo!Elrond/Sue!Arwen one. I don't blame them.)

Anyway, our publication history for the earliest posting of Suedom is fuzzy, so we can't rely too much on what we think we know. If context clues suggest something other than what we have, it's possible what we have is wrong.

But in this case, it wasn't. {= )

~Neshomeh

& some not +20 stuff: advent calendars! by Huinesoron on 2022-12-12 15:47:00 UTC Writing Plug Reply

Once again, I forgot about these until halfway through December, but I have a couple of advent calendars for you to open day by day:

PPC Advent Calendar, 2008 - spinning off from the Generic Surface webcomic; looking a bit dated but still intact.

Library Advent Calendar, 2021 - not directly PPC, but very PPC-adjacent.

(If you don't come from a culture that does advent calendars: every December day up to Christmas, you open one numbered door corresponding to the date. Depending on where in the world you are, you might get pictures, gifts, or chocolates each day - in this case, you get a picture and a bit of story. It's fun!)

hS