The PPC Posting Board - Latest posts

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

It's been two weeks since the last prompt, although it may feel like longer to some people. This time, the prompt is:

"Don't forget your pants!"


Don't ask me why. It's a long story.

Novastorme

On your points about continuity flubs:-

This is indeed taking place before DMSE&R was merged into DAS. Agamemnon is sometime cameo-haver Algernon Wymbourne (of the DIA)'s teenage son - when this story's set, he's somewhere between fourteen and seventeen, because I am extremely uncomfortable about sending people under the age of majority on missions in which they might die. The PPC is a fun and happy place, and child soldiery and the implications thereof are not a subject I wish to cover in a proper spinoff.

Lilianna is indeed a Mary-Sue, and one of the worst type; one who Just Doesn't Care about the setting she's violating. The point of her badfic was to do a love story between the author's idealized self-insert her and Jonathan Strange, of & Mr Norrell fame. She treats her husband cruelly and barely thinks about her son because they were little more than set dressing except when they were obstacles to be overcome. In terms of PPC canon, Algie fell through one of the plot holes she created and (with a little help from the Guardsman) persuaded the DoI to pull everyone out, including all the manor's servants.

In many ways, Algie and Agamemnon are the polar opposites in terms of sentiment and style to Lilianna: stiff where she is informal, distant where she is approachable, that sort of thing. While these were traits assigned to them, it's continued into their tenure as PPC staffers. Algie is a good and principled man, who feels a duty of care to almost everyone he meets; Agamemnon is a dandy and a wit who uses manners and repartee to mask deep insecurities and unwarranted shame.

As to the decor of DMSE&R... well, that's a straight-up screwup on my part, I'm sorry to say. In my defence, I've never read any of Lily Winterwood's stuff, but that's a pretty rubbish defence, particularly when the wiki is a thing. I should have checked, and I should have done better. Of course, places with clean white walls and skylights can still have deeply oppressive atmospheres; the decor can only do so much to hide the sawbones and the screams. Still, it was a mistake and one which I shall not make again. =]

At least in the case of that last one, it's a NaNoWriMo project of hS's. Go read it on his LiveJournal before the KGB requisition it, it's pretty good. =]

As for the book, I'm gonna sort that out in a bit. =]

It's about giving, y'know? You get to keep the books. Maybe they're annotated by the giver. There's probably easier ways to do this. But it's an idea, is all. Might not be a good one - open for discussion.

(Disclaimer: This is not something that is implemented currently, nor do I think that this idea is fully fleshed out, but it is something that genuinely interests me and I think it might be interesting to you all, too.)

This is an idea that I've been throwing around, a little bit in the discord, and a little bit in my own head: What if there was a way people could just gift each other books in the PPC?

This is going to be a bit of a long post. So, bear with me, and please please please if you find anything wrong with this at all, or if you find any way the idea could be improved upon I would love to hear it!

The base idea is this, in a couple steps:
To have a database (perhaps a googledoc?) where people can share books that they own/want to donate, complete with titles, who'd be willing to donate it, and a review. (I'd personally like each book to have a review, and maybe even a tagging system, like "Sci-Fi" or "Fantasy". That'd be really cool, imo.)

So, after the database is there, the people who want books can just send whoever has the book a message, or somehow communicate with them that they'd like the book. Or maybe someone has a book that they really would like to give to someone else! (I have a lot of books which I know certain people would love!)

And once those two people have communicated enough, this is where I'd like to voice and possibly answer a concern. "Are people comfortable with sharing where they live/where their general location is?" And my answer, is that it really depends - some people are open, others aren't - I personally use drop locations, which aren't where I live, but around the general area where I can pick up packages and stuff. For the system to work and hopefully make people more comfortable, those who are interested in sharing books would talk to an established third party within the community. This third party would be the middleman - They would know and not share the information of where people receive books, and would also know where people are sending books from. They would be the only ones who know this information, aside from the sender and receiver, respectively. The sender would send the book to the third party, who would check and see that "yes, this is really the book, and nothing else (unless specified)" and the third party would send it off to the person who wanted the book.

That's probably a really long and convoluted way of explaining what I'd like to have, if this idea ever came to be. A database, a third party, and people willing to give general/specific locations of where they send and receive stuff to the third party.

A couple issues which I've already thought of, and can't really come up with good answers to.

1. Shipping.
That stuff is expensive. Who would be paying to send the books? How would that work out? Maybe determine between the two people?
2. Reliability of the third party.
How do we know that the third party isn't just going to take our books and just vanish disappear? We'd have to establish a person or two who are comfortable with doing this, and who are trusted members of the community.
3. What about people who've been offered books, want to receive them, but are unwilling to give a receiving location?
There's a lot of conditional and subjective stuff.

That's really all I've thought of for now, but if you have any questions, thoughts, or concerns, please let me know!

If you know 40k, you can understand/infer the rest of the reasons it might hurt. Erek either died long ago in peace, or was a casualty in The Burning of Prospero, which was the final straw that lead Thoth's legion to join Chaos (not exactly willingly... it's complicated). Not to mention all the repression Space Marines have of all sorts of emotional stuff, which means any meetings they may have had would have been painful.

I have nothing else to say. Just... Wow. This is amazing.

It's definitely cool to learn anything new about the Canon Librarian. I love the little glimpse we've gotten into his "nest," as well as some more vague hints at his physical presence.

The mood throughout this piece is great. I love that is keeps ramping up a more and more sinister feeling of foreboding, only to pull the rug out from under us in the last paragraphs and turn it very sentimental and reverent of Scape's work. Very nicely done!

The fact that the Canon Librarian seems to know what World One authors are writing for the PPC has intersting implications, especially considering he himself clearly isn't from World One . . . I must ask, though: what are The Everbright Glede, The Magical Adventures of Ladies and Gentlemen and The Kraken-Knights of Wintertide? I can't find mention of them online anywhere. They're not in the "PPC authors" cupboard, but they're in the same safe as that cupboard. What's the significance of those titles?

—doctorlit still wants to buy a copy of that book, Scapegrace!

This was well-done! There are so many little details that are different for Andalites and humans, but both of you guys always seem to keep them in mind so well when you're writing Ilraen and Farilan. And both characters react to each other and to every little stimulus from the experience level they feel like they're at right now. Just a very realistically done series of character interactions, all around. I'm also glad Farilan is going to have some emotional depth to her, rather than just being, um. Iskillion.

And good to see Ilraen "retrieved" the Monster Book, too. We should always clean up our own messes, after all!

—doctorlit

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I think this is the only story in the group to use the line from the prompt not in a conversation, but by a single person sitting alone. And that gives it such a somber and lonely feeling that it really makes this one stand out from the others as unique.

I like how you use the structure of the photograph to not only introduce the main players in Marina's former life, but also to explain the magic system of that world a bit, and the types of danger she faced and feared. (I also love the little detail that vampire thralls are called "Renfields" in that canon.)

A lot of PPC agents either choose not to visit their homes/families for whatever reason, or are able to fairly regularly. I like the inherent conflict of an agent who would like to do so, but isn't able due to some instability of the multiverse.

—doctorlit would probably visit home a little out of guilt, but it's so easy to get caught up in work . . .

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.

I love this! I've wanted to see this PPC'd for a long time!

This is indeed well done. I'm not really one for romantic/caring/emotional dialogue like this, but you really used some good language in the speech here to make it interesting and attention-holding.

I also see the implied reason for why Agent Thoth is suppressing the story of his former love. At least when he was still employed by the Empreror, he was in the same universe as Erek, and potentially could have seen him ever so rarely. But now, in the PPC, they really are separated for good.

—doctorlit, suddenly going to a friend's house to change fish water

Despite the short length, you get all the information we need into this. You hit us right out with the moment of leaving, fill in the reasons soon after, and make us understand the emotions of the leaver.

I'm not normally a fan of big block paragraphs, and this one does look especially jarring because of how much of the story it occupies. However, it does work in this case, at least somewhat. It kind of gives me the feeling that once the narrator got past That Moment, everything seemed to pick up speed for them. Maybe that's because the emotions and tears are making things blurry and out of focus, or maybe because the narrator is finally powering up into the momentum they've needed, and couldn't attain during the bad relationship. Doesn't entirely matter, but it's a good feeling to get across to the reader, and I think you've succeeded.

—doctorlit

This is very simple, kind of like the basic setup of this type of scene. It works, but I don't find myself getting very invested . . . which may just because I haven't been keeping up with the #Rudis logs, and don't really know of Dax, much. At least having access to portals in HQ, Dax is ironically more able to visit than she would be from a skyship, despite being on a different world!

—doctorlit hates this type of goodbye in real life

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.

My thanks to Delta Juliette and Calliope for beta-reading this prompt.

Marina Nicodelli was crouched on her bed in the Response Center. Her mini Yale was napping in his corner of the room, and her partner had left not long ago for a few days with with his family for Christmas. From the sound of it while Richard had been wrapping his presents, his home situation wasn't stellar. Not that there was something she could do about it. She had her own problems with Christmas to deal with. And she could do it better alone.

Problems which were pretty much summed up by the photo she was looking at the moment. It was one of the few mementos of her life she had left after the Fomorians had burned it to the ground and attempted to kill her.

She was barely in the background of the photo, a half-smile on her face. Not that she had been unhappy at having the opportunity of being with her family for Christmas; she had been quite happy at the idea of spending the holiday with them. Not having to worry about any sort of trouble or ritual prepared to take advantage of the holiday had been as good for her as possible.

But... Her little sister Felicia, pictured sitting down in front of her with a big grin on her face, had received the first season of one of her favorite shows, My Little Pony, and she just had to start watching it as soon as possible, heedless of her older sister inside her anti-hexing circle. Marina had been unable to get out while Felicia cheered at her show. Marina sighed at the memory. At least Felicia had chosen a decent one to watch.

Next to the two sisters were their parents. Victor Nicodelli was fairly average at five-foot-eight, rather stout, with greying brown hair and a close-cropped beard, which was also turning grey. There was some subdued joy on his face and in his green eyes, like when he had taken her to a shooting range for the first time. He still looked rigid though, as if he had to be ready to spring to duty at any moment. He had been quite relieved nothing had happened on Christmas- it had waited for New Year's Eve. And trouble had been generous enough to involve Marina by making one of the suspects a ghoul.

Her mother had handled the resulting fallout as well as she could at the time. Namely, by putting up a good front for Felicia so she wouldn’t worry too. While she did that, she would ask herself once more why she had accepted her eldest daughter learn about magic rather than letting it go away. But none of that worry could be seen on the photo. Jessica Nicodelli was about six feet tall, with the same black hair as her daughters, although some white hair could be seen here and there. She had the same slender build as Marina, and a quiet presence that could be felt even through the picture.

Marina hadn't seen them for years now. She missed them, especially during the end of the year. Her master too, the old bear. John Riders. An americanization from his old name, back when he lived in Flanders.

The old man had been a stern master, and showed her how close she'd been to the edge in that alley. Magic was not a toy- under his instruction she'd witnessed the evils of black magic, and the terrors it inflicted. That the same old man had liked to read Twilight And Fifty Shades of Gray had left her rather dumbfounded. He would always laugh at the books before talking about how the standards of the White Court for ghostwriters had dropped in the last decades. Meyer certainly didn't compare to Stoker.

Marina lost herself in memories of him and her family for a while. Memories were all she had, for now. The C-CADs which had worked long enough to get a reading on her would constantly oscillate between ‘canon ‘verse’ and ‘RP setting’ regarding her origins. A pretty way of saying that as long as she didn’t know where to go back, she couldn’t go back home. And unless her… author wrote something about how things canonically were back in Philadelphia, it would remain that way until he ended the series.

Sure, she could probably live long enough to wait the end of the series out. She could probably even go back to the moment she had jumped for the Nevernever once the time for retirement had come. Or, more preferably, she would come back later, and away from her would-be killers.

But if things always went as expected, she wouldn’t have ended up facing what she had thought to be a psychotic junkie on her way back from school. It wouldn’t have ended up being a Renfield, a berserk thrall of Black Court Vampires. She wouldn’t have ended up crushing him to the ground with a power she didn’t understand yet. She wouldn’t have ended up discovering a world larger and more fascinating and dangerous as she thought. And she certainly wouldn’t have ended up discovering an even larger and more fascinating and dangerous one after that.

And if things went unexpectedly again, her family and her master would never be the wiser about it. Marina Nicodelli would be dead, in her office, or her apartment, or in an alley, or in the Nevernever. But she most certainly would not be killed in the service of some sort of multidimensional organization. An organization which looked at many, many universes as fictions, and fought eldritch abominations trying to make them fit their twisted desires.

But for now, all she could do was look at the picture and ask one question. “When can I see you again?”

This story does a good job of leaving the reader with uncomfortable questions that really can't be answered. I still can't tell if Lilianna is meant to be a Sue, with Agamemnon and his father getting recruited from her story and her being studied as a specimen; or if she's a former agent who got Suefluenced and is being cared for the Medical Research Division, with her family members waiting for her recovery. That level of speculation is tricky to create in a story so short, so very well done on giving us just enough info to get invested, but not quite enough to keep us from wondering—and that's not even getting into the question of what information Agamemnon was trying to get from Lilianna in the first place.

Lilianna is a cringe-inducing, negative character in just about every aspect imaginable. You get it across in every tiny action and detail of her you give. I do feel that the implied incestuous feelings are a bit too much, but I'm glad you at least ended on a tiny shred of hope that Lilianna wants this situation to get better.

A couple of potential continuity errors: First, I assume this is taking place before DMSE&R changed into DAS? I want to ask, since you said Agamemnon is a TYH character, and wasn't sure if this scene is taking place in our past as well as his.

Second, the DAS/E&R-that-was actually has white-painted walls and skylights, rather than looking darker than the rest of HQ. This was seen in Lily Winterwood's spinoff. I do like the idea of medical classes being taught there, though.

—doctorlit probably wouldn't have known about the skylights off-hand, except that he wrote a scene in the main entrance foyer of the old DMSE&R for his Thirty Hs mission

I'm working out the ideas, not sure if I should share it when I'm done to have someone go over them. Plus some story ideas, but they're kinda spoilery.

By the way, the book is “Dirty Magic” by Jaye Wells, and I think it is part of a trilogy, but like I said before, I haven’t read the other two yet. Let me know what you think!

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!