The PPC Posting Board - Latest posts

((...for the holidays, but I'll most likely get something up next week. ~Z))

First off, yes, I'm still here. I haven't left. I'm just kept very, very busy with tiring RL things. I'm hoping to carve out enough time and energy to get back into the community, but it's not a given thing.

Okay. Now that the explanation is out of the way, characters and character building! I love it. Probably a bit too much, which ties into why I'm never able to get anything actually done.

Of the methods that hS has mentioned here, I probably gravitate towards the first and second most of all. But only as a baseline. Once I establish the core of a character, then I start adding on characteristics and personality attributes. These can depend on what I want or need the character to do in the narrative, but sometimes they can just follow flights of fancy. Hopefully, I end up with something that is both distinct and still at least a little connected to my original vision. Or maybe not. Maybe all that editing and adding has created something totally different from what I originally intended. Which is also good.

Here's an example. For the last PPC Hunger Games, I made up a trio of scientists to provide commentary on the actions of Holo-Acacia: Dr. Daphne St. Auguste, Tess Jachowicz, and Naas'Gehlen vas Headquarters. The trio taken as a whole was modeled after the Mads from MST3K: the pushy, vaguely immoral scientist and his/her oddball flunkies. But that was just a rough sketch. I didn't want them to go full Mads; I wanted them to be actually competent, for one thing.

Let's go into more specifics. In addition to being inspired by the Mads, St. Auguste was a keyphrase character: 'the know-it-all genius.' And what good is being a know-it-all genius if nobody else knows you're such? So, I threw in her traits of rambling and always saying what was on her mind. There's still a bit of that original immorality, but I muted it to academic malfeasance rather than 'torturing people with bad movies.'

Jachowicz was meant to be the sane woman to St. Auguste's vague unhinged-ness, which unfortunately is not a position that necessarily lends itself toward making detailed characters. That being said, I was able to expand her characterization on the fly simply by reacting to events in the PPC Hunger Games: her diplomatic nature that slips a little when her boss isn't looking, her willingness to debate, and her vague affinity for parts of the Star Wars prequels. I hope to expand on her further given the opportunity.

Naas'Gehlen was meant to be the snarker. Whereas Jachowicz would respond to her boss with gentle debate or agreement, Naas was meant to be the one to crack wise. He was laid-back and easy-going, as opposed to the two more serious women. I actually patterned a bit him in my mind after a real person: NASA engineer Bobak Ferdowski, aka the mohawk guy from the Curiosity mission.

So… that went a little longer than expected. But I guess that's sort of the case with building characters: it can go on for longer than you expect, and weave you into some corners you maybe didn't expect.

Finally, let me just push this old thing back out into the spotlight one more time: my workshop on characters. Read and enjoy.

PC

Elementals of Harmony by FanOfMostEverything - Rated E
Something is gathering around the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Something dangerous. Something magical. There's only one pony with the knowledge, the skills, and the muffins needed to save Equestria as we know it.
A Friendship is Magic: the Gathering crossover, taking place between seasons 1 and 2. Here there be flashbacks, briefly seen OC's, and possibly every emotion known to man or tiny horse. Abandon all pretenses of not being a nerd, ye who enter here.

This is a Magic the Gathering/MLP crossover that is actually accessible even without any real knowledge of the Magic universe (as was the case with me). And for those of you who are into alternative interpretations of Derpy Hooves/DItzy Doo/Muffins' wonky eyes, well, this should be right up your alley.

I tried several times to register an aco..., and I never got any mail in answer.

You hit the button with the star in it that says "Watch".

Here are some I intend to add to the rec page on the wiki whenever I get around to it:

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Marionettes
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11594755/1/Marionettes
A delightful skewering of the "Villain off the Week" trope with lots of twists and turns.

Doctor Who

Broken Cycles (xover w/ Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10352376/1/Broken-Cycles
Basically the Doctor comes in to straighten out the timeline, and throws in characters from other series to fill the magical girl roster but it's much better than it sounds. It also takes the time to explain details that the original show didn't bother touching on, not to mention fixes one of my biggest issues with the series (I won't go into details because Spoilers).

Gravity Falls

Flat Dreams
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11802026/1/Flat-Dreams
Gives a backstory for Bill Cipher that really gives him some depth - metaphorically speaking. And the parallels between certain characters really adds to the story.

Steven Universe

Little Rebellions
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11777697/1/Little-Rebellions
Shows what it's like for the Pearls serving under the Gem Empire and how they rebel. Warning: some chapters have some pretty intense moments...

Harry Potter
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4356667/1/Wish-Carefully
The Death Eaters get what they want... only for everything to go downhill. An oddly cathartic read.

How exactly do you suscribe for TV Tropes? I tried it several times, and it never worked for me.

Actually, it's named after a different Starfleet: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/StarFleet

The theme song comes from this series too.

Heard of it? I edit its pages on TVTropes all the time!

Welcome to the Board! Here, have some chocolate!, and enjoy your stay!

In most fandoms, you read the source material before you read the wikis, fanfic, etc. In 40k, this is not necessarily true: Warhammer 40k's high cost and obscurity mean that many fans will start by reading wikis or fanworks. And with the dizzying scope of the universe, it's easy to get lost.

So, I want to take a moment to introduce to you one of the first 40k fanworks I ever really experienced, and one that cemented my interest in the setting: If The Emperor Had A Text-To-Speech Device[NSFW].

From its first episode, TTS was... okay, the first episode was kinda rubbish. It was basically an excuse to spend 5 minutes having the Emperor mock the Grey Knights, the Ultramarines, and the general state of the Imperium, setting the tone for the episodes that would follow. However, as time went on, the show's production values and attention to the lore increased, and it became something a lot more interesting. By the dawn of Season 2, it had moved towards telling a more serious story... a more serious story where the main players were an Australian wizard, and insufferably literal individual, an overly emotional Custodes, three walking innuendos, and a grumpy constantly-swearing definitely-not-god who's in a state of eternal torment, but a more serious story nonetheless.

Also, later TTS is shockingly educational for a comedy series. Educational about 40k lore, yes, but educational nonetheless. I hold Episode 19 as a crowning achievement, explaining what The Warp is, how it functions and the nature of the Chaos Gods to a fairly-accurate degree (well, as accurate as you CAN be, seeing as it changes, and with the characters in question discussing it), being IMHO one of the best explanations of the subject ever.

It also has a fantastic spinoff podcast...

Anyways, I may be overselling it bit, but TTS is absolutely worth watching. If only to find out why I keep nicking myself ROGAL DORN in Discord.

And did I mention the characters play Yugioh? WIND-UP KITTEN, IN ATTACK MODE!

My thinking was going in that direction, but hadn't yet gotten there. |D We never do hear much from the Powers that aren't in-between the Lone Power and Winged Defender, morality-wise.

(Digging through that wiki is fun, btw. Much useful for worldbuilding! ... Considering DD writes it herself. =P)

Someone should probably contact the author/find out who the beta is, then. Someone needs some explanation, I expect...

Ones that are in-between, I mean. Grah.

In fact, that fits perfectly well - they're Powers who built something (western civilisation, in the case of the Olympians), but then never managed to let go of it.

You look at someone like Artemis, who wanders around by herself with the few people she likes - and you compare her to the Power we meet in A Wizard Abroad, who hangs out by themselves and doesn't like to admit who they are. It's a very similar approach.

Does that mean they're influenced by the Lone One? Well, to the extent that everything is, sure. But I think it's a mistake to project Michael onto all the Powers. The One's Champion is a very distinct individual, and is predisposed to a black-and-white worldview. We've barely met any other Powers (that I remember, anywise), but there's no reason to assume they're as... well, angelic, even if in the fire-and-brimstone sense, as the Champion.

Interestingly, the wiki identifies Michael with both Athena and Thor (and Prometheus, who has a role in one of the PJ series, I think). Having multiple avatars of the same Power bobbing around could make for a very interesting story - though I'm going to take a stab in the dark that this one does nothing of the sort.

[Reads to check]

... wow. That is a pretty textbook Gary-Stu. I gave up at the point where Artemis wouldn't talk to him until he swore not to hurt her.

Anyway, yeah, no. Doesn't look like it's bothered to consider the possibilities at all. I'm not honestly sure the author understands what the Lone Power actually did...

hS

And you have perfectly captured JayBird's self-image. :D Right down to the fact that she doesn't have the faintest idea how to hold a sword.

Very nicely done.

hS

There is a RPG system, FATE, wich works by creeating 'Aspects' for the character, which follow these rules. Mainly a core one, a complication, and other for importants steps of life. The game system also got playing up or compelling these aspects as a major part of gameplay.

Guidelines like that really help for creating a character.

I...*might* be up for it in a couple of weeks, but the subpage sounds like a better idea. Especially since it means that people who weren't involved in or around for the initial thread could add to it...

~Z

How did I mangle the spelling so hard, auto-correct changed it to sherries? Ah well.

You know, it actually has absolutely nothing to do with Star Trek? I mean, the story has barely anything to do with My Little Pony, but there is truly, POSITIVELY, no reason it is called Starfleet Magic.

Yes, I have had my eye on this sherries for a while. You may recognize it under the former name: My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing. If you have never heard of this infamous fic, look at the TvTropes Page for it.

Yes, I do still fully intend on tackling the thing. Even after all these years. I will do it. I swear.

And yes, that little detail with the sparkle blood will be included in the mission. It's too funny not to.

We're up to ten full novels, now, and a whole bunch of supplementaries! And if you click around on DD's tumblr, you'll find other goodies!

...and I didn't realize there were any others. XD

Copy-paste the non-discyourwebapps part and it should work.

There's a reason she's The Last Olympian...

How much Young Wizards have you read, btw? There's a bunch of books available on DD's site.

Er, you know how Mary-Sues have glittery blood? Well......... I found a character whom the narration actually states has glittery, I mean, sparkly blood!!

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/378005/25/my-brave-pony-starfleet-magic-season-vi/episode-24-a-royal-duel-to-the-death-part-1

"Suddenly, he spotted a speck of sparkling blood on the floor in the hallway. No doubt it was Grand Ruler’s blood as he was a deity alicorn, and their blood type sparkled."

I went into this one fairly blind in regards to my knowledge of Worm, but it's still one of the best fics I've read (it's still updating).

Stacked Deck (Or, Colin Wallis vs. Single Parenting)