The PPC Posting Board - Latest posts

Got to Germany a few weeks ago to start on my semester of doing research, and since then I've ... done some research. Most of what I've gotten up to was on the project I had started last semester, which has good results now, but the things I specifically came here for are starting up now that all the relevant people are back from traveling.

On top of that, I'm getting hit with all the stuff that goes along with applying to PhD programs. So I'm busy, but not quite buried under all the work (as the inhabitants of the Discord can attest)

- Tomash

I'm spending far too much time trying to revamp my website in the wake of the loss of Photobucket. I could just patch the problems, but I'd rather do a full rebuild and get something that looks good and is stable.

hS

I have some freelance line editing work this coming month, so that's going to keep me busy. Also some proofreading lined up for January. I'm pretty excited about it. I'd just about given up on working in publishing, but I seem to have stumbled upon another path to the goal, if all goes well. ^_^

Phobos wanted to go to prerelease, but unfortunately his usual card shop messed up and didn't get the stuff, and the only other place available was full up. Sadface.

~Neshomeh

For anyone who isn't on the Discord server, I did not die. I simply do not have things that I feel would be worth talking about here.

So, how have you guys been? I went to the Magic prerelease this weekend with a friend. It was nice, if a bit loud. Now I'm trying to mitigate the effects of missing half a night's worth of sleep.

I think there were eight of us, though not all at the same time. As far as I know, my brain is in the same shape it was when I started the game, but that's not necessarily saying much. {= )

~Neshomeh

... Doing a reading for school, when I could have gone to this!

(In fairness, midterms are next week, and I have three. Can't let myself fall behind!)

And, more importantly, did they all escape with their brains intact?

hS, probably more of a vampire than a zombie

That's assuming anyone besides Twistey is still alive out there. It's been awfully quiet the past week. If you're definitely alive, and you want to play a NSFW game with other people who are also definitely alive, click this link! http://pyx-2.pretendyoure.xyz/zy/game.jsp#game=30

The password is ZOMBIES.

Because I know. I'm on to you.

~Neshomeh, very much undead. [/"Ring Child" reference]

(I did a little memeing with PPC Boarders. In Walfas. With googly eyes.)

http://www.makemegoogly.com/YY5UL

(A thing with hS)

http://www.makemegoogly.com/FR32B

(A thing with Nesh)

http://www.makemegoogly.com/E3JFN

(A thing with me)

-Twistey

((You can only do so much with the "outstretched arms" arms settings in Walfas.))

-Twistey

((Complete with a phoenix theme.))

-Twistey

((...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...