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In that they’re super weak to everything.

—Ls

Given how little it affected the mission overall, I really don’t think that a one-off typo should count as a mini-definer. I rather regret the typo, honestly. However, we could still note it, the way we note Board declarations of mini type, so that a future PPCer can choose to change it.

I definitely agree that we should note constructed minis, and I’ll try to note that... whenever I go on my next wiki-editing spree.

—Ls

In Yuki and my cowrite, at one point, “Dumbledores” generates a crowd of Dumbledore. doc even expanded it with a skit.

So, yeah, we did use that.

—Ls

Mini-thestrals could've been interesting. Instead of only being able to see them if you've seen death, maybe you only see them if you've, like, killed your darlings as a writer, or something?

~Neshomeh

I'm glad we agree that that's weird and a little creepy.

This being the case, I hope he soon realizes a mini is literally its namesake in name only, and that its fanbrat-behavior-curbing shenanigans drive him crazy. Maybe even enough to make him shape up. That would be an entertaining story use of a mini. ^_^

~Neshomeh

re:re:interlude - Glad you liked it! And yeah, it was a bard spell - if there’s one thing I kinda regret about writing Charlie, it’s not establishing their magic earlier at some point since it’s pretty neat. Fully agree with your litmus test thoughts, too - I think Lily put it well when she said the old tests were designed to ‘make your characters rock partridges.’

And now for the re:mission notes: For a first-time smut sporking, especially one like this, I wanted to make the actual nasty parts of the fic and how it affected the Agents clear to readers - it’s nice to see that it worked out.

Jiwon taking the Anti-Lustin was pretty much just him being cautious on his first smut mission - being grossed out and uncomfortable from the fic and the naked Suvians instead of anything further was helped by the pills. And glad to hear Charlie’s more or less consistent! I’ve been trying to keep their specific style of casual underreaction steady ever since reading my earliest missions and realizing how inconsistent their personality got then.

And yeah, I was… genuinely surprised at how much the fic itself weakened any vampire that wasn’t the Special one. Water kills them, garlic kills them, the sun kills them, little rosaries kill them - like, not even the original Stoker Dracula didn’t suffer that badly from those things. Made for an interesting kill scene though!

Snippets from her high school days; she's always been a kitchen samurai.

Different people react to bigotry in different ways. If Zenzile has always been viewed as a dangerous beast, going "heck it, I'll give them a dangerous beast" and "I better be the Most Polite Gryphon Ever so they don't think I am one of the Bad Ones" are both responses that she could have. What's important is knowing where she is starting in her arc and where you want to take her, like Nesh pointed out.

I'll make sure to keep references to the politics of the 'verse to a minimum. The PPC is, after all, meant to be parody, not satire.

No, no, you don't have to keep it minimised unless you want to! Where your character comes from informs a lot of how they react to things in HQ, and it would do Frederick a huge disservice if he's not allowed to bring his home culture with him. If you're worried about treading on real world political toes, I would suggest you change the names of the futuristic countries instead. Space England versus Space France has a different vibe from Crumpington versus Baguerette. And there's a thin line between parody and satire anyway; one could argue a mission does a little bit of both.

I intentionally chose obscure continua for my agents so I could play others' lack of knowledge about them for laughs.

A couple months ago, Nesh wrote a pretty good thinkpiece about comedy, and, to quote her: "a joke must be based on something both the comedian and the audience agree is true". There's nothing wrong with choosing to bring in characters from obscure continua! But you'll find yourself having to explain the joke more often than not. The rest of us might have the basics of Gryphons (from other fantasy settings) and genetic engineering creating new races that are then oppressed (from... idk, the X-Men, the Incredibles, or other sci-fi). You as the comedian can subvert our expectations based on that knowledge! But that being said, there's a difference between, say, "Gryphons view Sam Eagle as an offensive caricature. Cue Zenzile tearing down Sam Eagle posters in the Small Auditorium", and "Oh, you didn't know Gryphons from The Gryphon Generation have laser eyes? What fools you are!" (Idk if they do. I'm spitballing.)

I'm thinking about whether to expand the original prompt or write a second one, where the two agents have smoothed over the roughest parts in their dynamic and are more at ease with one another. I'm leaning towards the latter. When I'm done, I'll update the document.

I would personally prefer that you expand the original prompt. I would rather see the rougher part of their dynamic because that's where the interesting stuff is. I want to see Zenzile and Frederick's initial prickliness as well as their smoother dynamic later on, but the prickliness is more important to me because it gives the smoother dynamic more payoff.

There's nothing wrong with diving headfirst into a conflict and showing us the gory parts of these two learning to get along. Suvians are notorious for setting up conflict and then skirting by it with speshul powers--just look at Breaking Dawn's anticlimactic final battle. As long as you don't get too lost in the drama or too grimdark, a little more of these two getting to know each other via antagonistic bicker-fest would really hit the spot. Especially if it bleeds into their first mission and causes them to realise they have to put their differences aside to work together!

Again, I think you've got solid writing chops! I think you might be playing it a little safe based off of your answers, so I recommend you have fun and go nuts and give the two the messy first meeting they're clearly set up to have. It will make the smoother dynamic later on feel much more rewarding.

May I present 🥁🥁🥁 Hazama family crest:

Bamboo ring (竹輪) framing four osmanthus flowers. Both are meant to evoke the moon (the bamboo referencing Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) without actually depicting the moon.

Thanks for the feedback, by the way. I never realized how potentially… weird my writing could be in regards to touchy real-life subjects. I'll try to avoid stepping on any toes.

The Eagleverse is an original continuum wherein multiple Earth countries made the jump to space and became feuding empires, but I'll make sure to keep references to the politics of the 'verse to a minimum. The PPC is, after all, meant to be parody, not satire.

I intentionally chose obscure continua for my agents so I could play others' lack of knowledge about them for laughs.

I'm thinking about whether to expand the original prompt or write a second one, where the two agents have smoothed over the roughest parts in their dynamic and are more at ease with one another. I'm leaning towards the latter. When I'm done, I'll update the document.

I'll see if I can find an older fic to spork, too.

Again, thanks for the feedback. This has all been a huge help for me as a writer, especially since I usually don't get detailed feedback like this.

Inasuke says in this entry, and I quote:

"Because it's the closest I'll ever get to physically living with him. It's just not enough to have his rarest cards, or a figurine of him on my desk; I want a living, moving version of him, that I can walk around with and talk to."

Yes, the otaku implication didn't go unnoticed 🤣

Maaaaan. What did I just read. I feel bad that Jiwon and Charlie had to sit through all this, although Charlie’s deadpan delivery and aloofness reduce the grossness, as always. I am a little confused as to why Jiwon took anti-lustin, since he seems grossed out by the situation? Certainly not in danger of wanting to join in, or whatever.

I will give the fic one point, though: NOS-4-A2 turning into a Crobat was unexpected and funny. I also loved how understated the assassination of the Lucario was. I thought for sure a fight scene was about to ensue, and that only natural/flowing water could destroy a vampire, but nope! A bit of bottled Nestlé extortion is all that’s required! Love it. Funny that vampires would have water as weakness in a setting where a majority of the wild monsters can shoot water out of their mouths in some manner . . . (At least, it was a majority back in my day, not going to look up if it’s still true.) Lastly, I see the fic was published in 2011, and the author on a gothic, Medieval castle in the Pokémon world’s version of England . . . and then, years later, Sword and Shield come out with a huge focus on sports stadiums!

—doctorlit is amused to learn that the “NOS4A2” joke has been made by both a Disney cartoon and a horror novelist

And with the snakey part present, it could still be a mobile being, even if it looks like it's made of smoke or tattoo ink!

—doctorlit has been out-creatived

Dementors are pretty iconic but they also rather resemble Ringwraiths, don't they? There's even a line in A Very Potter Sequel where someone jokes that the DADA curriculum is so outdated that it still calls Dementors Ringwraiths.

Yes, Harry and Hermione do make jokes about this in Heirs of Avalon Year Three.

Anyway, consider: a misspelling causes a tiny skull with a snake coming out of its mouth to erupt over the scene! Marking the scene of the crime! But it is less collectible than a mini-Aragog haha

• That was a pretty neat interlude, and I like the concept!
• Ouch on Charlie's spell getting ruined by the [BEEEEP].
• Charlie, you're being way too enthusiastic about this mission
• ... The "British" bit is funny
• Heh on the very long monologue charge
• I can see why Jiwon is concerned about the Lucario. The premise definitely doesn't have healthy relationship vibes.
• ... It got worse
• Poor Jiwon, having to put up with loud noises
• Doing all the skipped-over smut in a coffin does sound rough
• Using the fic's wording to pull of the water kill was a neat setup

Overall, nice stuff that I enjoyed reading.

- Tomash

It's just that a lot of continua have spider monsters, while Dementors are more unique, and pretty iconic. At least, since the actual minis are acromantulas, we can still have mini-tarantulas, misspelled spiders, etc. for other continua!

—doctorlit, again, thinks about the topic a bit too much . . . (?)

Granted, they'd be less bad than full-blown Dementors, but knowing they'll only make you a little depressed and only suck a little of your soul is cold comfort. Literally. Speaking as a depression-sufferer and an arachnophobe, I'd rather have the giant spiders, thanks. {X D

Re. getting dibs on making the mini type, at least making a whole badfic is putting in more effort than just declaring it so on the Board. I agree that shouldn't be the only place they've ever been seen, though. To add an additional point, if fanwriters aren't producing "wild" minis in a particular fandom, it's disingenuous to write a constructed fic that makes out like they are. Good parody must have its roots in the facts.

~Neshomeh generally approves of having standards.

It's less the constructed typos themselves—I do like Nesh's suggestion of noting them on the Wiki.

I'm more bothered at using constructed typos to make and name the first minis of a continuum. Since the discoverer of each continuum's mini type gets to decide what the mini is, I feel that really should be left to finding the first "wild" instance for each continuum. Otherwise, we're taking fun away from future writers, and any permission-having Boarder can get "dibs" on any continuum they want by making up a badfic for it. I'm fine with Inasuke getting his Vil-based mini at last, since there's no guarantee of ever finding one. (Though imagine Shirayuki does, and she's already used this plot point? Kind of ruins the moment, yeah?) I'm more bothered by the mini-Petes, although the "Mcikfy" shirt helps mollify me a little bit on that.. And I'm definitely not on Board with the baby moray eels, which seem to have no basis in anything outside the constructed fic.

I know I've been . . . overly invested in mini creation in the past, so if I'm being Too Much again, I can back off from this. But I also think we need to have some standards, if only to free up creative space for future PPCers.

—doctorlit still wishes HFA had been just a teeny bit delayed, so we could have mini-Dementors for Potterverse instead of the spiders

The existence of a mini means that someone has misspelled the name of a character. If it's a character you love/respect highly, why would you want to see that happen? Just so you can have a specific pseudo-pet? Bit selfish, innit?

Also, as a reader, I don't often find minis interesting in stories. When people are collecting minis for the sake of collecting minis, and note down every single bloody one, all that does is increase the word count; there's no added story value. Agents getting mobbed by minis and having to overcome that as an obstacle, that's different, but I haven't seen that as often as I've seen "and then another mini appeared and then the agents sent it to [OFU], just like the last ten." I admit I'm old and jaded, so you may take my feelings on this with a grain of salt, but I'm so, so over that trend. The slightest suggestion of it makes me cringe.

Re. seeking a specific mini, again, why would an agent want that?

Re. apostrophe errors creating duplicates of a character... Well, I'd say it's a solid choice to write that instead of counting it as a mini. Definitely do that instead. {= P

To be fair, I get why minis are fun from our standpoint, as an expression of being part of a fandom and a community within the fandom. I totally get wanting to have minis from your favorite continuum. It's like, the thing you like is popular enough to have badfic with minis, and that's... cool...? So minis are "cool points," I guess?

I just object to fabricating "cool points" by misspelling names on purpose. It feels like cheating, and it also feels antithetical to the PPC's standpoint that bad writing is bad and should be avoided. It rubs me the wrong way, that's all.

I'm still not saying "don't do it ever"—if you want to write missions without sporking a real fic because you don't want to antagonize people, that's fine, and it shouldn't stop you from having the same fun as everyone else. But I will repeat that I think it should be noted on the wiki if a mini came from a constructed badfic, so people aren't misled. The same reason a constructed badfic itself should be noted as such.

~Neshomeh

(Edit: Got Zenzile's name wrong, sorry!)

Re. Zenzile and bigotry, it looks like gryphons, as a brand-new species, have been subject to oppression by humans. This summary right here tells me there's a blatant parallel to American anti-Black racism in the first book. That being the case, it doesn't strike me as unreasonable for Zenzile to have some prejudice against humans.

That's not to say it shouldn't be a point of growth for her, though, since not all humans are the same. Especially when they come from different universes. {= )

I do question the choice of badfic, though. First of all, it looks like it may be in active publication. My advice is to pick something inactive that's at least five years old. That way you avoid stepping on a person's rawest feelings if they happen to get wind of the mission. (Which they shouldn't. But still.)

Anyway, on the quality of the fic—with the caveat that I don't know the Wings of Fire continuum—a quick skim through the extant four chapters (they are chapters, even though they were posted as separate stories), doesn't have me reaching for the Bleeprin. The writing IS cringey at times (the prologue is particularly urple {X D ), and there's some really obnoxious fourth-wall-breaking in the fourth chapter, but it strikes me as mostly mediocre, fluffy, and boring. It takes some effort to pull humor from that.

And the protagonist IS special, but he's special by design, and I kinda like how that's explored with his feelings of restlessness and having a close relationship with (I think) a canon character who also has an unusual backstory. (I don't think it's actually a slash relationship as part three's category says, though? They are children.)

I even think the inner-space exploration was done reasonably well, with attention paid to changes in gravity and atmospheric density, and the need for a different sort of propulsion than wings.

Plus, well, he's a child. Yes, he's touted for being oh so mature for his age, but he's still just a year old in part four. I am on record as personally having qualms about agents happily slaying children-shaped things. ^_^;

None of this is to say this fic can't be PPC'd at some point, especially if there's bad OOCness I can't detect, but I suspect there are easier targets out there for a first mission. And ones that are not potential live powder kegs. {= )

~Neshomeh