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It was a misunderstanding, and I'm glad everything's cleared up now.

I'm pretty sure it was me. The way you'd explained it at the time tripped some of my alarm bells regarding certain other people who were not acting in good faith, so I was probably harsher than I needed to be. My apologies. Please don't feel bad about speaking up; I would've raised my eyebrows, too, if I'd gotten there first without knowing Ix had told them to go ahead.

~Neshomeh

I kind of recall some very pointed words coming my way when I mentioned writing PPC stories even though I'd never planned on posting anything until Permission, hence my attempt at speaking up. I'll refrain from doing so from now on.
(If this comes off as angry or an attack, my apologies. I'm simply... let's call it confused.)

While we do make exceptions about writing before Permission, they tend to be in specific contexts, such as role-plays or writing prompts. This is a little unusual. {= )

~Neshomeh

I think I can guess what you're talking about now, but I'm not going to do all the work of making your arguments for you. If you don't want to engage in a serious debate, that's fine. I have other things to do.

~Neshomeh

From memory, "We're dealing with a shipper" but I think the wording was harsher.

I just checked, and the only time I refer to the author/writer in that story is when Nume says "This lawsuit-waiting-to-happen [Dr. Jenkins] is the tool of the writer. I can't allow it to live." That has nothing to do with shipping and isn't even directed at the writer. They're only mentioned in passing.

I can't read your mind. Please explain what you mean, or this isn't going to be a very useful conversation.

~Neshomeh

"What Friends Will Do," is the story I read. I'm sorry, I should have said which one because there were more than one.

I have read enough of the archive to see that you have twisted what she said and you should actually discuss things properly by listening to bramandintook once she gets internet access again.

In which we see how Melissa and Ruxanda are getting along, and someone strange appears in HQ.
https://rc746.dreamwidth.org/1125.html

...I misunderstood the PPC's policy on writing stories before Permission - my reply to Hanafuda based on what I myself was told. My apologies.

I said it would be alright to do—practicing writing PPC stories and getting feedback on them should be something people can do before getting Permission. He’s not adding them to the Wiki or claiming they are canon, which is really the important thing.

That said, when it comes to drafts as opposed to polished stories being posted for feedback, then yes—it’s not necessarily hard to critique something unpolished, but that’s more the job of a beta reader to do, rather than a reader.

Acknowledging that you do not have Permission and that your stories aren't part of the canon yet doesn't mean you can post them here. Putting something on the Board constitutes publishing it, and until you have Permission, you shouldn't go around publishing stuff even if you do write stories for yourself in private. Also, when it comes to PPC stories, we generally don't post drafts, only the finished, polished, betaed stuff - it's simply a question of quality.
Please take a step back from posting and discussing your own PPC writing until you have Permission.

Alright, let me try something... Here's a little something that came to my mind.
But remember, I still do not have Permission and I acknowledge that this will not be canon unless stated otherwise.
I do not own the PPC. It and Makes.Things were created and belongs to Jay and Acacia. Sonic the Hedgehog (Gizmo's home continnum) belongs to Sega.
Anyway, let's get started.

Gizmo the Macaw wasn't really sure of what happened. First he was at Sunset Heights, witnessing the destruction around him, then he got sucked by a black hole appearing out of nowhere. After falling face-first on a clean floor, the Mobian bird lifted his head, looked around, and realized that the hole transported him into some sort of high-tech workshop where lots of people were tinkering with many kinds of machines and gadgets that looked like stuff from sci-fi shows and movies.

He also saw those same people focusing on him. True, it was quite the fall, and the sound the bird made after crashing on the floor was relatively loud, so it would be natural that the people would turn their heads to the source.

Gizmo wasn't feeling so reassured by the eyes that stared at him. In fact, it made him nervous to be the center of attention. Were the people around him up to something? What if they did something to him that he wouldn't like?

"What was that noise?" exclaimed the voice of a man nearby. He glanced towards the newcomer's direction. "Oh, no, not another─ what's this kid doing here?"

The somewhat-scared bird wasn't sure about trusting the people around him, so he scrambled his way into a corner and got into a fetal position, bearing a face that expressed hesitation and doubt. The man noticed Gizmo's action, realizing that he needed to comfort him, so he approached the smaller individual with an extended hand while bearing a friendly expression in an attempt to reassure him.

"Hey, little guy," the man said. "Call me Makes-Things. No one's gonna hurt you."

Gizmo just backed off a few more inches, not finding the courage to trust this "Makes-Things" person. He just met him, so he wasn't sure if he was a truly good person. He really didn't like being alone in an unknown place with a lot of strangers.

"Relax, kid," Makes-Things said, doing his best to calm down the bird. "Just calm down, okay?"

Gizmo couldn't take anymore, so he stood and ran in a panic, outside of the workshop and into the hallways beyond, leaving behind a confused crowd.

"Eh, I'm not really good with kids, anyway," Makes-Things said to himself before turning back to his co-workers and yelling at them. "Alright, get back to work before my mood gets worse!"

They did as instructed, and Makes-Things went back to his post, but not before looking back and asking something to himself.

"Who and what was that guy, anyway?"

What potshot is that? Which story? Vague, unsubstantiated statements do not a good argument make.

On a similar note, if you're not going to read the archive and get the full context of what happened with zBram, I'm not going to discuss it. The only way you're going to get an unbiased account is to go back and read the actual posts. If you do that and still want to tell me what I have and haven't done, I'll reconsider it, and then only by email. I'm not inviting yet another round of her harassing this community, directly or indirectly. I'll respond on this subject no further.

~Neshomeh

I read one story, and you did take a potshot at the author because you didn't like shipping. I would say that you could have addressed the medical problems and the behavior of the doctor.

I've been thinking a bit more about how you want harsh criticism. Just because it's what you want doesn't mean that's what everyone on fanfiction sites want. Sometimes they just want to share a story and lack of feedback is better if it's bad. Plus, some people may still care about something that's more than a decade old.

As far as Bramandin, we've chatted and you have bullied her. You also haven't tried actually showing that you understand what she was trying to tell you.

Maybe ask if they've gotten to read Games Wizards Play as well?

It seems that, up to logistics, I'll be helping beta read this thing.

Here's hoping that works out.

Another chapter awaits.

Hopefully you get a response????

I could start by pointing out just one problem. In a fic bad enough to support a mission, though, the question becomes: which one? The biggest problem, which is often "please actually read/watch/play the work you're writing about" or "please learn what the words you're using mean and also how to use your keyboard"? The most unintentionally hilarious? The most unintentionally godawful? The most insulting to my intelligence as a reader? The most disrespectful to the work the author claims to be a fan of?

One time I DID leave a review was on a sequel to another fic. The first fic was flawed, but not terrible. The second one was mostly a plagiarized transcription of The Lord of the Rings with lines inserted here and there for the OC. I now find it's finally been deleted, so I can't just copy & paste what I said, but it basically boiled down to "This is plagiarism, plagiarism is bad. I'm here because I want to read fanfiction. Why not actually write some?" I never got a response. I did spork both stories, and here's my author's note:

"Despite its flaws, 'The Adventure Begins' had some promise: the romance stuff was handled pretty well, Vanya was at least smart enough not to go around telling people she was a werewolf at first, and I really sympathize with wanting to hang out with Aragorn and be a Ranger. However, everything good about the first story—heck, even most of what was bad about it—was abandoned in "With one Step." At that point, there was no hope of salvaging Vanya. She all but wrote herself out of existence. The agents just finished the job."

Had some nice things to say about it in the mission itself, too. I still like the romance scene with the fireflies, for one.

There is indeed a difference between criticism and mocking, and I agree that PPC missions skirt the line and sometimes cross it. As to how bad that is, though, let me suggest a case study.

One of my earliest missions, "What Friends Will Do," contains what I think is one of the meanest things I've written, off the top of my head, and it wasn't even about the main character (a very OOC canon in this case), but a side character, Dr. Jenkins. Ctrl+f that and you'll find the relevant passages. My character insults the hell out of this character, because he's supposed to be a doctor and yet, in his first scene, he does absolutely nothing to help the main character, who is lying in a bed screaming in pain. That is a bad doctor, and there's no sugarcoating it. That's why I don't think it's going too far to have a laugh at his expense.

Also, worth noting, the fic in question was last updated in February 2005, and my mission wasn't published until January 2008. I reckon three years ought to put plenty of emotional distance between an author and a work. In that amount of time, most people would even agree their older stuff is flawed.

I'm genuinely curious, though—if you actually read one of my missions (one of the above or any other), where do you think I went too far, and why? You seem like a reasonable person, and I would take the information on board even if I disagree.

~Neshomeh

P.S. About zdimensia/Bramandin/whatever she's calling herself now? I am very sincerely cautioning you, please don't go down that rabbit hole. We've tried everything, we really have, and it never ends with anyone any happier.

They were temporarily banned for their behavior. They broke the ban. They were permanently banned. They broke the ban again under a new username. They were kicked out again. They continued using new usernames and IP addresses to try to get around the ban. As soon as we catch them, we kick them again. They've tried to drum up mobs from Reddit to attack us on several occasions, though you'll have to take my word on that because they've sanitized their Reddit history to hide all of that.

This has been going on for several years.

That's the short story, and it barely scratches the surface.

-Phobos

As is standard practice for users violating a ban implemented by majority vote, her post has been deleted.

Does anyone have a short version of what happened from your perspective?