The PPC Posting Board - Latest posts

As on the tin, I'm looking to do my Permission attempt soon and a beta or two would be very much appreciated.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pCdAEsfchBfbHT8tyK8WXqP0Xg2ttW16TZQrRdI2u9w/edit

We don't have any villains and one of the two agents I have in mind is based on me (therefore, it would be too difficult for me to capture his personality in the confines of a bio), and I really want to do this. Don't worry, this will not turn into an Emergency except in his daydreams and fanfics.

(Warning: Some canon knowledge of Kamen Rider Zi-O may be required, or this bio will be hard to follow. You can read up on the Kamen Rider wiki. I strongly recommend the pages on things like the Ziku Driver, the Ridewatches, the Anotherwatches and Another Riders, and maybe the Time Jackers.)
NAME: Fanon a.k.a. Kamen Rider Fanon
AGE: Adult
HOME CONTINUUM: Unknown
APPEARANCE: Japanese, thin, short white (but surprisingly tame) anime hair, brown eyes, wears something new every time he’s encountered. He has brown eyes.
AFFILIATION: Himself, Another Characters, one of the Mary Sue Factories
HEIGHT and WEIGHT: I don’t give specifics to make my writing more flexible.
BACKSTORY: He’s definitely had some affiliation with the Mary Sue Factories and tried to unite them, but “[they’re] too busy fighting amongst themselves and wasting their time on trying to breach HQ’s defneses to lend [him] an ear.” He resides in a secret lair that exists between the continua and has protections from being located by the PPC. Sometime before his first appearance, he character replaced Shrek using the methods detailed below and acquired the Shrek Ridewatch (details below).
PERSONALITY: Typical polite Kamen Rider villain applied to the PPC. Very polite and places an emphasis on the “rules of Tokusatsu” such as “no interrupting the transformation sequence”, “no interrupting the evil monologue in which I explain in detail exactly what you’re facing in terms of evil plans and just exposit wantonly”… when they’re in his favor. He has aspirations to create an army of character replacements and Suvians that he can control to become king of the multiverse. He has a tendency to ham things up in a similar manner to Kuroto Dan (before he went completely off the rails) and Woz, giving expository, scene-chewing, and mustache-twirling monologues. He really enjoys the sound of his own voice, and has a habit of telling PPC agents all about about his plans and powers, which tends to blow up in his face when that includes how to counter them. He thinks that there is nothing wrong with screwing up canon and will aid and abett Mary Sues whenever possible by interfering with missions. Direct combat is his forte, and he likes to drag Mary Sues on his side to make it nigh-impossible for agents to continue their mission.
ABILITIES AND ARSENAL:
• Suefluence - Has some level of Suefluence, as by making eye contact with canon characters, he can throw them OOC, implant non-canon memories of him being their best friend, or generally do just enough to their minds that they are ready to accept and use his Anotherwatch.
• Hacked Ziku Driver - A modified version of the Ziku Driver from Kamen Rider Zi-O that is painted with some red accents and compatible with his special Ridewatches.
Fanon Ridewatch - His personal Ridewatch. When it is placed in the left slot (his right) of the Hacked Ziku Driver and the Driver is spun 360º, it transforms him into Kamen Rider Fanon and accesses his main form.
Raku-Raku Ridewatch Creator - An orange-and-silver Kamen Rider-style dagger with two slots, one on each side of the hilt, for Ridewatches and Anotherwatches. It has three modes: Blade Mode enlarges the blade to be used for combat, Gun Mode allows him to shoot energy projectiles from the blade (classic Kamen Rider logic), and Watchmaker Mode allows him to create new Ridewatches and Anotherwatches in pairs. (See Ridewatch/Anotherwatch Creation below.) By plugging in one of his Ridewatches, he can execute its Slash Bash (Blade Mode) or SPaG Destruction (Gun Mode).
Ridewatch/Anotherwatch Creation - This is what allows him to interfere with canon. When he stabs or slashes a canon character with the Raku-Raku Ridewatch Creator in Watchmaker Mode, one of two things will happen:
• If the canon has enough commonly-used fanon surrounding them that directly contradicts their canon character (if a distinct, consistent “fanon self” can be identified separate from the “canon self”), the that canon will vanish into a plothole, and an Anotherwatch and Ridewatch based on that character will appear in the Ridewatch Creator’s slots. An Anotherwatch encapsulates its character’s fanon self, and when a compatible character from the same continuum uses that Anotherwatch, they will be transformed into the fanon version of that Anotherwatch’s character. Therefore, an Anotherwatch serves two purposes: Replacing a canon character with their fanon self, and eliminating another canon character from the equation entirely. The Ridewatch can be used by Fanon in the right (his left) slot of the Hacked Ziku Driver to access a Character Armor based on that character. Doing so augments his base Rider form with some of that character’s powers. (e.g. Sans gets stabbed by the Ridewatch Creator and disappears into a plothole. Fanon then gives Papyrus the Sans Anotherwatch and uses some Suefluence to convince Papyrus to use it. When he uses the Anotherwatch, Papyrus becomes the fanon version of Sans; wangsting all the time about how he couldn’t save his brother, always ready to take on the human with GASTER BLASTERS OF DOOM, super determined and still not a puddle despite what canon says should happen to him, can remember resets, and sexually attracted to fangirls. As for Papyrus, his original personality still exists, but lies dormant, and Papyrus has no idea what transpires while he is fanon Sans. Meanwhile, Fanon gains the Sans Ridewatch, which can be used to access Kamen Rider Fanon SansArmor, giving him Gaster Blasters, the ability to summon bone projectiles, and very low defense.)
• The canon will be surprised that that did nothing to them. Don’t question Tokusatsu logic, where getting slashed by a sword doesn’t mean being cut in half and finishing moves can go through the enemy without the damage that would logically cause.
• Adding on to the above: The main purpose of this ability is to generate character replacements without needing to wait for a fangirl to write them. An added bonus is that Fanon gets a new Character Armor to play with in his Suvian outings. The character replacement resulting from Anotherwatch use is called an Another Character, and a C-CAD will register both the character tricked into using the Anotherwatch and the Another Character they became. (Using the above example, a C-CAD pointed at Another Sans would register Papyrus, but would not be able to get a lock on his OOC level because he is dormant and hidden away. It would then register Another Sans as a character replacement.) Another Characters can be defeated in direct combat using a power from their home continuum (so the UNDERTALE player character’s determination would be able to defeat Another Sans), but can also be executed through normal means. When they die, they (or their remains) will crackle with electricity and then explode Kamen Rider-style, dropping the character transformed into them and the Anotherwatch used. The latter will also crackle with electricity and explode due to the damage sustained. For this reason, throwing Another Characters into lava is not advised as you will kill the canon who drops from them as well, but stabbing them through the chest or throwing them off a cliff is fine as the canon is dormant and will not be harmed. As mentioned before, however, Fanon really enjoys pitting agents against Mary Sues in combat, and since Another Characters are basically character replacements, it’s best to bring a counter to their power in case - no, for the inevitable moment that things go south.
• Takes One to Kill One: Defeating him permanently will require the assistance of a Kamen Rider agent.
• The Rules of Tokusatsu: Powers based on common Tokusatsu tropes, including:
• A force field that prevents anyone from interrupting his monologue or transformation sequence.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: The ability to teleport by hiding himself from the screen, or whatever counts as that in textual media. For example, he can run behind some trees or hide himself in an explosion and turn up in his secret lair.
• Plot Armor: He’ll always have his transformation trinkets. If someone throws his Ridewatches or Hacked Ziku Driver into, say, a plothole to a random location, he’ll eventually track them down, and he can rest easy that, by some contrived coincidence, they’ll avoid destruction.
Plothole Manipulation: Can open plotholes between anywhere and his secret lair.
• Common OC Creation: He can use the above method for replacing characters with their fanon selves to replace characters with original character concepts that are common within the fandom like Coldsteel and Herobrine, and he can acquire a Ridewatch from it. He still needs two compatible canon characters: One to be stabbed to get the Ridewatch and Anotherwatch and the other to serve as the host for the Another Character. As an example, he could make Steve disappear to get the Herobrine Ridewatch/Anotherwatch and use Notch or Alex as the host to become Another Herobrine.

For those who, as expected, don’t understand any of this: He’s a guy who uses the power of Kamen Rider Zi-O’s villains and heroes to replace characters with their fanon selves or character concepts used commonly within the fandom, provided the fanon for either is in some way consistent, and demands another canon character to serve as the host for the replacement. He also likes tormenting agents by forcing them to either face a Mary Sue in direct combat or abort the mission and face the Flowers’ wraths.

I will post on this later when I have some more time!

And in fairness, there's a much wider variety of magical creatures in the Legendarium than people generally think. It's just... y'know... most of them are evil.

But there are early stories with mermaids, playful sprites, and air-spirits called sylphs; these were probably superseded by the Maiar, but there's no proof of that (and Goldberry, for instance, is pretty clearly a water-nymph of some description). There's an Elvish word for 'dryad', giants in The Hobbit, sea-serpents and legends of island-sized turtle-fish... frankly, given that Tom Bombadil knows talking badgers, and a thinking fox has a run in with Frodo, Sam, and Pippin, there's not really a discernable difference between the bestiary of Middle-earth and that of Narnia.

But no unicorns, pegasi, or tiny flitty fairies. We have to draw the line somewhere. :)

hS

*laughs in definition of a Mary Sue*

"Jotaro!"

"DIO!"

"Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right to me?"

"I can't beat . . . you without getting closer."

I'm guessing if you were to add an undead species to M-e, they'd be malevolent judging by the rest of the undead inhabitants? Or if not malevolent, at the very least cursed? So it wouldn't work too well for a Sue species that wanted to mesh with canon. :P

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, an upcoming... Gollum simulator?

"A prequel that charts the fallen Smeagol’s journey after acquiring—and becoming slowly enthralled by—the One Ring before he encounters either Bilbo or Frodo in Tolkien’s iconic novels, Gollum will, according to Daedalic, incorporate the duality of the character by having a player-choice system that allows them to make decisions that are either Smeagol-centric ones, or Gollum ones. Think 'Mass Effect’s' paragon and renegade system, but, like, you know, with voices inside your head."

I don't... are there people who want this?

hS

Happy Middle-earth Day! March 25th* is the day the Ring was destroyed, and the beginning of the Gondorian new year.

*Yes, I know... it's still the 25th somewhere, so it counts.

To celebrate, I wanted to share some things you may have known, but probably never fully noticed, in a list I like to call...

Three Things You Kind Of Knew About Middle-earth But Not Really

1. It's stuffed with prophecy

One of the things that sets The Lord of the Rings apart from many of its successors is that Frodo is not a Chosen One of Prophecy. There is no ancient wisdom saying he will succeed - just hope.

But Frodo aside, there is so much prophecy in M-e. Practically everyone can be a prophet! You remember that the Witch-King was prophesied by Glorfindel not to die by the hand of man, but do you remember that Aragorn taking the Paths of the Dead was the subject of prophecy? Malbeth the Seer, who gave that prediction, also prophesied the death of the last king of Arnor (and, given his title, probably other stuff too). Galadriel had her Mirror, of course - but her mentor, Melian, had the same powers, and is actually seen in the Silmarillion prophesying to Galadriel. Then there's the Prophecy of Mandos, and several attributed to Feanor, and...

But forget the great and powerful - mere mortals have the same power. Huor, father of Tuor and uncle of Turin, foretold the birth of Earendil - 'from you and from me a new star shall arise' - and Aragorn's mother foresaw her own death in her last farewell to her son. But perhaps the most Tolkien prophecy of all has nothing to do with wars, kings, or Dark Lords - it is a simple, homely thing uttered by Frodo just before his departure, to his dear friend Sam:

"And also you have Rose, and Elanor; and Frodo-lad will come, and Rosie-lass, and Merry, and Goldilocks, and Pippin; and perhaps more that I cannot see. Your hands and your wits will be needed everywhere. You will be the Mayor, of course, as long as you want to be, and the most famous gardener in history."

2. It's a hotbed of political intrigue

One of the repeated ideas about Game of Thrones is that, unlike Tolkien, it's written in shades of grey. In Tolkien (the theory goes) the good are Good, and the bad are Bad, with no blurring of the lines between them.

HAH!

Let's forget the First Age, where the most famous elf in history was a mass murderer, and his sons pulled off a soft coup against their cousin and held the princess of a neighbouring power prisoner. Let's ignore the Second Age, where the kings of Numenor sink from near-elven grace to slave-taking death-worshippers even before they accept Sauron as a friend. We'll even ignore the history of Arnor in the Third Age, which fell apart due to royal infighting and was then slowly converted and conquered by Angmar. We'll focus entirely on the holders of one title: the Stewards of Gondor.

Most people notice that Denethor II is a pretty conflicted and morally-grey figure. He is a staunch fighter against Mordor and Sauron, even hazarding his own mind against him through the Palantir. He loves his sons - one more so, true, but he loves both of them, and despite what certain movies would tell you, doesn't actually send Faramir off to kill him. In fact, it is Faramir's near-death that finally breaks him.

And yet... he spurned the advice of Gandalf. He was caustic, even vicious to those around him. He was at least a little bit racist, believing in the superiority of Numenoreans above other men. And he vehemently opposed the return of the King.

In that last, he seriously overstepped the bounds of his authority - but there is ample precedent for that in his line. Steward Cirion, five hundred years earlier, essentially sold off a chunk of Gondor to buy Rohan as an ally, and did so by swearing in the name of Eru; invoking that Name required priestly authority which it is far from clear the Stewards had. He also moved the most sacred site in Gondor, deciding for himself that the Tradition of Isildur 'was now made void'.

Or go back further, to Mardil the Steadfast, a thousand years before Denethor. When the last King of Gondor was captured or killed in Minas Morgul, Mardil chose not to perform his duty of chosing a new king - no, he assumed the rule himself, establishing a millennium of Ruling Stewards 'until the King returns'. There's no way that was part of his job description - it was a blatant seizure of power.

Mardil's grandfather, Pelendur, also exceeded his authority, and was rewarded for it. He made the choice to reject the claim of King Arvedui of Arnor to the vacant Gondorian throne, instead passing it to a Gondorian general who was a distant cousin to the last king. After his day, we are told, the stewardship became hereditary - which it is hard not to see as a reward from the new King Earnil.

And it goes still further back, to the very first named Steward, Hurin of Emyn Arnen. He, too, had to deal with the loss of the royal line, with the closest heir being a nephew of the last king. Two years earlier, King Minardil was killed by descendents of exiled King Castamir the Usurper; now his sons both died of the plague. Gondor was weakened, almost crippled - but Umbar, and Castamir's descendents, were strong, strong enough that their raids reached right into the Gondorian heartlands.

It does not take a lot of imagination to picture Steward Húrin going to Prince Tarondor, hiding from the plague in Minas Anor, and saying, "There's a faction - a powerful faction - that wants to pass you over. The Usurper's descendents are strong - they could renew the watch on Mordor, and repopulate Osgiliath - and then there is the matter of your however-many-times-great grandmother, who wasn't even Numenorean.

"Of course I'm on your side - of course I am - and I'm sure I can bring the council around. But first... first I need you to promise something."

And after his day, we are told, the kings always chose their stewards from among Hurin's descendents.

The Stewards of Gondor - political manipulators of the highest degree, and masters of getting away with it.

3. It's SUPER haunted

Seriously. Do you realise how haunted Middle-earth is? The Fellowship visit more locations populated by ghosts than by elves! You've got the Barrow Downs, where - even if the wights themselves don't count - Merry was possessed by a spirit two thousand years dead. You've got the Dead Marshes, with the silent spectres of armies, and corpse-candles drawing the living down among them. You've got Dunharrow, with its cursed Dead Men.

Then there's the Nazgul, which are some form of zombie-ghost-lich thing. Rohan (which has a word for 'undead' - Eowyn uses it to the Witch-king) has legends of King Helm's ghost walking the battlements. Dive further back, and you find Gorlim the Unhappy paying a post-death visit to Beren, confessing his betrayal - a classic 'unfinished business' spook. Tolkien even tells us straight up that dead Elves can linger on as ghosts, perhaps even possessing the living.

Nor are spectres the only form of classical undead in Middle-earth. Werewolves? Check (though they might just be large wolves). Vampires? Check (though ditto, they could be just oversized, iron-clawed bats). Necromancy? That's Sauron's whole thing for a while. There's even a Hobbit poem about Mewlips, slimy swamp creatures who carry the bones of their victims in their sacks.

Forget mermaids, unicorns, fairies and genies - if you want to add a new species to Middle-earth, the way to hew most closely to Tolkien's vision is to make it some form of horrifying undead monster.

hS

Tomash suggested I pop this up on the Board so blame him for this!

Station Custodian

It's a 'short' (I have the old flap mouth. The old fat-finger. You know.) written mainly with the intent to figure out the tone and worldbuilding of something I'm working on. If you want to give feedback or whatever on it, cheers!

The longest running mistake I've ever had in my life so far has been not keeping up with poems since highschool or so.

Easily my favourite poem of all time, something that's been a big influence on my own writing and so on would be The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Bloody classic! Coleridge is a good fella and this is of course probably his most famous poem.

I'm also a fan of his Kubla Khan. Also the poem the game Sunless Sea took its name from, thus robbing me of a great name and cute literary reference to use, in the process.
I'm very fond of the Romantics in general, really. Ought to read more of them.

Preludes, by T.S. Eliot, is another one I'm fond of. On a purely descriptive level, alone, the imagery is incredibly vivid. You get a real sense of place.

Not the deepest, hardest pulls for poetry, I'll admit. But they're good fun anyhow.

I mean, it's kind of poetry. It's also a shameless self-plug.

This is what I did this year for my birthday, and also the 25th of March: A solo acapella arrangement of a couple of JRR Tolkien's poems from The Lord of the Rings.

https://soundcloud.com/user-540910811/all-that-is-gold-seek-for-the-sword

It's far from perfect, but, being as it is the first acapella thing I've ever done solo and also my first recording of an original composition, I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

JRR Tolkien is definitely my favorite poet. I got into an epic grudge match with a college professor about it too, once. (She took offense to the idea of rhyming poetry, claiming it needlessly limited creative potential.) That being said, I can't honestly say my own original poetry emulates his very much. Here's a sonnet I wrote for a school project last year:

An age I’ve stood upon this shaking shore
And waited for the woman of my dreams
As absent as that told-of fair Lenore
But not in absence absent, no, agleam
And glowing on a ship across the flat
Expanse of water glowing at my feet,
Her presence will be, has been, but not that
Which is is her, nor presence does she greet.
For when she is then I am not and when
I am she’s not. Our love is ever doomed
Except for moments stolen before “then”,
When “earlier” is “now” and now’s presumed.

These moments will be, have been, but are not
For I sacrifice myself for what she’s wrought.

As far as other poetry, I recently picked up David Elliot's Voices, which is about Joan of Arc. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm enjoying it so far! I'd highly recommend it.

I actually have a poem to share, but it's part of a larger plug that I hope to have out later this week, so it'll have to wait. {= )

In the meantime, I heard about the "Celebrating Bach" Google Doodle today, and since I had a snippet of melody in my head, I decided to see what the AI would make of it. (Well, two bars with the second modified to resolve, anyway.) Got a pretty nice harmony on the second iteration, too! You should be able to hear it here.

~Neshomeh

P.S. I've plugged this on the Board before, but what the heck, here's "The Summer Wind" again. I'm proud of it, so why not? Be sure to check out the links in the notes for audio. {= )

Can't wait to see their Bios.

Heatran is out and Volcarona is in.

GMA maneuvered his car up a windy, dusty mountain road, a bag full of books in his trunk next to the groceries. He eventually reached a remote cave that, oddly enough, had a power line running into it. In fact, the cave seemed lived-in: there was a pair of maxlboxes and a painted-on address by right-hand side of the entrance.

GMA got out of the car and grabbed the sack of books he’d bought down in town from the trunk. “Hey Doc!” he shouted into the cave as he walked in.

“Did you bring more booksssss?” a voice growled from the depths.

“Sure did!” GMA yelled back.He started walking down the slope into the main part of the cave. As he made his way to the large main chamber of his cave, he walked past his apartment, which was just a pile of side chambers with a door labeled ‘B’ blocking the front. GMA liked his place. Sure, it was pretty out of the way, but it was spacious, cheap (even though the rent was in a rather unusual currency), and Doc was a very good friend.

After entering the cave, he froze. The big black dragon who lived in apartment A was still sometimes intimidating, even though he knew full well that doctorlit was a very nice guy. He just happened to be a dragon. An extremely handsome (and kinda cute) nerdy dragon who liked books.

GMA snapped out of it, took the bag of books, opened it, and set it on the ground in front of him. Doc stepped forward a few times, and started sniffing at the rent.

“Yesssss,” he said, “booksssss. Fresh booksssss. Wonderful bookssssss.”

“I got a whole bunch of stuff,” GMA said.

“Yesssssss,” Doc hissed. “My pressssious bookssssses.”

“You’re doing the Gollum thing again, doc.”

Doc shook his head. “Yes, but booksssss. I needs them. Mine. Mine!” He grabbed the bag with a very hand-like claw and pulled it with him deep into the cave

GMA sighed. “Do you want to snuggle up and read later?” he called into the inner depths of the cave.

“Booksssss!” the dragon replied. Doc evidently wasn’t in the mood.

“Ok, maybe tomorrow then.” GMA replied as he went home.

“Bookssss.” came a faint reply from the depths of the cave. “Booksssss.”

"Never change, Doc," GMA said quietly, "Never change."

Edward now has a wiki page. I don't have time to do Kat's today, but hopefully it won't take as long as the first time.

By the way, have any of you left kudos? Just wondering - I have two and would like to know if they're from Boarders or other readers.

It depends on whether they're wincing at "Sluggie" or at something else. I think it's the former, in which case it's fine as it is. Thanks anyway!

1. Really glad you liked this! The orphanage thing... sort of? They’re badfic recruits themselves, so don’t really have a defined backstory... no spoilers for Miss P, but you’ll have a better idea when/if you read that.
   
   2. I put that in because a) Edward refuses to write quickly enough to keep up as that would be illegible, and b) there were just so many charges!
   
   3. All fixed.
   

Quincy was kind enough to check over my agents a while ago, but I've been meaning to get critique on my changes since then.


Agent The First:

Chenille is a male rabbit-wearer taguel from Fire Emblem: Awakening; a former bit character tailored to be a canonical taguel's love interest that was recruited due to circumstance. Taguel as a species are shape-shifters that use special items known as Beaststones to transform. He suffers from night terrors of an event in his backstory. He speaks only when he deems it necessary but when he does he's blunt and abrupt, though not out of purposefully trying to be rude. Due to a lack of socialization, he's rather bad at "reading the room". He has trust issues that, in part, cause his to be distant when interacting with others. But for those he trusts -- as well as children -- he's fiercely protective of.

Agent The Second:

Merula Velveteen is a human woman (mostly), also originating from Fire Emblem: Awakening. She was a former Replacement for The Avatar -- a character most commonly known as Robin -- and was recruited by Chenille due to circumstance. Merula mainly uses Wind magic and a rapier from her home fic. Due to being a former Replacement!Robin, Merula has backstory-induced amnesia and only a few months of experiences. As such, she's unsure of not only her place in the world, but of her own personality. She attempts to remedy this by trying to make herself a personality, at least until her partner snaps her out of it by pointing out that she does have a personality: she's decisive in her actions and choices, and is willing and able to take drastic actions if she views them necessary. Her last name is a reference to velveteen rabbits, due to the noodle incident that was Chenille dropping her off in Medical.

The two become partners some time after Merula's recruitment.


These are the only two for now, but I have got an idea for a Kwami agent from Miraculous Ladybug bouncing around the back of my head.