An Emergency is a large-scale, usually highly dangerous event with one or more of the following characteristics:
- Involves large-scale action at HQ rather than taking place in the Word Worlds
- Involves many (or all) agents, rather than just a few
- Forces other Boarders into your story
- Changes the structure or operation of the PPC
- Involves large-scale battles
- Involves a lethal threat to one or more continua
Examples of Emergencies can be found here. There is also a Timeline of PPC Emergencies.
General consensus has declared a moratorium on Emergencies (see this rant for some reasons why). Not included in this general dislike of Emergencies are missions that involve calling in backup, events with multiple writers (such as the Australian Indoor-Rules Quiddich games), co-written missions, teaming up to deal with a Legendary Badfic such as That Series, etc. Working with other writers is great; but avoid forcibly sweeping everyone else up in your story, willing or not. They will not like it.
Emergency FAQ[]
In the event of a PPC Emergency, please refer to this FAQ. Actually, please refer to this FAQ before you start one. And then don't. Thanks!
Why are Emergencies bad?[]
- They tend to warp the canon of the PPC away from the unique organization it has been throughout its history.
- Writers are often tempted to change the structure of the PPC without consulting the community.
- They tend to turn your agents from wily underdogs into badass action heroes. This is a bad thing.
- It turns the focus of the PPC from love of canon to showing off your agents' awesomeness.
During PPC Emergencies, there was a lot of glitter detected in HQ, and some of it wasn't from invading Sues. Keep the glitter level low, and our beloved PPC canon can stay in one piece.
Seriously though... why not?[]
Because Emergencies forced everyone to participate, whether they liked it or not. The usual sporkage of bad fan fiction had to be suspended, and people were forced into storylines they didn't want to be a part of. It annoyed a lot of people needlessly, and tried to force people writing lighthearted parody fics into ultra-serious threat-to-the-multiverse plotlines.
But I like the idea of Emergencies...[]
So you like drama, combat, large-scale problems? Cool. You can get all that stuff. It doesn't have to be a PPC Emergency. You can put your agents in deadly danger or even get them killed. You can recruit other people to have their agents help yours take out a particularly dangerous or large problem. Just remember: Everyone in your story has to be in it because they want to be in it. And at the end, the PPC has to return to status quo, so that other people's plans for their own agents aren't ruined.
What about large-scale events that aren't Emergencies?[]
We like those every once in a while. They're entertaining and they don't force everyone to take part. A water fight, an Indoor Quiddich match, even a birthday party—they let us role-play our agents and have fun together. If you have an idea for one, and there hasn't been one in a while, pitch it on the Board and see if other people are interested too.