History WebOriginal / ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum

Often, especially {{squick}}-laden bits of fics aren't quoted directly. The most extreme example is probably from [[Fanfic/OfWarlordsAndPleasures the Cluny Fic]], where the agents spend most of the truly disgusting scenes screaming, throwing up, banging their heads against walls, and drinking as much alcohol as possible without going into any more detail about what's happening than that it involves a spear.

** A co-write between @/{{Desdendelle}}, [=KarrinBlue=] (a.k.a Firemagic) and Maslab sporking a horrid ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'' x ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' is 67 pages long.

** Iximaz's missions of ''The Girl Who Lived'' series is a total of 84 pages long, and that's only for the first two fics.

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Agent Tawaki is a [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins werepenguin]] [[StarTrek Borg]] who [[spoiler:gets turned into a Time Lord]].

* UnnecessaryRoughness: An important part of Australian Indoor-Rules Quidditch (a game stolen from MacHall). The main rule is "Cause as much damage as you can while you run around for the ball in the dark. Least injured team wins, outside of forfeit."

* GoodThingYouCanHea: Canon characters cannot truly die until their "official" deaths in the canon material. Agents ''can'' die, but Medical has the best techniques and instruments from just about anywhere in the multiverse, so anything short of death can be healed or at least patched up.

** There was also a SexyDiscrestionShot involving Agents given a mission on their wedding night.

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Agent Tawaki is a [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins werepenguin]] Borg who [[spoiler:gets turned into a Time Lord]].

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Some agents, particularly the elves.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Some agents. Especially popular among the Time Lord agents, who are almost all exiles. Subverted, however, by the Notary: her name is Antrilovorasilendar.

* {{Squee}: An interjection often leading the one uttering it to a round of [[FanDisservice No-Drool videos]].

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* AbsurdlySharpBlade - [[http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Hammerspace_knife Hammerspace knives]]. Some agents also use things like [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} power weapons]], [[{{Laserblade}} light]][[Franchise/StarWars sabers]], Sue weapons, and other ridiculously-sharp implements.
* AccidentalMisnaming - "Don't call me Acy!"
* ADarkerMe - some agent characters are based loosely on their creators, except [[AwesomeMcCoolname with better names]] and much more violent.
* AerithAndBob - The PPC's agents come from all over the multiverse, creating an understandable disparity in names.
* [[HeroesPreferSwords Agents Prefer Swords]] - Swords are the most popular weapon by far among agents, and many enemies of the PPC also use them. Partly justified by the fact that agents need to use weapons that fit the continuum they're in when doing missions, or they're risking contaminating the canon - bladed weapons are almost ''always'' canonical. It is unknown if preventing the non-canon weaponry from being found by canons is a loophole, but agents prefer to be safe rather than sorry on that ground.

* AlienBlood - 'Sues bleed [[EverythingsBetterWithSparkles glittery red blood]], and in particularly bad cases ''just'' red glitter. (Their other bodily fluids are also apparently glittery. [[{{Squick}} Ew]].)
* AlienGeometries - A rare comedic example: the Word Worlds are extremely literal when interpreting bad or illogical prose, resulting in eye-blinding sights or mind-bending shapes. Placing a non-canonical location in the wrong place can do truly gruesome things to the local landscape. HQ is hinted to have a [[MobileMaze more subtle version of this]], for values of subtle covered by the phrase "[[Creator/MCEscher do not be alarmed until the gravity changes.]]" Depending on which story you look at (and to some extent what species you are, as the Flowers can navigate HQ just fine), Headquarters is merely huge and labyrinthine, thus easy to get lost in, or an at least partially sentient structure that is always shifting around and completely impossible to find your way in ''unless'' you are lost.
* AliensInCardiff - Where is PPC Headquarters' RealLife base? New Caledonia, a French-owned island in the South Pacific. The wiki basically says they've got no idea why there, of all places. This does mean people are very unlikely to find the city by accident, however.
* AnAxeToGrind - See the note on swords; another semi-common weapon.
* AndIMustScream - Within Suefics, the canon characters are apparently undergoing this. Either they're actively replaced and shoved in a PlotHole for the duration, where they may or may not be able to see what's going on, or they're [[DemonicPossession mind-controlled by the Sue]], [[MindRape forced to do what the Sue tells them to]], [[NightmareFuel and, at least some of the time, conscious of how horribly out-of-character they're being forced to become]].
* {{Angrish}} - Agents have sometimes "spoken" this.
* AnyoneCanDie - [[spoiler:Makes-Things, Agent Nick, the Wisteria, and various others.]]
* AnythingThatMoves - Agent Lux. [[{{Subversion}} Although]] she's also sworn off men since breaking up with Agent Sean. [[DoubleSubversion Except]] she's not too good at keeping a focus on that. [[ZigZaggingTrope And]] [[YouDoNotWantToKnow no one wants to know]] her stance on [[InterspeciesRomance nonhuman males]], [[HotSkittyOnWailordAction after her reaction to nonhuman females]]. [[ILoveTheDead Or what she does with the corpses she occasionally collects.]] Her [[EvenEvilHasStandards only actual no-no]] appears to be children, as she [[BerserkButton displayed actual anger for the first time ever]] during a poorly-handled scene of child sexual abuse.
* AppliedPhlebotinum - from all over the multiverse.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking - Charge lists often start with technical errors, progress to serious problems like Rape Is Love or CanonDefilement, and quite often end on the charge of "Annoying PPC Agents".
* ArtificialLimbs - Technician Narcolepsy of Testing and Application (a division of [=DoSAT=]) has artificial eyes and a computer in his brain. Other examples include Agent Suicide (11% replacement parts, can be considered a cyborg) and Agent Ally (artificial eye and arm).
* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics - A minor one, but there is no such thing as [[http://www.misssandman.com/PPC/gwendolyn.html a "Czechoslovakian accent"]], mainly because there is no such thing as a Czechoslovakian language, either.
** For that matter, there's been no such thing as Czechoslovakia since 1993.
* AscendedExtra - While most characters from The Original Series ended up [[PutOnABus permanently retired]], [[LongBusTrip particularly insane]], [[KilledOffForReal dead]], or in [[FateWorseThanDeath upper administration]], [[AnythingThatMoves Agent Lux]] will show up -- [[DepravedBisexual and molest]] -- every spin-off. Some agents, after appearing as background characters in other works, also get their own missions or entire spinoffs.
* AssShove - Don't mention this trope around Bad Slashers.
* TheAtoner - Agent Dafydd, a.k.a. [[spoiler:[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Maglor]], perpetrator of multiple kinslayings]]. Agents who used to write badfic also count.

* AttemptedRape - Many, many fics which get sporked. Laburnum narrowly escaped when a mission went wrong, and [[FanFic/OfWarlordsAndPleasures Molly's father]] tried to molest her while possessed.
* AwesomeMcCoolname
* [[strike:Ax]][[AxCrazy Flamethrower Crazy]] - Sometimes an Agent loses it. Often in spectacular manner.
** "Mr. Rogers! Mr. Rogers!"
* BackForTheDead - [[spoiler:Agent Nick.]]

* {{Badass}} - Many Agents, but usually within reasonable bounds. Although missions sometimes require exceptional feats, one of the greatest troubles of the agents is how to perform these feats without breaking the rules of the series they are currently trying to save.
* BadassArmy - The Black Cats. Even though [[spoiler:[[http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Mysterious_Somebody The Mysterious Somebody]]]] quickly became the real threat during the ''Crashing Down'' story, the Cats have made the best showing against the PPC out of any groups to attack Headquarters; at least part of this was due to most of them having been former PPC agents themselves, and thus knowing how best to fight them.
* BadassCreed - "[[ShoutOut Do not meddle in the affairs]] of assassins, for we are heavily armed and quick to anger. And not noticeably subtle."
* BadassInDistress - Laburnum, Manx, and Adder have all been captured by villains when missions went wrong.
* BadassNormal - The most common character type among the agents are ordinary humans who learn to fight the Sues partly through training, partly through luck, partly through strength of will/character, and through the sheer workload making them very experienced ''very'' quickly, though many of them object to being called "normal".
* BattleCouple - Any agent pair that gets in a relationship and works together. Agents Dafydd and Constance, Iodin and Alagos, and Tawaki and Tadkeeta come to mind.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness - Inverted, as the villains are Sues, with [[TheBeautifulElite the unnatural beauty that implies]].
* [[RingRingCRUNCH [BEEEEEEEEEEE-crunch] ]]
* BerserkButton - Do not write bad RPF involving Kurt Cobain. Agent Trojie will ''not'' like that. Most other agents have at least one, as well.
* TheBerserker - Any agent that is has Bloodwrath turns into one.
* BigBad - The Mysterious Somebody, Bracket Fungus, and League of Mary-Sue Factories.
* BigGood - The Sunflower Official.

* BloodyHilarious - Trivialization of violence is frowned upon, but for the sake of humor, anything is possible. Hedgehog skin to the [[GroinAttack groin]]? Check. Head trauma by marital aid? Check. Humanoid fox handing someone your liver? Check.
* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors - The Official Fanfiction Universities.
* BrainBleach - Bleeprin and its variants.
* BrainlessBeauty - The Sues.
* BreadEggsMilkSquick - Shows up sometimes in chargelists, which tend to start with minor charges like "having bad spelling" and go on to charging for horrific {{Squick}} or disrupting the entire fabric of the multiverse, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking then finish on the unofficial charges like "confusing PPC agents"]].
* BugWar - The Macrovirus incident. [[spoiler:Growth hormone from Paul Bunyan causes the macroviruses from Star Trek Voyager to turn into giant killer bugs that run amuck in HQ.]] Over ''one thousand'' agents are killed by the bugs, and the place is torn apart. On top of that, Sues invade shortly afterward.
* BunnyEarsLawyer
* CallingTheHeroOut - Agents often call the Flowers out when they've had enough, or even each other.
* CatsAreMean - The DIS emblem was a crouching black cat; they also employed at least one anthropomorphic cat, who was certainly a very nasty individual.
* CerebusSyndrome - Partly defied, partly played straight. Steady drama in the PPC community has led to a massive backlash against Emergencies (attacks on HQ or similarly large threats). However, the quality of writing has increased and the PPC itself has become a real "world" rather than just a way to spork bad fan fiction.
* ChildSoldiers - Agents as young as twelve are sometimes sent into the field (though agents under fifteen are not particularly common). The average agent is in their mid-teens to early twenties.
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve - If you remind an agent that Bleeprin shouldn't be chemically possible, it may stop working.
* CloakAndDagger
* CloudCuckooLander - Many agents.
* CombatPragmatist - Cheating in a fight is common and, depending on the strength of the Sue or canon characters they're fighting against, often necessary on the part of the agents.
* ComedicSociopathy
* ComicallyMissingThePoint - Nonhuman agents unused to human ways sometimes do this.

* TheComicallySerious - The Ironic Overpower works to make sure any character with dignity is stripped of it.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment - The unusual ways most Agents dispose of Sues. On top of that, there's actually a department ''called'' the Department of Cool and Unusual Punishment, which presumably deals with this.
* CoolShades - All agents wear these or close their eyes when using [[Film/MenInBlack neuralysers]], so they don't accidentally wipe their own memories.
* CrazyPrepared - Agents trend to either this, or the IndyPloy. A particularly noteworthy example would be Agent Trojie, who carries a [[Film/MaryPoppins Mary Poppins-style]] BagOfHolding that has everything from a handbook on obstetrics to the complete works of Tolkien to [[KitchenSinkIncluded a kitchen sink]]. It also has expanded to such a degree that finding ''anything'' not used daily requires [[RummageFail spelunking gear]], and a number of [[Literature/HarryPotter Nifflers]] are believed to have taken up residence.
* {{Crossover}} - By the MegaCrossover nature of the PPC. The missions also tend to be riddled with references to other canons the authors [[ShoutOut like]] or [[TakeThat hate]].
* CruelAndUnusualDeath
* {{Crunchtastic}}: "Glaurunging" - see UnusualEuphemism. An [=MSTing=] also featured the use of the word "[[{{Hammerspace}} Malletspace]]" as a verb.
* CurbStompBattle - More often than not the result in the few cases where a Sue/Stu actually fights a PPC agent. (Serves them right for curbstomping all comers in their own stories... the Sues, not the agents, of course.) The 2008 Sue invasion of PPC Headquarters turned into this pathetically quickly. Most invasions of HQ tend to turn into this as soon as the initial surprise has worn off.
* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon - Nearly any Agent when upset or angry enough with {{Mary Sue}}s and their authors. Usually happens with their Lust Object in apparent dire straits. This especially applies to new Agents and those just somewhat, just ''somewhat'' upset with the Flowers.
* DeadpanSnarker - Kind of a given for the entire cast.
* DeathAsComedy
* DeathByIrony - Most of the agents enjoy creating these for their targets.
* {{Deconstruction}} - For all the tropes on here, for the most part, the PPC is nearly entirely meant to be taken as a formulaic deconstruction of fanfiction and prose in general, up and to including the Ironic Overpower and the fact that much of the PPC verse is powered by the physics of narrative and that that missions take place in Word Worlds and is meant to follow the RuleofFunny.
* DemonicPossession - Author/Sue-Wraiths.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment - Along with the Repetitive Department of Repetition, actual infrastructure departments.
* DoorStopper: Herr Wozzeck's missions.
** The mission during which SkarmorySilver sporked [[Fanfic/RiseOfTheGaleforces a badfic of his own creation]] clocked in at a mind-boggling ''87 pages.'' And this was the ''first'' mission he ever wrote for the PPC.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu - Some of the Sues killed by agents have been literal goddesses. Or demi-goddesses, in the case of Maia in Lord of the Rings. Killing them is possible not because the agent is overpowered, but because Mary Sues are not very intelligent or have very shallow ways of using their powers that lead to their demise. Or, in the case of Agent Mike de Bergerac, it IS because the agent is overpowered.

* DramaticReading - of FanFic/LegolasByLaura, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CrG6UYSc6A by a Gathering]].

* DrowningMySorrows - In Bleepka, usually. Several agents consider "drinking until I forget why I wished to be drunk" to be a good stress-relieving method.
* DysfunctionJunction - Nobody in the PPC is entirely sane. They wouldn't be in the PPC if they were, and the job tends to wear down the ones who start that way anyway.
* EarthShatteringKaboom - The Department of Geographical Aberrations has been known to blow up Suvian worlds -- and star systems.
* EldritchAbomination - A version of Big Brother from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''. Also, ''Cthulhu himself'' used to appear in the earlier spinoffs, to whom Sues would often be fed (although, in the very first one, the Non-canons are fed to the Watcher in the Water). This has become forbidden by PPC policy though (apparently the Sues are making him fat), and thus Cthulhu no longer shows up. The Sues/Stus themselves can count, as well.
* EnemyCivilWar - The power struggle between the Venomous Tentacula and Forget-Me-Not for control over the [[BigBad League of Mary-Sue Factories]] after the Yarrow's death. [[spoiler:The Tentacula won.]]
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep - Most Flowers, some Agents.
* [[EverythingsBetterWithSparkles Everything's Worse With Sparkles]] - Because of the Mary Sues.
* ExactWords - Word Worlds do this when badfic gives improbable descriptions.
* ExpandedUniverse - The various spinoffs are technically this for the Original Series.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath - some agents get very creative with Sue deaths, but being distastefully vulgar or invoking the same things you are condemning are frowned upon.
* FanDisservice / FetishRetardant - The No-Drool Videos.
* FunetikAksent - Part of the disguise when agents enter literary continua in which the accents get written, and some agents have them all the time.
* GadgeteerGenius - Makes-Things, Techno-Dann, Liz O'Grady, the entire Department of Sufficiently Advanced Technology to a lesser extent.
* GallowsHumor
* GargleBlaster - Pink Stuff.
* GenderBender - There was an... ''incident''... involving an AxCrazy Agent with a TransformationRay.
* GenreSavvy - As expected in a setting where irony is enforced by the Legal Department, most but not all Agents have at least a decent grasp on the more common tropes.
* GiftedlyBad - The writers of some of the fics sporked.
* GlamourFailure - Having one's disguise drop or otherwise fail is always a risk.
* GoodIsNotNice
* GoodThingYouCanHeal - Canon characters cannot truly die until their "official" deaths in the canon material. Agents ''can'' die, but Medical has the best techniques and instruments from just about anywhere in the multiverse, so anything short of death can be healed or at least patched up.
* GoryDiscretionShot / SexyDiscretionShot - Often, especially {{squick}}-laden bits of fics aren't quoted directly. The most extreme example is probably from [[Fanfic/OfWarlordsAndPleasures the Cluny Fic]], where the agents spend most of the truly disgusting scenes screaming, throwing up, banging their heads against walls, and drinking as much alcohol as possible without going into any more detail about what's happening than that it involves a spear.

* {{Hammerspace}}
* HalfHumanHybrid - Some Agents.
* HarmfulToMinors - Some young agents, the rescued Sue-offspring.
* HasTwoMommies - Many ex-Sue children, and some Mpreg kids, are adopted by Agents.
* HeadTiltinglyKinky - Happens often, especially in Bad Slash. Often combined with QuizzicalTilt.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters - One of the many perils of the job is the risk of, in the process of fighting Mary Sues, becoming one yourself.
* HeelFaceTurn - A few Mary Sues reform and become agents, though their interactions with other agents (who make a living off ''killing'' Sues) are rather awkward.

* HeroicBSOD - A commonplace occurrence. About half the agents end their careers too insane to work (most of the rest are killed in action).
* HeterosexualLifePartners - Some agent pairs. "Things I Am Not Allowed To Do At The PPC" instructs the agents not to refer to their partners this way, though.
* HilarityEnsues - Nearly any mission where one Agent says, essentially, "I have an idea!" ends this way.
* HonoraryUncle - Applies to any agent who adopts Nursery children.
* HormoneAddledTeenager - Most of the Mary Sues and their writers. Some of the agents have tendencies that way, but tend to get it squicked out of them.
* HumansAreUgly / HumansThroughAlienEyes - Nonhuman agents have a hard time getting used to the majority species.
* HurtingHero - In ''spades''.
* ICallItVera - Some agents name their weapons or belongings.
* ImAHumanitarian - Sue Soufflé and capital-W Water are made from Mary Sue flesh, or blood in the latter case, and agents in the more species-diverse settings show little concern with sampling. Agents may not consider Sues human, and certainly don't consider them people, though.
* ImHavingSoulPains - Recruited goodfic characters sometimes have problems when a particularly bad piece of work gets into their continuum.
* ImmuneToDrugs - A lot of agents go through a ''lot'' of Bleeproducts.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice - Agents often kill Sues this way.

* ImpressivePyrotechnics - Especially in the Department of Geographical Aberrations
* ImprobableWeaponUser / ImprovisedWeapon - Used frequently.
* INeedAFreakingDrink - Particularly bad fics or annoying co-workers tend to induce this.
* InitiationCeremony - Has, at least in the past, included the [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment Trial of Tom Bombadil's Poetry]]. Then comes the Sue-smiting.
* InsaneEqualsViolent - Both averted and played straight. Most agents are a little crazy, but those who have real-world disorders aren't any more violent than anybody else (which, granted, isn't saying much when it's a PPC agent you're talking about). However, insanity induced by contact with too much horrible fan fiction does occasionally make agents find themselves a flamethrower and start burning things. The violence is nearly always a comical sort.

* InstantAIJustAddWater - Any HQ technology with a speaker or display either a) ignites, b) explodes, or c) becomes sentient or sapient. This has resulted in [[http://twitter.com/ConsoleNo2985 Consoles with a twitter account]], and disguise generators with a sense of humour. Especially problematic with Simulation Generators, which start out producing simple if realistic automatons, but will develop CloningBlues and ExpendableClones if not carefully monitored, eventually producing simulations that try to kill and replace the character they simulate.
* InterspeciesRomance - The PPC is a multidimensional organisation. This is the inevitable result.
* ItCameFromTheFridge - Eating from the cafeteria should earn hazard pay, as it's likely to send you to Medical.
* ItMakesSenseInContext - Most of what the PPC does. Bonus points for most of the context ''also'' requiring context.
* ItGetsEasier - Agents usually get used to killing Sues; it helps that they're effectively fighting to protect all of existence. [[ItNeverGetsAnyEasier On the other hand]], the longer they are agents, the more likely it is that they'll lose their sanity altogether. Terrible fanfiction is very stressful.
* ItsPersonal - Many agents have a BerserkButton relating to their home canons being Sued.
** Or their Lust Objects being interfered with.
* ItRunsOnNonsensoleum - The basis for most PPC Technology are stabilized [[PlotHole Plotholes]]. If you tell someone that Bleeprin, literal BrainBleach, couldn't possibly work as it does, it ''may stop working'' (and the Agent will then need to kill you). Humour and irony are [[strike:slightly]] stronger forces than gravity.
* JustForPun - Puns are a popular form of amusement/[[IncrediblyLamePun torture]] for PPC agents.
* KarmicDeath - Mary Sues are subjected to this. For example:

* KillItWithFire
* KilledOffForReal - For both Sues and agents.
* KilledMidSentence - Sues often die this way. This is out of necessity, as the canon has a hard time correcting itself if a Sue dies on her own terms (and said terms often involve faux-eloquent LastWords).
* KnifeNut - A significant number of agents.
* LampshadeHanging - Near constant. One agent has been known to pull out and wave a ''literal'' lampsahde.
* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain - Happens often.
* LiteralGenie - When the fic writer makes technical errors, the fic world interprets it literally. HilarityEnsues.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters
* LoonyFan - Fans of varying levels of loonyness are responsible for the creation of Mary Sues. Bamf!Sues could also count.

* MadeOfExplodium - It's pretty rare for a Canon Analysis Device to survive more than one mission. Though sometimes they melt instead.
** A particularly bad moment of OOCness caused one to evaporate.
* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf - Some agents.

* MarySueHunter - The Department of Mary Sues consists of this; Agents in other departments specialize elsewhere (or specialize in not specializing).
* MassOhCrap - Happens from time to time.

* MeaningfulName - Nendil Morifëa's second-name literally means "Black soul". Some other agents also have meaningful names: sometimes as a chosen alias or in the form of a pun, and sometimes because the culture from which they hail considers it normal. PPC Agents charge Mary Sues with this when it's out of place, tacky, and [[{{Irony}} meaningless]].
* MegaCrossover - Including some characters who are walking crossovers themselves.
* {{Mentors}} - A full spread of these tropes, albeit with a warning:

* {{Metafiction}}
* MirrorUniverse - Literally. More than one, in fact; there's at least the evil Suvian mirror multiverse, the one where [[EveryoneHasLotsOfSex everyone has sex all the time]], and at least one known AlternateHistory multiverse.
* MissingEpisode - Some missions were on websites that folded and were not archived on the Wayback Machine. Now that Geocities has closed down, this applies to all PPC material posted to it and not uploaded to [[http://plotprotectors.tripod.com/ PPC: The Lost Tales]]. In the Original Series, "The Dark Elf" used to be a MissingEpisode until it was recently found on the Wayback Machine.
** The Wayback Machine itself seems to have suffered a server crash. Argh.

* MisterSeahorse - Male Pregnancy is a common and serious charge, both dealt with within the Department of Bad Slash and the focus of the Division of Mpreg. Usually fixed by combining the [[Film/TheMatrix debugger]] with a [[PeopleJars People Jar]] or more suitable parent (i.e., one with a uterus).

* MostFanficWritersAreGirls - Leading to the need for [[http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:For_Other_People#THE_GENDER_CARD this]] section of the FAQ; playing the "sexist" card is something of a BerserkButton in general. Also, most of the PPC writers are girls.
* MrFixit - The entire Department of Sufficiently Advanced Technology (or Ms. Fixit, as the case may be). Makes-Things especially has a knack for winding up in this role.
* MSTing - The missions are vaguely reminiscent of [=MSTs=], as quotes from the fic are interspersed with commentary and such from the agents, though the agents are often carrying on their own story around the fic and only small snippets of the fics being sporked are used; at times, the fic itself is never quoted at all, being summarised instead. Some of the writers also do "official" MST fics as well.
* MundaneUtility - [[FlameWar Flames]] can burn indefinitely without fuel or air. They naturally find use as torches, space heaters, and to melt snow when caught in an avalanche on [[strike:Caradhras]] [[EpicFail Garadas]].
* MustHaveCaffeine - Agents don't get much time to sleep in the first place.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast - [[XtremeKoolLetterz Agent X]], [[AnythingThatMoves Luxury]], Constance Sims, [[DeathSeeker Suicide]], [[PunnyName Justin Agent]], the Marquis de Sod, etc.

* NeverHurtAnInnocent - Most agents like to save the less-Sueish bit-characters if they can, especially child characters.
* NeverTheSelvesShallMeet - While not quite related to TimeTravel (save for [[Fanfic/RiseOfTheGaleforces the badfic in question]] being written two years prior), Falchion, [=SkarmorySilver=]'s current AuthorAvatar, encounters a GaryStu who happens to be a previous AuthorAvatar of the same person on his first mission. Since the Stu split off from the author's character during the fic's creation, there are no dimensional ill effects, but Falchion soon finds himself suffering from flashbacks to his experiences as the Stu. [[spoiler:Falchion eventually does kill him, but this is because the Stu was as poorly written as any other Suvian character, as opposed to any risks to Falchion himself.]] The title of the mission's [[https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ljChqQ2x9Vetnu9yd9SpYZeqgXYWecczvwujVnJPoRVCKWUCLvq_0n4fXx2dtnBnF_fG0zmXQdVwipEP_UYleYI3qjjVyDMiWqM-gPDlQ-eZFeGeE60ZiIzcCCmR1iBEag cover illustration]] even quotes this trope, word for word.
* NiceHat - [=GreyLadyBast=]'s Most Holy Hat and [[OldMaster Montgomery Osbert III's]] helmet.
* NightmareFuelStationAttendant - From the original series: Jay ''loves'' slimy tentacled things. She gets maternal over ''[[LordOfTheRings the Watcher]]''.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot - Agent Tawaki is a [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins werepenguin]] Borg who [[spoiler:gets turned into a Time Lord]].
* NoodleImplements - Agent Granjo tortures Mary Sues with a Narayani hammer, an empty tin can, and a cell phone.
* NoodleIncident - Almost every agent pair has at least one.

* {{Nosebleed}} - No-Drool Videos are used to curb these (and immaturity around Lust Objects in general).
* NoSocialSkills - Some non-human agents. And, for that matter, some of the human ones.
* NotGoodWithPeople - Some agents aren't very good with people. Agent Tasmin is a good example of this.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome - Many plot developments occur completely off screen, with the reader only knowing about them due to an infodump on an agent's part.
* OldMaster - Any sufficiently experienced agent can turn into this.
* OlderThanTheyLook - Due to the time distortions in HQ, many agents have experienced years more of life than their chronological age would suggest.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname - Some agents.
* OurMonstersAreDifferent - Agents from several different continua.
* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent - To include {{werewolves}}, werepenguins, weretigers, werehawks, and even a were-sea-anemone.
* PersonaNonGrata - Agent Trojie is prohibited from going to ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' when not assigned a mission there for [[NoodleIncident some reason]]. [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial This has nothing to do with the mysterious absence of important items from that continuum, such as the New Pie]]. The quarantined continua count for all agents, as their authors have forbidden fanfic to be written about them.
* ThePlague - The Macrovirus Emergency. ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Macrocosm]]'' taken UpToEleven.
* PlantAliens - The Flowers are [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin giant, alien flowers]] given sentience (and, in many cases, grown to human size or larger) by the radiation given off by their sun being consumed by a black hole. They communicate and go about daily tasks primarily through the use of powerful psychic abilities, also given to them by said radiation.
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn - Peter Piper's reaction to finding his partner [[http://www.freewebs.com/bonsaimallorn4/DIO2.htm sunbathing]]. Also Nume's reaction to Ilraen's failed morphing, Kern's reaction to Logan's penchant to go shirtless, Brightbeard's typical response to Barid, who doesn't like to wear clothing. Also a semi-common reaction to Sues, and Blast J's reaction to a nymph newbie [[InnocentFanserviceGirl wearing nothing but VaporWear]].

* PlotHole - The PPC uses plot holes in much of its technology, allowing its agents to move and communicate between worlds and universes. The entirety of HQ in fact consists of bits of building joined up via plot holes. People regularly fall into HQ because of this.
* PrecisionFStrike - Agent Ilraen is a soft-spoken and often naive guy. So when he starts screaming about how something is bullshit, you ''know'' he's [[UnstoppableRage very not happy]].

* PunchClockHero or PunchClockVillain - Technically, being a PPC agent is a job, though agents generally aren't paid much post-Reorganisation (before which [[GoldenAge they were paid very well and got frequent holidays]], but at the cost of being ruled by the BigBad and his SecretPolice) and don't do it for the money. On the plus side, there isn't very much you ''need'' to pay for in HQ anyway.
* PunnyName - Some agents, such as Justin Agent, Beethoven "Moon" Sonata, Light Fixture, Night Shade, Peter Piper, and Blue Photon.
* PutOnABus - Sometimes an agent retires, is transferred to a new department, or goes mad.
* QuirkyHousehold - Any group of agents that calls themselves a family will fall into this trope by the nature of the PPC.
* RageAgainstTheAuthor - Happens often, particularly against badfic authors. Doing much worse than raging isn't allowed, however.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits - The entire PPC.
* RapeAsDrama - The focus of several possible charges, ranging from trivializing rape to worse.
* ReadingsBlewUpTheScale - The Canon Analysis Devices can explode when measuring high doses of {{OOC}}-ness.
* [[RealityEnsues Reality Ends Sues]] - Agents tend to take down Sues in very cynical ways, especially Sues trying to make a cynical setting idealistic. Then there are Reality Rooms...
* RealityWarper - Sues, by their very nature.

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld - Some agents, particularly the elves.
* ResetButton - Neuralysing canon characters and removing the Sue or other centre of distortion doesn't merely fix the effects of the badfic, it effectively stops the badfic from happening in the first place.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter - Misspelling a character's name creates a tiny, adorable, and usually bloodthirsty version of a monster from the appropriate canon called a Mini.
* RougeAnglesOfSatin - Common in the badfic; when applied to a character's name, it creates a [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter mini]].
* RuleOfCool
* RuleOfFunny - If anything can be, the Rule of Funny is ''the'' guiding trope for the PPC. If a spinoff doesn't follow the Rule of Funny, or if a serious story for the PPC doesn't occasionally bend to its will, it's not really in the spirit of the PPC. As said above, the setting also has its own name for the Rule, the Narrative Laws of Comedy.
* RuleThirtyFour - A big reason many agents go through so much Bleeprin. The PPC also has its own version, "...there is fanfic for it."
* RummageFail - Happens for anyone with a Bag of Holding or similar.
* RunningGag - [=CADs=] exploding, consoles beeping at bad times, and others depending on the spinoff. The CAD gag could possibly be considered an OverusedRunningGag, as it's now done almost every time a CAD is used at all and can give off the impression that PPC tech is completely useless.
* SecretPolice - The Department of Internal Security, after becoming corrupt; their existence was common knowledge, but the secret part was their corruption, the [[spoiler:Mary Sue Factory]] they were protecting, and the fact they were torturing and murdering agents. The Department of Internal Operations can be taken as a more literal example, since in theory, only the Flowers even know they exist. In practise, there are rumours of their existence, but most still don't know the truth, and part of Agent Justin Agent's job is to discredit such rumours. According to one DIO agent, their existence being discovered would cause another revolt against the PPC's leaders, as they're [[NotSoDifferent too much like the DIS]] for most agents' comfort.
* SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains - PPC uniforms are [[TheMenInBlack black]], good for a wide variety of temperature ranges, and comfortable to spend time in. Sues usually aim for ostentatious, and in the Mirror Multiverse, the female agents wear very little.
* SheIsAllGrownUp - Happens when younger agents visit home or the OFU they attended after some time, and in the Ten Years Hence stories.
* ShouldntWeBeInSchoolRightNow - Most agents are in their teens, and the job leaves them no time for schoolwork, though they occasionally get leave to attend an Official Fanfiction University.

* ShoutOut - A ShoutOut to ''everything'', in theory.
* SickAndWrong - This is the reason {{Squick}} is a chargeable offense, and in the [[SlashFic Bad Slash]] Department, a rather common one at that.
* SlasherSmile - Many agents, [[SlashFic in some cases in a slightly different sense than usual]].
* SmallAnnoyingCreature - Cute Animal Friends.
* SmokyGentlemensClub - HQ's only private bar, the Pennacook Club.
* {{Squee}} - An interjection often leading the one uttering it to a round of [[FanDisservice No-Drool videos]].
* TheStarscream - Nightshade.
* StraightGay - The PPC has a number of gay/bi agents, who don't tend to follow any stereotypes unless they particularly want to.
* StrictlyFormula - Agents enter bad fanfic, agents bitch about bad fanfic, agents exchange smart-aleck banter, agents kill Sue and/or exorcise victims in variety of interesting ways. That it's still working like a charm is a testament to how terrible most of the target material is.
* StuffBlowingUp - Always a favorite when the agents of DOGA are involved.
* SuckinessIsPainful - Actually having to watch the horrible reality-bending induced by bad prose can cause really bad headaches.
* SurrealHorror - Shows up unintentionally in a lot of badfic, as bad prose makes horrifying and physically-implausible things happen; for example, overuse of pronouns in a SlashFic, where both characters are referred to as "he", sometimes results in both characters doing ''every'' action described to the other at the same time.
* SwordFight - Many agents and enemies of the PPC use swords, so this happens frequently.
* [[TastesLikePurple Tastes Like Urple]] - Suefics tend to go overboard with the florid writing.
* TemptingFate - The Ironic Overpower is the entity being tempted.
* TheDitz - Lux appears to be so, remaining happily oblivious to attempts to dissuade her from her constant grabbiness up to and including physical attacks. Jay Thorntree also described herself as one.
* TheEmpire - The Enforcers of the Plot Continuum, the PPC's EvilCounterpart in the mirror multiverse.
* TheMonolith - The main part of the Tomb of the Unknown PPC Agent; there used to also be tombstones, but these were removed.
* TheScottishTrope - both on the Posting Board and in the context of the missions, agents and writers avoid invoking the names of particularly horrifying badfics, either by censoring the name ("[[FanFic/{{Celebrian}} C*l*br**n]]") or just avoiding it ("[[FanFic/OfWarlordsAndPleasures That Series]]").
* ThereAreNoTherapists - Averted. There's an entire Department dedicated to this, and agents too close to snapping are often ordered to go there. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
* [[TheyFightCrime They Fight Sues]]
* ThisIsGonnaSuck - A common reaction from agents.
* TooDumbToLive - Sues. For just one example, Jay opened a portal and asked a Mary Sue to step through it, which she did. The portal, of course, led to the Whomping Willow.
* TranquilFury - Some agents are too professional, or just too far beyond rage, to express it much. This is usually very bad for the Sue.
* TransformationRay - The Disguise Generator, necessary for continuum-appropriate disguises. The Disguise Generator/Disguise Outfitting Ryticular Kostume System is a similar device, allowing agents to change their disguise without having to go back to their RC.
* TriggerHappy - One of the reasons agents read charge lists before killing is to stop them from killing at random.
* UnexplainedRecovery - Canon characters can be "made to think they're dead" by fanauthors, but cannot actually die until their original author says they have. Dead agents usually cannot be resurrected, though Dafydd Illian is a notable exception. The Medical department can heal pretty much anything short of death.
* UnnecessaryRoughness - An important part of Australian Indoor-Rules Quidditch (a game stolen from MacHall). The main rule is "Cause as much damage as you can while you run around for the ball in the dark. Least injured team wins, outside of forfeit."
* {{Unobtainium}} - Concrit, Generic surface, Bleeprin
* UnstoppableRage - Happens when an agent's BerserkButton is pressed.
* UnusualEuphemism - "Glaurung!"

* VagueAge - Agents tend to forget their ages, as HQ time more or less runs on guesswork. Some agents recruited from fics have no idea how old they were to start with, or are of species which don't age at the same rate as humans, so it's hard to tell.
* VitriolicBestBuds - Several agent pairs.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting - What happens when an agent puts on a disguise.
* WeNeedADistraction - Many agent pairs have used the strategy of having one agent distract the canons or the Sue while the other does what needs to be done -- neuralysing, capturing, or killing.

* WhamEpisode - ''Crashing Down'', ''Fighting Emotions''
* YouCantGoHomeAgain - Agents recruited from fics often can't go back for fear of death. Agents from World One often have trouble with the idea of readjusting to "normal" life. And some Agents are resurrected canon characters...
* YouDoNOTWantToKnow
* YouFailBiologyForever - Naturally, badfic authors tend to do this. [[http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Bad_Biology Frequently]].
* YouMakeMeSic - Agents sometimes respond to titles or prose describing horrible {{Gorn}} or {{Squick}} or extreme CanonDefilement by pointing out spelling or punctuation errors, either as a case of ComicallyMissingThePoint or in a vain attempt to keep their minds off the horror.

* ZergRush - The MarySue Invasion of 2008. Went completely to pieces once their mind powers were neutralised, however. The agents also do this to some extent during attacks on HQ, as their enemies are always ''vastly'' outnumbered (though it isn't known exactly how many agents there are).
----

* NamesTheSame: There are three agents with the name Alison, all of whom spell it slightly differently (Agent Alison, Agent Allison, and Agent Ally).

* TheAtoner - Agent Dafydd, a.k.a. [[spoiler:[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Maglor]]]]. Agents who used to write badfic also count.

%%* TheAtoner - Agent Dafydd, a.k.a. [[spoiler:[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Maglor]]]]. Agents who used to write badfic also count.
%%** Agent [[Film/{{Goldeneye}} Alec Trevelyan]].

* TheAtoner - Agent Dafydd, a.k.a. [[spoiler:[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Maglor]]]]. Agents who used to write badfic also count.
** Agent [[Film/{{Goldeneye}} Alec Trevelyan]].

Somewhere in your favorite fandom, your most beloved characters and plot elements are being ruined right now. Everything that makes [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]] funny is being dropped for the sake of bad romance. [[Literature/HarryPotter Snape]] suddenly washes his hair, grows angel wings and yet no one bats an eye. [[ChroniclesOfNarnia The four Pevensie siblings]] are [[BrotherSisterIncest having sex with each other]], asd spelling and grammar are murdered wholesale describing that brand new sports car that [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Legolas]] somehow owns.

Somewhere in your favorite fandom, your most beloved characters and plot elements are being ruined right now. Everything that makes [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]] funny is being dropped for the sake of bad romance. [[Literature/HarryPotter Snape]] suddenly washes his hair, grows angel wings and yet no one bats an eye. [[ChroniclesOfNarnia The four Pevensie siblings]] are [[BrotherSisterIncest having sex with each other]]. And spelling and grammar are murdered wholesale describing that brand new sports car that [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Legolas]] somehow owns.

* AlienGeometries - A rare comedic example: the Word Worlds are extremely literal when interpreting bad or illogical prose, resulting in eye-blinding sights or mind-bending shapes. Placing a non-canonical location in the wrong place can do truly gruesome things to the local landscape. HQ is hinted to have a [[MobileMaze more subtle version of this]], for values of subtle covered by the phrase "[[MCEscher do not be alarmed until the gravity changes.]]" Depending on which story you look at (and to some extent what species you are, as the Flowers can navigate HQ just fine), Headquarters is merely huge and labyrinthine, thus easy to get lost in, or an at least partially sentient structure that is always shifting around and completely impossible to find your way in ''unless'' you are lost.

* FetishFuelStationAttendant - Lux.

[[TheWikiRule Has]] a [[http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Guide_to_the_PPC wiki]] with a helpful guide for newbies. HQ is [[http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/199610.html here]] while TheOriginalSeries and some of the early spinoffs can be found [[http://www.misssandman.com/PPC/ppc.html here]]. The OfficialFanfictionUniversity (and its spinoffs) share a multiverse with the PPC.

* EverythingsBetterWithChocolate - The main reason more agents ''aren't'' AxCrazy. Except for Drake, who's allergic.

** They also distinguish between the PlayedForLaughs "insanity" and the more serious "mental illness."

* MyNameIsNotDurwood - "Don't call me Acy!"

!!This provides ''notable'' examples of the following (please add specific examples to their relevant pages; the page would be way too long if every single thing that applies to the PPC were mentioned, and this example list is more for general setting examples):

** In-universe, [[MissingEpisode lost works]] from real and fictional cultures alike are archived in the Musée des Univers Perdus[[hottip:fr:Museum of Lost Universes]].