...the Christianne-Eledhwen dynamic you've got going on: they compliment each other perfectly. I also like how you've managed to weave in some details on each of your agents's past history throughout the text without it going all exposition-y on us.

The Quotev format jokes are quite ingenious, if I do say so myself. I'll have to come up with something creative when I'll toss an Intel agent in there...




...and speaking of Intel, I like that Harris reference.

I'm going to start this off by saying I normally don't like Tolkienverse missions. They're all the same - crazy fans getting upset over things that I frankly don't care about. Sure, I like LOTR, but not enough to really get mad about canon breaks and empathize with the agents. I was disappointed in your last mission, because it was...well, I think you've heard enough from more articulate people, and I'd rather explain why I loved this mission.

I like the little bits that indicate the Lemming nature of the fic - the floating pictures, the link that smacks them in the face. Especially Eledhwen's reaction to the name "polyvore".

Also, it was personal, relating to agents' character development, rather than just being fans getting upset. There is the same sort of dialogue, but it makes sense, because Eledhwen is a canon character, technically speaking. That's pretty awesome, and I think it was handled nicely, what with another extra recognizing her and the SEP field not working. I want to rewatch Return of the King now.

And finally, the parts you quoted from the badfic made me want the Sue to die. Most particularly how she calls Boromir a "scaredy-cat" after he gives his "one does not simply walk into Mordor" speech, one of my favorite lines. And the gender stereotypes bit - ugh. I don't know if it's just those bits, or it's the way you've handled them (I'm leaning towards a combination of both), but this is the first time I have read a Tolkienverse mission and truly wanted the Sue to die. Even TOS didn't get that reaction. You are awesome, Lily.

This mission improves greatly on the last. Araen absolutely got what was coming to her. "You need women to do all the cooking and washing and stuff"? Really? REALLY? I think we need a mention and link to this in the "Gender Card" section of the FAQ For Other People. Also, what was the deal with her making everyone (except Boromir) into cringing wusses who needed her to speak for them? And the vacillation between modern-speak and normal-speak? I think I got a little whiplash just from the quotes—which is good, because it means they demonstrate the problem effectively.{= )

I also liked the discussions about the agents' backstories. I feel like they arose naturally from the events of the story, and Eledhwen in particular is in a unique and interesting position due to her origin. I think her relationship with Rosalie shows this, though I'm having trouble articulating exactly why. I guess because most Elves in HQ (probably) wouldn't have a negative reaction to species from other worlds, but Eledhwen has all those past experiences with Sues making her dance on their strings, and that gives her a different outlook. I wonder, does she feel the same way about unicorns, "dark" elves, and other invasive species, or is it nymphs in particular?

I felt like the reference to Omicron and Cluedo might've been a bit much coming right after the one in the last mission, but the repetition might be necessary for future readers to pick up on it as more than a throwaway gag, so probably not that big a deal.

It's interesting to see how you're handling the extra features from the Circle of Lemmings in the mission. The idea of ghostly images floating around the world is just the right touch of creepy and unsettling for me. Personally, I'd replicate the font effects in badfic quotes, but I don't know how much flexibility you have with that sort of thing on Tumblr. It particularly would've helped illustrate the point with the author's note in the "faux-cryptic voice due to the font of the message in question," though.

I really loved the joke about the agents being able to hear Acacia scream all the way from ancient Rome. It's a great callback to TOS. ^_^ It played less well the second time, though, when you seem to say that Acacia literally knows/senses what's going on in this particular mission at this particular time and can scream loud enough to resonate through multiple universes. That stretches my suspension of disbelief juuust a bit too far.

All in all, though, my quibbles are just that, and I really enjoyed this. On behalf of Alice and the nine horses from "Ring Child," I'd like to welcome Astaldo/Belroch/Marley to the Courtyard herd. I'm sure he'll feel at home in no time. {= )

~Neshomeh

Oh yay! I quite enjoyed the first one, and if it weren't one in the morning here I'd read on to the second! I'll be reading it in the morning though :D

If I might claim the Simbelmyne juice? That is if it doesn't come in the purty phial which was already claimed by World-Jumper.

Only now have I noticed how much I have missed new missions. This one was as good as the other one.

If I may, I shall take the purty phial, with or without the juice.

And what a horrible Sue...

~DF

If I find another one, you and World-Jumper can fight to the death for it. ;)

I shall have to keep that all in mind for next mission. More quoting, less evasion. Heh.

(The second series of lead-in missions will be much longer, I promise.)

And I'll fix that. Eledhwen's secretly got two mouths (just kidding).

When the very foundation of the story is a breach of Canon, there's only so much more it can take before something Very Bad happens.

Sure thing!

The pendant part likes glowing mysteriously and causing hallucinations of really cold ground and bright white ladies.