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Suffice it to say, I'm very excited to see more of Ce'rana and Alex.

...that was exactly what we were going for. At least in Ce'rana's case.

It's something of a character point. Something that will have to be worked on and, one day, overcome. There are behind-the-scenes reasons why Alex tolerates her stabby ways instead of telling her to knock it off and doesn't she know that hurts people?, but not everyone has those reasons. Someday - probably someday rather soon, in-universe - someone else will be around and see this, and they will have Something To Say about it.

But on the other points:

We were having so much fun with those. I'm honestly especially proud of the catchup; we like to copy badfics into GDocs and annotate them, which usually ends up with us reading it many, many, many times - which is the only reason we found the incest - but I didn't notice that until we got to that scene while writing. And it just sort of hit as an amazing thing to throw in. You'll have to ask Mikel for his favorite, though.

As for the massive explosives - me too, Ix, me too. The only reason Ce'rana seems upset about it is because she's a Dryad and those things may not light fires, but they do still explode her tree. Which hurts. A lot.

I could tell you guys were having fun with the Words literally interpreting the various typos.

Personally, I’m a fan of the TNT everywhere ending. Imagining that explosion gave me joy.

I do feel like pointing out—Ce’rana and Alex... have me a bit concerned with how their partnership will end, because of their willingness to threaten (and use) violence against each other. Ce’rana especially, with how she “seriously considered stabbing her partner” several times—there’s a certain point where physical violence crosses from being funny to being concerning, and right now I’ve come out of this wondering if Alex is going to wake up one day with a pencil in his heart.

(This is the same issue I had with one Sue who thought beating someone over the head with a frying pan made for good slapstick. In a cartoon, yes, but not so much in Middle-earth.)

Just something to keep in mind going forward, because I’m sure you two are going to have a great number of future missions.

Cal and Mikel's recent (and totally great) mission inspired me to finish my own request, and I just did that, so all I need now are some betas. Anyone who wants to help out gets my undying appreciation and some e-cookies! :D

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CyjKKYmomjm7F1t1ZUoioLesI9X7T2AnwAZlQdF7w0w/edit?usp=sharing

You can share a link to it with me here if it's in Google Docs, otherwise my email is writermcwriterlyface@gmail.com. I'm best for SpaG mistakes, but I can also help you with PPC canon and general flow.

Feel free to hit me up, and I look forward to reading your thing!

I finally read this, and I became a bit confused, because there’s a continuity problem:

Before he talked to the child, the Detective stepped into an annex of the waiting room, so I supposed he found the boy in this annex.

But then, he’d taken three steps toward the waiting room annex... Huh? Wasn’t he already there? When did he leave again?

And after turning on the spot and talking to the boy again, the Detective turned around and was returning back toward his seat in the waiting room, leaving the kid delightedly poking new, random shapes into the neon plastic pins in an excited frenzy.

I guess, when you wrote three steps toward the waiting room annex, the Detective actually attempted to leave the waiting room annex on his way back to his seat.


Also, there’s a word missing in ... had something his hands that might have been an Etch-a-Sketch ..., and "your" should be "you" in It was a good play, but usually you’re more successful if your don’t start celebrating until after your mark’s out of earshot.

And I noticed some pronoun confusion on the first page (referring to the Detective by "he" when the last male person mentioned was the boy).

Don’t get this wrong; I liked the story, especially how the Detective appears to be alien but not inhuman.

HG

It's worth noting that Galadriel and Treebeard have met before, though not for a long time. From RotK:

Then Treebeard said farewell to each of them in turn, and he bowed three times slowly and with great reverence to Celeborn and Galadriel. ‘It is long, long since we met by stock or by stone, A vanimar, vanimálion nostari!’ he said. ‘It is sad that we should meet only thus at the ending. For the world is changing: I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, and I smell it in the air. I do not think we shall meet again.’

And Celeborn said: ‘I do not know, Eldest.’ But Galadriel said: ‘Not in Middle-earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave are lifted up again. Then in the willow-meads of Tasarinan we may meet in the Spring. Farewell!’

Significantly, Galadriel's line here quotes Treebeard's song back in TTT, which means she's had contact with him since the First Age. Add in the fact that the forest is literally named after him, and she definitely knows he lives there.

So, knowing that Saruman has turned, would Galadriel consider taking Isengard out of the picture? With Eowyn at her side, she could definitely pull together a three-pronged attack (Rohan, Lorien, Fangorn) - and with Goldberry (and movie!Arwen) there, she might be able to count on the River Isen itself helping out.

Of course, doing that would require some assurance that Sauron wouldn't move against Lorien while the army was out - Dol Guldur is close enough to do that. And this is where EAIUO's point comes in: what about the guys?

Well, how about we send out a second Fellowship, with a different goal: to contact Mirkwood and Erebor (and the Beornings, for that matter) and get them to attack Dol Guldur. That's something Gandalf could do - he's got Gimli and Legolas to hand, remember - and it's an excellent way of drawing Sauron's eye away from the Ringbearer's party.

We know from canon that both of these attacks could work: that Erebor+Mirkwood were able to at least hold off the armies of Dol Guldur, and that Rohan+the Ents were able to defeat Isengard. So this could be an opportunity to weaken Sauron, distract him, and keep his attention away from the Ring (now hurrying through Rohan).

Slight problem, though: when Sauron gets stirred up, he's going to start moving armies out of Morgul and Mordor. That could mean Gondor gets hit, unsupported in this timeline. It could also mean that the full strength of Mordor moves north, waging a war of annihilation on the Lonely Mountain and the Woodland Realm. At minimum, it means the Mountains of Shadow are going to be crawling with Orcs, leaving the Fellowship without an obvious way in.

Hmm... one possibility is, rather than crossing Rohan, the Fellowship could keep going south. The bulk of Gondor isn't under much threat (at least while Minas Tirith stands), and if they cross Anduin and head up the Poros, it looks like the mountains might be low enough to let them cross into Nurn. That would let them sneak into Mordor 'the back way', while Sauron's armies were all heading out the front.

Of course, this is now becoming a longer and longer journey. I estimate it as at least 1500 miles. The canon trip from Rivendell is around 1000 miles, and took 3 months; this would take nearly 5. They might succeed, but I'm not at all sure there would be a Middle-earth left to save.

hS

Voila.

-----
It was a long day at work. Writing clickbait titles and BuzzFeed quizzes could only be so satisfying. Camille was tired, and unfulfilled. But after years of research, things would finally look up. It was astonishing how little real journalism there was on demonology.

She stopped by Whole Foods on her way back. Microwave-safe ramen (too many fires) and some fruit (notably three different types of apples), it was a short walk from her studio apartment. She opened the gate and walked up the stairs, unlocked her space and shut the door behind her. The deadbolt slid back with a firm click.

The space had been prepped in advance. Candles, chalk, a little potpourri. The whole shabang. She took out an apple out of her bag, and spoke some old Latin words. She took the blade in her left hand, and cut into the apple. A thick, deep red blood began to ooze out. She nearly dropped the knife. Nothing happened.

She waited. And waited. And waited.
"Well, sh-"
A rumble shook her room. She nearly fell.
Bigger and louder, they increased. She braced herself.

With an explosion and fire, the side of her wall burst open as if it were a portal, and twenty void black humanoid creatures rushed in, and started tearing the place apart. Twirling and swirling, inspecting every nook and cranny. Looking deeply and curiously at this new human they had been met with.

A louder explosion, and they all dropped to their knees. A young woman, oozing with power and status walked through the wall, bearing a briefcase. She opened it, and the contents were glorious. Camille reached for it, but was restrained.

A contract. A quill. A signature in blood.
Then came the burning onto Camille's back of a sigil, a black rune of power. The pain was almost unbearable, but it was worth it.

And with a bang, everything disappeared but Camille, laying on the floor. The only trace of what had happened was the destruction and the smell of burning.

It had been a long last day at work. Camille got up, renewed, and walked out the door.

-----

A character I've been thinking about, but haven't really used ever. Maybe I'll write more later. Hope you enjoyed.

-Helsinki

Oh, gods, this has been a Project. But it's worth it.

And so, without further ado... welcome, one and all, to Response Center 369!

Galadriel is there to say "No, that's a terrible idea. No really, we have long suspected that some evil of the ancient world sleeps there, and it's right next door to my house. Let's not wake it up, please."

I don't know about Éowyn being able to assure them the Gap is safe, though. I'm not sure how things stand in Rohan at the time she would have left in this version, but my sense is that it was bad and getting worse for some time before the Three Hunters turned up there in canon. And even if things were okay when she left, and she fully believed they would have nothing but support, she would be wrong by the time they got there. And they would still have to deal with Saruman, either way.

And, if we go this way, do the Ents still get involved to help defeat Saruman? How?

~Neshomeh

I'm working on a Permission request and I was wondering if anyone could have a quick look before I post it, particularly with regards to the agent bios (they're not my strong suit in terms of writing).

I'll give you virtual chocolate chip cookies! Thanks!

Yes yes, I like them very much.

I would particularly recommend the blends of Cara McGee. Her Tea for Travellers set is very good, and Phobos especially likes Moriartea from the Sherlock set, IIRC. Also, I met Cara at a con once. She's a nice person, and her artwork is very cute. ^_^

~Neshomeh

My Middle-earth knowledge isn't as good as it could be, and my movieverse knowledge is virtually non-existent, but I'll try anyway.

I have a feeling that they might take the Gap of Rohan to pass the mountains - after all, that is (presumably) where Eowyn's going and she could reassure the others that the Rohirrim aren't working for Sauron or Saruman.

That could lead to a different route to Amon Hen, and beyond that it depends on whether the individual members want to go to Minas Tirith or press on to Mordor... that's assuming they even get that far!

Writing-wise, I liked what you did with the bit in the italics. It gives off a good "being seriously injured in the ER" vibe.

- Tomash

I think Gandalf would still insist on accompanying the fellowship as Sauron was his Enemy. But another thing that might have changed is, there may have been two of Elven Rings of Power in this new fellowship.

Galadriel has Nenya

But it is possible that both Vilya and Narya may have changed hands. If Gandalf could not accompany the fellowship, given that Cirdan gave Narya to Gandalf because he knew who he was and what his goal was and that it was given to him to help defeat Sauron, he may have passed it to another possible wielder, possibly Goldberry.

It might also not be to far to believe that Elrond may have transferred Vilya to Arwen, though perhaps not. Having all three Elven Rings in one party might be a risky idea.

I do think that if they still had to go through Moria, I think that the encounter with Durin's Bane would be different. Galadriel could solo it like Gandalf, but given the way Goldberry/Tom Bombadil are portrayed they appear to be somewhat close to the Maia, so Goldberry would probably be able to help. Also the Elves are strong enough that alone Arwen (without Vilya) would probably not be able to, but with Tauriel the two Elves may be able to assist. Alternatively if Arwen was granted either Vilya or Narya she might be able to help as well. But short version Durin's Bane would be facing between 2 and 4 opponents, quite possibly keeping all 9 members together for Amon Hen.

I do not think Angelica would be able to resist the influence like Frodo did, because we know it is incredibly corrupting and we do not know enough about her to make a decision. However, with both Goldberry and Galadrial present I think it would be able to be resisted.

I dunno about you, but I'm already shipping Eowyn and Arwen. Sorry, Aragorn!

Also, your depiction of Angelica is absolutely precious and I want to protect her.

So, I was looking through old bookmarks today - mostly because I was trying to find a thing - and I ran across a link in my Merch folder to Adagio Teas.

I clicked in, remembering very vaguely what it was, and discovered a website full to overflowing with tea blends based off of fandoms. You name it and it's probably there.

In the interests of sharing this beauty with all of my fellow fandom nerds, here it is!

Don't bottle 'em up, let them out. You can contact me via my email (which should be clickable) or on Discord (you'll see me on the PPC server). Let me know if you have any prompts you want to see answered by people here. I'd be more than happy to have a look at them and probably use them at some point. After all, it saves me from having to come up with my own.

Novastorme.

It is well known that one of the most popular activities for girls in Middle-earth is joining the Fellowship of the Ring and saving the day; I mean, given a choice between that and dying of dysentery, wouldn't you?

Most female Walkers are Suvians, of course, but a while back Kaitlyn and Selene took on a fic where Rosie, Diamond, and Estella tried to join the Ringbearer's party. That got me thinking: is there a way to get a woman into the Fellowship that works?

In fact (thought I), let's go for broke: is there a way to get nine women into the Fellowship?

The answer, it turned out, was (at least in the Movieverse) yes:


(deviantArt: The Inopportune Storm: The Fellowship of the Ring)

The full account of how this came about is up on deviantArt, but a quick summary goes like this:

---

While Boromir was riding to Rivendell, a storm (sent by Sauron) over Rohan broke his arm. Eowyn took up his message, going to the elves in Lothlorien, where Galadriel chose to escort her to Rivendell.

The storm headed through Mirkwood (where it made the woods dangerous enough that Legolas took Tauriel along with him to Rivendell), crossed the Misty Mountains (flooding the passes and causing Dis, sister of Thorin, to break her journey back to Erebor in Rivendell), and hit the Shire just as Frodo and Sam were leaving Bag-End.

The weather forced them to spend the night at the Green Dragon, where Sam spilled the beans to Rosie. She told her friends, Angelica Baggins (devoted but vain niece of Bilbo) and Pearl Took (Pippin's older sister, probable political assassin), and the trio decided to chase the boys down at Bree. (No Merry and Pip in this one; their chance Movieverse encounter never happens.)

At Bree, Pearl gets attacked by the Nazgul, leading Aragorn to take the five Hobbits into the Old Forest seeking help. Goldberry tends to Pearl - and when Pearl refuses to leave her friends, Goldberry comes along with them.

Aragorn leads what's now a party of seven (including himself) to Weathertop, but the size of the group + Pearl's injury means everything's a little bit slower. Long story short, Frodo dies on the banks of Bruinen, with Arwen unable to save him.

At the Council, Bilbo pulls his Bookverse trick of trying to take up the Quest... but this time it's Angelica who steps in to take the Ring instead of him. The rest of the Nine each have their own reasons for going (Rosie & Pearl to stay with Angelica, Goldberry to stay with Pearl, Arwen to spend time with Galadriel, Dis to spend time with Tauriel, and Eowyn is heading that way anyway), and the Fellowship is declared.

---

So far, that's where the story ends. For the Middle-earth types on the Board (whatever your degree of knowledge or lack thereof): how do you think this Fellowship's story would go? Would having all of the bearers of the Three in Rivendell help in their planning? Would Galadriel try and take them over Caradhras (and if so, would the fact that she, Arwen, and Goldberry all have a magical connection to water mean they could avert the snowstorm?)? Would Angelica, whose only canon trait is being so vain that Bilbo left her a mirror, be able to stand up to the strain of the Ring? What would happen when a trio of (essentially) water-mages ran into trouble along the Anduin? Precisely how dead would the Lord of the Nazgul be?

And, perhaps most importantly: in the inevitable, endless fanfic, who would the fans relentlessly ship together?

hS

;a;

;A;

... Talk about a rough life. Sometimes trying to do something good gets you nothing but pain.

And uncalled-for implants.

Therefore, I'd better do this one. Should probably have warnings for something, but I'm not sure exactly what.


Francis sat at the desk, reading through a copy of the latest magi-scientific journal. The paper on Elvish societies wasn’t really the sort of thing that interested him, but he made a point of reading every article. You never knew when the information might come in handy.

On the floor in front of him, Tiger and Holly were playing a board game, or trying to: each of them kept accusing the other of cheating. They were both as bad as each other, or as good as each other, depending on your point of view.

The door suddenly jerked open. Francis looked up from the journal to see Alice standing in the door, looking absolutely furious.

“Hello, dear,” he said calmly, wondering what had set off her red-hot temper this time.

“Don’t you “dear” me, you evil man!” shouted Alice.

“What makes you think I’m evil?” asked Francis, as if curiously.

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly guess. Maybe… I don’t know… hiring an assassin to eliminate your rival?”

Francis was surprised – how on earth had she known that? – but he concealed it effortlessly. “I – I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He knew it was no use trying to talk his way out of this, but he could buy himself a bit of time.

“Really?” she said. “Then what is this?”

She pulled a document out of her pocket, unfolded it, and threw it onto his desk.

Francis merely moved it aside so he could continue reading. He already knew what the document said: it was an agreement between himself and one of the best assassins in the land to, as Alice had put it, “eliminate his rival” in exchange for generous payment.

“Well?” said Alice furiously. “What have you got to say for yourself?”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pry into my secret documents.”

That was enough for Alice to snap. She began yelling terrible words, spells to strike fear into even Francis’s heart.

Objects all around arose to do Alice’s bidding, and flung themselves at Francis. His drawer sprung out and the dagger in it leaped up.

He was only just able to duck in time to avoid it hitting his throat. Instead, it dug into his cheek. He pulled it out and hastily said a protective charm, blocking Alice’s magic from coming within a metre of him.

Then he felt his cheek. His hand came away covered in blood. He knew it would take all of his magic to heal a wound made with his own dagger, and that the scar would never fade. “I think you’re being a bit of a hypocrite, Alice. That was pretty evil magic you just used.

He heard a scream from outside and saw Holly running away on her tiny legs, abandoning the board. Tiger, too, retreated to a safe distance, and then asked “Mummy, why are you hurting Daddy?”

Alice ignored him and said: “Right. That’s it. I’ve had enough. I’m leaving.”

“Fine,” said Francis, reaching for a handkerchief to mop the blood off his cheek. “Goodbye.”

Alice looked startled at his rather unemotional reaction. “Come on, children,” she said, but neither Tiger nor Holly moved.

Because I can. Trigger warnings for allusions to rape.


“What’s your name?” 8386071 asked the sweating, trembling young man. An angry red scar was seared on his chest; he’d been recently implanted.

“Coryn,” the man said. “You?”

8386071 shrugged. “No name, just a number. They call me the Scorpion in the arena, but only because my number’s a mouthful to say. Those of us who were born here ain’t got names. Where are you from, Coryn?”

“Ord Mantell.”

8386071 frowned, trying to remember the stories he’d heard from the other slaves. “That’s… er…”

“Bright Jewel system, Mid Rim,” Coryn said. “I was a soldier in the civil war and got sold as a prisoner.”

“Civil war?” 8386071 decided not to tell Coryn he had no idea where any of those places were supposed to be.

“Gods, they really don’t tell you lot anything, do they?” Coryn drew his knees up to his chest, staring out the barred window that opened to the sandy arena outside. The sleeping quarters were vacant; everyone else was training, the dull thud-thud of the wooden practice weapons resonating as they hit their targets.

“Not really, no,” 8386071 said. “It’s… well, I’d be lying if I said it ain’t so bad, but stories I hear from the other gladiators, other places have it loads worse than we do. Just avoid Harkon and his men when they’re in a bad mood, say ‘yessir’ and ‘no sir’, and don’t ask for second helpings, and you should be alright.”

Coryn let out a barking laugh. “Oh, and that’s supposed to make me feel better about having my freedom ripped away from me?”

“Well… no,” 8386071 said slowly, “but—”

“But what? I wouldn’t expect you to understand what it was like,” Coryn said bitterly. “I’m never going to see my family again. I had a little girl, a daughter, my Yalena…” He reached up to wipe his eyes, and 8386071 hesitated before offering him a corner of his blanket. Coryn pressed it to his face, shoulders beginning to shake.

“I’ll help you,” 8386071 said quietly. “We all will.”

“What, escape?”

“Survive.”

Coryn shook his head, setting the blanket aside. “Live as a slave,” he muttered disdainfully.

Footsteps echoed in the hall outside and a strange gleam came into Coryn’s eye.

A key scraped in the lock.

“Or die free!” Coryn yelled, throwing himself at the door.

“CORYN, NO!” 8386071 bolted after him, heart pounding as Coryn plowed through Harkon and Ra’viss, knocking them over. 8386071 leapt over their prone forms. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”

Harkon climbed to his feet and pulled out his detonator.

“CORYN—!”

And then everything went white.


“He’s fading fast.”

“More blood!

“I don’t know if it’s possible to save him, the damage is too—”

“SILENCE! I won’t have my prize gladiator dead because you imbeciles can’t attach a new arm!”

Drifting. Pain. Ringing.

“Why his eye, though? They’re both undamaged.”

“Might as well upgrade him while you’re here.”

“Understood.”

Stabbing. Gouging. Tearing.

Searing. Scorching. Burning.

Nothing.


When he woke up, he was back in the sleeping quarters, and for a moment, he thought it was all a dream, until he realized that this was a different room than the one they normally stayed in, and it was crowded with twice the usual number of people.

“Hey, look, the Scorpion’s awake!” Mako called, and there was a sudden rustle as people turned to look.

8386071 blinked up at them blearily. Something about his vision was off. It was… half red. His body felt heavy. His face itched and his arm felt like it was on fire.

“Are you alright?” Dinah asked anxiously. Worry creased her face. Her voice felt off, tinny, almost, and yet more clear than he’d ever heard before. Sounds were sharper.

8386071 tried to speak, but his voice rasped.

There was a faint splashing noise, and then Jeyla was there, holding a rag to his lips and squeezing water into his mouth. He sucked it down gratefully.

He blinked again. It felt… wrong. Only one eye was blinking. But he could see out of both of them?

“What happened?” 8386071 croaked.

“You know damn well what happened!” Mako snapped. “You idiot, thought you’d chase down the newcomer and what, hold him down? Nearly got yourself killed when he detonated! If you weren’t so injured, I’d beat you myself!”

“That’s enough, Mako,” 427787 snapped.

Mako folded his arms, glaring at 8386071.

“You lost your right arm,” Jeyla said. “And your left eye. I’m not sure what else they had to repair…”

8386071 forced his head to turn. The dull grey metal of his new arm weakly reflected the sunlight and bounced back up in his face. He closed his eyes. Eye. The other one wasn’t so bothered by the glare, and he could feel its vibrations in his skull as he looked sideways with it. He could see worried and angry faces, but that wasn’t all—beating hearts, pulsing arteries, and heaving lungs were now visible, hot red in contrast to the pale redness of the room.

He looked back up at the ceiling. “How long before I’m back in the arena?” he asked. It was the only thing he could think to say in that moment. He’d process what had happened to him later.

“Don’t know, kid,” 427787 said. “You’re already back to good condition from what we heard, but the Master doesn’t want you out in the arena until you’re used to the upgrades. And because of that… well, I’ve got bad news for you.”

8386071’s mouth went dry. “No…”

“The Master’s decided to bump your breeding ahead of schedule,” Mako said. “Since you’re useless in a fight for the moment, he figured he’s going to put you to work in bed.” He laughed. “Have fun, kid. First time always is.”