Deletion

Deletion is a phenomenon that occurs when a fanfic is removed. The scene begins to crumple up and things start to vanish, with the usual apocalyptic earthquakes. Objects may begin to resemble the Words that created them; these Words then vanish slowly. Characters begin behaving in erratic ways, reliving their time as various incarnations in both canon and badfic, freezing, fading in and out, or disappearing altogether.

Witnessing a deletion can have a very deleterious effect on an agent's sanity; agents are themselves characters and are affected by what happens in the worlds they visit, though less so than canon characters. It is possible for agents to be caught "in between worlds" while trying to escape a deletion; the only known case where this happened resulted in permanent insanity, and even seeing the chaos of the space between the worlds has been known to drive agents temporarily insane.

Agents who do not get out in time die, although there is usually time to kill at least one Sue. Killing the Sue is still highly recommended if it is at all possible, since Sues are capable of plothole manipulation and may jump to another continuum if they are not killed.

The HQ computer system tries to stabilize a fic before agents enter it; however, Deletion, being an act of the fic's Author, often overrides such safety precautions.

Deletion can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour.

Examples of Deletion in Mission Reports

 * The Dark of the Moon (LotR), Agents Jay Thorntree (DIC) and Agent Dead (Special Operations Division) rescue Agents Rosie Cotton Bomull and Nenya Gabriel (DMS-DMO) from a deletion.