#THE DAYLIGHT PREQUEL/SEQUEL

[amadwinter]

Star Wars Fandom Data on AO3

Data was collected on Friday March 29th 2024 at approximately 10:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time from a logged in account.

I was bored this morning, so this happened.

For a while now, I've been curious about the stats for the Star Wars fandom on AO3. It's a very fractured fandom, where everyone can find their niche and never venture far outside of it if they don't want to, and it's also an old fandom, dating back to a time before the Internet even existed. Yet it continues to march on stronger than ever, even if it looks very different depending up on which side of the fandom you choose to be in.

In the Star Wars - All Media Types fandom supercategory on AO3, there are 258,173 works. The top 10 subcategories along with their work counts are as follows:

Fandoms

Star Wars - All Media Types - 155,041 works

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy - 78,542 works

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types - 53,588 works

Star Wars Prequel Trilogy - 39,799 works

The Mandalorian (TV) - 18,694 works

Star Wars Original Trilogy - 18,425 works

Star Wars: Rebels - 13,033 works

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) - 10,527 works

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - 8,096 works

Star Wars Legends - All Media Types - 8,026 works

Now, if you simply look at the sort and filter sidebar under Include, Relationships, you'll be presented with the following relationships, both platonic and romantic, as well as their work counts:

Relationships

Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - 24,532 works

Kylo Ren/Rey - 16,654 works

Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren - 13,027 works

Rey/Ben Solo - 10,484 works

Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker - 9,660 works

Padme Amidala/Anakin Skywalker - 9,563 works

Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - 9,528 works

Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker - 8,970 works

Poe Dameron/ Finn - 8,670 works

CC-224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi - 6,868 works

Which is fine, I suppose, but it doesn't paint a very accurate picture. Many of those relationships can be found under the same tags (e.x. the top ship Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren includes both the #2 relationship Kylo Ren/Rey and the #4 relationship Rey/Ben Solo), and so I sought the data manually from each tag by 1st, using the broadest tag for each relationship (Ben Solo | Kylo Ren and Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader primarily); 2nd, for every platonic relationship that appeared (designated with & as opposed to /), I excluded the romantic form of that relationship from the searches; 3rd after going through the list and determining 3 relationships were redundant, I then went through the separate fandom categories tag starting from the most populous down to the least populous to determine which 3 relationships rounded out the top 10.

Is this methodology perfect? No. It cannot account for relationships that were tagged erroneously (romantic instead of platonic), or whether the tagged relationship is primary to the work, tagged as "past", "minor", or any other quirk that would implicate the relationship is not the main focus of the work. However, it is a far more accurate representation of the top 10 relationships in the Star Wars fandom on AO3.

Relationships Revised

Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - 30,304 works

Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - 17,017 works

Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader - 9,960 works

Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader - 9,151 works

Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader - 8,715 works

Poe Dameron/Finn - 8,670 works

CC-224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi - 6,868 works

Leia Organa/Han Solo - 6,733 works

Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Ahsoka Tano - 5,105 works

Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso - 4,910 works

As you can see, this paints a very different picture from the list above. By collapsing some of the relationships, it added nearly 5.5k works the #1 relationship, and 4k works to the #2 relationship (previously third). It also allowed the addition of 2 more M/F relationships (which are statistically about half as popular across all fandoms on AO3, even if the #1 on Star Wars is itself M/F), and 1 more platonic relationship.

I must say, that I am surprised by one thing: Luke Skywalker is no where on either list. I didn't include which characters are the top 10 most tagged in the Star Wars fandom, but Luke is absolutely on there (By the way, the most tagged character is Obi-Wan Kenobi, surprising absolutely no one).

If anyone can point me to a relationship in the Star Wars fandom on AO3 that should be included on this list instead of any of the ones I have listed, I would be glad to update this, but for now, this appears to be the most accurate.

[clatoera]

Masterlist of Chapters: Always Remember We’re Burned For Better

hey guys! I just wanted to make a post with the links to each chapter of my Clato AU both here and on AO3 for convenience and easy tracking purposes.

I won’t be too verbose and will just get into it!

Chapter One: Crimson Clover    Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Two: Still, the Yearning Stays   Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Three: Checkmate, I Couldn’t Lose Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Four: I’ve Loved you three summers now honey, i want ‘em all Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Five: It’s Been a Long Time Coming Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Six: Everybody’s Watching to See the Fall Out  Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Seven: All These People Think Love’s For Show Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Eight: Would’ve. Could’ve. Should’ve. Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Nine: Everything was slipping right out of our hands Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Ten: Our Coming of Age Has Come and Gone Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Eleven: Baby, Let the Games Begin. Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Twelve: Meet Me At Midnight Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Thirteen: Don’t Blame Me (Love made me crazy) Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Fourteen: Who You Are Is Not What You Did Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Fifteen: If I’m on Fire, You’ll Be Made of Ashes Too Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Sixteen: I nearly lost you (I really though i’d lost you) Tumblr|AO3

Chapter Seventeen: What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Want you More Tumblr|AO3

Chapter Eighteen: Not my homeland anymore...so what am I defending Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Nineteen: Always Remember We’re Burned For Better  Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Twenty: We Will Never Go Back to That Bloodshed Tumblr | AO3

Epilogue:  I Vow I Will Always Be Yours, For We Survived the Great War Tumblr | AO3

SEQUEL: Picket Fences, Sharp as Knives

Chapter One: At Dinner Parties, I Call You Out Tumblr | AO3

Chapter Two: Barefoot in the Wildest Winter, Catching my Death Tumblr| AO3

Chapter Three: All I Know, Is this could either break my heart (part 1) Tumblr| AO3

Chapter Four: ...Or bring me back to life (part 2) tumblr | AO3

Chapter Five: I once believed love would be black and white...but it’s golden. Like daylight. tumblr | AO3

Chapter Six: Not Trying to Fall in Love, but we did like Children running tumblr | AO3

Chapter Seven: They Got No Idea About Me and You tumblr | AO3

Chapter Eight: You Knew What You Wanted, and Boy You Got Her tumblr | AO3

Chapter Nine: I am what I am cause you trained me tumblr | AO3

Chapter Ten: The best thing that’s ever been mine tumblr | AO3

Chapter Eleven: When you can’t sleep at night, you’ll hear my stolen lullabies tumblr | AO3

Prequel: You Don’t Feel Pretty, You Just Feel Used Tumblr| AO3

Associated works: because friends who write together stay together (or me being really thankful for my loves who share this with me)

1.  Dust Collected on my Pinned up hair: au of an au from @crookedlyniceperson for my girl glimmer

2. Enobaria and Cashmere being cuties talking shit drunk in bed from @bodyelectric77

3. Honeymoon: Cash and Enobaria in D1 post war  @bodyelectric77

4. In a world of boys he’s a gentleman: glimmer and marvel get together THE fic i dream of sometimes @kentwells

[persephones-journey]

*SCREAMING* CAN I ASK ABOUT ALL OF THEM?????? 👀❤️

No, you can't lol

okay...

Fire & Blood - Harwin goes to the future, falls in love with Lyanna Stark and messes with Targaryen succession, as he does.

High infidelity in Daylight - The sequel to Nothing Lasts Forever. Sihtric has found out about Finan and Aisling's affair and shit hits the fan. Angst and pain.

Followed You to the Graveyard - Season 7 Enzo and Erys. Just a retelling of TVD season 7 with my OC Erys and her relationship with Enzo St. John.

Always on the Verge - Season 6 Enzo and Erys. Same as above just in season 6 of TVD lol

I'll Face Myself - the prequel to Here Lies My Love, focusing on Erys' past lives and how each one of them meet Elijah, Finan, and Enzo respectively and fall in love, and how it ends... badly.

Picture of You - smutty one shot of Benedict/Norrie from my Was It Over fic. How they met basically lol

If I am Anything, I am Yours - this is all YOUR FAULT AND YOU KNOW IT!... it's Damon, Erys, and Enzo having a summer of fun (ie free use and sex everywhere and anywhere) in a AU version, I guess... THAT IS ALL @bhxrdy FAULT... DID I MENTION THAT CAUSE IT IS!

... so yeah

that is all.

[ulysaturn]

dead by daylight fics by saturnulysses!!

im finally gonna post my AO3 fics here yaayyyyy

im mainly writing Jake Park/Ghostface, as they are my ride or die, but come check these out....

my first dbd fic, its a soft Jake Park/Renato Lyra fic about climbing trees but theyre being a bit gay about it

a solo Jake fic, a character study about him and his hair. kinda angsty

the popular one! ghostpark, morning after. gets a lil saucy but not too crazy. leans more cute than spicy

Ghostpark again, but in season for the masquerade! what if jake and danny danced in the unicorn room in rpd.....(also a hint at weskennedy)

ghostpark again! this one's saucy. its a sequel, and the prequel is linked in chapter 2. cowritten with a friend. involves phone calls.......

ghostpark ficlet compilation! so far has two ficlets/drabbles and its where my smaller ideas are gonna go!

ghostpark hurt/comfort (I THINK?) blighted danny doesnt have a good time being blighted, and jake has to see him ): lots of talk about body horror and slight emetophobia

this one. if you decide to not read anything else and just read one of my fics, let it be this one. this one is my ghostpark thesis in the making. its 4 chapters done, looking to be around 13 chapters overall. will get saucy in all sorts of ways

premise:

Ghostface was a stalker. It was his job to know things about everyone. But Jake becomes unsettled when the killer seems to know more about the saboteur than anyone else, including things Jake never wanted to think about again.

so yeah thats all my fics rn!! save this however u want its all good but i felt the need to post my fics on tumblr at some point so fhksjda

[renaerys]

The Void Between Fireflies (to no one surprise)

Ah, my magnum opus! 🥰

This is a SasoSaku fic that is currently ongoing. It's a sequel to my bathhouse fic Burning Daylight. TVBF imagines an alternate canon reality where Sasori survives the fight with Chiyo and Sakura and assembles a team to take down his ex BFF Orochimaru. It started as a sort of redux of an old fic I wrote called Zero Hour, and it's evolved into something totally different given the preexisting relationship between Sasori and Sakura from Burning Daylight.

I've really enjoyed exploring the non-linear progression of SasoSaku's relationship in this. They both are characters who understand love as an obsession, all-consuming, and in finding each other, they have found the perfect person to reciprocate and make each other better. Other things I love about this fic is Deidara being the MVP character (he is easily the best Deidara I have ever written), the uneasy swamp magic vibes in the Land of Swamps where Sasori is hiding out, and the fight scenes.

I have also been extremely lucky to have gotten a ton of fanart for both TVBF and the prequel, Burning Daylight. The art is embedded in the chapters of the two fics and really brings the various scenes to life.

TVBF is ongoing and will be finished this year. You can read it here!

[jt-artsandfics]

List of fandoms I write for.

Rules: I'm pretty lenient with what I write I'm happy to do alot but these are what I won't write

I do not:

write characters under 18

Non Con, Rape, under age

Abuse

Will write:

Smut/nsfw

Gore

Pretty much anything that isn't in the will not write.

Character inserts

Ships( they are down below that characters)

Stranger things

(not the kids I don't write for them)

Characters:

Steve harrington

Eddie munson

Nancy wheeler

Robin Buckley (x fem only)

Argyle

Jonathan byers

Henry/001

Billy hargrove

Ships: steddie, ronance, Jagyle, harrigrove(on thin ice)

Star wars

(All media games/shows and movies)

Characters: all and any if you find one o won't do I'll let you know but pretty much any star wars character clones, bad batch, mando, OGs, Prequel, sequels, any star wars one I'll try and do I just haven't seen Andor yet (please be patient if it's anyone from that)

Resident evil games

Characters:

Leon Kennedy

Wesker

Ethan winters

Karl Heisenberg

LADY D

Ships: lady d x Ethan, Ethan x Karl. (Cute family Ethan and Rose)

Dead by daylight

+ (movie slashers from dbd in there franchises)

Characters:

All characters in dead by daylight slashers and survivors this includes characters from movie/ game and TV series

Fallout 3, NV, 4

Characters:

Charon

Butch deloria

The king

Benny gecko

Joshua Graham

Vulpes inculta

Nick valentine

John Hancock

Danse

Porter gage

Skyrim

Characters:

Followers in game

Miraak

Serena

Thalmor agents ancano and such

Daedric princes

Dark borhterhood members

Thieves guild members

+ ( lucien lachance oblivion)

Mortal kombat

(I'm trying to get back into writing MK)

Characters: I'll try and write who I can if I can't I will let you know.

The Arcana

Characters: all romance options in game

Lost boys

(I love my vampire boys)

Characters:

Dwyane

Marko

Paul

David

Dragon Age Origins, 2, Inquisition

Characters: all followers from each game

+ krem

Dorian is (male on insert)

Sera is (fem only insert)

Monster boyfriend or Girlfriend of your own design and I'll draw them up too

[spiritmoon23]

i wrote a long rant about how great jaws was and how much modern movies suck so bad as a discussion post assignment for school but it was actually great so here it is

Jaws is notable in many respects, including practically inventing the subgenre of daytime horror, prominent use of field-of-view sliding for dramatic effect, and using a large, mechanical puppet as the main monster. 

The biggest difference between this film and similar modern movies is, in my opinion, the use of a physical mechanical monster, rather than some kind of post-editing inclusion. Jaws, and another classic, Jurassic Park, employ very large robotic puppets as a practical effect in their movies, which makes it easier for the actors in the scene to actually interact with the monster, and the effects hold up much better over time than any kind of post editing or CGI ever could. In comparison, The Meg, a modern giant shark movie, uses only animated sharks as the main threat, which can pull the audience out of the immersion of the movie simply because the actors and the monster aren't on the same page, visually or physically. 

Another of the biggest things I notice is that every scene, even the nighttime ones, are fully lit so that you can actually see what is happening on the screen. Part of this is that it is a daylight horror movie, which means that the vast majority of the film takes place during the day, and relies on writing and acting to instill fear in the audience, rather than ambience. In modern films, there has been a concerning trend of simply not lighting scenes, either due to a desire for a jumpscare-style of horror, or a drive towards 'realism' that really doesn't need to exist in cinema. This trend is made most famous by Zach Snyder's Justice League, which loses quite a bit of quality because the audience just can't see anything in the scene. 

The characters also feel more real. Modern writing in film has swayed further into a world of quips, comebacks, and "Well THAT just happened"'s than writing used to be. In Jaws, the conversations feel genuine and plausible, something that I could imagine saying or having be said to me in the same situation. More recently, especially prominent in films released by Marvel Studios, the dialog seems almost disrespectful or condescending to the audience, like the movie writers think the audience couldn't appreciate 20 minutes of a genuine heartfelt conversation without at least three funny one-liners sprinkled in to maintain their attention. The acting reflects this as well. Actors in Jaws feel like real people going through a wild situation, whereas actors in many modern films feel like they're caricatures or archetypes, not real people experiencing something surreal. 

The success of smaller-budget and/or practical effects movies in the last couple of years, like Five Nights at Freddy's ($20 million budget) and Barbie (all real sets, costumes, and practical effects) and the convergent audience reception decline of huge budget, CGI dependent films, like the trend we've seen in new Marvel productions, gives me hope that the future of cinema will see a rise in appreciation for more indie productions that rely on small groups of genuine creatives doing what they do best, designing costumes and sets, writing great characters, and the like, rather than continuing to over saturate the market with ironic sequels to sequels to prequels to movies that were popular 20+ years ago. With love, I hope the current Hollywood market dies so that genuine cinematic art can thrive over the next 50 years.

[monstermaster13]

Name: Matthias T.Radke/Werebelushi In Shades.

Species: I am a Werebelushi.

Gender: Male.

Theme Song: Ruthless People.

Personality: On screen as my reviewer persona I am brash, aggressive, and in your face but outside of my persona I am very much just a nice everyday person, it's just i've got limits on what I can and can't allow.

Likes: Reviewing good media that is requested to me by friends including movies, comics, characters, etc, doing comedy skits with my friends, helping my friends, slaying the forces of evil, watching SNL.

Dislikes: Bad movies, bad remakes, bad adaptations of tv shows, bad sequels or prequels, bad fanfiction, having to do reviews of anything involving that certain annoying bird (I keep insisting I don't want to do them but my producers are assholes and they keep making me do it, I want them to get fired but I apparently can't fire them because they know what gets good views, they know my viewers love the rants and outbursts, they want to see me inflict pain on these terrible pieces of media, they are sadistic, yes.. but trust me, it's a good thing I don't drink because given how many times i've reviewed Ciel's shit already I would have likely died from alcohol poisoning by now), people who say I do nothing but complain…look, it's their fault they cannot handle criticism, even if they think they are above criticism they still have the need to try and act like i'm in the wrong for having a different opinion, people these days are just so oversensitive, like I could say that I hate Forrest Gump and I guarantee one person on twitter is likely going to be 'please block this man, he hates forrest gump, he is a Tom Hanksophobe.'

Love interest: Don't have one.

Friends: Mel, Eucalyptus, Nathan, and all my viewers.

Biggest pet peeve: Yeah i'm sorry but I cannot stand people who think I complain too much, like dude i'm a reviewer, it's my job to critique things and yeah I cannot stand certain things like forced mind control, when suiting is used in a transformation and doesn't go anywhere apart from trapping someone in a suit (putting on a suit made to look like a Pokemon and transforming because of it only for nothing to happen isn't a tf, it's a dude in a costume, not a real tf, it doesn't count, that is just a human in a kigurumi/onesie that looks like a Pokemon that transforms him and that's it, it's just lazy if you ask me, look can't anyone just make a monster that DOESN'T use suiting as a method? I am just asking…why couldn't it just have been a symbiote or something?), anything with diapers, fat characters being made the butt of the joke, etc and well if you don't like my opinions maybe you shouldn't be complaining, Nathan does the positive reviews, I do the negative stuff and for a good reason. Because that's what Nathan's lists are for. I have positive opinions too, you know, and I DO contribute, thank you very much, by getting rid of the trash of this universe. I am the trash-man, I pick up the trash that gets thrown around here and throw it out all over and then pick it up again, then I start eating the garbage, then I bash someone over the head.

Best friends: Mel, Nathan.

Favorite video game: Dead by Daylight, MK11.

Favorite food: Difficult to say…I have many favorites.

Favorite color: Hard to say.

Favorite TV Show: SNL, SCTV, Grimm, Twin Peaks, Hell's Kitchen, Face-Off, Masked Singer, Blackadder, X-Factor.

Favorite Movies: Blues Brothers, any 80's era horror movie, The Godfather trilogy, Demolition Man, From Dusk Till Dawn, Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, Evil Dead franchise, Maniac Cop, Terror Toons, Beetlejuice.

[flowerflamestars]

Starlight: Chapter 1

An older Azriel could look back and admit he’d been screwed the second Elain Archeron refused to leave behind that jacket. Ashamed of the fact that he’d spent three days fucking furious, before he’d gone to check on Feyre’s older sisters. Angry that Rhysand had hidden his bonding to Feyre- not because he’d missed a wedding, Az didn’t care- but because it would have changed every facet of their plan. A High Lady wasn’t a spy, she was a conflict obliterating hostage. Had he forgotten Azriel had more than half a dozen people on the ground already? There was no reason to send the co-head of their entire government across enemy lines and leave her there. But Rhys was furious right back- and an angry High Lord listened about as well as an absent one. For the first time in five centuries, Azriel, for just a second, missed the first ruthless man he’d served: Rhain, Rhysand’s father, who’d no more gamble with what mattered than lower his head to a lesser man. Three days, and Cassian groaning awake out of his coma trying to say Nesta Archeron’s name. The second thing he said, already trying to stagger to his feet and stretch, was, “You’re so pissed I can smell it- Az, are you okay?”

READ THE REST HERE

@greerlunna @ribhinnog @clolikescloquetas @sunsummoner  @empress-ofbloodshed @mireillemystique  @superspiritfestival @skychild29

[sleepingdeath-sapphic]

listed below are all of my current active fandoms as of 29/08/24, organised alphabetically and by their media of origin. italicised names are fandoms that i write for, but that i haven’t seen in full myself.

note : remember that i will only write for the available female characters from each fandom (so i will only list relevant fandoms, leaving out properties that have no prominent characters for me to write for here)

animated shows (western)

-> amphibia

-> arcane

-> avatar: the last airbender

-> ever after high

-> gravity falls

-> hazbin hotel

-> helluva boss

-> monster high

-> murder drones

-> steven universe

-> the amazing digital circus

-> the legend of korra

-> the owl house

-> winx club

anime series

-> aggretsuko

-> attack on titan

-> beastars

-> black butler

-> brand new animal

-> bungo stray dogs

-> deadman wonderland

-> death note

-> delicious in dungeon

-> demon slayer

-> hetalia

-> kakegurui

-> kakegurui twin

-> my hero academia

disney films and series

-> aladdin (animated & live action)

-> alice in wonderland (live action only)

-> beauty and the beast (animated & live action)

-> brave

-> cinderella (animated & live action)

-> elemental

-> encanto

-> frozen (1 & 2)

-> maleficent

-> mulan (animated only)

-> pocahontas

-> princess and the frog

-> raya and the last dragon

-> sleeping beauty

-> snow white

-> tangled (film & series)

-> the hunchback of notre-dame

-> the little mermaid

games

-> baldur’s gate 3

-> bioshock

-> cookie run: kingdom

-> cookie run: ovenbreak

-> cookie run: witch’s castle

-> crowscare

-> dark deception

-> dead by daylight

-> deltarune

-> disco elysium

-> five nights at freddy’s

-> hollow knight

-> mystic messenger

-> overwatch

-> silent hill

-> undertale

horror media (films / series / sites / stories)

-> (film series) child’s play

-> (film series) house of 1000 corpses

-> (film) jennifer’s body

-> (film) malignant

-> (film series) predator

-> (film series) silence of the lambs

-> (film series) the conjuring

-> (film) wrong turn 2021

-> (site) welcome home

-> (series) stranger things

-> (stories) creepypasta

-> (stories) scp foundation

marvel movies, series and adjacent properties

-> avengers (all)

-> black widow

-> black panther

-> captain america (1)

-> captain marvel

-> doctor strange (all)

-> guardians of the galaxy (all)

-> iron man (all)

-> thor (all)

other films and series

-> addams family

-> bbc ghosts

-> birds of prey

-> bridgerton

-> fantastic beasts (all)

-> harry potter (all)

-> the chronicles of narnia

-> the pirates of the caribbean

-> yonderland

star wars films and series

-> original trilogy

-> prequel trilogy

-> sequel trilogy

-> (series) andor

-> (series) clone wars

-> (series) kenobi

-> (series) the book of boba fett

-> (series) the mandolorian

studio ghibli films

-> howl’s moving castle

-> kiki’s delivery service

-> princess mononoke

-> spirited away

-> when marnie was there

[justathoughtfulangel]

To Save the Savior ~ Kai Parker One Shot (slight AU)

Hello! I’m back from my hiatus and have a story to share! 

This is the sequel to Love is Pain. Pain is Love. If you haven’t yet, I strongly recommend reading it (and its prequel, Becoming Human) as many things will be confusing without context. However, you do you! I’ve done my best to write the piece so it’s still enjoyable as a oneshot :)

Word count: 3,435

This story is inspired by “Meet Me on the Battlefield” by SVRCINA. Segments of lyrics signify a change of scene.

*not my gif

Things you need to know before you read (ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE PAST PARTS):

1) Damon and Stefan have a younger sister (my OC and the female lead of this story), Lucy Salvatore.

2) Lillian Salvatore died when she was supposed to, and the 1903 prison world does not exist. The group of Heretics that were trapped there with her does not exist, either.

3) Kai’s story remains the same up until his merge with Luke, but his sociopathic tendencies have mellowed out since he’s learned to feel (this was alluded to before the Mystic Falls gang trapped him in the 1903 prison world). In Becoming Human, I share the story of how Lucy helped Kai make sense of emotions and how they fell in love.

4) In Love is Pain. Pain is Love, Damon and Stefan trap Kai back in the 1994 prison world, and Lucy shuts off her humanity. She has never done this before, and while they try everything to get her back, the only one who could get her to flip her switch once more was Kai. 

5) This piece begins immediately after Lucy turned her humanity back on and Kai returned after another year in the 1994 prison world.

If you’d like to be added to my taglist, please message me :)

The story starts after the break; I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it!

No time for rest, no pillow for my head Nowhere to run from this, no way to forget Around the shadows creep, like friends they cover me Just wanna lay me down and finally try to get some sleep

As Kai enveloped Lucy in his arms, cradling her close to his chest as she sobbed in agony, he couldn’t pinpoint what he felt. Was it relief at having Lucy in his embrace once more? Anger at her brothers for failing to care for her? Fear of being unable to save her as she saved him? 

The air had been stolen from Lucy’s lungs. She had been a vampire for over a century, but she had never been a monster. Lucy hadn’t taken a single innocent human life until these last few weeks. She had stolen sons from mothers, sisters from brothers, spouses from loved ones… The guilt was creeping around her, swathing her in darkness.

A harsh, ringing wail echoed through the home, seeming to shake the souls of all who heard it. All Kai could do was squeeze Lucy tight, desperate to hold the broken pieces of her together with the power of his love. 

Hours passed, and Malachai did not move an inch. Daylight was long gone, and the moon did not show its face tonight. 

Rooms away, Stefan rested his forehead against clenched fists. Damon paced relentlessly. Picking someone up after they fell was Lucy’s domain, but she certainly couldn’t do it for herself. Not this time. Not like this.

It was easy to place the blame. Damon and Damon alone was at fault. After all, he had been the one to turn her…

It was just a few weeks after Katherine turned Stefan and Damon. Damon had spent those weeks wallowing in torment; Stefan had spent every second reveling in his newfound life. His victims were strewn across the room, and Damon wasn’t even surprised anymore. He grabbed the ones closest to him, compelling them to leave the house and never think of it again. “Damon don’t be like this. I’m just having some fun!”

“Staying alive is more fun, Stefan! We have to be more careful than this. More clever, like Katherine was.” Stefan scoffed, a besmirching smirk on his face. “Look where that got her.” Damon was the sane brother back then. Wiser too, as the eldest should be. But he’d had enough. 

“I’m done here. With you. I’m leaving town, and I’ll be taking Lucy with me.” He brushed past his brother without another word. Stefan, somehow understanding the gravity of losing both his siblings despite the euphoric haze of his feeding, tried to stop him. “You hate me. I know. An eternity of misery and on and on. I know. But you and Lucy don’t have to leave town. Damon, I’ll do better, I promise.” 

 Damon’s piercing blue eyes were hard as diamonds, no emotion on his face. “No. You will get us killed. I’d rather leave you to do that to yourself.” Shoving him aside, Damon made haste to where he and Lucy had been staying. Choosing to turn her was the most selfish decision he had made. At the time, he justified it by saying Lucy wasn’t safe with Stefan around. Stefan killed their father; who was to say he wouldn’t kill their little sister with his insatiable bloodlust? 

 If he was being truthful, Damon would’ve admitted he did not want to spend the remainder of eternity alone. 

 Emily Bennett taught him what to do and created a daylight ring for Lucy. It was a ring that once belonged to their mother and even as a human, Lucy never removed it. After she transitioned, Damon took her far from Mystic Falls. They didn’t see Stefan again until 1893…

Lucy had taken surprisingly well to being a vampire and had not fallen off the wagon even once. Though she was the youngest, she had spent her entire life caring for both her brothers, sometimes traveling across the world to get to the other. She had saved them from themselves over and over, yet they could do absolutely nothing for her. In their attempts to blindly protect her, Damon and Stefan had only brought her suffering, pushing her to do the one thing they never fathomed.

Suppressing a growl of frustration at their helplessness, Damon strode over to the library. Lucy was huddled in Kai’s lap. His eyes were closed, but even in the darkness, Damon saw the movement beneath his eyelids at Lucy’s every tear and whimper. 

Sensing the presence of another, Kai’s eyes opened. The anguish in them quickly turned to a steely glare of accusation. It didn’t shake the eldest Salvatore sibling. Kai couldn’t possibly disdain him any more than he did himself. “Malachai?”

Kai’s attention was diverted back to Lucy immediately. He couldn’t revel in hearing his name from her lips for the first time in a year, not when her voice was so unbearably broken. He never wanted to hear this tone from her again. “Yes, love?”

“Can you take me h-home?” Wordlessly, Kai nodded and took care not to jostle her much as he lifted her and stood, holding her close to his chest. He didn’t spare Damon a second glance as he carried Lucy to the car, desperate to be with her in the comfort of their home.

We carry on through the storm, tired soldiers in this war, Remember what we’re fighting for… Meet me on the battlefield… even on the darkest night I will be your sword and shield, your camouflage, and you will be mine Echoes of the shots ring out. We may be the first to fall Everything could stay the same or we could change it all.

Families of lost loved ones were often allowed to witness the execution of the murderer. Did it bring them some solace to see the soul of the wrongdoer they could never forgive cease to exist?

It was not common for the criminal to feel the pain and suffering they inflicted upon others. Such was the curse of empathy, however. It can bring the excruciating aching of another. As Lucy stood in the distance, watching a father scream in agony near his daughter’s new grave, she felt every ounce of the heart-wrenching grief. 

Tears streamed down her cold, sunken cheeks – tears she didn’t deserve to shed. Lucy had caused this, and she did not deserve absolution. Though she requested to do this alone, the three men who love her weren’t far. She was aware of their presence, and she was grateful for it. Her brother materialized next to her without warning, gently tugging on her arm.

“Let’s go, Luce. You’re torturing yourself.” Lucy only shook her head. The teardrops dripped onto the crushed fall leaves even faster. “No, Stefan.” A garbled laugh escaped her, one ensconced in deep self-loathing. “I forced you and Damon to do this, didn’t I? What kind of hypocrite would I be if I didn’t follow my own rules?”

The laughter grew louder, and to Kai, it was the most distressful sound. Lucy turned away from the weeping father, her body crashing into the tree behind her punitively. Her knees buckled beneath her, and she chanted apologies without fail. No one – not even Lucy – could tell if she was cackling or crying. Perhaps if she uttered the words “I’m sorry” for the rest of her eternal life, she could revive those she had killed. 

Damon hovered over Lucy as a shield, ready to destroy anything that harmed her. For the first time since he’d known her, Kai was afraid to touch her, afraid that anything he did would break this strong angel further. Stefan caught her before she fell to the ground, feeling her anguish seep into his shirt. Lucy forgave others so readily; why couldn’t she forgive herself? 

Meet me on the battlefield… We’re standing face to face with our own human race We commit the sins again, and our sons and daughters pay Our tainted history is playing on repeat But we could change it if we stand up strong and take the reins.

One week passed, and Lucy wasn’t any closer to forgetting the screams of her victims. Though Kai held her close every night, sleep did not come to her often. When it did, it was marred with nightmares of all she had done… everyone she had hurt…

Lucy’s left hand clutched Elena’s throat, lifting her off the ground. “You may be a vampire now, little one, but I’m a lot older than you, which means I’m stronger than you could even imagine. I’d strongly advise against attempting to threaten me again.” Long nails scraped at the pale skin of Lucy’s hand; she only smiled sardonically. 

“You know, I’ve always hated women with your face. You all enjoy playing with my brothers like toys, discarding one and grabbing the other when you’re bored. Fools that they are, they let themselves get swept away by freaking batting eyelashes each time.” With no more effort than that of tossing a ball, Lucy threw Elena across the room. She crashed into the ornate dining table. One sharp splinter pierced into her, dangerously close to her heart.

“Ohh, you look scared.” Lucy hummed to herself as she tugged at the wooden twig, almost removing it before harshly shoving it back in. It angled closer to Elena’s heart, scraping against the thin membrane of her aorta. Her scream rang through the house, eliciting soft chuckles from Lucy. “Precious Elena. So fragile. Always needs protecting. At least Katherine had a backbone.” 

Damon burst through the door, not thinking before he lunged towards his sister. She got out of the way just in time, letting him crash into his girl instead. “Oh look, your bodyguard’s here.” Rather patiently, Lucy wiped the red from her fingers. “Consider yourself warned, darling. I won’t take such care to spare your life next time.”

Lucy lurched forward, the air stolen from her lungs. Kai was already awake, simply watching her sleep with no awareness of the horrid dream she’d been having. She curled up into a ball, resting her forehead against her knees. Her body shook as if she were crying, but no tears escaped. Perhaps she had none left to shed.

She had apologized profusely to Elena and her brothers and anyone whom she inflicted pain on, but it wasn’t enough. How they managed to forgive her, she didn’t know. For the first time in her entire existence, Lucy didn’t recognize who she was. 

Wordlessly, Kai sat up. His bare arm came around Lucy’s trembling shoulder as she leaned into him. “I… I can’t stop seeing every horrible thing I did. I can’t be this person, Kai. I don’t even know who I am anymore…” Malachai gently urged her to look at him. Their eyes met, and from that moment onwards, soothing calm enveloped them both. 

“I know who you are, Lucy. You helped me find myself when I was lost, and you didn’t leave my side even when the ones closest to you told you not to. You are still the woman who I fell in love with. The one who knew more about me than I did. You saved me, Lucy Salvatore, and I will do my damnedest to save you… even from yourself.”

Pressing a tender kiss to Lucy’s temple, Kai encased himself around her. They lay side by side with their bodies and fingers interlaced. “You guided me, helped me forgive myself for the horrible things I had done.” Malachai continued to pepper the softest kisses on her skin, engraining the memory of the feeling in his mind. “Until you can love yourself again, I’ll love you enough for the both of us.”

Overwhelmed with his adoration for her, Lucy clutched Kai’s shoulder. Her face hid in his chest, and he only held her tighter. Sleep overcame Lucy eventually, but Kai lay awake. His hand lovingly stroked her hair, willing the nightmares away. Many a night would pass just like this, but Kai didn’t mind. He owed her much, and this only began to repay his debt to Lucy Salvatore.

When I was younger, I was named a generation unafraid For the heirs to come, be brave  And meet me on the battlefield… even on the darkest night I will be your sword and shield, your camouflage, and you will be mine Echoes of the shots ring out. We may be the first to fall Everything could stay the same or we could change it all.  Meet me on the battlefield… We carry on through the storm, tired soldiers in this war Remember what we’re fighting for.

Kai shuffled a cue stick between his hands. The Salvatore brothers had invited him to the Grill, finally making time to bond with their sister’s boyfriend… just as they were supposed to a year ago before they thrust him back into his personal oblivion. Stefan was making a genuine effort while Damon sulked by the bar with his bourbon. It was rather awkward at first, but soon enough, both men had shared a laugh.

Damon groaned in his seat, staring at the amber liquid swirling in the glass. Though far, he was certainly listening to every word both Stefan and Kai spoke. Kai had just taken a deep breath, disappointed with his missed shot. His tone was playfully somber, then. “Now I can’t even say I let you win.” Stefan shook his head, taking out two of his targets in one fell swoop. “I have loads of practice. You’ll get there.”

Malachai pouted like a petulant child, no longer on guard with Stefan. The game continued, and Damon brought himself over to continue his grumbling. Stefan took the opportune moment to mention something that had been bothering both Salvatore brothers. “Kai, I wanted to ask you something.” 

The striped ball swiftly glided across the table, but Kai’s victory fist pump was cut short. “Um… sure. Everything okay?” Try as he might to warm up to them, Kai was still somewhat distrustful of Lucy’s brothers. Cryptic leading questions like that didn’t help. “You mentioned Lucy wanted to change you… turn you into a vampire so you could be together. Was that true?” 

Malachai smiled as much as he could and nodded. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. Truthfully, the same moment had been playing in his mind on repeat. That had been a year ago, and while he was confident his love for Lucy had only gotten stronger, Lucy had never broached the subject again. “It was true. And I agreed.”

Damon was unsurprised but found his eyebrows raising anyhow. “Really? You’d give up a human life to become one of us?” Unoffended, Kai stepped back from the pool table, gesturing for Stefan to take his turn. “Yes. If it means having Lucy in my life forever, then I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Damon and Kai had a past, but he had won Stefan over. No one could question the sheer strength behind Kai’s stance. Come hell or high water, Malachai would stay by her side; as her protective older brother, Stefan couldn’t ask for anything more. Even Damon seemed convinced, though he said nothing in response. 

“Now… I have a question for you as well.” Stefan paused then, ignoring the perfect shot he had lined up. “What is this, a get-to-know-you game?” Damon slinked into a bar stool, watching the remaining sip of bourbon swirl around his glass. “Well, yes, Damon. That was the purpose of tonight, wasn’t it?” Stefan ignored Damon’s quip and Kai’s response entirely. “What is it?” 

Kai straightened up, suddenly nervous and shifty. It felt like a violation of Lucy’s privacy to ask this, but her response was never satisfactory. “Has Lucy… ever been in love with someone else?” She denied it, and Kai found it impossible to believe she had never loved anyone in centuries of existing. Damon and Stefan stiffened immediately. A quick, worried glance was exchanged between the two. “Listen, Kai… Do not push Lucy to remember any of this… but yes. She loved someone once, and she had an Original compel her to forget everything about him.”

“An original?” Kai was thrown for a loop. He figured Lucy was telling him a white lie about never loving another for the sake of his undeniably fragile feelings, not that she had purposely erased any recollection of love lost.

“An Original vampire. You haven’t met them before, but they are vampires with powers beyond what we have, one of which being the ability to compel even us.”

“It was Elijah, wasn’t it? He always liked her best.” Damon chimed in with his absolutely useless comment, which Kai artfully disregarded. “So, she wanted to forget about him? Why?” 

“He… died. She failed to save him, and that haunted her for decades. She couldn’t ever watch Titanic before she lost all recollection of ever being aboard.” 

Malachai blinked a few times, his brain slowly grasping what Stefan had explained. Her past lover had died on the Titanic? He knew Lucy was an immortal vampire and all, but he’d never imagined her smack dab in one of the greatest tragedies of the world. 

“Don’t tell me anymore. I don’t want to know.” He leaned against the table, steadying himself. The two Salvatores just observed him in silence, their minds spinning thoughts of their own. They must have sat motionlessly for nearly fifteen minutes. Then, the chimes above the door rang and broke Kai’s trance.

When he saw Lucy, even from afar, it always felt like the center of his gravity shifted. Her presence held his world in balance. The change was clearly visible to anyone near him. Leaving his cue stick leaning against the table, Kai made haste to her.

Malachai was not the only one who changed around his love. Something brightened within Lucy - a light reminiscent of her own name. She had always been warm enough to heal the scars of others, but Lucy could only heal herself when Kai was at her side. 

When Kai’s arm came around her waist and he whispered something in her ear, Lucy’s gentle laughter resonated around them. For the first time since he’d returned, a genuine beam spread across her cheeks when she saw her brothers send her a wave. Her eyes glittered in the dim lighting of the restaurant, and her infectious smile had returned. 

Lucy was back. 

Meet me on the battlefield… even on the darkest night I will be your sword and shield, your camouflage, and you will be mine Echoes of the shots ring out. We may be the first to fall Everything could stay the same or we could change it all We could change it all… (Meet me on the battlefield....) Meet me on the battlefield… (We could change it all…)

One month had passed since the reappearance of Lucy’s humanity, and life had seemed to settle back into its rhythm with a few notable changes. Miraculously, Kai had earned the trust of all - even Damon and Bonnie. Broken he may have been, but Lucy had uncovered who Kai was always meant to be. 

The true Malachai was loved as he should have been. The damage would never be erased, but it had molded him into the man he was. Kai’s kindness was no longer stifled by vindictiveness. His smile now reached his eyes. His goofy nature shined through the tough exterior he built around his heart. And he owed it all to her.

Lucy had been someone who saved everyone, friend or foe. Malachai had come to her as an enemy: someone who tormented her brother and tortured one of her dearest friends. Yet, saviors do not pick and choose who they will rescue. When Kai’s light threatened to shine through the emotionless void of his life, Lucy pulled it out of him. It was because of that light Kai was able to save the savior. 

They had been separated, but they were never truly apart. Even when they were pulled away from each other, Lucy was his and Kai was hers. They were not a story. They were something more real than any touch, sensation, or feeling. What they shared was something so pure and whole… something far beyond love. Malachai and Lucy lived as soulmates, for that is what they were. Two pieces of the same heart lost in a harsh sea, happening upon the other through sheer chance. 

That was perhaps the greatest gift of all.

~~~

Thank you so much for reading! I welcome your thoughts/comments/constructive criticisms or anything under the sun :)

Disclaimer: I’m not the biggest fan of my prose/editing in this piece, and I wanted to get it posted sooner rather than later. 

Will I write a part 4 to the Lucy Salvatore story? Perhaps. I never know with my brain.

Until next time, JustAThoughtfulAngel <3 

taglist: @bluelicious, @socio-kai-path1972, @genevivetaylor, @prettybitchfatwitch​

[gregorygerwitz]

I adore your moodboards and I cannot wait to see how you'll mix up all worlds. The image of Will cooking makes me warm on the inside.

And while we are on the Will topic, unrelated to this, but I just reread "now I see daylight" for the umpteenth time and OMG it is so good, thank you for voicing my thoughts.

I've just been quietly sitting on this ask all day (partially because I didn't have time to get on my laptop before I left this morning for work), just... holding it. Loving it. Appreciating it so much.

I know I haven't actively written Rhodestead (or anything really Med-centric at all) in a while, but now i see daylight was my first work for One Chicago, so it will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Fun fact: it was supposed to have a sequel, but two days after I posted it (one year ago this month, actually!) I got to Mouse's episodes in CPD, and, well... *gestures to my brand* the daylight sequel didn't happen. But! When I was writing Connor and Will in my Hauntober 2021 universe, and the Christmas fic last year, I definitely had that fic in my head when figuring out how I wanted to write their relationship. So that fic can technically be the prequel to that entire little universe!

I might still write it, one day, but we'll see if I spiral back into my Med era next year before we say anything for sure!

[steppingonoranges]

Hi there. Hello. I’ve never done a fic rec before, but I’ve found myself taking a little stroll (deep dig) into my fic memory lately. This post is the magnificent result. Many of my faves disappeared together with 1DFF but there’s more than plenty left.

I know there’s a lot of amazing stuff being written and posted right now, but I’ve put together more of a throwback to all my favourite fics from the past. 

So, below is a long list of absolutely brilliant fics for any and all to read, please enjoy and let the writers know, active or not. You never know who checks in and might see it!! x

Everything is in alphabetical order, sorted into length-based categories: Full length, Minis and One shots. Some things aren’t finished, and might or might never be, but they are oh so worth it anyway. It’s mostly Harry fics, but there might be one or two Niall ones in there... Enjoy!! 

FULL LENGHT

A Rhapsody of Sorts by @silverglass​​

Bloom and mini-sequel Eyes Closed by @absolutestyles​​

Bloom by @nebulastyles​​

Bring It Back by @paynethecreator​​

Come and Fade Me by @paynethecreator​​ (Not Complete)

Crooked Heart by @nebulastyles​​

Curious Minds by @adoremp3​​ (Hiatus)

Dandelion & Burdock and sort-of sequel Face With A View by @stylesprimes​​

Disconnected by @afitzgeraldfic​​

Forever Hold You Peace by @cheesewithchips​​​ (Not Complete)

Gold Dust by @wlidhearts​​ (Not Complete) 

Golden Hour and sequel Young Blood by @standingfacingwest​​

Journey Man and Bloom, A Journeyman Novella by @littlebird006​​

Just Anchor and Hope and When We Sink, We Float by @justanchorandhope​​

La Douleur Exquise by @pomene​​ (Not Complete)

Lightheaded by @sicknostalgia​​ (Not Complete)

Nom De Plume by @stylesprimes​​​

Oh, Arizona by @harktheharold​​ (Not Complete)

Oxford Comma by @adoremp3​​​

Perfect Teeth by @stylesmoothie​​​

Res Ipsa Loquitur by @bioluminescentwriting​​

Salute by @bioluminescentwriting​

Slow Burn by @allywrites​​

Someday, Someday and sequel Twenty Good Reasons by @beautifulletdownfics​​

Spit Fire by @showingthroughtome​​​

Such Great Heights by @adoremp3​​​ (Not Complete) 

Sugar on the Asphalt and sequel Tennessee Teacakes by @justanchorandhope​​​

The Double Plaid by @wokeuptired​​​

With The New Crowd by @likeamisfit​​​

Youth Decay by @likeamisfit​​​

MINI

Above Average by @roselirry​​

A History In Rust by @wokeuptired​​

Alone Together and post-AT ficlet Alive with Closed Eyes by @nebulastyles​​​

Around My Bones by @lifesbetterasamermaid​​

Burning Daylight and mini-sequel Sun On The Rise by @abejas-fic​​​

Do Not Go Gentle and prequel Into That Good Night by @abejas-fic​​​

Harry’s Song (Oh My My My) by @paynethecreator​​​

If You Give A Boy A Ballpoint by @harktheharold​​​

In The Wee Small Hours by @bioluminescentwriting​​​

Long Time Gone by @sicknostalgia​​​

Novelty Jumpers and sequel An Exact Shade of Maroon by @afitzgeraldfic​​

Past Lives by @sicknostalgia​​​

Sangria On Your Lips by @marisa-writes​​​

Screaming Color and sequel You And I Need To Have A Little Patience by @wokeuptired​​

Sit Back (And Watch The World Go By) by @soysauceharry​​ (Not Complete)

Space Oddity by @bioluminescentwriting​​​

Strangeness and Charm and Flickers by @nebulastyles​​​ (Psychics series)

Stardust & Silk by @ineffably-styles​​​

You, The Ocean and Me by @wokeuptired​​​

ONE SHOT

All My Friends (Say This Ain’t Love) by @northernsunrises​​​

All Questions Aside by @calloween/@rebexciting

Business and Pleasure by @justanchorandhope​​

Freckled Constallations by @beggingforfics​​​

Friday Nights by @cheesewithchips​​

Lead Me Home by @abejas-fic​​

My Heart’s For You, It Lies Awake by @embloomfields​​​

Pinch Your Nose by @whisperedexplosions​​

Sweet Nothing by @afitzgeraldfic​​

That Time With The Couch and second installment That Other Time With The Couch by @imsrybitw​​

The Misfortune of Knowing You by @wokeuptired​​​

These Days by @stylesprimes​​​

Tick by @adoremp3​​​

Under The Influence by @1dable​​

We Could Just Pretend There’s Nothing On My Mind by @aninnerchaos​​

[pizza-is-my-buziness]

Netflix needs to hurry up and confirm these new Fear Street movies because I need to know if it's going to be the original cast plus some newbies or just a whole new cast in general. TBH I won't really care that much if Sam and Deena are not involved in them. It's going to be boring if it's straight after such a gay trilogy. What do you want to realistically see for these new movies? New trilogy? Standalones? Direct Sequels? Prequels?

Hello friend!

First of all let me start by saying I'm literally so tickled that you came to me with this question. And I am so, so happy that you have popped into my inbox to talk to me about Fear Street aka the only thing I ever want to talk about!

I feel like there are two ways that I want to/can answer this question lol On the subject of what do I see realistically? Realistically I see them focusing on some of the previous killers, so maybe more of a prequel vibe. I could see like a Billy Barker, Milkman storyline, or something with a totally different Shadyside killer. I am intrigued to see how or if they follow up on someone having apparently grabbed the book out of the mall's basement but I could also see them shying away from that because it would be pretty similar to the storyline they've already done (summoning a killer/deal with the devil/etc.) I'm not sure I hold out too much hope for seeing another gay centered storyline but of course that's what I would love the most!

Now I feel like the other way to answer this question is the "what do I want to see" part because I feel like that's a little different. I personally want to see Sam and Deena (and Josh) again and have the focus be on them once more. I wouldn't mind seeing them out of Shadyside (you guys know how I feel about post-canon college Deena and Sam) and see them having to deal with the effects of what happened back in Shadyside. I also think it would be super interesting to explore what might happen to Sam if someone tried to stir up that curse again or started summoning the other Shadyside killers. So my ultimate dream would be another movie or two focusing on them at the center, going through more horror-centric plots and elements but still adhering to the whole "we've never heard of the bury your gays trope" mentality and living happily ever after and kissing in the broad daylight. Alternatively I would be equally excited to see the actors from the original movies all back and playing different roles (a la 166 or American Horror Story) but I would also be disappointed not to see a Deena and Sam (or Kiana and Olivia) centric story but once again I could see them shying away from making it too similar to what they've already done.

Tl;dr I'm with you, anon, without Sam and Deena I'm not sure I will buy in the same way! But I'm really hoping they're back somehow (and not just getting killed off or something dumb)

[gotmilk5101520]

Trollhunters Book (2015) the weird book that would be the start of Tales of Arcadia

Trollhunters book. Read it and... what was all that?

Some spoilers below the cut.

So many things were different from the series we know and watch. It has a lot of horror and it was suppose to be a live action series adaptation of the book (Hey, Hollywood, if you want to do a live action remake of Trollhunters then just base it on the book. We already have the cartoon don’t want you ruining it like Rise of the Titans did) There were a lot of differences from the show i know, but it also had somethings that would be told differently from the book.

Instead of his mom, Jim lives with his dad James “Jim” Sturges Sr (And Jim’s last name isn’t Lake but Sturges which is actually important) who is a paranoid and traumatized man after losing his brother Jack Sturges in 1969 under a bridge and seeing some monster. Oh, and everyone lives in San Bernardino not Arcadia Oaks (So i guess it’s Trollhunters: Tales of San Bernardino?) And Barbara was the one that walked out (The book never gave Jim’s mom a name, but going with the series i chose to still call her Barbara) Oh, and Jim’s dad invented the Excalibur Calculator Pocket (Jim wielding Excalibur was foreshadowed as far as the book)

Jim is short. Like really short. Claire is taller than him (Okay am i the only bugged by that? Why didn’t the series let Claire be taller than Jim? Where are the aus where Claire is taller than Jim?) Tobias is called Tubby or Tub not Toby, and he’s Jewish, and he still lives with his grandma (The book doesn’t call her Nana) Claire is Scottish, apparently her birthday is May 2nd which is a day after Jim’s (Which is May 1st, but the series changed his birthday to October 10th) and her baby brother Enrique doesn’t exist in the book.

Steve is still Steve just more brutal and can get away with everything, his last name is Jorgensen-Warner, and is a Changeling (Though the show was going to make Steve a Changeling like in the book. But they changed their minds, as shown in episode 7 To Catch a Changeling, and his troll form was reworked into Draal. Now i have to wonder if Changeling Steve would’ve been better than what happened to him in the movie)

Blinky is an octopus like troll, with eight eyes (Four of them are blind) Aaarrrgghh is a female here with black fur. Gunmar the Black is red even though they call him the Black (I guess Gunmar the Red didn’t sound good) And the history of trolls is very different from the show. Also Killahead Bridge is called Killaheed Bridge.

The school actually has more teachers than the three in the show (Coach Lawrence still exists in the book) There is: Principal Cole, Miss Pinkton the math teacher, Miss Leach the drama teacher (Miss Leach probably later became Miss Janeth in the show) Senor Uhl doesn’t exist in the book. There are other characters like Professor Lempke (Someone i’m gonna talk more about later) Tubby’s dentist is named Dr. Papadapolous and not Dr. Muelas (Or as i like to call him. Guillermo Del Toro the Dentist) Sergeant Ben Gulager (Probably later became Officer Brennan)

There are different types of trolls like Nullhullers, who can vomit out all of their organs save their hearts to become faster. If i had to learn about this, you should suffer too. But i won’t say how Changelings replace their baby counterparts. It’s something you have to read yourself but it’s really really disturbing.

The Amulet of Daylight isn’t called that, and the Amulet is a Medallion that translates troll (So it doesn’t give you a suit of armor, or gives you a sword to fight trolls) The Trollhunters are different too. It’s the Amulet of Daylight that picks a troll to become the Trollhunter, with Jim being the first human Trollhunter. That is not the case here in the book. The Trollhunters were always humans and they fought the trolls that kept eating them. The Sturges are one of the family of Trollhunters, and towards the end of the book it’s revealed Claire is one too. And Merlin and Morgana have nothing to do with the book.

Jack Sturges was an interesting character to me and it makes me mad that he was one of the characters that wasn’t in the show. Hey i’m just saying, they could’ve made him be Barbara’s missing old brother if they didn’t want James in the series.

There were moments from characters that i always found strange and surprised the book didn’t confirm that.

Starting with Steve not Palchuk but instead Jorgensen-Warner. Now the book reveals he’s a Changeling cause Tub touched him with a horseshoe and Claire kills him. Some of Jim’s classmates would be among the kids that begins to disappear. And then later Claire gets taken as well. The book never confirms or denies it, but i believe Steve was the reason Claire and some of his classmates were taken. I say this cause when Claire tells Steve off (Which by the way was an awesome scene and i think she also Rule Number 3 him) and he walks away angry and then later she gets kidnapped. I found that weird and too convenient. And now that i’m thinking about it. Steve was bullying Jim and Tub before Claire tells him off. Thinking about it i think if Claire didn’t interfered then Steve would’ve picked Jim and/or Tub to get eaten by Gunmar. But that’s just my headcanon.

Another character i want to talk about is Professor Lempke, who i feel was split into two characters in the show, Strickler and Nomura. Lempke is an arrogant man who is also working to restore the Killaheed Bridge. Doesn’t that familiar? The book never confirms it, but it’s possible that Lempke was a Changeling too and was restoring Killaheed for Gunmar. Why else would he talk about how great the bridge is and went through all the trouble to get it to San Bernardino? And when Gunmar was freed and fighting, Lempke, as Jim said, was overjoyed at the battle and then after the battle Lempke disappeared. That last one honestly seemed like a sequel hook.

Given how somethings were i feel like, if Tales of Arcadia didn’t happen, then the book would’ve become a series. Trollhunters was from Jim’s point of view, and i feel like if we got the book series instead of the cartoon, then there could’ve been spin off books sequels and prequel. Maybe Trollhunters spin offs one from Tub’s point of view and one from Claire’s point of view, Trollhunters prequel on Jack when he was taken, Trollhunters sequels that may had them dealing with Lempke and possible other enemies and finding other Trollhunters. Who knows.

But all and all. The book was a good read and it really shows what would influence the show. Truth by told reading the book made me lose my appetite for a while.

[thetypedwriter]

Chain of Iron Book Review

Chain of Iron Book Review by Cassandra Clare 

You know, I was actually really irritated when this book came out because once again, the Dark Artifices seems to be shafted for this new series (that nobody asked for) to shine, but fortunately I wasn’t as bothered by it as I predicted I would be. 

In case you are in the small minority of people who haven’t heard of Cassandra Clare and her millions of Shadowhunter books, Chain of Iron is the next nephilim installment in Clare’s never-ending series. 

Chain of Iron is the sequel to Chain of Gold, and the series as a whole is a sequel to the Infernal Devices series, but a prequel to the original Mortal Instruments as well as the Dark Artifices which is the sequel series to the Mortal Instruments. 

I would be surprised if you weren’t baffled right now. 

I’ve said this before for other Shadowhunter installments, but these books are not user friendly for new folk. You genuinely need to have read the other series to get full enjoyment and understanding of these books.

 If you do read them without having read the others, I'm sure it would still be enjoyable to a certain extent, but a large case of ensemble character and relationships will be lost to you and a big portion of these novels are the relationships within them. 

To delve right in, Chain of Iron has our main cast of friendly teenagers nicknamed the Merry Thieves (which I just abhor, sorry, not sorry) return from Chain of Gold after fighting one of the princes of Hell, Belial, and now with Cordelia and James being married as to avoid a scandal of Cordelia’s reputation and James’ criminal record. 

In addition, there is a new serial killer on the loose murdering shadowhunters at dawn and stealing their runes. Most of the book is dealt with trying to catch the culprit, the Consul and Inquisitor along with the whole of adult shadowhunter authority being inconsequential and inept as usual (how these people became parents are beyond me as they never have any sort of clue what their children get up to) along with side plots including raising Jesse Blackthorn from the dead and romance galore in typical Clare fashion that makes you want to rip your hair out because if everyone just communicated and was honest there would be no issues. 

The beginning of the novel is molasses slow.

I’ve come to expect this with Clare’s books. Actually, I think I’ve figured out the formula entirely. Here is is:

Mostly nothing of consequence happens for nearly 400 pages except for character building and small instances of plot 

Intersperse some random demon attacks for flavor 

Everyone is beautiful, everyone is in love, and love is the most groundbreaking, earth shattering thing in existence 

Get into the last 200ish pages and shit hits the fan with action, misunderstandings, and confessions 

Nobody is honest with anybody and lying is commonplace

End the behemoth on a cliffhanger so that the audience is kept in suspenseful anxiety until the next installment 

You can’t see me, but I am bowing right now. 

Genuinely, that is how 90% of Clare’s novels pan out. Obviously, as she has a very successful and long-running book series, the formula works. 

That being said, there are some vices and virtues to it. 

For this book, the beginning was slow. Almost nothing of significance happens for most of it and it's a dredge to get through. 

However, it’s mundane to get through in the same way that reading fanfiction of your favorite characters is mundane. What Clare does for 400 pieces of paper is build up her characters and their relationships. Normally, you would do this interspersed with plot, but not in this case. 

It’s not very conventional, but it kinda works?

I definitely struggled connecting with the characters from this series more than any other of Clare’s novels. The Mortal Instruments, as the original, were beloved if a little cheesy. Then came the Infernal Devices with witty Will, soulful Jem, and intelligent Tessa. Then we got the Dark Artifices, which to me, is still the best as Julian, Emma, Mark, Christina and the others are the most flawed in any of the series and I enjoy that. 

I enjoy that they’re not perfect, I enjoy that they’re devious and conniving. It makes them more interesting and more worthwhile to read about. 

Instead, the main characters in Chain of Iron and the subsequent series are mainly James, Cordelia, Matthew, and sometimes Lucie. I would argue that no one else matters in the book and are just added in for some sugar, spice, and everything nice. 

Some of you might be outraged at this statement. What about Grace? You might say. Or Jesse? Or Thomas, Christopher, Alistair, Ariadne or Anna?

They don’t matter. 

They matter in a very small, plot convenience, fluff ensues kind of way, but not really in any way of substance. Or, at the very least, that’s how I feel. 

Anna is just there to be cool, Thomas is a gay gentle giant with literally no personality, Christopher is so basic and is essentially the Trader Joe’s version of Henry who was better and more interesting as the first, Alistair is a redeemed bully, and Ariadne is an orphan who loves Anna. 

The end. 

Once again, sometimes Clare bites off more than she can chew and I wonder if she just throws these characters in there just because it makes her happy. 

As for our main protagonists, they’re mediocre. Matthew is definitely the most interesting in the bunch and I was jubilant to see him get more screen time this time around. The increasing realization of his alcohol abuse, his feelings for Cordelia, his nonplussed attitude. 

All of it is intriguing. I still don’t like him as much as other protagonists from other installments, but he is by far the winner of this triad. 

James is too perfect, too beautiful, and a worse version of his father. If I wanted more Will I would have turned to fanfiction of the Infernal Devices instead of imagining up his son. The only interesting thing about James is his demon connection which is not even something he does, but rather something that is done to him. 

Cordelia is banal. Once again, she’s too perfect, too brave, and too kind. Literally nothing is wrong with her. She’s level headed, intelligent, forgiving, and fierce. 

Basically, she’s boring to the brim. 

I do think Clare did a better job this time around to include more of Cordelia’s Persian heritage, but it still mainly fell to the backburner of her lackluster and blank personality. In fact, I think James made more of an effort for Persian food and culture than Cordelia did, but I digress. 

Also, a small note, but still with weight, why does Cordelia have eight names??

It bugs the living daylights out of me that in a single sentence she will be called Cordelia, Layla and Daisy. 

Clare. Give the girl one name. My god. 

Actually, as a side note to this side note, Clare is talented at many things, but nicknames are not one of them. EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER IN THIS NOVEL has a nickname and all of them are horrible. I have never in my entire life known a Matthew that has gone by the nickname Math. 

What. In. The. World. 

Anyways, the only other character of note is Lucie. I like and dislike Lucie. Lucie is also boring and her novelist passion is aggravating to me. However, I did like her turn with necromancy and her increasing desperation to save Jesse that drives her to work with Grace and lie to her friends and family was a much-needed note of interest. 

Overall, this book did make me like the characters more than I did in Chain of Gold, but it took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get there, more than what I think should have been afforded. If you need to kill 400 trees in order to make me like your main characters, that’s a problem. 

Whatever the method, I do care about them more than I did previously so I suppose mission accomplished. I do think some of the strongest relationships in the book are the romances, but then also the parabatai bond between Matthew and James. 

Matthew and James have one of the best relationships in the book and I’m equally frustrated and intrigued how things will play out with Matthew now having confessed his feelings for Cordelia. 

I do feel like female parabatai get shafted in a lot of Clare’s novels compared to the boys. The coed pairs often do well like Clary and Simon or Emma and Julian. Otherwise, the boys far outrank the girls in terms of bond and friendship. 

Even in this novel, the “friendship” between Lucie and Cordelia is laughable. They barely talk to each other or spend time together and when they do is shallow.  Whereas Matthew and James seem much more involved in each other’s lives. 

That being said, if you noticed I didn’t speak much of the plot it’s because for me plot comes very much second in a Shadowhudenter novel. It’s there of course, and it’s entertaining, but I do enjoy the characters and their relationships more than anything else which makes Chain of Iron  better than its predecessor but still worse in my view than any other of Clare’s novels. 

Plot just doesn’t compare to the soul crushing love and friendships shown between the pages, for better or for worse. 

Recommendation: The Dark Artifices > Infernal Devices > The Mortal Instruments ...and  The Last Hours fall somewhere after the Mortal Instruments and the trillions of side novels that Clare has co-written with other authors and all seem to be about Magnus Bane.

Score: 7/10