#but he might not even fully need a redemption in the first place

[bhaaldursgays]

I have this scene in a Gortash Lives And Gets Dragged Through Redemption AU I keep thinking about. It has my durge Clira and Gortash laying in bed, before they reconcile fully so they're like a foot and a half apart. Clira is trying to sleep, finding herself comforted by Gortash's presence as she's asking him to tell her stories she doesn't remember. I thought I might share it, in case anyone likes it

The sun hasn't set yet, casting the room in a gently, golden light as Gortash tells her of their history, of little things she can't remember - "Your hair used to be longer. You hated people touching it. For a long time only Sceleritas was allowed to brush and trim it for you." - as well as filling in the memories that were hazy.

He tells her how they worked together, what they explored together. Of lovers she had, kills she made - "Remember Nathaniel? You liked him. You thought he was beautiful and sweet. You even mourned him." - and she has found that she easily falls asleep to the gentle sound of his voice.

Just before she falls asleep she asks him for one last memory.

"Tell me something about you that I've forgotten," she says, mumbling just a little. Her eyes are already closed, her breathing slow. He knows she'll fall asleep soon, and he doesn't think he's welcome in her bed after that. Not yet.

His dark eyes look at her, but his mind is searching for something to say. It is difficult, not because he can't think of anything lost to her but because she's asking him to open up once more. It took a long time for him to do so the first time alone.

"… when I was a child I would make small sculptures and gadgets out of scraps I found," he begins. "I would sell them for coin that I hid from my parents. I would use it for food, toys and sometimes even to go to the circus. I had found a bird's nest that I used to look in to see if the clever animal had found something shiny."

Clira smiles gently, but she doesn't say anything. He's not sure she hears him, if she's half-asleep or not, but he has no reason to stop yet.

"I told you about that once. You didn't seem to understand. I wasn't sure what it was that eluded you. My motives, my craft or perhaps even a lack of understanding about avian habits," he chuckles a bit. Her face had been so expressionless back then. It was difficult to understand her at the best of times. Very different from now, with her smiles coming frequent and easy.

A welcome change, he will admit.

"Of course, after I told you this I found a birds nest at my windowsill. I found it odd, especially since it was not even nesting season. But after that I found little things in there. Pieces of metal. Bits of rope. A bloodied arrowhead once. By the time I received a broken dagger, far too heavy for a bird to carry, I knew it was no feathery friend I had to thank for these gifts."

Soft, steady breathing fills the room as he stops for a moment. With a sigh he carefully rolls off to the side and stands up, straightening his clothes as he stays for a moment. Just a moment, he's allowed that isn't he?

"I made a little bird out of the scraps, small enough to pin to a piece of clothing, and laid it back into the nest." An exhale, a whisper of a laugh. "You wouldn't stop blushing when you noticed me staring at it as it sat on your coat next time we saw each other. I didn't need words to tease you."

He walks over to her side of the bed to pull the curtains across the window, reducing the little light that was left filtering into the room to darkness.

Then he hesitates, raises two fingers to his mouth. He lifts a quick kiss from his lips, and places it gently to her cheek.

"Sleep well, little magpie," he says before leaving the room

[swordandscytheandpen]

Finished Guide. I have thoughts.

Mostly positive ones. I have nitpicks, sure, but it's damn near impossible to write a fully satisfying resolution to a three million word story. EE did an insanely good job considering.

Akua was one of the highlights, of course. Her arc was indeed probably the single best redemption story I've ever seen. The pivot in Praes, in particular, was amazingly compelling ("why was she not hearing the song?" hit me HARD). @kvothbloodless once responded to my tags while I was in the middle of Book 2, assuaging my skepticism that a character as remarkably hateable as Akua could have a well-executed redemption arc, and I gotta say her confidence was well-placed. It's a testament to EE's character writing skills that a character who is not only morally monstrous but immensely personally unlikeable could be turned around like this. I'll make fun of Guide's length, of course, but I don't think an arc like this could be handled so well in a work of reasonable length. It's a strength both of the writer and the medium, I suppose.

Her final fate, like most of the cast's, was a pretty solid conclusion to her character arc as well. Really followed through on the narrative's refusal to entertain redemption through death, while still being a surprise, unlike the whole Dead-King's-jailor thing. The dynamics of that particular fate on her character had already been explored through her and Cat's thoughts several times, so it's nice to see something different, instead of just watching the original plan play out with rings instead of a crown.

Same goes for a lot of the other characters. Viv and Indrani had excellent conclusions. Masego and Hakram I'm not dissatisfied with, though I do have minor points of umbrage. Hakram's arc might just have gone past me a little bit; I feel that if he has to be tied so tightly to the Clans as a whole he really needed more foreshadowing connecting him to his home. Instead, it felt a little bit like a family-conquers-all story shoved in with only justification in the moment, which ain't really my cup of tea. More specifically, it felt like the narrative required him to have deeply-held goals that he could go be independent about, but forgot to actually touch on those goals until he'd already left Catherine. Still, just a mild disappointment.

Then we've got Masego, and my take on him is similar in that it's broadly satisfying but I just feel like it doesn't fit in certain ways. In his case, it's mostly the apotheosis: the edges of that particular puzzle piece seem rough, as if EE had something else in mind but swapped it out relatively late in the process. There was some hinting that his dream of godhead would result in conflict with Cat, and then they just... didn't do that. Then in the epilogues, it really seems like his apotheosis hadn't made much impact on who he is or what he does. His part of the epilogue would have been just as suitable, to my eyes, if he hadn't achieved that. So it fell flat a little bit, which took some of the wind out of his ending. Everything else about him was great though.

Catherine's ending took the longest for me to think through. At first I was a bit ambivalent about it, 'cause it felt like nothing was really subverted. Minus a few hiccups, she got everything she wanted. Cardinal. The Liesse Accords. Even all the Woe surviving. The only thing she didn't get was Akua, and she already knew that wasn't on the table. I really just did not expect a straightforward Catherine Wins ending to the Guide. I thought she'd probably die at least; in fact, I thought the most likely outcome was Cat's death and her goals being posthumously realized! This story sure felt like a tragic ending was coming down the pipes!

And then once again, I remembered that this is a story about stories. What Cat has isn't just a happy ending, it's one last victory over the narrative. It's a middle finger to the idea that villains don't get to sail off into the sunset. And you know, it really takes some strength to put a fresh coat of paint on the very idea of a happy ending. So yeah, Cat's ending is great. Just perfect.

But of course, there's no way to wrap up three million words while satisfying every single plot point. So, keeping in mind that APGTE is probably among my top 5 written works in the English language now, I do have a point or two of order.

First off, towards the end, Named were dying like flies. Felt like every chapter had a list of casualties all its own. And I can see the drive to do that; there were a lot of Named involved by that point and there had to be casualties. It keeps the stakes high and the villains scary. But I can't help but feel discouraged from reading once six characters I'm somewhat engaged with die in the span of two chapters. Mostly offscreen.

The biggest offender here was the Painted Knife's band. I really loved the bonus chapter about their backstories, as well as the concept of them as the first band containing both heroes and villains, and I'd wish we'd seen nore of how that relationship developed. And I thought it was a weighty enough label that they'd shot up again later. So when it was mentioned offhand that the Royal Conjurer was killed, I was blindsided a little bit. And then the rest died, one by one, offscreen (except the Knife). Poor Poisoner. She was my favorite. Felt like wasted potential, like a story that wasn't followed through to the end. The Blade of Mercy was in a similar boat. He was important in the Arsenal arc! Let him die onscreen at least!

There was Roland too, who wasn't as bad. His death wasn't really satisfying, another surprise Hawk casualty, but at least it was shown and meaningful. Still, I feel like he deserved a proper character arc outside his backstory. Poor guy.

A couple other deaths, too: Rafaella and Alexis in the fight against the Dead King. Rafaella was ambiguous enough that I really wasn't sure whether she was dead for a while, and even after... I dunno. The hero who killed Captain needed a stronger resolution than "sacrificed herself to get rid of the Dead King's last line of revenants." Then Alexis's death just wasn't meaningful; it wasn't for anything. And I know, I know, that's not how death works, but it is in stories! Didn't feel right. It was too fast.

But the Keter deaths were really my biggest gripe, and if that's the biggest problem I have with a conclusion to a story that long? I can only offer applause.

You know what death I didn't have a problem with? Hanno, in the epilogue. How the hell do you kill a character that major in just a few sentences and make it feel satisfying? The epilogues were just all-around great. The character deaths and resolutions felt natural, plot points that were touched on in the main story were shown to ultimately be left to the next generation, and the continued history and development of the world made it feel so alive. It's a common sin for characters to create a new static world that's supposed to feel like it'll last forever. And sure, the framework of the Accords are kinda like that, but the rest of the world? There are still wars, still conflicts, still upheavals. (The Republic of Orense was a nice touch in that regard.) The epilogues are nearly flawless and I will stand by that.

Last thing - of course I gotta talk about Anaxares. When Yara dropped him into the Serenity, I was pretty hyped about it. But then... I dunno. It turned out a bit flat. Felt less like the culmination of Anaxares's character and more like a plot device to cross the Serenity out of the equation. At the end of the day, with Anaxares sitting in the Serenity through the final battle and then appearing in the epilogues just to pop up years in the future, cause problems, and run off again, he felt weirdly like a sequel hook? And forgive me, but I'd eat my hat if there's a sequel. I guess it's imagination bait, which is certainly preferable to a poorly-executed conclusion. He's still my favorite non-Cat character. If there's any decent fic about him, please give it.

Speaking of, that's all I've got. Looking back up, this was mostly petty complaints, but I wanna be clear: once the first few books were past and EE broke their worst writing habits, this became one of my favorite writing pieces ever. The length and the proliferation of typos and other errors mean that I'd hesitate to fullthroatedly recommend it to anyone, but it's one of those works that has permanently altered my brain. Good fucking book.

Okay, Pale Lights time. Hopefully I'll catch up before Book 3 comes to an end, but I'm not gonna rush. Rapidly chewing through ridiculously long works is not, I have learned, conducive to getting the most enjoyment out of them.

[naranjapetrificada]

Maybe I've just curated my dash well but anecdotally, I haven't seen almost anyone express disapproval of the Izzy arc in this particular way, which I would agree is judgy and unproductive. The main concerns I've been seeing (and hopefully expressing, although maybe not effectively) have been from:

People reminded of traumas/relationship dynamics reflected in Izzy and Ed's s1 relationship in general, or specific parts of it like Izzy telling Ed he was better off dead than acting so f*ggy.

People who feel like point number 1 is being retroactively minimized by the narrative (not the characters, the narrative) not acknowledging the role Izzy played in setting off Ed's Kraken era.

People who have seen their abusers get to control the narrative around harm they caused, which the narrative silence around points 1&2 seems to underline.

People who have been gaslit about their traumas and/or felt like the only person in the proverbial room who remembers that something harmful happened.

People who see Izzy suffering and then being granted grace, and walk away concerned that the message is being sent that suffering is the path to forgiveness, which would be a dangerous message period but is especially perplexing from this show in particular.

(I'm not here to argue with any of those interpretations if Izzy or his actions so save us both the energy, I'm here to talk about the post I linked.)

I can understand how, from any of those perspectives, the Izzy arc has felt like a sour note in an otherwise great season. I certainly haven't been able to engage with it as fully as I had hoped to do when I first saw hints of where things might go while watching the first episodes of the season.

I don't need a big speech or conversation about it all or even that much screen time devoted to it. But if the narrative wants me to buy a redemption arc for Izzy, the narrative needs to acknowledge what he's being redeemed for in the first place. When I talk about what's "earned" I'm talking about what the narrative has earned, not the characters. And right now, the narrative doesn't feel like it has earned more than me holding my nose to get through Izzy redemption scenes. And that's sad for me, because I've never felt like that about this show before.

I don't believe you earn forgiveness, or that you atone for your actions for someone else's sake. True forgiveness is something that the wronged party grants for their peace of mind. True atonement is something you do for yourself to make peace with yourself what you have done. Neither is "earned", much less through groveling or suffering. But both require acknowledging and reflecting on the truth of what happened, and that lack of narrative acknowledgement is the missing stair so many of us are having to learn how to work around when it comes to watching this season.

[acourtofquestions]

I wann ask, since you've completed EoS, how do you feel about Lorcan now? he had a redemption arc in koA but honestly, I could never truly forgive him. I wanna know your thoughts on what he did

Good question @mysterylilycheeta! — (Thanks for the ask, you always have great ones & I loved thinking on this one :-) — I’ll definitely have to see how it changes over time. And can totally see your point already! P.S. I’m thinking out loud, feel free to skip to the final chapter for the cliff notes, lol🙃

As of right now, it’s kinda weird (I may still be in shock😅): I’m upset with him, but I’m also not surprised? I��m more angry, than disappointed? — What I mean is I kind of expect this from him; it’s like the old “Frog & Scorpion” tale… I wasn’t quite as shocked by the betrayal, because I never trusted him not to betray Aelin in the first place. I’m sad that he did… I’m angry… at so, so many pieces of those chapters; I want to mentally throttle him a lil bit… but I also on some level knew that he was always going to make that choice; somehow he would betray her, somehow his tether would remain with Maeve; there were just too many threads between the Cadre, Rowan, the Wyrdkeys… all of it… the situation was painful & complicated (all the while feeling a few seconds away from easily comfortable/fixable).

You had some of the most powerful players all on the field, yet completely helpless. Gavriel & Fenrys were trying (even though I was a little mad/confused by Gavriel because I don’t know what the blood oath actually does but, he was acting way more injured than he sounded? & I kinda wanted to shake him & say “GO! NOW!! GET AELIN!!!” If for nothing else, then for your son BECAUSE YOU STILL HAVE HIM; YOU HAVE A SON (who isn’t this psychopath) and THEY NEED YOU)! And Fenrys who might have broken my heart most (or close to Elide; of course Aelin was #1 in that scene but as far as the “watchers” go) because he desperately wanted to help her, he was fighting with everything he had (I think he would have died for her right then & there if that was the price saving her required) and while it’s never been fully clear what his “deal” is with her, his character stands alone & says enough. I have no doubt he loves her both for his friend & for the same reason we all do; she is the future, bright, fierce, powerful, loving, joyous, & overflowing with life. How could he not want to serve a queen like that? And the fact he was trying says a lot because (invisible as it may have been in the moment) it was a high price for him; he is risking his only family, he is risking every torture he’s experienced times 10, and he is doing it for someone he barely knows (yet knows too well). Then you have Manon; who obviously wanted to help, but also knew she had to keep the keys, & get Elide out (even Aelin needed to know she would do that) and while I wanted her to do something, I don’t blame her for not; I don’t think Manon had a better option in that moment with that hand she/they were dealt. And the fact she is flinching, almost moving; it says a lot; Manon doesn’t scare easily, and even she is in pain watching. She is also already under the assumption of rescuing Aelin (even if that ending sentence of why was gutting). Elide quite obviously was impossible to watch, she did everything she could, and if she had been allowed she would have gone with Aelin without doubt on the mere whim it would spare her the slightest. And of course, I’m not angry at anyone on the boat because they literally couldn’t have gone any faster (Rowan; despite the fact he will probably regret it; made the right choice to go with the team + honestly I didn’t want to see him see it, Maeve would’ve made it so much worse… a part of me keeps wondering if Aelin was hurrying because of that? Or stalling because she thought they’d save her in time?) and oh Aelin… & then there’s that; beautiful, brave, selfless, Aelin & an idiot😂 (if you think there is a chance in any realm that Aedion & Rowan don’t come for you… honestly it’s sad… it’s sad how surprised she was to learn Ansel had tried to save her; it’s sad that she still believes that😭).

Which again, leaves us with Lorcan (in this already long “thinking out loud” kinda post😅😂 sry lol)… at the end of the day, Lorcan was bound by the oath. Maeve would have found Aelin no matter what. And eventually, he would have had no options even if he had tried. While, he could have pleaded or tried, I think we & he knew Maeve would not listen. And the real problem is in, the fact that is the queen he put his faith in and that is when he did not try. That is who/what he betrayed Elide for. That is what he paid for with Rowan (ROWAN; someone he knows to be a good man; someone he knows cannot live without Aelin… even had to know on some level; she is what the entire world needs… and his friend deserved that peace) & he chose to pay with the love of Rowan’s life, on the hope of saving Elide, the denial of the true monster he served, and perhaps the whim of possibly earning back his devout dark queen. He was full of vengeful rage, and he made a very, very bad choice (not a mistake, a choice). One that he was not bound to do. One that he was not forced to make. One that he knew on some level was wrong, and didn’t know just how true that was until it was too late… and even then, he watched. He watched Cairn maul her, and while he could not look away, he too gave up (and realized that she didn’t, she refused to count, and she would pay a heavy price for resilience, one that was his; honestly it reminded me of Elena… maybe I’m a little raw from Ch. 68, but it seems a parallel of sorts; Aelin grew & grew up, beyond the Assassin who jumped the window for revenge, but Lorcan the immortal was still too young to understand; to know such love… it’s sad… how close he came with Elide… and how he hurt her anyway) and the moment the oath broke… perhaps it did shred his soul, but he had to know right then that he had done the same to a better man and when Rowan said those words… he felt it all. Lorcan wept. He lied, and cheated, and brought death upon them. And I don’t know if anyone will ever forgive him for it, but in a way it reminds me of Chaol; it wasn’t fully his fault (though Chaol had an easier claim to innocence). But for me, in a way, it made sense? I didn’t expect more from him, now the question is will he change; I expect that. Because all cards are on the table, right and wrong is clear, and brutal as it was, he is free; he can make a decision, so… what will it be? Will he do the right thing? I hope he will… because now he has no excuses, the frog, and scorpion sank, he lost Elide, he knows it’s more than a “bitch queen”. He knows exactly what he did; to Rowan, to the world, to Elide; he knows, he feels remorse. & now it’s time to see what he makes of it.

So, in summation: Lorcan has always been complex & a dark/gray moral-based character; this book being the first time we see any other side or perspective. And he has an already long list of poor decisions, and this is one of the worst. He trusted the wrong person. He was selfish. He hurt them. He lied. Lorcan was wrong. She (Aelin) paid the price for it, and he lost Elide & Maeve & then watched Rowan lose Aelin, and Elide lost them both… everyone went down. And I don’t know if I will forgive him; I think this one will always be angering/hurt-filled. But I also don’t think I’ll hate him forever (I’m not even sure I hate him now) I think he is what he is, (not an excuse) and I want a redemption arc. I want Elide to be happy… I don’t think she will be without him. I want Aelin to be okay, and if she can come to a place to forgive him, then I can too. Like Rowan said, he has punishment enough… now is that in comparison to Aelin? No. No, not even close… but he is redeemable. Even if what he did isn’t.

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

heyyyyyyy so in the malnourished fwhip explanation post you said you'd get back to the thing about gem and fwhip not liking that they got first pick during the famine and i fully agree with you. if it also you said you'd get back to it and you didn't and you're good at articulating things so I would like to hear you elaborate if you are willing

OH yeah. i had planned to get into that in the section where i talked about fwhip continuing to use the corrupted fertilizer because it works so well that it means his people are fed, but i didn’t elaborate much further than that. so i shall now!

(context for this can be found here, in case you missed that post!)

so as i said previously, when famine strikes the grimlands and the royal family have their food needs prioritized, this is something that fwhip and gem, despite both being very young, find awful. i think both of these kids have very strong senses of justice (cough because they’re both autistic cough), gem especially, since she’s the one being trained to be the next countess, so she’s a lot more worldly than fwhip at that point. fwhip is approaching this from a basic fairness standpoint- everyone needs to eat, it’s not fair that he and his family get priority. gem is approaching this based on her experience in other empires and her conversations with other to be emperors- this is not how a good ruler treats their people, a good ruler tries to put their people first always.

i think this manifests in a variety of different ways when they get older. for fwhip, this manifests in putting his people’s food needs above his own when it comes to the corrupted fertilizer. if the fertilizer was giving everybody else nightmares, he would’ve heard about it by now, so clearly it’s just him. that means the fertilizer is a net good, so it stays. i think fwhip is a weird and very distant ruler, one who thinks of himself as a little too equal with his people, and that can be good and bad. something like this, where he puts the people’s need for food above his own wants is (for everyone else) good, but it also means he doesn’t really register how much more important his actions are than anyone else’s. for someone else in the grimlands (or even for fwhip just a few years ago, when he was still the kid brother to the rising countess), blowing up your friend’s house might get you in trouble, but it’s not a big deal. for modern day fwhip, it’s literally an act of war. “peace is boring” is a very frightening attitude for a ruler to hold, and he holds it because he wasn’t properly trained to be count, he’s still very young, and he views himself and his people as pretty much the same when, unfortunately, they just aren’t.

for gem, i think what this does for her behavior doesn’t manifest for her a while. she ran away from the grimlands because she wanted to be a wizard, she wanted to be anything but countess, and i think she did fundamentally believe fwhip would do better than she could. so she becomes a wizard in a very insulated community, and then her instructor disappears and leaves the entire place in her care, and that freaks her out. yes, she was trained to have far greater responsibilities than this, there aren’t even any students for her to train yet, but being in charge scares her still. she so desperately wants to be a good ruler, a better one than anyone in her family line has been for a while, because she’s been up close and personal with bad ones. and i think for gem specifically that manifests in her wanting to be a just ruler. very few people are ever fully beyond redemption for gem. her pillager students just need to put their weapons down, and then they’re ready to learn! see, they weren’t really evil, just angry and armed. sausage has good left in him, even at his worst, she knows it. she just needs to draw it out of him, at any cost. scott didn’t mean to hurt her, he was just scared and she pushed him too far, that’s on her. i think the only person she sees as truly, 100% beyond redemption, who she never really changes her tune on, is xornoth. even the other emperors she isn’t a fan of i don’t think she thinks are irredeemably evil, they’re just assholes and she’s gonna be an asshole back (or she’s gonna let the other WRA members do it). (the only outlier to that is maybe joey. at some point after he gets the crown from xornoth, somebody says he’s most likely beyond saving, and that somebody might be gem but i can’t remember. if it is, i think she had simply run out of energy for second chances for him, and he’s not her responsibility anyways, so she feels less bad about doing it to him than say, a student of hers. if she isn’t the one who says that, disregard.) she is trying to extend justice, to extend second tries to everyone. arguably she even tries this with xornoth, when she tries to learn more about him when he first shows up, but he also made it very clear he had no intentions of improving, so.

TLDR: i think both roseblings are affronted at the fact that because they are nobility, they are inherently better treated in times of crisis. for fwhip, this is because he thinks it’s unfair, that he’s not inherently better than the people of the grimlands, so it’s unfair for him to be treated as such. for gem, she thinks it’s unjust. a good ruler, a just one, would put their people first. so when they get older, this manifests in a variety of ways. for fwhip, he views himself less as a count and more as just another citizen of the grimlands, a tinkerer with a penchant for explosions and not much more. this means in times of crisis he puts the needs of the many over the needs of the few, but it also means he doesn’t think about how much more weight his actions carry with the other empires than the actions of a regular person. for gem, this manifests as trying to extend justice, a helping hand, a second chance, to everyone she can. even at her detriment, there are very few people she believes are totally beyond saving, and she tries as best she can to save them.

[lirotation]

Super quick drawing.

Alright, here's the deal. So, we know there's going to be an ending in Baldur's Gate 3 where Tav gets turned into a vampire by Astarion. But, man, I'm kinda worried they might throw in an ending where Tav becomes his vampire spawn instead. That would be the worst companion ending! I'd be so upset if that happens on my first playthrough, haha! I would not worry if it is Bioware, but Larian, remember the Red Prince? urgh.

So I had this little story going on in my head to alleviate the fear. Also the POV of the drawing.

_________________________________________________

Astarion mindlessly fiddled with the vial he wore as a pendant. From which the scent of Cazador's ancient blood called like a siren's song, tantalizing him with promises of power. To taste such elder vitae could grant him absolute control. he could feast on the greatest mages at will.

Astarion paced the darkened forest, turmoil roiling within. His cursed condition had denied him control over his own fate for centuries. He had been helpless, his life and desires meaningless save for slaking others' thirsts.

Now with Tav's help, Cazador was gone, and he finally glimpsed freedom. She awakened long dormant dreams - of walking in sunlight, of shared laughter and stolen kisses, of simply feeling alive once more.

Sinister doubts plagued Astarion. Did he even deserve such redemption? Could he ever be worthy of Tav's selfless trust? The temptation whispered darkly too of Tav. Dear, radiant Tav. With one sip of Cazador's blood, he can dominate her fully, as he had been dominated. To take control so completely she could never leave or betray him.

Yet seeing her now, blissfully asleep by the campfire, Astarion felt such possessive urges evaporate. Tav had willingly given him her heart, after all. He need place no chains upon that which was freely his.

Maybe true strength lay not in ruthless mastery, but in letting fragility show. He shook his head, this notion would never occur to him before he met Tav.  It terrified him still to relinquish control so fully. But Tav's kindness had already eased centuries of pain. If he surrendered to trust, he might finally know what it meant to be saved.

With newfound resolve, Astarion kissed Tav's brow and settled beside her. The whispered shadows in his mind receded for now. Tonight he would simply keep her safe, and dream of the light yet to come.

[beevean]

Rewriting Castlevania

To be more specific, Castlevania post-Season 2. The first few seasons shall serve as the launchpads from which to build upon and iron out the kinks for later stories.

I don’t have an exact vision of how rewritten versions of Season 3 and 4 (or Nocturne, but that isn’t the focus here), but I know, for starters, they could’ve used a more compact cast.

First: remove Trevor and Sypha. They may have been major protagonists in Seasons 1 and 2, but their story was over. Alucard, as well. His story was also done… for now (because he’s too iconic in the franchise as a whole not to bring back in a sequel series).

Next: they could’ve easily cut out Morana and Striga (whose names escaped my memory until I just looked them up) without substantially affecting anything in Carmilla’s whole story. Lenore can stay (maybe as the show’s equivalent to Laura), but she should not get a “redemption”. Instead, develop the idea of how weak others see her and how her devious intellect helps her overcome her perceived weakness. Write the woman a Starscream arc, even (“I am Lenore of Styria, and fuq you, Carmilla! I win!”), with mistress Carmilla as her Megatron! Give her lots of ambition!

For Isaac, I would love for his chat with that Captain to be preserved (I rewatched it recently and loved the vibe of it), but a couple other events in his journey need adjustments so that he doesn’t go through the “I had an nice talk with a human, so my mind about humanity is changing, but these guys are blocking me and I can’t reason with them, therefore I’m stupid for trying to be civil and hate humans again, now they die!” bit twice. With a little streamlining, his screentime in Season 3 could be devoted to building him up as a threat, and then set up Season 4 with his role as a co-antagonist (with Carmilla) to Hector fully set up when they reunite. No sanitizing “I’m going to live!” revelations here.

Then there’s Hector. I still think we didn’t need to see the immediate aftermath of his imprisonment. In this hypothetical rewritten story, I would suggest having a 1 or 2 year timeskip, so he’s been slaving away in Carmilla’s dungeon for quite a while, forced to build her an army with his Devil Forgemaster powers, and Lenore’s been keeping watch and giving him plenty of incentives not to betray the sisters. Maybe for his first appearance in this version of Season 3, he could have this intimidating reveal where it dramatically shows the scrawny boy from Season 2 has become a buff, scarred son of a gun, clearly having worked out a lot during his year(s)-long stay.

The story following the Castlevania 3 adaptation would not have to be a Curse of Darkness adaptation, but the pieces were in place to pass the main protagonist torch over to Hector anyway. By making Season 3 all about his eventual escape, and having Season 4 follow him on the run, eventually overcoming his oppressor (Carmilla) and former partner (Isaac), we have ourselves a cohesive story that blends everything it establishes into one, airtight package, rather than feeling like a convoluted animation anthology.

Also, maybe Saint Germain’s Infinite Corridor quest can be worked into Hector’s adventure to freedom in some kind of creative way, without Saint Germain having to sacrifice his morals or gain info from a shady 3rd (or 4th) party.

Reply: I like your ideas!

Hard agree on removing Trevor and Sypha because they are effectively done, and Morana and Striga because they add absolutely nothing of importance. Ellis said that he created the council to explain who ran the kingdom while Carmilla was in Wallachia, but Lenore could do the job herself.  I’m not sure about Alucard because his story is also over, but I do see the potential of him grappling with his grief, and fearing he might become like Dracula. It’s just, the way it was done was skull-crushingly boring, and for now I have no better ideas.

(btw yes, Carmilla and Lenore could be wives at this point lmao, their personalities are strong enough that it wouldn’t come off as The Lesbians For Brownie Points. Maybe Carmilla turned Lenore so she’s her dame and superior, and this would cause frustration in Lenore who feels like Carmilla sees her more as her pet than a lover... frustration that she channels on Hector, in some sort of cycle of abuse way :) I still like the idea of her falling in love with Hector, but it’s an unhealthy, possessive love typical of a vampire, that Hector doesn’t reciprocate or grows out of.)

For Isaac, I mentioned the other day that he could use as a springboard the realization that Dracula cast him away like a broken tool, and from there, his affirmation that he’s worth more than what Dracula told him. ... yes, this is still Hector’s arc, but whatever at this point. Absolutely, S3 should avoid that stupid pattern of “oh maybe humans aren’t so bad-- nvm y’all rude, die”. Maybe he avoids people instead of barging through cities, and makes his army from the corpses he finds in abandoned towns? But he still can’t avoid everyone, hence, the scene with the captain.

Mhh. Hector’s story spanning so long would also influence Isaac’s, and it feels like too much? If Isaac had one year of time to build an army, dude would lead a small country basically. He’s already OP af, even if we nerf him by making him weak in physical combat. Same with Carmilla, she would definitely do some damage in one year.

I’m torn. Hector’s story in S3 could be tweaked a bit by making it less fetishistic and still treating Hector like a person: as in, someone with goals and principles and was not hired as General only because he’s pretty, that Lenore has to whittle down to convince him to work for him (the idea that Hector cannot be physically forced to work and his master needs to earn his trust is actually really good for a conflict). The two should butt heads and have more intriguing conversations, make the job harder for Lenore, let’s see if she keeps with the diplomacy or gets frustrated and needs to resort to the ring (which only makes sense in the scenario where Hector is deemed too dangerous to be allowed to work freely, since its only shown function is to bequeath control of the Creatures). I actually jotted some ideas down, if you’re interested :P

(oh, and no rape. obviously. she really didn’t need to do that.)

And S4 can kind of stay the same, but with the difference that Hector trapping Lenore is a form of cruel mercy, he does not crawl back to her because he too realized he does not need to cling to people to earn love, and he actually leaves the castle, ready to explore the world (with the implication that he might meet the equivalent of Rosaly, but it’s not necessary)

To clarify, what is your idea of Hector’s story in S4? Does he flee from Isaac on the chase? Will he eventually fight him and Carmilla? Will he meet Rosaly in the finale, and in this timeline they stay together without Isaac interfering? (please say yes 🥺)

But yeah. I still think the prequels could have been adapted, but if we need Carmilla as a spanner in the works tweaking the timeline, this feels much better. Trevor and Sypha alone not bogging down screentime would solve so many issues with the rushed pace.

[dewitty1]

Fic Recs Wrap Up - January 2023 (ノﾟ∀ﾟ)ノ⌒･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

Home Truths by fantalf, skeptique Art by @fantalfart , written by @skeptiquewrites

In the off-season Harry decided to fix up Grimmauld Place and found that Draco Malfoy was the only person who could help him. A demanding career and unrelenting press scrutiny were enough to deal with before Harry added a house with a mind of its own, family history, and a tense, flirty, complicated relationship with his childhood nemesis to the mix. On professional Quidditch, magical houses, hard choices, Life Debts, and inconvenient truths. Rec Post

The Laws of Gravity by lettersbyelise @lettersbyelise

When he runs into Draco Malfoy picking pockets at a charity gala, Harry Potter is forced to face the desires he’s avoided for years — at the risk of shattering the public image he’s so carefully curated since the war. Rec Post

To Vanish Into Something Better by Mosrael @mosrael

Harry Potter thought he could outrun the burden of infamy by isolating himself in the Muggle world. Draco Malfoy hasn’t been seen or heard from since his trial. Will a top-secret Ministry project, a beautiful garden, and a little heat carry them both home? Rec Post

Twist of Fate by Oakstone730

Draco asks Harry to help him beat the Imperius curse during 4th year. The lessons turn into more than either expected. A story of redemption and forgiveness. Rec Post

Buds, Blooms, and Beards by corvuscrowned @corvuscrowned

Harry and Ginny have built an easy, happy life for themselves after the war. They run a thriving plant shop together, they have a great relationship, and they’re definitely not gay.

But when they slowly begin realize that isn’t the case, Harry realizes that navigating his newly-discovered sexuality isn’t easy - and he needs to get experience.

Luckily, Draco Malfoy is more than happy to help. Rec Post

The Re-education of Draco Malfoy by Veritas03

In the aftermath of the war, it has been noted that many of the young witches and wizards who attended school during the second rise of Voldemort have received sub-standard educations. As a result, Hogwarts opens an adult education program in the summer to bring these students up to par in the workforce. Draco Malfoy, desperate to pass the NEWT for DADA, is among them. But his hopes are dashed when, on the first day of class, Draco discovers – to his horror – the new DADA professor has never even taught before – and is a student himself, still trying to pass Potions. And anyway – just how is Draco supposed to stay focused in class when Professor Potter is so totally hot? Rec Post

The Compact byt astolat @astolat

Hermione frowned. “The real question is why the magic of Britain would be failing now, in fact.” “That is not the real question!” Ron said loudly; he’d woken up fully by now, and Harry had too; it was starting to sink in that they’d found the problem. “The real question is, how do we fix it?” Rec Post

Wild by orphan_account (formerly known as Seefin)

“No,” Harry said, by way of greeting. Malfoy’s blonde head rose slowly, carelessly. “Get out.”

“I feel as though we’ve already established this, Potter,” Malfoy responded. “And I feel that what we established was that you telling me to get out of places really doesn’t make me more likely to vacate them.” Rec Post

Way Down We Go by xiaq @xiaq

The war was over.

Or at least that’s what the papers said.

They’d been saying it, for months, as if people needed reminding.

Maybe they did.

***

In which Harry and Draco both run away from their pasts and conveniently choose to hide in the same tiny American town.

It's super. Rec Post

Here are a few more fics I've read recently that y'all might like to check out as well! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:��ﾟ✧

Staring Into Open Flame by kairennart (Personaje), lumosatnight Fic by @lumosatnight Art by @kairennart

“Gads, Potter. Get your grubby hands off me.” “Tell me. Where were you Thursday night?” Harry slammed Malfoy into the bathroom wall, his wand aimed at Malfoy’s throat. “Really now, darling. If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do was ask,” Malfoy rasped. “I’m going to ask you one more time, Malfoy. Where were you?” Malfoy’s thin lips curled into a smirk. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Or, Harry tries to catch an arsonist, and Malfoy smells like smoke.

A Perfect Fit by nothing_left_sacred

Harry has had to live his life with the curse of being overly well-endowed.

Draco has had to live his life with the curse of being hard to please.

--- A Cinderella story, of sorts.

I Won't Let You Fall Apart by xanthippe74 @xanthippe74

Harry has spent the year after the war staying out of the public eye, dodging political battles, and standing firm against pressure from his friends. But he has a secret plan to get away from it all. He just needs to testify at one more Death Eater trial: Draco Malfoy’s.

Little does Harry know what his act of compassion will cost him—and Malfoy.

A Case of You by epitomereally @epitomereally

Draco was doing just fine working as an Unspeakable in Paris, hanging out with his living and ghostly pals, inventing new spells, and definitely not thinking about Potter. Then, Lucius just had to break out of prison and turn his world upside down.

Now, Draco has to return to England, where he is forced to confront how family ties bind us—and one infuriatingly fit Harry Potter.

Kept in Cages by ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm, sweet_s0rr0w, Author @sweet-s0rr0w, Artist @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm

Deep in the heart of the Ministry lies the Beast Division: a hidden room where ancient beasts roam, and winged creatures soar, and grumpy giant ferrets eat all your biscuits unless you keep them well hidden. Draco Malfoy would know – he’s been working there for five years now, after all.

Meanwhile, on Level One, ex-Golden Boy Harry Potter is stuck in another interminable policy meeting, completely unaware of the mysterious comings and goings just three floors below. But when a giant snake emergency requires the assistance of a Parselmouth, Harry finds himself thrust, unprepared, into Draco’s weird and wonderful world – and naturally, he can’t keep away…

( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡ I hope you enjoy these fics as much as I have! Happy reading, y’all! xoxo Carey  (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*💜💙💚💛❤💗💕💖

[phaerlax]

For the character ask game- rin

This is gonna be severely limited by the fact that Bad Purple Man isn't a real character but let's go!

First impression

Alight hello mister mysterious antagonist. Are you Huey? I don't really care tbh...

Impression now

I'm pleased with the direction his character seems to be going as of NEON Carnival 2. Still a yandere obsessed with earning Eiden's affection, but it seems like the story will in some way resolve his desire to kill the clan members, making it into milder jealousy. Seems like he might be 'around' but not fully integrated/respected by the others, like a pricklier version of Kuya.

Kolt and the Council of Sorcery will take his place as main antagonists, I think, with Rin actually opposing them in such a way as to help along the redemption/switcharoo.

Favorite moment

Well this is a short list to pick from, at least XD It has to be his voice reveal at the start of the second revel, together with the premise of jinxing everyone with reverse personality magic. That was very fun, and I enjoy his voice. It was also cool when he fought Dante I guess.

Idea for a story

So here's the thing: I'm very canon compliant. My imagination is usually limited by what canon has explored, and I dislike writing speculative fic. I do have a Rin/Rei fic, but it makes heavy use of Rei's PoV and keeps Rin's motives mysterious because I myself don't know them. There's only so much mileage one can get out of that trick! I need to know more about his place in the story and his worldview.

I do get the occasional Rin thought, but it's mostly motivated by wanting to whump wolfboy and knowing that even Kuya might be too soft for it. I've joked about an AU in which Aster summoned Rin instead of Eiden and he's toxic to all the clan members, but I feel that character wouldn't be Rin, just someone's evil OC with Rin's aesthetic.

Unpopular opinion

I think that his relationship to Eiden is some bullshit Square Enix split persona stuff, but if it was actual blood incest I wouldn't care. Gay incest is hot. Please put in the newspaper that Phaerlax said gay incest is hot.

Favorite relationship

He only has one. But it's a good one. I enjoy a good yandere.

Favorite headcanon

To fully serve as a mirror to Eiden (and theoretically fulfill all his desires), Rin is a switch. He brings 'service' vibes to sex but the service is unrequested.

[stargazer-sims]

The Art of Redemption

(part 10)

previous // next // story index

—————

Nikolai thinks he’s starting to develop a greater appreciation for how it must feel to be a piece of luggage, being transported from place to place and spending lots of time in guest rooms. In the warm and welcoming atmosphere of Stanislav and Milena Kovac’s house, however, it’s difficult to find a reason to complain about it. Thanks to Milena's superb cooking and the couple's lifelong creed that anyone who eats and sleeps under their roof is family, Nikolai's belly and heart are full — a fully-packed suitcase? — and for the first time in weeks, he feels almost completely relaxed.

Stan had invited both him and Beth-Anne to spend the night. He would’ve been perplexed by this seemingly random proposition if he hadn’t already been staying at Beth-Anne’s house. Admittedly, he hadn't been in a fit state to notice much of anything during his first few nights at her place, but the longer he's there, the more he observes.

Although Beth-Anne hasn't said anything directly, it's obvious she's struggling, maybe even more than Nikolai is himself. Psychologically speaking, he's still not feeling one hundred percent, but due in no small part to Beth-Anne's love, friendship and steady, nurturing presence, he's getting better each day. What worries him at the moment, though, is that taking care of him may be too much for her. He's nearly made up his mind that as soon as he's off his crutches, he's going home.

It shouldn't be much longer before the sports therapist and the doctor clear him to start consistently bearing weight on his injured leg. It had hurt when he'd put weight on it at the rink several days ago, but the pain hadn't been intolerable and his leg had supported him. He's been testing it tentatively each day since then, and he's sure it's improving. Maybe next week he'll be able to walk further than from his room to the bathroom without needing the support of crutches. Maybe just the knee brace will do.

He does the mental equivalent of shaking his head. Really, he should already be walking without crutches. His healing process was set back by his fall on the stairs, and despite the fact that the doctor had determined it likely wouldn't affect the outcome of his recovery, he's still upset and annoyed.

During his last checkup, which was just this morning, he'd received the news that he'll be able to walk and run normally once he's fully healed, and that there's a high probability he'll eventually be able to skate again too. Not competitively, of course. He'd already known his competing days were over, but the revelation that he might not have to give up skating entirely fills him with hope. It makes the loss of his competitive career a little easier to accept, and the idea of becoming a skating coach more attractive as an option.

Now, he's not so much depressed about being kept off the ice as he is irritated that his return to it has been delayed by his mishap on the stairs. Mostly, he's mad at Anya, because the reason he's still hobbling around on crutches instead of walking independently, exercising on the treadmill, and building up his leg strength is her fault.

Well... maybe not totally Anya's fault, he amends.

True, Anya did hide his crutches in an upstairs closet, essentially confining him to the first floor of their home. She had left him alone for three days and only thought to come back and check on him when he stopped replying to her texts. His fall on the stairs had happened ostensibly because he’d been trying to go up to get his crutches, but he'd also been looking for his cat, Tangerine.

Tangerine is old and no longer the athlete she once was. Her latest obsession is sleeping in the laundry hamper, but the problem is that once she gets in, she sometimes has trouble getting back out. After calling her repeatedly and getting no response, he feared that she might be trapped yet again, and he wanted to find her. Unfortunately, he didn't get that far.

It was hours later, after a dozen frantic texts to his absent wife, that he learned Anya had taken the cat with her. Tangerine was fine, which was more than Nikolai could've said for himself.

Still, he reasons, he shouldn't lay all the blame for his setback on Anya. He could have called somebody for help. Grandpa, Natascha, Ginger, Beth-Anne... somebody. His family and every one of his friends would've come to his rescue, if only he'd been thinking clearly enough to reach out.

But, you weren't thinking clearly, he reminds himself. He'd been so distraught over everything that had happened to him, he'd felt the only solution would be to pour himself a stiff drink, use it to chase down every single tablet in the vial of painkillers the doctor had given him, and then lie down and drift gently into oblivion.

Thank God for Beth-Anne. She hadn't hesitated for a moment when he finally called her, desperate and terrified, in the middle of the night. The bottle of pills had been in the pocket of his shorts. He'd been touching it while he was talking to her, and he'd kept his hand on it until he heard the low rumble of her truck on the quiet street.

Her arms around him as they sat together on the floor in his front hallway felt lifesaving to him. Her embrace didn't take away the pain, but it did make him glad to be alive and able to appreciate it. It took away the lonliness and some of the fear.

You're saving me, he'd wanted to tell her, but all he'd been able to do was cry, too exhausted and broken down to even find the words to thank her.

Everything has improved since then for him, but now it seems Beth-Anne is the one who's fading.

Currently, they're lying side by side on the queen size bed in the Kovacs' guest room, watching a movie on the flat screen TV that's mounted on the wall above the wide, low dresser. Nikolai had picked something at random from the basket of DVDs on the bookcase and popped it into the DVD player without even glancing at the title.

He supposes it's generous to say they're watching it. Really, they'd only put it on in the first place so they wouldn't be able to hear Stan and Milena upstairs. Apparently unconcerned by the presence of houseguests, the Kovacs hadn't gone to sleep immediately after retiring to their room.

It's such a typical Stan move, not to be inhibited by other people in the house, and from what Nikolai knows of Milena, she wouldn't be telling Stan to control himself. He suspects it's more likely she'd be encouraging him, not that it'd take much. Nikolai wants to laugh.

Good for them, he thinks. If they're still getting it on at sixty, they're winning at life, and far be it from him to judge them for it. He hopes he's as energetic at their age, and that he'll have an enthusiastic partner to help him burn off some of that energy.

Nikolai checks his fitness tracker. The little digital time display says it's 11:37 p.m. For him, it's late. He's usually in bed and asleep by half-past ten, and up again at five in the morning.

Beth-Anne is an early riser as well, and no doubt it's also past her normal bedtime. When he glances over at her, he sees she's still awake too, although she looks like she might doze off any second. He thinks about asking her if she's planning to head upstairs to the room Stan and Milena offered her for the night, but something tells him she'd say no.

They're both going to fall asleep right here, he realizes, together on this big bed, with their daytime clothes on, and some random film playing way too loud on the TV.

He's okay with that.

Determined that he's at least going to have a pillow under him when he crashes, he turns around awkwardly and crawls toward the head of the bed. He takes his glasses off and sets them on the bedside table, and then reaches down to retrieve Champion from the top of his backpack, which is leaning against the table's sturdy base.

He debates whether to get under the blankets or not. His hoodie and sweatpants would probably keep him warm enough without a blanket, but he'll be more comfortable in his t-shirt with a blanket over him, so he tugs the thick hooded sweatshirt off. Sweatpants are perfectly acceptable to sleep in, he decides. He doesn't feel like digging around in his bag for the PJ pants he'd brought, and he's way too tired to trudge to the bathroom to change into them anyway.

"What're you doing?" Beth-Anne asks, just as he's clumsily situating himself and his teddy bear under the covers.

For half a second, he's confused by the question because what he's doing seems obvious. "Um... going to bed?" he says, somehow making it sound like he's questioning it now as well.

"Oh," says Beth-Anne. "Right. Good idea."

Then, with an utter lack of fanfare that still manages to astound him despite his having already half-expected it, she slips out of her own hoodie and drops it over the side of the bed. She's wearing a hot pink tank top emblazoned with the slogan 'LEZ GO!' in glittery rainbow text. According to her, she'd "never be caught dead in pink" but last summer's shirt of choice for the Brindleton Bay Pride Festival is evidently her one exception. He makes an inelegant snorting noise in his attempt to stifle a laugh.

"What?" Beth-Anne demands.

"Pink." It's all he needs to say.

"Shut it, smartass," she says, but she's smiling. He hasn't seen her smile in days, and he's strangely gratified that their inside joke from last summer has coaxed the expression out.

"Sorry," he says, but he isn't.

She wriggles under the blankets next to him and turns onto her side so that they're facing each other. "You gonna turn that TV off?"

"The remote is closer to you," he tells her.

She groans loudly, but rolls back the other way to grab the TV remote off the nightstand. She flicks the television off. His contribution is to turn off the small lamp on the table on his side of the bed. The room falls into shadow.

Nikolai closes his eyes. Beneath the blanket, he flexes his leg and discovers he can fully straighten it without any pain.

Soon...

He imagines walking on his own, running, lacing up his skates and stepping onto the ice. In his mind's eye, he sees himself doing complex step sequences, spins and jumps. There won't be any more competitions, but if he works hard enough, he'll be able to regain all his strength and rebuild his skills. Then, maybe he can teach someone else and watch them skate their way to a top-three finish at a big event.

He runs his fingertips over Champion's little plastic medal and remembers how good that very first victory had felt. For a kid who'd been told he wouldn't amount to anything as an athlete, he'd certainly proved that old coach of his wrong. Six World Championship medals in eleven full seasons at Senior level isn't nothing. He's somebody in this sport, and he's accomplished a lot, and...

And I'm not done yet.

The thought streaks into his mind like a lightning flash. He's not done yet. He can still be a part of the sport. He can teach and support someone the way Beth-Anne has done for him, and maybe he can make as big a difference in the lives of other people as she's done in his life.

In the darkness, he says softly, "Beth-Anne?"

"Hmm...?"

"I'm going to do it.”

"Do what?" she asks sleepily.

"I'm going to be a coach. I want you to teach me everything you know. Brett was wrong. I do belong at the rink, and I'm going back to show him exactly how wrong he is."

Beth-Anne doesn't reply immediately and he thinks perhaps she's fallen asleep, but then he feels movement under the covers. She slides her hand across the mattress until she finds his, and she grips his fingers with fierce strength.

Another second or two goes by before he realizes she's crying. He squeezes her hand and says her name quietly. "Are you okay?"

"No, but I will be," she says. "It might take a while, but I think if we stick together, we're both gonna be okay."

“If that’s what you need, then consider yourself stuck with me, coach.”

“Never stop calling me that, okay? It feels like ‘auntie’ or ‘mom’. I need that. I… I need… family.”

“If it means anything, having you in my life is like having a second mom. A bonus mom.”

“I like that.”

“Remember how you promised you’d stay with me as long as I wanted you to?”

“Yeah.”

“That goes both ways, you know.”

He already knows what the response will be, even before she whispers it into the darkness. “Forever.”

[deadbeat-motel]

Just saw and commented on your new sinner designs, LOVE them all so much!

I do have to ask because your Deadbeat Motel lives rent-free in my head at this point, already a much better execution than HH IMO. Would Charlie and Valerie be tryna redeem Crymini, Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb- and possibly Husk and Nifty- or would their main focus of redemption still just be Angel Dust?

And one more question, does our silly awkward transmasc anglerfish king Baxter come into this story at all?

Ah! I'm really happy to hear that since I've been using this as an exercise in writing and character-building. Plus It's genuinely the only way I'm able to enjoy HH as I'm fixing so many big issues that I have about it wasting the potential of some genuinely amazing and creative concepts. (AngelDust, Charlie and Nifty come into mind)

Also, I'm really glad you asked (since looking at my schedule, it might take me a while to finish everyone's rewrites and redesigns) So here's the answer to your question (and a sprinkle of trivia about Deadbeat Motel):

Charlie, Redemption and the Sinners:

Charlie and Valerie will be focusing on redeeming Every sinner of the motel, including Alastor (who in this rewrite, is not a patron of the hotel but a powerful overlord who was roped into this project because of Lilith's meddling).

The sinners and Valerie all have varying degrees of faith in this project (A little spoiler-y but who cares, I'm not making an Amazon show.): > Valerie is in this project because she too wants to know if there is a chance for a sinner (maybe even her) can find some way to become good enough to be accepted in heaven. Despite having been taught to know that the answer is "no.", Charlie has taught her to believe in what others think is impossible. > Angel Dust is honestly only here because it's the first place that feels safe for him. He doesn't believe it's possible to redeem him but he's happy enough to have a place that Val can't find some way to ruin. > Despite his pessimistic outlook, there's a part of him that would want redemption to be possible. His son died fairly young and was in heaven, so far out of his reach. If redemption is possible, then maybe he can see him again. > Nifty is indifferent, to her, it was all grown-up talk she wasn't interested in. Redemption? Blegh, if it was a boy, it would most certainly be one she would stray away from. > Cherri Bomb doesn't care about redemption and frankly thinks it's impossible, she's just here because no other Women Group wants her and this is the only one that wants to accept her that has only 3 men. Even if it's possible, she doubts that the people she hurt want to forgive her. > Crymini doesn't even fully understand why she's here and hates hell. She's just in this project because she thinks she deserves to be up there in heaven. She doesn't believe she needs to do any kind of redeeming. > Alastor has absolutely no faith in the project and that he can be redeemed, he thinks it a waste of time as he knows that even certain people belong in hell (Overlords like himself for example. Humans who earned that spot in hell for their Heinous sins while they were alive.) He's only here because he struck a deal with Lilith to look after Charlie. > Pentious...... I'm still working on her

If I had to rank them from Most redeemable to irredeemable, It'd be: Crymini -> Husk -> Pentious -> Nifty -> Angel Dust -> CherriBomb -> Alastor

Oh! and to be true to the name, they are actually running a small motel instead of the grand hotel we see in the show proper. It makes it feel a lot more tight-knit.

Baxter:

To be real honest with you, I have no idea how to write Baxter into this since There's not much I know of the guy and I try to not have duplicates in this rewrite. The mad scientist role already belongs to Pentious. I might make him Pentious' partner in crime, and possibly make Cherri Bomb feel somewhat threatened that some person may have her snake's heart before she does.

Also, Baxter is the one character I might not want to redesign because miraculously, this is the first Vivziepop design that I have absolutely no problems with. I don't even mind the little bowler hat. It's absolutely adorable!

[this-thing-saved-me]

This Show Saved Me - BTVS 7x22

7x22 Chosen

I will never not find it funny that to stream Buffy I have to go to Disney+. Or the fact that the most recent episode I’d watched (whenever that was) was this one. Since I’m pretty sure I left my rewatch mid-season 3.

But that’s the thing about this particular episode. It’s practically a perfect finale. And felt like the right place to start, because who says everything should happen in order. That’s not always how life works. 

THERE WILL LIKELY BE ABUNDANT SPOILERS FOR A FINALE THAT AIRED OVER TWENTY YEARS AGO. There, that was your warning. And now for some Cole's notes “Story so far.”

Okay, so Buffy’s been through it by this point. The First has annihilated her self-confidence and Caleb has been on the warpath. Spike has told her she’s the one (!!!), whether she fully believes in herself yet or not. (SIDENOTE: yes, I ship Spuffy. Yes, there are very, very valid reasons not to. However I am a big fan of redemption arcs and where they land by the end of the comics feels like as healthy a place as possible with a very real love.)

And Angel shows up trying to be all tall-dark and forehead. Which I get, he’s Angel, he needs to be in the finale. But ultimately he's a delivery boy and he didn’t need to do it in person other than to prompt the first on my list of loves for this episode. 

Which is what I lovingly refer to as the "Cookie Speech." Buffy knows she has more growing to do and she’s self-aware enough to share that with the first love of her life. She’s come a long way from the season of post-resurrection depression, but she’s still not quite ready for what Angel might like her to be (granted he’s JUST lost Cordelia so the fact that he is back at Buffy’s door is a rant for another post.) The idea that things aren’t working for her romantically because she’s not done baking. She hasn’t figured out all that she wants to be. While I love love LOVE this analogy, I wonder if there’s ever really a time in our lives where we are done baking? Besides the end of course. We’re supposed to evolve. We’re supposed to grow.

Spike is her Champion, not Angel. They’ve seen the best and the worst of each other, remember? He knows she needs someone strong, someone with a soul, and despite the bad, she knows he’s earned the right to the title through growing and atoning. Motivated people can change, and that’s something I believe that Spike has shown.

“He had to split” - the joke is LHF and I love it. Does its utterance deserve a place on this list? Yes. Because it's very me-coded. I’d have a very hard time not making the same joke if I had just rendered a man from stem to stern. But I digress. This episode is serious and still silly. It’s the epitome of BTVS episodes. I mean Spike waking from a dream yelling “I’m drowning in Cool Whip,” come on. It’s akin to “the cheese wears me” in off kilter nonsense. Plus Anya later finding her strength in her hatred for "floppy, hoppy bunnies" will never not kill me. (Or her, again spoiler.) I adore Emma Caufield.

Willow is afraid to use magic because of her history with the darkness. Not knowing if she’s stable enough. I can identify with her at this moment after clawing back from my own mental health blip a couple years ago. She went dark. (I went, arguably, nuts) She’s regained her balance but how secure? It’s going to turn out to be really secure because “Oh my goddess” she’s got this. AND…

The fact that Kennedy is there for Willow to help keep her grounded. Her very presence supports Willow but isn’t the deciding factor for victory. Willow needs to believe in herself that she won’t go back over that edge. She touched the darkness and it freaked her the f out. (Once she came back down from the overwhelm and shock of her grief.) I lived in that fear for a long time. And I’m grateful for the grounding I’ve found outside of the support of others, but within myself.

Just for fun, let’s chat about the DND session. Even the scoobies needed to disassociate before the big thing. And self-permission to have fun during challenging times is key. It can’t all be doom and gloom. Sometimes you recharge that nervous energy through Trogdor the Burninator references and that’s more than okay.

Ultimately we have the’ shared power’ speech. “Here’s the part where you make a choice” more specifically. Because they could easily choose to let the First and its legions overwhelm the world and finally be the apocalypse they couldn’t handle. It’s easier to stay down. It’s easier to say I can’t. But where does that get you? Making that choice to take your power back and say I am more than what wants to overwhelm me is a beautiful moment. This moment, where all the Potentials get their piece of the power pie is tremendously moving. I get shivers just thinking about it. Male or female, we don’t need the permission of Slayer power to take back our own. To say ‘no more’ and get back up off the ground. (Although Slayer strength would be badass, let’s be real.)

The bottom line, this episode epitomises what I love about Buffy and the Whedon-verse. Real characters in a fantastic world who battle larger than life caricatures of the demons we fight in our daily lives. This show saved me in a lot of ways. My very first boyfriend got me to watch it back in 2005, which he may have regretted as it CONSUMED my brain for most of grade 12. It was the perfect time for me to experience this show. I credit it for helping me find my voice offline. I was always a nose-in-a-book girl or heavily distracted with FanFiction. I was one of the quietest in my friend group, not really feeling like there was a value to what I had to say. The message that we can choose to be strong and fight back? That’s one that I’ll eternally be grateful for and will carry with me, always. What’s your favourite episode? And why is it “Once More With Feeling”? ;)

(Honourable mention goes to this eye contact where my headcanon is convinced he sees she really does love him despite him telling her otherwise seconds before. THOSE SMG EYES! I can't.)

[gnomey22]

Top 5 Therapy-Needers in Failtopia

5.

Chin "Chi" Kid. This girl went through the horrors of saving the entire world twice, got beaten up more than most other characters on both of those journeys, and was placed on the frontlines for an uncountable number of extremely dangerous fights (the primary cause of my previous point). She was locked in a dungeon for a month and had her face implanted on a feral beast, twice in a row for both of those things, and was almost completely alone for three years between these journeys, heavily implying that she's been alone her entire life. This all happens when she's 15-18. What the fuck.

4.

Deko. He may be one of the least remembered character stories in the entire series, but the story he has is horrible. He, a sixteen y/o, decided to submit himself to an unethical experiment to give himself superpowers he felt insecure about lacking, which resulted in him being trapped in the role of an Imp (a literal monster), and bound by the gods to battle for the world with some blond guy he hates. Then, he finds out that there's an alternate universe version of himself who lives a happy and normal life, all because he didn't make the same stupid mistake he himself did. This acts as his 'redemption arc', but if that happened to me, I'd take a very long time to even recover.

3.

Erica. You all know why, but I'll break it down anyways. She has no personal life to speak of, and fully immerses herself in work she doesn't even really enjoy, watching a majority of her coworkers die horribly, partially because she couldn't save them. Then, she joins a somewhat-functional team for the first time, and allows herself to make a genuine connection or two - which are then ripped away from her as soon as the journey ends, leaving her with the same overworking nightmare of a life she had before. This time, she feels the need to abandon a core personality trait, her caution, for the sake of taking out her deeply-bottled-up anger on anything that moves. Because of this, she struggles even harder to make personal connections, and can't bring herself to call almost anyone her friend, or get the concept of death off her mind for two seconds.

2.

Friend. Imagine having a little guy magically attached to your face, by accident, clearly a lost soul who needs all the help he can get. As a Cleric, helping random people is your literal job, and you're a naturally kind person, so of course you care for this stranger! He might be corrupting your mind to increase your aggression, sure, but that's a normal side effect, probably. You miss him when he suddenly disappears. Then, you finally find him again, and he reveals himself as a genocidal demon who intends to reinvent the world for the sake of a revenge plot you can't even comprehend. But you have to comprehend it, because it's partially your fault that he got this far. Not only that, but he's had a clear effect on your mental state, and you start using inanimate objects to cope with his absence, out of sheer desperation. This man has left an irreversible mark on your psyche, and even then, you were entirely expendable to him.

Honourable mentions go to Failboat, Simple Bob, Rose, Orion + Slapo Oopsie, and Bo. Mar does not make the list because he's already been through his three years of therapy, he doesn't need it.

1.

Shrimp. She was abandoned by her father in her vulnerable teenage years, and she has no reason to know he feels bad for it. Due to this lack of protection, many of the awful people in her age range take the opportunity to bully her, mainly over her greatest dream of singing, which they hate that she has. They do everything they can to make her believe her singing talent, one of the only things she has left in her life, is worth nothing, and it gets more than verbal. It's heavily implied that the reason she has an unfixable chipped tooth is because these bullies got violent, and this also gives reason to believe they bullied more than her dreams and talents, they tore into her for her very appearance too. As a result of this, she's left with no option than to abandon her home, just like her dad did, and flee to the unfamiliar surface, hoping she can do anything up there while knowing nothing about it. Her home is behind her now, she has to join a battle party trying to save the entire world just to get by. It's here, where she finds a found family she adores, but they can't replace what she's lost. She still doesn't have a single friend her age, and relies on random adults to survive out here. I don't think it's a coincidence that she has so much fan content, and enough trauma to match it, literally everyone wants this girl to have some happiness.

[rainydaygt]

u have fave characters right? from any media? alright, list them and rank on a scale of 1-10 how good they would be with a tiny.

Okay so I got a little carried away and these are not ranked in any particular order (except alistair) so WHOOPS, i should be put on r/wooosh but here you go. Enjoy <3

One - Alistair Theirin, Dragon Age (origins)

My wife. He would be VERY good with a tiny. Careful and protective and gentle—constantly checking to make sure youre doing alright and cracking stupid jokes to keep the mood light. His big, stupid hands are as warm as his big, stupid heart. You would be 10000% safe around him.

Two - Fenris, Dragon Age (2)

My girlfriend. Fenris is, despite all appearances, one of the most normal chill guys in dragon age imo. He would not be pushy or grab you out of nowhere, respecting boundaries and personal space is extremely important to him. There’s not another place quite so safe as Fenris’s hands in all of Kirkwall. Actually that’s not saying a lot, Kirkwall sucks.

Three - Arthur Morgan, Red Dead Redemption (2)

My husband. Now, Arthur may look and act all big and tough and scary, but deep down he’s got a soft spot for little things and creatures. You would be no exception to this. You’d make several appearances in his journal and in his hands. He doesn’t fully trust himself with you, feeling like a big brute that could easily crush you, but he trusts most of the camp even less. Arthur gets into too much trouble himself to guarantee your safety, but he would do everything in his power to keep you alive and well.

Four - Wyll Ravengard, Baldur’s Gate (3)

My husband(2.0). Wyll quite literally treats you like a prince/princess. You will receive the utmost loyalty, chivalry and respect when you’re around him. Every hand will be presented as an offering; a question, rather than a demand or a force. He will be wide eyed with wonder at you, how small you are, and overcome with the urge to protect you at all costs. He may come across a bit overbearing in this regard, but his heart is always in the right place.

Five - Viktor, Arcane

Viktor would be very, very curious about you. He might be a bit less reserved when it comes to picking you up, but he’s gentle and careful nonetheless. He thinks you’re incredible and is reluctant to let you go, assuming this is a borrower situation; but you both know you’ll be back. His hands will be twitching to hold you again until you do. What a wonderful curiosity you are, to him. He’d want to study you, at least a little, and even if you refuse he’s still at least taking notes on your behavior. He can’t help it!

Six - Astarion Ancunin, Baldur’s Gate (3)

Albeit curious, Astarion wouldn’t pay you much mind at first. It’s not until you start showing him consistent kindness and interest that he actually starts to have conversations with you and wants to be around you. In the beginning, if you’re to be picked up it would be with an eye roll and a gentle fist. Later on, he cares a great deal more about if you’re comfortable and starts to offer his hand to you instead. Why you seem to like him so much, romantic or not, he can’t seem to puzzle out. He can’t provide you with the earthly services he’s given for so long, so you’re a curiosity and a mystery to him and he is enraptured by you.

Seven - Zevran, Dragon Age (Origins)

If there’s one thing that’s important to Zevran, it’s bodily autonomy, and due to this you would be asked every single time you need to be picked up or carried somewhere. It doesn’t matter how comfortable you get with each other, he’s firm on always making sure to ask before you’re in his hands. He never closes you in a fist and is incredibly gentle and careful. It feels very surprising to you, seeing as he’s a literal assassin, but it’s more than welcome. It’s very easy to feel very safe around him.

That’s all I could conjure up for now! The rest of them would all just be more Dragon Age characters and I already fear I’ve accidentally mischaracterized them as is. So, thanks for the ask, do come back to my box again!!

[justallihere]

I have a few fan theories for SITQ. Some of these happen in the distant future (like probably after the story ends) so idk if that would make them easier to answer? You also don’t have to answer any

Violet’s stiff fingers make it hard to wear a ring, so Xaden has them remade into a necklace somehow (but without melting the rings because they still mean something as rings… they can be clipped into place on the pendant idk)

Mira stabs Brennan at least 2x. After all, she was closer with him than Violet was, so she would probably feel even more betrayed

Jesinia makes an appearance and tells Violet thanks for teaching those signs to Sawyer. Or maybe it’s not even specifically about Jesinia at all and Violet has done a much wider public service!

Dain does one more good thing that moves him slightly further along his redemption arc, and also he gets to say a full apology to Violet without her cutting him off (not that I like Dain that much but this would feel consistent with what you’ve written so far… also I do think apologies in general are important)

If Violet and Xaden eventually do have kids then they wouldn’t be raised as royalty because they’d try to transition Tyrrendor into full democracy? I haven’t fully thought this one through but they just strike me as such protective would-be parents that they wouldn’t want their kids to be in the same spotlight that they were? The same spotlight that just put Violet in danger this past chapter? idk

The second Navarrian prince (Alic?) is still a jerk and still alive given that your Xaden didn’t kill him (and wouldn’t have been close in age anyway, unless you bumped up his age too). First, that means Cam doesn’t have reason to hate Xaden, which we already know. But does that also impact Cam’s motivations? Like, is Cam even more frustrated that no one in his family, not even the rider, cares about venin?

Again, you don’t have to answer any of these! But your fic has really reminded me/made me think through some details in the book, and I’m now fully invested in not just Violet and Xaden but also all the background characters! I love how well you write!!

Okay let’s see what I can do here:

1. Yes and no. There are definitely days when the swelling is worse and it would be difficult to get them on. Neither of them would want to change the rings at all, so she would have a chain to wear them on if she wanted, but she prefers to wear them on her fingers

2. Mira’s reaction shall remain a secret until it happens!

3. Jesinia does make an appearance in the next few chapters. . . Violet may or may not *wink wink nudge nudge* ask how her and Sawyer have been doing

4. Dain is going to do more than one more good thing. He and Violet will say words to each other within the next 5 chapters, and he won’t just disappear after that. He’s been manipulated into a lot of shitty decisions and he’s now trying to make up for it. That doesn’t absolve him of any responsibility but his actions are changing in addition to him saying he wants to be different (see: him standing up to his father about reading Violet’s memories)

5. This one is hard to answer. Xaden’s a fucking control freak. It’s hard to decide what they might do later when there’s still so much to write about what they’re doing now. And where there are now is: hard pass on the kids, and Xaden would have a very difficult time giving up control when he’s worked so hard (in a position he didn’t even want) to keep these people safe. Idk, I think I’d have to come back to this once we’ve reached the end!

6. Alic is still alive! And yes, Cam is VERY frustrated. He’s at Basgiath and trying to get in with Violet and Xaden for a reason. The man needs to talk to people who know how to get shit done

[lulu2992]

After listening to this song on repeat and/or having it regularly stuck in my head these past few weeks, I’ve finally seen Wish!

I had read many reviews that said the movie was bland because it lacked originality, and while I understand this point of view, in a way... I think it was intentional.

The film was released for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 100th Anniversary and is full of more or less obvious references to other Disney movies, whether it’s a well-known character name that’s mentioned, someone directly quoting another film, or even just a background, object, gesture, or scene composition that, for some reason, feels familiar. The fact that all those “Easter eggs”, which could have been very annoying but, in my opinion, manage to remain fun (not really in a self-mocking way as Enchanted did, though), exist, combined with the images that appear during the end credits and the scene that follows (yes, there is a post-credits scene), make me say the goal was to make the “Disneyest Disney movie”.

Wish is not lazy, it’s a celebration.

It’s still its own film with its own story, but it’s first and foremost a tribute to Walt Disney Animation Studios, all the movies they’ve released over the years, and the now iconic (some might say overused) concepts of “wishing upon a star” and hoping your “dreams come true”. At one point, there’s also a flip book (with a time chart!), and I see this as a nod to traditional animation, as well as an homage to the original “magic makers”: animators in general.

So yes, it’s unoriginal and maybe not the most memorable Disney film. As you would expect, it opens on a storybook, takes place in a fictional kingdom, features a heroine who has an animal sidekick and a dead parent, and she has to fight against a charismatic villain who uses green magic. I would describe Wish as a quintessential Disney movie, and while it may not be groundbreaking, it’s still cute, pretty, and entertaining. The characters are good and, even when they don’t have a lot of screen time, have distinct personalities. I’m thinking in particular of Asha’s friends who, as I’ve just realized writing this, must be a reference to the Seven Dwarves (even their initials match)... There also are many songs, of course, as they are yet another trademark of Disney movies. Special mention to “This Is The Thanks I Get?!” because I thought it was quite catchy and the most original!

Speaking of King Magnifico, he really is a great character and “classic” Disney villain, and it feels like we hadn’t seen that in a while. That said, [spoilers]…

...I was a bit disappointed they introduced his tragic backstory (without fully explaining what exactly happened, by the way) and then didn’t really do anything with it at the end. Sure, it humanizes him, gives him depth, and explains why he’s unhealthily obsessed with being in control, and I agree that not all villains need or deserve a full redemption arc, but… I don’t know, since they mention the fact his family died and that the fear of loss is what motivates him (at least at the beginning), I expected that to play a bigger role in the story, and especially in its conclusion. I’m not saying he should have been redeemed because I don’t know if it would have worked in that story anyway, but taking into account his past, the fact they mention it several times, and what they (Disney) have been doing with many of their villains lately, I simply thought it was likely to happen. Maybe King Magnifico didn’t necessarily “deserve better” as a person because he does become “evil”, to the point that even Queen Amaya, his wife, eventually turns her back on him despite their seemingly sincere connection, but as a character, I’m inclined to say he did…

Oh well, at least he has the coolest villain song!

Also, knowing my love for charismatic antagonists with a tragic backstory, maybe it’s best for me that they didn’t explore that further and just let him apparently irremediably lose himself. Had they decided to “save” him, even partially, or give the audience more reasons to feel sorry for him, I fear I could really have spiraled out of control :’)