#but there was a deleted scene on the authors blog of a flashback to when she was 15 and tried hitting on him and he says hes 20 turning 21 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hislittleraincloud · 9 months

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SPOILERS, Discussion II, Chapter 6 Part 2.

Don't read this if you haven't read this chapter.

This is an author answer/response to "Wednesdays_Destiny" on AO3 because I can't be bothered (or frustrated) to chop it up into God knows how many comments in their 10K limit.

Purple is direct Afterburn Canon/quote.

Pink is Wednesdays_Destiny's thoughts/q's.

THE COLORS ARE A LITTLE MESSED THIS TIME. IDK what happened, something happened when it saved to drafts. It's this trash site's problem. Not going back to fix it 💀

Fun video clip included under the cut.

>legitimate physical harm is fair game.<

>>>Usually such rules "everything except" happen after "except" happens, so I wonder if they had an incident previously.

It’s that they know that the different species have different levels of powers, some more potentially dangerous than others, so they respect each others’ differences by keeping each other safe. (This is a little spoilery.)

>it billowed out their noses as their<

>>>Yeah sorry that ship has sailed B/Y, nothing will beat the irritated dragon Wednesday.

Wednesday shotgunned Donovan on her birthday, too. It hits different though, I get it…Yoko has yet to win any hearts over. But shotgunning is still sexy.

>gives a vampire the benefit<

>>> Is that a benefit? Despite being able to mix you Just need to buy and consume more then?

If normal people mixed drugs the way vampires can, they’d all be dead. Or undead, if they’re lucky enough to be “resuscitated” by a vampire before the heart stops. Either way, vampires can't die of an OD.

>perhaps she just didn't remember<

>>>>I will admit I am curious what happened that she chose to forget it ever happened.

Well, we’ll just have to see if that question is ever answered in canon or in a flashback or in a deleted scene or in a short one shot or…

>those powers wouldn't show up for another few years<

curious if sirens/Gorgon also get their powers during puberty of it they have it from birth.

Sirens and Gorgons are born that way, with some minor changes as growth happens. And I’m taking from N/Canon that psychic powers don’t show up until just about mid-puberty. Wednesday’s psychic powers showed up after the Fester-like electricity did to a noticeable degree…that’s all I’ll say about that for now, since it’ll probably be covered in Chapter 7. And BTW, male sirens and gorgons are rarer than females; Kent and Ajax are the outliers of their kind. Telekinesis is male-dominated outside of vampires (where it’s gender neutral), but there are Addamses who have that. They have a wide array of powers in the family.

>since her very plain surname wasn't exactly memorable.<

>>>>What do you mean? Addams is like one of the most memorable last names there is.

It’s actually common (35th in the U.S.), except for the spelling. That’s why Enid spelled it “Adams” in her shitty blog. LOL

>cold and professional…. A sudden commotion<

>>>> And you blueball us pff. Given that she lost her virginity to our sheriff the farthest they went was a blowjob, maybe that explains how she was so good with Donovan first try - if she was "experimenting" with with boys previously.

I probably won’t write what happened (even though I know exactly what happened…) but she did not put her mouth on him. That I can tell you. It was, at first, honestly innocent “doctor” play.

>"I'm ovulating." <

>>>>Oohhh FucK

Oh no, someone’s gonna end up pregnant in their sophomore year of high school, oh nooooo…*cackling*

>the colorful rainbow rippling up and<

>>>>Talk about inconvenient, that prevents all types of exhibition kinks like having a remote vibe inside in the classroom, coming and trying to not move a muscle/be dead quiet so no one catches on. But besides that its fucking glorious.

I can imagine many, many funny scenarios where their orgasms happen in public.

>his sister's paranoid drug rages<

>>>>Glad I have never touched any type of drug, of any type. That sounds just horrible.

Some people can’t handle their drugs *at all*. Wednesday is smart and doesn’t take unnecessary risks (so far) with drugs. Divina has difficulty with it, and not necessarily because she takes too much (though sometimes she does…I think there’s a lot of pain and guilt in her since I already have their backstory written).

>the balloon inflated, rising off of his hand<

>>>>Now do that with Laurels head.

He’ll deal with some of his rage about “Ms. Thornhill” in the sequel, I think.

>strange tornado of feelings he had for an old, quirky acquaintance<

>>>>Given that Donovan is 55 he will be dead in 30ish years at the latest, then you will be a man and can go collect your woman. Till then run a FwB with Bianca.

*laughs in Omnipotent POV*

>gorgon was stone hard<

Punny American, I see.

🥸

>her during, manipulating pressure against her clit<

>>>>Or you could use your powers to massage parts you could not normally reach, like the roots and base of her clit instead.

Do you honestly believe that nerdy little Rowan who kissed like he was a thirsty dog lapping at a water bowl would know anything about female anatomy other than the clit and vagina? Plus even if he did, he’d still be lost since the siren’s weird labia kinda work differently (they’re able to move/ripple…kinda like Pseudobiceros bedfordi:

Persian Carpet Flatworm Pseudobiceros bedfordi )

See that rippling? That’s how their labia work. Only they also have lamellae (think the underside of a mushroom) that also move with that.

>amazingly satisfying cock, just big<

>>>>Imo missed opportunity to have him have a 4 inch cock and use his telekintetic powers to stretch the vagina of the girl he is with telekineticly making him always be the perfect fit.

Rowan was not a shapeshifter like his father, so extending his dick would hurt him and shortening the vag of the girl to make his tiny peen fit would hurt her (when Chance has sex with Weems, he changes things about himself to fit her, like his tongue, but honestly, he is already her perfect fit…ahem). As a telekinetic, he can only manipulate what is already there, whereas shapeshifters are...

...more flexible.

Plus I wanted to be kind to Rowan…it wasn’t his fault he lost his mind.

>"Is what all that we are?" "I dunno. I just have a feeling."<

>>>>The fact of having pictures of lots of ancient, important and powerful legacy in your hideout, a bunch of old valuable books...I have no idea how you would get that idea. The nightshades were always meant to be a trivial social club.

This is an N/Canon problem. Given that Bianca et al have had this kind of access to the library (hmm, how did they get it in the first place…I guess I’ll have to be the one to fricking explain it then, thanks N/Canon crap writers LOL) for at least two other semesters and HASN’T read any of those books, uh…yeah. Someone intro’ed the Nightshades as a “social club”. Hmm, I wonder whooooo………..

>Bianca held a bit of resentment<

>>>>As much as I love Enid, that is her biggest flaw, I suspect she runs the blog because she did not have any real friends - she was rooming alone before and Yoko had space, so she prob was using it to fill some void.

I’ve thought about that as well. She was rooming alone. Why? Poor Enid. Enid has her strengths, but she can be a little ditzy.

>"S'not like Addams hasn't made it abundantly clear that she doesn't want 'im."<

>>>>-They have history, she saved him, he saved her, in the infirmary, she looked...content, she finds him interesting (as the killer or not)... I get why he's holding out hope.

Bianca doesn’t know anything about their history.

> whose activity had made Divina's siren song a little louder<

>>>> The siren song is the power they use to manipulate, is the implication here it's like a cat purring? A cat's purr does have certain qualities of a siren song…

We saw how a “siren song” actually works (twice, once with Tyler and once with Coach Vlad). In order to manipulate someone, they have to state what they want them to do. With this aspect of a siren song, it’s more like a deep sea mating song. They’re not telling anyone to do anything, it’s not produced out of manipulation; it’s produced out of pleasure.

That said, have you ever heard a female cat's mating call? It’s not purring. A whale's call sounds like this. But the wails, as pleasant as they are (and they are pleasant, not as harsh as whale sounds) just happened to remind Xavier of cats/Morella.

>would suction into place around a female siren's cervix<

>>>>Tor, making up siren genitalia since Wednesday But I am curious, does that still work if the male siren is cut? Are sirens not cut?

Male sirens are never cut.

>"We have to go on ahead with your original plan,"<

>>>>Given you got killed via nightshade poisoning, Enid fights the Hyde and Wednesdays shoe killing thornkill your plan failed.

Hmm.

>her father out of those murder charges stemming<

>>>>Stemming from you - no one else saw Gomez holding that sword so it was you who put that whole ball rolling.

She described what she saw and the circumstances around it. She isn’t psychic, yanno. LOL Plus she was Enid’s age, or about.

>"You still think she could be the one?"<

>>>>Curious what the payoff for that one will be. As a possible theory, the chancellor is a Wednesday stalker by the end.

Hmm. I will say that eventually they will have some scenes together.

>Trust me…they're all safe, fucking each other under the moonlight.<

>>>>What? 6 out of the 300+ Students are safe and the others are just fucked. The bad fucked.

He assumes that the whole school is probably fucking under the moonlight too, so when he says “all” it’s extended to mean everyone in the castle. All horny teens. And he’s probably correct. I just haven’t gone into the dorms of the other three halls yet (which I have named, since the fucking fuck writers haven’t given us those names either).

>listening to Noble's concerns about the lack of progress on the case<

>>>> Interesting if I recall correctly Noble thought the murders to be a bear not any type of outcast. So there is no case in Noble's mind?

This is part of N/Canon that pisses me off; Noble used to be Sheriff. Meaning he was a cop, investigating crimes. So AB/C Noble heavily suspects that it really isn’t a bear, given the wounds. He tells Weems and the public that they’re bear attacks because he’s working to preserve their symbiotic relationship. Nevermore gets left alone from any ordinances/bigots like David Breeding because Nevermore contributes to his campaign and gives shitloads of cash to the city in taxes and donations.

>approved people just weren't human enough<

>>>>Oh no...is this going where I think it's going?

🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️

>pilgrims who persecuted and murdered outcasts<

>>>>Regarding my outcast questions, THIS is why it's important

You cannot even look at a Gorgon…

The original outcasts in the colonies did not include gorgons and sirens. More on that in the future, I already have things planned and am not spoiling that.

>when few outcasts were sent overseas<

>>>>Why? Looping back to some of my other questions, Georgians don't do it intentionally, so could you just tie one to the barrel of your tank and anyone trying to shoot at you gets stoned? They would be the best war asset, same with shapeshifters infiltrating the command level of the military Are outcasts even an only native American thing?

I don’t think outcasts normally like to get involved in Muggl — erm, norminal affairs. The only ones who were sent were vampires. Both groups would end up losing more than they would if they just left each other alone.

>and he lived in a trailer >like an accident by running her over with his truck<

>>>>Unless that truck had fist shaped tires, I do not see how that could have worked. Also, that is fucking brutal.

Men like Breeding are the type who would do something like this. And it’s been done before.

>building a decent case against someone<

>>>>While it would be great to have those violent people gone it would not solve the murders happening Donovan.

He’s just trying to buy time.

> That's one Hell of a 'therapist'<

>>>>It's called shock therapy I believe. With her fingers. And Shocks.

💀

>He'd been forbidden to masturbate<

>>>>Wednesday should get the same rule...also Him coming untouched thinking of her while also able to last multiple of her orgasms while inside her is confusing.

Wednesday lives by her own rules in all canon, LOL And a man can’t control his wet dreams. Also, the power of the mind vs. body is a strange thing. I’ve seen some men last through multiple orgasms. I’ve seen some who are one weak little stream and that’s it. So there is always the average, which is a big pond to find average fish in, but then you have the special ones, like Donovan and shape shifters.

>There was no way that he would have taken the chance of a perfect match.<

>>>>Then why bother? Frankly, this tells you very little. Only that both claws are related. It could be your wife's family had more hides in them that are still around I get him trying to deny it, but at least be sure of it and then deny it.

His wife’s family are all in France (though a lot of them are dead), and he wanted to be more than sure it was Tyler and not some other Hyde (in case there was another Hyde). Francie’s DNA may have been wiped from CODIS, but testing might still have record of it, thus Donovan wasn’t going to take the risk of the official channels finding the match. He’s a little paranoid since he’s pretty sure he still has copies of files that were otherwise ‘lost’.

>chided him for being weak and pathetic.<

>>>>How is Donovan weak and pathetic?

There is a method to my madness with these secondary, no-line characters. You're just going to have to trust me.

> What brought out Tyler's? <

>>>>You see there is this lovely woman, glasses, loves plants, hates outcasts, loves coffee and your sons cock.

#Gatesmonster has my attention atm.

>and was sitting up in his new black and white pet bed > the girl who had a soft spot for animals<

>>>>While that thought is adorable, I doubt she cares for animals as a whole, given she basically murdered two bags full of piranhas in the opener and besides loving her pet Nero I do not recall any other interactions with animals.

That she has a ‘way’ with animals is canon. She has hibernated with bears and swam with sharks. Those weren’t one of her usual ‘Wednesday being edgy’ lies, since Wednesday and Gomez confirm the shark thing. Bear hibernation was sort of confirmed with Eugene.

>since photography had been a hobby of his<

>>>>That is neat, giving our man some hobbies. Proper photography is hard too, and no selfies on whatever site currently is in are not photography

This is something that Wednesday and Donovan share/bond with over. She likes crime scene photography, so she was taught to develop her own film.

>that she had a mirror fetish<

>>>>Katoptronophilia you mean ?...Donovan, also using this chance to point out that kink and fetish are different, kink is optional but gives pleasure, fetish needs to be present to get pleasure at all.

I’m not going to go into this debate because it’s silly, especially when everyone is always contradicting themselves when trying to parse the difference. The Addamses all have it, hence the Hall of Mirrors. People can have a fetish for something but not have to indulge in it every time. How many times have people discovered their spouses’ fetishes after not having a clue about them before marriage? Plenty. As well, I see them as something that would immediately get someone off, where as a kink can be more drawn out.

>grim creeperism that kept everybody else at a distance<

>>>>That is such an interesting point, is Wednesday acting or is she genuine when she is creepy...Eg the hug with Enid, was that Wednesday, giving in "fine I like hugs" or was that purely for enid's sake

I have been meaning to do a series about the lies Wednesday tells whenever she wants to shock people. We already know she does this, purposely, within her first ten minutes with Enid. “Rumor has it that you killed a kid at your old school and your parents pulled a few strings to get you off…” “Actually it was two kids, but who’s counting?” (Lie, since she didn’t kill any kids at all, she just maimed Dalton.) “I was born on Friday the 13th.” (Lie, since her birthday on the show is in November and there was no Friday the 13th in November 2006.) “Sartre said ‘Hell is other people.’ He was my first crush.” (Very unlikely, LOL). Etc., etc.

>A sixteen-year-old Wednesday was more bold, perhaps reckless<

>>>> This is making me wonder who the first one to find out who shouldn't be, regarding "I fuck who I want, and there is nothing you can do about it"

Upcoming, Chapter 7.

>she was forced to keep rejecting the boy's advances<

>>>>-She seemed really shocked and pleased about that date location, unless she's faking the whole "iam into death" thing, a crypt would be the perfect spot to take the creepy goth girl, and of course a normal scary movie would be a joke to her, so either double down with a classic or go the inverse with a vibrant movie that is scary and torture for her.

I don’t think the ‘I’m into death’ thing is faked, but by this point in the AB story, she’s already had her candle lit birthday, and it was done better, even though it wasn’t in a crypt. Again, Tyler went with the assumptions here.

>>>>When Donovan leaves the way she looked to (her) bottom left "oh fuck how am i gonna explain that one to my man ?"

🙂

>"Do I scare you, Donovan?"<

>>>>I feel like...i saw that line befor...hmmm.

This whole scene before the truck was the one I had to take back from Part 1. So people read it there, first.

> with her electrical discharges<

>>>> Since I have yet to see a payoff to that little storyline, here is my newest take on it: She's gonna kill him with said electrical discharges during one of her most powerful orgasms she has for him

Nope.

>or into her womb<

Given how much he has filled her with already, there should be something in the oven already…

🙂

>slight strabismus in her right eye<

>>>>Is this something you made up? I saw your recent post with Wednesday/Tyler at the station, and she does have it but that could just be due to the distance he just went up to her?

Normal Wednesday/Jenna eyes:

She has it in the scene where they’re arresting Xavier…because she’s so full of pride and excitement that her right eye just wants to bug out into a different direction LMAO:

It's slight (I did say slight!).

Not tryna be mean, but it’s there (and also visible at split second times in other scenes/things she does). Doesn’t make her less cute. If Jenna God forbid ever saw this, I hope she knows that no one's perfect, certain sht can't be helped, she's cute in this whole series.

>"You're destroying your liver."<

>>>>Yeah well you decided to go for an old alcoholic, the limited expiration date was visible before you made your purchase Addams.

She didn’t know just how much he drank (not the beer in his desk, but the scotch), though, until…well. That answer is in this chapter too.

>"Doll, you know what it's like to make promises in this fucked up world we live in," <

>>>> love to hear his unwavering affection for her, iam sure nothing can shake that. Right?

He will love her until the day that he dies. ETA: And vice versa (she will love him until the day she dies as well).

>"Even if I dig up more bodies?" she asked<

>>>>Taking her to a court ordered gravedigging might be a good setting for a date with him.

Hmm.

>run down wasn't exactly something she was eager to witness either<

>>>>Given that Canon Wednesday stated she had it on her bucket list, does this mean your Wednesday is a softer version and part of the "I love death" she exhibits is fake?

“Bucket list” N/C comment was one of her lies/shock value/edgy comments, see above about her lies/sarcasm, to mess with people. AB/C Wednesday is pretty accurate to that except for how she behaves around Donovan, which is the softer part. And yet she will still say her ‘Wednesday lies’ around him, too. It’s just how she is. I feel like she does this to keep people at a distance so they never know the real truth around who she is…kind of a defense mechanism.

>it was horrific and she froze<

>>>>It really was not that bad Wednesday, Eugene's claw wounds were much more severe, speaking off, the mayor got killed because he got it figured out, why exactly got Eugene attacked again? Laurel specifically ordered Tyler there for what, injure him? As much as I love Eugene, he should be dead.

I’ve watched this scene more times than I can count just for the surprised and shocked gasp of hers that happens when Noble is hit, and to watch her hurriedly get the fk out of his SUV (hurried so much that she didn't bother to close the hatch) and run towards them. She was shocked by it/took no pleasure in it.

Regarding Eugene, I believe he survived because he had that thick jacket on. Rowan had his vest but it wasn’t zipped up, same goes for the camper in the beginning (I think). Eugene had layers that could’ve helped save him from deadlier wounds (Tylermonster didn’t have too much time to hack and slash at him like he did with Fabian, since Tylermonster could hear that Wednesday was on the way via them calling out to each other).

Also speaking of Eugene: Laurel fucking Gates could detach Noble from his ventilator, but not Eugene from his? COME ON!!!

>he hooked her leg over his hip and started thrusting<

>>>>I have to admit I had to reread this a couple times before (I think) I pictured it correctly...

Do I have to illustrate this with LEGO again? Her right leg is on the door frame because there’s no real space to put the left foot (his cruiser has a metal grate that separates arrestees in the back; but he does have some shelf space behind the front seats for shit like equipment, his hat, etc.). He hooked her left leg over him (with her pants having slid off her boot...those are wide-leg pants again).

>more pained sounds she made, the harder he fucked<

>>>>Is our sweetheart Donovan also into inflicting pain? It would appear so.

I think it’s harder to describe than that.

>there was nothing but blissful acceptance<

>>>>So breathplay is another Kink of hers.

Maybe.

>Donovan hated hearing her name fall from Tyler's lips<

>>>> The fuck did he even come from? I checked he was standing in a corner and when he is leaving he's using a different door like what.

I like to think he was coming in from the garage. The exterior of the house doesn’t match the interior shots anyway, so in AB/Canon, that door he came in from in the scene w Tyler was the garage. For all we know, it leads to the outside (probably N/Canon, but again...the house’s interior doesn’t match the exterior, as there’s another door on almost the same corner as that kitchen/dining/living room door below):

>"Came home during my shift last week.<

>>>>During an eventual next reread I will need to note down dates and day changes to see if this is one session we have been with them.

🙂

>his right in a fist near his face.<

I gotta say iam not sure how I feel about this Donovan, failing to do what is right is not equal to doing wrong...but getting violent (again based on his fearful reaction) is not excusable.

I wrote this scene before I discovered that in the original script, Donovan was supposed to smack him. I see why they cut it out, violence is never a solution and that saved Donovan from being a terrible guy in N/Canon, but at this point in the AB story, Donovan is overwhelmed. Think of how much higher this makes his stress level (to think that his own son could potentially find out or figure out that he’s been fucking ((and is totally in love with)) a younger girl). He’s unraveling, like Wednesday. Except Wednesday doesn’t have to look at a killer ((that he loves)) every night.

>I won't even mention what else I smell<

>>>>I mean, what else DO you smell ?, The Sheriff, her smelling freshly fucked/sweaty, possibly cum. Weed. A proper cake? It's not that bad Enid.

There are loads of other things werewolves can smell around other non-werewolves when they’re conscious of it.

> checking to make sure the flashlight still worked<

>>>> Not on you but the show, the fuck is up with those flashlights, modern flashlights are powerful enough to illuminate a fucking forest in the middle of the night as if its day, why do you run around with a candle on a stick basically? Fucking amateurs

I think they were trying to keep on the fact that Wednesday is still old fashioned. Hence her batteries for her flashlight instead of getting one that you can recharge, etc. Though she has a really weird flashlight that flashes red. I dunno why they did that (the scene where they come upon the Cadillac at the mansion). ETA 9/10/23: This was the one mistake I made so far in interpreting the series, the red flash was not her flashlight, it was the above lamp she turned on. Which still doesn't make sense, why red? Weird. Anyway, I missed that at first, but I know it now. (Another reason why I need to keep watching 7 and 8 while I write my 7 and 8. The sequencing and details are a bigger mess.)

>"Since the Rave'N.<

>>>>Ha Enid caught on immediately.

She sure did. It was especially strong after her birthday, in spite of the rain/some wash-offs.

>Wednesday was a really pretty girl<

>>>>Everyone loves Eugene. I have not met anyone who dislikes Eugene. Look how much fanfiction is Eugene centric. How often he gets the girl. Never.

He’ll get the girl. The people in this fandom forget about the Longbottom Effect.

>the other Furs can<

>>>>8 Hours runtime and we know a single Named fur: Enid, Murray/Esther do not count because they do not go to the school.

No vampires except Yoko, either.

>'clique' were all fucking each other.<

>>>>It does break my heart that sweet Ajax is cheating on Enid, at this point they are together and this confirms she has no idea.

Ajax…crap, I can’t type what I was gonna type. … 🙂

>if he's got a big — " "Enid."<

>>>>Damn it Enid not you too, men have more value than the size of their cocks! , just think about the size of their wallets!

She a typical curious teen girl. I’d have asked too.

>hideous looking monster.<

>>>>Given you have given the sirens new genitalia, are about to give Enid special lady parts, Is Laurel dealing with normal or "advanced" genitalia?

Laurel’s dealing with Tyler’s almost 7” long schlong. He hasn’t transformed during sex.

>they smelled like the boy who had accompanied them<

>>>>So she knows.

She doesn’t even have a suspicion yet because she literally has no clue as to what’s going on. Wednesday never talks to her about it because she doesn’t want to hear it (canon, after she faints and makes W move her own crime board). If you were Enid and you were totally sidetracked into doing something totally fucked up and suddenly came upon this bed that smelled like Tyler’s pheromones (and Laurel’s, but she can’t place it because she’s only smelled her in passing/didn’t really have cause to commit her scent to memory), you’d wonder WTF was going on, too.

>Disappeared. Evidence, disappeared<

>>>>God iam so upset that this is what happened and canon, really? Small little Laurel emptied out the whole place? ...

I have hated the writers for this, too. She’s small like Wednesday is. To move ALL of that stuff in so little time? COME ON.

Unless…she had help.

>to this case is somewhere, it never is!"<

>>>>How so? She brought you two DNA samples, and while the match between them was a bust, you luckily had a third sample so she DID confirm your suspicion by delivering you Tylers claw.

Rowan’s body wasn’t (which to him is still an unsolved mystery at this point), the cave got destroyed before they could get to it (THIS IS STUPID CANON TOO! The minute she gave him the claw she should have also told him where she fkn got it…there was more than enough time to get over to the damn cave to search it for prints/other evidence). AB/C Donovan also suspects that this evidence could’ve helped figure out who unlocked Tyler, so having a promise of it only to have it not pan out is frustrating to him, so he’s taking it out on her.

>what it was that he was keeping from her<

>>>>Iam so excited for the next two chapters to find out if they talk about Tyler being the hyde before the official reveal in canon, both of them basically know it's him, even more so once Enid provides her insight.

🙂

>We'll talk when I get back."<

>>>>Tyler bud, I know things have been hard but I really need you to stop monstering, my girlfriend is starting to suspect you.

Hmm.

>"I don't want that right now,"<

>"Shoulders…please." <

>>>>really appreciate that she tells him what she likes.

She’s been reading that communication is the key to a healthy sex life. …Or maybe she’s just bossy.

>rather liked that smell. It was the smell of her arousal<

>>>>The inclusion of smell in your sex scenes is something I love. It's a sense that is often overlooked.

I try to include it in everything, regardless (the cedar cabin, the aroma of beer in Wednesday’s first kiss, etc.). It’s something that a lot of shows (and fic) miss.

>"That sounds like a you problem,"<

>>>>No that's a both of you problem, if you do not help to make your partner decent again when they have to be, you're just an asshole.

She was being an asshole because she was pissed about him not believing her. She feels he knows better and needs to open up more, especially after the rough sex in the cruiser.

>"You don't have a choice — "<

>>>>This is not how it works Wednesday, because if it were you are in a relationship with Xavier or Tyler right now. Both sides need to agree to form and maintain a relationship, so once Donovan decides he needs a break, it is out of your hands.

Honestly, they should be talking to each other about everything re: the case. He doesn’t really need the break from her, he needs to be able to breathe easier since he knows his son is a killer and that he could end up killing the one thing that makes him feel like living again. But I’m also going by canon, so…they have to have a break.

>"Of course. My apologies for," she cleared her throat, "my behavior. Just now."<

>>>>Love that she realized that too and that she apologizes for it, Wednesday really struggles with admitting when she's wrong.

She haaaaaaates embarrassing herself, and that’s what she thinks it is.

>are relatively generative<

A word so big even google translate abandoned me. I "assume"(see what I mean?) she is not talking about the female reproductive cycle.

🙃

>GOD WHAt THE FUcK!!!!!!!!!<

>>>>funny to me. Based how you have the timeline fixed, she's gonna be very frustrated soon, based on my (possibly horrible) investigation:

-There is a Proper Full Moon…And yet the writers for the show can't be assed to check their shit...

And since they couldn’t figure out their shit about dates and moons and such, I’m working with it. I can’t fix their stupid. Well, I could, but I made a commitment not to mess with canon too much. The moons are too much, and I can only fix some things. There has to be at least a few days from this point in her breakdown until Noble's funeral, because funerals don't happen overnight. If that messes with the moon schedule, oh well.

>as her charged hands sparked like crazy and lit some of the pieces on fire<

>>>>Totally used that for my personal little story on how she executes laurel. A boot to the face is too easy.

I’ve only read one fic (and it was bad…to me it was) about how Wednesday ended up breaking Laurel’s neck when she booted her. But who said she was dead? N/C sure doesn’t.

>and Morticia wasn't sure what to do about her daughter's self-harm<

>>>>Tell Wednesday you used to self harm too, it might backfire horribly or she will stop in an attempt to not be like her mother.

That’s not how AB/C Morticia works. She has more problems than N/C Tish does, I think. Only because something needs to be part of why Wednesday is the way she is sometimes.

>on her mid-cut, the blood seeping from the long wound she created<

>>>>Given she's on the upturn now and thing prevented this session, this is the worst it is going to get right?

You think she’s on the upturn? *laughs in severely depressed Wednesday*

>Her scars from before were healing a lot better<

>>>>Foreshadowing to healing powers? If yes, it means she always had them and goody just unlocked them?

🙂

>if the break was permanent? <

>>>>Then you will kill Laurel in a really creative way and offer her heart to Donovan and ask for forgiveness.

Forgiveness for what? ;)

>What I do with my body is my bus — "<

>>>>That is a very good point. It is her business, inhaling any kind of smoke is hazardous to health - permanently, where as unless she kills herself, some cuts will heal into scars eventually.

So why does he actively support one type of self harm, and prevents the other?- (to my understanding eating demon lettus via food infusion is perfectly safe and fine, smoking is not)

You’re probably the only one reading this thinking that smoking weed is on par with cutting “self-harm”. They are not the same. For her, weed helps her mental health and electrical discharges (and it doesn’t do much harm to her anyway… 🙂). She hasn’t been smoking as much lately, so you’ll notice more zaps here and there. My father is an 81-year-old microbiologist & botanist (that I consult about a lot of things for parts of my writing)...he grows the weed I smoke for my own problems. I prefer to eat it and prefer to encourage eating over smoking, though.

>but what Thing said sent her spiraling into a full panic<

>>>>Dont blue ball us what did he say ?

I wrote this in the first response on AO3, but the italicized quote was what Thing signed, telling her it was going to be okay.

>smirking in satisfaction at her<

>>>>I hate her so much.

RIGHT? But that’s pure Laurel Gates evil. Fucking bitch. I fucking hate her. …But I love her at the same time. I think there’s something wrong with me. LOL

>>>>I have been considering to create a Tumblr account to be able to respond to your comments directly and have more in-depth conversations

STILL WAITING. ;)

>>>>Thank you so much for this story and the steamy smut you have in it, waiting excitedly for chapter 7.

The steam will only be in places other than Wenovan in this chapter, sadly. Feels kinda weird not writing their fuckbunny scenes right now, and before a few days ago, 7 was going to be absent of explicit sex. …Now it’s not. *cackling*

9/10/23: I uh...I changed my mind. LOL

#wednesday #wednesday addams #writing wednesday #writing fan fiction #wenovan #black bubblegum #satisfying afterburn chapter 6 part 2 #quid pro woe #wednesday netflix #sheriff galpin #wednesday x donovan #wednesday addams x donovan galpin #jenna ortega #jamie mcshane

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mwahkazu · 2 months

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hi mae! i used to write quite a bit, but i stopped after a while due to burnout but here i am again lmao

anyways, if you're okay with it, could you give some writing tips/how you do your writing process? dw if you don't want to or just can't explain it! :D

hi anon! oof…you’re experience actually brought back some flashbacks for me LMAO i went through the exact same thing a couple years back! ended up losing motivation/burnout, left and then came back for a second attempt 😅

i’ll do my best to offer you what i can and things that i found helpful to get back into the groove of writing <3

( long post ahead )

writing tips:

the first thing i heavily suggest is to just write. don’t focus too much on things like grammar, whether the story flows well, dialogue, or anything just write whatever comes to mind. you can worry about those things afterwards once you’re editing and revising!

along with that do some rough drafts! i know we all hated that stuff so much when we wrote essays and stuff for school but believe me having drafts truly does help when writing a story

if you dont like how one story turned out DONT DELETE IT. save it and come back to it another time! maybe you didn’t like how it flowed but you really liked that one dialogue or description you wrote and perhaps want to build a story based off of that or add it to a current wip

decide on what it is you want to write! maybe you just want to have a blog strictly centered around one character or person, write smau’s, oneshots, hcs, etc. or maybe even a culmination of everything! all of these are considered writing and will always have an audience wanting to read them on here

one of the main reasons my burnout happened was because i gave myself too much work and a schedule. i know some authors like to have a schedules for their work but i honestly found it very pressuring which resulted in my uploading works i wasn’t proud of or that were rushed :((

write whenever you feel like it! remember that you’re your own boss on here! there’s no problem with updating once every month or every other day. writing takes time. i assure you your blog isn’t going anywhere if you leave it or take a break from writing for a couple of days

at the same time you also need to know your limits as a writer. don’t feel the need to constantly be uploading fics every single day! that’s one of the main reasons writers on here sometimes abandon their blogs or series. ofc if you’re able to handle doing so then by all means go for it. but i know for most it’s taxing and leads to a lot of burnouts and lack of motiviation

so take your time. if you have an idea for a series or story plan it out first and then once you’ve got a good idea of how you want everything to play out then you can upload it!

don’t feel ashamed about looking up things online! i for one am constantly looking up ways to describe certain things like emotion, expressions, scenes, etc. ( insert me typing “synonyms for (word)” 😭 ). it just goes to show you want to improve your writing and make it more interesting!

writing is all about trial and error. there is no wrong or right way of doing it. i know when it comes to tumblr, getting your fics recognized and read by others can be very hard with the algorithm and such relying heavily on reblogs which most fics struggle to gain a lot of as people just opt for just liking.

but please don’t be discouraged by how many notes your works receive! as long as you stay consistent and true to your writing it’s bound to reach others and receive the recognition it deserves <3

writing process:

as for my writing process it’s a bit all over the place lol

a lot of my stories/smaus i come up with due to being inspired by something! whether it’s from a song, a prompt/dialogue starter i found on pinterest, a movie/anime show, aus/tropes, or sometimes having a random thought like “what if character a and character b were this and that”

but once i have an idea i start planning it out! i recently made the transition of planning out my writing from google docs to notion and omg… it’s become a life saver i highly recommend using notion as a way to plan out your fics snd such

everything is just so organized, there are templates online to use that you can add personal touches/adjustments to to really make it your own!

usually when i come up with a fic idea i already have a character in mind that i would like to do it for but if you dont have one or are struggling to decide, pick at random my friend LMAO ik a lot of my moots sometimes use a character wheel or random pick generator online to decide on characters and from what i’ve seen it helps them a lot😭

when planning out my fics i dont focus too heavily on every little detail. it’s called the planning stage for a reason. i just focus on the major points i want to make sure i hit, write out certain ideas i have in mind for a specific scene or dialogue sequence, character/world building and all that good stuff

creating a playlist for the story also helps me a lot too! really establishes the mood of the story and even gives me some additional inspo/support! one thing i recently started doing is finding a playlist on youtube that fits the mood of my story and then opening another yt tab and searching for ambience sound and playing them both at the same time lol ( trust the process )

once i feel satisfied with my planning i move on to the writing ( the most dreadful part of all /lh ). as i mentioned in the writing tips section, i just write whatever comes to mind and keep going until i get stumped or run out of ideas

if i hit that point i take a break and focus on doing other things like working on another piece or doing something outside of writing ( cough playing stardew valley ) or talking to my lovely moots <3

this is also considered a writing tip but take breaks! i cannot stress this enough. don’t spend hours just writing! take breaks in between, distract yourself with something else. sometimes your mind just needs a break from writing for a bit.

#꒰ ✉️ ꒱ ︵ 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙖 .ᐟ #going to leave it at an abrupt ending because i dont know what else to say😭#it’s important to remember that these are just my tips and processes that i found works well for me everyone has their own preferences ..#and different way to approach their writing which are just as valid! it’s all about finding what works for you #apologies for the long post and any spelling mistakes i typed all this from my phone 🥲#HOPE THIS HELPS ANON !! feel free to reach out for any more questions <3

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cherries11 · 3 years

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Hey @adult-in-progress ! thanks for the ask. I can't seem to tag you properly though. I don't know what's wrong--I can tag other blogs but not yours. Anyway, I hope you read this response.

26) Which part of WitW was the hardest to write?

It might surprise you, but it's not any of the big scenes. I think big scenes are... not easier, just that I'm super excited about writing them and some, like the events in the Stone Circle, I've thought about again and again so it's just about putting them down on paper.

So, it'll have to be the last scene in Ch7, the one in the car after they leave the ice cream parlor. First off, I've been overly conscious of length in part 2. I wanted to have a flashback in every chapter and, if you look back, this chapter is the only one that doesn't have it--I took it out. I love the first scene (Andreas in the car) and the second scene (main one in the parlor), so it's only the third scene that I can shorten. But at the same time, I couldn't get the proper tone for it. Maja herself is conflicted about what she feels (she loves him but has to hate him, so she wants to stay away but she can't do that either) and I had a hard time writing that. Seems to me that they should be shouting at each other, but they're supposed to do that in ch8 (for the kiss) so it would be redundant--besides, length! 😆 I did write it though, just took it out. There are also a dozen ideas that I wanted to cram in there on what Saul has been up to those two weeks (only one ended up in the story), like he has a go-bag stashed in multiple places across the city (cash, clothes, etc.) and key details on how he found Maja. This is because ch6 was supposed to be Saul-centric. When I changed it to be Maja-centric (because it fell flat), I thought I'd still be able to put those ideas in ch7 or at least ch8. But again, length! Also, it wasn't as necessary to the story.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

I haven't written enough fics to receive harsh criticisms yet, thank god. I think the mildest non-constructive criticism would have me burying my head in the sand. I've gotten one constructive criticism, which was fine--it's on the use of 'would'. But I did have one avid commenter at the start of WitW who only gave feedback on the fluffy parts and none at all for serious parts, even in the ones where there are big reveals. And since I'm new to fanfic writing, this made me think that fluff was what readers wanted and so I was so nervous posting serious chapters (you can see this in my notes to ch9, also in my responses to comments). But, in the end, I just went 'screw it' and kept posting. You can't please everyone.

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

Showing my age here, but it was in 2006 or 2007 about the show 'Dark Angel'. I had a huge crush on Jensen Ackles then, even though I've never actually seen full episodes of Dark Angel (or maybe I have, probably just some clips in Youtube). It wasn't in AO3, which I'm not sure even existed back then. The writer had her own site and she wrote dozens and dozens of fics about Dark Angel, pairing Jessica Alba's character (Mac? Max?) with Jensen's Alec. I think she's a published author now, but can't remember her name.

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

I love both the fics I wrote. I can't imagine deleting them. I think 50-yo or even 70-yo me would still be happy with them. At most, I'd laugh at the way I wrote but not the overall story. As for the original works, whether there's any I'd bury and never let anyone read even after my death, there's one (although I'm ambivalent; I might still let it be read as long as we don't talk abt it ever) just because it's full of smut 🤣🤣.

Complete ask list here.

#ask #writing #ask away

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fulgensun · 4 years

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[ When I discovered the FFX Ultimania Omega book had not only a long novelization of the whole story and trivia lists, but also snippets of the original plot and even parts of that original script and scenes (together with authors’ interviews and explanations) I knew I had to look more into it ! Points finger at it -- I want it haha. Admittedly, it was one of the first things I did concentrate on the moment my copy arrived, months ago by now ! Because so little of it is contained on the eng side of the fandom, it seems, that even the wiki had incomplete versions of these original parts of the script...

Honestly, I was surprised and baffled at the described snippets -- the ones similar to Tidus the plumber HH I guess that’s one known fact, but so much more was contained there... and all was deleted for a total change of the story-- but looking back at it now, I can’t help but wonder just how different the whole atmosphere and story would have been ! It’s something widely described and explained in the Ultimania... I have not seen anything like that ever posted anywhere, nor here or on other websites or wikis. While this won’t be a word-by-word translation of the script in the book, I feel - having a FFX centric blog like this, posting these little gems here, so that people can read them too, could be an amazing thing to do ! If these snippets can make people dream (ah...) or imagine how things could have gone, but don’t have the resources to know it since it’s all kept in an old book in Japanese, then that’d be awesome !

To make things look better, I guess I’ll keep part of the post under a read more -- !

REGISTAN

Before the book arrived, all I could find in the web, translated here and there, was the description of Tidus (the plumber yeah HHH) in Registan (the old name for Zanarkand) swimming around, meeting his group of friends at the Dome/Shrine of Registan and even fighting monsters underwater, where he’d also see a calm Sin passing by. The Dome was both a gathering place for citizens and a holy place -- with an altar and pictures of Yevon around, people would pray him for good health but it’s not considered a true religion as Yevon doesn’t seem to ask for anything in return. The Hymn (of the Fayth) would resound inside it.

In the end, they discarded the name Registan because a true city has that name - even though Zanarkand is based on the real city of Samarqand. Tidus was also described not as easy-going as we know him now. The script continues. Tidus, trying to hurry towards the Dome to meet his friends, would have met a group of soldiers fighting monsters in the street. They were supposed to be elite, chosen fighters, whose commander would shout orders at them. The commander being Auron ! The soldiers’ performance did attract a crowd; among them, Auron notices a man covered in a black cloak staring back at him and starts chasing him. The script reveals the cloaked man is, in fact, a Guado ! Tidus doesn’t notice this last part, and keeps rushing to the Dome... but he’s late, his friends have left already.

I have discussed in a HC post before how Tidus is able to cook. Well, that is something the original script had planned to show the player (so that we could feel nostalgia and closeness too, of Registan/Zanarkand) and something I inspired myself to, for said headcanon: there would have been a scene of him, cooking abundant meals at home (still a boat).

SIN ATTACKS

The next snippet tells of Tidus, some other day, entering the Dome. As he does, he notices a group of men in black cloaks exiting the Dome. A second later, panic settles. Announcements broadcast the same news and people start running and screaming: Sin is landing on Registan. As alarms invite people to evacuate the area, Tidus notices Auron outside the Dome helping people flee; Sin is indeed approaching the Dome area -- its body is scarred, pyreflies seeping out of it as many arrows and spear pierce its body. Sin opens its many eyes and stares at Tidus, before blinking, closing all its eyes except for two, brown-coloured pupils and keep staring at the boy, calmly.

Soldiers, in the meantime, keep attacking the still beast. Hurt, Sin tries to retreat back in the sea, destroying many buildings in the process and whatnot... but the men in a black cloak from before (the Guado), who have witnessed the whole scene, suddenly start following the monster. The script informs the reader the tallest cloaked figure is, indeed, the leader of these Guado, Seymour. Auron and Tidus follow the totally-not-suspicious bunch.

A very interesting thing I noticed... the script also has the dialogue of Auron and Tidus chasing Seymour and the Guado, who seem to want to do something to Sin. Auron DOES have his ‘This is your story’ moment ! And all is still supposed to be Tidus’ tale and flashbacks. The fact it all carried over to the game we know was nice to notice.

THE GUADO

Instead of Baaj as we know it, Tidus would have later arrived in a small lone island, most likely after having touched Sin. Exploring it, he would have found a video-sphere -- a scene of a mother and child would have played: the two would be conversing, but the language they spoke would be incomprehensible to Tidus. He would have also found human remains, buried in said island, of - he thinks, the same mother depicted in the brief video. The script reveals the language would have been the Guado’s native one. Tidus would have accepted the creepiness of it (’This place gives me the creeps’), grilled some fish and waited for someone to rescue him HAHA (it is also revealed he’d spend days alone, stranded in there...)

Here too, I kinda had some very familiar vibes of the whole situation. If I think of a hypothetical Guado language, a mother and child, desert abandoned island and all, the story of Anima and Seymour in Baaj comes to mind. Not to mention the script reveals the dialogue of mother and child would have become understandable once Seymour’s intentions etc were to be discovered by Tidus -- confirming the child in the video is most likely a younger Seymour (and probably that we would have learned the language of Guado as we do now with Al Bhed’s ! )

MACALANIA’S MUSICAL

This is my favorite. Do you remember those animal-like forest creatures you see in FFX, playing instruments around Spira, greeting even Mika and Seymour in Luca and encouraging you to catch butterflies ? Those are what nowadays remains of this original snippet of script, according to Kitase himself. The idea was to give Yuna an idol-like appeal (I guess they still had no idea what X2 would have done ahah) and this scene was a good example of it, together with the wedding ceremony, Toriyama confirms.

The pilgrimage party would have passed by Macalania during a peculiar festival: people of all races would gather in the woods to commemorate and celebrate the figure of Yunalesca, all sponsored by the Temple of course. Seems like a traditional festival, if you think about it, full of lights, magic, happiness, etc. There would have been a stage built in the forest, depicting a corner of old Registan and people would sit there, waiting for the programmed musical number to start (the musical band would be composed of the beings I described earlier !) Yuna would have been chosen to play as Yunalesca -- the script describes her as breathtakingly beautiful, dressed as Yunalesca (I supposed the bikini was not planned to be Yunalesca’s official attire... I hope so). The Guado would have built, with magic, a ‘fake-Sin’ prop to be used during the recital... but as the scene of the Final Summoning did approach, the Sin-prop would have started causing panic by growing bigger and bigger (turns out it was all Guado’s plan) so manacing and real-looking people would freak out and its giant size would destroy the stage and the lights. In complete darkness, a weird light would appear on stage. This light would shape itself into a precise figure: High Summoner Baska (YES, his original name was supposed to be Baska, later changed in Braska), Yuna’s father.

The audience would start yelling his name with joy, calming down, before a man yelled: “Do not fear Sin, for Baska has returned!". A violent wind would arise and the figure of Baska would disappear. Tidus’d then turn around and find out that man who just talked was Seymour. Angered, he’d yell: “That’s a fake! It’s a Guado illusion!” The script goes: people turn around to glare at Tidus, since Baska is a very loved figure among Spira’s people. Yuna remains still on the stage: “True, my father died ten years ago!”. People would turn their anger at the girl, asking if Baska had been Sent after his death. Yuna cannot lie and confirms his father could not be Sent to the Farplane, and that he may be a monster. The crowds protest: “So, are you going to kill your own father?! We don’t need you as a Summoner!”. Yuna would fall on the stage, probably overwhelmed by those hateful comments.

What does this make me understand ? Guado are seen as magic experts, they help with the festival but yet find a way to add their own, weird personal touch to the musical. Also Yuna probably does not know what truly becomes of a High Summoner after their death, and probably thinks that, by dying and not being Sent, her father became a rancorous monster (by now, we know that Summoner performing the Final Summoning probably do not need to be sent: Braska didn’t receive one and is still present in the Farplane in X and X2).

Also, it’s worth mentioning the holy spring scene would have had Yuna screaming (much like Tidus does in Kilika) all her frustration and helplessness at her destiny, crying against Tidus’ chest. There is no mention of the kiss, but I cannot be sure about it as an idea: the script for the holy spring scene stops as she buries her face in his chest and weeps. Being there an affection system, if you hadn’t bonded enough with Yuna, Kimahri would have consoled... and that, kids, is why Kimahri still is present in the holy spring / kiss scene in FFX ! It’s a nice reference.

The last snipper in the Ultimania is the party facing Yunalesca. I find the scene really similar to the original -- she calls them fools, asks who will take Jecht’s place. She calls human beings weak creatures who find new ways to substitute the dead ones and reject peace. She does try to attack Auron too, but he dodges her attack and the battle begins. Outside the Dome, much like in the game we know, Sin is watching them. But in the original script, he did carry people of Registan on his back. Why? Kitase and Nojima explain Registan was supposed to float above Gagazet (Fayth Scar weird column of water, anyone?). Before the final battle, the player would have had the chance to do a sidequest, in which Sin would have helped you carrying your Registan friends in Spira... yea, crazy. Tidus would have been briefly taken home again and helped his old friends, all carried on Sin’s back to Spira. But once they did decide on Registan/Zanarkand being a dream, the sidequest disappeared. ]

#ffx #final fantasy x #Final fantasy x ultimania #meta tag.#[ the fact i don't have an analysis tag ]#[ or proper meta one is embarrassing hhh ]#[ bless... bless the ultimania ]#[ like... if this doesn't make you curious!! ]#[ i wished more was explained BUT it's still a lot more than what I ever expected ]#[ beware long post under cut because i can't contain myself ]

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ibmiller · 4 years

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Little Women (2019) Thoughts

After some frustrations (this movie sold out incredibly fast), I managed to see this new adaptation (not a remake, very much so) with my two youngest siblings, with whom I’ve read and discussed the book, and seen both the 1994 and 2017 miniseries. Briefly, all of us prefer the 94 film (with Winona Ryder as Jo and Christian Bale as Laurie), but all three versions, this one included, have many charms worth discussing.

To start with, this film avoids the recasting issue that plagues Amy in the 94 version by starting with Jo in New York, using a flashback structure (similar to, but much better utilized, as that seen in the 2011 Jane Eyre film). Though Amy is still way too old, Gerwig’s script and Florence Pugh’s performance don’t push the character into the kind of ludicrous unlikeability of having a clearly 20-something actress do things that 10 year olds would be ashamed of. The visuals are also glorious, much better than the trailer seemed to suggest to me - the scene in the valley where Laurie proposes to Jo was jaw-droppingly gorgeous in use of landscape and framing (though ever since 1995′s Sense and Sensibility, I’ve been worried whether landscapes in period drama are CGI. Ah, well). As noted previously, the structure also prevents one of the most obvious complaints that hit the 2017 miniseries very hard - that it’s a “remake” of the justly beloved 1994 film. By making a film that focuses so much on aspects that the 1994 film elides or omits, it’s clearly not a remake, but a new adaptation saying interesting things about the book (though, as I remarked to my brother, it’s almost like the “deleted scenes” version of the book, focusing on a lot of stuff that doesn’t seem to happen in the book, providing depth and motivation for the adult sections).

All this positives made the film quite enjoyable and worthwhile seeing. That is not to say there aren’t drawbacks. The chief complaint I have are the moments where my philosophical differences with Gerwig rub too hard the wrong way. The line about Marmee being ashamed of her country, Amy’s speech about coverture (though that is likely fairly solid in terms of feminist rhetoric of the time, and likely deserves more study by myself), which struck me more as commentary on what Gerwig thinks about her audience than about the book. More than these two notes, however, was the handling of the ending. I have no objection to the ending Alcott gave Jo (especially in light of Little Men and Jo’s Boys) - marriage to a man she loved (who I believe she loves, though I know that seems to be a minority position) as well as worldwide success as an author. Gerwig, on the other hand, deliberately implies that Jo gets the book, and the marriage is fiction demanded by her editor. (For more support for the Jo/Bhaer ending, I provide these excellent links - https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/tag/professor-bhaer/ - examining Bhaer in the books and films and provides great weight to the argument that Bhaer is more than just a commercial decision or “spiteful” whim as Gerwig claims - and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osdVRusNGgg, examining the way the 2017 miniseries handled the issue.) The way Gerwig handles Bhaer is very romantic - perhaps to the exclusion of his intellectual appeal for Jo, though his honesty about Jo’s potboilers is well handled - but when it becomes an intentional, obvious parody of the “airport scene” in a romcom and it’s revealed as a fake demanded by the editor, a sour note is struck. Everything works towards Jo/Bhaer being satisfying in the film, which makes the attempt at philosophical statement deliberately scolding the audience for wanting that satisfaction much more frustrating.

Well, I say everything works. There’s one element that is completely unnecessary, even though it had a lot of promise. Jo makes the impassioned speech about female ambition which made the trailers, and though excellent articles point out that it’s directly from another Alcott novel - https://slate.com/culture/2019/12/little-women-movie-ending-explained-twist-jo-bhaer-married.html - normally would NEVER link to Slate, but this is honestly well argued on both sides, and I really appreciate Heather Schwedel’s take arguing in favor of the book and Jo/Bhaer). The speech doesn’t quite work for me - perhaps knowing that it’s from Alcott will help when it comes out on bluray, but it felt out of place. That quibble aside, unlike the trailer, the film has Jo end the speech with “But I’m so lonely.” Which I thought was a beautiful bit of nuance - showing the tension (often derisively mocked with the commentary about “having it all”) of ambition and the human desire for connection and community approval. That loneliness could have played well into a less ironic, above-it-all ending with Bhaer - but instead, Gerwig inexplicably decides to play Jo’s desire for Laurie some more, adding in a letter from Jo to Laurie begging him to propose again. I could sort of see the desire in Gerwig to play with the excellently handled Jo/Amy relationship, but it throws the emotions for a loop, and doesn’t work at all.

A few other moments don’t work quite as well. Jo’s writing of her novel - though perhaps, like the female ambition scene, was actually a common practice in novel writing of the mid-1800s, felt too much like a film pitching process instead of writing a prose narrative. That clash of artistic process wasn’t helped at all by the generic scoring of that section of the film by Alexandre Desplat. Perhaps unfairly, the 1994 film had a truly transcendent score by Thomas Newman, which stands out not only as a nearly perfect score for the film, but one of the best film scores of all time. The 2017 miniseries isn’t nearly as good as Newman’s, but does provide powerful moments like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EosnXGSiDck

Lastly, Eliza Scanlan and Emma Watson as Beth and Meg are both left behind by several choices in the script, partly the fault of the flashback structure, but partly because it’s clear that Jo and Amy clearly interested Gerwig most (and it’s to her credit that she gave Meg the “my dream is valid” speech). Watson’s weakness as an actress continues to plague her scenes, especially in the scene where she voices her frustration about her poverty to her husband, and her eyebrows refuse to stop overacting. Beth is mostly just lost - interestingly, none of the filmed versions that I recall have allowed Meg to comfort Jo after the selling of her hair - this film highlights the Jo/Amy relationship in that moment, and the 94 film gives it to Beth (likely to beef up her part). Much as I love Claire Danes, I think Annes Elwy from the 17 miniseries is the best, most nuanced and accessible Beth on screen that I’ve seen.

In conclusion, this film is a work of art worthy of enjoyment and analysis, despite these disagreements I have. There’s a clear sense that Gerwig and her team created a richly textured world that existed outside of what we see - each scene gives the actors things to do that enrich their lives in my mind, and I love spending time with them. It resists easy relationship resolution - Jo’s frustrations with Amy don’t end with the ice breaking incident, and unlike a lot of the other versions, give Amy a LOT of mature and intelligent conversations, showing that it’s not all Amy’s fault that the two don’t get along. I don’t think Ronan, despite being one of my favorite actresses, will replace Ryder as my perfect Jo (even though I think I’ll appreciate Ronan as an actress much longer than Ryder - since her later career seems to be entirely made up on neurotic mannerisms, sadly), but she’s very powerfully written and played. Laurie follows a different route than Christian Bale or Jonah Haeur-King, but like those two, is also incredibly good. The proposal scene chooses differently, but equally powerfully and realistically, with what Laurie does in the face of rejection. Marmee played by Laura Dern is beautifully done, though she doesn’t have the script of Emily Watson in the miniseries giving her a lot more depth and connection with the audience. I don’t know that Florence Pugh can displace Kirsten Dunst as young Amy, but she’s definitely one of the best Amys on screen (though I think Kathryn Newton in the miniseries did a better job of changing her body language and mannerisms to show the character aging). Definitely recommended, and recommended to discuss afterwards!

#Little Women

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miguel-manbemel · 5 years

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Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 14: The Dark Master Crashes the Wedding

Episode 14 of the fanfic inspired on Sanders Sides, created by Thomas Sanders and Joan with the Foster Dawg Team. This episode has two radically different moods in the story. It all starts with the happiness and romance that a wedding is expected to bring... and then switches to a dark and tragic second part. Spoilers ahead, but I already warn that this is going to be the last appearance for one of the Sides in this fanfic. It’s not one of the main Sides, if it helps to calm you down, although each passing is sad, no matter the importance of the character.

When I was writing, I got into the mood by listening to different songs depending on the part that I was writing. For the part of the wedding, I had in mind “Sally’s Song/Simply Meant to Be” from Nightmare before Christmas. For the second part, I had “There’s a Place for Us”, from West Side Story, both in their reprise forms. They both are mentioned in the story as a homage.

Writing a story is in many ways the same as reading it from another author, even more intense sometimes. You just get into the story and live it as if you really were there, and to be honest, I got on the verge of tearing up after I finished writing the last lines last night. Thank God Thomas came to the rescue and published the Turn-Based Fights short right before I went to bed, as that helped me get rid of my sad mood before I fell asleep. (Yes, I know in Spain it was 4 a.m. when Thomas released this short, but in Spain we’re famous for not knowing the meaning of the word “late”, after all, here at 10 p.m. in the summer, the sky is still light blue, it’s one of the problems of not living in the correct time zone in this country, but I’ll rant about that another time)

Okay, time to start with the story. I hope that, despite the story having a sad second part, you’re still able to enjoy it. If you want to read previous entries of the fanfic to get the full context of the story, you can find them right here. And remember that this fic follows the Sanders Sides canon up to Embarrasing Phases, and goes on its own after that. And that’s it. Until next time.

SYNOPSIS: It’s the big day for Roman and Virgil. They’re finally getting married and all his friends are ready for it. But the Dark Master is ready to wreak havoc and Deceit is the victim of his evil plot. Thomas, the Sides and Joan will try to rescue him, but it is a dangerous mission where their lives will be at risk.

P.S. If you happen to read these entries chronollogically through my blog, know that the following episode to this one, the 15th, was accidentally deleted. I immediately reuploaded it from a backup, but that caused for it to be out of order. You can find it after episode 17. Sorry for the inconvenience.

WARNINGS: Already said it plenty of times, and this is a spoiler. This is a sad and angsty episode where one of the non-main Sides is going to die. It also contains a lot of Prinxiety throughout the episode, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point after several episodes exploring this ship.There is a scene of slight violence where one of the Sides is seemlingly strangled and another one suffers the fatal attack that takes him down. More mentions to the physical mistreatment that the Dark Sides suffered in the past while they were in the Dark Realm.

EPISODE INDEX

[There’s a sign that reads “Previously on Sanders Sides”. Roman is in his room, in front of the camera]

ROMAN: Greetings, everyone. As I’m in charge of the flashbacks in this Mind Palace, the director has asked me to show you some important scenes that happened in previous videos. So here they go.

[a scene from episode 12 is shown, it’s Wrath in Virgil’s room right after Virgil’s transformation into a Light Side]

WRATH: [taking a deep breath, then calmer, but still nervous] Something’s happened in the Dark Realm! I heard a huge noise, as if something was falling apart! I went to check it out and I couldn’t believe my eyes! Virgil, your room in the Dark Realm has disappeared. It is gone!

[next scene, in the living room, Thomas and Wrath are talking]

THOMAS: …Wrath. If Virgil’s room is gone, what happened to all the stuff that was in there?

WRATH: Have you ever watched Doctor Who, Thomas?

THOMAS: Have I ever watched Doctor Who? That’s like asking me if I have ever sung a song, Wrath.

WRATH: Well, do you remember how the TARDIS, in special situations where it needed extra power, it burned rooms inside of it to gain extra energy? It’s something similar. The room that belonged to Virgil was “burnt” and its remains converted into energy for the Mind Palace.

THOMAS: With everything in it?

WRATH: Not everything. If there was something important that needed to be saved, it would have been moved to where it is supposed to be, Virgil’s room in the Light Realm. The rest, of course, should probably be gone, but I can’t be certain of that, anyway. It is the first time that something like this has happened in the Mind Palace and I’m only theorizing.

[next scene, in the Dark Realm, in the empty void where Virgil’s room in the Dark Realm used to be. Deceit, Wrath and Honesty are sitting down there, looking at the void]

HONESTY: So this is all that is left of Virgil’s old room?

WRATH: Yes, it is…

HONESTY: [pointing at something] Um… what is that over there?

DECEIT: What?

[Honesty gets up and approaches what he has seen. Then comes back. It’s Virgil’s old black hoodie]

HONESTY: Didn’t this belong to Virgil?

[Deceit and Wrath stand up. Honesty gives the hoodie to Deceit]

DECEIT: Yes. It’s the hoodie he used to wear when he was in panther form, and the first hoodie he used when he acquired his emo form.

HONESTY: I think it would be appropriate that you kept it, Deceit.

DECEIT: Me?

HONESTY: Virgil’s obviously never gonna need it anymore. He seems pretty happy with his purple hoodie. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you kept it.

DECEIT: Yes… I guess so.

WRATH: What I wonder is how this didn’t burn with the rest of the room or reappear in Virgil’s present room. It just stayed there, forgotten…

DECEIT: I don’t know. But I’m glad that it didn’t go. Thanks for having the keen eye of spotting it, Honesty. You are a good friend.

HONESTY: The closest you’ll ever have. We’re like one after all, literally before and figuratively now.

[back to the present]

ROMAN: And that’s the flashback. Why have I shown you these dialogues, you say? As if I knew! I’m not even supposed to know anything of this as I wasn’t present, but I’m in charge of the flashbacks, so now I know, [mischievous smile] and they don’t know that I know. What use could I give to this information? We’ll see… [malicious over the top laughter, then as if he suddenly remembered something, he takes out from a pocket a pendrive] Oh, yes! The director also gave me these cute little pendrive, and told me to push the red button after I ended with the flashbacks. He also asked me to look carefully at the pendrive when I pressed the button. Of course I will do as he says, what could go wrong…?

[Roman pushes the button and the pendrive emits a red flash in the same fashion of a neuralyzer from Men in Black, and Roman goes stiff and serious, while the pendrive quickly burns and becomes dust that falls down from Roman’s hand. Then, five seconds later, Roman shakes his head.]

ROMAN: [confused] What was I talking about? I forgot everything I was… Oh, never mind, it probably wasn’t important, just roll the title screen.

[intro sequence]

[Thomas, Joan and Talyn are dressed in formal clothes]

THOMAS: What is up, everybody? Well, here we are. I can’t believe it but today is the day. Roman and Virgil are getting married and I can’t believe it.

ROMAN: [rising up, with an excited voice and a wide smile] Me neither!

THOMAS: Roman, what are you doing here? You should already be in the Royal Castle! And you haven’t even got dressed! What are you waiting for? I…

ROMAN: Relax, Thomama Sanders. There’s plenty of time yet.

THOMAS: But what if Virgil rises up now? It’s bad luck if any of you sees each other before the wedding!

ROMAN: Okay, okay, I got it, relax. I just came in for one last check out. Where are the others?

THOMAS: Patton is helping Virgil to get dressed. He’s taken his groomsman’s duties very seriously.

ROMAN: Can Patton really do anything seriously? Okay… Oh, hello, Joan, hello, Talyn. Did you fix Talyn’s trouble to get there?

JOAN: Yes. I have been practicing hypnosis all last week with Talyn’s books and videos, and yesterday we synchronized their brainwaves with Thomas’. Now they can enter the Mind Palace.

TALYN: Yes, we visited Patton’s room. It was wild.

THOMAS: But you already know, Roman. Don’t you remember that I told you to stay in autopilot when we did the sync to avoid what happened the last time?

ROMAN: Oh, yes, you’re right. Sorry, I’m so nervous I forget things… And what about the others, Honesty, Wrath, Deceit…?

THOMAS: Honesty and Wrath are already in Sandersia, on their way to the castle. I haven’t been able to contact Deceit yet. He’s been in autopilot for the whole last month.

ROMAN: A whole month in autopilot? Is there something wrong with him? Does he even know we’re marrying today? Oh, my goodness, I…

THOMAS: Roman, please, relax, or you’re not gonna get to the wedding alive… Don’t worry about anything else and go get dressed and then to the castle! I’ll take care of going to Deceit’s room to warn him.

ROMAN: Okay, Thomas, I trust this in you… [sinks down] See you there, guys!

THOMAS: Okay. Joan, Talyn, wait for me here while I get to Deceit’s room. It will only be a minute.

JOAN: Okay, Thomas, we’ll be waiting.

[Thomas concentrates and sinks down. There’s a white flash and he appears in Deceit’s room in the Light Realm. Everything’s there as Deceit left it, with the lights off and things getting dust]

THOMAS: Okay, suddenly I’m feeling a little worried… Deceit!? Deceit, are you there? Can you hear me? [no response] Oh, of course he can’t hear me, he’s in autopilot. I think I should go get some help. I’ll go to Patton’s room. I hate to bother Virgil, but this is an emergency…

[Thomas sinks down, there’s a white flash and he appears in Patton’s room. Patton is in Virgil’s spot, next to a folding screen behind which there’s Virgil. Patton’s wearing a light blue tuxedo with a silver cat on the flap]

THOMAS: Hello, guys.

PATTON: Oh, hello, Thomas.

VIRGIL: [voice behind the screen] Hi, Thomas. Sorry I can’t get out now. Patton insists on keeping my outfit a surprise for everyone.

THOMAS: It’s okay, Virgil. I don’t want spoilers either. I came here because I need your help, Patton.

PATTON: What is it, kiddo?

THOMAS: I can’t find Deceit anywhere. He’s been in autopilot for the whole month and, of course, he can’t hear me when I call him. I went to his room, but it’s empty, as if he hadn’t been there for the whole month.

PATTON: Really? That’s weird…

VIRGIL: I see… He must have gone to his room in the Dark Realm.

THOMAS: That’s gonna be a problem, then. Wrath and Honesty are already on their way to the castle, and they’re the only ones who could have taken me there safely…

PATTON: I can help you get there, Thomas. Since the Dark Master left, it’s no longer so difficult to get in and out of the Dark Realm. But I’m a little busy helping Virgil…

VIRGIL: It’s okay, dad, I think I can manage to put on a bow-tie on my own. Go get Deceit.

PATTON: Are you sure?

VIRGIL: Yes, go dad. It’s important for me too cause I want all my friends at my wedding. But be careful, just in case.

PATTON: Okay, Virgil, if you say so. Are you ready, Thomas?

THOMAS: Yes, I’m ready.

PATTON: Let’s go, then.

[Patton and Thomas sink down, then there’s a black flash and they appear in Deceit’s room in the Dark Realm. It all looks dark and gloomy, more than usual on the Dark Realm]

THOMAS: I don’t like this… I think there’s something wrong going on here…

PATTON: I think so too, Thomas… Okay, I’ll call him since he can only hear my voice while in autopilot.

THOMAS: Thank you, Patton.

PATTON: Deceit? Deceit, where are you, kiddo?

[Deceit appears. He’s wearing Virgil’s old black hoodie and sunglasses]

THOMAS: There you are… Why the sunglasses? It’s very dark in here… And is that Virgil’s old jacket?

DECEIT: [cold voice] Yes, it is… What do you want?

THOMAS: [a little surprised by Deceit’s tone of voice] Um… yes, today it’s Roman and Virgil’s wedding. Everybody is getting dressed and ready. You should be getting ready too, there’s no time to waste…

DECEIT: I’m not going, Thomas.

THOMAS: What? Why not?

DECEIT: I’m not feeling too well lately. I’d rather stay in bed. Send my congratulations to the grooms and my apologies.

THOMAS: But Deceit, Virgil really wanted you to be there…

DECEIT: I guess so, but I can’t Thomas. I tell you that I’m a little sick. It must be the flu.

THOMAS: The flu? Sides can get flu?

DECEIT: I don’t want all the guests to get infected. [coughs a little] See? You shouldn’t even be here either. Go, before I spread it onto you too!

THOMAS: Okay, as you wish, Deceit…

[when Thomas is looking at Patton and Patton at Thomas, Deceit suddenly lets go a little hurtful groan that only lasts for half a second]

THOMAS: What was that, are you okay?

DECEIT: [clears throat] Yes, I’m… I’m okay, it’s… the headache caused by the flu, don’t worry.

THOMAS: Are you sure you don’t need help?

DECEIT: [a little angry] I said I’ll be okay! Go away to your wedding already!

THOMAS: Okay, okay, as you wish, Deceit. Let’s go, Patton.

PATTON: Okay, Thomas. Bye, Deceit, get well soon. I’ll bring you some chicken soup after the wedding.

[Patton and Thomas sink down. Deceit shows a malevolent smirk]

DECEIT: [evil voice] That was close… I just need a few minutes more… then they’ll know of me… [giggles evilly]

[there’s a white flash and Thomas and Patton arrive to Patton’s room]

PATTON: Okay, we’re back, son.

VIRGIL: [still behind the folding screen] Did you get to talk to Deceit?

THOMAS: Yes, Virgil. I’m afraid he’s not going to the wedding.

VIRGIL: [pops only his head out of the screen, he looks surprised] What? Why?

THOMAS: He says he’s got the flu and doesn’t want everyone to get infected.

VIRGIL: That’s absurd… Sides don’t get infected with mundane viruses.

THOMAS: He had to be. He was wearing your old black jacket and sunglasses, and he certainly looked in pain because of a headache. I guess he was feeling cold with fever and the light was hurting his eyes. I’m not sure if he’s gonna be okay all alone…

VIRGIL: My old black jacket? You must be wrong. My black jacket is in my wardrobe, in my room, it has always been there, and it was still there a moment ago when I started getting dressed.

THOMAS: Well, then it must be a copy he summoned for himself, I guess, because that certainly looked like your old black jacket. It’s unmistakable.

VIRGIL: [face and voice of realization] …Oh… [a little dejected] I think I get it…

THOMAS: What is it?

VIRGIL: [hides his head behind the screen, then with a little sad voice] Never mind, Thomas. If Deceit doesn’t want to come, I can’t force him… Besides, I think it’s better this way, for both of us.

THOMAS: Did I miss something?

VIRGIL: [trying to return to his usual tone of voice] Don’t worry, Thomas. I’ll be fine. Now, go get Joan and Talyn and get on your way to the castle. I’m almost ready.

THOMAS: Okay, but are you okay?

VIRGIL: Yes, Thomas, don’t worry about me. It’s my day now and I’m gonna live the heck out of it.

THOMAS: Okay, if you say so… See you at the wedding, guys.

PATTON: See ya, kiddo!

[Thomas sinks down, then he appears in the living room with Joan and Talyn]

THOMAS: Okay, let’s go, pals.

JOAN: Did you take care of calling Deceit?

THOMAS: Yes, but he’s not coming. He said he’d got the flu, but Virgil pointed out that’s impossible, so, for some reason, he doesn’t want to attend the wedding and invented an excuse to skip it.

JOAN: Well, it’s Deceit, after all. Lying is expected from him.

THOMAS: Yes, but lately he had learned to control himself in regards of lying. I don’t understand what’s wrong with him. I suspect that Virgil knows more than me on that matter, but I don’t want to invade their privacy. We’ll think about that later. Now it’s time to party. Are you ready, pals?

TALYN: Yes, Thomas.

THOMAS: Then, let’s go, to Roman’s room, and then to Sandersia.

[Thomas, Joan and Talyn sink down. Then they appear on Roman’s room. They go to the door and enter Sandersia. A carriage is waiting for them. They jump in, and in no time, they’re in front of the Royal Castle]

TALYN: I wish traffic was so fast in real life…

THOMAS: Yeah… Okay, let’s get in. We need to find our seats.

[They enter the castle. Some guards greet Thomas and lead the way into the throne room. A long red carpet has been placed in the middle of the room, from the door to the throne, where a small altar with the royal shield has been placed, flanked by two bouquets of roses, one of red roses and the other of purple roses. Benches have been placed at both sides of the carpet. Thomas is taken to the front seat, next to Logan, Wrath and Honesty. Joan and Talyn are sitting just behind. The rest of the seats are occupied by different characters from Thomas’ works, all wearing formal clothes]

THOMAS: You guys, can you believe I’m nervous? And I’m not even the one who’s marrying.

LOGAN: Well, in a way, you are, Thomas. It’s two parts of you who are getting married after all.

THOMAS: Yes, you’re right, I guess. Thanks for getting me more nervous, Logan…

LOGAN: You’re welcome.

WRATH: This is all so beautiful… I love roses.

HONESTY: I like them too. But I would have placed some white roses in between the red ones.

WRATH: Because Roman wears white and red?

HONESTY: Because it would have reminded me of the Tudor Rose, the national flower of England, my homeland.

WRATH: Oh… fair point… [makes a pause, then sighs] I hope I don’t start crying like a child when the wedding starts. I’m a crybaby when I get emotional, you know…

HONESTY: Fear not, Wrath. No matter how loud you cry, I think Patton is gonna cry louder today, so no one’s gonna stare at you.

LOGAN: By the way, does anybody know where’s Deceit? The wedding will start any minute now.

THOMAS: He’s not coming, Logan.

HONESTY: What?

THOMAS: He says he’s got the flu and prefers to stay in bed. I think he’s lying, because Virgil said that Sides don’t get flu. There’s also this weird detail.

HONESTY: What is it?

THOMAS: He was wearing Virgil’s old black jacket.

HONESTY: Oh… I think I understand…

THOMAS: You do?

HONESTY: Yes, but this concerns Deceit only and he should be the one explaining it, if he wants to.

THOMAS: Okay… but do you know where did Deceit get that jacket from?

HONESTY: He did not steal it from Virgil if that worries you. You see, I saw it in the remnants of Virgil’s old room in the Dark Realm and I gave it to Deceit so he could keep it.

THOMAS: This is getting weirder by the minute…

HONESTY: Why do you say that?

THOMAS: Virgil says that his jacket is in his wardrobe, and now you tell me that you found an exact replica of the jacket in the Dark Realm? What is this all about?

HONESTY: A replica of the jacket? That’s odd…

THOMAS: I wonder who put it in there…

[music of trumpets stops the conversation. All the guests stand up and look at the door. Through the door, Roman enters in. He’s dressed with a majestic princely gala uniform, white with a red sash that has seven gold medals hooked on it in a straight line along the sash. Each medal has a sparkling gem set on it, in order, a red ruby, an orange garnet, a yellow citrine, a green emerald, a light blue topaz, an indigo tanzanite and a purple amethyst. He’s carrying a bouquet containing red carnations. He’s also wearing a long red cape and the royal crown, and above the sash, on the left side of his chest, the royal shield in red velvet, with the castle embroidered in golden thread. While the trumpets play a fanfare that seems to be Sandersia’s official hymn, Roman solemnly walks through the hall escorted by his brother, the Prince Guy, until he gets next to the altar. He then turns around and looks at Thomas with a face of pride and happiness, and smiles at him. Thomas has to clean a tear off his eye.]

THOMAS: He’s looking gorgeous. More princely than I’ve ever seen him before. And gayer than I’ve ever seen him before in both senses of the word, although he could always be gayer, of course.

HONESTY: I love the detail of the gemstones. It’s like he wants to keep us next to his heart in this moment so important in his life…

LOGAN: Oh… I just thought he was simply putting in his chest the rainbow flag in the form of gems, but your interpretation is also valid, Hon.

[Roman looks at the empty seat where Deceit was supposed to sit down, then looks at Thomas with an interrogating face. Thomas shakes his head and silently says with his lips “I’ll tell you later”. Roman shows a slightly confused and sad face but says nothing]

THOMAS: [a little angry] Deceit is ruining Roman and Virgil’s mood. This wedding is not being perfect, and it’s his fault. He should have come to the wedding.

WRATH: Please, don’t be too harsh on him, Thomas. You’d understand if you knew the whole story.

[Thomas has no time to respond, as, again, music is heard. This time, a little orchestra on a side of the hall plays an instrumental version of “Simply Meant to Be”, from Nightmare before Christmas. Virgil then makes his entrance into the hall, with Patton holding his arm next to him. He’s wearing a purple tuxedo with a matching bow-tie, and he’s wearing a hood with an extremely long cape on the back that looks like a dress train, finished in black roses on the edge. He’s carrying a bouquet made of black tulips and purple lavenders. They walk slowly, heading to the altar, where Roman looks at his groom with a face of emotion and a tender, loving smile. Virgil smiles back at him from afar. Patton’s eyes start watering and soon streams of tears fall down his cheeks. When they reach the altar, Patton takes Virgil’s hand and gives it to Roman, who holds it gently, as if afraid of crumbling it like a dry flower. They look at each other, for a moment as if the rest of the world wasn’t there. Then, they join both of their flower bouquets in a single one, leave it on top of the altar and stand looking at the altar, where now the Prince Guy is standing. Music then stops]

PRINCE GUY: Distinguished guests. As the regent of the Principality of Sandersia, and therefore the highest authority besides the Royal Prince himself, I have been asked to perform this ceremony to join Prince Roman and Virgil Sanders in wedlock. If anyone in this hall knows of any reason why these two should not be joined in matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.

[he makes a pause, there’s silence in the room and no one speaks]

PRINCE GUY: It is now time for the grooms to read their personal vows that they’ve written for each other. Roman, you go first.

ROMAN: [takes out a piece of paper, clears his throat and starts reading] Dear Virgil. I hereby promise you to be your shield in your moments of hurt, to be your sword in your moments of fear, to be your source of courage in your moments of doubt, to be your warmth in your moments of cold, and above else I promise to provide you love enough for two in the moments you cease to love yourself. This I promise for as long as we both shall live.

PRINCE GUY: Virgil?

VIRGIL: [also reading from a paper] Roman, I promise you to be by your side in each adventure you take on, to stand by you in the moments you feel not so glittery, to remind you of your common sense in the moments you become too much overdramatic, to step out of my comfort zone and fight my fears when you need me to, and to try and complement you in life as much as I can. This I promise for as long as we both shall live.

PRINCE GUY: Very well, hold both of each other’s hands now and look at each other in the eye. [Roman and Virgil do so, smiling lovingly at each other] Roman, do you take Virgil to be your husband, to love and to cherish for as long as you both shall live?

ROMAN: I do.

PRINCE GUY: Virgil, do you take Roman to be your husband, to love and to cherish for as long as you both shall live?

VIRGIL: I do.

PRINCE GUY: Who’s got the rings?

[nobody speaks]

VIRGIL: [low voice looking at Patton with a slightly anxious face] Dad… He means you!

PATTON: Oh, sorry, kiddo, I got so emotional I didn’t hear. [there are some muffled giggles in the room, Patton takes the rings out of a pocket in his jacket and hands them to the grooms] Here they are.

PRINCE GUY: Very good. Roman, place the ring on Virgil’s finger, while you read this [shows him a book]

ROMAN: [reading while putting the ring on Virgil’s finger] With this ring, Virgil, I thee wed, and I promise to love and respect you in sickness and health, in richness and poorness, in good times and bad, until death do us part.

PRINCE GUY: Now you, Virgil, place the ring on Romans’ finger, while you read this.

VIRGIL: [reading while putting the ring on Roman’s finger] With this ring, Roman, I thee wed, and I promise to love and respect you in sickness and health, in richness and poorness, in good times and bad, until death do us part.

PRINCE GUY: You have expressed your free consent in front of witnesses to be joined in wedlock, so by the power vested on me by the state of Sandersia, I now pronounce you married partners. You may now kiss each other.

[Roman takes down Virgil’s hood and smiles lovingly at his husband, then they both kiss while all the guests in the hall start applauding and cheering]

THOMAS: Beautiful. Simply beautiful, from start to finish.

PRINCE GUY: Long live Prince Roman! Long live Prince Virgil! Long live Sandersia!

THOMAS: Oh, that’ s right! Now that Virgil has married a prince, that makes him a prince too. Who would have thought?

[Suddenly, the door opens, and Deceit enters the hall. He’s still wearing the black jacket and sunglasses. Roman and Virgil look at Deceit]

ROMAN: Wow, Deceit, you are late! The wedding is over already!

DECEIT: [evil mixed with fake sad voice] Is that so? Awww… What a pity… I’m terribly… terribly… sorry…

VIRGIL: Something’s wrong in here…

DECEIT: But of course, don’t let my absence upset you, guys. [claps his hands three times slowly] Congratulations!

[Honesty notices that Wrath’s whole body is shaking like jelly and he has a face of endless horror]

HONESTY: Wrath, what’s wrong with you?

WRATH: I… I would never forget that tone of voice… We’re doomed! It’s… him!

LOGAN: Him? But… that can’t be…

VIRGIL: Yes, he is, Logan, I recognize him too! It’s the Dark Master! What have you done to Deceit? And how dare you to show up at my wedding without an invitation!?

[Deceit takes his glasses off and shows that his eyes are indeed red, like the Dark Master’s. He smiles with a diabolic grin]

ROMAN: [to the guests] Okay, everyone get out of the hall, this is dangerous for you. There’s a door behind the throne on the left that will let you get out of the castle. [to the Dark Master] Dark Master, let them go, they’re innocent people. It’s us you want, right?

DARK MASTER: [unconcerned] Yeah… all of them can go… I’m only interested in the Sides.

ROMAN: You too, brother, help them get out safely.

PRINCE GUY: But I want to fight alongside you if I must, Roman.

ROMAN: Please, brother, this is a matter of the Sanders Sides. I need you to take care of the guests and lead them to safety. This is the best way you can help me right now. Should something happen to me, you’re the only one who could defend them in case of trouble and assume the crown.

PRINCE GUY: Okay, if you say so… But please, be careful… [to the guests] Okay, everyone, follow me this way, quickly, but without panicking. Don’t run, and don’t form a block at the door.

JOAN: What about Talyn and me?

THOMAS: Joan, you and Talyn must go with the guests. This could be dangerous. You can’t go back to the living room without me, and I can’t take you there right now, so wait for us outside.

TALYN: Okay, be careful, Thomas. You too, guys.

[All the guests start walking to the back door, while the Prince Guy makes sure they go in a single file, as calmly as they can. When they’re all out, the Prince Guy gives a last worried glance to Roman, who smiles and nods at him. Then Prince Guy gets out and closes the door behind him. Roman takes off the cape and Virgil takes off the hood, and Thomas and the other Sides step closer to them in the center of the hall]

DARK MASTER: So, here we are again… But this time you can’t use your rainbow tricks against me.

VIRGIL: Okay, Dark Master, you can shift back to your real form.

DARK MASTER: Who says I’m shape-shifting? This is the real Deceit you’re looking at. I’m controlling his body.

VIRGIL: What? Then set him free at once!

DARK MASTER: [evil threatening voice] Make me…

THOMAS: How could you take control of his body?

DARK MASTER: Oh, it was easy… a heart in love is so easy to manipulate… I just had to concentrate the remnants of my body to form a copy of Virgil’s jacket, appear “casually” in front of him, and he couldn’t resist to wear me, [mocking voice] as if he thought having his jacket was a substitute of the love he was being denied and he would never have…

VIRGIL: [with a ferocious glance of anger] You… you… [looks at Patton then back at the Dark Master] you, motherfreaker!

ROMAN: What is he talking about, Virgil?

VIRGIL: Well, I only recently knew that Deceit was in love with me, and not because he wanted to confess or anything, he was respectful of our relation. I told him that I loved you and that I could never give him the kind of love he wanted. And that monster has used that against him!

THOMAS: [to Wrath and Honesty] Now I get what you meant with “the whole story”, you guys. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge him…

DARK MASTER: Of course, I needed to be sure that my plan would work. It was a happy coincidence that Roman was bitten by a Sanders Sprite. That inspired me to send what you called a Dark Sprite to invade Virgil. I knew that he would inhibit himself to get free of the Sprite, and I knew Roman would do what he did. Virgil turning into a Light Side, was just the finishing touch, to make sure Deceit’s possibilities with Virgil would fall down from few to none. That would make him more eager to keep the jacket, trying to comfort himself, and finally wear it. [evil grin] And it worked.

HONESTY: So, you had it all planned from the beginning…

DARK MASTER: Deceit’s body is full of my own energy, as you remember from when I restored him back then, so from the moment he put the jacket on, I started taking control. Up to this morning, he tried to resist me. This morning he made his last try of getting free, right when Thomas and Patton were there, trying to ask them for help, but now, he’s just a tiny little piece of this body, the rest is all me. And the funniest thing is he’s trapped inside of me, totally conscious of everything it’s happening. He’s watching and hearing us as we speak, unable to do anything. I can feel him still struggling and yelling in despair. Revenge is so sweet when it works.

THOMAS: That little groan earlier… That was the real Deceit? [yelling] Dark Master! Let Deceit go! Right now!

DARK MASTER: Forget it. Now Deceit’s mine. If you want him back… look for me in the Dark Realm. I’ll be waiting in Deceit’s room, if you have what it takes, of course.

[Deceit throws a dark ray aimed at Thomas. Thomas extends his white shield like he did the last time, to repel the attack. When he retreats the shield, the Dark Master is nowhere in sight]

THOMAS: He’s gone!

PATTON: Thomas, what are we gonna do?

VIRGIL: That dang Dark Master. He’s never gonna let us live happily ever after!

ROMAN: We’ll think of something… And we’ll bring Deceit back. He’s one of us, we’re not leaving him behind!

[The door opens again. The Sides look at it with a face of tension and ready to jump into action. Then there enter Joan and Talyn]

THOMAS: Oh, Joan, Talyn, it’s you…

JOAN: Yes, it’s me. Is everything okay here? We saw a dark cloud getting out of the castle and going far away real fast, and…

THOMAS: Yes, we are okay… But the Dark Master has Deceit in his hands.

JOAN: Oh, f… [bleep], that’s too bad. What are you going to do?

ROMAN: I think it’s clear we’ve got to cancel the wedding celebration, don’t you think, Virgil?

VIRGIL: Yes, that can wait. We need to regroup and make a plan to get Deceit back and send that… [looks at Patton again, afraid of saying bad words in front of his father] motherfreaker… back to where he came from. But I hate that he’s screwed up our wedding, Roman.

ROMAN: In a way, he didn’t. When he showed up, we were already married, and that’s what matters, right?

VIRGIL: Yes, I guess so.

ROMAN: And don’t worry, when it’s all over, we’re gonna have our banquet, and of course we’re not gonna skip our honeymoon…

VIRGIL: [smiling at Roman, with a sweet, loving smile, but with his eyes reflecting his inner worrying about his friend] I can’t wait…

THOMAS: Guys, you’ll have to wait right now. It’s time we get back home and start planning. Joan, how are the guests doing?

JOAN: They’re fine. Roman’s brother has already placed them in carriages to take them back to their homes, as he was seeing clear that the banquet was being canceled, of course.

TALYN: He’s now taking care of the last guests, but he left the royal carriage at the door so that we could use it when we were ready.

THOMAS: Then let’s go home, guys.

[Thomas and the others get out of the castle and into the carriage, and soon they’re at the door to Roman’s room]

ROMAN: Patton, if you dare to throw up again in the carriage, I’m gonna kill you…

PATTON: It’s okay, kiddo, the last time I had just eaten a cookie and the fast trip didn’t let it agree with me. But now I’m okay.

[The gang gets out of the carriage and in Roman’s room]

ROMAN: Before we go back, I think we should wear something more comfortable, don’t you think, Virgil?

VIRGIL: Yes…

[Roman and Virgil change their clothes back to their usual outfits. The rest of the Sides except Thomas, Joan and Talyn also change their formal clothes back to their usual outfits]

ROMAN: That’s more like it. Let’s go back now, guys.

THOMAS: I wish I could change clothes as fast as you do. This suit is not the best outfit to jump into action…

[Then they sink down and go back to the living room]

THOMAS: Now what?

LOGAN: Let’s think about it carefully. What did Deceit do to get possessed by the Dark Master?

THOMAS: He put on the fake black jacket, of course. If we believe the Dark Master.

WRATH: Oh, the Dark Master is a boaster. He thinks he’s already won. He’s not afraid of bragging about his intelligence and letting everyone know about how good his perfect plan is. He was saying the truth.

LOGAN: If everything was started when he put the jacket on… by logic, everything should be fixed if we take the jacket off him.

THOMAS: That could work, but it’s easier said than done, Logan. I don’t think he’s gonna let us get close enough to him and tell him “May I have your coat, sir?”

ROMAN: I think we should just attack him! I’d get him on a one on one fight and force him to release Deceit!

VIRGIL: Roman, that’s not a good idea at all. Remember he’s in Deceit’s body. If we hurt him, we’re hurting Deceit too. And also, you don’t know how powerful he is. I don’t want to become a widow right after I got married! That would just be too dark and gloomy even for me!

ROMAN: You’re right… But what could we do then?

WRATH: I’ve got an idea. Maybe if someone… distracted him, another one could come closer from behind and take the jacket off him when he least expects it.

HONESTY: That could work…

LOGAN: I don’t know… Something tells me this is a bad idea…

WRATH: Well, Logan, you’re Thomas’ mind. Have you got any better ideas?

LOGAN: No, I don’t! But intuition tells me that… we’re gonna regret doing this, one way or another.

WRATH: Deceit is my best friend, and I’m tired of getting scared of the Dark Master like a hopeless rabbit in front of a hawk! I’m gonna face my fears head on, here and now! Yes, there’s a risk to take, but, even if I’m scared to death of him, I’m willing to take that risk if that helps us save Deceit!

HONESTY: I’ll be the one approaching from behind. You guys, will distract him.

PATTON: But kiddos, if he sees all of us except Honesty, won’t he be suspicious that something’s going on?

HONESTY: Maybe… But I think I have a solution for that. Roman, you are the character creator, right?

ROMAN: Yes, I am.

HONESTY: Could you create a character in the flesh that looks exactly like me? Some sort of illusion that would trick the Dark Master into thinking that I’m with you?

ROMAN: I think I know what you’re thinking about… and I think it could work. Yes, I can do it. But, unfortunately, outside of Sandersia, my creations do not last in the flesh for too long. You will have just a few minutes, and then your clone will vanish.

HONESTY: A few minutes is all that we need. Right, Wrath?

WRATH: Right.

VIRGIL: Do not underestimate that vicious rat. He could be hiding an ace up his sleeve.

THOMAS: And I don’t like what Logan said. He’s holding my intuition and, the last time, he was right when he said out of intuition that Virgil was in danger. If he says now that something’s gonna come out wrong, I’d listen to him.

LOGAN: However, Thomas, intuition can fail, as I told you the last time… I don’t know, I don’t like this plan at all… but maybe it’s the only plan we’re gonna be able to make. And unfortunately, we don’t have much time, I’m afraid.

ROMAN: Guys, there’s one thing I didn’t think about…

WRATH: What is it?

ROMAN: I can create a clone of Honesty… but with so little time, I wouldn’t be able to create a personality for him, a back story, motivations for his existence… everything that makes a character alive, in one word. That means that I can create it… but he would be a lifeless, static dummy that would attract suspicion.

HONESTY: Well, that’s gonna be a problem. Isn’t there any solution?

ROMAN: There is… but I don’t want to put your friends in danger, Thomas.

THOMAS: My friends?

JOAN: You mean us? If there’s anything we can do to help, you can count on us, Roman.

THOMAS: Wait a minute…

JOAN: What can I do to help, Roman?

ROMAN: Okay… I could create Honesty’s clone around your body. It would be as if I shifted you into Honesty’s shape, so to speak. Once I did that, you could be able to impersonate Honesty’s way of speaking and quirks. You are a good actor, after all, and I can’t think on anyone else to do this better than you.

JOAN: Okay… I think I can do it.

HONESTY: Are you sure, Joan? We don’t want to put you in danger and we don’t want to force you into doing anything.

JOAN: I’m sure, Honesty.

THOMAS: Wait a second. I don’t want to put my friends in danger, isn’t there another way?

JOAN: Thomas, I’m doing this on my own free will. I want to help. Besides, you know there is no other way.

ROMAN: Okay… The time constraint is the same as I said before, though. We only have a few minutes, and then Joan’s disguise will disappear, so whatever we do, we must do it quickly. Are you ready, Joan?

JOAN: Yes, I am ready.

[Roman points at Honesty, then points at Joan and closes his eyes. In a few seconds, Joan transforms into Honesty’s shape]

JOAN: Whoa…

HONESTY: Okay, quick rehearsal. Can you impersonate my way of speaking?

JOAN: [imitating Honesty’s posh British accent, and speaking with Honesty’s voice] I think I can, gentleman…

HONESTY: Not bad. Let’s hope it’s enough to trick the Dark Master… Okay, guys. You go first. I’ll wait hiding, until the moment arrives. Good luck, gentlemen and gentlefolk.

TALYN: Joan, please, be careful.

JOAN: I will, Talyn, I promise.

THOMAS: Don’t be afraid, Talyn. I’ll take care of them, I won’t let anything happen to them, even if I have to give my life for them.

JOAN: Don’t say that, Thomas. We all must make it out of there in one piece.

THOMAS: We’ll try…. No, we will! Okay, let’s go get our friend back.

[everyone sinks down. Talyn stays there, sitting on the couch with a worried face. There’s a black flash, and the gang rises up at Deceit’s room. The Dark Master, in Deceit’s body, is waiting for them]

DARK MASTER: So… you had the guts of coming, after all…

THOMAS: We’re not leaving our friend behind, Dark Master, what did you expect?

DARK MASTER: Yeah, you’re right, I didn’t expect any intelligence coming from you at this point, to be honest.

THOMAS: Okay, we’re here. What do you want?

DARK MASTER: What do I want? What I have always wanted, Light Master. I want to take your place, and be in charge of this Mind Palace.

WRATH: Thomas, don’t do it! He would do horrible things to all of us, as he has always done!

DARK MASTER: [threatening] Oh, little Gummy Bear… You have no idea of the true meaning of the word “horrible”. Not yet, at least…

WRATH: Oh, but I do, Dark Master. My life has been a hell when I was at your service. And I’m not going back to that! Not ever!

DARK MASTER: Be careful with what you wish for, Wrath. Some wishes come true… in the most unpleasant ways…

JOAN: [as Honesty] Is that supposed to be a threat, uh… gentleman?

DARK MASTER: A threat? Of course not… It’s just a warning from an old… friend.

[the real Honesty appears a few steps behind the Dark Master, he looks at Wrath and nods at him, as if asking him to keep on talking. Wrath and the rest of the Sides act as if he wasn’t there. Honesty starts taking little steps approaching the Dark Master from behind while Wrath is speaking]

WRATH: Friend? [yelling] Friend!? You don’t even know the meaning of the word “friend”! You never had any friends! Only slaves you used for your own benefit! The scars of your whipping in my back still hurt sometimes when the weather is humid, which is a lot of time here in Florida! I didn’t have any respect for you! I only had fear! But that fear is gone forever! You will never be the Master of anything again, and as my name is Ira, I will make sure of that if I have anything to say about it!

THOMAS: Ira? Your name is Ira?

IRA: Yes, Thomas, that’s my name. It’s based on the Roman deities that instilled fury and anger into humans.

ROMAN: And also, “ira” is the Spanish word for wrath, I’m just saying it.

IRA: And I swear you do not want to see me angry, Dark Master!

[The Dark Master starts laughing loudly]

IRA: What are you laughing at?

DARK MASTER: This is such a funny stand-up comedy act I’m watching right now. Congratulations, Wrath… I mean, Ira. You have truly delivered a wonderful show…

[Honesty jumps at the Dark Master. The Dark Master quickly turns back and grabs Honesty by the throat with one hand]

DARK MASTER: …but! As great as this comedy act has been… [points at Joan with his free hand, and their costume disappears revealing their true form] …it’s time for the curtains to fall down.

[All the Sides, especially Wrath, look at the Dark Master with an expression of horror]

DARK MASTER: Did you really think I couldn’t see through the mask your friend was carrying, Light Master? Did you seriously think I was so easy to fool? Well, you’re gonna pay the price of your daring. Starting with this Englishman in New York…

[the Dark Master looks at Honesty with a ferocious face and lifts him, leaving him suspended in the air hanging from the Dark Master’s hand over his throat. Honesty shakes his whole body trying to break free, but the Dark Master has him well hold and starts pressing his hand around Honesty’s neck, making it difficult for him to breath]

THOMAS: Stop it! Let him go! Stop it!

DARK MASTER: Surrender yourself then, Light Master, or all of your friends will perish, one by one!

THOMAS: Okay, okay! You win, Dark Master! I’ll do whatever you want, but please don’t hurt my friends! I beg you!

[The Dark Master puts Honesty back down, but doesn’t let him go]

DARK MASTER: Then surrender your powers to me. Now!

THOMAS: I don’t know how to do that.

DARK MASTER: Just approach to me, Light Master… and I’ll do the rest…

[Thomas starts walking slowly towards the Dark Master, who grins with a devious smile. Ira then shows a face of horror, and suddenly changes it for a determined face of anger]

IRA: No! I won’t let that happen! Never!

[Ira roars with a bear roar and runs to the Dark Master. The Dark Master rises his hand towards Ira and a black glow appears on his finger]

THOMAS: No! Don’t do that! Nooo!

[a black ray comes from his hand and impacts on Ira’s chest. Ira shows a face of pain, then falls down to the floor]

HONESTY: Ira! Nooo!

DARK MASTER: I told you, Ira. You wished for never being at my service again, and now your wish has been granted! Don’t say I’m not merciful! [smiles with a malevolent grin]

[Logan and Roman run towards Ira]

LOGAN: He’s still breathing, Thomas, but with difficulty!

[Honesty shows a face of anger, makes a quick movement and grabs the Dark Master with both hands. Then Honesty’s body starts glowing white]

DARK MASTER: [in shock] Wait, what? What are you doing?

HONESTY: If I have to fall down… I’ll take you down with me!

THOMAS: Honesty! What are you doing!?

HONESTY: What has to be done, Thomas! Step back!

[Thomas steps back. Then the glow around Honesty’s body gets so intense that everyone gets blinded. Then there’s a sound of an explosion, but no one can see what’s happened. After a few moments, the light disappears. There’s now only the Dark Master and no sight of Honesty]

THOMAS: What has happened!?

DARK MASTER: That fool! Did he really think that by blowing himself up, he could destroy me? He just saved me some time, as now I don’t have to destroy him myself, that’s all!

VIRGIL: That can’t be! First Ira, now Honesty…

PATTON: This can’t be happening! This has to be a nightmare!

DARK MASTER: Let’s see… who wants to be next…? I know. Virgil also has pending accounts with me… It’s only appropriate that he comes next!

ROMAN: [rising his samurai sword and putting himself between Virgil and the Dark Master] Over my dead body, you murderer!

DARK MASTER: Oh, so you volunteer instead as tribute? Okay, I’m not picky…

[he rises his hand pointing at Roman. A black glow starts appearing on his finger]

THOMAS: [in despair] No, please, don’t!

[suddenly the black glow disappears. The Dark Master’s whole body starts shaking as if he was suddenly struggling for some reason]

DARK MASTER: What… what is… happening…?

[suddenly his eyes turn back from red to human and snake, as usual in Deceit, and Honesty’s voice is heard from him]

HONESTY: Hurry, Thomas, hurry!

THOMAS: Honesty? Is that you? You’re alive?

HONESTY: Quickly! Take the jacket off now! The Dark Master could dominate Deceit… but he can’t dominate two Sides in the same body at the same time! Hurry up before it’s too late!

DARK MASTER: What!? No! Don’t you dare!

[Thomas rushes to the Dark Master and takes the jacket off. The jacket starts levitating off Thomas’ hands and changes its form into a translucent version of the Dark Master’s real body, that is, a doppelganger of Thomas with red eyes. At that moment, Deceit recovers control of his body]

DECEIT: [struggling to breath] Oh, my goodness… I’m free at last!

DARK MASTER: [horrified] You won’t get away with this!

[Thomas and the Sides regroup in front of the Dark Master]

THOMAS: We need to do the rainbow attack again… but we can’t without Ira…

IRA: [getting up with some effort] I can do this!

LOGAN: Are you sure? You shouldn’t rise up!

IRA: I tell you I can do this! Let’s go!

[The Sides and Thomas get in position. Thomas concentrates and white light appears around his hands, then the Sides hold his back and a ball of light of the seven colors of the rainbow forms in Thomas’ hands]

DARK MASTER: [horrified] Not again! Not again!

[Thomas shoots a rainbow ray at the Dark Master, who this time is not strong enough to stop it, and the ray hits him]

VIRGIL: Go back to the hell you ran away from, Dark Master!

DARK MASTER: I’ll be back again! You’ll see! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!

[there’s an explosion of the colors of the rainbow. After it fades away, the Dark Master is gone]

IRA: We did it… We did it!

THOMAS: Yes, we did it! The Dark Master is gone again! I hope this time it’s for good!

IRA: [smiles] We really did it…

[Ira suddenly falls down to the ground]

THOMAS: [scared] Ira!

[all the Sides gather around Ira]

LOGAN: Please, guys, step back, let him breath!

[they all step back except Deceit who kneels next to him]

IRA: [weak voice, with loud breathing between each pause] Deceit… are you okay?

DECEIT: Yes… Yes, I’m okay, thanks to you.

IRA: And Honesty?

HONESTY: [speaking through Deceit’s body] I’m also okay and well, Ira.

IRA: I’m glad… I’m sorry that you had to give up your body… Now you’re trapped together again…

HONESTY: It’s okay, Ira. This is how we were born, and maybe this is how we’re meant to be. It’s a good company after all and to be honest I missed being together with Deceit…

IRA: But the corruption…

DECEIT: That’s okay… When Honesty did that glowing thing… there was a reaction that turned all the Dark Energy in my body into Light Energy. Now we’re both Light Sides and we can coexist together permanently.

IRA: I’m happy for you… So, when I’m gone… the Dark Sides will be gone forever… Maybe it’s better this way… No more Light Sides or Dark Sides… only Sides, and that’s enough…

DECEIT: Don’t say that! You’re not going to die! You’ll get better!

IRA: [weak smile] Liar, liar, pants on fire… It’s like in that musical movie… in the West Side Story movie… remember? Tony and Maria sang that they would find a way for them to be together… Virgil found his place with Roman… you found your place with Honesty… I wish there was a place for me too… but Tony and Maria couldn’t find it… and now neither can I… [starts weakly singing to the tune of the West Side Story song, as if he was suddenly delirious] there’s a place… for us… somewhere, a place for us… hold my hand and we’re halfway there… hold my hand and I’ll take you there… Somehow… Someday… Some…

[he doesn’t finish, as his body goes still, as if he had suddenly fallen asleep… but he hasn’t. Patton starts crying and hugs Logan, who tries to comfort him, also with tears running down his cheeks. Virgil’s cheeks also get full of black tears from his makeup, and Roman hugs him, trying to contain crying. Thomas and Joan look at the scene too stunned to react. Deceit doesn’t say a word. He just closes Ira’s eyes and puts his hands together. Just as he does so, a green mist comes out of Ira’s body as it becomes translucent, and then disappears. The green mist then flies away until it gets lost in the distance]

THOMAS: What happened? Where did he go?

DECEIT: He’s turned into part of the Mind Palace’s energy…

THOMAS: What does that mean?

DECEIT: You still need anger in your life, Thomas. Ira is gone, but with his remnants, the Mind Palace is going to create a new Side to assume that aspect of you.

THOMAS: So Ira will be back?

DECEIT: No… Ira is gone forever. It will be a new different Side, with his own different personality. Who he is and when he will appear, we don’t know. It may be in a few days, a few months, even a few years… who knows, but it won’t be Ira. And it’s all my fault…

THOMAS: It’s the Dark Master’s fault, not yours.

DECEIT: This is my punishment for wishing things that I’m not allowed to have.

HONESTY: In any case, Deceit, it would be my fault. I was the one who gave you that bloody jacket. I also faced my punishment with the loss of my own body.

DECEIT: I’m sorry…

VIRGIL: It’s not your fault, guys. Honesty, you didn’t know what was going to happen. And Deceit… I don’t love you the way you love me… but everybody has the right to love, and it’s not your fault that you love me. You don’t choose who you love. Love just touches whomever it wants whenever it pleases him. And I don’t take being loved as an offense at all, as long as you don’t want to convince me to love you in return, which you never did in the first place, so we’re fine.

ROMAN: He speaks for both of us, Deceit.

DECEIT: I’m so sorry, you guys… If only there was a way to fix everything that has happened because of me… [his voice breaks] …but there isn’t.

[Deceit starts crying and the rest of the Sides soon follow up. Thomas looks at the camera with tears in his eyes]

THOMAS: [with a sad voice] I think it’s better to end the video right here for now, if you excuse us… Until next time, take it easy guys, gals and non binary pals. Peace out…

[there’s no end card, only a black and white tinted in green still image of Ira around the previous videos, the subscribe button and the featured fander images, then black screen and silence]

#sanders sides #fanfic #sanders sides fic #ts fanfic #thomas sanders #thomas sanders fanfic #prinxiety #romantic prinxiety #anxceit #sympathetic deceit #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #deceit sanders #aspects and fanfics

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