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Divided (Christmas Special 11/12/23)
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Comments
There is so much to love here. Hard to decide which parts to comment on.
Of course, as usual, your screenshots are stunning. This chapter is a visual feast.
Speaking of feasting....
I actually enjoyed seeing Oskar be a bit less restrained. I think he needed that drink. That guy was awful. I can see why he's buddies with Annorin. I also loved the snooping around in Annorin's personal stuff part. I had kind of forgotten that Kat's ship got stolen, but now, heh heh, the plot thickens. I wonder why Annorin would take it, though. Just to sell it? Or use it? To find something he thought was on board it? Because keeping Kat there on purpose seems like it would be an odd motive for him.
Owen is interesting. I'm curious to see if anything comes of that conversation that he and Eli had.
Very worried about Oskar now. Drinking the poisoned tea right in front of Annorin has tipped him off that Oskar isn't human. Though thinking he's fae is a cool twist.
All in all, I think this is actually one of my favorite chapters so far.
So Annorin didn't know it was Kat's boat since I think she was staying in the inn when she had it 'parked' there, but Annorin probably noticed some of the crystals and such lying around on it and decided to just take the whole boat and use all of those crystals and other alchemical / magical components for his own potions to sell. He didn't care who it belonged to, he just saw an opportunity to save a Simoleon (and probably help thwart any potential competition in the process.)
Oh indeed, Annorin's suspicions have been sealed in that moment. The other thing about him thinking Oskar is either a fae or a changeling is that similar was thought about neurodivergent folk IRL historically speaking. Annorin touches a bit on that next chapter in a horrible way.
Wow. That was intense. Oskar with the brakes turned off is a pretty scary guy. I LOVE the images in this chapter. Your use of color and lighting conveys the emotions better than words ever could.
I just noticed at the end that Oskar has horns in his true vampire form. I was going to check if he had those at other times he shows himself like that, but can't remember which chapters his vampire form appears in, and poking around randomly didn't land me on the right ones.
It was kind of surprising how quickly Annorin's guests turned on him/ridiculed him/abandoned him. Sort of suggests he doesn't have any real friends at all, not even in his own social circle.
Owen's contribution to the situation is intriguing. I can't tell what his motive is at this point. But as a character (not necessarily as a person) I am inclined to like him. Very curious to see if he becomes a bigger part of the story or not.
This story is awesome. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. You are talented at writing this kind of drama.
One behind the scenes question: Do you happen to remember where you got the various masks that guests are wearing in these last few chapters for the ball? I've been looking for some like that. I especially love Kat's mask with the rose, and the winged mask that the guy in the red tunic is wearing in this chapter.
I stayed up until 5 am last night to finish off this chapter
I'm not sure what will come of Owen to be honest. I always planned for Eli to have a brother who was the apple of his father's eye, and who doesn't seem like he cares about Eli but he does. I will be really honest, everyone turning on Annorin so quickly was a bit unrealistic but some arcs just need to be resolved and I figured I'd go along with it. Though the other elites just think he's embarassing as opposed to terrible, and they're just glad it's him who's getting flamed over the terrible things he's done and not them. I'm so glad you like the story and I really appreciate all of your comments and insight < 3
Sure I'll send a PM with the masks!
Yup! That's very much the impression I got too. Which I feel actually does explain why they turn on him. It's a kind of cover-up for themselves to scapegoat someone else. But that's what I meant that he doesn't have any real friends. There's no loyalty whatsoever happening here. It didn't feel forced at all story-wise. It felt very true to life, actually.
I also remain of the idea of seeing so much violence against a hateable character like Annorin is very cathartic, now I mostly wonder about which could be the consequences of letting all those witnesses alive...
I'm generally surprised by what happens in these newer chapters, which is fun.
Eli, Owen, and Samuel -- I'm intrigued by their family dynamics. I honestly did not expect Owen to care about their father hitting Eli because Eli is extremely rude, and … his father supports them. I thought most people would think Eli deserves it, but that seems not to be the case. I was even more surprised by Owen's behavior later - he admits that his father wrote the letter, etc! Maybe I'm wrong, but I still don't trust Owen. He seems overly nice?!? He mentions that the gryphon is tenacious and ruthless, so I imagine that he's ruthlessly getting rid of family competition, no matter who.
Oskar is going off the rails a bit? He looks cool with wings (reminds me of Sephiroth tbh - but I'm only familiar with that character's name and looks (not lore) so sorry if the comparison is off), but … he's giving off villain vibes with that speech. I think he should have consulted Eli before torturing his father. I also think that he has too literal an interpretation of what Kat meant by not killing people--I don't think she means that everything as long as it's not killing is fair play. Then again, maybe the creepy red lighting, the shadows, and the dark atmosphere are making him look worse than he is. Also, I realized that I was just casually brushing over how Annorin steals Kat's boat and also tries to kill her so maybe Oskar is more justified in his behavior than I originally thought…
I expect Annorin to try to strike back later if he recovers. I'm excited to see what happens.
The family dynamics are pretty screwed up. Annorin always favoured Owen over Eli, and even then he still got slapped about in his youth. Yeah, it's hard to judge exactly where Owen will go from here. He's incredibly let down by his father's actions, but moreso because he considers him an embarassment than anything else, though he is genuinely angry at him for attacking Eli. Owen's more about beating the legitimate competition, as opposed to going for the comparitive 'small fry' like Kat's cunningwoman stuff.
Oh yeah, Oskar's defo gone off the rails a bit here. It's a stark reminder that, although we've seen the nice, mostly reformed Oskar for the most part, he's still a vampire at heart. That was exactly what Kat meant, but in part due to Oskar's neurodivergence, he took it literally as 'I don't care what you do so long as you don't kill anyone', so there's been some miscommunication. I think it's the lighting that helps enhance the villain vibe, you're right there. Yeah, Annorin's done enough to Kat. It's a wonder how she's still sticking to her mostly-pacifist ideas at this point.
Ah. Just mocking and making a laughing stock of him. That might be enough for Kat, but I doubt Oskar is going to leave it there. Oh dear. Yup, he’s going after them. Gah, those images edited all dark and red are haunting.
Ah yes, tell the guy that’s turning into a living nightmare that he should have been killed or put in an asylum. Real good survival tactics right there. Oooh, the wings and horns were a surprise. I don’t fault him for thinking of a Fae, but my first thought there was angel of death. I have to agree with Haneul here - Oskar is giving off real bad vibes there, even though he's justified in his reasoning. I guess it's the old revenge vs becoming the evil you hate thing. Oskar isn't snakelike like Annorin but in that moment, tormenting three people just because he can, they both look like monsters. I wonder if Kat will have the same thoughts if she finds out?
Now… how big is the chance that Annoying was actually scared straight, and won’t try to do the same thing to Oskar that he did to Katlego? Hmm…
Even when he's seconds away from potential death Annorin still thinks he's untouchable. Angel of death is a good idea actually, Annorin probably could've come to that conclusion as well. Yeah this is it really, you only end up with a dark form like that by indulging in bloodlust, and that's never a good thing... He could've stopped once he'd gotten his point across, but proceeded to toy with them anyway like a cat toying with their half killed prey that they're not even going to eat. I think Oskar has the complete wrong end of the stick thinking Kat left because she didn't care what become of Annorin after finding out what he'd done, and that he was the reason she was stuck there.
Indeed, indeed...It'll take time for Annorin to somehow recover from this. Maybe he never will. And if he does, well, who knows what tricks he's got up his sleeve...
This is the last chapter of Act Two. I already have the Timeskip 'makeovers' done so they'll be posted at some point.
I will also be writing up the Divided Act 1 and Act 2 recap. HOWEVER, this will be designed as a memory aid, and not as a replacement for actually reading the chapters. Way too much going on for me to include every single thing! Then again who knows cuz we all know how bad I am with brevity.
Kat instead keeps having the opposite approach than him instead, talking to Owen and still arguing with Oskar for having injured Annorin. Her point of view is quite understandable on an idealistic level, but Oskar's more practical way of solving problems with brute force seemed quite effective (at least for now).
And then there is Eli, he really had a hard time in this chapter. Thinking about biological vs acquired families, and about what violence can solve and what not, it's not easy at all (in particular at that age...)
At least the end was sort on a lighter tone with Oskar's birthday, Aine and Reynold were quite cute this time! And Eli's present was impressive, he really has a talent for the job!
As for the recap posts in preparation instead, I fully understand it can take a lot of time to summarise so much in so few words! Whatever you decide to include I'm sure it will be useful for us anyway, I'm actually curious to see what you plan to include.
And I'm even more curious to see what happens after the new time skip in part 3, so much suspense!
Before I even start writing Act 3 though...Recap...Must do the recap.
I enjoy Oskar's range of outfits.
You're not wrong about your girls, but let's not shortchange Eli eh? He's clearly left the awkward stage.
The character screenshots are awesome! I bet Róisín looks cute.
@Lucy_Henley No rush it’ll always be there until the end of time…I’ll probs still be writing that recap by then XD
The ending of Act Two is really good. I liked how you showed different characters' reactions to what Oskar did. Not everyone feels the same way about it. Makes for interesting tension among the main character set. Looking forward to the next Act, especially since you mentioned more focus on the witch hunters.
Everyone's new looks are great! Thanks for sharing those.
However long it takes you to get the next part ready... I'm here for it.