#just let Olaf live

[onlyancunin]

One of the runs I currently do is reloaded save of my fav durge V (Violet, but she hates that name), where she ascended Astarion.

I think it unlocked something in me, I spent like 4 h yesterday just straight out murdering people in Baldurs Gate. Elfsong Tavern looks like a borscht, comparable only to the intestined interiors of the Moonrise Towers or decadently decaying decor of the Bhaal Temple.

And of course this knucklehead showed up which reminded me to grab the chef's grab on my way out (also Minthara lmao):

Screw the plot, this is my plot now. I thought Ascended Astarion was bad but somehow I think I'm even worse.

Baldur's Gate prepare because I'm really having a taste for beetroots.

P.S. Yes AA told V she needs to "look presentable now" and coerced her to put on a dress, fix her makeup and wear her hair down. He likes it better that way and it conceals the "ugly scar on her face". Funny how it never bothered him before.

[alexanderwales]

The Index

This is an index of things I've written and posted online, with minimal descriptions because most of them have blurbs if you click the link. This list is not exhaustive, especially because there are a bunch of short stories and dribbles in various places. If something you liked is missing, let me know.

Web Serials

Worth the Candle - Juniper Smith is a teenaged Dungeon Master who ends up in a world filled with all the things he dreamt up for his campaigns, along with signs of his friend who died months earlier. This Used to be About Dungeons - Five teenagers live in a house together, bake bread, tend the garden, and occasionally fight monsters in dungeons. Thresholder - Thresholders travel from world to world, fantasy one minute and scifi the next, always encountering an opponent, growing stronger as they battle. Shadows of the Limelight - Fame gives you superpowers, and Dominic just saved the world's greatest hero from defeat in full view of a large audience. Glimwarden (unfinished) - A small town huddles around lanterns that keep the darklings at bay. Four teenagers must grow in power as the darkness encroaches. The Dark Wizard of Donkerk (unedited) - Two men steal a baby from an orphanage, then find out he's too cute to sacrifice and raise him as their own.

Fanfic

The Metropolitan Man (Superman) - Lex Luthor attempts to unravel the secrets of the alien. A Common Sense Guide to Doing the Most Good (Superman) - Superman gets really into effective altruism. Instruments of Destruction (Star Wars) - A fable of project management aboard the second Death Star, through the eyes of Admiral Tian Jerjerrod. Branches on the Tree of Time (Terminator) - Sarah Connor is working as a software engineer at UCLA when a naked man shows up on her doorstep. A Bluer Shade of White (Frozen) - Elsa can make life, and Olaf is smarter than he looks.

Shorts

Eager Readers in Your Area - Artificial intelligence has left authors scrambling for readers. Charlotte clicks on an ad. Variations - An orc visits an art exhibition where she feels out of place. Contratto - Julia takes a job as a marketer, working for the vampires to keep their secrets safe. The Randi Prize - James Randi offers a prize for anyone who can demonstrate supernatural abilities. Coming Home - After a long time isekaied to a fantasy kingdom, an errant father has coffee with his estranged son.

I also post short stuff to this very tumblr, which can usually be found under the #microfiction tag unless I forget. Usually this is mirrored on AO3, unless I'm lazy.

Web Comics

Millennial Scarlet - Lamont Pearce is a gig economy demon hunter whose mother ran a government agency meant to defend against Hell. Worth the Candle - A webcomic adaptation of the web serial

Non-Fiction

The AI Art Apocalypse - Slightly outdated thoughts from 2022. Why to Write a Sex Scene - Observations on the narrative purpose of carnal pursuits. Game Review: Underhill - This review contains no screenshots, because this game does not exist. Writing: An FAQ - Accumulated wisdom from 4 million words and counting. Creating Interesting Magic - A much-requested post on making interesting magic systems (and characters, and plots, and worlds). How to Write a Web Serial - It's both easier and harder than you think. The Trouble with Writing Nazis - On giving villains too much credit. Interesting Things to do with Time Loops - Exploring the boundaries of the conceit.

[fandomnerd9602]

Being Married to the Snow Queen

Elsa x Knight!Reader Headcanons

You were her protector but also the one who stole the Snow Queen’s heart

Anna was cheering for the two of you, she called you her OTP. Whatever that means

You and Elsa were ‘courting’ in private. You stole kisses whenever it was just you and her. She read her favorite books of poetry to you and vice versa.

The Snow Queen just loves being held by her knight. Made her feel loved and safe.

Elsa was the one who asked you to marry her. Technically it was forbidden for you to ask for her hand, she was the queen after all.

You and Elsa wanted a simple wedding. Nothing too fancy or extravagant.

Maybe you shouldn’t have let Anna or the Trolls be the planners.

The wedding ended up being the most extravagant ceremony the Trolls ever put on. You’d hate to see what they’d do for Anna and Kristoff.

Olaf was the ring bearer and Sven was best reindeer. Anna was her sister’s maid of honor. Grandpabby Troll was the Justice of the Peace.

You and Elsa were just happy to finally call one another’s.

She still calls you her knight and you call her your Queen.

You’ll steal any and all time you can with one another.

Elsa will pull you off somewhere and shove you into a closet if she has to just to make out with you.

Kisses? Elsa is a huge fan of any kiss to her face. She giggles when you kiss her eyes. She shutters when you kiss her jaw. And she practically melts when your lips capture hers.

Hugs? Elsa loves hugs from behind. Add in a little dancing sway to the mix and she just melts.

After a long and stressful day, Elsa just loves lying under the covers with you holding her close.

Big spoon or little spoon? Depends.

Elsa’s mischievous side has emerged and you couldn’t be happier. Being with you allows her to be more playful.

She’ll sometimes put an ice wall over your bedroom doors so you and her won’t be disturbed.

Elsa just loves the fact that she can grow old with you and knows that you’ll show your kids just as much love as you show to her daily.

Speaking of kids, the council has been inquiring about potential heirs lately. Elsa politely yet directly tells them to mind their own business.

Truth is you and Elsa have been having those same talks. She’d love to have a little boy or a little girl. Maybe one of each.

Olaf has called dibs on being godsnowman.

Your marriage to Elsa is one full of love, light, and a few laughs. Definitely the woman you can’t live without.

[archerygun]

Dr. Monty Montgomery from the Netflix tv show is straight up one of the best examples of Doomed By The Narrative I’ve ever seen and I need to ramble about it for a bit because therapy will not cover the emotional damage The Reptile Room: Part One did me as a child.

For one, this version of Monty is arguably the most competent even if he is still flawed. His biggest mistake comes from the misunderstanding about Count Olaf’s identity, and rather than that be a result of him not listening to the children, it seems to be more of a general misunderstanding? He knows ‘Stephano’ is bad news. The kids think he’s figured out who ‘Stephano’ is and has it under control. He hasn’t. Oh dear.

You’re told from the start that Monty is going to die. He’s screwed. So watching the episode, you begin to almost get the feeling that he knows that too. Like he knows he’s only got that episode’s runtime but maybe, just maybe, it will be enough.

He clings to life so furiously, the narrative has doomed him but he is kicking and fighting the whole way. He jumps out of the back of the van where he was supposed to die almost like he’s saying “I can do it. I won’t let you take me. I won’t die today. Just give me today, please.”

He jumped all the hurdles and then fell before the finish line. He pulled all the right strings, he outwitted the twins, he had the right people on his side.

He was almost perfect. And that ‘almost’ was what killed him.

It feels like he’s looking up at the writer and begging “Not tonight. Let me have tonight. I can do everything I need to do. Just give me tonight.”

Monty Montgomery is locked in a battle of wits not just with Olaf and his goons but with the story itself. His tenacity is what MAKES the tragedy, many good people die in this series but Monty Montgomery just HITS you. The optimistic lull ends with his death, so it has to be one of the most emotionally impactful. But GOD.

The almost time-loop vibes of Lemony Snicket mentioning how the Baudelaires replay that day again and again in their minds even in their later lives thinking about all the ways they could have saved him - and all the ways they couldn’t. Like it’s just a fact that in every timeline, Monty Montgomery dies that day. There was nothing he could do. And still he did everything.

The Reptile Room: Part One gives me too many feelings. I left the room five minutes from the end when my sister and cousin were rewatching it because his death just DOES that shit to you.

Thank you for your time I am in agony. Have a nice day.

[10thmusemoon]

People arguing about the morality of Shen Jiu’s actions will never not be funny because Airplane literally scrapped all his dimensionality and made him be cartoonishly sinister in order to advance Luo Binghe’s narrative. MXTX gives us the QiJiu extras to show that he wasn’t as one dimensional as readers (SY and us) were made to believe when out of the control of the author. Shen Yuan’s own experience trapped in the character lock shows how limiting that was.

Shen Qingqiu is written to be Luo Binghe’s Count Olaf, his Miss Hannigan, his Miss Trunchbull, his Tywin Lannister.

It’s very Jessica Rabbit, “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way”

Not only that, but he’s also the first of MXTX’s characters to fall to misinterpretation.

All of MDZS centers on the unreliability of misrepresentation, about how easily swayed people can be and how easily poisonous words ruins lives and shapes what is perceived as truth.

She pulls the same trick with SJ as she does with JC, letting the readers build them up as villains through out the story (sprinkling in moments where that doesn’t quiet fit) and then revealing something at the end that should question that assumption. That’s literally Mu Qing’s whole thing. Everyone, even Xie Lian (our unreliable narrator), perceives him as scornful and vindictive, selfish and harsh. His actions are constantly misunderstood over and over again simply because he does not come in palpable packaging. In a way, original flavored SQQ is the meta prototype for these characters, and Shen Yuan is the deconstruction of that archetype.

SVSSS is meta of a narrative genre with common and cliche tropes, we’re beat over the head constantly about this, and somehow people still forget the SQQ only exists within the narrative (PIDW) inside the narrative (SVSSS). He’s the looney toon playing in the back of a drama, used for foreshadowing and a narrative foil. The villain coded in black so you know who to point a finger at and who to root for.

I just think that’s neat.

[astheworldgoesonitswickedway]

Get ready for yet another analysis of Count Olaf's behavior. Every time I make one of these I feel like I have to explain that I'm not justifying his actions but there's just so much complexity to him. Especially for someone who hides behind so much shenanigans. And honestly, the man is a psychopath, right, and he's one of the most chaotic fictional characters i can think of. The reason he is so interesting is because a character so chaotic and careless of his own well-being, doesn't usually last long enough to allow us a deep analysis of their unhinged behavior. Speaking of, let's talk about the way Olaf repeatedly tries to murder the Baudelaire children in drastically horrific ways such as decapitation, only to occasionally try to preserve their lives and keep them. Ok so, we know he needed at least one for the fortune, but that excuse doesn't explain all his behavior. Especially considering how rich Esme was, he didn't even need the fortune. There's definitely an element of being obsessed with the chase, he thrives on it sure. But how about his attempts at making them his henchpeople? I offer two reasons for this contradiction and he's so messed up, maybe both apply. I propose that 1. He believes corrupting them and making them his slaves is the best way to get revenge on their parents/corrupting them would make it easier to convince himself that becoming a monster wasn't really his fault. And 2. in a manner of speaking, he becomes attached. As far as corrupting them goes, he accepted their "help" without hesitation in the Penultimate Peril because it made sense to him they would be as disillusioned as he was and want to lash out. He thinks they HAVE been corrupted, and he's pleased. Yet, just before this, in the books, the children use their skills for him for once, and he is openly impressed by the things he previously mocked them for. I think he was secretly impressed the whole time, always wondering how they pulled off these unlikely escapes. They lost their parents, just like he did and he knows what that feels like. Its not confirmed whether it was by Olaf's hands but i hold to the idea that he was at least involved. Maybe a small part of him feels responsible for making them feel the way he felt. They've experienced horrible things, definitely by his hands, but they stuck to their principles. Sure this is part of why he hates them, it frightens him. If he recognizes they are right, its the same as recognizing he is wrong. It means in a way, they are stronger than him and he desperately wants to prove they are wrong and he is stronger. But I think a tiny piece of him can't help but admire them too. Later, in The End, he accepts them as his henchpeople strangely quick, and constantly repeats that offer despite their disinterest. Yes, he no longer has any henchpeople, but the Baudelaires have never been conformable to his wishes, it doesn't make sense to try so hard to keep them just because he needs new "employees." The harpoon incident is a good example of his attachment to them. Its slightly different between the book and show because the book indicates Olaf would have forced himself to go through with it and in the show he stands down. When finally given the opportunity to kill them easily and all at once, he struggles and cannot do it. Proving that at some point, he changes his viewpoint and doesn't REALLY want to kill them. He was relieved when they turned out to be alive in the Slippery Slope, even if he tried to play it off as being about the fortune. Which I know, its about THAT fortune, on "principle" but still. By the end of the show, he has changed his priorities from killing the children to keeping them. Don't get me wrong, he would have been horrible to them. But I think his plan was to do to them what his mentors did to him. As a side note, I love that as Olaf begins to associate himself with them, it works vice versa. They wonder if they ARE becoming as bad as him. Which is kinda sad to read/watch, because, of course they aren't. Don't you just want to reassure them?

[multifandomfix]

Bed Bug — Esmé Squalor

Summary: When Esmé, Olaf and his troupe have to hunker down for the night, space is tight, so you and Esmé will have to share a bed.

Word Count: 1,297

Warnings: None

You’re used to the discomfort of living on the run, sharing cramped spaces, squeezing into narrow hideaways, and enduring Olaf’s ridiculous schemes. But tonight, the situation tests your patience like never before.

You’ve always considered your attraction to Esmé Squalor one of the crueler jokes the universe has played on you. Despite all her flaws —her vanity, her arrogance, her obsession with “in” trends— you can’t help but feel a flutter in your chest whenever she’s near. It’s ridiculous, really. You should be above falling for someone like her, but there’s something magnetic about the way she carries herself. So, when it becomes clear that you and Esmé will have to share a bed tonight, you’re torn between dread and the thrill of being close to her.

It’s late, and the troupe has settled into a decrepit, abandoned building that seems ready to collapse at any moment. The smell of damp wood and rot fills your nostrils as you follow Olaf into what passes as a bedroom. The room’s sole window is shattered, letting in an icy draft, and the single bed looks as if it’s made from the flattest mattress ever manufactured. Space is so tight that you barely have room to turn around without bumping into a wall, or one of the others.

Esmé, for all her arrogance, stares at the bed with thinly veiled disgust. “This is unacceptable,” she huffs, crossing her arms. The dramatic pout she gives could almost be comical if it weren’t for the fact that you’re facing the very real possibility of having to share that miserable bed with her.

Olaf, of course, couldn’t care less. “Figure it out, Esmé,” he snaps. “We don’t have all night, and I need my beauty sleep.” With that, he throws himself onto the floor, snoring almost instantly. The rest of the troupe scatters into their corners like cockroaches, leaving you and Esmé standing in tense silence.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” she snaps as she pulls back the ratty covers. “You keep to your side. Got it?”

“Got it,” you reply, though a part of you already knows that keeping to yourself might not be so easy. You’ve always been a bit clingy in your sleep, something you’re not necessarily proud of, and the idea of accidentally cuddling up to Esmé fills you with preemptive embarrassment.

You both settle into the lumpy mattress, the bed creaking in protest under your combined weight. Esmé fusses with the blanket, grumbling about the thread count, while you lie stiffly, trying to will your body into staying still. You focus on the drafty air, the cracked ceiling, anything to distract yourself from the fact that Esmé Squalor is just inches away.

Eventually, she huffs, turning away from you with an exaggerated toss of her hair, some of the ends hitting you in the face. “I can’t believe I’m stuck in this dump,” she mutters. “It’s going to ruin my skin.”

You almost chuckle at the absurdity of it all, her vanity, her dramatics, even the situation you’ve found yourselves in. Here you are, wrapped up in criminal schemes, hiding in dilapidated buildings, all while sharing a bed with someone whose biggest concern is whether her skincare routine will be compromised.

But as the minutes tick by, the exhaustion of the day starts to take over. You begin to relax, your eyelids growing heavy. You can hear Esmé’s breathing slow and even out as she finally drifts off. Soon, despite your best intentions, sleep takes hold of you as well.

It’s not long before you start to shift in your sleep, instinctively seeking warmth. You roll closer to Esmé, your body curling into hers. One of your arms drapes over her waist, and you unconsciously nuzzle against the back of her shoulder. If you were awake, you’d die of embarrassment, but in your sleep, all you feel is comfort and contentment.

You’re jolted awake when Esmé’s voice cuts through the haze of sleep. “I had one rule,” she muttered, the haze of just having awoken putting a damper on the bite of her remark.

You blink groggily, realizing you’re practically wrapped around her. Your face flushes with mortification as you immediately pull back. “I—uh—sorry,” you stammer, sitting up and scooting away as fast as you can manage on the narrow bed.

Esmé’s expression is hard to read in the dim light, but there’s a hint of something softer than anything else you’d seen from her. She huffs and rolls her eyes, but it lacks her usual venom. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to make a scene,” she says, though you swear there’s almost a trace of warmth in her tone. “Just stay on your side from now on.”

You nod quickly, wishing you could disappear into the thin mattress. “I didn’t mean to…I just—”

“Don’t care,” she interrupts, waving a hand dismissively. But as she turns her back to you again, you catch a glimpse of her expression, and for a fleeting moment, she looks almost fond, as if your clinginess doesn’t completely repulse her. “Just don’t make a habit of it.”

You nod again, even though she can’t see you. “I won’t.”

Silence falls between you, broken only by the faint snores and shuffling of the others. You expect her to pull away even more, maybe grumble about her ruined sleep or make some other cutting blow to add to your embarrassment. Instead, she remains where she is, her body still close enough that you can feel her warmth, even if she’s turned away.

For a while, neither of you move. You lie there, heart pounding, still not quite believing that she didn’t completely lose it. There’s something oddly intimate about this moment, something fragile, like if you breathe too loud, it’ll shatter.

“Goodnight,” she mumbles eventually, barely audible. It’s as if she could tell your eyes had been fixed on her.

“Goodnight,” you whisper back, a little stunned that she’s even acknowledging you.

You stay awake a while longer, still staring at the back of her head, listening to the quiet. There’s something almost peaceful about this, about being so close to her and feeling a strange sense of acceptance. Maybe she’s not as icy as she pretends to be. Or maybe, for just this one night, she’s letting her guard down a fraction.

But the moment doesn’t last. The sound of Olaf stirring and grumbling in his sleep snaps you both back to reality. Esmé immediately stiffens and scoots farther to the edge of the bed, as if she too were embarrassed by the closeness that just occurred.

When she turns to glare at you again as some kind of final warning, her face is back to its usual haughtiness. “Remember what I said,” she reiterates.

“Right,” you say, trying to act nonchalant even as your heart still races. “Hands off.”

With that, she once again tosses her hair over her shoulder and lies back down, turning away from you as if nothing happened. But you can’t help but feel that something did, something small perhaps, but not insignificant.

When morning finally breaks and the rest of the troupe stirs awake, it brings forward the usual chaos of another day on the run. The moment between you and Esmé fades into the background, replaced by the more familiar routine of hiding and scheming.

But even as you prepare to face another day of Olaf’s madness, you can’t quite shake the memory of Esmé’s rare moment of softness, brief as it was. Maybe it was just a fluke, or maybe it’s something more, though you had your doubt that it would be something you ever really get to explore. Either way, the reluctant crush you carry feels just a little more complicated now.

For @cerseis-fav-maiden

Forever Tag: @baubeautyandthegeek, @ghostsunderstoodmysoul, @immyowndefender, @valencethefriendlychangeling, @crimsonwidow666, @rebelbossheart, @thedailyspiritualist, @orangeisnttheonlyfruit, @woman-simp, @aperol-with-izzy, @leonoralessoem, @ellepossum69, @lakita-fisher, @trexsuit, @analuw, @luvlesavyy, @malfoyfeed, @aliciabrower, @sparrowspixie, @imaginationismyworldlypleasure, @og-kxsh-420

Esmé Squalor: @volunteerfelinedetectives, @isimpforweirdpeople, @rebeccaswamp, @estelle-leto

[svttingz]

forehead kisses and kisses kisses

request from @bubbly0bookworm​ !!

pairing: Klaus Baudelaire x F!reader

summary: after escaping count Olaf’s with the Baudelaire's, you guys find yourselves at the home of Dr. Montgomery, when a series of unfortunate events follow you.

warning: described nightmares ( not really described but yk) and just pure fluff !!

A/n : i imagine this to be like a prequel to ‘Thunderstorms and books” so i might write a prequel to this one too that way it makes more sense! and imma be honest this is my first request and when i tell you i am so excited its crazy, i was in the middle of school work and i was like AHHHHHHHH, im not really a romantic person but we will see how this goes ! im sorry if this is bad i had no ideas whatsoever lol

-

-

“its a brand new episode in your lives, children,” Mr. Poe says with a bright smile on his face, “in a few minutes you will be meeting your new guardian Dr. Montgomery. hes your closest living relative, and apparently should have been your guardian all along, according to your deceased parents’ will.” he says as he continues to drive

“Now Y/N, i have no clue where your parents wanted you but im just gonna send you with the Baudelaire children, if that’s what you want.” he says turning his head a bit to look at you.

“fine with me.” you say shrugging your shoulders. You were sitting in the middle of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny so your shoulders rubbed against them a little, it was a little crowded in the back seat so you wasn't sure if you felt anxious about being so close to Klaus or anxious about meeting Dr. Montgomery. 

as Mr. Poe continued to talk, you turn to look at Klaus, “what if Dr. Montgomery don’t like me?” you ask fidgeting with your fingers a little, “i’m sure everything will be fine, Y/N.” he says while grabbing your hand. you two sit there and stare at each other with light smiles on your face’s, until that moment was ruined because a loud cough was heard from Mr. Poe

you and Klaus obviously had feelings for each other, the way he comforted you the whole time you were at count Olaf's, the way he hugged you, it was obvious more then friendship was there. one night you were asleep on the floor at count Olaf’s, and you had a terrible nightmare.

-

a scream escaped your lips as you sat up as quickly as possible. your heart was racing, and tears began to fall you had a nightmare. it was about your parents, they were burning in your house. “Y/N!” your mom screamed. when you woke up you expected your parents to be there. to hold you. but it was real. you were living a nightmare.

“Y/N! What happened?” a voice said as their arms wrapped around you. you couldn't make out who it was until you looked up. it was Klaus. you tried to speak but all you could get out was sobs. “shh its okay.” he said wrapping his arms around you tighter. as your sobs continued you felt a pair of soft lips on your forehead. after you kept your head buried in his chest till you calmed down a bit.

“my parents. it was about my parents” you say looking up at Klaus. “its like i was there, i watched.” you say as the tears just kept falling. you were a stuttering mess, and before you knew it you were staring into Klaus’  eyes and before you knew it he gave you another kiss on the forehead. “its gonna be OK” he says

- time skip to Dr. Montgomery’s house-

“so how exactly is Dr. Montgomery related to you guys?” you ask, “Dr. Montgomery is, let me see, their late father’s cousin’s wife’s brother” Mr. Poe responds 

“oh” you say, “what do we call him i mean he’s not exactly our uncle” Violet says. “Well, you can call him Dr. Montgomery, unless of course he asks you to call him by his first name, in which case you'll call him Montgomery.” Mr. Poe says “his name is Montgomery, Montgomery?” you ask, you look down for a seconds as you walk up to the short staircase in front of the house and you see that you and Klaus are still holding hands.

you two turn to look at each other red in the face and immediately pull your hands away from each other. “Yes, yes. And I'm sure he's very sensitive about that, so please don't ridicule him. "Ridicule" means "tease." Mr. Poe says. “we know what ridicule means” Klaus says. a loud cough can be heard from Mr. Poe once again. 

“what if Dr. Montgomery is just like count Olaf?” You ask Klaus. “he probably is nothing like count Olaf, i hope” Klaus says but mumbles the last part.

“Hello, Hello, hello, you must be the Violet, Klaus and sunny” Dr. Montgomery says bending down to our height holding 3 slices of cake. “Well, this is perfect timing because I have just finished frosting this delicious coconut cream cake. Take a fork, take a fork, take a fork.“ Dr. Montgomery says.

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Montgomery” Violet says. “Please, call me Monty. I don't like fancy titles unless they get me a discount at the movies. Ah, do you like going to the movies?“ Monty asks, “Very much. But our parents didn't take us very often.“ Violet says. that’s when Monty looks over to you, “and who might you be?” he says

“L/N, Y/N L/N” you say while holding out your hand out for him to shake, “hello Y/N, will you be staying with us as well?” he asks with a smile on his face. “yes.” you say with a smile. “Oh how wonderful!” he says excitedly.

- later that night -

you were just getting settled in your room when a knock was heard, “Y/N, its me” the voice said, you knew immediately it was Klaus, you open the door and say “hey, whats up?” Klaus looks up at you and says “U-um i just wanted to check and make sure everything was alright,” he says while fidgeting with his fingers. “and that you were settled in.” He says

“everything is fine, its very nice here” you say with a smile forming on your face. “good” Klaus says with a smile. the silence after that was very intense, you would almost say crazy intense. “listen, uh, if you have a nightmare again, wake me up OK? i don’t want you to go through that alone.” he says. “i will. thank you Klaus” you say, he walks out and closes the door.

-

you woke up in a cold sweat, screaming, and the visions from your “dream” kept replaying in your head. screams from your parents were heard, fire was everywhere, and it was like you were there. watching. just like last time. you were pulled from your thoughts when the door slammed open, 

“Y/N!” Klaus yells as he ran toward you, his arms immediately wrapped around you, “shh its OK,” he says while rubbing your head with his hand, “Another nightmare?” he asks while looking down at you. all you could make out was sobs, you were having a major feeling of deja vu, it took you back to the night Klaus first did this. 

“i-it happened again, Klaus, i seen them again.” you sobbed out, “Im so sorry, i wish i could stop it. take all your pain and suffering away” he says, you lean in closer to him and wrap your arms around him. “Im sorry, im bothering you. you should go back to bed” you say pulling away, wiping the rest of your tears away with the sleeve of your nightgown

“I dont want to leave you here alone.” Klaus says while looking into your eyes. you look back at him, and before you knew it you were leaning in, a quick peck was placed on your lips, “Crap, Y/N im so sorry, i didnt mean to-” Klaus started but was interrupted by you placing another peck to his lips, “dont be sorry, its fine. i enjoyed it.” You say with a smile, Klaus gives you a sweet smile back, “i did too.” He says.

“so what does this mean?” you ask. “what do you mean?” Klaus asks, you both look at each other then the realization hits Klaus with a small ‘oh’ , “Well considering the circumstances i would love it if you would be my girlfriend.” Klaus says with a soft smile. “i would love that as well” you say.

- the next day -

“woe is me” the broken hearted crocodile says, “Woe is you? We're the ones whose parents perished in a fire and now we're being passed around like hot potatoes.” Klaus says “Look, Klaus. It can't understand you.” Violet says. you look at the Baudelaire siblings with a look of confusion. “I know that!” Klaus says rolling the mad out in front of him.

then suddenly the doorbell rang.

Monty had just left to take the iguana on a walk and you, Violet, Klaus and Sunny, were alone. and then you guys make your way to the door. you open the door to see

“Hello, I am Stephano Dr. Montgomery Montgomery’s new assistant” count Olaf says.

-

im sorry this is so short, and i didnt include alot of parts cause well copyright, i hope you enjoyed this lmk what you think, and requests are open !!

[musicoftheheart]

i am not in a Positive Mood atm and so i will be picking a bone with disney because there is one song that has frustrated me since the day i heard it and i vow here and now that one day i will rewrite it and that song is My Once Upon A Time from descendants 3

for context, the song comes right after all of mal's closest friends and her fiance have just been turned to stone. unless she can find a way to turn them back, they are - for all intents and purposes - dead, essentially. and, as she says in the song, its her fault. i dont 100% agree with that, but its not the bit i want to pick at

no, what id like to rant about is the fact that the whole song - the whole song - is her talking about how she needs to fix it because its not how she wants to be remembered. what?! im sorry, her friends have been turned to stone and shes concerned about whether she'll be portrayed as a hero in history books? what the fuck.

allow me to point to a song that achieved exactly what mouat shouldve: the next right thing, from frozen 2. in this song, anna learns her sister is dead, because olaf (who's life relies on elsa) dies in her arms. anna's song shows how she picks herself back up, not for herself but because she has people relying on her who need her. because its the right thing to do. not because she wants to be seen as a saviour, but because she wants to save the lives of everyone still in danger. shes already lost her sister, she doesnt want to lose her kingdom, her people, too.

tnrt in frozen 2 was an impactful and emotional moment. mouat in d3 showed mal brushing off the fact her friends were gone and instead focused on her reputation. and i get it - i get that the whole point of the descendants trilogy was that you get to write your own story, and that nobody is wholly good or bad, and that youre in control of your own decisions and whether they help or hurt - but this should be a moment of pure emotion for mal as she recognises how her own actions have led to the loss of her friends, but that she has to carry on if she ever wants a chance to save them; to save everyone. it should not be focused on her being good for the sake of reputation

and, to add to this, im fully aware that throughout the three movies, we see how mal values other people's perception of her, especially so at the start of d2, and then again at the start of d3 both as her role as future queen, and when she doesnt tell her isle friends that it was her call to keep the barrier closed. shes afraid of how theyll see her, yes, but we had the character growth during d2 where mal became more confident about not fitting with the perfect princess look (represented by her transformation into the dragon, and continued use of such magic despite it coming from her evil mother, as well as her dress changing from auradonion colours to her signature purple), so any insecurities there shouldve been wrapped up. and her lies in d3 were, ultimately, for the good of everyone, and only temporary. the barrier had to stay closed until they could figure out a way for it to be safe for everyone. if she had let them bring down the barrier too soon and a villain had caused chaos, then that would ruin the chances of the barrier ever coming down forever. and if she had told her friends - specifically evie - that it was her call, then she knew that evie would convince her to change her mind. but changing her mind at that point was not for the greater good, therefore she lied. as much as a small amount of it was for her reputation among her friends, it was also for the good of auradon and the isle

therefore i refuse to believe that muoat shouldve been focused wholly on her reputation. we know mal cares so much about her friends and about ben, so why didnt the song dive into that? why were we not looking at her guilt, or her determination to carry on so that she could save her loved ones and her home? why, instead, did we focus so hard on the way she wants to be remembered for her heroics and good deeds?

i also understand that mal may be compartmentalising to an extent, by ignoring her own grief for her friends and instead focusing her attention elsewhere to keep herself going. she very clearly does have insecurities about her decisions and her role in auradon, so it would make sense to distract herself with that rather than letting herself break down over her friends. if this was what they intended, though, i think it was poorly done. at least, i certainly wouldnt have brushed past it quite so nonchalantly. mal hardly seemed to care that her friends had been turned to stone after the first - what - two lines of the song? and even then all she says is that she deserves it. she deserves it?? like it had just been a shove in the playground or something, and not an attack on her loved ones - one that, remember, could very well result in her losing them forever

quite literally, her only lines in the song about losing her friends are: "here you are alone and you deserve it // your friends have turned to stone and thats on you" and that is it. everything else is about her story being written, or about serving a cause, or her reputation not being linked to her parents'

i really do not like this song. i havent watched d3 for over a year, so i do apologise if ive missed/forgotten important context, but from everything i remember and listening to the song itself, i do not believe it does the moment justice. i want to rewrite it one day, ive no idea if i ever will or how, but i dont like it the way it is.

[lol-jackles]

Walker episode 2 review

Cordell, Trey, and Cassie find themselves watching over the episode’s titular character, Maybelline Pratt, a state witness in a money laundering case.  Maybeline has the charm of all 4 Golden Girls characters as well as their combined age.  Like Sophie Petrillo, she gave Trey the slip and tried to hotwire a patrol car with a wrench, because that’s how they do in Sicily.  Like Blanche Devereaux, she loves flirting with Trey even as they take turns running away from each other.  Like Dorothy Zbonak, she is full of judgment stares and sass and keeps calling Cordell by the wrong surname.   Rangers over the age of 50 are smitten with her because every red-blooded male that grew up in the 70s and 80s fell in love with Karen Allen and Kathleen Turner and their smokey voices.  Harrison Ford to this day can’t stand Indiana Jones fanboys approaching him to only want to talk about Marion Ravenwood and “that voice”.

Maybelline has the Rose Nylund naivety thinking she can just go back to St. Olaf and carried a metal file in her oversized purse to escape from WITSEC. Cordell decided one of them need to take her home.  Trey and Cassie were “not it” and Cordell reluctantly take her to Walker ranch while the 2 security officers assigned to her secure the area.  Maybelline soften her attitude towards Cordell when she sees family pictures and learn of Emily’s passing.  Later in the middle of the night, Cordell finds Maybelline having “just to taste” bourbon at the dinner table and the two have a heart to heart over Cordell’s worry over his children leaving the nest.

“The days are long, but the years are short”, Maybelline tells Cordell, and while children appear not to listen, they are always watching.  The fact that Stella and August feel comfortable enough to leave home just means he (and Emily) did a good job raising them, and they’ll likely come back one day.  Just like Cordell and Liam did.

Cordell found it easier to talk to a stranger about his anxiousness over being ill prepared for "the quiet" once his kids are gone.  Stella too, found it easier to talk to Ben about her guilt over Witt’s death and had even shut Liam out.  In attempt to make peace with her conflicting conscious, she visits a roadside memorial where Witt succumbed to his gun shot injury.  Unexpectantly Witt’s uncle, Mike, shows up and seems kind, which made Stella feel worse and she flees.  Then Mike ominously calls someone to say he found something “interesting”.   Looks like there will be a second mystery to go with the unsolved Jackal case as we never learn why Witt broke into Geri’s house.  Speaking of which…

Cassie had updated Geri (and us) that she decided to return to the Texas Rangers.  Later Geri offers Cassie to move into her house, referencing the break in that it would be a good idea to have a ranger around.  While Cassie is thrilled and accepted Geri’s offer, you know that Cordell would be worried about their girl talks.  At least I would be.

Cordell, Trey, and Cassie brings Maybelline to court to give her testimony only to walk right into a trap to distract them so that the baddies can kidnap Maybelline. Cue lively soundtrack as a car chase through the parking garage to rescue Maybelline ends in beat down fights by Cordell and Trey. Maybelline bats her Blanche Devereaux lashes at Trey for saving her.  Cordell insists it was a team effort.

At home, Cordell waits for August to discuss the issue of him wanting to join an after school boot camp to ready himself for the military, but he needs a signed permission slip from his father.  Earlier August asked Bonham to go over Cordell’s head and convince Trey, who is running the program, to let him join.  In the season 3 finale, Cordell wouldn’t give his permission to let August join the military while he is underage.   When Bonham tries to broach the subject with Cordell, he immediately shuts it down because he wants to put off of August growing up as long as he can.   But after his midnight conversation with Maybelline, Cordell is ready to have a talk with August.

Cordell explains that while he has no regret over his own tour in the military, he can’t help wondering if he missed out on other options and he doesn’t want that for August.  But, if this is really what August wants, he'll be supportive, no matter how much he'll worry over his “only son” and “baby boy”.  August is thrilled and promised to follow Cordell’s condition that he is present for every Sunday dinner and keep up his schoolwork.  A flashback scene from the pilot episode shows Cordell telling a 14-year-old August he didn't mean for his son to grow up quickly after his mother's death, adding to Cordell’s bittersweet demeanor.

We have "the quiet" before the storm with Cordell, Liam, Ben, and Stella having fun together playing darts at the Side Step. Stella returns to her dorm to find a threatening message on the window written in red paint.

Speculation #2: Witt didn't die from his gunshot wound and was murdered on the roadside by the same person who left the threatening message to Stella.

Score: 9 out of 10. What started out a light-hearted episode ends with a horror movie jump scare, a kind of metaphor for parental struggle and angst.

artist

[overthestars-and-offtoneverland]

Olaf's Last Name

Look, I know he'll never have a canon last name and we've already gone through the "Labinski" fiasco.

I wanna go through several options I've been considering for headcanons and why each would possibly work (or not). Hell, Labinski can even stay because someone else has already mapped that out (Though I'm gonna be annoying and tell you why I personally disagree. If you like it, keep it. All power to ya).

Actually, you know what? Labinski is going first! Why? Because it actually kinda helps my case for the other options. Onwards!

Olaf Labinski (Credit to @snicketsleuth)

Pros:

As Sleuth pointed out, Olaf's first name and title appears to be in reference to the character of the same name in Theophile Gautier’s novel Avatar. So, hypothetically, it makes sense to give our Count Olaf the same last name.

Cons:

However, here's my personal issue. Doing that A. Feels a little like plagiarism and B. Doesn't fit Handler's literary reference naming convention because of point A.

Whenever a character has a literary reference name, it is never a direct one. Esme, for example, is named after a poem. "To Esme with Love and Squalor" and Jerome is named after the poet who wrote it (That's the J in J.D. Salinger). Note his name is not directly Jerome Salinger.

Mr. Poe's obviously an Edgar Allen Poe reference. But his name is Arthur. His sons hold the more direct reference names.

Uncle Monty's a Monty Python joke.

Hell, this is actually why I know for a fact that Charles' last name is not Baudelaire. Our leads are names after Sir Charles Baudelaire, yes. But it's no coincidence that the Baudelaire children are temporarily in the custody of two men who go by Sir and Charles.

The only exception to this I can think of is Georgina Orwell just being the feminization of George Orwell because it's a tongue in cheek about the hypnotism thing. But even then, it's still not one-for-one.

So, him being straight up named Count Olaf Labinski when that name already belongs to someone else's character doesn't fit to me. However...

Let's get into some other options

Olaf Gautier

So apparently some of the reason the Labinski thing happened is hypothetically because Charles Baudelaire and Theophile Gautier had beef. So, my proposal, Gautier does fit the literary naming convention because it pits rival against rival again in a meta sense.

Also, think of the comedy of Olaf having a French last name. I don't know if it's funnier if he pronounces it correctly or not ("Gautier" is usually pronounced in the US as "Goh-Shay" [Wrong] it's pronounced in with the "CH" sound "Goh-Chay" [Correct] in French. Source: Lived in a town called Gautier named after the family that founded it. Was classmates with the grandson of this family) The jokes write themselves. I personally think it's funnier if Olaf pronounces it with the correct "CH" sound but everyone else treats him like he doesn't know how to say his own name.

Olaf Von Bulow

Okay, so this requires a little lore. To those of you who don't know, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny get their first names from the attempted murder trial of Claus Von Bulow. Klaus, though his name is altered in spelling, is named after the defendant, who (allegedly, he was acquitted) poisoned his wife Sunny, and was prosecuted by a woman named Violet (The Violet source is a little fuzzy. I just know she's named after one of the lawyers involved).

Dude, how messed up would it be if Olaf's last name was still in reference to this trial? It would be a really messed up way to make him into a matching set with the kids.

Also Von Bulow, like Labinski, does fit the general geography of where a name like "Olaf" would exist

Take it all with a grain of salt, just felt like throwing my hat in the ring on some options that generally fit canon naming conventions.

And no, I will not be addressing the "Olaf Baudelaire" theory ^_^. Too much canon material is super against the idea that Olaf and Beatrice are siblings. One super big one I can point to is Olaf being listed by Lemony as one of Beatrice's potential suitors in The Beatrice Letters ("-or even O"). Really don't think incest is what he had in mind when he was talking about marrying anyone that would make her happy especially since he brings up that R is on the table even though same-sex marriage wasn't a thing at the time.

Love to hear any other options anyone can come up with!

[chaifootsteps]

Okay in my defense as someone who initially liked the Light Fury design, it was all before watching httyd 3 because I thought they were going into a whole other direction (now I hate the design and the movie, GG DreamWorks)

See, stupid younger me thought the Light Fury wasn't some subspecies of Night Furies or even a whole other species... No I thought that Light Fury was 100% a Night Fury that got leucism. A Night Fury that couldn't live as a Night Fury because their hunting technique or even their nesting area couldn't have worked on her because she'd be spotted right away.

Toothless can't live like other Night Furies because of his tail injury that make him require a rider or a prosthetic to be able to do what he could do before Hiccup injured him in httyd1. The Light Fury (let's call her Blizzard like the Blizzard of Olaf) can't live like other Night Furies because many things they do are incompatible with her, using "the cover of the night" to hunt doesn't work on her. She'd highlight a trait Hiccup noticed with Toothless : How great the Night Furies are adapting themselves to anything that gets thrown at them.

There are other Night Furies alive, they just moved away from the main places people hunted them at that since staying there would be too dangerous for the young ones.

You're not the only one who thought so! There was at least one official synopsis that called her a Night Fury, because this movie was just that much of a snarled up mess.

I have no idea why they didn't go for it, honestly, because her being an entirely different species is so deeply depressing and shoots down the whole argument that Toothless "needs to be with his own kind." She's a completely different species of dragon with different needs, habits, and expectations and gets upset when he doesn't meet these, and no matter how many offspring they have, Toothless's species is still doomed.

[navree]

beatrice baudelaire!

my girl!

How I feel about this character: I've always been really interested in Beatrice because of how mysterious she is. Like, as a fandom we have a lot of headcanons and stuff we've extrapolated from the books and supplementary material, but on pure canon there's a lot of gaps in what we know about her that makes her interesting, especially when it comes to fans trying to fill in those gaps. And I like that she was just this super cool and super hot woman that everyone was so incredibly obsessed with no matter what side they were on, everyone and their mother had a complex about Beatrice.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: If Daniel Handler didn't want me to become far too obsessed with Lemony and Beatrice as a couple, he shouldn't have written five hundred thousand words of Lemony going "Beatrice I love you so much let me list it all" as a way to reassure her when she asks 'hey do you still love me' in the 200 page break up book she wrote. That's just insane, of course I ship it. I'm also really into Beatrice/Bertrand as a couple too, people can have multiple great loves. And depending on my mood I can be really into the lemonberryice throuple.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Beatrice and Kit's relationship is always gonna be interesting to me, and Olaf and Beatrice just seem to have had the most fascinating dynamic, legit friends in childhood to some more vitriolic friendship and then she murders his parents and then he torments her innocent children, it's Good.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don't know if I've got any necessarily unpopular ones because this fandom in general, and especially the bit focused on the sugarbowl generation, is very small and most of the stuff I've seen I agree with. I guess I might characterize Beatrice as a bit, idk, colder than most? For all her other facets, Olaf was someone she knew and seems to have gotten along with well on a personal level, and she still doesn't seem to have spent much time outwardly agonizing over what might have been straight cold blooded murder. I don't think she was evil or unfeeling, and there's a reason she pulled back from VFD stuff especially after having children, but there might be a more ruthless streak there in my view than in some other people's.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: idk man, that she fuckin lived? It's a bummer that she's dead, she was a devoted mother and a good friend and an important part of a lot of people's lives and it seems like a bunch of worlds were dimmer without her in them, her kids are gonna miss her for the rest of their lives and Lemony is still deeply affected by losing her literal decades after the fact. I wish she'd been able to meet little Beatrice too, I think they would have gotten along great.

[would-you-punt-them]

so. have you seen this post

and has anyone submitted olaf

because the post specifically calls for him to be punted into the sun

and also (—i know that this isn't what we do here and i also run a couple poll blogs myself so i'm joking when i say this—) can we punt the post itself

in case linking it to the word didn't work: https://www.tumblr.com/teaboot/618145028653662208/what-on-gods-green-earth-are-you-talking-about?source=share

olaf was submitted before the blog even went live, but he just straight up refuses to die

i shuffle the queue fairly often, and not once has olaf even been put into the top half of the queue, let alone come close to be punted

even in the middle of writing this i wondered if maybe i'd jinxed it, so i saved this post as a draft and hit shuffle one more time

mf got put second from the bottom

at this point i'm honestly rooting for him

[hecatesbroom]

I've been thinking A Lot about how Dorothy apparently wanted to open an antiques shop and uh, a little AU might've sprung forth from it. I present:

Golden Girls antiques shop AU

After divorcing Stan, Dorothy opens up her own antiques shop (let's keep it in Miami because that's just easier lol)

Sophia still burns down Shady Pines has to move in with Dorothy at some point, so she also helps with the shop. Much to Dorothy's frustration because all she really does is scare off customers by threatening them (admittedly with increasing creativity) when they attempt to haggle.

Sophia also glares at people when she thinks they might be stealing stuff (they usually aren't, but to her credit, she's caught and handled at least two real thieves. Never mind the poor, bruised, innocent people who received the same treatment)

Blanche, who already lives with Rose (they've been roommates for about 6 months), often stops by to see if Dorothy has any new paintings. Working for the museum, Blanche likes to stop by antiques shops from time to time to see if anything valuable pops up.

Dorothy's shop is Blanche's favourite by far. Not because she actually finds anything there (Dorothy doesn't even have a lot of paintings to begin with) but because she loves its owner.

She's not quite prepared to say how much she loves its owner, but suffice to say she would've been able to get herself invited to dinner (at the very least) if Dorothy had been a man.

So Blanche stops by very very frequently. They talk a lot.

Dorothy feels like strangely enough, Blanche is the only person she's ever been really open to about her divorce, since it happened 2 years ago.

Dorothy keeps any paintings she does receive in storage until Blanche has seen them, before puts them in the shop. Just in case there's one she does want for the museum this time.

Blanche starts bringing Rose along, because Rose wants to meet this really nice lady at the antiques shop herself. She's brought cookies (the cookies are tooth-shatteringly sweet, but then so is Rose, and Dorothy can't help but love her for it)

Rose shows up more often by herself, because the shop is on her way to the counseling center and she likes Dorothy and Sophia's company. She tells them St Olaf stories (Sophia tries to usher her out the moment she gets the St Olaf Story Look™ on her face, to no avail)

At some point Dorothy needs an assistant in the store who won't scare off customers. She shares this with Blanche, who suggests hiring Rose, who was told only a week ago that the grief counseling center is going bankrupt.

Dorothy's unsure about this, initially. I mean, could you see Rose working in a store? She might give away everything for free! But she feels bad about her being without a job, and if she's really honest with herself, she knows she'll miss Rose's company when she stops dropping by on her way to work.

When Rose starts to work in the shop, she turns out to be shockingly good at her job. Dorothy has no idea how she does it, but when people haggle with her, Rose somehow ends up getting paid more for the item than it initially cost.

When asked about this, Rose brushes it off with a simple "I sold waffles by the side of the road as a kid"-story (Sophia doesn't cut her off this time because she wants to know if Rose will disclose how, exactly, she learned to haggle that way. But the story ends without a point, as always)

In fact, the store is busier than ever. Rose brings homemade cookies or pie to work every day that she shares with everyone who visits. And she's so nice to people they just keep coming back, and bringing friends. Even Sophia can't chase them off anymore.

Dorothy wonders, at some point, if she ought to turn her shop into a café.

(she doesn't. there's no way Rose is ever going to charge money for the food she brings to work)

Blanche drops by basically every day after work at the museum at this point, for a chat and (more and more frequently) to have dinner at Dorothy's. Sophia's a great cook after all, and Blanche and Rose rarely get the chance to cook a warm meal for themselves after work.

It's been about a year since Rose started working for Dorothy, when Dorothy develops CFS. Rose and Sophia step in and run the store together for a while, with Blanche helping out whenever she can (she usually comes in to do household chores, but considering she actually hates those, mostly ends up talking to Dorothy for a couple of hours about her dates instead. At least the sentiment is nice)

But when it's been almost a month and Dorothy shows no signs of getting better, their concern about both Dorothy and their situation grows. They need help, medically and in the store, but they can't afford that on top of the rent Dorothy pays for her own house.

Blanche offers the solution before anyone else can think of an alternative: "Why, it's very simple. You two just move in with us!"

Sophia protests about moving in with Rose of all people ("You're crazy if you think I'm willing to live with that moron! As if working with her isn't enough!") because she probably feels at least as bad about this as Dorothy.

Seeing as there's no other choice they decide to move in with Rose and Blanche. This works out even better than expected for all four of them

Dorothy goes through the whole diagnosis stuff we've seen in the show and doesn't miraculously heal between episodes, but she improves slowly with the help of her friends to the point where she can work part-time again

They keep a very comfortable chair (with one of those adjustable backrests so you can kind of lie down on it?) in the store for Dorothy so she can rest at work, if she needs it

ANYWAY they slowly start to realise how much they mean to each other and just how lucky they are to be together

Blanche keeps working at the museum because she loves that job (and also they don't really need someone else to help in the shop now that Dorothy's back part time, so financially it's a lot more secure if Blanche keeps another job unrelated to the shop)

Rose gets to bake sickeningly sweet stuff every day and befriends all the kids near the shop because of it (Dorothy tells her she should've opened a bakery)

Dorothy realises just how lucky she is to finally be living with people who make her feel better about herself and her life. Finally she lives with people she doesn't just have to put up with, but whom she genuinely loves

Sophia, who loves them a lot more than she lets on, decides Blanche and Rose are her daughters now too. Turns out she was kind of predicting the future with that because obviously Rose, Blanche, and Dorothy get married at some point

[astheworldgoesonitswickedway]

I made mention of how, as Olaf begins to associate himself with the Baudelaires, they do the same and begin to wonder if they are becoming evil like him. Well, we know that's not the case but lets talk about the way even "noble" V.F.D. treats them in the Penultimate Peril. Not that he is V.F.D. but Poe completely turns on them. I'm so mad he basically told them "he should have anticipated them becoming killers because their parents died." We see Olaf is not the only one buying into the idea that he had no choice in what he became just because of what happened to him. All the noble members from the past are easily swayed by the words of Count Olaf of all people! Even Justice Strauss in my opinion betrays them. But Olaf was kind of right when he said V.F.D. did more to help him then his own hench people. Justice Strauss allowed them to be taken away when she knew it wasn't safe, ignored Klaus walking around with a giant bruise on his face (and they weren't hiding how he got it!) and married Violet to Olaf. Charles allowed Sir to abuse them, which was his own kind of neglectful abuse. Jerome walked away because he couldn't be bothered. Hector was too "non-confrontational" to do anything more than run away whether they could keep up or not. Monty never said a word about what was going on. And Kit was more than a little vague and unhelpful. She sent the kids into a ginormously complicated plot they couldn't hope to understand with cryptic suggestions and monumentally important tasks she didn't prepare them for. And this seems like a good time to mention the Baudelaire parent's mistake in never letting the kids in on what was going on. They had to have known their past could catch up with them. It was horribly unfair to leave that danger hanging over their lives and the lives of their children and not prepare them. In short, as an institution I think V.F.D. had good intentions towards the kids, but as individuals no one really cared enough to do what needed to be done to save them. There are exceptions of course but those exceptions all died trying :( V.F.D. was in many ways responsible for the things the kids had to do to survive, things they had to live with, and then they had the gall to blame them for it!! When in all honesty, most of the things they themselves had done, were actually worse than anything the Baudelaires did. I know it all circles back to the points being made, and how there is more than one form of abuse. The neglect, the blame, the gaslighting, the secrets, not that I'm one hundred percent against V.F.D. but again, as individuals, many of them abused the kids as well. It's just. The least they could have done was comforted and consoled the Baudelaires and stood up for them at the end. At the VERY least, they could have understood that just like the kids, they also unintentionally helped Olaf and hurt others. And then, oh my poor heart, there are a few times were it is insinuated the children feel they are not good enough for V.F.D., as if V.F.D. is better than them and somehow they would not measure up. And you know, as a parting note, I'll say that I just really wish some of the remaining V.F.D. members had been able to break the cycle and bring about the change really needed. Like Kit for example, she unlike some of the others was so well-intentioned and really cared. But she held on to the secrets and the codes and the way of life she knew. Which I get it, we are told she was in this since four years old, and come one, she was totally brainwashed. I think the Baudeleaires would have stood a better chance if that generation had been able to learn from their predecessors mistakes and change to suit post-schism V.F.D. and the children's needs.