Interesting thought, but I think that's awfully damn OOC, even for Thal's version of Harry. He might still enslave her via the collar, but if he thinks she's been revived fully (as that part still hasn't been explained), he'll probably take her up on her offer.

But yeah, that would be an incredible dynamic.

@Thalarian: ....Ya know, you're making it harder and harder for me to keep saying to just sit and wait for your next update. Seriously, that's just plain old evil.

 

That is an excellent dynamic, but unfotunately, not really suitable for what I have planned for Queens/Ladies, or what I have prepared as far as what each Queen or Lady brings to the story.

The ritual causes many of Harry's memories to be assimilated by each woman, even though not entirely at once. It's like dumping a bagful of unopened letters in someone's lap and telling them to start sorting them in chronological order. It takes time for them to filter through them and start to understand what they're seeing. But if there's one overwhelming connection, it's the urge to defeat Voldemort, which bleeds heavily into the ritual itself.

The Ladies of the story want to help Harry. What they see is a nearly broken young man on the verge of defeat, who's desperation has lead him to do something so extraordinary as bringing them back to life. In a way they pledge themselves to his cause, following their own hearts and minds that seem to just resonate with Harry on a loving, even intimate, level.

To have a Lady hate Harry would actually negate the entire concept of her being a Lady in the first place. Granted, the Ladies of the story will have predjudices, even hatred, anger, and frustration, it's what makes them 3 dimensional characters, but to have that sort of thing directed at Harry means that they would actually end up being a Queen, not a Lady.

The Queens are where the hatred is bred. They are the ones that want nothing to do with Harry, Voldemort, the war they fight, or the reality in which they live. They hate Harry, or they're cold to him, or they down-right try to drive him insane. They hate the Ladies even more, and this conflict is what drives the conflict of Harry's mind. But just like the Ladies, so to will the Queens experience pity, mercy, understanding, and even love.

Sure, it's a bit cliche'. The 'Light' vs. 'Dark' aspects when it concerns Harry's women, but it's the emotions that change in all of them that will hopefully keep the story interesting. None of the characters will change at heart, as Lilith won't ever stop being a chaotic, bloodthirsty Succubi bitch; but eventually she'll experience a heavy kinship and even a nurturing love for a certain character beyond Harry.

There will be plenty of times when Harry takes a step back and wonders 'Was that really necessary?'. Not just when it concerns the women, but in all aspects of his dealings in the war. Many times when Harry loses himself and goes overboard, or too far, and the end result is some type of regret.

But one thing you have to keep in mind is that at some point before the end of the story, Harry will have to make a choice. A choice that will ultimately effect him, the women, his friends, his country, and the wizarding and muggle world as a whole. His choice will be based upon how far the Queens actually go in making Harry no longer feel his sense of right and wrong, love, regrets, or his humanity; or how far the Ladies go in saving his humanity, his sense of justice, and his love and passion.

One thing that I'll clear up right now is that the collar doesn't have to be forcefully attached to a woman. Any of the resurrected can take the collar without putting up a fight and without any sort of pain. It can actually be a pleasurable experience to those who take it up. While certainly not an intimate experience, it creates a bond between Harry and said female and if one embraces it, they don't feel any sort of anguish. There doesn't have to be a rape for the ritual to take hold, just some sort of sexual interaction between the two for the sake of bringing up all the emotions he can to help lock their potential.

Lilith's reaction to the collar stemmed more from her overwhelming desire to fight against it. The magics within the collar and even the ritual itself didn't ring well with her will fighting it, as the spell was designed to tie her will to Harry's. With her fighting against it, the magic really had no option but to concuss her will and impose Harry's upon it, as much as could be imposed that is.

And sorry Dragoon and everyone else, but I know how evil that is. Chapter 2 should be up any day now and Chapter 3 is at 10,000 words. Hope this cleared some things up.

 

I look forward to chapter 2. I also look forward to Viconia (as a huge Baldur's Gate fan, I know what to expect from her). So... keep it coming!

 

Is that chapter going to go up anytime soon, since it's already completed? It's been like 13 days since you're post.

/impatience

 

Calm.

Ok, it will be up, I just suspect that the Beta is either having trouble or is going through it extremly thoroughly. I would prefer not to read the next chapter to find a massive plothole that hasnt been addressed.

On another note, go over to the introductions forum and do what it says on the tin, uhhh, I mean title. Introduce yourself.

 

I agree with the new guy. Thalarian has been lying a bit too much by promising to release it in a couple of days since at least 2 months.
And I hope that he will not post another tidbit. Prefer the whole chapter in one go no matter how long it takes specially this one.
Please try to update very soon

 

*facepalm*

Okay, there's a little thing called 'real life' that everybody's got to deal with, that tends to screw with plans like this. It'll be up when it's up--not before. And calling Thal a liar is not going to help at all.

Hell, if it were /me/, I'd deliberately hold off on publishing the next chapter BECAUSE of shit like this. So knock it off and wait for him to publish the damn thing like the rest of us, 'kay?

 

Well, it is not up to you.
What makes you think I am ignorant about the little thing called 'real life'? You will find that this is the first time I have mentioned about the impending update in this thread. I said please and everything.

 

I also agree with this. I understand that things can come up and delay a chapter, but when the first hint of the second chapter is on page 4 and was posted on 12-10-2006, 04:56 PM (aka, November 12, 2006), I begin to wonder if this is even still in progress.

I know that the author has posted more snippets and says he is working on it, but 5 months after he first said the update was on its way and there is still nothing... if it were just shown to DLP now, even with the promises of an update I believe it would be classified on 'on hold.'

 

Everyone calm down a bit. You may just say that the story is on hold if it makes you happy, even if it's a quite grotesque thing to say when chapter 2 is being polished and chapter 3 has over 10k words into it.

I don't think I have any right to pretend I know for certain the state of progression of the story, but I do know that Thal is working on it; now, if you'd all be so kind to remember the size of his chapters, you'd understand that even the polishing takes some time. And if you have nothing to read at the moment, go reread the Prologue and first chapter; I'm sure you've missed a few things. Plus it'll keep you busy for a while.

Last, may I remind you all that a fanfiction author technically doesn't owe their readers anything? If he wanted to abandon his story, too bad for you, but then that would be his most basic right.

...

...

...I'm not saying that I'm not eagerly waiting for an update, though...

 

I understand that Tinn, and I appreciate all the work that is put into this story, and all stories.

Also, while I understand that he has been working on it, it has been five months since he started promising the release of the second chapter. While I understand that things come up and he has had to completely rework the second chapter, I still find it in odd that he continues to promise a quick release. Personally, I would perfer if he would say, 'hey guys it will be six months before I release a new chapter, sorry about the wait.' Sure we would whine and bitch, but at least we would know instead of constantly checking back and forth, begging for updates every few days/weeks

 

Problem is, authors can't always tell when their chapters will be ready. I have the same issue: even if I am absolutely sure that my chapter will be done by the end of the week, it turns out I finish it only three weeks later. It's not even that I have less time that I thought, it's that I've deleted stuff, added some other, then, just when I was rereading the chapter one last time, I started fleshing out a dialogue and ended up writing an entirely new scene.

Thal must've encountered the same problem. That, and other problems in real life, I reckon. Those have a knack for taking up all your time and making you completely forget about writing. It can't be helped, so instead of whining, I would advise again to reread his already posted chapters, or find yourself a good fiction that'll keep you busy till chapter 2 is ready.

When the story is updated, you'll all know it immediately anyway -- first because of the alert in your inbox, second because I'll probably spend the whole day spamming the forums with YAY!! HE UPDATED!!!! messages. So no worries .

 

I see, and I realize that life can be a bish. But if it's done, and you say it's done, I usually assume that polishing is completed. I personally don't consider a work done until I've gone over it and shined it up, so I guess I expect other authors to do the same. When people say something is done, I expect that it is indeed perfected, beta'ed, and will go up shortly. When people say done, I think of done. So I don't see much reason to withold it for 2 weeks+. Sorry if I created an uproar or anything.

 

Don't worry, it's not the first whine-fest that takes place in this thread; so nothing new here. I did not say it was done, I assumed that Thal was in the polishing phase. And again, the waiting can't be helped, unless you track Thal down and go point a gun at his temple. I think he is more aware than any of you that the chapter needs to be posted. He doesn't need any reminders.

Oh, and my head's ringing with the half a dozen "done" you've used in a few lines.

 

Eh, I wasn't sure what other word to use. "Completed", "finished", and "concluded" all sounded awkward in those phrases, especially in the context.

 

@MysterioX: Sorry, that was uncalled for. I saw you calling Thal a liar and went off. By the way, I don't think insulting an author is the best way to try to find out about updates. But that's just me.

@Cataclysmic: Not all that surprising that I've figured that out considering the fact that I'm a big fan of Hawk--who updates yearly....at best. You learn patience fast that way. XP *blinks* wait, hang on. You Dark_Syaoran?

Right, now that that's out of the way, I come bearing a question on the fic! And it's NOT ABOUT UPDATES! *gasp*

Er...right, anyway, I've been wondering about the second lady, especially since Thal pinned her geographicallly at the Vatican. My mind kept bouncing between two possibilities, Mary and...another. Since Mary's been removed, in my mind that leaves the other. Maybe I'm just on a Dante kick, but could the second be...Beatrice? Dante's patron as he proceeds through the Inferno and the Purgatorio?

 

There is nothing to be sorry about.
Just to be clear when I mentioned Thal had been lying about the update I did not mean it in an insulting way after all he is like my fav author or will be when he updates.

 

It's possible that it could be her due to location and other details.But as of now it's still up in the air until either Thal,posts a snippet or the next chapter.