Title: Mea Culpa
Author: RedgeandLilly
Rating: T
Genre: Supernatural/Horror
Status: WIP
Library Category: Dresden Files
Pairings: None
Summary: How had one choice gone so horribly awry? Molly Carpenter is on the run, trying to evade her parents and wizardly friends of the family. All she knows for sure is that life is bad when the devil on your shoulder sounds reasonable, and the one playing the lyre sounds suspiciously like Harry Dresden. AU: Canon Divergence from Death Masks onward.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12709999/1/Mea-Culpa

This is a Molly-centric fic where she is the one who picks up Lasciel's coin instead of Harry. While Molly can sound like an off-beat Harry at times, she is no Harry, and her downward descent proves it. This is the first fic I've seen that accurately shows how twisted the Fallen are.

Spoiler

I can't see a path of redemption for her at this point. She is in far too deep and will never be accepted by the council. And what she has done... I don't even think her father could forgive her.

4/5 for being unique, and not treating the Fallen as a power-up that can be controlled.

 

I really like this story. It maybe drags a little at the start, but that's understandable as it's "setting the scene" so to speak, without relying overly much on established DF characters. Molly has a good voice, as does Lasciel and the supporting cast puts in work as well.

There's a side story to this as well, following the misadventures of Daniel Carpenter https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13505051/1/Sister-Where-Art-Thou

4/5, I think how the current arc is handled will really make or break this story.

I think this is a bit unfair on Molly - She's, what? 15 at the start of the story, thurst into a situation that's well beyond her and makes increasingly bad mistakes because of her limited understanding.

Harry's no stranger to calling on powers beyond his comprehension and otherwise getting into awful situations, it just generally works out for him because he has more experience, a real support network and honestly, better luck.

 

I agree that she gets over her head, and because of her being young it's a little more forgiving.

Spoiler

but I think she crossed the line when she killed the priest and joined Nic for revenge.

 

There's a typo in the thread title: it's Culpa (guilt), not Cupla.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed the story. Though not sure how much of that is an acquired taste for cranial ghosts banter and a lack of competing Molly stories.

Her shifting morality is more or less reasonably explain by her experience and situation, albeit with some of it happening during a time skip.

The biggest shifts are often the (poor) result of her trying to come to term with her actions made when she was emotionally of kilter.

Spoiler

Lasciel trying the friendly fake friend was obvious to everyone and didn't really seem to serve much of a point. Maybe the author put it in to tell the readers that Lasciel has a standard modus operandi. Luckily it was dealt with rather quickly.

Can't stop to wonder if Lasciel blended in an illusion when they tried to save Anna, making it seem that her throat were torn out. Revenge and all that jazz.

It seems the story is reaching its conclusion soon, or @KaiDASH is right and its only the end of the current story arc.

TLDR: The proper ingredients and conditions to bake a tragic pretzel. 4/5.

 

The story has just completed with 54 chapters. The author has promised a sequel, but after Peace Talks is released.

Overall I really liked it, but the ending felt a little rushed. Certainly worth adding to the library 4/5

 

The sequel has been started:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13648390/1/Memento-Mori

Not too much I can comment on but it starts after the fall of the Red Court. Like immediately after.

 

It seems the sequel, Memento Mori, is complete.

Just picked it up so can't say anything about its quality.

 

There has been several updates since last year. She has finished two more 'books' in her Trials of Carpenter Series and started her fifth book.

Book Three: Mortem Obire
Book Four: Tempus Fugit
Book Five (Ongoing): Advocatus Diaboli

While none of these are as good as Book 1, they are still pretty damn good. Plus, it's amazing how many words she has produced in the last year.