| What Remains To Be Done | |
|---|---|
| Author | dlyt |
| Date | 25 May 2025 |
| Where posted | FK Fic Fest |
| Rating/Warning | PG13 |
| Genres | drama |
| Format | short story |
| Archive Location | |
Story Recap[]
Loose ends need to be tied up at the end of the third season episode, “Ashes to Ashes.”
Notes[]
Written for FK Fic Fest 2025 to the prompt, "The antique hairbrush still held tangles of fine golden hair". The story was released on 6 June. Length: 2211 words.
Author's Note[]
"Watching “Ashes to Ashes” again as part of my prep for this story, it occurred to me that, evil as he is on his own, LaCroix’s evil could have been magnified by Divia during all of the years of her entombment. And the offhand comment acknowledging that Nick’s pursuit of good might have saved him from Divia’s attack made me wonder whether LaCroix might be inspired to consider, just consider, mind you, whether the pursuit of good and the rejection of evil might not be something new to try. And in the spirit of teaching old dogs new tricks, the decision to try a “new trick” might just be the incentive for the old dog seeking out what remained to be done."
Quotes[]
Comments[]
- "Very intriguing look at LaCroix in the immediate aftermath of "Ashes to Ashes." Those events would undoubtedly leave their mark. I had a sense from the episode that with LC's statement that he was glad for once about Nick's quest because maybe that had saved Nick (and by extension, saved LaCroix), perhaps something of Nick was starting to rub off on him. So interesting to see something like that get fleshed out in detail in this story! " — excerpted from comment by Switchbladeeyes on AO3
- "This was one of those stories that started telling one tale and ended up telling another, and it didn’t “gel” until I realized there was a modicum of caution and fear and some disdain in the method LaCroix was using to dispose of Divia’s mortal remains. " — excerpted from reply by dlyt on AO3
- "It's only reasonable that [LaCroix] would still feel grief for this daughter, no matter how much he grew to despise her and the evil within her. It's a very interesting idea that her evil could still have been impacting him, despite the time and distance between them, and her seeming true death. And yet he does seem to have had a shift here, he's beginning to at least contemplate the change in relationship with Nick." — excerpted from comment by Calliope24 on AO3
- "I appreciate the mirroring of the token and memories of Urs, gathered in, wanted, with the token and memories of Divia, scattered far, rejected. Similarly, there is the mirroring polarity of Nick and Divia, no just good and evil, but simple and complex (in the sense that Nick is one and Divia is many in Lacroix's grappling). Getting to see Lacroix ripped apart by the inherent contradictions of his relationships with Divia, and his self-understandings, and put back together by his understandings of others, is compelling." — excerpted from comment by Brightknightie on AO3
- "It was an interesting exercise to explore how Divia’s reappearance and subsequent final (we hope) death might impact LaCroix. The junkyard cremation has always struck me as an odd choice, one devoid of fond emotion. Combining that with a shift in his behavior towards Nick raised the question of whether some fundamental shift in LaCroix’s persona might be beginning." — excerpted from reply by dlyt on AO3
- "This is an amazing read. I love how you portray Lacroix as someone who seems to gain strength from (social) rules, even after all the time as a vampire, and him stating time and time again that mortal rules don't apply to vampires. You capture the two halves of him, the mourning father and the relieved childe, so well, it's almost sad to see him vulnerable like this." — excerpted from comment by TheFruitBat on AO3
- "The death of your child (and whether or not you even liked them) has to have some psychological impact. And, you never know what direction these feelings will take." — excerpted from comment by WaltD on AO3