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A Lamb Among Wolves Ch:48
Phew, this is terribly long overdue. It would have probably been here a bit sooner if it not for catching a bit of a rough cold, and having to wait a bit on the proofreaders who are helping me make sure the tail end of this tale is nice and tight. Better to take a little longer to make it that much more solid, right? Anyway, we are really getting down to it now, and there isn't much left to go. The next chapter is a big, grand one. So it may take a while. Especially with thanksgiving acting as a bit of a distraction. But it will get done. That said, counting the next chapter, there are three left. Two plus the epilogue, so look forward to it!
Before I leave you, however, there's one more thing I'd like to talk about. Recently I've been discussing something with my backers as well as those on my blog. To keep it short and concise, I'm thinking about sending a tweet or two to the head creators of Zoot to ask about Dawn's potential role in Z2. Basically expressing that as someone who liked the character, and was somewhat crushed to see her turn out to be the villain, if there was a possibility that should she show up in the sequel she could be reforming or trying to turn good. What spurred me more than anything to even consider asking was after having wreck it Ralph 2 turn out the way it has, I feel that there's a strong possibility Z2 will just bring back Dawn as a vengeful antagonist and figured I'd take a shot of at least pointing out that there are fans out there who'd like to see Dawn turn around much like Gideon. Now I'm not planning to pitch them rehab, or trying to get hired, or get my Ocs canonized or whatever. I'd just be happy to see Dawn not become this hollow, one-note villain in any future Zoot stuff. And I know many of you feel the same way. That's why I was work-shopping not only a kind, well-crafted question to the creators, or whoever I need to pose that sort of fan question too, but also a possible hashtag that you guys can use to show that there are more people than just me that want to see a Redeemed Dawn. So far the only thing I've got is #SaveBellwether, but I think it can be better. And if nothing comes of it, hey, at least we tried? Right?
Any input on the project and idea is super appreciated, and I'll keep updating on the AskDawnAndVern blog as information allows. If you guys want in, or have ideas on a hashtag, or even who are the proper people to tweet at to ask the question, all of it is appreciated. You can PM me rather than leaving it in the reviews if you'd prefer to keep those things separate. And here's hoping that Z2 doesn't end up so bad people don't consider it canon. Unless it makes Dawn inherently evil for no reason, in which case I'm happy to continue down this little slice of AU as your alternative.
http://askdawnandvern.tumblr.com/
I'm more prone to updating that than my journal here. And also, y'know, the whole save Dawn thing.
Please consider tippin' me.
https://www.patreon.com/wastedtimeee
-WT
Before I leave you, however, there's one more thing I'd like to talk about. Recently I've been discussing something with my backers as well as those on my blog. To keep it short and concise, I'm thinking about sending a tweet or two to the head creators of Zoot to ask about Dawn's potential role in Z2. Basically expressing that as someone who liked the character, and was somewhat crushed to see her turn out to be the villain, if there was a possibility that should she show up in the sequel she could be reforming or trying to turn good. What spurred me more than anything to even consider asking was after having wreck it Ralph 2 turn out the way it has, I feel that there's a strong possibility Z2 will just bring back Dawn as a vengeful antagonist and figured I'd take a shot of at least pointing out that there are fans out there who'd like to see Dawn turn around much like Gideon. Now I'm not planning to pitch them rehab, or trying to get hired, or get my Ocs canonized or whatever. I'd just be happy to see Dawn not become this hollow, one-note villain in any future Zoot stuff. And I know many of you feel the same way. That's why I was work-shopping not only a kind, well-crafted question to the creators, or whoever I need to pose that sort of fan question too, but also a possible hashtag that you guys can use to show that there are more people than just me that want to see a Redeemed Dawn. So far the only thing I've got is #SaveBellwether, but I think it can be better. And if nothing comes of it, hey, at least we tried? Right?
Any input on the project and idea is super appreciated, and I'll keep updating on the AskDawnAndVern blog as information allows. If you guys want in, or have ideas on a hashtag, or even who are the proper people to tweet at to ask the question, all of it is appreciated. You can PM me rather than leaving it in the reviews if you'd prefer to keep those things separate. And here's hoping that Z2 doesn't end up so bad people don't consider it canon. Unless it makes Dawn inherently evil for no reason, in which case I'm happy to continue down this little slice of AU as your alternative.
http://askdawnandvern.tumblr.com/
I'm more prone to updating that than my journal here. And also, y'know, the whole save Dawn thing.
Please consider tippin' me.
https://www.patreon.com/wastedtimeee
-WT
Category Story / Fanart
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Honestly, I would not be against a sequel redeeming Dawn (or at least having a Heel-Face Turn of sorts). Although I also have not a clue as to how such a narrative could be worked out, besides something like, say, Judy and/or Nick getting to the root of the cause. Which is in and of itself complicated by, as you pointed out, Dawn being made an outright villain in canon. How does one add redeeming qualities, or the chance for redemption, to who was pretty much an absolute sociopath without it becoming an out-of-character whiplash? The best I can figure is, perhaps, to have it really (forgive me) dawn on her as to what her actions have done, similar to a few other villains I've seen who were one-note until the consequences they never considered -- or flat-out ignored -- are rendered incapable of denial.
Of course, knowing things, I feel she'd likely be used in the same way I've seen her incorporated into other (still otherwise well-written) fanfics: some sort of kingpin rallying the Prey equivalent of the Aryan Brotherhood, or simply entering the story to sow doubt between Judy and Nick. And after what you've written, what others have written, what I've written, that does feel like a waste.
Of course, knowing things, I feel she'd likely be used in the same way I've seen her incorporated into other (still otherwise well-written) fanfics: some sort of kingpin rallying the Prey equivalent of the Aryan Brotherhood, or simply entering the story to sow doubt between Judy and Nick. And after what you've written, what others have written, what I've written, that does feel like a waste.
I guess a digging into the root of the problem thing wouldn't be very palatable for a disney movie. I don't know, I mean. Based on how Lionheart treated her throughout the film, and things like working in a boiler room it give you a bit more to go on than most villians get. My main concern really is just seeing her dragged back as "Villian by default" for revenge, and snuffing out any sort of reasoning for an easy plot. Another reviewer said they personally wouldn't want to see Dawn come up again aside from maybe a reference. And I would happily agree with that if they weren't going to redeem her on her own. I just really don't want to see her used as a revenge villian. If she has to come back, it should be something creative, and the only way something like that could be done is by fleshing her out a little more, which I worry Disney won't do. They've got a hit on thier hands now, so they'll have more of an eye on it, and I fear like their other franchises they will run it into the ground and I'll have to see flat villain Dawn.
Zoot one, for whatever flaws one could point to, had a lot of good going for it. Judy was a well fleshed out female protagonist, who earned everything she got through hard work and thinking of ways to work around her weaknesses into strengths. And despite the predictable "The one you least suspect" villain twist, they did give you enough to go on to show that there might have been elements to push Dawn where she went. Room to build on why she basically snapped. And I just think, more than anything I guess, that Z2 and however many sequels they hammer out are just going to further strip away those elements like their other films. Idk...I suppose if the quality suffers than people will start turning away from it anyway, but I don't want to see that happen, as much as I have a general dislike for Disney in most cases.
At the very least, I hope I did a good job with my Dawn's reasonings for snapping. But I still think it couldn't hurt to poke the creators and see if they have considered an idea. I figured I'd give it a shot. If not, I've always got my AU I guess. People seem to like it.
Zoot one, for whatever flaws one could point to, had a lot of good going for it. Judy was a well fleshed out female protagonist, who earned everything she got through hard work and thinking of ways to work around her weaknesses into strengths. And despite the predictable "The one you least suspect" villain twist, they did give you enough to go on to show that there might have been elements to push Dawn where she went. Room to build on why she basically snapped. And I just think, more than anything I guess, that Z2 and however many sequels they hammer out are just going to further strip away those elements like their other films. Idk...I suppose if the quality suffers than people will start turning away from it anyway, but I don't want to see that happen, as much as I have a general dislike for Disney in most cases.
At the very least, I hope I did a good job with my Dawn's reasonings for snapping. But I still think it couldn't hurt to poke the creators and see if they have considered an idea. I figured I'd give it a shot. If not, I've always got my AU I guess. People seem to like it.
I get you. It's just something I've thought about and considered. I mean, despite being a massive Judy and Nick fanboy, I never really thought much of Dawn initially beyond "oh, she's the bad guy, okay". Your work, along with some others, inspired a new take on the character. With that in mind, the generic "revenge villain" approach felt exhausted and tired. And an official sequel doing the same won't have much going for it in that department. I mean, it'd make some degree of sense, considering how Bellwether's cronies were likely arrested and the trend of such people being made into martyrs. But it wouldn't add much to the hypothetical sequel without becoming a retread with an easier plot, as you've noted.
Of course, this is assuming Disney will do anything with Zootopia. It seems to have been shoved to the wayside. Some blame politics. Some blame a recurrence issue. (I.e. Moana/Pocahontas was supposed to be the colossal hit, but the filler film The Lion King/Zootopia did better -- even though Moana is better constructed than Pocahontas and not every Lion King property is above getting shafted, such as the case with The Lion Guard). Some blame Disney's pressing of Frozen. And so on. If there is a sequel, I hope it'll at least maintain the winning dynamic of Ms. Hopps and Mr. Wilde. (And as a side note, despite being a big-time WildeHopps shipper, I don't care if the pairing isn't canonized, so long as they don't mess up their characterization.)
For the sake of discussion, though, one idea I've used to facilitate Dawn's redemption, which I've also seen in a couple other authors' ideas, is the development of an unexpected friendship with a Predator inmate. It seemed like a small, but helpful step.
Of course, this is assuming Disney will do anything with Zootopia. It seems to have been shoved to the wayside. Some blame politics. Some blame a recurrence issue. (I.e. Moana/Pocahontas was supposed to be the colossal hit, but the filler film The Lion King/Zootopia did better -- even though Moana is better constructed than Pocahontas and not every Lion King property is above getting shafted, such as the case with The Lion Guard). Some blame Disney's pressing of Frozen. And so on. If there is a sequel, I hope it'll at least maintain the winning dynamic of Ms. Hopps and Mr. Wilde. (And as a side note, despite being a big-time WildeHopps shipper, I don't care if the pairing isn't canonized, so long as they don't mess up their characterization.)
For the sake of discussion, though, one idea I've used to facilitate Dawn's redemption, which I've also seen in a couple other authors' ideas, is the development of an unexpected friendship with a Predator inmate. It seemed like a small, but helpful step.
From what little I've heard in interviews, they've been tossing around something along the lines of making Bellwether a walking "Silence Of The Lambs" parody (ha-ha), the same way Mr. Big was a walking "Godfather" parody. 'Side from that, they'll probably not do much with her in terms of a rumored sequel, considering she's not that popular among fans, nor does she leave that big an impact as a villain, at least not as much as their other villains. It'd still be nice to see a hint of redemption, even if it's nothing more than just a blink-and-you'll-miss-it-detail, but we still have your AU to look to, and even if the sequel does suck, at least it'd be all the more inspiring to know that you wrote it better.
I kinda agree with you on not bringing her back at all.
Though, it's not so much that she'd be "villain-by-default" that I'm worried about, so much as the slight possibility that they'd make her cross the line even further in terms of evil deeds.
I mean, one of the big factors of why I even considered reading your "Rehab" fic in the first place was the fact that, aside from being a big political metaphor, Dawn didn't really get to do anything that juicy in the original, on top of being introduced as a fairly-likable character early on, and having some kind of understandable roots for her bias. Her only onscreen action that everyone likes to point to is the "savage Nick" scene, but even then it could easily be interpreted as anything other than "she's a psycho", at least, from my POV, plus, I just think of that scene from "Austin Powers" where they're all "Why don't you just shoot him?". Plus, spoilers, Nick and Judy were faking it, so, there's a downgrade. And it's not like she's performing mass genocide, or planning to perform such, on all predators or anything, just making them go crazy and turning the public against them. Granted that's still not a nice thing to do, and I am sick of foxes and wolves in media portrayed as "savage, ruthless killers" or "conniving bad guys", but in the grand scheme, even ignoring the twist villain trope, it's still not enough to qualify for "love-to-hate" in my book(though I'd rather not think too hard about the race-allegory thing, since it makes the twist more painful to look back on), especially compared to several other villains in the media.
With your AU in mind, however, I'm starting to see that as more a good thing.
My point is, I think a good question would be not what they do with her, but what they not do with her. There's already enough comparisons of her to Frollo of all characters (Again, I know Dawn was not exactly a saint, but Frollo? Really?), and enough comparisons to Trump that even the directors got in on, and I feel like doubling down on her villainy would just make us Bellwether fans look even worse.
I guess this is all just speculation/paranoia, but I just felt like throwing my own take on your plan, and, again, I'm more than glad to have your AU in the meantime.
P.S. Rich Moore apparently left Disney for Sony Animation, so Byron Howard's probably your best choice, if you're still considering this.
Though, it's not so much that she'd be "villain-by-default" that I'm worried about, so much as the slight possibility that they'd make her cross the line even further in terms of evil deeds.
I mean, one of the big factors of why I even considered reading your "Rehab" fic in the first place was the fact that, aside from being a big political metaphor, Dawn didn't really get to do anything that juicy in the original, on top of being introduced as a fairly-likable character early on, and having some kind of understandable roots for her bias. Her only onscreen action that everyone likes to point to is the "savage Nick" scene, but even then it could easily be interpreted as anything other than "she's a psycho", at least, from my POV, plus, I just think of that scene from "Austin Powers" where they're all "Why don't you just shoot him?". Plus, spoilers, Nick and Judy were faking it, so, there's a downgrade. And it's not like she's performing mass genocide, or planning to perform such, on all predators or anything, just making them go crazy and turning the public against them. Granted that's still not a nice thing to do, and I am sick of foxes and wolves in media portrayed as "savage, ruthless killers" or "conniving bad guys", but in the grand scheme, even ignoring the twist villain trope, it's still not enough to qualify for "love-to-hate" in my book(though I'd rather not think too hard about the race-allegory thing, since it makes the twist more painful to look back on), especially compared to several other villains in the media.
With your AU in mind, however, I'm starting to see that as more a good thing.
My point is, I think a good question would be not what they do with her, but what they not do with her. There's already enough comparisons of her to Frollo of all characters (Again, I know Dawn was not exactly a saint, but Frollo? Really?), and enough comparisons to Trump that even the directors got in on, and I feel like doubling down on her villainy would just make us Bellwether fans look even worse.
I guess this is all just speculation/paranoia, but I just felt like throwing my own take on your plan, and, again, I'm more than glad to have your AU in the meantime.
P.S. Rich Moore apparently left Disney for Sony Animation, so Byron Howard's probably your best choice, if you're still considering this.
PS. I'm sorry if the last comment came out as anything negative concerning your AU.
It's still done a lot for me regarding my thoughts on Bellwether, and it let me see the potential they could have done with her, and I'd hate to see Z2/3/4 crap on that potential by further stripping away her humanity (or mammal-ity).
I've been thinking up a good way to contact the creators, and I'll note you with my draft, BTW.
It's still done a lot for me regarding my thoughts on Bellwether, and it let me see the potential they could have done with her, and I'd hate to see Z2/3/4 crap on that potential by further stripping away her humanity (or mammal-ity).
I've been thinking up a good way to contact the creators, and I'll note you with my draft, BTW.
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