hey i saw you reblogged a long post talking about redemption arcs and what they do and don't mean for characters and authors, and that you tagged something about Alas It Ain't Kansas. Obviously rewriting AiAK is unrealistic lol, but if you had any ideas about what you would do differently if you did rewrite it I'd love to hear them! Would Quaritch and Wainfleet's redemption have gone differently with the perspective on them you have now?
Oooooh giiiirl I wouldn't even know where to begin, to me AIAK didn't age well 😭
I'd still keep the base plot of them going on a covert operation, but they'd go to the Western Frontier to try and subjugate the Resistance from within. Bonus if they get the Sarentu for some good old brainwashing.
I'd probably scratch Jolene and have Quaritch be in between a rock and a hard place regarding the Sarentu (Lyle would either crush on Ri'nela or So'lek). They'd definitely use Teylan in one way or another. I'm still very attached to that "following in Jake's footsteps" type of plotline but Quaritch would be different. I'd have him and Lyle go their separate ways because I'd follow canon and have Neteyam dead.
Quaritch would be simultaneously more mellow due to the shit that went down with Spider, but also more bitter and aggressive. The Zeswa would like him and Lyle, though. Hell, maybe I'd keep Nalati as a Zeswa and have the man be as I originally wrote him as.
Maybe the turning point for Quaritch would be Mercer turning up the heat. Mercer pissed him off with the whole "you're property of the RDA" thing, not Ardmore. Maybe Harding reminds him of his old self and it makes him feel a bit sick. So he goes to get Jake's help because the Resistance needs to be crushed.
Heh, there'd be chapters of them trying to stop So'lek and the Sarentu from fucking up their bases. Them meeting a Zakru in the wild. Very similar stuff but Quaritch would be more resistent. He'd do more harm, be more difficult. It'd appeal to some, but So'lek would probably be what Grig was in AIAK - a hard rival only later turned friend (if at all).
Maybe they'd take Lyle in but not Quaritch. He wouldn't be one of the people and live alone in the Heart of the Plains, maybe. Or maybe he and Lyle would actually join the Sarentu - maybe they'd find remnants of the Sarentu living in seclusion, and could actually revive their Clan.
Looooots and lots of wiggle room here, but he'd never be buddies with the Sully fam. He'd never be this big hero. He'd remain Ska'a'to, but it'd be a name they mention in fear even after he redeemed himself. He'd have very few friends among the Na'vi. Maybe only So'lek and Kín.
He'd visit Mokasa because he sympathises with him. Mokasa pretends he's better than Quaritch but he starts to appreciate him once the loneliness sets in.
Ska'a'to would be this bogeyman the Na'vi respect but keep at a slight distance, and it'd work for him. He's just happy to be there. Much to improve, much to regret. Him and Spider would talk often through the radio. Sometimes the kid would visit and those would be the days Ska'a'to isn't as scary as he usually makes himself to be.
If he actually falls in love with a Sarentu (or Alma 💀 or Mokasa 💀💀💀), things would be a tad brighter. He doesn’t know how to speak his love but he'd do whatever his love needs doing - whatever the Na'vi need doing. He'd atone by bringing Kín herbs after having overheard he's short. He'd be stunned when Kín brings him some Zakru cheese he needed the herbs for. He'd start watching kids (sounds so bad this way 😭), pick out the troublemakers and tries to put them in their place in a manner alien to him: gently. His way, of course, but still gently.
He'd have a whole gaggle of them. That's how he'd find the fullest atonement: making sure the children - untouched by the harm he contributed to - are safe, strong and carefree. The Na'vi would notice. The Resistance would notice. Even the Sullys would notice, when they come see the Great Games once.
*another deep, deeeep sigh*
Autistic and creative block are a bitch.
