#dark hans

[jandrichov]

From Fire – Part VII: The Walls

[darksidechick823]

Question regarding "Ulterior Motives": will Hans ever show Anna his true self, and how will she react?

Oooh, that’s a good question. Hans has worked so hard this entire time to put on the facade of caring fiance/regent/husband that if his true nature did come out, it would be accidental or indirect, and probably sometime after he and Anna have already married. Perhaps she walked in on him while he was conversing with someone, or she maybe read a letter he was writing to one of his brothers, where he didn’t hold anything back. Or… perhaps she saw him cackling with glee while sitting alone on the throne. 

Whatever the case of her discovering it, I imagine she would be shocked and confused. This is definitely not a side of Hans she’s seen before. She’d question herself whether or not he was alright, if his actions were stress-induced, if it was all real. Anna would probably distance herself from him for a short while while she tried to figure things out. 

Ultimately though… Hans would notice pretty quick that she was acting different around him, and he’d realize he screwed up. Unfortunately for Anna and fortunately for him, by now he would know exactly what to say and do to wrap her around his fingers again. Extra preening, love talk, romance…, he could practically smooth-talk his way in and out of any situation, and he would do anything and everything to make her doubt herself and her suspicions. 

I say “I imagine”, because as the headcanons for this little AU come and go, I actually haven’t come up with this kind of scenario, and I’m not sure if it would ever occur. The Hans in “Ulterior Motives” isn’t 100% dastardly evil, nor did he plan on usurping the throne to become a tyrant. He does care for the kingdom and for Anna. He hasn’t lied to anyone about what happened during the frozen summer. His biggest act of evil was killing Elsa, but his reasons still held some legal and moral merit. And ultimately, Anna believed him. So… it would have to be a pretty big deal for his calm, caring facade to complete slip away for Anna to really notice that Hans was not himself.

[darksidechick823]

Ulterior Motives - 🎶

🎵- Did you have a playlist/piece of music that went with this story?

Why yes, actually!

So, you all know that I binge-listen to playlists on my iPod until my sanity starts to crumble, in which I then switch to a different genre. Well, when I was writing “Ulterior Motives”, I was zoned in to the film scores of the “Chronicles of Narnia” series. One of my favorite orchestrated moments from “Prince Caspian” was the coronation scene with Lord Miraz.

(Here’s the scene in case you want to see it in full film context)

Granted, in “Caspian”, this plays out right when the armies are about to go to war, so ignoring the troops bit and only focusing on the Miraz parts, I can envision this music two ways: 

First, using the actual scene itself, as a mental image playing out in Hans’ mind as he’s realizing his plan has officially come together. The dramatic crowning ceremony, and he purposefully standing outside on a balcony with Anna, his queen, as the crowd chants. He would be grinning so much inside because THIS is the moment where he would know he truly won. And this envisioned moment in the future would be the final push that drives him to kill Elsa.

The score itself is really powerful. It’s darker, foreboding, and to me seems to resonate really well with the overall tones of the entire fanfic. After all, this is a fic about manipulation and throne usurpation. That’s exactly what’s going on while this music plays.

But there’s more to that track than just that part! 

After the dramatic first minute or two, it segues into a softer, more gloomy bit. I can see this as a whole as background when Hans is out hunting down Elsa on the ice, too. Where the greatest crescendo could be Hans swinging down his sword so the softer parts being the triumphant aftermath–flowing from his solo moment of victory to his speech to the townspeople when the musical tones seem to lighten at the end. 

Here’s the whole piece for your listening pleasures.