Author's Notes

My first thought for this was a period piece, a childhood story of how Burns went from being "Happy" to the miserly and unpredictable tyrant in the show. I ruled that out right away. There simply wasn't enough ideas in my head for me to make a compelling story.

I decided on a split-narrative piece instead.

That being said, this story was whittled down significantly. Lots of 'darlings' to be killed, so to speak. Less can be more, and the original draft got fairly convoluted and slow towards the end. See, instead of just having Wainwright's journals and the present timeline, about 3/4s of the way through a third narrative was introduced: Charles / Monty Burns' journal. Those were all removed from the final cut. They slowed things down, confused the reader, got in the way.

Near the beginning there was also a scene where Ryan and Waylon went to visit Waylon's mother on their way out of town. That was cut very early one because it slowed everything down, and didn't help anything.

There's a certain pace, a footing, that must be maintained to keep the reader's interest. Nothing's worse than things feeling like they're coming to a head, then it levels out again. That would be like going up the first hill of a roller coaster, only to discover a gentle slope gradually going back down. All the Reader's excitement and anticipation wasted. I hate that, and I'm not going to put other people through it. All Burns' journal entries were deleted, and condensed down to two letters that you read at the end.

A significant number of Wainwright's entries were pulled out as well.

The little inside joke there was the sheets of paper on the floor of the entryway of Belledouleur: the pages I removed.

I had significantly more material on him: his obsession with dark magic, the depths of his depravity, his belief that consuming hearts of the strong would keep him alive, his laudanum (opium) addiction. A conversation between Burns and Wainwright took place regarding the laudanum:

"That errant stuff will be the death of you grandfather."

"Nonsense, boy. You'll find me long enduring still."

The showdown at Belledouleur was much more intense at the end in the original draft.

CMB: swings his cane at Ryan

RS: blocks w/silver candlestick holder

CMB: tired of ryan deflecting his attacks draws a sword from his cane sheath. yells at WS: "If you ever loved me you'll finish the boy!"

WS: "I can't."

CMB: "Damn you all, I'll send this demon back to hell where it belongs." raises his sword -and- cleaves the candlestick holder from RS's grasp.

[omitted]

CMB: loses his strength, collapses, realization dawning that he was ready to slay his lover's son. "What have I done? I've finally become the monster he wanted me to be." CMB begs they leave him.

Yes, exciting, but a bit over done, I felt. Ryan is, after all, just a kid. I want to actually have him form a bond with Waylon, and eventually Burns as well. And the whole "Burns angst" is a trope that's been done in spades. I like the simpler ending better.

Belledouleur, for those of you who don't speak French, means "Beautiful Agony," or "Beautiful Pain." The town, Mortrouge means "Red Death," a nod to Edgar Allen Poe's short story of the same name. Wainwright's wolfhound, Wildfell, was so named from Anne Bronte's "Tenant of Wildfell Hall." I found myself inspired by the gothic once again. I wanted something dark, and unsettling, especially the few scenes of Wainwright's treatment towards young Charles. Violence and brutality can be shocking, but more unpleasant can be the idea of someone who is utterly devoid of empathy. Graphic violence is almost always less shocking than the cruelty of mental manipulation. Wainwright is a narcissist, and sociopath. He's not a tragic figure, and there's no past that made him into a monster. He was born that way, he died that way; a villain in the truest sense of the word.

I really hope no one relates to him.

On a more pleasant note: I had a wonderful time looking at pictures of abandoned old plantations. If you want to see what I envision the interior of BelleDouleur to look like, several photos can be found on my Facebook author's page: ChequeRootLurks. Due to TOS, I can't post the URL here, but it's easy enough to find.

Beyond this page are two deleted scenes I did want to share. I hope you enjoy them.

Thanks for reading this!

It's always a pleasure to write for You!

~ Muse