The ABverse in YOUR hands
Aug. 17th, 2012 03:40 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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lkh_lashoutsI fell in love with the world that LKH made. It was the biggest draw for me to read her books, to keep reading, even when things started to go bad. More than the characters, more than even the stories, I loved the *world* that Anita Blake lived in. I loved the laws surrounding supernaturals, I loved the vaccines for lycanthropy, I loved that raising zombies was a business, I loved that you could major in preternatural biology, I loved development on different societies and breeds of shapeshifters, vampires, and other creatures of the night. Even now that I hate the series, I still love the world that it's taking place in, even if the author seems to have muchly forgotten it beyond finding reasons for Anita to have more sex with more monsters and be queen of them all.
In some recent post here (I'm afraid I can't seem to find it) someone said something to the effect of "wouldn't it be neat if, after LKH stopped writing the AB:VH series, she made it so that other authors were allowed to set their books in the same universe?"
It would be more than neat. It would be a dream come true for me. Now, I don't think it will ever happen, but what if it did? What if YOU had a chance to write in the Anitaverse, not just as fanfiction but as your own damn series? Let's take it even further out of the realm of plausibility and say that you also get to have full control of all the canon characters if you so choose, and to retcon anything you don't like?
Would you use canon characters, or make your own? Stick to the main cast, or take on the side characters to flesh out? Mix your originals with LKH's creations? Focus mostly on your characters, but have a canon cameo every once in awhile?
Would it be set in the same place, or somewhere else? The same time, or the past or future? Would the focus be on any particular group, supernatural or human, or would it be species-equal screentime? Or would the focus be just on characters and not on the goings-on of any particular race? Would the story have a lot of politics? Daily life? Romance? Gore? What would the overall tone be? Would there ever be a message or moral to the stories?
Would you choose to retcon anything, be it something a character did, or just something about the universe? Or would you choose to leave it as is? Maybe set things before that particular event happened, then make it into an AU where things take a different path?
For myself, I would work with all-original cast of strictly my own creation, no canons from LKH. I just can't write people who were created by someone else, hence why I generally *fail* at fanfiction that isn't over-the-top parody (which AB is very good for, but wouldn't be my intent here). Out of all the canons most especially, I don't think Anita would ever show up in mine. I wouldn't be able to write her in any way other than the way we all see her here, and making fun of her for it, and as catharticly hilarious as that is in online fanfic, it would just be a really tacky move in a published work because, hey, that lady and the lady who made her are the reason it's now published at all. That said, I couldn't put her in the way LKH would want--always right, world revolves around her for real, etc.--so for me, I just wouldn't have her there at all, since if I can't write her the way I see her and I can't write her the way LKH sees her, how could I write her? Plus I think the story would be set in, say, 2005, and in Georgia, so I don't know what she'd be doing there or what she'd be up to then. Ditto for all the canon characters.
It would be set somewhere else, probably in a fictional town/city in Georgia, since I live in Georgia and know it better than I do anywhere else, and in the early 2000s (with cultural and pop-cultural references actually current to the era). The focus would be on the supernaturals, and not from the POV of a human outsider looking in as with Anita. It would be told from third-person, and not favor the point of view of any one character, let alone have any character be supposed to be seen as being completely right in their POV by the reader. There would be human characters, certainly, but the life and world of supernaturals and how they balance that with normal everyday life like regular humans have is the focus, particularly with therianthropes, who don't always have the privilege of just going completely underground into their own world like the vampires seem to.
That's why I would try especially to put the bloodsucking monster bit back in the AB-world vampires. They have everything they need to be scary like they used to be in the beginning before Anita shagged their species into submission. While I do like my monsters to be monsters in general, I feel that being inhuman and firghtening is not a requirement for therians in this universe as much as it is for vampires, and could in fact be unrealistic in some cases. Most therians have to spend the greater portion of their lives not just in human form, but really being human. They have to hold human jobs with human bosses and human co-workers, go shopping for human foodstuffs and human clothing at human stores, take mass transport with crowds of humans, have human friends and human family, maybe even human spouses and human children. Their ties to humanity are generally much stronger and more numerous than those of vampires, whose human families are long dead and who, in the ABverse, seem to interact with the human world less and less the older they are, getting more and more disconnected not simply from modern times, but from any people who aren't also vampires or part of vampire culture. That kind of disconnect could easily allow someone, even if they're not inherently evil incarnate, think and do horrible things, especially if they're a member of a species with such strong predatory instincts and magical powers.
The daily life of monsters would be a big focus, and how the supernatural intersects with the mundane for them, what problems and advantages that can have, etc. For instance, let's take sensory issues. The intensely attuned senses of hearing and scent that vampires and werebeasts posses is always shown as a positive, never as a disadvantage. What about trying to sleep when you can hear a baby crying not in your house, but in the house three doors down from you? The intense urge to gag when you pass by garbage that barely registers as a bad whiff to most people--or worse, suddenly getting the impulse from your beast to eat it because you can smell still-pretty-fresh steak in there somewhere? Learning how, when you are new to all this, to block out and filter and live with it all without going crazy from the constant levels of sensory input on a scale no normal human has ever had to deal with and can't possibly imagine? That alone is going to be a big hurdle in the lives of the post-human, and while it may not be dramatic as ~urges to kill~ and ~controlling your beast~ it's certainly something that, in my opinion, should be thought about and paid attention to, among many other similarly non-glamorous/non-badass but logical issues.
I'd try to give attention to fleshing out species that we got a glimpse of or were told about, but that were never really explored enough in my opinion. The main character(s) however, would be a wererat(s). What can I say, I like rats, so of course I like wererats! I'd also really like to explore the concept of matriarchies through the werehyenas and weretiger clans, so my ratties would probably be doing a lot of inter-species interaction, both political and otherwise.
I would like to do as much preternatural politics as possible, though I am a bit doubtful about my ability to write it. Still, they're so interesting that I'd have to try. Romance would probably be the least focused on. I'm simply not interested in it, not confident in my ability to write it well or believably, and frankly I'm tired of urban fantasy automatically having to be paranormal romance as seems to be a trend now. It might happen, sure, I suppose it's unrealistic for all these people to be interacting with each other and attractions never forming, but it will mostly be on the sidelines unless it's necessary for plot purposes somehow. Secondary characters will probably get more romantic/sexual action than the primary ones, in fact. Speaking of action of other sorts, I'd of course like to have a sizable chunk of that in there too, and bring back really awesome totally inhuman monster stuff in the same vein as Bloody Bones, the zombie chimera, ghoul hordes, etc. I loved that in the early series, I really did. Mine would lack the "detective novel/crime solving" aspects, though.
I wouldn't exactly retcon anything, but I would be very selective about what made it in as being relevant to the plot enough to not only get included, but paid significant attention to. For instance, the ardeur would NOT be a plot point. It might show up in one book as a monstrous soul-scarring weapon used by the bad guys, but it will never be a regular thing, let alone something to facilitate sex for the protagonists or portrayed in any way as something 'good' that heroes would ever use. The whole sex-as-currency theme that has taken over what remains of any preternatural politics in the recent books would also be ignored, with the supernatural heads being more concerned over who gets which territories, resources, etc., not just because the sex part is boring to me but because it's also never made a lick of sense either beyond an excuse to hand over new bed-toys for Anita. I want real politicking, not pimping disguised as it. I guess I would sort of retcon the "defeat" of Marmee Noir by having her still be around, with some mention at some point of having tricked a necromancer who was giving her trouble into thinking she had defeated her, giving her time to continue to rest and build her power for her eventual true waking.
So, how about you? If the ABverse and all its contents were in your hands, what would you do, where would you take it, how would you treat it?
In some recent post here (I'm afraid I can't seem to find it) someone said something to the effect of "wouldn't it be neat if, after LKH stopped writing the AB:VH series, she made it so that other authors were allowed to set their books in the same universe?"
It would be more than neat. It would be a dream come true for me. Now, I don't think it will ever happen, but what if it did? What if YOU had a chance to write in the Anitaverse, not just as fanfiction but as your own damn series? Let's take it even further out of the realm of plausibility and say that you also get to have full control of all the canon characters if you so choose, and to retcon anything you don't like?
Would you use canon characters, or make your own? Stick to the main cast, or take on the side characters to flesh out? Mix your originals with LKH's creations? Focus mostly on your characters, but have a canon cameo every once in awhile?
Would it be set in the same place, or somewhere else? The same time, or the past or future? Would the focus be on any particular group, supernatural or human, or would it be species-equal screentime? Or would the focus be just on characters and not on the goings-on of any particular race? Would the story have a lot of politics? Daily life? Romance? Gore? What would the overall tone be? Would there ever be a message or moral to the stories?
Would you choose to retcon anything, be it something a character did, or just something about the universe? Or would you choose to leave it as is? Maybe set things before that particular event happened, then make it into an AU where things take a different path?
For myself, I would work with all-original cast of strictly my own creation, no canons from LKH. I just can't write people who were created by someone else, hence why I generally *fail* at fanfiction that isn't over-the-top parody (which AB is very good for, but wouldn't be my intent here). Out of all the canons most especially, I don't think Anita would ever show up in mine. I wouldn't be able to write her in any way other than the way we all see her here, and making fun of her for it, and as catharticly hilarious as that is in online fanfic, it would just be a really tacky move in a published work because, hey, that lady and the lady who made her are the reason it's now published at all. That said, I couldn't put her in the way LKH would want--always right, world revolves around her for real, etc.--so for me, I just wouldn't have her there at all, since if I can't write her the way I see her and I can't write her the way LKH sees her, how could I write her? Plus I think the story would be set in, say, 2005, and in Georgia, so I don't know what she'd be doing there or what she'd be up to then. Ditto for all the canon characters.
It would be set somewhere else, probably in a fictional town/city in Georgia, since I live in Georgia and know it better than I do anywhere else, and in the early 2000s (with cultural and pop-cultural references actually current to the era). The focus would be on the supernaturals, and not from the POV of a human outsider looking in as with Anita. It would be told from third-person, and not favor the point of view of any one character, let alone have any character be supposed to be seen as being completely right in their POV by the reader. There would be human characters, certainly, but the life and world of supernaturals and how they balance that with normal everyday life like regular humans have is the focus, particularly with therianthropes, who don't always have the privilege of just going completely underground into their own world like the vampires seem to.
That's why I would try especially to put the bloodsucking monster bit back in the AB-world vampires. They have everything they need to be scary like they used to be in the beginning before Anita shagged their species into submission. While I do like my monsters to be monsters in general, I feel that being inhuman and firghtening is not a requirement for therians in this universe as much as it is for vampires, and could in fact be unrealistic in some cases. Most therians have to spend the greater portion of their lives not just in human form, but really being human. They have to hold human jobs with human bosses and human co-workers, go shopping for human foodstuffs and human clothing at human stores, take mass transport with crowds of humans, have human friends and human family, maybe even human spouses and human children. Their ties to humanity are generally much stronger and more numerous than those of vampires, whose human families are long dead and who, in the ABverse, seem to interact with the human world less and less the older they are, getting more and more disconnected not simply from modern times, but from any people who aren't also vampires or part of vampire culture. That kind of disconnect could easily allow someone, even if they're not inherently evil incarnate, think and do horrible things, especially if they're a member of a species with such strong predatory instincts and magical powers.
The daily life of monsters would be a big focus, and how the supernatural intersects with the mundane for them, what problems and advantages that can have, etc. For instance, let's take sensory issues. The intensely attuned senses of hearing and scent that vampires and werebeasts posses is always shown as a positive, never as a disadvantage. What about trying to sleep when you can hear a baby crying not in your house, but in the house three doors down from you? The intense urge to gag when you pass by garbage that barely registers as a bad whiff to most people--or worse, suddenly getting the impulse from your beast to eat it because you can smell still-pretty-fresh steak in there somewhere? Learning how, when you are new to all this, to block out and filter and live with it all without going crazy from the constant levels of sensory input on a scale no normal human has ever had to deal with and can't possibly imagine? That alone is going to be a big hurdle in the lives of the post-human, and while it may not be dramatic as ~urges to kill~ and ~controlling your beast~ it's certainly something that, in my opinion, should be thought about and paid attention to, among many other similarly non-glamorous/non-badass but logical issues.
I'd try to give attention to fleshing out species that we got a glimpse of or were told about, but that were never really explored enough in my opinion. The main character(s) however, would be a wererat(s). What can I say, I like rats, so of course I like wererats! I'd also really like to explore the concept of matriarchies through the werehyenas and weretiger clans, so my ratties would probably be doing a lot of inter-species interaction, both political and otherwise.
I would like to do as much preternatural politics as possible, though I am a bit doubtful about my ability to write it. Still, they're so interesting that I'd have to try. Romance would probably be the least focused on. I'm simply not interested in it, not confident in my ability to write it well or believably, and frankly I'm tired of urban fantasy automatically having to be paranormal romance as seems to be a trend now. It might happen, sure, I suppose it's unrealistic for all these people to be interacting with each other and attractions never forming, but it will mostly be on the sidelines unless it's necessary for plot purposes somehow. Secondary characters will probably get more romantic/sexual action than the primary ones, in fact. Speaking of action of other sorts, I'd of course like to have a sizable chunk of that in there too, and bring back really awesome totally inhuman monster stuff in the same vein as Bloody Bones, the zombie chimera, ghoul hordes, etc. I loved that in the early series, I really did. Mine would lack the "detective novel/crime solving" aspects, though.
I wouldn't exactly retcon anything, but I would be very selective about what made it in as being relevant to the plot enough to not only get included, but paid significant attention to. For instance, the ardeur would NOT be a plot point. It might show up in one book as a monstrous soul-scarring weapon used by the bad guys, but it will never be a regular thing, let alone something to facilitate sex for the protagonists or portrayed in any way as something 'good' that heroes would ever use. The whole sex-as-currency theme that has taken over what remains of any preternatural politics in the recent books would also be ignored, with the supernatural heads being more concerned over who gets which territories, resources, etc., not just because the sex part is boring to me but because it's also never made a lick of sense either beyond an excuse to hand over new bed-toys for Anita. I want real politicking, not pimping disguised as it. I guess I would sort of retcon the "defeat" of Marmee Noir by having her still be around, with some mention at some point of having tricked a necromancer who was giving her trouble into thinking she had defeated her, giving her time to continue to rest and build her power for her eventual true waking.
So, how about you? If the ABverse and all its contents were in your hands, what would you do, where would you take it, how would you treat it?
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no subject
Date: 2012-08-17 08:07 pm (UTC)I would overwrite the canon in the "sane person" manner - where Anita is the Bad Guy that sucks the life out of the were population of Saint Louis and everyone just start to realise it.
Some canon characters would be included and poor Richard, who at this point is just a wrech of a man=_=
no subject
Date: 2012-08-17 08:16 pm (UTC)Personally, I think there's a ton to write about in that particular world if a series was set in the El Paso/Juarez metroplex. The terrible violence and gang wars in Juarez, the people fleeing for their safety to the US side of things in El Paso, just how much worse, and how much better, would that situation be in the Anita verse?
Are Vampires fueling the gang wars, pulling the strings and basically having taken over Mexico? Are the coyotes that smuggle humans across the boarder literally were-coyotes, and that has a direct link with how many people die during the crossing attempts?
My protagonist though? NO POWERS beyond her faith. She'd be in law enforcement, a real badge as opposed to Anita's only when convenient. Fresh out of school, all wide eyed and idealistic, assigned to a missing teenager case. Of course, being THIS world a missing kid case never ends well and she ends up well over her head. The first book would be a 'coming of age' tale, not of a teenager, but of moving from the state of normal to Badass Normal, as tvtropes would put it, and it would end with her being transferred into the supernatural division.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-18 07:59 am (UTC)1) I'd retcon the ardeur out of existence. Don't care if it messes up certain continuities. It's a stupid, worthless plot device. I'd reboot the series after Obsidian Butterfly and call all the other novels non-canon.
2) I'd get rid of all the minor characters who don't do anything. Damian's gotta go for sure. I'd downsize Nathaniel's importance because he's an exhausting character. Micah wouldn't exist either. And Richard would only appear when absolutely necessary. Granted, I'd make him less of a dick too, but there's not much to do with his character.
3) Dolph would stay sane and not turn into a preternatural hating psychopath.
4) Asher would stick around, but he wouldn't be a love interest except for Jean Claude. For Pete's sake, he's earned the right to be with the man he loves and has loved for centuries. Butt out, Anita.
5) Edward wouldn't have shacked up with his family for good. Maybe for a short transitional period where he introduced them to someone who wouldn't get them killed. Peter would still talk to him, but he wouldn't be a big part of his life. I love Edward, but a family man, he is not.
6) I'd get rid of Olaf. He's a one trick pony. Doesn't need to come back.
7) I'd have Anita face her father. To my knowledge, NONE of her family members ever appear in the books and that's just a wasted opportunity.
8) I'd introduce more useful female characters, or at least give Ronnie and Cherry main roles. Anita's world is a sausagefest and she needs to be balanced by other women. Badly.
9) Jean Claude would go back to manipulating things in his favor. He's good at that and it's what I love about him. He's not evil, but he's certainly not a good guy even if he has redeemable qualities.
10) In terms of boyfriends, I'd have Anita date JC and Jason. Sounds weird, but the only part of Cerulean Sins that I liked was Jason. They are one of the few friends-with-benefits pairings that makes sense and is fun to read. Again, I'd let Richard move on to greener pastures. He's been through enough and he deserves someone he can get along with.
Just my thoughts. Sorry if I went on a bit long.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-19 01:50 am (UTC)It'll probably be awful. I'm not a professional author. But having just reread NiC, I saw about a billion things I wanted to change, so I am. As for the changes I'm attempting to insert think #'s 1 (but not in the way you think), 2, 3, 8, and 9, at least. I've also found in this reread that LKH is almost ALL tell and NO show. It's annoying. It's actually in the epilogue where Anita kills Jacob, who was trying to take over the werewolf pack. And Chimera? Shows up in the last 40 pages. And he's insane because he's a panwere? He wants Anita as his mate? WHAT?
I would change WHY Anita can do what she can do. It's written in she can do stuff, and that's... unfortunately too intertwined with the plot anymore with her "beasts" and calling the munin and so on. I would also dwell more on things like "it's an infectious disease (lynthcanropy) , how does that affect the real world" and "the cops get intelligence" and various other things which make sense in real world terms, not so much in ABverse.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-19 01:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-19 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-19 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-22 02:50 am (UTC)I'd want to take the series in the direction I thought it was headed early on. Anita was the first necromancer the vampires hadn't killed the moment they discovered her. And the end result was going to be an object lesson in WHY the vampires have had that long-standing policy. Jean Claude would ally with Anita and hide her necromantic heritage from the vampires--from everyone, as best he could--so as to use her to further his own ambitions. He wouldn't tell Anita, that, of course. He'd always have a convincing rationale for everything he did, but it would all lead to tying Anita closer to him, feeding his power and hers. And he'd use that power to force his way into the highest ranks of the vampire community.
In the end, however, Anita--who would still be the kick-ass woman of faith she'd been in the beginning--would discover Jean Claude's treachery, and at the worst possible time for everyone involved. She'd break free of Jean Claude's manipulations, and demonstrate to him as well as to the vampire elders just what a necromancer in the full flush of her power, and no longer restrained by Jean Claude's leash, can do. She wouldn't survive it, any more than they would--think Samson pulling down the temple around him--but in the end the vampires of the world would be, if not completely eradicated, almost exterminated.
The story of Jean Claude and Anita would become legend amongst the few surviving vampires--an object lesson in the price of hubris, of letting a necromancer live because you think YOU (unlike every other vampires who has ever tried it) can control her.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-22 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-18 12:47 pm (UTC)1) Create a story arc where Anita fully ascends as the bad guy ruling the state of Missouri.
2) Get a new protagonist rag-tag rebel group to oppose her, starting in small ways and building. These should be part of the same arc to make it interesting and clear. Perhaps led by Damien. I always kind of liked him.
3) Pay more attention to the religious aspects. The anti-supe group and the Church of Eternal Life always interested me, and I'd like to see more done with those aspects, particularly as they could mirror the current move to suppress women's rights.
4) Kill off much of Anita's herem because it's just patently ridiculous.
5) Have Richard step down as packleader and move elsewhere because he's just not cut out for it.
6) Bring in more magic, but reduce other kinds of supernaturals.
7) Have the Rebellion bring Darth Anita crashing down.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-20 10:30 pm (UTC)A prolonged campaign that whittles away her harem would be a joy to read.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-19 04:15 am (UTC)I'd probably focus on a similar preternatural investigative group. Perhaps the heroine even joined because of her admiration for Anita and tries to keep up with what's happening to Anita. Over time, though, as the heroine starts to hear of the alarming direction Anita is taking, she's realizes that Anita needs to be stopped. There would be some angst about fallen heroes, wondering if she might have done something to help her, worry that, if it could happen to Anita, the same thing could happen to anyone, and so on. The finale would be an epic confrontation with Anita, which ends with all of Anita's powers being stripped from her.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-20 07:41 am (UTC)As for my own stories in the AB, I'd like to see a story told from the P.O.V of a vampire or werewolf. I'm kinda getting bored of all these 'humans looking into the supernatural world' stories. 8I Also more supernatural politics and infomation on how the world actually works. Like wouldn't pyromatics make good fire-fighters? Vampires doing night shifts? In one book I can't remember which one, Anita mentioned a doctor vampire sleeping in a closet during the day, but some crazy tried to kill him by taking him down to the morgue. No idea why vampires can be doctors but werewolves can't but maybe it was reconned later?
no subject
Date: 2012-08-21 02:59 am (UTC)Write a story about a lawyer, one who specializes in Wills and Last Testiments (can't recall what they're called). The idea that vampires could mess up inheritance was just delicious to me. How did they fix that? How far back or forward can a vampire go to inherite money? Like, if they turn and hide out for ten years, do they have any right to pop up and demand the family home because their name was on the deed? How does the word of zombie count in will making? Can they really be considered of sound mind and body? What about werewolves and such? Is it legal to have a "If my son ever becomes a werewolf before I die, no money for him. If he becomes one up to X years after I die, no money for him" type of clauses?
I had so many questions from just one little passage in like the first book. Though, I might still write a book like that.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-22 02:48 pm (UTC)Then first chapter I'd take us back to the beginning. Blah blah blah "oh no there's an uprising on our hands" blah blah blah "what does that mean?" blah blah blah. I'm sure you guys all know the drill. The rebels (for lack of a better term) would probably be termed anarchists or something. Then after a few chapters of Anita whining and asking for clarification I'd switch to the protagonists pov. I'd make her more like the old Anita but I'd probably cut out the race issues, the daddy didn't love me enough issues and I don't know if she'd be quite as virginal as Anita.
Basically Anita has become too damn powerful. The supernatural world thinks that JC and crew are amassing another council in America and they don't like that. So there's like a whole army trying to take Anita and Co. down. I'd definitely feature Rafael, and um.... Malcolm? The guy who ran the Church group of vampires. Edward would probably be involved. Richard would probably feature as a spy because I loved his character preassasination. But if he wasn't a spy then I'd definitely have that therapist he's seeing report to the protagonist.
In the end they'd succeed but the main character's lover would also die. (Anita kills him. Protagonist kills her.) She then has a short epilogue talking about how they set up the new master of the city and that she's in mourning for her lost lover.
That'd be the end of the first one. If I wrote more my mc wouldn't have another love for at least a book and a half but probably two.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-22 06:07 pm (UTC)I'd kill off a lot of side characters like Damian and Nathaniel who never do anything. A big chunk of the RPIT team would die trying to stop her from becoming the new MOAD. Edward, Asher and maybe Jean Claude would survive. Anita would have the chance to redeem herself by fighting off the MOAD's power and becoming human again, but whether or not she succeeds always varies depending on my mood.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-27 10:36 am (UTC)For myself, I think that would be fun. But at the same time, although I am not prone to retconning stories, I wouldn't mind "fixing" some things, like the ardeur. I'd find a way to have that implode (or explode, like a balloon with too much air, she can't handle the power generally held by much stronger, centuries-old vampires). That would cut Anita off metaphysically from all the guys. Go ahead and keep them around--but give them jobs, and friends, and lives and relationships separate from Anita.
Have some of them hate her for the ardeur connection, while others maybe want it back. Have her at first stricken by its absence, only to realize how much it changed her, then be relieved, and make her struggle to deal with the friendships she wants to keep but which have been obliterated, as well as the opposite--trying to push away the ones that want to be together that she regrets being tied to (Cynric, anyone?). I'd focus on Anita trying to distance herself even from JC [I'll buy that she loves him, but I'll buy even more that she'll run from the ones she loves to deal with her problems on her own, probably out of a sense of guilt (at least, the Anita in my head would)], and repair the relationships she had with RPIT, Dolph especially, and maybe even try to regain a friendship with Asher (because I like him and want him around without being pushed around). And through all of this, go ahead and get back to what I enjoyed initially, solving crimes, raising the dead, having these different areas of her life overlap, and throw in some political stuff to make things even more difficult.