In a chapter note, Speechwriter says she wrote this at 16.
It reminded me candidly of myself at that age, even younger. TDODM was published on AO3 10 years after that, and she grew so much as a writer. It warms my heart that she kept writing ff, if she was to publish a novel of her own I would definitely read it.
So, about TFL, it lost me right about the middle, when Tom acted a little too… normal? I do think his redemption came kind of out of nowhere, so did Hermione’s feelings for him, and because of that both of them felt a little out of character for almost the entire story. I did like the ending, though. Tom didn’t feel like Tom, but I grew to like him, feel for him and want him to be able to savor the new world Hermione created for him. I like happily-ever-after-endings as much as the next person, but sometimes it doesn’t quite tie the story together as a ‘kill your darlings’ kind of thing. It was also nice to see Tom ascending to heaven, detaching from the part of his soul that would descend into the 9th. It’s as much a happy ending as we could expect for him. For that reason I may not even read the alternative ending.
That being said, I’m definitely a Speechwriter fan now.