#but honestly that redemption does not need to end in death

[jennaimmortal]

Musings on OFMD Season 2

I’m feeling a bit sad today for the OFMD writers. After rewatching S1 & 2 a couple times, it’s become blatantly clear to me that Izzy’s arc this season was a very obvious love letter to both Izzy fans & the great Con O’Neil. Izzy was very clearly written to be an obstacle to Ed’s healing & personal growth, a snare that Ed needed to be freed from, albeit with plenty of nuance hiding under the surface. It would have been much easier for them to kill Izzy off while he was still the toxic, abusive, sadomasochistic terror of S1E10.

Instead of taking the easy route, though, the writers flipped the trope on its head! They utilized every bit of the potential buried beneath Izzy’s super fucked up shell. This season Izzy got

• a fully fleshed out redemption complete with terrible consequences of his 1x10 actions

• a realization of the possibility of another way of thinking & existing that he’d spent all of S1 running from & trying to destroy,

• genuine love & support from his crew mates which he was actually able to accept,

• exploration of the long abandoned softer side of his nature,

• an apology from Ed w/o first offering one of his own,

• a powerful, devastatingly poignant speech that mentally demolished a new nemesis, and finally

• a beautiful, meaningful death in the arms of the man he’d dedicated so much of his life to, known that he was truly loved by him & completely accepting of the fact that Ed’s love was not in the form he’d always hoped for.

It was so much more than we could have hoped for, and was very obviously done in service to the MANY fans that had fallen in love with Izzy even after S1, as well as to give Con a storyline worthy of his immense talent. Considering the face that Izzy was never going to end up becoming the show’s third protagonist, it was more than we could have hoped for!

OFMD has two protagonists, Stede & Ed. All the secondary character narratives that haven’t directly involved Ed and/or Stede have been icing on the cake, but the cake has always been the Gentlebeard love story. I feel like some people forget this, expecting them to treat the secondary characters as if it were an ensemble show instead of a show with leads.

Izzy’s arc really was an amazing gift! The writers gave us this incredible journey for Izzy this season, and what did a disgraceful number of people do? They attacked David directly, insulted the entire show, the writers, & other characters, even wishing actual harm & misery to other characters or even to David himself!

While I know that comparatively speaking, the percentage of show fans who reacted this way was relatively small, it was still an astounding amount of hatred & vitriol thrown at the people who had obviously worked very hard to give Izzy fans something beautiful to hold on to after his inevitable death. Much of the discourse honestly shocked me, considering the fact that OFMD isn’t even an adaptation of another work.

When fans get angry at shows written as adaptations of books, it’s a bit more understandable for them to have extreme reactions. They’ve had certain ideas and headcanons about characters they’ve felt very strongly about for a long time. It can be really jarring & painful when expectations like that aren’t met, the characters or plots are taken in totally different directions, or even excluded entirely.

OFMD, however, is an original creation. This is David Jenkins’s story. These are David Jenkins’s characters. He knows his story, his plotlines, his characters far better than anyone else does because they came from HIS brain! So while we as fans can have our own interpretations & head canons, they are always going to be at risk of being proven totally wrong by the ACTUAL canon.

One of the worst aspects of fandoms, in my opinion, is the way people become so proprietary over the story & characters, insisting that their own interpretations & theories are the only correct ones, which is exactly what happened with Izzy. Fans’ individual & collective interpretations, theories, hopes, & other head canons became concrete & true in their minds. So much so that when the actual story didn’t meet those expectations, so many of them lashed out in some truly unpleasant, sometimes hateful ways.

My only hope is that the rest of the fandom’s love, appreciation, constructive criticism, heartbreak, pain, joy, & excitement has been enough to drown out the deluge of vitriolic comments directed at David & the other writers.

If you stuck with me through this unintentionally long diatribe, thank you! Maybe take a moment to give the writers some comments or replies on social media, showing your love! I know I will!

#our flag means death #ofmd #ed teach #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2 #ofmd izzy #izzy hands

[n3ptoonz]

Okay but like the whole save a horse ride a cowboy thing… for Arthur?

'Snake on a Train'

THANKS FOR 300+!!🖤🖤❤️❤️

Pairing: Arthur Morgan/F!Reader

Fandom: Red Dead Redemption II

Warnings/tags: Smut; Explicit, i'm writing this like i'm from the old west bear with me it's really fun, post chapter 6 MEANING he's alive and DOES NOT have TB. never caught it. we live in delusion round these parts. dialogue driven y'all know me i love me some interaction, implied breeding knk, cowgirl, barely proofread writers block is fucking me up

fr tho read this in a southern accent shit is kinda funny i had way too much fun LMAO

i got so many arthur requests then realized i used THIS theme so i'm using this ask i hope those who sent in will find this!!

Word count: 2300

Explicit content under the cut

Never trust a "runaway" O'Driscoll ever again. You was on the run now, away from those freaks and needed a proper escape at least for the time being. Why you chose to not accept Arthur's offer of joining the gang was beyond you. You knew each other well in Blackwater before they had to leave, he suggested you join since you'd be a great addition and trustworthy, but you declined. Later on you were picked up by a "runaway", he sold you out and now you're high tailing it to the nearest escape.

You stumbled across a particularly high end looking train that looked like it was headed west--aka opposite way from this shit. Your initial intent wasn't to rob it, yet. You just needed a quick getaway from this madness. Quick and sneaky you were getting into the back past a few guards. You found an abandoned ticket under a seat and stuffed it in your pocket, walking around until you found an empty cart that looked quite fancy.

You kept your head on a swivel and constantly looked out the window for any suspicious activities when somebody barged in. You quickly stood up and drew your revolver when you realized who you laid your eyes on.

"...Arthur?" you said. His eyes adjusted from the sun reflecting off the window when he heard his name escape from your lips, recognizing your voice almost immediately.

"What are you doin' here?" you both inquired in unison.

"Put your damn gun down I ain't here to rob you." he said sitting down on one of the two seat chairs covered in leather. You slid it back into the holster with curious eyes still on him. Just how long had it been? Why was he here?

"You normally waltz into carts that aren't yours?"

"Ain't that what you did?"

...he had a point.

"Maybe, but I had a reason."

"You sayin' I'd hop onto a nearby train for no reason?"

"I ain't seen or heard from you in almost a decade, Arthur. I don't know what I know anymore. Where's the rest of Blackwater's finest?"

Arthur just leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. There was a deadpan look in his eyes as he recalled everything that went down in the last two weeks. All the betrayals and chaos started to montage in his mind all over again; how he was this close to death, but managed to escape somehow.

"Dead, on their own, or all the above. Remember John? I helped him and his folks get out. The others...well I don't rightly know where they are. And quite frankly I don't care."

You sat in front of him as you processed his words. What's understood don't need to be said, and you knew this well.

"Is that why you're here?" you asked. It felt like a question with an obvious answer but you honestly just wanted a confirmation. It wasn't like him to just run off, at least from when you last seen him.

"In so many words, I guess. Although I didn't expect to see a woman of your caliber running away from your bullshit either. I'd like to know too, if you don't mind."

"Oh hush that up." you waved his comment off dismissively, "I was sold out."

"Well I'll be. You know I always wondered what you were doing or who you decided to hang with if not us. Who in their right mind would sell out one of Blackwater's most wanted?"

In your time together you always had a playful relationship, but you could tell in his tone there was slight bitterness or sarcasm. Truth be told he started to feel some type of way when he realized you declined him just to end up with some other gang that clearly didn't give a damn about you.

"Watch yourself." you warned, your tone half serious half playful.

"What? You didn't want to be around folk who had your best interest that's fine. I won't say I told you so."

"When the hell did you tell me so?"

"The day before we left." he answered without hesitation. "The night we spent together? Ring any bells?"

Damn. You tried to forget that night since the day he had to leave and you too shortly after. You didn't want to remember all the fun you had. You didn't want to remember his hearty laugh at your stupid jokes. Hell...you didn't even want to remember just how good he treated you. He treated you like a lady, unlike most of the men you came across. All it took was one heated kiss, and you both were hooked. But also knew it couldn't be given both your circumstances.

When he offered for you to join you wanted to jump at the opportunity. So why didn't you? Because, well, you loved the man. You thought your own feelings would hinder the morale of the group somehow and break it apart, and you wouldn't dare that be on you. Plus you couldn't really tell where he stood. He's a guy who treated most people with respect despite how he grew up.

Back then he mentioned how people like them were hard to come by and that most gangs were either just downright pieces of shit or cultish. So he in fact did tell you so, and you tried to forget that as soon as possible. Didn't want any sort of thoughts of him clouding your mind or else you'd go crazy.

The only reason you two didn't get intimate that night is because he respected you and your boundaries. He still does. He didn't want it to feel like he was grasping on to the nearest thing to fuck with and then dip. That's not the kind of man he was nor will he ever be.

"What does that night have to do with why I'm here now?" you tried so hard to seem like it didn't completely take over your thoughts, but this is Arthur Morgan for christ sake. He's damn good at reading people.

"It can mean just about anything, sweetheart, but I know it meant something to you just as much as it did to me." he said. The tone of his voice sounded a bit like he was trying to convince himself that was the case. If it wasn't, he wouldn't know what to do.

You sat back in your seat but that didn't take away the feeling of his gaze pouring into your soul. "It did." you said looking down at your hands

"Then why decline? Was it me? I know it's not my lifestyle because we lived the same way."

"I didn't want to get in the way, alright? I knew you'd be gone often and would be out for days at a time while I worried if you'd come back in one piece. I've been there and done that. Wasn't doing that again."

Arthur leaned back up in his seat and ran his hand over his face, sighing. He didn't want to come off so strong, but he felt real feelings for you and didn't know how to process it properly. The woman who's been on his mind since the day the gang left Blackwater sat in front of him and he felt like a lost puppy all over again.

"Okay." he said softly, "Was I on your mind at all?" he continued looking down, mumbling under his breath but you still heard him.

"Everyday since." you said standing up. He slowly looked up at you with those pearly blues that never failed to capture you. He was just so relieved that it wasn't just him. That it wasn't one-sided. Grabbing his hand you pulled him up to meet your eyes--like he wasn't visibly looking down at you.

"I thought about you so damn much I guess I had to distract myself by running with some undercover O'Driscolls. I figured out who they was too late and voila, lawmen breaking down my door."

Arthur shortly chuckled upon hearing you explain more of your situation. To him it was unbelievable, and he never thought he'd hear that name ever again especially after seeing Colm swing.

"This evening is full of surprises. How do I know this isn't some big scheme to take me down once and for all?" he said while wrapping his arms snug around your waist and his voice grew more rugged and deep. Oh how he missed this. What this is, who knows, and who cares?

"I don't need some big scheme to take you down." you said placing your hands on his biceps, squeezing just a little bit. He smirked at this action and pulled you closer.

"That so?"

You hummed in agreement, and it didn't take long for you two to finally lock lips together after a bit of playful murmuring here and there. And just like that, you both were taken back to that night. That heated kiss you shared was the absolute highlight of your lives, and you intended to relive that again and more.

It's like you never left but kissed like it's been forever. He ran his cold palm up your back to hold you while the other unbuttoned your pants. Even after almost ten years, he didn't miss a beat. He still got it. Are we surprised? You followed his lead and kept one arm around his neck while the other attempted to pull him free.

His hands were quick and nimble like yours, so next thing you know your pants are on the ground and you're sitting comfortably in his lap. You was now clad in a loose collar shirt and underwear and his shirt remained unbuttoned at the collar. Your mouths never stopped dancing throughout this whole process too.

Arthur just kept groaning into your mouth at every subtle grind on his thigh. This was only the second time of you two getting together like this, yet it feels way more than that. That same drunk feeling from the night made its return and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

You pulled back so you both could catch your breath, holding his face and running your thumbs over his stubble that was soon to becoming a full beard.

"I missed you...so damn much." you said in a tone just above a whisper.

"I can't imagine more than I have..." he replied while toying with the hem of your underwear. "Would you give this old outlaw the honor of... having you? All to myself?" he asked, looking deep into your eyes. You could feel him fully hard and his hands trembling a bit, but he still wants to hear it from you. One part is confirmation, but the other? He would easily gain satisfaction from knowing you want to give yourself to him.

"Well...I've saved a horse...and I plan on riding a cowboy," you whispered and smiled against his lips before leaning back in. Arthur chuckled into the kiss, wasting zero time pulling them panties to the side and slide right on in.

Your breath hitched as you eased on down his thick shaft. "That's my girl." he whispered, right next to your ear so he could physically feel you clench against him from his praises. You gripped his shoulders as your eyes closed shut, expelling light whimpers here and there as you set a place. He placed his hand on your back once again to encourage you, feeling a little smug at your struggle to keep up.

Best believe you weren't no bitch though; you swallowed thickly and kept on riding him. The ambience of the train was quickly fading as you two became lost in your own desire.

Were you expecting your orgasm to approach so quickly? Honestly, it made sense. Arthur knew all the right things to say and touched all the right places that churn your butter.

He was also nearing the end, and yet he had such a genuine smile on his face. He grunted with every time you sank back down into his lap and this meant he simply could not be happier. He's been dreaming of this moment forever, and finally. Finally, the woman of his dreams is having the time of her life because of him.

To keep yourself grounded you pulled his head up to rest your forehead on his, "Please, cum inside me," you begged. Your climax was seconds away from hitting you and you wanted to reach bliss at the same time.

You ain't have to tell him even once with how quickly he followed suit. Your hips slammed right back down into his lap as you both tried to stifle your cries of pleasure, still mindful of other passengers.

After you both calmed down in each other's arms, you cleaned yourselves up and plopped back down onto the two person couch you had just gotten intimate on. You held his bicep and laid your head on his shoulder with a content smile on your face. His the very same.

"You sure know how to get down for someone I ain't seen in a long time." he said playfully, looking down at you.

"Who said I ain't got none in a long time?" you replied a little too fast for his liking, looking up and seeing his expression comedically fall to a straight one. "I'm just messing, I wouldn't dare risk having anybody else's kids but yours." you continued casually before shutting your eyes. You had to stop yourself from laughing at the sound of his heart rate getting faster through his chest.

He chuckled, looking out the window at the scenery become painted with the pinks and yellows of the sunset passing by.

"You are something else."

#n3ptoonz #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #red dead redemption two #red dead redemption arthur #rdr2 smut #smut

[winters0689]

Lester Papadopoulos is a comfort character to me. I’ve been a huge Percy Jackson fan for years now, and I’ve loved many characters (Grover, Nico, Leo, Percy, etc) and when I first read TOA I loved it, but after rereading it…

I fell in love with Lester, this caring and complex character who had many layers to him, that came off as selfish, and yet just so happened to be one of the most selfless characters in the book.

He’s caring, he’s a former god, he’s selfless, he pees himself regularly, he loves his children, he drowned his ex that one time, he is a god of many things, he has had many lovers. He has so many aspects to him that makes him so interesting.

He has a redemption arc as he realizes that he has made mistakes, but also realizes that he has been abused by Zeus, that it most likely influenced how he view things, and how he may have picked up toxic behaviors from Zeus. He learns to be more human, which is such a beautiful arc to see him go through.

He cares SO MUCH about others. He grieves for Jason and Crest and Heloise and so many other people. He tried to sacrifice himself many times and has many heroic qualities, but he is an unreliable narrator and sometimes what he says doesn’t reflect what he does.

His and Meg’s relationship is one of my favorite friendships in the books. It feels like it’s the two of them against the world at times. Meg cares so much for him while also calling him out on his bad actions (like when they were on Sutro Tower) and Lester cares so much for her as he realizes that she has been abused, that she needs help, and that he wants to help her separate from Nero’s influence, that he is so proud of her for standing up to Nero. They both form such a strong bond with each other and I just- I love them!

He is also absolutely hilarious. I find myself laughing as he is just- so snarky sometimes? He also sometimes know random things? (Like the Goddess of Sewers Cloacina) He is also funny when he has no knowledge on how human things work (like not knowing the price of Tater Tot’s)

He also gets anxious and freaks out and cries and he just feels. He gets happy and laughs and gets sad and laments. He gets flashbacks and clearly has trauma but doesn’t let that excuse his bad actions as he feels guilt for his actions. He can also be quite harsh on himself, blaming himself often and sometimes projecting that onto others (like him saying that Piper is blaming him for Crest’s death??) He is such an emotional character and I love him for that.

I love whenever he gets his godly strength as it starts with small things and then it gets to the point that he can create fire with his hands just by simply mentioning cauterizing a wound and breaking Nero’s fasces and having enough strength to drag Python into the Underworld and is strong enough to hold on just enough to save himself from falling into Tartarus. He is such a strong person who has an incredible pain tolerance.

There are many other things that I love about Lester Papadopoulos/Apollo. I think I can positively say that he is my favorite PJO character. I often reread TOA more than the other books. I love the story and how dark it can get while also exploring the themes of how abuse affects you.

I just- I love Meg and Apollo. I need for fanfic of them!! I need more content of them! Their friendship is so underrated, so when I see people make fanfic of them I get so happy!

I also love the community. The fan-artists and the fanfic makers and anyone who just writes long posts, like me, are so talented and is honestly the best fandom I’ve been in.

I hope the PJO show becomes popular so that more people can read these amazing series. I hope there will be a day that TOA gets adapted, and even if it doesn’t, I still have the audiobooks to go back to.

Thanks TOA fandom, for still going strong, even years after the books ended and new books have come out and are still making fanfic about them. It feels like the books have never ended, like the TOA books are still going on and are still making posts.

I’m so happy to be part of such a passionate fanbase.

Anyways if anyone is willing to offer any good fanfics then let me know!

#trials of apollo #lester papadopoulos #meg mccaffrey #toa #sunflower siblings #i got sidetracked #this was originally supposed to be me gushing about Lester Papadopoulos and ended with me gushing about how much I love this fandom #anyways the TOA posts aren’t going to stop anytime soon #except for when Alan Wake 2 comes out #in which case I will be obsessing or Alan Wake 2 #toa fandom

[adainesfroggieboggy]

siobhan thompson appreciation post because her characters just make me so happy and they're so. good. she's so good at characters! spoilers for every intrepid heroes season of d20. i could do a whole other post about her sidequest characters bc they're so good.

Adaine Abernant. The Elven Oracle. She's always been one of my absolute favorite characters ever. Her anxiety representation in the first season makes me feel more seen, understood, and represented than any other character ever. She's literally so cool! She starts freshman year as an awkward nerd and becomes a cool nerd! Her anxiety never goes away, but the medication makes it manageable. She hates her parents because they're awful! Just the rep of having awful parents and hating them and that's okay because they suck! You should hate your parents if they suck as bad as the Abernants! Not everyone gets a redemption arc. If they suck, they suck.

Misty/Rowan. Misty is the perfect representation of an old lady who gives no fucks. She flirts so hard with that guy at the pixie wedding. She openly admits to having been friends with John Wilkes Booth. But at the same time? Will not give her age. A lady never tells. She's absolutely ancient and doesn't fucking care, but she also has this undertone of absolute existential panic because she needs adoration to survive! She stays relevant because she has to! Don't get me started on Rowan. I have a crush on Rowan Berry. She's reborn and immediately starts flirting with Pete, which is iconic in its own right. She's a bard who gives bardic inspiration by either flirting or complimenting, and sometimes the lines blur just a little bit. Absolute queen shit. She defeats the queen of Faerie and has no desire to go back until the Fae court tells her hey. You left us with no leader. And then brings democracy to Faerie! President Rowan!

Ruby Rocks! She starts the season as a kid who loves her sister just so much. That's the most integral part of her character. She's a princess and a rogue, and she loves her sister. She has a lot of development over the season! She ends as a woman who fights for her family and her country. She hates Saccharina when they first meet, a new sister on the tails of the loss of the most important person she's ever had. After Jet's death, she's overcome with grief and takes a level of shadow sorcerer because of it! Her development is amazing, a truly wonderful arc.

Iga Lizowski! Oh. My. God. She's the first pc that is a mom in d20, or at least in the Intrepid Heroes. Her relationship with her kids is so fun to watch, from urging Jessica to engage with the chest to bringing her into another part of the Unsleeping City. Then Nick, who she hadn't pressed at all to take responsibility for the chest, decides to become another defender of his family's magic! Not only is she an amazing mother, she's a fortune teller by trade! She knows full well that everything she does has merit, and that magic is real, but makes it all seem like a lie to cater to her clientele. It's not her intention to become a part of the Dream Team, but when her family is threatened, she fights like hell. Also she has a pseudodragon that's just a magical chihuahua and that's so old ladycore it's such a perfect choice.

Riva. They're just on their gallivant, honestly. They decorate their psychodrone with magnets. They're trying to sell pleasure putty. They make their own hours, but they don't know how. Riva is sweet and fun and naive. They love their friends and they love the outside world and they're having a great ass time on their gallivant.

Rosamund. Du. Prix. Quick little shoutout to Siobhan's princess voice because no joke she did my favorite accent. It borders on transatlantic (my favorite accent) but is very Disney princess. She starts as a Disney princess, too! To have a character looking for her true love wake up, search for him, and ultimately sacrifice her chance at having him is *mwah* beautiful. True love isn't real! She directly confronts this, and a member of her party is living proof of it. She has to see the prince who came to save her, and upon meeting him, she realizes how fucked the idea is. He kisses her once and that's all? She doesn't know him, she doesn't love him. How can she live happily ever after with him? Her story is about having things happen to her, but she wrenches the pen from the authors' hands and writes her fucking own! Once upon a time, there was a princess who tried speed dating!

#fantasy high #fantasy high sophomore year #the unsleeping city #the unsleeping city spoilers #fantasy high spoilers #a crown of candy spoilers #a crown of candy #a starstruck odyssey #dimension 20 neverafter #neverafter #neverafter spoilers #adaine abernant #rowan berry #misty moore #ruby rocks #iga lisowski #riva #rosamund du prix

[mermaidlighthouse]

Why I think Izzy’s death was actually necessary despite me being sad about losing my favorite* character…

So I am once again looking to reframe a moment/scene involving Izzy around Ed because as much as Izzy was his own character (with a wonderful redemption arc) his function in the narrative imo is as an extension of the Blackbeard persona and therefore Ed and his perception of himself

Ok so this is gonna be long but I think it’s necessary to frame this properly

Izzy and Ed’s relationship is one of misery loving company and instead of finding ways to legitimately pull each other up and heal from whatever brought you to that place it turns to one of toxicity where you either repress the trauma (Ed never telling anyone that he killed his father, that he feels like a monster) or express it in ways that only perpetuate the misery. At this point that constant cycle of misery is so familiar it can be difficult for the participants to recognize what they’re doing to themselves and each other and it’s difficult to not fall back into those patterns.

So while Izzy is making strides and having his arc, instead of saying to Ed maybe don’t go looking for darkness when you’re standing in the light, don’t look for trouble or problems that don’t exist just because that’s what you’ve come to expect he says maybe you’re just a mopey twat and there isn’t a fuckin storm, when Ed does apologize for his leg Izzy’s only response is fuck off.

They can’t communicate with each other effectively and it’s already caused issues. When Izzy tells Ed to listen to the feeling of throwing away the trappings of Blackbeard, Ed does but he has also been told by Izzy that Ed isn’t good enough so why would Stede want him now that he’s not gonna be Blackbeard. I think Izzy meant well and had the right sentiment but the fact is that the damage of what they do to each other has already been done. Izzy doesn’t just represent the devil on Ed’s shoulder, he’s the voice in his head telling him he’s worthless without Blackbeard.

So could the narrative have just said Izzy went off on his own or went with the crew in the end? imho no they couldn’t because in order to have a healthy relationship with Stede, and just to be a generally well adjusted person Ed needs to love himself and the constant knowledge that his self loathing can just pop up out of nowhere (something explicitly shown as an Izzy staple) won’t allow him that freedom. (I recognize this isn’t how self development/self esteem works irl but this is a dark comedy rom com just let some things be hand wavy.)

Sometimes the best way to help each other grow and be whole is to recognize that you need to let the other person go. That’s true for BOTH of them.

Izzy dying was the only way they could finally communicate honestly without the jibes and the looming Blackbeard of it all they could just talk to each other as family as people who love each other (this is not my ship and I have a serious issue with the lack of nuanced takes on love in this fandom but that’s a separate issue).

To give Izzy some grace here I would like to point out that his story can also be seen as one that tells the audience that toxic people in your life or people you have complicated relationships with are allowed to grow on their own and make positive changes for themselves BUT that does not mean you have to accept them back in your life, you are not required to give them space after they’ve wronged you. You can celebrate their growth but you don’t owe them anything. Ed can recognize that Izzy has changed but he was never going to fully excise Izzy from his life he’s too familiar and too much a darkness to hide in and it would have created more toxic situations. So yes Izzy had to die.

*I always mean favorite side character because my favorite character is EdStede/StedeEd. If you don’t love them, together and separately then you don’t love the show because this is their story

#yes I still cry whenever I watch this scene #I’m also masochistic enough that I added Du Gamla to my playlist #and I cry about that too #this may end up just being for me but I needed to get it out of my head #izzy hands #the new unicorn #edward teach #ed teach #blackbeard #stede bonnet #the gentleman pirate #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #ed x stede #our flag means death #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2 #ofmd

[galedekarios]

The oddest thing about the writer/others viewing Gales suicide as a “redemption” is, what exactly does Gale need to be redeemed for exactly? Messing up in his previous relationship? Accidentally touching a magic book and getting a debilitating chronic disorder? Needing magical artifacts as medicine ? Being a bit lengthy in conversation? None of these are deserving of a death sentence. Sometimes I wonder if there was a different vision for Gale in the beginning wherein “redemption” was more of a theme for him, and perhaps some of that was left over in the writers minds?

i honestly don't know, anon.

we do know that there were different iterations of the companions before release. we saw glimpses of it during ea.

however, that's not what's referenced in the interview at all. it's recent, from the 15th of december of this year, and what is referenced by the devs is the same old garbage takes you read from large swathes of the fandom on r*ddit, on tw*tter and on even on here over and over again:

gale is the guy who starts of "annoying everyone", gale eats your "most priced possesssions" - that's what he needs to make up for by giving "himself for the world" and what makes this ending the right one "in many ways".

#ch: gale dekarios #vg: baldur's gate 3 #series: baldur's gate #text: asks #text: personal #bg3 critical #larian critical

[whencartoonsruletheworld]

wait so curious cause i like your interpretations of the lore, what do you think is up with all the emphasis on “the one you should not have killed” from ucn¿¿¿¿

i really do think it's michael, haunting his dad over sending him down into the bunker to die. william knew the funtimes wanted to kill him and sent michael anyway cause he cared more about his research/elizabeth than him. in doing this, william created a walking corpse chasing him down for years upon years for the sole purpose of setting him on fire. he lured michael down there by saying he could save elizabeth-- a promise of his dead siblings coming back, and of redemption for, y'know, shoving crying child into an animatronic. instead, he let michael die, and michael wasn't gonna let him get away with that

just labelling the spirit "the one you should not have killed" only makes sense from the standpoint of "THIS death is the one that fucked up your plan." because, like, he shouldn't have killed anyone in general, especially not fuckin kids, so "the one you should not have killed" can't refer to, like, a victim he was morally in the wrong for. he was morally in the wrong for everything he ever did in his life. with that in mind, the kids were too confused and scattered into pieces to do much other than haunt the animatronics and try to bite any adult that came near them. elizabeth was an accident and she was trying to help her dad at the end. charlie is confirmed to to not be the vengeful spirit by her saying "i don't hate you, but you need to stay out of my way." michael, however, spent years tracking down his dad, and, again, set him on fire twice (assuming you believe he's the fnaf3 protag).

when he says henry "tried to release US," he's referring to fnaf6, but that he's not letting his father go when he still has unfinished business with him. and that unfinished business is fucking with him over and over and over. this is only actively harming michael, though; while, yes, willie-boy is being tortured, michael is just forcing himself to stick around his abusive dad's spirit forever, making him replay michael's own nightmare experiences. ("this is how it feels, and you get to experience it over and over.") watching it might feel gratifying for a while but when you hear the one animatronic say "is this a prison for you or for me? perhaps both," i think that's implying that all the golden freddy symbolism is michael's torment; he feels like he belongs here still for killing his brother.

when omc tells the spirit to "leave the demon to his demons," he is telling him that he does not need to be here, that he does not deserve damnation for a mistake he made as a kid, and that if he just lets his vengeance quest go and moves on, he can be at peace. i honestly really like leaving it open-ended there, of whether michael will continue haunting his dad for his own sense of revenge, or forgive himself and move on. either way william's getting tormented in hell, it's just a matter on if michael accepts that he himself doesn't have to be there with him.

idk if i answered ur question there i just like to ramble. anyway ask @birdsareblooming for her thoughts she's the one that convinced me

#fnaf

[candrawithwip]

I don't understand the discourse surrounding the idea that the Demon Bull Family + Macaque weren't made to face consequences for their actions when Wukong is constantly being treated like a villain... because... that's literally not true? like at all?

Macaque and DBK were actually villains; their whole relationship with MK up until the more recent episodes was antagonistic. It was normal for them to attack or hurt the main characters. The show doesn't need the main characters to shout "Macaque, attacking and tricking MK was kind of screwed up" because... he knows that?

The entire cast knows that?

The reason that the consequences of their past actions aren’t thrown in their face is because MK isn't the kind of person to hold a person's mistakes over their heads. He could have called them out on it, but does he really need to? I mean, attempting to punch someone in the face doesn't exactly scream "I'm fine with your actions." He was mad; furious even... but he chose to look past it in the end.

That's what sets MK apart.

It would be normal to turn up your nose at someone who treated you like the DBK/Macaque have treated MK. I feel like that's kind of the point? Neither of them earned their redemption - it was just something MK offered to them because he likes making friends more than he likes keeping enemies.

He's a "good kid" as Macaque put it.

He didn't owe them anything, but he still offered an olive branch.

The reason nobody else calls them out on it?

Well, MK is their friend; they trust him completely and will always have his back. If MK decides he's willing to move past what happened and offer someone a clean slate, then his friends will do the same. You best believe that Mei and Pigsy wouldn't hesitate to tear Macaque or DBK a new one if MK got hurt again, though. It's not about forgetting what happened, just looking past it and letting them choose how they want to proceed.

It's different for Wukong, though.

The reason why Mei was so mad at Wukong wasn't because he was somehow worse than Macaque or DBK. If it were anyone else, she wouldn't have been using her words; she would have gone straight to throwing punches. No. She was mad at him because he MK was upset. She knows MK is tough; someone will kick him in the stomach and he'll offer them a bowl of noodles. She knows that, because she knows her friend.

What really gets to MK though his self-doubt, his insecurities, the trust he has in the people closest to him. She was mad because she couldn't protect MK, but more-so because she relied on Wukong to do the same. DBK can't break MK. Macaque can't break MK. Make him sad or furious, sure... but break him? No. Wukong? Wukong could break him. If his lie had resulted in Mei's death there was zero percent chance that MK would have been alright.

It was obvious Wukong hadn’t intended to hurt him, but he almost did and she was kind of upset about it!

Is this making sense to anyone?

I mean... ???

I honestly feel like way too many people are mistaking MK's characterization as a kind and forgiving person who can turn enemies into friends as narrative approval, and Wukong’s characterization as someone who takes the idea of “protecting” his loved ones a little too far and ends up keeping them in the dark instead/the cast’s reactions to this as narrative disapproval.

I never felt as though the show was making the argument that SWK was a bad person. It just feels like he’s a hero who got used to handling all the world’s problems on his own and expects too much of himself because of it, relearning how to connect and share burdens with other people… and I’m pretty sure that’s what they were going for?

He was never perfect but even Macaque, who literally hated him, has started to reevaluate the way he sees Wukong and even almost went so far as defending him when they were in the scroll.

On the opposite end of things, Macaque and DBK are villains who are trying to be better people because MK saw and acknowledged that potential in them, and it made them want to do better.

Is that just me? am I crazy? hello?

#lego monkie kid #lmk #lego monkie kid season 4 spoilers #lmk mk #lmk wukong #lmk sun wukong #????? #like I get it people want to see Macaque and DBK get their shit kicked in #but that’s not really the spirit of the show #IDK ignore me I guess #augh

[suzannahnatters]

Trope Talk: Villain Romance

So, I was watching a villain romance cdrama again lately (GOODBYE MY PRINCESS) and it has been forcing me to think about what makes some villain romances work for me so well, and others…not so much.

First of all, a lot of my comments on romance at large, and on enemies-to-lovers as the broader trope to villain romance, apply here. For me, GOODBYE MY PRINCESS failed on a few different levels. It failed as a romance because the male lead so rarely, if ever, allowed himself to be vulnerable to the female lead that I couldn't believe either of them could genuinely be falling for each other. It failed as an enemies-to-lovers story because the female lead didn't feel like a match for the male lead in terms either of power or of morals: he was irredeemably awful and held all the power in the relationship, while she was unquenchably pure and naive, holding no power at all. But then, it also failed for me as a villain romance, and because I eat up villain romance with a spoon (WUTHERING HEIGHTS? THE LAST JEDI? LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL? TILL THE END OF THE MOON? That ONE SCENE in RICHARD III? yess?) I've spent a lot of time thinking about different kinds of villain romance, how some are easier to "sell" to an audience than others - as a convincing HEA, I mean - and how each of them can and can't be made to work.

So far, I think a lot of it has to do with how the villain is built. First off, how does the villain present himself to the audience and other characters? Second, does the villain get a character arc, and is it for the better, or for the worse? Finally, does the villain have genuine feelings for the heroine, and does he achieve a happily ever after with her? Or, in other words: where does your villain come from, where is he going, and how does he get there?

There are a few different choices awaiting the author here, and some of them are, I believe, easier to sell an audience than others. Let's begin with the villain's character arc over the course of the story.

POSITIVE CHANGE VILLAIN This one is the classic: your villain love interest starts out bad, but gets better. See: Erik from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the STAR WARS sequels, Nux in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, Dongfang Qingcang in LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL, Thyme in F4: THAILAND.

Redemption arcs are honestly not easy to write, because they need to satisfy both justice and mercy; and authors, like everyone else, tend to want to prioritise one over the other. It's interesting that of the five examples of this trope I listed above, not one of the three the Western examples end in a HEA; two out of three equate redemption with death. Meanwhile, I could also note how the Asian examples pull their punches when it comes to facing the villain with the consequences of his actions, and these are some of the BEST examples.

Still, audiences can pull for a character who's clearly capable of learning from his mistakes, and we all want to inhabit a fantasy where a terrible man learns better and earns his happy ending. I've written this kind of villain romance a couple of times, notably with Vasily in my gaslamp books. Basically, if you plan to have a HEA as an endgame in your villain romance, a positive arc is the best way to make a longterm relationship convincing.

ANTIHERO WITH IMAGE PROBLEMS This one is a bit more complicated. The love interest starts out well and gets better, but along the way he struggles with a dark side and an unfortunate predilection for angry black clothing and eyeliner. He isn't so much as a villain, as a well-meaning antagonist desperately trying not to live up to his dark reputation. See: Tantai Jin from TILL THE END OF THE MOON, but also Galadriel Higgins from THE SCHOLOMANCE books by Naomi Novik, who is in a very similar predicament though not part of a villain romance.

This one is tricky to write, because there aren't a lot of ways a genuinely well-meaning person is going to convincingly pose as an existential threat to the universe. Both TTEOTM and the SCHOLOMANCE books pull it off by invoking the future, either through time travel or through prophecy: the antihero is going to become the Dark Lord/Lady and destroy the world. This makes them a target in the present, and gives them a threatening dark side to struggle against. In TTEOTM, Tantai Jin is torn between his vindictive impulses to revenge himself on those who have wronged him, and his natural longing for the love of others. In this case, it's not so much that he's a villain intrinsically, as that he plays that role in the heroine's head.

I've never written one of these, except as a stage in a positive change arc, but it's a really fun character type that I'd genuinely love to see more of.

NEGATIVE CHANGE HERO This is another classic: the hero who lives long enough to see himself become the villain. See: Anakin Skywalker from the STAR WARS prequels, Heathcliff from WUTHERING HEIGHTS, or Wang So from SCARLET HEART RYEO. If the Antihero With Image Problems withstands the temptation to become a villain, then this character succumbs with more or less struggle. He ususally also doesn't get the girl. In face, the heroine often doesn't survive this sort of story at all.

Audiences have less trouble with this kind of story, because it can come across as properly cautionary. "If you fall in love with someone who gets a villain arc, you will die, and it is probably your fault." Everyone is happy, except the characters. Personally, I think this is realistic, because I don't think a thorough-going villain CAN be a stable longterm relationship; but just once, instead of dying, I really would like to see the heroine nope out and go to live her life in peace and quiet, as happens in the wonderful Daisy Ridley OPHELIA film.

I've actually never written one of these, either, mostly because I've never been able to bring myself to write a tragedy. But I do love reading them.

UNREPENTANT VILLAIN Or, Bad Man With a Crush. This is another really common iteration of the trope, but it's usually played from the point of view of the male hero, and the heroine usually doesn't reciprocate the villain's interest in any way. The great exception to this, of course, comes in Shakespeare's RICHARD III, where the unrepentant villain convinces the widow of one of his murder victims to marry him because he's THAT GOOD. Watching Laurence Olivier in this role at 13 may have been a formative moment of my life. Other examples are thick on the ground: Frollo from THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, Scarpia from TOSCA, the Darkling in SHADOW & BONE. Heck, I've written at least one of these myself.

Again, audiences expect this kind of villain either not to have his feelings returned or, if they are, to see either the heroine or the villain die by the end. In fact, this villain is the sort most likely not to have genuinely romantic feelings for the heroine at all; it's usually simply lust. The only example I mentioned where the villain arguably does have more complicated feelings for the heroine than a mere appetite for sex and power, and where she is tempted to reciprocate, is the one written by a woman, SHADOW & BONE - because a female writer is going to treat her heroine as a more fully orbed person, and insist on male characters treating her the same way.

-

The second question to ask when writing a villain romance is: how does the villain present himself to others, including the audience? Again, there are a few options here, but in any case I think one of the most important ingredients, if you're going to make the audience care about the villain, is a sense that the villain COULD be a better person than he is.

SHEEP IN WOLF'S CLOTHING The villain projects a terrifying image, but deep down he has a heart of gold. Note that this is not about character arc (for instance, this describes both Tantai Jin, who is an antihero on a positive arc, and Wang So, who is a hero on a fall arc). Rather, it's about how other characters, and the audience, view the character throughout most of the story.

A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing is easier to "redeem" because half the work is done when you show that after all, the character is better than we thought, and doesn't need as much work to be redeemed. For this reason, it's a really good choice in any sort of villain romance, because you get someone who LOOKS bad but is in fact plausible as someone who IS capable of changing and learning.

Vasily from my Miss Dark series is definitely a sheep in wolf's clothing, which is extremely fun to write. Vasily's had a traumatic change of heart which has taken away his taste for blood, treachery, and power. His habits haven't quite caught up with his heart, yet, and his determination to hold onto a semblance of power and terror makes him desperate to playact as a villainous vampire prince even though he's none of those things any longer.

SHEEP IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING I was nearly not going to include this variant at all, because where's the villainy in that? But then I remembered Anakin Skywalker. Anakin has a dark side, like Tantai Jin, which he gives into on occasion, but the prophecy that he will bring balance to the Force seems to predict a bright future for him. And he genuinely is a well-meaning person, who only wants to protect the people he cares about. For most of the story, Anakin is a good person and an upstanding Jedi with a bright future. This only makes his eventual downfall more tragic.

While how the villain presents himself is not always linked to a particular arc, this one is, since it requires a genuine hero to begin with. As I mentioned above, this kind of fall usually spells death for the heroine. I think this particular villain romance tends to be underexplored, because the freaks who like villain romance aren't into the aesthetic of a genuinely good man being corrupted, while those who write the downfall arc usually aren't into the aesthetic of villain romance. Nobody has ever written a romance about the Macbeths, and this strikes me as a missed opportunity.

WOLF IN WOLF'S CLOTHING This villain is exactly as bad as he appears on the outside, but if he's lucky, big changes are coming for him. In LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL, Dongfang Qingcang is about to have his cold dead heart magically melted. In FALLING FOR INNOCENCE, Kang Min-Ho is literally given a new one. As a Christian, I love seeing fantasy elements used to explain why the wolf in wolf's clothing is suddenly forced to trade a heart of stone for a heart of flesh, because in Christianity the only way this ever happens is through a literal miracle.

And I do think this kind of villain IS difficult to redeem for his HEA without some kind of miracle, because he's genuinely done some dreadful things, and he's determined not to repent for any of them. Kylo Ren from the STAR WARS sequels is a really excellent example of a Wolf in Wolf's Clothing: when Rey spits at him, "You're a monster!" he responds almost proudly, "Yes, I am." In a way, the Wolf in Wolf's Clothing's honesty is his one redeeming feature: he may be terrible in almost every way, but he never pretends to be a good man. This is something that the next option on the list lacks altogether.

WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING This villain looks like a good and upright person, but it's all a facade. In reality, he's conniving, ruthless, and manipulative, and whether he's a "hero" on a negative arc or a straight-up Unrepentant Villain, the story is about to unmask him as the bastard he is.

Western literature has a whole array of this type of character, and they're usually the smooth hypocrites of the canon: TOSCA's Scarpia, HUNCHBACK's Frollo, MEASURE FOR MEASURE's Angelo, KNIVES OUT's Ransom. There's just something particularly evil about someone who sees and experiences true goodness and sees it as his opportunity to mask his evil deeds, and that's why we recognise such people as irredeemable. This is why BLUEBEARD is one of the trickiest fairytales to retell, at least if you're interested in a HEA - because Bluebeard, unlike the Beast or Hades or any of the other dubious bridegrooms of fairytale literature, commits awful crimes while pretending to be an ordinary, upright businessman.

This is also where we find GOODBYE MY PRINCESS's Li Chengyin, who marries this with a corruption/fall arc. Very early on in the story, we see that although Chengyin has genuine feelings for the heroine, he's fully capable of betraying her and murdering her family for purely political motivations. At first, Chengyin is neither experienced nor hardened in evil, but he absolutely will betray anyone in his path if it will benefit his plans.

This sort of villain is particularly difficult to redeem, because he's someone who has approval and love already but chooses to destroy everyone around him anyway. He is also uniquely enraging, because we've all known people this terrible in real life - from high profile teachers and carers being caught in ongoing sexual predation, to that crumby ex-husband who traumatised your good friend. I don't think I've ever seen a character like this be convincingly redeemed, and while I think it COULD be done - I do have a Bluebeard retelling of my own up my sleeve - I do that, as with the Wolf in Wolf's Clothing, it would have to come with some kind of fantastical/miraculous explanation.

And in the end, let's face it, it's always most cathartic to see this sort of person get their comeuppance.

-

Third and finally, is your villain romance going to get a happily ever after? I'm one of those people who will get a lot of fun out of a romance that ends badly, like SCARLET HEART RYEO, or even something that isn't a romance at all, like RICHARD III and the ill-fated Anne Neville. But whatever you pick, I'm begging you, be very clear about whether the villain has genuine feelings for the heroine or not, and don't reward some horrible person who's never convincingly expressed care for another, with any kind of romantic validation.

HEA VARIATIONS Maybe your villain and heroine make a match of it. Most of the time this is because the villain undergoes a positive character arc to earn his happy ending, and I've got to say, this is a very sensible choice. I personally do not need to see an unrepentantly terrible person get any kind of longterm romantic relationship, either because he's trapped/deceived the heroine or because he's corrupted her to become as bad as himself; I honestly don't think that terrible people CAN have a successful longterm relationship. That said, I've written a relationship where the villain DOES make the love interest worse, but where ultimately the genuine love, empathy, and trust between them ultimately does drag both of them back to the light.

TRAGIC VARIATIONS There are a great many more options available here. The main thing I would say is that you have to give an ending that is justified by what comes before.

A common choice is to give the villain a positive arc culminating in a heroic death. I've seen this done well (FURY ROAD). I've seen it done terribly (RISE OF SKYWALKER). Personally I feel that unless the themes absolutely demand this, you should avoid it, because too often it comes across as the writers arbitrarily ridding themselves of a character they don't know what to do with.

Another common choice is to give the villain a negative arc culminating in the heroine/love interest's death. I've seen this done in ways I don't hate. In RICHARD III, Richard kills literally everyone he touches. In SCARLET HEART RYEO, death is a realistic result of the heroine's trauma and closes the door definitively on the villain's hopes for reconciliation; but it also returns her to her far better life in the future, so it becomes a glimmer of hope for her (though not quite enough). Too often, however, this choice carries with it sexist overtones. Death becomes the heroine's punishment for the crime of loving a bad man (or something else equally fatuous), while the villain is "punished" only by having to live without her.

What about a negative arc culminating in the villain's death? Well, I strongly disliked the choice made in SHADOW AND BONE, in which the heroine guts the villain while hissing "there is no redemption"; to me it was lacking in either tragic catharsis OR eucatastrophe. I think you CAN have a satisfying ending in which the heroine or somebody else kills the villain, but it needs to be an expression of catharsis or eucatastrophe, and we definitely need to feel that the villain is beyond saving - which, if you've made him a genuine romantic possibility, is often hard to feel.

I love the ending of WUTHERING HEIGHTS, in which the villain dies frustrated after realising that after all, cruelty and abuse DIDN'T have to turn him into a villain; he then reunites with the ghost of his equally terrible love interest. I also love the ending of OPHELIA, in which Ophelia, realising that Hamlet cannot be redeemed from his quest for vengeance, quietly nopes out and goes to live a happy life on her own. And then, there's the gold standard for bittersweet endings, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, in which the villain doesn't get the girl, but neither of them have to die, and her compassion for him causes him to go off and live a better life on his own. I think the thing all these have in common is that even though none of them end with the couple together, they afford the whole story a sense of hope: cycles of abuse are broken, some people get better than they deserve, and even those that don't are doomed by their own actions, rather than being killed off in a way that feels punitive or vindictive. And I feel that this is an essential ingredient of tragedy: that justice arises naturally out of the villain's own actions rather than being imposed by some righteous warrior.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER Some of these options are easier to sell the audience than others. For instance, a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing on an Unrepentant Villain arc is absolutely not good material for a HEA romance, while a Sheep in Wolf's Clothing on a Positive arc is probably your best bet (it's a classic for a reason). Others, like a Wolf in Wolf's Clothing on a positive arc, may require careful handling to ensure that the audience is happy to come along for the ride. Whatever you choose, however, it pays to be conscious of which tropes you're using, where the audience has seen them before, and what they expect to see happen to the characters that enact them. This doesn't mean that you can't defy audience expectations, of course; just that it might take a little more work to bring the audience along with you on the journey that you've planned, and that it might not be wise to pick all the worst possible options and expect the audience to embrace the character in question. (cough Li Chengyin cough).

#goodbye my princess #li chengyin #cdrama #asian drama #kdrama #wuthering heights #heathcliff x cathy #the last jedi #reylo #kylo ren #tros #love between fairy and devil #till the end of the moon #richard iii #the phantom of the opera #star wars #the revenge of the sith #mad max: fury road #fury road #f4: thailand #scarlet heart ryeo #moon lovers scarlet heart ryeo #the hunchback of notre dame #shadow and bone #darklina #tosca #miss dark's apparitions #anidala #falling for innocence #measure for measure

[hamliet]

am I the only one who thinks death as a redemption distasteful?

I mean, no, you’re definitely not the only one!

Honestly, the trope is oversaturated now. Everyone and their mother wants to have Darth Vader while ignoring the specific context that made Vader’s redemptive sacrifice work. I wrote about when redemptive death works in the linked meta above.

See, I tend to think the problem isn’t the trope itself, but instead treating the trope as an easy way out, or as a moral necessity when really it should serve the character, the plot, and the themes. The genre also matters. But... yeah, how it's used in 99% of stories nowadays is lame and distasteful. It's giving up, not pushing through. It's bad witing.

Like, writing a story where someone fucks up in every aspect, where they are evil, but in the end have one lone thing they love and sacrifice everything for that love—that’s beautiful. And I don’t think it’s a miserable ending either; bittersweet, but it’s hopeful. It talks about the humanity in each of us that can’t be snuffed out no matter how we try. 

I dunno, man, I have loved ones who are so beyond messed up. I want to believe there is hope for them even if it’s an eleventh hour “wait, I love this one person.” Will that redeem them to the world? No. But is it enough to comfort their loved ones? Maybe. It’s not an easy answer. That’s why redemption via death can work masterfully in a story. It can give life and hope. But it’s so often misused that I also get why people hate this trope now and kinda hate it myself lol.

In stories, actions have consequences. They’re symbols, and so are the characters. If you skirt consequences for a character that’s how you get Marty Stus and such. If death is an established reality in your world, then it’s logical some characters may die. Death is a fair consequence, but consequence does NOT mean punishment. It just means that if something happens in a story there should be a reason it happens, not just “for the sads” or “because they were bad and I want to punish readers who see themselves in them.” If a character has done certain things, and the rules of the world make it clear death is likely, that’s not inherently bad writing. 

But for a lot of the oversaturation of "redemptive death," it’s, frankly, cheap. Because it’s not used as a genuine way to end a characters arc with thematic weight or to honor them. It’s done to give the audience a “there there, we made you care so we won’t kill them off as a baddie but we don’t want to take responsibility for making a complex character and actually use them to add meaning to our story.” And that’s been most of the redemptive deaths post Vader, let’s be real. 

But on the other hand, death is a reality people have been grappling with in stories since the beginning of time. I’m serious; the oldest stories in the world are about humans trying to understand how to live in the face of death.  But death is the only thing that humans are all equal in. The only thing. I wrote about that here.

So when you have people who refuse to acknowledge death at all, and act like killing a character including in redemptive death is a moral statement that they deserved to die when it really isn’t—it’s just a different side of the same coin as the cheap “death redemption” people. Both view it as a moral thing or as an easy way of wrapping up their writing instead of letting it fester so that audiences can continue to think on it, to ponder it, to wonder what if.

Not all stories are designed to preach or teach morality, and even fewer good stories are designed to do that. (Which is not the same thing as saying good stories are inherently amoral, either.)

If a character redeems themselves via a sacrifice that costs their life, then their sacrifice needs to matter. It needs to be dealt with, to bring life or criticism, rather than being an easy hand wave away so that the story can just continue like it didn’t matter. I

Redemptive death itself is not the problem. The problem is bad writing of characters and themes and plots that leads to an oversaturation of a trope in a pale attempt to imitate a good story rather than actually write one.

#ask hamliet #redemptive death #redemption via death #writing #tropes #rambles

[whinlatter]

If you could save any of the characters in the hp books who died, who would you save and why?

Ah, this is such an interesting question!

Honestly, I think the most pointless death is Fred's, and if I could save him, I would. I could write essays on it, honestly. I think it's one of the cheapest emotional shots taken in the series.

Fred's death is kind of gratuitous. It's not well foregrounded, it's not a particularly good scene or a murder that's carried out by a character with any significance or symbolism (Rookwood? Really?) But neither is Fred's death used to be a particularly sophisticated comment on the randomness of death in war or make a broader point about the nature of the conflict at hand. It's as if the Weasley twins' position as a comedic device and a source of laughter throughout the series made them prime candidates for JKR to batter them, in order to hammer home an already hammered-home point that war is tragic and costly and terrible lol (like, already in the same book, George gets his ear blasted off! Why keep coming back for shots at the twins?)

You can almost imagine JKR going down the list of Weasleys like, ok, well Bill's already been mauled, killing Charlie wouldn't do enough damage because he's such a side character, Percy needs his redemption arc, killing Ron is a bridge too far and she's already had him poisoned, killing Ginny would be plot repetitive and would polish Harry off, she'd already decided to nearly kill then save Arthur, and Molly needs her boss bitch moment - oops sorry guess it's a twin that's getting it! Why not kill one and not the other for maximum devastation! It's not like JKR was even very attentive to the twins' emotional life or made any real effort to characterise the twins separately from one another, other than giving Fred more lines than George throughout the series. So for the reader, the death of one of the twins is this horrendous awful blow, but the reader also is left with no directed tools for how to think about his death or conceptualise what this character was for the series arc. Also to end a series knowing you just robbed this beloved family of a son and a brother - robbing George of his twin - and then make no attempt to think about the impact of that death on your characters, and write an epilogue that says all was well, is just extremely poor plot detonation, imo.

I say this also because I think there are deaths in the series that are awful and tragic, but which are still narratively and symbolically important, either as ways of propelling the plot forwards or offering a kind of narrative symbolism or arc that has some payoff for the reader. James and Lily have to die to set in motion this huge plot arc for the entire series. Cedric's death is a powerful watershed moment both for the reader - things are getting serious now - and for Harry. Sirius' death, while completing devastating, does at least make some sense to strip away from this central character an important protector as he steps towards a fate no-one can shield him from. Dumbledore's death was a masterstroke, and I actually (sorry) think Hedwig and Dobby's deaths make a ton of sense, as characters that represent innocence and the uncomplicated warm friendship of childhood friends (also I think Harry digging Dobby's grave is one of the most powerful images in the series). Even Remus and Tonks' deaths do something for the arc of the series, offering the symbolism of both another baby orphaned by war, and for Harry beginning the next chapter of his life as the godfather to that orphaned child (I'm typing that out very grudgingly because obviously those deaths are horrendous). But Fred, it's like, ok, well, the only possible point for this is to make sure you see it's a war and deaths will happen and to make sure the Weasleys are grieving for the rest of their lives. Great, cool, fine! But I think it's cheap storytelling. Anyway there's my piece!

#dumb death the dumbest death #kill characters by all means but kill them and have it mean something #you're writing fiction you're making choices to make points and tell stories that hopefully mean things #so make choices that make sense! #soapbox city this week from me i see #fred weasley #thanks anon! #ask #hp meta #meta

[camelely]

The Betrayal of Ted Lasso S3

Yea. The title is a bit dramatic but I have been one of those people who will defend the Shandy and Zava arcs. I thought everything had a purpose, but really really this season felt like a turn, and part of it felt like the plot belonged in a different show...

They keep saying this was the three season arc they planned. But this felt very rushed, and wrapped all these plots up too neatly too quickly. Ted was reduced to a manic pixie dream girl floating in and out of peoples lives teaching them about love, forgiveness, and to believe.

Lets start with my least favorite thing in the finale. Reducing the Jamie/Keeley/Roy story to a fist fight and a "choose me over him" arc. Belonged in a different show. Pheobe said it best in the first episode "Why are you breaking up?" Nothing they did this season was better because of the Roy x Keeley breakup. Even Keeley's bi arc. Like she has always been implied bi, so they could have just made it clear with Jack being an ex that resurfaced instead of a new relationship. Imagine the version of the KJPR plot with Jack being an ex. No out of date leaked nudes plot. Roy can be jealous because he thinks maybe Keeley does want to get back with this ex, but he sees that is his problem not hers and works on it internally/with Dr. Sharon. And Keeley can think Jack is just trying to help and apologize for the mistakes she made in their relationship, but soon its clear Jack wants to get Keeley back by funding her business and then pulling her funding when things don't go her way. This leaves Keeley wondering if she ever had any value as a business woman and Rebecca and Roy are there to support her. Rebecca as a friend and financial backer and Roy as a supportive BF. Then Keeley can return the favor supporting Rebecca when she is deciding to sell the club or not, and Roy when he is promoted to manager.

The leaked nudes plot belonged on a show that came out like five/six years ago when society first started to shift and see that the celebrities were the victims. I understand it was a true story from the real Keeley, but seriously it dated a show that could have been pretty universal otherwise. I know they deal with issues like racism and homophobia but those things aren't going anywhere. We have to keep fighting, but those people always exist. Meanwhile the nudes thing has seen a pretty quick shift already. They built Shandy up as this vengeful character, Why didn't they have her do something to try and blow up Keeley's business? Even something simple like an attempt at wrongful termination? Shandy could have posted on her socials and been like "Keeley Jones claims shes for women but she fired me for no reason" got a bunch 'eat the rich' activists on her side since Keeley is backed by a billionaire and caused a lot of problems for the PR firm in the press.

Jamie reconnecting with his abusive parent. Honestly this did feel in place for a show thats all about forgiveness. But the more we learned about him the more he felt worse than Rupert. Absolutely awful. A better ending would have been his death and Jamie coping with the conflicted feelings he has vs the sadness he is expected to show by the media. Or even just letting Jamie move on. "I don't need him. I have a great mom, team, friends, and step dad/mom's bf" (I can't remember if they were married or not lol).

Nate simply quitting off screen and then being welcomed back like it was nothing. Belonged on another show. This one's been talked to death but I'll say it anyway. We see Rupert try to push a boundary and Nate left the bad situation and then fast forward, Nate quits and Rupert is being accused of impropriety. The start of the season was so focused on Nate being an ass to the West Ham players and then they just brush that under and rush him coming back? I didn't need a redemption arc. I liked the apology to Will and Ted's speech to Beard. But I did need to see the moments with Nate's choices. Nate made zero on screen choices this season. I mean even coming back was influenced by Jade.

Jade suddenly liking Nate, belonged on a different show. Okay I didn't hate Jade. I didn't hate that she started to date Nate. I think its weird the writers wrote a possibly racist character and then didn't address it but I guess the white af writers room just didn't get it. But I also liked Jade, Nate needed a no nonsense strong person in his life. I feel like his sister could have filled the role a bit better. But the girlfriend route wasn't bad.

Rebecca and the Amsterdam guy belonged in a rom com. Yea it worked a bit since Ted's whole rom com speech. But still, part of what I liked about the Amsterdam plot was that he was a great guy and a great time and then he was just gone. A happy memory to look back on and nothing more. It was so stupid that she randomly ran into him and they just magically got together. With Rebecca's romantic past ruined by Rupert's behavior. And the Sam relationship being kinda cute kinda doomed boss/employee weirdness it felt like Amsterdam guy was the true rebound she needed to move on and start a new path. Rebecca didn't need an endgame romance imo, she needed a fresh start. While I think she should have sold the whole club and moved on from the Rupert chapter of her life, I didn't hate the selling it to the fans thing. That was a decent way to end her journey. If they wanted her to have an endgame romance why not let the fans get to know the guy? Or flash forward to a guy we have never met implying that she eventually found someone?

Rupert hitting the coach also belonged on another show. Rupert is the guy who has everything work out for him. He's cool and collected and confident. Pushing the guy who wouldn't listen to him didn't seem like a Rupert move. Rupert would have fired him and promoted the guy under him. The big change would be if they had that guy quit and then the next guy quit until Rupert was left with no one. Could have also gone back to the Nate thing. If Nate leaving the toxic environment inspired others to do the same. Rupert publicly loosing his cool might have been fun since hes the worst, but it was too neat a wrapped bow.

Beard and Jane. Why did they literally only tell us everything bad about her if they wanted us to root for them? I'm sure she had some good qualities we could have seen. I did like that Beard was the character that got the ending rom com 'stop the plane' moment.

Colin's coming out. I could have done with less Isaac and more Trent or even less angry Isaac and more supportive Isaac but I liked it overall ngl. The kiss in the final episode was the best romantic moment in all of Ted Lasso. My canon favorite ship was RoyxKeeley but they never had a moment I could turn to. This was perfect and Colin was the best character for it.

The Van Damme thing was dumb. The joke about the mask making him 'Zorro' was dumb. I assume they were making fun of Ron Artest/Metta World Peace/Metta Sandiford-Artest but Zoreaux didn't need that. And it was funny for like one month in 2011, get over it.

Ted. Oh sweet Ted. I loved his talk with Trent about changing the name of the book because its not about him, and Trent taking that note but no others. At the end of the day, Ted's whole thing this season is Jason Sudeikis's whole thing in real life. He has a work family in London but his kids and ex in America. He's still low key in love with his ex and doesn't like the new relationship she's in and even though the new relationship ends pretty quickly it still sucks. And that is exactly what ruined the show. I'm sorry Jason is sad, I get people work through their problems in their art. But what a very emotional Jason sees as a good ending for Jason, is not a good ending for Ted. Ted Lasso the character deserved to decide to report Dr. Jacob (sorry Jason you can't report Harry Styles, he didn't do anything unethical... except maybe spit on Chris Pine...). Ted Lasso deserved a solid relationship with his son and a new partner, whoever you ship him with could work. I mean Sassy could have reported Dr. Jacob and told Ted maybe they could make it work since she is spending some time in the US for work. Or Rebecca with her millions saying she can commute as much as they want. Or a third new person in Kansas. The way the show implied Michelle is single and Ted is single. The 'they are getting along' narrative was a bit much.

The dream ending. Yes Bill Lawrence, this worked for Scrubs because JD was a character constantly fantasizing. But thats not Ted Lasso. This show deserved something more unique and more open ended. The final shot could have been Ted on the plane, smiling and that would beat the weird dream flash forward imo.

Yes the show has a central theme about forgiveness. But in previous seasons the person being forgiven earns that forgiveness. Here it was handed out to everyone regardless of who they hurt and what they did. It undermined Rebecca's s1 arc, Nate's multi season arc, Jamie's multi season arc, etc. The only arc that wasn't undermined was maybe Roy, since he ended up in therapy and actively trying to be better. So I guess good for Roy?

Overall my point is Ted Lasso was special because they marched to a positive and hopeful beat while still discussing hard topics. This season took everything special about the show and garbaged it, creating a messy, bland, and insulting final product that was a shell of the show they created. And they managed to do it in three seasons. Congrats guys? I mean most shows take 5-6 seasons to get truly off the rails.

#ted lasso #ted lasso spoilers #rebecca welton #coach beard #roy kent #keeley jones #jamie tartt #dani rojas #colin hughes #rupert mannion #nathan shelley #sassy collins #trent crimm #leslie higgins #sam obisanya #isaac mcadoo #mae #richard montlaur #moe bumbercatch #jan maas #Thierry Zoreaux

[cerealboxlore]

i personally really like the idea of cap remembering the lives of past champions a lot

but like if he remembers those lives as his own then he’d have technically have killed before since back in the past champions times that would’ve been pretty normalised (also adam)

so i think it’d be pretty fun if cap mentions that he has killed before, whether it’s offhandedly or if someone says that he is one of the few who don’t kill and he admits that he has

or maybe even someone who does kill saying he doesn’t understand what it’s like to kill and his reaction to that

i’d love to see the angst it all gives billy

i actually love both billy who has killed and billy who hasn’t (honestly i love anything involving my boi)

like billy who has killed is great for him killing ebenezer (i honestly don’t even want him to kill anyone else just don’t like that guy)

but on the other hand billy who’s super against killing but technically has is a great source of angst

a billy who didn’t kill ebenezer because it goes against his values but then he becomes the champion gaining their memories and regrets it

a billy who struggles to seperate them from himself at times

a billy who desperately tries to hang onto his memories because otherwise all he’s done, all he’s believed in, becomes worthless

this can also be tied into my other angst idea where mary “dies” just to add some more flavourful trauma to the child ya know

I'm taking some time off with my assignments to finally answer my inbox mail and I am so excited to answer this one!!

Cap remembering the past lives he's lived through is such an incredible source of story potential and angst material that it's unbelievable there's not much content for this. 100% on board with the idea that cap has indeed killed before, and the only thing that holds him back or pushes him forward to kill is his host. The host connects him to what he will be and what morals he will have in that lifetime. It's really interesting and fun to play around with! Especially with cap having formerly been one with Black Adam before, that is an entire Rollercoaster of angst and emotions the two could go through together after having been the same person (technically) before.

As For A version of Billy who is not above murder and the other who isn't, these two interpretations of Billy are both good to me! Personally, I enjoy reading about a Billy Batson who doesn't see death as an option for punishment/last resort. He'd find another way to fix things, another way to offer redemption if possible, to prove his pure of heart soul. One that influences cap to not kill and bind him to the goodness in the world.

However.

Ebeneezer deserves a long walk off a short pier. Into a volcano. On another planet. That gets sucked into a black hole.

I'd honestly really would enjoy a fic where Billy desperately wants Ebeneezer to pay for his actions and crimes, but is too pure of heart to do what he wants to do. Cap hearing the voice of Billy's deepest and darkest thoughts and bringing them to life without Billy knowing, killing off Ebeneezer in an indrect way. A bit like the SQUIP from "Be More Chill" the musical.

I also really enjoy the concept of Billy having dreams about caps past lives, allowing him to peer through lifetimes of knowledge during a single night and view his predecessors for wisdom. However, it quickly turns into nightmares, as life comes with death, and the endless pain and suffering that he sees are horrors beyond his mortal comprehension, especially for a young child. Memories that arent his, haunting him, taunting him, making him feel scared and worthless. Different morals and personalities all clashing together to scream at Billy for what he does and doesn't do as the new Champion of Magic. Resulting in him coming to his classes exhausted and ending up sleeping during class, pushing forth a need to call his guardian, good ol' Uncle Dudley, to help save the day and help calm Billy down. I know Uncle Ebeneezer has traumatized Billy, but I believe Uncle Dudley will help Billy heal. He's not magical, but he's a better uncle than anyone else.

Billy truly is his own person, but with the constant stream of voices flooding his mind and dreams with their own opinions of how he should live HIS life is very intriguing. It could go further into his identity issues when growing up and cause some inner turmoil for him to resolve. I do love traumatizing this small child 💖

Bonus: the memories Billy relives through his dreams haunting him to the point they gain a portion of control over his subconscious, bullying him with forced remembrance of Mary's "death" in order to make him complacent and obedient to the morals of the former lives. An interesting antagonist/villain for a story. Maybe cap and Billy would have to pull an Avatar Korra and erase the former Champions and other lives' memories in order to bring peace to Billy.

#This was such a lovely ask #Thank you for the ask! #Billy batson #dc captain marvel #Shazam #Angst #Writing #Might have gone off the rails a bit there #But I really enjoyed this idea! #yeet the child #Ask me anything anytime! #Billy Batson needs therapy

[itsthenovelteafactor]

OMITB S3 Thoughts:

Overall, really enjoyed season 3. I do consider it a bit of a step down from seasons 1 and 2, but there is a lot to enjoy and appreciate and I am looking forward to season 4!

Things I liked:

The. Musical. Numbers. 

They were so good and weird and surprisingly emotional

Honestly all the Broadway stuff made my inner theater kid happy

The main three are delightful as always!

I was so happy Uma and Howard got character spotlights! 

The parallels between the play and the mystery *chefs kiss*

Loretta. Meryl Steep was incredible as always and I loved her in this role. Definitely my favorite of the new characters this season I hope we see more of her! 

Mabel learning ASL!

Charles and his emotional support fish

Costuming as always is great. I want Mabel’s sweater collection.

Mabel’s notecard script in the last episode was GOLD 

Spitzprobe might be one of my favorite episodes of the show as a whole 

Things I didn’t like as much:

I did feel like some of the characters built up in the first two seasons got put on the back burner for the new cast

Biggest ones were Will and Lucy. Like, Will especially because his father had a heart attack and he wasn’t mentioned?? Oliver fully wrote the musical at the end he’d definitely be coming with VIP seats, right? 

Trio was so great together but only really came together the last few episodes. :/ 

WHY DID SELENA GOMEZ NOT SING?? 

Also. Like. I am a huge Theo fan and seeing him back was delightful and James Caverly is always a standout but I feel like we jumped over some pretty important stages in his redemption arc that I would’ve loved to see. Like, we went straight from “maybe you’re not such a bad guy” to sleepover buddy. I will admit I was looking forward to a drawn out healing/forgiveness process that kind of got skipped over.

Especially since both the play and Ben’s death involved someone getting pushed from the top of a building and the Zoe parallels were right there and never got acknowledged. 

Also rip Oliver that his past two producers have gotten arrested and had sons that killed someone by pushing them off the top floor of the same building maybe he IS cursed. 

Literally why did Mabel not get to sing. Like, I know Mabel the character is probably not a huge singer but it’s Selena Gomez. Y’all could’ve done something.

Miss the Arconiacs! 

I realize this section is way longer than the first one but it’s just because I have more thoughts not because I dislikes more things.

WHERE WERE WINNIE AND MRS. GAMBOLINI??

Wishlist for season 3:

More Will! He’s the last functional character let him get in on the shenanigans please.

More Lucy! I love the energy she brings to the show it’s so good.

Mabel does not need another love interest. Have not cared since Oscar left. (Did people not like Oscar? He’s such a sweetheart I miss him I hope his yoga studio is doing well) 

More of the trio being buddies in general

Theo getting some interactions with Charles and Oliver maybe? Half-brother reveal? 

More hanging out with the Arconia residents 

Would like some explanation for why Theo is not in jail. I’m not upset about it but like…he should totally be in jail? 

More Detective Williams

Honestly with the established characters I’d love to mix up and get some new dynamics like Will and Charles? Uma and Mabel? Oliver and Lucy? Williams and Howard?

There to be an homage to a study in scarlet with different interpretations of what Sazz wrote

You know what Mabel should sing. I’m still holding out hope.

The next time they do a montage of different people reacting to the podcast cut to Theo reading a transcription. I just think if a podcast accuses you of murder the very least they can do is make it accessible to you.  

#omitb spoilers #omitb season 3 #only murders in the building #only murders in a he building spoilers #just some disorganized thoughts! #i really love this show! #I have some criticisms but overall really liked this season #would love to chat about it!!

[rin-solo]

To anyone in the TUC fandom who has looked at AHS and skipped it because they heard the ending is happy...

... and then assumed that it's just a wish fulfillment "ideal reality" kind of outcome of the TUC story that cuts all of the depth, pain, and realism ... Go back and read it right now.

Because that is not what AHS is. Not even close.

AHS is not "my version" of TUC where I just change whatever I dislike without regard for themes or characters in the original. Far from it. One of the main goals I had was actually to give more of the Underland. More characterization (that aligns with canon, although some characters develop in a different direction because of shifts in circumstances), more worldbuilding (that coincides with canon, adding onto it), ... just more, period.

The best way I can describe what it actually is is honestly saying that AHS is to TUC like Marvel's "What if ...?" is to the MCU. It is quite literally a "What if Henry had survived his fall at the end of "Gregor the Overlander"?" And I kid you not, 95% of the changes in the story, compared to TUC, are simply a result of exactly this change.

But the entire plot of the final book is different, right? Well, I didn't say that the consequences of that one change weren't substantial. They are. Without spoiling too much I can only say that Henry happens to be an optimist, and it also happens that an optimist was exactly what the TUC story needed to achieve a happier outcome.

Anyone who has actually read my version of the CoC plot will tell you that it is far from ideal, perfect, or pain-free. A lot more happens in the actual plot, but most of those new events are there to serve the dark, violent nature of war. There's so much talk about loss, and sacrifice, exploration of (also the dark side of) heroism, and whether "for the greater good" is worth it. There's corruption and death, injustice, and grappling with unkind fates and alienation/rejection.

Now, I will admit that I did put less emphasis on the societal pressure aspect of CoC, but mainly because that theme is a huge part of AHS 2 already, and it did not really fit this part of the story anymore. Instead, "Gregor against society" becomes "Questers against society" (quite literally, since they are — small spoiler — banding together to actually overthrow Solovet and bring about change.)

BUT ... if there is corruption, death, and the violence of war, how is it happier then? How can it have a happy ending?

Very simply because it is not only corruption but also redemption. Not only death and suffering but also growth and gain. Not only violence and breaking of relationships but also companionship, hope, and mending of relationships.

... The main change that happens to be so powerful it can give this series a happy ending without disrespecting or abandoning its original gritty violent core is ... a shift in mindset toward the positive. For Gregor, but also for everyone else. One of the main themes I added is the exploration of the double-edged nature of things: Everything has good and bad consequences. What we take away from it is what we choose to focus on.

Now you might see better what I meant by "All this series needed was an optimist" earlier. If there were someone to remind people of the bright side, to remind Gregor that his rager power does not make him evil and that he is never alone or choiceless, to embody this hopeful outlook and bring it out in everything ... I promise to you that this is all it would have taken.

And this is what I'm giving you.

#gregor the overlander #the underland chronicles #suzanne collins #tuc #underland chronicles #a henry story #ahs #ahs is actually so far from happy go lucky or lighthearted #like so incredibly far #it has made so many people cry #hope and optimism do NOT mean lighthearted and fun #yes it gives belonging and family #but at what cost #hope means clinging to hope in your darkest hours #when everything seems lost and everyone is against you #when everything wants you to give up #choosing heroism when you have every right to just become a villain is also a huge thing #what it means to have power over your own fate and make your own choices too #tight knit found family against society #fighting and sacrificing your own happiness and yourself to bring about needed changes #to create a better future #you guys literally do not understand how much #gregor and the code of claw #one of my main gripes with coc is its lack of nuance in how it looks at pain and loss #everything has a price #but everything also has a gain #it just depends on learning to look at it the right way

[revolvingfanatic]

HIIIII okay so I’ve recently found your fanfics a Puss in boots, and I’ve officially become obsessed just the way you write the characters and the Settings that they are in are so good and like the way you enter angst is so good. The one thing I do wanna see though no hate your literally amazing is maybe Puss in the wrong I like dynamic where death realizes he’s wrong for his past action reflects because that is so strong and I love that we love a good redemption, but I would also like to see Puss maybe Being a little too mean or biased, or assuming not out of being mean or wrong, but out of like trauma, his past experiences with dad, have now shaped his choices towards him, and he realizes how much it’s affecting the way he treats him I don’t know I’m just babbling at this point but anyways much love and support. Please keep fighting writing,living and much love.

Bumbleb33_s - my a03 name

Hi! First off, thank you so much! It fills my heart with joy to hear someone enjoy my work so much 💖 And honestly that’s a route I’ve purposefully avoided going with my fics because I like Puss so much and he did nothing to deserve all the traumatic stuff Death put him through, BUT, that being said, I did actually recently come up with an idea that would fit in with Puss being meaner to him than he deserves now that you bring it up. I doubt I’ll end up actually writing it out since I don’t have the time, but the basic idea is that the reason Death did what he did was because he knew Puss would die if he didn’t step in.

Like, I found out that Death only popped up at times that Puss could very well die (except probably the cave), like when Puss is drinking at the bar after the talk with Dr. Mendez (he could well have drunk himself to death with that “heaviest cream”), when he’s leaving Jack Horner’s with the map and flaming arrows are being shot at him, the battle where Jack is shooting unicorn horns, and the final battle. And maybe he knew the only way to get Puss to truly value his final life instead of relying on more and eventually tearing through those as well, was to teach him what true fear felt like, and challenge him the way he did.

BUT, since Death isn’t actually allowed to interfere to extend lives (going purely by the rules of this fic), and this would fall under that umbrella, he couldn’t make it seems like that was his goal, instead acting like he was insulted and wanted to just torment Puss before killing him out of spite.

THEN he needs Puss’ help with something really important, otherwise bad stuff would happen to a lot of people (like a continent getting destroyed or something, idk, lol), and Puss only agrees after Death signs a pact that he won't hurt Puss or his friends. Now, since Puss isn’t afraid that Death will kill him at the drop of a hat, he feels a lot more free to say whatever he wants, which is usually some kind of jab at Death’s character (like “I’ll handle this one and nicely ask for directions, because I believe that were it up to you you’d probably threaten them at sickle point, since that seems to be how you solve your problems.”, “Yes, we could actually try to win the challenge, but why do that when you can just unfairly overpower them with your godly powers like you did with me?”, “Stand back, you’ll just give them nightmares with nothing more than your stunning personality.” etc) as a way to get back at his tormentor.

Death can’t defend his actions though, as he can’t let Puss know the truth. That he actually really admired and respected Puss (and still does), which is why he stuck his neck out in the first place. And also Death is a nice person in general, and basically just played the part of an evil jerk when dealing with Puss before. So he just takes it.

BUT THEN Puss notices how Death acts throughout their quest/journey (especially when he thinks Puss isn’t looking/paying attention). That he’s actually kind, considerate, and cares about others’ feelings (even something like a bug, helping it by flipping it over when it’s stuck on it’s back, and putting a baby bird back in its nest that got tipped, etc), and tries to figure out how that made any sense at all, considering what he put Puss through just a few weeks prior.

Eventually he does figure it out though (maybe right after the end of the adventure, when everything is resolved), putting Death’s actions through the lens of what seems to be his actual personality and moral compass. When confronting Death about it, Death urges him to stop, to not say what he’s thinking, but he can’t actually stop Puss, and when the words are out in the open Death gets in trouble with the higher powers.

Not wanting Death to be punished for what he did to him, since he now knew why he did it, Puss maybe goes through some trials to get an audience with said higher powers, and works his charms to get Death off the hook. Then they become friends or fall in love or something, the end~

#ask answered #thanks again for the kind words and inspiration! #puss in boots #too many fic ideas and not enough time to write them all 😭 #puss in boots the last wish #btw if anyone wants to actually write this out as a fic please feel free! #death the wolf #deathpuss #pussdeath #pibtlw