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Villains in Media

As a huge fan of villains, my biggest problem with mainstream media handling antagonists or anti-heroes is their redemption. More often than not, the villain will start to question their loyalties near the end of the book or movie series, finally building up to one heroic stand alongside the protagonist...which usually results in their death. Any character development is thrown away for one of two reasons; (1) the author doesn’t understand how to properly redeem a villain, someone who has been killing/lying/stealing/etc throughout the series, and believes killing them off in a heroic sacrifice will right all of the wrongs they committed or (2) seeing someone who worked so hard to become good die after finally becoming a hero is sad, so they can capitalize on The Feels™.

Take Kylo Ren/Ben Solo from The Rise of Skywalker (~Spoilers~). Through Rey, he begins to question his place in the dark side, blah, blah, blah, it builds up to this grand moment when he stands with Rey against Palpatine, and when Rey gives her life to kill the antagonist Ben gives his to revive her. They share a kiss and then he...dies...? This is a beautiful combination of a studio combing both reasons for killing off a redeemed (if you can call him that) villain—he’s not properly redeemed so his sacrifice is a vain attempt to bring some heroism to his character, and by giving his life for and exchanging a kiss with the one he loves in his final moments, they get half the theatre crying. Or angry. Or both. No one is satisfied, he doesn’t feel redeemed, and it just doesn’t feel like a good way to end such a conflicted character.

On the other hand, take Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, also known as the reigning king of best redemption arc. He began the series in Book 1 seeking redemption for the wrong reasons—to restore his honor in his father’s eyes. He was a spoiled rich kid, throwing tantrums, lashing out at anyone around him—even his uncle, the one who showed him only care and love—and completely devoted to hunting the Avatar. Throughout the series, his travels and experiences with the protagonists and his uncle open him up to seeing where his true loyalties should lie and he embarks on a long and difficult path to redemption. Zuko understands he has hurt a lot of people, but also that he has been hurt himself, and works on being vulnerable and true to the ones he cares about. By the end of the series, Zuko became a true hero and a friend to the avatar. And guess what? He didn’t have to die for it! Also, his redemption is visual which is pretty interesting to look at!

Villains/antagonists/anti-heroes can be redeemed in a way that both stays true to the character and satisfied the reader/watcher without killing them off. And when it’s done properly, it becomes a beautiful, emotional, and raw character line that helps viewers connect with the character better than they would a villain that is sacrificed as a hero. A characters actions make them a hero. A hero can have flaws. The way they work to better themselves make them a hero.

Side note—angsty redeemed villains that join the bubbly hero’s group on their quest are my absolute favourite characters. Marissa Meyer (yes, this wasn’t a writing post, this was just my devious plot to talk about Marissa!) does this great in Renegades from the point of view of the villain. If you compare the way Nova is written—her thoughts, feelings, actions, attitude, etc—of Renegades’ first chapters to Supernova’s last half, there is a stark difference. And although her redemption was definitely much more internal than characters in other media, she still questions her loyalties, opens herself up to good decisions throughout the books, and doesn’t. Need. To. Die. To end her redemption arc. Especially in a series where the heroes and villains are not black and white, good or bad. In the first book, she follows orders and doesn’t question anything. In the second book, she becomes cautious, but begins to follow her own moral compass as she learns more about the world around her. By the end of Supernova, Nova is her own person. She stands up against what the world expects to make it a better place.

Please stop killing off your redeemed villains. It’s not a satisfying way to end their arc, and they deserve much better than that.

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I am laughing so hard oh my god clickhole

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one day I’ll finally write that ridiculously elaborate fanfiction that I’ve been carefully constructing in my daydreams for months and then you’ll be sorry. you’ll all be sorry.

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NOT TO MENTION WE TOTALLY NEED MORE DANNA X NARCISSA CONTENT. *slamming my fists on my desk* LES-BI-ANS! LES-BI-ANS! 💕

I just read all 549 pages of Supernova in about 6 hours and I’ve been absolutely DESTROYED by that epilogue. If we don’t get a Wires and Nerve or Stars Above-esque afterstory just expanding on their lives after Supernova and especially what is revealed in the last two pages then I will SUE because

[!!!supernova spoilers!!!!]

I just want some wholesome big sister Nova content. You know, finding the only surviving member of her family, Magpie finding the sister she always dreamed of returning to her. The awkward tension of their mutual distaste for each other which they struggle to overcome in an effort to find a sibling bond. They’re just two cuties who need to find each other and the reveal literally made me sit up straight, set the book and my glasses aside, and silently scream.

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I just read all 549 pages of Supernova in about 6 hours and I’ve been absolutely DESTROYED by that epilogue. If we don’t get a Wires and Nerve or Stars Above-esque afterstory just expanding on their lives after Supernova and especially what is revealed in the last two pages then I will SUE because

[!!!supernova spoilers!!!!]

I just want some wholesome big sister Nova content. You know, finding the only surviving member of her family, Magpie finding the sister she always dreamed of returning to her. The awkward tension of their mutual distaste for each other which they struggle to overcome in an effort to find a sibling bond. They’re just two cuties who need to find each other and the reveal literally made me sit up straight, set the book and my glasses aside, and silently scream.

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I haven’t been posting too much but I’m just waiting until I get to read Supernova tomorrow! Also, Merry Christmas Eve to everyone who celebrates, and Happy Holidays to those who don’t 💕

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In a shocking twist of fate that I regret to inform you all of, the guy didn’t give me my book back until weeks of me prompting and begging as he continuously “forgot” to bring it (even if I reminded him the night or even the morning before). He also admitted to only accepting my offer and purposefully forgetting the book because he wanted something “in common” (basically something that would force me to interact with him while I tried to get my book back) and tried to ask me out. This is also two days after my friend was talking about how he was hitting on her in class, which spurred my other friends to retell similar stories of this guy acting like an r/niceguy just to get with them. Yikes.

P.S. It’s important to note that what he did wasn’t at all cute or sweet, and no one should try to justify his actions. Some may see it as “aw, well he just wanted to talk with you and he even made an effort to explore one of your interests so you two could talk about it”. He purposefully withheld my belongings just so he could manipulate me into having to talk to him, which is really, REALLY creepy, and the narrative of people doing stuff like that being “sweet” or “romantic” is incredibly harmful.

I saw someone at school yesterday with a copy of Renegades so I (rather creepily) approached them with a, “Isn’t that an amazing book? I can’t wait for the third one to come out.” and he responded with, “Wait…do you have the second one? This leaves on such a cliffhanger.” (which really implies to me that he had finished the book and was rereading it without reading the rest of the series, honestly the cutest thing) So today I brought him my copy of Archenemies and he was so excited and honestly we should all make new friends while getting people more involved in Renegades,

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Not trying to shake up my usual Renegades posts but, uh, shameless plug and a bit of backstory. Because I’ve always made high grades and have shown an interest in science, my parents have placed their highest expectations on me and my academics, pushing me into pursing a career in medicine. Although biology and chemistry are very interesting to me, I cannot possibly imagine myself stuck in that kind of career. I explained to my parents that I would prefer something I truly enjoy, such as writing or drawing. My parents told me they understood, but they constantly try to steer me into different career paths, pointing out that I would make a good therapist, for example. So clearly they do not understand.

I’m in grade 11. Once my grade 12 year is over I’m expected to go straight into university, which means I have less than two years to convince my parents that I can make it with my writing and art. I beg you to please check out my Twitter, losersnail .

I won’t be posting anything else like this on my Tumblr, and will continue to post my regular content on here. However, my Twitter is where I post personal stories, my art, and where I’ll be linking my Wattpad and Ko-Fi. If I can gather enough support and show my parents I can make money from doing what I love, then maybe they’ll finally have faith in me.

So here’s some drawings of the best Pokémon Sword and Shield starter, Sobble! I’d like to turn the outlined one into a sticker, pin, or keychain on RedBubble (or something similar) in the future, but for now feel free to use as a profile picture with credit. Please don’t crop out my signature! The last picture is great for a phone wallpaper, which is why I took the liberty to remove the signature for you, but please NEVER use this one as anything but as your phone’s wallpaper, especially without permission.

Even if you don’t have a Twitter and can’t support me from there, even a reblog on Tumblr can help support me by spreading my post and allowing more people to find me. Drawing and writing is my passion and in order to turn it into a career I need to show my controlling parents that I am capable. Thank you for all of your understanding and encouragement.

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Okay so my mom bought me Supernova but decided to wrap it as a Christmas gift so I have to wait an extra month to read it and

aaaaaAAAAAAARRRGGHHHH!!!??!!!

I’ve already sortakindamaybe spoiled a ton of major plot points for myself because I was going to buy the book this weekend anyways but now I have to wait and knowing all of this without being able to read it for myself is a kind of agony you couldn’t even begin to fathom.

Like, I can easily take spoilers and it won’t ruin the actual material for me. Even knowing something will happen—a death, a betrayal, a joke, a relationship—won’t stop me from getting a rush of emotion when I actually read/watch it play out. But it’s like dangling a toy in front of a cat. It’s right there, I know it, I can see it, I just need to have it. I have to read it. I have to.

It’s killing me 🥺

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Renegades AU where it’s modern day and no one has powers so they’re all high school students at a very elite private school that prides itself on high grades and serious students. All of the renegades are regular students except for our main team who are the student council (Adrian is the student council president). The council are teachers, specifically Hugh is the principal. The Anarchists are a gang of thugs that were kicked out of the school and now preform Team Rocket-esque villany (everything they do fails or backfires comedically) in an attempt to shake up the private school. Their latest scheme is to have Nova (who basically never leaves the house or goes to her public school because she’s 2cool4school so no one would recognize her) enroll in the private school (unlike the other anarchists, she never went there at all so she was never expelled), do her best in her classes, and join the student council to seduce Adrian so that she can have influence in school (ie get test answers, have a say in what events take place, get the hot gossip on the teachers) which will help them bring down the school or something except she ends up loving everything she’s learning, loving being on the student council, and—of course—loving Adrian. Everyone is basically the same personality wise—Nova is super angry and short, skilled in fighting, and never sleeps, Adrian is smart, a total teacher’s pet (and son), and loves to draw, etc—except the dynamic between Nova and Adrian shifts in that they don’t really have secret identities that hate each other. It’s more of Nova really hating that she’s falling for a “stuck up geek” so she acts very hot and cold (tsundere if you know what I’m saying) with him and god she’s supposed to be wreaking havoc in the school and disrupting their precious standards but his face is so kissable and Adrian is sort of just a cinnamon roll who has nothing to worry about other than the crippling expectations placed on him but thank god he has sweet, snarky Nova to ground him. Also nO ONE DIES OKAY.

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Ever since I learned Genissa wears her hair short as well I’ve been drawing Nova with bangs and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done because look at her. Okay technically Nova wouldn’t have bangs because they would get in her eyes all the time during missions and stuff but it really completes her “Life has been screwing with me for over a decade and at this point-oh! Look! There goes my last f*ck. Isn’t it beautiful 😌” More doodles on the way 👉👉

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The piece I sent out for the Renegades fan art contest. I didn’t place but had a ton of fun trying to do something new and unexpected. For example, rather than base it around the infamous quote, “one cannot be brave who has no fear”, I decided to focus on the theme of trust between our two protagonists. As civilians, Nova and Adrian trust each other (at varying degrees, notice how Adrian has is eyes closed and is fully trusting in Nova who is glaring at the ‘camera’) but they still have these alter egos, so is the trust really there? Can a loving relationship be built on trust when even that is a lie they haven’t uncovered yet? I dunno, I think too much into my own art. Even though I didn’t place, I’m very proud of myself and everyone else who tried!

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I saw someone at school yesterday with a copy of Renegades so I (rather creepily) approached them with a, “Isn’t that an amazing book? I can’t wait for the third one to come out.” and he responded with, “Wait...do you have the second one? This leaves on such a cliffhanger.” (which really implies to me that he had finished the book and was rereading it without reading the rest of the series, honestly the cutest thing) So today I brought him my copy of Archenemies and he was so excited and honestly we should all make new friends while getting people more involved in Renegades,

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10 Things I don’t want to happen in Supernova

10. We really shouldn’t

9. complain or worry

8. about what Marissa

7. has planned for

6. the finale because

5. we know that

4. whatever may come

3. it will be

2. The death of Nova and/or Adrien

1. a fantastic book