#or they try to seek redemption and are killed for trying to change

[lotus-pear]

It is me once again, younger than you person and also fanfic person.

Who is your favorite character ever?

(I have two from books I've read- Jude Duarte and Percy Jackson) (I think thats how you spell her name)

i have multiple fanfic people ur gonna have to be more specific anon aaa sry😭

top characters of all time would have to be bertholdt hoover aot and greedling fmab.. can you tell i like misunderstood villains doomed by the narrative?

[umboloae]

My new and hopefully final Bill design!! I made him easier to draw in comic style, still pretty, but with more recognizable shapes and traits (seriously, try drawing a generic white boy more than 5 times in a row, it's difficult)

Some notes on my stylistic choices and backstory for the designs:

First one on top: Just regular "young" Bill, this is him after betraying Ford (only thing that changed after he did was the sharp teeth, since he used normal ones to appear more harmless)

Second one to the right: Weirdmaggedon Bill. He took this form to manipulate Ford, it didn't work, all he got was a kiss (my first comic) and then he was killed by his brother (there will be a comic on that soon!!)

Third one on the left: Bill in theraprism. Now he got this glitchy scar, that starts on his face but runs through his whole body. He still uses his human form most of the time since he says he's waiting for Ford to visit. Ford never will, he doesn't even know Bill's alive. Bill uses a headband to keep his hair from falling on his face while he draws. And he doesn't have his earrings on bc no sharp objects allowed (let's be honest, he would stab it in someone's eye's)

And last one on the bottom: Bill after theraprism, and seeking redemption while working in the mystery shack. Not gonna elaborate on him too much bc he's gonna be featured in my future comics, but just know that he's 100% human and that his yellow eye is a prosthetic eye.

[nthspecialll]

Charles's past

At New York Comic Con, Noshir Dahal said something quite interesting when he opened up about his thoughts on Charles and his past. He revealed that be believed Charles's wisdom to come from a past of terrible things not done to him but done by him and that he is now trying to do better. This, I think, opens an interesting discussion on how Charles might have been as a person years before he joined the gang.

The Charles we know is a bit stern but a just and fairly collected man, and Dahal mentions that we get to see a lot of his restraint to be this collected man in the game. Charles is able to keep himself under control but at times still struggles and will explode, such as with the bison hunters in chapter two.

The way he talks about the restaint and the terrible things Charles did in the past, makes me wonder if the Charles we know is one seeking his own form of redemption. It sounds to me like he was a highly more aggressive and violent man than the one in 1899 but that he is trying to change that path.

We know he is aware of himself and what he has done, he wonders if he was put on earth just to cause suffering, a fate and thought quite cruel, and maybe Charles is trying to escape it. He used to be a hot headed person, he is now restainting himself. He used to be a lone wolf, now he joined a gang. He used to kill a lot, now he tries to avoid it. He used to do bad things, now he helps however he can.

Maybe someone in the gang reached redemption and lived to tell the tale.

[guzhufuren]

New posters, message, part of a soundtrack and information about upcoming chinese BL The General's Son, show from the director of Word of Honor

"Green mountains are hidden in the distance, the waters are far away, the bright moon is always shining, the world is full of happiness."

Genres: wuxia; revenge Number of episodes: 24 Episode runtime: 18 minutes

Lead actors: Li Kaiwen as Li Jianwei; Dong Zifan as Chen Xiaoxi

Director and executive producer: Ma Huagan (Word of Honor, The Legend of Anle, Sword Dynasty) Art director: Liu Jingping (Love and Redemption, A Dream of Splendor, Wonderland of Love) Screenwriter and chief producer: Zhou Shucheng Executive producers: Zhuo Zuoqing, Yang Qi Co-producers: Jiang Yuxin, Li Shike, Dong Xinyu Co-director: Wang Xue Producers: Jiang Zhengpeng, Liu Wei, Xu Heni Planning by: Luo Yuting, Luo Gaoqiang

Filming finished this June. Will not be broadcast in mainland China. Original script.

Synopsis: General Li's family were killed on New Year's Eve. Li Jianwei, the youngest son of the Li family, escaped death, but disguised himself as a courtesan and went to Wei Mountain to seek revenge. Chen Xiaoxi, the young master of Guigu, has a lively and eccentric personality, becomes increasingly close to Li Jianwei, who has tried his best to win him over. Chen Xiaoxi's sister, Xiao Hetao, is simple and kind. She discovers that Li Jianwei came for revenge, and dies to resolve the hatred between the two.

Characters:

Li Jianwei. Twenty years old, the youngest son of General Li Fei, he is loved by the whole family, standing like an orchid and a jade tree, smiling like the bright moon. He should have had a bright future, but his fate changed overnight. In order to get revenge, he went undercover to Weishan, enduring humiliation and patiently executing his plan step by step.

Chen Xiaoxi. At the age of twenty, we meet the young master of Weishan Guigu. He was born pure but had evil eyes. Under his lively and sunny appearance, his face looked like that of a devil's. In fact, he was rough but kind, and treated people with sincerity. Unfortunately, fate played a cruel joke on him and his mother died.

Xiao Hetao. At the age of seventeen, Chen Xiaoxi rescued a human child from a wolf pack. Innocent and romantic, she was very simple and naive. Gui Rong and others gave Xiao Hetao the purest and most innocent living environment, but she hoped to resolve the hatred of everyone with her own power.

Princess Qingyuan. Thirty-four years old, a graceful and elegant lady, smart and tenacious. She was in love with Chen Dawang when she was young. After Chen Dawang's death, she firmly refused marriage arranged by the magistrate's office and spent many years in Zhejiang. While helping Li Jianwei to take revenge, Qingyuan, the deputy envoy of the Chang'an Supervisor Zi Ke, has been trying to find out the truth about Jian Jishan from 20 years ago.

Chen Dawang. At the age of 38, we meet the leader of Guigu in Huishan. Twenty years ago, he was a major general in the Loyal and Brave Army led by Chen Weishan. Entrusted by the general, Chen Dawang and his party lived in seclusion in Guigu for twenty years, just to avenge the Loyal and Brave Army and reveal the truth to the world one day.

Sizhou. 24 years old, a descendant of the Loyal and Brave Army, he was a martial arts expert but became blind in two days. Because he was indebted to the Lord of Qingyuan, he stayed by his side and waited for investigation. While helping Li Jianwei to get his revenge, he also hoped to find out the truth of the old case of the Loyal and Brave Army from 20 years ago.

Wan Qianhong. Thirty-eight years old, owner of Baihua Villa, with mysterious martial arts and deceitful tricks. When she was young, she fell in love with Li Pu, who concealed his identity. Later, Li Xifei and Huang Jueda broke off all ties with Wan Qianhong. Since then, Wan Qianhong deeply hated Li Pu and all men in the world. Behind the hatred, Wan Qianhong missed her daughter so much that she mistakenly recognized Xiao Hetao as Zaotian's daughter. In the end, they ended up loving each other but not being able to be together.

Shi Tou. Eighteen years old, a good martial brother of Chen Xiaoxi, grew up in Jianweishan. He is the beloved son of Uncle Hua and Aunt Hua, with a simple and straightforward personality. He was happy and naive until Xiaohe died. The joy he did not even have time to express became the biggest regret in Shi Tou's life.

*text from informational brochures was converted with image to text online programs, translated through google translator and edited by me with some help of online dictionaries. i do not speak chinese, so there are most certainly mistakes in the text. purpose of this translation is to give you the general idea

[lollyposp]

okay im only slightly going insane right now about how MUCH i adore the way agatha is being portrayed in agatha all along. she's this awesome mix of horrible and sympathetic BUT not in the way that excuses everything she does. like, the other witches dislike her for good reason and even when agatha is nice to them or they realise she's got her own issues too like, that doesn't change what she's done in the past to get her reputation.

but ALSO it's so obvious that 90% or something of Agatha's personality is either a facade or an exaggeration of her bitterness because after everything we know of that's happened to her ("i can be good" "no you cannot", her son dying and rio's obvious involvement in that) it's like. how can she love. how can she trust when those she loved made her feel betrayed, or she lost them, or even both.

i think the first clue that a lot of her personality is a facade was the whole "just blast me" situation, because to me it felt like "well yeah Agatha's clearly nasty but how much of that is because she needs to annoy people into trying to kill her so she can grab their magic?" but I hadn't quite realised that there could be more to it than that

but episode 4 had SO MANY examples. i mean, Agatha's entire "no fucks given" attitude just fizzles out when the teen is dying and i feel like even the other witches picked up on it, like jen was clearly stunned by Agatha's grief as well as by Teen's condition. and then her sitting with Teen until he woke up, not even taking her eyes off him but as soon as he wakes up she pretends she just Happened to check on him Just as he woke up and that she didn't stay there the entire time.

and don't even GET ME STARTED on everything else. the scene at the fire where she very clearly struggled through having a positive interaction with the other witches?? and also the whole "she is my scar" but if i think too much about that i will actually go insane.

the scene that REALLY hasn't left my head all day is the scene where rio tells agatha that Teen isn't hers. ALL THE PROPS to kathryn hahn here she's an INCREDIBLE actress, but the way agatha just says NOTHING and slowly puts on a smile....😦 i was watching the episode with my housemates and the only thing i could say to them was "i literally saw the moment she put her act back on". because for all that agatha is so brash and loud, and no matter how much she might seek conflict with others, she runs away from all her emotional pain because it's too much for her to bear. because how do you even move on from the woman you loved being at least partly complicit in your son's death? whether agatha really DID trade him for the dark hold and regretted it immediately or whether the rumour IS just a rumour and nick and the dark hold aren't connected at all, RIO still is connected to either of those ideas.

(honestly as it stands right now im in whatever camp believes he WAS traded for the darkhold, but agatha somehow didn't realise he would be traded until after it was too late, because i feel like it's what explains her actions in WV and her hallucination the most. also it makes rio's actions all the more painful to agatha because it would have been a mistake she didn't mean to make, and rio would not budge even with that knowledge and OUCH. but that's neither here nor there)

honestly this whole incoherent essay was just to say that i love Agatha's character. i love that the question surrounding her isn't really "is she good or evil?" or even "can she be good?". i feel like it's clear there IS a good person in agatha but because she's ignored it for so long (some of that is probably due to the darkhold) the question kind of becomes "does it matter that she's got good inside her if she refuses to show it?". she's so firmly in the morally grey camp that while i do kind of want her to have a redemption arc and to have a whole found family thing go on, i honestly don't see it happening and i also at the same time DON'T want her to be redeemed when she's so interesting because she's this person who clearly has the capacity to be good and chooses not to out of pride and fear of being vulnerable and all the trauma she's accumulated.

oh i completely forgot to mention that im also obsessed with the sound booth scene???? i honestly can't figure out if she's just shit stirring when she projects her and rio's conversation for the fun of it, or if it's like a fucked up agatha way of trying to protect her new coven by giving them reasons to distrust rio and be wary of her, specifically because she thinks rio will betray her/betray them and reap them. I can't figure it out. it might even be both.

anyway live laugh love agatha

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 1)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances or had a redemption/corruption arc during their stories

PROPAGANDA:

Essek Thelyss- Originally written to be a Big Boss villain of the campaign, the genuine friendship offered by the player characters and their efforts to stop the war he helped cause ate away at his selfishness until he turned on his co-conspirators. He accepted a life of exile and ended up in a relationship with the morally-gray wizard he was originally meant to be a narrative contrast to.

Spike- he starts out naturally as the enemy of protag buffy, since he is a vampire and she's the slayer. in season 4 he gets a chip in his brain which prevents him from harming humans but he can still fight demons, so he ends up fighting alongside buffy and the scooby gang sometimes but they still consider him Not a Good Guy. he (really horribly hate this part) attempts to rape buffy and then goes off to win his soul back so he can Be Good again, and by season 7 is fully redeemed one of the gang

started out as evil vampire trying to kill buffy, went through a bad breakup and ended up working with her to take down the other evil vampire his gf cheated with. pops up again later but he can't do violence anymore or else it literally causes him pain, so now he's stuck making snarky comments all the time and reluctantly seeking help from buffy + friends. eventually comes around to actually helping them because it's the right thing to do but it takes a while because he's the worst

he switches sides so many times (often due to forces outside of his control) that his allegiances are constantly in question and it's the cause of so much fandom discourse. it makes him an incredibly interesting character though, especially when he uses those changing allegiances as a way of manipulation. by the end of the show though, he's very clearly on the main characters side, more than any other character in the cast.

[babybird-keigo]

Crazily insane take but I find it kinda ironic how majority of Endeavor haters are hateful towards him for turning Touya into a villain but ignore the fact that Rei also didn’t do anything to prevent it 🤨 like neither of them were perfect parents and yes Endeavor was worse im not saying he wasn’t but I do wanna acknowledge that he did try to stop Touya from continuously destroying his body (in the most terrible way possible) meaning he did in fact care and so did Rei (obviously. She tried and got frightened).

What I want y’all to acknowledge is that neither of the Todoroki parents are perfect angels.

So many people will tell ya people can change until the person tryna change is Enji Todoroki Who has stated he doesn’t even want forgiveness and has apologised and actually shown change unlike majority of realistic people.

I don’t want to feel ashamed that I like Enji because at first I didn’t I absolutely despised this man 💀 he annoyed me and pissed me off but he changed and got better much like Bakugou who majority of y’all forgave without a second glance even though he literally told someone to kill themselves 😬 (I am also a Bakugou fan but I can admit he was a piece of shit at the beginning just like Enji) and another thing he has in common with Enji is a redemption arc and an apology to his victim(s)

I also wanna take into the account that it is most likely everything Enji has shown to do with Rei and the kids he saw/learned from his father and it is known for children who have grown around abuse to seek that type of abuse in relationships whether they’re the ones to search for an abuser or be the abuser. It is also known that

Now before any of y’all determined haters try and attack me I am NOT excusing Enji’s actions what I AM saying is that 1. He doesn’t deserve all the blame for Touya’s actions and 2. Doesn’t deserve to be treated as the devil’s reincarnation he’s a human being and he’s changing.

Also please don’t not try to change my mind about Enji by replying with some ridiculous conspiracy theory I see some of y’all doing in tik tok comments

[pinkfestivalpeanuttree]

posting my deranged ramble on eurylochus epic the musical here because i'm kinda sick of the eurylochus slander going on in some parts of the fandom

I can't help but see eurylochus’ trust in odysseus as comparable to that of faith in a god– his worldview of “cut your losses” was challenged numerous times by odysseus continuing to try and stick to polites’ “open arms” philosophy which is arguably more morally good, and so he too began to change his mind, but when odysseus willingly sacrificed 6 men, even if it was the better option at the time, the fact that he made the sacrifice knowlingly rather than pulling off another miraculous success like with circe, where he saved all their men turned into pigs, or when he made a last-minute plan with the cyclops, this shattered eurylochus’ faith in odysseus and his worldview and that putting his trust in him was the best option.

not to get all christian in this greek mythology musical but something something confessing his act of opening the wind bag, something something confessing sins. perhaps eurylochus blamed himself for everything that happened after the wind bag, poseidon, etc. something something seeking redemption, absolution, something something realizing that odysseus isn't some infallible being but just a man, like him. something, odysseus is going to put his desire to reunite with penelope and telemachus above eurylochus and the crew’s wellbeing, odysseus isn't going to forgive him, he and the crew won't be able to make it back home. something something, “i need you to always be devout”. heck even the “i am neither man nor mythical” moment of hubris.

eurylochus killed the cow knowing he would die both because of the guilt he carried for opening the wind bag and betraying odysseus, and because of his hopelessness, accepting that there was no way they could make it home because odysseus was just a man, and even if he wasn't, he had already turned his back on him. they had already turned their backs on each other.

to be clear, i don't think eury actually saw odysseus as a god or anything, what with how he constantly second-guessed and challenged him, but he did definitely put him on a pedestal i think, and what's more, i think after the wind bag, eurylochus' trust in his own judgement took a hard hit, so he turned to odysseus to put that faith in him instead. especially after circe, where odysseus successfully saved all their men because he didn't listen to eurylochus' suggestion of cutting their losses, and during the underworld, where they were confronted by all the men that died (inadvertently) because of eurylochus' mistake. and then scylla happens, and eurylochus has the realization, odysseus isn't a miracle worker, he is not all that different from eurylochus. he’s just a man. and more importantly, he doesn't have the crew's best interests at heart. so then mutiny happens and eurylochus realizes that he's not as good of a leader as odysseus is, he can't get them home, odysseus can't or won't get them home, and succumbs to despair.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

pt. 2 to answer @altofmoth 's question (click here to see pt. 1!)

5. mind control

mind control is a classic villain's move but when that villain is supposed to be sympathetic and who later gets into a relationship with the same person they tried to control... yikes.

catra is visibly happy about adora going through excruciating pain because of the virus, she shows no concern or remorse over hurting her former best friend/love interest this way. and she is completely willing to take away adora's freewill if it means defeating the rebellion.

6. attempted murder

yeah, i don't think i have to explain this. again, notice that adora has attempted to murder catra very few times. adora's main objective was just to defeat catra (or get her to join the rebellion) while catra's objective was to always hurt adora in any way possible.

7. catra brags about adora being easy to manipulate

these are just three instances but it's not very romantic to talk about how easily you can manipulate your s/o and take advantage of their weaknesses.

8. weird incestuous undertones

adora and catra were both raised by shadow weaver and has an obvious scapegoat - golden child dynamic. catra especially seeks out shadow weaver's love and validation, and she's jealous of adora because shadow weaver favours adora more.

this is a very common trope between fictional siblings like zuko and azula, cassandra and rapunzel, soren and claudia, etc. and of course, it's a very common dynamic between siblings in real life too, when they are raised by an abusive parent. all of this makes the idea of a romantic relationship between catra and adora pretty icky.

9. catra's redemption or lack thereof doesn't help with this whole situation

catra's redemption is all lipservice. she does actually change at all. let's see,

she still holds adora responsible for things that she didn't do, and acts like adora is a hindrance.

she still uses physical violence on adora for absolutely no reason.

she abandons adora when she's about to die because adora doesn't return catra's romantic feelings (and she later blames adora for always leaving people behind).

not to mention, catra's confession is so guilt trippy. the fact that she apparently loved adora all this time, when she was abusing, manipulating, gaslighting, trying to control and trying to kill adora, is the biggest red flag.

it's not like catra only started liking adora in s5. this confession reframes their entire relationship and implies that catra tortured adora physically and emotionally because she was in love with her. and again, the whole “just this once, stay” implies that catra still thinks that adora abandoned her, after everything that happened.

so yeah, i hope this answers your question!

[clownfishbites]

Ok it’s time for the St Augustine Joker meta. Sorry if it got a bit long I just have a lot of thoughts.

I find it so interesting that he would bring up St Augustine in that moment. I wasn’t a huge fan of the run in general but I thought it had its merits and this bit was one of them because I’m a sucker for batjokes that is also religious fanaticism.

For St Augustine, ‘grace’ in this sense is not something that needs to be found or earned, the Catholic doctrine states that it is given freely, a gift from God to mankind.

Batman gives Joker grace when nobody in the entire world will, I mentioned it a bit in my last meta but think Batman: Cacophony, Batman: It's Joker time, Batman: Devil's Advocate and literally every time he doesn't kill him, or protects him from harm when nobody else would. He is giving him grace that does not have to be earned, it's a benevolent gift from the divine. Or at least that's how Joker is seeing it, a rationalisation for why Batman spares him when nobody else would.

St Augustine tells God that "it is only by Your grace and mercy that You have melted away the ice of my evil". St Augustine needs God in the same way Joker needs Batman, to act in opposition to his 'evil', to be worshipped with the intention of being the gravity that keeps him on Earth, or in his own words, the compass pointing true north.

I'm not going to get too carried away but I think it's a pretty interesting comparison that's existing here between St Augustine and God, and Joker and Batman.

"head towards God and remember, everything else is chaos"

If Batman is the entity that is salvation, the thing to be drawn to- he isn't just the opposite force, but the only other thing in existence, because Joker defines himself as chaos. There is Divinity and Chaos and that is all. It's a nice lens on Joker's perspective that every other living thing is a prop in his pursuit of Batman's love and attention.

Religion is a choice, but how could Joker pick any other divinity, when he freely acknowledges that Batman is his creator. One of St Augustine's concepts surrounding human creation is that of original sin- that being that everybody is born with sin, born tainted ever since Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden.

But if everyone is born tainted, lives tainted and there is no real assurance of redemption, what actually is the point in trying to be good, to be a virtuous person, if someone like the Joker can just come into the church and take your life. Or from the pov of the Joker what is the point in any of it if we are born ruined.

We return to the idea that Joker sees himself as beyond salvation in the traditional sense, he's in a sunk cost fallacy but with being evil. But just to push this to it's limit, his very existence shakes faith in a creator that is all good,

Where is the grace of God in a world that allowed him to exist?

In the absence of divine light and a creator that loves him, he desperately seeks the opposite, divine darkness and a creator that hates him. But Joker loves him no less for it because Batman is all that exists in his world.

"head towards love and everything else is chaos"

Here he's changed the words of St Augustine, altering it from following God to following love, and he says this while heading towards Batman which is...basically the entire point of this, Batman is his love, Batman is his divinity.

But even Batman has to devote himself to an idea bigger than himself, and he can only stand in opposition, his crusade would be over if he truly cleansed Gotham of all evil- OR, as Joker suggests in this comic, if he became happy. If he didn't have to exist in opposition, if the misery that fuelled his crusade was taken away

Joker can only stand in opposition too- we know this because we see how completely he crumbles apart when his opposition is removed.

Batman functionally exists as half of a whole, in his own way Joker's speech is confronting this reality, albeit in a much more roundabout way than he explains it to Selina.

And this is why neither of them can ever truly escape this cycle, their aspect of devotion would die the moment the other was removed from the equation, and with it divinity and chaos would cease to exist, and so would the world.

I love cosmic batjokes.

[jubileemon]

Why Sir Pentious Deserved Redemption?

Sir Pentious was perceived as a typical villain. His grandiose self-image and melodramatic antics suggest a character ripped straight from the pages of a vintage comic book. Despite his declarations of evil, he was never truly evil.

The Path to Redemption

In the episode 'Radio Killed the Video Star', Sir Pentious's facade of villainy crumbles, exposing his true vulnerability. Tasked with espionage and facing failure, he is met with a cruel ultimatum from Vox to end his own existence. This moment of despair highlights his low status in Hell and his profound misery, a stark contrast to his usual bluster.

For all of Sir Pentious's bluster about being a card-carrying villain, he knows how low on Hell's totem pole he is, and he's completely miserable about it. When Vox hires him as a spy in the hotel only for it to fail in less than 24 hours, Vox tells him to kill himself, and Sir Pentious's reaction is to roll into a ball and ask Vaggie and Angel Dust to just finish him off before Charlie intervenes and inspires him to try reforming for real.

Sir Pentious's readiness to accept death at the hands of Vaggie and Angel Dust further underscores his desolation. However, Charlie's compassionate intervention offers him a lifeline, suggesting that redemption in Hazbin Hotel may be more attainable than previously thought.

Charlie's belief in the possibility of redemption becomes a turning point for Sir Pentious. Her insistence on a sincere apology resonates with him, and he embraces the opportunity for change. This pivotal moment marks the beginning of his transformation from a villain to a character capable of genuine growth and redemption.

Bonus Points: In "Scrambled Eggs", Husk complimenting Sir Pentious becomes even more heartwarming when the next episode revealed Husk was a former Overlord, meaning that, in a way, Sir Pentious did get an Overlord's approval.

The Ultimate Sacrifice

As the Bible itself says: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" (John 15:13), which is exactly how Sir Pentious died a second time- he used his weaponry knowhow and battle experience not to conquer, but to save his loved ones.

Sir Pentious' journey culminates in 'The Show Must Go On', where he makes the ultimate sacrifice for his friends. His transformation into an angel and subsequent ascension to Heaven is a testament to his character development and the power of selfless love. His final act of heroism, a failed but brave attack on Adam to protect the hotel, may not have succeeded in its intended purpose, but it demonstrated his willingness to lay down his life for others. This act of valor is a poignant illustration of the biblical principle that there is no greater love than to sacrifice one's life for friends.

Right before his act, Pentious gives Cherri a kiss and tells her to remember him, which she actually finds kind of hot. Because Sir Pentious was reincarnated into heaven, it's likely this ship will never be canon, unless Cherri Bomb ascends.

While Angel Dust was technically the first occupant of the hotel, his motivations were initially self-serving. Sir Pentious, on the other hand, becomes the hotel's first genuine client seeking redemption. His initial intentions may have been dubious, but his journey towards redemption and ultimate success in reaching Heaven is a powerful narrative of transformation and hope.

Sir Pentious being sent to Heaven actually matches the rules made by Adam in "Welcome To Heaven".

"Act selfless". He showed only kindness after he joined the hotel for real.

"Don’t steal". He returned the only thing he stole (part of Alastor's coat) back to its rightful owner, and apologized for it at the same time.

"Stick it to the man". He died trying to attack Adam, the Original Man, to save his friends.

A New Precedent in Hazbin Hotel

Emily's general lack of presence in the finale is a sad detail in itself. Despite her horror at the exterminations and promising Charlie that she'd figure out someway to help her, in the end it appears she wasn't able to do anything at all. Before Sir Pentious appears (thus vindicating both Charlie and Emily), Emily is shown dejectedly lying down on a table in apparent silence with Sera sitting next to the door. The implication being that Sera was able to successfully prevent Emily from doing anything about the exterminations, and/or that Emily was worried about the potential consequences of going behind Heaven's back.

Sir Pentious ascending to Heaven. Pretty much gives Charlie the last laugh against any and all naysayers who think redemption is beyond sinners. His arrival in Heaven, particularly in front of Sera and Emily, signifies a moment of triumph for Charlie's vision and shakes the foundations of what is believed possible in the afterlife.

Sir Pentious' character arc in Hazbin Hotel is a compelling narrative of redemption. It challenges the notion of irredeemable villainy and celebrates the potential for change, even in the darkest of places. His story is a beacon of hope for all who seek redemption and a reminder that everyone has the capacity for transformation.

[morverenmaybewrites]

Hi! I'm so glad you're back, new chapter of Pizza girl was amazing as always, for me it's absolutely the best dc fic ever!

I especially love how the relationship between Jason and other characters feels heartbreakingly natural, how it isn't a case of "love magically cured trauma" but rather slowly and messyly opening up, and trying to heal with the help of right people at right time.

And as much as I cannot wait for Jason and pizza girl to have more straight up romantic shenanigans, I love how they started with gaining each other trust and building their friendship, I adore them as domestic buddies.

I have a question, if it isn't some kind of spoiler of course, at this point of the story, does Jason have (or wants to have) a life outside of his Red Hood persona? And I mean it half psychologically half practically (similarly to pizza girl, how does he earn money if being a vigilante isn't a source of income?)

But seriously, I find it heartbreaking that as much as he yearns for home, he still lives in safe houses, and I was so happy when he thought about asking Babs for help in looking for something more permanent for himself. And it fits into his fear of being traced of course, but got me thinking, in a more personal sense, does he have a motivations for living other than trying to make up for his mistakes as Arkham Knight?

Something like: does he realise that there's Red Hood who fights for those who can't do it for themselves, but there's also Jason who likes the smell of new books, has his favorite mug and favorite way of drinking coffee, has his favorite chair at the local library, who maybe has quiet and innocent dream to get a degree or his dream job and be loved and needed by someone?

Does he realise the second one exists and deserves to be cherished by him?

(Sorry if this ask is too much, I just now realised how long it got 😭 I will absolutely understand if you don't have time to answer this)

Anyway thank you for writing this amazing and captivating work, I can't wait for next chapters, whenever they'll be ready❤

In the meantime I hope you get time to rest and have fun! Stay safe!

This is a wonderful breakdown of Jason's character! To answer your question, does Jason have a life outside of his Red Hood persona? No. Does he want one? Unconsciously, the answer is yes, but I don't think he can acknowledge it right now. For years following the Joker's torture, he's pretty much been in survival mode, keeping himself alive by being obsessed with a singular goal. First, it was to kill the Joker and Batman, and then when he found out the Joker was dead, it was to kill Batman. Now, it's to seek redemption as the Red Hood. While he may have (somewhat) progressed from his days as the Arkham Knight, he's still clinging to the same unhealthy coping mechanisms. It's a little (or a lot) like depression. He's so focused on getting through today and the next day and the next day that there's little room for anything else. Hobbies and friends and a place to feel at home in sound nice, but they also sound absolutely unattainable. And he's lived with that mindset for so long that he's all but forgotten that there are different ways to live. That's where Jason's head is right now. Maybe one day, he'll progress enough that he'll be able to look around his safehouse, so sparse that it's no different from a prison cell, and he'll think to himself that he wants something more. And it doesn't have to be anything big. Nothing so grand as the Wayne Manor. Just a small place, maybe above a bookstore. Maybe in the beginning, it's not so different from his safehouses. Just a mattress on the floor and a bathroom. But then one day, he'll add something small. Some secondhand book he bought from the store for the change he had in his pocket. It's from an author he's never heard of before. The writing is a little clunky, but it's enough to pass the time while he's waiting for updates on his cases. Maybe he reads it next to his window, by the light of the flickering street lamps, trying not to grimace at the way the hard wood is digging into his back. Maybe one of his siblings or even the reader notices. She takes him to one of her favorite flea markets under the guise of buying a new rug. And he ends up taking back an armchair, so old that the stuffing is coming out in places. But he makes do, the way he always has, he washes away the accumulated dust and dirt, he patches up the holes, and he places it next to his window. Where the street lamp shines just enough light to read by, even if it often flickers. He opens his book, written by an author he's never heard of before. The writing is a little clunky in places. But for now, he thinks, it's enough. (And maybe he'll read until morning. And maybe he'll realize, or maybe not: that the Jason Todd who used to spend hours in the Wayne Manor library, who had a favorite armchair by the fire, is still in there, somewhere. And perhaps, he'll think--or perhaps not--that the Joker hasn't killed everything that he used to be. Perhaps there's still a little bit of Robin left in him.)

[fantasyinvader]

In Snow, before taking Enbarr Flayn gives a speech about how the crew are rejecting Edelgard's “twisted morality” and is willing to kill, and that to go down the same dark path themselves. Yet Seteth talks about how Edelgard will never bend to the player's will a few scenes later despite how Byleth would wish for a peaceful solution. It makes Snow sound hypocritical, no?

However, the Japanese instead says it's Edelgard's willingness to sacrifice others and rejecting that path, whereas Seteth says that while it's understandable that Byleth would want to walk a path with Edelgard it's Edelgard who refuses to give in towards that goal. This bookends the map, where Edelgard on her defeat says that through her death she and Byleth will walk the same path together.

You can see how the changes, though slight in some places, alter the meaning of the story. But this, ultimately, is the case. Byleth's path is supposed to be representative of Nirvana, the Path of Liberation, with Byleth's ending title being The Flame Who Seeks Their Destiny. Edelgard's path is identified as both hadou, where she uses her power to impose her will upon people including through the use of violence, as well as the animal path, the antithesis of Nirvana. Byleth can reject their own path and walk Edelgard's, but it's not meant to be a good thing. Meanwhile, Edelgard's joining Byleth's side through her death comes across as an act of redemption. That by defeating her ideals by winning without the methods she used to gain strength, Edelgard realized her own wrongdoing.

But the thing is, looking at the choices at Snow, it's basically clear the player is being pushed to choose rational thought and logic rather than act on emotion. The player doesn't have a choice, instead the game tells them “no, you have to do this.��� Case in point, where the player may want to join Dimitri their forces are in no state to do so so they sit Gronder out. Or how Byleth in the end is pushed to become the new ruler of Fodlan. In the English script, pushing the idea that Edelgard champions freedom if supported rather than oppression, it only makes it look worse.

But it makes sense when you consider Edelgard's path is meant to be the animal path (though the other lords at their worst could be said to have sunk to Edelgard's level.). It's not just that she's hurting through her ignorance, it's also that she's abandoned morality and her humanity doing so. Edelgard might appear rational, but in reality this is saying that she's acting more on instinct and impulses in order to achieve her goals. In contrast, Snow is about saying to have the self-control Edelgard doesn't and to do the right thing. It's not saying to be emotionless, but to look at things logically before acting.

Just like how Seteth says at the beginning of the route, to not see the intent behind Edelgard's words would be a dire mistake while in the Japanese script she flat out says that she did everything she could to try and sway Byleth to her side. Being in the BE House just gave her more opportunities to do so.

Plus the hadou stuff would make it clear that Edelgard isn't benevolent, whereas Byleth is meant to be if they follow their path. The Animal path is thought to be a path of evil, leading to a world of suffering where the strong rule over the weak who cower in fear. To be human means to have the ability to act in a humane manner in Buddhism. Edelgard and Byleth's ideologies being in direct conflict, with hers being made out as evil in the Japanese script, only serves to say that Snow is the hero route for the BE class. To walk Edelgard's path doesn't make her see the light, it just tells her her methods work and encourage their usage further.

But all this is lost due to the translation mischaracterizing Edelgard and trying to make the game grey. Houses essentially wanted players to be Jedi only for the translation to pull a “From my point of view, it's the Jedi who are evil.” And because of that, Edelgard's redemption is lost and instead they try to justify her means by altering her ends.

[verdemoun]

the parallels between characters oh my goodness gracious

charles and micah, kieran and sadie, ough

I LOVE CHARACTER PARALLELS

you can definitely draw parallels between Charles and Micah, joining the gang at similar times, both becoming a voice and confidant of one of the old guard, ect but you got me thinking so bad about other parallels. Before I continue, petition to rename red dead redemption to dead mom redemption.

Arthur & Micah: On paper, they are the same person. Both were raised by single fathers after losing their mothers young in non-descript ways. Both their fathers were outlaws, who assumedly died due to their criminal activity. For both Micah and Arthur, being an outlaw became the only option for them because, tragically, it was all they knew and the only way of life they had ever witnessed. Both would find Dutch van der Linde, and eventually have their loyalty to Dutch van der Linde be what lead to their demises. When Micah rocked up and I can imagine Arthur immediately recognizing 'it's me but worse', and it's probably where his idea that Dutch could change/save Micah came from: resulting in him arguing less about Micah's presence in the gang despite obviously not liking Micah from Chapter 1.

Charles & John: Again, characters that could be doubles on paper. Both were raised by single fathers, and both lost their fathers to alcoholism before they were 12 years old. Both would turn to crime as a means to survive, with no one else in the world they were safe to turn to. Both would live a life of relative isolation, for the most part experiencing the most cruel aspects of human nature, before meeting Dutch van der Linde and gang. Both would form unique, powerful bonds with Arthur. Both, possibly due to that overlapping upbringing, would be far less trusting of Dutch's ideals. Both John and Charles are amongst the first to question Dutch: his motives, his 'plan', what they are trying to accomplish and what Dutch would sacrifice to be there. Both would survive 1899, but never forget what Arthur meant to them: willing to abandon their own ideals for the opportunity to kill Micah in revenge for Arthur's death in 1907. Both would consider this the end of their gunslinging ways, with John returning to his family and Charles leaving for Canada to seek a family of his own inspired by John.

SADIE AND KIERAN SHOULD HAVE HAD MORE SCREEN TIME TOGETHER. GOD. THEY SHOULD'VE BEEN FRIENDS AND HAD LIMP WRISTED CONVERSATIONS ABOUT COLMMMMM.

Kieran and Sadie are more like foils than parallels but both had their lives rapidly change trajectory due to encounters with Colm, followed by encounters with the VDLs. Both were forced to join the VDLs as a means of escaping Colm, and despite immeasurable factors against them found something akin to happiness with the VDLs only to have it ripped from them again- Kieran through death and Sadie through the downfall of the VDLs. The main difference is that their time with the VDLs was spent at different points of their own narrative arcs, Sadie seeking revenge and Kieran seeking redemption.

All the characters and their relationships are so interesting in terms of the overarching narrative of red dead redemption, aka a character redeeming themselves for acts of violence and revenge they are trying to create a life separate from only to still meet their demises due to that inescapable past.

Kieran is Wish-version Arthur. Kieran's defense of Colm in Paying a Social Call is almost exactly how Arthur defends Dutch to John in The Battle of Shady Belle, acknowledging their leader's wrong but making excuses for it. Kieran literally says riding with the VDLs is an attempt to make amends for the wrongs he's done as an O'Driscoll!! He incidentally abandons gunslinging in favor of the more peaceful life of tending horses and helping out within camp (which btw when Arthur does it are honor-boosting activities). He's softspoken and gentle in the way Arthur can't afford to be until Chapter 6, where Arthur's the one trying to made amends to both the debtors and the Downes. The only time he canonically fires a gun is to save Arthur's life. He's just a high honor guy trying to live a better life - only for that past of being an O'Driscoll to lead to his demise. He only exists to foreshadow no matter how much Arthur and John are able to redeem themselves, their fates have already been determined by their past and choices they made to survive. They're all so doomed by the narrative.

[scoobydoodean]

Thinking about 4.05 "Monster Movie" and how the shifter (Lucy) who dresses up as Dracula fixates on Jamie and Dean, casting Jamie as Mina and Dean as Jonathan Harker—Mina's fiance—the righteous hero who, with Van Helsing, saves Mina from Dracula.

The last time we really focused on the POV of a shifter was 1.06, where our shifter was a Dean parallel. This time I think our shifter represents Sam—or rather, the shifter represents Sam’s feelings about his own monsterhood, and the occasional envy he feels toward Dean—Dean who is cast by the envious shifter as righteous hero who "gets the girl" (but not this time, Harker!) In season 4, Dean will be given the title “The righteous man”. The same angels calling him that will call Sam “The boy with the demon blood” and “abomination”.

Opening on the scene where Dean has been dressed in lederhosen and tied up by the shifter:

DEAN looks at a portrait of a woman’s face on the wall which resembles LUCY. DRACULA She is beautiful, no? Bride number three from the first film. She never got the acclaim that she deserved. Which is why I chose her shape, her form, to move among the mortals unnoticed. To listen to the cricket songs of the living. That is when I discovered my bride had been reborn in this century.

The shifter wanted to fit in—to be perceived as normal—so they chose Lucy’s shape. It isn't difficult to connect that desire for normality with Sam's initial desire for normality. But the shifter discovered Mina (Jamie) and then everything changed.

In “Monster Movie”, the shifter initially despaired of their monsterhood, but monster movies gave the shifter a sense of dignity—a taste of power.

DRACULA "Real" is being born this way. Different. "Real" is having your dad call you "monster" -- it's the first time you hear the word. And he tries to beat you to death with a shovel. Everywhere I ran, everywhere I tried to hide, people found me, dragged me out, attacked me. Called me "freak," called me "monster." Then I found them. The great monsters. In their movies, they were strong. They were feared. They were beautiful. And now I am like them. Commanding. Terrifying.

I'm immediately reminded of a speech Sam gives in the previous episode, explaining why he's decided to embrace demonic power (4.04):

SAM I've got demon blood in me, Dean! This disease pumping through my veins, and I can't ever rip it out or scrub it clean! I'm a whole new level of freak! And I'm just trying to take this - this curse... and make something good out of it. Because I have to.

In Dracula, Mina was saved from Dracula at the end of the story by Harker and Van Helsing. Lucy wasn't able to be saved—she was a victim of Dracula’s, who started out a kind, soft hearted woman, but was killed by Dracula and reborn as a monster who fed on children. She was subsequently destroyed by Van Helsing.

In our parallel, I don't think Mina (played by Jamie) parallels a person so much as Mina represents an ideal or desire. Mina represents "getting to be the hero"—Mina represents the capacity for redemption.

What the shifter (and Sam) don't know is that redemption is something Dean is also seeking:

JAMIE That must suck. I mean, you're giving up your life for this terrible... I don't know, responsibility. DEAN Last few years, I started thinking that way, and, uh, it started sort of weighing on me. Of course, that was before... A little while ago, I had this – let’s call it a near-death experience. Very near. JAMIE sits down next to DEAN. DEAN And, uh, when I came to... things were different. My life's been different. I realize that I help people. Not just help them, though. I save them. I guess it's -- it's awesome. It's kind of like a gift... like a mission. Kind of like a... a mission from God.

Dean is on a mission from God—and we as forward-looking viewers who know Dean tortured souls in hell have a better understanding of why Dean ties himself to that mission—as a form of redemption.

Monsters on the other hand... monsters don't get the girl—monsters don't get redemption—monsters don't save the day. Harker and Van Helsing save the day, and Harker (Dean) gets the girl.

DEAN You do realize what happens at the end of every monster movie? DRACULA Ah, but this movie is mine. And in it, the monster wins. The monster gets the girl. And the hero, he’s... electrocuted. And tonight, Jonathan Harker, you will be my hero.

This is, in some sense, our Sam from 4.04 manifesting a win—manifesting becoming the hero through monstrosity. Dean doesn't get to be the hero this time.

SAM Dean, I need her to help me kill Lilith. I know you can't wrap your head around it, but maybe one day you'll understand. I'm the only one who can do this, Dean. DEAN turns back around. DEAN No, you're not the one who's gonna do this. SAM Right, that's right, I forgot. The angels think it's you. DEAN You don't think I can? SAM No. You can't. You're not strong enough. DEAN And who the hell are you? SAM I'm being practical here. I'm doing what needs to be done.

Sam wants Dean to take a back seat. In a sea of motivations for lying and working with Ruby, one of them—most certainly—is that Sam wants to be the hero and wants Dean to not be the hero... and in some sense, this also fits with shifter who tries to force Dean into a role—who insists Dean play the role of Harker... who, while one of the story's heroes, also plays the part of the damsel in distress at various points in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Crucially though, Sam isn't just represented by Lucy and the shifter in "Monster Movie". Sam is also associated with Van Helsing—or rather—when Sam arrives to free Dean and Jamie, the shifter shouts,

DRACULA You will never be Van Helsing!

This is Sam's despair in the mouth of the shifter. Sam could never be a traditional hero. He's unclean—he could never be a hero like the badass Van Helsing—the closest thing the Dracula novel has to a hunter (knowledgeable, strong, tenacious, clever). Sam could never go on a quest like that.

SAM Knights of the Round Table. Had all of King Arthur's knights, and they were all on the quest for the Holy Grail. And I remember looking at this picture of Sir Galahad, and, and, and he was kneeling, and— and light streaming over his face, and— I remember... thinking, uh, I could never go on a quest like that. Because I'm not clean. I mean, I w— I was just a little kid. You think... maybe I knew? I mean, deep down, that— I had... demon blood in me, and about the evil of it, and that I'm— wasn't pure?

The thing is, Sam is paralleled with the shifter as Lucy (desperation for normality) and as Dracula (despair, reclaiming monstrosity as his own), but Van Helsing is also a part of Sam too. Van Helsing represents Sam's ability to choose his destiny—Sam's ability to choose to be a hero, despite how he's despaired of ever being clean. He just has to realize it's his choice—that life is not a maze he has no choice but to run through. He is not unclean. His destiny is not defined by Azazel's blood.

JAMIE Ever think that maybe you're lonely because you kill people? DRACULA Or I kill people because I’m lonely.

Sam continues through season 4 with this same frame of mind in a sense—not in the sense that he's killing people (though... at one point, he will) but in the sense that his actions are someone else's fault and are out of his control. And yet, the capacity to be Van Helsing and not the monster who despairs remains.

[aotopmha]

Oh hey, the second good scene with Zenos in Endwalker.

Exaggerations aside, I was so grateful for this scene because I'm one of those of the opinion that he should've stayed dead in Stormblood and all we've gotten out of Zenos within Endwalker up to this point is him wanting to fight you.

*Technically* that's all he is in Stormblood, too, but at this point he's been dragged along with the story for almost another 2 expansions.

I kind of at least want *something* more out of him.

And, well, at least now his one-mindedness got just a little more depth.

He basically says, well, people are all self-righteous assholes, who want to change the world in their image and call themselves heroes for it, so I'm at least not going to pretend and be honest about what I want, which is a fight with the WoL because fighting is the only thing that makes me feel something.

Loss of life is loss of life and bad regardless of the reason it happens.

The issue with this is that you can say it about every single person ever trying to do any good in the world and even more so for flawed people trying to do good in the world.

So should we just stop trying to do any good because everyone might have a personal or imperfect reason for it?

Yes, self-awareness is absolutely a very good trait to have when you aren't perfect and have made mistakes before and so is self-reflection regarding your actions, especially if it involves doing bad to do good, which can be a slippery slope.

But this is the repeat of the Elidibus scene in terms of morality: despite him giving you a lecture on the morality of your actions, he is also a perpetrator of multiple genocides.

Fact is, sometimes bad things have to be done in the name of good because there is evil in the world that does not listen to reason and needs to be stopped.

A response to this would be the idea of good and evil being relative to someone's flawed perspective, but I like to stay grounded and say, maybe killing millions isn't much of a matter of perspective, especially if they are all equally sentient.

I think therefore I am and all.

I've seen people bring this up in response to the characters forgiving villains and the like, but to me the key here is that Zenos could... y'know choose to just not kill lots of people.

Gaius backs his words with action. Fordola backs her words with action. Nero goes under this, too. Redemption is earned, not given out arbitrarily. This story is incredibly consistent with that at least, but even if it wasn't, people will always be imperfect in some way, so even Alphinaud still qualifies under this considering his mistakes and attitude during A Realm Reborn.

No, a good reason is not "better". Emet, Hermes, Elidibus, all had "good reasons", but not once was what they ended up doing framed as (or said to be) "good, actually".

You can empathize without excusing.

Alisae's response is also really good; Zenos will probably never actually find "true fulfillment" with the principles he laid out, a path of violence is generally also a path of loneliness, and the truth is he, too, seeks some sort of connection via wanting to fight the WoL.

Violence is just the only way he can express this wish to connect with someone.

I also like this scene for Jullus getting to say his piece.

A solid scene before the hell that is 80% of the lvl 88 quests.

(Finished all of the lvl 88 quests today, so more posts are probably coming about them. I'm also probably Endwalking tomorrow, depending on how everything works out.)