#he’s a real piece of shit but I need him to have a semi-redemption arc

[musclesandhammering]

I know this is such an unpopular opinion but like…….. X-5 needs to be a part of the team. He’s such an asshole and a little shit and all he rly wanted was freedom, and I know if he wasn’t hiding information from them, he and Loki would get along so well.

[eneiryu]

the thought of theo high made me also think of theo broken: when, after the hospital, he leaves but gets captured by hunters for a length of time. argent finds his truck full of bullet holes and blood, and presumes he's dead. but when hunting monroe, they find theo, tortured and beaten for who knows how long. his reaction to that punishment and stress would be interesting to explore, plus the very angsty pack-reunion. how everyone would see him, barely able to stand or walk, thin enough to blow over, against him trying to rip apart the pack. i think his recovery would show some interesting details about various pack members, and how it would change their persepective of him drasticalluy. thoughts?

Interestingly, I misunderstood the ask at first and for some reason thought that this would take place between S5 and S6, in which case my original thought was, as bleak as this sounds, shit, if Argent saw him like that, immediately after S5, his likely reaction would probably be to just give him the mercy kill. Then I rewound that in my head and realized, no, it’d take place between S6A and S6B, essentially, so Theo would have had his semi-redemption arc with Liam and the Ghost Riders, just not his S6B one.

So in any case, I think it could be interesting, certainly. I’d probably be more interested in the angle re: Theo’s ability to survive it and react to it, I’ll admit, because that would give the opportunity to dig into Theo’s character and his resilience to those kinds of horrors, which when turned outward leads to things like the horrific actions he took in S5, but when applied to self-protection are pretty impressive.

This might sound a little harsh, but the pack’s reaction angle didn’t grab me as much. It’s the McCall pack, and Scott and Liam: they’d feel horrible for any supernatural put in that situation, so I think it might lessen the possibility for relationship and character development specifically related to Theo and their history. I once heard a piece of writing criticism that I think is pretty valid, which is that a pretty short-cut way to make a character sympathetic is to burn all their stuff. I think this would be kind of similar? Theo enduring torture and abuse and then recovering with the pack would certainly make him sympathetic, but it’d also create a temptation to gloss over his past and all the terrible (and, arguably, unforgivable) things he did, and I think that’d be a disservice to both his potential personal growth, and to the pack’s in relation to him.

But, it may be a failure of imagination on my part. I’d welcome anyone’s thoughts on it, and I’ll keep picking at it—see what I might be able to come up with.

Edit: Very quickly realized that I actually screwed up the timeline twice, and that this would be post S6B. In which case I do think it gets more interesting—everyone has more history and they’ve started the shakes reconciliation process—but I do still think it runs into the “burn all the character’s stuff” issue of potentially burying the fact that there are real issues that they would still need to work through, that they might be hesitant to touch because of the newest round of abuse.

Anyway! I’m sorry my reading comprehension was so bad on this one for some reason. I will indeed continue to keep giving it thought.

[modpoppy]

favs from all my fandoms (new and old)

some of my favs from each fandom ive been in like ever

genshin impact: my fav of all time kaeya alberich i love him Very Much So, hes just one of those characters who its like. UGH. where he just wants to be sweet but cant let himself get too comfortable where he is (literally in his case). i also relate to him irt my relationship with my family/sibling. hes just constantly aware of other people both to be cautious and to know the people he cares about more, hes been shown canonically to pay close attention and provide gifts that he knew people wanted

runner up is ZHONGLI i related to him very much but i fogrgt why rn lol

kingdom hearts: xion, not for very long but right around when i was finally actualizing my gender identity (id previously been very agender/masc) i rlly took to xion for like. Gender Inspo. i felt like even tho she got the short end of the stick she did her damndest to forge her own identity (roxas got his whole game and arc about it while xion bascially got fridged but its fine). when i finally let myself consider who i would be as a fem person, i pictured her :D

one piece: sanji!! i already sorta liked him (okay maybe not in fishman island or thriller bark. that was. shit.) before heading into whole cake but. lord almighty. lemme tell ya i dont cry very easily over anime but whole cake took me OUT. sanji just tries so hard to be someone who doesnt cause the problems, hes cringe fail but he tries so hard to just be ALLOWED to exist bc hes fought so hard to believe he SHOULD uugggghhhhhhhhhhh. irt the straw hats i think he has some of the most unique and fleshed out philosophies (not wasting food) that his backstory perfectly contextualizes. also im on board with trans fem sanji

runner up is YAMATO he is so beautiful AND hes a kinnie whats not to love im just mad hes not in the straw hats (yet)

total drama: svetlana this was legit the only gif i could find of her on here. i dont need to explain myself svetlana sweep 🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

jjba: doppio/diavolo its FINE it COUNTS but technically 90% just doppio..... back in 2021(?) i dyed my hair like diavolo (pink with green spots) i feel like thats. all i need to say

ace attorney: to the surprise of absolutely no one THE PHANTOM ive just always attached to the whole. Not Being thing. in the past i struggled rlly hard with depersonalization/derealization/dissociation/basically every manifestation of the phantom, so id connect to them (which i dont think helped lol). nowadays, i focus rlly hard on the idea of the phantoms semi-redemption bc its like... being a person not being a required prerequisite to existing/being in society if that makes sense???? its complicated and probably only makes sense to me :P

runner up is obviously UENDO+ i love them all tell no one but i think kisegawa is my fav i wish she got more lines i actually only watched soj for them bc at the time everyone said the game was literal ass

(dw athena is in close third place shes literally my daughter)

rvb: if you asked me while i was a fan id probably say agent maine but in retrospect grif was clearly my fav, especially later in the show when he was one of the few leads who had a genuine character arc. he feels the most like a real person idk man

silent hill: every fucking gif of henry is him busting his ass thats all that needs be said

danganronpa: i changed favs very often bc i had zero idea what constituted well written characters lmao i have ~eclectic tastes~ but the main character i rlly liked was touko/syo, her arc in despair sisters afairc was decently well done and her relationship with komaru was sweet, even if dr is kinda an inescapable grease fire. in hindsight, i think i also related more to her than i realized bc of her self esteem and the way her trauma/phobias seemingly blocked her from basic self care/socialization but it was really more about her never having the courage to push her own boundaries (idk how well thats shown in the game but that was my experience)

runner up: korekiyo bc i liked him a lot for longer than most othr characters but afairc my perception of him was VERY heavily based on headcanons/fanon so i doubt id like him at all on a replay. best guess is id only maybe like shuichi or something. pretty much everyone in dr is an asshole tbh i cannot emphasize enough how ass my taste used to be my ability to pick characters i like boiled down to someone telling me a character was cool and i immedaitely absorbed them

pjo: okay so this bitch is in a book so ofc theres no gif for him but jason grace is the funniest motherfucker on the earth. half the time id say something out loud while reading and hed immediately say that exact thing. absolutely exquisite. bro had no idea what the fuck anyone was saying half the time

twst: i started playing for ruggie but immediately deuce also proved to be the funniest motherfucker ever i dont think ive ever seen his gimmick in anything else its so fucking funny i live for characters who seem like the straight man but then turn out to be equally as batshit as their peers (i stopped playing bc i had been misinformed and thought this was a college but these are HIGH SCHOOLERS why am i being isekaid into HIGH SCHOOL WTF)

now for some misc favs bc theres not really a fandom for them per se

i love him and he is me

oh my god and i found a gif of my favorite scene i love steven i also want to . attack him sometimes

[moonynpadfootforever]

WHY I LOVE WOLFSTAR A SHORT ESSAY FILLED WITH FAR TOO MANY OF MY OPINIONS

(this was far too long to try to break up into asks so here ya go)

There are, as the kids say, a shit ton, of reasons as to why i love wolfstar and why they are my otp, i shall break it down into five categories, (pls note these are my perceptions of them and how i view them)

  The first is simply they were my first ship. when, i was a youngin, i loved harry potter (still do but fuck jkr). I remember sitting my butt down for hours on end just to read and read and read those goddamn books. And then the prisoner of azkaban came along (instantly my fave hp book too btw) and i saw remus and sirius and was like, well that sounds about right, before i even knew what shipping was. Long story short, its my first ship from one of my favorite series and im a loyal dude if nothing else, but honestly there’s never even been any competition.

  The second reason is because of the d y n a m i c s my goodness, ima try to make this short. They are so perfectly complementary to each other, I love the way sirius is and needs to be upfront in everything, he is bold and forward. I’m not saying you can always tell exactly what he’s thinking but or how he’s feeling but, he needs to show his emotions as is, he needs to let the world know when injustices are being committed, when something isn’t right, when something is right. Remus on the other hand, hides, his smiles never reach his eyes just out of habit, his laughs never seem like they’re coming out fully and even though he wants you to know what he’s saying, what he’s saying directly is backwards and twisted, frequently sarcastic.I love though, that they both have strong moral compasses, even if they don’t always point in the same direction. I love that they don’t always point in the same direction. I love how they’re so similar yet so different, but in a special way? If that makes sense because everyone is “so similar and so different” but there’s something about the way that they just match up like a puzzle piece that just fills a lil part of my happy soul. I especially appreciate how they’re able to communicate with each other, (not literally, sometimes they are very bad at talking) how to get the truth out of each other, and how to get the genuine, the real and sincere. The vulnerable. But I also love how they bring out the most desperate and aggressive parts of each other. Sirius’s possessiveness, remus’s jealousy, both of their pettiness.I have a million other reasons that i could talk about forever but i think this about covers what i'm feeling in the current moment at least. Bonus: I said this in a wolfstar group chat but like it’s still relevant 

  “Ok so this got me thinking about an angry remus and most people are either “When remus explodes, thats when he’s truly angry” or “when remus is silent thats when he’s truly angry” But i don’t think it’s like that i think it's like a staircase, see it’s flat, then it goes straight up, escalating, there is no end to his anger, not that he’s found but levels. Levels that you can tell he's gotten more angry, not calmed down because he switches from frozen tundra to typhoon, to frozen tundra to typhoon, etc, and i think that when remus calms down it isnt gradual, its all at once sure he's been thinking about it, stewing on it, but it hits him when hes fully processed at once and I think sirius is the opposite, when remus is on an icy level, sirius is on an explosive level and so on and i just they compliment each other so well that sometimes it's damaging to eachother and thats all i had to contribute”

  I love, as with any other ship or fanon, all the possibilities. I saw one post that was talking about ships and one person said (loosely quoting here) “simply it means, i think there’s a story there” which i adore. And because of their dynamics, there are so many stories i can think of. If you want to go (semi) canon, they were in wizarding london, before/during a war, they went to hogwarts, maybe they got to explore their sexuality, maybe they made new friends, maybe they fell in love like there’s so many possibilities. But on the hand we know so much about the characters that we’re able to apply them to things we love and know like modern times, and real life, and aus we love like art. Even if there wasn’t much officially in canon we were able to see a story there and we made them!!! We each analysed and added and grew these ideas of these characters in our head and i love that! But back to remus and sirius, because of how i imagine their temperaments and ideals, i think there’s a lot of directions and opportunities for many types of stories which is a driving force in choosing my ships. Fluff, angst, redemption arcs, first love, exploring sexuality, older, younger, magic, real, there’s so many you name it.

There’s also the sheer ability to put yourself into a character that i think makes it important for a ship. For me, i can relate a fair amount remus and sirius, and as can many of you. It makes a story personal, real to a reader which is important. I love seeing stories that address trauma, and homophobia, bad decisions, anger, sadness, and along with that other types of bad things as well. Sometimes it’s easier to feel like you’re not completely alone with something when reading it in a story or stories, especially when they’re written by people you know love the same things about these characters, and understand (consciously or unconsciously) It helps that remus and sirius have such experiences between them that it feels like everything i'm looking for is right there.

  At the same time, there is literal magic between them! This creates a perfect way to have just a lovely healthy dose of escapism. I don’t read stories for sad endings ill be honest. But the magic between them is portrayed in so many ways and so beautifully between stories and artists and in every au. You can fall in love, laugh, and cry right there with them and it’s easy to do so with these characters and i just lkalshdlk;ads it makes me happy. 

  Long long story short, they make me happy!! Again, this is just a short summary as to why. I could answer analyses and questions and hcs all day but like….. This was already a lot to read, and too long to write for someone on summer break that isn’t fanfiction.

[weecherylita]

Continuing my analysis of Redcloak; this piece is focused on in-character signs that he could actually get some positive character growth (maybe even a redemptive arc? Who knows).

THIS POST INCLUDES MAJOR SPOILERS FOR START OF DARKNESS…

In my previous post, I pointed out that the heart of Redcloak’s character is a battle between his two primary motivations; the first (and the one he likes to tell himself is his main motivation) is trying to improve the lives of the goblin people. The second (and his actual main motivation) is his desire to hide from his own guilt for leading them on a dangerous path which has brought them a great deal of death and suffering. He has sacrificed so much for the sake of the Dark One’s Plan, he thinks the only option is to keep going – otherwise all of those deaths will have been for nothing, and the toll on his conscience will be extreme. Xykon, being a vital component of said Plan, is someone who Redcloak has used as a shield to hide behind – his servitude towards Xykon offers him “an excuse for [his] inexcusable behaviour” as Xykon puts it, and allows him to kid himself that he has no real choice.

So, what are the signs that he might be able to break out of this and change for the better? (Note I’m not arguing he definitely will change, just that it wouldn’t actually be totally out of the blue if he did.)

The hobgoblins and Gobbotopia

In his dealings with hobgoblins in particular, we have seen the part of him that genuinely cares for his people really start to come more strongly to the fore. Firstly in his major about-turn during the Battle of Azure City, where he came to realise the error of his previous racist attitude towards hobgoblins, and this produced a significant change in his behaviour. So here at least we have precedent for Redcloak examining past actions, owning up to his mistakes, and growing for the better (albeit, on a much smaller scale than what would be required to rethink his devotion to the Plan).

As this plot line develops we continue to see further evidence of Redcloak growing in his sense of responsibility and genuine concern for the lives of other goblins, and this includes two prominent examples where he does prioritise their well-being above the Dark One’s Plan.

Firstly, we have the personal battle between Redcloak and the High Priest of the Twelve Gods – a duel he could have avoided, but specifically enters into because “dueling will save the lives of any hobgoblins your spells would have killed.” And this is a risk not just to his own life, but potentially to the Plan as well, since there was a chance of the Crimson Mantle being destroyed/confiscated by Azurites in the event of Redcloak losing that duel (the best case scenario would’ve been for the cloak to get picked up by another, almost certainly less powerful goblin cleric).

Secondly, he clearly puts off continuing the Dark One’s mission in order to concentrate on the development of the emerging goblin city state, Gobbotopia. This shows a genuine desire to pursue an alternative and less risky method of securing the well-being of his people, to the point that it distracts him from the Plan. It doesn’t last, of course. A combination of Xykon’s rage and a semi-direct message from the Dark One himself serve to refocus his attention on the Plan once more. This brings about a regression of sorts, in that we once again see him prepared to tactically sacrifice the lives of other goblins for the sake of its success. For now, it appears that he believes that by delegating to Jirix, he can pursue both the Plan and the development of Gobbotopia concurrently. He is surely aware that pursuing the Plan could threaten Gobbotopia itself, but perhaps unwilling to dwell too much on the ramifications of that. Nevertheless, Gobbotopia still exists as a tangible achievement in Redcloak’s eyes, and may well come into play again in forcing a confrontation between his two primary motivations – Gobbotopia or the Plan; the well-being of living goblins, or his desire to hide from his own guilt. 

Right-Eye and Xykon

Redcloak’s efforts to hide from his guilt are becoming more strained. We get the most explicit glimpse of this when we see him talking to - himself? - in the mirror, saying: “It’ll all be worth it. You’ll see.” Except of course, he’s not just talking to himself, but also Right-Eye (Redcloak having lost his own right eye, it would seem as though he was staring at a right-eyed goblin when facing himself in the mirror).

In fact, this brings me back to that interesting statement from Xykon at the end of Start of Darkness: “as long as you’re loyal to me, I’ll let you pretend that this [Redcloak murdering Right-Eye] never happened.” Thing is though, Xykon’s gone back on his word. By forbidding Redcloak to regenerate his lost eye, and encouraging Tsukiko to call him “Wrong-Eye”, Redcloak has been getting regular reminders about his brother – and what he did to him. It’s no wonder that Redcloak has started to seem a little unsettled. And the memory of Right-Eye doesn’t just represent Redcloak’s guilt either – it’s also about choice. As Xykon pointed out, Right-Eye is proof that actually, Redcloak does have a choice – a choice about whether to rebel against Xykon, or the Dark One, or to just admit that he’s done wrong by his people and there are alternatives to following this crazily dangerous plan. Xykon characterises Redcloak as “too chicken-shit” to ever make that choice, but I do wonder. For a start, Xykon’s verbal beat-down to Redcloak at the end of Start of Darkness (when Redcloak was at his very lowest) was so utterly vicious I almost felt like it’s inevitable that one day, Redcloak will pick himself back up and prove him wrong. (Law of drama I guess? Elan would approve.)

Which leads onto another point – another way we’ve seen Redcloak develop over the course of the comic is to see him becoming more confident and more dissatisfied with Xykon. If we compare the first time Redcloak submitted to calling Xykon “Lord Xykon”, way back at the end of Start of Darkness, with the last time we heard him say it, recently in the western desert, we can see that his attitude has significantly changed. The first time is almost heart-breaking; his will is completely broken at that point. That final time, where he is practically dripping with disdain and barely contained rage, honestly gives me chills.

There is no evidence as of yet of this progression leading to any positive growth; thus far, his newfound confidence has led Redcloak to boast that he secretly has Xykon dancing to his tune, which is a dubious assertion that still hinges on his desire to fool Xykon into carrying out the Plan. Nevertheless, I think it’s interesting the way Xykon originally characterised servitude to him as a way for Redcloak to avoid his own sense of personal responsibility for his actions (”You’ll obey me forever now, because I give you an excuse for your inexcusable behaviour”). In Redcloak’s mind, preserving the relationship with Xykon is still a necessary evil for the sake of the Plan, and the Plan is beyond question (and thus he avoids the need to face up to his own wrong-doing in pursuing that goal). The more strained his relationship with Xykon becomes, the higher the chance of the whole thing unraveling. A few small cracks are starting to appear, but whether they will lead to any positive development or not remains to be seen...

Violence and non-goblins

And the final point relates to Redcloak’s attitude and violent behaviour towards non-goblin species. The Redcloak of the most recent strips is just as prepared to kill for the sake of the Plan as ever, and he does so brutally and with grim efficiency. Nevertheless, I think it’s interesting that he used to enjoy killing creatures he hated - humans and paladins in particular - yet he no longer appears to do so (or not as much, at least). He tells Jirix that murdering a paladin was “less satisfying than I remember”. He also doesn’t appear to take much pleasure in Tsukiko’s death (in contrast to his apparent glee when he set the chlorine elemental on her when they first met). And, most recently of all, he appears notably dissatisfied about killing the monsters of Kraagor’s tomb, asking “What did their deaths mean?”. Which seems an unusual question for a goblin who is long used to justifying every horrible deed he commits as being a necessary sacrifice for the greater well-being of his people. Now it could well be that Redcloak’s evolution into hardened killer who destroys out of grim necessity rather than enjoyment isn’t going to lead to any positive changes. Still, that most recent example in particular indicates a degree of weariness with needless bloodshed that might be relevant later. And we also have the very interesting example of Redcloak choosing to spare the prisoners of Azure City - people who he promised to destroy, yet eventually chose not to. I don’t believe this was out of a sense of compassion, but rather from the fact that when it came down to it, he just didn’t have the stomach for senseless destruction. And with the fate of the whole world at stake, that may yet prove significant. 

Of course, none of this is proof that Redcloak will eventually reject the Plan, let alone switch to placing his trust in the Order/the gods in general. Nevertheless, the above points make me believe it is possible that Redcloak could start to go through that path of personal growth – particularly if something dramatic happens that forces him to acknowledge that the Plan isn’t viable. As firmly deluded as he seems right now, a few small cracks have started to appear.

[coffeekaspbrak]

I don’t think Billy Hargrove is undeserving of a redemption arc. That doesn’t mean that he hasn’t done some terrible things, I just thing that it’s okay if he does get better and grow like how real people do. (Not saying his abuse is justified by his experience or anything) just that I won’t mind if he takes steps to become a better person.

So instead of re hashing my thoughts on this specific issue within the context of st I’d like to take a second to address the larger issue/trend I feel this encompasses.

First of all, I feel like this ask getting to the heart of an opinion I see a lot of people having in the current pop culture moment, not just with Billy, but with a lot of mainstream characters like him that have been popularized in the last few years. Figures like Kylo Ren and even Henry Bowers: young, violent white men hardened by their background of abuse. These are all characters I see regular debates on wether or not they should be redeemed and what potential they hold to overcome their circumstances in future movies/episodes/etc. Here’s the issue from the technical, critical stance: a back story of abuse is not a redemption arc in and of itself. Too often I see franchises leaning into this whole idea that because of what someone has been through, their behavior is at least semi excusable. It’s become media short hand for “you need to feel bad for this character so we can redeem them later.” But what’s happened in current media is that’s where it stops. The backstory is no longer the jumping off point, it’s the whole/majority of the character’s story line. They get a pass because of what they’ve been through, despite the main protagonist/foil to the villain often going through the same thing and not being a piece of shit (ie Max). It’s lazy and it’s bad story telling but and it’s become a very prominent trend. So here in lies the problem from a viewer’s perspective: After seeing this for a couple of years, a lot of people have learned to take this the way the writers want them to: as the promise of a redemption arc. We’ve all kind of translated it into “Oh this means we’re getting a redemption arc so this behavior will/can be forgiven.” Your brain is now doing the work for the writers. If you think a character is deserving of a redemption arc before the ground work of it has been laid (showing potential outside of a tragic backstory) you’ve essentially preemptively done the work which a redemption arc is meant to: you’ve already de villainized the character in your own mind. All we’ve gotten of Billy so far is a sad backstory and a pattern of racism and abuse. We got a sad backstory with Max too. Did that make us like her? No. We like Max because Max is a fleshed out character with her own strengths and flaws. But people give Billy a pass because we expect a redemption arc. That isn’t how this is supposed to work. It’s like working backwards. In short, Billy isn’t deserving of a redemption arc until he has one.