#p sure this is stemming wholly from me being tired of going thru Emotional Trauma(TM) in my own life

[lionfanged]

bodies in here with post-work brainworms on today’s fixation of redemption arcs and atticus’s involvement. aka, atticus’s original end game was that he was going to be betrayed by the Single Person He Trusted and get quite literally stabbed in the back so hoenn would be spared his tyranny, p much a mercy killing. then that evolved into him dying due to his own inability to overcome deep-set childhood trauma pertaining to hospitals and wasting away from disease at home. and then i’ve just randomly had a whole slew of different endings in mind, usually tragic/terrible/not fun for atticus specifically.

but as time has gone on and his character has developed, this will likely be a Hugely Unpopular Villain Take, but i’m very much more into redemption arcs now? like i enjoyed them before, but now whenever i think of atticus’s end game, i certainly have the “”true”” timeline in which he becomes big evil conqueror of hoenn and eventually gets his Just Deserts, but like

man. i just crave happy endings, and as he’s gradually steered from Outright Heinous Man With No Feelings Just Evil to Morally Ambiguous Dude Who Sure Wants Power But Maybe Not Pure Outrageous Villainy Evil i’ve been focusing more and more on like, what if he got him some therapy what if he found out people aren’t pure irredeemable scum what if he had his worldview drastically altered and steered him back onto a path of good that he once had been on

it is a rather hot button topic as to whether or not villains are deserving of redemption, of happy endings, and there is a competing demand for redemption vs dire punishments, and so i always waver back and forth, especially given previous takes on how atticus should be treated.

but man do i just rly want to see some happier endings to alleviate the big ole sadness.

#▲ ↠ ♛ ❛ the chicken wizard ; wizard of all chickens┊✧ OUT OF CHARACTER #this is incoherent post-work exhaustion stream of consciousness that only makes sense to me #but i rly wanted to word vomit about it #honestly the biggest change in atticus's character is rly how i have approached him #he's evolved from a product of his trauma that has resulted in his tragic ending #to now i'm like 'ok but what if he transitioned out of his Evil Phase(TM) and just became a disgruntled but mostly good dude' #p sure this is stemming wholly from me being tired of going thru Emotional Trauma(TM) in my own life #and wanting my fantasy writing life to be a bit happier to compensate for my own personal struggles #but atticus was always self indulgent to begin with so who says i can't give him happy ending #as a treat