I’m tired of stories where the villain only exists to be beaten down and humiliated. I want more stories where the hero sees some humanity in the villain. They’re kind to the villain, they question the villain’s motives, they don’t let the villain get away with any of their shit but they’re willing to forgive the villain every time. They befriend the villain, they change the villain’s worldview, they teach the villain to show mercy and in time to show trust.
They bring the villain into the fold, they affirm the villain’s innate strength and capacity to do good. They become just as dependent on the villain as the villain is on the hero, and in fact the villain stops being a villain at all. The initial antagonist becomes a friend, a reliable partner. A lover?
In fact they fight on the hero’s behalf when the hero falls on hard times, they remind the hero of everything they learned by example over the course of their relationship. They aid in the hero’s return to glory. The hero and the ex-villain get married and co-parent the hero’s many adopted children and immortal houseplant Charley. They bring an end to the dark age of the law and inspire an equally gay future generation to follow in the footsteps, just as they’ve fought to uphold the legacies of Mia Fey and Gregory Edgewo- hold on what was I talking about