Things I love about the “villain turns good” trope:
Ex-villains graduating to “weird uncle” status.
Ex-villains and hero(es) turning the events of previous battles into bizarre inside jokes.
Ex-villains embracing the power of friendship and love.
Ex-villains putting up walls and keeping to themselves until the heroes teach them what it means to trust someone.
Ex-villains messing up and being forgiven because redemption is a process, not an endgame.
Ex-villains being shy and uncertain about their new place as a hero.
Bonus: Ex-villains hiding behind their hero friends during moments of shyness and uncertainty.
Ex-villains being tempted back to the dark side only to realize how much their newfound friendships mean to them.
Ex-villains pretending to return to the dark side, and using their villain cred to be a mole/saboteur on the heroes’ behalf.
Ex-villains taking the same skills and character traits that made them effective villains and using them for good.
Ex-villains defeating current villains by being better at those skills and traits than they are.
Ex-villains being rejected by almost everyone except the very few willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Ex-villains being ferociously protective of those few.
Ex-villains convincing old allies and friends to follow them to the light side.
Ex-villains helping their hero friends through guilt and self-doubt by reminding them that your mistakes don’t make you and it’s never too late to turn things around.
Ex-villains receiving unconditional trust and affection from someone small and innocent, and having no idea what they’re supposed to do with that.
Ex-villains reuniting with heroic loved ones that they don’t have to fight against anymore.
Ex-villains looking around at their new friends and their new home and having to sit down and ride out a sudden wave of powerful emotion because they can’t remember the last time they felt content.
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