James: “As long as she doesn’t kill any of the good characters. I’ve invested too much in them. And surely I could never be satisfied by an ending that denied happiness to all who’d earned it.”
Cordelia: “On the contrary, she has to kill at least one important character, otherwise no one would believe the conflict was real.”
James: “It’s not real. It’s a story. And why would I read a story unless I wanted something better than real life? Or at least a little less depressing.”
Cordelia: “Readers don’t know what they want. They think they want their favorite characters to lead uneventful happy lives where nothing bad ever happens to them, but think about it. That would be an incredibly boring story to read! Deep down, readers want their characters battered by tragedy and struggle so they can emerge victorious.”
James: “Bittersweetly victorious.”
-“The Beautiful Ajatara” in Better in Black p. 56
