#character redemption

Let’s break it down. Severus Snape and James Potter both made mistakes. Both hurt people. But the why behind their mistakes? That’s where the comparison becomes impossible to ignore.

Snape’s cruelty? It came from a place of deep pain. He grew up in neglect, surrounded by violence, and never knew a life where love or kindness came freely. He didn’t know what “healthy” even looked like. He lashed out because that was all he knew, survival meant hardening himself. He joined the wrong side because he was desperate to belong somewhere, anywhere.

But here’s the key: Snape regretted his choices. He recognized the harm he caused and spent his life trying to make things right. His redemption wasn’t easy or clean—it was hard-fought, messy, and deeply human.

Now, let’s talk about James Potter. James hurt people too—but not out of pain, not because he didn’t know better. He knew better—he just didn’t care. His actions came from boredom, from entitlement, from the sheer fun of watching someone else suffer.

James had everything Snape didn’t. He was rich, popular, loved, and endlessly privileged. He had every advantage in life, every opportunity to be kind, and he chose cruelty because he thought it was funny.

And the real kicker? James never really had to pay for his actions. There’s no regret, no apology, no attempt to make amends. He graduated Hogwarts, married Lily, and got his “happily ever after.” Snape, on the other hand, carried the weight of his guilt for the rest of his life. He fought for redemption until the moment he died.

So, no, I don’t feel the same about their mistakes. Snape’s flaws came from the wounds he carried, the scars of a life filled with suffering. James’s flaws? They came from privilege—a choice to hurt others because he could.

✨ DAVIS BLOOME ✨

Redemption is a BIG theme throughout this story - it's the whole reason Maggie is "inside" Alicia & plans on redeeming Lex Luthor. But they aren't the only tragic characters in this show who got shitty endings for the sake of Clark's character development.

I think Davis Bloome (Doomsday) should be a solid contender for a Maggie Redemption Special.

KEY POINT: "Second Life" takes place during the events of Season 3 (2004). Nothing Davis Bloome related will happen (canonically) until Season 8 (2008). If Maggie has anything to say about it, we could see him sooner. . .

Backstory if you're not familiar:

The human persona "Davis Bloome" is entirely original to Smallville, but the character of Doomsday is the creature that kills Superman (for the 1st time!)

While including the Doomsday concept in Smallville was an interesting choice (a little early for Season 8 in my opinon....), I have a love-hate relationship with it. I loved the conflicted humanity his character brought to the table, but I think the showrunners handled it like hot garbage.

Before everything spiraled out of control because of Braniac's influence, Davis wasn't some power-hungry villain. He was an ordinary paramedic who genuinely tried to help people and that's all he's ever wanted from life.

The genetically manufactured darkness inside him was a literal science experiment created by the Kryptonian warlord Zod & his wife Faora to destroy humanity and take over Earth for the House of Zod by combining their DNA with that of the planet's strongest and most violent creatures. His genetic material was attached to Kal-El's escape pod and "hatched" on Earth at the age of 3, abandoned in a corn field.

Fun Fact: Bloome is technically 5 months younger than Clark.

Unlike Clark, Davis never knew his fucked up parentage or anything related to Krypton - he was completely isolated from his heritage with a ticking time bomb of an imposed "familial destiny" simmering inside of him.

Davis and Clark (Kal-El) are phenomenal mirrors/foils to each other & no one talks about that enough!!!

What's also tragically sad is that Davis woke up (hatched) just a little too late. He watched from behind a burned bush as the Kents took Clark home with them. Davis was found by Lionel Luthor's search team, imprisoned, experimented on, and eventually abandoned on the streets of Metropolis. AT THREE YEARS OLD!

After Brainiac's manipulation and his darker instincts emerged, Davis honestly tried his best to resist them. When his "alter-ego" took over, Davis was no longer in control. Think of it like a Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde or a Bruce Banner/Hulk situation - when the monster "checks in," the human "checks out."

Davis knew how violent and unstable his "alter-ego" was & tried everything he could to suppress it. He was horrified by himself that he went so far as to take anti-psychotic pills in order to control his transformations. But his adaptive abilities ("what kills him makes him stronger") eventually made him immune to the effects of the pills.

And when help didn't work, he attempted suicide to keep this monster he had no way of understanding or controlling from hurting anyone. Again, because of the adaptive ability failsafe his Kryptonian "parents" baked into his DNA, his suicide wasn't successful.

All he wanted to do was help people, not hurt them. And the best way he knew to help his friends and keep them safe was to kill himself. And when that didn't work. . . can you imagine how isolating that can be? Knowing that you were capable of hurting everyone you ever cared about and being unable to stop yourself?

The only thing that could keep Doomsday at bay was killing, acting on those dark urges. And you know what Davis did? He became a serial killer that only targeted bad people! (Ethical issues of justifying this aside for now). He confessed to a priest that he could control his "inner beast" by ridding the world of those he deemed evil.

Rather than trying to find a way to help Davis (their friend!), the Justice League hunted him down to kill him to preemptively protect Clark. When Davis began transforming into Doomsday, Chloe used Black Kryptonite to separate Doomsday from Davis.

Clark fought Doomsday, won, and buried the creature deep within Earth's crust. Being separated from Doomsday meant that Davis lost everything Kryptonian about himself & became 100% human.

What should have followed was redemption and a shit-ton of therapy. Instead, the series killed him off in a Chloe Sullivan-Jimmy Olsen-Davis Bloome love-triangle subplot that was absolute shit & completely undermined the tragedy of his character.

So here's my question:

When I eventually introduce Davis Bloome, would you rather see me explore a redemption arc that gives him the chance the show never did, or would you prefer I keep his story closer to the original series?

I'd love to hear your what you think in the comments as much as your vote. I'm especially interested in why you feel the way you do. And if you've never seen the show, that's even better to have a fresh perspective!

For more Luigi, fanfic and romance stuff: see here.

Confession, I think Starscream is one of the few characters in Transformers who genuinely is bad even more bad than Megatron himself because he is not honorable, he is total sleaze, he's narcissistic and has no empathy. Yes, some people in his life are the exception, but even they accept that Starscream is not a good guy as he is right now.

And it's why he's one of my favourite villains!

I am convinced that in Prime, there was an attraction between him and Knockout, but Knockout is 100% faithful and in love with Breakdown even after becoming a widower, and Starscream honestly doesn't want to commit to anyone because he's the type who doesn't want to be tied down. I see him agreeing to never go beyond friendship with Knockout as one of the few nice things her ever did because he knew he would hurt him and didn't want to lose him as a friend.

The thing about him is that I don't think he's a good romantic match for anyone. Right now. He's just too bad a person and I would not put emotional, verbal, psychological or even low level physical abuse past him. He doesn't want an equal partner. He wants minions and is more of the type to do friends with benefits. Maybe even a harem.

However, that doesn't mean he is irredeemable. I just think he is not redeemable right now. In my experience as a writer, he's the type of character to only repent and start rethinking his life choices in his silver years (human equivalent of 60s) when he is too old to fulfill his ambitions, doesn't have the strength he used to and can't dominate people like he used to. When Starscream is almost left with nothing and has nothing to show for it all, that is when I think he'll start having second thoughts and consider changing.

(Disclaimer: I haven’t read the Fruits Basket sequel yet—this post is based on the original manga + anime)

Let’s talk about Akito and mental health.

Akito is introduced in a deeply dysfunctional environment. Her father treats her like a divine being because of her inherited role, while her mother resents and envies her. She's raised as a boy (which, narratively, is… questionable in terms of the transgender stereotypes it leans on). From early on, she’s isolated, idolized, and emotionally manipulated. It's the kind of abuse that often creates more abuse.

As a result, Akito becomes emotionally immature and abusive. I wouldn’t go overboard with labels, but she does show strong narcissistic traits. Her self-worth is so fragile that she needs to control others, to keep herself at the center of their world—especially the Zodiac members. She can’t handle empathy, and the idea that someone else (Tohru) could become the emotional center of that world drives her wild. In season 2, she literally sabotages the vacation just because she can’t stand the idea of them being happy without her.

One of the most telling moments is when Shigure tells her that he slept with her mother to hurt her, because she had done the same with Kureno. And Akito responds: “You don’t get to do that. I can, because I’m God.” It’s a brutal, honest expression of how twisted the Soma family dynamic is, and how entangled her identity is with control and punishment.

And yet, despite all this, I found myself grateful that Akito is given a breakthrough. As a psychologist, and as someone who has been on the receiving end of this kind of personality, I believe in healing. I don't think abuse can be forgiven easily (nor should it be !) but I do believe that people can grow and change.

Akito decides to walk away from the system that made her who she is. She leaves the Soma house. She accepts that the curse will end with this generation, and stops chasing the fantasy her family fed her. In her own way, she too breaks the cycle of intergenerational trauma. Just like each of the Zodiac members do in their own way.

So I get it when people in the fandom say “I can’t forgive Akito.” That’s fair. And in-universe, people like Rin absolutely have the right not to forgive. You don’t owe forgiveness to someone who hurt you. Some characters forgive but never forget. All of that is valid. Everyone deals with abuse differently. As a victim myself, I can forgive but never forget and the relationship is broken forever.

But sometimes, the impulse of the fandom to loudly declare “I’ll never forgive Akito” also feels like a refusal to engage with the messiness of her arc. It can, unintentionally, come off as dismissive of how ugly mental health struggles can look from the outside. Her behavior is disturbing because trauma often is. But to flatten her character into a villain-only lens is to miss the point of Fruits Basket’s storytelling. I’m glad that Fruits Basket gives space to the idea that some abusers(not all, but some) can reach a moment of clarity. That they can walk away, unlearn, start again. That Akito might, one day, become someone else entirely. Free of the Soma curse. Free of her own pain.

That said… I really wish Shigure wasn’t part of her “new life.” I would’ve loved if their relationship remained something incomplete. First love, sure, the only one who dared to shatter her god-complex. But with all the mutual toxicity and abuse between them, I don’t think a healthy relationship is possible. And they both carry too much of the Soma legacy with them. It's great fanfiction material for angsty exploration but not a realistic ending.

If Akito had lost not only her role and her family system, but also the possibility of a relationship with Shigure, her arc would’ve felt even more grounded and emotionally powerful. It would have mirrored real life more closely: growth often comes with loss. And maybe, paradoxically, viewers might have found her more relatable, more deserving of empathy, if she hadn’t been “rewarded” with a romance at the end.

I wish Akito could’ve found love and friendship outside the Soma household. A different kind of love, chosen freely, not shaped by trauma.

“uh no, grace was a product of her upbringing max is an asshole”