Thread:Mesektet/@comment-3581997-20160615160106/@comment-3581997-20160826001515

Consider some times it is just a state of circumstance. Scirocco of City of Villains is not a Redeemed villain, he is remorseful though, he tries to change, but can not, he is cursed to fail every attempt he makes to do good outright. He can not be redeemed, he however has a conscience and tries to use it, this if far from a complete monster, not even in the ball park.

Hades of Greek myth kills people, that is what he does, it is his function in existence, he feels no remorse for this and views death as a release, not a punishment. No remorse of any kind, no acknowledgment of anything needing of redemption, a trait common to many reapers. He is no where close to a complete monster. He has standards, principles, honor and an inflatable commitment to order and rules, but he has countless people die a day and feels no remorse for this.

Foreshadow takes mercy on Scirocco, because Sciocco takes mercy on him, as an olive-branch to show he wants to do good and would if her could, this hurts no one and gives the player an fresh look at just what it means to be redeemed. By stressing that the desire to do good is genuine but no action has occurred, the player most consider the actual weight of redemption as a concept and not just nice words to be abitrally exchanged.

Imagine if Heracles actually tried to kill Cerberus when he was sent to retrieve him as his 12 labor. Aside from the fact that Hades would probably have destroyed him for hurting his beloved soul catching puppy, what would that have done to the balance of life and death? Instead Heracles, in a single moment of clarity in an otherwise barbarian career, goes to Hades, tells him the situation and asks permission to complete his task, then complies with Hades to drag him back without injuring him and agreeing to bring him back when he was done.

Mercy is not always about shear propaganda of "Do the right thing" or discouraging decisive action, sometimes it is to explore what it really means to be redeemable as a concept, some times it is to give the reader a new perspective, nearly all good stories are just to do what is not expected in the name of taking the reader/viewer someplace they did not consider. And some times mercy is used to validate making a new friend where none would have otherwise be found to grow the story. It need not be just a matter of pussing out.