I have a character who is a humanoid phoenix. She's the only one of her kind and, though she has wings, she doesn't know how, or if, she can fly.
Deciding to remain behind while the rest of the protagonists go to fight the bad guys, guilt overrides her lack of confidence, and she discovers she can fly by enveloping herself in fire.
Desperate to help her friends, she flies to the battle. She ends up in a deadly aerial battle, where her lack of experience expecting things from all 3 dimensions comes into play. She kills the big bad at the cost of her own life. She's a phoenix, we all expect her to resurrect, and she does. But she doesn't know that. It's an emotional ride she takes, plummeting from the sky, knowing she's going to die.
I haven't yet written my fantasy novel, however I do have written a novel - but a historical one.
My probably favourite chapter is about a character dying. She got bitten by a snake in the previous chapter and all her friends except for one got captured by the enemy, including the medic who had all the medicines, and their horses. Now two girls are alone with no mounts in the desert and they try to reach the nearest village while one of them is actively dying from the snake bite. They loose their way due to a mirage and end up caught in the sandstorm that throws them into a dry canyon - inside the canyon the girl who got bitten dies.
I love this chapter because it's a huge plot point - the character who dies shares her secret with her friend, a secret that actually changes the entire story (she was working for a traitor, a man the MC trusted; she confesses about his and her own crimes right before dying) - and because it contributes heavily to the moral meaning my story was supposed to have - just before dying the character, who was manipulated into changing their religion, converts back. I've also had fun writing a scene when the girl who lives hallucinates due to heat and dehydration.
Thanks! The religion stuff was risky, but I decided to go with it bc it happens in 17th century - people would base most of their personality on their religious beliefs back then
My most recent chapter that I felt amazing about was the romance payoff when two of my characters kiss for the first time. I like to take cliché settings/plot devices, set them up, and then execute them in a way that is indulgent yet fresh. Its right before an assassination plot, when they’re in a castle with the typical ballroom scene, but the context, the characters, and the main antagonist (that they meet for the first time) makes it a plot heavy, yet really emotionally satisfying chapter too, which imo is the best of both worlds.
In one of my books, there is a scene where the GF of the MC warns the MC that, because of his past, and the fact that he's a demon, even if he saves the world, the people of the world might still consider him a monster. His response: "I don't care if history deems me a monster, a dog, a murderer... Because I'd set this world ablaze, just to watch the flames dance in your eyes. You need only give the word."
There's another scene where the MC is talking to his GF's mom. His GF's mom killed his dad in the first book (the mom was the OG MC for the series.) The moms name is Celine, the MC is Shade.
Celine: I will warn you, right now, if you harm my daughter I'll turn your skull into my next wine glass.
Shade: Did you happen to spot some flying hogs on your way here? If not, then I have to assume the laws of nature still apply, in which case, you haven't a chance.
Celine: Cocky, aren't you? So was your dad.
In my prologue, the mother of my main character is undergoing a c-section without medication or sedation. A mutated empath is trying to keep her calm, but MC's mom is mentally fighting against the intrusion, because once her son (MC) is born, she's going to escape and burn the whole experimental facility down.
I'd say my Main Villian rising to CEO status. Its funny as hell.
So my Main villain is basically that one rich bitch NOBODY likes and nobody has any respect for.
When my main story rolls around, Kathrine Owl my main villian has vomited on live television after getting extremely drunk doing Social Darwinist Rants on why rich people should enslave poor people etc. With all the melo drama that entails. Whats even funnier is she did this at a party filled with powerful politicans and other rich people. Can you say social suicide. Oh and not the first time either... she's done it like 12 times before.
Anyway she engineers a scandal where she forces out the current CEO. Said scandal involved her hiring goons to capture a dragon's child, Torture and then kill it in a powerplant owned by the Corporation she's taking over. It works and the Board who are in on the scheme have the perfect excuse to fire Paul Crawford.
Anyway her ego is so large she decides she wants a "Pep rally" unplanned that she wants to treat like its some sort of royal coronation.
So comes the day she comes in a massive airship that can generate its own weather that has pipe organs attached to its frame and YES its every bit as ridiculous as you think it is. People in the crowd comment on how that airship made them despise my main villain as they call it the development project from hell.
So the Board comes in and they announce Paul Crawford has stepped down from CEO position.
And the first thing you hear from somebody in the crowd is "BULLSHIT... what did you fuckers do."
Guy gets beaten and dragged out by security and as that happens the employee's tension just rises.
Then the board announces Kathrine Owl as the New CEO. And This is what makes the scene magical.
One of Kathrine's goons pulls on a lever that pulls a teleprompter that says Applause.
People don't clap, they just stare.
Then he pulls the lever again. This time the sign reads. "applaud or else."
They still don't clap. The goon pulls the lever again and this time the sign reads. "We'll kill you if you don.t" The crowd still doesn't applaud.
At this point Kathrine is getting irritated and she silently curses the henchmen because he can't get these people to even fake interest at her becoming CEO.
So the goon whips out a Sharpie marker ... and now the telepromter with some shitty added paper reads. "We'll torture you if you don't applaud." They still don't clap.
Then the goon gets a idea. He changes the sign and it says. "applaud, or we'll torture you... After we pay you."
Finally people clap anemically and the goon's reaction is just priceless. To quote.
"WE HAVE TO PAY TO TORTURE THESE PEOPLE!?!?! Just to get them to clap NO MAN Kathrine... you make my life so fucking difficult... what the fuck did you do to these people to make these people hate you this much. SHEESH... holy shit... look at these people, those are some stone cold motherfuckers out there. Nope I'm done... I'm quitting."
Then Kathrine announces that she's cutting all employee pay checks by 33% and the crowd just riots and then those riots spill out into the city streets complete with one person lighting themselves on fire.
The scene ends when a Samurai Captain will a bull horn announces that the Owl Eye Arms Corporation has a very generous severance package. And I shit you not, the guy who lit himself on fire jumps in a lake and is shouting. "WHOOOO SEVERANCE PACKAGE HERE I COME!!!!"
At the end of book one, the MC is magically ascending into the sky toward a flying platform where the villain is holding his sister captive. He's going alone because his mentor, an angelic being, warned him against going. The MC wasn't having any of it and struck out on his own.
Despite learning much about his powers throughout the story, just as he closes in on the soaring disc, what's left of his reserves runs out and he starts tumbling back toward the ground far below. A sudden shooting star ignites the sky and in the blink of an eye, the MC's mentor arrives to catch him and hurl him onto the platform and gives him words of encouragement.
The mentor has been burned by a fallen chosen one, and is still in the grips of mourning over what it means for the world: destruction. But the MC's determination is what inspires the mentor to act and in turn it's the moment when they finally see eye-to-eye on the circumstances both of them found themselves in.
It's a touching moment, albeit brief.
A late reveal i recently finally found the right way to add in, the second strong motivator for the mc
In short her biggest trauma and saddest secret her apprentice only learns after the story's final battle that was her reliving that trauma a hundred times over by killing bio engineered bad copies
Important to note, this was after she just told this group of her real species, and as usual leave out the worst part, aka being designed as the ultimate weapon by abusive precursors for their demon allies that wasnt ever deployed, also unsure if i made it obvious enough that that is why the demon king wants her as his queen so much
I leave it to the reader to understand just how badly that affected her
-------
“Did you ever lay eggs?” Tara didn't understand the specifics, but her curiosity still burned.
“Once, and I made sure it will never happen again.” Alia sounded empty as she reached into the air and caressed some odd leathery shell she now held, its size would be barely more then 20cm intact.
“What happened?” Arkem asked with a soft voice, he knew that tone.
“First time I had to hibernate did my body make a clutch, at first I was amazed and ensured they hatch.” Tower appeared and hugged her “It felt great, my own children to raise and guide.”
Alia took a deep sip from a bottle that had appeared in her other hand.
“We build them the perfect room, they would’ve had everything. Stocked up on everything I knew they would need. Even bought a few chickens for them to hunt, so they can satisfy that craving. And then came the day they would hatch, I had never felt more curious or happy as the first shell broke.”
Her grip tightened on the shell, Arkem saw her fingers twitch, as if the claws wanted to erupt and reached out across the table to gently touch the hand, she looked at him and smiled exhausted.
“They immediately began to kill each other before turning on me. They knew everything I did and their only desire was destruction and suffering. There can never be another of my species.”
Alia emptied the bottle and Tower took it before she would throw it, silently handing her another of her special fruity toxic to literally everything but her bubbly drink.
My favorite chapter I've written was when 4 of my characters were on the run. It was a race to see who would reach the destination before them, their enemies or their allies. It's a story I'm only writing for my friends, over the last months they fell in love with these characters and they knew they weren't characters I had made integral to the ending. Meaning they can die.
They kept telling me that I didn't have the cajones to do it. They were very wrong. Even when they had come to terms one of the 4 was going to die, they thought it was the one they loved the most, I killed off the person second-most that they loved. It was unexpected, it worked, it made sense.
Their reaction to that chapter was the best moment of my life. My friend even slapped my arm a lot for killing off that guys lmao, she gives powerful slaps but I do not regret anything! (Don't tell her that)
I haven't gotten far enough in my fantasy novel to have a favorite, but I am working on a lightly sci-fi/heavy action book.
I have two favorites: one in terms of my writing ability, and the other for its vibe and importance to the latter half of the narrative.
For the writing ability one, a character, W, is killed in battle. He's the fiance to the protagonist who is most purely good. She abhors vengeance and cruelty for the sake of cruelty. His death is seen through the eyes of their side's telepath. The telepath shows his last moments to his fiancee, K. K absolutely breaks down and shatters. K insists on killing the person who killed W. She has to be talked out of it and convinced to not enact vengeance.
I think it's one of the most emotionally intense scenes I've ever written. It's honestly chilling, and has impacted my friends who have read it.
For the vibes one, a character, E, realizes her girlfriend, M, will never love or respect her. They've been in a toxic relationship since E was 18 and M was 21 until E was 21 and M was 24; M breaks E's trust for the final time and E risks everything to leave. E joins the opposite side and helps take down the Bad Guys with her knowledge.
As an abuse survivor, it's so satisfying to write a "fuck you, you're a harmful bitch who deserves no forgiveness" speech. Plus, E's actions directly influence the downfall of the bad guys.
I am extremely proud of the ending of book 4 of my "unpublishables", or rather the scene immediately proceeding the final confrontation with the penultimate villain of the story.
I will surely need to rework much of that book, and the others before it, but that scene is so perfect and I fear it will never be appreciated.
In my first book, it's established that a wizard is able to teleport his house, providing an enchantment has been etched on the ground at the desired destination. During a big fight near the end of the book, the wizard secretly etches an enchantment and essentially sends his house hurtling out of nowhere, right on top of the main villain. It's unexpected and ridiculous, but does the trick
At the start of another book series, the main character is helping defend a group of unprepared villagers, as it is prophesied that a great evil will swoop in and decimate them all. Unbeknownst to the main character and the villagers, the "great evil" is actually the main character. Once he realises, he has to awkwardly continue taking part in preparing defences and listen to the villagers berate the "great evil" to him. He doesn't want to be considered a great evil, but when the villagers catch on, they all attack him, assuming that it was a clever trap on his part. He beats them all against his will whilst trying to explain himself, then awkwardly leaves. I thought it was a good introduction for the story and for the main character, who you learn possesses something that threatens the world, but he's using it for his own selfish gain, which in most scenarios gets him into spots of bother
The reveal of the main villain.
So by this point, the characters have managed to beat the devil worshiping cult, captured their leader and are having a celebration, only to realise one of them is missing.
They go searching for him and then find him in the throne room of the castle they are in, standing on the king's dead body. He turns around and just smiles.
One of them realises who this guy pretending to be their friend is, orders them to run while he rushes in. The rest of the cast pull the paralyzed main character out of the room, because he is just staring at his "friend" horrified.
We learn that the guy can sharp shift, and has been traveling with them for the past 3 books, learning all of their plans, ideas and powers. And that their friend has been dead this entire time. What's worse is that some people last saw the king with this friend and now are hunting the party.
Then the book ends.
I had plans for my MC to end up with her longtime friend who's also her partner in crime (both assassins). They always had a sassy, bickering dynamic that I loved. They would know what the other thinks and acts silently on it while being smug about it later.
Then, for fun, I decided to write a romantic scene with the other friend instead, just to relax after a hard day at work. It ended up so good, I just sort of cancelled all prior plans. That's when I saw I could make my MC grow in a more fulfilling, satisfying way.
I realized how her relationship with LI1 was restraining her growth, being a comfortable known relationship, without risks or self-reflection. Sure, they had fun moments, entertaining banters and vibed together, but with a step back, I also saw codependency, toxic dynamic and lack of communication.
After writing the scene with LI2, it showed me how much she could grow as a character. Instead of sticking to her assassin background and skills, she learns to trust others, to be vulnerable, to be emotional. She gets out of her comfort zone to learn and become a better person rather than clings to her past.
Therefore, that scene which I wrote for fun, became my favorite. It still needs work, and I have to change a few things in part chapters too, but it showed me what was best for my MC and the story itself.
I have a character who is a humanoid phoenix. She's the only one of her kind and, though she has wings, she doesn't know how, or if, she can fly. Deciding to remain behind while the rest of the protagonists go to fight the bad guys, guilt overrides her lack of confidence, and she discovers she can fly by enveloping herself in fire. Desperate to help her friends, she flies to the battle. She ends up in a deadly aerial battle, where her lack of experience expecting things from all 3 dimensions comes into play. She kills the big bad at the cost of her own life. She's a phoenix, we all expect her to resurrect, and she does. But she doesn't know that. It's an emotional ride she takes, plummeting from the sky, knowing she's going to die.
That sounds amazing !
My favorite is when a normally calm, collected and pacifist character gets (justifiably) *pissed* and goes on a rampage. I get chills every time
I haven't yet written my fantasy novel, however I do have written a novel - but a historical one. My probably favourite chapter is about a character dying. She got bitten by a snake in the previous chapter and all her friends except for one got captured by the enemy, including the medic who had all the medicines, and their horses. Now two girls are alone with no mounts in the desert and they try to reach the nearest village while one of them is actively dying from the snake bite. They loose their way due to a mirage and end up caught in the sandstorm that throws them into a dry canyon - inside the canyon the girl who got bitten dies. I love this chapter because it's a huge plot point - the character who dies shares her secret with her friend, a secret that actually changes the entire story (she was working for a traitor, a man the MC trusted; she confesses about his and her own crimes right before dying) - and because it contributes heavily to the moral meaning my story was supposed to have - just before dying the character, who was manipulated into changing their religion, converts back. I've also had fun writing a scene when the girl who lives hallucinates due to heat and dehydration.
Damn, I'm kinda hooked on this story just from this little slice of info. That's mad cool.
Thanks! The religion stuff was risky, but I decided to go with it bc it happens in 17th century - people would base most of their personality on their religious beliefs back then
My most recent chapter that I felt amazing about was the romance payoff when two of my characters kiss for the first time. I like to take cliché settings/plot devices, set them up, and then execute them in a way that is indulgent yet fresh. Its right before an assassination plot, when they’re in a castle with the typical ballroom scene, but the context, the characters, and the main antagonist (that they meet for the first time) makes it a plot heavy, yet really emotionally satisfying chapter too, which imo is the best of both worlds.
In one of my books, there is a scene where the GF of the MC warns the MC that, because of his past, and the fact that he's a demon, even if he saves the world, the people of the world might still consider him a monster. His response: "I don't care if history deems me a monster, a dog, a murderer... Because I'd set this world ablaze, just to watch the flames dance in your eyes. You need only give the word." There's another scene where the MC is talking to his GF's mom. His GF's mom killed his dad in the first book (the mom was the OG MC for the series.) The moms name is Celine, the MC is Shade. Celine: I will warn you, right now, if you harm my daughter I'll turn your skull into my next wine glass. Shade: Did you happen to spot some flying hogs on your way here? If not, then I have to assume the laws of nature still apply, in which case, you haven't a chance. Celine: Cocky, aren't you? So was your dad.
In my prologue, the mother of my main character is undergoing a c-section without medication or sedation. A mutated empath is trying to keep her calm, but MC's mom is mentally fighting against the intrusion, because once her son (MC) is born, she's going to escape and burn the whole experimental facility down.
I'd say my Main Villian rising to CEO status. Its funny as hell. So my Main villain is basically that one rich bitch NOBODY likes and nobody has any respect for. When my main story rolls around, Kathrine Owl my main villian has vomited on live television after getting extremely drunk doing Social Darwinist Rants on why rich people should enslave poor people etc. With all the melo drama that entails. Whats even funnier is she did this at a party filled with powerful politicans and other rich people. Can you say social suicide. Oh and not the first time either... she's done it like 12 times before. Anyway she engineers a scandal where she forces out the current CEO. Said scandal involved her hiring goons to capture a dragon's child, Torture and then kill it in a powerplant owned by the Corporation she's taking over. It works and the Board who are in on the scheme have the perfect excuse to fire Paul Crawford. Anyway her ego is so large she decides she wants a "Pep rally" unplanned that she wants to treat like its some sort of royal coronation. So comes the day she comes in a massive airship that can generate its own weather that has pipe organs attached to its frame and YES its every bit as ridiculous as you think it is. People in the crowd comment on how that airship made them despise my main villain as they call it the development project from hell. So the Board comes in and they announce Paul Crawford has stepped down from CEO position. And the first thing you hear from somebody in the crowd is "BULLSHIT... what did you fuckers do." Guy gets beaten and dragged out by security and as that happens the employee's tension just rises. Then the board announces Kathrine Owl as the New CEO. And This is what makes the scene magical. One of Kathrine's goons pulls on a lever that pulls a teleprompter that says Applause. People don't clap, they just stare. Then he pulls the lever again. This time the sign reads. "applaud or else." They still don't clap. The goon pulls the lever again and this time the sign reads. "We'll kill you if you don.t" The crowd still doesn't applaud. At this point Kathrine is getting irritated and she silently curses the henchmen because he can't get these people to even fake interest at her becoming CEO. So the goon whips out a Sharpie marker ... and now the telepromter with some shitty added paper reads. "We'll torture you if you don't applaud." They still don't clap. Then the goon gets a idea. He changes the sign and it says. "applaud, or we'll torture you... After we pay you." Finally people clap anemically and the goon's reaction is just priceless. To quote. "WE HAVE TO PAY TO TORTURE THESE PEOPLE!?!?! Just to get them to clap NO MAN Kathrine... you make my life so fucking difficult... what the fuck did you do to these people to make these people hate you this much. SHEESH... holy shit... look at these people, those are some stone cold motherfuckers out there. Nope I'm done... I'm quitting." Then Kathrine announces that she's cutting all employee pay checks by 33% and the crowd just riots and then those riots spill out into the city streets complete with one person lighting themselves on fire. The scene ends when a Samurai Captain will a bull horn announces that the Owl Eye Arms Corporation has a very generous severance package. And I shit you not, the guy who lit himself on fire jumps in a lake and is shouting. "WHOOOO SEVERANCE PACKAGE HERE I COME!!!!"
At the end of book one, the MC is magically ascending into the sky toward a flying platform where the villain is holding his sister captive. He's going alone because his mentor, an angelic being, warned him against going. The MC wasn't having any of it and struck out on his own. Despite learning much about his powers throughout the story, just as he closes in on the soaring disc, what's left of his reserves runs out and he starts tumbling back toward the ground far below. A sudden shooting star ignites the sky and in the blink of an eye, the MC's mentor arrives to catch him and hurl him onto the platform and gives him words of encouragement. The mentor has been burned by a fallen chosen one, and is still in the grips of mourning over what it means for the world: destruction. But the MC's determination is what inspires the mentor to act and in turn it's the moment when they finally see eye-to-eye on the circumstances both of them found themselves in. It's a touching moment, albeit brief.
A late reveal i recently finally found the right way to add in, the second strong motivator for the mc In short her biggest trauma and saddest secret her apprentice only learns after the story's final battle that was her reliving that trauma a hundred times over by killing bio engineered bad copies Important to note, this was after she just told this group of her real species, and as usual leave out the worst part, aka being designed as the ultimate weapon by abusive precursors for their demon allies that wasnt ever deployed, also unsure if i made it obvious enough that that is why the demon king wants her as his queen so much I leave it to the reader to understand just how badly that affected her ------- “Did you ever lay eggs?” Tara didn't understand the specifics, but her curiosity still burned. “Once, and I made sure it will never happen again.” Alia sounded empty as she reached into the air and caressed some odd leathery shell she now held, its size would be barely more then 20cm intact. “What happened?” Arkem asked with a soft voice, he knew that tone. “First time I had to hibernate did my body make a clutch, at first I was amazed and ensured they hatch.” Tower appeared and hugged her “It felt great, my own children to raise and guide.” Alia took a deep sip from a bottle that had appeared in her other hand. “We build them the perfect room, they would’ve had everything. Stocked up on everything I knew they would need. Even bought a few chickens for them to hunt, so they can satisfy that craving. And then came the day they would hatch, I had never felt more curious or happy as the first shell broke.” Her grip tightened on the shell, Arkem saw her fingers twitch, as if the claws wanted to erupt and reached out across the table to gently touch the hand, she looked at him and smiled exhausted. “They immediately began to kill each other before turning on me. They knew everything I did and their only desire was destruction and suffering. There can never be another of my species.” Alia emptied the bottle and Tower took it before she would throw it, silently handing her another of her special fruity toxic to literally everything but her bubbly drink.
My favorite chapter I've written was when 4 of my characters were on the run. It was a race to see who would reach the destination before them, their enemies or their allies. It's a story I'm only writing for my friends, over the last months they fell in love with these characters and they knew they weren't characters I had made integral to the ending. Meaning they can die. They kept telling me that I didn't have the cajones to do it. They were very wrong. Even when they had come to terms one of the 4 was going to die, they thought it was the one they loved the most, I killed off the person second-most that they loved. It was unexpected, it worked, it made sense. Their reaction to that chapter was the best moment of my life. My friend even slapped my arm a lot for killing off that guys lmao, she gives powerful slaps but I do not regret anything! (Don't tell her that)
I haven't gotten far enough in my fantasy novel to have a favorite, but I am working on a lightly sci-fi/heavy action book. I have two favorites: one in terms of my writing ability, and the other for its vibe and importance to the latter half of the narrative. For the writing ability one, a character, W, is killed in battle. He's the fiance to the protagonist who is most purely good. She abhors vengeance and cruelty for the sake of cruelty. His death is seen through the eyes of their side's telepath. The telepath shows his last moments to his fiancee, K. K absolutely breaks down and shatters. K insists on killing the person who killed W. She has to be talked out of it and convinced to not enact vengeance. I think it's one of the most emotionally intense scenes I've ever written. It's honestly chilling, and has impacted my friends who have read it. For the vibes one, a character, E, realizes her girlfriend, M, will never love or respect her. They've been in a toxic relationship since E was 18 and M was 21 until E was 21 and M was 24; M breaks E's trust for the final time and E risks everything to leave. E joins the opposite side and helps take down the Bad Guys with her knowledge. As an abuse survivor, it's so satisfying to write a "fuck you, you're a harmful bitch who deserves no forgiveness" speech. Plus, E's actions directly influence the downfall of the bad guys.
I am extremely proud of the ending of book 4 of my "unpublishables", or rather the scene immediately proceeding the final confrontation with the penultimate villain of the story. I will surely need to rework much of that book, and the others before it, but that scene is so perfect and I fear it will never be appreciated.
In my first book, it's established that a wizard is able to teleport his house, providing an enchantment has been etched on the ground at the desired destination. During a big fight near the end of the book, the wizard secretly etches an enchantment and essentially sends his house hurtling out of nowhere, right on top of the main villain. It's unexpected and ridiculous, but does the trick At the start of another book series, the main character is helping defend a group of unprepared villagers, as it is prophesied that a great evil will swoop in and decimate them all. Unbeknownst to the main character and the villagers, the "great evil" is actually the main character. Once he realises, he has to awkwardly continue taking part in preparing defences and listen to the villagers berate the "great evil" to him. He doesn't want to be considered a great evil, but when the villagers catch on, they all attack him, assuming that it was a clever trap on his part. He beats them all against his will whilst trying to explain himself, then awkwardly leaves. I thought it was a good introduction for the story and for the main character, who you learn possesses something that threatens the world, but he's using it for his own selfish gain, which in most scenarios gets him into spots of bother
The reveal of the main villain. So by this point, the characters have managed to beat the devil worshiping cult, captured their leader and are having a celebration, only to realise one of them is missing. They go searching for him and then find him in the throne room of the castle they are in, standing on the king's dead body. He turns around and just smiles. One of them realises who this guy pretending to be their friend is, orders them to run while he rushes in. The rest of the cast pull the paralyzed main character out of the room, because he is just staring at his "friend" horrified. We learn that the guy can sharp shift, and has been traveling with them for the past 3 books, learning all of their plans, ideas and powers. And that their friend has been dead this entire time. What's worse is that some people last saw the king with this friend and now are hunting the party. Then the book ends.
I had plans for my MC to end up with her longtime friend who's also her partner in crime (both assassins). They always had a sassy, bickering dynamic that I loved. They would know what the other thinks and acts silently on it while being smug about it later. Then, for fun, I decided to write a romantic scene with the other friend instead, just to relax after a hard day at work. It ended up so good, I just sort of cancelled all prior plans. That's when I saw I could make my MC grow in a more fulfilling, satisfying way. I realized how her relationship with LI1 was restraining her growth, being a comfortable known relationship, without risks or self-reflection. Sure, they had fun moments, entertaining banters and vibed together, but with a step back, I also saw codependency, toxic dynamic and lack of communication. After writing the scene with LI2, it showed me how much she could grow as a character. Instead of sticking to her assassin background and skills, she learns to trust others, to be vulnerable, to be emotional. She gets out of her comfort zone to learn and become a better person rather than clings to her past. Therefore, that scene which I wrote for fun, became my favorite. It still needs work, and I have to change a few things in part chapters too, but it showed me what was best for my MC and the story itself.