|
|
Post by Sleeves on Jul 19, 2013 21:55:57 GMT
069
Villain
“So that’s why you do what you do!”
Pale eyes stare triumphantly up at him. How does he explain to this little wisp of a boy that he is not the way he is because of some tragic past? He is not tortured by teratoid monsters of the mind or haunted by vengeful eidolons of his victims; he is simply evil. How he came to be so should not even matter.
He rakes his mind for some acerbic counterblast but decides against it.
“Wrong.”
He cannot bring himself to fracture the child’s naïve understanding of the world. He finds beauty in the simplicity of his pupil’s black and white, clean cut view of humanity, influenced by far too many books, movies and comics.
Stupid boy. Fantasy villains cannot touch reality.
And so he does not say what he wishes to say.
A/N: A snippet of dialogue from Archetypes, written from a different perspective.
Also, 69. Teehee.
|
|
|
|
Post by Arctura on Jul 20, 2013 17:48:27 GMT
I like the stark contrast between the innocent boy and the 'inherently evil' villain. It really drew me in. Well written,as per usual:)I appreciate that you showed the villain's thoughts on how he is not evil due to past experiences or some such like that. This combats the typical messages the media transcends to the masses: villains are to be pitied, because you 'don't know what they've been through'. Well, duh! That doesn't excuse the horrible things that they do! It doesn't automatically absolve them of their deeds. Good job, Sleeves. One question though...what exactly is Archetypes? Is that a book or...?
|
|
|
|
Post by Sleeves on Jul 20, 2013 21:25:20 GMT
Thank you for the review  Exactly! It kind of annoys me that every fictional villain needs some kind of tragic past to "justify" what they do. Even if their past is tragic, it justifies nothing. It may explain things, but explanations do not equal redemption. Oh, Archetypes is the name of the story I'm writing. I gave it that title because it addresses and deconstructs common fantasy cliches and character archetypes. The premise is basically this: Take a hero who grew up reading fantasy novels and a villain who loves superhero comic books and put them in a magical contemporary setting where magic is disappearing, morality is viewed as black-and-white, and the citizens all indulge in unjustified bigotry. Expect lots of genre savviness, gambit pileups, witty banter and shameless lampshading. I'm having a lot of fun writing it. EDIT: I thought I should clarify that I don't believe in inherent evil. I agree with Rousseau (to some extent) that humans are naturally moral and good. I also acknowledge that humans are physically deterministic beings and that, like Freud taught us, events is somebody's past can result in them turning out a certain way. I DON'T, however, think that this is an excuse. My asshole of a villain, on the other hand, is a Hobbes supporter. We argue about it all the time. Reasonable minds can differ, as they say. |
|
|
|
Post by Arctura on Jul 21, 2013 18:21:38 GMT
No problem!
You know what would be really cool? Once I finish Paranexus and you finish Archetypes, we could have a possible crossover in our stories. I dunno if the genres would conflict, but it'd be a really cool try. But of course, this would have to happen next year. Good luck on your story; keep me updated!
If it's not possible to upload the whole thing to this site, how about Fictionpress? Or email
Hmmm, maybe it depends on the degree of the situation...I suppose if someone does something douchebaggy but not entirely evil, than a backstory would be fine. For example, a man/woman who's struggled with child abuse in the past could be very guarded, and they are not as apt to making friends and as a result of that, they can be very cold-hearted. In a different scenario, if that person goes out of their way to harm others, that is unjustified. So to an extent, I agree with you. It really depends on the severity of their actions.
Oh me, always choosing the gray area lol.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sleeves on Jul 22, 2013 0:17:56 GMT
A crossover would be so cool! Unfortunately I will not be finished ANY time soon. XD I am a super slow writer.
Well backstories aren't necessarily BAD, it's just that a lot of times they're not used right.
AND YES. The grey area is good. Always avoid extremes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Arctura on Jul 22, 2013 2:56:10 GMT
SAME! I am literally still writing the exposition for Paranexus, since I've had so much other stuff going on.
Hehe, I never liked Kant. Blah, blah, the categorical imperative only 'yields absolutes', blah blah. Grey for life.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sleeves on Jul 22, 2013 12:13:50 GMT
You see I worked out my entire plot down to the detail and then I decided that I wanted to change some shit around so now all 20,000 words that I've already written are meaningless and I'm back to the drawing (plotting) board. BUT WHATEVS. 50 Shades of Grey for life  |
|
|
|
Post by Arctura on Jul 22, 2013 15:56:27 GMT
That happens to me quite often as well. I wrote a story awhile back called "Never Wonder", which was essentially an AU crossover sequel of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. I wrote half of the story, and because I hated the character development, I rewrote it from the very beginning. Ugh.
Just saying, there is better ff out there than 50 Shades...XD
|
|
|
|
Post by Sleeves on Jul 22, 2013 18:57:13 GMT
Oh no, you didn't take that seriously, right? I was joking! I hate 50 Shades.
And yes.
There is better FF.
...MUCH better....
#suggestive smirk
|
|
|
|
Post by Arctura on Jul 22, 2013 19:44:26 GMT
I think I just puked
xD
|
|
