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Okay, idea. What if the villains are already in the castle, and meet the groups that way to start working with them?
I’m thinking it would be better to have them arrive in a separate scene, so that they can be briefed on what they’re supposed to do. (I also haven’t even decided on mine yet.)
🏰 Fantasy Writer
✨ Magic System Creator
🎭 Character RPer
📚 Appreciator of BooksMkay!
(I also haven’t even decided on mine yet.)
Yeah, I’m really not the best at villains, most of them don’t exist yet, and the rest need soooo much development. Vere is only put together as much as he is, because he’s also a main character.
But I’ve had trouble putting them in RPs for whatever reason. But hopefully I’ll get around to fleshing out my villains in general.
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. -1 Corinthians
And guess what? His is eternal (:I’m kind of in the same boat when it comes to villains. I have relatively few that I would consider to “exist.” I can probably count them. I think five. Out of those, two are of the non-sympathetic, pure evil variety (and one is just the crony of the other), two are not very fleshed out, and the last is only moderately well developed. I have others that are vague formulations in my mind, and some stories where I haven’t even begun to conceptualize the villain.
🏰 Fantasy Writer
✨ Magic System Creator
🎭 Character RPer
📚 Appreciator of Bookstwo are not very fleshed out, and the last is only moderately well developed. I have others that are vague formulations in my mind, and some stories where I haven’t even begun to conceptualize the villain.
Yep, definitely feel that. Which makes figuring out plot and the main character difficult as well. I feel like it’s one of the earliest mistakes I’ve made in writing, is not honing down on my villains just as much as other characters, because it’s really hindered conflict and development for my protagonists
Which to be fair, I haven’t gotten too far in any of my novels yet, but still something I think I need to focus on more
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. -1 Corinthians
And guess what? His is eternal (:Yeah, I haven’t gotten far at all in any of mine either (I mean I’ve wrote and rewrote one of them like four times or so and scrapped each attempt, but aside from that…) so lack of well-developed villains hasn’t been a problem.
My main difficulty is giving villains good motivation. I definitely don’t want to end up with cheesy “tragic backstory” variety villains, but at the same time, I know that there are a lot of people who don’t want the villain to be completely unsympathetic. Personally, I don’t mind the “pure evil” variety of villains, (although that doesn’t mean I like them more than a well written sympathetic villain) so I have a tendency to go that route. I need to work on figuring out how to make villains with more depth.
🏰 Fantasy Writer
✨ Magic System Creator
🎭 Character RPer
📚 Appreciator of BooksYeah, I think it’s important to remember that it’s never bad for a villain to be non sympathetic, it’s just all in the execution. Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender isn’t really sympathetic in the whole series, but she’s probably the most fascinating and terrifying villain I can think of. Her father, Ozai, is also a good villain, who is even less sympathetic, being the truest pure baddy, yet he’s a fascinating character because of how he interacts with other characters, particularly his kids, Azula and Zuko. (I’m not sure if your following this Jonas, but you should go watch it😂)
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
yeah, “tragic backstory” and “pure evil” villains have been done to death, but they can be good if done right.
Speaking of which (this might seem like it has nothing to do with the discussion but just hear me out), I was thinking of two different characters earlier today. They’re both borderline psychopaths, experimenting on other characters almost for the sheer fun of it. But the weird thing is even though they’re close to the same at first glance, I found I hate one fervently, but don’t exactly hate the other (although I can’t say I LIKE him).
Why?
Well, the one I don’t hate is something of an antihero. He’s mentally deranged and probably deserves a lot of punishment, death penalty included, but he shows that however twisted he is, he has a shadow of a heart. He’s funny sometimes, befriends some of the other characters, and cares deeply for his pet. He’s not truly a “good guy” and does some horrible things, but he’s also not totally evil either, and has depth that makes me think what he might’ve become if things had gone differently for him.
The other character (the hated one) is a full-on villain, and quite obviously shows that he doesn’t care for anyone besides himself. He’s, most likely, more mentally stable than the other, but that doesn’t change anything. He tortures young and old alike, treats his assistant like a slave, and was willing to kill a guard dog simply because it was starting to act tame. He’s a character you can’t really like in any way.
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
@thearcaneaxiom ooh u might like what I just posted up there too
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
😭😅 I wrote a whole villain rant, but KP ate it. And it was like five paragraphs, so I am not writing that again
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. -1 Corinthians
And guess what? His is eternal (:@princesachronicle22 egghhh that stinks
I copy my stuff down before I post it if it’s really long.
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
Yeah, Azula is my all time favorite villain. Ozai though… he is a good example of the “pure evil” and I do like those villain types. But he also doesn’t do much, and we know what he wanted but did we really know why he wanted it?
But dear Azula, it was part of her very personality. She manipulated people, she was amazing at it, and she saw that it pleased him. And I think eventually, she herself enjoyed causing fear and pain. Contolling people was just what she knew, it was even her way of interacting with people in general. There wasn’t a relationship that she had that was not based on this.
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. -1 Corinthians
And guess what? His is eternal (:Yeah, that’s the thing is that even characters that so far gone are characters that sometimes are rooted for the most. They want something, they have a reason for it, and in following them, it makes you like them. This can be the case even when you see nothing redeemable about them.
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
@thearcane axiom which character are you referring to?
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
100% I think Azula is a much more compelling villain, but I still think Ozai is underrated. We don’t know why he’s so evil, but he’s the personification of the evils Zuko and Azula face, so he’s interesting, because they’re interesting, if that makes sense. He’s not so much his own character for this reason, but it works, and even thrives in this dynamic.
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
He’s not truly a “good guy” and does some horrible things, but he’s also not totally evil either, and has depth that makes me think what he might’ve become if things had gone differently for him.
Yes, I like that point. I think that is the main difference between, “tragic backstory” verses “pure evil”
Are they evil because of what has been done too them? Or are they evil because of what they like to do to other people?
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. -1 Corinthians
And guess what? His is eternal (:
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