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flyingskullAllow me to introduce to you my favourite kind of villain of all times: the Smiling Villain so called because that Shakespearean quote has been in my mind for years and years, don't ask me why.
The Smiling Villain is, basically, a sociopath. Sometimes s/he's a grunt sociopath limiting her/his activities to serial killing or raping: scary, but rather flat. You can find her/him in crime stories of all ilks and - though scary enough when written well - s/he's generally only a step up the Universal Unseen Villain in the ladder of good gripping storytelling.
The True Smiling Villain (the facial rictus denoting affability, joy and affection is actually optional) is a functioning sociopath who may, perhaps, engage in a spot of serial killing out of necessity or on a whim, but who'd never let her/his pleasure in the multiple taking of life interfere with her/his plans. Because the True Smiling Villain has a... - wait for it... - vision. S/he knows what the world or people should be and sets about changing said world or people until it or they conform to her/his vision.
S/he may appear benevolent - and s/he is, for a given value of 'benevolence' - s/he may appear happy and carefree - and, ohboy is s/he! - s/he may appear to overflow with the milk of human kindness, to be a protector, a wise counselor, a friend or, in some cases, a stern authority figure exuding efficiency and concern for the common good, in which case s/he won't smile a lot, if at all. The Hero/ine may well be as taken in as the reader for a goodly portion of the story ignoring, or willfully blind to, all the subtle hints to the character real character... heh... sorry about that, I meant the character real personality. Depends on the writer, really.
The biggest hint is generally the fact that a True Smiling (or not, as the case may be) Villain is obsessed by one thing or person. It's all about the power, but it doesn't necessarily have to be the Power Over All Universes, sometimes it's just the Power Over One Poor Wretch. Because if you happen to be the object of desire of a True Smiling Villain, a wretch you are, or shall soon become.
Thus our old friend, the Queen of the Elves in Lord and Ladies is, IMO, a True Smiling Villain. She appears to be the thing that she is not and schemes incessantly to Queen it over the land; she also holds an obsessive grudge against Granny. BTW, the manner of her double downfall is rather typical of the downfall of all True Smiling Villains: they forget that all those expendable cardboard cutouts are in fact three dimensional people and thus are surprised by unforeseen reactions, not to mention by the capacity of said cutouts to work together for a common goal.
A True Smiling Villain is often taken for a Protector or Wise Counselor exactly how the True Bastard Hero (with its sub-species the Byronic Hero) is taken quite easily for a villain at the start. What makes both those types delightful is the way the author messes with the preconceived notions about how a Friend or a Villain talk (it all boils down to manipulation of semantics, doesn't it? The most horrifying actions are explained in terms of the most syrupy benevolence and the noblest actions are kind of annihilated by the agent's foul mouth) and what makes them scary is how very efficient they are in the pursuit of their aims.
No, I mean, no, truly, look at Small Gods' Vorbis! Granted, he doesn't smile, but he certainly changes people and not for the better. He makes people be like him. He manufactures sociopath-like behaviour in others. He's certainly obsessed by his worldview and the only thing that is not quite typical is that he's beaten by Divine Action. But then it's Small Gods and internal logic must be preserved. Night Watch's Carcer too is a Master of Changing People for the Worse. He almost manages to change Vimes, for fucksake! Like Borgs they could crackle RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED! Teatime is, IMO, a Smiling Villain Simplex or grunt sociopath.
AND Mr Cheney. DW Jones is not one for Smiling Villains, generally. Her bad people are generally as confused and human as her good people, but Mr Chenney is one chillingly terrifying dude. Of course he embodies a Financial Entity more than a person, but all the same he's the person that makes Financial entities possible and functional.
AND what is possibly TEH True Smiling Villain of all times - well, no, I tell a lie. Of modern times. Hmm. Of a fairly long portion of time casually coincident with the last ten years. Maybe. Or not. Oh fuck who cares, he's perfect - is Gravitation's Seguchi Thoma. He smiles, he's obsessed both with power over the musical business and one person, he appears a friend, a wise counselor a protector... you name a good solid virtue necessary to qualify as 'important secondary character who helps hero/ines' and he seems to be the embodiment of it. His plans are both byzantine and ruthlessly efficient, his knowledge so vast he appears omniscient, his coldblooded disposal of inconvenient or irritating people is akin to swatting flies, his sadism is sweet and cloying like molasses and - which makes him both scary and delightful - he can be thwarted, but never beaten. He can move in and manipulate both the Farce World and the Tragedy World and he corrupts people.
Yoshiki is another True Smiling Villain - she's so grey she's still apparently open to interpretation, though really! Not after Vol 10, people! But, apparently, there are many who view her as one of the Good Guys. *sigh* - but her sadism is more overt, her scope much more narrow and she's a bit over the top, frankly.
AND Loveless' Seimei. The sociopath one loves to loathe, the one who manages to change/corrupt one of the Heroes. Paladin in the Game World, Loving Protector and Brother in Ritsuka's Inner World, Defenseless But Plucky Boy in the Apparent World, Outstanding Strategist in the Magic World and Incestuous Abuser and Murderer in the Real World.
What's nice about Seimei - well, alright, about all of the True Smiling Villains - is that they have some endearing weaknesses (Seimei is seventeen, is a bit OCD about being touched and tires easily after gouging out people's eyes. Seguchi is vain, is a great musician and acts like a loving child with his wife. Mr Cheney likes his son and is refreshingly afraid of his demon. Carcer is stupid. Vorbis... well, Vorbis is an idealist, after all. He truly believes that the world would be a better place if everyone did as they were told, which makes him stupid too, I suppose. ;) And I am sure the Queen of Elfland is still mourning her unicorn.).
Vetinari is a borderline case, in a sense, though not in another. I mean, he's a useful villain and he loves his dog, but he certainly couldn't care less about people as such except perhaps a little for those he finds amusing like Leonard or Vimes. BUT, yeh, borderline. He doesn't mind if people is his city live a better life, provided this won't break the equilibrium that makes Ankh-Morpork work or that they aren't mimes.
I would like to end this ramble - thank you for not pelting me with rotten tomatoes - with a tribute to the subtlest of the True Smiling Villains: Dumbledore. He smiles! He speaks of love! He actually pontificates (BTW the pope is a good example of the TSV in Real Life) on love! His eyes twinkle! He dresses like a clown! He dances! And he coldly sends a boy to be abused time and time again so to be sure said boy won't balk when he's supposed to die for the common good. Not having enjoyed life, y'know, well, except when he was hurting other people, but most of the time certainly not enjoyed life at all and so leaving a world of pain and misery would be easy... easier... whatever. Do you think La Rowling is a very clever author after all? ^_^
The Smiling Villain is, basically, a sociopath. Sometimes s/he's a grunt sociopath limiting her/his activities to serial killing or raping: scary, but rather flat. You can find her/him in crime stories of all ilks and - though scary enough when written well - s/he's generally only a step up the Universal Unseen Villain in the ladder of good gripping storytelling.
The True Smiling Villain (the facial rictus denoting affability, joy and affection is actually optional) is a functioning sociopath who may, perhaps, engage in a spot of serial killing out of necessity or on a whim, but who'd never let her/his pleasure in the multiple taking of life interfere with her/his plans. Because the True Smiling Villain has a... - wait for it... - vision. S/he knows what the world or people should be and sets about changing said world or people until it or they conform to her/his vision.
S/he may appear benevolent - and s/he is, for a given value of 'benevolence' - s/he may appear happy and carefree - and, ohboy is s/he! - s/he may appear to overflow with the milk of human kindness, to be a protector, a wise counselor, a friend or, in some cases, a stern authority figure exuding efficiency and concern for the common good, in which case s/he won't smile a lot, if at all. The Hero/ine may well be as taken in as the reader for a goodly portion of the story ignoring, or willfully blind to, all the subtle hints to the character real character... heh... sorry about that, I meant the character real personality. Depends on the writer, really.
The biggest hint is generally the fact that a True Smiling (or not, as the case may be) Villain is obsessed by one thing or person. It's all about the power, but it doesn't necessarily have to be the Power Over All Universes, sometimes it's just the Power Over One Poor Wretch. Because if you happen to be the object of desire of a True Smiling Villain, a wretch you are, or shall soon become.
Thus our old friend, the Queen of the Elves in Lord and Ladies is, IMO, a True Smiling Villain. She appears to be the thing that she is not and schemes incessantly to Queen it over the land; she also holds an obsessive grudge against Granny. BTW, the manner of her double downfall is rather typical of the downfall of all True Smiling Villains: they forget that all those expendable cardboard cutouts are in fact three dimensional people and thus are surprised by unforeseen reactions, not to mention by the capacity of said cutouts to work together for a common goal.
A True Smiling Villain is often taken for a Protector or Wise Counselor exactly how the True Bastard Hero (with its sub-species the Byronic Hero) is taken quite easily for a villain at the start. What makes both those types delightful is the way the author messes with the preconceived notions about how a Friend or a Villain talk (it all boils down to manipulation of semantics, doesn't it? The most horrifying actions are explained in terms of the most syrupy benevolence and the noblest actions are kind of annihilated by the agent's foul mouth) and what makes them scary is how very efficient they are in the pursuit of their aims.
No, I mean, no, truly, look at Small Gods' Vorbis! Granted, he doesn't smile, but he certainly changes people and not for the better. He makes people be like him. He manufactures sociopath-like behaviour in others. He's certainly obsessed by his worldview and the only thing that is not quite typical is that he's beaten by Divine Action. But then it's Small Gods and internal logic must be preserved. Night Watch's Carcer too is a Master of Changing People for the Worse. He almost manages to change Vimes, for fucksake! Like Borgs they could crackle RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED! Teatime is, IMO, a Smiling Villain Simplex or grunt sociopath.
AND Mr Cheney. DW Jones is not one for Smiling Villains, generally. Her bad people are generally as confused and human as her good people, but Mr Chenney is one chillingly terrifying dude. Of course he embodies a Financial Entity more than a person, but all the same he's the person that makes Financial entities possible and functional.
AND what is possibly TEH True Smiling Villain of all times - well, no, I tell a lie. Of modern times. Hmm. Of a fairly long portion of time casually coincident with the last ten years. Maybe. Or not. Oh fuck who cares, he's perfect - is Gravitation's Seguchi Thoma. He smiles, he's obsessed both with power over the musical business and one person, he appears a friend, a wise counselor a protector... you name a good solid virtue necessary to qualify as 'important secondary character who helps hero/ines' and he seems to be the embodiment of it. His plans are both byzantine and ruthlessly efficient, his knowledge so vast he appears omniscient, his coldblooded disposal of inconvenient or irritating people is akin to swatting flies, his sadism is sweet and cloying like molasses and - which makes him both scary and delightful - he can be thwarted, but never beaten. He can move in and manipulate both the Farce World and the Tragedy World and he corrupts people.
Yoshiki is another True Smiling Villain - she's so grey she's still apparently open to interpretation, though really! Not after Vol 10, people! But, apparently, there are many who view her as one of the Good Guys. *sigh* - but her sadism is more overt, her scope much more narrow and she's a bit over the top, frankly.
AND Loveless' Seimei. The sociopath one loves to loathe, the one who manages to change/corrupt one of the Heroes. Paladin in the Game World, Loving Protector and Brother in Ritsuka's Inner World, Defenseless But Plucky Boy in the Apparent World, Outstanding Strategist in the Magic World and Incestuous Abuser and Murderer in the Real World.
What's nice about Seimei - well, alright, about all of the True Smiling Villains - is that they have some endearing weaknesses (Seimei is seventeen, is a bit OCD about being touched and tires easily after gouging out people's eyes. Seguchi is vain, is a great musician and acts like a loving child with his wife. Mr Cheney likes his son and is refreshingly afraid of his demon. Carcer is stupid. Vorbis... well, Vorbis is an idealist, after all. He truly believes that the world would be a better place if everyone did as they were told, which makes him stupid too, I suppose. ;) And I am sure the Queen of Elfland is still mourning her unicorn.).
Vetinari is a borderline case, in a sense, though not in another. I mean, he's a useful villain and he loves his dog, but he certainly couldn't care less about people as such except perhaps a little for those he finds amusing like Leonard or Vimes. BUT, yeh, borderline. He doesn't mind if people is his city live a better life, provided this won't break the equilibrium that makes Ankh-Morpork work or that they aren't mimes.
I would like to end this ramble - thank you for not pelting me with rotten tomatoes - with a tribute to the subtlest of the True Smiling Villains: Dumbledore. He smiles! He speaks of love! He actually pontificates (BTW the pope is a good example of the TSV in Real Life) on love! His eyes twinkle! He dresses like a clown! He dances! And he coldly sends a boy to be abused time and time again so to be sure said boy won't balk when he's supposed to die for the common good. Not having enjoyed life, y'know, well, except when he was hurting other people, but most of the time certainly not enjoyed life at all and so leaving a world of pain and misery would be easy... easier... whatever. Do you think La Rowling is a very clever author after all? ^_^
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 03:43 am (UTC)I used to work for Dolores Umbridge, so I think JKR got her exactly right -- definitely the "smile and smile and be a villain" sort. Unfortunately, the rl Umbridge did more damage and escaped than Umbridge ever did.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-30 12:12 am (UTC)Harry has the habit - acquired from his creator - to retcon reality until it becomes what he wants it to be and since the thing he wants most is for things to be all about him him HIM! then the names given to his children - note how there's nothing of his wife in them - are retconning reality with extreme prejudice.
Isn't Vorbis one of the scariest character in literature? And yes, a RL Umbridge does much more damage and is never punished for what she does. Think Thatcher.
Scariest creature
Date: 2008-08-31 04:43 pm (UTC)As to Harry -- you're making me want to wriet an entry of how I see Harry. Probably will -- would love to see yours as well. The short version is that I relate to him because I too was abused as a child, and didn't even know it. JKR I think is a better journalist than fiction writer -- she describes her characters well enough that others notice much about them she never did. And Harry really does have all the markings of an abused child and than a survivor of abuse -- including the very strange combination of selflessness and self absorption which is our curse scar. One of the saddest things about abused children is that they're not actually likeable to most people; children raised in happy and protective families are infinitely easier to be around...
Ah, Pontificating. ttyl.
Re: Scariest creature
Date: 2008-09-01 02:45 am (UTC)DO write an entry on how you see Harry! For me the problem lies in the writing, not the character. I mean, JKR never addresses the abuse. It's just there in a sort of emo-fanbrat h/c fic, but readers are supposed to see Harry as the moral compass of the whole mess and he ain't. How could he be? Besides JKR seems to be saying that it was the tiny Riddle in him - our Harry being a horcrux and all - that was prompting him to acts of violence and sadism and not the fact that the boy is a fucked-up mess because Dumbledore saw fit to bring him up abused.
What I mean is that the books never aknowledge that Harry is a fucked-up mess and this is what irks me. I mean Kouga Yun does nothing but acknowledging her main characters are fucked-up messes who can't, at times, find their own arse with both hands. I like that in an author, you see?
And, a propos of Harry, have you read Sarah
And look, so sorry about your past. Many many HUGS which are poor comfort at best, but they come from the heart.
Re: Scariest creature
Date: 2008-09-01 04:18 am (UTC)TOTALLY AGREE (and love the description) of emo-fanbrat!Harry and the failure to be a moral compass. I love Harry dearly, but not the way JKR wants me to. I and a friend almost stopped reading the series after Phoenix, but fortunately he improved a bit in HBP.
I have read every one of Sarah's fics, and in fact she's the only WIP I'm willing to follow without guilty or anxiety. She does write a Harry who's a lovable mess. Actually, that's my goal too, except some day I'm going to write fics where he slowly grows into a happy human being. I suppose that's why H/D is my OTP: they're both so fucked up, they deserve each other.
Haven't read Kouga Yun. But flawed characters are the only ones fun to write.
I look forward to talking to you more after the RNC leaves town. I seem to be coming and going unexpectedly this week...
Re: Scariest creature
Date: 2008-09-01 08:11 pm (UTC)Sorry, I thought you knew Kouga Yun because of your reaction to my icon which I made about Loveless. It's a great manga if you like layered storytelling in which one never quite knows if what is told (and drawn) is reality, illusion or a computer RPG. Practically all of her characters are majorly fucked-up so that when 'normal' people appear the reader is always shocked by them. VERY good writing, that woman.
Your unexpected visits are always very welcome, luv.
Re: Scariest creature, PS
Date: 2008-09-01 04:20 am (UTC)Re: Scariest creature, PS
Date: 2008-09-01 08:15 pm (UTC)You have all my admiration, you know? A very dear friend of mine, who was horribly abused in childhood, is in an institution now. He's as well as he can be, but can't cope with life anymore. You have an incredible amount of inner strength and all my respect. Also more hugs. It should NEVER have happened, neither to you or anyone and it should have been stopped; but this society of ours is shit for children.
Re: Scariest creature
Date: 2008-09-01 02:54 am (UTC)What about poor Tom Riddle? What the fuck is up with that backstory in which Dumbles comes out as a really sadistic bastard? Isn't the abuse he reveived at that Dickensian orphanage, plus the hatred he got from what could have been his saviour, more than enough to justify his descent into psychopathic dementia? What would have happened if Dumbles had shown compassion and love to the boy? What if he had treated him like Harry at Hogwarts? What about all the blathering about love and second chances?
Nono, JKR says loud and clear, Riddle was BORN evil. Nothing that happens to you as child matters in the least, if you're born GOOD then all you do is good and that's it; if you're born EVIL... well... then Righteous People Who Are Born GOOD can leave your tiny baby self abandoned and crying to rot in hell.
In other words I have issues with JKR's non-existent writing skills, not the characters in themselves.
Re: Scariest creature
Date: 2008-09-01 04:12 am (UTC)Re: Scariest creature
Date: 2008-09-01 08:26 pm (UTC)But, to reply to this:
Actually, that's my goal too, except some day I'm going to write fics where he slowly grows into a happy human being. I suppose that's why H/D is my OTP: they're both so fucked up, they deserve each other.
I think that would be a very good fic, actually. It'd be nice to see Harry grow into a real person and learn to live in a society, thus opening the door to real happiness, or maybe better serenity which allows both for happiness and sadness and doesn't destroy the person. Harry and Draco are fucked up in different ways, but D, at least, seems to have better social virtues. I'd think he'd spend a goodly portion of his time yelling at Harry: "NO! You don't hex people because you feel like it! It's wrong, do you hear me Potter? WRONG!" :-D
no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 07:00 pm (UTC)I think I suspect anyone who smiles too much of being a potential villain. Or at least anyone who smiles in a certain way. People who are just good at enjoying themselves are probably all right. People who get all starry-eyed about how wonderful life and the world are, though - you need to keep an eye on those, because they're the ones who might start a freaky shaved-head cult. Or at least become conservative crusaders.
Funnily enough, I never find myself writing TSVs. My villains tend to be either idealists out to purge the world of everyone who doesn't fit into their idea of a perfect society, or else angry and bitter people out on some personal quest of revenge or survival. None of them smiles much - except for the Father Figure, and he's really more of an Ancient Evil sort of thing.
AND Mr Cheney.
I wondered when you were going to mention him. :D I love Mr Chesney. And I love how DWJ used him as a contrast to the cheesy Dark Lord stereotype - "see, kids, this is what real villains are like. They're much, much worse than the Sauron clones." Chesney doesn't take anything by force, because he really doesn't have to. He's got contracts. There are laws. The actual order of society works to make sure that Chesney gets everything he wants, and that anyone who so much as inconveniences him suffers for it.
And I am sure the Queen of Elfland is still mourning her unicorn.
And even after all these years, the King leaving her is still a major sore point for her. I'd say that whole thing counts as an endearing weakness - these little hints we keep getting that once, she was less of a monster than she is now, and was loved by an equal instead of just worshiped by slaves.
Vetinari is a borderline case, in a sense, though not in another.
Vetinari is really pretty interesting when viewed from this perspective. I mean, most of the time a sociopath is someone who thinks that he's the only real thing in the world, right? I get the feeling that Vetinari doesn't see himself as real, either. It's like everything is just a big intellectual challenge to him - just one big game of Thud, yes?
Okay, that might be an exaggeration, because he does show some very limited signs of emotion at times, but still. I think Vetinari is really just a version of Vorbis who is into society-building instead of religion. And who understands (an important difference, that) that you can't change human nature, you can only change the world people live in.
Do you think La Rowling is a very clever author after all? ^_^
Only accidentally. If you make your characters contradict themselves for long enough, sooner or later readers will, in a Rorschach-test sort of way, believe themselves to see a complex, believable personality in at least one of them. ;)
no subject
Date: 2008-08-30 12:29 am (UTC)TSVs aren't easy to write well, I mean apart from not being everyone's cup of tea. It's so easy to go over the top or go WAAAAY under the top and make them not sociopathic at all. 'S a very thin line to thread, methinks, because the endearing weknesses must be glanced at, if they are to work.
Well, DWJ really can't stand Fantasy cliché tropes. She's a lot like Granny, isn't she? Feet firmly on the ground, a highly developed sense of social virtues and First, Second and Third Sight going at full blast. All this to say, you're absolutely right. She's saying, sod this Dark Lord stuff for a game of soldiers! Bring on Corporate and let's see how well the Holy Sword of Whatthefuck is going to work against them! Love that woman.
Yeh, I think that for Vetinari the only real thing in the universe is his city. But he has a sort of impersonal benevolence for some people - definitely NOT Carrot. I'd love to see a Vetinari vs Carrot story, mostly because I wouldn't mind AT ALL a bit of Carrot bashing. ^_- - and his endearing weakness used to be his dog and now I suspect it may be Moist. Maybe. Possibly he's grooming Moist for Patricianship. Perhaps. Hmmm...
Oh, I was being ultra-snide with La Rowling. It's clear that she wants readers to see Dumbly as a saintly man, exactly because he's sinned. Very Xtian myff, that is. BLEURGH. Being a sociopath herself - or somewhat-like - she can't see what kind of sadistic drivel she spouts.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-01 07:56 am (UTC)Gaaah. Anyway...
You know, as TSVs go, I keep thinking about Xanathos from Gargoyles. Now there's a villain who's so charming and good at seeming friendly and benevolent that even the viewers constantly have to remind themselves that he's an evil, manipulative bastard who only cares about number one (okay, so that's not quite true - he's got an endearing weakness of his own in the form of his family. But still). I remember at least one episode that had me genuinely convinced that he was innocently accused, trying to clean up a mess made by unscrupulous underlings. I remember standing and shouting "You ASS!" at the screen after the last scene revealed that actually, absolutely everything that had happened had been part of his master plan.
I'd love to see a Vetinari vs Carrot story, mostly because I wouldn't mind AT ALL a bit of Carrot bashing. ^_-
It'd certainly be an interesting battle. Inhuman charisma against inhuman cleverness. My money would be on Vetinari - you know he's got a contingency plan for Carrot turning on him, and he seems to be immune to the Carrot Mind-Whammy.
Dunno about Carrot as a person, really. He's certainly pretty obnoxious in his perfection - he used to have some weaknesses, but they mostly disappeared after Men at Arms, I think. And there is something unnerving about someone who can make other people act out his ideas for how the world should be. Almost Queen-of-the-Elves-like, that. ;)
Possibly he's grooming Moist for Patricianship.
Interesting thought. I can see Moist as Patrician. He'd be very different from Vetinari, of course - Vetinari's approach can be summed up as, "don't mind me, I'll just be sitting here doing my job while you lot fight it out over who gets to usurp me," whereas I can imagine Moist's would have a lot more to do with being so unpredictable that no one could take any political shots at him due to never knowing where he was going to be five minutes from now. He'd be good at it. And hate that he was good at it. But it should certainly keep that adrenaline addiction of his satisfied for the rest of his life.
Also, I noticed an earlier reply from you... No, you never did tell me what the hitting-someone-with-a-fish thing was all about, and it sounded most... intriguing... ;)
no subject
Date: 2008-09-01 08:39 pm (UTC)MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! (evil deranged laugh) Also, you ARE a masochist, aren't you? You can't debate anything with libertarians who, BTW, have given themselvs a name that means the exact opposite of the drivel they spout. They are so much fundie-like that I can't imagine telling them anything but sodoff Baldrick.
Oh yes, Xanathos is efinitely a TSV, the ability of convincing people - audience and readers included - that they are Bastard Heroes/Helpers or victims of others is one of their most cherished accomplishments. Endearing weaknesses is where they screw you, after all, makes them look human.
My money would be on Vetinari as well, which is why I said 'Carrot bashing'. He's very Vorbis-like, innhe? BUT a useful person in a society if he keeps to his limits. And, you know, this just shows you how very great Pterry is as a writer. One can like or dislike Carrot, but no-one can say the books would be better without him, because he's necessary.
Ah, yes, the fish-slapping. Came out with that loooooooooooong meme you posted: all about me etc. Then I forgot I'd promised to tell you. So I didn't. Then I remembered I hadn't told you. So I asked.
Sooooo... do you want to know? :P
no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 11:30 am (UTC)Also, you ARE a masochist, aren't you?
I am. I really am. I just can't help myself - by the time my brain has realised the futility of arguing, my mouth is already talking. ^_^; Honestly, I should just face facts and invest in a leather collar, or whatever it is subs are supposed to wear...
They are so much fundie-like that I can't imagine telling them anything but sodoff Baldrick.
The similarities are striking, aren't they?
I'm reading a very interesting (and disturbing) book right now called The Shock Doctrine, which describes how free-market fanatics took charge of the world one piece at the time. There's one point that describes how, during a right-wing military rule in a Latin American country, political prisoners were submitted to extra torture if they were caught sharing their food with other prisoners or otherwise acting unselfishly. I think that's the most horrible thing I've ever heard, but it makes perfect sense as the logical conclusion to right-wing thinking - if people being selfish will ultimately bring about the greatest good for all, then unselfishness is a crime against humanity and needs to be wiped out.
Sooooo... do you want to know? :P
I really really want to know! :D
no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 09:58 pm (UTC)Honestly, I should just face facts and invest in a leather collar, or whatever it is subs are supposed to wear...
Depends on doms, actually. Careful with those, though, you may end up with something like this:
or, even worse, this:
Just a word to the wise.
The Shock Doctrine by whom?
Right, have you ever seen Monty Python's Flying Circus? There was a sketch in which John Cleese and Michael Palin were doing the 'Fish Slapping Dance' which ended in one of them being fish-slapped into the canal or some body of water. I was explaining said sketch to a (male) friend of Fleur who'd come for dinner and yes, it was fish (lovely Italian recipe, that) and said male was being RILLY RILLY DENSE. So, in a spirit of 'I'm royally sick and tired of you asking "But how could they do it?" 9348579345 times' I took this lovely BIG bass and proceeded to demonstrate.
Fleur screeched NO! I swung with all my might and he ended up on the floor, face covered in scales. :-D Fleur and I looked at each other and laughed like sieves for at least half an hour. He weren't so amused, but there you go; such is life and other platitudes.
Moral: do not piss Jane off with inane questions. Other moral: no cretin with a scale-covered face is ever going to score with Fleur.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-03 03:22 pm (UTC)That third picture looks very uncomfortable. Also like a bit of overkill. Who am I, Houdini? ^_^;
The Shock Doctrine is written by Naomi Klein. It's recommended, for what it's worth. It's definitely... sobering.
*LAUGHS* Ah, yes, a moral to take to heart, that. I can't help thinking that it must be very, uhm, interesting to have you for a sister. ;)
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Date: 2008-09-04 02:32 am (UTC)Third picture is LOTS of overkill, shows you what an insecure person can do. My advice? Never wear anything you can't climb a tree or run a marathon in.
Actually - and I'm NOT being modest, just factual - Fleur is the interesting one. I've only got a sort fuse. :-D
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Date: 2008-08-30 01:01 am (UTC)Scary, innit? Because at least with Mr Chesney you can see at once what you're up against, but widdle baby-faced effeminate Seguchi? People tend to underestimate his corporativeness.
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Date: 2008-08-29 12:08 am (UTC)Behold: Exibit A.
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Date: 2008-08-30 12:58 am (UTC)And yep! That's a TSV, alright. I hope he has one endearing weakness. :-D
Anyway, I see your Aizen and raise you a Seguchi angelically smiling while pushing someone under an incoming car.
Page One (http://flyingskull.inoutbox.com/skeletonhand/images/Smiling-Villain-01.jpg)
Page Two (http://flyingskull.inoutbox.com/skeletonhand/images/Smiling-Villain-02.jpg2)
BTW, in the last panel what you see is Aizawa's huge blood-spatter.
Aren't TSVs JUST adorable? :-D
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Date: 2008-09-03 06:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-04 02:35 am (UTC)Yeh, keeps readers on their toes. Predictable villains - and heroes, for that matter - are SOOOOOO boring.
And, a propos of your stories: any updates? FFN is not sending me alerts.
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Date: 2008-09-04 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-05 08:45 pm (UTC)*runs to read*
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Date: 2008-09-06 03:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-06 04:01 am (UTC)*holds review hostage with evil toothy grin*
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Date: 2008-09-07 03:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-07 06:34 pm (UTC)Am reading. Will review.
HUGGZIES
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Date: 2008-09-07 10:05 pm (UTC)I'm also becoming just slightly obsessed with this video. I love the way the music fits with the action, and the way the beats have been integrated into the video. ♥
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Date: 2008-09-08 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-17 06:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-17 07:47 pm (UTC)If JKR were capable of intelligent writing, she'd made me hate - or, at the very least - look askance at Slytherins. As it is, she's made me look askance - and, in some cases, loathe - the Gryffindors. Voldemort could have been a whacking good villain, by which I mean a hateful and scary one, but alas, he's just an abused boy who's lost his mind in the process. Slughorn is a paedophile, which sounds like a good start to make readers hate him, but he's portraited as benevolent and funny, albeit superficial and class-conscious. Snape is a victim, that's the problem with Snape and a victim of his authoress. That whole nauseating 'he's always loved Lily MarySue Potter even if she treated him like shit' thing has me puking. I mean, what kind of cretinous fanbrat it takes to write a motivation like that?
I heart Pettigrew. I cheer for Pettigrew. If I'd been treated with thinly veiled contempt by my so-called friends and had to stomach both Sirius AND Saint Lily MarySue, I'd have AKed the lot without a second thought. Poor Pettigrew!
I suppose the idea was to show that two people with something in common react differently thus differentiating the Good from the Bad: Riddle and Potter are both abused, but the first becomes Satan while the second is Christ; Pettigrew and Longbottom are huge failures at life, but the first becomes a Minion if Evil and the second a Minion of good. And all of it without a single character development to show readers why that is so. BLARGH.
Add Fullmetal Alchemist, the MANGA to your must-reads. Here (http://flyingskull.livejournal.com/18486.html) you'll find the links to read it online or download 88 chapters of it. Got intelligent heroes/heroines (no, really, brain sloshing out of their ears with extra neurons), loathsome villains of several persuasion and tons of three dimensional characters, not to mention humour, satire (mirror of worlds, indeed), adventure and tragedy. Whooo!
Oh BTW, that's what my current default icon is from. Fullmetal Alchemist, chapter four, 'Battle on the Train' or 'Never Call Ed a Shrimp if You Wish to Live'. ^_^
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Date: 2008-11-17 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-07 11:08 am (UTC)What's nice about Seimei - well, alright, about all of the True Smiling Villains - is that they have some endearing weaknesses (Seimei is seventeen, is a bit OCD about being touched and tires easily after gouging out people's eyes. Seguchi is vain, is a great musician and acts like a loving child with his wife. Mr Cheney likes his son and is refreshingly afraid of his demon. Carcer is stupid. Vorbis... well, Vorbis is an idealist, after all.
I do like it when villains (including TSVs) have some sort of weakness. It makes them more interesting and more human somehow. I also like how you mentioned that Seguchi loves his wife. I find villains who aren't completely evil more interesting than completely evil villains in general.
Re: Vorbis being a villain...I find that idealists not only make moving heroes/heroines, they also can make the scariest villains in stories. I find them scary because they seem more realistic.
I would like to end this ramble...with a tribute to the subtlest of the True Smiling Villains: Dumbledore. He smiles! He speaks of love! He actually pontificates (BTW the pope is a good example of the TSV in Real Life) on love! His eyes twinkle!
My word, yes. Dumbledore is the epitome of a TSV. I just don't think Rowling realises this, which is quite sad.
Have you heard of the manga Deathnote by Tsugumi Ohba? It has a fascinating and scarily competent and charming TSV. The TSV protagonist Light Yagami has some TSV traits (he kills people because wants to make the world a better place, he thinks he knows what the world or people should be and tries to make people fit his vision, he appears as a benevolent protector to people, and he is incredibly intelligent.)
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Date: 2008-12-09 03:06 am (UTC)I do like it when villains (including TSVs) have some sort of weakness.
Yes, well, as I rambled (http://flyingskull.livejournal.com/17114.html#cutid1) a bit about, the Unseen Universal Villain is dead boring, generally. Besides what makes or breaks a story for me is the characters, so I demand the villain(s) be as three dimensional as the hero/ines and that they too have some sort of character development or I get bored or - as in La Rowling's case - irritated to fury. By the way, if you haven't read the comments, do. There's an interesting discussion about the Potterverse in there.
Idealists are scary because they justify all their actions with the loftiness of the ideal. That's the stuff fundies are made of. There's a hell of an intelligent discussion about idealism both in Pterry's Opus and in Fullmetal Alchemist (actually it's rather scary how much Ms Arakawa sounds like Pterry), both the value, the limits and the pitfalls thereof.
I've read Death Note and a nifty thriller it is. Raito/Light is a very good TSV, yes, and I just love how he's named for what's traditionally considered a symbol of all Good and Righteous Things. I liked it very much.
I don't think JKR realises how much of a sociopath she is, actually. Or maybe she's just one of the shallowest persons on Earth, I'm not sure which or which is worse.
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Date: 2009-12-02 05:46 pm (UTC)Though if you read Unseen Academicals Vetinari's regime is now also being contrasted with Pseudopolis' experiment with democracy (the citizens have voted to not pay any taxes).
I wonder why I love Vetinari and absolutely despise Dumbledore. Perhaps it is because Vetinari admits to being a tyrant (does he need a badge?), to not being nice, to be a user of people, to care almost only about the collective of Ankh Morpork rather than the individuals it is made of, while Dumbledore looks like he would have been terribly offended had such accusations been leveled at him openly.