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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: 2008-09-01 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. ;)
no subject
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