You know how you get villains that are absolutely terrible humans and you just hate them and you love to hate them? And they're just super well written?
But then you have this other kind of villain who they're v clearly villains but you look at them and they're doing things that you would do and you relate and they're doing Good Things but doing them the wrong way? And you love those villains because while they're monsters, they're just so human?
Yes so those are the two types of villain I'm looking at.
Is it better for a villain to be hate-able or relatable?
Do I need one of each in my story, do you think? (I have two characters who will be written as villains) Or is it okay to have two relatable villains (one of them will DEF be relatable…. I hope).
On villains: hate or relate?
Honestly, that's so hard to answer. I keep thinking of villains like Hades (both the Hercules and Kid Icarus versions) and how they're SO FUN to watch, and sometimes I end up rooting for them. The relatable villains are also really good because it tugs at my heartstrings. I think of Darkstalker from Wings of Fire, where I could see why he was killing people, but I didn't agree with his methods.
I feel like you should have both. If they are working together, make the hateable manipulate the relatable! They both have similar goals, but the hateable drops one or two lines to the relatable that makes them stand fast to their methods. Have the heroes negotiate with the relatable and make them doubt their mission! There are so many cool things you could do by having both. It's a Zanza and Egil (or Malos and Jin if you played Xenoblade Chronicles 2) situation, and watching those villains play off of each other is SO COOL!
OOH THAT LAST BIT ABOUT MANIPULATION IS GOOD OOF
I have a lil bit of that, but the two villains aren't working together. In fact, they're in opposition, and the book starts thinking out that one of the villains is the protagonist, and it is her story.
group
My fav villain is Darth Maul, because in TCW he's so hateable, with all of the murders and backstabbing he does, Then in The Lawless, he
And later on in the comics, his mother and mentor figure dies as well. So you hate him for all of the undoubtibly terrible things he's done in TCW and as
, but you feel a bit bad for him in general, especially when we see in Rebels that he's been reduced to a nutty old man wandering the sith temple, desperate once again to end Obi-Wan. He finds Obi-Wan eventually, and Obi-Wan kills him with one quick slash of his lightsaber, and Maul dies in his arms.
Another good villain is Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles. While she isn't really developed in the books, her prequel novella Fairestdoes make you feel a bit sorry for her, her actions against Evret
and later the Rampion crew cancel those out.
I also enjoy characters who aren't clear-cut heroes or villains, like Hondo Ohnaka. In TCW, he was just as likely to have an episode devoted to him causing trouble than to him aiding the Jedi, sometimes even during the same story arc. His flamboyant and fun-loving yet unquestionably bad*** personality help, along with his one-liners.
Beckett is another good one, because while he isn't a villain, per say, he does….give Han a reason to shoot first. But he was a cynical thief played by Woody Harrelson in what was essentially the role of "Space Haymitch".
Ooh thank you Jynador
I think the clear-cut hero/villain thing won't be a problem bc like I said
We start the story with our protag, who's the hero of the rebellion, but she descends into madness as the story goes on, and she becomes the villain
it's like….
you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain
I'M SO EXCITED
group
OH MY GOSH KAT THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!!!
WANNA KNOW WHAT MAKES IT EVEN BETTER
IT'S A FRACTURED FAIRY TALE
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
I'M SO FREAKING EXCITED
CROSSED OVER WITH PETER PAN AND IT'S SO FREAKING GOOD
IT'S MY NANOWRIMO PROJECT
group
AHHHHHHHHH!!!! KAT YOU'RE A GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS I'M REALLY EXCITED
IT'S COMING TOGETHER
group
characters descending into madness is honestly the best twist for a villain (Young Elites and NieR Automata do it perfectly!)
Yes I want her to have azula vibes
characters descending into madness is honestly the best twist for a villain (Young Elites and NieR Automata do it perfectly!)
Honestly, I still have no idea what happens in the ending of NieR Automata. There are so many, it gets confusing! Did they die? Did they NOT die? Did Emil actually turn the planet into a parking lot? Who knows?!
You can even make them be a mix of both, have them be despicable at the beginning and relatable/tragic as the plot develops.
I think I might have to do something like that, bc I want the Jabberwock to be hate-able but I feel like his motives are relatable
dude im just sadistic as hell an no one really likes me therefore i relate xD
oof
group
Kat I will gladly betaread for you if you want, but it's fine if you don't want me to.
oh sorry Kat i wasn’t helpful xD
Kat I will gladly betaread for you if you want, but it's fine if you don't want me to.
Heck yeah
group
NOICE!!!
I can't wait to actually start working on it