A random writing thought

[valarltd]

 There is talk in the Sons of Anarchy community about redemption arcs and suchlike.

I realized: I don't write redemption stories. I write stories of horrible people doing terrible things to other people, and enjoying it.

I am all about the unfettered id.
Jax Teller kills people.
Sherlock is rude and dismissive of lesser monkeys.
My characters do both as well as other nastiness.

All of them do these things without remorse. They do them without a second thought. And they don't need redeeming.

I'm along for the sheer gratification. I'm not here to make a great statement.

Comments

[bittermint.livejournal.com]

SOA broke my heart last season. I still watch, but I'm not as invested as I was before they killed off half of my OTP. :(

[nbrooks.livejournal.com]

I ship Chibs/Juice. I have dreaded every episode for two seasons now. Any room in that broken OTP failboat?

[nbrooks.livejournal.com]

"So, Lone Starr, now you see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb."

I'm all for the unrepentant anti-hero. White knights suck. Redemption is boring.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

I'm a fan.

Too much X-Men over the weekend has left me going "Heroes? really?"

[gabrielbelthir.livejournal.com]

Dear god, I couldn't disagree with you more. But that's what makes us good together.

For fuck's sake, my blog is titled a Mad Paladin with a Pen. Redemption is one of my favorite story lines. I believe it can be unfolded, gently, like a precious flower. Evil people doing nasty things should pay. They should have some come-uppance that makes me feel satisfied.

Redemption isn't boring - stagnancy is. If your characters don't change and evolve, you've lost half the interesting story line.

On the other hand, perfect characters aren't much fun unless you corrupt them, either. But the desire to write stagnant, malicious people doing terrible things to each other and having no desire or reason to change or regret? It's not for me. To read, or to write. I'd have the terrible desire to dive into the universe and kill them myself. And I hate it when books drive me to homicidal tendencies. It's uncomfortable. :p

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

Redemption is unnecessary.

Characters should become the best of whatever they can be. My characters do not regret the things they do. Why should they? They are doing what they think is right. Instead, they learn from their actions and progress to even more effective ones.

This is the reason I say that those who object to Penny's death really don't GET Dr. Horrible. They're just seeing another fridged girlfriend.
Instead, she was Horrible's last chance at normalcy. She had to be removed so he could reach his pinnacle of Horribleness. Rather than stagnating in a mediocre life of normalcy and love, like billions of other homo sapiens, her death frees him to go on and become a super villain, homo superior, instead.

[gabrielbelthir.livejournal.com]

Wow. You really -have- had a bad week. You never get this nihilistic/fatalistic unless you're exhausted.