guardians_song (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
guardians_song) wrote2013-06-02 11:03 pm
guardians_song) wrote2013-06-02 11:03 pm
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~*~*~*~How to Write a Sympathetic Psychopath~*~*~*~
For all your glamorization-of-mass-murder needs! :D
As a member of fandom, you've surely noticed the wide following handsome, charming psychopaths invariably attract. Why, you've probably even seen fanficcers' tendency to turn regular characters into charming psychopaths. And you might wonder just what makes this fascination work. Well, fear not, for I'm here to tell you just how to craft your own fangirl-melting psychopath!
Now, some may say that it's due to a variety of factors and the composition of the character, others may blame The Patriarchy, and yet others might go into long and detailed analyses of why it's a Very Bad Thing. Unfortunately, I'm neither deeply-thinking nor terribly moral, so I'll completely gloss over those points!
The most important thing is that the "psychopath" must be relatable. This means that all his actions must be justified in terms that the not-even-vaguely-sociopathic readers can easily understand. (Different neurological wiring? Pfffft, crazy talk. There's a neurotypical inside everyone, don'tcha know?) At the most basic level, for instance, justifications must start with "My victim annoyed me/was asking for it/deserved it" rather than "My victim was there and I was bored". See, actual sociopathic behavior creeps people out. However, if you provide emotional backing, well, that's understandable! (And your more socially-maladjusted readers will agree that the character was totally justified!) And you're being deep by giving psychopaths a "human side"!
(A "human side" is a very important thing to fandom, you see. For we are deep and sophisticated people, and we see that all humans have worth and value, every viewpoint has its valid points, and we can learn from everyone and everything, no matter how evil. Except Republicans.)
For similar reasons, your "psychopath" must have at least hints of a troubled backstory. Furthermore, that backstory must be troubled in the way your readers like. For instance, if your target audience consists of shallow teenagers, try evil parents - don't try bullying by shallow teenagers. If your target audience consists of self-righteous parents, try corrupting outward forces and hint that it all would have been fixed if he'd just had his Mommy and Daddy to keep him on the right track - don't try evil parents. You get the idea. Never suggest that people like your target audience has anything to do with the way he turned out. You reserve that for the Really Evil Psychopath - you know, the one your "psychopath" kills to get secret-goodness points with the viewers.
Great! Now you almost have someone an emotionally-troubled young woman could sob over and swear "I can change him, Mama!" But what next? Oh, right, the charm.
Make him handsome and charming, yet secretly socially awkward and detached from people. Bonus points if you make him unconventionally handsome. That way, he's so totally not mainstream. As for the personality traits, the charm will make sure he's not uncool, while the secret awkwardness will make all your terribly-misunderstood readers feel pangs of sympathy. (Please note: this awkwardness should be as flattering as possible. Describe him as "strangely innocent, in his own way", not "socially retarded" or "deliberately ignorant". Describe him as "possessed of a sense of purpose", not "short-sighted and stubborn" or "completely blinkered". Describe him as "righteous" and "unyielding", not "tantrum-throwing" or "immature". Remember, folks - it's never you that's the problem! It's all those mundanes!)
All right, now we're going somewhere. But wait! What if your audience thinks of him as pathetic? Sure, he's charming and handsome, but he might be (HORRORS!) poor! Or incompetent! Or stupid! Or effeminate!
So we have to take care of all of that. Hint in his manners and dress that he's filthy stinking rich - but not so filthy stinking rich that he hasn't been oppressed at some point in his life by decadent rich people! (Please note: your psychopath should be decadent, but not too decadent. Sure, he can skin people alive to make custom tablecloths, drink like a whale, and have orgies with sufficiently willing orangutans over the weekend, but he shouldn't be physically unfit, hazy-minded, or indolent.) Make him flawlessly competent and precise - but make sure always to tie his brilliance into his lack of emotions. (People are only smarter than you because they're evil. You're a perfect and wonderful person just the way you are, and definitely don't need any adjustments ever.) Give him a genius IQ - but make sure his profession's talents either lie in analysis or ultraviolence. (Again - people are only smarter than you because they don't feel as you do. You're emotionally smarter than they are.) And of course he's (unconventionally!) masculine - domineering, powerful, and absolutely confident. (But he's very willing to discuss feelings! And he has a secret pain in his heart!)
And, for the final twist - he has to have just that hint of humanity within him that some sufficiently-empathic and caring soul could bring out. Perhaps he coos over how wonderful animals are even as he despises humans. That's an especially big hit with the environmentalist crowd. Or perhaps he devotes an entire ever-so-damaged flashback to his troubled past. Very popular with the persecuted middle-class teenagers. Or, for the classic take, he shows particular interest in and concern for the repressed and deep protagonist - and this is not at all faked because he senses a wounded sucker like a hammerhead shark senses blood. Does amaaaa-zing things to the ladies.
But most importantly, it caters to that pleasant little narcissistic fantasy that you're so very different, so very much more thoughtful, so very much more empathic, so very much more human than those around you. You see the good even when all those callous people don't. You understand him better than himself. And when you've scraped away all the bits of him you don't like, he'll thank you for making him that perfect, formless, vacant vessel for all your suppressed fantasies, desires, and ambitions that you always wanted. Aren't you special?
Don't take my word for it! Go out and write according to this formula, and I tell you, you've got the new Twilight on your hands!
Yeah, I... well... No, I don't think it's that time of the month. This was probably set off by my thinking about emotional manipulation earlier. ...I don't like being manipulated. And I don't like people excusing unforgivable behavior with emotional justifications. And...
The FLIPSIDE of all of that is that, if you're a horrible person, you don't deserve to exist. No, not in the traditional sense. You're not condemned on the basis of your actions. Doesn't the woobiefication make it apparent that a ~*~sympathetic~*~ person can commit any atrocity and be instantly forgiven?
It's on the basis of your thoughts. You are not permitted to think bad things. It doesn't matter if you never revealed the true extent of your corruption, if you lived the life of a saint for all your years - you are not allowed to feel anything that is not permitted. Or not feel when you should be feeling. It's "salvation by grace, not works" taken to its logical extreme. Thoughtcrime. Pure thoughtcrime.
Only sympathetic people are allowed to live. It doesn't fucking matter if the sympathetic person used to ruin people's lives for a laugh - excuse me, out of the deep pain in his soul. It doesn't fucking matter if the horrible person lived a life of restraint and generosity even while privately fantasizing about smashing people's faces into a wall. All that matters is whether your inner thoughts meet the standard. If you betray the least corruption within your heart - you are dead to all these fucking deep and sensitive people. It doesn't matter what you did in the past. It doesn't matter what you were doing in the present. It doesn't matter what you would do in the future. All that matters is that oh, horrors, you had a bad thought.
Yes, I know this is just bitter ranting! But you've seen it too, haven't you? In Twilight, we're supposed to think ill of Mike Newton because he had perverted thoughts, even though he'd been nothing but goofy and obnoxious at the worst in the physical world! In City of Bones, we're supposed to think less of Simon than the blatantly callous, arrogant, and shallow Jace because Simon made a couple of nerdy comments reflecting an ~immature mind~! And by gad, do NOT get started on Cori Falls's fics!
And what's three things these works have in common? No, not that they were Suefics! That they all were immensely popular! People liked that! People agreed that sympathetic people should get whatever they want and receive all the coddling in the world, while horrible people (or even less-than-satisfactory people - ah, what's the fucking difference in this context?) should be mocked, degraded, and humiliated! Lots of people see no problem with this!
...Sorry. Sorry. Maybe it is that time of the month. One final statement.
It's not funny. It's not harmless fantasy. It's the philosophy that rules some people's lives.
As a member of fandom, you've surely noticed the wide following handsome, charming psychopaths invariably attract. Why, you've probably even seen fanficcers' tendency to turn regular characters into charming psychopaths. And you might wonder just what makes this fascination work. Well, fear not, for I'm here to tell you just how to craft your own fangirl-melting psychopath!
Now, some may say that it's due to a variety of factors and the composition of the character, others may blame The Patriarchy, and yet others might go into long and detailed analyses of why it's a Very Bad Thing. Unfortunately, I'm neither deeply-thinking nor terribly moral, so I'll completely gloss over those points!
The most important thing is that the "psychopath" must be relatable. This means that all his actions must be justified in terms that the not-even-vaguely-sociopathic readers can easily understand. (Different neurological wiring? Pfffft, crazy talk. There's a neurotypical inside everyone, don'tcha know?) At the most basic level, for instance, justifications must start with "My victim annoyed me/was asking for it/deserved it" rather than "My victim was there and I was bored". See, actual sociopathic behavior creeps people out. However, if you provide emotional backing, well, that's understandable! (And your more socially-maladjusted readers will agree that the character was totally justified!) And you're being deep by giving psychopaths a "human side"!
(A "human side" is a very important thing to fandom, you see. For we are deep and sophisticated people, and we see that all humans have worth and value, every viewpoint has its valid points, and we can learn from everyone and everything, no matter how evil. Except Republicans.)
For similar reasons, your "psychopath" must have at least hints of a troubled backstory. Furthermore, that backstory must be troubled in the way your readers like. For instance, if your target audience consists of shallow teenagers, try evil parents - don't try bullying by shallow teenagers. If your target audience consists of self-righteous parents, try corrupting outward forces and hint that it all would have been fixed if he'd just had his Mommy and Daddy to keep him on the right track - don't try evil parents. You get the idea. Never suggest that people like your target audience has anything to do with the way he turned out. You reserve that for the Really Evil Psychopath - you know, the one your "psychopath" kills to get secret-goodness points with the viewers.
Great! Now you almost have someone an emotionally-troubled young woman could sob over and swear "I can change him, Mama!" But what next? Oh, right, the charm.
Make him handsome and charming, yet secretly socially awkward and detached from people. Bonus points if you make him unconventionally handsome. That way, he's so totally not mainstream. As for the personality traits, the charm will make sure he's not uncool, while the secret awkwardness will make all your terribly-misunderstood readers feel pangs of sympathy. (Please note: this awkwardness should be as flattering as possible. Describe him as "strangely innocent, in his own way", not "socially retarded" or "deliberately ignorant". Describe him as "possessed of a sense of purpose", not "short-sighted and stubborn" or "completely blinkered". Describe him as "righteous" and "unyielding", not "tantrum-throwing" or "immature". Remember, folks - it's never you that's the problem! It's all those mundanes!)
All right, now we're going somewhere. But wait! What if your audience thinks of him as pathetic? Sure, he's charming and handsome, but he might be (HORRORS!) poor! Or incompetent! Or stupid! Or effeminate!
So we have to take care of all of that. Hint in his manners and dress that he's filthy stinking rich - but not so filthy stinking rich that he hasn't been oppressed at some point in his life by decadent rich people! (Please note: your psychopath should be decadent, but not too decadent. Sure, he can skin people alive to make custom tablecloths, drink like a whale, and have orgies with sufficiently willing orangutans over the weekend, but he shouldn't be physically unfit, hazy-minded, or indolent.) Make him flawlessly competent and precise - but make sure always to tie his brilliance into his lack of emotions. (People are only smarter than you because they're evil. You're a perfect and wonderful person just the way you are, and definitely don't need any adjustments ever.) Give him a genius IQ - but make sure his profession's talents either lie in analysis or ultraviolence. (Again - people are only smarter than you because they don't feel as you do. You're emotionally smarter than they are.) And of course he's (unconventionally!) masculine - domineering, powerful, and absolutely confident. (But he's very willing to discuss feelings! And he has a secret pain in his heart!)
And, for the final twist - he has to have just that hint of humanity within him that some sufficiently-empathic and caring soul could bring out. Perhaps he coos over how wonderful animals are even as he despises humans. That's an especially big hit with the environmentalist crowd. Or perhaps he devotes an entire ever-so-damaged flashback to his troubled past. Very popular with the persecuted middle-class teenagers. Or, for the classic take, he shows particular interest in and concern for the repressed and deep protagonist - and this is not at all faked because he senses a wounded sucker like a hammerhead shark senses blood. Does amaaaa-zing things to the ladies.
But most importantly, it caters to that pleasant little narcissistic fantasy that you're so very different, so very much more thoughtful, so very much more empathic, so very much more human than those around you. You see the good even when all those callous people don't. You understand him better than himself. And when you've scraped away all the bits of him you don't like, he'll thank you for making him that perfect, formless, vacant vessel for all your suppressed fantasies, desires, and ambitions that you always wanted. Aren't you special?
Don't take my word for it! Go out and write according to this formula, and I tell you, you've got the new Twilight on your hands!
Yeah, I... well... No, I don't think it's that time of the month. This was probably set off by my thinking about emotional manipulation earlier. ...I don't like being manipulated. And I don't like people excusing unforgivable behavior with emotional justifications. And...
The FLIPSIDE of all of that is that, if you're a horrible person, you don't deserve to exist. No, not in the traditional sense. You're not condemned on the basis of your actions. Doesn't the woobiefication make it apparent that a ~*~sympathetic~*~ person can commit any atrocity and be instantly forgiven?
It's on the basis of your thoughts. You are not permitted to think bad things. It doesn't matter if you never revealed the true extent of your corruption, if you lived the life of a saint for all your years - you are not allowed to feel anything that is not permitted. Or not feel when you should be feeling. It's "salvation by grace, not works" taken to its logical extreme. Thoughtcrime. Pure thoughtcrime.
Only sympathetic people are allowed to live. It doesn't fucking matter if the sympathetic person used to ruin people's lives for a laugh - excuse me, out of the deep pain in his soul. It doesn't fucking matter if the horrible person lived a life of restraint and generosity even while privately fantasizing about smashing people's faces into a wall. All that matters is whether your inner thoughts meet the standard. If you betray the least corruption within your heart - you are dead to all these fucking deep and sensitive people. It doesn't matter what you did in the past. It doesn't matter what you were doing in the present. It doesn't matter what you would do in the future. All that matters is that oh, horrors, you had a bad thought.
Yes, I know this is just bitter ranting! But you've seen it too, haven't you? In Twilight, we're supposed to think ill of Mike Newton because he had perverted thoughts, even though he'd been nothing but goofy and obnoxious at the worst in the physical world! In City of Bones, we're supposed to think less of Simon than the blatantly callous, arrogant, and shallow Jace because Simon made a couple of nerdy comments reflecting an ~immature mind~! And by gad, do NOT get started on Cori Falls's fics!
And what's three things these works have in common? No, not that they were Suefics! That they all were immensely popular! People liked that! People agreed that sympathetic people should get whatever they want and receive all the coddling in the world, while horrible people (or even less-than-satisfactory people - ah, what's the fucking difference in this context?) should be mocked, degraded, and humiliated! Lots of people see no problem with this!
...Sorry. Sorry. Maybe it is that time of the month. One final statement.
It's not funny. It's not harmless fantasy. It's the philosophy that rules some people's lives.