It’s Friday the 13th, so I would like to say happy birthday to Jason Voorhees! Forever in our hearts. Gone but not forgotten (Until he comes back again).
On the subject of villains, one of my favorite types is probably the “Anti-Villain”. There are probably a lot of different ways that a lot of different people define this character type, but for me it’s basically the total reversal of the Anti-Hero. If an anti-hero is a hero who looks and acts like a villain, an anti-villain is a villain who looks and acts like a hero. So an anti-villain is a character who is, for all intents and purposes, a “Good Guy” but acts as a villain/antagonist in the context of the story. They might be good people working with a sinister faction. They could be missing part of the plot and end up acting as obstacles to the heroes of the story, regardless of their good intentions. Maybe they’re basically a villain with all the window dressing of a nice guy.
Regardless, I think they’re fun to write. I love making my villains nice people. I love anti-villains. I find it really lame when the people who side against the hero just HAPPEN to all be cruel, mean people. I feel like that paints a false picture of the way factions tend to work.
Wow. That was quite a rant and not very literary or precise, but that’s just how I’m feeling right now. Happy 13th!
Stay nice!
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