Ireth
Myth Weaver
One thing I've found really interesting and fun is taking my antagonists, who are viewed at first to be evil (or at the very least misguided), and turning them into sympathetic characters, whether by exploring their backstories or having them play "good guy" roles in future events. This has worked for a number of antagonists:
1- Caradoc and Eoran: half-Fae brothers, introduced when they kidnapped Vincent, the man partly responsible for their father's death, in order to lure out Vincent's wife, who was REALLY responsible. Made sympathetic when they realized their father was a drug-addled sex offender at the time of his death, and not the decent man they had known him as; they released their hostage and paid compensation. They have since returned to the story as good guys on a few occasions, helping out the very family they once antagonized.
2- Conall: a vampire, introduced as an insane, murderous sex offender in one continuity, who was quickly killed off. Made sympathetic when I explored his backstory in an extensive RP, and realized what a decent man he had been prior to becoming a vampire and mistakenly turning his second wife into one as well, whereupon grief drove him crazy. He has since shown up in a couple different continuities as a good guy, mostly due to time travel. He's arguably had the most character development, with reactions to him starting with "Grrr, I hate that bastard!" at his introduction, to "Awww, I wanna hug him!" during his backstory. The reader who had those reactions said that Conall was one of only two despicable villains she had gone from loathing utterly to feeling sorry for. I can't recall who the other one is, as he isn't mine.
3- Cadell: a Fae, introduced when he kidnapped and tortured Vincent (the same man Caradoc and Eoran had previously kidnapped, incidentally) whose magic went awry and destroyed another Fae's memories and turned him mortal. Made sympathetic when, after learning of an imminent threat to both Fae and mortals, he was the one who suggested they form a truce for safety's sake, and became the emissary of the Fae Queen. He was later kidnapped and tortured himself by the aforesaid threat, and repented fully of his misdeeds, apologizing to his own victim.
4- Loegaire: a (former) Fae, introduced when he kidnapped Vincent's daughter Ariel, out of a misguided sense of love and the desire to have a child, since he was cursed to be sterile. Made sympathetic when he revokes his claim on Ariel and lets her go back to her family, and later on returns to help said family win a battle against the Fae (long before the truce). He is also the one who was turned mortal by a spell gone wrong, and aided in rescuing Vincent from Cadell; when Cadell was kidnapped, he joined the party that went to rescue him.
I have yet to employ this technique with Fiachra, the villain of Winter's Queen; I really have no idea how exploring his backstory would turn out, since he was born into a pretty antagonistic family, if his father is any example, and shows little redemptive quality throughout the story. Could be interesting. ^^
Have any of you tried things like this with your villains? How did that turn out?
1- Caradoc and Eoran: half-Fae brothers, introduced when they kidnapped Vincent, the man partly responsible for their father's death, in order to lure out Vincent's wife, who was REALLY responsible. Made sympathetic when they realized their father was a drug-addled sex offender at the time of his death, and not the decent man they had known him as; they released their hostage and paid compensation. They have since returned to the story as good guys on a few occasions, helping out the very family they once antagonized.
2- Conall: a vampire, introduced as an insane, murderous sex offender in one continuity, who was quickly killed off. Made sympathetic when I explored his backstory in an extensive RP, and realized what a decent man he had been prior to becoming a vampire and mistakenly turning his second wife into one as well, whereupon grief drove him crazy. He has since shown up in a couple different continuities as a good guy, mostly due to time travel. He's arguably had the most character development, with reactions to him starting with "Grrr, I hate that bastard!" at his introduction, to "Awww, I wanna hug him!" during his backstory. The reader who had those reactions said that Conall was one of only two despicable villains she had gone from loathing utterly to feeling sorry for. I can't recall who the other one is, as he isn't mine.
3- Cadell: a Fae, introduced when he kidnapped and tortured Vincent (the same man Caradoc and Eoran had previously kidnapped, incidentally) whose magic went awry and destroyed another Fae's memories and turned him mortal. Made sympathetic when, after learning of an imminent threat to both Fae and mortals, he was the one who suggested they form a truce for safety's sake, and became the emissary of the Fae Queen. He was later kidnapped and tortured himself by the aforesaid threat, and repented fully of his misdeeds, apologizing to his own victim.
4- Loegaire: a (former) Fae, introduced when he kidnapped Vincent's daughter Ariel, out of a misguided sense of love and the desire to have a child, since he was cursed to be sterile. Made sympathetic when he revokes his claim on Ariel and lets her go back to her family, and later on returns to help said family win a battle against the Fae (long before the truce). He is also the one who was turned mortal by a spell gone wrong, and aided in rescuing Vincent from Cadell; when Cadell was kidnapped, he joined the party that went to rescue him.
I have yet to employ this technique with Fiachra, the villain of Winter's Queen; I really have no idea how exploring his backstory would turn out, since he was born into a pretty antagonistic family, if his father is any example, and shows little redemptive quality throughout the story. Could be interesting. ^^
Have any of you tried things like this with your villains? How did that turn out?