Then Let Me Be Evil: Difference between revisions

 

* Gaara of ''[[Naruto]]'' was originally a sad, lonely boy who simply wanted a friend. But the villagers feared his power, and hated him because of its source. Finally, after [[Despair Event Horizon|Yashimaru tried to kill him]], on orders of Gaara's father no less, Gaara becomes exactly what Yashimaru and the villagers had always said he was: A monster that loved only itself. Fortunately [[Defeat Means Friendship]], and after fighting Naruto and losing Gaara eventually regains his sanity and learns to trust and love other people again. He later even becomes the new Kazekage, and is now revered by the villagers as a hero.

*** It was always obvious to a disinterested observer that either some really bad writing had taken place, or {{spoiler|Yashamaru didn't completely believe what he was saying, but the Confetti Zombie explanation is equally inconsistent with the actual material, since an actual assassination attempt by the kid's primary caretaker ought to have involved poisoned food, and he kept up the delivery even as he died--though that last at least may have been to soften the kid up for the suicide bomb.}} So maybe it ''was'' bad writing. Oh well.

**** {{spoiler|Yashamaru might just not be that good with poisons. Or maybe, whether he meant it or not, he never hated Gaara so much that he would resort to that, since ninja or no assassinating your ''nephew'' by poison is pretty low, and at least that way Gaara had a fighting chance. Or, more likely, maybe poison wouldn't be effective for some reason (decent chance it might have caused Gaara to accidently [[Sealed Evil in a Can|set the Shukaku demon free]]; few poisons are instantaneous, and merely falling asleep would be enough to release it). So no, not bad writing.}}

{{quote|'''Megamind:''' "No matter how hard I tried, I was always [[All of the Other Reindeer|the last one picked.]] The screw-up. The bad boy. [...] Then it hit me: if I was the "bad boy", then I was going to be ''the baddest boy of them all!"''}}

* In ''[[Tangled]]'', Gothel finally decides to forgo the pretense of being a good mother (which she was [[Abusive Parents|never really good at]]): "Fine. You want me to be the bad guy? Now I'm the ''bad guy''."

{{quote|"''Then let my heart be hardened,''

''And never mind how high the cost may grow''

 

* It is not uncommon for [[Game Master|Storytellers]] to use this tactic in [[Hunter: The Reckoning]]. Since almost all of the mook monsters you meet actually have a [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|measure of humanity]] and are enslaved to their natures or other, worse monsters, there is already a bit of a gray area to killing them in the first place. Since hunters constantly hound the monsters, cutting off their resources and food supplies, they can eventually get fed up or be driven to desperate acts of violence since their beastly side starts taking over. This could cause a normally nice vampire who only drinks just enough blood to survive, and only from animals, to become a raging beast draining the nearest humans dry. If the monster survives, you can bet he won't care much about keeping his humanity anymore. Expect [[What the Hell, Hero?|angry party members]] who have more forgiving views of the monsters.

*** And a step below ''that'' is the path of Centimani, the Refinement of Flux. Flux is a force of dissolution and mutation, and the Centimani themselves are focused on monstrosity rather than rebirth. Prometheans on this path have not only given up on trying to be good, they've given up on trying to be anything resembling a human.

 

''You're looking for a monster, it's your lucky day

''I'll be what you want!"'' }}

{{quote|''' {{spoiler|Bat Boy:}}''' ''"I don't want to harm you, I only want to [[Chewing the Scenery|KILL!]]

''You shall have your monster, I shall drink my fill!

* Also Butch Cassidy's excuse, who started out as a nice Mormon kid but was often a scapegoat. Left home and fell in with cattle rustlers, before becoming a notorious stage coach, bank, and train robber with some minor [[Just Like Robin Hood]] tendencies that endeared him to various ranchers and brothels, much to the frustration of his pursuit.

* Many of the forms of ritual killing and mutilation practiced by "savages" at various points in history started out as slanders but eventually became real practices for the people in question- the Germanic "blood eagle" is only attested to in Viking sources a few times, well after the idea entered the popular body of myth surrounding the bloodthirsty, pagan northmen.

* The Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, Nevada is a restaurant version of this. You say hamburgers and french fries are unhealthy? Well, how about their special Quadruple Bypass Burger? It's got 4 half-pound beef patties, eight slices of American cheese, a whole tomato, and half an onion, all served on a lard-coated bun. At 8,000 calories, it'll fill you right up! The best part? People who weigh over 350 lbs. eat for free!

* To some extent, Benedict Arnold. He started out as a very capable American commander during the American Revolution. However, he had made himself powerful enemies (many of whom were in Congress) due to his arrogant manner during the war, and it all ended when they managed to convince the Congress and the upper brass that he would not deserve or need any of the promotions or additional wages for his military service. He was not acknowledged for his role in any early American successes in the war, including Saratoga, which was the battle that convinced France to enter the war on behalf of the Americans and was won almost entirely by Arnold; at the time this was the highest insult to an officer. It came to a head when he was military governor of Philadelphia, he was forced out on trumped-up charges of corruptions and officially reprimanded for it. What he didn't know and was not informed of is that if General Washington had not done so Pennsylvania would have withdrawn their support from the Continental Army. To evade dishonorable consequences, he even attempted to resign, which Washington did not allow. This caused him to feel unappreciated and offered to betray the Americans in return for a hefty sum of money and a generalship in the British army. The rest is history.

** That, and they associate with far worse criminals and in harsh conditions while imprisoned, which has a bad effect, understandably. Not for nothing are prisons called "schools of crime." Sometimes literally-experienced criminals passing on knowledge to more amateur ones, for instance.