#so it was just some guy who had a mg*4 avatar

[nis-si-hellhole]

literally just remembered that i had a dream last night where during part of it i technically got to cuddle with raiden... aga

[thatwritergirlsblog]

Writing awesome antagonists

You guys asked for it. So, here ya go:

1. An antagonist isn’t necessarily a villain

When I hear the word ‘villain’, I think of someone with sinister/evil intentions. Someone who wants to rule the world or ruins nature by using dark magic or kicks puppies. These characters can be great in stories, but they’re not the only option for conflict.

An antagonist can be your protagonist’s competitor, an overprotective loved one, someone with a different view, or even a different side of the protagonist themself (think Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde).

If your aim is to write an antagonist (who may or may not be a villain),then this post is for you!

2. Motivation is the holy grail

Do not make your antagonist evil for the sake of being evil. The most famous example of this is Iago in the Shakespeare play Othello (yes, Shakespeare made mistakes. Deal with it.)

In children’s stories or melodramatic stage plays, it’s fine if your villain simply exists because there has to be someone evil to oppose the MC’s good. But if you’re writing anything MG or higher, this isn’t gonna cut it anymore. 

People are complicated. They have different morals, beliefs and alliances. But most people believe that they are good, that they are justified in the way they act and treat others. So, even though a great amount of people are dicks, they don’t think they are.

This should translate to your antagonist. They need to have a reason for opposing the protagonist. The first thing you should determine for each character in your book, is their fundamental motivation. What is it that they want/are striving for? Is your antagonist ambitious above all else and they are determined to become King? Is she trying to kill your MC because their blood is the only cure to some alien disease. Are they scared of the unknown and detest the protag because of their ancestry? Whatever the case is, it needs to be a real, identifiable and strong motive.

If you want to go into a more evil direction and use an inherently flawed/dangerous motivation, I would suggest linking it to solid reasons. e.g. If you’re writing something like the evil queen in Snow White, you need to link her psychopathic vanity to the flaws of the society she grew up in or the way she was treated as a child etc. Maybe the character has antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy) or was raised to squash all competition etc.

Motivation is even more important if you intend to write some scenes from the perspective of the antagonist

3. Near invincibility

You can have more than one antagonist in your story, but the big baddie should be REALLY big.

The main antagonist needs to be the biggest thing your protagonist has ever had to face. And they need to be a more-than-worthy opponent.

This ups the tension in your novel, since the reader will be anticipating the final showdown and truly wondering whether the MC will be able to come out on top.

The way to do this is to litter small conflicts between the two characters throughout the story. You protagonist should have altercations with the antagonist/their army/their minions before the big conflict at the end. Each of these smaller show-downs should end in the protagonist losing/having to retreat/surrendering/getting severely injured and discouraged. 

You can show the protagonist beating other opponents, but they shouldn’t get the upper hand over the main antagonist until the final conflict. This shows the reader than the MC will really have to dig deep in order to overcome the big conflict.

NB: The antagonist needs to start out waaayyy stronger than the protagonist.

4. Antagonist plot twists

Antagonists/villains can be great tools for shocking plot twists.

This mostly has to do with playing with expectations of who the villain will be.

So, maybe the person your characters thought was the antagonist has been under the evil influence of an even bigger baddie the whole time.

Maybe the antagonist turns out to be the one with the better philosophy/plan.

Maybe one of the “good” characters turns out to be the actual villain.

Maybe the antagonist is only a figment of the protagonist’s imagination (think Black Swan).

Maybe the system is the real bad guy and your antagonist is just another victim.

Whatever floats your boat. Just know that you can do wonderful, twisty things with the antagonist. Use that to your advantage.

5. Redemption, anyone?

This is a highly contested topic, but I believe that antagonists can and should sometimes be redeemed. 

How this happens depends on your specific story and the character. Obviously, if the antagonist committed genocide and poisoned kittens, they got some splainin to do. In these cases, the change in mind of the character has to be warranted. Something HUGE needs to happen to them that changes the way they think and behave. And they better be fucking sorry and willing to do whatever it takes to make things right.

If your antagonist isn’t the personification of evil, this will be a bit easier. Since they probably opposed the protagonist due to societal ideologies or fraudulent beliefs, it only requires the truth to be revealed for them to shift their alliance. They should still say sorry, though. It’s only polite.

My advice with redemption arcs is that the antagonist has to suffer before they can truly be redeemed. They have to face some consequences for the time they spent on the wrong side of the fight. And they shouldn’t be trusted/accepted by the protagonist immediately.

If you want to learn how to do a redemption arc right, look at Zuko’s story in Avatar: The Last Airbender. He has the best redemption arc in fictional history.

Alright, that’s all I have for now. I hope that you guys found this useful. If you want me to do a post about creating an antagonistic character that hooks the reader, be sure to leave a comment.

Reblog if you found this useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

[wolfgabe]

The Gauntlet my own mini reviews and thoughts

Mac n Me

The Gauntlet started off with quite the bang with this relatively infamous ET Knock Off. I had actually heard of Mac n Me prior but this is the first time I actually experienced it myself and it was quite the cheesefest if I say so myself. I love how at times Mac seems to fluxuate back and forth between a Looney Tunes character and a bootleg ET. The scene with the gun fight at the store might be one of the most WTF moments I have ever seen in a film period. Add in some of the most blatant and shameless examples of product placement and in film advertising and you got an alien turkey that just begs to be given the MST3K treatment. I almost lost it when the kid just plummeted off the cliff, no wonder that scene has become the source of many a Conen O Brian jokes.

Atlantic Rim

As of now the most recent film MST3K has ever done. This little gem comes courtesy of The Asylum which from what I have heard is notorious for making knockoffs of well known blockbuster films and Atlantic Rim is no exception. If its not the laughably awful CGI and generally unlikeable protagonist, its the absurdly hammy villain who feels like Big Boss from MGS fused with the General from The Angry Video Game Nerd movie. Just curious but did anyone get the urge to crack a Gurren Lagann joke at some point or another cause I sure did. Also Graham Greene is in this movie the same actor who played Kicking Bird from Dances with Wolves and was even in one of the most remembered shows from my youth The Red Green show, let that sink in for a moment.

Lords of The Deep

Next up we have what can be best described as a poor man's Abyss that also tries really hard to be like Star Trek and ends up falling flat on it's face. At some points you can tell its even trying to pull an Alien but it just fails miserably. I also couldn't help but notice they seemed fond of reusing the same footage over and over. Whenever the girl has visions from the goo I don't know if I was watching the opening to Dr Who or some early beta footage from James Camerons Avatar. The villain also has some similar issues to the villain from Atlantic Rim in that he tries to come off as domineering and threatening but I think ends up overdoing it a bit. Also Magic Stingrays for the win!!

The Day Time Ended

Have you ever watched one of those movies where it seems like the film makers had absolutely no clue what they were doing? The Day Time Ended is a perfect example of such a film and one of those movies that only feels watchable on MST3K. The plot just seems to bounce all over the place from one element to the next with nothing really being explained or elaborated upon. A giant kryptonite pyramid that can somehow become small enough to fit in your pocket, a cute little dancing green alien, killer cambots, and lets not forget a couple of aliens that look like they were dredged out of the dumpster from Ray Harryhausen's place. In all of this mess its only until the end that time travel is actually mentioned and even that plot point just seems to come out of nowhere with very little explanation or context. This would probably be what I consider one of the standout films of The Gauntlet.

Killer Fish

At the beginning its seems like Killer Fish can't seem to make up its mind on what exactly its supposed to be. There is a bunch of terrorists blowing up a power plant I think, a couple of guys sitting round a casino, and maybe some hokey romance plot. thrown in for good measure. Its around the half way point where I feel the film figures out its identity which is basically an imitation of Piranha mixed with a good old fashioned jewel heist story. Still that does little to save the film as the titular Killer Fish don't show up until around half way and most of the characters deaths consist of them flailing around drunk while we get some pretty shoddy camera work of their skin being eaten off. Maybe its just me but I had a feeling the fat guy was gonna die.

Ator The Fighting Eagle.

Finishing off The Gauntlet is a prequel to MST3K classic Cave Dwellers and its practically just as cheesy as ever. I can't help but notice mockbusters and knock off films have been a pretty recurring trend this season with Ator in fact being a knock off of Conan the Barbarian. I must say though I found the films description somewhat misleading as there aren't really any demonic spider gods in the film at all. Instead what we get is King Leonidas twin brother who apparently enjoys cuddling with tarantulas. There is one giant spider fight right at the end but its dragged down by the fact that the spider is barely shown on camera at all. I find it kinda hilarious how they just seemed to gloss right over the warrior woman's death at the end. Nothing though comes close to Cave Dweller's WTF moment with the hang glider. All in all an excellent way to finish off season 12

The Gauntlet ranked

1.Mac n Me

2. The Day Time Ended

3. Atlantic Rim

4. Ator The Fighting Eagle

5. Lords of The Deep

6. Killer Fish

Other thoughts

I like how M Waverly and Growler have become accepted as part of the crew. They really help add a new element to the riffs and host segments. You can tell much of the new cast by now are really starting to find their groove with how much of a step up from season 11 the jokes are. I also love how Jonah actually managed to turn the tables on the Mads. The new musical numbers were excellent as well with Concepts and Below the Dam being some of my new favorites.

Personally I would rate this season around 9/10. Its shorter than season 11 but it definitely makes up for it with quality