Falling for the "Bad Guy"!

Hello again. Long time. Been working hard on other projects *ahem*. Anyway, this rant is especially close to my heart. It enflames me and it enrages me; therefore I must be at my best. The point of this rant begins with my explanation for the quotations around 'bad guy'. I say 'bad guy' because there is two different ways of looking at "evil" (I despise that word by the way...very labelling.) characters. The stupid way, and the way I see it. Well, there's probably more than two, but I'll leave it up to you to decide. There is the leading male who is supposedly 'bad' or 'evil' to begin with. Now, these characters are not usually wholly evil/bad, their personas are as weak and flimsy as a house of cards, waiting to be blown over by some horrendously opinionated critic *ahem*. They are simply men (or boys) who have either been through some traumatic past event and are suffering on the inside, or worse, those who simply think they're bad-ass, which is the furthest thing from cool (Edward Cullen, perhaps?).

Then there are those I love. Those brave few who show up so rarely that it brings a tear to reader’s eyes to see them again. Those messed-up, socially awkward, murderous, severely-flawed men who lurk in the shadows and simply love, never to have what they want, and only to ensure the heroine has a happy life (the spoiled bitch!). They have deep connections to the reader and a long, complicated past. A side note here, ask yourselves: why do these minor characters have such a detailed past? Why are they crafted with such care?

Because they're more interesting. It's obvious the writer didn't like the leading man near as much as this tragic soul, so she gave him a thicker, more fulfilling persona and past to attempt to make up for all they lose in the course of the story. I love this awkward male. It is he that, in the end, is always punished for the most foolish of things. Loving, for example. For being ugly or disfigured, for caring too much... it pulls at my romantic heartstrings. The one example of when this sort of thing goes right is Beauty and the Beast. An example of when it goes as most do: Phantom of the Opera. Edward Scissor Hands. Punished. And for what?

Nothing. Nothing, I tell you. It pisses me off. I'd like to see the captured female stay with the creepy male who captured her, to witness him murder her boy-scout of a lover and live the rest of her life knowing he did it all for her... and love him for it. To see the true male inside, to heal but not "fix" him. To love him for his many and varied faults. Picture the scene:

"Mary?"
"Yes, Max?"
"I killed him for you."
"WHAT?"
"I pulled out his heart and mailed it to your old address. We're going to have to go and get it soon, before it starts to decompose." Mary is stunned silent for a moment, dwelling on the sheer brutality of what Max has just described.
"Killed him... for me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"He didn't deserve you. No one will love you like me."
"And if I escape? What then? Will you hunt me down and kill me? Send my heart to your own address?"
"No."
"What will you do?"
"I'd go on loving you. I'd watch you the rest of your life, knowing I could give you no more happiness than you had then. That you'd live a better than I could ever give you."
"And if I perused another man?" Max turns his head; his eyes squeezed shut in unexpected pain.
"I'd be lying if I told you I wouldn't kill him." Mary sighs and shifts her weight.
"You don't give a girl a lot of options." Max smiles weakly, looking down at his feet.
"I Know." he pauses before drawing his gaze back up to hers. "But God, do I love you."
"Oh, Max." The words are said on a sigh. She pulls his head in, resting his cool forehead against hers. She smiles up at his sad face, breathing quietly with him in the dark. She presses her lips softly to his, causing him to jolt. But he returns the kiss with a hesitant one of his own. Their eyes shut, and they are at peace. They know that when they open their eyes, the other will be there waiting to help them through the trouble ahead.

This has been one of my Random Rantings.
'Till Next time.

Chloe.