Day One: Spooky TBR / Day Two: October Releases / Day Three: Bookish Autumn Bucket List / Day Four: Perfect Cosy Reading Nook / Day Five: Top 5 Disney Villains / Day Six: Strong Woman Horror Trope / Day Seven: Reading Snacks / Day Eight: 5 Autumn Reads / Day Nine: Vampires and Werewolves / Day Ten: Spooky TBR Update / Day Eleven: Witches / Day Twelve: Books I Should Have Read / Day Thirteen: Review – Under My Hat Anthology / Day Sixteen: This Time Last Year / Day Seventeen: Reading Drinks / Day Nineteen: Paranormal Romance
Challenge List – Anniek’s Library
This one required a fair bit of thinking, on both my part and my boyfriend’s. It’s really hard to find a villain ‘I would be’. I think we all want to be particular villains, whether it’s because they look awesome or they have amazing powers, but when it comes down to it, they’re villains for a reason, right? They do bad things, and the beauty of a good villain comes from teasing out their motivations.
Do they think they’re doing good, or are they just looking for money or power or revenge? One of my favourite villains-turned-heroes is Hook, in Once Upon a Time, a man who starts out desiring nothing more than revenge, before he realises there’s so much more to life than that. Then there’s Poison Ivy, who loves nature and despises those who hate it. But you also have those villains who do not need to be sympathised with, who even with tragic backstories still do unspeakable things. Voldemort. Joker. People who infect those around them and encourage them to do evil in their name.
But then there are those villains who you discover are…not actually villains at all. The ones who are set up to be the bad guy, and you realise just need the equivalent of a Snickers to soothe their soul.
As I was pondering this, I thought back to a very particular villain, one who, throughout the film, is talked about in hushed tones, revered and frightening and someone you really don’t want to mess with. And I thought about how this character had something taken from her, how it turned her into a rageful, destructive being who is unable to listen to anyone who tries to help, until someone finally manages to break through to her.
Essentially, I thought of a character who could, really, represent some of my darkest days, as well as my brightest, a character who reminds me of what I came through, and how much I have changed, and yet how depression can still lurk around the corner – but I have people to help me, and I have those who aren’t afraid to reach through the fire and tell me, “I know who are you.” I just have to remind myself that sometimes, that isn’t me, and it’s okay to admit that.
Unwrapping Words 