~~ evil is funny.

i was going to rant a little about how unbelievable i found so many stories with characters going totally Dark (with a capital D!), just as unbelievable as making those same characters hopelessly Nice (with a capital N!).
    and then... and then....
    and then i read (finally! only what... 2+ months late?) chapter 2 of antenora's `control'. and goddamn. i've forgotten how i adore her writing, for one thing. but the other thing is-- she could sell me the brooklyn bridge, she really really could. i was actually considering writing her an email and begging her to write faster (but that's sort of dorky, isn't it). so i'll just beg her here: pleeeeaaaase, save me from all the badfic, please, please..! with a dark harry on top! *laughs*

as usual, my generalizations flounder when i realize that any stupid thing i encounter, is more likely a product of bad writing than some inherently "bad" concept. i swear to god. `control' has kind-of-evil!ron and dark!hermione and (not to mention dark!harry)... my gahd, it works beautifully. it really does.
    maybe there's some sort of rule where the stories that work all work in unique ways, whereas the stories that don't, seem to follow a similar trajectory (like that axiom about happy families, heh). and i try to figure out why `dead before dawn'!harry doesn't work for me, and `to rule in hell'!harry does, since both are rather dark.

the thing with antenora's!harry (and draco) is that no matter what happens to them, they retain some essential gritty life. if someone's evil, that doesn't mean they're a melodramatic angsty teen. they could retain some humor, some sarcasm at least. i mean, okay fine, you've turned draco or harry evil or dark. why does that mean their melodrama level goes through the roof? why do they start being so dreadfully earnest all the time? any second i expect to start hearing the operatic accompaniment. it's wagner, in ficlet form.

evil is supposed to be interesting, mesmerizing, and yes, at least somewhat fun! people are still people, with personalities, even if they're not happy-shiny personalities. why is it that their dark angst or niceness always has to become their overwhelming defining characteristic, anyway? why is it that if you align yourself with a Cause, if you pick a Side, you suddenly become the most dull and serious person in existence?

( i wish this didn't equate to saying, `evil is FUNNY, dammit', 'cause i don't think i can justify that, sadly. so obviously, i must mean something else >:D )

~~

( and this be my old rant on the pitfalls of evil!draco, before i remembered the wonder that is darkfic that's actually written well. alas. )