11-05-2016, 04:43 AM
(11-05-2016, 02:53 AM)Kohrokho Wrote: Hey... I'm curious. What did you base Bloodclaw on? I detect a core fallacy. In fact, mentioning of this fallacy could have saved him...
Also, I am not sure about his death as Mengele avoided it and thus mind death is unreliable, especially as he's under Mengele's care...
Bloodclaw is fundamentally a TV sociopath. He does not feel empathy. Along with this comes his ability to lie without compunction and an inflated ego/self-centered view of the world (hence why he interpreted Yellow's statement that there was "another way" not as a a way out but as assigning guilt). His sociopathy, in and of itself, did not make him evil, but it took away the easy way of knowing right from wrong. With proper care and structure, he could have become a moral, able, productive citizen. Unfortunately, what he got was basically the opposite, and he wound up oppressed and angry. And when you're oppressed, angry, and have no moral compass, what are you going to do?
He's also different from a TV sociopath because even though he doesn't feel empathy, he does crave acceptance and validation of his existence. So he latched on to humanity as the ideal way of being: not only were they in opposition to the avali he hated, but they were independent and individualistic. He emulates (his perception of) humans in every way he can, including losing his avali accent.
He's also not as competent as the standard TV sociopath in terms of the ability to manipulate. Avali are easy prey for someone like him because avali trust each other, but lacking that shortcut he's not as convincing (Yellow sniffed him out right away) and he's vulnerable to being manipulated himself, as Yellow proved in the climax.
You're right that he could have been saved, but Yellow was inexperienced and unprepared to deal with such a challenging psyche. He got caught up in his speech and didn't tailor it to his audience.
I actually created the prototypical Bloodclaw before Mengele--back in the very early stages when I was still casting around for direction, I hit on the idea of an avali sociopath. Didn't know quite where I was going with it, but the idea of a sociopathic individual from a highly social species was dripping with potential. Initially Bloodclaw was a pirate lording over a subordinate pack through force and intimidation. Eventually the role of arch-antagonist was taken over by Mengele, and as Mengele turned from an evil mad scientist to a more socially savvy manipulator, I decided to bring Bloodclaw back first as an underling, and then more as a project/protege, and he kept developing from there.
I found a blog written by a self-professed sociopath which informed many of the more complex facets of Bloodclaw's. Between that, listening to Voltaire's "When You're Evil," and researching what it feels like to kill someone, I'm pretty sure I must be on a bunch of FBI/CIA/NSA/USCI watchlists somewhere...