Good versus Evil

In reality, most struggles are evil against evil. The opposing factions tout and embellish what little righteousness they have. They exaggerate the sins of their opponent and are reticent to acknowledge their opponent's virtues.

I believe in JUSTICE, knowing that no faction truly represents such a cause. I fight for FREEDOM, knowing those who fight alongside me prefer domination. Alas, I am often in league with evil in my struggles for the common good.

FREEDOM and JUSTICE are one and the same: the sowing of oneself and the reaping of what one sows. The mighty cannot grant FREEDOM for one who is beholden cannot be free. Law cannot codify JUSTICE for justice is the very spirit of FREEDOM, thus, is not subject to decree. Personal, social and political agendas are whim and yearning, thus, they are neither FREEDOM nor JUSTICE.

I strive to do what is best, always. I am always a friend unto any who care. Should the need arise that I must align myself with the wicked in the defense of goodness I shall do so. I am not bothered when the indifferent profit in the defense of the caring. What is best for those who are good is always good.

Good Bad

Death is hideous. War is despicable. Rape is atrocious. In reality, none of these things are good. In fiction, however, their grim severity can be made into sensual intensity. We endure reality and find its pleasures wanting. We strive and suffer to little or no avail. Our news and histories must be sensationalized and embellished for us to find them interesting. Alas, it is in our fiction where we find real life's luster.

Storytelling is always from within. Fiction is the outer manifestation of our waking dreams. All is good in a good story; even the bad. What is pain and sorrow in reality can be enjoyed in fiction. Even the horrors of death, war and rape can be made into harmless fun.

I am a storyteller. I tell tales of heroes and villains. I tell stories of horror and adventure. My characters are many and interact in many ways. Many of these fictional people are slain. Some of them are raped. Ultimately, however, my heroes prevail and my villains are vanquished.

Both in life and in my stories genuine heroes are few. Villainous masterminds are more readily available. Expendable underlings are always plentiful. Useless bystanders do the nothing they do best. Everyone has their part to play, whether a person or a character.

Death, war and rape: our reality would be better without them. Suspense, excitement and sensuality: our fiction would be boring without them. As a writer and an artist, I do know what I am doing. Allow me my honest boast as I claim to do what I do well.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ShawnOToole

Henchwomen Are Sexy Pawns

I am a writer and an artist. My specialty is the "useless henchwomen" theme. The gist of my fancy is the idea of armed and uniformed women being easily subdued. These fictional victims are "henchwomen" because I cannot enjoy the plight of innocent bystanders. As armed antagonists, however, their fate is to my delight.

Soldiers are people meant to overcome other people. Victims are those who are overcome. Useless henchwomen are both. Because they are meant to be instruments of force, they are made mockery of when proven helpless. Because they are plentiful and weak they are expendable to their leaders. They are amusing to their enemies. The henchwomen are pawns: being sacrificed is the part they play.

My fancy is uncommon. Few understand it. Villains as victims? Why women? Why not? Seriously: why not? Should every antagonist be formidable? Heroes have their damsels in distress. Why should villains not have their useless henchwomen? Sex and violence are the vim and vigor of adventurous fiction. Useless henchwomen are but passive partners in sensually violent character interactions. Why not? I ask but my question is never answered: why not?

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ShawnOToole

Untruth Be Told

Fiction is the honest telling of things untrue: storytelling. At its best it is imaginative, eloquent and relevant: a fanciful, poetic parable. Alas, even something untrue may be truthful.

A storyteller must believe what he is telling or else he is a liar. He must be honest and mindful of what he believes or else he is a fool. His story must be deeper than its ideas or it is shallow and lifeless. His characters must be motivated beyond their niche in the narrative or else they are flat. A good yarn is always more than the sum of its parts.

Telling people what is right and wrong is presumptuous and boring. A good story is honest yet unassuming. The best characters are moved by personal motives. The best narratives are about personalities dealing with the flow and balance of cause and effect. The better storyteller relinquishes control in favor of simplicity and sincerity. Honesty itself shall cleanse a work of its fallacies and strengthen its telling.

Everyone loves a good story. Few of us ever tell one. When you read, hear or watch a good story be sure to judge it on its own merits. Discount what you anticipated or hoped for. Appreciate what is actually presented. Taste may be subjective but quality itself is what it is whether noticed or not. There is no wisdom in being oblivious to what is good.

Fiction is the crafting of fancies into art. It is notions and ideas shaped and fashioned into a story. Its characters are the people we imagine. Fiction is from within.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ShawnOToole

The Meaning

Most people do not care. Yes, they have their ideals and beliefs but such things are nothing of themselves. Yes, they love and are loved but such is entirely selfish either way. Most people simply do not care.

I care. I am not the only one. Why? Why not? If we need a reason to care then we simply do not care. We do care. Compassion, unlike love, is unassuming. To care for the sake of caring is the only caring worthwhile.

People need answers. There must be a point or there is no point. Politics? Religion? Science? As important as these things may or may not be, they cannot answer the one question: Why? Life? Truth? Wisdom? These things, though venerated, are without meaning of themselves. The question is always asked but the answer is seldom sought: Why? Is there a point? What if there is no point? If there is no point then all is meaningless.

I am neither a believer nor a skeptic. I am sincere. Right or wrong I am never false. Weak or strong, win or lose, I prevail. My failings are a triumph and my victories inspire. I am a light in the darkness and warmth from the cold. My fear proves courage and my sorrow is the sowing of joy. I am the gentle warrior and the brutal friend. I am the unforgiving who never forsakes. I shall tell you the dreaded answer to the question: Why? I shall make the point of it all. Whosoever has eyes to see shall see what I show. Whosoever has ears to hear shall hear what I tell.

Friendship, the very spirit of Freedom and Justice, is all that matters.

Humanity's Characters

People are what make anything and everything worthwhile. Characters are what make a story meaningful. Unlike anything else, people are who we are rather than what we are. Yes, we all have our place in the world but our universe is beyond our little world. Eternity is beyond our moments of temporal melodrama. All that is real or imagined is born of mind and spirit. People, not energy, objects, animals or plants, are the only things that can make anything more than the sum of its parts. All else is flow, balance and entropy.

Humanity is creative. We do not merely fashion tools and artifices to suit our practical needs. Our art is not merely representative of stark reality. We ask "how?" but cannot be satisfied until we discover "why?" and are inspired by the answer. Our souls yearn for the fulfillment of spirit. Even if the needs of our bodies are met, we shall hunger, thirst and gasp for breath until the "who" we are is sated. In our hearts, whether we accept the reality of it or not, we know truth and life are but vanity without freedom and justice. Even our most wicked and depraved imagine themselves righteous. We believe there is a point to it all or we despair. Our efforts are always a striving for a sense of purpose. Our endeavors are always meant to be transcendental.

Reality is as all things truly are, regardless of our fancies and perceptions. Fiction is what we imagine. As art, fiction is our waking dreams made manifest. At its best, our unreal stories explore and articulate the unseen reality of spirit. Its characters are imagined personalities that experience this transcendental reality. Their lives are how we relate to the story. Their thoughts and feelings are the life of the narrative. A story without characters is dead and irrelevant. Without us, our reality is meaningless. Ultimately, truth and fiction have everything in common, for better and for worse.

 https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ShawnOToole

Damsels and Warriors

There is something undeniably sexy about a beautiful woman bound and gagged. A handsome man in the same predicament is less comely for it. In our horror movies, we delight in seeing the females cringe and scream. The males are expected to fend for themselves, even if in vain. In myth and legend, the woman is typically either a seductress or the "damsel in distress." Men are either predatory cads and or adventuring warriors. Why? Why the disparity? Heterosexuality.

A man's natural reproductive impulse is to penetrate a woman and spew himself into her. A woman's natural impulse is to resist him. Should he overcome her resistance then she submits to his innate desire. Because a man must be aroused to reproduce his sexuality is entirely active. A woman's sexuality does not require her compliance, physically or otherwise, thus, is innately passive. Men are naturally "sadistic" because their drive is aggressive and requires them to penetrate another person. Women are naturally "masochistic" because they are genetically conditioned to submit to sexual dominance. Yes, I know my claim pokes at the pride of the insecure. My honesty is contrary to the comforting sophistry of "political correctness." So what? Whosoever proves bold enough to peer into the burning glare of truth shall see what I am telling.

For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. Every strength is its own fundamental weakness. All things that exist are their own antithesis. "Male and female" are the sexual manifestations of "flow and balance." The adventuring warrior rescuing the "damsel in distress" resonates because it affirms the masculine "flow" achieving feminine "balance." The fantasy of the "female warrior" resonates because it signifies the strength of "flow" as exerted by "imbalance." Regardless of whether "flow" or "balance" dominate for the moment, a narrative cannot ring true unless it affirms the inevitable harmony of flow and balance. In other words: the heterosexual dynamic must be realized to fruition.