| “ | Okay, who's responsible for creating a Twitter account for Monika? I think it's hilarious, but for god's sake don't tell Paula. HAHAHA. It would get 4-0-4'd in a microsecond. Are you just relaying her tweets manually, or did you code some kind of pass-through layer to automate it? Based on the contents of the tweets (eg. not screaming for help) I assume they're coming from the control simulation? | „ |
| ~ Who you think you are? Harley Sawyer?! |
First of all, I want to thank Dual89 for hear me. Big hug, man!
My first Near Pure Evil proposal will be a villain from one of my favorite games, and I was honestly surprised that he didn't have a moral classification yet. So I'm going to propose him. As The Pro-Westler liked to say... let the trial commence!
What’s the work?[]
Note: This description comes from Natsuki's proposal on the Near Pure Good Wiki, but it's okay because I was the one who made that proposal.
Doki Doki Literature Club is an excellent indie game from 2017, which uses the dating simulator style to tell a story where you are a high school boy who is best friends with a cinnamon roll named Sayori and, at her request (*cough* *cough* insistence), you join her club, the Literature Club, where you meet three other girls: The president (and main antagonist), Monika; the more mature and shy one, Yuri; and the youngest, Natsuki. It seems like just another innocent dating simulator at first, but as the story unfolds, the game reveals deeper layers and sadder elements... until it reveals itself to be a huge psychological horror made to make you suffer watching the girls suffer. This game is very good and was a huge success, so much so that later games like MiSide would acquire a similar style.
Who’s the candidate? What Have He Done?[]
Ive Laster is an unseen antagonist in the game. He is a childhood friend of Paula Miner, the head of Metaverse Enterprise Solutions, and works with her and other employees to create a virtual reality, which is none other than Doki Doki Literature Club itself.
He is not seen physically, but emails from him can be read on Doki Doki Literature Club Plus. As the player completes achievements in the game, more of his emails can be discovered, revealing that Ive maintains a laid-back energy at work, but in a rather worrying way, as he laughs at the idea of Monika don’t using her Twitter account to cry for help, and that he suggested turning DDLC into a game.
He planned to turn VM1 (the reality of DDLC) into a game to make it more fun, and proclaimed that he would be the project leader. He even laughed at the idea of Monika using her Twitter account to cry for help.
Like Paula, we don't know for sure what he's like these days.
Heinous Standards[]
Okay, to be honest? He doesn't cross the MEH so many times as Monika, but he's definitely not far behind. How does he stand out, you ask? Well, he was a direct participant in Metaverse's plans to create a virtual reality where they would torture sentient beings. This doesn't even depend on Horror Fridge, since he was aware of Monika's sapience and, in fact, he was the one who suggested turning DDLC into a game because he thought it would be funny to see Monika have an existential crisis and watch her universe get destroyed over and over again.
Yes, Paula is definitely the most important part of the project since she is the leader and apparently created VM1. However, the fact that Ive wanted to be the leader of the project to turn the girls' suffering into personal entertainment and turned the project into a game, which logically means that's why everything that happens in DDLC happens, makes him equally guilty, since he is also a direct cause of the events of Doki Doki, and seemed much more involved than the other employees. Furthermore, unlike Paula, who is just coldly apathetic to the girls' suffering, Ive is a clear sadist, who intended to make Monika witness the destruction of her own world... "for fun".
Mitigating factors[]
Fridge Horror?[]
As I said above, no. He was perfectly aware of the girls' wisdom and didn't care.
He is Laughably Evil/Too comical?[]
Eh… no. The guy may have a relaxed and somewhat jovial energy, but his comments are certainly not meant to be funny. They only serve to surprise the viewer with what he does and show his psychopathy. Even Paula says it's hard to know when he's serious or not.
Moral Agency?[]
Nothing in the e-mails suggest this. He seems perfectlly healthy, but chooses do the wrong thing. Paula even says that the project left an impact on his mind, but that was after what he did, so it is not a prevention for his actions.
Characterization[]
Although he never appears physically, we have written emails from him to show his personality, so there is no shortage of characterization.
What Prevents Him From Be Pure Evil?[]
Well, anyone who read Paula's page already knows what Ive's only prevention is: His friendship with her. He is genuinely kind to her and Paula herself says that, when she is with him, he usually reminds her that nothing is as bad as it seems. Although brief, this reveals that he is not devoid of humanity.
Final veredit?[]
I give him a yes, but what about you guys?