z
  • Home

Young Writers Society


12+

Villainess

by kagehana13


I wander through the city, my head echoing with the memories of what used to be. Up ahead, the remains of the kingdom's castle covers the ground. I walk closer and stand over the remains of the castle. I look down at it, a slight twinge of guilt filling my chest. I didn't want to do this, but I had to. I needed to. They all hurt me. They punished me for things I couldn't control. I couldn't be who they wanted me to be, so I covered the kingdom in bright, wicked flames.


Is this a review?


  

Comments



User avatar
4431 Reviews

Points: 317314
Reviews: 4431

Donate
Sun Jun 30, 2024 7:33 am
kaitlyn wrote a review...



Image

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),

Hi! I'm Kate and I'm here to leave a quick review!!


Anyway let's get right to: Kate's Line by Line Reactions;

I wander through the city, my head echoing with the memories of what used to be. Up ahead, the remains of the kingdom's castle covers the ground. I walk closer and stand over the remains of the castle. I look down at it, a slight twinge of guilt filling my chest. I didn't want to do this, but I had to. I needed to. They all hurt me. They punished me for things I couldn't control. I couldn't be who they wanted me to be, so I covered the kingdom in bright, wicked flames.


Ooooh well this is quite the little tale. I wonder if you're intending for that to fully stand on its own there or maybe you've got a little bit more in store there because also has some real hints of a prologue to it there too. I feel like it could have a lot of potential. I mean for something that is quite this short you really manage to pack quite a lot within it I think and it really speaks out to us showcasing all the hardships that our protagonist here has had to endure through all of this time and what's brought here to this tipping point.

I think you do a great job bringing that out to life here. Keeping it in this short form really makes it feel quite punchy and you can just tell straight from this person's emotions just how badly they've been wronged and how low of a place they've fallen to before of course it would seem quite a lot of chaos was unleashed there. It seems like you gone with the idea of them being a villain but honestly I'm also getting perhaps something of an anti hero vibe from it too.

Either way, a fun little piece I think. It really presents a rather exciting prospect here I think!

Aaand that's it for this oneee!!!

As always remember to: Take what you think was helpful and forget the rest!

Stay Safe and Have a Nice Day!
Kate


Image




User avatar
13 Reviews

Points: 146
Reviews: 13

Donate
Sat Nov 18, 2023 5:21 am
WordWeaver1357 wrote a review...



"Every villain is a hero in their own mind."

This is wonderfully written because of the emotion captured in just one paragraph.

First of all, the title. "Villainess". It's really intriguing.
The last line, "I couldn't be who they wanted me to be, so I covered the kingdom in bright, wicked flames," was such an amazing sentence. It also reflects a bit of her past, even in the line "They all hurt me."
The character (AKA Villainess) isn't shown as an absolute psychopath and actually has a "twinge of guilt" somewhere in her. I like that.
Overall, I love this so much!




User avatar
5 Reviews

Points: 70
Reviews: 5

Donate
Fri Oct 20, 2023 9:53 pm
Ayeesha says...



This is a nice writing! It's really captures my response to injustice. I think for some people letting the pain out on those who hurt us, make us feel at ease. It might not really be ease but it makes things more fair. This was a good writing. I liked it




User avatar


Points: 27
Reviews: 1

Donate
Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:21 am
Amalieaa says...



This is lovely again for how short is it’s unique as well. I love where the author uses a “twinge of guilt’ this phrase I’ve never seen before and it’s quite unique for that reason

It’s a lovely piece well written!




User avatar
20 Reviews

Points: 314
Reviews: 20

Donate
Wed Oct 18, 2023 11:17 pm
GrHinds09 wrote a review...



This is really lovely for how short it is. It packs so much emotion into just a few sentences. I love the ending. I feel like the people who hurt her probably deserved it because if she burned the kingdom down they must've done something awful. She seems like a cool strong character. Where did she get her powers? I know it's not important I'm just curious about her and I feel like I'm gonna think about this for awhile.
Hope you have a wonderful spooky season! xoxo




User avatar
172 Reviews

Points: 34172
Reviews: 172

Donate
Tue Oct 17, 2023 9:20 pm
View Likes
Roxanne wrote a review...



Creepiest greetings! 🎃👻

Beyond my beloved horizon, I'm setting sail into the uncharted pages of the unknown, with a bone-chilling itch for adventure. Through my ghostly binoculars, I spy with my little eye a haunting tale titled "Villainess" that deserves a spookily good review. So, without further ado, let the eerie enchantment begin.

Before I start, please give me the opportunity to welcome you to YWS; the writers world of uniqueness. This is your first work so grab your chances, write a review, and use the points to submit another fabulous piece of work.

Now, returning to the review:

Very first of all, I must say that my interest was quite piqued by your hauntingly intriguing title. Just imagine it, I open the Green Room section and the first piece drops a silent bomb, spreading an eerie atmosphere almost immediately,

Villainess


You've written a rather short short story, but those lines tell an intriguing story; a mystery, regret, suspense and a destroyed castle. Kingdom castles are always the mystery element in mystery stories, so well done for including that!

We read about the thoughts of our protagonist in the story, I can sense the regret of the protagonist. It definitely makes me all the more curious as to what led the protagonist to literally burn down an entire castle and how they managed to do that on their own. Because this mission, or should I say impulsive act, seems rather personal.

A teeny tiny suggestion from me; As I mentioned before, you've written about the thoughts of the protagonist, perhaps you could consider describing things a bit more and, as @spottedpebble said, you could consider using a bit more imagery. For instance, when the protagonist walks closer to the remains of the castle, describe what it looked like; Was it a hole in the ground? Were there sharp objects? Human bodies?
Basically, describe the scene a bit, this will help the readers to connect to the story on a higher level.

Everything in all and all in everything, You've written a remarkable short story and I enjoyed reading it.
I can't say that I didn't like the last sentence, it was like a cold and yet amazing outrance, just wow. It's almost as if I could feel the protagonist's hatred that they had towards the people, it isn't clear who "they" are, but at this point it's a too epic line to care.

You labelled your work as a short story, but you can always decide to use this as a base for a novel. Because this story has a lot of potential, especially of becoming a novel filled with suspense and mysteries.

That's it, that's all.
Trick or Treat Yourself to a Spooktacular Day!

Yours in Puzzling Shadows,
Rose




User avatar
27 Reviews

Points: 555
Reviews: 27

Donate
Tue Oct 17, 2023 4:59 pm
View Likes
spottedpebble wrote a review...



This is a short story about someone walking through the city she has just destroyed. This is a bit of a backstory because it says

I couldn't be who they wanted me to be, so I covered the kingdom in bright, wicked flames.


It explains that the villainess was told to be someone but couldn't and was punished for it and gives her a reason to be a villain.

I like how you described some things like

my head echoing with the memories


and

the remains of the kingdom's castle covers the ground


but I feel like you could have used a little more imagery.

This would be a great section to include in a larger story, to explain the background of a villain, but it also works great on its own. If you publish more of your stories that are like this on YWS, I'll definitely read them! (Other than reading them IRL. :P)





I love her dearly, but I can’t live with her for a day without feeling my whole life is wasting away.
— Miss Kenton, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro