5. Make Your Villains Incurable
We form relationships, communities, and societies founded on support, trust, and cooperation. But not everybody plays nice. Occasionally, you will have a bad apple that will need a little extra attention to set them right. So after giving them special attention, they adjust accordingly. But sometimes you'll have a person that just doesn't get it. So mommy and daddy offer up a bit more love and encouragement, but that doesn't work. They set limits and become stern with discipline, but things get worse. At every turn, this person's neuroses refuse to yield to the norms of rational behavior. Instead, their irrational beliefs solidify and their bizarre actions become more and more extreme. You've already invested years of love, hope, and attention into this person, but even if you hadn't, you find yourself thinking that maybe some of the things they're doing make sense. Someone trying to harm you is threatening to be sure. When that person is unpredictable and unreasonable, it's very scary. And when you realize that nothing can be done to change this, it is utterly terrifying.
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