Prompt: You want me to be the bad guy? Fine. Now I'm the bad guy.

Note: I was watching Peter Pan Live (what a completely bizarre production!) with Daughter, and I started thinking about telling the story from Captain Hook’s point of view, a la Wicked or Maleficent. Would he see himself as the villain? Often retellings cast the villain in a more sympathetic light. It could be interesting to create a character who really sees himself as the bad guy….But to be honest, I'm not sure how to get into that mindset. One way I might start is to try a diary-style stream of consciousness and see if something comes together from that. 

So my prompt/challenge to you is to retell a classic story from the “bad guy’s” point of view. It could be retelling known events from their POV, whether you're inclined to make them sympathetic or not, or follow Gregory Maguire’s lead with Elphaba and tell the villain’s story before -- or after – the known events.

And I hope you recognized this post title as one of my favorite lines from Mother Gothel in Disney's Tangled :)

Here’s a taste of my Captain Hook:

My name is James William Hook, and I am cursed. Captain of the Jolly Roger, I've sailed the seas from England to Neverland for over a hundred years, searching for my son…and that devil Peter Pan. The Pan has fooled many with his claims of innocent youth, but he is a destroyer of lives, and I've foresworn my own to destroy his in turn. He took everything from me, the night he stole my son from his bed. My wife died of a broken heart that winter, and I swore at her grave that I would never rest until I found our son. I've been hunting The Pan ever since…

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And so, with a loving heart, I offer you

Namaste

I’ve heard many translations. Here’s my favorite:

The light of the universe that shines within me recognizes

the light of the universe that shines within you.

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