: Re: Offensive aesthetics and naming conventions? So I'm writing a story that features an alien character, who happens to be a really "internet troll"-ish type with a somewhat godlike tech and a personal

@Samaraweera193

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Is there a goal to all this, other than trolling your own audience? It seems that your alien character (and by extension, you) is trying to create a sort of "theater of the absurd" including blatant cognitive dissonances. But satire needs a point. You can't just dress the good guys up like Nazis and expect hilarity to ensue, especially at a time when real Nazis are making a genuine comeback.

One thing that is unclear to me from your question: Is everything that happens in your book, including the good guys and the bad guys and their fight, because your alien troll is puppet-mastering things behind the scenes? I still don't know if it's a good idea, but at least that would give some justification for why everything seems topsy-turvy. But if that's not the case, then you're setting up a situation where the character can be blamed for only some of the contradictions. The blame for the rest lies squarely with you, the author. This might give people legitimate cause to question your own motivations and loyalties.

The audience will forgive almost anything, if the payoff is big enough. But the less [funny, brilliant, morally improving, etc.] you are, the more offensive you will be perceived as being. For a setup like this one, your book had better be pure, unadulterated, 100% gold. Anything less and they are likely to suspect you of being an actual Nazi sympathizer veiling his true feelings with a thin dusting of satire.

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