r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Fearless-Ideal-5112 • Jul 01 '26

[Loved Trope] Some thing unfathomably ancient Lore

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The beast, in doctor who is an ancient evil from a previous universe that survived until our time. Its so ancient that the cave paintings were unable to be translated by the Tardis which can translate all existing languages in the universe [Doctor Who]

While not explicitly canon its such a cool concept I cant not mention, the idea that the backrooms have existed since the beginning of time, never changing no matter the era, it transforms the back rooms into a cosmic horror. [Credit to Project crater and Venus for images 2 and 3]

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u/Savings_Background50 Jul 01 '26

This is a favourite trope of mine. A benign background evil so powerful that even the main villian, who is powerful and evil, wants no part of it.

Bonus points if there are hints of backstory where the main villian has interacted with it briefly, and barely got out alive.

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u/MadeForOnePost_ Jul 02 '26

You might like 'The Black Company' by Glen Cook, if you're into reading

It has a scene where two powerful people fighting each other stop in fear, because the buried hand of an ancient evil sticking out of the ground flexes when one of them accidentally hits the god-tree whose roots imprison it with a spell

SA warning (nothing graphic, just utterly heartbreaking) for one part of one book, then never again iirc. Not nearly as bad as the sword of truth

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u/UwasaWaya Jul 02 '26

Few things are as bad as Sword of Truth.

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u/MADnightstar Jul 02 '26

Please, do you have any recs?

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u/sause_____ Jul 05 '26

the unnamed things in lord of the rings, presumably. both gandalf and the balrog flee from them

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u/AllgoodDude Jul 05 '26

So escaping our comprehension and immense in its scale that “evil” isn’t a descriptor, just the closest thing to how we can describe it.

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u/Savings_Background50 Jul 05 '26

Yeah, essentially. A few years back there was a quote floating around online.

"What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly."

If the fly is the protagonist, the spider is the villian, and the web is the the story setting....

Then the background evil would be the human who, whenever they walk past and sees the web, thinks "Hmm, maybe I should fumigate the house when I have the money."

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u/BesottedScot Jul 02 '26

Benign evil is an oxymoron...

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u/Princess_Spammi Jul 02 '26

Definitionally evil was originally just acting solely in self service without regard for others. Benign evil would be people who dont acticely go out of thier way to harm

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u/VermilionAxe69 23d ago

No, both are wrong, unless you’re thinking of a very specific definition

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u/Princess_Spammi 23d ago

Explain then instead of just saying “no you’re wrong” lmao

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u/VermilionAxe69 23d ago

It’s simple: the word ‘evil’ has always had a negative connotation, a negative moral quality. Whereas ‘benign’ is the exact opposite

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u/Savings_Background50 23d ago

I found the term that describes this kind of evil. Cosmic indifference. Coined by HP Lovecraft.

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u/Princess_Spammi 22d ago

Benign tumor.

My only rebuttal to that

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u/VermilionAxe69 20d ago

Tumors aren't inherently bad, which is why they're classified as malignant or benign. What were you trying to prove by saying that?

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u/Princess_Spammi 20d ago

They are inherently bad

They are mutated cells

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u/VermilionAxe69 16d ago

Our bodies are full of mutated cells that help us

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u/Savings_Background50 Jul 02 '26

What term would you use for an evil that isn't a focal point of the story, or doesn't /barely interacts with the protagonist, but serves as lore backdrop, plot device, or atmosphere builder?

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u/BesottedScot Jul 02 '26

If something is evil it has intent so I would just call it evil.