No one is perfect. Obviously. What a lot of people don’t think about, though, is that perfection can also mean absolutes, in various directions.

As an example, when most people think of the word “perfect”, they think of something that has no flaws. Or, they think of something that is perfectly “Good” in the classic scale of good vs. evil.

But Evil can have its own version of perfection. Something so perfectly vile and evil, that any thought that this thing is redeemable is impossible.

I find that such forms of perfection don’t actually exist. They are thought exercises, or perhaps goals one can strive to attain. But, it’s not something anything can ever actually be.

Absolute Zero is a temperature we can never achieve. Perfectly round is something we are still trying to create. Absolutely flawless or immaculate does not exist.

But these are not failings. It is important to note that while one should strive for growth and improvement, being perfectly anything is an impossibility.

Every being, whether they lean into “good” or “evil”, has some of the other side in them. A good villain, for instance, is one we can sympathize with. A good hero is just flat if they had no moral failings.

It also depends highly on perspectives. For a cat’s owner, Mr. Fluffykins can be the sweetest, gentlest, most attentive companion they could ask for. But to a mouse, Mr. Fluffykins is a terrifying monster who plucks them away from their soft nest, bats them around with ease, causing prolonged pain and suffering until that mouse finally succumbs to its injuries. Mr. Fluffykins wasn’t even hungry.

To the protagonist of a an example story, the invading Vikings that are burning down their village and stealing everything they can get their berserker hands on are vile animals from the cold northern waters. Yet, flip the script, and we see that this is a group of warriors who left their weaker family and friends behind, cold and starving in the frozen north, hoping desperately that their warrior sons and husbands will return with enough food and resources to survive the harsh winter in a land too cold for crops.

Behind every perfect mask is a monster. Behind every monster is a heart beating for the ones they love. No one is perfect, and no one should be.