A lone Flynn calling any Fletchers out there, I think I need a hand with something.
Notice how Heinz, in a couple of places, mentions “good evil and bad evil”? And, well, he’s right. Sort of. Which gave me a thought: what if Drusselsteinian German did have different words for the two?
Now, there are different words for “evil” in Standard German. There’s Böse, which apparently means “wickedness” but also “anger”, and comes from the same root as English “boast”. And then there’s Übel, which originally meant “sickness” it seems. But...this is Drusselstein. Doing evil seems to be a practiced profession over there, given the number of Doofenshmirtzes across history who’ve given in. (And don’t forget Dr. Phineastein!) And Drusselstein deserves fancier words than that for such integral concepts. (Plus, look at the monstrosity they turned out for “luck”–Glück versus Stinkelkrampen, anyone?)
I give you Herschensuchenheit and Leuteblindheit! There’s “good evil”, the seeking of control over the world. Shaping things to your whim, knowing the intricate mechanisms of the world, charging ahead and seizing the day that you can better choke it into submission. And then there’s “bad evil”, where you simply don’t care about how others will be affected–they aren’t worthy of consideration beyond what you need at the moment.
Having both? That’s pure evil. But just being leuteblind makes you a jerk. Or a politician. (I’m watching you, Roger.) And just being herschensuchend makes you, well, a mad scientist. Not “bad evil”.
So, my question is: what the hell do I use this for?
You’ve got the Herschensuchenheit, Heinz, but try as you might you ain’t got that Leuteblindheit. Leave that to your stunt double.
(Also apologies if my German derivational morphology is off, I’m still in the beginner stages of learning the language.)
