#Morally black villain

[weirdbookweeb]

Morally grey??

No, morally black.

Make me question why he isn't in prison or a psych ward.

Make me question why he's attractive.

There should be no redemption.

Let him make me worse.

If I don't have to hesitate and say "hear me out..." its not worth it.

[jaundicity]

i have a lot more to criticize about this show but let me tell you guys the real tea of it all..

the writer's team for HOTD simply does not know how to portray war.

they don't know the complexities of war, nor do they hold a knowledgable grasp of the true horrors of it and how it affects everyone from the powers orchestrating it (eg. the blacks and the greens) to the people at the bottom.

now, i'm not saying that they should put on their soldier helmets and go fight in wars, because that's stupid and as much as i dislike them, i don't want that for them at all, but i am pointing out that they clearly don't understand that the dance isn't an easy heroes v. villains superhero battle that they have written it out to be, because it's not.

it's a criticism of war and its destructive nature, of the powers that basically damn innocent people to die for nothing because of their rulers aka. the people who should be protecting them ultimately letting their desires cloud their duties to the land they're overseeing. for the writers to not understand that and basically glaze over what george was basically saying through the text in favor of producing HBO's attempt at marvelizing the WOIAF is truly gutting, because why even try to make war a winning game? it isn't.

fuck, even movies and tv shows outside of that do so much better at portraying the messages that the OG dance has that HOTD has failed to drive home. come and see, all quiet on the western front, even the hunger games especially in mockingjay— those are fantastic media that accurately or even come completely close to portraying how devastating war can get. so much horror, grief, rage and overall tragedy is shown in the three pieces of media that i just listed, so it is insulting to me and hopefully to others that ryan and co. had not seriously considered looking to them or any other media for inspiration on how to accurately hit the mark on the original story's real themes for the show.

[rhaenin-time]

It's always, "If Rhaenyra were in Alicent's position, she would have done the same or probably worse to Dyana," and never "If Alicent were in Rhaenyra's position, she definitely would have raped Laenor and outed him and destroyed his life if it didn't work."

And one is definitely more likely than the other...

[bonefall]

(dif anon) So is Ashfur grooming Shadowsight a plotline you would keep/rework in BB? I'm not so keen on the way canon used it to retcon his epilepsy, but I do think a plotline examining how clerics can be vulnerable to abuse from StarClan spirits is kinda compelling

Shadowsight's epilepsy is staying in BB, the Erins can try and take it away again over my dead body

Yes, that's staying and BB!StarClan was reworked with unfairness in mind.

This time around, I'm considering the idea that Ashfur didn't work completely alone. After the events of Squirrelflight’s Horror, Silverpelt's divisons are starting to crackle the stars.

Skystar and the other more traditional spirits are losing patience with the peace that Fire Alone brings, and the ways that the code has been bent.

They feel that honor is being lost in their descendants.

Even angels disrespect the collective; see how Skypelt has its own heaven? With a demon in its midst? There is blasphemy even in the skies.

Firestar and the more modern pantheon are ferociously defensive of the choices of the living. StarClan exists for them; not the other way around.

Meanwhile, Mousefur has gone missing. Others start to blink out, too. This is causing panic... and Ashfur keeps it quiet that he's the only one who knows where they've gone.

The angels that plan action probably were a small group to begin with, radical spirits. Skystar and Ashfur are two of them, and Ash is the "youngest." So when he comes down to the mortal plane and betrays them, very few other angels knew what had happened.

(I might even have a few angels be doing the various supernatural things in that first book, but slowly, Ashfur is wittling down their numbers until it's just him.)

I'm still working out specifics, but the other angels that Ashfur has consumed are giving him a massive power boost. He can use this to jump between planes freely, and he's able to do some whacky things like weave dreams and pull nightmares out of the Dark Forest.

The most important unique power he has, which he can do ALL on his own once he's absorbed enough starpower, is blast Shadowpaw with a bolt of lightning. The electric current runs through Shadowpaw's brand new scar, giving him a connection to StarClan like he's a little radio tower.

Thing is... when StarClan is blocked off, the only signal he receives is Ashfur's.

So, Shadowpaw.

From the time he was very young, Shadowkit has had an unhealthy relationship to life and death

He watched a lot of cats die before he was old enough to really understand it, and the only one who came back was Heartstar.

His epilepsy was so severe it would have been terminal. He was prepared to die as a kit.

Tawnypelt took him to the Tribe to learn more about treatments, bringing back a method of refining chamomile to manage the convulsions.

When people come back from death, it was to serve "a purpose."

He feels like he needs to be special, like he needs to find the great meaning in his life. The reason why he's still here.

In BB, there can be guardian angels. Cats you knew in life who decide to watch out for you in the afterlife. Moleflight is Jayfeather's, Shrewface is Squirrelflight’s. Ashfur poses as Shadowpaw's.

THAT is how I plan to address my criticism. Ashfur DOES build a very personal, trusting relationship with Shadowpaw, pretending to be the one who's here to give him the destiny he craves. Pretending like he's someone looking out for him.

I actually LIKE how desperate the situation was in-canon and I want to stress how none of this was Shadow's fault, so I also plan to keep that they had very little choice. Shadowpaw trusts his angel completely, and Ashfur coaches him on saying all the right things.

The older Clerics are suspicious, but... what else can they do?

Also, instead of framing this all as something Shadowpaw needs to "atone" for, I'm going to make certain cats unfairly scapegoat him for bringing the Impostor into the forest. Shadowpaw himself agrees with them, blaming himself, but he has to learn it wasn't his fault.

He DIDN'T let anyone down by failing to live up to great expectations, and there's no way he could have known that Ashfur was using him. This never happened before, he always made the choice he thought was right and tried to make up for harm done, and he's not responsible for what his abuser made him do.

I actually want to have him figure out some of this by talking to DF demons, towards the end. Cats faaaar more responsible for what they did in life than him.

Ravenwing in particular, who was also mislead by a rogue StarClan spirit, but... ultimately decided that if StarClan was right in their judgement.

He was told (by Birchface, but he still doesn't know who it was in particular) to make three kittens unsafe by revealing their parentage. His choice killed three innocent children, and lead to the Queen’s Rights.

And StarClan was furious that he'd ever believe they'd want something so CRUEL.

And even if they DID want something so cruel... "Then they wouldn't have been ancestors worth following. And that's why I believe it's right that I'm here."

As a Cleric, he had authority on their behalf. And if they would misuse it through him, he wishes he could have just given it right back.

And Shadowsight's lightbulb goes Ding!

The very last thing Ashfur does in TBC, when the jig is up and he's about to be killed by the Lights in the Mist and a bunch of Demons who have come to defend their home, is swallow a Founder-- Skystar.

He takes the level of a true god, and reaches a nearly undefeatable level of power. Instead of black water, he's so large, malicious, and has a gravitational pull so massive it starts destroying the afterlife. It shatters the purgatory (Meadow of Young Stars) into floating cosmic fragments, and Heaven and Hell are set to collide.

Shadowsight confronts Ashfur, politely explaining that he's, well... done a lot of thinking, and, he doesn't really want what he gave him. "You can, uh, have this back!"

And blasts the lightning from his scar right back at him, like a chain, holding the screeching eldrich horror in place. Every ally he's made, here in the DF, come down from StarClan, and as Lights in the Mist, jump to his side. They can't hold down Ashfur, but they can hold SHADOWSIGHT

While they're all supporting him, Bristlefrost sees the one chance to get rid of him, once and for all. A clear shot. She bolts, pounces, and SHOOTS right into Ashfur like a falling star, knocking them both off the edge of the heaven he destroyed, burning up in orbit with a monster a hundred times her size.

And after that, Shadowsight has to go home and live with this.

He gave up the very connection that made him so special, and now he has to go back to being a Cleric without StarClan.

but the other Clerics accept this. They have to. They were all complicit in the choices that allowed the Impostor to rise.

What Shadowsight learns is... everyone was part of this. From those who made the follies with him, to the supporters and rebels against the impostor, to those who helped him realize his worth, to Bristlefrost who ultimately killed Ashfur.

He is valuable because living is valuable.

Everyone, and everything, matters. All cats have a role to play, and he was never alone.

I want to close him out in BB!TBC on a tea scene that parallels the various points in his life. Others used to prepare his chamomile treatments FOR him, in careful doses, because it is a very serious medicine. Now, at the end, he's the one brewing it.

A fully fledged Cleric, who realizes he's never been alone. Cats who love him were around him the whole time, making his medicine, and they'll love him even after he's given up his powerful gift. So now he's at the stage in his life where HE can make that medicine, share his wisdom with others, and find fulfillment in the skills he's acquired over a hard life brightening.

[magicalgrimm]

TW: suggestive. Barely any visible nudity but still implied sexual themes.

He said dinner was ready, this is not how he thought it would end up

[artistzjay]

So I made another OC and well…

Meet Dr. Chaos aka Angelica ‘Anna’ La

[morallygreymilfs]

Discord Server!!!

Hi everyone! In celebration of Agatha All Along, I want to share my Discord Server! It's a LGBTQ+ friendly server, that has chats for Marvel(Specifically Agatha All Along/WandaVision), a bit of Harry Potter (However, fuck JKR), and a dash of Oceans 8! I made this server for other likeminded people to gush about morally grey middle aged women, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, your favorite things from Harry Potter, and a place to let your Ocean's Heist dreams reign. As well as a server to hang out and make new friends! We also do daily questions (Lurker friendly), sharing our weekly woman crushes on Wednesdays, and other fun things too!

If any of this sounds like you, send me a DM and I'll invite you to the server!

(This server is 16+ atm, however if issues arise it will become 18+ only)

Can't wait to meet you all!!

[impmansloot]

tired of you guys thinking that giving a character a benefit of the doubt, assuming that things might be more complicated than it seems, and liking morally gray characters is poor media literacy/comprehension. Atp these words stopped meaning anything, it's just an awfully convenient tool to imply your opponent's dumb (unlike you!), and unfortunately most times it's thrown in an argument, in specific fandom cases especially, it just boils down to "you're reading it wrong/not the way I like so you must be stupid"

[bestworstcase]

Question from someone who's attempting to write rwby fanfiction. Do you have any advice on how avoid portraying team RWBY and their peers (JNPR, Penny, Oscar, etc) as people who are 'just better' or somehow more inherently virtuous than Those Evil Villains Over There Who Must Be Defeated and The Failures Of Generations Past? Because I want to write the girls and their friends bringing an end to a millennia-long conflict and upending the status quo and yeeting the brother gods, but like. I don't want to somehow imply that they have some special holy righteous sacred innate thing that made them succeed where others couldn't. And I feel like I keep accidentally implying that.

step 1. Worry Less.

if you don’t believe that RWBY et al are intrinsically Just Better Somehow you’re probably not going to write your story in a way that inadvertently implies as much even if they’re ultimately the ones who Solve The Problem. they’re just in the right place at the right time to escape this cycle these things happen bfrgk

step 2. remember that everybody does what they think is right

no one is a Bad Person on purpose and even when someone does something they know or believe to be wrong there is always some rationalization going on that makes it okay or makes it something outside of their control. keeping this in mind whenever you write character conflict is really important for portraying conflict in a naturalistic way—even if it isn’t something you put In The Text it’s useful for you as a writer to know what’s Going On in the heads of the characters who are wrong and why they’re doing the things that they do.

(a good exercise if you want to practice is to rewrite a scene from the other side’s point of view; if you have for example an argument between two characters who are both extremely convinced of their own rightness and don’t like each other, can you leap into the antagonist’s perspective and write that argument from their side in a way that paints the protagonist as irrational, stubborn, foolish? if you can switch your writer POV around like that to see things from the Wrong Perspective it becomes a lot easier to handle complex conflicts because you have a really solid grasp on what everyone’s stakes and opinions and reasons are.)

step 3. don’t be afraid to let the Good Guys fuck up & don’t be afraid to let the Bad Guys have a point

rwby does this really really really well. nobody is ever one hundred percent completely right—not in the story and not in real life—so letting the good guys be a little bit wrong and the bad guys be a little bit right creates points of common ground and margins for compromise to be built in between. and obviously if you have protagonists who are able to make mistakes and grow and accept compromise then Innately you have protagonists who are flawed and three dimensional, because if they were Perfect they wouldn’t need to learn or grow.

step 4. think about Why these characters are the ones who solve the problem

this is something that’s just helpful to have in mind as a writer to clarify your own framing; often the answer is a lot more about circumstance than any intrinsic Betterness and in the case of rwby a lot of it just comes down to the fact that salem attacked when she did—team rwby et al weren’t inculcated into the paranoid keeping secrets cult and didn’t have ozpin to lead them, so they figured out their own way of doing things that (because it plays to humanity’s strengths) works a lot better.

y’know how every time someone new is let in on the secret, the first question they ask is “why don’t people know? why not tell everyone?” the story is making the point that the natural, instinctive human response to finding out about a secret war is to go “it shouldn’t be secret!”—ozpin has to work very hard and be extremely careful about Who he initiates into this conspiracy because his methods run contrary to human nature. it takes active effort to quash that reflex to ask for help. what makes team rwby et al "special" isn’t anything unique to them, per se; its that they learnt the truth outside of this coercive environment that trained the old guard to Never Tell Anyone, so they intuitively grasp that telling more people and asking for help is better than not. because Most People put into this situation would intuitively grasp that.

[m-for-musings]

MINTHARA IS ONLY PORTRAYED AS "EVIL" BECAUSE D&D MORALITY SYSTEM (ALIGNMENT) SUCKS

This is a hill I'll die on. She's a perfect complex, morally grey character that in other TTRPG systems would work pretty well and would not be considered even slightly despicable, and/or pretty much excusable since her actions are never without reasoning. That's it, D&D makes Minthara "evil" because of shitty aligment system. I won't elaborate further.

[killer-outlet]

Wanna draw them more when they're all at the very start to figure our thier dynamic since I usually draw all these guys when they're all buddy buddy

[spoofyleaf]

I absolutely LOVE when the protagonist you’re rooting for slowly becomes the villain. (Or was the villain the whole time).

Except the story is being told from “hero’s” perspective, so we still see them as the Good Guy fighting the Bad Guys, and we don’t notice them becoming a villain until perspective shifts, or something Noticeably Bad happens that makes you question the “hero’s” actions and morals.

Makes you wonder WHEN they shifted from being the good guy, or if they’ve ever been the good guy. And makes you question how you didn’t see it until now.

Anyways, I think it would be fun if in LMK-

[bonefall]

Voted for Bumble bc of course but also if you think Alex would not pspsps Bumble you are wrong. If they could communicate they would go to therapy together /s

If then could communicate they would go to therapy together

/GEN

Kyle/Green Lantern resurrects her but then he becomes convinced that she's not the same person she was before the incident, OR SOMETHING SOMETHING Black Lanterns aren't ACTUALLY bad they're just misunderstood Grim Reaper types, in either case Alex ends up breaking it off with Kyle because they've become very different people.

And then Bumble's there

And then they go to therapy or Alex adopts Bumble, and then uhhh Bumble's like one of the superpets. Like Krypto the Superdog. Free premise go forth and play with it if ur a DC fan

[movedtodykedvonte]

I hope The Spot gets to die as a himself like pre-powers. It’s likely he’s gonna destroy himself trying to destroy Spider-man (I think he’s gonna for the mythos of the hero not just Miles, if the flash forward is any prediction) cause he’s either not gonna be able to handle the full effects of his abilities it and needs to be saved but it’s too late for him or does some not fully redeeming sacrifice as he realizes he didn’t have to resort to villainy and doesn’t want to go out with people fearing him rather than respecting.

It’d make the point that anyone can be Spider-man under the mask string as it’d point out that depending on circumstances anyone could become anything. In this case none of them would know The Spot personally or even in passing as Johnathan Ohnn, so seeing a complete stranger, someone who could of been anyone, defeated at the end of the battle would invoke a lot with the random chance and fate that comes along with being Spider-man if not just going through life rather than the adherence to canon events that is trying to be pushed on characters.

I feel like giving the Spot his face back would just make the climax feel more complete, an odd commentary on being true to oneself even if it is past your time.

[asilentfrenzy]

please, god, just because i fucking loathe daenerys and her self-righteous ass doesn't mean i want a bunch of self-righteous green stans on my dash 💀💀

and just because i find the blacks interesting doesn't mean i want daenerys shit suggested to me either

someone save me. i'm begging

[namedaftermistakes]

just finished reading „Long Live Evil“ by the brilliant Sarah Rees Brennan and what can I say? GO READ THAT DAMN BOOK

The characters are perfectly evil and u will love them!!

Some songs that fit the book like a glove (in my humble opinion at least):

Chappell Roan - Good Luck Babe!! (sooo Emer x Lia coded!!)

YONAKA - Call Me a Saint/ Seize the Power (totally Rae-coded, duh?)

Findlay - Strange One

Ghost - Spillways

Jesse Jo Stark - So Bad

Tove Lo - True Romance

Curtis Waters - MANIC MAN (the lyrics are literally MADE for Key)

Gorillaz - She‘s My Collar (Rae x Key OBVIOUSLY)

Chromatics - Twist The Knife

XXXTentacion - Revenge

Beatsteaks - Hand in Hand

————————————————————————

LONG LIVE EVIL!!! FOREVER!!

For real, do yourself a favor and read that book!