#morally grey appeal

[joncronshawauthor]

The Morally Grey Character: Why We Love Them

In the murky depths of fantasy literature, there exists a breed of character that captures our hearts. If only because they’ve already stolen it when we weren’t looking. These are the morally grey characters. The ones who straddle the line between hero and villain with all the grace of a cat walking a tightrope over a pit of hungry crocodiles. But what is it about these dubious darlings that…

[proselles]

clinging to the sex warning for arcane like an angst with a happy ending tag on ao3

[fangswbenefits]

As much as I love Astarion, he is absolutely NOT a good person. Even if his past might shed light as to why he behaves the way he does, it does not excuse his actions.

This line reveals a lot about him:

What I mean is: throughout your journey with him, you will help him on a healing path, and he will begin to 'soften' so to speak (if he doesn't ascend, that is). But he's still him, and he says as much in the epilogue:

You can enjoy him as the flawed person he is. It is fine. You don't have to justify why you still connect to this character despite everything. There's no need to whitewash him.

[baldursghaik]

I walk a lonely road

one in which I am apparently one of the only people on earth who believe the Emperor is not as bad as most fans say, but he is also far from being a saint and has done some genuinely evil things

[gece-misin-nesin]

can't believe there are ppl who don't like lost days wtf. not even the end scene, they just don't like jason's character and motivations in it. i mean, i always thought lost days jason>utrh jason so 🤷‍♀️

[beananium]

amateur tip because everyone should know this but i see it even in triple A games so apparently not:

if you're writing a fat character, at the very least make their clothes fit them properly. it always irks me seeing fat characters have their buttons straining on their default outfit, ESPECIALLY on a character that can afford new clothes / has enough money to get them tailored to themselves.

i'm begging you if you're trying to depict your only fat character as a glutton who can't stop eating and keeps busting out of their clothes; don't. fat people deserve to be characters firstly, not a gross caricature. please... please? fuck.

[mellowmaidenhairs]

so weirded out how fandom treats female characters nowadays and whenever i see posts criticizing it people get soooo upset and defensive like maybe you should examine why you can only get attatched to skinny usually young white conventionally attractive men no matter what their character is like but can’t think about a fleshed out woman from that same piece of media for more than 3 seconds before popping a vein

[putonmyfavoriteshow]

I just rewatched a bunch of Supercorp fanvids and now my brain is rotting so hard from dormant feelings rising. I forgot how much they owned my heart. How did they inadvertently create the most heart-shattering, beautiful, romantic storyline featuring actors with the most palpable on screen chemistry I- 😭

[arthur-morgans-last-journal]

I am deep in youtube theory videos and came across the whole Jimmy Brooks/The Strange Man thing. Please don your tinfoil hats my friends that's what this post is. Also, spoilers for both RDR and RDR2.

If you don't know, Jimmy Brooks is someone you meet during the mission "Polite Society, Valentine Style." Jimmy recognizes Arthur from Blackwater, and you have to run him down and catch him. He ends up falling off his horse and you have to choose whether or not you'll save him. If you don't save him you lose honor, but if you do save him he gives you a pen and his voice is one you might hear during Arthur's last ride depending on your ending.

Jimmy doesn't show up again in the game, but there's some speculation/theorycrafting that he's a test from the Strange Man, a character we don't see in RDR2 but who shows up as a stranger mission in RDR, where he gives a similar sort of morality test to John. The Strange Man doesn't explicitly show up in RDR2, but you can explore his house in the bayou, and there will be a poem there about Jimmy Brooks which will read one way or another depending on what choice you made at the cliff.

If you accept that Jimmy is some kind of moral test from the Strange Man--and for such a grounded series there sure is a lot of wierd shit in these games lmao--one thing that has a kind of lovely poeticism to it is that the pen Jimmy gives you if you save him can be sold for a total of $10. It's otherwise unremarkable but. BUT. $10 is also the amount of money Eliza and Isaac were killed over.

I don't know that it exactly means anything--maybe it lends more creedence to the whole strange man is death thing or god or what have you--but I do kind of love that regardless. This totem of your first moral choice in the post-prologue game, this stupid little pen, can also act as a sort of reminder on subsequent playthroughs (when you know about Eliza and Isaac) to be good, to not be the kind of person that would kill a woman and child over $10. Arthur saved Jimmy Brooks, he has the capacity in him. He can be good, he even wants to. And if he ever needs $10 so badly, he can sell the pen.

I actually have a lot of other thoughts about that moral choice and its placement in the game but I'll save that for another post. I don't actually think the strange man is very important in the RDR2 game at all but the way Eliza and Isaac hang over it IS and you don't even know until chapter 6 AND if you choose the right dialogue options lmao.

[fox-mulder-gets-pegged]

Annalise Keating and Greg House would be absolute worsties lbr.

[vulgarcunt]

No one ever wants to talk about the persecutor alters who are ‘evil’.

[prince-lazuli]

Tfw people on tiktok try to explain to you why you should like a certain character more than your favorite.

[silvertherogue715]

Rewriting a decent chunk of NEC Navi and Viren civilization lore.

[enchantrum]

#just wish people could see him for what he is cuz woobifying him is kind of insane

and I wish people could understand others having differing perspectives on a subjective piece of fiction based on their own playthrough and personal experiences but I guess none of us are ever getting what we want out of this fandom lol

you're welcome to your perspective but acting like it should be the default view for everyone "or they're insane" is what's actually insane

Having to work with the Emperor is morally gray, but the Emperor himself is not morally gray. You cannot be a "master manipulator" and be morally gray. I wouldn't pity him, personally.

The Emperor enjoyed being a shadow mastermind within Baldur's Gate. He misses his relationship with Stelmane because she was a perfect puppet. His emotions don't quite work like ours and he is clearly fond of her. But it is fondness like the fondness for developing a good strategy for playing the stock market. She became the perfect tool. Everything was perfect. All things went according to plan. What more could you want from an "effective" partnership?

The game is very clear with its allegories and parallels. If the only way I can survive my circumstance is by killing or preying on the blood or brains of others, I am not absolved for becoming the creature I've become.

When you get good at it, you have to resist the urge to devolve into a beast. Ascension is intended to describe that perfectly in game. Vampirism, The Dark Urge, Gortash's rise to power, and especially needing to become a corrupted monster to hold absolute power describes this perfectly.

Too many fans see the above and look at the Emperor as "Poor baby, it's a shame it has to play mindgames and eat brains to survive. 🥺" When really we need to view the Emperor just like we view the Dark Urge, Gortash, or mindflayer!Tav in the epilogue. We can ally with him for as long as it is useful to us, but never forget that you are playing a dangerous game.

The Emperor is very good at what it does. Do not misread betraying him in one of the endings as proof that he only turns on you if you give him reason to. That's not the point.

The point is that you can't.

You don't have the power to betray him. Just because it chooses not to wholly mind-dominate you when it could at any point in time, does not mean you can trust it. If you have no leverage over him, he will always have power over you. You cannot trust someone who needs you to do something and has power to make you do it or manipulate circumstances to ensure you have no other choice. Especially don't trust them if they pretend you have a choice when you don't.

There is no point in the game where the Emperor doesn't need something from you. Every show of "you can trust me" is part of its manipulations. Again, you can both use each other as allies for freedom, perhaps even power, but to trust it would be as foolish as trusting any other villain in the game. Always question others' motives and the part you play in it.

[angelicblondie]

what about luke castellan x ballerina!reader but she had to give up ballet when she went to camp and he like finds her dancing in the forest one night. maybe when he’s a little busy with like backstabbing everyone but yk🤷‍♀️

(like meet me in the pale moonlight or tomorrow never came coded like ughh😩😩)

wait...i adore this. as a dancer this made my heart actually jump for joy.

every night, luke was plagued with dreams. the not good kind, more specifically.

it started a few months ago. the deep ancient voice of a titan long imprisoned would echo through his mind, urging his darkest desires of revenge and shameful need for power to the forefront of his thoughts. he was angry, angry at the gods for ignoring him and all their other children. he wanted to stop this system, he was full of bitterness.

so the voice in his head was appealing. he knew that it probably wasn't morally good to listen to the evil titan kronos, but then again, if it all ended up with the system of the gods abolished, he could live with that.

but anyways, the point is, dreams invaded the peace luke found in his unconscious state, and sometimes, it was too much. sure, he agreed with the titan, but he wasn't ready to abandon home and betray his friends, not when they were the only ones who accepted him. he couldn't do that, no matter how much to words appealed to him.

so, when the hermes cabin felt suffocating, and his mind was reeling, late at night, luke would venture off into the woods.

luke felt at comfort with the odd eeriness that filled the late night air - he didn't jump or flinch at the sounds of leaves crunching or bushes rustling - he felt at peace with the scary.

that was, until he saw footsteps in the mud.

curious, luke followed the trail, until he reached an more open area of the forest, and he leaned up against a tree, taking in the sight in front of him with pure curiosity.

there you were, wearing grey sleep shorts, a black tank top, and a pink cardigan, dancing in the middle of this forest.

you seemed to be in your own world, sneakers planted in the ground as you did some simple plies, and luke watched, transfixed by the sight. your hair was tied up by a pink ribbon, and you had the most peaceful expression on your face, not one luke had ever seen before.

you were relatively new to camp, only having arrived in the past year. you were quickly claimed by your mother, aphrodite, and gained a fast group of friends and a positive reputation. luke and you hadn't talked much - sure, he gave you your tour, and the two of you had got on quite well, but once you got claimed, he didn't have much time to talk to you, given the rapid enthusiasm of your siblings.

he didn't know you were a dancer, a good one in fact. you elegantly pranced around, your feet moving quickly yet gracefully. luke was mesmerized - he had never really seen anything like it, like you. you seemed so free - so unburdened by the struggles of being a demi god. just you, alone (kind of?), dancing - luke guessed like every other demigod, you had found your own way to feel normal in this crazy world.

eventually, your eyes caught luke, and you stumbled back, imidiatley flushing. gods, you were mortified!

"l-luke? what are you doing here?" you exclaimed indignantly.

luke remained leaned up against the tree, the corners of his lips tilting upwards. "was on a walk, happend to come across you."

you huff. "how long have you been there?"

he shrugs, standing up straight. "not long." he walks forwards a bit, closer to where you stood. "you dance?"

wasnt it obvious? you thought, but awkwardly twiddled your thumbs. "well, used to, i guess. cant really anymore, cause....you know." you say, your voice somewhat shy.

luke humed in recognition. "yeah, the whole demigod thing doesnt help. wouldnt be fun if a cyclops showed up to a rectial, huh?" he said, the dry yet teasing humour in his voice elicited a giggle from your lips. "guess not," you agree softly, your eyes twinkling happily.

luke, feeling a little bashful, rubbed the back of his neck. "uh, your really good by the way. i feel a bit bad interrupting, you were in the zone."

you bite your lip, feeling a bit embarrassed. "yeah well, theres never really time to dance anymore, so i guess whenever i cant sleep i come out here to." you look him up and down. "is that why you're out here? you cant sleep?"

luke hums. "yeah. nightmares," he simplifies, his thoughts being brought back to the reason he left his cabin.

you blow out a breath of air. "hate those," you mumble.

luke observes you. "you enjoying camp?" he asks, changing subject.

you smile a little, nodding. "yeah, its different then what i thought it would be. it actually been really great, my sibling have been super welcoming," you say, your voice sounding so genuine and enthusiastic it was hard for luke not to smile.

his lips quirk up, eyes filled with a bit of mischief. "yeah, well, camp'll do that for you."

you bite your lip, almost as if you were contemplating your next words. "y'know, i haven't seen much of you since i got here. you must be busy."

luke chuckles a bit. "why, have you been looking for me?"

his flirty words heated your cheeks and you let out a nervous laugh. "no!" yes. "i was just wondering."

luke poked his tongue to the inside of his cheek. "right, right."

you talked for a little longer, before luke escorted you back to your cabin. you thanked him with a quick kiss to the cheek before running inside, and luke walked back to his own cabin, distracted from the overbearing titan in his dreams, even if only for a little while.

[writerthreads]

How to write a villain protagonist

By Writerthreads on Instagram

Writing a villain as your main character can be a lot of fun, but it takes some finesse to make them both captivating and believable. You want the audience to stay hooked on their journey, even if they don't exactly like them. Here’s how you can pull it off:

Give Them a Real Reason for What They Do

Your villain needs a solid, personal motivation. It doesn’t have to justify their actions, but it should help the reader understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. Are they after power? Revenge? Or maybe they think they’re saving the world in their own twisted way? Give them a goal that feels deeply personal, even if it’s dark.

Make Them More Than Just “Evil”

A one-note villain gets boring fast. Your villain needs to have layers—maybe they’ve got a tragic past, a secret fear, or something they genuinely care about. The more depth you give them, the more interesting they’ll be. Show us the human side of them, even if they try to hide it.

Let Them Be Likeable… In Their Own Way

Even villains need redeeming qualities, something that makes us stick with them. Maybe they’re charming, super clever, or fiercely loyal to someone. We don’t have to agree with them, but giving them qualities we can respect or understand helps the reader stay invested.

Show Their Inner Struggles

Villains aren’t always cold-blooded. They can have moments where they doubt themselves, or hesitate before crossing a line. Letting us in on their internal conflict makes them more human, and gives us a reason to care, even when they’re making terrible choices.

Let Us See the World Through Their Eyes

Show the world from their perspective and let us understand why they think they’re in the right. Even if we disagree, getting inside their head helps us relate to them on some level.

Don’t Feel Like You Need to Make Them Good!

Resist the temptation to redeem your villain at every turn. It’s okay if they stay bad or make morally questionable choices. The appeal of a villain protagonist often comes from their willingness to do things a hero wouldn’t. Let them be ruthless if that’s who they are.

Give Them a Worthy Opponent

Just because your main character is the villain doesn’t mean they shouldn’t face opposition. In fact, they need it more than ever! Whether it’s a classic hero trying to stop them or someone even worse than they are, your villain should have someone challenging them, which keeps the stakes high.

Make the Stakes Personal

Villains usually have something or someone they care about, even if it’s in a twisted way. Maybe they’re trying to protect someone, prove something, or avoid a fate worse than death. Whatever it is, make sure the stakes feel personal and emotional. That way, when they make their big, terrible decisions, we understand why.

Play with Moral Grey Areas

Writing a villain protagonist lets you explore deeper questions of morality. What is “good” or “evil” when seen from their perspective? How far would they go to achieve their goals, and what does that say about them—or us? Use their journey to challenge both your characters and your readers on these themes.

This was a post requested by one of our followers! If you want specific help, let us know in the comments, or DM us :) Or if you're on Tumblr, our question box should be open.