5𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒓𝒍.𝒑𝒏𝒈 ⋆ ࣪🍰ﾞ

𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐩𝐞𝐧

It has been an increasing trend for people to denote “morally grey” as synonymous with “whiny annoying man in fiction”, which is very amusing to me. I can honestly, get down with an occasional well written pathetic and annoying man, but it’s not morally grey. All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares, eh?

So, what is true moral grey?

A character whose crimes and wrongdoings can be literarily justified and/or explained in some manner, but is not able to be categorized as a good person.

I should also point out, applying real world morality to all pieces of media removes a layer of character analysis that is essential here. Not all worlds or universes play by the same rules we do, and while certain actions may be unacceptable in our reality, they are on a different subjective scale for the context of a created reality. Keep this in mind!

Now, onto some basic ideas for writing a character who is morally grey.

- Character motivations and intent matter. Good intent with a bad outcome contributes to conflict both within the story and character.

- Affiliations. A character who is a part of a good/greater cause in their universe becomes grayer when their immoral actions are for something considered good. You can easily use this to further complicate the lines because sometimes, there’s no “good guy”, only worse guys.

- Backstory. I hear this one a lot, but I think a lot of people miss the complexity. The mark is missed when you say “oh, bad things happened to this character, which is why he’s a morally gray asshat.” No. Do better than that. How does their past tie directly tie into their current/future actions ?

Example. A character was mistreated by a certain type of authority repeatedly, and in result they have a strong tendency to punish that authority and all authorities that remind them.

Anti-heros and morally grey characters oftentimes are the exact thing they hate. The reasoning why/how they ended up as such and the key of hypocrisy is a great addition.

- Level of awareness. On what level is the character aware of their actions? Are they deluded or are they perfectly aware and comfortable? This is an important question to answer because it factors into sympathy and justifications.

- The arcs and the in-between. By nature, morally grey characters aren’t static. They’re multifaceted and the way they grow and change is incredibly important to the manner which they’re perceived. If you show only one side, then what is the point? They need breaking points and peaks like every other character.

- CONFLICT. MORAL. CONFLICT. Stop making “morally grey” characters who are incredibly easy to agree with at all moments. I personally think it’s really silly that some of these characters are only grey because we know and recognize their actions are bad, and not because they actually take effort and understanding to adore. Make them questionable and uncomfortable at times, because otherwise, what really is the point? It sometimes feels like morally grey is now “morally dark white” instead of “morally light black” LMFAO. Did that make sense? Not technically but I know someone out there gets me. Point being; the same concept with an execution that is not at all the same.

That’s all I’ve got for today, folks. I hope that was helpful to y’all. Let me know!

THANKS FOR READING!

WRITER INTRO — 🦇

— Castiel, they/them, 18. (@theimpalingpen) on IG.) ⸼ ͙ࣳ ⚰️◌ 𓈒 ׄ🦇 ׅ𖥔 𓈒 ur local vampire goth writer!

— gay, non-binary. wasian. anti-bigotry, anti-cluster b stigma! all minorities and mental health concerns are safe here. ❤︎

— main blog is @vamp1r3-luv3r

WHAT TO EXPECT — ⚰️

tips + advice reblogs & posts + memes + quite frankly, whatever i feel like.

— my preferred genres:

gothic, cosmic horror, fantasy/grimdark, historical fiction, magical realism, supernatural romance.

BOUNDARIES — 🍷

Overall CW/TW: I do not shy away from dark/taboo themes and triggering mental health subjects, so be aware! Everything will be tagged properly but it is present on my blog. Same goes for sexual content.

DMs/Asks Open and welcomed!

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