Other Can't think.

[Corrupt]

Not sure where else to put this but I need some help. I'm stuck with building two worlds cause my mind can't focus so I think it's time I stick a toe out of my little rabbit hole and ask for some help. I need some help thinking of a reasons/plots/motivations/worldbuilding. Someone please message below if you think you can be of some help.


Looking for someone to discuss ideas with someone who's a tad literate preferably with some past experience.


Help please D:

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

I can try I guess. Start with the first thing you're stuck on.

 

[Corrupt]

@Bacon is fluffy First cute avatar. Second thanks


Let's start with world one. I'm trying to figure out a way to make a world where my main character in it will before forced to turn evil slowly. Siding with monsters and such in a quest for conquest. He's a half beast. (kemonomimi so to speak) And it's a fantasy based world mainly themed medieval minus some freedoms I will take at a later point. But I have no clear motivation for him to turn evil other than I want him too.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

Hehe thanks


I'll first start off by saying it's probably hard to come up with a motivation, because evil is the main limiting factor here. The first thing is evil doesn't really generate any sort of connection to the reader. An evil presence is either something out of the occult and completely inhuman or it's something like a villain who nobody in their right minds would ever side with. Evil is the devil possessing a little girl. Evil is a super villain blowing up the world because he wants to. Evil is doing bad or immoral things because society said that's specifically bad. In today's society draggin a person off against their will is evil. 150 years ago in the United states, that's called retrieving property if it was a black person. We often cite kidnapping as evil,but in certain contexts, it's not depending on the society. Evil is a limiting factor. The sole motivation for a reader to even care is to see the evil person taken down. As the writer, your options are narrowed down because you're stuck with an evil character.


For instance, let's say your main character is a user of magic. He became half beast to retain the human magic while getting stronger. He took control of the beasts and decided to go on a conquest. Why? Because he wanted to be more powerful and essentially take over one kingdom. Then he got addicted and did it again and again. Why? Because he's evil and it's something people will naturally oppose,but that's about all you get when we're talking about the motivations behind his actions. You can certainly innovate the writing and give him meaning through different story lines,but at the end of the day, someone who is evil, has little motivating wiggle room besides: I couldn't help it. I just wanted it. I did it because I could. Who cares about others, I wanted to rule the world. 


Now if you approached it from a standpoint that isn't solely about good and evil, you might get somewhere faster. One person's freedom fighter is another person's terrorist. You can keep the evil bad guy route for how people perceive eachother on both sides. Coming up with a reason for why a person might do something morally ambiguous could be attached to things such as freedom fighting, liberating, coup de'tat. You could do things like revenge or simply growing up, protecting a loved one, and surviving in a new environment. Maybe a survival story where they have to eat others to survive. You can still have your character do all sorts of bad and crazy things, but you have more wiggle room if you don't make him outright, EVIL. Motivation is easy when you're doing bad stuff for any reason other than for the lulz

 

[Corrupt]

@Bacon is fluffy I see... Well he is a mage. And the Evil type I hope to attain is something you would find in Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul, Code Geass, Übel Blatt or even Akame Ga Kill. He isn't inherently evil and the "corruption" will build over time through trials he would go through as the plot progresses. What I'm looking for is a way to push him over the first step to turn him down that path so the readers would connect with him. I'm just not good at figuring out how to push him. I don't want it to cliche though. I've been racking my brain for over half a year trying to figure out what would feel natural.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

The funny thing is lelouch was doing everything for his sister, quite literally. He was fighting a globally presence which might cause short term suffering when people are wondering what to do,but in the long term he prevented global domination via satellite shooting nukes. Remember that the brits actually built the floating base, even if lelouch ended up taking it for himself. You mention him as being evil,but what he was doing was clashing against other people with their own interests. He didn't get corrupted, he just grew some resolve when he found out his mother was a whore and that the world needed to be rid of the empire. Which is why I question what you mean by evil, since one of your prime examples is an example of someone who is morally ambiguous.


Secondly what you're asking for isn't something that is a one step process. Light from deathnote is in fact a power hungry guy who evolved from justice. He got twisted slowly and quite subtly the first season of the anime. It took around 12 episodes to show his descent into madness.


Thirdly you have what I had for a long time, that being hipster syndrome. Scared of cliches because you've attached a negtive connotation to it. Your very premise which is a mage corrupted through magic, is nothing short of a sauron or saruman character. Mages go crazy all the time and it's bad ass and enjoyable to watch when done right. But that doesn't change the fact that you're worried about being cliche,but are building your character off of a tried and true concept. So rather than focusing on trying to be natural with one step or trying to be anti cliche, why don't you focus on your execution. Which is ironically what you're focusing on,but it's in the context of trying not to be cliche.

 

[Corrupt]

@Bacon is fluffy I'm impressed that you know that much about Lelouch. But he was in a sense evil. He became a demon in name only so that the world had someone to blame. 


And I know it's not a one step process. Allow me to put it in a new perspective. In a world of adventurers and monsters the Hero's normally go and kill the monsters in some kind of quest. Explore dungeons get treasures, etc. I want him to side with the monsters the goblins, ogres, demons, black sorcerers etc, against the "Hero's"

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

Which is an angle you can explore for your own character. Write it from the point of view of the humans who are uprooted by a half human elf conquerer. If he's already going to be established, then that's a route you can take without being evil.    It's just a show I watched back in 09, was what got me into anime with deathnote and bleach on adult's swim. If you want to call him evil, there's nothing i can do to change your mind. Except emphasize that doing bad things =/= being evil. Evil is determined by the individual and society.


You could create a world full of prejudice. The monsters aren't inherently evil,but humans justify their genocide, slavery and all manner of atroicity as a humans vs monsters. The mage in the story sided with the monsters. He became too enamored with fighting fire with fire and ended up doing really bad things.

 

[Corrupt]

@Bacon is fluffy What anime was that?


I say Evil more so cause it's a theme for me. I like the prejudice thing but I have trouble fitting it in.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

Oh sorry, that was my bad posting something without being thorough. I was saying code geass was what got me into anime. lol


Anyways is this what you're after for a character that was fighting monsters and then became one? Granted it's more of a possession,but the same thing as your intended good mage gone evil.

 

[Corrupt]

@Bacon is fluffyAh. So what was the one about the half human elf?


Not possession entirely though that is a key thing that will happen. As you stated before  "Light from deathnote is in fact a power hungry guy who evolved from justice." I want him to start at Justice and end at Conqueror. He's not power hungry though he just wants.... idk what he wants.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

Typo but basically I suggested writing it from the point of view of the conquered peoples.

 

[HoneyBadger0.01]

Personally I think it would be more interesting from the mage's point of view than that of the conquered peoples. Just because the conquered peoples will definitely think of him as being evil, but if you do it from his point of view, you can show his thought process and the reasons he's doing the bad deeds, which makes him more relatable and not just a villain.


When you say you want him to be evil, are you talking anti-hero-type evil or vilain-type evil?


Definition of 'evil' and what that means aside, I think you need to take it down to the basics. You haven't really said who this character is. What does he want? What was his past? Who does he care about? However 'evil' his actions are, if you want to make him relatable to readers, he has to believe he's doing the right thing. Did something terrible happen and he's fed up with the world, and wants to tear it down and build something better in it's place? Does he love someone so much that he's willing to do anything to protect them/make the world better for them? Does he deeply desire power because he was weak in the past and has vowed never to be weak again? Those are just various suggestions about the kind of things to think about, but there are many other options as well. Basically, rather than thinking about how you can make him evil, per say, think about what he's trying to achieve, why he's trying to achieve it, and why he's willing to go to such great lengths to achieve it, and then after that you can think about when he actually starts to like doing the bad things, whether that's because the 'evil' actions are fraying his sanity because they don't coincide with his morals, or because teaming up with the monsters exposes him to other viewpoints, or whatever other reason. Maybe the 'heroes' are doing immoral things for their idea of justice, as well. Maybe it's not so black and white, and each side thinks they're the good guys and the other side is the evil ones. Maybe he's doing bad things for good reasons. I'm just trying to make suggestions to get you thinking about this character. What is the kind of world that he lives in? Who's in power, and what is his relationship with that person/family/government?


Basically, you should first decide what he loves, what he hates, and what he wants most in the entire world. After you figure out what he cares about and what he desires, and what kind of world he's living in, you can start building off of that.


I hope this was at least somewhat helpful!