Pays well to be unscrupulous

[NotaNuffian]

Writers like to write their MCs as the paragon of good or at the very least, not hang their dirty laundry in front of the readers but would show others being bad and in the end, "defeated/ learnt their errors thanks to MC".

So is there anyone who tried to make their MC actually bad? Not background bad but show how good he is in front of readers, but actually heinous.

Got affected by Hunt with Clones, where the "bad" guild is using "underhand" tactics to try and kill MC. Everyone in the comments were frothing about death to the guild but all I can think of is "yeah, that is some good move". Be evil. Win at any cost.

Maybe I got affected by the chinese works too much, where one work actually had MC receiving missions to kill other worlds' geniuses because "a genius is only worthy when alive." His other missions include burning crops and destroying essential infrastructures. His own rationale, not his superior's, is that in the war between cultures, it is not about who's right, but who's left. And that there is no bottom line to have.

 

[Bobple]

Haven't posted any stories with a clearly morally bad protag yet. Some have had certain attributes which aren't perfect, but they have been mostly good.

However, I would like to try at least once.

I had a few ideas already. But my most favourite which I may try to write one day, was a cultivation story where the mc and their partner in crime were kind of information brokers. Trading information for information and money, but in reality, there were a two man team, basically creating conflicts between factions. And acting like crows, scavenging the remains of both sides.

Cared little about if the people they harmed were good or not, (Well if they were 'good' they that made it easier to trick them into attacking another evil faction). Just what they would be able to scavenge from the wrecks.

I guess on the scale of 'bad', they are more just selfish and uncaring, instead of extremely heinous.

But your post made me think of this idea again, so thanks for that .

 

[ThrillingHuman]

REND has a kind of sadistic mc who is a psychopath but she hasn't done anything morally reprehensible

This great witch was going to write a very mage-like mc in "wasn't my life..." where he'd like, experiment on humans, sell children to perverted nobles for resources, assasinate and torture - but it is pretty much dead rn.

 

[Raymann]

Good and bad are subjective terms.

I don't scale my protagonists on that. Whenever I think about what would be the next move of the protagonist. I think about it realistically.
'Not how or what he will do
But
Question like
'Why he will do something?' What is his motivation behind not just because he is good? Something more material.

Best solution
Have multiple protagonists in Battle Royale.
good, bad and the ugly.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

Good and bad are subjective terms.

yeah, but our morality is still pretty clearly defined by existing material conditions tho

 

[NotaNuffian]

Good and bad are subjective terms.

I don't scale my protagonists on that. Whenever I think about what would be the next move of the protagonist. I think about it realistically.
'Not how or what he will do
But
Question like
'Why he will do something?' What is his motivation behind not just because he is good? Something more material.

Best solution
Have multiple protagonists in Battle Royale.
good, bad and the ugly.

Good luck juggling.

 

[RepresentingPride]

Writers like to write their MCs as the paragon of good or at the very least, not hang their dirty laundry in front of the readers but would show others being bad and in the end, "defeated/ learnt their errors thanks to MC".

So is there anyone who tried to make their MC actually bad? Not background bad but show how good he is in front of readers, but actually heinous.

Got affected by Hunt with Clones, where the "bad" guild is using "underhand" tactics to try and kill MC. Everyone in the comments were frothing about death to the guild but all I can think of is "yeah, that is some good move". Be evil. Win at any cost.

Maybe I got affected by the chinese works too much, where one work actually had MC receiving missions to kill other worlds' geniuses because "a genius is only worthy when alive." His other missions include burning crops and destroying essential infrastructures. His own rationale, not his superior's, is that in the war between cultures, it is not about who's right, but who's left. And that there is no bottom line to have.

I've written some part where my mc kill like 300 enemies and don't feel remorse at all but that made him afraid and he talk about it with his master. Through the story he also made wrong choice who sometime cost him a lot and he curse himself for these choices.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

Witch of Darkness

Beatrice was supposed to be the one to bring happiness to the world, but sadly, that was not what happened. If want to ask any questions, or merely just talk check out the discord server. https://discord.gg/jK3swFGNZh

www.scribblehub.com

 

[Tempokai]

The Legend of Sun Knight is portraying the MC like that, but he is like that to everyone except his friends. So he's almost there with your description with only thing being that he's a chaotic good