#how to build an antagonist

[ahb-writes]

Writing Problem: The Villains Are Cartoonish, Evil-for-the-Sake-of-Evil

Problem: The Villains Are Cartoonish, Evil-for-the-Sake-of-Evil

Solution: Villains require just as much character development as the novel's heroes, protagonists, and perspective characters. Effective villainy incorporates consequential decision making, relatable character motivations, believable perspectives and experiences, and most important, intention. When a writer diversifies these facets of a so-named villain's free will, humanity, personal interests, and relationship with the story's main conflict, one is better-positioned to craft a more diverse and more engaging villain.

Writing Resources:

How Your Character's Failures Can Map A Route To Self-Growth (Writers Helping Writers)

Good Character Flaws: Create Complex Antagonists (Now Novel)

50 Questions to Ask Your Antagonist (Alyssa Hollingsworth)

Antagonist Starts Good, Becomes Drunk With Power (related, master list) (Writing Questions Answered; ahbwrites)

16 Villain Archetypes (Chosen by the Planet; ahbwrites)

How to Give Your Antagonist a Little Humanity (Fiction Writing Tips; ahbwrites)

How to Write the Perfect Villain (Jericho Writers)

How to Build an Antagonist (How to Fight Write)

Negative Trait Thesaurus (Evil) (One Stop for Writers)

Theme and Symbolism Thesaurus (Evil) (One Stop for Writers)

❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)

#writeblr #writing tips #writing advice #writing villains #writing problems #writeprob #novel writing #fiction writing #two dimensional antagonists #relatable characters #character flaws #complex villains #complex antagonists #drunk with power #villain archetypes #the perfect villain #how to build an antagonist #symbolism #thesaurus

[braisedhoney]

fighting back? against who? they're so happy—they've been waiting for you.

you are wonderful. don't you know that?

bonus: they play sims together :)

#running out of pre-made art for the queue… ;; sorry folks. hope you enjoy this though! you voted for it o7 #utdr #wd gaster #gaster fanart #utdr fanart #deltarune fanart #deltarune #kris deltarune #utdr player #utdr soul #ney’s art #ney’s comics #if gaster was ever an enemy in the actual story i feel like it’d be like this. antagonistic but not behaving maliciously for fun #just dial up his genuine affection for the world to an extreme and make it tinged with Scientific Interest #bam. disconnected and maybe unintentional damage. baked with love from the void #… i do love a good edgy evil guy though. and the goofy takes are favorites too. #btw lowkey this is based on how much the fandom collectively (i think?) loves kris #like yes go blorbo we want to see you overcome all challenges :) #our buddy took all this trouble of taking us to build-a-vessel and someone just stomped on it when we finished :( rude

[bonefall]

no joke you turned star flower into one of my least favorite characters into one of my favorites. this is why i follow you and this is why its important to talk about this stuff. even when people are aware of these issues, it can be hard to see just how deep they run until somebody points it out

Star Flower deserves better, most of the cast of DOTC deserves better but Star Flower, Snake, and Bumble deserve the most better

She didn't DO anything man. She's not even that mean. It's super popular for people to just end up absolutely hating her because of Thunder being jealous and angry at her, but she didn't fuckin "betray" anyone, and everything Thunder is saying about her is SUPER messed up and should really have been examined!

Like... how do they unironically write Thunder looking at Star Flower, saying "YOU ONLY LIKE MY DAD BECAUSE HE REMINDS YOU OF YOUR FATHER" and just let that hang in the air?? And leave Clear Sky's internal monologue about how she's going to obey him, be more loyal to him than his "own kin" (Thunder) whomst he's actively abusing, and how he finally has someone who won't question him?

I need her to get therapy, man. I need her and Thunder to get therapy and Clear Sky to blow up.

#It's not ''betrayal'' to warn your father about an assassination attempt #the moor cats broke the terms of their deal first THEY were the ones playing dirty #But that doesn't matter because One Eye is a stinky rogue not WORTHY of a fair fight I fucking guess!! #For how much this series cries and whines about being Just As Bad or whatever the fuck #it sure does fall apart the minute that our antagonist isn't part of the in-group! #''THIS ISNT UR FIGHT :(((('' shut the fuck UP thunder it's not YOUR FIGHT either you're just assmad he came prepared!! #star flower #They don't even need to get better in therapy btw I'll be fine if they go to a class that comes up on the credit card charge as THERAPY #but they just go to pipe bomb building class or something #bone babble

[fauvester]

tgcf as a long rambling bedtime story shang qinghua tells xuejiao (because story time is one of the few times his little half-demon whelp will cuddle with him) intended to teach a spoiled ass ice prince the value of humility and goodness and dedication to the people. it backfires horrifically because XJ thinks that xie lian is extremely cringe and in true airplane fashion the epic bloodthirsty demon antagonist ends up being a supreme simp househusband. how does this keep happening to SQH

#maybe XJ can transmigrate a little. As a treat #SQH put ALL his sauce into building up how OP hua cheng is as a main antagonist #but then the spirit of millennial communism strikes him and he’s like hol up. What if the real enemies….. are the heavens?? #and xie lian and hua cheng both have reasons to have beef with the gods.. maybe they can work together #haha and maybe hua cheng actually knew XL before he ascended and secretly admires him as the one Good God #hehe maybe he even Likes him… maybe he’s been longing from afar….. maybe he’s PINING… MAYBE HIS WHOLE LIFE IS CENTERED AROUND XL ACTUALLY #YOU SEE MY PRINCE WHEN YOURE A GOOD AND HUMBLE PRINCE THEN YOU GET A INCREDIBLY HOT GHOST KING HUSBAND WHO LOVES YOU LIKE CRAZY #baby XJ is very fascinated by the idea of the heavens. SQH sort of meant to include that in PIDW but that went the same way as tianlang jun #fun ideas never fleshed out. I think the idea of the heavenly realm in svs3 could be SOOO FUN #a derelict abandoned realm of ruins and long shattered glory #svs3 #my stupid silly moshang bebè

[the-casbah-way]

not to beat a dead horse but jesus christ can you just leave people alone in public bathrooms i just want to fucking piss girl i'm so tired of feeling anxious and trying to avoid using public bathrooms because of how fucking weird cis people are about it. i tried to go into the bathroom at work today (i have worked here for years) and this woman who has worked here for two weeks and doesn't know me laughed and tried to like. steer me in the direction of the men's toilet instead and was like "wrong way!" are you fucking kidding me fuck off

#i have worked in this building for years. i know where the fucking bathroom is #like i'm sorry but cis people just don't want me in any bathroom at this point. i can't fucking win #i'm not kidding you i didn't really think that people in real life would actually make a fuss over who is in the bathroom #but at uni specifically i have had A LOT of people in the womens bathroom awkwardly tell me “uh i think you're in the wrong bathroom haha” #they're not even doing it in an antagonistic way it's like they genuinely think i've walked into the wrong one #and it makes ME feel like a creep or like i've done something wrong #like you guys are the ones that insist i should be in this bathroom !!!! but then i go in there and get told i'm in the wrong one !!!! #it's one of the few things that never fails to make me feel anxious and sad because it's a fucking bathroom it shouldn't be a big deal #why am i being made to feel like i've done something wrong when i'm just trying to exist here like everyone else #and you know what. it doesn't matter how i identify right. because i've actually done nothing to intentionally masculanise my appearance #like the entire time i've been out. i had short hair before i came out and i dressed this way before i came out #i have not done anything to try and Look Like A Man or Look Cis. i just have masc bone structure NATURALLY #so for all you know i could just be a woman with short hair ????? and you're telling me i don't belong in here because of that ?? #like sure i'm NOT a woman with short hair but my point is you literally cannot tell the difference #so just leave people alone

[lizzibennet]

the thing about each pjo book is that each of them is uniquely the best in what it sets out to do. each is so monumental in what the story ends up amounting to, picking a favorite is almost like pointless. you could not have all 5 work so well if one was missing

#tlt introduces the world and the main trio and the main antagonist #fun adventure in wacky world. normal #som piggybacks off the already established status quo of the world (fun wacky adventure) and builds relationships upon it #explores characters more. more introspection from percy and a lot raised (and answered) about annabeth #plus solidifying percy's bond w grover #ttc was my least fav for a long time because it just felt like idk off #and i now think it's bc it's where the story pivots a bit and becomes more serious #it's still v much haha fun adventure bc it's children's lit after all. but it is once again meant to solidify #percy's bond w annabeth; percy's devotion to chb and his feelings towards the prophecy #as well as being the climax of thalia's character and kind of settling the fact luke really is evil and doing some real shit #exemplified by the fact this is the first book where protags die #and thalia pretty much kills luke. like he doesn't die but she couldn't have known he wouldn't die #so percy now REALLY has an idea of what he's up against #notice how the following two books really couldn't have happened w/o this kind of certification from him #botl is like. AHHHHHHHHHH it is my fav for a reason #i just really love how it doesn't lose the footing w the pace and the fun hijinks but still manages to deepen the relationships between #the characters #especially with the focus on percy's feelings towards nico and annabeth's towards luke #like *chef's kiss* that book is so fucking good please #and with a foundation so strong there really was no way tlo could have been bad lmao #but still the fact the book takes time from Teh Final Confrotation vibes of it all #to make a point to show percy going back to his mom's. luke going back to may's. hestia's presence in the middle of all of it #rick was like this series has a theme and i will show it to you NAOW #and the action scenes in this one??? UNPARALLELED. tlo and botl the most riveting to read #if you remove one of them the story stops making as much sense!! #(i can hear you all going yeah like every other book series and NO. esp ya/childrens lit has SO MUCH filler) #ME? pjoposting in 2023? it's more likely than you think #pjo

[ojacksonscohen]

HELLO I HAVE AN OJC QUESTION FOR U

who do u think is his worst character?? like.. the evilest, meanest most unlikable character out of all his roles? personally, i think its it role in world without end (2012) i cant stand him in that show 😭

ive sent you like.. four asks in the past IM SORRY I JUST LOVE THIS MAN AND HAVE NO ONE TO TALK TO ABOUT HIM- 🙏

william thornhill from the secret river. a man who participated in colonizing australia and got away with (and benefited from) the murder and torture of indigenous people.

he’s not evil in an over the top way like adrian or even depicted as irredeemable like ralph. he’s much more human in his evilness, he’s given the opportunity to do something that will only benefit himself and his family, and he KNOWS his actions will directly (and indrectly, for decades after) harm the indigenous people who were living on the land before he ever showed up but he does it anyways!! people like adrian don’t exist, but australia (and canada) were shaped by people like william thornhill & to me that’s an evil that is unconscionable.

ralph is obviously despicable but i find sometimes he reads more like a caricature of evil medieval man? like cartoonishly incompetent. i’d rank him second just for the laundry list of evil shit he accomplished before kicking the bucket.

adrian and peter are pretty closely matched but ultimately third place goes to goes to peter for dragging his abuse into the afterlife.

also no need to apologize for sending me asks! im here to chat about oli whenever!!

#asked/answered #i find to be william horrible bc he wasn't really shown to be an evil person? we get a lot of build up about how much he ~loves his family #and you're /supposed/ to believe hes a good man. but then you see hes no better then the antagonist & you realize which side hes really on. #also other then these 4 i don't really consider any of his roles 'evil' ?

[neo-shitty]

finally catching up with bsd after one hell of a month (+ midterms) 🫠

#bsd spoilers #updates for ep 2 :3 #right off the bat all i can just say is fukuchi is such a well-written villain; while i can’t completely emphathize with his plan yet #i have to applaud him (uh and asagiri too) bc that’s quite a villain to fear—he’s already in a position of power that puts him in a major #advantage compared to the ada; it’s like he masterminded this whole thing to lead up to this but WHY (idk if i just forgot) #point and case: i hate him and im always terrified of his next move but damn he’s such a well-written antagonist i can’t even 🤐 #ATSUSHI GET OFF THAT FUCKING BOAT RN WHY DID IT HAPPEN SO EARLY INTO THE SEASON IM CRY WAIT NO #fukuchi pointing out that ranpo is just jealous that he and fukuzawa way back is just so adorable made me forget what happens next haha #how come i dont remember these cute moments from the manga 😩 #god im stalling so much :(( i hate it i hate it i hate it #the reveal was so… he should’ve deducted this shit sooner (objectively the build up was so nice hsjdhdj) #MY JAW DROPPED THEN AND IT STILL HAPPENED NOW :))))) #ok fukuchi in his complete villain mode is kinda 😗 #watching this after being detached to bsd in general is so much better bc i can now appreciate the whole thing as is without much bias??? #THE WAY HE JUST TURNED COLD ALL OF A SUDDEN AND I OOP— 😗😗😗😗😗 #oh both canon and beast atsushi and their paralyzing fears :(( my heart actually hurts #ATSUSHI THINKING HE’S ALONE ANDDDDDD #OH MY GOD I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE MY SSKK #I CANT WATCH THE NEXT EPISODE #toff.txt

[skylar-jay]

You have Cat Quest aus?

Fgsgvjthjhj

I do! Well, just one lol

I call it the Second Chance AU It's specifically for Cat Quest 2

Basically the two protagonists are sent back home, but instead of losing all their memories they keep them, and are forced to figure out how to fix things before both fall into all out chaos.

#It's mainly about them making connections with the people in the kingdoms #because one of Lioner and Wolfen's biggest flaws was not paying attention to the needs of the subjects #for the sake of separation I call the main protagonists Felis and Canis respectively #that way I don't have to always specify which version of them I'm taking about #this is just a basic summary of it (I just woke up and my brain is still trying to start up lol) and there's a couple more details that #are in the story. like O had this whole idea for a cult that followed Aelius that would act as the main antagonist (inspired by an anime #I really like) and with the AU came a lot of filling in little world building details not touched on by the game #like how magic works and the differences in culture between the two kingdoms (I've been meaning to do some research for that) #I also have an idea for a sub-plot touching on what could have happened to Felinguard and why he mysteriously disappeared #there's also a handful of ocs. some of which I have yet to draw. that will be included due to the nature of the story being about connection #anyway #it's still technically in developmental phase partly because I'm afraid of it not coming across right when I write it down #so yea #Skylar answers stuff #thank you btw :) seeing this first thing in the morning made my day

[unproduciblesmackdown]

blade gunnblade !!!!!!!!

via eliza simpson:

There are no words for this true warrior. They kill me. MMM: went in for a post show hug. Me:"ow!" Asia: "oh sorry, that's my bullet necklace." 😳........ 😍

#blade gunnblade #asia kate dillon #kapow-i gogo #eliza simpson of [angel & others in the mysteries] & [the mother line story project] & [saw ak dillon in triptych yes we're jealous] #& [princess cloudberry in kapow-i gogo] #here we also see stephen stout in the 1st pic but going ''!! surely our dear cherished blade gunnblade's back. hair's long though hmm'' #only to have that cleared up by the 3rd pic thank god ='] #i guess at some point blade gunnblade has blue hair & i do love that for them #i believe they're in part 3 but i have all the less information about that plausible appearance #(and of course still no info on [asia perhaps doubling roles with the longer black haired wig & ultracorp jacket in that one pic?]) #one thing that would be fascinating & fun is if part 3 blade has more of part 1 kapow-i's look. the bright blue hair #looks like pink lipstick. Pure Speculation but i know the like [this is reaction to You Know How Media Is] element discussed like #part 1 thinking most [sat. morning cartoons experience; the legend of] part 2 is like when these series get sequels or just some #ep or turning point that upends its own previous established conventions. Darker more Serious / Mature Themes etc #part 3 like well sequel to That which adds yet another layer of the same factor there lol #i'm not really that versed in All This Media directly b/c i'm not that versed in / familiar with much of any media directly but #i am also not completely at sea & also one thing i could think of is like. blade is our revenge vengeance tragic anti antagonist lmao #what if after that they get to lighten up in delightful contrast to the torment & tragedy. turn more optimistic moral support bestie etc #but like i said utter speculation based on ''oh this is a look they have?'' & comments on [comments on material commenting on itself] so #could be anything! or nothing! except that it's Something enough to have been photographed a couple of times. thank god #oh hang on also we can see that that's stephen stout's character in the pic of Wearing A Black Longer Haired Wig & Ultracorp Jacket #who's to say it isn't also: yes that's blade disguised or something. underneath they have this bright blue shorter wig & Blade Outfit lol #i would cheer for that. compelling #(also noting that it didn't preclude a doubling of roles instead but; that figure Is wearing blade's necklace. makes it easy to switch to #Blade Mode backstage; makes it easy to switch to Blade Mode onstage....) #which: noted! bullet necklace! makes sense lmao. sort of #also pic 2 ft. director kristin mccarthy parker fyi. and the typical blade hair length i.e. simply asia's own. #''😳........ 😍'' soooooo true ''MMM:'' standing for ''most memorable moment:'' and also sooooo true as well #blade gunnblade is everything to me. if they died in part 3 i'm blowing this whole building up. they have bright blue hair now

[circuslollipop]

halfway through carnival row s2 and while i still adore the setting and cinematography yeah this writing is starting to lose me

#how do you kill off your most compelling antagonists like That #just. completely out of nowhere #like HUH #so much build up for THAT????

[randomalistic]

Obsessed with this stone ocean clip . it’s like the most satisfying beatdown of the part GGHGRRRRGGAAAARGGHGR AND THE BINARY PRINTING MY GODDD I LOVE THE BUILDUP TO THIS MOMENT SO MUCH ITS SO COOL

#miu miu is like the steely dan of part six #i love it so much when media builds up an antagonist you absolutely HATE #and then they get the absolute shit beaten out of them at the end its BEYOND SATISFYING #ITS SO FUN #anyways #i finally had the chance to catch up on the eps and I’m AAAAAA AA!!!!! ARURHGHHHH!!! ARGHHG!!!! SO FUCKING COOL #IM SO EXCITED FOR THE FINAL STRETCH ITS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE IN THIS PART #I LOVE STONE OCEAN SO MUCH!!!!! CHEWS MY METAL CAGE BARS #I WISH I COULD DRAW HUMANS (STARTS CRYI #I will draw the stands instead that’s how I cope with this #SO #stone ocean #jojo #jojo stone ocean #part 6 stone ocean #jojo clip #jolyne

[fellhellion]

The Durge Vel thoughts got me acting unwise

#oughhhhhh going insane rn <- still in act 1 for her (grimforge) #it makes me sossosos insane oh my god #so fun to think about how deeply vel was shaped by her upbringing in either scenario #and how being robbed of memories affects that now #RAGGHHGGHGH <- explodes #also obsessed w the way she’s *more* honest right now because the lack of self preservation doesn’t quite carry the *same* thread of #arrogance (as a sorcerer tho she’s still arrogant lol) #makes me crazy insane #also like. not to make it abt sex but makes me crazy insane to think abt how vel would’ve experienced a pleasure seperate to that from #killing #granted - pleasure disassociated from Bhaal’s influence is core to like. all of the friendships she builds #but given murder under Bhaal’s thrall is likened to ecstasy I think the comparison isn’t unwarranted #also just. RAGGGGH gives you such a good connection to the antagonist trio #like damn we can give more of a personal fuck abt Ketheric now lmao #tunes talks bg

[orcelito]

As a certified Akechi lover i probably should have more love for Legato. But it is just not the same.

Probably the level of cruelty involved + the fact that Akechi's ultimately a kid with a vendetta & too much power whereas Legato is someone who had no will to live so he filled that hole with the will of someone actively pursuing genocide.

Fantastic antagonist! Compelling narrative purpose! I love Legato as a character. I still want to drop kick him anytime I see him.

#speculation nation #major antagonist and foil to the protagonist does not a favorite character make #idk ive just been wondering why legato doesnt hit for me like he does some other people #considering how much i love akechi #& i guess it boils down to the Reasons for what they do. ultimately goro's doing this out of a twisted sense for justice #and an extreme anger derived from his childhood that is frankly justified #whereas legato is just... that dude is Fucked Up. i mean akechi is too but MAN. #while akechi sacrificed himself in the end to save the protagonist. legato FORCED the protagonist to kill him #via threatening someone vash cared about #two very different forms of suicidal self sacrifice. one born from the wish to change things at the last moment #for the sake of the protagonist. & using that as an excuse to say goodbye to this wretched life #vs legato living his life for the purpose of serving knives & if his purpose is erased there is no point to living #& he has been Obsessed with vash. a hatred to rival his love for knives. so it's one final Fuck You to force vash (known pacifist) to kill #a death born out of the sick wish to corrupt him. to force vash to kill him instead of killing himself. #LIKE it really is so fascinating. i could study them both under microscopes forever #but it's that difference in motivations that has goro being My Son and legato being a character i want to throw off a building #no hate to legato lovers Genuinely. fascinating character. im just trying to sort out my feelings on him. #trigun spoilers/ #suicide ment/

[thatophite]

reminder to drink that Respecting Kundri juice

#percival #tales of grails #KNEEL AND ADORE prior to the lifting of the veil #forget antagonists where i come from she has her sword at hand the whole time #liber xv #93 #we've coded some solid life advice into the sacred sex ed #this post is about protecting fems bottoms and subs by giving space and materials to their agency #by reminding all they have an edge and a stave to themselves. No fleshperson is all cups and water #this post is about how people and their universal individual liberty must come first #ngl there is plenty of nature worship in here but you dont pave god over to build a statue #look if you pass through monad you can trans anything #it's just a lot of figuring sometimes and it helps to show yourself your work #or whatever imaginary friend you vetted

[t-u-i-t-c]

#imagine being able to say you designed the evolt suit #imagine having that type of skill #this is probably going to be my favorite antagonist suit from build but we'll see #anyways he's pretty and i really like how his belt his suit and his abilites all mesh well together #the constellation motif is so good 🤌 #kr build lb #kr lb #umbrella.thoughts #umbrella.posts