Fantasy Foretold Forum Antihero

Hi there, folks. Since our forum was a little bit dead lately, I dediced to stop being shy and come up with a new thread.

Antiheroes. Personally, I love them a lot more than the honest, ideal and more traditional type of a hero. They make the stories more exciting with their mere presence. So, do you have any antiheroes in your books? If yes, introduce them to us.

I'll start. My name is Gosia and I have an anonymous antihero in my story... Wait, this doesn't sound right. I'll start again.

Aedain, the male lead of my Mystic Mirror, is a member of a race called the Laismarans, referred by humans of my fictional worlds as "demons" (not without a reason). Arrogant, cruel, bloodthirsty and selfish isn't exacly the person who would be the perfect candidate for the saviour of both races inhabiting my world, but - oh the irony - there's no one else suited for that position. In addition to his charming personality and unusual dietary requirements, his life-goal is to wipe out the entire human race... And still he's the protagonist.

Now your turn. Don't be shy and introduce all of your fishy characters!

Ohhhh, there isn't a character type I love more than the antihero! Unfortunately, like most things I have a strong passion for, I have an equally strong aversion to incorporating it into my own work. It's easier for me to write about things I don't like to particularly, because I'm not so disappointed when they don't turn out how I like. I like antiheroes so much I've never really attempted one, because the undertaking of such an endeavor seems so intimidating to me. So, instead of sharing an antihero of mine, I will submit my all-time favorite antihero for discussion: Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid games. I don't know why his character appeals to me so much, but every time a conversation about antiheroes comes up, he is always my go to. I do think that I am in need of a solid antihero for my upcoming project, and when I start my work on him I will definitely draw much inspiration from Snake's character.

I am not sure if my character really counts as an antihero, but he was a super villain at one point. His real name is Abel, code name Blood Pearl. He wields a staff and has the ability to use light and blood magic. Which is a very unlikely combination. Warning back story spoiler. He was a great threat to the world, practically unstoppable with his combination of magic and technology, until he fell in love... and lost. She was killed by another super villain. It was a simple wrong place, wrong time event. End of spoiler.

Can someone explain what an "antihero" is? I mean, I think I've got the general gist of it, but examples and like an explanation would be fantastic.

An antihero is a main character of the story (or one of the major characters) who, unlike a typical hero, is devoid of traits usually linked with a hero - righteousness, sense of honor, honesty, selflessness etc. He is often bad-tempered, his motives are often wrong (like greed or selfish desire to be the best/richest/most powerful). An antihero is defintely not a role model. Generally speaking, he's a bad guy who has to do something good, like a convict with cocaine in his pocket saving an old lady from robbers.

I think an antihero can still have some code of honor and some morals, they are just very different from the mainstream.  I tend to think of antiheroes as a person who believes fully that the ends justify the means.  I can't really think of any good examples because they are not my favorite character to read about.

I LOVE anti heroes, and using my characters in multiple roles. In my book  Legacy the main protagonist is named Reinhardt, but in the book Leaving Paradise this same character is both the protagonist and the anti hero...until he becomes the villain near the books end. It's all about perspective.