Gregreo Valmorn — one of the main characters in my fantasy, The Alkorian Legends is...well, let’s just say I don’t think he makes any sense at all. To wit: Basically, Gregreo Valmorn is a reformed pirate turned man of nobility working for the police force. His original name was Gregreo Frantius until he did some favors for the Valmorn family who then changed his name, altered his face...basically giving him a fresh clean start. That’s what he wanted. And now he wants to go back to his old ways? Once he realizes one of his old crew mates is in trouble? He justifies his actions by saying he needs to do more than be some pompous nobleman/landlord, that he wants to go back to protecting the innocents and the weak. [spoiler: Gregreo’s Justification] “Well?” I repeated. “What of [Mishu]? Remember what Bloodrose (the pirate captain he used to serve under) used to preach? How we were the defenders of the weak and innocent?” “She isn’t weak-” “If we wake up tomorrow and find that she died, what will you say then, hmm? Want to be the one who tells Ikaya ‘Oh, sorry, it seems our little charge here got killed last night, tough luck, eh? But hey, here’s the body! That’s some good news!’ Regardless of my past, I thought being a ‘Lord’ meant more than just sitting around in a wad of gold.”[/spoiler] The whole thing is compounded, of course, seeing as Mishu isn’t an orphan. Her parents aren’t going to go, “Oh, sure, sweetie, you can go along with this guy who is clearly having a midlife/identity-crisis. Have fun.” Does...any of this make sense to you? A guy with a violent past leaves it. He makes amends and works to forge a new reputation for himself. Then, one day, on a whim, he suddenly wants to throw all that in the metaphorical toilet by...going...back...to the way...he used to be? All because Mishu reminded him of himself when he was her age? If he were just a random NPC, I could easily scrap him but...he’s one of the major characters. The story literally can’t happen without him. Help! D:
I don't get it. You said that he wants to go back to protecting the innocent, but if he's working for the police doesn't that mean he already does that more or less? Are the police corrupt? Why can't he just save his crew mates with his current position? He has access, information, authority, etc. If he becomes a wanted pirate he has more freedom to do things sure, but he'd lose all of those things. It's easier to help his crew with resources.
That makes sense. Maybe what I’m really looking for is if he’s willing to play the ‘bad cop’ and do things dirty to achieve a better goal. Perhaps anti-hero?
Well it depends mostly on the character's personality, morals and resolve, and u know him better than i do, so what do you think? Although From the things that you have told about this character i can see that it's plausible for him to turn anti-hero-ish. Like dirty, but not too dirty.
I think you will have to work hard to justify it, but it could make sense. Old habits can be hard to break, even when you think you've broken them. Like a gambler who hasn't gambled for twenty years and is on a clean slate, but he's then offered participation in the greatest game of all time or something. He crumbles and goes back to his old ways. If Gregreo has a violent past, does he have some violent traits that he's been trying to shut out? Or violent ways so ingrained in him that this clean slate has just been about ignoring what's second-nature and having to take a moment to think his actions through and perform the more reasonable ones? If so, falling back into his old ways because Mishu reminds him of his younger self could be very easy.
What doesn't work for me is the notion that he's having a middle aged crisis, and that he wants to go back to being a pirate again because the girl reminds him of his old self. That's thin. What if, however, he is becoming increasingly unhappy with police work? He knows he could do a more efficient job catching criminals if he stopped trying to work within the rules, and just cut to the chase? Somebody who works outside the law and understands criminal minds could certainly achieve more efficient results. And if he does this because he still wants to help people, rather than he just wants to become a greedy old pirate again, that would be in keeping with his transformation. He'll have skills and an outlook—and contacts—that regular policemen will not have. Perhaps they despise him because of his past and refuse to work with him? Or try to undermine him? He could work a double life, pretending to still be in the police to his colleagues while pretending to have turned pirate again to his old pirate cronies. Both subterfuges would bring enough danger to spice up the plot as well as proving interesting to work with.
My main puzzlement was the fact that pirates don't normally protect the innocent. Was this a sort of Robin Hood piracy?
Yeah, in a way. The captain he served under believed the current system was corrupt, that the rich got richer and the poor would get screwed over. He felt that by plundering the rich and giving to the poor, he’d equalize society.
