Writing Tips and Reviews

"That's the point"

I've ragged a lot about characters who are narcissistic assholes who think getting told "no" once makes them the victim and we have to be subjected to twelve chapters of them crying while they demonize everyone who disagrees with them. Classic narcissist move. But I do that because it was never the point of their character. The point was to make them a sympathetic and relatable protagonist who the audience can root for. But the only people who can relate to getting everything they want on a golden plate yet still call their parents pure evil for not getting a good enough gift are narcissists. And probably toddlers. Who I don't think can read.

Why is Luke Fon Fabre one of the most popular characters in the Tales franchise? Or why Gilgamesh is basically everywhere in the Fate franchise? They have the exact same behaviors that I complained about, but here I am praising them. Why?

Luke's purpose in the story was to start as as a narcissistic asshole because he was meant to grow. He learns about thinking further than the present day, he learns to appreciate his friends, and he slowly becomes a person who his friends don't want to let go. His arc was massive during the time and rose him in the ranks quickly. It's in every spin off game for a reason.

Gilgamesh wasn't a protagonist in Fate Stay/Night, he was an antagonist, which does help him since it's easier to have an asshole antagonist. But that's not all he is. He's a foil to Artoria, the saber servant. He's an arrogant jerk who only thinks of himself, outright hurts people if they don't do what he says, and has no regard for how his people feels. The meme of him standing on a throne while his people pull exists for a reason and he clashes with Artoria, who's shown in that same meme pulling the throne while her people sit on it. They are direct opposites in how they view kingship and makes Artoria wonder if she was a good king. He's also a lot of fun, he's got that personality that blasts in your face and his laugh is amazing. That VA did a great job.

Now let's talk about when it isn't the point.

Raine was a spoiled little brat, it was acknowledged by the story she got everything she wanted and had the perfect life but it started to fall apart when it said "she had to learn to live through it." Saying it wasn't enough for her. Add on the demonization of her parents for not giving her a good enough gift and asking once if she did her homework, and you get "this wasn't the point, was it?" Was she ever fun like Gilgamesh? Not really, she never had a personality beyond crying she was the victim of abuse because she wasn't getting what she wanted the way she wanted it and when she wanted it.

An entire chapter was dedicated to saying how evil her parents must be and how everything in her life is meant to torture her when she's done nothing wrong. Then it's proven in the story her mom is evil because "magic book evil" which only proved she was right to demonize her mom, even though their only interaction was "did you do your homework?" Followed by chapters of "my mom is the most evil horrible and abusive person in the world! I'm a victim!" To not rant more about a character who's blatant narcissism can be posted online without the context its in a fictional story and have comments saying "my abuser was the exact same way!" I'm going to just say she got what she wanted in the end and the description of the story was "Raine wants more, something only magic can give her." Because, clearly, real world things are "not good enough" for her and she's somehow the victim.

Amber, when I say twelve chapters of "I'm the victim" I mean it. I'm not going to explain the entire story, there's really no reason. The only thing you need to know is that she knowingly broke the rules, yelled at the principal (who unrealistically cried about being told "no" by a child), got detention for a single night while crying she was the victim, cried about being the victim when her classmates found out, beat up an innocent girl who asked her what happened, then proceeded to demonize said girl and say she's the victim. I don't think I need to ask if her personality was at all fun because crying victim to things she did and got in trouble for was her personality. This is textbook abuser and it sucks that the point of the story was to make people feel sorry for this poor baby who gets punished "for no reason". Which I clearly don't.

Can you see what I mean? When it's done on purpose then that's fine. There's a reason for the character to be an asshole and act in ways that would get them punched. Luke was meant to grow from it and Gilgamesh was meant to be the opposite of Artoria. They had character arcs that went beyond their personality and Gilgamesh's caster version gives us a greater look into his character. He falls into the same boat as Luke because Enkidu was able to change him to be a better person, to the point his goal on Grand Order was to save his people where he would originally not have thought about them.

Raine never grows, she stagnates by justifying her narcissistic view that she should be given everything in the world on a golden platter else she's the victim and the story itself bends to her being the good guy. It gives her magic to do whatever she wants and makes her parents, and anyone else who disagrees with her, actually evil. Overall proving she is right and her behavior is okay because everyone else is the bad guy. We're reaching some Illuminaughtii fake apology levels of narcissism. Amber... is somehow worse. Not only whining that she's the victim within her head, the story itself makes her victim by attempting to demonize the people around her who aren't on her side. She beats up a classmate and gets rewarded while the classmate is said to be an extremely powerful evil force. I've seen actual demons in media be treated with more respect. 

The point is for these characters to be supported and liked while the antagonists are hated. But all I feel it pity for anyone who disagrees with them because that will just end in a series of either verbal or physical abuse by the "hero" and a "you will not believe how much of a victim I am" speech by that supposed hero. Textbook abuser stuff doesn't exactly work in a fictional space when we're supposed to like the character. I don't feel sorry for Raine because she didn't get an expensive enough gift, yelled at her father, then went to her room to cry about how evil he is. Katarina Claes did that for two minutes because the writers knew no one would be on her side. I don't feel sorry for Amber when she physically abuses her classmates but cries about how evil they are because "my narrative of me being the victim was questioned." I don't even know any stories who have written that and still made a likable character.

But I guess we can work on fixing these characters. Would be mean of me not to.

Raine first. I'm surprisingly fine with her being the worst person alive in the beginning. It's okay for her to act like she deserves everything on a golden platter and is the victim if she doesn't get it. Like I said, Katarina Claes started out the same. What I would do instead of making everything actually evil is for her to slowly learn to appreciate the people around her and what they do for her. Make her go on that magic journey but instead of feeding into "everyone who disagrees with me is evil", have her learn just how hard it is to not have everything she wants given to her instantly. Maybe pair her with someone who's grown up with nothing yet still finds happiness in life. Maybe show her parents who are really bad. And maybe have the magical world slowly open her eyes to what it means to have caring parents, as that's what she has. Sure, it's their fault for raising her to be a spoiled brat, but it doesn't make them pure evil or justify her own abuse towards them. The story shouldn't be trying it's hardest to bend for her and make her the hero when she acts like a blatant villain.

As for Amber, I'm also fine with her breaking the rules and crying she's the victim. However, as to not repeat the exact storyline I just gave Raine, I would switch the roles. Make the classmate she bullied the protagonist while she's the antagonist. The point is to make a character who is likable, relatable, and who the audience can feel sorry for when bad things happen. The victim of constant bullying by someone who calls themselves the victim when caught is one of the most relatable things for anyone who's been in middle school. This new protagonist just needs to be a good person and someone who cares about the well-being of others to be likable. Maybe you can make the two foils of one another. And it's okay to make Raine a backstory that explains her horrid behavior and makes the protagonist feel bad for her. Demon Slayer does a wonderful job of writing demons as horrible people who have sad backstories.  So, it's fully possible to do the same to Raine. The original intent of making the audience feel for her is there but it's done in a way that isn't her abusing people then crying she's the victim when she gets caught.

Why was that even a trend? I know they say the work of a person reflects who they are, but that is a notion I don't really want to look further into.

As long as it's intentional to make the character a horrible person, I don't see anything wrong with them being the worst person alive. I mean, it's not too hard to find characters who suck but are likable. Gilgamesh exists and he's really popular. And if you're going to go for an evil protagonist, go for it. Don't stop half way to go for the "actually a little baby who needs coddling" after they abused their own family for not getting what they want once. No one wants to read more Onision books.