Writerly Ways
Apr. 21st, 2019 09:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessHuzzah! I finished one of the two Christmas stories.
This writerly ways comes thanks to My Hero Academia and the recent arc has gotten me thinking about unlikable characters. Should there be something redemptive about them? I suppose it matters if they're the good guys or the bad. One of the main characters, Midoriya is such a sweet, caring and endearing character. He's the entire reason to watch it. It's his story. In fact he elevates this manga/anime from all the other shonens like it. Most have a screamy boy who trains and trains and trains, fights, loses trains more and wins.
Midoriya doesn't scream. He's gentle and earnest and that's why unlike Bleach, Naruto, Black Cover and so many others I haven't lost interest. But that's not what I want to talk about. Midoriya had a friend as a kid, Bakugo. They both grew up rurally and wanted to be like their hero All Might (sort of a superman type). Well in a world where 80% of the people get some sort of magical power, Midoriya doesn't and Bakugo does.
Rather than have pity, he dubs Midoriya 'Deku' (which means good for nothing, a name he chooses to keep later on) and bullies the living crap out of him. When Midoriya gets a quirk as they're called (Thanks to All MIght) they both get into the premiere superhero training school. Deku is happy to be going with his friend (which he is unwavering about) but Bakugo isn't happy about it. He has a screaming fit instead and continues to bully Deku in the new school.
He is determined to be the number one hero, a goal shared by many including Deku and Todoroki (whose father is the number two hero in the world currently) but while the latter two are gentlemanly about it, Bakugo is obnoxious, violent and bullying and not just to his classmates. He bullies students from other classes. He's so violent that the teachers are worried about the wisdom of teaching him, yet know if they don't he will become a villain.
So Bakugo is a thoroughly unlikable and powerful character (on whom Deku refuses to give up) and we've started a new arc, where he's been kidnapped by villains. In fact the only goodness we've seen in this is him pleading with Deku not to help him in an attempt to keep him safe (judging by the inflection of the voice actor because it wasn't loud and screaming which is has been the other times Deku has tried to rescue him in various confrontations) He's not been taken because they want a hostage. In previous battles the villains realize how nasty he is and want to flip him
So right now we're at a place where Deku and the classmates need to help Bakugo and I'm struggling with this. Bakugo is so rotten I can't see why anyone would risk what the kids are risking to help him. WHy would you help this guy? He would be unlikely to help them. They could lose it all to help and it somehow feels hollow.
Can you buy helping a right bastard because it's the correct thing to do? DO you need more to make you want to see the unlikable character be saved? In a way I think I do. Draco Malfoy is pretty awful as a person but we get to see that he's been forced into some of it by his father (but not all of it, some of it is entitlement) so we have a bit of sympathy. Dawn was a terribly unpopular character on Buffy but if you really look at season 6 Dawn, she's lost her sister, the only family she has and when she gets Buffy back, Buffy is so damaged she has nothing left over for Dawn. Giles is gone. Willow and Tara have their own issues and heck being a teenager is a drama unto itself.
The same argument can be made of Connor another generally unlikable character in one respect but when you take a moment to examine the character it's obvious you can't expect much other than what you get after someone has been brainwashed for eighteen years to think the worse of his father and then gets gaslighted into believing Angel murdered the only father he had ever known, there is (or at least should be) some pity.
But with Bakugo we have no tragic backstory, no anything to depict him as anything but a power hungry bully. Should I care what happens to him?
How do YOU handle unlikable characters in your own stories?
Have some links from around the web.
Finding Acceptance and Peace Through the Ceremony of Writing
Women writing
Are You a Writer or Creator?
The Literary Merits Of Not Showing Off
Write What You Know: How Setting Shapes Story
And from Betty
How Much Research Should You Do For Your Book?
The Black Moment It's a good article but man can't we find another term other than black to denote negative things
The Character Arc in Six Specific Stages
The Flip Side
Five Tips for Writing Tears that Carry Power
How I Wrote an Extended Series
WHAT DOES YOUR ONLINE ACTIVITY SAY ABOUT YOU?
Five Characters With Strong Arcs
Crafting a Redemption Arc for Your Villain
The Five Stages of Becoming a Fiction Writer
Does My Character-Driven Story Need an External Conflict?
It's been awhile since I've done these
Yearly Word Count -
16267 / 100000 words. 16% done!
Mischief Christmas -
4938 / 21000 words. 24% done!
WIPBingbang -
17027 / 30000 words. 57% done!
This writerly ways comes thanks to My Hero Academia and the recent arc has gotten me thinking about unlikable characters. Should there be something redemptive about them? I suppose it matters if they're the good guys or the bad. One of the main characters, Midoriya is such a sweet, caring and endearing character. He's the entire reason to watch it. It's his story. In fact he elevates this manga/anime from all the other shonens like it. Most have a screamy boy who trains and trains and trains, fights, loses trains more and wins.
Midoriya doesn't scream. He's gentle and earnest and that's why unlike Bleach, Naruto, Black Cover and so many others I haven't lost interest. But that's not what I want to talk about. Midoriya had a friend as a kid, Bakugo. They both grew up rurally and wanted to be like their hero All Might (sort of a superman type). Well in a world where 80% of the people get some sort of magical power, Midoriya doesn't and Bakugo does.
Rather than have pity, he dubs Midoriya 'Deku' (which means good for nothing, a name he chooses to keep later on) and bullies the living crap out of him. When Midoriya gets a quirk as they're called (Thanks to All MIght) they both get into the premiere superhero training school. Deku is happy to be going with his friend (which he is unwavering about) but Bakugo isn't happy about it. He has a screaming fit instead and continues to bully Deku in the new school.
He is determined to be the number one hero, a goal shared by many including Deku and Todoroki (whose father is the number two hero in the world currently) but while the latter two are gentlemanly about it, Bakugo is obnoxious, violent and bullying and not just to his classmates. He bullies students from other classes. He's so violent that the teachers are worried about the wisdom of teaching him, yet know if they don't he will become a villain.
So Bakugo is a thoroughly unlikable and powerful character (on whom Deku refuses to give up) and we've started a new arc, where he's been kidnapped by villains. In fact the only goodness we've seen in this is him pleading with Deku not to help him in an attempt to keep him safe (judging by the inflection of the voice actor because it wasn't loud and screaming which is has been the other times Deku has tried to rescue him in various confrontations) He's not been taken because they want a hostage. In previous battles the villains realize how nasty he is and want to flip him
So right now we're at a place where Deku and the classmates need to help Bakugo and I'm struggling with this. Bakugo is so rotten I can't see why anyone would risk what the kids are risking to help him. WHy would you help this guy? He would be unlikely to help them. They could lose it all to help and it somehow feels hollow.
Can you buy helping a right bastard because it's the correct thing to do? DO you need more to make you want to see the unlikable character be saved? In a way I think I do. Draco Malfoy is pretty awful as a person but we get to see that he's been forced into some of it by his father (but not all of it, some of it is entitlement) so we have a bit of sympathy. Dawn was a terribly unpopular character on Buffy but if you really look at season 6 Dawn, she's lost her sister, the only family she has and when she gets Buffy back, Buffy is so damaged she has nothing left over for Dawn. Giles is gone. Willow and Tara have their own issues and heck being a teenager is a drama unto itself.
The same argument can be made of Connor another generally unlikable character in one respect but when you take a moment to examine the character it's obvious you can't expect much other than what you get after someone has been brainwashed for eighteen years to think the worse of his father and then gets gaslighted into believing Angel murdered the only father he had ever known, there is (or at least should be) some pity.
But with Bakugo we have no tragic backstory, no anything to depict him as anything but a power hungry bully. Should I care what happens to him?
How do YOU handle unlikable characters in your own stories?
Have some links from around the web.
Finding Acceptance and Peace Through the Ceremony of Writing
Women writing
Are You a Writer or Creator?
The Literary Merits Of Not Showing Off
Write What You Know: How Setting Shapes Story
And from Betty
How Much Research Should You Do For Your Book?
The Black Moment It's a good article but man can't we find another term other than black to denote negative things
The Character Arc in Six Specific Stages
The Flip Side
Five Tips for Writing Tears that Carry Power
How I Wrote an Extended Series
WHAT DOES YOUR ONLINE ACTIVITY SAY ABOUT YOU?
Five Characters With Strong Arcs
Crafting a Redemption Arc for Your Villain
The Five Stages of Becoming a Fiction Writer
Does My Character-Driven Story Need an External Conflict?
It's been awhile since I've done these
Yearly Word Count -
Mischief Christmas -
WIPBingbang -
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Crafting a Redemption Arc for Your Villain
Date: 2019-04-22 07:41 pm (UTC)Re: Crafting a Redemption Arc for Your Villain
Date: 2019-04-22 08:09 pm (UTC)I'm more or less over it now so I can at least deal with the character but I still cannot forget Season 6 (and apparently neither can the actors who are still pretty upset by having to do those scenes)