forum Unique protagonist

Started March 25, 2018 by @Paperok

tune

What makes your protagonist different from everyone else?

He has a more interesting life than everyone else.

Other than that, not much. He has a combination of different qualities that exist in other people.

Depends on which one… My newest favorite is August Gates on_who is a combination of like, the five "most badass" things ever.

#5 Smoking.
#4 Riding a motorcycle.
#3 Being a fallen angel
#2 An IDGAF attitude that we all wish we could have.
#1 Saving the world.

Imm just gonna dig for more details if you two don't mind
@Masterkey
what makes his life more interesting? His work? His actions? The actions of those around him?
@shurikenwolfbadass_13
I don't see how smoking and apathy are badass but I guess it's a preference thing. Either way being a fallen angel, riding a motorcycle and saving the world are varying degrees of unique, but what makes him special? What are his quirks? What does he do that makes him human? (Well not really "human" because he's an angel but you know what I mean) what makes up his personality?

I guess my protagonist is unique. He's one of my favorite characters that I've created, and for a protagonist, that's rare for me.
So this is about my MC, Xander

1. He's a guy, but he's got high emotional intelligence and lots of empathy- he's not apathetic and stoic like your average male hero
2. He's a protagonist, but he's not really a hero; he's originally a thief by trade, but neutral good by nature
3. He's got a lot of real flaws: he's over-sensitive sometimes, he's a little gullible, he's a big coward, but that's what makes him himself, and a lot of his strength comes from his awareness that he's definitely not invincible.
4. Although he does magic, his magic has fairly clear limitations. He uses shadow magic, so in a place with many shadows, he can feed off his surroundings, but if he were in a very bright room, or in the middle of a field at high noon, he would have to use up his own power, which, if he's not careful, could include tapping into his own life force.
5. He's got cool hobbies and skills that reflect his personality. He's primarily a visual artist and likes to paint and draw. He also learned how to sew because it was practical, and so he can patch holes, take up clothes, etc.
   There's probably more, but that's all I've got for now.

@Paperok, well the character is based on general stereotypes of what a badass is, stereotypically, they all smoke, and don't give a damn, but really, things are much different. He's not meant to be a badass, he's meant to be the stereotypical version of one. But as far as quirks go, the character doesn't know all that much about being human, experiencing human needs for the first time is strange to him, furthermore because of his new status he is socially awkward, because he again, doesn't know how to just "be human". Lastly he has a good eye for historical and scientific things, and dislikes mainstream culture for reasons that he won't reveal.

I also disagree about apathy, I think if it's done right, it can make a character very badass, but generally it isn't, especially with this character, but it's supposed to be that way.

Basically, he's meant to revolutionize what people think is "awesome" or "badass" by making it seem like it's not that nice/cool, and pushing them to find their own way. It's more what he stands for that makes him unique then what he is. I dunno if you'll get what I'm saying, but I hope you do. The character is a satire really.

I suppose my character could be called unique as compared to other fictional characters, but that's only because I'm going for the most real-seeming person possible. And I guess fictional characters in general don't usually feel real (only because, as with any form of entertainment, 80% of it is crap and the rest is good :P). His life is only more interesting than the average real life person, simply because I'm writing a book about him. If his life wasn't interesting, I wouldn't write about it, heh. Totally depends on your definition of course.

I basically love reading about ordinary, maybe average intelligence, un-special people either working hard to gain "special powers," or proving to everyone that ordinary them can also bring something extraordinary to the table. I feel like that can be done wrong, but when done right, it's so fun to read about. Of course my character is special in that he works in the government as a special operative-esq position, but he has to bust his butt to get there. People with the same amount of potential couldn't get there because they didn't work hard enough, not because they weren't good enough. I believe that the average person could succeed amazingly in life in general if they worked hard, you know? You don't have to be born with it.

As for personality, he's too day-dreamy at times, obsessed with being popular, very "up in your face will fight you with his fists" kind of guy, and a huge flirt. But he deals with a lot of insecurities (based on spoilery plot points) that he buries deep under a "funny guy" attitude.

Sorry for the speech. XD

'Key has it down!

Thanks, haha. Your character does sound pretty unique, especially at the cool angle you're taking with what some would call cliche.

Also, what about your character Paperok?

@Becfromthedead Xander seems like a nice well-rounded character. how does he bounce off of others? how does he interact with the universe? what kind of story is this if you don't mind going into detail.

@shurikenwolfbadass_13 before I continue Let me say; I feel like I may have come off overly critical, I really like August. Most of my points about him seeming over badass and what not are negated thanks to your explanation of his function as the overhaul of what being badass actually means. very nice! now Id like to know (if you don't mind of course) what kind of story is he in?

@Masterkey Oh I don't mind the speech at all, that's actually the kind of thing I want lol. your drive to make him relatable as possible is an interesting one; like you said it is very rarely well done, even I (I say this like I am some legendary writer or something lol) have trouble with making my characters seem human. I love the idea of specifying just how hard he had to work to get where he is; like Shurikenwolf said you really have this down packed.

About my protagonist, Cameron's most unique factor, in my opinion, is his apathy towards the problems occurring in the galaxy around him because he is "safe" where he is. he serves as a play on the cliche rebellious warrior who lost their family and would do anything to overthrow the government keeping the galaxy in poverty.

@Paperok It's fine, don't sweat it, I suppose I should have explained better.

As for the story, it's a highschool type thing that portrays all of the stereotypes of highschool cliques, it involves heavy parody, satire, and surreal elements, some of the characters aren't human, we have a few camps and wolves, a couple witches, a psychic, and our fallen angel friend here, and the technology is somewhat more advanced, furthermore, everyone has ACTUAL equality, there is no hate or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs (or lack thereof), and all that, not like the "equality" we have now, but it's traded for assloads of corruption. The laws are changed to include the tech and new races too. It's really a surreal drama and coming of age story about wheat roles are and how they're both necessary and oppressive, as well as a comment on government, economy, society and human nature as a whole.

My guy is the sorta guy who you would tap on the shoulder and he’d get so startled that he’d turn around and punch in the face, then take you out for ice cream because he felt bad.

@Paperok Xander is usually the live and let live type, so he interacts with other characters in a lot of ways. I mentioned he's a thief. He's never intentionally hurt anyone to steal anything. Some of the characters easily become friends with him because he's a nice guy, and won't betray anyone's trust, but he doesn't get people who have more questionable morals (i.e. killing people for any reason, as he almost loses it when he himself shoots someone in true self-defense). The more stoic characters see him as overly sensitive, which isn't wrong. They sometimes might avoid him because some of them don't deal that well with other people's emotions, and one more stoic character (his name is Niko) actually tries to push his limits in a positive by teaching him that it's okay to fight back and take no more, and that if he has to knock down anyone in his way, that it's sometimes okay.
As for what kind of story this is??? That's a tough one. Think fantasy in the way that there's magic, but with an 1800s time period in an alternate universe that I created so that I could world build myself and make my own nations. A lot of the plot is that he and a group of other people with questionable pasts get caught in the middle of a revolt against the tyrannical government. This nation that they live in is a confederacy made up of 7 states (formerly 8, due to a recent secession). The 7 states are very different and don't agree on anything, and the government has secretly become more central than they're supposed to be, and they're very controlling and violent, and it's even harder because the states are already very different. I'm not sure how else to describe it, but the focus of the story is more on morals and tragedy than on the big picture of the revolt itself. Plots are hard.
Also, thanks for asking questions about this! I like that you're making us all think!

…PTSD?

@shurikenwolfbadass_13 That's an interesting concept. What brought this world to the situation of near perfect equality it is at now?

@snowflake_castiel he sounds like a sweetheart lol. Is there a reason he is startled so easily?

@Becfromthedead Xander is definitely a nice character the way you describe his refusal to kill unless he absolutely has to and even then panicking over it. what is the backstory for that? has he seen too much death? is he simply naive to the world around him?
about your plot; how do our "protagonists" get swept up in this revolution? wrong place wrong time? was one of their close friends involved and just kind've dragged them along with them? How do these characters function as a group? do they trust each other? do they hardly know each other? You said they all had questionable pasts, does that mean they are all criminals? Also no problem, I like doing this lol.

@alice Who has PTSD?

@Paperok Well, his first impulse is to punch something, cuz he fights evil people a lot.

Xander is kind of naive- he's only 17, and still hasn't completely grown up. He also knows that by killing someone, he's hurting those close to them. Someone killed his father (it's later revealed to be one of the other protagonists), and it makes him think, "what if they have children or siblings to go home to?"
The 4 MCs barely know each other, except for the brother-sister pair, Niko and Elizah. There's a larger group of people introduced, and Niko knows a lot of them because they all used to work for the nation's military, but all except Niko got up and deserted. (Niko was actually murdered before the start of the story, but he was brought back by a magic object (the Life Stone), which ties back in to how Elizah and he met Xander.) Then, there's Ilya, the fourth main character, who met them all through his search for that Life Stone, realized it had been used already, and panicked, because he had been working for the mafia under extortion and if he didn't come back with the Life Stone, his punishment would be severe, so he looks to them for help because he literally has no one else.
The reason they get swept up in the revolution is because Niko is a natural-born leader with a lot of knowledge of the government they're up against, so people gravitate towards him, and bam, he becomes the leader of a ragtag militia. The others rally behind him because they believe in the cause and trust him (or most of them do). It was especially hard for Niko to resist the role because he likes to feel in control, and it also served a purpose to his best friend, whose hometown was razed because of protests.
As for their pasts, we have Xander, who's a thief, Ilya, who's in the mafia and usually is used as a hit-man, Niko, who was a soldier for an army with no regard for human life and killed on orders without question, then Elizah, who is overall just manipulative and literally tries to kill Xander, but when she decides to spare him, she tricks him into doing what she wants. In the extended group, we also have twin mercenaries, plus a bunch of other former soldiers who have had enough of doing the bad things they're told to do.

@Paperok that's the only thing that might qualify as making my character unique (but not really).

@snowflake_castiel What kind of evil people does he fight? criminals?

@Becfromthedead I like Xander and his mindset. How does this mindset get challenged throughout the story (Aside from your earlier mention of Niko trying to get him out of it) Explain how our tyrannical government works? what do they do that makes them so hated. why do they do said things? are they squandering resources? are they simply desiring pain amongst their citizens?

@alice What caused the PTSD?

Well, six of my character's are like the protag so i'll just go with Hunter.
He's literally the one who keeps everyone in check and not killing each other. (If it wasn't for him, James would've killed Ember by now.)
He took his girlfriend's vision for her. (It's complicated. More like a trade.)
He deals with James and Conner.
Nerdy but buff team leader. (He's not that buff.)
Breaks the cliches of earth element users.
He's a theorist.
He's ginger. (Becuz that's important.)
He can dual wield swords.
He's the team leader but he gets a very hard time from everyone.
He's the most powerful out of the main three. (Ember, Audra, and Himself.)
Will literally stand there for twenty minutes trying to figure out the mathematical physics of something.

@Oh.my.gosh.it's.friking.SYCORE Why does he feel the need to keep everyone in check? does he feel like a father to them?
What is a vision and what pushed Hunter to take his girlfriend's (name?) vision for her?
What kind of team is he the leader of? Is it a party thing? a rebellion? an army squad? in extension what kind of world does Hunter live in?

Ooooh, what makes my protagonists unique, eh?
The fact that they are actual people that I can't predict (they're the players in my D&D story)
This makes it hard to write for them because if they want to do one thing whereas I want them to do the other, it gets complicated.

Xander's mindset is challenged because he's in a violent revolution, and is pressured to kill and harm those who are his enemies. It's not so much a challenge by individuals as it is by his situation.
This tyrannical government was originally focused on maximizing the economic output by reducing trade barriers entirely (apparently they haven't heard of international trade agreements), and those at the center are mostly power-hungry warlords who will do whatever it takes to keep the system going. They don't care for their citizens very much; there are virtually no social services, and their freedom to express dissent is non-existent. The worst part is that the government uses even more questionable methods to keep things together. They use threats, violence, and fear to keep everyone in mind, and are very much pro-torture. A year before the story takes place, a war had just ended, which allowed one of the states to break away, and it was a bloody, total war. The government slayed soldiers, of course, but also tore down all civilians, including children, in its way. People have had enough of their ways.