#protagonists

[mysticdragon3md3]

Source: https://twitter.com/p_kouhou/status/1783710497994662045?t=_nSnvcZk0fa7EVRDqkPL2g&s=19

[troythecatfish]

[3hks]

Types of Protagonists

Merry Christmas, everyone! For this special day, I decided to release a hopefully more interesting and helpful post! As always, I made up MOST of the names to get the general idea across. (The internet is only so helpful and only so specific.) But having said that, here are some different types of main characters!The Hero - We all grew up with this one, this character's whole goal is just to be able to make a positive impact on the world. They're often caring, sometimes unnecessarily so, kind, and determined!

>>> The Antihero - An antihero is a character whose actions are morally wrong, as they seem like they'd be villains in any other story. However, they do everything with a positive purpose and motive in mind! Lastly, this character is usually more ruthless and apathetic towards others than the common person.

>>> The Villain - Were you surprised? Yes, a villain can absolutely be the main character of the story! They're simply the antagonist, but with the story based on their point of view. Despite that, don't get this mixed up with an antihero! A stereotypical villain really doesn't have much good behind their motives.

>>> The Average One - This character is meant to connect with the readers. They aren't anything special and don't stick out in any particular way, as their emotions and responses are meant to be relatable to the majority of the audience. They may have a couple of exceptional traits, but those are typically supernatural and don't interfere with their personality!

>>> The Cold Calculator - This is one of the more specific types that I couldn't research explicitly about online. The Cold Calculator is a character type that is, well, cold and calculating! They have an impressively high amount of intelligence, which they use to achieve their objectives. Additionally, they are able to manipulate people, yet there's a lack of empathy for them. They are self-centered and focus only on their goals, disregarding those around them. Normally, this character isn't meant to stick out too much from the crowd, but naturally, there can be exceptions!

>>> The Hidden Genius - To be honest, I don't see much of this character type in American novels, but I think that they could really use some! The Hidden Genius is usually found in fantasy-oriented stories, where they have an extraordinary ability, but hide it for private reasons. This could be because it's dangerous, they lack control over it, it's peculiar, it requires specific settings, they're unaware of their ability, or that they simply don't want anyone realizing the power they have!

>>> The Changed One - This is a protagonist who's actively trying to change themselves from who they previously were! They're trying to escape their previous life and connections because they realize that what they were doing was, well, wrong. (Example: a thief abandoning his job to simply become a normal citizen, or a socially awkward student trying to overcome their anxiousness.) Still, their history does have an impact on them and affects them as a person! Honestly, it doesn't have to be a major change either, the point is that a character is just trying to alter themselves for the better!

>>> The Second Best - This character is incredibly impressive at something--very well above average--but there's another character who's simply better and tops them. The second character is normally some kind of rival for the protagonist to overcome. The two's relationship is typically rather complex, as it's often composed of learning, growth, competitiveness, and acceptance! This character is usually found in a school setting, revolving around academics or sports, but it's definitely not limited to that!

>>> The Almost Perfect Character - When introduced, this protagonist is seemingly perfect in all aspects of their life (at least in the eyes of others). However, as the story continues, little flaws are revealed and the readers are now aware of the underlying depth of this protagonist's life. Throughout the character's journey, they overcome their doubts, accept themselves for who they are, and learn to appreciate their imperfections!

>>> The Not-So-Gifted One - This character is pretty much summed up by the name: they're not very talented and lacking in several different, important skills. They are below average compared to other people their age, and struggle to meet expectations. Their story is typically about self-improvement, change, and acceptance!

Whew! That's ten different types of protagonists that can definitely be used in your works! I hope that these serve as inspiration and some kind of guide to those struggling to come up with an original main character! Thank you so much for those who bothered to read this unnecessarily long post, and happy holidays!

Happy writing~

3hks <3

[vexwerewolf]

Heroes are all fucked up

I know this has been said before in a thousand different ways by a thousand different people and some of them said it better than me, but it's on my mind and so here goes:

Heroes are deeply fucked up people

The answer to "why would any normal person pick up a sword and go diving into caves full of monsters/strap themselves into a ten-ton death machine/fly between worlds in their spaceship doing crimes" is "no normal person would" because nobody with a happy, fulfilling life would need to.

Something happened to every D&D character that made them either want or need to put themselves in terrible danger on a regular basis. Something happened to every mech pilot in Lancer that makes them keep climbing into a walking weapon despite the risk. They don't have to enjoy what they're doing, they might hate it, but they need it because something happened to them that made them this way.

Firefly wasn't a perfect show, and not every aspect of it aged well, but it's such a good example of this. Malcolm Reynolds is a guy who believed in something enough to fight and kill for it, and he got to watch most of the people who trusted him die. Now he travels from place to place in a beaten up old trashfire of a ship putting himself in constant danger because it Makes The Thoughts Stop, and he tries to pass himself off as uncaring but he just can't help himself when an opportunity to do the right thing arises, because maybe, just maybe, if he does enough good things, maybe it will make up for his failures.

"Why do so many OCs have a tragic backstory" because we like to write about things that are interesting and the kind of people who live very happy, untroubled lives are not very interesting

[cyber-corp]

protagonists who are just some guys that have things happen to them. my favourite

[hedgehogoftime]

YA Authors who make their female protagonist’s like “oh, I’m skinny and have brown hair and eyes, I’m so plain! I’m not pretty and conventionally attractive at all!” are cowards. Fucking commit, asshole. Fuck up her face with scars and burns. Give her a hunchback or a clubfoot. There’s too many pretty protagonists. Ugly people like me deserve to see themselves in heroes. Teach kids that their worth doesn’t come from their looks.

[my-two-cents-about-everything]

These plushies are so cute! Look at my Makoto😊

[wcdesigns]

Shadowsight

somebody pay for his therapy please???

i did the other protagonists for TBC so why not do him

[shinigami-striker]

Jak, Ratchet, & Sly Cooper (Manga) | Monday, 02.19.24

Which manga series do you prefer? Either from Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, or maybe Sly Cooper?

Jak & Daxter (?)

Ratchet & Clank Bang Bang Bang! Critical Danger of the Galaxy Legend (2005-2008)

Phantom Thief Sly Cooper (2005)

[lovelylittlelevity]

Protagonists Concepts!

Femme, Enby, and Masc :3

[eduuwu]

Demon Slayer Protagonists

[hoolay-boobs]

This is just a joke, Apple and Raven are stunning protagonists

[breathofevil]

Design 28 | Darkstalker the NightWing-IceWing Hybrid (2.0 - 1.0)

Blank NightWing illustration by Joy Ang, relined by K9Pestilence, and colored by @trunswicked | This design is free to use without credit (but please do not remove the credit box if you share this image elsewhere!)

[shyjusticewarrior]

Evan Hansen was so afraid of leading with the worst of him he ending up bonding with others through his worst actions. This is a metaphor for self destruction and self fulfilling prophecy. In this essay I will-

[yay855]

People really, truly need to learn the difference between protagonists, antagonists, heroes, and villains, and where the line between them is. A protagonist is a character who the story centers on, while an antagonist is a character who opposes the protagonist; a hero is a character who is doing the right thing, while a villain is a character who is doing the wrong thing. Not all protagonists are heroes and not all antagonists are villains.

Superman is a hero protagonist, and Lex Luthor is a villain antagonist. LISA: The Painful has Brad as a villainous protagonist and Rando as a heroic antagonist (though you don't learn this until later on). Megamind is a villainous protagonist for most of the movie who becomes a heroic protagonist in the process of fighting a villainous antagonist (Titan) who he created to be a heroic antagonist. Breaking Bad features Walter White as a villainous protagonist who often fights against Gustavo Fring, a villainous antagonist. Across the Spider-Verse features a hero protagonist clashing with a hero antagonist over conflicting views of what is right and what is necessary. Terry Pratchett novels have an overabundance of characters who fall on every single side of the morality divide and many who fall between it.

Stories are not always about good people fighting bad people. There can be so much nuance when it comes to a narrative, and reducing it to... to superhero vs supervillain fistfights is awful! There is a place for such narratives, but not all stories need to be that- not all stories should be that. Stories about villains trying their best for their own reasons, about heroes who can't agree, about shades of gray where no one is in the right, about a world where the heroes simply aren't enough and other villains have to step up... these concepts can be so interesting if you just bother to read them and think about it instead of blindly insisting that a protagonist is always good and an antagonist is always evil.

In short: expand your horizons, think critically about what you watch and play and read, and understand that real-life villains never see themselves as villains.

[writers4all]

"BAD GUYS DESERVE HAPPY ENDINGS, TOO!" Except It's A Random Person's Essay Opinion On It.

So I've legit lost count the number of times I've seen people say that villains deserve to get a fairytale Happily Ever After and whatnot. But here's the thing ... I always get the vibe that they mean it as in it's always rainbows and butterflies (it's not) where the good guy gives the bad guy a Heel-Face Turn.

No, no, no. Stop right there.

While I don't entirely mind there being complicated af relationships going on in stories — OG Fiction or Fanfiction, it matters not — we really need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. How about instead of having the bad guy having a Heel-Face Turn or whatever we just flat out have The Bad Guy Win? It's actually been done before, and quite a lot, surprisingly. Here are a couple of examples down below:

Pokemon USUM where the big bads from Gen 1 to Gen 6 (Giovanni, Archie, Maxie, Cyrus, Ghetsis, and Lysandre) won in an alternate timeline.

Most of the SAW films with a vast majority of the traps.

Batman Arkham Knight actually succeeded in doing this by having Scarecrow reveal who Batman truly is ... ... ... ... ... TO THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD VIA LIVE TELEVISION.

Injustice: Gods Among Us played with this when The Joker manages to successfully brainwash Superman into killing Lois Lane. This one's pretty triggering, though, so head's up.

Dragon Ball Z plays with this as well for the timeline Future Trunks is from Cell actually won due to everyone except for Bulma and Trunks dying by the hands of Androids 17 + 18 and Cell.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers played with this for the Rangers actually lost the ability to morph permanently via the morphers they had at the end of the series thus having to obtain the Zeo Crystals to morph into the Zeo Rangers and not the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Mortal Kombat 11 plays with this if you choose Shang Tsung over God Liu Kang and have it to where Raiden and Fujin are mindless servants.

Something similar happens in Injustice 2 where you choose Superman over Batman to where the latter becomes a mindless servant of the former (thus scarring the young Supergirl).

With all of that being said, why not have it to where the villains do have a happy ending but not in the way we expect it. Get your readers emotionally invested to where they're not happy with the outcome kind of like when Sephiroth killed Aerith out of nowhere in the OG FF7. Or, if you really want to, make it to where they get a kick out of it kind of like how The Joker makes Batman laugh at the end of The Killing Joke. Just have the bad guy win every now and again.