Discussing the Damsel Scrappy business

[sarajayechan]

So you have a character who's always getting in trouble and needs rescuing, to the point where the audience goes "JUST LET IT DIE ALREADY AND GO BACK TO YOUR KICKASS ADVENTURES!!". And maybe the character really IS obnoxious or annoying, and hatred of them is understandable

Comments

[mean_cookie]

Because being a Damsel is probably the worst thing ever. Scratch villains and evil guys Damsels are the ones to blame for everything.

Orihime how dare she be controlled by plot and author's will, why isn't she doing what so called fans want her to do. I just don't see the point of 'fans' bitching and trying to change something when they have whatsoever no influence over it. It amazes me sometimes how people expect something to happen what they want because they don't like canon and when the author doesn't fulfill their wishes characters get ripped to pieces because of it.

[akai_senshi]

*standing OVATION*

I think you also just demonstrated how difficult it is for a fan to get into a certain character's mindset that is different from their own.

[inkedfeathers]

Ugh, I agree so very much. Even if all the "damsel" types I know are really subverting the trope (Penelope Pitstop is clever and usually ends up saving herself and the Anthill Mob after their attempt at saving her gets them caught in a fix too... and Pinoko and Sailor Moon both alternate between being saved and saving their respective male rescuers), but I am an Orihime fan and yes, this kind of attitude is just plain ridiculous.

People.

The other characters do not necessarily share your views about those characters you hate.

If you must write them that way, at least show us how they got there or hand-wave that they've had an "awakening" that led to their seemingly random hatred or ambivalence towards that character.

[marikocure]

Because heaven forbid people be weak, or make mistakes, or be human. People like that are just dead weight! /sarcasm

Slightly off topic, but I agree with you on the "Canon characters sharing the author's thoughts" thing, I hate that. And I especially hate it when they use it to bash other canon characters. (Or when they use it to make them Boring Invincible Heroes/Canon Sues.)

[kankurette]

See point below re Naruto. I hate it when writers and artists make characters who like each other in canon enemies, just because they hate one of said characters. Particularly when it goes against the entire message and essence of the canon.

[dai_atlas]

Heh, I've seen this a hundred times, and it's one of the attitudes I like to make fun of most in fanfics.

What I really hate, though? When people try to justify doing this, or outright defend it. I've been told, "Everybody puts a little bit of themselves in their fanfics, so it's okay if I make everybody hate Character X!" Apparently they've confused "a little bit" with "blatantly OOC."

[animenutcase]

It's unfortunately very easy to project yourself into the characters. I've done it, and I think I still do to a certain extent. I'm just glad that I've moved past character bashing.

Honestly, it really bothers me that fans would say "He should just let her die!", just because they're annoyed by the hero always rescuing them. For one thing, the hero does care about them, and two, if they just let them die, they wouldn't be much of a hero, now would they?