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General: Where The Writing Is So Bad The Minor Characters Are Better Than The Heroes

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1 to 39 of 39

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      CommentAuthorSMARTALIENQT
    • CommentTimeJun 15th 2009 edited
     

    Let’s get a list going! Basically, think of as many examples of media where the minors characters were luckily ignored by the author, and thus saved from Sueification. I’ll start:

    1. Twilight
    2. Eragon
    3. High School Musical

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkasrain
    • CommentTimeJun 15th 2009
     

    Twilight is a serious contender for Best Characters Who Thrive Out of the Corner of the Author’s Eye. Several minor characters— who do not receive, at least for a time, the full blast of Stephenie Meyer’s love and attention— manage to be at least a little rough around the edges and marginally interesting. Meyer doesn’t care about them as much, so they don’t have to be sparkly and perfect.

    Rosalie in particular benefitted the most from inattention, I think. There is a lot of dark potential in a vampire who died in (what I assume was) a gang-rape lead by her fiance, and who honestly would have preferred to die than live eternally as a blood-sucking stone-creature. Fourtunately for Rosalie’s literary merit, Meyer doesn’t explore much of this at all (at least in the first three, I haven’t read BD), and she therefore remains something vaguely interesting in the shadows of Forks/candyland.

  3.  

    Murtagh. Case in point.

    If the whole series was from Murtagh’s pov, but even with the same events as Eragon, Inheritance would be at least ten times more interesting.

    •  
      CommentAuthorVirgil
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2009
     

    Fourtunately for Rosalie’s literary merit, Meyer doesn’t explore much of this at all (at least in the first three, I haven’t read BD), and she therefore remains something vaguely interesting in the shadows of Forks/candyland.

    I did my best to block out BD with all my willpower, but to my best recollection she suddenly gets all happy and everyone likes her and she was never a bitch.

  5.  

    Darnit. There is no escape.

    I liked how she didn’t like Bella!

  6.  

    I did my best to block out BD with all my willpower, but to my best recollection she suddenly gets all happy and everyone likes her and she was never a bitch.

    She is mentioned twice. She is a bitch to Jacob, but is all sisterly to Bella while she’s pregnant. Then, she and Emmett kiss passionately right before battle.

    That’s it. Yup.

  7.  

    Poor Jacob. He always gets the worst breaks.

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkasrain
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2009
     

    She is mentioned twice. She is a bitch to Jacob, but is all sisterly to Bella while she’s pregnant. Then, she and Emmett kiss passionately right before battle.

    That’s it. Yup.

    Oh well. I guess I wasn’t really expecting any serious development, and like I said, it’s probably for the best. Meyer would have butchered whatever she gave Rosalie, and now I can make up angsty little daydreams for myself. (Score?)

    Poor Jacob. He always gets the worst breaks.

    He does! It particularly bothered me how SM had to resort to slapping some borderline-abusive tendencies on him just to make supersupersure that Bella made the right, ahem, “choice” in returning to Sparkle Boy. Neither Bella nor Meyer seems capable of understanding that it’s the flaws which make people and characters real.

  9.  

    Well, this is probably the wrong place for it, but two series in which I despise the main characters but love the periphrial ones are Bleach and Naruto. I don’t think that they are badly written, its just that the main characters push my buttons/grate my nerves. Love the side characters, though; they all have thier personalities and quirks, but don’t have the same effect on me as the main characters.

    Eh :/

  10.  

    He does! It particularly bothered me how SM had to resort to slapping some borderline-abusive tendencies on him just to make supersupersure that Bella made the right, ahem, “choice” in returning to Sparkle Boy. Neither Bella nor Meyer seems capable of understanding that it’s the flaws which make people and characters real.

    I always loved Jacob. I mean, I’ll take a warm, cuddly guy over a statue of an angel any day. Jacob is like the Murtagh of Twilight: hotter, cooler, always gets the tough breaks and never the girl, has hordes of screaming fangirls…

  11.  

    Murtagh was the only reason I read Eldest. I was thoroughly disappointed, as he was only in it for a few chapters. :(

    • CommentAuthorWitrin
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Isn’t Rosalie only “sisterly” with Bella because she wants her baby?
    Hehe… I liked Rosalie.

    But apparently, SMeyer is planning to go back to some of the ignored characters. Like Leah.

    In Eragon…?

    Well, Eragon, and Nasuada, and Roran are the only characters CP gives any attention to. He leaves characters like Murtagh, (and Arya), (and Galbatorix), and makes his readers live in a poor imitation of hope. Maybe, just maybe, Murtagh will be redeemed to normal character status. Maybe, just maybe, CP will show Arya’s personality and motives, and not just focus on her leather bodice, and single tears, and eyebrows… Maybe Galbatorix will turn out to be the good guy…

    •  
      CommentAuthorDiamonte
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    I’d say he gives alot of attention to Arya. He makes her an ice queen. However, I gotta say, go Murtagh and Arya!

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009 edited
     

    Murtagh+Eragon+Arya=epic love triangle that would make Inheritance much better.

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkasrain
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    @RVL- I had the exact same experience. I flipped through the rest of Eldest to find out if Murtagh was really dead, and then gave up when I realized that Paolini never intended to make him anything more than a villain.

    Some time later I found Anti-Shurtugal, and my spork-enhanced memories of this experience became significantly more pleasant :-)

  16.  

    Murtagh+Eragon+Arya=epic love triangle that would make Inheritance much better.

    Oh so true! I shall have to go hunt one down on fanfic… ;)

  17.  

    @ RVL:

    Murtagh was the only reason I read Eldest.

    Back off, sister.

  18.  

    Growls at Steph, showing her teeth in a feral way ;P

    •  
      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    tries to prevent literal catfight by offering cheezburgers and Murtagh-shaped cupcakes with strawberry milshakes

  20.  

    starts making out with the Murtagh shaped cupcakes ;)

    •  
      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009 edited
     

    passes over Murtagh inflatable plushie

    No, I don’t know how an inflatable plyshie works. The blowing-in valve is on his mouth.

    Incidentally, do you think that the Campfire Bruises scene would be a good target for Freudian literary psychoanalysis, for a school presentation?

    •  
      CommentAuthorDiamonte
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    I think that would be hilarious, Moldorm.

    steals away the real Murtagh while RVL is distracted

  23.  

    That’s really random, but now that you mention it… Yeah, I think it’d work OK… God, I’d have so much much psychoanalyzing Murtagh… ;)

    is glad she got an actor to pretend to be Murtagh for Diamonte so she could have him all to herself ;)

    •  
      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009 edited
     

    clones Murtagh

    Now there’ll be enough for EVERYONE!!

  25.  

    But I dibs the original!

  26.  

    Have you no balls, Moldorm?

    [places Murtagh lookalike between RVL and Steph, stands back, then flips out camera phone]

    •  
      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    Just trying to satisfy everyone. Your way is more fun, though.

  28.  

    Why do girls do that thing with the stuff?

    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    dives between RVL and Steph, grabbing Murtagh under one arm and tackling Dr Al in the process. Then she escapes, cackling madly

    Wait! This isn’t him! It’s only a lookalike! kills Dr Al

  30.  

    Dr Al! NUUUUUUUUU!

    I will avenge you!

    •  
      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    Don’t worry, I have the diamonds, and I hired a cleric. He’ll be here soon.

  32.  

    grabs Murtagh by the hand and convinces him that she loves him the most. Then both run off into the woods with him, laughing at the rest of the world

  33.  
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      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    Do you know a good necromancer?
    Any threads been effectively reanimated recently?

  35.  

    Heh heh. (nec)Romantics.

    “Hey baby, your looking a little stiff.”

    Why did I type that!!! D: D:

    :D

    •  
      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     
  37.  
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      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    That…never occurred to me before.
    Thanks for squickying an awesome quotation.

  39.  

    Reminds me of a quote…

    Couldn’t be “the hammer is my penis,” ... ;)

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