Daemyn Sterk

Making a Tragic Character that isn't Cliche

Alright, this is a topic I'd like a little advice on and I think would be fun to discuss. What are the fundamentals to creating a tragic character that isn't cliche? Is that possible when one uses backgrounds including death of family, abuse, and things like that?

I'm currently brainstorming ideas for a character I'd like to play as, a character with a tragic background. I haven't figured out what yet, but I'd like to do my best to prevent it from being cliche. Without going into too much detail, the basis of my character is that he's always pushing himself to be open and outgoing, though struggles with sadness, hesitation, and self-consciousness on the inside. Of course, that's just an idea now which will likely be altered.

Any advice from all of the writers here on what I should avoid when writing a tragic character and be as original as possible?

Attack on Titan: Corruption and Oppression

Holy casserole, this food fight is about to get pretty intense. Btdubbs, I edited around Isra's personality a bit, just added a little section.

Attack on Titan: Corruption and Oppression

It's funny how we're the potential candidates for the military, the people defending the walls against the man-eating titans, and now we're having a food fight xD

Attack on Titan: Corruption and Oppression

"Well, nice to meet both of you!" Isra said through a mouthful of bread, evidently too hungry to care much about being polite. He didn't seem to have much regard for the clothing he wore, either allowing or just not noticing the drops of soup dripping down onto his shirt. It was in the midst of Isra's eating frenzy that the glob of vegetables hit him in the back of the head, catching in his messy red hair. Turning , Isra stared quizzically towards the direction where it had come from, putting his hand up to feel what had hit him. Pulling the vegetables out of his hair that had caused the offence. Finally spotting the person that had catapulted the vegetables into him, Isra stared him down. If it was a food fight he wanted, it was a food fight he would get.

Smiling deviously, Isra dipped his spoon into his remaining amount of soup and pulled out a portion of different items contained within. Isra would then follow suit to that the other boy had done, using his spoon to catapult the objects towards him.

Dehumanized

As soon as the man in the tree made his move, Quest's arrow was flying. The only thing preventing the arrow from thudding right into the man was a fresh burst of pain from Quest's wound, causing his aim to be thrown off. Instead of hitting the man, the arrow thudded into the base of the tree next to him. Cursing under his breath, Quest pulled another arrow from his quiver and nocked it, aiming it at the man that was now on the ground, approaching him. Another surge of pain reminded Quest of the situation he was in. Seeing the load that the man carried with him, Quest's eyes widened in alarm. The sight managed to make Quest even more untrusting towards the figure before him, it was only bandits that could obtain such a load, from years of bloodshed and thievery. And besides, he must be some kind of mutant superstar to be jumping across trees carrying that kind of load.

And that's when Quest's resolve broke. The accumulated horrors of the night, of meeting a stranger, and of everything that had happened in the last few months had finally caught onto him. He just wanted to get away, curl up in a corner and shut the cruel world around him away. Performing an act of cowardice that he would never forgive himself for, Quest turned and ran. His bow fumbled out of his shaky grasp, and Quest left that behind, too. It didn't matter anymore, he just needed to get away. Quest was weak from his wounds and fatigue, and he didn't get far before his body gave out from underneath him. Falling to his knees, Quest made no attempt to stand. The boy heard a sob escape from his lips, and his hands flew up to cover his mouth. He would not cry, no matter what happened, he wouldn't cry. Quest felt tears poke out from eyes, and he stubbornly blinked them away. This wasn't how it was meant to be, but now that he thought about it, this wasn't how the world was meant to be either.

Dehumanized

Quest's sleep was filled with nightmares of fire, wolf-esque mutations, and Al. As he twisted and turned in his little bed of foliage, a stick fell onto the boy's stomach. Waking with a cry of surprise, Quest found himself in a cold sweat. He had a smashing headache, and putting his hand to his forehead Quest could feel an unmistakable heat emanating from his skin. Great, just great. Putting his hand experimentally to his wound, pain ruptured through the boy. The bleeding had stopped, which means it wasn't extremely deep, but who knows what could of been on the creature's claws. And a night out in the open wouldn't do wonders for it either. Glancing up to take a look at the sky, Quest spotted the man in the tree and froze.

What the hell? Quest's hand went instinctively to the bow at his side. It was fortunately unscathed after the encounter with the wolf-monster, the sturdy wood holding up after getting thrust out of his hands. Quest was on his feet in an instant, bow raised. Quest felt weak, lightheaded and fatigued. As he pulled back the string of his bow, arrow nocked, he could feel the flesh around his wound stretch. Cursing under his breath at the pain, Quest fought through the urge to collapse back down and aimed his bow up towards the man. People, Quest knew, were more dangerous than any army of mutants, and there was no trusting any of them. Al was the only person he'd trusted, and now he was gone.

"Alright asshole, don't make a move or I'll let this arrow loose!"

The small boy said shakily, not feeling quite as brave as he sounded. Quest's hands shook as he held up the bow, and his body felt weak, as if he were about to collapse. Backing up slowly, Quest planned on escaping the clearing without any trouble. Though there was one thing he was sure of, he wouldn't hesitate to let his arrow fly.

Attack on Titan - Survival of the Fittest

Okay, here goes! Like I said, I did apply this character in a couple other AoT roleplays, though if this one starts up I will solely play him here.

Isra Aceline

Name: Isra Aceline

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Personality: You know those dogs that are overly excited about every single aspect of life and loves everything? Well, Isra's not a dog, but he's like that. Except around fancy, poofy suits that smell like flowers, Isra has a mortal fear for those. But yeah, let's stop joking. Isra is a fun-loving and adventurous individual, often coming off as quite reckless. He has a curiosity that cannot be satiated unless he learns absolutely every aspect of a certain thing. He's quite naive, often taking the words of others at face value. Though not dull, he's also not the sharpest tool in the shed either. Isra is usually quite kind to others, and doesn't hold a grudge. He has a mindset that makes him believe that he's protected from all harm, often not going through the lengths of caution. Can be arrogant and daft at times, too. Isra is rebellious, and freedom is his goal in life. Quite imaginative, often exaggerating his stories and embellishing his accomplishments. Isra has faced the horrors of the capital and its noblemen, but titans are another story.

Isra is always trying to prove himself, which tends to make him seem boastful. Despite the outward appearance of his personality, on the inside he's quite self-conscious and will take little jokes meant to mean nothing seriously. When making life-impacting decisions, he's quite hesitant and has trouble deciding. Has trouble facing his fears and if faced with a situation such as fighting titans, he would probably lock up and have trouble continuing. Doesn't handle stress, anger, or sadness easily, which can cause some problems.

Bio: Isra was born of the unlikely union between a lower caliber nobleman and a lowly prostitute of the underground city. A noble disaster. Awoken one morning by the cries of an infant, the nobleman was dumbfounded to find a mewling newborn on his doorstep. Taking the boy inside, he had no idea what to do with the pathetic thing. Being well into middle age, and a gluttonous pig, he had never thought about having a child. Preparing to dispose of Isra in his proper place, the garbage, the baby suddenly started giggling. Confused, the nobleman watched the baby. For a moment, all was silent, and then he too was giggling. Perhaps this wouldn't end out too badly, he could always use a laugh, and if anything he did need an heir to his fortune. Besides, it couldn't be that hard to take care of a baby, right?

By the time Isra was a year and a half years old, the nobleman had long past decided that this was the worst decision of his life. He couldn't go back now, the baby was already signed into his wills and all that legal bologna. And besides, it would be much harder to dispose of a child that's been around so long, he wouldn't be able to explain the absence. Ever since Isra was first stuffed into fancy dress clothing, he rebelled. At first that meant a whole lot of drooling, spitting, and punching, but once he got older, that changed. Isra rebelled from the start, and he was a nightmare for anyone within his vicinity. I'll leave it to your imagination when it comes to exactly what he did, but if you can imagine it, there's high possibilities that he did it. Throughout his life, Isra has had one dream. Freedom. And he'd never get the freedom that he longed for stuffed up in fancy clothing and waltzing around noble parties. The Survey Corps always called out to him, filling his mind with fantasies of adventure and excitement. Perhaps those fantasies would come true, but not likely in the way that Isra expects. Isra has fled the safety and comfort of the inner walls for a life of adventure and freedom, a choice that most would call insane.

Proficiency:
+Speed with 3DMG, Isra is able to propel himself at speeds that most other soldiers could not.
+Being enthusiastic! His enthusiasm and cheery demeanor can help moral in harsh times.

Inefficiency:
-Maneuverability and precision with 3DMG, Isra has trouble controlling movement while using 3DMG and his aim with the hooks tends to be off, also.
-Lacks any natural strength or agility, and his small frame doesn't allow him to gain much muscle mass.

Attack on Titan - Survival of the Fittest

I've been looking for an Attack on Titan roleplay that actually gets off the ground, and it sounds like this one will... I have a character I'd really like to use in an Attack on Titan roleplay, but I've barely been able to. I've used him for two different AoT roleplays so far, but none have really worked out all too well. Would you mind if I applied that character on this thread and played him here?

Dehumanized

-The night before-

Quest's blood ran cold as a howl pierced the still air of the night. All around him was darkness, pure and pitch black. He slowly circled around, his bow risen and arrow nocked. Quest silently cursed his bloody head for putting himself in this situation. Al had always told him to only hunt what he could eat, and Quest highly doubted that a scrawny kid like himself could take on an entire deer before its meat went rancid. Nevertheless, the prospect of venison was too hard to pass up, and he had tracked the damned beast deep into the woods. Of course, Quest had forgotten the time, and before he knew it dusk was settling in. By the time Quest realized that the deer had hoodwinked him and escaped, it was far too late to make it back to his tiny shack before dark.

Quest had slept in the forest before during long hunts with Al, but never alone. He was looking around for a nice tree to hold up in for the night when the howls started. They were forbidding and unnatural, a cry no natural beast could conjure. Frozen by fear, Quest awaited more sounds to signify the creature's location, but none came. Could it have left, possibly missed him or gone off to hunt a prey with a bit more meat? Quest could only hope, but he knew that he had to stay on guard. Quest was just about to take a step when the howl came. It didn't come from the sides, or behind him as he had expected, it came from above.

There was no time to react before the beast was on top of him, pinning Quest to the ground with its massive weight. The damned creature could climb trees! Quest looked up to see the second most horrifying image he'd ever seen. A wolf-like monster peered down onto Quest with cruel eyes glimmering with the thrill of the hunt. Its mouth curled up across its face in semblance of a grin, and the beast's mouth contorted to reveal teeth sharpened like razors and made for tearing apart flesh. The monster stared straight into Quest's eyes, its face mere centimeters from his and the smell of rotten meat drifting into Quest's nose. The monster's mouth opened wide and a terrifying howl rippled out, spreading saliva across Quest's face and making his ears ring in pain.

It was as the creature lowered its teeth to Quest's throat that he realized that his arm was free. In one quick, desperate action Quest thrust his hand still holding an arrow towards the beast's face. The arrow pierced through the creature's eye, the tip slicing through the soft flesh with ease. The wolf-like monster reared back, howling in rage and clawing at its face. This was all Quest needed to make his escape, pushing himself off the ground Quest ran from the creature. Spinning around once he was a good ten feet away, moonlight pushed through a gap in the foliage above and revealed the creature.

The monster had the aforementioned head of a wolf, though stood on two legs. It towered high above Quest, around seven or eight feet in height, and its body bristled with strength and power. It was huge, built for speed and strength, a combination that Quest did not desire. On the end of each hand and foot long claws stretched out, the same as sharp as the beast's teeth. There was no way that Quest could outrun a beast such as this, and the only slim chance he had to survive was by fighting.

Reaching around to his quiver to grab another arrow, Quest realized that he had lost his bow. It had been thrust away from his grasp as the beast jumped upon him, leaving him with just a hunting knife against the monster before him. His body shaking, Quest held up the knife and awaited the wolf's move. Lowering its arms to the ground, the beast pushed off and pounced toward Quest. Throwing himself to the side, Quest turned to see the monster fly past him into a tree, knocking itself hard on the head. The beast had the advantage of power and speed, but it wasn't all that smart. Seeing his chance, Quest ran forward, his knife raised for the attack. As Quest neared, the monster flung up its arm, its claws tearing through Quest's clothing and slicing into his flesh. Quest wasn't all that smart either, it seemed.

Quest was thrown to the ground, falling back to a kneeling stance. He had no time to evaluate his injuries, but he could feel warm blood flowing down his belly. The beast towered over him as if gloating, basking in its victory. Reaching down with a huge, furry hand it clutched Quest by the throat and rose him off his feet. Quest could feel his airflow being cut off, his throat constricting. As Quest came closer and closer to the monster, its mouth open in preparation, Quest realized something. He still had his knife. Thrusting upwards, the knife pierced through the monster's throat and its blood gushed out onto Quest. The hand around his throat loosened, and the beast collapsed on top of him. It was dead.

Shakily pulling himself out from underneath the monster, Quest clawed for breath. He couldn't believe it, he had against all odds, survived. Quest's breath became more erratic and heavy as he realized that he could of just as well been killed, a meal to the predator before him. Now that his adrenaline was going away, Quest felt the pain of the wound on his abdomen. Putting his hand to his stomach, Quest winced in pain. It was far too dark to do anything about it now, and Quest had no more energy.

As Quest stood, still dumbstruck over his victory, more howls echoed across the night, though this time farther off. Of course, wolfs hunted in packs. Quest had no more vigor, and he knew that if those beasts found him he'd be done for. If they did, Quest didn't know if he even would try and escape. Stumbling deeper into the woods, Quest crawled under a bush and hunkered down for the night, one that would be filled with fear and unrest.

Final Fantasy VI: Rise Again

I'm sorry guys, I tend to overdo myself with the amount of roleplays I join and I end up becoming encumbered by it. And now that I realize it, I really don't think I'd stand a chance as a GM, I just can't exactly handle being the head of something. I'm really sorry that I started this all up and am bailing now, it was stupid of me and I shouldn't of done this if I knew I couldn't handle it. I'm sorry to waste everyone's time. If any of you that are interested would like to take the reins, you'd be free, but I really don't think I'd be able to handle being a GM at the moment. Again, I'm really sorry.