fyeahcontroversialcharacters:

These tweets are part of a long thread mainly directed towards the Steven Universe fandom, but I think they’re relevant to many fandoms. I chose these two tweets in particular because they hit on a major reason for why so many characters appear on this blog: their flaws.

Now I’m not sure how many of you are writers or at least interested in writing, but for those of you who are (such as myself), you would know that well-developed characters are supposed to have flaws. Flaws allow characters to become three-dimensional, realistic beings that the audience can relate to. However, as seen on this blog many times, whenever a character does have flaws, they’re hated because of those same traits. But when a character doesn’t have flaws (or they don’t have enough flaws), then those characters are hated because they’re Mary Sues/Gary Stus, boring, etc.

Not only do flaws aid in character development, but they can also help to move the story along by providing conflict. Again, for those of you who are writers or are interested in writing, you would know that stories need some type of conflict to 1) engage the audience and 2) move the story along. One potential source of conflict can be *drum roll* character flaws! Having a character do something “problematic” or believing in something “problematic” can be the driving force behind a story. Most people would easily become bored with a story if everything was perfect 95% of the time and the build-up/conflict only occurred during the last 5%.

If you can’t handle the fact that well-developed, three-dimensional characters are flawed, if you can’t handle the fact that those flaws can be the reason for why the story exists in the first place, and if you can’t handle the fact that those flaws and the conflicts they cause are why you and other people are still engaged in the story after all this time, then perhaps you should move on to something else.