There's something a bit fascinating about how each of the Unstable protags flaws are so relatable.
Wemmbu's what it means to come in second place your entire life, to be stuck in the shadow, so close to glory yet never able to achieve it, always told you just aren't good enough. He's the simmering rage that roots itself in your gut. He's what it means to be good but never enough. Power Arc showed us what happens when that rage finally spills out, the burst of power it gives, the want, the need to just feel like at the top for just a moment.
Flame's struggled with building an identity for himself outside of the strongest. He roots himself in one skill, one aspect, and holds onto it, because without his skill, he's nothing. It's the anxiety of losing everything you've worked so hard to accomplish in one little slip up, one mistake costing you EVERYTHING, and then having to wonder what happens to you then? What are you without that one thing? The fear of becoming nothing eats you inside out, always scrambling to prove yourself. Power v Skill Arc, all how Flame lost his position and then ruthlessly fought for it back, unable to find something from what he saw as nothing.
Spoke embodies the refusal to grow up, to accept the harsh realities of the world, the desire to go back to being a kid again. He refuses to acknowledge the weight of his 'pranks', acts in his own self interest without the care of others, jokes around during serious times, because being serious means the death of joy. Growing up feels like stepping into a monotonous world where creativity is stifled, pranks are looked down upon as immature, happiness is twisted into content. Him spending hundreds of days in bases, messing with the lives of others, refusing to see what he was ruining by holding onto his own joy. Why must he sacrifice for others? What about his own happiness?
Parrot's black and white worldview is trying to ignore the complexity of life to keep his own ideals correct. It's the deep rooted knowledge of knowing your wrong but also knowing that being wrong will break you. So you keep being right, keep shifting your world to ensure your right. It comes from never having been wrong, never having been truly challenged and beaten, always having the upper hand to ensure your world remains intact. Parrot refused to accept Wifies as the Director, because Parrot would never kill Wifies, his best friend, but, he could kill the Director, his enemy. It's holding yourself together with duct tape and spite for death.
Protags and their flaws...
