There is nothing more heartbreaking than realizing that people you hold dear don’t respect you.
I’m reminded of the many anime characters who defy the rules of their society(anti-magic, demihuman, too much magic, demon sealed inside etc) desperately trying to understand why they don’t fit in.
Why they can’t have a normal life like everyone else? Then the threat approaches and suddenly it’s “You’re the only one who can save us?” And then because the chance to be acknowledged and accepted comes, the MC saves everyone and life is amazing. The framing as choosing the “right” thing and helping people, is noble. But just once, I’d like a character to just admit that it’s up to those people to fend for themselves like they made the MC do.
I have always been both extremely sensitive and also pragmatic about my feelings. My entire life, I always felt like people were scared to be around me. And yet so many people were attracted to me at the same time. I realized eventually that I was being used in whatever weird ways their motives called for. Whilst I was just happy to have “friends” When I say yes, everyone loves me immediately. When I say no, I’m faced with being alone and people I want to reach out to me shrouded in silence. I have accepted the reality of what that means in my adulthood …but damn it makes me so sad. That knowing yourself is grounds for being ostracized.
