i love characters who are doomed by the narrative: love, morality, life and death, good and evil, fate and destiny, circumstances, your own choices or the choices of the people around you, even the world itself.
characters who could have been good, who could have done good but can't. maybe because they couldn't afford to be good; maybe because they never saw another option; maybe they were brought up thinking that what they were doing was, is good; or maybe because they never had a choice. because they don't have agency, because the route they are on was chosen for them, charted out by their circumstances, by society, by their families, parents, by their biological makeup, by their very DNA, or even by Fate and Destiny itself.
characters who aren't doomed by the narrative in the traditional sense. there were openings, choices they could have made that could have altered the path they are on. these possibilities give the illusion of agency, the impression that they did it to themselves, that if they had just chose better, tried harder, they wouldn't be in the position they are in now. and sure, that's what it seems like when you look at the surface. but when you dive a little deeper, you realise that they would have been on this path no matter what. because of cause-and-effect. because of trauma. because of what was done to them and what they already did and the way they fundamentally think. the way their very character was built; the building blocks of what makes them them - there was no chance that they wouldn't have made those choices, not without betraying who they are as a character, as a person. maybe if life had been kinder, maybe if they had just one person there for them, they could have changed. but there wasn't. or maybe it wouldn't have mattered. maybe they still would be on this path to hell or to martyrdom no matter what happened. but no one will ever know.
characters who are made for each other, but can't be together because-. characters who love each other, but were torn apart too soon. characters who were supposed to be together, but never crossed paths, constantly on the brink of meeting each other, living life always feeling that something is missing. characters who are everything to each other - love and hate - characters who cannot coexist together but cannot function, live without the other half. characters who go their whole lives without meeting their other half; only catching a glimpse of them at the end, never getting to share those precious moments. characters who love each other more than anything and everything, who could have lived and loved together but are on opposite sides of The Conflict, bound by expectations, oath, duty, morals. characters who have love etched into their souls but cannot share it because. because of distance, society, status, circumstances, gender, religion, family, sides, dreams. characters who love each other but the call of ambition is stronger; who love each other enough to let go.
characters who are bound by morality. characters who are cursed by love. characters who suffer for their ideals, choked by their own actions for they themselves are the ones who dealt the cards. characters who have doomed themselves. characters who are doomed by the author - to play the role of villain, hero, victim, abuser, the damsel, the knight, the monarch, the underdog, the Icarus. characters who are doomed by Fate, Destiny, Prophecy, the Plot. characters who are chained, who trapped themselves in the cycle of abuse - hurt people hurt people - where you once were the victim now find yourself standing in Their Place looking at a reflection of your broken self in the eyes of Someone who stares at you with fear, hate, anger, betrayal. and you see it in their wide eyes why why why why what did I do to deserve this I don't know I'm sorry. and you realize you have become the villain in someone else's story. characters who are doomed to repeat the cycle because they never healed but that's not an excuse and it cannot be one
characters who are doomed by the narrative and are aware of it. and yet they still struggle, despite knowing it's futility. characters who are aware and choose to accept it. characters who come to terms and are at peace with the hand they've been dealt with. characters who are aware of the inevitability but choose to live and enjoy the present. because life is unfair. because the world can be cruel. because even if your fate has already been foretold, what matters is what you do right now. even if everything is out of your control, even if you were never in control, you still lived.

















