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Cannibalistic Character Irreemable?

I started a topic in another discussion that started a bit of controversy about one of my supporting characters. (Here is the link to that discussion if you want to see it:http://mythicscribes.com/forums/bra...character-too-similar-legend-zeldas-link.html)

In it, I have a character that swallows fairy-like creatures (keetries) in order to heal himself and give him strength. I suppose it is not full cannibalism considering he is not one of these creatures (I have not come up with a name for his race yet) but a lot of people were say that it makes him cruel and unlikable).

A bit of information about the character:
He's had to fend for himself alone in the wilderness since childhood having been banished from the his kingdom, so he has a "kill or be killed" mentality. Due to the kind of blood he has, eating these things are his only medicine and how he heals himself. Though he can be cold at times (due to his "halfblood") he doesn't do it out of cruelty.

The keetries are not very kind, themselves, and can be quite vicious. They are 8 winged creatures who aren't very cute (not saying that's a reason for them to die) and they even tried to kill a rebellious member of their tribe. He and the main character save her.

My question, would making the character somewhat cannibalistic automatically make him unlikeable? I wouldn't say he has no redeemable qualities. He puts the life of his sister and the main character's before his own and has even found himself in jeopardy to defend them. I'm also not saying that he's perfect. Again, he can be quite cold and also brutal at times, but is he irredeemable because of the keetri eating thing?

Note: the story is meant to be dark.
 
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Ireth

Myth Weaver
Does he eat the creatures alive and whole, or does he kill them first for mercy's sake?
 

Russ

Istar
I suspect that a character that eats sentient creatures alive is going to be very hard for readers to have much empathy for.
 

Legendary Sidekick

The HAM'ster
Moderator
Yes. He's crossed the line from dark/anti-hero to villain.

My reasons may differ from others, but I think the fairy-eating is wrong on many levels.



#1 - SIZE MATTERS: I'm hard pressed to cheer on a hero who eats three-inch-tall creatures alive for the reason that doing so is like slapping on a band-aid, snacking on a cookie, and killing a bad guy all at the same time. Take out the healing and nourishment and that he's chewing the creatures to death—just killing them makes him a dick. I prefer the hero go against the bigger monster, the nine foot ogre, the fifty-foot-long people-eating beast, the leviathan that takes several rounds of cannon fire just to tickle…

I'm not saying that the enemy must be bigger. But if there is a size difference, the enemy being significantly smaller—so much that a finger-flick is potentially fatal—that makes the hero look like a bully. And a dick.



#2 - POODLE-KICKERY: Fairies are cute. So are poodles.

So, my hero Michael Michael Motorcycle… he's a badass. He kicks poodle-like creatures called Snarglies to death, and in a very particular way: he speeds at them on his motorcycle to see how high in the air he can get the Snarglies to fly from a boot to the muzzle. He befriends John John Leprechaun, a druid who mind-linked with a Snargly. Michael never kicks Ralph the Snargly, but he kicks other Snarglies to boost his ego, which happens to be his source of power so he can summon oil elementals and what-not.

One day John says to Michael, "Michael, ye always got me back, and I know you're only in the mercenary business to support your mother's painkiller addiction, but tell me Michael. Is there not another way ye can keep the oil-based magic in ye?"

Michael just pats John on the back and says, "Damned if I know. Damned if I don't."

For some reason, Michael has all these heroic qualities and he's never cruel, except when he's on a poodle-kicking run. If the reader can just put aside that fact that he kills thousands of poodles a year for his own power, the reader will like Mike.



#3 - GENOCIDAL MANIAC: I'm already arguing with the story about the cute factor.

Me: Fairies are cute.
Story: No, they're not.
Me: Yes, they are.
Story: Not these fairies.

And now I'm getting into another argument about whether the fairies are inherently evil. One fairy befriends the main character, and the fairy-eater knows she's off limits. So now, as the reader, I understand these fairies are sentient beings. They can form tribes, and be good and evil. So what's up with the sidekick? Does he only eat the bad fairies? How can he tell? And does the one fairy deemed "good" not have a problem that, her aside, the hero's other friend just eats members of her race alive?

This is genocide. "They're fairies! Oh… well, she's cool. But you know what they say about fairies. The only thing good about them is the way they taste!"



I guess one reader's damnable is another reader's redeemable, but… I just don't see this character making the Redeemable List for that many readers.
 
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Scalvi

Scribe
I dunno. It's certainly a little gross and more than a little off-putting. But not irredeemable.

I guess I'm don't d-bag characters but "cannibal" doesn't automatically qualify a person for that category.
 

Reilith

Sage
If he were the villain it would certainly be in place, but as a character who is a friend of the MC it does put off. I really didn't want to give this kind of answer when I saw the thread name as I am a huge fan of the TV show Hannibal, but since Hannibal is not a good guy MC it fits the part. Also, the 'eating them alive' part grossed me out completely.
Cannibalism in writing can be written tastefully (late-night puns, I am the worst), or at least in a way that will not put off the reader. In the 'Sword of Truth' series by Goodkind he wrote about a shamanic tribe of Mudpeople who actually eat the name of the enemies they defeated by preparing it and making it into strips served to the men (and women who dare) at celebrations preceding spiritual rituals and communing with the spirits. The point of cannibalizing the enemy is explained to be a way of taking upon yourself your enemy's strength which will make you stronger and give you some of the warrior qualities that the opponent possessed in life. So there was the use and the reason behind it, while still not making it seem disgusting and repulsive. He even made the MC eat it on a few occasion and it didn't change my view of the character at all, as it was done well and in context.
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
Not irredeemable, but unlikeable right off the bat. BUT this doesn't mean you can't make them sympathetic or even likeable.

Game of Thrones spoiler ahead.



Jamie Lannister threw a child off a tower and was later made sympathetic and even likeable.

To me, it's about revealing the character's motivations and making them understandable and relatable. Add to that some admirable traits and we have the foundation for a character that does despicable things but won't be necessarily hated.

If you can get the reader to put themselves in the character's place and realize they might do the exact same thing, then you'll have them.
 
Perhaps you could make him regret doing it. Or at least over the course of the story he could come to the realization that what hes doing is wrong but necessary.

Perhaps you could work in a religious justification (ie. faeries may not have souls in his world view.)

I think, though, that making the audience understand why hes doing and what his personal views and justifications are will go along ways to making him not be seen as evil right off the bat.
 
Hi,

Two solutions come to mind. Yes the act is gross, but he can be redeemed a little bit in the way vampires can be. Yes they kill people, but the craving takes away some of the guilt. So if he ate these creatures, and not in a cruel way, but did it because he had to and hated himself for it, you could get some sympathy for him. Think Barnabus Collins.

Alternatively you could try the Dexter route. He only eats the evil fairies and has a twisted background to explain things. He won't get a lot of sympathy but for some it'll be enough.

Cheers, Greg.
 

Vilya

Scribe
I actually think this is a really intriguing idea that presents the opportunity for a lot of interesting themes. I'm assuming that your character does more than just stomp around and eat "fairies", so I would be on-board. You did mention that it is the only way that he can heal right? I think that makes a really interesting problem.
 
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