Reconstruction / The Night Unfurls

The Night Unfurls manages to pick up the broken pieces of several Deconstructed Tropes, understand the precise way they operate, melt them down, and reforge them anew.

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The Hunter / Kyril Sutherland: '90s Anti-Hero

The Basics

The Protagonist of this fanfic, Kyril Sutherland, fulfils the basic requirements. Clad in dark grey, the Hunter is a brooding, cynical Lightning Bruiser who mainly solves his problems with a serrated cleaver to the face, a bullet to the head, and loads and loads of Gorn. He disregards honour, authority, and reputation, doubly so when it comes to people he believes to be scum. He engages in morally questionable actions, like executing prisoners, occasional torture, and quelling a rebellion by force. Most importantly, he fights against enemies who are worse, like Tolkien-esque orcs, rapists, slavers, dark-elf traffickers, traitors affiliated with said people, and an Evil Sorcerer who threatens to bring about an Apocalypse How while conducting inhumane experiments on citizens.

The Problem

Currently, the '90s Anti-Hero is not as popular as it was in The '90s due to being seen as Designated Heroes born of gratuitous "edginess", not to mention how it is often parodied and deconstructed. The resulting Character Archetype comes across as unintentionally hilarious, outright unengaging, or something that turns out to be not as "cool" as it seems (e.g., the character's murderous and antisocial tendencies are portrayed negatively by the narrative). The Hunter is written in a way that fixes this problem, in terms of the following aspects: appearance, setting and depth.

Solution 1: Appearance

The Hunter sheds away the ludicrousness associated with this trope by inverting the typical appearance of the '90s Anti-Hero. His full name is a Meaningful Name^note "Kyril Sutherland" means "lord/master of the southern land" rather than something out of the Dark Age of Supernames, though he would earn a number of "edgy" titles later on (like "Sir Kyril the Bloody"). Rather than having an improbable anatomy, ridiculous muscles, or a skimpy outfit, Kyril is a lean man garbed in a mask, a tricorne hat, and nondescript clothing, the dark longcoat providing a gothic look. Rather than using loads of guns, Kyril only uses two firearms depending on the situation. Rather than a single ludicrous melee weapon, Kyril has a plethora of mix-and-match trick weaponry in his arsenal, the most (in)famous being a bloodstained, serrated saw that can switch into a cleaver. Despite the inversion, his appearance is still a far cry from the typical grimy mercs and shining knights in the setting. Therefore, he is widely regarded as a sinister, terrifying stranger by the populace, whose mere presence can quiet a once lively atmosphere.

Solution 2: Setting

It must be emphasized that whether a Character Archetype works as intended depends on the setting and culture they are in. Critiques of the '90s Anti-Hero often involve settings that discourage mass violence and agents above the law (e.g., a city in the 21st century). In The Night Unfurls, the Hunter is placed in a Medieval European Fantasy, where the country is engulfed by warfare, the Geneva conventions are non-existent, mercenary work is a booming industry, and threats like orcs and pillagers run rampant in spite of the enforcers' (knights, soldiers) efforts. From an out-of-universe perspective, the Hunter's brutal methodology in such a setting is framed as justified and even legitimate instead of giving the impression of killing for the sake of killing, because most of the blood shed is from his job as a sellsword, within lawless areas, or during wartime. The fact that Kyril can be reasoned with outside of those situations also makes him seem like a reasonable person, not an utter asshole.

Solution 3: Depth

Characterisation-wise, the Hunter proves to be a person who runs deeper (especially important due to him being the main focus of the story), evolving the trope to be more than just "slash-maim-kill". The first characteristic that comes to mind is that he's in fact a Cultured Badass rather than a running tap of one-liners and toxic waste. It's hard to imagine an ultra-violent person engaging in formalities, enjoying his tea, and speaking in a refined speech. The second one is his constructive influence, exemplified by his mentorship^note He's a Mentor in Sour Armor who shows pride about his apprentices' growth while being brutally honest, never thinking any less of them or throwing them tirades about why they suck and leadership among his Men of Sherwood^note He's a Four-Star Badass and Frontline General who sticks with his subordinates and remembers those who have fallen. Lastly, contrary to his In-Universe reputation as a murderous, bloodthirsty killer / demon driven by hatred / vengeance of orc-kind, goblin-kind, and the Black Dogs (aka. the go-to motivation of many a '90s Anti-Hero), Kyril isn't a vengeful person due to his tendency to detach himself from the carnage he commits. To him, combat is not glorious, for his power is accompanied with humbling experiences and emotional baggage.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Kyril Sutherland has yet to lose any of his edge — he's not a dick, not a snarker, not a psycho, not a sociopath, but he remains a dispassionate person with no qualms on using "hardcore" violence and intimidation to purge the lowest of the low. He is a Hunter from Bloodborne after all, and since a Hunter must hunt, that is likely not going to change anytime soon (unless he gets his retirement package). Amidst the numerous parodies and deconstructions that have reduced the '90s Anti-hero into obsolescence, The Night Unfurls manages to take this Character Archetype to a whole new level, to make it novel and workable again.

Kyril's apprentices (sans Lily): Kid Hero

The Basics

Although it is unknown whether they age or not, Sanakan, Hugh, and Soren are often referred to as "kid". Throughout the story, they are part of the good guys who Take A Level In Badass and fight hordes of orcs, mercs, brutes, soldiers and other monstrosities as teenage Hunters.

The Problem

The Kid Hero is often deconstructed to show the problematic elements of kids saving the day. In deconstructive works, they are no different from Child Soldiers, are shown to be immature and / or inexperienced compared to the adult experts, and are prone to trauma. Kyril's apprentices are written in a way that fixes these problems, in terms of the following aspects: agency, training and guidance.

Solution 1: Agency

The world of Kuroinu is by no means kind to children. Milder cases, like Soren, have to live under threat of bandits or criminals that "own" the streets. The more severe ones, like Sanakan and Hugh, are literally Street Urchins. Not to mention the ongoing raids and warfare that leads to much devastation of people's lives. In particular, this fanfic does not shy away from showing that children are not immune to getting killed or raped when they stumble into any orcs or Black Dogs. Obviously speaking, their living standards suck, yet they are powerless to change it. That, however, changes after they become apprentice hunters under the guidance of their mentor, Kyril Sutherland. For the former, he is officially free from getting beat up by thugs from not paying protection fees; for the latter two, they get food and shelter, simple but invaluable. Not only that, but they would also eventually be strong enough to hunt down those orcs and Black Dogs that constantly engage in Rape, Pillage, and Burn, a cathartic accomplishment that essentially makes the world better off. In other words, by becoming a Kid Hero, they are given the means to improve their lives, and fight back against anything that made their lives like crap in the first place. For an extra bonus, they also get a paycheck.

Solution 2: Training

Typically, works that deconstruct the Kid Hero have the character to be Skilled, but Naive, which leads them to screw up due to their immaturity. In contrast, The Night Unfurls has the kids (including Lily) go through a training regime in the Hunter's Dream for them to be prepared to face the toughest of adversaries. The regime, while intense, is hardly "hellish", meant to strengthen and "git gud", rather than to break and cripple. It also helps that any wounds would be healed quickly, in addition to how time passes differently as Kyril wants, providing an adequate environment for the kids to cease holding back without any risk of severe injury from their continuous sparring, especially with the Good Hunter, who thrashes the four around a lot. The end result? The apprentices come out Talented, but Trained. Combine this with a little bit of Superhuman Transfusion thanks to Kyril's blood, plus end-game level trick weaponry? You get an unstoppable Badass Crew of young, mature Hunters.

Solution 3: Guidance

Kyril Sutherland, the Mentor in Sour Armor himself, is the answer to many a deconstruction that has any Kid Hero go through a Trauma Conga Line that results in much mental trauma. Neither a Trickster Mentor, nor a Cynical Mentor, Kyril is certainly a great one, sympathetic in spirit. Should the kids make progress in their training, he would not hesitate to praise them for their good work, which helps to keep them motivated. Besides, he does not pull any punches when informing his apprentices on what it means to be a Hunter, including the struggles and bloodshed that the role entails. To those kids who have less experience than he does, this is important for them to have a concrete idea on the basic fact that, yes, they hunt, or rather, kill prey, including people. It is to prepare them for the worst, with the reward being to live another day. Combined with how he gives them the parental figure they needed, is it of any surprise that Sanakan, Hugh, and Soren all turn out to be fairly well-adjusted people in the end?

Conclusion

Perhaps the single most important thing that makes this trope work, despite being torn to shreds countless times, is that ultimately, the kids want to be a hero. They are not pressured or forced into this role in any way. They understand that the world they live in is not a nice place. Yet, they willingly choose to train and gain strength to do good.