During the investigation of recent hollers in the Complete Monster thread, it's become apparent to the staff that an insular, unfriendly culture has evolved in the Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard threads that is causing problems.
Specific issues include:
- Overzealous hollers on tropers who come into the threads without being familiar with all the rules and traditions of the tropes. And when they are familiar with said rules and traditions, they get accused (with little evidence) of being ban evaders.
- A few tropers in the thread habitually engage in snotty, impolite mini-modding. There are also regular complaints about excessive, offtopic "socializing" posts.
- Many many thread regulars barely post/edit anywhere else, making the threads look like they are divorced from the rest of TV Tropes.
- Following that, there are often complaints about the threads and their regulars violating wiki rules, such as on indexing, crosswicking, example context and example categorization. Some folks are working on resolving the issues, but...
- Often moderator action against thread regulars leads to a lot of participants suddenly showing up in the moderation threads to protest and speak on their behalf, like a clique.
It is not a super high level problem, but it has been going on for years and we cannot ignore it any longer. There will be a thread in Wiki Talk
to discuss the problem; in the meantime there is a moratorium on further Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard example discussion until we have gotten this sorted out.
Update: The new threads have been made and can be found here:
for the earliest date a work can be discussed, (usually two weeks from the US release), as well as who's reserved discussion.
- Why do a cleanup?: This trope definitely exists and has a well documented history of use. That being said, it frequently gets misused to a character who meets one of the components, namely that they are smart, charming while not necessarily even being a villain, or create good plans. While these are components, there is also a certain personality required, not to mention that all of the above are required to be present for a character to be a true Magnificent Bastard. As the trope attracts interest, it unfortunately brings in a lot of misuse and I thought the best way to rectify this would be a Perpetual Cleanup Thread, as is being done and has seen success with Complete Monster.
- What makes a Magnificent Bastard: Below is a list of the individual components to make this character. Note that they must all be present, not just some, which has lead to frequent misuse:
- Must be intelligent: Goes without saying, to be a Magnificent Bastard, the character has to be smart in the first place and use their brain to work towards whatever their end goal may be;
- Must be a Bastard: While going overboard in how vile the character is can be detrimental, a key aspect is the Bastard part of the trope, whether the character is an out-and-out antagonist in the work, some manner of Villain Protagonist, or something in between, they at least have some unscrupulous qualities to qualify for this trope;
- Must not be too detestable: Again, there is a ceiling on how bad the character can be before they just become too nefarious, blocking out the Magnificent part of the trope. A genocidal racist or child-raping Sadist aren't going to make the cut;
- Think on their feet: In addition to being a Chessmaster, a Magnificent Bastard, if the character deals with situations in which their initial plan is ruined, has to be able to pull a Xanatos Speed Chess and at least come up with a competent strategy to make up for lost time, otherwise they fail for being unable to think in tough spots;
- Have charm: Even if they don't necessarily make every character they meet fall in love with them and can even be detested by others, the audience has to find an amicable social relation to the character, or they are failing to make the impact required for this trope.
- What to do if a character is listed on a page but has not been approved?: They need to be removed, all candidates need to come through the cleanup thread first. The character could well count but they need to be analyzed properly and voted on first.
- Do we list Playing With this trope?: No; as a YMMV trope, this cannot be Played With, so we only want examples that are Played Straight.
- What do I do if I want a character to be listed as a Magnificent Bastard?: The greatest success Complete Monster saw for its cleanup effort was from the invention of the effort post format, so, borrowing from that, a troper wishing to propose a Magnificent Bastard will create such a post in the following format:
- Begin by describing The work, this will help establish the setting the character is in and for the reader to understand what kind of a scenario they are in;
- Summarize The character's actions, this will provide a listing for readers to understand what they do and how it applies to this trope because charm and lack of smugness are so crucial, this is a good time to be incorporating exactly the flavor of how they operate to explain this;
- List circumstances in which the character must Think on their feet, these are times where a wrench might be thrown in their initial plan and they have to adapt on the spot or even come up with a new scheme all together, this is also a good time to explain how the villain reacts to defeat when they have to face it, a true Magnificent Bastard won't break down into tears at the thought of death, they should have known such a possibility could occur and be able to handle it with more dignity;
- The competition, similar to the Heinous Standard dealt with for a Complete Monster, this section is to deal with how successful the character is in carrying out their plans compared to other characters. While, as a villain, they probably are going to lose in the end, it is good to explain how other characters handle the same situation. There is no exceptionalism case to be made for this trope but explaining the variety helps the reader have a better understanding of the proposal.
- How do you know when the character's arc is done so they can be proposed? When their tenure as a villain or antagonist finishes. This could happen in a single Story Arc in an entire work, a single work of a franchise, or the whole series in general. We'll show lenience to Long-Runners with constantly recurring candidates or series with outstanding continuities (ex. comic books), and it's entirely possible to count in a work or two but not in general for a reason like Depending on the Writer.
- What about candidates evil because of external sources? Those Made of Evil can qualify if they show enough individuality and tactical acumen — in other words, they have the personality to fulfill the magnificence requirement. Conversely, those brainwashed, especially if they're a better person without it, may fail the individuality aspect and cannot count.
- What if they are under orders from a higher-up? Depends. If the boss created the plans down to the letter and the candidate is just following them, sounds like we should discuss the boss instead. However, if the candidate takes creative liberties with the orders, adds their own charm and flair to them, fills in holes in the orders, and/or actively deals with obstacles their boss did not talk about, the candidate shows enough individual thinking to qualify.
- What about Character Development? An MB is something a character can develop into... a nice person who plots well might become more morally gray as the work goes on and hits the "Bastard" criteria, thus making them viable. Likewise, a Smug Snake might shed their ego, become more understanding of the threat others pose and gain the personality or "Magnificent" criteria, likewise making them viable. Conversely, a character who looks like this trope might suffer from a Sanity Slippage or just get outed as not being as smart as they thought they were and become incompatible with MB.
- Can an MB be a good guy? Not in the conventional sense... it is required they have at least some dubious traits lest they fail the "Bastard" criteria. That being said, a character who pulls a Heel–Face Turn or eventually stops taking villainous actions is still fair game: as there was a point in time where they were both "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and they've merely adapted as time goes on. Now... if such a character begins showing other issues (i.e.: becomes prone to freak outs or starts getting outwitted) then they're compromising their Magnificence and will probably be deemed a cut. What's important is stylishly operating while at least for some time being willing to take at best underhanded methods to see a job done. A Heel–Face Turn in itself isn't a disqualifier but they do have to have been "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and afterwards can't start slipping on the former front.
- What about characters whose stories can take different routes?: When proposing a character in a form of media that has them in multiple story routes. Said character must be consistent with their characteristics in all routes. (ex.: Can't have an example who shows promise on one route yet fails in another.) The only exception is if a later installment of the series confirms the character's actions which made them worth proposing are the canon route.
- Is there a timeframe rule like with Complete Monster?: Yes, please wait two weeks until after the work has concluded before proposing a character (again, usually using the North American air date). As is the case with CM, we want to give a reasonable time frame so that everyone interested in seeing the work has done so and can participate in the discussion without having anything spoiled.
- What about groups like with Complete Monster?: This is a point of divergence between the two tropes. While CM does not allow for a single entry encompassing more than three characters lest their heinousness for crimes becomes too watered down, with MB as long as they are treated as one "unit" it is acceptable to lump all characters provided they share acts of charm and intelligence.
- Can I propose my own work's character as a Magnificent Bastard?: No, this is a YMMV subject and the creator of a content is way too biased to be able to evaluate the criteria we're looking for without a second opinion taking over. That being said, you are more than welcome to encourage someone to consume your creation and if they feel a character counts, are more than welcome to suggest them.
- My example/edit has been approved, but the example subpage is locked! How do I get it added?: The moderators do not add examples to locked example subpages in the MagnificentBastard/ namespace directly. Rather, you need to do the edit to a sandbox page that follows the format Sandbox.MagnificentBastard<Name of the example subpage> (e.g for MagnificentBastard.Fullmetal Alchemist it's Sandbox.Magnificent Bastard Fullmetal Alchemist) and on a Friday, ask in the locked pages edit requests thread for the content to be swapped in.
Thread rules
When voting a troper must specify the effort post they're voting on and cannot merely vote on "Everything I missed" as in the past it has indicated the poster didn't read the effort post and is guessing instead of analyzing.
Resolved items
In general, a character listed on this trope is considered "settled". This means they should not be challenged unless information used to list them was incorrect or information was missed in the initial discussion.
However, when re-litigating a candidate, the same rules apply for when they were originally proposed. If they do not have five or more upvotes than downvotes for approval upon a re-litigation, including votes from the initial discussion if they do not change, then they are a cut.
This especially applies to the characters listed below, who have been discussed excessively and repeated attempts to get them listed/cut may result in punitive action for bogging down the thread.
Definitely an MB
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers: Any sadism Darkrai displays is limited in effect thanks to the game's nature and any cowardice which can be inferred about him is Alternative Character Interpretation about his tactical retreats.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: Azula's Villainous Breakdown is undone in the sequel comic Smoke & Shadow where she regains her composure and ends up stable and in control enough to count.
Definitely not an MB
- South Park: The show's frequent use of vulgar comedy and mean-spirited humor leaves any potential candidates devoid of the dignity or charm to qualify.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 31st 2023 at 4:15:22 AM
Yes to Masquerade. For Darkrai... he sounds worthy of discussion at least. I’m just reading the plot summary on Bulbapedia. Is there any way he could have realistically known about the Dark Void, considering other characters do?
Woagh
Well, he spends the entire game in Wish Park, and the vortex doesn't appear there until the end of the game, if that's any consolation.
I should probably also mention that, being a kids game, it's said all the vortex really does is suck Pokémon into an vague dark dimension, and that Reshiram and Zekrom can rescue people from there with a bit of effort. The shit Darkrai causes isn't anywhere near as bad as it could be, which could help things.
Edited by DoodSlayer136 on Jul 7th 2022 at 6:04:20 AM
NOISE IS CALLING, PICK UP PHONE
As I said I think there's a solid case bud.
I'll get to Batman (1966) later Mel but do you have a suggestion for quote/description? I feel like codifying campy fun for superhero shows should make its way into the description.
Edited by 43110 on Jul 7th 2022 at 9:19:17 AM
The MILF Virus
So we discussed revaluating him so let's bring him back. From Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, the Ultimate Breeder Gundham Tanaka!!!
What is the setting?
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is a sequel of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc with a new set of cast for the Killing Game. Following Hajime Hinata, a student at Hope's Peak with 15 other students, the group first through they'd be entering their new home, but after a series of bizarre events, they find themselves in a tropical island led by a robot bunny named Usami for a bonding experience they will never forget. Unfortunately Monokuma ended up returning and takes over the island, usurping Usami and holding the student's hostage. Much like the first game, Monokuma gave the group of students an ultimatum, kill another student and get away with it in the Class Trial to be set free, but in return the rest of the students will be executed in their place. Getting caught however will end with their death.
As the murders occur and killers get caught, the secrets hiding behind the scenes slowly get uncovered as the truth of the island, the students, Monokuma and other mysterious elements such as a International group called Future Foundation gets involved. Then here comes Chapter 4 where the cast are forced into Monokuma's Funhouse where the motive for that chapter is unless a murder occurs, the students will starve to death. While many of the students decided to just sit around and wait to die not wanting anymore betrayal, but one decided to take action and commit murder due to his belief in life. That is the Ultimate Breeder Gundham Tanaka.
Who is Gundham Tanaka and what does he do?
The Ultimate Breeder, Gundham Tanaka is seen as one of the more harmless students, a chuunibyou who sees himself as a master of darkness and demonic powers that keeps to himself and his hamsters, who he treats with kindness. A renown animal breeder who has a popular blog, and avid helper of animals who's rumored that he can even speak to them, Gundham was recruited for to Hope's Peak before journey this group's class into this mysterious situations.
For the most part of the game, Gundham is largely off the spotlight, usually just keeping to himself and spouting his dillusions, though her remains fairly friendly terms with the cast as time goes on. That said Gundham does his best to handle the situation well, using his act to cope with the Killing Game and does his best to contribute in the Class Trials, even finding key info in the first case and later being proactive in the 3rd trial, although he does end up clashing with Hajime. He even acts more protective to the cast, becoming one of the main communicators with the non-infected students in the 3rd Chapter and later gains a growing affection with fellow classmate Sonia Nevermind and rivalry with Kazuichi Souda in a love triangle.
However where he earns the role of Magnificent Bastard is in Chapter 4 where he ends up becoming the killer. When the students are forcibly trapped inside Monokums' Funhouse and given the ultimatum to murder lest everyone starves to death, Gundham at first seem unaffected since he could feed his hamsters, but he was secretly plotting to escape Monokuma's motive especially when they decided to die over murder. Having done the Final Dead Room and learning the secrets of the Fun House as a single tower instead of it being two towers with a center point like the group though, and gaining access to an armory of weapons and equipment, Gundham conspired to murder the robotize Nekomaru Nidai, due to his sleep functioning and alarm clock settings which worked with Gundham's plan and give him a chance to secure a strong alibi.
Luring Nekomaru alone near the elevator through tampering the clocks, except for Nidai's in-built one, he was able to isolate him. There he and Nekomaru decided to make a mutual agreement to fight to the death to save the other students, with Nekomaru trying to kill Gundham. Unfortunately for Nekomaru, Gundham had his personally trained hamsters climb on to him and press his off button, immobilizing him to execute his plan to drop Nekomaru into a 6 story drop head first, through the use of the secrets of the Fun House. While Nekomaru is left suspended in midair, later to wake-up to struggle enough for the wire that's tying him to slip off causing him to fall to his demise as Gundham planned, Gundham intended to return to his room and set-up an alibi that he was asleep while Nekomaru's murder was happening. Unfortunately for him, Fuyukiko who couldn't sleep was staying at the halls blocking the way to his room, and when the alarm he set-up to further support the idea he was still asleep activated, Gundham deciding to avoid the worse case scenario showed-up because he knew if they did decide to check the rooms, they'd know he went out. With Nekomaru murdered by his trap, Gundham then remained subdue throughout the investigation and trial.
However when his trick was figured, since Gundham's room was suppose to be soundproof despite claiming he heard the alarm while sleeping, Gundham ended get cornered as the culprit. Ultimately, despite trying to refute, Hajime was able to prove he was the killer, the biggest evidence being his hamsters since it proved Gundham is the one with the best chance to press Nekomaru's button in the back of his neck. Realizing he loss, Gundham accepted his loss impress with Hajime's deductive reasoning and voted himself with the rest as the culprit. When confronted for the murder, Gundham claimed it was a blasphemy to life to just lie down and die, from his experience in breeding and that this murder meant at one of them would survive, whether it be himself or the group. After making peace with Sonia and the others by encouraging them to continue fighting, Gundham then confronted his execution where he ends up getting stampede to death by a herd of wild animals, with Gundham facing head it on and attempting to cast a magic circle before giving one last smile to his hamsters to assure them before dying.
Later on it's revealed the entire game took place in a simulation and through "dying", Gundham's mind is trapped in a vegetable like-state but later recover where he help assist the rest of the class in stopping the Final Killing Game for good. Oh he was also a member of Ultimate Despair, a dubious organization who's purpose is to spread despair, but that was because he was brainwash during his time at Hope's Peak so it's not really him doing it willingly where in the end after recovering from his condition, joined his fellow classmate in the final battle of the Hope vs Despair trilogy before hiding away with them in an island together knowing they have been outcasted for their previous crimes which Gundham accepts respecfully/
Is he Magnificent?
It's GUNDHAM TANAKA, OF COURSE HE IS FOOLS! In all seriousness, he is, his murder plan was considered by many in the fandom as probably one of the best ones in the series since he was actually pretty difficult to pin-down despite his hammy demeanor, and he could've gotten away with it had it not been for unfortunate circumstances. Heck many times people did not realize he was the culprit even at the part where they should know who it is since it's super subtle and the only way to realize it was him was through what seemed like a minor detail.
His murder plan is one of the most well-executed, taking advantage of not his victim's setting, like Nekomaur's inner clock and button and his surrounding's secret function and leaving no real traces of him being the the murderer through an unorthodox method that the cast would have never solve if Komaeda did not complete the Final Dead Room, and even then what pinned was circumstancial at best but it was their best bet. Even when it's implied Komaeda later figured it was him, Gundham was still able to use his mistake to his advantage by using his intended alibi to place suspicion on him by proclaiming he was missing when Nekomaru was killed meaning had Komaeda made the accusation, he wouldn't have been able to convince the group, which even then there was no sign Komaeda figure out it was him at the start unlike other culprits.
Too Much of a Bastard?
Admittedly his Heroic Sacrifice isn't completely noble, Gundham had all intentions of getting away with it and did his best to do it, but that was his way of showing he's not a hypocrite since it would go against what he said about fighting to live and he hated the cast choosing death over life even if it meant killing, meaning if they were not willing to fight to live, he was more then willing to let them die including his love interest Sonia. That said, Gundham seemed satisfied enough with their resolve he gracefully admits defeat and assured the group especially Sonia who begged for him to be spared to keep moving forward without him. His murder was ultimately to push the group to become better and he did succeed, although in a harsh way where if they failed, Gundhan would let all 7 students die. And outside of it, Gundham while a weirdo was pretty nice to others and even tried helping around, especially towards Sonia, though the only exception is Kazuichi because of their mutual love for Sonia.
Final Verdict:
Considering how great his plan was, considered one of the series' best and how it left a massive impact to the group that affected them throughout the rest of the fame, Gundham Tanaka deserves to grace the hall of Magnificent Bastard though the trope itself should feel honored Gundham would join their ranks. If you cannot tell, I love this guy.
"Are you the devil?" "Don't compare to me to those small fry" - Mir
Thanks for the proper re eval. Big yea and glad you’re getting this one back!
Sure, I'll say keep on Gundam Tanuki.
Think you're tough because you made it through Lord of the Rings? Real men survive The Silmarillion.
Sure to Gundam
also, RIP Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! 
Edited by Snowy66 on Jul 7th 2022 at 6:50:59 AM
Woagh
Professor Gigachad
Berserk Button: misusing Berserk Button
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
the Supreme Overlord of Ice and Forbidden One Gundham himself (and yes, I was one of those people who had no idea who the culprit was- I basically just guessed it was him and was surprised when I turned out to be right) and a late yes to Jon.
Edited by MasterN on Jul 7th 2022 at 7:08:38 AM
One of these days, all of you will accept me as your supreme overlord.
to Gundham
to Gundham
Gundham sounds like a yes. In the meantime...
What’s the work?
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child is an animated anthology series that ran from 1995-2000 on HBO. Robert Guillaume narrates classic fairy tales with unique cultural spins on them, all with celebrity voice casts.
As I promised, this is the first of 3 EPs, one for each season. It wouldn’t feel right doing 2 and then 1, so I’m just gonna do them all separately. First is from “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.
The episodenote is set in ancient Japan. The emperor loves clothes so much that he spends more time and money on them than on actually running the country. This upsets his brother the prince, but paves the way for two swindlers to make a plan to sell the emperor new “clothes”.
Who are Keiji & Toshio? What have they done?
Keiji—voiced by George Takei—and his young assistant Toshio catch the emperor’s attention by criticizing his clothes behind his back. Toshio “accidentally” reveals that the two are weavers, and about their finest work, the Fabric of Dreams. In spoken-word song, the two describe its extravagance, with the catch that it can only be seen by those who are wise. The emperor brings them to the treasurer and demands he pay them exactly how much they ask for his new clothes, which turns out to be the entire royal treasury.
Toshio suggests they just leave with their pay, but Keiji reminds him that all they have to do is let people see them pretend to weave. They have no material in reality, but only the wise can see the Fabric of Dreams, and they know the emperor would call anyone who couldn’t see it a fool. The emperor, after banishing his brother for daring to call him out for his bad spending habits, sends the wise treasurer to check on the weavers. He can’t see it, of course, and the weavers imply it means he could be unfit for his job, so he now pretends to be able to see it so he can keep his job. Word about the cloth spreads across Japan, but the treasurer can’t aptly describe it to the emperor, so he goes to them himself. He also can’t see it and also pretends to in desperation, even knighting the weavers, and they assure him it will be ready in time for his birthday procession tomorrow.
Citizens watch them finish the nonexistant cloth that night, and the next day they make the final preparations. At the parade the folks also pretend to see the clothes to not be seen as fools, until a child points out that the emperor is, in fact, nearly naked. The adults quickly drop the act and laugh at the emperor, who runs off to apologize to his brother. The people live happily ever after—especially Keiji & Toshio, who are never seen again.
Are they magnificent?
The emperor’s a Manchild, so tricking him isn’t that impressive on its own. Tricking the treasurer & prime minister in addition to almost all of Japan is much more impressive. They effectively work as a team to pretend to craft magic clothes, and their mind-games make everyone think they’re fools or otherwise unworthy of their jobs for not seeing the clothes, forcing them in on the act if they want to keep their jobs. By the time the truth is out, the swindlers have already gotten away with no consequences. It also helps that the prince never even learns of their plan due to his banishment. Greedy as they may be, they have fun banter between each other and never come off as overly smug.
How much of bastards are they?
Con artists. They want cash, and they don’t care who has to walk around in their underwear to get it.
Verdict?
Pretty easy keeps.
Edited by PurpleEyedGuma on Jul 7th 2022 at 10:29:22 AM
Lies and Violence!
Voss, Nidoru, the Gleaner, Masquerade, Gundham, Keiji & Toshio.
Gotta love Jaws!
to Nidoru, Masquerade, Gundham, Keiji and Toshio.
Glad you're doing a lot better Georgie and well done.
"For a second there, I mistook ya for a threat... but you're just a dirty little man!"
Woagh
to Keiji and Toshio.
Yea to Gundham, Keiji and Toshio.
So, as I mentioned, I need a lot more time on Three Hopes. It's a big-ass game and between being overworked and sick my progress has been glacial. Give me about another two weeks… if I don't have it done by then, it's free to everyone. All I'll say for now is that I have at least one candidate very much lined up for this.
Lies and Violence!
Sorry to stack a third onto this page, but I have a busy day tomorrow and want to get this out quick, so another for the Guide!
I've mentioned the Dread Empire of Praes a lot, and it... well, sucks. Ridiculously over-the-top evil, its ruling nobles have embraced the concepts of conquest and backstabbing to religiously fanatical degrees and applied it to every facet of their lives. Merely not bowing low enough or replying to someone too fast—or too slowly—could see you disgraced, overthrown, and executed within the month because of perceived incompetence, and if you think I'm exaggerating then I refer back to my previous "Praes sucks" comment. It's self-destructive, yes, but they see this constant conflict as a way for "iron to sharpen iron" and raise the next generation to greater heights.
Fortunately, one of them is able to break this mold.
Who is Akua Sahelian?
The daughter of a powerful Praesi High Lady and a lowborn sorcerer, Akua was abused throughout her life into becoming the Praesi ideal: just as beautiful and intelligent as she is arrogant and cruel. When introduced into the story she quickly enters into a rivalry with Cat. The two regularly clash, and while Cat usually wins, Akua is in turn able to escape with only surface-level losses. Every humiliation Akua faces, she's also able to either work around or twist to her advantage, always emerging with an even stronger powerbase than before.
Usurping her mother's resources and leaving her to die at Dread Empress Malicia's hands, Akua's masterplan is to convert the city of Liesse into a flying doomsday weapon capable of opening Hell portals wherever she wants, giving her free rein to conquer the world and butcher any in her way with unending hordes of abominations chained to her will. Unbeknownst to her, Malicia secretly funded this entire rebellion to steal the doomsday weapon for herself once Cat and her mentor Black kill Akua, but it's made clear that Akua has unearthed enough old secrets to add to her arsenal that she still stands a strong chance of success. For instance, "Still Water" allows her to convert the citizens of Liesse and many innocent refugees she's gathered there into hordes of zombies, slaughtering hundreds of thousands and giving her the army needed to trade Black's own well-oiled war machine blow for blow.
Black and Cat do eventually kill her—when Akua enslaves Cat's soul and tries to force her to kill who she thinks is Black, the real Black captures and executes her beloved father, providing a Cat with a distraction to mutilate her own soul to escape Akua's control. She rips out the noble's heart and retrieves her stashed-away soul to adorn to her cape.
However, ruling a country is, like, really hard, especially when surrounded by enemy nations. Cat brings out Akua's ghost for advice on diplomacy and magical theory, with Akua making herself as friendly and helpful as possible. Literally everyone can see she's just buttering up Cat's inner circle so she'll be granted physical form again... but it still works. As much as they hate and distrust Akua, she really is too powerful and intelligent to leave inside the box, as she stops Cat from falling prey to bad deals in negotiations with enemies; helps master the rampant power of the Winter fae; and sets up a system to keep their growing army of conquered drow demigods in line. By the end of Book 4 she's wormed her way into a strong position of trust, autonomy, and casual banter.
Fortunately, Akua starts Becoming the Mask and begins to see them as friends too. This works out great for Cat's revenge plan for those thousands of innocents Akua massacred, because that's still a thing. As Akua gradually starts to grow a conscience over the course of two years, Cat in turn chips away at the hope of any form of acceptance waiting for her after the war against the Dead King ends. The Doom of Liesse is still remembered by all; no nation will give her a home, and even the closest of her new friends will keep her at arm's length. The Batman Gambit here is that she'll go over the Despair Event Horizon but eventually decide to keep doing good for good's sake, shedding the lingering effects of her mother's abuse and abandoning her remaining Praesi ideals. Without any of that weighing her down, she'll agree to serve as the eternal warden of the Dead King's prison once they depower him—because honestly, what else can she do with herself with Liesse hanging over her head for the rest of her life?
It goes pretty much to plan, Akua dethroning Malicia and destroying the horrific Dread Empire in the process. She later helps slay the false god Kurosiv and personally frees his slaves, before fighting alongside Cat as they lay siege to the Dead King's capital. The Autumn Crown they had planned to depower him with is destroyed, but Akua manages to reforge it into magical-handcuff "Fetters"... not that they're even necessary, as they manage to kill him. But then there's the true climax.
Long story short, there's this omniscient Eldritch Abomination called the Wandering Bard who acts as the Gods' agent in overseeing the Good vs Evil conflict. For various reasons she wants to genocide everything, and the only way to stop her is for someone to commit a Heroic Sacrifice via Fettering themselves to her for all eternity. The Bard is a master of stories, so a story is needed to beat her, but Cat doesn't think anyone fits the right story for the sacrifice—the sacrifice would need to be "heroic," so Akua will never work—and prepares to mutilate her own soul again for another solution. Akua instead knocks her out and changes her own story.
Again, this is a setting that runs on common tropes. For instance, The Good Guys Always Win. There can't really be a "Good vs Evil" conflict if one side never loses, otherwise the Gods' agent must be biased—aside from her current continental murder-suicide scheme, the Bard has always tried to do good whenever she could. Rather than a Heroic Sacrifice, Akua instead petitions the Gods to allow her to correct this failure, putting on the Fetters to become the Bard's equal. For the rest of eternity she'll act as an Evil Mentor to future villains, combatting the Bard's schemes while ensuring no one ever falls to the depths of depravity she reached in her youth. Almost like, I don't know... a practical guide to evil?
Any mitigating factors?
If you had asked me if she counted four years ago: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ...Oh, wait, you were serious?
Pre-Heel–Face Turn Akua is the living embodiment of Praesi cruelty, madness, and mass-murder, with the Doom of Liesse universally considered the most horrific loss of life seen in centuries. She even purchases slave soldiers for one of her early schemes, violating one of the few moral standards Praesi hold. If it weren't for her father/best friend, she could have very easily counted for CM, and that's saying something considering how obnoxiously high the heinous standard is. Akua's certainly smart—she's a master of Praesi politics who constantly survives skirting around treason, with plans within plans within plans to ensure she always eeks out a win and a charm that allows her to play even those who know not to trust her like fiddles. However, while most of Cat's victories against her come from either dumb luck or Black coming in clutch, her adherence to Stupid Evil tropes ultimately sees her beaten—even if she had dethroned Malicia, the story of "warmongering Empress with doomsday weapon" would have seen her slain by the accompanying trope of "orphan with magic sword" within a year. Not to mention, while still impressively progressive compared to most Praesi nobles, she's still a mite racist and very classist.
But then there's the entire second half of the series. Her charm becomes genuinely charming rather than arrogant smarm, she loses her prejudice and cruelty, and her intelligence never wavers—hell, she actually gets better, improving her plans and demeanor with every loss. It should be emphasized that her initial death at Cat's hands resulted from the Stupid Evil practices her mother beat into her dragging her down into losing stories, so once she breaks free of those teachings she's at the top of her game. I'd be here forever if I listed even half the ingenious things she accomplishes. She's an invaluable asset and, at the end of the day, Cat's one true equal.
Cat orchestrating her turn to good is admittedly a hiccup, but in fairness it's less ruthless manipulation and more getting her into a mindset free from other peoples' plans for her clouding her thoughts. An important part of her character arc is escaping the manipulations of others—whether it be her mother's abuse, Malicia's schemes, or the fate woven for her by the Bard—so this is ultimately Cat getting her to shake off the Praesi ideals that were burned into her by her upbringing before providing her with what's ultimately the only logical option left after what she's done, letting her choose her own fate. Once that's established, they're right back to being equals, and Akua still manages to pull one over on Cat with her own plan to beat the Bard.
A later breakdown of her breakdowns that I did not give proper attention to in this post.
Verdict?
I'd say she makes up for her prior failures and cruelties big time, both outsmarting the omniscient and immortal abomination while damning herself to a Fate Worse than Death to save those she had once thought of as her lessers.
Only because of severe character development, but otherwise yes to the title character herself!
Edited by EmeraldEmperor on Feb 21st 2024 at 4:34:09 AM
Masquerade, Keiji and Toshio.
Will read Gundham and Akua later.
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
The Controversial Guy
Gundham Tanaka. Glad to see him return.
to Akua
I think Darkrai is worth the post. If this Darkrai gets approved then that will be the 2nd version of that character to count
Masquerade, Gundham, Keiji, Toshio and Akua
Has RRR ever been discussed in this thread? If not, I'd like to propose someone from there.
Buzz
I don't think so, but if you have someone to propose, just go for it
Image Pickin' Backlog
Right, so I've got this candidate.
So long story short, it's Darkrai from Pokepark 2. Throughout the game he's a solid candidate: he essentially cons half the island into being trapped in Wish Park, stays ahead of the protagonists and even pulls of a helluva Genre Savvy move, and is a genuine Well-Intentioned Extremist who's implied to be a Benevolent Boss to his minions.
The only real hang-up is the fact that his shenanigans accidentally created a vortex that would destroy both Pokepark and Wish Park, and it's implied that he genuinely had no idea about such a thing happening, but the second he catches on to it, he drops everything and goes to help the heroes destroy the vortex, even sacrificing himself by throwing himself and the shutdown device into it and saving both worlds. The post game is the gang going to save Darkrai out of admiration of what he did to save them, and after they do he apologizes for everything and gladly becomes your friend.
So does Darkrai sound like hits, or does he sound like too much of an Unwitting Instigator of Doom, even if he ends up fixing his mistakes in the end (and fairly quickly btw)?
NOISE IS CALLING, PICK UP PHONE