I think I just need one more vote for Oscar.

Next woobie candidate from Weight of the World: Italy. He's the last one I can do for this work until February 1st.

Who is he?

Italy is the cowardly and anxious personification of North Italy. He is not a fighter anymore (in a case of in-universe Badass Decay), but joined the mission to rescue the twins from Remnant in case his unique diplomatic methods were required. In actuality he wanted to go out of a desire to prove to Germany and himself that he can be capable and not "useless Italy".

What has he endured?

Italy is caught in the middle of the Fall of Beacon. Grimm flood the streets of Vale, and his terror draws them right to his group, forcing America, Germany, Japan, and Prussia to protect him.

He goes with the others on the mission to Anima, which involves going through territories filled with Grimm. In Kuroyuri, Prussia is injured and unconscious, with only Germany and Italy around to defend him. Italy freezes up and Germany has to protect him. Germany is badly injured by an Ursa. Italy barely manages to stop the Grimm from dragging the two brothers away and has to use his necklace ^note which activates a one-use portal to Earth to get them out of there. This is despite England warning him that it is unsafe to go through while someone is unconscious.

The portal causes Germany to lose an arm and Prussia to lose part of his insides. Germany's arm regrows but Prussia never fully recovers. England yells at Italy about not listening to his warnings about the portals. Italy attempts to prove himself to himself by uploading a Grimm battle-simulation but panics and has to be rescued by Germany.

Italy volunteers to go with the group returning to Remnant because he wants to save America, Romano (Italy's older brother) and the other kidnapped nations. He finds America after Atlas tortured him, and discovers America was intentionally injured in a way where it could take days for him to fall unconscious. Nations can only heal from grievous injuries when they are unconscious, so America would be left suffering until he "passed". America is unable to talk and silently gestures for Italy to shoot him to end his suffering (and allow him to heal). Italy complies.

Ruby activates Silver Eyes and attacks Weiss and Japan. Italy watches as Ruby begins disintegrating patches of Japan's skin and one of his legs. Italy knows he does not stand a chance against her but distracts her from torturing Japan and killing Weiss. He only manages to survive her attacks because of his Intangibility Semblance.

He distracts her again at a later time in order to allow everyone to escape the Temple they have been trapped in. He loses control of his Semblance and is left at Ruby's mercy, only to be rescued by Hazel. He makes himself a target of Salem by destroying her projected body to save Ruby. He finds out he nearly led the Silver-Eye powered Ruby right to his friends, whom she would have targeted and killed in an instant.

The Warden Grimm attacks the group and America and Canada are caught in its ribcage. Italy uses his intangibility to free America, but accidentally leaves Canada behind. Because of this, Canada is captured by Salem.

His response?

Italy suffers from extreme self-confidence issues and anxiety. The Grimm (which are attracted to negative emotions) are his worst nightmare. He balks at the very idea of going through Grimm territory but has no choice but to come along. He fears the Grimm, which brings more Grimm in, which makes him more afraid, which brings more Grimm to his location. He realizes this and blames himself for Germany and Prussia's injuries. He wants to prove that he is strong, both to others but mostly to himself. His failure at the simulation causes him to break down in tears.

Italy willingly returns to Remnant because his brother is among the captured nations. He is still terrified but can't bear the thought of leaving Romano's rescue to someone else. He can barely make himself shoot America and has to keep telling himself that it is the only way America can "fall asleep" and heal. He weeps as he does it even though he knows America will be fine later. Weiss screams at him and demands to know what he's done and he tonelessly says America will "sleep and heal now". Both times Italy faces Ruby, he's terrified and crying as he distracts her but does not give up because he knows he has the best chance of surviving her assault.

He suffers from guilt from all of his "failures" which include Germany and Prussia's injuries, the failed Grimm simulation, accidentally leading Ruby towards his friends instead of away, and failing to save Canada from the Warden Grimm. Every time he tries to prove himself, he messes something up. He wants to succeed but has never had a full "win". As the series went on, he begins to act despite his fear instead of cowering in the background, though he does not realize he has changed and believes he is a coward.

Can he defend himself?

Yes, he could... If he had the confidence to use his sword-skills. He is a skilled fighter, but his anxiety and self-doubt tend to get the best of him so he often fumbles, hesitates, freezes and/or messes up. He'd also rather flee battle than take part in it. He only stands his ground when his friends are in trouble and fleeing would cause their deaths.

Verdict?

Woobie.

Edited by EmeraldSky on Jan 23rd 2019 at 7:04:31 AM

Ikki.

all I missed.

• Courage the Cowardly Dog:
  • The Woobie:
    • Bunny is the best friend (and plausible lover) of Kitty trapped in an abusive relationship to Mad Dog. Mad Dog threatens her and Kitty if she dared to come within arms' length of her as a means of keeping her under his paw. He even goes as far as to bury Bunny up to her neck in dirt. When Courage arrives to rescue her, she is nearly mowed down by her vengeful boyfriend's car before being reunited with Kitty.
    • The female Starmaker of the eponymous episode loses her mate when he sacrifices himself to protect her and their unborn offspring. Upon crash landing in Nowhere, Kansas, the Starmaker is experimented on by the military, its body slowly withering as its bodily fluids are drained. After its offspring hatch, she crawls out of the lab and becomes a garden upon her death.

  • Iron Woobie:
    • The titular Courage is the perpetually fearful protector of the Bagge residence. Abandoned as a pup after his parents were sent to outer space, Courage had since devoted himself to keeping Muriel safe. Despite his fears, Courage constantly puts himself in harm's way whether it be getting beaten within an inch of his life in a game of dodge ball, or taking taking grievous injuries. In the end, Courage lives up to his name in spite of being afraid.
    • Hunchback of Nowhere (WIP)
  • Jerkass Woobie:
    • Eustace Bagge (WIP)
    • Kitty is the best friend of the aforementioned Bunny appearing in the two-parter "The Mask." Developing a deep hatred towards dogs because of Bunny's boyfriend, Kitty arrives to the Bagge residence, and viciously beats Courage for no other reason than because he's a dog. When Courage successfully saves Bunny, Kitty learns the error of her ways and genuinely expresses her gratitude towards Courage.

---

Oh, and right when I thought I was done, I found a potential Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.

Who is he?

Dr. Zalost, a mad scientist and the main antagonist of the two-part season finale Tower of Dr. Zalost. He refers to himself as being "the most unhappy scientist" in the world. So, in short, he suffers from severe, clinical depression, and aims at making everyone around him as unhappy as possible.

What is his predicament?

He first goes to the mayor of Nowhere to request $33,333,333,333 to fund a project he refers to as his "Unhappy Cannonball Project." naturally, the mayor and some military men laugh him off as a joke saying that the next time he showed his face, he would be thrown into jail. Dr. Zalost leaves with a warning that the town would be made "very unhappy" due to their refusal. Zalost creates several cannonballs and fires them down on the people of Nowhere, making everyone within proximity unhappy.

The mayor relents his previous statement and agrees to Zalost's demands in the hopes that he would reverse the damage. Zalost gets what he asks for...but the money still didn't make him feel happy. So, he decides to not reverse the effect. Naturally, Muriel ends up getting effected by one of the cannonballs, and she becomes sluggish and unable to function properly. Courage manages to get into Dr. Zalost's tower (with some assistance from Eustace), coming to the realization that Muriel's "Happy Plums" could possibly reverse the effect. After a scuffle with Zalost's pet and henchman, Rat, the plums are dropped into the cauldron, turning the contents inside into a pink substance. Everyone in Nowhere reverts to normal as Zalost's moving castle explodes, but Zalost wasn't finished yet.

He follows Courage and Muriel to the farmhouse with one of his cannonballs in hand. While searching for the two, Zalost happens upon some of Muriel's Happy Plums and eats them. This causes him to become happy, and he cheers up an infantile Rat by offering it a hug.

Sympathy standard

He is all but confirmed to be a character with clinical depression, the kind that medicine is often required. So yeah.

Why a Destroyer?

For one, Zalost makes it his goal of making everyone as miserable and unhappy as he was, basically committing terrorism, and even when the mayor caves in to his demands, he decides to continue firing the unhappy cannonballs because he was still unsatisfied.

Is he a Jerkass?

Yes. He tries to destroy everyone's happiness for no other reason than For the Evulz, he is irritable towards his henchman, and decides to continue making everyone around him miserable, which nearly causes Nowhere's economy to crumble. However, as I have said, he is clinically depressed, and while it doesn't excuse his actions, it nevertheless provides an explanation for it.

Verdict

Keep as WDOW,

Edited by AustinDR on Jan 23rd 2019 at 8:27:51 AM

Yes to all I missed.

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread

Zalost.

Hey guys, I've started a subpage for the Re-Evaluation Box that involves trimming pre-existing examples deemed to long here.

To what I've missed.

Chivalry of a Failed Knight Candidate # 2

PokemonMasterH: Will you explain the work?

DevilSlayer123: Chivalry of a Failed Knight. In this world, there are special people called Blazers who're able to materialize their soul as a weapon and has magic that acts as the source for their powers, however, their magic power is fixed from birth and can't increase it no matter the kind of training that they do. The main characters are Ikki Kurogane a Blazer classified as an F-Rank due to him having the lowest magical power and Stella Vermilion an A-Rank who has the highest magic power. In their first meeting with one another, Ikki walked in on her changing in his dorm room and later found out that they're roommates.

MasterH: Tell me about Ayase and her predicament

DevilSlayer: Ayase is the daughter of a normal human renowned as the Last Samurai who is also the owner of their families' dojo. He trained his daughter from a young age in their swordplay, but couldn't at one point due to an illness that her father suffered. One day, all the students were beaten by a blazer nicknamed the Sword Eater who later challenge her father, then won, putting her father in a hospital.

MasterH: Is she sympathetic by the sandards of the story? Any jerk moves?

DevilSlayer: Yes, she did fake a suicide attempt to get Ikki to save her life by using Ittou Shura, which he can only use once per day since he was her next opponent in the festival. She also set several traps in the arena before the match started. Her reason was she wouldn't get a second chance to fight the person who put her father in the hospital. But, in the end she still lost to Ikki who forgave her and won back her families' dojo for them.
MasterH: She got better right?
DevilSlayer: Yes, it wasn't that she was bad but she was just caught up in a bad situation.

MasterH: Can she defend herself?

DevilSlayer: Yes, she could spar against Ikki after she asked him to teach her swordsmanship (prior to her finding out that she was going to fight him in the festival). Ikki had soon fixed her stance as she was just mimicking the movements of her father, afterward her slashes had started to become faster than before. Ayase also has a unique power, which lets her worsen the wounds of the anything and anyone that she cuts. She also has a technique, which lets her leave a scar on the atmosphere letting her create a vacuum blade as soon as the person comes close to it.

MasterH: Conclusion Time. Jerk, Iron, or both?

DevilSlayer: She could be classed as both of them. Ayase was a temporary Jerk Woobie during her fight against Ikki but stopped after the fight. She can also be an Iron Woobie due to the mental effect that her father being hospitalized caused her, which was the end result of her acting the way she did towards Ikki.

Edited by MasterJoseph on Jan 23rd 2019 at 6:58:44 AM

IPP Wick Check created.

Ayase is an easy yeah.

Also, think we need to vet this example from Zombieland Saga:

• The Woobie:
  • Sakura gets unexpectedly killed, terrorized by the other girls as unawakened zombies, discovers she's a zombie herself, gets shot, realizes she's lost her memory, finds herself having to put up with Kotaro's lunacy, gets terrorized by Saki for being a pushover, then gets shot at again... suffice to say, she doesn't have a very fun first couple of episodes. Then come the final two episodes of the season, as it's revealed how a life of having her best efforts continually thwarted by bad luck left her depressed about ever actually achieving anything, and the knowledge that her last try at something in life left her dead results in her finally surrendering and giving up on (un)life, verging on the suicidal and being a Jerkass Woobie due to being more moody and bitter. It's only thanks to Kotaro and the others' extraordinary efforts, and their refusal to give up on her, that she manages to rediscover her hope and optimism.
  • Neither Ai or Junko take being recruited into Kotaro's project well - Ai can't take the insanity, Junko can't take being terrorized by Tae, and both of them are struggling to cope with their situation - and discovering how much people are scared of them in their current condition only makes it worse. As a result, they're left isolated from the others, unwilling to join in, until they're spurred to save the failing guerrilla performance. Then comes their shared mini-arc at Saga Rock, as Ai reveals she's still very much traumatized by the way she died, left trembling and curled up into a ball, and Junko's alienation from the modern idol industry and the difficulties she has with public interaction result in her withdrawing into the attic for weeks. In the end, they both find ways to deal with their respective issues, with Saki and Junko supporting Ai in the face of her Trauma Button, and Kotaro encouraging Junko to be herself and arranging things so she doesn't have to deal with the public.
  • Lily had a happy relationship with her father Takeo, but wanted to make him happy from inside the TV... and it inadvertantly wrecked their relationship, as he became more interested in her career than her personal life and she became increasingly overworked. Then she discovered she'd started puberty, and her terror as a transgender girl at the thought of ending up with a male body was the final straw, the culminative mental stress from everything in her life triggering a fatal heart attack. Her realization that Takeo still loved her after all this time, and of her true feelings for him, hurts.
  • Takeo qualifies too, as we see just how much losing Lily traumatized him, haunted by the fact he might have unintentionally caused her death, and unable to watch the TV he'd once loved because it had too many painful memories. Both of them manage to find some measure of closure after Episode 8, however.

Having seen the show, I can vouch some of them being a keeper. I'll do the EP soon enough if I have a time.

"Making screw-ups and mistakes was I ever really good at. Because everything I touch went to hell."

I have no issue since they seem to be added after the thread was started.

IPP Wick Check created.

Yes to Ayase.

Also I'm going on a trip tomorrow. So i am taking a break until I get back.

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread

Ayase

Ayase

"No running in the halls!"

Ayase

Yes to all the ones I've missed.

Here's a character from Fire Emblem Fates.

Who is Hinoka?

Hinoka is the older of two Hoshidan (Hoshido is one of two major royal families in the game Fire Emblem Fates the other being Nohr) female siblings being only slightly younger than Ryoma but older than Corrin. She's an exceedingly sweet young lady who cares about her siblings even when Corrin seemingly betrays her in both the Conquest and Revelations route by choosing either to side with Nohr or neither. She is fiercely protective over her younger siblings, and goes through absolute hell in the Conquest route.

What is her situation

Hinoka was originally told due to being a princess that she couldn't fight on the battlefield. One day, Garon, king of Nohr, killed her father King Sumeragi (her mother died a long time ago, and her step mother who happens to be Corrin's real mom was slain by Garon as well) and stole the then 5ish year old Corrin and bringing him/her to Nohr. She feels responsible for his capture and tried to get him back but failed and since then, wasn't allowed on the battlefield for safety from her older brother Ryoma. As such she was training to get him/her back, and she injured herself and Asama, a monk at the time, healed her. Since then she's owed a debt of great gratitude to him and offered for him to be one of her retainers to which he accepted.

Since then when Corrin returned to Hoshido, she became fiercly protective of them and fights the Nohr army. In the Hoshidan/Birthright route she watches her comrades die, but she overcomes everything making her an Iron Woobie.

However in Nohr/Conquest route, her kingdom is decimated by her adopted brother/sister that she only tells them they were adopted if Avatar/Corrin chooses to marry her. Both of her brothers die, one from single combat after she gives up to Corrin after they defeat her and let her go but give them her naginata/halberd and has them think Hinoka was murdered breaking Ryoma and flying him into a rage. After Ryoma is killed, Takumi's already hateful rage is amplified by the Dragon God Anankos and he is killed by Corrin in an attempt to set him free after finding out the King Garon was dead all along and a slime monster to boot.

Poor Hinoka is left with very few retainers to rule as a queen over a conquered Hoshido being that she is the oldest of the surviving sisters. She vows to protect Sakura. But despite all of this she never stops believing in the good in Corrin despite him/her doing all of Garon's bidding up until Ryoma is slain. Tough call but with this baggage I think she deserves to be a regular Woobie in spite of being strong. And if Corrin or Asama marries her she says there is no one else she'd rather be with and acts as a good mom to Kana or Asama's kid giving her a happy ending of sorts. But this is only possible in Birthright and Revelations.

As for the Revelations path, despite feeling betrayed but Corrin choosing to stay neutral, she still believes in them and rules over Hoshido Castle in Ryoma's absence and as such refuses to fight Corrin or Nohr. She doesn't join Corrin till chapter 18, but she is extremely happy to be with Corrin. And she develops a sort of bond with her Nohrian Counterpart Camilla even learning how to sew and other helpful skills like cooking from her.

She suffers the most in the Conquest route so if we go by that and the rest, I'd say she could be a regular Woobie.

Sympahy Standard?

I would say she passes. Every single character (aside from Hans, Garon, and Iago) has a tragic backstory but I feel the royals have the most pivotal and plot relevant backstories and by that she easily passes.

Is she a Jerkass?

Not at all. Hinoka despite in one route fighting against her beloved adopted brother/sister, she still loves them and aside from the whole Nohrian Scum thing, she even treats her enemies with respect and is in general a sweet lady.

Verdict?

I would say keep for possibly both Iron Woobie and Regular woobie especially due to the extra baggage she has in the conquest route.

Hino

IPP Wick Check created.

to all the ones I missed.

All I missed.

Ikki

Hi, I've recently cut an entry on this candidate as it wasn't approved by the thread.

Castlevania Candidate # 1:

MasterJoseph: What's the work Doc?

Scraggle: Castlevania (2017)
MasterH: Eh, I'll just describe the work myself by quoting the Trope Page.
"Castlevania is a 2017 animated series for Netflix produced by Frederator Studios and animated by Powerhouse Animation Studios. It's based on the Castlevania series of games, specifically the prequel Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse with elements of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness thrown in.
As such, it deals with Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), the last living member of the disgraced Belmont clan of superpowered vampire slayers. When darkness in the form of Dracula (Graham McTavish) appears in Eastern Europe, Trevor must take a stand to continue his family's tradition of killing the Prince of Evil...
The series is written by Warren Ellis and produced by Adi Shankar. Season 1, consisting of four 22-minute episodes, premiered on July 7, 2017. A second season consisting of eight episodes premiered on October 26, 2018. A third season is in the works."

Joseph: Will you tell me about Isaac and his predicament?

Scraggle: How Isaac qualifies (probably as a Jerkass Woobie, all things considered)? The entry wraps that up pretty well... a longer version of it? Isaac started out the manservant of a cruel master who whipped him and abused him for every perceived infraction. Isaac had romantic feelings for his master and persisted under the abuse until he finally poured his soul into a confession (while he was being tortured for trying to help his master, at that), revealing he loved his master beyond anything.
Said master? Mocked him over it and brutally tortured him some more, at which point Isaac... broke, and killed his master in a hysterical fury.
Also? He's a black man in a period of time where people weren't as... civilized to that kind of thing, meaning he's had to deal with brigands trying to poach him to sell his limbs. Isaac was rescued by Dracula from that and is later recruited to help Dracula exterminate humanity, serving him as Drac's loyal Forgemaster, his only true friends the dead animals he revives with his necromantic Forgemaster power and Dracula himself. Ever stoic and efficient, Isaac's facade only cracks in the end when Dracula sends Isaac away when Isaac pledges his life to help Dracula against the heroes even knowing he'll die, prompting a reaction of pure anguish from him before he's thrown into the desert.

Joseph: Is he sympathethic by the standards of the story? Is he Jerk?

Scraggle: Yeah. Very much so. One of the two most sympathetic villains in the plot (Drac himself, too) when most are (literal) monsters.
As for Jerk? He's Drac's right-hand. That goes into the extermination of all humanity and a ton of related murders, but Isaac's got incredibly valid reasons for having been snapped into a misanthrope in the first place.

Joseph: Can he defend himself?

Scraggle:Ask Godbrand who Isaac turned into ash without anyone seeing him. Or those bandits he turned into sliced-up chunks.
...albeit, at his most vulnerable, like when Dracula throws him out into the desert? That's kind of worth a hug. The dude self-flagellates in his off-time to ensure that while he still lives in a world of endless pain, he still can make his own decisions about it.

Joseph: Verdict Time.

Scraggle: Should be obvious. Keep.

IPP Wick Check created.

Hinoka and Isaac.

Hinoka and definitely Isaac

"No running in the halls!"

I guess I'll say yes. Just kind of confused with how the EP's done.

Hinoka and Isaac.

Edited by 11111001011 on Jan 24th 2019 at 4:14:23 AM

to Hinoka and Isaac.

"Death's vastness holds no peace. I come at the end of the long road—neither human, nor devil... All bends to my will." -Demifiend.

Isaac.