
You know what I’m tired of?
What I call thr “Relena Peacecraft Effect”. It’s been going on for decades, and it’s one of the things that gets under my skin. What is this effect, you may ask? Google Relena Peacecraft. Okay. Before you hit enter look at the top 2 suggestions. One will be an auto complete for her name, and the other will be “Relena Peacecraft Annoying”.
The idea is that back in the 90s it was popular to shit all over the main female lead of an anime. It didn’t matter what her personality was, because fans would tear her apart for daring to come between them and their bishounen crush. I’m serious. Actually clicking the second suggestion on google might just open up a portal to a flood of fanfictions from 1998 that all involve hating this particular character.
What could she have done? Well, she’s framed as being a stalker, controling, a psychopath who selfishly wants everything her way, wanting the main bishounen all to herself, pretending to be hurt to gain attention, etc. Basically the same exact thing that fan authors STILL DO to the main female character that they hate. Enjoy Harry Potter fics? Does it trouble you just how many authors depict Hermione (and Ginny, but she has no personality to begin with) as raving lunatics who harangue the other characters until they get their way? Or just generally acting like a brat every time they’re in the scene?
That’s the Relena Peacecraft effect. You could be reading an otherwise great fic, but then it comes to the main female lead of the movie/show/anime/manga etc. And she will be a controlling, stalking, lunatic. I get not liking a character, I do. But I feel like it does a serious disservice to readers to air out fan bias in long form over 30 chapters.
Don’t like Ayeka from Tenchi Muyo? Don’t blame you, she’s exactly the character I’ve been describing this whole timem except for when she isn’t. There’s the sort of hard part. People tend to cling to their first impressions. If the first time they saw Katara from Avatar it was when she was lecturing everyone else they might not like her. But then there’s literally everything else she’s ever done.
Some people do it to Mabel, to relate somewhat more towards the people that actually follow thia blog. They see her (a twelve-year-old, may I remind you) as embodying all of the traits of selfishness that they can imagine, and cast her as such.
It’s like how in the current day, nobody seems to remember the word ‘Squick’. People with PTSD get triggered. People who don’t like pairings get squicked. It squicks me to see a well rounded character thrown in the trash and not get used to craft the story. When an otherwise wonderful character becomes a road block because the author hates her? That squicks me.
I don’t write my fics that way, and I don’t know many that do. But it’s probably the number one trope I notice in bad fics. And unfortunately in good ones too.
I’m not sure I have an answer or a real, satisfying conclusion here. People will continue Dragging Relena’s ghost through the mud in the form of every other main female character ever, and it’s tiring. I hesitate to call it sexist, but I think it is. Usually in these stories the only acceptable female characters just agree with the main male lead through 90% of their conversations. They havr the same opinions on damn near everything, from battle strategies, to politics. And it’s weirdly obvious when it happens.
There’s also usually ‘that one scene’ where rhe main male lead gets to call out the main female in a loud and totally embarrassing call out, of just why they’re so awful, and frequently, there’s a crowd. Isn’t it embarrassing to be that obvious? Take some damn pride in examining characters you don’t like, and seeing them as people with motivations and reasons for acting. Hell, people seem to love Draco Malfoy over Hermione, and some lunatics love Robbie over Mabel. Got your preference? Cool. But Robbie ain’t secretly a sweetheart who bakes cookies for everyone in town, and Mabel isn’t actually out to turn everyone into Dippy Fresh.
In conclusion, I suppose, since I said I didn’t have one, is to have some pride in what you write and what you read. That doesn’t mean to send authors that do aomething you don’t like hatemail. Hust as much as I think the Relena Peacecraft Effect is an annoyance, used by biased and lazy writers, I also think that flaming people over what they choose to write is a super slippery situation. Criticism is one thing. And not many people are good at giving it. Not constructively anyway. And a lot of authors aren’t looking for it, since they have a vision they set out to write. So I suppose, my request is to keep an open mind, and look for the trope. I guarantee you that you’ll find it. Maybe you’ll think again about motivation, and what makes a compelling character.