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Ron the Death Eater

zakisrage

SAEV DEH WHALEZ!
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Ron the Death Eater - Television Tropes & Idioms

This is a common fanfiction cliche. It is when writers make a good character evil, or when an evil character is made a lot more evil.

For example, say a person writes a Pokemon fanfic. They decided to use Misty, who is not an evil character at all. Then the fanfic they write prortays Misty as a sharp-tongued harpy who sadistically tortures Ash and Brock. It's a pretty common cliche, and it is quite infamous. For a bad character being more bad, it would be like turning jerkass Georgia into a serial killer. (The opposite of this trope is "Draco in Leather Pants", which is making an evil character good or less evil. An example of that would be portraying the incredibly cruel Ghetsis as a kind, caring individual.)

Are you unintentionally guilty of using "Ron the Death Eater" in any of your fanfics? Or do you try to avoid it? (In an old fanfic I wrote in a notebook, which I have since gotten rid of, I portrayed Norman as a stuck-up jerk. I don't know why, and I think it was the worst thing that I ever wrote.)

What are some examples of Ron the Death Eater you have seen in Pokemon fanfics?
 
I didn't read the article because I'm about to go to bed and I don't want to get stuck in a TV Tropes spiral, but I got the gist of it from your post.

I don't think I do things that extreme, but I find it really interesting to read and write unusual and different portrayals of a character... as long as they're believable.

My first major fic on this site was called Rival's Story and it was RBYFRLG told from the perspective of the rival, Blue. In the story Blue was a sympathetic character (though he was still a bit of a jerk) and Red, being his rival, was generally a bit of a jerk, though as the story developed and snippets were told from his point of view, it became evident that he wasn't really that much of a jerk either - they just both went out of their way to be jerks to each other. In fact, quite a few of my fics and one shots feature canonical characters with a bit of a different spin on them.

It's not really a Pokemon fanfic in the sense that I think you're asking (though it is basically fanfiction of the games) but the Pokemon Adventures manga does a really incredible job of this with Lt. Surge, Sabrina and Koga, who compose the Rocket Triad. I think that says all I need to say about it, but awesome, right? Definitely have a read if you get the chance.
 
I noticed that wealthy characters such as Steven Stone and Grimsley often get portrayed as snobs in fanfics. I find this bothersome - it's like implying that all rich people are snobbish, elitist "stiff upper lip" types. It bothers me because I used to be one of those people who hated anyone well-off, and I want to think now that I know better. Giving this treatment to Steven Stone is especially ridiculous because he is probably one of the nicest characters towards the player. I once got really pissed off by a fanfic that did that.

Then again, other fandoms do this to rich characters too. Even if the character is snobbish in canon, it will be exaggerated in fanfics (for example, Rhonda from Hey Arnold is kinda stuck-up and very into fashion, but not extremely awful. Fanfics, however, often make her more like Regina George from Mean Girls).

However, alternate character interpretation can be a good thing too. Today I read a fanfic of the original Karate Kid movie that provided Johnny (the villain) with a backstory that cast him in a more positive light than he is portrayed in the movie. I was actually very impressed by the author's writing skills and choice of character development.

(NOTE: I'll let people talk about ANY fandom in this thread. It doesn't have to be just Pokemon.)
 
One of the most common I've seen is from MLP:FiM where Celestia is portrayed as a tyrant, xenocidal conqueror (Conversion Bureau 'verse fics) or a sexual predator.

In Pokémon, I did see a fic that portrayed Cynthia as a power-crazed murderous tyrant. In addition, there was a fic that portrayed Dawn as being a total jackass to the main character.

---------------

BUT! I don't think this trope is inherently bad. After all, it is possible to make good stories where this trope is in full play. Though when you're doing this, you really have to have a good justification for this occurring.
 
The only really good usage I've seen of "Ron the Death Eater" is Tony Almeida from 24. For the first four seasons of the show, he was one of the good guys, fighting tooth and nail and using unconventional tactics to protect the country. His career is ruined in season three to protect his wife who was held hostage by the bad guy, and that's where things went downhill for him, leading to a divorce with his wife after he was convicted of treason. He rebounded in season four, but the pressures of the job and the rekindling of his marriage with his ex-wife led him to call it quits.

Season five rolls around, and he's still a good guy, but his wife is assassinated (as is their unborn child). Nearly half of the people he worked with in the previous season are killed during the day. He literally has nothing left to live for: no wife, no job, a tainted reputation as a traitor, all of his friends and former coworkers (with the exception of three or four) are gone... All of that made for the perfect turning point to turn him into a villain in the show's seventh season, and I'm not sure if it could have been pulled off any better.

"Ron the Death Eater" is a tricky subject to work with. You need a very delicately crafted story that spans for chapters/seasons that all leads up to why he/she turned into a villain. It had better be a damn good reason, too. It's something I avoid doing in everything I write, because I don't feel I can do it properly. That, and I love my good guys too much to turn them into villains.
 
Tbh I dislike this trope being invoked in any fashion if it makes the character go OOC. I don't mind paul(MAJOR DRACO IN LEATHER PANTS CHAR IF I EVER SAW ONE) for example being a extra big douche to ash I wouldn't mind that since it's still IC. Turning dawn/iris into some slut/bimbo in order to make misty more appealing? no way.
 
In Pokémon, I did see a fic that portrayed Cynthia as a power-crazed murderous tyrant.

Did you read "Return of the Queen" on FF.net by any chance? I think that's the one with evil Cynthia. That is one of the worst things I've ever read.

Grimsley gets this treatment a lot by fangirls on the sole basis that he is a Dark-type Trainer. Read "Darkest Night", where he is portrayed as a sexual predator. And Shauntal is often portrayed as his victim because the type she uses is weak to the one Grimsley uses. Shauntal gets portrayed as weak an awful lot - wimpification, maybe? And just because one Gym Leader or Elite Four member has a type advantage over another, doesn't mean they would torment them. You never see Elesa bullying Skyla in fanfics - at least, not the ones I've read.

And why is it always Grimsley? Sidney doesn't get it often since the Hoenn Elite Four is fairly unpopular. Karen gets it occasionally since she is made slightly villainous in the manga, though I'd argue that's more justified since it was used in a canonical publication. Even the manga never gives Grimsley any diabolical traits. His fondness for gambling, which is only mentioned briefly, is the most negative they get, and even then it's never brought up in the games (maybe if Grimsley ever appears in the anime, they'll elaborate on it).
 
Did you read "Return of the Queen" on FF.net by any chance? I think that's the one with evil Cynthia. That is one of the worst things I've ever read.

Why, thank you.

TV Tropes is where the people who get banned from Wikipedia go to make their points. In addition, TV Tropes itself makes it plain and clear that a Trope is NOT a bad thing or even a cliche. It's just something that occurs frequently in fiction.

Cynthia, in the form Nintendo made her, is a flat-out Mary Sue, as are probably 75% of the characters in the Pokemon world. I chose to make my characters more dynamic. Cynthia actually started out as a reasonable human being in one of my older stories, she slowly became that way.

Just because you don't like the way a character is portrayed doesn't mean it's a terrible story. Sabrina was portrayed four different ways in four different "canons" of the Pokemon world. It's proof that not every character must be put into a box.
 
I don't think it's particularly fair to call Cynthia a Mary Sue... She's at least in her late 20s, and she's been the Champion for who knows how long. I'd think it's reasonable that she'd be as prepared as she is for things out of experience. She's like Dumbledore in that regard.

But she definitely is bland in the games. But, then again, most characters are.
 
In Hero, I made Lance into a sadistic bastard that would rival Light Yagami in evil-ness and sociopathy. I regret nothing.

(It apparently actually changed the perception of the Elite Four for some people to a Pokémon Special-kind of badness.)
 
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In Pokemon GK I gleefully did this to a great many characters deliberately. Because, hey, my story.
 
In Hero, I made Lance into a sadistic bastard that would rival Light Yagami in evil-ness and sociopathy.

I regret nothing.
In Pokemon GK I gleefully did this to a great many characters deliberately. Because, hey, my story.

You people are awesome. It's fun to change around characters and make them more than the one-dimensional people we see in the games. It adds a little spice.
 
There used to be a writer called Cori Falls who portrayed Jessie as a wimp and James as her lovey-dovey boy toy. But the real vilification was Ash, who was made into a bastard, and Jessiebelle, who was made into a complete monster. Cori basically makes us want Jessiebelle to die when she's crying and begging for help before Team Rocket murders her. And Ash gets described as being pig-like repeatedly.

Cori Falls - Television Tropes & Idioms
 
Well, in a fanfic I might be about to write, I make Rayquaza into a treacherous, backstabbing arse. Since it's role in-universe is to stop the fighting of Groudon and Kyogre if it happens, I suppose that counts.
 
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There used to be a writer called Cori Falls who portrayed Jessie as a wimp and James as her lovey-dovey boy toy. But the real vilification was Ash, who was made into a bastard, and Jessiebelle, who was made into a complete monster. Cori basically makes us want Jessiebelle to die when she's crying and begging for help before Team Rocket murders her. And Ash gets described as being pig-like repeatedly.

Cori Falls - Television Tropes & Idioms

Every fanfic writer should wish they were that famous, to get that much attention to their fanfics and characters. In my opinion, Cori Falls wins. (Besides, Ash is a pig!)
 
Apparently, Cori laughs at her old fanfics now. I guess she's seen the light.

(Come to think of it, Ron the Death Eater usually goes hand-in-hand with Draco in Leather Pants. Many DILP fanfics feature some form of Ron the Death Eater.)
 
I noticed that wealthy characters such as Steven Stone and Grimsley often get portrayed as snobs in fanfics. I find this bothersome - it's like implying that all rich people are snobbish, elitist "stiff upper lip" types. It bothers me because I used to be one of those people who hated anyone well-off, and I want to think now that I know better. Giving this treatment to Steven Stone is especially ridiculous because he is probably one of the nicest characters towards the player. I once got really pissed off by a fanfic that did that.

Then again, other fandoms do this to rich characters too. Even if the character is snobbish in canon, it will be exaggerated in fanfics (for example, Rhonda from Hey Arnold is kinda stuck-up and very into fashion, but not extremely awful. Fanfics, however, often make her more like Regina George from Mean Girls).

However, alternate character interpretation can be a good thing too. Today I read a fanfic of the original Karate Kid movie that provided Johnny (the villain) with a backstory that cast him in a more positive light than he is portrayed in the movie. I was actually very impressed by the author's writing skills and choice of character development.

(NOTE: I'll let people talk about ANY fandom in this thread. It doesn't have to be just Pokemon.)

I think every character's been given this sort of treatment in one fic or another, but you do raise a good point. Steven's one of the most down-to-earth (pardon the pun) characters in the series. Grimsley might get this treatment both because of his background and because of his type specialty: I don't remember much about Sidney, but Karen's quotes in-game pretty firmly establish her as not-jerky.

And yeah, I read Darkest Night, and I just...what? Aside from his gambling habit, the worst thing I can see Grimsley capable of is Combat Pragmatism, which...dark types, remember.

The only wealthy character I can really see worthy of being portrayed as a jerk is Caitlin, and that's bratty DPPt!Caitlin, not BW!Caitlin (who may have a somewhat frigid exterior but doesn't seem so bad, since it's implied she matured a bit.)

Then again, given that I roleplay from this fandom, I try to strike a balance. Most of the characters I play are on the side of good, but have their jerk moments--I mean, you can't be 100% nice to everyone all the time.
 
If I got to have a giant princess bed in my battle room, I know my demeanor would improve.
 
Please note: The thread is from 11 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
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