#side character
Yeah, i’m bored. So, here’s a bit about a minor character in Affinity for Pain and an excerpt because I saw @kclenhartnovels post to share one and now I have to.
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Leo the bird winged tech demon
(yes,@lux-scriptum I said wings)
Facts:
- Leo is a bird shifter of a sort, his wings never really go away but he can also fully take the form of a giant bird.
- He’s extremely good with computers which makes him an asset to the gang when they need to do some hacking.
- He’s a bit of an asshole, being as arrogant as he is.
- He’s also not a fan of shirts.
Here’s Leo’s introduction:
The door was more rust than steel, at this point in its life, and it squeaked so loud the rats in the alley next to it stopped what they were doing to see what the awful noise was. Once inside, the smell overwhelmed Hope. It was so sweet, and Hope could almost feel that it was sticky. She put a hand over her mouth and looked around the space. Amongst the various wires that hung from the ceiling, baskets of circuit boards, and industrial remnants of the acrylic factory that the building had once been, were orange slices, hundreds of them. Hope gagged.
“Oranges? Really?”
“Ever heard of an oriole?”
“The bird?”
“Yeah. They love oranges and sugar. The Icarus demon is a sort of bird shifter, with a few very specific traits. The bird in him likes oranges; it’s all he eats, really, sometimes insects. If he’s pressed for choices, that is.”
“Gross.” Hope tried to take breaths through her mouth to reduce her perception of the smell.
“Don’t tell him that,” Dimitri headed to the back of the long building toward a door labeled ‘Office,’ “Follow me, if you would.”
Hope followed but still had to hold her nose. Normally, her sense of smell was a blessing, but now, it was in severe overdrive, and everything was making her sick to her stomach. When they reached the “office,” the room was, if possible, messier than the front. Strange contraptions, dismantled computers, and at least twenty monitors decorated the room.
“Leo! Where are you!?” Dimitri shouted into the room turning in circles.
Then, the room was engulfed in a blinding light, and a man’s figure was silhouetted against the glow. The man slowly descended with his arms held out in a wide-open embrace, his black wings tipped orange. Dimitri leaned in close to whisper to Hope.
“He’s also one of the most arrogant bastards I’ve ever met.”
“Goody.”
It’s a question that many people have been asking themselves lately. Am I special? Does the world revolve around me? If you’re like me, then you’re thinking the answer is no. Maybe a few tiktok “put a finger down: main character edition” videos have you feeling like you’re not. Or you’ve realized your best friend is really the one with the spotlight. Some people just don’t fit the description of what we call being the main character.
Well first, we can argue that we’re each the main character in our own story. And that’s perfectly true. Every person is living, growing, and experiencing life in a way that no one else is. Everyone has their own story to tell, starring themselves.
But an equally valid way of thinking of it, is this:
Maybe you just aren’t the main character.
And really, that’s fine. Because there’s so many equally important characters in a story, who can bring even more to the table than the main character. AND, main character does NOT equal favorite character. In fact, of all the shows, movies, and books you fan over, in how many of those stories is the main character your favorite? I’m guessing not many. In many cases, the front-and-center character is not the one everyone is in love with. Elena Gilbert from TVD is hardly an audience favorite compared to the others. How many people watching Avatar say Aang is their favorite? Even Harry Potter is overlooked in favor of his friends.
The point is, the fan-favorite character is usually NOT the main character, for whatever reason. So who is?
Most of our favorites are actually secondary characters, who are not in the titular role but offer even more to the story by way of intelligence, humor, wit, friendship, interesting story-lines, relatability, etc…
Ok, still not sure? Let’s look at some non main characters who have become highly integral parts to the story, maybe even moreso than the main characters themselves simply by possessing the traits I’ve mentioned:
Fred&George&Draco&Castiel&SpencerReid&JJ&PenelopeGarcia&Jaskier&Katara&Sokka&Toph&Zuko&Azula&Hermione&SteveHarrington&BuckyBarnes&Loki&EliCardashyan&HarleyQuinn&PhilCoulson&Shuri&DustinHenderson&RonWeasley&Enzo&Bonnie&Yennifer&WandaMaximoff&SamWilson&&&
so much more but I’m really tired so that’s all I will type out right now. But do you think any less of these characters because they’re not the “main character?” Does it make them any less significant? Don’t think so.
Just because you don’t relate to the Harry Potters or the Bella Swans, doesn’t mean your story is any less important.
The important part is that you’re the character you would want to see yourself as. Be that person.
And if anyone with main character syndrome picks on you, kindly remind them that Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way was also a main character :)
