Do you have a character who is like that in your story? Name one or two of those characters from any of your stories.
That character who has to put on a brave face, hide their sorrows, suffer in silence, tell people that they’re alright and nothing is wrong when they are fucking losing it mentally, physically, and/or emotionally.
That character that everyone depends on to have it all together and to be alright all over. The character who don’t need to cry and have breakdowns because they have their shit together when they are clearly suffering internally and externally.
The character who wants to scream and shout out/lash at the world because they are severely suffering but needs to put on a brave face for the others because if that character loses it, EVERYONE WILL LOSE IT!!!
I am talking about the character who would give absolutely anything to be weak and helpless for a splitting moment. To cope with their inner demons instead of being the strong heroic or misunderstood bad guy.
They want the pain to end, they want to cry, and they want to feel things again instead of being the “strong” one.
Even in real life, there are people like this, I should know because I am like that in a sense.
What about you? Have you ever written a “strong” character who just wanted a moment where they are allowed to be weak and helpless even if it is once?
Probably, the only character I have like that is Anna/Nirvana, who is my villain in my story and mind.
Like this woman is tricky because she is the embodiment of what I want to be, but what I suffer from as well.
So, I have Nirvana ultra strong and powerful and crazy as hell. My problems seem to be strong and powerful and crazy to me.
Nirvana has been a constant thing with me since I was a child.
Moving on, Nirvana only acts “evil” and insane because she truly wants to be stopped by a worthy opponent who is capable of doing such a thing.
Anna is Nirvana if she was calm, nice, and kind in an evil way. Much like Nirvana, Anna is also suffering because she wants to others, let people smile, yet she is using her looks to get away with things, dealing with be too physically strong and coming off mentally unhinge other times.
So, overall, Anna, who is still Nirvana, wants to just find a sense of peace or rather to be stopped for their “cruelty”.
It makes sense that Nirvana/Anna wants to be a weak person.
Imagine being so damn powerful and strong that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can defeat you, and that includes yourself as well?
Actually the MC of The Essence of U is at that point.
What’s fun is that this comes to one head where his nightmare becomes reality. It’s going to be surreal be a use real life will continue to be bad but he will stop having nightmares, suddenly.
Well, the premise is that he’s “best friends” with the biggest bully in school, without a way out, and his nightmares center around this friend beating someone to a pulp. It’s like his conscience is crying for him to do better and he just can’t find a way out. It starts with him contemplating ending this friend and retiring in the peace of a straightjacket.
His name is Daniel Faith.
The friend, I’m treading absolutely vile without earning censorship. I’m sure it’s going to be triggering without being too graphic.
Stop looking into my soul and blowing my spot like that lol
Hmm, in all seriousness, I think my female mob boss character fits this. Because of her role of power, there is only so much weakness she can show until she can find someone she can truly rely on/trust so she can “let go” a bit. Her chamberlain who pretty much raised her and eventually the male love interest are the two she ends up trusting the most and will show weakness around including the occasional cry.
It’s tiring being that character in real life. I mean, it must be tiring to be like that character, I have no idea what that feels like cough cough.
When a female is placed in a situation like that, where she has to put on her big girl or rather big MAN pants, it’s gotaa be hard as and tiring as hell.
Ya know, assuming you’re interested in writing a character like this, keep in mind that some people might not be able to cry even if they’re around someone who is “allowing them to be weak/depend on them” because they’re so used to being “strong” that they just… can’t.
And in some ways, that’s worse than having a sobbing fit. Having this storm in you that you can’t properly express. It’s just… made its home inside of your heart.
Okay, enough depressing stuff! Just wanted to throw that out there. It’s like that story with the frog and the boiling water? Put a frog in boiling water, and it hops back out right away. Put it in tepid water, and slowly raise the heat, and it doesn’t notice it’s boiling until it’s already dead. It never jumps out of the pot.
Worse. He’s done with the friendship. His friend’s grandfather is corrupt and owns the town.
Thing is he’s 17, not 40, so there’s some solutions that are beyond his experience or ability.
I mean, me at 40?
Ideas that just popped up while thinking about it:
Take my GED test, have my mom sign off on permission for the Army, get out.
Do just enough to get put in jail, finish my education there.
Run away on a fake ID. Get an adult job.
Video what that friend does and bounce it off so many servers that the dude’s grandpa can’t hide it all.
The thing is young, inexperienced, under stress? That doesn’t think of everything. So, to some degree his position is a trap he allows.
I can think of characters like that from other people’s books, TV shows, etc. but can’t think of any in my own books. My characters are usually falling apart, and everyone around them notices it. ( -.-)\(^◡^ )
Lucy-Quill Sinclair isn’t a leader, exactly, but she deals in a lot of risky trades seeing as she’s a treasure hunter in a post-apocalyptic world, so she leans almost entirely on false bravado and bluster. She’s also completely invisible and can’t make herself un-invisible. This means she loses out on the little moments of like someone “knowing” when she’s upset and comforting her just bc they know something’s off. It’s way too easy for her to pretend to be okay and since no one can see through her lies they just… keep believing her. She keeps hoping someone will understand but they never do and she doesn’t know how to communicate, so she just shuts herself off and keeps to herself as much as she can, bc she doesn’t have it in her to tell someone she needs help and support.
It’s like that story with the frog and the boiling water? Put a frog in boiling water, and it hops back out right away. Put it in tepid water, and slowly raise the heat, and it doesn’t notice it’s boiling until it’s already dead. It never jumps out of the pot. 
