If this gets absorbed into a different thread, that’s all good, I just want to open the floor to discussion on this matter. If it ends up being deleted on the grounds of being inflammatory or provocative, then I sincerely apologize, as that’s not what I’m trying to do.
Anyhow.
I’m sure I’m not alone in noticing a rise in the prevalence of a certain topic of discussion lately - the topic of “Doormat MCs,” or more specifically, MCs which seem to lack in agency, self-worth and self-reliance. It’s briefly taken over my thread (I’m Sorry, But I Think We Should See Other People - ROs You Hate), and it cropped up over in the Disliked Tropes and Storytelling Elements thread, as well, and the conversation has gotten pretty passionate lately.
To give a brief overview of the situation, as I’ve understood (and added to) it:
A. Doormat MCs, as mentioned, are characters who seem as though they can barely breathe without needing professional medical assistance. In spite of being player-controlled and ostensibly the (or one of the) main protagonist(s) of the story, a doormat MC is paradoxically the least effective, least respected, and least autonomous character in the entire cast.
B. Doormat MCs have seen a rise in popularity in IF stories in recent years. For me, personally, I started noticing a sharp uptick back in the early part of 2022, but it may have been going on for longer and I simply haven’t noticed.
C. People are starting to get a bit fed up with MCs constantly being the weakest link all the time.
It’s clearly a topic that needs to be discussed, and I think it would do people some good to be able to safely vent and talk about it. However, as it stands, there’s not really any space dedicated to this particular discussion, with the closest alternative - the Disliked Tropes and Storytelling Elements thread - having been briefly flooded with the conversation already, to the point where some participants in that thread started asking to move the conversation along so that the thread wouldn’t be completely inundated with just this one topic.
Ergo - provided this thread doesn’t get absorbed into a different thread - I’m hoping that I can maybe provide an outlet for this conversation, like I did with the ROs You Hate thread for people to have a safe space to discuss ROs they didn’t like, without the risk of people piling up on them for their opinion.
But if not, and it winds up getting split into an already existing thread, that’s fine too, at least I can say I tried.
In case anybody is confused on what constitutes a doormat MC, it’s a flexible issue that depends on the context of the story in question, but there are a few agreed upon themes:
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Lack of self-reliance - the MC is never allowed to accomplish anything on their own merits. They are never able to pull off any feats of any level of difficulty without needing help from others. They frequently wind up being defenseless in the face of danger, needing to be saved from bodily harm. Even if a player succeeds at the necessary skill checks, the MC is only barely able to act upon that success, oftentimes leaving it feeling like a different kind of failure.
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Lack of self-worth - the MC refuses to stand up for themselves. They suffer heaps of abuse in silence or ineffectual complaint, with the most that can ever be done to speak out against it being whining and consequently being looked down upon for having bothered to speak up. Other members of the cast disrespect, belittle, demean, or otherwise antagonize the MC, and receive no comeuppance or disciplinary action of any kind, and in fact don’t even tend to realize, or care, that they’re being so needlessly abusive. If the antagonist is an RO, the MC, for no good reason, is left forever begging their forgiveness and favor, even in spite of being wronged.
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Lack of autonomy - the MC can never act alone. They can never think for themselves. Any opinion that does not align with the agreed upon perspective is wrong and will be called into question. If they don’t agree with the other members of the cast, they’re treated as the bad guy, even if they’re objectively in the right. Other cast members will go out of their way to argue the MC down if they try and make their own voice heard. Any action undertaken solo, if the option even exists to try, will almost certainly be met with failure and ridicule, or will require skill checks that range into the ludicrous, expectation-wise.
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Lack of value - the MC will forever be second fiddle to everybody else. Their accomplishments are mere drops in the bucket compared to how much better the rest of the cast is at everything they do. Anything the MC succeeds at is considered a shock, because nobody has any faith in their ability to do anything. The narrative will spend far more time bragging up the other characters, if it’s not spending as much time beating down the MC.
As I said, other themes are flexible from story to story. Those are just the big four that crop up most frequently.
To address a request by @HarrisPS, I’d like for this thread to be about the the Why and How of things - Why do people believe doormat MCs are so popular/frequently employed, and How could they potentially be tweaked in such a way as to allow players to be more flexible, while also not compromising the story they’re in?
Also:
I have no idea why the quote isn’t doing the thing properly, but this as well, please. (Ah, there it goes, finally.)
Thread rebranding credit:
