Rule I: Don’t Be Stupid
My Death Note, My Rules by Elamimax
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Rule I
Don’t Be Stupid

 

There’s a fundamental misunderstanding when it comes to a specific kind of story. Many people, when they see a story where a protagonist wields and loses unimaginable power, the power over life and death, over reality itself, they think “I could have done better.”

It’s normal. We see failure, and think “couldn’t be me.” That’s why so many stories are an attempt at doing exactly that. We see the failures of those who came before and think we’re better. We think we won’t fail. 

There’s a complication there, of course. If we could do better, why haven’t we done better yet? If you’re so fucking smart, why aren’t you rich yet? If you’re so clever, why aren’t you running the world? 

You know the answer. “I haven’t had the right opportunity yet!” you say. “I could take over the world if I had only a fraction of the power these fools have. But I don’t! I was born at the wrong time, without any of that power or privilege. If I could, I’d show them all.”

You’re lying. 

You’re lying, because you didn’t understand the story. Stories aren’t about optimizing your stat sheet. They aren’t about doing the right thing all the time. That’s not a story. That’s gameplay. People aren’t NPC’s. Growth isn’t measured in XP. 

Stories are like weeds. Weeds growing between the cracks in the pavement of the streets we’ve built, and slowly wedging them apart until the only thing you can do is talk about them, acknowledge them, or crash and burn. 

A story is always about people. Power is just a tool to tell that story, to widen the fissures. If you think power wouldn’t expose you and break you down, away from everything you thought you were and into the arms of your greatest weaknesses, you are a fool. 

What do you think happens to King Arthur after he get Excalibur and ascends the throne? Where does your overpowered protagonist go when they’ve conquered the world? The next one? Do you think you’ll run out of worlds, or do you think you’ll run out of you?

A real story doesn’t end until its characters do. And really powerful characters? They don’t really run all that long. Not really. They break. They bend.

“But not me,” you say. “I’m different.” Okay.

Okay.

 

Prove it.

You don't know where this is going.

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