But sometimes a side character has a trait that is what makes them interesting. This is probably a poor example, but Ryuk in Death Note is well known for his love of apples. In that story it is significant, as it relates to the whole wanting to be a god, and him being a god of death himself. I am sure you can make the isekai bit as a significant enough thing to color the side character's personality.
Well, yes. That would be the point.
This idea? I already wrote it. Look at my Sig and click on HKN.
The story starts with the idea, why does all this Isekai crap happen? Part of it is, a war between the angelic and the demonic. The Angelic currently control the territory "our" world is in, and our world is jam packed full of memetic energy, so they are using our world to help create artifical universes to act as "trench lines" in this war.
The gods hire authors in "our" world to write stories, get people to read those stories, dream about those stories, then harvest that energy to build the actual universe. Then they hire people to drive around in soul harvesting trucks to find people with strong soul strength, kill them, and harvest the soul to sell to the highest bidder to be used in the on going war.
In HKN, There is a Otome game called Twice the prince, which was written by a hack in a hurry because they needed to throw up a Universe to block an advance in a hurry. It was a rush job and has many flaws. The Otome game comes in three parts. The first part is your typical Isekai vrs villainess in a European ambient magic school. Part two, one of the students who was bullied alot loses his shit, becomes half demon, and kills a lot of people, until put down by the saintess and prince. Part three is vrs the demon lord.
In "our" world, a Lolicon pervert chases a 9 yr old girl into traffic. Truck-Kun targets the little girl. At the same time, The MC, who just watched his Wife and daughter die in a plane crash, is at the end of his rope and steps into traffic. All three get hit by Truck-Kun.
So not one, but THREE transmigrators enter the "game". The Game MC, the saintess, is actually a SIDE CHARACTER in this story. She has very little to do with the story, except that she played the game and is trying to "win" it. Except she is NINE YEARS OLD in a 16 year-old's body. She keeps fucking everything up.
The MC is in the body of the "Villain" for part 2, and he's the MC of HKN. In effect, the Otome Mc is the Side Character and the Story MC was a side character in the Otome game, but because he's been replaced with a 39 year-old US Army engineer, he takes control because he just hits everything until it breaks.
And that's the point.
The MC becomes the side character. The Side character becomes the MC.
Every character has MULTIPLE PURPOSES.
There are three third sons. Each 3rd son has a different story, but each story relates to being a third son. Each story is to be told along side the other stories for the reader to contrast and compare.
The King has 3 sons, each one is a prince. One of the princes is a bastard. The MC is a bastard as well. Each prince has a different take on being a prince. The Bastard Prince and the Bastard MC share may things, but also have very important differences. There is a third bastard, but he doesn't come up until book 2.
The First Prince is the hero of the Otome, but he winds up being the villain in the HKN Story. Why? Because he is the counterpart to the MC. (Is it better to be born good, or to be born evil yet overcome it through your own hard work?) There is a third "hero". The guy who is the third "hero"... is the main antagonist.
The Main Villain of HKN is a transmigrator, just like the MC. The two share many traits. In fact, in many ways, the Villain is BETTER than the MC. The Villain wrote the WIKIPEDIA ENTRY FOR THE OTOME GAME. He is in many ways just like the MC, but he also shares some very, VERY important differences that will make it IMPOSSIBLE for the two to co-exist in the same UNIVERSE. One way or another, one of them will have to DIE.
I try to do everything in threes. Three examples of what could happen. The road not chosen, the road where one fails and the road where you succeed
IF A CHARACTER HAS A NAME, HE SERVES AT LEAST TWO PURPOSES. I try to have more, but I'm only so good.
I do not waste a single word of my story if I can help it. Every time I reread my story, I always make a point of looking for anything I can cut out or something I can reuse or repurpose. I do not want to waste a SINGLE SECOND of my reader's time. Every CHAPTER TITLE serves two purposes, sometimes more. Every name has a hidden meaning and implication. It is an easter egg, a callback, foreshadowing, or simply lampshading.
My point?
This character he's talking about? The idea? It seems like he had an idea, thought it might be cool and original, then wanted suggestions without ever telling us where or how it would fit into his story. HELL, he doesn't even tell us what the story is about, or the POINT, or the TYPE. Is it a comedy? Tragedy? Romance? Action-Adventure?
Which is FINE, until he complains that only ONE person answered his question.
WELL EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME!
Maybe, just MAYBE, the problem is YOU. Maybe the problem isn't your audience didn't understand you, maybe the problem is YOU ARE A POOR COMMUNICATOR. Maybe that's the problem if your question isn't being answered.
He wants advice? My Advice? Don't add a cool idea just because it seems cool. The Rule of Cool is DUMB as FUCK.
Disney Star Wars. The Last Jedi. Admiral Holdo turns her flagship around and aims it at the bad guys. She performs a Hyperspace Ram.
The music swells. The Noble Sacrifice is made. The Visuals are stunning.
IT ALSO COMPLETELY DESTROYS THE CANNON OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE AND RETROACTIVELY RUINS EVERY MOVIE.
But DAMN, wasn't it cool?
Got a cool idea? Write it down. Put it in a folder called "Cool Ideas". SAVE IT FOR WHEN YOU CAN PUT IT IN ORGANICALLY. Adding an isekai sounds like you are risking the internal consistency of your story because it would be "Cool".
Rather than use the isekai as a tool/upfront trope, I present to you this; They're there, running amuk, but they're nothing more than a side piece on the overall board of the story. Their presence is felt and known, but they are not in the spotlight.
I mention this because I think I might try to sling one of these characters into my own story
As presented, this is nothing more than fluff. Useless dreck. Background noise. He isn't going to make a point out of it, an allegory, a dark reflection of the MC, a cautionary tale, nothing. no no no...
I am always on the lookout for creative ways to drag someone into a life of suffering.
It's torture porn.
That's what he is writing. Torture porn. "A Life Of Suffering". This is what the point of this side character is. Now, if he is writing a fanfiction about Dead By Daylight, okay, you got me. Otherwise, I see no point.
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Alternatives?
I'm not looking for examples. I'm looking for a discussion on the topic.
People have been discussing it, but for some reason, not in the way he wants.
I'm looking for you all to explain what you think based on the parameters getting, but only a couple of you have given actual information that have hit the target. I'm presenting my idea of an isekai character and trying to get you all to understand that he's not the MC and he's just a random in the background who isekai'd. Then I just want to know what you think of that character, how you'd write it, and what you would do with it.
That's not what you put in your original post. I think MOST PEOPLE'S REPLIES fall under a THOUGHT or COMMENT or CONCERN or ALTERNATIVE.
If he isn't liking the answers, THAT'S BECAUSE HE COMMUNICATES POORLY.
His idea is "What if I wrote a story that the readers got to hear about only occasionally through the MC." then "What if that side story was an Isekai?"
Uhhhhh... It would be a side story about an Isekai that the MC heard about occasionally.
That's it. That's everything. That's the idea and that's what would happen.
However, for some reason, because he gave such a simple and fairly pointless idea, other people went, "Oh... He wants my thoughts, comments, concerns, and alternatives on this core idea!" And they started to give them to him, only to have him start to bitch about "people getting off topic".
Fuck Off.
No Answer is off-topic when you MAKE THE STRIKE RANGE FOR ANSWERS THE SIZE OF THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY.
IF I START TALKING ABOUT ISEKAI'ING SPONGEBOB INTO HIS STORY, IT FALLS UNDER THE ORIGINAL POST.
And trust me, I could make one hell of an argument for isekai'ing Spongebob. Hell, If I wrote such a story, I could bring you to TEARS over the horror and tragedy of it all.
The topic is in a nutshell: "Side story: Isekai! what ya think?"
So we come back to fundamentals; How to write a story. What is the POINT? What does this side story bring you? How does it relate to the main story? What is the purpose? How will the reader feel? What will they think? What lesson will they walk away with? What emotions can we evoke?
To answer THESE questions we have to get into the nitty gritty. We have to get into specifics. And that's when he starts bitching about "Off Topic".
Ultimately, the idea has merit, but only because it is such a vague idea, that it could be anything. It could be an interesting side character, but honestly, it doesn't have to be special OR interesting. The LACK of interesting traits or being special COULD be the point. That side story acts as a counterpoint to the story of the MC.
Here is an example of an MC who is Isekai'd into a story with Cheat Powers. Here is an Isekai'd person with NO cheat powers. WHAT HAPPENS? Does the Normal Guy have more humanity? Does He get killed? Does he work harder and become the tortoise to the hare? Etc etc etc...
But then...
There is only one plot line. The MC is not an Isekai. The Isekai is a side character.
The story never shifts focus to said side character.
Really? IS THAT SO? BECAUSE I THOUGHT THIS WAS A DISCUSSION.
You know... where we can discuss ALTERNATIVES.
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Alternatives?
I'm not looking for examples. I'm looking for a discussion on the topic.
He's Not looking for examples, but a discussion on the topic?
A discussion where he seems to think people are WRONG an awful lot.
The only person wrong here is the Original Poster for assuming people can read his mind.
