Munday flaws and virtues
What do you consider your hero's/protagonist's greatest flaw? What do you consider your villain's/antagonist's greatest virtue?
I think the one flaw that persists with Marce from her teenage years up to her adulthood is a tendency towards being vengeful and slow to forgive. Early on it nearly wrecked any chance of Emil befriending her; granted a lot of the trouble between them was his fault, but her anger only made any overtures of friendship difficult. Marce's fury also contributed to the rift she still has with her father. She still hasn't forgiven him for his infidelity to her mother, his treatment of her sisters, and his disowning her when she was still a student. It's not surprising, since her father Hilario is also a vengeful man prone to being spiteful and tyrannical. He still hasn't forgiven Marce for 'breaking up' the family either. In other avenues of Marce's life as a grown up, her anger manifests as being overprotective to her loved ones. She's the sort of woman who can possibly overlook an affront to herself, but won't stand for anyone hurting, insulting, or degrading her husband, her children, her sisters, her mother, or her close friends. She does learn to channel her anger constructively into her work as a prosecutor; instead of burning things down, she takes up the cudgels for other people who can't defend themselves.
As for Emil, his greatest flaw has to be his irrational belief that things must go according to his plan. It's something he is constantly working to overcome. He's well aware of Murphy's Law, but something in him stubbornly clings towards making the balance tip in his favor and extending his streaks of good luck. This attitude manifests itself when he is very young as a sort of myopia. He has a 'vision' as to how university life ought to be, and he doesn't understand why other people like Marce or his friends prefer to be off-beats, outcasts, and militants instead of part of the in crowd. He grows past this rather quickly and dramatically, but he is apt to get lulled into complacency and lapsing back into his 'perfect world' illusions. These lapses cost him dearly. Once, he becomes reckless with an investigation and nearly gets killed after graduating from law school. Another time, he doesn't take precautions with regard to security, and this results in him getting injured while Marce gets kidnapped. He's the kind of man who needs to continually remember that he cannot have it all, at least forever or all the time.
I have too many antagonists or opposing forces to pick from, but let me focus on Carlos and Jace, two of the most consistent troublemakers in this universe. Carlos' greatest virtue is that he is loyal and magnanimous to those on his side. This shows up when he consistently bails out his college friends Ralph, Van, and Farrah; he even does the same for Emil until their major falling out. Carlos will definitely fight tooth and nail for anyone in his care, protection or employ. He can put up with a lot of trouble from his friends and cronies, as long as they don't cross him on matters of principle. As long as this remains in place, anyone working with him can be assured of being on the receiving end of his generosity and of being protected by his schemes.
As for Jace....well, it's really hard to think of any redeeming value about this guy. I'd give him credit though for being intelligent, crafty, and a hard worker. This makes him an excellent engineer, business strategist and all around master of guile. Too bad this doesn't make up for an absence of any real loyalties, or for being an all-around horrible husband to Lize and a neglectful father to all his daughters.
I think the one flaw that persists with Marce from her teenage years up to her adulthood is a tendency towards being vengeful and slow to forgive. Early on it nearly wrecked any chance of Emil befriending her; granted a lot of the trouble between them was his fault, but her anger only made any overtures of friendship difficult. Marce's fury also contributed to the rift she still has with her father. She still hasn't forgiven him for his infidelity to her mother, his treatment of her sisters, and his disowning her when she was still a student. It's not surprising, since her father Hilario is also a vengeful man prone to being spiteful and tyrannical. He still hasn't forgiven Marce for 'breaking up' the family either. In other avenues of Marce's life as a grown up, her anger manifests as being overprotective to her loved ones. She's the sort of woman who can possibly overlook an affront to herself, but won't stand for anyone hurting, insulting, or degrading her husband, her children, her sisters, her mother, or her close friends. She does learn to channel her anger constructively into her work as a prosecutor; instead of burning things down, she takes up the cudgels for other people who can't defend themselves.
As for Emil, his greatest flaw has to be his irrational belief that things must go according to his plan. It's something he is constantly working to overcome. He's well aware of Murphy's Law, but something in him stubbornly clings towards making the balance tip in his favor and extending his streaks of good luck. This attitude manifests itself when he is very young as a sort of myopia. He has a 'vision' as to how university life ought to be, and he doesn't understand why other people like Marce or his friends prefer to be off-beats, outcasts, and militants instead of part of the in crowd. He grows past this rather quickly and dramatically, but he is apt to get lulled into complacency and lapsing back into his 'perfect world' illusions. These lapses cost him dearly. Once, he becomes reckless with an investigation and nearly gets killed after graduating from law school. Another time, he doesn't take precautions with regard to security, and this results in him getting injured while Marce gets kidnapped. He's the kind of man who needs to continually remember that he cannot have it all, at least forever or all the time.
I have too many antagonists or opposing forces to pick from, but let me focus on Carlos and Jace, two of the most consistent troublemakers in this universe. Carlos' greatest virtue is that he is loyal and magnanimous to those on his side. This shows up when he consistently bails out his college friends Ralph, Van, and Farrah; he even does the same for Emil until their major falling out. Carlos will definitely fight tooth and nail for anyone in his care, protection or employ. He can put up with a lot of trouble from his friends and cronies, as long as they don't cross him on matters of principle. As long as this remains in place, anyone working with him can be assured of being on the receiving end of his generosity and of being protected by his schemes.
As for Jace....well, it's really hard to think of any redeeming value about this guy. I'd give him credit though for being intelligent, crafty, and a hard worker. This makes him an excellent engineer, business strategist and all around master of guile. Too bad this doesn't make up for an absence of any real loyalties, or for being an all-around horrible husband to Lize and a neglectful father to all his daughters.