Paulhorne Schillings said:
-Writing. Seriously, do any of you people picture Tharja as someone who could exist in real life? As a character you've seen and said "you know what, she really does seem to have a background that rationalizes why she has her attitude, personal tendencies, and decisions she's made in her life?" Because I sure as fuck didn't. She sucks, not because she's grimdark, but because she's grimdark without any kind of humanity that would explain WHY she's grimdark.
Uh, because she was raised in a household of dark mages. A house that had a LONG history of practicing that. Heck, she details to her daughter that her umbilical cord was cut with a hex when she was born. Plus her disposition isn't "grimdark", she's mostly just a cynical smartass. She's also something of a first for the series; most dark mages in FE were jovial or at worst slightly eccentric. Tharja is the first to go "Yeah, I deal with curses, hexes, and communing with chaotic entities. What the HELL did you expect?" But considering she has a surprisingly friendly relationship with Nowi, tries to help Lon'qu get over his gynophobia, reveals to Kellam that she does care about her family, is actually sympathetic towards Libra's traumatic childhood, and does admit she loves her daughter Noire (she just doesn't say anything because it's so awkward for her) she obviously has some bloody depth.
In fact, do we get a backstory as to why Olivia is shy to dance around people, and why she decides to do it, despite?
Because she loves dancing, it's what she's good at. She just has stage fright. One of my favorite comedians, the late Mitch Hedberg, had TERRIBLE stage fright to the point where he would keep his eyes closed during gigs.
Do we get a reason as to why Cordelia doesn't just fucking talk to Chrom? Do we know why Gaius likes candy? Do we know why Virion likes to flirt with women? Do we have any real reason WHY Anna likes money? Of course we don't. Because they're poorly written. They're not written as people so much as trope-ridden icons rife with character traits, but no humanity or depth underneath. If Pegasus Knight Hinoka is going to be a tomboy, explain through the support conversations WHY she's a tomboy, and with NUANCE, and how her interactions with other units makes her not only learn something about the other unit, but herself as well. Give her, give the whole damn cast a piece of heartfelt humanity that we, the players, can personally connect and relate to. Don't write characters, write PEOPLE.
Maybe because she just LIKES being a tomboy because she's inclined towards it? Why does that need an explanation? What, can't a girl just BE tomboyish? They need a REASON to? Is it that odd? Not EVERYTHING needs a damn explanation. For instance, I'm like Gaius in that I have a sweet tooth. Why? Dunno, but I've always like sugary things. Now, because I have a sweet tooth I got interested in baking, confectioneries, and got an ice cream maker for Christmas. Why is Virion a man slut? I dunno, maybe he was always like that, and he's not exactly lacking in the jovial department with men either. Why does Anna (or maybe I should say the Anna's) like money? Dunno, but again, why does that need explaining (unless we go into meta territory in which it's clearly a case of Anna frequently being a merchant in her appearances from previous entries, thus why she's gold-crazy)?
Oh, and everyone who relates Fire Emblem to the word "waifu" not only is part of the problem of <url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_Dogs>overhyping games when we know we should have known better by now, but also the drastic problems of poorly-written women in JRPGs.[footnote 1]Which is basically developers not having the courage to not write characters that pander to the NEET-otaku demographic filled with people that don't have actual balls to talk to[footnote 2]and consequentially, risk being rejected by[/footnote] real people.[/footnote] So thanks, guys: you're perpetuating a stereotype about a demographic that I'm finding harder and harder to want to associate myself with as a result, one "OMG WAIFU SO KAWAIIII" at a time!
Whoops, was that too offensive[footnote]Read: harsh of a truth[/footnote] for some of you? Don't worry, look! Here's that figurine of that one character people inexplicably like despite the fact that she'd be viewed IRL as a psychopath!
http://img.amiami.jp/images/product/main/132//FIGURE-000673.jpg[/quote]
I have that statue. It's sitting behind me right now. And if I ever see Tharja's voice actress again I'm going to get her to sign it.
And all of us who ARE using "waifu" are doing so with a layer of facetiousness so thick you could use it as a blanket. Yes, we are aware how silly it is. We are aware of how overblown the pairing wars can get (which was nothing new when Awakening showed up). But we are not going to be ashamed of it. I DO like pairing people together because it's fun to see their chemistry and personalities, including how they work off each other as husband and wife. If anything that needs an expansion so we can get stuff AFTER they've gotten married instead of just what was leading up to it.
Oh, and the word you're looking for is "sociopath." Tharja's completely sane, she just has a serious case of DGAF. Even then saying she's a sociopath is stretching it. SHe's probably the most straight character in the game besides Robin.