Hard challenge: How to make a scumbag mc likeable?

[CheertheSecond]

The mc is a time regressor.

He got a legal harem of 5 girls who are poor and have low social ranking that really liked him. They married and borne him several children. He had never liked them and the children borne from these girls. He later wanted to marry a daughter of a high noble. Hence, he sold the 5 girls in his harem and all the kids to slave traders for a huge sum. It turned out this daughter of a noble is a troublesome person. He was later killed along with his noble wife by the wife's house's political enemies. He remembered how good his wives and kids had treated him as he died.


So he regressed back to just right before he was about to sell the wives and kids. Now he wanted to remake his life and care for them.

The big problem is he had already forced several of his daughters to work as prostitutes for a few years now. Hence, I am afraid the readers will not like this mc very much. I need a plausible way to make people like him. I mean everyone makes mistakes, right?

 

[RepresentingWrath]

I don't think it's as hard. I think to make it work you should show a long path of atonement and transformation into a better person. It shouldn't happen with a snap of a finger.

 

[Corty]

Make the heroes presumptuous assholes, aka, make the heroes worse than the MC.

 

[NotaNuffian]

The mc is a time regressor.

He got a legal harem of 5 girls who are poor and have low social ranking that really liked him. They married and borne him several children. He had never liked them and the children borne from these girls. He later wanted to marry a daughter of a high noble. Hence, he sold the 5 girls in his harem and all the kids to slave traders for a huge sum. It turned out this daughter of a noble is a troublesome person. He was later killed along with his noble wife by the wife's house's political enemies. He remembered how good his wives and kids had treated him as he died.


So he regressed back to just right before he was about to sell the wives and kids. Now he wanted to remake his life and care for them.

The big problem is he had already forced several of his daughters to work as prostitutes for a few years now. Hence, I am afraid the readers will not like this mc very much. I need a plausible way to make people like him. I mean everyone makes mistakes, right?

Downplay the prostitution.

No seriously, there are some lines you should not cross and I believe that pimping your own daughters out is one of them.

I don't think it's as hard. I think to make it work you should show a long path of atonement and transformation into a better person. It shouldn't happen with a snap of a finger.

@SailusGebel is right. And this can be the whole story. Having MC to try to be a good husband and father for the entire story to atone.

Ps. I see a SailusGebel1 when @... wtf?

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Downplay the prostitution.

No seriously, there are some lines you should not cross and I believe that pimping your own daughters out is one of them.

Will a scene of exorcising Andrew Tate's soul out of MC work?

 

[NotaNuffian]

Will a scene of exorcising Andrew Tate's soul out of MC work?

No.

Not even the exorcisms of Hitler, Stalin and LMao Zedong and all that is evil is enough.

I believe in lines.

I am having a slightly hard difficulty to believe in second chances when such lines are crossed.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

No.

Not even the exorcisms of Hitler, Stalin and LMao Zedong and all that is evil is enough.

I believe in lines.

I am having a slightly hard difficulty to believe in second chances when such lines are crossed.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Also why did you have an alt?

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Also why did you have an alt?

Bruh. I don't have alts. I don't know who it is or why they did it either.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Bruh. I don't have alts. I don't know who it is or why they did it either.

This site is full of crazies and their crazy stalkers.

Nuthouse.

Fun I guess.

 

[CheertheSecond]

Downplay the prostitution.

How the hell do we do this?

 

[RepresentingWrath]

How the hell do we do this?

You know about host bars? Maybe you can try using a similar thing? Basically, girls are forced to serve sleazy, old moneybags. No actual sex, but being leered at and groped isn't a great feeling either to put it mildly.

 

[tiaf]

You could alternatively make them work in a whore house and training to be a prostitute, but have yet been put “on the shelf”.

Otherwise atonement or not, his daughters will hold a grudge enough to kill him. Being a prostitute in every time and culture has been the lowest status, even lower than farm animals.

The premise is also feeble. Having an harem was usually a sign of wealth or a means to gain wealth. It more likely that MC was a playboy who set children into the world without taking responsibility, thus forcing his mistresses and bastard daughters into prostitution.

Such an ass character does not deserve a second chance tbh. Chop the pp before any girl got plucked and all is good

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Being a prostitute in every time and culture has been the lowest status, even lower than farm animals.

Don't make me pull an "well ackchually" on you tiaf.

You could alternatively make them work in a whore house and training to be a prostitute, but have yet been put “on the shelf”.

Otherwise atonement or not, his daughters will hold a grudge enough to kill him. Being a prostitute in every time and culture has been the lowest status, even lower than farm animals.

The premise is also feeble. Having an harem was usually a sign of wealth or a means to gain wealth. It more likely that MC was a playboy who set children into the world without taking responsibility, thus forcing his mistresses and bastard daughters into prostitution.

Such an ass character does not deserve a second chance tbh. Chop the pp before any girl got plucked and all is good

Jokes aside, a good idea about training.

 

[AnonUnlimited]

Make him tsundere.

 

[CheertheSecond]

You know about host bars? Maybe you can try using a similar thing? Basically, girls are forced to serve sleazy, old moneybags. No actual sex, but being leered at and groped isn't a great feeling either to put it mildly.

You make this extra hard for me. He had already pushed the girls out on the red light district and they had lost their virginity since 14yo. He didn't really care because he got low status so marrying them into households that would benefit him was not possible so whenever a girl developed enough to be pleasing to the eyes, he forced them to whore themselves on the street and bring the money back to him.

It's daily routine for the girls. Not bringing back the money by the night means sleeping in the kernel with the dogs.

His daughters were pretty popular as walking sexual outlets in the city. As there was no other whore downtown who one can just grab, do their deal and throw money at them then walk away like with his daughters.

At least, he didn't whore his wives. They did have to work for him though be it chores or earning money. Meanwhile, he took the money to flatter the noble for a better social rank.

None of the kids are bastards though since it was legal to marry multiple wives.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

You make this extra hard for me. He had already pushed the girls out on the red light district and they had lost their virginity since 14yo. He didn't really care because he got low status so marrying them into households that would benefit him was not possible so whenever a girl developed enough to be pleasing to the eyes, he forced them to whore themselves on the street and bring the money back to him.

It's daily routine for the girls. Not bringing back the money by the night means sleeping in the kernel with the dogs.

His daughters were pretty popular as walking sexual outlets in the city. As there was no other whore downtown who one can just grab, do their deal and throw money at them then walk away like with his daughters.

At least, he didn't whore his wives. They did have to work for him though be it chores or earning money. Meanwhile, he took the money to flatter the noble for a better social rank.

None of the kids are bastards though since it was legal to marry multiple wives.

Sorry for misunderstanding. This already happened, right? You wrote this part and published it, so you can't change it, or am I wrong? If I am wrong and this is still a work in the progress, you can simply rewrite it, no?

If you can't rewrite it, ugh... that'll require another brainstorming. I think you can still make him likeable with what I initially said. I think a key component would be to make them hard on him. They shouldn't forgive him. Maybe even not forgive him till the end. He on the other hand should feel different kinds of suffering. I mean emotionally.

 

[tiaf]

Don't make me pull an "well ackchually" on you tiaf.

In most then. Given the circumstances of MC and his wives are low status, the daughters would have very bad marriage prospects. Unless they are so beautiful someone is gonna buy them out. But that’s off topic and would vary depending on world building in Cheer’s story.

Back to the topic, I can’t see any way to make MC likable in the ordinary sense.

Burn all bridges and make him the scummiest antihero persona. There are always some degenerates who love that power trip. Like “I get stronger the more I eat” or all the irl mass/serial killers who have believers.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

In most then. Given the circumstances of MC and his wives are low status, the daughters would have very bad marriage prospects. Unless they are so beautiful someone is gonna buy them out. But that’s off topic and would vary depending on world building in Cheer’s story.

Back to the topic, I can’t see any way to make MC likable in the ordinary sense.

Burn all bridges and make him the scummiest antihero persona. There are always some degenerates who love that power trip. Like “I get stronger the more I eat” or all the irl mass/serial killers who have believers.

It was a joke. I would've never done that to you, fishy.

I think not every person share the same values as you and Nota. Through atonement MC might become likeable to some people. It's the same really as making him an antihero\villain. Not everyone are going to like such an MC. Since you can't make a universally likedable MC with such a background, you have to choose what kind of people you want to attract.

Btw, to double down on his actions is a good idea. I didn't think in this direction at all.

 

[NotaNuffian]

How the hell do we do this?

Or you know, take up jobs that aren't actually the oldest profession.

Like Arche from Overlord.

Ps. Never mind. Read the whole thread.

It was a joke. I would've never done that to you, fishy.

I think not every person share the same values as you and Nota. Through atonement MC might become likeable to some people. It's the same really as making him an antihero\villain. Not everyone are going to like such an MC. Since you can't make a universally likedable MC with such a background, you have to choose what kind of people you want to attract.

Btw, to double down on his actions is a good idea. I didn't think in this direction at all.

I am currently thinking of a fucked up version but... it does not work unless MC can use his future knowledge to get stronger.

People like weak but good or strong but bad, no one likes weak AND bad.

MC here is both weak and bad. If I can't change the good/ bad part all the way, I might as well make MC more powerful so that he can stop whoring his daughters