Q: Why is Souji always the jerk?

Here's a question that came up after Ch56 ("Where Shadows Dwell") went to update, and that I had to comment on, because it seems to be a fairly common complaint with my readers, especially after the last couple of chapters.

Q: Regular reviewer Kisdota The Freak Gamer asks: "Why is it that Souji's always gotta be the jerk in this fic?"

A: That's a loaded question, and it deserves some thoughtful response. So, the following is taken from my direct message response to Kisdota The Freak Gamer's review:

Your opinion is certainly your own, but I hesitate to say that Souji is *always* the jerk. Remember that everything that does not expressly come from his mouth is tinged with Chie's personal biases, including the (over-)protective feelings she has for Yukiko and Yousuke. Souji is the guy who broke both their hearts, and even though that was through no fault of his own (remember what he says in Ch44, "Rude Awakening": “It wasn't my decision...Do you really think I wanted to leave you?”), Chie's feelings of guardianship tend to outweigh her rationality.

[Blog addition: As an example of how Chie's protective feelings can be irrational, go back to Ch20, "The Sharp Eyes of Jealousy", and read the conversation with Chie and Yousuke at the end. In it, there's a paragraph that talks about how she'd like to smash Konishi Saki's face in, just for having broken Yousuke's heart as a teenager, six years prior. If that's not indicative of how irrationally over-protective she can be with her friends and loved ones, I don't know what is.]

And I've tried to portray Souji as a good guy, barring a couple of a missteps...which everyone makes. Yeah, he has a little blow-up with Kuma in Ch44 (which honestly anyone would have done with a clingy girl hanging on their arm when they're trying to have a serious conversation with their would-be girlfriend)...but he also tries very hard to re-establish his bonds with his friends (starting in Ch38, "Two Steps Forward...", when he almost starts to apologize to Yousuke; and in Ch39, "Let Go, Hold On", where he has the falling-out "reveal" conversation with Chie - this is very important). Plus, he goes out of his way to offer his guidance and support (e.g., his "maturity" conversation with Yousuke in Ch42, "Farewell, My Youth").

If your jerkiness comment is referring most directly to the rather sour conversation with Chie and Yukiko about the wedding in Ch55 ("Broken Bonds"), go back and read carefully what Yukiko says during that conversation (“Of course! We agreed to this yesterday, remember?” and “I don't know what's gotten into him. He's never been so concerned with tradition before...!”) - both of these comments are meant to be hints as to what's happening to Souji. Souji's formal language throughout most of these 'off' moments of his character - beginning notably in Ch49 ("Enchantment") and continuing through subsequent chapters - is also meant to be a hint.

Don't mean to belabor this point, but I did want to let you know that all of these missteps are not meant to paint Souji as a bad guy or a jerk...just as human, and someone capable of having a Shadow. And keep in mind, too, that it is his Shadow speaking and acting throughout Ch56. As Kanji intimates, everybody's Shadow was a jerk. So I consider that jerkiness keeping "in character" for a Shadow. :)
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Souji's only human, and that's how I've chosen to portray him. At his core, he's a good guy, and he's their friend. That's why they're there to save him.

And that response is the honest truth. I sincerely am not trying to make Souji always be the jerk in this story. (And I honestly don't think that he is, but that's just me.) I am trying to make him very, very human, yes: someone capable of having fits of anger and sadness and feelings of being left out.

If you think that my portrayal of Souji is too much as an antagonist, let me know, and that's something I can possibly work on when I edit this monster. But I do remind readers (again) that the story is told from Chie's point of view, and she's certainly not the most rational or objective person around.