Editing and got a question. My protagonist isn't aware her best friend is an ex-alcoholic. Oblivious, she begs a favor that causes him to drink again. Caught up in her own issues she doesn't notice his distress.
Would this push readers to actively dislike her?
Depending on the favor. If he never revealed he had a drinking problem she can't be expected to know. Being oblivious to her friend's distress is problematic, but it would depend on the issues she was facing.
Death of her mother would be excuse enough not to notice her friend's problem, particularly since he's never confided in her. Now the guard abandoning his post ... I assume she'd have a compelling reason for that and not a frivolous one.
@crcollins Her reason is that she is trying to distract herself from her mother's death by investigating a potential cover up of a design flaw that might cause the ship she is on to go up in flames.
The guard abandons his post because it's in his character. A) he regularly plays dice on duty, it's not the first time. And B) his girlfriend dumped him. He feels the need to talk to somebody, and drown his sorrows.
That seems like a valid reason to me. As long as she expresses regret when she later realizes her part in her friend's slipping off the wagon, it should be fine.
Erik Mercer
C. R. Collins 🌳 🐸