Life’s hard, man. In this rec, you’ll find novels with characters that move forward from their tragic past and from societal standards, characters that find a way to live for themselves despite a system, plot, entity, or life from preventing them to do so. 

This list includes strong, courageous characters that disobey the system, original plot line, and fate through the ability to think and desire to choose their own happy ending. From world hopping to transmigration novels, these characters have dignity, grit, and values - both of which they are not willing to break regardless of what a system or entity says. 

-  includes transmigration novels where the characters struggles, suffers, or is punished for disobeying the original plot line; and characters who are able to fight the charms and effects of their own system and other people’s systems

- includes characters with grit and defiance to fate: characters that have been reborn or transmigrated way too many times, characters in game and different worlds that are trying to survive and find their own happy ending, despite the plot and other characters preventing them from doing so

- includes characters who portray growth; includes characters who are able to make peace with their past and move forward and find their own happiness