Favorite and least favorite character "type"?

Most favorite: Those sarcastic characters that seem to be incapable of taking anything seriously, they’re really laid back and humble. On first impressions, they either seem like they just don’t care about life or they just don’t take it seriously. Yet the closer you get to the person, the more you learn about their insecurities and they have really deep thoughts about life and what not lol.

I love it even more if they’re fiercely loyal and protective over who they love.

Least favorite: Bitchy lead female characters. I’m not talking about the lead women that are just badass and take names where ever they go. I’m talking about the ones who are mean for no reason whatsoever and just seem like they have a problem with the world, one that makes no sense. The ones that don’t make friends easily cos they’re too busy trying to do everything themselves and complain that everyone is inadequate. Hate em even more when they’re given those ‘woe is me, my past is horrible’ backstories.

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I have a deep admiration for well-written villains. A traditional hero is easy - take person with strong sense of justice, add powers and/or capacity to fight evil, season with Campbell’s Hero’s Journey to taste. How much harder is it to create a Humbert Humbert (Lolita), a manipulative predator who’s so delusional, he thinks he’s telling a love story?

I also like antiheroes, and the less flashy kind of hero. Jilly from Charles deLint’s Newford books is a good example. She’s an artist who does community outreach, and has some issues from her past, and likes making friends. But in the little, everyday things she does - introducing people, sheltering them, teaching them things - the supernatural elements that revolve around her are helped.

My least favorite characters are ones that don’t have real personalities or backstories: everything about them is designed to portray them as a symbol. If not a pre-existing cliche, the character is a clear caricature of a trait. It turns what could be a living, breathing story into a simplistic fable at best, and a morality play of injuries specific to the author at worst.

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I like characters who are clear on their own goals and have a strategy to accomplish them, and aren’t just letting the plot push them around. Give me proactivity any day!

For dislikes, I have a special hatred for romantically weak characters - that is, characters who never take any affirmative steps to resolve a romantic plot. This goes both ways: characters (generally women) who don’t affirmatively state their romantic intentions and instead simply expect their love interest to notice them (a lot of anime tsundere types fall into that pattern) and characters (generally men) who, when faced with a situation that might lead to romance or dating, freeze up and try to change the subject rather than either saying yes or no (or even “don’t spring this on me like that, lemme get a beer or two and think about it”).

You can have a romance plot without everyone involved acting like complete idiots.

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Hmm badass ladies in all varieties are my weakness. I’d say my absolute favourites are the aloof, ‘bitch’ type characters that act superior and have all the skill and/or knowledge to back it up. The morally dubious, ambitious, duplicitous woman who throws out clever insults and is impressed and annoyed at the same time when you can throw them back just as well.

I usually like them to have a bit of a softer side too, a little vulnerability that they would only ever show to someone they somehow managed to trust and value in a way they never normally would for anyone else. I suppose the best examples are characters like Morrigan from DA:O, Miranda from Mass Effect, or Yennefer from The Witcher series.

Having said that I also have a thing for the flirty, unattainable crook with a heart of gold like Isabela from DA2.

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I love characters who are in over their head, usually through their own scheming gone horribly wrong. Bonus points if they have genuine charm but have overreached what they can comfortably deal with, and end up stepping up when it’s needed.

I’m not that keen on the hyper-smart guy who gets away with being horrible to everyone because he’s such a genius. Flawed characters are fun, but when other characters only rarely call them out and they never change, I get impatient.

I also don’t have much time for psychologist/counsellor characters whose sole purpose is to analyse or coddle a main character. It’s usually a woman counsellor for a male protagonist, and she rarely has any motivation or internal life beyond listening to the protagonist, soothing his brow or helping him come to some sort of epiphany. I always think the character deserves better!

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Oh gosh, I have so many favorite kinds of characters. One I really love is the novice hero. I really like stories that let you see them grow as a person and learn their powers over time. Far too often I feel like I read stories where the protagonist is just good, and, sure, they may have trained day and night for five months with the travelling warriors atop the mountains eating nothing but freshly fallen snow but we don’t ever get to see them become the best. We’re just supposed to accept that they are. Either that or they’re “the chosen one” ™ so they’re just automatically good at something. So I really love stories that start with an almost useless protagonist or hero, someone who is in over their head and is just trying their best to learn. I like seeing them grow, and start to understand how these things work. In short, I love heroes who are way out of their element, and trying to learn how things work.

I also have a big ole soft spot for the suave rogue type. The person who’s a little scruffy, maybe on the wrong side of the law, but could still charm the handcuff keys off of an officer if caught.

What I have little patience for is the person who’s supposed to be a romantic interest but treats the protagonist horribly. I’m fine with rivals who act like jerks, or antagonists who act like jerks, those are people you’re supposed to dislike (at least at first). But when the story introduces the romantic interest and all they do is put the protagonist down…? No. I know some people like watching someone grow and change as a person, and trust me, I’m a fan of that too, but I draw the line when the protagonist and them are supposed to be in a relationship, but all they do is put the protagonist down or treat them like dirt. I just can’t stand how some authors romanticize that. I don’t care if they ‘get better by the end’, that’s not a relationship worth being in.

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Lol. I’ve noticed lately that ALL my characters are, to put it mildly, incompetent. I can imagine myself as straight, male, young or old… but not competent. It’s true that authors reveal themself in their work.

I HATE characters who are deliberately annoying. Shockingly, I find them annoying. I also hate boring villains who are just doing bad stuff “Coz they’re bad” or “Coz they’re crazy”.

I never fall in love with someone, fictional or otherwise, who is unkind.

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I really tend to dislike characters who are incompetent or let other people do everything for them. I hate feeling like I am that person in real life, and I can’t stand the characters who seem okay with it in writing/movies/television. It’s one thing if they just feel helpless during a few certain events, then try to turn around and recover - that stuff happens to everyone - but if it is for an entire book/episode/movie, it irritates me. I tried watching Chuck a few months ago, but couldn’t get past the first few episodes because I felt like the main character couldn’t do anything for himself.

I really love characters who tend to be rude or uncaring toward others, but because they simply don’t know/care to be more sensitive, not because they think they’re better than others, or hate people, or something that just makes them a real jerk. It leads to some funny situations without too many hard feelings in the long run.

Edit: No hard feelings toward the poster above. XD

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I’m fond of unapologetic evil characters, the kind of character who takes joy in what they do and doesn’t need angst or tragedy to justify their actions. They are aware that what they are doing is considered evil and while they may have legitimate reasons, I prefer it if they keep it mostly angst-free most of the time. They’re the kind of person whose company one would enjoy if it wasn’t for the whole evil thing. Extra points if they’re the intelligent kind as well. Some more points if they do genuinely like the good guys, but it just so happens that being evil is just so much fun you guys. It’s not exactly deep though, and on a more critical level there are types I enjoy more, but I find this type a lot of fun. Prime example for me is Beatrice from Umineko during the first 3 arcs.

Have a soft spot for the kind of character who’s a bit of a sarcastic, cynical prick as long as the story doesn’t think this guy is the most clever guy in the room. That said, I can end up really hating these characters if they push it too far without ever acknowledging it or if the story somehow fails to show that they are actually kind of silly.

On the other end of the spectrum, can’t stand constant sarcasms and smartass comments, or characters who act like a dick for no good reason (unless it ends up being comical or cute), this includes tsundere sometimes. Characters who think they got the whole world figured out usually irritate the hell out of me as well, unless it’s played for laughs.

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Probably the most difficult question I have ever answered (and I suck at maths)

For my favorite characters…

There’s a lot of characters i could put here the bro character who say funny things at the worse moments.

The pervert old man that everyone loves for some reason

The priest like character who is wise and helps the hero

But if I have to choose my favorite that would be the medicine characters/specially when they are related to you somehow (for example little siblings or childhood friends) these characters are the ones that no matter the situation when they are around you get this warm feeling, tension is gone and no one can hate them (except that prideful edgelord troll mary sue) this characters are usually really weak having to be protected by the hero or their comrades they have children like innocence and trust to easy, I especially love when they overcome their weaknesses andgrow strong yet retain their personalities.

On the other hand…

I don’t hate many characters, cause any of them add something to the story, you know, many flavors and such

But I hate “Self insert characters” when they are bad portrayed, there’s nothing wrong with putting a self insert character in your story, just don’t make him or her a teenager fantasy avatar who is completely outside their story, sad things doesn’t affect him, he is over anything and anyone basically don’t make a Kirito(my apologies if you like SAO but you get my point) and and specially, DO NOT MAKE HIM OR HER the center of an Harem

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My least favourite is less a type and more a poor usage of certain characters. A character without purpose is my pet peeve. Every single named character should have some reason or purpose in terms of story.

My favourite is a villain that has an effect with simple presence and words. As in they needn’t lift a finger to instill fear or a reaction, character’s with an aura of ‘oh holy sh**!’ lol

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Mind if I add to this with ‘a character easily can become least fav again if the sol purpose is either being a deus-ex-machina OR getting fridged so the hero gets off their arse’

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To a certain degree I can tolerate most character types depending on the context on which they’re used. Really not fond of cowardly bratty characters for example, but it was appropriate for Joffrey to behave the way he did in Game of Thrones.

I’d probably say the character type with no real redeeming qualities is the author self-insert. The worst of the lot being “author tract” mouthpieces, though these could be separate character types. In any case, even Mary Sues (Which would be the next worst) going around doing 20 impossible things before breakfast are more tolerable than someone droning on constantly about why “X is bad/good.”

As far as character types I like, again it depends on the context on which they’re used. Don’t really have a specific favorite. I guess well written villain protagonists might rank up there though.

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While it normally depends on how well the character is written, i simply hate naive and/or ignorant characters, especially when they are good (morality-wise). It’s not cute, not adorable. It’s just pathetic ( my opinion).

My favourite characters are the intelligent masterminds, that neither overestimate themselves nor underestimate their enemies (+extra points if they are cynical and sarcastic).

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i’m a simple person and i just love kind characters, the type that restores your faith in humanity. theymustbeprotectesatallcostimsoweak sadly their number are declining, as some will somehow turn to be secretly evil along the road :cry:

i don’t have time for tsunderes that said they hate you when they’re not. if you hate me, fine, i could live with that, leave me alone. don’t expect me to fall for you.
also don’t like character with severe hero syndrome resulting them to act stupid/reckless. usually this applies to main characters. they should’ve been dead already…sadly, they usually have “main character’s luck” so they’re still alive.
and i hate villains who justify their actions by their tragic backstory. cool story, still murder.

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I always go for the characters with a sense of humor. Ones who take literally nothing seriously. Someone who would stare in the face of death and say, “Hey, could somebody please go to my funeral dressed as the grim reaper? Don’t even say anything, just stand there. And if somebody coughs, point your scythe at them. They’ll lose their shit!” :grin:

As for characters I can’t stand, I’d say the most annoying kind of character I keep seeing is what I like to call, the Damsel in Distress Mark 2. This character is usually a scantily clad “warrior princess” who isn’t a particularly skilled warrior, since she’s just as useless as the traditional damsel in distress and needs saving just as often. The only difference is that when you rescue this damsel, instead of going, “My hero! You saved my life!” she’ll slap you in the face and say, “You jerk! Why did you get involved? I could’ve handled that myself!” … It makes me miss the old damsels in distress. At least they said thank you. :yum:

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I wouldn’t say I have a favorite type of character. I tend to like or dislike them on a case-by-case basis.

However, there is one character trait in particular I absolutely cannot stand. A constant fixation on one’s parents. Usually, one or both parents are absent in some manner, and the main character (it’s usually the main character) keeps whining about their parents’ predicament, or being conflicted because they want to be like their parents or because they don’t want to be. Or angst about never having known their real parents even if they had perfectly good adoptive ones.

It’s just annoying, especially when the character is an adult. With a child or teenager character it’s somewhat understandable, although it can still be harrowing even then.

Parents are important, of course, but I like it when characters have enough autonomy to survive without thinking about what their parents’ opinions on every action they take would be every minute of the day. Or having their motivation for every action they take being linked to their parents in some way.

Characters like that are fun RO’s or just as friends. There’s not enough of them in COG’s. (That’s why Dog happened lol).

In these characters, the premature separation from the parents often stunts or injures the autonomy to survive. Like a puppy or kitten taken too soon from its mother, the child sometimes hasn’t developed its autonomy to the point where they can make such decisions independently or without regards to a past memory.

Its a character flaw, so I understand why it may be annoying or be considered least favorite. Yet, when done skillfully, a character of this nature can be powerful in its presentation.

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I love any character that will strive to be better. Their attitude to other people or outlook on life doesn’t matter to me so much as a desire for self-improvement.

I hate any character whose only flaw is that they’re sometimes clumsy. That’s not a character trait, that’s just lazy.

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