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Unlikable characters

txteclipse

The Last
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Characters I usually end up hating are the ones that are supposed to be on the good guys' side but their actions would better suit a bad guy. Think Denethor from the Lord of the Rings movies.
 

Citrinin

Nephrotoxic.
2,778
Posts
14
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That's interesting, because I quite like characters who could play for the other team, but for some reason, don't. In the case of some of these, they can be really well-worked into the story - not does one side have to overcome the other, but conflicts in their own side as well.
 

txteclipse

The Last
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16
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That's interesting, because I quite like characters who could play for the other team, but for some reason, don't. In the case of some of these, they can be really well-worked into the story - not does one side have to overcome the other, but conflicts in their own side as well.

That's a major element I'm trying to include in the Chronicles. I have a few characters that mean the main ones nothing but harm, but are technically good guys and have sound reasons for what they do. It's an interesting feature to try and implement.
 

JX Valentine

Your aquatic overlord
3,277
Posts
19
Years
But they aren't dicks full time though :S

They really don't have to be dicks full time. They just have to be dicks to the characters you really want to like. For a rather egotistical example, Professor Nettle. Totally a feminazi (based on a professor of a course I had to drop or I'd want to take up catching the fuzzy squirrels on campus and lighting them on fire), so she's a ***** to everyone who isn't also a feminist woman. Unfortunately, the main character (towards whom she directs a lot of her anger and frustration) is a man. Ergo, the audience thought she was kind of a *****. And then she turned out to be working for Team Rocket, so it was all good.

tl;dr: Basing the character on a person I thought was a ***** made the audience think she was a ***** too, even if she was capable of being nice. *thumbs up*
 

Feign

Clain
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haha I see what you did thar ;)

I think I like having the mysterious character, it's just my way of introducing them.
 

Feign

Clain
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lol I wonder what Freud would say about us? XD I mean, a lot of us like the Joker and Hannibal Lector as a villain, and while most people don't emulate them, it's funny that we are at least intrigued by them.
 

Citrinin

Nephrotoxic.
2,778
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Perfectly sadistic, true, but there needs to be a motivation. Perfect sadism without anything behind is too simple, and I like to develop characters.
 

txteclipse

The Last
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lol I wonder what Freud would say about us? XD I mean, a lot of us like the Joker and Hannibal Lector as a villain, and while most people don't emulate them, it's funny that we are at least intrigued by them.

My mom's a social worker, so a fascination with the insane probably runs in the family. I like how they're unpredictable, mostly.
 

Feign

Clain
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My mom's a social worker, so a fascination with the insane probably runs in the family. I like how they're unpredictable, mostly.

That's what actually kind of scares me. I mean they may be capable enough in society, but when they're about in our store (with a care-taker or not), they disrupt work flow with their quirks. I mean it might not be there fault, but being yelled at because a CD isn't in the system, or being talked to for half an hour etc is not one's idea of the usual "normal".

I suppose this also stems from my experience as a kid, when me, my friend, and my sister were out using chalk on the sidewalk, a mentally deficient guy walked up to us (he came from a house that houses some of them, kind of like a half way house). When he came up to us, he was singing to himself outloud, and when he saw us, I guess I tried to busy myself with drawing something random, anyway I think he might have stepped onto what I was drawing (rather close) and asked what I was drawing. I said the "X-men symbol" and the three of us merely walked away into my friend's yard...

So perhaps that is why I believe they need to be kept on a leash at all times (not literally of course).
 

ChronicEdge

Space Lion
404
Posts
16
Years
I don't like stupid characters that have no excuse for it. If your character's older than I am and they don't know something that I've figured out even though I haven't been fed any more information than than they have for dramatic purposes, then I hate your character.
 

Misheard Whisper

[b][color=#FF0000]I[/color] [color=#FF7F00]also[/c
3,488
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15
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But bumbling, dumb characters who can't figure things out to save their lives are one of the most enduring stereotypes in fiction, and for good reason. People like them!
 

JX Valentine

Your aquatic overlord
3,277
Posts
19
Years
Yes, and.

But bumbling, dumb characters who can't figure things out to save their lives are one of the most enduring stereotypes in fiction, and for good reason. People like them!

Hell, the entire Pokémon franchise itself is based on them.

(Oh, come on. The evil teams? The professors sending ten-year-olds to do a scientist's job? Ash Ketchum?)
 

Misheard Whisper

[b][color=#FF0000]I[/color] [color=#FF7F00]also[/c
3,488
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15
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I was deliberately avoiding mentioning those characters.

TR: Heehee, we're wearing horribly pathetic disguises that wouldn't fool a two-year-old.
Ash: Hey, who are you?
TR: Um . . . *random profession here*
Ash: OK, sure, that's cool.
TR: By the way, if you leave your Pokemon with us blah blah useless plan blah blah.
Ash: OK! That sounds like fun!
TR: We has ur Pokemon! *runs*
Ash: WTF? Why are you *same profession as above*s stealing my Pokemon?
TR: *take off disguises, often involving Jessie's tightly coiled hair inexplicably springing back out into perfect shape* We're TR! MOTTO!
Ash: Oh ****. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!
TR: We're blasting off again!
COD: You saved my Pokemon too! Thank you!
Ash: Aw, no big deal.
Brock: Nurse Joy/Officer Jenny! <3<3<3
Misty/Tracey/May/Dawn: lol
Narrator: To be continued!

See, who needs to watch the anime? I just summed up 420 of the 500ish episodes in one post!
 
Last edited:

Feign

Clain
4,293
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15
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  • Seen Jan 25, 2023
I was deliberately avoiding mentioning those characters.

TR: Heehee, we're wearing horribly pathetic disguises that wouldn't fool a two-year-old.
Ash: Hey, who are you?
TR: Um . . . *random profession here*
Ash: OK, sure, that's cool.
TR: By the way, if you leave your Pokemon with us blah blah useless plan blah blah.
Ash: OK! That sounds like fun!
TR: We has ur Pokemon! *runs*
Ash: WTF? Why are you *same profession as above*s stealing my Pokemon?
TR: *take off disguises, often involving Jessie's tightly coiled hair inexplicably springing back out into perfect shape* We're TR!
Ash: Oh ****. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!
TR: We're blasting off again!
COD: You saved my Pokemon too! Thank you!
Ash: Aw, no big deal.
Brock: Nurse Joy/Officer Jenny! <3<3<3
Dawn: lol
Narrator: To be continued!

See, who needs to watch the anime? I just summed up 420 of the 500ish episodes in one post!

You forgot the most important part:

JESSIE:
Prepare for trouble!

JAMES:
Make it double!

JESSIE:
To protect the world from devastation!

JAMES:
To unite all peoples within our nation!

JESSIE:
To denounce the evils of truth and love!

JAMES:
To extend our reach to the stars above!

JESSIE:
Jessie!

JAMES:
James!

JESSIE:
Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!

JAMES:
Surrender now, or prepare to fight!

MEOWTH:
Meowth! That's right!
 

Misheard Whisper

[b][color=#FF0000]I[/color] [color=#FF7F00]also[/c
3,488
Posts
15
Years
That would have been going into too much detail. I was aiming for ten lines. It didn't happen, but hey. I'll add that in in a different manner, though. *tinkers*
 

Kazukii

Banned
3,294
Posts
15
Years
  • Age 34
  • Seen Dec 2, 2009
To make a character unlikeable but also likeable at the same time for other reasons (like proffesor snape from Hpotter) you have to make them sly.. very inteligent too.
 

Citrinin

Nephrotoxic.
2,778
Posts
14
Years
I agree.

Surprisingly, it's more of a challenge to make a character totally unlikeable that a mixture of likeable and unlikeable. :P
 

Grovyle42(Griff8416)

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
1,103
Posts
16
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  • Seen Apr 11, 2023
lol I wonder what Freud would say about us? XD I mean, a lot of us like the Joker and Hannibal Lector as a villain, and while most people don't emulate them, it's funny that we are at least intrigued by them.

Freud is monumentally overrated.

Anyways, if you want to make a character hateable, you have to give a reason for why they're that way. It might be forced unless you can get into the mind of the character, even if you're nothing like them. I have a protagonist in my fic who is an all-around *sshole, but I try to make him the guy who you love to hate. That's not to say that there's not depth to him though. It's easy to make a despisable character, but it's harder to make a real despisable character.
 
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