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Sep 2019

Here's a fun exercise I was doing earlier. We usually talk about what we like and what's good about our characters on the forums. This time try listing off what negative qualities your characters have. A well written character should have both good and bad and knowing what they need to improve on can help us write better stories. So list off things that range from minor annoyances to major character flaws.


The Undefeatable J-Man
- Passion can border on obsession
- Focused on own goals
- Occasionally forgetful


The Mystical Valve
- Jumpy nerves/easily frightened
- Indecisive
- Compares self negatively to others

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    Sep '19
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    Sep '19
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oh hoho~ >:3


Jr Royal

  • kinda dumb
    can be reckless
    has a bad habit of forgetting common sense
    has many irrational fears (thunder, loneliness, heights, water... especially water)
    adding to the last point he is physically unable to swim


Oliver Royal

  • tries to act tougher than he actually is
    has very little magic to protect himself
    is tiny (so smol O^O)


Paris Boudreau

  • bad temper
    can be overly emotional
    worries too much about other people to the point she'll neglect herself


Daniel ???

  • stupidly reclusive
    will try to verbally hurt people to push them away
    thinks negatively about self and wishes to disappear

I see the merit in doing this, but personally, I don't like to define character traits as positive/negative. What one person thinks is a good trait could be an annoyance or even a serious problem in another's opinion. I've talked to people who adore my main character like he's a puppy, as well as people who admitted they wouldn't be able to get along with him IRL. Both sides are perfectly valid!

More power to you if this suits the way you write. Objective/ near-objective positives/negatives do work for some stories!

Off the top of my head let's see (without spoiling much)

Crow: arrogant, anger issues, keeps secrets from those he cares about even if it hurts them, selfish, power-hungry, willing to kill/take a life
Will: shy, lacks forms of courage, selfless to the point of hurting self, out of touch with all of his emotions except sadness (branches of it) and fear (branches of include anger)

@keii4ii - to your point, I agree. Some of my traits I listed could be seen as neutral or positive depending on context. It's sometimes good to be selfless, it's sometimes good to be willing to kill, it's sometimes good to be selfish. It depends largely on the lens you look through.
For my example, Crow's "willing to kill" is in stark contrast to a not listed trait for Will, that he is a pacifist.


This is Sonny.
He gives in to his wants fairly easily. This can affect him and those around him negatively when he decides to sneak out to wander, make friends with dangerous animals, snoop around enemy bases, be lazy.
His drive also leads him to take on more than he can handle in order to make up for it, which can cause him to crash.

LOL Lucien mostly has negative trails and I struggle to make him redeemable :joy:
-Selfish.
-Manipulative.
-Clingy.
-Obsessive.
-Childish.
-Attention seeker.
-Rude.
-Reckless.
I will stop now, it is starting to feel like beating a dead horse.


Farah's negative traits are less evident, she is careless, selfish, entitled to do justice as she sees fit and she genuinely likes beating people up.

Olivier is a doormat and has a hard time to stand up for himself. He struggles with confidence and often is the weak link.

they may be negative to them but thats why we all love them QwQ

also Lucien is still best boi despite the endless list :smiley:

I guess I could have used more descriptive words than "negative". I was thinking about it more from a writing perspective, how the story should progress. Didn't want people to think I was being black and white about traits. You never know what readers will think about a character until it's out.

I'm gonna do some low-key promoting thingie by showing my Toyhouse that lists negative traits:

But I shall also show them off for Ira and Tristan!

Ira

Ira is volatile and unstable. She is bloodthirsty who's default answer to almost everything is 'WAR'. She is possessive and since she represents Wrath, she is very short-tempered.

Tristan

Tristan is passive aggressive and manipulative. He does not care for confrontation, but when pushed will stoop to low blows in his insults. He is addicted to feeling loved and needed and this blinds him very much in the story proper.

Oooh, I love working on my characters' traits. So much that I have great troubles showing all the depth of their personalities XD

I have many of them, but here are my most developed boys

SHEAS RENOIR


This cute and shy boy will soon surprise my readers with the following:
- He sometimes can be really aggressive
- Mental violence (he is good at reading other people and he uses that to demean or intimidate them)
- He is a way too suspicious and jealous
- He doesn't have good sense of humor
- He is a big bore

LUKA FIET

This handsome and popular guy has some negative traits too:
- He is pretty narcissistic
- Very, VERY stubborn
- Childish
- Breaking rules all the time
- Shameless

SHELBY JADE

Shelby is known to my readers as the most sweet and positive character of the comics, but...
- He sometimes is very annoying
- Trusts everyone
- Clumsy like hell
- Noisy (his poor neighbors)
- Lusty (and I'd say that's his really bad sin)
- Really sly

VICTOR FORD

  • aggressive
  • violent
  • hardly ever shows positive emotions
  • doesn't trust anyone
  • selfish

...and he is one of my most popular guys and people often find him hot as hell even knowing he is the least positive of my characters

Is this an opportunity to pick at your own OCs? Because I'm so gonna do it later. XD

(Jk about picking at your OCs part.)

My main character is the Empress Dowager!

  • Stubborn
  • Ruthless even when dealing with her own children
  • Rules with an iron fist, authoritative
  • Does not trust anyone
  • Blunt and harsh

Akari

-airhead
-not very good at anything,maybe like one thing.
-lost or confused most of the time
-can be to emotional
-gives up to soon
-worries to much
-overthinks everything
-hypocrite sometimes,but refuses to admit it
-night owl

Elliot

-gets into fights
-two faced
-self serving
-will lie to get his way
-reckless
-sarcastic
-enjoys killing demons,good or bad he does not care.
-vengeful
-manipulative

Shiro

-a bit of a doormat
-shy
- lacks self esteem
-forgetful
- lazy
-very messy
-night owl
-childish
-does stupid stuff,(trying to trow keys up a tree,no reason)
-ignores problems till they get to big

Okay, here we go. xD

Himuri:
- being talkative might be seen as a bad trait for some
- dude acts tough and cool but bottles up his feelings
- he's also very clumsy
- acts before thinking

Sakari:
- shy
- nonexistent self-confidence
- assumes the worst outcome out of a situation
- kind of a pushover
- overthinks everything

Kiyomi:
- some readers say she's mean, which is true tbh
- grumpy
- way too secretive about herself
- did I mention grumpy?
- I think I'd call her lazy

Iwao:
(He's the main antagonist so this kinda speaks for itself.)
- selfish
- cruel
- feels no remorse
- prejudiced towards mixed bloods of his race and humans

My character is very reckless and can be quite arrogant. Those flaws actually put the story in motion!

my Sheshe is a big emotional mess
- socially inept and has difficult handling others emotions
- bases everything from logic which can get very boring (hes not good with art)
- lies a lot to escape judgement
- biased towards people without an education, even if he's always trying not to be
- eats too much mayonnaise

This is something I've done by myself before, actually! It's kind of fun.

JAIME ALVARO
-Neurotic
-Overly Worrying
-Thinks on the 'half-empty' side of life.
-Gives up very easily.
-Melocholic

JADE SINCLAIR
-Very impulsive.
-Dismissive.
-Overpowering.
-Selfish.
-Just. Kind of dumb?

He's not very clever and doesn't think things through. His solution to everything is to physically subdue it. He does have an A.I. companion that helps him, but without it, he would basically be a barbarian.

Rip Vykirson:

Short-sighted, doesn't plan, jumps right in without thinking. A big detriment at times in the fights he finds himself in.

Hot Temper, gets angered easily, his ability doesn't help matters either since it boosts his strength at the cost of self control.

Picky Eater, hates vegetation and fruit, even goes so far as to consider vegetarians and vegans as his enemies.

Naive, he's grown up in a rather small and sparsely populated reservation nation. His interaction with other people has been very limited. Rip doesn't know much about the outside world's customs.

Boy I love my problem children. Keeping it to four because I could be here all day.


Mortimer:
-Never knows when to stop talking
-Stubborn
-Hinges his entire good mental state on someone else's mental state and it's his fault if they're not having a good day
-Gets quiet and evasive if you yell at him, even if you're trying to help
-Reckless fun decisions like entering a jungle alone for years to get better at magic
-Poor social skills, with his royal etiquette classes being the only thing that helps him engage with minimal awkwardness
-Too obsessed with the notion of self-sacrifice and being expendable
-Slightly a helicopter parent, thinking that the siblings' shortcomings are because of him and not because they're just not good at something or have their own problems


Veriesin:
-Low attention span, if she's listening to someone she needs to multitask
-Reckless
-VERY quick to jump to conclusions
-Speaks the first thing on her mind to please someone else
-Slow to notice someone else is upset or uncomfortable
-Forgoes sleep constantly
-Obsessed with "womanly" attitudes and behavior despite hating the concept, leading to
-At constant odds with her aggressive fighting style


Spinelthorn:
-Self-aware of his unchildlike mannerisms (even if he's 19)
-Reviles his own species' appearance, leading to
-Attracted to humans, with all the inner conflict that implies
-Has a hard time expressing with words, to himself to or to help others
-Good ol' artist impostor syndrome
-Overprotective of his sister

Berylclaw:
-Rarely speaks her mind
-Always trying to please others, even with white lies
-Self-doubt about her abilities and skills
-Self-aware of her disinterest in most "popular" jobs or having a career
-Conscious about being seen as a "polite young lady", never standing up for herself entirely
-Goes along too easily with other people's suggestions, also to keep up the image

Technically, all good traits can be bad traits and vice versa.


Zeta
- He's "unlucky", but luck has nothing to do with his misfortune as when he sees a chance, even if it's less than 1%, he's willing to take that chance to achieve greater heights.
- But with that, he tends to be short sighted in his goals and doesn't think long term.


X
- He's selfish, and disregards the rules for his own wants and desires and always wants it his way; with the minimal amount of effort as possible. Arrogant in a way.
- As elaborated before, he's lazy, hence why he disregards the rules, because he ain't got no time to read them.


Eddy
- He doesn't do much. He's more inaction than action.
- He prioritizes research and studies over almost everything.
(Intro Comic Coming Out this Friday)


Alice
- She is agressive
- She is violent
- She will get her way one way or another.
- She's suspicious of most people and always has a plan to kill everyone she meets.
(No Intro Comic Yet)


JESS
- Yes.
- If you see her, run.
- You will not win, she owns the house.
(No Intro Comic Yet)


My Darkling
- My Darkling is always hungry.


Fanboy
-No work ethic, has always had everything handed to him.
-His apparent desire to 'save the day' has less to do with helping people than living out a lifelong power fantasy.
-Feels that pretty much everyone is beneath him.
-Manipulative.
-Somewhat detached from reality. Views the world through his obsessive fandoms.


McCrow
-Little to no self control.
-Dangerously violent temper.
-Long history of substance abuse.
-Deeply ingrained prejudices.
-Petty.
-Permanent chip on his shoulder.
-Intensely self destructive.

Well this is easy for my comic. It's hard to have more negative traits than an inhuman alien from another universe that wants to fix the world.

The description kind of says it all.

Dimitri
-Stubborn
-Aggressive
-has a habit of romanticizing experiences and ideas
-Refuses to open up to people
-Salty af
-Kind of rasist
-Is a trash boi

Ralh
-Too nice, often lets people walk over him.
-Offers help even when it might hurt him
-Takes on other peoples woes too often
-Has a tendency to treat people like children
-Has trouble taking the criticism of "you're being too nice" or "you're being a doormat'

Thea
-Gotta break the rules
-refuses to act like an adult
-Will keep secrets from her family if she thinks it will benefit them
-overly critical of other people but not herself
-hoarder


Suzanne Incirrina
- Tends to judge people pretty quickly.
- Though willing to listen to and find advice, tends to put her own, sometimes bizarre, spin on it, possibly missing the point.
- Keeps her personality and opinions largely to herself. While her outward presentation is positive and good-natured she's basically keeping her real self bottled up. This can get her in trouble when people misinterpret what kind of person she is.
- Is pretty pessimistic and, even though she's trying to better the world, seems to have a fairly poor opinion of it.

Oooh! My favorite form of discussion. These are all characters from my comic, Whispers of the Past.

Let's start out with some main characters, shall we...

Izrekiel

  • He has amnesia. Beyond the obvious drawbacks, his personality has changed drastically from not-remembering anything. What was once a fairly passionate, happy person is now a reclusive, distrusting, emotional mess.
  • Very quick to anger.
  • Oblivious to even the most obvious of things. He often misinterprets people or misses nuances altogether. He is definitely not a social butterfly and comes off rather awkward most of the time.
  • Zero alcohol tolerance. None. He's a tragic lightweight who can't handle anything more than the weakest of drinks without falling under a table or getting incredibly sick.

Agatha Sato

  • Can be incredibly bossy or "mom-ish," especially to her younger sister.
  • Definitely overbearing. She has the best intentions of friendliness, but she will stick her nose so far into your business that her nostrils will flatten.
  • Talks a lot. It can be rather annoying after a while.
  • Has a habit of not listening to what her younger sister, Maret has to say. She often unintentionally ignores her.

Maret Sato

  • Loud and immature. Probably because she's six.
  • Overly friendly. She is far too trusting and will likely try to hug you five seconds after meeting you. Some might call this a good trait, but it can be really annoying to strangers, and embarrassing to her family members.
  • She asks a lot of questions and will complain if she doesn't get a satisfactory answer.

Kelan Sato


(I don't have anything more than a sketch of this character, unfortunately.)

  • Distant with his daughters when it comes to anything sad, especially his late wife, Aalia's death.
  • Hard-working to a fault. He never stops to care about himself and make sure he'll always be there for his children.
  • Has a habit of being passive-aggressive and guilting people into doing what he wants. He's not intentionally manipulative, but he won't let you off easy if he disagrees with you.

Lord Ryukou Erano

  • Manipulative. Lies as easily as he draws breath.
  • Not understanding of failure by people who work for him. He often punishes his people harshly for failing at their tasks.
  • Dismissive of his wife, Maya.
  • Holds grudges. His good opinion once lost is lost forever.

Lady Maya Ranil-Erano


(Another sketch, sorry!)

  • Spiteful of her husband, Ryukou. Often does things just to make him angry.
  • Believes money can solve any problem and frequently indulges in luxury.
  • May or may not be considered a fault, but she is incredibly hyper-sexual. She's attracted to almost everyone and will have sex with next to anyone.
  • Often comes off as cold.

Ohhh :open_mouth: Well, here goes nothing

L:
- doubtful of himself
- pessimistic
- defensive
- easily influenced
- bottles up his feelings

R:
- too hyper
- impulsive
- forgets about her health
- self-sacrificing too much
- reckless