What do you like on a protagonist and an Antagonist?

[Lilmonstart]

So as the tittle says...What do you like on a protagonist/hero? and an antagonist/villain?
and the characteristics that you like on both

Team hero or Team Villain?

[Questionable_Liquid]

For both, I want them to have a reasonable story that justifies their actions and personality within the story.

I don't generally like having the words heroes and villains put out into characters. The reason being is because a hero and a villain are generalized as one thing: good and bad.

Good and bad are subjective to whatever the character does.

I know what good and bad are, but I mainly want to know their personal intentions and what their backstory says about their behavior towards their actions.

[Lilmonstart]

Very nice I do also agree what the backstory polishes their personality and their actual perspective towards any ocassions that their way, besides the reasons why they do the things they do which is like something I need to do to know way better my characters

[IamKeeks]

I personally prefer antagonists and protagonists to be morally gray and broken. I don't care for the hero/villain nomenclature.
I also really enjoy insanity on either side... like in "Sleeping Beauty" when Maleficent curses a baby to death because she wasn't invited to the party. Or Ariel deciding that she's in love with a dude without so much as a conversation in "The Little Mermaid"

I don't necessarily have to agree with their reasoning, but I definitely want to be made to believe that the reason is valid to the villain.

Ex. Not being invited to a party is no reason to kill a baby... but she's obviously crazy and vindictive enough to believe that it is, based on her other actions in the movie.

When it comes to the protagonist... I don't like their choices to always be easy. Every now and then, I want there to be stakes. When people die... they're dead. I want them to have to make morally ambiguous choices. Like the trolley problem.

The most basic version of the dilemma, known as "Bystander at the Switch" or "Switch", goes:

There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the side track. You have two options:

Do nothing and allow the trolley to kill the five people on the main track.
Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person.

Here's the link, if you're interested:

Trolley problem

[Legendofgenii]

I love narcissistic drama queens with a sense of humour (villains). One of my faves…

[MShadowlawn]

I like villains with a real sense of motive. I like villains that are interesting... And sometimes, I like villains that are just straight up metal.

I dig the Joker, and I digged a lot of the orcs from Shadow of Mordor. Kind of sucks that I can't think of any other villains right now, though.

As far as heroes? I never really liked the goody-two-shoes type, and heroes with ridiculous powers aren't something I like very much, either.

@IamKeeks, funny that you mention morally gray or morally crooked and broken heroes, because I've got one of those in my main series. Though, I feel even 'hero' is a bit of a stretch in my case.

Urban Wolf: On The Run | Tapas

[BarBarKetrab]

I like protagonists who do things to move the story along, instead of just sitting at the sidelines to look cute and do what other people tell them to do. Protagonists that act for the most part only as a series' poster boy/girl probably won't appeal to me very much.

As for the protagonist archetype that I find myself attracted to the most, I'll have to say that lately I've been finding the wacky and slightly maniacal protagonist the most fun to watch, provided that they don't act too unrealistically.

When it comes to antagonists, I think I like an opposition with unknowable or hard to discern motives. Ones who act more like a strange force of nature than an actual person. This doesn't mean that I don't like antagonists with a well though out backstory or reasons for their actions, I do, but recently I've come to prefer villains with motives that are impossible for the protagonist to relate to, if any at all.

I'm also a huge sucker for the absurdly evil overlord/mastermind cartoon villain with little to no redeeming qualities. They're just so fun to watch.

[HonorableTakoyaki]

For a protagonist, I think it would be best if they have an unbreakable spirit. As for an Antagonist, as long as he's doing something morally wrong (Like, killing) to achieve a morally good ending/goal, then I guess he's good for me.

Definitely team villain. Being a goodie two-shoes often comes to bite you back in the end Hahahahahaha

[Lilmonstart]

Y e s !
dunno why but I´m still a sucker for those kind of villains
(plus also fav disney villain)

[Lilmonstart]

Well theres like a lot of types of villains of all colours and flavours and of course the generical steriotypes ones the same with heroes although there´s sometimes that kind of heroes who do nothing and get everything solved or get powers casually or something like that

aaaand Imma check your novel looks interesting

[Lilmonstart]

So truee although villains are interesting and cool, its also good seeing a protagonist that goes through many struggles and gets stronger and learns things and stuff,
And I also love the fact that villains are way more indepent since they are like the heroes of their own story

[_calm]

How about twisting the villain and heroes story.

Basically saying having the hero be the lone one and the hero being a part of a crime family.

But I personally prefer a hero who is so flawed that he falls short of his own and the peoples expectations cause that's just usually how real life works.
And having a villain who can relate to the hero but also doesn't see his actions as wrong.

In a sense have their sense of morality be questionable and cross the line between good and bad. Also, they must go through an epic adventure otherwise it sucks.

[HonorableTakoyaki]

Right? I especially like villains who fought for what they believed to be righteous only for them to realize that there is nothing righteous about what they are doing and became villains because now, they are fighting for what they believe is right.

Kinda cruel but also inspiring for some reason