Favourite character archetypes

[such_heights]

pocky_slash asked: What characteristics do you see recurring in characters you like? Why do those parts of the characters appeal to you?

I think most of my favourite characters fall into a few categories. They are mostly gender specific? I think I do like most of them for characters of any gender, apart from the first one. Men who are bad at feelings = super boring, usually.

1. Women who are bad at feelings. (Seven of Nine, Kalinda Sharma, Cara Mason, Amy Pond, etc.)

I am so so easy for women who are terrible at dealing with emotions. They pretend they don't have any, they push away the people they love best, they're sarcastic in the face of feelings, it's the best. It's especially great when they have a whole arc about learning to love again, in a way that isn't about taking away who they are. Seven and Cara are both great for this, particularly when it's other women helping them work through their childhood conditioning and get in touch with their softer sides occasionally. :D :D :D

I'm a sucker for stoic women too, like Firefly's Zoe or Olivia Dunham or Sarah Connor, but stoicism can be perfectly emotionally healthy - give me a female character who can't recognise, cope with or express all of the very deep secret emotions she's feeling and I'm allll yours, it's the greatest. How do humans?! How do relationships?! Kalinda doesn't do feelings she's just going to stare at Alicia soulfully whenever she's not looking. Amy can't actually have a reasonable conversation with her fiancé so she's just going to punch him in the arm until he stops looking so sad. THE BEST.

2. Men who are quiet heroes. (Neville Longbottom, Rory Pond, Steve Rogers, Aang, etc.)

I am sucker for male characters who are real lowercase nice guys. They usually have jobs/interests that aren't the most typically masculine (gardening/nursing/art) and don't have egos to speak of. They're not threatened by the powerful women in their lives and have a quiet sense of duty to help make the world better even if they aren't the most obvious candidate. The kind of characters that make me want to type their names in elongated allcaps a lot.

3. Competent women (Martha Jones, Joan Watson, Pepper Potts, Leslie Knope, etc.)

Give me a woman in a power suit, one who is really really good at her job or other calling, and I am all yours. Watching female characters be good at their jobs and respected in their field is just a joy. Also my lifespiration to be honest.

4. Kind characters. (Guinevere, Kaylee Frye, Tara Maclay, etc.)

It's mostly female characters that spring to mind when I think of my favourite sweet, kind characters, but I love this one pretty universally. These are often characters who are a little naive, at least at first, but not stupid, are often the moral centre of their group, and who bring joy and happiness to everyone's hearts, especially me. <3

Comments

[kass]

♥ x a billionty

Amy! Rory! Kaylee! Oh, my heart.

::joy::

[thingswithwings]

This post is so incredibly correct! I love all these kinds of characters tooooooo. <333 I wish we had more of all of them, gosh. They're all character types I find enormously refreshing, too, because while their opposite-gender-versions are all too common (men who are bad at feelings, women who are quiet background heroes), these versions make me feel good about the range of ways in which we can live our lives. Hey dudes, maybe you can be a sweet quiet awkward gardener and that's awesome! Hey ladies, maybe being bad at feelings is okay!

Do you watch Masters of Sex? Because Lillian DePaul is #1 and Virginia Johnson is #3 and #4 and I am shipping them a lot lately. :)

[ignipes]

In conclusion: Amy Pond, Neville Longbottom, Joan Watson, and Guinevere should team up and FIGHT CRIME.

[glass_icarus]

:DDDDDDD SO MUCH AGREE!

[ladymercury_10]

These are very good archetypes. :)

[lizbee]

Oh man, I could have written this post. WOMEN WHO ARE BAD AT FEELINGS ARE SO GREAT. (My hobby is saddling them with children. Especially teenagers who are also bad at feelings. IT'S SADISTIC YET HILARIOUS.)

[pocky_slash]

These are all good choices and you should feel good about them! :D

You know, I asked this question to basically everyone I knew doing this meme, but Id on't know how I would answer it myself. Hm....

[magnetic_pole]

I've just picked up The Good Wife last season, and you're inspiring me to go back and watch for Early Kalinda...

Fun post! M.

[cosmic_llin]

Awwww, I like this! So many good characters! Seven! Neville! Tara! <3

[out_there]

I think when it comes to 1, I'm more about stoic women than bad-with-feelings. (Especially Zoe!)

And kindness is an underrated quality, I think. It's very appealing and very important, and usually leads to the type of characters I'd actually want to know in real life, who I'd like spending time with on a daily basis (Tara, Kaylee and Guinevere).

[sunnyrea.livejournal.com]

I am right there with you on all of these. Especially #2

[lokifan]

Yes yes yes! All of these.

I have to go away and have feelings now. AMY RORY MARTHA PEPPER NEVILLE TARA STEVE AANG!

[wishfulaces]

4. Kind characters. (Guinevere, Kaylee Frye, Tara Maclay, etc.)

I think of these as the sunny characters--a good male character that comes to mind for me is Pippin Took. (Pippin is my hobbit twin.) :D