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Okay, I have a feeling this may have been asked before, either in my journal or someone else's. Oh well. 'Tis still fun :D
So what pushes your happy buttons in a show/book/movie? What are you a sucker for?
Underdog heroes. I adore me some underdog heroes. Nothing against the capable warrior but to me it's such a given when the hero is big, strong, an awesome fighter and so on. I like the guy you would least expect to accomplish anything. Say, for example, destroy an entire dark army or the big, mean nasty giant monster. I don't want Conan, I want Conan's wimpy assistant to save the day (that said, there are exceptions, of course, but more often than not I lean heavily toward underdogs).
Characters in over their heads, and they know it. I've never really been a fan of "he is destined to...!" stories because I like there to be elements of agency to everything the characters do. But I especially like it when a character gets thrown into a situation against their will and rather than rebel, try to make the best of things and do what they feel is right. I like it when they choose to act, rather than people forcing them to act.
The Clever, competent and/or ornery. Who doesn't like competent characters that use their heads rather than blunder stupidly and hope for the best? But that extra dose of cleverness - being able to think several steps ahead, or at least realize the obvious - with a dash of sticking it to the bad guy in said clever ways is icing on the cake. Bad guys are annoying, good guys who annoy the bad guys by being just as smart if not smarter make it all better :D
Hope. I enjoy both light-hearted stories and dark plots, but even dark I prefer there to be hope, some kind of light at the end of the tunnel or uplifting moments. Something that lets us know that things aren't as dark as they seem, and that the characters are good people. Flawed, but good, and worthy of redemption.
Friendship. Of course friendship, the kind of friendship in which people really do care about each other and would do anything for each other. Who save each other and get all ridiculously happy knowig that the other person is alive and well. Or become worried and mother-henning when the other character gets hurt.
Kindness. Which kind goes along with hope. I like it when characters, whether friends or strangers, show kindness to each other, or at least try to be the better people and not be so kill-happy. I suppose you could also call this heart, or compassion - the things that remind us that we are capable of doing good things for each other, and that the world is a much better place when we do.
Characters who you can think your proverbial teeth into. Characters who aren't there to be characters but who have personalities and could easily be real people outside the story setting. I have a bit of a pet peeve toward stories that take place in these cooky, crazy worlds but the characters are flatter than a piece of paper and just as blank. I want substance, dang it!
Finally, if a character is going to have a dark past - which I do love - I prefer it if the dark happened to them, and not to someone they care about (i.e. the old lost family/wife/girlfriend/brother/sister and is out for revenge/to finD out what happened trope. Which there is nothing wrong with, of course. In fact I have stories where the character has lost a loved one and it becomes motivation of a kind, but it's a trope I normally try to stay away from because, well, it's just used sooo much). I can understand why most writers prefer giving characters obvious motivation through the lost loved one trope. Write a character who's out for revenge for what happened to them and not their loved ones and to many viewers/readers that person comes off as selfish and whiny. We're expected to get over the things that happen to us and move on. But that's why I find it so fascinating. Because as much as you would like to move on, their are still consequences. There are still issues. A victim of physical abuse, for example, might have trouble trusting others or may not like being touched or something, and I find those subtle issues and the character learning to overcome them fascinating. So I guess you could also say I have a thing for characters overcoming their tragic pasts, first by coming to realize that their are issues still at large and then by working through them.
That's all I can think of for now, though I'm sure I've forgotte a few. I'll add them later if I think of them.
So what pushes your happy buttons in a show/book/movie? What are you a sucker for?
Underdog heroes. I adore me some underdog heroes. Nothing against the capable warrior but to me it's such a given when the hero is big, strong, an awesome fighter and so on. I like the guy you would least expect to accomplish anything. Say, for example, destroy an entire dark army or the big, mean nasty giant monster. I don't want Conan, I want Conan's wimpy assistant to save the day (that said, there are exceptions, of course, but more often than not I lean heavily toward underdogs).
Characters in over their heads, and they know it. I've never really been a fan of "he is destined to...!" stories because I like there to be elements of agency to everything the characters do. But I especially like it when a character gets thrown into a situation against their will and rather than rebel, try to make the best of things and do what they feel is right. I like it when they choose to act, rather than people forcing them to act.
The Clever, competent and/or ornery. Who doesn't like competent characters that use their heads rather than blunder stupidly and hope for the best? But that extra dose of cleverness - being able to think several steps ahead, or at least realize the obvious - with a dash of sticking it to the bad guy in said clever ways is icing on the cake. Bad guys are annoying, good guys who annoy the bad guys by being just as smart if not smarter make it all better :D
Hope. I enjoy both light-hearted stories and dark plots, but even dark I prefer there to be hope, some kind of light at the end of the tunnel or uplifting moments. Something that lets us know that things aren't as dark as they seem, and that the characters are good people. Flawed, but good, and worthy of redemption.
Friendship. Of course friendship, the kind of friendship in which people really do care about each other and would do anything for each other. Who save each other and get all ridiculously happy knowig that the other person is alive and well. Or become worried and mother-henning when the other character gets hurt.
Kindness. Which kind goes along with hope. I like it when characters, whether friends or strangers, show kindness to each other, or at least try to be the better people and not be so kill-happy. I suppose you could also call this heart, or compassion - the things that remind us that we are capable of doing good things for each other, and that the world is a much better place when we do.
Characters who you can think your proverbial teeth into. Characters who aren't there to be characters but who have personalities and could easily be real people outside the story setting. I have a bit of a pet peeve toward stories that take place in these cooky, crazy worlds but the characters are flatter than a piece of paper and just as blank. I want substance, dang it!
Finally, if a character is going to have a dark past - which I do love - I prefer it if the dark happened to them, and not to someone they care about (i.e. the old lost family/wife/girlfriend/brother/sister and is out for revenge/to finD out what happened trope. Which there is nothing wrong with, of course. In fact I have stories where the character has lost a loved one and it becomes motivation of a kind, but it's a trope I normally try to stay away from because, well, it's just used sooo much). I can understand why most writers prefer giving characters obvious motivation through the lost loved one trope. Write a character who's out for revenge for what happened to them and not their loved ones and to many viewers/readers that person comes off as selfish and whiny. We're expected to get over the things that happen to us and move on. But that's why I find it so fascinating. Because as much as you would like to move on, their are still consequences. There are still issues. A victim of physical abuse, for example, might have trouble trusting others or may not like being touched or something, and I find those subtle issues and the character learning to overcome them fascinating. So I guess you could also say I have a thing for characters overcoming their tragic pasts, first by coming to realize that their are issues still at large and then by working through them.
That's all I can think of for now, though I'm sure I've forgotte a few. I'll add them later if I think of them.
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no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 01:51 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 02:55 am (UTC)From:For me:
- Friendship and family. I used to go primarily for individual, close friendships, and while I still like them, I find that lately ("lately" being within the last decade or so) I've been much more drawn to characters coming together as groups and forming close bonds with each other. Lonely people finding family and home ... that is one of the biggest attractions for me with anything.
- Being surprised (in a way that makes sense, of course *g* - random surprises out of nowhere are no fun!). But I absolutely love it when a show/book/movie manages to throw my expectations, and yet, make it feel like it was planned all along. I'm not just talking about plot twists, though I love clever plot twists and surprise endings, but also things like, say, not having the obvious couple get together, or having a minor, seemingly throwaway character turn out to be awesome, or making me truly believe a character is going to die and then not killing them off, or going ahead and giving me that one awesome scene I'd fantasized about but never dreamed they would actually do. This is one of the main reasons why I'm not fond of spoilers, because there is a delightful little mental zing! that only happens when I am truly surprised. And I think it's also one of the big reasons why I am not fond of "chosen one" plots, unless they're played with and subverted.
- Flawed characters being the best people they can be (and often better than they thought they were). I think this might be your "kindness" point, under a different name ... I just like to see characters doing the right thing, especially when they really have to struggle with it, and particularly when it involves, say, choosing compassion over duty, or mercy and forgiveness when they've been taught to hate.
- A strong sense of place/culture/setting. I absolutely love fiction that transports me to another place, whether it is real or fictional, and makes it come alive.
- Clever & competent: I agree with you totally on this. :D I love to see smart, competent characters being smart and competent. I love it when the characters are figuring things out at least as fast as the reader/viewer can. (And I really hate the inverse of this, when things are very obvious but the characters take half the book to figure it out.) I really appreciate it when plot complications come from something other than the characters lying to each other and/or overlooking the obvious.
- Characters working together, with everyone contributing. I love finales in which everyone plays a part, rather than the whole thing being all about the hero going up against the big bad all by him/herself. I love reciprocal saving-each-others'-lives. I love stories in which the hero needs other people and doesn't have to always be #1.
- Believable but not depressing. :D I like stories that are firmly grounded in the real world ... metaphorically speaking - it can be a fantasy or sci-fi world, but I still want there to be dirt and mistakes and consequences. If it's historical, I don't want the author to sweep all the issues of the time period under the rug; if it's fantasy, I want the writer to have thought about the underpinnings of the world (like "who grows all the food?"). If it's a setting with horses, I want there to be horse poop in the streets, because that's what happens in places with horses. :D And so forth. But ... I really hate stories that are all gloom all the time, or those that get you into a set of characters only to kill them off one by one. Stories that are all about how dirty and depressing the world is, in which the main point is that people are awful to each other. I know the real world is like that a lot, but my heart can't handle it; that's not what I want to read about.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 05:06 am (UTC)From:Heh, very interesting you mention this because I just finished a book that started off pressing a lot of my like buttons, then ended up being dark, gloomy and people being awful. It was the most depressing ending I have ever read in any book and it kind of annoyed me. I want to say the ending felt forced but it could also be a matter of me not being able to wrap my head around the main character's motivations. Then again I couldn't wrap my head around the characters, period, and had a feeling the writer was favoring the female protagonist over the male protagonist (on the other hand, the story was first person POV from the male protagonist's view. And... I also skimmed, a lot, so there's probably character points I missed).
no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 08:18 am (UTC)From:A person who isn't the Big Hero gaining some powers, being special and learning to deal with said powers.
Team bonding. What I love in fic is all the great teams. You know there's always someone on your six, someone to turn to for help. But it's also great to see them in those normal moments, after hours and outside of work. I guess that's my button, mostly because I'm still looking for such work relations *and failing miserably duh*.
Family. Father/son/sibling relationships. Being in trouble and the family helping out, or being in trouble with the family and somehow solving the problem, after much angst h/c etc:-)
Sarcasm, humor, good natured ribbing. It might be an angsty fic, but I love when the characters still try to lighten it up a little. It shows courage and it's often needed to decompress after all the bad.
Characters written IC or AU's where we have the assumedly bad guys motivation shown and explained and it turns out they aren't so bad after all. (okay, so I'm guilty of liking good Snape stories where he's still snarky and badass but capable of mentoring Harry or Draco without killing them:-)
Good endings and not killing off the characters unnecessarily. That's an important thing.
Aaand, I should probably stop there, because the list could go on and on:-)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 10:19 am (UTC)From:I would say my main happy buttons are:
Somewhat angsty/dark/tortured characters - I don't go for the big, beefy hero who strides in confidently to save the day. I like the guy who's got issues, who battles fear or pain or loss or guilt and yet is a good man at heart and triumphs over his adversities to save the day.
Scary competence - I like characters who are very competent, in fact, scarily/dangerously so. Characters whose competence can verge on darkness/evil, if they chose to use it so (but they don't, of course). As Wolverine says, "I'm the best of the best at what I do... and what I do isn't very nice". I like to see a character who, if pushed to it, can turn around and totally destroy an enemy - whether that be by violence/fighting (Wolverine, Sheppard, Mick St John) or by intelligence/manipulation (Patrick Jane, Sherlock). As an example, I loved loved LOVED in episode 2x01 of Sherlock - A Scandal in Belgravia - seeing Sherlock suddenly and unexpectedly get physically violent and be VERY competent at it, taking a gu down completely in a single, efficient move.
Relationships, definitely. The character's relationships with others are what allows us to see and explore the character's motivations, past, emotions etc. I think it's the main reason I am not into ship - the friendships I see are so fantastic, and show us so much about the characters, that I don't see the need/point in making everything into a romance and making it all about sex and romantic love. I LOVE that there can be the kind of friendship between e.g. Sheppard and McKay where either would put their life on the line for each other, without it being because they are in romantic love or sex. If anything, that makes the characters even more interesting, because most people would be willing to sacrifice for the person they are in love with, but to do so for a friend? That adds a whole 'nother level of noble.
Oooh and definitely Sholio's point about setting/place. I like a story/film etc to tranport me (stories in particular, where there aren't images provided and you have imagine it yourself) to a believable world.
May have more later, gotta go out now! :)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 08:39 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-02-13 02:20 am (UTC)From: