The Dragon's Lair

I've always had a little bit of a hard time pinning down what it is I like in a character, since there's so many things I like and so many variations of those likes. But it wasn't until recently that I discovered there's a character type - a solid character type - that I absotluely do not like. And that's the rebellious hot-head. These are usually the characters that are usually part of a group or partnership but decide to go their own way, do their own thing, do things their own way, and to heck with everyone and the consequences. They're also the character that in their "do their own thing their own way" quest end up getting not only themselves but everyone else in a crap load of trouble.

Don't get me wrong, I do love me someone who doesn't take crap from anyone. But there's not taking crap from someone, and then there's being so focused on not taking crap from anyone that the character also doesn't take anyone else into consideration, only their own needs. They don't listen to those they profess to care about, and when the consequences hit those they profess to care about, they don't seem to really care. And that makes them irritating as all heck.

However, when it comes to this hot-headed, rebellious characterization being used as a learning curve to provide some character developement, I'm all for it. The character still irritates me, but usually over time, once the character begins learning valuable lessons as to why it doesn't pay to ignore the consequences, I end up really liking them. It's when this characterization is there to make the character look cool or BAMF, with little to no learning curve, that I end up really disliking them.

A good example of this the character of Niska from Humans (very minor spoilers ahead). If you don't watch Humans, Niska is a female synth (robot) capable of feeling human emotions. Her characterization is very much that of the rebellious hot-head, and it's her character that made me realize how much I dislike this character type. She's decided to go her own way, but thus far her actions have been wracking up some really bad consequences, not only drawing the wrong kind of attention to herself but to her family of fellow feeling synths and one half-synth, half-human. What sealed my dislike for her was one scene in which she pretty much bashes Leo - the half-human/synth, who's been trying his best to look out for his family of synths - by implying that he's been doing a crappy job of protecting them thus far, and that she's better off going it alone. Except little miss Going-it-Alone has not only killed one man but nearly killed another, and is basically, as I said, drawing all kinds of attentiont to herself as well as Leo and the other feeling-synth, Max. She's causing more problems than she's avoiding and it's frustrating. I do't care what she's been through, I don't care what she's going through, because her experiences does not excuse her putting not only herself in danger but the others as well.

In fact, I beleive Rocket Racoon from GotG summed it up nicely as to why I really dislike these kinds of characters: "Everybody's got dead people! But it makes no excuse to letting everyone else around get killed along the way!"

Again, I'm all for characters who don't take crap from anyone. I'm all for characters who sometimes cave to their emotions and do stupid things now and then. What I'm not for are characters who do stupid things constantly and don't care who it ends up hurting. I'm a sucker for characters who learn from their mistakes, not characters who keep making more mistakes because their life was hard and to heck with everyone else.

(And what kind of sucks is that Niska seems to be the popular character when all I want to do is throttle her. Who knows, maybe I'll come to like her later on, but for now she really gets on my nerves).

(Leo, on the other hand, represents a lot of what I like in a character - doing everything possible for family and friends, more concerned with others than with the self. Tries hard to be cautious and do what's right even though he mostly fails at it, and so on. But most of all, tries to consider the friggin consequences. He gets things wrong more often than right but at least he's trying. Niska just doesn't really care anymore.)

Okay, actually I was thinking about the "make the characters marry and give them kids!" trope and the "illegitimate child" trope and why I don't like them, which then lead to thoughts about romance and why it is I'm not a fan of romance, and I came to realize something.

There's a number of reasons why I'm not a big fan of romance. That it often leads to sex - and the idea that it isn't romance without sex - being one of them. But I used to think it was also because of over-saturation of romance in most movies, shows and books, whether the romance is just an interest with no official "getting together" or the getting together plus sex.

What I came to realize is that it isn't so much the over saturation of romance alone, but the idea that a character can't have a happily-ever-after unless the ending also includes them getting with someone, or having someone we know they are about to get with. In other words, it's the portrayal that a character can't be happy without some kind of romance or physical relationship, and if they've never had a romantic or physical relationship then it's because their lives suck and woe is them, or they're regarded as weirdos or losers.

Which, of course, isn't true. Using myself as an example (which means major confession time, but it's nothing I'm ashamed to confess) I've never had a romantic relationship, I've never been on a date, I've never had sex and I've never even been kissed. And you know what? I'm totally okay with that. I've had some really great guy friends in my life who I could be myself around, I've had a crush that actually panned out even though it didn't lead to any actual dating (and it was a rather short friendship since he was a senior and I was a freshmen). That I've never been on a date or been kissed isn't something I lament. And while one of my dreams is to get married and have children, if it doesn't happen, then that's okay. I'll survive.

So if romance doesn't happen for my characters, that's okay, too. Don't get me wrong, some of my stories may include a bit of romance, and I do like the idea of my characters eventually having someone (depending on the character). But with some of my stories, there either isn't a romantic relationship, or I hint at the character possibly getting together "off-screen" but while also leaving it open if someone wants to read it as an on-going friendship.

And I also think it's why I get frustrated with people who see romance or sex in everything (and... not push those viewpoints onto others - that's putting it a bit too strongly - but are vocal to the point where it sometimes feels like they're trying to push those view points) and it's not simply because I'm not a fan of romance. I mean, yes, people are going to view things how they want and they can, but sometimes I feel like it does a disservice to non-romantic relationships, like... non-romantic relationships are less or not good enough, and that all that matters is romantic/sexual relationships, or that the relationship or story would be so much better if it was romantic or sexual. While I know a story doesn't need romance to do well, there are times when I'll worry about a story not doing well because there's no romance (there was a time I honestly believed a story had to have romance, and that all stories had to have some kind of romance if you wanted that story to do well).

And I'm not saying all this because I'm hoping people will write less romance or be less vocal about how they view a fictional relationship (and I say fictional because I will be honest and say that I feel real people slash/het is kind of crossing a line). And I'm definitely trying not to make anyone feel guilty, because I know people see romance in things because that's what they enjoy and not because they think romance is the only relationship that matters (although, yes, there are some crazies who think it's the only relationship two people can have). It's just something I came to realize about myself and my views on romance.

(Although this also could be the result of me being in a bit of a tetchy mood, so who knows).

( Of Limits and Lists and Why I Have a list in the first place. It began as a rant but turned into something meta-ish instead. )

The First of my offerings for month_of_meta

--------------------------------( Equal Opportunity Whump: Some Thoughts )

I present to you my first foray into the wonderful world of meta: A Neal and Patrick comparison. Written for month_of_meta.

I have to confess that though I do watch the Mentalist I'm a lot more familiar with White Collar, so a big thanks to wildcat88 for the much needed help and fixing of many mistakes and assumptions.

( Commence with the Comparisons )