Time to talk about favorite character types/tropes!
For romance, I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers. Also getting into monster romance.
In general, I love the whole “softie softens the hard character”. Doesn’t have to be romance. Could be a ex-cop/Yakuza/grump gets stuck with a kid or whatever haha. When I played Yakuza 1 was it? Walking around with Kiryu, and having to hold Haruka’s hand as she’s like, Uncle I’m hungry for like the 50th friggin’ time made me laugh and just made me feel like, awww. Like he is getting into street fights every 10 seconds, but this little girl is all like, take me to the WHOLE other side of town because I want this specific ice cream from this specific place and he’s like… Okay.
Watching this anime too that’s funny called Buddy Daddies. Two hitmen get accidentally stuck with and adopt a 4 yr old girl. She sabotages all their missions, and they have to craft all these stories to “keep her innocent” from what they do for work. It’s hilarious.
My favorite kinds of characters are the meathead types. Was playing Hi-Fi Rush and there’s this boss that comes out, “I like defects” (australian accent, defect is YOU, the MC) and the MC is like oh, hehe, that’s good? And then he’s like, “I like to EAT THEM!” And then MC is like AAAH! I love that stuff.
What’s even better is when they’re tiny, sweet looking housewives and people assume their husbands are the “scary ones” but it’s them you have to look out for. The woman who’s sweet until you push the wrong button lol
It’s very different from what I write to what I read.
I love writing people who are a little insane, or those who are a little cerebral. I like security from the start. I also like depressing drama with no way out. Oh, and throwing the whole house at a couple, see what breaks them.
Reading some of that can raise my anxiety. And outside of am extremely straight preference, I really don’t care what I read.
oh i really like Ultra Powerful Grumpy Being has a soft spot for Small Pet (and won’t admit it). it’s good when it’s Grumpy Character only likes One Person (and won’t admit it) too.
other good tropes:
“i’ve decided we’re friends so deal with it”
evil/worthless/ect. character gets rescued (a.k.a. villain x hero brainrot)
super badass rage monster warrior goes home to cook nice dinner with spouse.
i’ll come back later with more but if you’ll excuse me some of these tropes are in my current project and now i want to write.
I love those! I love comedies where some character starts following this other character around, and they’re like what the heck, and character A is like, but we’re friends! And they’re so innocent/sweet that the other character can’t deny them. And eventually they DO actually become friends.
And the “villain” isn’t so bad after all thing is great too. Like, “I’m going to destroy the world!.. But after the 14th because it’s my anniversary and my wife and I are going out to dinner, but THEN I will destroy the world!”
Like yandere type women? Like, I love you so much I might kill you kind of women? Those scare me.
Trying to remember what anime I watched where there was a character who was obsessed with the MC and they wanted to kill the MC, but at the same time, protected the MC from others because “only they can kill MC”. So you’re not sure whether this person is friend or foe? I think in the end they do try to kill MC and they end up dying instead. Man, I can’t remember what it was.
They use it a bit in Mangas, but not as concisely as you have it.
Unhinged woman plays really well against insane, so while I don’t do the whole lead-up to it, there’s an element oft hat that winds up going along with it.