You know this character, if it’s not the MC then it is some other character close to the MC.
This character has the misfortune to be surrounded by wacky, stupid, and irksome characters that causes said character to constantly facepalm or lose their patience until their blood pressure rises. Every single day is a brand new yet unfortunate experience for the character, they are never truly bored but are constantly losing their shit when dealing with the other characters stupidity. Still, that MC or only-sane-man character will admit that they are entertaining enough, yet they rather keep that to themselves.
In the words of DBZ Abridged Vegeta, who had to deal with the stupidity of Son Goku per usual, he’s surrounded by idiots and NOT gumdrops and ice cream.
Is the same said for your MC or a character close to your MC?
In fairness, my characters seem to fall into either being surrounded by idiots or being the idiots that do the surrounding. I do have some more level-headed characters in the mix, though.
Nope! The current work is a tragedy, so no idiots. In the only humorous book I ever wrote, everyone was an idiot, so there was no sane person saying, “I’m surrounded by idiots!” No one there even noticed everyone was an idiot. (>‿◠)
My characters play both roles in different scenarios. They are often seen as highly skilled, dangerously intelligent, and utter klutzes.
For example, in my current work Dov views Krista’s hormonal humour and antics as facepalm / rage-quit worthy, yet he knows Krista is not a fool. How many fourteen-year-old girls are fluent in four languages and self-taught symphony violinists? Likewise, Krista is frequently annoyed by Dov’s preference for durability over elegance, in regards to his clothing, and she often mocks him and the other adults for their illogical (dummkopf) manner. Yet, her unending jokes aside, Krista treats Dov with great respect. She knows Dov’s considerable intuition, gentle forgiving nature, unbreakable loyalty, and ability to remain calm and focused in nightmare scenarios* make him a valuable friend…And they also made Dov a formidable Special Forces sniper (+1 for valuable friend traits)…
*Ice inside the fire; the stillness in the storm ~ Somewhere in the Silence, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex OST.
*You are a rock: you absorb nothing, you say nothing, and no-one breaks you ~ House of Cards (US).
Oh, a common belief among the legacy characters in my current work is the Australian Defence Force set an Olympic record in Moronic Decision Making when they allowed Dov to leave.
Amneris, Nikki and Leo are the ones who do whacky, stupid and irksome things. Leo, Zoe, Carmin, Dan, Kayla, Hathor and Colt are the ones who constantly facepalm and lose their patience.
I don’t generally write a character that’s that obvious unless I’m pushing for a huge bunch of comedy because while you can be the smartest in the room and be dealing with idiots, when you TELL people this constantly, unless it’s ridiculous, it often backfires.
I do have some idiots, but there’s not enough of them to do any surrounding Usually, it’s one or two featured idiots per story if any, unless the story is filled with idiots, but in that case, all the idiots are idiotic in a genius sort of way, so no one really gets annoyed.
Two, from Two and the Last Year on Earth has two colleagues, Triad and Fort, who, in the beginning of the story, are described as two idiots, but at the same time, their idiocy plays into their genius, so…Two doesn’t think she’s surrounded. Even when she calls them idiots, it’s more in an endearing sort of way.
Usually, it’s one or two featured idiots per story if any, unless the story is filled with idiots, but in that case, all the idiots are idiotic in a genius sort of way, so no one really gets annoyed.