#the idea of a character who you wouldn't consider relationship material suddenly revealing a part of themselves

[frecklystars]

im trying to think of ways to make my OCs more lovable/shippable so what do you think is a good way to make a character likable??

Oh wow, what a great question! :D I’ve only really had one OC I’ve ever developed @prettylilraindrop, but I had some positive feedback abt her years ago when I’d roleplay her character! I think what really helped was the fact that I had a lot of fun writing her because she’s so bubbly, and when the creator has fun with their character, the person consuming the content has fun as well!

Starscream for example yeah of course I’m gonna ramble about him for a paragraph here sorry sdlfjsdlf !! You can tell Steve Blum has a LOT of fun with this character. All three cameo videos I’ve seen him upload where people have requested him to do a little voice clip as Starscream (even something just as simple as saying “Hello!” in his voice; I personally asked for a shoutout + a pep talk), he’s gone out of his way to act out hand gestures + scream-laugh maniacally and end his videos with “oh SCRAP, Megatron is coming, I’ve got to go! Don’t tell him we’ve had this conversation... this is our little secret between us!” and then duck slowly out of camera view. Steve didn’t have to do literally any of that, but he does, because he enjoys voicing this character. When he did voice work for other characters on cameo, I didn’t see him act as passionately as when he’d voice Starscream. Watching/listening him do voice work for Starscream is REALLY fun, and it’s because he is having fun!!

I think it’s easy to be attracted to characters (for me at least, though honestly I ship with anyone that breathes HAHA) who have really strong personality or strong qualities, whether they’re devilishly menacing or determined with a specific goal in mind to make you root for them, or playful and goofy/funny and an all-around a good time to hang out with + they come off as lovable just by their welcoming or friendly vibes that they give off to others, or even stoic/quiet characters who have strong values and strong compassion for their loved ones or goals!!

Of course it’s not at all black-and-white, there’s no rules, it’s not like “here’s a step by step process on how to make a character likable” because everyone loves characters for completely different reasons! Someone could love one character and a different person could be completely indifferent to them, or even hate them. Every character has the potential to be likable so long as they’re not utterly monotone/boring constantly, which is honestly difficult to achieve even if you tried to write someone like that, unless if that was your specific goal and your character is meant to be boring (but for example... the lead protagonist in dating sims or visual novels where the guy has a whole harem of girls and for some reason all the girls are nutting over him when he literally just. has. no personality dfhfhdfhdf?? he just sits there the whole time and isn’t even nice to the girls?? same with dating sims where there’s a female MC and she’s so unbelievably stupid and oblivious and she has ZERO personality-- that’s a whole other essay but I won’t dive into it tonight LOL). Intriguing backstories, revealing why a character is the way they are through understanding why they do certain actions or say certain things, giving a character a certain “it” factor, something that makes them stand out a bit whether it’s a specific talent or a quirk... these things make a character interesting!

Although for me, personally, the strongest thing that attracts me to a character (especially a villain or morally grey character) is when they show vulnerability. Breaking down into pieces- bonus points if that’s something they hardly ever do!! The more confident and cocky and narcissistic the character is, the more satisfying it feels for me to see their most raw and emotional side of them during a heavy moment. Characters showing a completely different side of themselves to one person (or just reading about them showing this vulnerable/emotional/raw side during a private moment by themselves) can be a complete turnaround for someone to suddenly like them! 

For example, I didn’t really like Benson from Regular Show too much when I was younger, because he just felt like... he had one noticeable Thing about him: yelling at his slacking employees. It wasn’t until later seasons when he started revealing he had hobbies, interests, and a fun side to him- I started to actually like him as a character (then he actually became my favorite) specifically because of this one moment in an episode where he broke down sobbing for the first time. It showed that he was more than just a guy who’s always yelling “do your JOB or you’re FIRED!” It made me feel attached to him and feel sympathy for him and his situation, and it also made me understand why he was so worked up all the time and where a lot of his anger stems from! 

I like seeing a character grow as a person through showing weaknesses and vulnerability. Found family tropes... or watching the character become liked by others, especially when they’re not used to that kind of thing, is healing to see. It’s different for everyone of course, but this is just what attracts me the most! :]

#paragonrobits #asks #literally... all of my self ship fics involve the characters showing intense vulnerability in one way or another #whether it's like.. crying... or a wound-patching scene... #oh another example making them shippable! making your character show potential romantic interest! #showing how a character would act if they were infatuated with someone gives the audience some material to work with #like... i didn't start liking megatron until i read an canon x reader fic (yes...) and he was written to be somewhat kind/loving #and it gives you perspective on their potential to be Date Material #the idea of a character who you wouldn't consider relationship material suddenly revealing a part of themselves #is a really cool thing to experience especially when it's unexpected!! #thank you for asking me btw i dont think i give very good advice but im flattered you asked :D #also i didnt proofread this im not sure if i made ANY sense its currently 4am LOL