[ SECRET POST #4701 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4701 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 22 secrets from Secret Submission Post #673.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think there's anything objective about it. We like what we like.

To me, complex means they have a range of sympathetic qualities and flaws. They don't fit neatly in a good guy/bad guy dichotomy. But that's just my definition and preference, and of course we all have a different idea about what makes a character complex.

[ninefox]

I pretty much agree with you about what makes for complexity, although that's exactly why I think it's more objective. It's not that hard to enumerate traits and classify them as flaws/strengths/other. Even if edge cases are hard to call, the specific criterion of "many, some of each" smoothes out some of the noise.

And I think what gets called "fascinating" or "compelling" is generally 1) those flaws and sympathetic qualities being in tension with one another, instead of just..there 2) those flaws and sympathetic qualities being connected/reflections/exaggerations of each other and 3) a particular suite of flaws and sympathies being one I haven't seen a million times already.

[(Anonymous)]

Oooh yes to 1 & 2. Well-said.

If 1 & 2 are done well enough, I don't care about 3.

[ninefox]

to be fair, there are some 1&2 characters that I will ALWAYS love even the million-and-first time, but there's definitely others that are objectively well-crafted but that I'm just heckin sick of. (Tortured masculinity types, mostly.) And there's people for whom version 1,000,001 is the first time THEY'VE seen it, and it blows their socks off.

#3 is definitely a YMMV thing, but I do think it's relevant to like, What Catches On overall and gets a lot of attention and praise AS "fascinating." people like their old standards, but people also really like novelty. Things that feel fresh are going to get more like, meta posts and analysis because not all the threads have been untangled yet, and that sort of thing.

[silverr]

I think you've put this very well, and I agree with all of it!

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, very much seconding everything you've said ITT.