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What makes a character meaningful to you?

I've been sort of reflecting on this a bit recently, maybe for obvious reasons to some of you. We all probably have our share of characters in fiction who we hold pretty close, for one reason or another. My question is the pattern around or the reasoning behind that. Do the characters you like the most have anything in common? Do they share a similar trope or character arc? Do they resonate on a more personal level? Are they inspiring? Or just humorous? What do you tend to look for in characters for them to be special to you?
 
For me, I resonate with characters who are inspirational to me.

I began in my early years with Samus, she was capable and brave and at that point in my life I wanted that strength to get through the rough times I was going through. So I tried to find that strength in myself.

More recently I have Milla Maxwell, who I also find inspirational. She has incredible determination both physically and mentally and I so wish I could find that degree of it in myself.

There aren't many other characters that I can say are inspirational to me, I lost Samus after Other M but gained Milla and I'm happy with that. More traditional characters don't really do anything special enough for me.
 
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TheGreatCthulhu

Composer of the Night.
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Depends. Mostly I like characters that aren't flat, but for a specific character type, it's kinda difficult for me to pin down. I like villains, protagonists, anti-heroes, classic heroes and such.

Mostly it's being a character being a leader and being proactive, If I was to nail down a character trait.
 

Sheikah_Witch

I just really like botw
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Some of my favorite fictional caracters are: Alexandra Roivas, Aya Brea, Samus Aran, Terra Branford, Minoo Falk Karimi, Luna Lovegood, Dahlia Hawthorne, Morgana, Sans, Yukiko Amagi and Light Yagami.

There's a bit of an over-representation of blonde and badass women (Alexandra, Aya, Samus, Terra and Luna (Who's badass in her own way!)). So I guess characters I can identify myself with is something I'm drawn to.

I also like ballistic sociopaths for some reason. (Dahlia, Morgana, Light) mostly because I find them fascinating and compelling if they're well written.

Yukiko and Minoo are both cool and friendly and someone you would love as a friend in real life.

And Sans is just funny.
 
Characters who symbolize something far greater than just themselves really appeals to me. Kaiser in Lord of Magna wasn't like a particularly well-written character in the context of the game but his situation just implied so much outside of what was stated, and I really liked that about him. A handful of Hollow Knight characters I hold very close to me and a lot of them aren't directly characterized due to the storytelling method of the game, but they run so deep, and what they represent on a larger scale resonates with me on such a personal level.

I tend to be drawn to tragic characters most often; a lot of my favorites can fit that description pretty well. Kaiser as mentioned above, Berkut from Fire Emblem Echoes, Traitor Lord from Hollow Knight... The Hollow Knight from Hollow Knight.

On a less personal and more memey note, I also really like asshole-ish characters like Gangrel from Fire Emblem Awakening or Ridley from Metroid. But my attachment to them is more superficial and is more based on their charm than anything.
 

Vanessa28

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It depends. To me it's more the mystery behind some characters. It can be the villain or the hero or maybe just the "nobody" who plays a minor part. I like the characters of Palpatine/Sidious and the Witch-King of Angmar. They're mysterious. There is something about them what makes them such interesting characters. Or even a character like Shad in TP. He talks a lot and interacts with Link the most. We know his reasons and that he wants to continue his father's quest and research. But still he's an interesting character. Especially because his story isn't finished in game because he was sent away by Link . And we probably never know but can only guess. This is what makes me so interested in characters like Shad. What's their tale?
 

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