Let's talk about Love Interests!

Mm, I don't have a set type, but I know what traits I like. A kind heart, even if they're a bit gruff. Positive attitude. Confidence - don't even get me started on confidence seriously guys if a character has confidence, even if they're obnoxiously full of themselves coughCaptainMorgancough, if it's well founded I FORGIVE EVERYTHING. I don't know why, I think I'm just insecure and it's nice seeing those characters who don't need someone to tell them that they're brilliant or brave or handsome or strong.

I also like leaders, because I enjoy supporting them and watching them succeed, and extroverts who'll get me to socialize.

I do like confidence, which may be why I have a fondness for zee manwhores. They're always really confident that I want to sleep with them (and they are, of course, entirely correct).

Heehee, I like the flirty ones too as long as I don't feel objectified (as you pointed out, they are usually in possession of that much-beloved confidence). Though to bed me they'd have to work really, really hard - it's all too easy to scare me off. Tread delicately, approach cautiously, give me plenty of time to warm up to you. :3

And maybe I'll say yes. Maybe.

Depends for me, sometimes I'm all TOOT TOOT ALL ABOARD the instant they show interest, sometimes I am much more reluctant. Depends on my mood!

I don't like it when people touch me in RL so I get really picky sjfkdh

Like, in an otome game, though I might think the emotional romance in a guy's route was super cute and I swear there were little hearts floating around my head, I can only think of one character where anything more than hand-holding didn't make me squick. o-o

My first-ever crush was Link from The Legend of Zelda, and you know, I can't explain it. My first exposure to the Legend of Zelda was the first game, so he was a collection of pixels, not the gorgeous man of more recent games. I think the story of the series grabbed me - the young man plucked from obscurity and fighting like hell to save the princess - it was my first in-depth involvement with a story like that, so my imagination gave him a personality that I kinda fell in love with. And the crush endures to this day, both with the games and the character--I have a feeling it's born out of nostalgia as much as anything else. Though the fact that they have made him really f-ing handsome in Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword helps quite a bit. ;)

As far as my type - I think I said this earlier, but didn't give any examples: I always fall for the smartass. Balthier from Final Fantasy XII, Souji Okita from Hakuoki, and Sun Ce and Sima Zhao from the Warriors series. I also think I'm required to develop a crush on anyone voiced by Doug Erholtz, because there's no other reason why I should have things for Squall Leonhart, Cao Pi, and Vega all at the same time.

Also, you know those crushes you get that aren't really romantic and/or physical in nature, but someone is just so damn adorable that you want to hug them all the time? Friendcrush, maybe. Is that a thing? I get those a lot. Tails, Junpei, Yosuke... I need to stop playing Persona games. Or play them a lot more.

Squall was my first video game crush. All that delicious, delicious messed-up conflict between his cold, aloof jerkface persona and the seething ball of insecurity and abandonment issues and desperate needy need to be loved that he's hiding underneath it.

FFVIII may or may not have been a formative influence on my taste in fictional men, come to think of it.

Also: Auron.

Unrelated, but also inspired by Rapunzel's post: I'd watched the Persona 4 anime in Japanese not all that long before I played Hakuoki, and it took me a bit to stop hearing Yosuke's voice coming out of Okita's mouth. That was funny.

Yuri Lowenthal would be a good fit to voice him in English. Him or Quinton Flynn would nail it.

Yeah, I am the exact opposite, I am a touchy person (not with like ... people I barely know or anything, mind you) and have always been very snuggly with the various dudes in my life. So sometimes I get all STOP BEING A TEASE AND KISS ME, YOU ASSHOLE. :P

THIS!

I am a cuddly person by nature, which was probably why my first relationship ended.
He was very cold and reserved, which is just fine in most people but it really killed our chemistry since I'm such a cuddle-bug.

This is actually why Keith is my favorite from Be My Princess.

Keith also does another thing related to this that I liked a lot:

Funny story - I have never liked yandere characters. I am all over other types of hidden dark side, but having it expressed in that particular way has never appealed to me. As much as I like messed-up and messy fictional relationships, I tend to want more of a promise of things possibly eventually working out in a more healthy fashion, or something, I think.

And then I happened to obtain Shinsengumi Mokuhiroku Wasurenagusa v6 for... research purposes... and I discovered that I will make an exception to the above if it involves Morikawa Toshiyuki whispering in my ear in keigo.

So that's a discovery I am not at all sure how I feel about.

And then I totally forgot I'd loaded the tracks onto my mp3 player and took it to work to listen to music on randomizer and let me tell you that was really awkward.

Haha, that happened to me too. I had earphones, so I think it was okay, but boy, I froze for a moment there.

Types that I would give a chance:

3 'deres:
Tsundere (I love tsunderes. Maybe because there are less tsundere male LIs than female LIs). They need to have large 'dere side, though.
Kuudere (not feeling this one usually).
Yandere (Yes, I really like this one. I've only found Dia Lovers to be the exception to this, and it's supposed to be a whole game about liking Yanderes. I think that game was a fail aside from the squick feelings it induced in me).

Edit: Anxifera, you're right, they are Do-S, now that I think about it. Great, I still like my yandere trope wholeheartedly!

Occupations:

Top Three:
1. Doctor
2. Teacher
3. Chef/Cook
Military man wearing sexy hat
Lawyer
Accountant (:D)
Man wearing sexy hat
Office boss (I like men with power /feels shallow)
Ninja/Prince ( > _ > Curse you, LP threads!)
Actors
Musicians
Superstars
Dancers

Other types:

Shota-ish characters (I really go for them if they're tsundere as well), Genki characters with a dark side, Arrogant jerks with a heart of gold, Cold guys who secretly care about you, Aloof genius with the violin, piano, some-obscure-sword-style (La Corda's Himizu), Strict guys who have the probability of being tsun or a sense of humor (Hijikata Toshirou!), Manipulative guys who can use their looks to get what they want (Sougo Okita!), the Guy that is always nice to you (and mean to rivals >_>), Competitive guy that knows when to compete and when to compromise, Athletic guys (SHIBA!!), do-M type guy...

The list goes on. I like everybody, usually. I have a big heart, okay?

Question: If you like guys with issues, are you alright with them being self-resolved or do you prefer completely fixing them yourself?

I'm kind of mixed on this. I'm trying to write background stories for characters for two games I'm planning and apparently most of my guys have some sort of familial issue. (Sometimes I create an entire character just from a line in a book/manga hinting at some sort of emotional problem. What is wrong with me) And so far, two of the characters I've decided on require healing the surface wound but got over the traumatic bit themselves. They're both capable people so I think it makes contextual sense. Kind of like, they can put the right socks on the right foot but whether the socks match or not is a different matter.

But:
-then trying to show the background story is awkward without employing the use of flashback or the character just plain telling you what happened. Are you guys okay with those techniques? I read somewhere that you should avoid the flashback move as much as possible. I really need to use it for one of my characters (not the two mentioned above)

-there's something so satisfactory about having the entire project guy to yourself. I hate special snowflake scenarios though. Like, oh this guy is your fated person decreed by fate since 1000 years before so you're going to be instantly attracted to him despite having no reason to and it'll be mutual for him and here, make out now. Once or twice, it feels special and can be done well but since every story online (I mean, on sites such as wattpad) has turned into that (and a lot of fantasy romance stories in bookstores as well), it just gets annoying. But then people feel like anybody could have been in the partner position if coincedences happened correctly. I enjoy 'not soulmates but you're probably the best person for that guy to end up with'. I'm diverging from my point.

edit: Reader of Books, I don't remember if I've said this already but reading through your posts here: Are you me?

I think I include the family issue background story too much. Or just issues in general. What other types of background stories do you find interesting? Do characters need a specific gambit to make them interesting? (Opposite ex. Tamao in TMGS3 is considered boring because he doesn't have anything going besides nice, smart, slight sis-con, etc)

For me, I never care about a love interest's background unless they bring it up themselves or it just comes up. I like to just focus on what's in front of me. Which is why I tend to get blindsided when an ex shows up, or if their family is evil, or if they're actually a tree.

To be fair, DiaLovers isn't about yandere, it's about Do-S. The only yandere is Kanato, though one might argue he's a yangire.

Oh boy, that series. My friend gave me all the CDs for Christmas. How did they get that T-rating?

A-Am I? I've never had a doppelganger before....

Should we just start sounding off our favorite fictional LIs and see how many overlap or-

To answer your questions, though: If a guy has issues, for me to romantically like him he can't be a debbie-downer about it. I'm attracted to guys I can look up to, so I wouldn't get that special spark from someone who lets his past or present or (lack of) future drag him down. That doesn't mean I wouldn't reject him as a friend, though.

So I guess I prefer it if the guy solves his problems for himself. I would want to support him, certainly (I love being someone people can lean on), and if he asked for my opinion on the matter I'd be happy to share, but ultimately I want to see him overcome his issues through his own decisions and actions. And hoo boy, if that happens, I'd be smitten.

And I find any and all backgrounds interesting as long they're done well. =)

I find very few characters that fill the bills, so I'm happy if three of my favorite traits are there :

For men :
* Very tall and manly body (I just... don't like the standard bishonen body).
* Older guy (maybe around 45-50 or more)
* Sweet and shy, blushes a lot
* A stubble or a beard <3
* Mostly a loner but enjoy company and friends
* Either is a writer or loves to read
* Likes cats.

For women :
* Short hair, piercings, tattoos...
* Deadpan sense of humor (it's even better if the protag can snark back)
* Dynamic and strong willed
* Has an artistic hobby like painting, sculpting, music...
* Confortable with her body image (God, YES)
* Will fight to protect what's important to her.
* Likes cats.

I like when the MC helps the Love Interests in dealing with stuff, but I kinda hate the entire "ONLY YOUR LOVE CAN SAVE ME" plot. I mean, what, can't you do anything on your own? I like love interests who can at least handle themselves. I'm okay with everything being better because the MC helps them, but not with having everything on the MC shoulders.

I think the most important thing is having a character who can answer to the question "Why I should care about you".
Masaki in TMGS2 doesn't have anything particular going on, but he's nice, funny and likes horror movies, it's the "big brother" type, and that is how his introduction and his relationship with Daisy develops even as friends, so he works smoothly for me . While Morimura has family issues and a background, but when he's presented he appears as the "cute, nice shy boy who likes flowers" type and moved on. I never bothered about his background, because I heard about it from other people and it was rather cliche.
So I think it is important if I like a character and I want to know more about him/her, or if the background is so interesting that I go for that particular guy/girl because someone told me that his/her route was good.

Madarame is awesome. I couldn't bring myself to ship him with Kasukabe - because I liked her and Kosaka - but I'm all for him and "that-crossdress-guy-whose-name-I-never-remember".


Meanwhile, I played ME2 and while there are a lot of interesting romance, there is an old brilliant scientist who worked as a secret agent of sort, loves to sing, loves arts and whose personal quest involves ethic, philosophy... (and some stupid plotholes but shh)



Let me platomance the hell out of you, Mordin! ME2 does nothing but not letting me romance anyone because of gender or people friendzoning me. (Which might be a good thing, some of the romance arcs kinda makes their relationship a bit less complex.)

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7440992/1/Sense_and_Flexibility

I've only read the first chapter but so far so good. I'll just be leaving this here.

Agreed with this. I mean, helping each other is part of what love is about. It's just when the help is too shallow and the problem solving can be summarized as "because ~LOVE~" that it annoys me.

Ok - Not even kidding... There are a couple of flaws in that fanfic I posted (typos and repeated phrasings), but other than that... damn. It is really, really good. ALL of the feels.

AHEM. MANGA VERSION OF UTA NO PRINCE SAMA CHAPTER 4. IT'S SO INANE. And I was looking forward to that character!

Well, it is UtaPri. I don't really go into it expecting depth. /ducks for cover

Yes but it got an honorable mention on manga fox. Ugh. And I just. That was an awful chapter: ''MY FATHER DARES TRY TO PLAN OUT MY LIFE!? ON A PIECE OF PAPER?" Hello, he let you go to your dream school for 2 years and backed off as soon as he heard your music. Planning out a child's school career is a good idea. No time is wasted (I don't consider classes of interest as 'wasted') and at least you have a back up plan. Also, "I'm in love with you because you said one sentence passively supporting me." and "My love for you was the solution to my problem not a decent parent child relationship!"

Okay, done ranting.

Ahahaha I know exactly who you're talking about XD Yea, the reasons why people like Haruka(??? I don't remember) don't really get much better, from what I remember.... I just tag along for the cute boys doing cute things.

So here I am playing Dragon Age Origins for the first time. I like to have a rough plan before I start games like this, and I went in thinking "Okay, I'll play as a good person and I'll romance, uh..." (One wiki glance later) Zevron, I guess? Sure. Whatever."

But then I started playing and Alistair began to successfully romance me? What the hell man, you're ruining my grooooooove! And then he

and now I guess I have to break up with Zevron even though I had finally played enough to get him just yesterday.
Damn you Alistair. Damn you. I thought you were my broski.

You're so ending up as a mushroom risotto.

Alistair is cool, but I...grown out of him? I have the same problem both with him and Leliana, they have one (or two) really good moments but otherwise I don't really like them as love interests.

XD
Really? I have a soft spot for humorous dorks so I'm ridiculously conflicted over what amounts to a subplot in the game. If Zevron is the better overall LI then I suppose I could continue with him for now. There's just so many games I have on my To Play list (including Dragon Age 2) that I don't really want to spend time doing another playthrough anytime soon.
Hmmm...

I like more Zevran and Morrigan because, personally, I find their character arc - along with their romance - more compelling. They're both relationships you have to work harder for, and they have a soft side which is really nice to see. And they are more my type.

I won't say any of them is the better LI, it depends on your taste. Just wondering, which origin did you chose?

I do like Morrigan a lot, I wouldn't call her a good person but I do think she's an interesting person. I almost wish I had decided to play a male character. I'm a human female noble. Does that change things? Hahaha, I have no idea what I am doing./runs around killing things

Only who you can romance and sometimes how Morrigan, why wouldn't you love me as a woman.
The killing part is good! XD

My opinions on DAO LIs:

EDIT: I didn't initially realize my feelings were so intense, but I have played that game six times because I am a completionist.

I find that the most emotionally charged and easy to RP backgrounds were Male Noble Dwarf, Dalish Elf (of any gender), and Human Noble (of any gender). I don't recall gender having too much impact on enjoyment of the game.

I really liked the City Elf origin, mostly because the protagonist loses his old life but not entirely, and the Alienage part later was moving - if you weren't an asshole. It also gave you something to return to.
I also like the Mage one, but mostly because it was the first one I played. And because of [REDACTED].

Out of spoilers:

But I get to be a cute, giant spider! D:

You don't really need to put [redacted] within your spoilers.

Says the person reading the spoilers with no knowledge of this game.

Isn't the vanilla Zevran romance kind of bugged? I dunno, I never went through his track without his mods, but that was the impression I got from forums.
I played through the first time with a human female noble romancing Alistair too, and then when I went back to the game a while later armed with mods, I have to say my male dalish elf romancing Zevran was my favorite. I tried playing with a female dalish elf afterwards but... for some reason, I preferred my dude dalish. I'm not sure why. And I don't even find Zevran that attractive.

And then going into Dragon Age 2, I found both Anders and Fenris attractive, but their romances were total snorefests and more other stuff... but that's neither here nor there. /personalopinion

Mods, eh? I haven't tried looking for any of those. I probably won't use any for this playthrough (I don't know if they'd mess with my saves or something) but maybe next time.

As for Dragon Age 2, feel free to share your opinion. I'm probably going to be playing that next...and should I look for mods for it?

From what I know, DA2 doesn't need mods to fix any bug - there are a few bugs but they aren't fixable because it involves import flags.
DA:O and DA:A instead really need them, to fix some sidequest and dialogues.

Mod don't mess the saves from what I know, they carry on into Awakening without problems.

I know, but then I thought "Hey, what if someone can't resist the spoilers,. I'm not going to give away stuff!"
I'm going to fix it.