no matter how much I may dislike Riley because he's boring, it doesn't mean he's not a nice guy or that he doesn't have consistency and reasons for all of his actions
Exactly. And of course "boring" is subjective. He's definitely a Square, so he's always going to be more or less interesting to different viewers based upon what they're already into.
But it might be that Riley is boring mostly because the story wasn't told through his perspective. And so a story told through his perspective (such as Walking with Guns (http://www.livejournal.com/users/nwhepcat/447264.html) by nwhepcat can mine aspects of his charcter that can make him more interesting to readers though he's still Squarish.
It can take work - it's a matter of finding issues to work with. I've read your fics and seen where you do this, and it's a good trait to have as a writer.
I wonder sometimes (as in this case), if when people write "bash fic", it's because they honestly see the character as being capable of doing such things. In which case, this means they don't see the character at all, but only themselves projected onto the character. Generally, when people do that, they never even realize they aren't seeing the actual character, which is not only mystifying, but vaguely alarming. Often, stories like this are a window straight into the writer's soul that you'd probably rather not look through.
Definitely the case with the author I got into the argument with. It wasn't like disagreements you and I have had over characterization - where we see similar things, but just go in different directions. This writer couldn't see anything in the character at all beyond what she was projecting, and got upset at the idea that others (including the ME writers) could and would. Enough to write and post a bashfic rectifying her vision, instead of trying to understand what the show was going for.
Ultimately, what gets me going about a story is when you have characters that have multiple motivations, good and bad, and who face circumstances where those motives come into conflict and they have to make choices that reveal how they value things. That's always going to be a good and reliable source of drama that can get lots of people involved on either side.
Reposted due to bad coding...
Exactly. And of course "boring" is subjective. He's definitely a Square, so he's always going to be more or less interesting to different viewers based upon what they're already into.
But it might be that Riley is boring mostly because the story wasn't told through his perspective. And so a story told through his perspective (such as Walking with Guns (http://www.livejournal.com/users/nwhepcat/447264.html) by
It can take work - it's a matter of finding issues to work with. I've read your fics and seen where you do this, and it's a good trait to have as a writer.
I wonder sometimes (as in this case), if when people write "bash fic", it's because they honestly see the character as being capable of doing such things. In which case, this means they don't see the character at all, but only themselves projected onto the character. Generally, when people do that, they never even realize they aren't seeing the actual character, which is not only mystifying, but vaguely alarming. Often, stories like this are a window straight into the writer's soul that you'd probably rather not look through.
Definitely the case with the author I got into the argument with. It wasn't like disagreements you and I have had over characterization - where we see similar things, but just go in different directions. This writer couldn't see anything in the character at all beyond what she was projecting, and got upset at the idea that others (including the ME writers) could and would. Enough to write and post a bashfic rectifying her vision, instead of trying to understand what the show was going for.
Ultimately, what gets me going about a story is when you have characters that have multiple motivations, good and bad, and who face circumstances where those motives come into conflict and they have to make choices that reveal how they value things. That's always going to be a good and reliable source of drama that can get lots of people involved on either side.