Types of Characters That Annoy You

- Cliche characters.
- "lol I'm so random" scene kids.
- "Nobody understands me because I'm emo" characters.
- Characters that think they're the shit but act like they've got low-self esteem for attention.
- Characters with too much angst.
- Basically all characters with annoying personalities in general.

Characters who are "holier than thou" about not liking modern pop bands, wearing makeup/trendy outfits, being a "slut", and so on. It's particularly worse when authors write them in a way that puts them in the right for having that kind of attitude. Sorry, but liking things that aren't popular among your peers is not a likable character trait in of itself. And just because you challenge popular opinions doesn't automatically make your character respectable and mature.

A cast of all white straight characters. Put some diversity in there maybe?

Slash/femmeslash stories where the two in love are emo. No. Stop. And there's always that blonde bitchy cheerleader or sporty guy that's in love with one of them. I hate stereotypes like that in stories.

I don't know if this is a type of character or more of a "way the narrative treats characters" thing, but I can't stand when a character is portrayed as a hero by the narrative (and usually by the other characters) when they do nothing to actually earn the title of hero. These sorts of characters are usually underdeveloped Mary Sues/Marty Stus, so there's that as well.

Katie Mosing:

Characters that everyone loves for no reason at all. Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy comes to mind.

Agreed. The specific type of characters that everyone loves that annoy me are the ones that try to hard to be quirky. The character that comes to mind is Abby from NCIS. She drives me insane.

Shoehorned OC's in Harry Potter fanfictions (and roleplays) that are related to everyone, or at least friends with everyone, and just generally intolerable (see Ariana Black). I've had characters that were related to existing characters in HP that weren't somehow the connecting link between every-freaking-body.

Also, another HP pet-peeve, but I think it's a general one in fan fiction, but characters (especially female ones) that derive their entire identity from who they're related to drive me insane. Oh boohoo, you're Draco Malfoy's cousin, would you kindly stop whining and make a life for yourself? That would be great.

I absolutely despise lead male characters who are so unironically absorbed in their own self and all of their own little quirks and they think they're the bee's knees, and then they go around putting down other people (mainly women because of course all women are "bitches" and all of that shit). I'm currently reading a book (a published novel, somehow) with a narrator exactly like this, and I literally want to throw it across the room half the time. I don't quite understand all the blanket statements about hating female characters - badly-written female characters are everywhere (and a lot of it results from nasty stereotyping and pigeonholing women into becoming specific tropes), but that doesn't mean we can't write women well and turn it around.

Characters that completely lose all characterisation the author has created JUST because they fall in love annoy me so much. This strong, independent female character turns into this overly-emotional, weak, dependent character because now they have a man and clearly they can no longer be strong. I don't know why authors would purposely destroy everything that made that female character in favour for a relationship. Why can't women be strong and independent AND madly in love? Do they not exist? Really?

Characters that get away with being awful and abusive just because they're the main character. They usually are given 'reasons' as to why this action/reaction is 'okay' in the story, but it just feels like ugliness.

The I'm blonde, drop dead gorgeous, and have a athletic boyfriend character that turns out to be b*tchy and mean to the main character in any high school set story.