when all of a character& #39;s motivation revolves around a single goal and they fail. or they succeed but the results are actually so horrible that they regret everything they& #39;ve done and blame themselves for the outcome. https://twitter.com/jespergayhey/status/1292713304146628609">https://twitter.com/jespergay...

characters who seem happy or put together, but because of trauma/ repression, are actually terrible at regulating their emotions, and they either don& #39;t realize it, or are in denial about it, as they slowly start falling apart due to worsening circumstances.

codependent characters who martyr and/or self-destruct together.

also, two characters who, because they& #39;ve never had, or recently lost, all significant affirmative relationships, immediately become emotionally codependent. they either don& #39;t realize until it& #39;s too late, or can& #39;t stop despite knowing better. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😌" title="Erleichtertes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Erleichtertes Gesicht">

this is an extension of the first, but i just really love characters who don& #39;t realize they& #39;ve been set up to fail, especially if they& #39;re very good at what they do and prideful about it, *especially* if they built their identity around it

like... & #39;everything was screwed from the start, the game was rigged and there was no way to win& #39; is another trope i love, whether it& #39;s applied to a character or a whole story.

ALSO, alternatively, when there& #39;s focus on a relatively small event in the past that completely changed everything, to evoke the feeling of & #39;if only we had done things differently, all of this could have been avoided, but now it& #39;s too late& #39;