Post #2172645
2026-05-06 08:54 UTC
This is a calculated choice to write characters who are unlikeable but not the enemy.
In cosy fantasy, this is not a popular move. In a great deal of cosy fantasy, the 'good guys' are all the nicest people you've ever met, even if they're gruff, or do scary things out-of-sight and to bad guys only.
I want some love for the people who maybe kinda suck. Who are annoying, or pathetic, or obsequious, or self-absorbed.
It's more fun to befriend or redeem those characters. I hope readers agree!
Replies (2)
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@vicorva@mastodon.art 2026-05-06 08:57
Tombtown is not cosy fantasy, and that's why Smythe and Usther are particular extremes of this. 😅 I don't think I could get away with them in something genuinely meant to be cosy. But their arcs are super satisfying and I wouldn't have Tombtown without them. Usther became a primary protagonist in Book 2, even!
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@antongorlin@mastodon.art 2026-05-06 10:38
@vicorva I like it when the characters are believable. Perfect not at all flawed ones... are not haha.