this post was submitted on 21 May 2025
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Original question by: @[email protected]

Have you ever read a novel, comic, manga, watched a movie, play, TV show etc., and you found yourself invested in a side character? Ever cared for and felt more intrigued by that side character than the mains? If so, what character was it and what are some.things that make you so interested in them?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 18 hours ago

Barclay from Star Trek TNG. I didn't know why at the time. I liked him a lot but everyone on the show was very annoyed with him.

Then I grew up and got diagnosed with anxiety and probably autism, which is basically his main character traits. So, yeah. That's why little me liked him.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 23 hours ago

Comfortable Doug.

He just gets me.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Mr Bean, and Mike the TV from Reboot

[–] [email protected] 1 points 18 hours ago

Whoa a Reboot mention. Love that show.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Andy from the office. Kill me.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

Gale from Breaking Bad. He was just a geek earning a living and when Jesse went to him at his front door and he said “you don’t have to do this” and BLAM. It really bothered me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Oy. He's like the Sam of the dark tower series. Roland gets his bacon saved by that precious little billy bumbler.

E: ducking autocorrupt is going ham today

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Moneo (GEoD), maybe?

SIAYNOQ! I BELIEVE!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Misha from Katawa Shoujo.
Bubbly and whimsical on the outside while depressed and full of self-doubt on the inside.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Megan from Bridesmaids totally stole every scene she was in for me. Such a fun chaotic character.

Not sure if this counts but Elizabeth from Bioshock Inifite was such a better and more interesting character than Booker. She's not playable so I figure she's a side character even if the entire plot of the game revolves around her.

Also not sure if it counts but Toph from Avatar the Last Airbender is one of my favorite characters in any medium. She's not introduced until partway through season 2 (why she may count) but is part of the core group of main characters (why she might not count).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Ok, Toph is just one of the best characters in fiction, she's fantastic! And yeah, that totally counts.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I'm going to cheat and say that with the exception of everyone's favourite space-racist, most of the side characters from the Mass Effect Trilogy are far more compelling than Commander Shepard.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

This my favorite comment on the Citadel.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

IMO, this is how it should be. Let me apply myself to the main character and learn more about the side characters.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I feel like this was the ultimate sin of Andromeda (a game that sadly had far too many sins)

It had some great combat mechanics (that I hope get ported over to the new one). But the characters are just ultimately so damn forgettable. There's no reason or need to get to know them. And when you're main character is just a nepo-baby, that's a problem.

At the very least they could have made Cora Harper an interesting character as the person who has trained her entire life only to be superceded by said nepo-baby. But nope...she's just immediately cool with it and all you can do is find her a fucking rose garden.

What...a....waste....

The only somewhat interesting characters that should have been fleshed out more was Sloane Kelly, the security chief who led the rebellion and became the head of the exiles. SHE could have had an interesting storyline in an Aria T'loak type of way. But she's just relegated to killing her in order to advance another boring plot.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

And somehow Ash is still more likeable then Kaden. But Kirrahe is the best outside the usable characters.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I've played the trilogy multiple times with multiple different agendas for the character (today I'll be a racist like Ashley. Today I'll be smart-ass, etc...)

And the only hard-and-fast rule is "always...kill...Alenko".

I've actually gotten all the way up to Virmire multiple times with the intention being "okay...not this time." only to have the thought strike me right at the moment of truth that i still have two more games to go with him hanging around and at least the space racist has boobs to distract me.

Poor poor Kaiden.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Gromit. That lil guy is always on it when his owner has no clue.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Gromit is a main character though.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

what is happening with this "manual community bridging"? honest question

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If "manual community bridging" means quoting a post instead of reposting, I'd guess it has something go do with defederation, since a lot of instances have defed from lemmy.ml.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 22 hours ago

oh! I see, thanks. I thought it was only a user movement, it seems I missed that even lots of instances blocked ml recently

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Lieutenant Lopez (Greg Bryk) in first season of The Expanse, barely lasted an episode, wished he had stayed longer.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

In Animal Crossing Wild World I had a white duck in my town that I adored. I don't know why I liked her

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

I get far too attached to all my AC neighbours.b

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Cassidy in the Preacher graphic novels

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Otacon from the MGS series. Always there to help the team, a bit afraid of combat, and a total nerd. My kind of guy.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Tom Bombadill. To the extent that one of my main goals in life is to be as chaotic and inexplicable to people as possible, but benignly so.