Types of stories that resonate most with you

[Ottservia]

If there’s one type of story that I will always defend no matter what, it’s the type where bonds are the true path to strength. I simply love stories that tackle that idea of what it means to have a friend. To have a bond to treasure. To have someone by your side when you need them most. To be able to share your pains and burdens with someone else. I love stories that tackle ideas like that because to me that’s just one of the most meaningful messages you can give a person. The fact that you’re not alone.

so what about you all? Any messages in stories that you just find yourself gravitating towards for one reason or another?

[coldhand25]

Hmm, I don't know if it counts as a message, but I really like stories where the main character has a development by realizing that not everything is black and white, there are more to thing than just them being bad or good. Or simply, the ones where they have a real hard vibe reality check. Like, realizing they have trusted someone they shouldn't have all along, or realizing they are not the ones that suffer the most. Where they simply become more mature and serious, by having witness something really bad. Or have something bad happen to them, or someone they care about.

I know in most stories it's simply done by putting in a plot-device character. Now, that's a pretty cheap way to do it. But when it's really well done, it's just so good to see how something can change the world view of someone.

[Topaz Light]

I think for me personally, I tend to really like stories with a grounded but ultimately compassionate view of humans, showing us as flawed creatures capable of terrible evil, but great good as well, and still worthwhile despite everything. This is admittedly really broad, and it's not, like, a genre or anything. I guess I just like stories that fully acknowledge the bad in the world but that are still ultimately compassionate and optimistic in tone anyway. I'd say Final Fantasy VII and Mother 3 both have stories fitting that description, but they're certainly not the only examples or necessarily the best.

[Yexin]

i tend to like stories where villains are not depicted as purely evil, showing their human and positive side, yet not forgiven purely for these factors, or because the consumer must feel attachment to them; by the same logic, i like when the main characters' actions are questioned, presenting how the villain's purpose might even bring more positivity than negativity

more generally, i like happy endings (NieR:Automata, many Trails games and Your Name, to name a few)

Edited June 8, 2020 by Yexin

[Anathaco]

I enjoy stories where the protagonist or the characters discover or rediscover their purpose in life. Those are the types of stories that resonate with me the most.

[Silver-Haired Maiden]

In a general sense of the word I love redemption stories and also found family stories. It's even better if the story is both.

I always prefer a happy ending.

[null]

Some of my favorite stories are those in which the main character(s) have issues or flaws that they deal with as their story progresses. I'm not a fan of characters who always do the right thing or make the correct choice because it's not nearly as relatable or interesting.

[whase]

I really enjoy hard magic systems, like Avatar the Last Airbender and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. I like thinking about uses of this magic within the rules set by the story.

Also shows that have an episode in which they acknowledge living without that show after it ends, lines like
- "Things change Beastboy"
and
- "Summer ends Mabel"
really tend to hit me.

[Komatsu]

I think it very much depends on the medium.

When it comes to TRPGs, I very much like stories with some degree of moral ambiguity, which is why I absolutely love Matsuno's games (FFT, Tactics Ogre, etc.). A story that mixes lighthearted moments with tragedy and pathos can be very powerful. FE16 does this very well (see example below- MAJOR FIRE EMBLEM THREE HOUSES SPOILER, beware).

 

Spoiler

For example, if you had recruited Annette before facing Gilbert in Crimson Flower, he bellows out, desperate: "Oh Goddess, why have you forsaken me?" and this is one of the strongest moments in the game.

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by Komatsu

[Sidereal Wraith]

My tastes are rather eclectic when it comes to the stories that resonate with me. Currently I'm about to start reading The Death Dealer series by Frank Frazetta and James Silke. I'm interested in following any characters that fit into the Kane archetype (immortal, morally questionable) and Gath of Baal seems to fit that mold. Tempus Thales from Thieves' World is another such character who has caught my interest in how Janet Morris writes him in her novellas and novels. Also, the fact that Thieves' World is an anthology series with stories written by a number of famous fantasy/science fiction authors from the 70s and 80s makes me happy that I'll be reading many different stories with different styles to them set in the same world, similar to the MCU. 

Edited June 9, 2020 by Wraith

[Perfect Infinitive Exitus]

I like stories, that deal with concepts like the absolute and relativity, hopelessness, delusion and the creation of new value based on events, often not distinguishing between hero and villain, instead letting the individual decide for themselves, what to take away from it.

An example would be, in which the protagonist is unable to escape from often self inflicted horrors, that not just them but also the world has to deal with e.g. Pandoras box, the story of Original sin or other lighthearted actions which result in an absolute horror of consequences, when it was just a little thing one couldlve left alone, if it wasn't for desire, often changing the entire world in the process.

I am also more a fan of mythological/metaphorical works, than quite literal storytelling, as they offer more room for interpretation, than just one.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by Perfect Infinitive Exitus
completeness and errors

[Samven]

I like a lot of character-driven stories.  I find that, the bigger the scope of a story, the harder it can be to really connect on emotional level sometimes.  Everyone lives in a planet and should probably like very much for the planet to not be incinerated but fighting to stop their home from being burned down doesn't really say all that much about a character beyond the fact that they like their stuff un-burninated.

Something that's very personal, that gets really mashed-up with character motivations, that tends to do it more for me.  It doesn't even have to be all that serious and dramatic, it just needs to be something that really shows us the characters growing as people.  I just think that's neat.

[Hawkwing]

I suppose I could say stories that make me think, but that is super broad and difficult to predict.

For something more specific, I would say that I very much enjoy de/re-constructions. Not the "In real life, the hero of this genre would be a bloodthirsty psychopath" or the "it's grey morality because both sides have noble goals, but one side kicks puppies and the other punches kittens" kind of "deconstructions" but rather the "this is what it would take in order for this trope/setup to actually work" as well as "these are the consequences that would logically result from this kind of story" kind of stories.

Batman Begins is an excellent example of what I am talking about. Even before Bruce begins to think of donning the cowl, we are shown what kind of people his parents were and why their deaths affected him so much, what spurs him to decide to fight crime and adopt his one rule, how he got his training, and why he decided to go with a bat themed costume. We are also shown were Batman gets all his fancy toys and how he set up the Batcave, as well as how he plans missions. Even the unrealistic parts of the movie are still applied in a way that makes sense if such elements really did work that way.

Shortened version; I enjoy stories that pay attention to why the tropes and archetypes it utilizes are taking place, what it would take to set up such things, and what their logical consequences would be. Even in fantasy or futuristic settings, I love getting the sense that creatures, technologies, and magic exist in their own right and act in ways established with the setting instead of being there simply for the sake of the plot, and that the story acknowledges both the good and bad applications of such things

 

On a less descriptive note, I also enjoy "grey morality" stories where certain players have a higher moral ground than others, but no one holds it completely, which makes things interesting. Where there is undoubtedly a "most heroic" or "noble" faction or character that can often be relied on to do the right thing, but you shouldn't place all your chips on them doing so all the time but not always. And conversely, even the more despicable side still have their virtues and reasons for why they are the way they are. I like having something to root for while also knowing that not everything is black and white.

[Plegian Spy]

Honestly, the type of story that resonates with me the most, are the ones in which the "hero" loses. That may sound downright evil and bad, but let be explain. Realistically, at least for me in this case, I've had moments in which I've done the right thing and lose either way. Usually when this happens I question if I was really doing the right thing this whole time. The goal of these stories is to teach you to stop doubting yourself and don't give up. Something I still haven't completely conquered. They show you how a loss isn't the end.

 

For now, while playing Fire Emblem, I've seen this type of story being played out in one of the routes of Three Houses. Arguably two. I'm hoping while I continue playing more Fire Emblem, I may continue seeing this type of story being told. 

[Samz707]

I guess just ones with characters I can really get invested in, I'm generally not too picky on what stories, I've loved wacky ones with a party of adventurers (Konosuba), I've enjoyed kinda dark ones about futility (Pathologic) and I've enjoyed pretty much excuse plots. (Such as the PS1 Tomb Raider games.)

I also like plots with somewhat evil/morally grey protagonists but it is also kinda has to be deliberate to actually work for me, a story starring a somewhat conflicted individual is fun while a campy adventure that has a protagonist that is ment to be a loveable generic hero but completely unintentionally comes off as a completely horrible person (Such as the Shepards in Awakening for various reasons, such as the adult women marrying the clearly underage Ricken..) that I'm actually supposed to think of as a "True" Hero royally annoy me and also "Gritty" stories that actually just translate to blood and guts everywhere to be "Mature" such as Tomb raider 2013 also annoy me.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Samz707

[Lord-Phalus]

Definitely the sad and tragic ones. I couldn't really say why... 

By that I doesn't mean that the story have to end in a bad way. Actually I usually prefer a good end, despite the tragedy factor.