Writing Ideas: 170 Character Quirks
Quirk—a peculiar trait; idiosyncrasy; memorable little things about a character’s personality that make them charming, endearing, weird, or unique; can be cute habits; is anything worth describing about a character.
PERSONALITY QUIRKS
Very introverted, quiet and reserved, keeps to themselves
Highly extroverted, loves socializing and meeting new people
Mega control freak who has to have everything their way
Neat freak (often coincides with control freak)
Total slob who never knows where anything is
Super stubborn and will never admit when they’re wrong
Brutally honest and can’t lie to save their life
Extremely judgmental of other people
Short-tempered, especially when irritated
Always patient, even when frustrated
Hilarious or odd sense of humor
Very hard to make them laugh
Loves to eat and is obsessed with food
Loves to drink and is constantly partying
Constantly complains about everything
Extremely loyal and will do anything for their friends/family
Adventurous and willing to try anything
Cautious and careful no matter what
Energetic, hardly ever needs to rest
Sleeps all the time and still gets tired during the day
Horrible sense of direction and constantly gets lost
Overachiever who loves school/structure
Really modest and won’t ever brag about themselves
Extremely emotional and will cry at the drop of a hat
Stoic and detached, rarely shows emotion
Wildcard whose behavior is unpredictable, even to their friends
Notoriously two-faced and will betray anyone
Charismatic and can convince anyone to do their bidding
Very proper and always polite to others
Dates tons of people and has a new boyfriend or girlfriend every week
Obsessive personality — whether it’s a TV show, brand, musical artist, or even another person, they’ll get attached and think/talk about it constantly
PHYSICAL QUIRKS
Unique eye or hair color
Has two different eye colors
Extremely short or tall
Some discerning physical mark — birthmark, freckles, mole, or scar
Wears unusual glasses
Has braces and headgear
Large feet — may mean they’re clumsy
Bites their nails/lips or chews on their hair
Constantly fidgeting and can’t sit still
Acne, eczema, or other skin problems
Many tattoos or piercings
Often sick or has allergies (constantly sniffling/blowing their nose)
Talks very loudly or quietly
Says everything like it’s a question
Terrible breath — may be a coffee drinker
Gets sweaty easily (especially when nervous)
Unusually hairy arms or legs
Very long painted nails
Always wears a faceful of makeup
Has a stutter or other speech impediment
Incessantly clicks a pen
Often tucks their hair behind their ears
Constantly chews gum
Has a toothpick dangling from their mouth
Always picking their teeth
Smokes and has a raspy voice
Breathes heavily or snores
Is extremely muscular
Walks very slowly or quickly
Left-handed or ambidextrous
Constantly scratching themselves
Has some noticeable physical tic, like a twitch
Always wears a distinct item of clothing or accessory — a favorite pair of socks, a lucky jersey, or even a particular shade of lipstick
STRENGTHS/TALENTS
Fantastic cook or baker
Skilled musician (piano, guitar, violin, etc.)
Artistic talent (drawing, painting, sculpting, etc.)
Model athlete (football, hockey, swimming, etc.)
Great at voices/ventriloquy
Can do sleight-of-hand — may be a pickpocket
Speaks multiple languages, even obscure ones
Knows everything about history
Mathematical or scientific genius
Brilliant coder and can hack into any database
Skilled mechanical inventor
Can build or put together anything
Super-quick logical reasoning
Exceptional memory/genius IQ (several of the above might fall under this)
Special connection with animals
Super empathetic and understanding of other people
Extremely fast runner
Contortionist (can twist their body into any shape)
Psychic talent (can predict the future)
Amazing mechanic
Super strength, flying, invisibility or other superpowers
Unusually high tolerance for pain
Survival skills like hunting and fishing
Quick reflexes, acts fast in a crisis
Brave and fearless, not scared of anything
Able to talk their way out of any trouble/invent stories on the fly
WEAKNESSES/NEGATIVE TRAITS
Awful driver
Always running late
Illegible handwriting
Terrible at public speaking
Socially awkward — hard for them to make friends
Has tons of credit card debt from online shopping
Self-destructive and always wants what’s worst for them
Gets blackout drunk every time they go out
Extremely conceited or arrogant
Compulsive liar
Manipulative of friends
Gets jealous over nothing
Often mean for no reason
Unbelievably self-centered
Extremely passive-aggressive
Is a hero who doesn’t like using their superpowers
Arachnophobia (irrational fear of spiders)
Coulrophobia (irrational fear of clowns)
Agoraphobia (irrational fear of leaving the house)
Pantophobia (fear of everything)
COMMONLY USED QUIRKS
Pale skin
Crooked smile
“Intense” stare
Relentless clumsiness
Artificial hair colors that are supposedly natural
Characters thinking they’re unattractive when everyone else thinks they’re beautiful
OTHER QUIRKS
Dresses all in one color
Bedroom is decorated exactly like a Pinterest picture
Won’t drink still water, only sparkling
Refuses to use headphones and blasts their music in public
Always dresses too nicely for the occasion
Walks around barefoot, even in stores and other public places
Hates being inside, sleeps and goes to the bathroom outdoors
Can’t help but look in every mirror they pass
Wears a small plastic backpack everywhere
Preps their meals three weeks in advance
Drinks shots of espresso all day long
Sings opera in the shower
Always sneezes around pets
Has a collection of something mundane
Makes their own (terrible) abstract art and hangs it on their walls
Gets super excited about Christmas and then really depressed in January
Refuses to wear glasses even though they need them
Carries around a secret teddy bear
Has been wearing the same friendship bracelet for three years
Fastidiously lint-rolls all their clothing
Will leave a shop or restaurant if someone walks in with a baby
Extremely superstitious (knocks on wood, avoids the number 13, etc.)
Drops everything other people ask them to hold
Likes to go out dancing by themselves
Prefers to have the lights off or dimmed at all times
Only reads books written before 1900
Only watches movies that get really bad reviews
Always wears multiple sweaters on top of each other
Won’t eat anything that doesn’t have bread (at least on the side)
Thinks they’re a time-traveler from the medieval era
Gives friends and family excellent homemade presents
Leaves the office last every day so they can push all the chairs in
Hates jagged numbers (always fills their gas tank to the dollar, sends emails on the hour, etc.)
Has an imaginary friend they still talk to, even in adulthood
Owns a lizard that they try and use as a guard dog
Listens exclusively to Britney Spears
Leaves little notes in library books for future readers
Uses tissues to hold onto poles on public transportation
Wears their hair in Princess Leia buns
Never goes a day without talking to their mom
Hums “In the Hall of the Mountain King” when they get stressed
Clucks their tongue while walking, so they sound like a horse
Quotes Pulp Fiction all the time
Loves hanging out in completely empty places
Convinced they’re going to die in a freak accident
Grows all their own food in their vegetable garden
Never pays for train or bus tickets
Can recite Shakespearean sonnets
Recycles and eats vegetarian, but only out of guilt
Has a “vision board” posted on their ceiling
Loves the beach but hates swimming
Flicks people in the forehead when they get annoyed
Laughs at everything, even bad jokes
Curates a great Instagram feed of street art
Sources: 1 2
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looking at this panel again made me realize what megumi says here has more implications about him other than his sexuality or preferences. it's about how he views his wants vs. his needs.
Todo asks him about his type. Usually when someone is asked that, they answer with their preference, what they *want*, or *prefer*, like for example Yuuji's answer of a "tall girls with big butts", despite having a history before of not prioritising that like when he liked yuko.
But Megumi answers, not of what he prefers or what he finds attractive (whether physically or personality-wise), he just says what he *needs*. He doesn't have a preference as long as the person's character is unshakable. That's it. That's why Todo found his answer boring.
it's not just because he described a character trait or personality rather than a physical attribute like Todo & Yuuji, but because it was the bare minimum. When you ask someone their type, if they reply "someone with a stable career" you'd find it a bit boring, no? it's not really answering your question of what they want in a partner, what they desire. just what they need. This approach of only looking at what is needed persists through everything Megumi does, not just his type, specifically his career a sorcerer.
He doesn't take more than what he's given, and he forces himself to provide what the situation needs. For example, his sacrifice bunt in the baseball game that Gojo called him out for. He didn't think about what he wanted, but what was needed for the match, and that was to let Nobara advance while he stays behind, so that they overall win the match.
He limits himself like that. That's why Gojo's words of "It's okay to be selfish!" resonated. Because he never let himself take more. He never let himself step out of line.
This goes for his relationship with Gojo, too. he was a teacher, a mentor for him, but he never let himself step out of line to get any closer to him, as opposed to someone like Yuuji or Yuuta who interact with Gojo freely without any barriers between them. To him, he needs Gojo as a mentor and nothing else, and never let himself entertain the idea of wanting to be closer to him. throughout the conversations and interactions between Megumi and Gojo, there is a sense of distance that not even Gojo has with Yuuta and Yuuji, despite the barriers Gojo put up. Yuuji and Yuuta are both close to Gojo in the sense that they let themselves depend on Gojo and express themselves freely, able to talk about things other than jujutsu. but there isn't anything like that with Megumi. he always speaks to him formally despite 10 years of knowing each other and he's never spoke to him about anything other than jujutsu. to Megumi, Gojo is a teacher and mentor strictly and nothing else. not an adult he could depend on or someone he could confide in.
This goes for Toji, too. To him, he thinks doesn't need his father because he left him, that's why he doesn't care. even if he wanted to grow up with a stable caretaker in his life.
When Gojo first provided him with the two "choices" of training under him or being with the Zenin clan, he didn't think to ask if there was a third option where he just doesn't become a sorcerer. obviously this is because when you're like 6 years old and you're provided with two options, you don't think to entertain a third secret option, especially when you're talking to someone you don't even know, but this mindset of just taking what life gives you without question or defiance is largely why megumi didn't really thrive, especially in such a selfish environment like jujutsu sorcery where you need to overstep to succeed. only when he let go of those limitations (CH. 58) was he able to take selfishly.
His dream in 266 tells you this in full clarity. what he wanted was a simple and domestic life away from jujutsu sorcery. but he knew he didn't have the authority to really demand that from gojo, so he settled for what he needed, which was his sister's happiness.
this attitude of his likely resulted from the fact he grew up having everything taken away from him (his mother, his father, and even his stepmother) along with the fact that he grew up in poverty, so he didn't feel like he had any sort of authority to want things. he saw it as a luxury he wasn't allowed.
(interesting that the only time he has expressed a want, went against life and actually stepped out of line and made a decision out of a selfish need, is when he wanted to save yuuji.)
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So so indebted to u for posting those lovely illustrations from Cyrano <333 & even more so for yr tags!! I'm completely in love w yr analysis, please feel free to ramble as long as u wish! Browsing through yr Cyrano de Bergerac tag has given me glimpses of so many adaptations & translations I'd never heard of before! I'll be watching the Solès version next, which I have only discovered today through u ^_^ As for translations, have u read many/all of them? I've only encountered the Renauld & Burgess translations in the wild, & I was curious to hear yr translation thoughts that they might guide my decision on which one I buy first (not necessarily Renauld or Burgess ofc). Have a splendid day & sorry for the likespam! 💙
Sorry for the delay. Don't mind the likespam, I'm glad you enjoyed my tags about Cyrano, and that they could contribute a bit to a further appreciation of the play. I loved it a lot, I got obsessed with it for months. It's always nice to know other people deeply love too that which is loved haha I hope you enjoy the Solès version, it may well be my favourite one!
About translations, I'm touched you're asking me, but I don't really know whether mine is the best opinion to ask. I have read... four or five English translations iirc, the ones I could find online, and I do (and especially did, back when I was reading them) have a lot of opinions about them. However, nor English nor French are my first languages (they are third and fourth respectively, so not even close). I just read and compare translations because that's one of my favourite things to do.
The fact is that no translation is perfect, of course. I barely remember Renauld's, but I think it was quite literal; that's good for understanding the basics of the text, concepts and characters, but form is subject, and there's always something that escapes too literal translations. Thomas and Guillemard's if I recall correctly is similar to Hooker's in cadence. It had some beautiful fragments, some I preferred over Hooker's, but overall I think to recall I liked Hooker's more. If memory serves, Hooker's was the most traditionally poetic and beautiful in my opinion. Burgess' is a whole different thing, with its perks and drawbacks.
Something noticeable in the other translations is that they are too... "epic". They do well the poetic, sorrowful, grief stricken, crushed by regrets aspects of Cyrano and the play in general, but they fall quite short in the funny and even pathetic aspects, and that too is key in Cyrano, both character and play. Given the characteristics of both languages, following the cadence of the French too literally, with those long verses, makes an English version sound far too solemn at times when the French text isn't. Thus Burgess changes the very cadence of the text, adapting it more to the English language. This translation is the one that best sets the different moods in the play, and as I said before form is subject, and that too is key: after all, the poetic aspect of Cyrano is as much true as his angry facet and his goofy one. If Cyrano isn't funny he isn't Cyrano, just as he wouldn't be Cyrano without his devotion to Roxane or his insecurities; Cyrano is who he is precisely because he has all these facets, because one side covers the other, because one trait is born from another, because one facet is used as weapon to protect the others, like a game of mirrors and smoke. We see them at different points through the play, often converging. Burgess' enhances that. He plays with the language itself in form and musicality, with words and absences, with truths masking other truths, with things stated but untold, much like Cyrano does. And the stage directions, poetic and with literary value in their own right in a way that reminded me of Valle Inclán and Oscar Wilde, interact with the text at times in an almost metatextual dimension that enhances that bond Cyrano has with words, giving them a sort of liminal air and strengthening that constant in the play: that words both conceal and unveil Cyrano, that in words he hides and words give him away.
But not all is good, at all. Unlike Hooker, Burgess reads to me as not entirely understanding every facet of the characters, and as if he didn't even like the play all that much, as if he had a bit of a disdainful attitude towards it, and found it too mushy. Which I can understand, but then why do you translate it? In my opinion the Burgess' translation does well bending English to transmit the different moods the French text does, and does pretty well understanding the more solemn, cool, funny, angry, poetic aspects of Cyrano, but less so his devotion, vulnerability, insecurities and his pathetism. It doesn't seem to get Roxane at all, how similar she is to Cyrano, nor why she has so many admirers. It does a very poor job at understanding Christian and his value, and writes him off as stupid imo. While I enjoyed the language aspect of the Burgess translation, I remember being quite angry at certain points reading it because of what it did to the characters and some changes he introduces. I think he did something very questionable with Le Bret and Castel-Jaloux, and I remember being incensed because of Roxane at times (for instance, she doesn't go to Arras in his version, which is a key scene to show just how much fire Roxane has, and that establishes several parallels with Cyrano, in attitude and words, but even in act since she does a bit what Cyrano later does with the nuns in the last act), and being very angry at several choices about Christian too. While not explicitly stated, I think the McAvoy production and the musical both follow this translation, because they too introduce these changes, and they make Christian as a character, and to an extent the entire play, not make sense.
For instance, once such change is that Christian is afraid that Roxane will be cultured (McAvoy's version has that infamous "shit"/"fuck" that I detest), when in the original French it's literally the opposite. He is not afraid she will be cultured, he is afraid she won't, because he does love and appreciate and admires those aspects of her, as he appreciates and admires them in Cyrano. That's key! Just as Cyrano longs to have what Christian has, Christian wants the same! That words escape him doesn't mean he doesn't understand or appreciate them. The dynamics make no sense without this aspect, and Burgess (and the productions that directly or indirectly follow him) constantly erases this core trait of Christian.
Another key moment of Christian Burgess butchers is the scene in Arras in which Christian discovers the truth. Burgess writes their discussion masterfully in form, it's both funny and poignant, but it falls short in concept: when Cyrano tells him the whole discussion about who does Roxane love and what will happen, what they'll do, is academic because they're both going to die, Christian states that dying is his role now. This destroys entirely the thing with Christian wanting Roxane to have the right to know, and the freedom to choose, or to refuse them both. As much as Cyrano proclaims his love for truth and not mincing words even in the face of authority, Cyrano is constantly drunk on lies and mirages, masks and metaphors. It's Christian who wants it all to end, the one who wants real things, the one who wants to risk his own happiness for the chance of his friend's, as well as for the woman he loves to stop living in a lie. That is a very interesting aspect of Christian, and another aspect in which he is written as both paralleling and contrasting Cyrano. It's interesting from a moral perspective and how that works with the characters, but it's also interesting from a conceptual point of view, both in text and metatextually: what they hold most dear, what they most want, what most fulfills them, what they most fear, their different approaches to life, but also metatextually another instance of that tears/blood motif and its ramifications constant through the whole text. Erasing that climatic decision and making him just simply suicidal erases those aspects of Christian and his place in the Christian/Cyrano/Roxane dynamic, all for plain superficial angst, that perhaps hits more in the moment, but holds less meaning.
Being more literal, and more solemn, Hooker's translation (or any of the others, but Hooker's seems to love the characters and understand them) doesn't make these conceptual mistakes. Now, would I not recommend reading Burgess' translation? I can't also say that. I had a lot of fun reading it, despite the occasional anger and indignation haha Would I recommend buying it? I recommend you give an eye to it first, if you're tempted and can initially only buy one.
You can read Burgess' translation entirely in archive.com. You can also find online the complete translations of Renauld, Hooker and Thomas and Guillemard. I also found a fifth one, iirc, but I can't recall it right now (I could give a look). You could read them before choosing, or read your favourite scenes and fragments in the different translations, and choose the one in which you like them better. That's often what I do.
Edit: I've checked to make sure and Roxane does appear in Arras in the translation. It's in the introduction in which it is stated that she doesn't appear in the production for which the translation was made. The conceptualisation of Roxane I criticise and that in my opinion is constant through the text does stay, though.
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