Which character(s) do you dislike?

[TruthwatchingRadiant He/Him]

There are a lot of “who’s your favorite character” polls, and those are great, but I had the thought to do this: So which characters, in any Cosmere book, (or game, like the ttrpg) do you guys, in your opinion, think has the most punchable outlook or attitude, and why? We should all strive to be peacemakers, no doubt about it. But if you had to defend yourself or those you care about from them; who would you not hesitate to knock out? All of Brandon’s characters are written really well, but which one makes you mad?I’ll go first: The character that makes me mad is the “noble”man Straff Venture from era 1 of Mistborn. He is one of the most entitled, unhonest characters in the Cosmere, that I know of. What do you think? Discuss if you wish 

[Nitpicking]

Taravangian. There are others I don't like, but T. is such a vile self-deluded hypocrite ....

[Treamayne]

10 hours ago, TruthwatchingRadiant said:

I’ll go first: The character that makes me mad is the “noble”man Straff Venture from era 1 of Mistborn. He is one of the most entitled, unhonest characters in the Cosmere, that I know of.

I think there is a difference between a villain we are supposed to dislike, and a protagonist or supporting character with whom we are supposed to sympathize. Straff is easily the Sanderson Villain closest to true evil - no redeeming qualities whatsoever. WoB:

Spoiler

Brandon Sanderson

Straff is generally everyone's least favorite character–though that's kind of what I expected. He's not insane; he’s just a terrible person. Those do, unfortunately, exist–given his power and upbringing, he’s not all that surprising in his bullyness.

I wanted to provide a range of villains for this series. The Lord Ruler was one type of villain–the untouchable god, distant and mysterious. Straff is another: the downright, simple bully with too much power and not enough wisdom. Zane is our third villain–sympathetic, edgy, and possibly more dangerous than either of the two.

The Well of Ascension Annotations (Jan. 5, 2008)

That said:

10 hours ago, TruthwatchingRadiant said:

There are a lot of “who’s your favorite character” polls, and those are great, but I had the thought to do this: So which characters, in any Cosmere book, (or game, like the ttrpg) do you guys, in your opinion, think has the most punchable outlook or attitude, and why?

Lirin, by a significant margin. Stormlight Spoilers

Spoiler

He is a mentally and emotional abusive Husband and Father. He doesn't even realize the damage he does to his family or that he is a primary cause for at least one of Kaladin's suicidal ideations. More personally:

Spoiler

I grew up in a household dominated by the "my opinion is fact and truth" type of abuser. I was so corrupted by Stockholm syndrom it took over two years after leaving home for the military to even see that he was an abuser or that things I grew up considering normal was very much wrong-think. They severly impacted my ability for social integration. He's been dead for 25 years, and we are still working on the damage his abuse did to my mother (who is disabled and lives with me). 

I had hoped that Kaladin would confront the bully in OB or RoW; but that never happened - Lirin just tried his best to destroy his son, until Kaladin capitulated and joined the medical ward again. Then he lashed out even worse when Kaladin tried to protect Teft. I am unconvinced the events of the climax will have any significant character growth; and, unfortunately, we did not get enough interaction in WaT to tell (though the indication we did have was that Lirin was already backsliding). If he doesn't realize his abusive behaviour and change, this could very-well be Oroden's villain origin story.

I admit there may be some level of projection on my part - because Lirin scenes resonate too-strongly with my own history - but the objective facts of what he says, how and to whom don't change - and they all scream abusive bully to me.

I'd love to see the villainous breakdown when/if Lirin realizes his Pacifism is fake and just a cover for avoiding physical confrontation so he can wield emotional/mental abuse like a club. 

 

Edited July 27, 2025 by Treamayne
SPAG

[Nitpicking]

15 minutes ago, Treamayne said:

I think there is a difference between a villain we are supposed to dislike, and a protagonist or supporting character with whom we are supposed to sympathize. Straff is easily the Sanderson Viallain closest to true evil - no redeeming qualities whatsoever ...

I sort of disagree. Isles of the Emberdark spoiler:

Spoiler

Dajer is cartoonishly evil. He isn't as interesting a character as Straff, and he doesn't have any connections to main characters to make him more relevant, but he's cartoonishly, even over-the-top, evil.

 

[Treamayne]

3 minutes ago, Nitpicking said:

I sort of disagree. Isles of the Emberdark spoiler:

  Hide contents

Dajer is cartoonishly evil. He isn't as interesting a character as Straff, and he doesn't have any connections to main characters to make him more relevant, but he's cartoonishly, even over-the-top, evil.

I would agree with that assessment. However, I still rate Straff above him (IED Spoilers):

Spoiler

Because we don't have enough information on family (if any) to know if if Dajer has any redeeming qualities. As depicted, though, I agree he's in the bond-villain category of evil. 

 

[TruthwatchingRadiant He/Him]

2 hours ago, Treamayne said:

I think there is a difference between a villain we are supposed to dislike, and a protagonist or supporting character with whom we are supposed to sympathize. Straff is easily the Sanderson Villain closest to true evil - no redeeming qualities whatsoever. WoB:

  Reveal hidden contents

Brandon Sanderson

Straff is generally everyone's least favorite character–though that's kind of what I expected. He's not insane; he’s just a terrible person. Those do, unfortunately, exist–given his power and upbringing, he’s not all that surprising in his bullyness.

I wanted to provide a range of villains for this series. The Lord Ruler was one type of villain–the untouchable god, distant and mysterious. Straff is another: the downright, simple bully with too much power and not enough wisdom. Zane is our third villain–sympathetic, edgy, and possibly more dangerous than either of the two.

The Well of Ascension Annotations (Jan. 5, 2008)

That said:

Lirin, by a significant margin. Stormlight Spoilers

  Reveal hidden contents

He is a mentally and emotional abusive Husband and Father. He doesn't even realize the damage he does to his family or that he is a primary cause for at least one of Kaladin's suicidal ideations. More personally:

  Reveal hidden contents

I grew up in a household dominated by the "my opinion is fact and truth" type of abuser. I was so corrupted by Stockholm syndrom it took over two years after leaving home for the military to even see that he was an abuser or that things I grew up considering normal was very much wrong-think. They severly impacted my ability for social integration. He's been dead for 25 years, and we are still working on the damage his abuse did to my mother (who is disabled and lives with me). 

I had hoped that Kaladin would confront the bully in OB or RoW; but that never happened - Lirin just tried his best to destroy his son, until Kaladin capitulated and joined the medical ward again. Then he lashed out even worse when Kaladin tried to protect Teft. I am unconvinced the events of the climax will have any significant character growth; and, unfortunately, we did not get enough interaction in WaT to tell (though the indication we did have was that Lirin was already backsliding). If he doesn't realize his abusive behaviour and change, this could very-well be Oroden's villain origin story.

I admit there may be some level of projection on my part - because Lirin scenes resonate too-strongly with my own history - but the objective facts of what he says, how and to whom don't change - and they all scream abusive bully to me.

I'd love to see the villainous breakdown when/if Lirin realizes his Pacifism is fake and just a cover for avoiding physical confrontation so he can wield emotional/mental abuse like a club. 

 

Thanks for your opinion. I never considered Lyrin. Totally makes sense though. Peace you find, hope find you peace. Peace and you find hope, may it find you peace.

           Original Vorin (almost) Cetteck, by 

                  Nathan Dooley 7/27/25

Edited July 27, 2025 by TruthwatchingRadiant

[TruthwatchingRadiant He/Him]

(It’s original, but it’s almost a mirror of itself. Just for clarification.)