nnozomi

There's just something about self-awareness that I find compelling, and I like seeing characters think about their choices (even if they end up making the worse choice or have already made it), or acknowledge their faults (even if they can't change them, or try to and fail), including both protagonists and antagonists.
Yes, this is such a good point; this self-awareness (which often implies, mm, I don't mean intelligence exactly, clear thinking?) is really interesting in itself, and can also be a turning point for plotting or characterization or both--once the wrong direction is acknowledged, internally or externally, to be wrong, how does the directionality change? (Sorry, I'm not very coherent tonight but you get the idea.)

I also think I generally aim for interesting rather than likable, even in protagonists, I guess on the theory that "interesting" is something I feel like I have (slightly) more control over?
Ha! I think my end goal for how readers feel about the protagonists would be "glad to have gotten to know them," which sounds silly, but--leaving a positive impression, whether as likable or interesting?