This is somewhat more specific than I think I can fit in a title. I don’t mean giving “bad guys” traits that most people would consider evil. Do you give otherwise sympathetic or neutral people or groups characteristics that you would find annoying or bothersome if you had to deal with them?

Let’s say you hate neckties, but you rather like your Republic of Æügh. Sure it’s not a utopia full of Mary Sues, but you could probably stand to live there. Except, absolutely everyone wears a necktie. Ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls, no matter the occasion, you’re considered naked without one.

Why? Maybe because you want to make extra sure you’re not veering into Mary Sue territory by deliberately giving them a trait you don’t like. Maybe you want to explore the cultural significance of neckties despite your dislike. Whatever the reason, neckties are an important part of the culture of Æügh.

I have a few examples in the Lonely Galaxy, though all have secondary inspirations besides being personal pet peeves.

One of my legs is significantly thinner than the other, and the corresponding foot is several sizes smaller than the other, due to developmental such and such. As a result, I hate going barefoot or wearing open toed shoes. I also wear pants regardless of the weather. I feel naked otherwise.

But yinrih hate footwear. The Watsonian explanation is that they’re arboreal quadrupeds, so their “feet” are also hands. To avoid burning their paws, they’ll spend extra money to shade walkways, use high albedo paving material, or in extreme cases, smear an insulating waxy paste onto their paws.

The other Doylist explanation is that yinrih are also based on canids, and we’ve all seen what heppens when you put shoes on a dog.

To me at least, talking and public restrooms do not go together. I hate it when the guy in the stall next to me is having a protracted argument with his girlfriend while I’m a captive audience. I hate it even if I’m on the other end of the line and I can tell the caller is in the bathroom. I will let a call go to voice mail if I’m in the bathroom. If it’s a really important call, I’ll hurry up and leave. But most of all I hate it when people try to make small talk while I’m standing at the urinal. Bro just let me do my business and get out of here. This isn’t a water cooler.

So naturally, yinrih treat public restrooms almost like a social gathering. I wrote a whole story about it. Granted this mostly applies in settings like offices or schools, where you’re likely to run into the same people regularly. The reason is psychological. The yinrih’s tree dweller ancestors felt vulnerable when eliminating waste, and would call out to other group members for reassurance that someone was watching out for them.

The other inspiration was my old dog, who sadly passed last year. She insisted on being with me in the bathroom, and would scratch the door and bark if I didn’t let her in. Also, anecdotally I’ve read that dogs do this because they know you’re vulnerable and want to make sure their pack member is safe while they do their business.

But I’d sooner pee my pants than use a yinrih restroom.