One of the most important things you can do to make a side character more likeable in my opinion is to give them a life of their own. Most people will have multiple groups of friends, sometimes ones that won’t include their main BFF (think school friends vs. work friends vs. sports friends, etc.). They will have their own families, their own problems and struggles, their own successes. Make them independent of the MC - their entire world should not revolve around your central character,
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