[Das Brechen]

Have any of you ever fallen into this trope or found yourself rooting for this type, The Ineffectual Loner?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IneffectualLoner

The Ineffectual Loner does not understand The Power of Friendship, or just isn't concerned. The problem is this attitude makes someone pretty single-minded, and he's afraid to trust anyone as an ally or they'd be a liability/distraction. He's also extremely susceptible (if not outright gullible) to villains who know how to think this way. He may catch on eventually, but he'll be a tool (in several senses of the word) for a bit.

[Fallen Nocturne]

I was misled by the title "Ineffectual Loner". Thought it might be the kind of loner who - in an effort to seclude themselves - ends up becoming unintentionally more popular. That has happened to me.

But no, I don't really fall into this trope. I recognise the value friends can bring in both a practical and touchy-feely sense. Having friends is pretty damn useful and entertaining. I have no issue with people who don't care for the power of friendship and are quite single-minded, though. While I do have a small circle of friends, I do like to be independent and stand as a loner a lot of the time as well.

As for rooting for The Ineffectual Loner, it's the second part of your post that puts me off. I rarely have any sympathy for anyone who is duped into being a tool for the villain. The only exception would be if I consider the villain to have done a really good job of manipulating the circumstances to the point such a stupid move seems plausible and not a stupid move on the loners part. Taking just the first part of the trope though, we have characters like Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, who is very single minded at first and learns to support (and be supported by) others. She's one of my favourite fictional characters!

[Feral sheep]

do you mean the character that has not grasped the idea of no man being island and handles a task bigger then him? no, die.

[rowerrunner]

In fiction (Or real-life, for that matter), I almost always root for the Ineffectual Loner. Or sometimes the villain, depending on the situation.

[Cetanu]

I used to, I learned.

[MelissaC]

No, I value my friends highly. Although I don't put as much time or effort into them as I perhaps should...

[Green Girl]

I'm more a fan of the effectual loner. The person who goes their own way and gets things done. If they team up with the villain, the villain may think he's in charge, but it is really a Clever Ploy by the effectual loner, who ends up defeating them.

I don't know if the effectual loner is a recognized trope, but it should be. They are all over the place in fiction and movies. Think Clint Eastwood in practically everything. Or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

[Darin Hamel]

I think I fell into this in my early 20's. I was into Gawd back then and if a topic came up not about Gawd then I didn't want to talk about it. I had no friends because I didn't want to waste my time on anything but Gawd. Someone told me during this period that there is more to life than Gawd. I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. Thankfully I came out of it and I believe it was related to a period of depression I was in.

I also know a Christian who go so sucked into the bible that the same sort of thing happened to him. He lost his wife and family because he couldn't talk about anything other than the bible. He lives alone and even his Christian friends leave him alone now.

I don't know how ineffectual it is though. I made a ton of progress spiritually even though I was miserable. I was just obsessed with meditation and Judeo/Christian mystical theology. I think the greatest progress is made when we are most single-minded but we are only happy if we live a balanced life.

[coolcats]

Yeah I am an ineffectual loner. And I don't see how it is a bad thing. I understand the value of friendship, I just don't have the desire to pursue friends. I am perfectly content with my dog and myself. I know, that this must sound sad to most people. But I believe that's because those people are the ones who need their friends. When in actuality, that itself is sad. I would much rather be an independent person than a dependent one. Now, I already know, nobody will understand this. Because I guess most people think it is better to go through life with other people. But really, doesn't that just let you down in the long run? I am an ineffectual loner, I have no problem with that.