Story Character Differentiation?

[Azazellea]

You know, it's really funny.


I'm sitting here and looking at my three favorite characters and looking at how they interact with each other in different situations.


It's really funny how their opinions of each other change.


As some of you may know, I'm planning a book of short stories.


All of them involve the same characters, but they're set in alternate universes.


Like, you have the Subvenian Universe, the Godling Universe, and a couple others. Even Fanfiction based universes that exist only online and will never be published.


Still. I've been going through my stories and looking at how the three main characters interact and it's just...


I don't know..


They're so easily swayed by other forces.


I'll focus on the Tillany's. Tyler, Sky, and Ethan and how they interact in my two main universes.


Just.. Look at this.


~Subvenian Universe~


Everyone is human. It's merely a bunch of teenagers growing up and being stupid in the small suburb of Subvenia. Tyler and Sky get along perfect, although they bicker sometimes because one's mischievous plot interferes with the others. Plus, Sky views Tyler as an idiot who couldn't find his way out of a paper bag. Then you have Ethan, their older brother, the one who taught both of them everything they know about the arts of mischief. He tends to favor Sky and view her as his little angel that can do no wrong. This tends to spark a faint bit of jealousy from Tyler who tries to prove his worth. When that fails, the two of them end up waging war on each other and getting themselves grounded for the state they leave the house in.


In the end, all of them are normal. They have normal dynamics and behave as a functional family (Minus all the plots and pranks of course). They all care for each other and the only one who might feel slightly left out is Tyler on rare occasions, but he knows that in the end he always has his twin. So everything pans out fine.


~Godling Universe~





They are Godlings, children of the Greek gods and other powerful beings that are not human. When you throw powers into the mix, everything between them pretty much goes to hell. They are no longer biologically siblings, but instead cousins. However, they are raised in an environment that treats them like siblings. Ethan is a son of Zeus and still the oldest of the three. He will do anything to please his father and views himself as better than everyone else. He becomes extremely vain and arrogant. Tyler is a son of Poseidon and still the middle child. Him and Sky were born at about the same time. He's kind of care free. He doesn't really aim to please his father, he aims to just kind of hang out. He's not really concerned with anything, although he does enjoy honing his powers. Even if it is just to make it rain and piss people off so he can laugh hysterically. Then you have Sky. She is a daughter of Hades and the youngest of the three. She's very proud of her heritage, although she doesn't like the trouble it brings her. She spends most of her time by herself honing not only the skills she got from her father, but the skills from her mother as well.


Now, throw the three of them together and you get one hell of a mess. Ethan constantly torments Sky because of who her father is. He thinks that she is beneath him and that she never should have been born. Tyler and Ethan get along decently enough, although they spend a fair amount of time trying to out do each other and trying to claim ownership over the weather. Tyler and Sky are kind of sketchy. He was raised to be kind of wary of her, although he doesn't particularly hate her. He tries to get close to her only to either have her push him away or Ethan to swoop in and screw everything up.


~Conclusion~





Honestly? I don't know.


Skimming through all the different universes I've stuck them in, the only two where they all seem to get along is when they're all completely human or in the Harry Potter Universe...


They're just so confusing sometimes.


I just don't get it.


Their dynamics together are going to end up driving me insane...


Don't EVEN get me started on my new 'Villains' Universe.. Ugh!


How can tweaking something about them even in the slightest pit them all against each other so easily?


One would think with how close they are in the Subvenian Universe that it would hold, but they'd be wrong and even I can't explain why..


If anyone cares to speculate, please do so because I'm honestly confused.


Which is kind of sad considering I created them..


I don't control them, however, they just kind of took on a life of their own >.>

 

[Armageddon]

Honestly?


Seeing these two samples makes me think that underneath different circumstances, the characters will be forced into a change in personality, especially towards each other.


Look at the second one - when you make each a child of the Big Three, of course there will be some conflict, some change in their character. It's a very, very interesting dynamic to approach, I agree with you on that.


When customs and details that are otherwise vital to a strong relationship between all three characters are shifted in some form, it's only logical for them to change drastically in some fashion, whether it be the overall strength of a relationship, opinions on one another, characteristics and loyalties, etcetera. Ethan thinks that Sky is perfect within the Subvenian universe, because there isn't anything particularly conflicting with his seemingly original nature that would make him dislike or hate her, nor was he raised to dislike her or treat her with wariness. He was raised alongside her, under natural human customs, and therefore wouldn't have a particular reason to shift his apparent liking to her.


But then, when we move to the Godling universe, you see this entire, rather noticeable shift in relationships. Why? Because the circumstances were different in this universe. Ethan, being the son of Zeus, was raised to be a rather vain, powerful godling, striving to be like and impress his all-powerful father. Sky was raised to be proud, but not to be vain, and her heritage would be questionable to the other gods, with Hades as a father. And Tyler was raised under Poseidon, to be a care-free lad and a mischief-making godling.


Of course Ethan would take on some type of dislike or contempt towards Sky, since she was raised under Hades and Hades is the most sketchy god in the Greek world. And Poseidon and Zeus have similarities, ways they are able to connect, so they would have a stronger relationship than what Ethan may have towards Sky. Ethan was raised to be wary of the god of death, and so he is.


I don't know if this makes any sense or if I'm just rambling, but basically, when a character is brought up in a different way from it's original way, drastic changes in personality and relationships between others are bound to come because of their differences in what they were taught to believe. It all leads back to how they were treated and taught as a child. Characters are interesting in that aspect - each trait they inherit comes from something within their lives that might have inflicted it. It's all entirely dependent on their past, and the bumps and high points are the true power that shapes who the character could possibly be today.


I hope that this helps somewhat. It's probably just a jumble of knowledge you already have, but I felt like saying something.

 

[Hatchet]

Moving this to Creative Discussion