Advice/Help Fleshing out my character

[rex3]

Hello everyone,

I am not sure if this is the right place to ask but i'm giving it a try. I am struggling at the moment to create a RP character. I got the overall idea for him and i really would love to go somewhere with it.
My hope was that someof you guys throw ideas at me and hopefully that gets my mind process going.

soo... The concept of my character focuses on sticking to his quirk of agreeing to anything on even-numbered days, and on odd-numbered days denying everything. It brings uncertainty and unpredictability to his actions and the events throughout the day. He's constantly paranoid since every day is centered around agreeing or disagreeing to any question, insignificant or not.

My mind is just stuck there, if anyone would like to throw some ideas to me i'd appreciate it

 

[Crayons]

You could probably think about what he was like before he started doing this, and why he does it. This quirk is so outrageous it probably overshadows most of the rest of his personality, but in essence anyone with any personality could have this quirk.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Yeah I would figure out what triggers this compulsion. As it reads very close to a mental disorder of some sort (not anything I know about IRL) which means I would approach it from that perspective.

So you need to know

1. What event caused this compulsion to form? Is it a genetic trait or is he the only one who has it?

2. Has he sought professional help to mitigate the effects? Why or why not?

3. What coping methods does he use to work around this so his life is not affected too much. Does he tell people to speak to him in definitive statements? Does he try to work on thinking in definitive statements so as not to trigger his compulsion?

4. As for his personality I would say Crayons is right this compulsion is likely going to overshadow his personality. So instead you should think more about how he tries to cope with it (as that will tell you a lot about the character right there).

 

[rex3]

You could probably think about what he was like before he started doing this, and why he does it. This quirk is so outrageous it probably overshadows most of the rest of his personality, but in essence anyone with any personality could have this quirk.

Thanks for replying. And yes i thought about his backstory being tragic, some sort of he got kidnapped and threatened if he doesn't stick to this quirk they will find him and throw his body in the river. But then it sounded just very weird it's not like hes constantly under watch so why would he do that. I got stucked there once again

Yeah I would figure out what triggers this compulsion. As it reads very close to a mental disorder of some sort (not anything I know about IRL) which means I would approach it from that perspective.

So you need to know

1. What event caused this compulsion to form? Is it a genetic trait or is he the only one who has it?

2. Has he sought professional help to mitigate the effects? Why or why not?

3. What coping methods does he use to work around this so his life is not affected too much. Does he tell people to speak to him in definitive statements? Does he try to work on thinking in definitive statements so as not to trigger his compulsion?

4. As for his personality I would say Crayons is right this compulsion is likely going to overshadow his personality. So instead you should think more about how he tries to cope with it (as that will tell you a lot about the character right there).

Thanks for replying too. The backstory i came up with was just "too basic" i guess, so i gave up on that. If he got kidnapped and told to behave like this for the rest of his life, idk thats just not justying it i feel like.
Genetic trait sound way better i wouldn't know how to explain it to be frank. Definitely mental disorder type-a-thing. The points you stated absolutely helpful as in that would explain how he possibly ticks to some extent. I appreciate your response

 

[nerdy tangents]

He reads like someone with a compulsive disorder, something along the lines of OCD (in the clinical sense). Not exactly point for point but you might research into that disorder to get some inspiration for his backstory.

From my (unprofessional) knowledge OCD is similar to an anxiety disorder in that it is triggered by feeling out of control and the compulsion (in this case agreeing to thing on even number days) could be a way for him to attempt to gain a feeling of control (subconsciously).

For that matter his refusal to agree to anything could be some kind of internal balancing act is brain came up with or a oppositional defiance trait that is at odds with his compulsion to agree with others.

Like honestly his contradictory personality reminds me of my mom who has bipolar disorder and also goes into cycles of behavior (admittedly not day to day)

So I think you inadvertently made a really interesting mental disorder for your character. And since it’s not exactly like anything IRL (it’s only vaguely similar to OCD) than you get to make up a lot of the details yourself.

Even with it just being a genetic disorder something would trigger the very specific actions so I would work out what that is. Then just kind of figure out how he would learn to live with it.

Therapy is especially important as it says a lot about your character on whether or not he would agree to go.

If you need help with research you can PM me and I will see what kinda resources I can help you find.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Here are some ideas I have for the backstory thing.

Having a relative or loved one pass away, usually by old age or sickness (especially if it is a sickness they are trying hard to overcome). There was a TV show called Monk, and it followed a highly germophobic OCD (played accurately by the way) detective, and he has to have his caretaker with him where he went so people didn't find him rude (they still find him disrespectful though). The reason the detective was like this was because his wife passed away in a tragic murder case and he was unable to solve it. He was an amazing detective and was able to solve any and all cases thrown at him, but he was unable to solve this one. Due to the mental strain of not being able to find out what happened to his lover, he doesn't move on and does things (like making the table askew when everything he makes should be straight and in line with everything) due to not moving on from the death of his wife. A similar thing can happen to a loved one if they pass away by old age and the character is just unable to move pass it. Maybe odd numbers were numbers your character associates with their relative or loved one passing away (like their loved one passing away on the 17th), causing them to deny in a psychological sense that they deny the death of their loved one. While even numbers are numbers your character associates with the good times of their relative or loved one, so they always agree and are generally happier.

There are other ideas, like bullying or having a pet die or other such thing that can cause this change, especially if they don't get over it. Most people think they have gotten over something in their life, but they actually haven't in reality and it can continue to affect them negatively, but it becomes so normal that they don't realize it's bad. Maybe have another character or another player's character be this character's friend and get them to help your character.

Being forced to say no a lot makes you a rather negative person if we go by behavior, so maybe have that person be more cynical or negative or pessimistic and "doom-sayer" on the odd days to combine with all the "no", and then make them become a 180 and be more positive on the even days with all the "yes". Of course, they can still feel fear, anger, jealousy, and all that, and that can conflict with their ability to actually agree or disagree on a day they can't do so. So if you can in the RP, play with that too. :3 People can still have facial expressions that are independent to what they are saying, unless your character has to commit 100% in body language as well.

 

[Chordling]

Here is my tutorial on how to create a character pillar system which focuses on your character's core beliefs rather than their personality traits.

I also enjoy using image search databases to find faceclaims for inspiration. Sometimes knowing what the character looks like can help me figure out who they are as a person.

 

[rex3]

Here are some ideas I have for the backstory thing.

Having a relative or loved one pass away, usually by old age or sickness (especially if it is a sickness they are trying hard to overcome). There was a TV show called Monk, and it followed a highly germophobic OCD (played accurately by the way) detective, and he has to have his caretaker with him where he went so people didn't find him rude (they still find him disrespectful though). The reason the detective was like this was because his wife passed away in a tragic murder case and he was unable to solve it. He was an amazing detective and was able to solve any and all cases thrown at him, but he was unable to solve this one. Due to the mental strain of not being able to find out what happened to his lover, he doesn't move on and does things (like making the table askew when everything he makes should be straight and in line with everything) due to not moving on from the death of his wife. A similar thing can happen to a loved one if they pass away by old age and the character is just unable to move pass it. Maybe odd numbers were numbers your character associates with their relative or loved one passing away (like their loved one passing away on the 17th), causing them to deny in a psychological sense that they deny the death of their loved one. While even numbers are numbers your character associates with the good times of their relative or loved one, so they always agree and are generally happier.

There are other ideas, like bullying or having a pet die or other such thing that can cause this change, especially if they don't get over it. Most people think they have gotten over something in their life, but they actually haven't in reality and it can continue to affect them negatively, but it becomes so normal that they don't realize it's bad. Maybe have another character or another player's character be this character's friend and get them to help your character.

Being forced to say no a lot makes you a rather negative person if we go by behavior, so maybe have that person be more cynical or negative or pessimistic and "doom-sayer" on the odd days to combine with all the "no", and then make them become a 180 and be more positive on the even days with all the "yes". Of course, they can still feel fear, anger, jealousy, and all that, and that can conflict with their ability to actually agree or disagree on a day they can't do so. So if you can in the RP, play with that too. :3 People can still have facial expressions that are independent to what they are saying, unless your character has to commit 100% in body language as well.

Actually i totally forgot about the show Monk but youre definitely right my character could have some kind of insipiration from that. I actually came up with a backstory which is totally not related to OCD type-a-thing, but probably kinda of weirdly absurd if you will. (He got kidnapped, tortured by clowns and ever since he must behave like this or he'll be killed, which later also led to be diagnosed with coulrophobia). Bit i figured it doesnt really work for this character, it must be rather some kind of disease or genetic disorder.
I was also trying to bring some religious beliefs into his personality, but unsure if thats even a good idea.

I love the mental disorder idea, that backstory absolutely would be the easiest to go with i feel like. It could be justified by whatever events happened in the past. Even though a part of me wants to go with something outside the box, something over the board crazy thingy but thats really hard to pull off as im speaking.

Also you are right in every sense about the 180 behaviour changes. On odd days hes rather negative about things in life and even days more joyful you know. In a socially awkward way.

Here is my tutorial on how to create a character pillar system which focuses on your character's core beliefs rather than their personality traits.

I also enjoy using image search databases to find faceclaims for inspiration. Sometimes knowing what the character looks like can help me figure out who they are as a person.

I appreciate it. Thank you for linking the post
Yes, i agree with you about the image search. So far i roughly painted a picture in my head but thats simply about it

He reads like someone with a compulsive disorder, something along the lines of OCD (in the clinical sense). Not exactly point for point but you might research into that disorder to get some inspiration for his backstory.

From my (unprofessional) knowledge OCD is similar to an anxiety disorder in that it is triggered by feeling out of control and the compulsion (in this case agreeing to thing on even number days) could be a way for him to attempt to gain a feeling of control (subconsciously).

For that matter his refusal to agree to anything could be some kind of internal balancing act is brain came up with or a oppositional defiance trait that is at odds with his compulsion to agree with others.

Like honestly his contradictory personality reminds me of my mom who has bipolar disorder and also goes into cycles of behavior (admittedly not day to day)

So I think you inadvertently made a really interesting mental disorder for your character. And since it’s not exactly like anything IRL (it’s only vaguely similar to OCD) than you get to make up a lot of the details yourself.

Even with it just being a genetic disorder something would trigger the very specific actions so I would work out what that is. Then just kind of figure out how he would learn to live with it.

Therapy is especially important as it says a lot about your character on whether or not he would agree to go.

If you need help with research you can PM me and I will see what kinda resources I can help you find.

I appreciate your view its very insightful to say the least. I would love to PM you to further talk about it, but for some reason I cant message ya. Tells me you limit who can view your profile

 

[nerdy tangents]

If you click on my avatar and select start conversation you can PM me. (Fair warning I am going to work right now so I won’t respond until later today or tomorrow morning)