Characters not doing what you want....

[Vareal]

I had an idea for Nedral and Aixa's first day of being together in one mind and I thought it would be fun because they wouldn't get along that well at first and.... Well that's just not the case. They got along from the very get go. Aixa was always timid and Nedral was never impatient and always accepting. The situations I put them in never caused any kind of drama, so to speak. So this is just one of those moments when your characters just don't do what you want, or at the very least, they're not doing what you expected them to. Anyone else run into this problem? That's why its good to start with the situations your characters get into in chronological order when you're still developing their personality, lol.

 

I mean, sure, I could write them arguing, no problem, but it wouldn't be natural for either of them to do so. I dunno about you, I'd be pretty freaked out if I woke up and someone else was in control of my body and I could communicate with them. I dunno, I just really get into my characters and I figure out how they would react in a given situation.

 

Sorry for ranting, but I just thought I'd share. I'm not going to finish writing it because it's boring now, lol, and it was totally not intentional. I'll post it in a spoiler if you're interested in reading it. It's called "Day One" and it really didn't turn out the way I wanted it. There's a lot of quick descriptions, as it's the first draft. So yeah, read if you want, don't if you don't.

 

 

Nedral forced her eyes open, her eyelids stubborn as if weighed down but a hundred lead weights. The light flooded into her eyes, making it that much more difficult to open them, and she forced herself to sit up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room in the tiny house in the forest. She was in the bedroom that wasnât much larger than a good sized pantry in a castle kitchen.

 

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, the wood floor cool to the touch, and stood, stretching gratefully for a long moment. She yawned and moved from the bedroom into the main room, which housed the living room, kitchen and a large metal tub for bathing. There was an old sofa situated against the far left wall beneath a window covered with dark gray blinds. She came to a stop in the middle of the room, the place still foreign to her, not knowing exactly what to do. She was dressed in the same white shirt she woke up in the previous day after being transferred into this Miqoâte body which reached down to her ankles. She felt a sensation, at least thatâs the only way she could describe it, run through her mind. She froze for a moment, thinking something wrong, then visibly relaxed, smiling.

 

âGood morning,â she said aloud.

 

âWhat are you doing just standing around?â Aixa asked, her mind voice still tired from sleep.

 

Nedral shook her head and looked around some more. âIâm not sure. I donât know what do to with myself.â

 

âWell,â Aixa started, thinking about her normal routine. âI usually start out the day with a cup of tea then tend the garden for a while.â

 

Nedral sighed and her brows furrowed. âTend the garden? Iâm no botanist.â She crossed her arms, the tip of her tail swishing underneath the long shirt.

 

âNo, but I am; I can walk you through it. Itâs rather easy and relaxing, especially in the morning.â She replied, more alert now. âIâm afraid, however, that I used the last of the water yesterday, so no tea. I was going to get some today until this happened, but it might give you a chance to get used to⦠my body.â

 

Nedral nodded then moved to the door in front of her and opened it, the hinges squeaking in protest. The sun was bright and the air comfortably warm, a slight breeze caressing the surrounding area. Per Aixa, Nedral looked to her right and moved to a small chest on the side of the house near the door. She lowered herself and opened the chest, finding several gardening tools, an apron and some gloves. She donned the gloves and grabbed the spade then moved over to a row of moon flowers.

 

Nedral began working around one of the plants, attempting to uproot it for a transfer to a pot, but broke the stem. She cursed and tossed the spade down.

 

âThis is stupid. As I said, Iâm not a botanist.â She fumed.

 

Aixa sighed. âIâve an idea, can you read what Iâm thinking?â Aixa thought something and Nedral nodded. âTry this: Iâll think what it is that needs to be done, go through the movements and you try and copy it, okay?â

 

Nedral thought for a moment before nodding. âAlright, lets give it a try.â

 

Nedral stretched her neck and then began to focus on what Aixa was thinking. As she did so, she looked down at her hands and she reeled back in surprise as she saw her hands and arms split and start moving.

 

âWell this is interesting.â

 

âWhat?â Aixa said, breaking her concentration.

 

âI can see the movements youâre thinking, itâs like a residual image of my limbs, even though I wasnât physically moving.â She explained.

 

âHmmm⦠You think you can match the movements as I think them?â Aixa asked.

 

âIt felt like I entered your mind and made it my own, so itâs possible but it might take a few tries.â She replied.

 

Nedral stumbled the first several tries as they practiced, at first, picking up the shovel and digging some dirt. Once she had that down, they tried some more complicated hand movements until Nedral could near predict what Aixa was thinking before she began the movements. After an hour or so, Nedral was up rooting plants, putting them in pots, and planting smaller oneâs and various other things around the garden, as if she had been doing it her whole life. And she had to admit that it was rather enjoyable in the cool morning breeze.

 

When the work was done, she stood and wiped the sweat from her brow. Now it was time to fetch the water. Again she read Axiaâs mind and it directed her to put the tools away, grab the two buckets just inside the front door and walk a path straight back into the woods away from her house to a fresh water stream that was about three minutes walk. After making several trips, gathering enough to fill the tub, Nedral set a pot to boil and lit the fire underneath the tub to warm the water.

 

While she waited, she went into the bed room and picked out some fresh cloths to wear from a small closet she hadnât noticed when she woke up. While removing a shirt from a hanger, she noticed the pommel of a sword buried behind some boxes and old books. She moved the items aside and removed the sword from the closet; it was a plain hand-and-a-half sword with a simple leather sheath. Nedral was surprised to find the blade in excellent condition with no rust, only a few chips in the edge from battle.

 

âYou practice?â She asked Aixa.

 

âNo, it was my uncleâs. He died in battle when I was much too young to remember him. It was returned to my father, along with the rest of his armor and effects. Itâs been in that closed for Gods know how long.â

 

âHmm, well it will be perfect to start practicing with. I still remember my training with the sword, but Iâll have to get this body into shape before we head out.â She replied.

 

âHead out? In shape?â she huffed. âWhat do you mean âin shapeâ?â

 

Nedral laughed slightly, sheathing the sword and leaning it against the wall then moved out into the living room with the clothes and set them on a bench near the tub. âI meant no disrespect, youâve kept your body in superb condition but itâs not use to sword play. Weâll be sore for a few days until itâs used to the training.â

 

She walked up to the tub and dipped her hand into the water and to her surprise, it was hot. âThat was quick.â She started to bundle up the shirt to remove it.

 

âStop!â

 

Nedral jumped and dropped the amount of shirt she had bunched up. âGods, Aixa, whatâs wrong?â A feeling that Nedral recognized as embarrassment coursed through her body.

 

âI uh⦠You have to close your eyes.â She said quietly. Nedral found it odd that she could barely hear Aixa.

 

âWell, Iâm going to have to see it eventually, Aixa, thereâs no need to be embarrassed.â Nedral was trying not to get annoyed, but she understood how Aixa must feel to have someone else in control of her body.

 

âI know itâs justâ¦â She trailed off and blocked Aixa from her thoughts.

 

âOkay, Aixa, I wonât look this time but weâll have to work through it the next time.â Nedral felt the relief Aixa was feeling. She closed her eyes and removed the shirt, cracking one eye lid with her head tilted back so she could find her way into the tub, then sank down into the warm water, a wide grin spreading across her face.

 

[Asyria]

All. the. time.

My character often don't do what I expect them to. It's like... once I created them, instead of being their controller I become their biographer. Instead of deciding what they do, they make me write what they do. Sometimes they do what I think they should and other times they just surprise me. The more I learn to know and understand them, the less it happens.

[Tadir]

I know how you feel. Once the characters personality is established they act a certain way. I've found myself annoyed with what my characters were doing even as I wrote it.

[Noelle]

Happens to me a lot.

 

I like to think it should be veiwed as a good thing however.

Since rather than being little more than a puppet to do whatever you please, you've created something that can be veiwed as more "real".

People are often, in real life, unpredictable.

 

That doesn't make it any less annoying though.

[Kashemia]

I've found myself annoyed with what my characters were doing even as I wrote it.

 

Oh yes, me too, many times. Probably because quite a few of my characters really are pretty annoying <.<

I've once had to retcon a char a bit (it was only beta, so I was just testing her out really), because the way she ended up was way too far from what I had intended, and not something I was interested in playing. It usually takes a rp session or more to really figure out if my character work. After that, she pretty much takes her own life, yeah <.<

[Smiling River]

I don't find it annoying at all. After I've set a tone for the character and hammered out the finer details, it has a life of it's own. I am merely a facilitator of that character, transmitting in into the game.

[Seraphine Felstar]

I mean, sure, I could write them arguing, no problem, but it wouldn't be natural for either of them to do so. I dunno about you, I'd be pretty freaked out if I woke up and someone else was in control of my body and I could communicate with them. I dunno, I just really get into my characters and I figure out how they would react in a given situation.

 

I totally understand what you mean here! Seraphine gets along with people I didn't expect her to and she ended up meeting a lot of people I don't think OOC I would have talked with normally. It's kinda interesting because OOC I feel like I met a lot of friends through Seraphine While I believe you are responsible for your character, I also think there is a time to let go and let them be who they are instead of forcing yourself on them. Geez that sounds odd :lol:

 

In the beginning of FFXI I tried to force Seraphine a bit into a villain role when really... she's much more neutral good. Sometimes she does things that are a little questionable but she was never a traditional villain. As soon as I accepted that things got much easier and she began to flow more naturally for me.

 

When recreating her for FFXIV I really wanted to get away from the ponytail look and I thought now would be the perfect chance. I always roleplayed she put her hair up while she was fighting so it wouldn't get tangled and icky and at home she took her hair down and styled it nicely. If I change that now it's almost taking away from the fact she takes a lot of time to think about her appearance and changes it to suit the situation she's in. It's her signature look and I really don't want to change it after thinking about what it means to her character. I did end up giving her blonde hair though instead of black but I had .dat modded that a while ago in FFXI so it didn't seem so far fetched

 

I think it's fun how sometimes your own character can surprise you You should put your story up in the story section, btw. It gives a preview to your characters which was fun to read.

[Len]

Well let me put it this way

I have this "I am in control" feeling but then

rabbits appear and he really does not pay attention

I created him but giving him a personality has made him have a mind of his own

Either that or I am developing an incurable split personality .

 

That and I wanted my character to write a poem the other day and he just wasn't feeling up to it

I can write poetry everyday and this creation of mine would rather lie in a field of grass waiting for some more rabbits, go figures...

 

The greatest thing about creation is losing control and gaining control in a balance that is so weird it ends up being fun just being and not being your character...

 

Also my character is a loner which is similar so we understand each other to a point , but I feel he just might do something unexpected when I'm not paying attention

[Vareal]

The greatest thing about creation is losing control and gaining control in a balance that is so weird it ends up being fun just being and not being your character...

 

Well said. I'll put the story up in it's appropriate section, but it's as is, save for one little thing I need to change.

 

I also just realized that this thread is in the wrong section of the forums, lol. Sorry about that.

[ArmachiA]

I don't find it annoying, but yeah it happens a lot.

 

There are days when I really want to slap my characters for their behavior.

 

Armi has this Martyr complex, she believes everything is for duty and honor and her life is only for that purpose. While this works on paper, it actually makes her treat other people like dirt. They aren't living for a purpose? Judged. Anyone she gets close to, or romantically involved with is in a world of hurt because she has intimacy issues stemming from the fact she's got a duty to do. She's done some pretty dumb ass things in the name of duty, and I'm sitting behind the screen going "WHY YOU DUMB BITCH WHY?"

 

...I'm ranting <,<

 

However, it's always amusing to see my character go in a direction I didn't anticipate, even if it's one I don't like.

[Kashemia]

I agree, being annoyed with your char isn't always a bad thing ^^ Just means that you've given him/her enough of a personallity to not just play on your own, but to do and say things that isn't just what you would do/say.

[Tagyr]

It's fun seeing your little creation take a life of its own and make its own decisions. While annoyances are common it only makes you prouder sometimes.