akito and more more jump have literally nothing to do with this, okay? i was updating my oc esther's page yesterday on artfight (please attack esther, she's the most developed out of the bunch, you'll have fun) when it dawned upon me. the first ever roleplay oc i made was a mary sue, angstslop abomination named "kiora". and i kid you not, i would not hate her with a burning passion if someone made a writing guide like this for me. i looked at how i developed esther, how i've studied psychology over the (two) years and gained an understanding as to how the brain works. and i haven't given myself a single bit of credit for my drastic improvement. i would have done better if there was someone who taught me. so guys, i will be the person who makes a guide and yeet it into roleplay studios for people to use! and i will use my oc, esther as an example of how to do better. also note that i'm still learning how to write better. this is a guide to improvement, not advanced literature and i am not comfortable sharing info of my ocs from a 13+ site because this is an 8+ site. i will explain without diving too deep into her lore while noting what she has been through and how they affect her. -you can create an oc however and do whatever with them (but don't use real ppl or steal character adopts, that's really rude.), but sometimes you are compelled to create a backstory and a personality, and that's great! but if you don't want to look back and cringe, one thing i recommend is to create the concept of your oc first. "now how do i do that?" you can have a base idea for what you want your character to be like. for esther, i wanted her to come off as sweet but emotionally detached and numb on the inside, and for her design, i wanted blue elements. i them took time to think about her. "how will her harsh backstory of cycling through multiple foster homes as a young child affect her now?" i considered the instability; one family could be strict and authoritarian and the next, barely present. i eventually came up with this: on the surface, esther is a warm, yet somewhat shy. she wants love so desperately due to the lack of maternal warmth she received, she desperately craves love from people around her, yet she still feels empty. she lives with her sarcastic, yet overly pitiful grandmother and hates when people act overbearing and when they overstep. from living in vastly different environments, she has developed a calculated coping mechanism of blending in. she lives a horribly average life with good grades (minus fine arts and phys-ed), yet that same coping mechanism and emptiness is crushing her. she wants the be able to breathe freely, to open up, but she also wants to save her fragile peace. she fears being average and yet, it's the only way she knows how to live. i wrote a lot but did you catch something? i gave her a lot of flaws, but there is a reason behind why she's like that. i am obviously not going to say everything about her character but from what i will say below, you can see that she is kinda grey and you will know why. from the lack of maternal love she received, she craves love now, but is very detached in her relationships. she cycles through romantic relationships with no regret in her pursuit of the love she needs to fill in that gap. she may seem dislikable but her positive traits will balance that out. esther genuinely means well and she does want the people close to her to be at peace. her own emotional numbness is one thing but, she will make an effort cheer others around her with her warmth. she is kind, but everything feels muffled to her. she enjoys making really poorly knit projects for those people, or gifting flowers to them. she is pretty good at respecting boundaries and is careful not to overstep. i'm done explaining a major part of her personality but one thing you should consider is how her trauma affects her behavior. a mary sue thing to do would be to have her trauma give her an air of mystery, but her trauma is an unglamorous hinderance in this case. i made her design last. for her character, it would make a lot of sense for her to look plain and mundane as her only goal is to blend in and have dignity. but i am in no way, an expert at character design, so please keep that in mind! i didn't forget about you roleplayers (mainly towards wcrps)! design doesn't exactly apply if you're entering a litter or something but there is still likely a backstory and multiple factors that should affect your character. was your character adopted? does your character know of their past? what are their parents like? adding trivia and quirks aren't a bad idea! for example, esther can't draw or cook for the life of her but she is an exceptional student (except for phys-ed, she has no hand-eye coordination) and botanist. she is scared of spiders and moths. (continued below)
i drew the chibi of esther. also if you compare esther to another character, that is fine but if you call her a copy of someone, i will smite your comment into oblivion with my lovely delete button. (continued) character agency! your character has got to step out of their comfort zone and drive the plot forward, but it has to make sense. if your character is ambitious, they'd jump at the chance at an adventure, but a more cautious character would take a thoughtful approach. here is a cause and effect template to write trauma action -> psychological (or physical) consequences. let me make an example: esther's mother putting her in the foster care system -> esther craving external sources of love from different people to fill the gap her mom made something else: i study the heck out of psychology. i know it’s something not everyone does but i guess it is because i studied mbti when i was like 7. but other things i did was consume media that had very complex characters. a good example of that is luka from alien stage (not for kids, i would say 14+). he is incredibly manipulative and a good chunk of the fandom hates him. while he is manipulative, the reason why was his human urge to live. this isn’t an excuse, what he did is horrible, but it explains why he manipulated his opponents. lastly and i cannot stress this enough, research your characters diseases and disorders. you get a sense for how it affects your characters and you will also gain a sense of empathy and understanding. hope you were able to understand and remember: trauma isn't pretty!
