forum Your Characters: Then & Now

Started January 04, 2019 by @Starfast group

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This was kind of inspired by @Kiley's post in first/worst OC thread but I also find it interesting to look back at what my characters used to be and how they've changed over the years. I'm curious to see how you've changed your characters as well so that's what this thread is for. So yeah, in this thread talk about what your characters were like when you first made them vs how they are now.

Yama then: an excuse to insert myself into whatever universe held my attention, along with having a ridiculous set of powers that came from taking a certain aspect from each universe he was in. It got ridiculous, and I didn't do much writing with him. I didn't even have his name or origin down, yet. I just liked dragons.

Yama now: an actually fleshed-out character with a story, weapons, family, friends, enemies, and a set of powers that is "broken done correctly," at least in my mind. I still like dragons.

Okay so:
Joan Walters (Original)

• Pyromaniac
• Main character, first person prospective
• Had at least 1 full-on sensory overload
• Smol-ish
• Vaguely grayromantic

Joan Walters (Now)

• No longer pyromaniac
• Main character, third person POV
• Has occasional breakdowns but is more or less stable
• Tall, almost as tall as Samuel
• Asexual and biromantic

John Revis (Original)

• Side character
• Very romantic/PDA-ish (???)
• Engaged to OG Meg right off the bat
• Gets captured and nearly executed
• No connection whatsoever to OG Oliver Warren
• No siblings

Jon Revis (Now)

• Obviously his name changed
• Not nearly as…not flirty, per say, but more emotional in general, not just in romantic contexts
• Not engaged to Meg, in fact he doesn't know her until after the story starts
• Does get captured, but escapes execution
• Crushing very hard on (a totally oblivious) Oliver Warren at the start
• Has a deceased sister

Reggie Arnol (Original)

• Dorky big brother figure
• MUCH older than his sister Therese
• Didn't want any part in the rebellion
• No connection to the Revis family
• Joan and Nell/a's cousin

Oliver Warren (Now)

• Obviously yet another name change
• Much more serious, though can still be a bit dorky at times
• Is one of the founders of the rebellion and is the general of their army
• Still older than Therese but by 7 years instead of 11
• Not related to Joan and Nell/a (technically is by marriage but he's dead by that point)
• Was engaged to Jon's older sister

Meg Lewis (Original)

• Tall and slim
• Side character
• Was with the rebellion from the start
• Also was engaged to Jon from the start
• No sister, but had a cousin named Amira
• Impulsive

Meg Linell (Current)

• Short and chubby/curvy
• Main character, 3rd person POV
• Changed her last name
• Joins the rebellion at a later point, initially is in opposition of it
• Again, falls in love with Jon over the course of the story, and has at least 2 prior love interests
• Has a sister named Amira, but not a cousin
• She and Amira very much swap personalities between the versions
• Much more calm and calculated

Nella Walters (Original)

• Very young, 12 if I remember correctly
• Combative
• Smol
• Had some vague breathing issue
• Outgoing and bubbly
• No romance (because she was 12)
• Closest to Joan

Nell Walters (Current)

• 16 years old
• Very shy and quiet at first
• Tall
• Fairly healthy, despite being underweight from a lack of food
• Falls very hard for Therese and they become a couple
• Closest to Nich

Nich Fox (Original)

• Had a twin brother
• Illegitiment child
• No connection to the Walters family
• Tried to sell fake goods and got mobbed
• A straight-up jerk for a majority of the time

Nich Fox (Current)

• No siblings
• Not illegitiment, but his parents eloped and ran off together
• Joan and Nell/a's cousin
• Gets arrested for petty theft
• Has a heart

Therese Arnol (Original)

• Very young (12 I think)
• Medic
• Joan and Nell/a's cousin
• Kind and shy, exciteable
• MUCH younger than her brother
• Died at some point??

Therese Warren (Current)

• NOT RELATED TO THE WALTERS IN ANY WAY!
• 17
• A soldier, not a medic
• Fierce, determined, and sassy
• Doesn't die

Samuel Shafton (Original)

• Very afraid of heights
• Jumped out of a plane and got stuck in a tree
• Defector to the rebels
• Solely a speechwriter
• Sweet and kind

Samuel Shafton (Now)

• Not as afraid of heights but still afraid
• Left to find his way to the rebellion on his own
• A spy for the Duchess, not a defector until much later
• Speechwriter, messenger, and punching bag
• Arrogant and stuck-up at first, but grows in kindness to become an awkward tol bean

One of my guys went from being possessed/tortured/being forced to try to murder his twin
to a weird uncle with a major sense of humour/flustered gay fluff boi to those who know him…………

I'll probably end up talking about most, if not all of my characters here at some point, but I figured I'd start with Milo since he's my oldest character. I created him around 11 years ago and he's changed a lot during that time.
Original Milo:

• Could read minds for some reason?
• His name is actually Milo
• Was the best sword fighter in his country despite being only 17 and having minimal training.
• Personality wise, he was your typical knight in shining armour. Courageous, noble, etc.
• Was liked by pretty much everyone, even when they had every reason not to like him.
• The only person who didn't like him was the father to his love interest so it created this sort of forbidden romance subplot. There was also no reason for the father to dislike him other than that he "didn't trust him" which is actually pretty fair imo.
• Disagreed with his father's beliefs because he was just super woke.
• Ran away from home after a heated argument with his father that escalated to a point where his father tried to kill him. He then travelled half way across the country on horseback with life threatening injuries (even though realistically, given the nature of his injuries he probably would have bled out and died before he could make it out the front door). He was then taken in by a kind stranger.
• His character arc had a happier ending. He basically gets revenge on his father by doing some spoiler-y stuff that made everyone really happy and he becomes a hero.

Current Milo:

• Can't read minds, but has another power that allows him to collectively lucid dream and show up in other people's dreams.
• His given name is Silan, but he changed it to Milo when he ran away from home to mask his true identity.
• He's an above average swordsman, but certainly not the best. Also upped his age to 24.
• His personality makes him a little more unlikeable. He's much more deceptive, dishonest and manipulative. He has some redeeming qualities but this feels more believable when you take into account his backstory and how he was raised.
• Most people don't trust him, or are at least wary of him. The people who aren't typically don't know him very well.
• He has no love interest, nor do I have any desire to give him one. His arc is interesting enough, he doesn't need a romance (forbidden or otherwise) to spice things up.
• Initially agreed with his father's beliefs, but once he discovered his dreaming ability he became more aware of how his father's actions were affecting others.
• Still gets into a heated argument with his father that causes him to leave home, but his father doesn't try to kill him. Instead, he runs away in the middle of winter with limited supplies. He's still found by the same stranger but this time he's suffering from hypothermia rather than bleeding to death.
• Bittersweet ending where he still gets revenge on his father. This time though his actions aren't well received and he is exiled from his country after being found guilty of treason.

I feel like there's more than that, but those are just the main ones that I could think of off the top of my head.

Niko Before:

• Very inexperienced romantically
• Pretentious and really impulsive
• Nice to people at kind of random times and very inconsistent with his attitude towards others
• Openly states that his mother was the one who killed him
• Vague and poorly researched PTSD, mostly marked by poorly-written flashbacks and dreams

Niko After:

• Ace spectrum; lack of romance was because of lack of interest, never because he was picky or "didn't have time"
• Somewhat proud, only acts on impulse in extremely emotional situations; basically these traits were toned down, and he's not an annoying piece of trash
• Consistently considerate of his friends, but not so much towards strangers; often does not consider the impact of his actions on people he does not know
• Doesn't talk about how he died because 1. It bothers him and 2. He doesn't really feel like sharing who his killer was, because this might just hurt people
• Better-researched PTSD, marked by some more anxiety-like symptoms and certain triggers; just overall more consistent with the real disorder rather than stereotypes

Asa Before:

• Was a pretty minor character
• Did not have magic
• Had almost no personality, but a little bit of an attitude for no reason at all
• Kind of defaulted to being straight (this is before I started diversifying my cast and exploring the sexualities of characters
• Was a good healer without a good reason

Asa After:

• Became a more prominent character, and vital to the well-being of other characters
• Has magic that influences emotions
• Has a personality; stubborn sometimes but has a big heart and is deeply driven to help others
• Now has a husband because why the heck not? I'm not very far in the story yet (right now, they're on opposite sides of the country), so he hasn't been introduced, but I plan on it at some point, and he's likely to join the main party and be a fully fleshed-out character, unlike most of the other characters' spouses at the moment.
• Is a good healer because he always watched his town healer do her work growing up, likes helping people, and has magic that does wonders on healing the psychological aspect of pain

Jackson Gavel (Original)

• Air force
• Had brown hair and blue eyes
• Super arrogant and cocky
• Secondary character
• Underdeveloped
• Romantic setup with Geneva
• Kind of a jerk
• Lucky in the sense of escaping harm

Jackson Gavel (Now)

• Private detective
• Bronze-blond hair and green eyes
• Confident in himself but still cares about other people, chill
• Main character
• Snarky but nice when you get to know him
• Has some sisters
• Wannabe actor
• Not lucky, he's been stabbed and shot prior to/during the story
• 10/10 believes in cryptics
• He and Geneva are aro/aro solidarity
• There's a scene where he fights a guy with a prop sword while wearing jeans and a toga because that's the kind of guy he is (and it was during Julius Caesar)

Briar Thorn (Original)

• Tall with short blonde hair
• Light skin
• Serious and standoffish
• Blue eyes
• Is the best knight in the kingdom despite only being like 20
• Vaguely aro-ace? Idk she was never in a relationship

Ayla Thorn (Current)

• Tall with long black hair
• Medium-dark skin
• More lighthearted
• Brown eyes, and is in fact blind in one eye
• Is the queen's personal guard because she's trusted
• Polysexual and in a relationship with Carrie

Carrie Porter (Original)

• Blacksmith
• Straight and had a romantic setup with Lysander
• Not really any important past
• 16

Carrie Kitson (Current)

• Weapon maker
• She's a lesbian and in a relationship with Ayla
• Complicated past involving DONT and Nich Fox
• 21

Lysander Dumont (Original)

• Main protagonist but eventually became the villain
• Grey eyes
• Page
• Had romantic setup with Carrie
• Super serious all the time, prodigy

Lysander Dumont (Current)

• Side character
• Celery green eyes
• Guard-in-training
• Not in any relationship
• Very eager to learn but isn't the most skilled at anything. Awkward and dorky

Fern (Original)

• Criminal
• Aggressive and determined
• Was a lost princess but had a sister? Maybe?
• Side character

Fern Raleigh (Current)

• Orphan
• Sweet and kind
• Lost princess
• Main character

Huxley Erikson (Original)

• Archer
• Didn't speak
• Got killed off right away
• Basically really irrelevant

Huxley Descant (Current)

• Pirate
• Part of a government overthrowing group
• Doesn't die
• Can speak but is just a quiet person in general, introverted
• Main character

Original Garzlan:

• Super skilled archer. Never missed a shot despite being self taught (I'm noticing a recurring theme here…)
• Made a living by operating a ferry
• Had the ability to shapeshift into an animal form (his animal form was a dog, iirc).
• Had gotten married about a year prior to the start of the story
• Was part of a secret organization devoted to protecting the new generation of Magic Keepers (which was also how he knew Milo)
• Was super forgiving. To the point where he found out that Milo was the son of the man who murdered his mother and he had no problem with this AT ALL. Like he wasn't even mad.
• Had no problem with fighting and seriously injuring people in tight situations.
• Had no problem with putting his entire life on hold and travelling across an entire continent to help Milo.

Current Garzlan:

• He's a painfully mediocre archer.
• Makes a living as a carpenter. He still owns a boat though, but he lives on an island so it's not like this is really weird.
• No longer has the ability to shapeshift since this didn't really add to the plot at all. Instead he has the same dreaming abilities that I mention in Milo's post.
• Not married… yet. Still trying to decide whether I want him to be engaged or not during the course of the story, but either way he's still in a relationship with the same girl.
• Scrapped the secret organization thing since it didn't make sense and was kinda redundant. Knows Milo from their shared dreaming ability.
• Generally still easy to forgive, but took huge issue with the fact that Milo's father killed his mother. When he found this out, he tried to cut off ties with Milo.
• Very non-confrontational. Would only seriously injure someone in a life or death situation.
• Only agrees to put his life on hold and travel across an entire continent to help Milo because Milo is a manipulative little jerk and he basically got tricked into helping someone that he was trying to cut out of his life.

Elliott before: almost zero detail, had no motivations.
Elliott now: has so much detail I don't know what to do with it. Has a real motivation that makes sense.
Mine isn't as big as a lot of these, but what can you do.

Let's have a go at this.

Rexseado (A.k.a, Aquaramis):
Stupid name (God, I am cringing at that name!)
Stupidly over powered for a SIXTEEN year old
Waaay too confident for someone who is something that supposed to be hated.
"Kills" him off then brings him back for no reason.
Marry a girl whom he barely knows.

Aquaramis:
Name change (I was trying to remember the word Aquamarine because I was planning him to be named after a crystal like his mother was, but got this instead, which I like a lot more.)
Still powerful, but age matches his strength.
Insane because of testing done on him.
Not dead, but assumed to be.
Is Asexual.

Solokind Before:
Nervous wreak.
For WHATEVER REASON, made him half alien. (Why young me, why?!)
Was bullied IN PUBLIC even though he was A FREAKING PRINCE!!!
Would have made a HORRIBLE KING!
Falls in love to someone he barely knows.

Solokind now:
Was emotionally and physically abused by his father.
REMOVED THE STUPID ALIEN THING!
The abuse was behind closed doors.
While his confidence and choice making is shot, his morals are in the right place.
His love makes more sense than just sticking two people together just because.

Crabclaw before:
He was just a pointless Comedy Relief guy with no reason to exist.

Crabclaw now:
He now has a purpose other than the comedy relief guy with a background.

Flowerblood Aka, Viveka:
Stupid name
Basically a Mary Sue
Served no real purpose other than to be Solokind's love interest

Viveka now:
Better name.
Not a Mary Sue
Purpose a lot better now.

Artimae Moongazer was my first OC, and boy has she changed over the years!

Artimae then:

• Star Wars OC
• Was the only Light-Side Force-user that wasn't enslaved
• Was an amazingly talented mechanic even though she was like 12
• Lived on this snow-forest planet thingy named Tarin that was super generic
• Incredibly boring personality with very surface-level flaws

Artimae now:

• The main character of one of my stories
• Has no special powers or abilities
• Is a research botanist like her parents (and is moderately skilled)
• Lives on a scientific research station in the middle of space called Vera City - do you get the pun? I'm very proud of it :)
• Has issues with shoving down emotions and social interaction because of her isolated upbringing - issues that affect her constantly

Hello!

Hey all!
So my character, Jelohew, is a sorcerer in our D&D campaign.

Then:
-He was a joyful traveler
-Inexperienced in using his magic
-Liked to joke

Now (after the assassination of a good friend (our party's wizard))
-Embittered for now, he'll get over it
-Much better at Magic
-Uncomfortable being in the party with the assassin captured, a little jumpy
-His tongue is quicker than ever

Adam Clarkwood
Before: Cruel powerlord who forces people around.
Now: Way better at his job since he is nicer and therefore better at manipulation.

Aria
Badass extraordinary.
Arenna: (Name change)
A much more soft and nice personality. (Though she can still kick butt.)

Aya Sannami
Before: Sad with tragic and mysterious backstory. Leader of Guards of the Vow.
Now: Trained in battle. Determined. Only a leading member.

Falaun
Before: Very bland. Was only there for Aria's love interest, cause elves, and for another dude.
Now: Paragon with moral struggle, turns psycho for a bit because of trauma. Half elf.

Gaius:
Before: Sidekick with very little personality.
Now: Waaay more character. Leadership skills. Has a backstory.

Jayla Torez
Before: Absolute b*t**. Manipulating a guy to fall in love with her. Role of hating Aya.
Now: A sweet little idiot who falls desperately in love with a guy who doesn't deserve her.

Kaiman Kiyaradari
Before: Not much character.
Now: Suave, confident, romantic, powerful, calculating leader.

Kirisano Adiachi
Before: A depressed mess.
Now: Driven. Determined for revenge.

Neirym
Before: "I'll create a great villian!"
Now: Pukes "What have I done? I hate you!"

Rogin: Self insert who developed his own character

Soáki: Way more human. (Which is funny, cause he's not human.)

Toran Sannami
Before: A sacrifice that was kind of lame.
Now: Gets more screen time and personality, (Lovable!) making it actually sad when he dies.

Yarri Undama
Before: She was killed randomly and it set off a bunch of stuff.
Now: Is killed for a very (good?) reason. Has backstory and POV chapters. The relationship between her and Kirisano is more realistic.

Zol
Before: Bland and powerful.
Now: History which created more personality.

Thomas Barton (My very very first oc ever)
Then:
Cold and cut off
shy
nervous
anti-hero
despised Tony stark

Now:
Jokester
Outgoing
hero
hated Tony at first, but now have an interesting dynamic

I've also cut some characters from the original draft of the story because the plot changed:

Lizbeth Loder:

• Cool aunt type leader
• Had blue and green tips and black hair (it's a rebellion how the heck did she get hair dye?)
• Drops weirdly philosophical quotes
• Knew Joan's mom??

Brielle Nicolet:

• Main character
• Sweet and smol friend
• Silver hair??
• Died after her sister dropped her off a rooftop in a battle.

Jennica Walters (Then)

• Blonde
• Super cheerful and outgoing
• Creative
• Quirky

Anna Grace Walters (Now)

• Stern and serious, but can still have fun
• Quiet, determined to be the 'good sister' and protect Lily

in my case it's mostly that the first characters I made are just along for the ride, there was no real motivation or character. At the same time, I would still write a five-page-long story on their background which was a mess of things I thought were cool and glued together into one of those modern art pieces you could mistake for a toddler's crafting project.
Now I'm putting way more thought into what these dorks actually want and what their personality is beside the crazy elaborate backstories. I like to think the backstories currently actually resemble stuff and look like one coherent piece even though there are still shiny stickers all over it.

Foxglove (Then):

• Subdued playfulness
• Loved his sister, but kind of in a I-don't-care way
• A weird mixture of traits that weren't consistent
• I knew he was bi, because most Alnaschari are, but he didn't actually get much screen time

Foxglove (Now):

• A total dandy (mess up his outfit at your peril)
• Relatively cold
• Loves his sister and isn't afraid to show it
• Courtier
• Think Mycroft from BBC Sherlock & Hercule Poirot
• Bi with a thing for imperial guards

Stardew (Then):

• Originally a human swordswoman
• Out of all of them, she was the most all over the place because she was my first character (in this world)

Stardew (Now):

• Bi
• More flawed
• More consistent

Trouble (Then):

• A sort of love interest for Stardew?
• He was kind of flat, to be honest. More of an idea than a character.

Trouble (Now):

• Gay
• "Villain" businessman
• His relationship with Stardew is more sibling-like (they love besting the other and inconveniencing them, but when it comes down to it, they'd do a lot for the other)

From Belle:
Basically a human from a different planet
Cliché rebel princess with zero explanation of how she got this way
Horrible brat (remember, disrespecting your elders and loving family is cool!) who was still always in the right somehow

to Benai:
Member of an alien species that looks nothing like a human (okay, almost nothing)
Princess struggling with her position as a bastard and an interest in alternate viewpoints which got her into, er, "bad company"
Still a horrible brat at times but gets called out by at least three different people and becomes a more responsible, mature person over the course of the story

Johann (Then):

• Originally a djinn Trouble carefully bound to him
• Kind of cold and just there to clean up the mess after a Stardew-Trouble confrontation

Johann (Now):

• Now a shapeshifter
• Has an actual backstory
• Is Trouble's "bodyguard" (does a lot more, wink)

Samael (Then):

• Essentially a branch-off from Original Trouble
• Inherited the role of Stardew's love interest

Samael (Now):

• Still a love interest
• Actually has a non-love-interest-related motive

Leonora (Then):

• A throwaway character that's referenced like twice
• Was in love with Stardew, but was coaxed into falling in love with another girl instead

Leonora (Now):

• A narrating character
• Has a more fleshed out motive
• Has an actual storyline
• Stardew and her actually have a friends-with-benefits thing instead of a hint about What Could Have Been

Valkyrie Before:

• Protagonist, was going to be the focus of the story
• Just kind of went along with what was happening for some reason- never questioned the weird shenanigans surrounding her powers
• Was really idealistic and wanted to climb up the social ladder, partially because she was sick of working in farming for a really rich guy and getting basically no returns on what's already a boring, tedious, back-breaking job
• Was supposed to be Aurelius' love interest

Valkyrie Now:

• Antagonist! Not the villain, but gives a clear view into the other side of the conflict. She's not necessarily right, but portrayed as justified in motives.
• Questions everything, has an attitude, super skeptical of whatever the heck is happening. Also stays mad about some of the things that happen.
• Hard-core realist; motives for leaving her job are literally just to support her family with a larger wage, and she does not care much for prestige in the first place. She's not a dreamer.
• Hates Aurelius. Tries to kill him at least once. The feeling ends up being pretty mutual. She has a love interest, but they don't stay together for long.

Aurelius before:

• Brooding, mysterious, kind of cold. Minimal backstory didn't really provide a reason.
• One of two main protagonists.
• Was supposed to have magic that was sort of eating at his life force
• Was supposed to be Valkyrie's love interest

Aurelius now:

• Not brooding or mysterious. Fairly open about some backstory and motivations. Legitimately suffering from depression. One of very few characters in the story (if not the only one) with dead parents, but they didn't die during the story, or out of plot convenience. It just made sense overall.
• The sole protagonist, but now there are many supporting characters.
• Doesn't have magic. Instead, he is a follower of a death goddess who grants him a few small abilities temporarily if he asks nicely and does a little ritual. He's been accused of necromancy.
• Hates Valkyrie even more than she hates him. Tried to kill her before she even started showing aggression towards him. Ends up with a guy who acts as the group healer; this guy complements him way better than Val ever would have.

Alice then:

• light-hearted
• caring
• shoulder-length blonde hair and daring silver and blue eyes
• adventurous
• constantly struggling due to her dyslexia and social anxiety
• very small and petite, not really able to handle herself in physical situations

Alice now:

• stern and serious
• alone and cut-off
• long black hair with dark and mysterious eyes
• an enchanted eye-patch covers her right eye
• stays clear of most people
• can kick your ass without magic
• wise and strong