forum What kind of themes do your characters represent?
Started by @Jolyn
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@Jolyn

I know discussing themes and motifs feel more like an English class topic but I was reviewing some characters and realized there was some common themes that I unintentionally was forming! A lot of my characters arcs focus on healing either mentally, emotionally or even physically from past troubles, often have support systems and no character is left with unacknowledged trauma. Found family is another one with many relationships taking on a familial vibe to it whether that me parent-child or sibling-siblings.

So now I’m wonders if y’all have those as well! Whether it was intentional or unintentional what kind of themes do you have going on?

@larcenistarsonist group

i accidentally created a majority of my Thaddeus Godchallenger and Co cast represent all sorts of different unhealthy coping mechanisms!!

  • Thad: Substance abuse, he's not only an alcoholic, but he also depends on an extract pulled from a certain mushroom
  • Rune: Withdrawal from society, she became non-verbal and basically hid away for a long time, only really emerging to do murder and hang with her brother
  • Bane: Suppression, Bane hasn't addressed the trauma that he's been through, and he doesn't plan on doing so
  • Fennec: Distraction, Fennec spends all his time creating inventions or glass sculptures to take away from
  • Kora: Manipulation and taking it out on others, Kora discovered from her trauma that she has to get stuff done in her own way and if that requires bending people's wills then so be it
  • Alexi: Putting others first, no matter the cause. Alexi doesn't take care of herself, because she would much rather take care of others
  • Atticus: Short-temperedness, Atticus is extremely snippy and doesn't take anyone's shit

anyways, yeah aksdjf;alksdjf i didn't mean to do this but I did askjf;aks

@Cadeverek group

I am physically outraged that I haven't seen this thread before, so allow me to infodump a bit (UGH, OK, a lot) :))))
For the context, plenty of those characters will be used in games, and practically every tiny little aspect of them and what they do probably has some symbolism embedded. Some others won't be used in games but still have some symbolism in them and keep in mind plenty aren't exactly… uh… wholesome… themes, so there you have it, trigger warning.
Also, I'm christian, so 2 characters have religious connotations, but they can be interpreted in non-religious ways as well!

Character Symbolism
Henka Substance abuse, toxic family dynamics in which the person aknowledges the abuse and yet, accidentally becomes just what they swore to destroy. More specifically, being the scapegoat of a dysfunctional family + the opressed became the opressor sorta thing
Inoue Seeing your life have a sudden change and not knowing what to do next, child prodigy burnout, the effects of effective gaslighting
Jack Until what point can you commit the same sins and still be forgiven (answer: always, and out of a religious context just consider "until what point are your mistakes redeemable?") and how the very community (aka the Church) that commit just as many sins and should give you support instead sees you as a filthy sinner while thinking they are pristine little saints (lmao, as a christian, this is hella annoying)
Jikan Seiji About how human justice is never truly fair for everyone. The religious part of this is, of course, perfectly fair justice only comes from God, not from men, but if you prefer a laic interpretation, go with the "human justice is never 100% fair. Also, about how fame can make you act like the best and feel like the worst, and bring you insane amounts of paranoia. Also death threats ain't fun. And asexuality because yes :))))))
Amadrya A healthy friendship eventually becoming toxic (not because of you, but your friend), and trying to help someone with their struggles but ending up getting caught in between. On a lighter note, moving on and evolving as a person while having to watch first hand a loved one degrade themselves and knowing you lowkey helped it
Kainu Feeling like the replaceable friend, feeling like everyone had an interesting life and personality, but you're just… there. And therefore, Fear Of Missing Out, having no direction in life due to having everything you planned accomplished, and dissmissing your own feelings for thinking you're "not traumatized enough" to feel bad
Marylinn Overcoming your trauma and choosing to change instead, and trying no not let your past define you. Also, my favorite representation of how a relationship doesn't have to be toxic, and how both parties should alow themselves to be vulnerable with one another (regardless ogf gender) and be willing to grow together, by being independent and yet choosing to be together. And gender equality in straight relationships because she's just that badass lmao
Eeri Wishing you were born in a different time and the longing to start over, despite knowing full well you can't. Nostalgia and melancholy
Natt Racism, toxic positivity and the effects on being raised by a narcicistic+absent parent duo, but choosing to be kind instead (a bit too kind, therefore the toxic positivity). And going through a parent's divorce
Evig How greed and a hyper-controlling toxic family can turn you into a ruthless narcisistic, entitled, bratty monster and being a gold-digger who thinks she's always right.
Vandrer Putting too much pressure on yourself and not following your dreams to please people who didn't ask, and almost stated they didn't need to be pleased, and now you've lost the best years of your life and feel unfullfilled but have no one else to blame other than yourself
William Major depression, the effects of very heavy bullying with phisical agression and all. A loving, but neglectful mom and absent father. Incurable and perceptive diseases (no, it's not cancer, and no, it's not deformation or multilation, he has gigantism and yeah, that explains the bullying)
Kim Childhood friendship, and seeing someone you love in a deplorable state, but knowing it's not your fault, not their fault and you can't do anything about it. Deep platonic love and to a certain extent, unrequited romantic love, and pretending to love someone due to fear that they'll get even more depressed if you tell them the truth
Simon (or Silicon, of Si for short) Anorexia and overworking yourself in academic and professional terms, to the point of hating the hobbies/jobs you used to love due to overdoing it and having tight deadlines
Paul (or Polonium, or Po for short) Manipulation. Someone being toxic to you and then you decide you'll make it everyone else's problem and become toxic and manipulative.
Noah Very straight foward, he represents 4 things: 2020, Anxiety, Unrequited romantic love+the crippiling fear of being abandoned by your loved one and lastly, somehow, finding confort and "it's ok to not be ok". (He isn't a deeply developed character, but he's closely tied to a traumatic event in my life and I saw this character in a dream, and for some reason whenever I got sad due to that event, thinking about this character calmed me down. So yeah, kinda dumb, but he means a lot to me personally!)

Well, I can keep going if you want, I have a few more characters with themes/symbolisms and I love talking about it, so I can sit here all day typing this but it's already pretty long lmao xD

In general, most of these weren't fully planned (most of my OCs start with a funky design that I eventually use to vent about something, then get that something and think "hey, sure would be fun if I took this, multiplied by 2000, unified with X's person's trauma, sprinkled the latest psychology matter I've studied and added some ✧edge✧"), and I just realized how toxic relationships are such a common occurance within my characters. Eh, what can I do amirite ¯_(ツ)_/¯

@Jolyn

ASDJSJADL HOW WAS THIS ALL ACCIDENTAL WHY DO I FIND THIS IS SO INTRIGUING??? I swear I need to hear more from y'all about your characters so interesting! Kinda inspiring me to be more specific about my main characters rather then the long story short I wrote at the beginning.

@Retr0inactive public

  • Lumianne: Vengeance and how harsh circumstances can corrupt the purest of souls, but it is up to them to stay true to themselves
  • Leone: Identity, familial pressure and the consequences of bottling up trauma
  • Janaina: Perfectionism and smiling to hide how you feel
  • Aeliana: What years of propaganda, strict families and a corrupt system does to a child who ends up contributing to the corrupt system
  • Baako: Masculinity and trying to impress someone you look up to, even if it hurts you
  • Regina: The importance of mothers
  • Bediako: The importance of fathers
  • Alexander: Expectations and how they can make someone lose their identity
  • Nikolaus: How too much knowledge can be detrimental

Those are the ones I'm sure of!

@Jolyn

Ooooooh we love this!! Baako and Lumianne and Nikolaus seems super unique! were all these intentionally done are unintentional i'm curious….

@Retr0inactive public

Ooooooh we love this!! Baako and Lumianne and Nikolaus seems super unique! were all these intentionally done are unintentional i'm curious….

Yep they were all intentional!!

@Ariavaana

I love this question a lot!!

Goddess of Life: Anarchy, trying to live up to a perfect image, pressure

Nyaery: Distancing yourself, loneliness

Ariate: Motherhood, trying to keep the family together although they don't like each other

Eilore: Teacher's pet, trying to be the golden child, suffering in silence, letter of the law

Hailoh: the spirit of the law, love, sacrifice

Kaizhu: The chosen one cliche, although instead, he turns bitter and cold

@larcenistarsonist group

Okay I have more! Have my Gods!!!(You guyses is all so neat what the heck adkalkdlskd)

-

Solizha: the fierce protection of a mother, willing to suffer for eons so her family doesn't have to, loving so passionately that she no longer needs to weild her bow and arrows
Hyo: the urge to break free from oppression, the need to cause chaos to spark change for a better world, challenging authority and putting the rights and liberty of a human being before any sort of law
Geobi: the awareness of potential challenges and continuing to persist, unfazed through victory and defeat on the path to his goal, a set jaw as he tackles any obstacle head on
Caliga: knowing that great victory requires great sacrifice and bloodying knives, both figurative and literal, and having the unblinking unhesitance to do so
Daedra: knowing knowledge can break a man and topple empires, yet continuing to search for it to benefit others, uncovering what others want hidden aware and unafraid of the consequences, pulling books from burning flames
Aarion: a child's naive hope in humanity, betting that people will do the right thing just the end, sitting by strangers while they die so they won't leave alone

@Jolyn

I didn't expect to love this thread as much as I do???? Like its really fascinating to me?? Really helps you see character depth and complexity much more easily!

@sheabutter group

Ali: Overcoming major trust and abandonment issues, and how forgiveness comes on your terms, not theirs
Lybra: Selfishness and how it usually comes from a place of hurt or trauma, but that doesn't give you an excuse to hurt others
Elidi: Putting others first is important, but not at the sake of your own health. You can take some time for yourself and no one will blame you
Robin: Sharing control in a team is the only way the team will effectively work. Simply declaring yourself leader and ordering people around will only serve to make your team turn on you eventually.
Maggie: Peer pressure isn't cool. If something is making you uncomfortable or uneasy, speak up immediately or the thing might keep happening.
Bel: A cishet white savior complex doesn't help anyone. If you announce a community has your support but don't do anything to actively help or support that community, you're not actually helping solve the problem.
Ten: Resolving conflicting feelings regarding past family members. It's okay if you're not ready to have them back in your life yet and if you need more time to process what happened.

@Cadeverek group

ASDJSJADL HOW WAS THIS ALL ACCIDENTAL WHY DO I FIND THIS IS SO INTRIGUING??? I swear I need to hear more from y'all about your characters so interesting! Kinda inspiring me to be more specific about my main characters rather then the long story short I wrote at the beginning.

Awnnn thank you! I'm glad you like my children lmao
I do have 103 characters tho, so I can keep the list going. Some have a short meaning (I use some characters to represent a single word or emotion, and usualy they don't have backstory and are used solely for artistic representation when I'm drawing), and some others have a more developed symbolism. I can cite a few more if you want! :)

@Jolyn

Awnnn thank you! I'm glad you like my children lmao
I do have 103 characters tho, so I can keep the list going. Some have a short meaning (I use some characters to represent a single word or emotion, and usualy they don't have backstory and are used solely for artistic representation when I'm drawing), and some others have a more developed symbolism. I can cite a few more if you want! :)

Honestly I'd love to! Again its super intriguing to see what y'all have for symbolism so cite away! Also ayyyy 100+ characters squad! Good to know I'm not the only one here that has too many ocs lmao

@Cadeverek group

AYYYYYYY 100+ CHARACTER GANG
I'm gonna cite a few more, but the most well developed ones were the ones I mentioned before. And the first few ones are the ones that are made to represent only one word, so now, without further ado…

CHARACTER SYMBOLISM
Ana Anorexia
Catherine Depression
Lyer Pistanthrophobia (fear of trusting people due to thinking they'll hurt ir betray you)
Awad Anxiety
Frank The feeling when you were born with a privilege that everyone considers to be a huge advantage in theory, but it's a burden for you and everyone finds you annoying for said privilege. The longing to start over, and the knowledge that sometimes actions that people deem as selfish are actually for everyone's good. In his case, the privilege is mind reading, you can see where this is going xD
Audrey Trying to help someone but being afraid that you don't really know them enough to interfere
Bitcoin (her name doesn't make sense anymore, but I kept it bc I got accostumed) Toxic relationships and knowing you won't ever be able to escape you reality unless by creating a geographical gap between you and those who hurt you. In other words, running away from home and the euphoria of moving out as a means to start over and being open to new beginnings, even tho you're aware that with freedom comes responsibilities. This time, no sd twist, her life really becomes far better :) (also, the bittersweet feeling of feeling selfish for leaving everyone and everything behind, while also understanding that you had a valid reason for resentment and you did the right choice long term.)
Natália Not very wholesome but using someone for their body and breaking hearts as a way of coping with heart break. In other words, "if I was hurt, why shouldn't people be too?". Also, a critique on people who blame all their bad actions on mental illnesses or trauma.
hE Just a literal personification of Henka's moments of dissociation (it/its). It doesn't have a name and I don't count it as one of my OCs (I count as hE and Henka as only one character, hE is tecnically a separate entity/manifestation but not a separate person, spirit or personality), but I have a sprite made just for it so I decided to mention it too :) (again, it's NOT a spirit lmao)
Azrael totally religious, Azrael is the Angel of Death in the Bible. They're my favorite angel since they're usually seen as evil but they're not a demon, instead they're an actual angel who acts as God's "justice maker" or just like the "Death/reaper" figure. You'd think Death is a demon, but no, dude, it's an angel. IT'S A LITERAL ANGEL. LIKE DUDE. IT CAN'T GET ANY MORE METAL THAN THAT. THE ANGEL OF DEATH DUDE. AND IT'S CANON. LIKE DUDE. D U D E .
Liz Euphoria, confort, genuine happiness. Emotional intelligence. Fun fact, she was based on one of my favorite teacher's pet rats!
Sindre Knowing you're far past your best years, but aknowledging you did enjoy them. Finding enjoyment in everyday things, instead of wrecklessness. In a less positive note, being abandoned once you don't have "anything to give" anymore, that with age you'll eventually have no use and no one will care anymore.

I'll come back once I remember a few more!

@Jolyn

AYYYYYYY 100+ CHARACTER GANG

Bestie I think we need to make this an official gang now lmao

I'll come back once I remember a few more!

AGAIN ALL THESE ARE SO NEAT?? I feel the Azrael drama there honestly, Death as a whole ain't evil even in my own characters, Lady Death is literally the only deity who isn't causing problems on purpose. But yes feel free to add as much as you want!

@Katastrophic group

I got a few, this is fun to think about. I never thought about direct themes for each character, outside of basic symbolism, so it definitely helped me decide some things on my less developed ones!

Danica - Pursuit of dreams in the face of everything going wrong, but also knowing when those dreams are too much and may hurt others. As the leader of the group she has to put her ambitions aside, but never gives up on them

Adam - Redemption. He's a character with a bad past, both bad things done to him and by him, and in the current story he tries to do good by his friends to make up for his history

Nova - Acceptance of self. This character has no memories of her past, but there are hints that she was a bad person. Her character is about being optimistic and being the best she can now, regardless of her previous life.

Eilo - Bravery. This is my most skittish character (and most moral) with a lot of fears, but he overcomes them to help stand up for and to his friends.

Sterling - Trust, as in the acceptance of losing control and letting others make calls. This character is in control of everything, logical and never letting emotions decide. He keeps people at a distance because they are factors he can't control, but as the story progress he learns to 'go with the flow' more and enjoy the chaos that comes with life

Lyka - Freedom, this character was raised in a gilded cage, then as a fugitive with little choice in her life. Her character growth is choosing for herself and deciding her own path

Azarael (I saw another fellow angel of death on here lol) - Hope is this character's theme, they're always optimistic and putting their best forward, even when others don't want to. They go from childish 'everything is okay' to a stubborn 'we'll make everything okay'

@lemon-gummy group

one thing i noticed subconsciously is that i like to either make characters who are super overpowered but haven't the slightest idea how to use it, and characters who are super weak but are oblivious and over-exert themselves constantly, but could not care less and doesn't let it bring them down.

frances - coming back from a bad/blinding childhood (their parents were prejudiced against 85% witches (or less) and the nymphs.

liz - unlikely friendships/branching out, seeing beyond a person

might add more later

@lemon-gummy group

I love this question a lot!!

Goddess of Life: Anarchy, trying to live up to a perfect image, pressure

Nyaery: Distancing yourself, loneliness

Ariate: Motherhood, trying to keep the family together although they don't like each other

Eilore: Teacher's pet, trying to be the golden child, suffering in silence, letter of the law

Hailoh: the spirit of the law, love, sacrifice

Kaizhu: The chosen one cliche, although instead, he turns bitter and cold

all these names are so pretty sounding- where did you find them? :)

@Darkblossom group

Sashay, having your trust broken and never being able to fully trust anyone again

Lorrehlyl, realizing there ARE actually people who care about you

Clara, Keleci, Maezy, wanting to disappear from reality because the world you create has everything you've ever wanted that the real world withholds from you. This last one seems to keep reoccurring in multiple stories. Totally doesn't say anything about my melodramatic self -_-

@Mojack group

Nohr’ke (Nor-key) has themes of “not all are as they seem”. Themes of mystery, and unknown intent, often malicious in nature. Themes of controlling others, and sacrificing as they see fit - without care of the thoughts of others, or the effect that it might have on the world.

Cabhris (Cab-bree-sis) has themes of serenity, peace - solitude. Willingness to work with others, and patience. Ve didn’t survive 3 billion years without those skills, but they would only continue to aid ver in the modern world. Cooperation between species, no matter how different they are, is also among their themes.

Kinos (kee-nos) represents nature, that through all the hardships it may encounter, in the end - nature recovers. It also represents climate change and retaliation against those who disrupt the balance of the world. However, they also have themes of excess of power, and destruction.

@Ariavaana

I love this question a lot!!

Goddess of Life: Anarchy, trying to live up to a perfect image, pressure

Nyaery: Distancing yourself, loneliness

Ariate: Motherhood, trying to keep the family together although they don't like each other

Eilore: Teacher's pet, trying to be the golden child, suffering in silence, letter of the law

Hailoh: the spirit of the law, love, sacrifice

Kaizhu: The chosen one cliche, although instead, he turns bitter and cold

all these names are so pretty sounding- where did you find them? :)

Goddess of Life is pretty self explanitory

Nyaery (pronounced Ny-Air-E) was a odd combination of "night" and "air" that I made up.

Ariate (Air-E-It) I made up by scrambling the sounds of my own name to com up with a new one.

Eilore (E-Lore) I don't remember how I cam up with her name, I think I tweaked my friend's name to make a new one

Hailoh (Hi-Low) In my story "Heaven" is called Hillius, and my "Hell" is called Hollie so her name is to reflect both

Kaizhu (Kai-Zshu) He was the first character I've ever drawn. I was just sketching and I kinda fell in love with him and his character. I built my whole story around him. His name took me days but I just kept drawing him over and over again and I just kinda said his name. I can't really explain it, it just popped up in my head.

All in all they are pretty random. I've talked, written, and thought about them so much that their name meaning doesn't really register to me anymore. It just feels like their name.

Like it fits them, it feels natural. If I had any tips for naming characters, its to not think to much about the meaning. Be creative, pick sounds and vowels you like, play around with the spelling and sound of your own name. If you really wanna have fun with it, play with your name and have an Ai read it out loud (i.e, google translate, tiktok, ect.) see what you like!

Hope this helped! @lemons-taste-good

@Dayzea group

  • Elle: Being far from home during the apocalypse. She flew from Michigan to California to participate in a summer camp, but ended up trapped there at the start of the apocalypse and has to deal with the complicated feelings that come with that + but not being familiar with her environment at all.
  • Stella: Holding onto hope during traumatic times. She was physically mutilated and scarred at the start of the apocalypse, and this initially makes her closed-off as she copes with the trauma that comes with that. Eventually, she turns to idealism and becomes the visionary of the group.
  • Lucy: Losing lifelong privilege in one fell swoop. She was born to a wealthy family and was used to traveling all over the world during her summers all her life. With the start of the apocalypse, not only is she trapped in the woods, but she has lost her close-knit family and all her previous privilege.
  • Josie: Instinctively resorting to self-sacrifice. Only knowing how to help other people. She's accustomed to needing to help herself and her dad constantly in her normal life due to his history with addiction. When the apocalypse hits, her first instinct is to act selflessly and help others, even if it's foolish or harms herself.
  • Azul: Difficulty cooperating with others during a time when cooperation is vital. They are primarily motivated by their own independence and self-pride, but they're also prone to conflict and have trouble knowing how to look out for other people.
  • Carolina: Logical thinking. During times of crisis, Carolina only ever knows how to respond with the most logical solution, however cruel or unsympathetic it may be. Her decisions are often met with resistance when they're seen as morally abject for any reason.

@lemon-gummy group

one thing i noticed subconsciously is that i like to either make characters who are super overpowered but haven't the slightest idea how to use it, and characters who are super weak but are oblivious and over-exert themselves constantly, but could not care less and doesn't let it bring them down.

frances - coming back from a bad/blinding childhood (their parents were prejudiced against 85% witches (or less) and the nymphs.

liz - unlikely friendships/branching out, seeing beyond a person, learning maturity

might add more later

adding more heehee

fian- self love, overcoming self-hatred, finding people that care about you, being less overly self aware/conscious

sage- taking action, not letting others push you around (this happens gradually. I also didn't know how to put this)