Ben Kosse wrote:
In other words, let your characters change, as life will change them;
please do not change them for no or insufficient reason. That is OOC.
Any agreements/disagreements?
I agree with you, Stormwalker. Certain events, traumatic or
otherwise, can change a character to such a degree that they become OOC.
Who is to say that characters MUST stay IC at all times, even if a tragedy
had happened?
I would phrase it differently, but essentially we agree. In that case,
the characters ARE IC. They are "in character" as the character has
been changed by events.
This is exactly what I was trying to say. Eventually, the character
will develop into a character different from the original. It becomes,
in essence, *your* character, no longer RT's original (in this case). This
doesn't mean the character is OOC. Rather, it has grown and evolved into
a new character.
Exactly. It might be OOC for the character in the original... but it is
not OOC for the character in your story, as it has been modified by
events in your story.
Another very good example : Nightelf's "Sunrise". (which is my personal
favorite Ranma 'fic I've ever read)
In this story, we have a Ranma that bears little resemblance in many
ways to the original... and it makes sense. If your fiancee and most of
your friends were killed, and you'd been stuck in girl-form for about 8
years, you'd change, too.
On the other hand, if there was no explanation (or even a lesser
explanation) for his behavior, it would be OOC.
I find it helps to explain why the character is OOC (in your story).
I'd rather let the story speak for me, but sometimes you do need to
do that (especially if your story starts out with a character acting
"OOC").
Yes... I went through this with Sylia in Collision. In the rewrite, I
tried to include a little more explantion as to the emotions behind her
behavior.
"Don't call me Stormy! I hate that name!"
Hello Stormy! (WebDragon runs and hides)
Hiyas, Stormy. Sorry, just had to do it.
*sigh* I suppose Nene really did get her revenge.
And the worst part is... my fiancee thinks it's cute.
--
Ben Kosse bmk7411@cs.rit.edu
BGC Otaku and worshipper of the Red-Eyed Goddess. Member of ShAS.
Anime, RPG's, computers, poetry (read/write), music (listen/compose).
Author of the Bubblegum Crisis theme pack (see the homepage below).
Homepage with anime and other interests. (http://www.rit.edu/~bmk7411)