(If there is a thread similar to this or if this thread is in the wrong spot, please move it or lock it. Thank You.)
Well, it's about time someone made a guide on how to NOT make your Rp Character a Cliche.
Feel free to contribute by replying a cliche that I haven't seen down below~
Most of the info I got for this was from the Twisted Fury Pack's Rp Cliche Test. The rest is from personal experience.
For starters....
What is a Cliche?
A cliche is an overused idea; something too common, and it certainly won't make your character stand out.
If someone had a cliche character, that would mean that the creator of that character would meet others who probably look or have the same background of their character, thus making it very unoriginal. Besides, who wants to listen to twenty other characters talk about how they their whole pack was killed off, or how their parents died, etc....?
The List of Known Cliches
Names
-Your name is Flame, Ember, Fire...something along those lines.
-Your name is Moon, Moonlight, anything along those lines.
-Your name is stolen from another character you like. (Examples: Kiba, Toboe, Cloud Strife, Larka, etc....)
-Your name is made of two words. (You can use Warrior Cat names as an example. There are also others who put a space between the words.)
-Your name is in Japanese. (Examples: Yuki, Reina, Takeshi, etc....)
-Your name is another common noun. (Examples: Lily, Emerald, Rose, etc....)
-Your name is Reaper, Shadow, etc.....
-Your name is named after times of the day (Examples: Sunrise, Sunset, Twilight, etc....)
-Your name is Angel, Demon, etc......
-You're named after types of weather, such as Hail, Snow, Storm, Blizzard, etc.....
-You're named after a God/Goddess in mythology. (Examples: Isis, Artemis,Zeus, Apollo, Hades, etc....)
Personality
-The character is quiet and barely talks.
-The character is rebellious and never listens to the words of their elders.
-The character has simply no humor and is serious all the time.
-The character is tough on the outside, but sweet on the inside.
-The character sings songs that affect others physically.
-Your character is a big mouth.
-The character is wise beyond his/her years.
-The character is evil.
-The character gives off an evil laugh at times, or snorts and grunts a lot.
-The character is whiner.
-The character cries over its depressing past (if it has one.), and/or tells it to the first person they meet or a person that is harming them.
-The character can speak a human foreign language, most commonly Japanese and if they do speak in Japanese, they occaisionally throw in the words "baka" or "kawaii."
-The character always has mood swings.
-The character is depressed because he/she doesn't have a mate.
-Your character is pure, and the nicest person on Earth.
-You describe your character as a loner.
Appearance
-Your character's pelt/scale/skin color is all one solid color.
-If it is one solid color, it is black, and they have red eyes to go along with that.
-They have scar marks all over their body.
-If your character is colored white, they have blue eyes, and sometimes feathered/angel wings.
-If the character has a dark-colored pelt, they have bat/dragon wings.
-Your character's eyes change color according to their mood.
-Your character has black fur with white paws.
-Your character wears a necklace or pendant of some kind, and for most cliches it is a priceless family heirloom.
-The character has wings made out of ice or fire.
-Your character has fangs that protrude out of their mouth....and they are blood-stained.
-If your character has wings, you describe them as large wings.
-If the character is a female, you describe her eyes as very beautiful, sometimes so beautiful that everyone freezes when she walks by people. (Seriously guys, you aren't THAT great. >.>)
-If the character is a male, you describe him a VERY masculine and strong.
-Your character is under 4 months of age.
-Your character is at the exact age for breeding.
-If the character is to be used in a street-dog RP, your character is part-wolf or is a Collie, Lab, Retreiver or German Sheperd.
-Your character is blind.
History
-Somewhere in your history, there's a huge fight to the death. In some cases, your character is the fighter.
-Both of your character's parents are dead.
-Your character's whole pack was killed and you were the only survivor. (Usually, the whole pack was exterminated by hunters or a huge wildfire.)
-If your character's whole pack was killed, their pack had a special power that no other pack in their world had.
-Your character was called an outcast, demon, monster, etc........
-Your character was exiled because they looked different and/or had a special magical power.
-Your character was abandoned as a pup in their youth.
-Your character is a reincarnation of some God/Goddess, and they have super-special-awesome powers.
-If the character was born in the wild, they were the next-in-line to be the leader of their pride/pack/herd/clan.
-If the character was abused in the past, they somehow escaped from their owner. (In other cases, the character has somehow killed their abusive owner.)
Species
-Demon
-Angel
-Half-Angel/Demon/Elf, etc......
-Half-Pack/Clan
-Reincarnation
-Winged Wolf
-Vampire Wolf
So, your character is a cliche. What do you do now?
If your character has some or little cliche qualities, it should be an easy fix. If your character is VERY cliche, KILL IT DEAD, and then start over. Here are some solutions to being original and awesome:
-Try out a different color! Blue and Red are too common. Why not Yellow, Purple, Green, Brown, Orange or even Beige?
-Make your own species! Don't stick to some "evil" breed like a Demon or Vampire! Why not a neutral Chimera, or a Griffin, or even a Moon Bunny?
-It's okay to be normal. Just because a character had a normal life, doesn't mean they're not awesome and powerful. Besides, the more believeable a story is, the better!
-Make up a name! A name doesn't have to be in a certain language. Try making random sounds and see if you can come up with a name using those tones. If you must have a name from a language, try using a not-so-well-known language, such as Yiddish, Latin, Estonian or Welsh.
NOTE: This is still a HUGE W.I.P. I gotta go to sleep now, and I'll hopefully update this later.
