poppyseed

these are such good thoughts! i definitely do think about change... one example that comes to mind really easily is svt minghao and his shift as he's come into himself more over the years. i think for me the way i try to develop that core really gets impacted by how old the character is in that story——i'll often try to mirror age-states? does that make sense? it sounds so clinical lol. but if i'm writing an 18yo minghao vs 23yo minghao it's gonna be a different vibe even in a major au, and i'd probably want to write into the story or his backstory some kind of event or arc that prompts a similar trajectory of change.

that's obviously different like i said in the post if it's like a fantasy au with tons of trauma in the backstories, but that doesn't tend to be the kind of thing i like to write? + even then i'd want to adjust for that trauma while still keeping similarities in the person's humor, ways of relating to people, how they are when they're close with someone, etc.

idk i think my work/schooling in human development and identity development colors a lot of this too! bc i've seen that people who have gone through the same or similar things can still be super different, even if those things are hugely impactful and hard to deal with. so i guess i do think there is some element of personality that transcends the "nurture" pov we take bc the way we deal with hard things shapes our reactions to them. i guess!