Your personality expectations and results (for those with sentient tulpas)

[Guest]

So this little thing is bugging me. How much can personality differ from planned one? Especially curious if you planned your tulpa more as flawed/realistic rather than mary sue-esque type with tons of traits.

[Chupi]

Mine doesn't speak well enough yet to tell her personality that way, but when I did a second phase of personality after sentience, I could feel whether a trait had stuck or not. When I told her a trait that she had accepted, I felt the usual connection I feel when I talk to her. When I hit upon a trait she didn't like, the connection weakened and I got a feeling like "nope". The second run of personality got cut short when she made it clear to me that she didn't want to do personality sessions anymore.

 

Based on that, most of the traits I had have stuck. (List at http://chupitulpa.tumblr.com/personality) One of the rejected traits was "doesn't judge others", which is now more like "*usually* doesn't judge others in a negative way".

 

However, personality probably continues to deviate and evolve as they learn to speak, and even after they're done.

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply, thats a curious reading but kind of too elaborate for me. When I started with mine tulpa I only picked like 5-6 basic traits with distinctive idea in my head how would they affect her behavior in general, without elaborating every single redundant quirk, and I felt like it went good. However I've heard enough about tulpas changing or maturing personalities, and I'm sort of afraid I may not like it much.

[Chupi]

When I started, the prevailing theory was FAQ_Man's that the more defined the personality is initially, the quicker sentience will develop. But even for that, I found my list pretty excessive. If I were starting today, I would go with TOG's idea of 4-6 overarching "umbrella" traits that you then elaborate on while forcing them.

 

As for your worry, the traits you care about most won't deviate much. Deviation is just going to align the traits with what you subconsciously want, and later what the tulpa wants. The tulpa won't want traits you really dislike because she'll have to get along with you.

 

Also, what I did in creating my list was more like feeling out what I wanted subconsciously than just grabbing a bunch of traits I think would be cool. I threw in a few traits to complement/counterbalance things in myself that I'd like to change, but the list more or less describes my anima.

 

...I couldn't bring myself to put in many specific interests or likes/dislikes. I figured those will grow on their own. Once she's a bit more vocal than she is now, I'll introduce her to some assorted activities.

[glitchthe3rd]

I only used 3 personality traits and let them develop on their own from there, with Elise all 3 of the traits I set out for her stuck. That being said, there is such a thing as having too many traits. There's a difference between having a one-dimensional tulpa and one that's more complex than most humans.

[Sock]

I stuck five traits to Midori, and let her go and grow into whoever after that. She's exhibited all five of those traits when she became sentient and semi-vocal, becoming a happy-go-lucky, sometimes cocky yet incredibly loving young girl.

 

Ellenore, while accidental, did have personality traits stuck onto her, though not in the same way as one would when they're intentionally creating a tulpa. She was brash, overconfident, violent, blunt, and was a brazen thief. Her speech style was coarse like a sailor's he sense for fashion was nil, and her hunger for greater magical power was unending. The perfect type of a-moral jerk for a roguelike protagonist. When she became sentient and semi-vocal, she did a complete personality 180. The closest thing I could describe her as is Yamato Nadesiko character, with Midori referring to her as a "Girl scout". She a kind, gentle and meek young woman, that enjoys drawing and knitting. She dislikes revealing clothing, profanity, and abhors violence. Despite her hatred of violence, and hatred of her set of abilities as a consequence, she will fiercely protect Midori from certain things that crawl about my mind, earning her Midori's unending adoration and the title "Big-little-sister". It was a pretty big shift, to say the least...